Chapter 207: I Heard Shocking News!

Ｒｅａｄ ​ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅ​ａｄｉｎ​ｇＣａｆｅ

…Completely scorched white…

I don’t even know how many hits I took.

Just when things were starting to calm down, the flames flared up again because of Chae-yoon unnie.

[‘BurningRocketChicken’ donated 1,000 won!]

• Hey, you crying? Lol

“Who said I’m crying?!”

• LMAOOOOOOO
• She’s not even crying lol
• Did Lulu get sulky?

Hmph, yeah.

I’m sulking. What’re you gonna do about it?

Shouldn’t have pushed me this far.

Normally, I’d argue back, but today, I’m genuinely pissed. My cheeks are puffed up like dough.

『Our Lulu, are you mad? Did the unnies tease you too much? Sorry, sorry.』

“Apologizing now won’t help…?!”

『Oh my, you’re just too cute. Who told you to be this adorable?』

“You’re not even sorry!”

Meanwhile, Chae-yoon unnie kept a straight face—like she’d lined it with five layers of steel—while tossing words at me that might’ve been an apology or just more teasing. Even cherries in chat called her out for having no conscience.

[‘LuluIsAStickyRiceBall’ donated 1,300 won!]

• Wow, Lulu usually lets things slide, but this is the first time I’ve seen her this mad lol
• FR tho lol
• She’d normally cool down by now
• Guess she’s really pissed~
• Even a Star Piece would turn their back on her… What kind of leader…

Ugh, exactly!

I know how to keep things entertaining for the stream, so I usually let it go. But today? After all that bullying? The anger’s still boiling.

And getting one-sidedly wrecked by Chae-yoon unnie, the member with the highest attack power… Maybe I’m the weird one for still being sane.

『Honestly, it’s unavoidable. Our Lulu’s reactions are just too cute—makes the unnies wanna tease her more.』

『Right? Lulu’s partly to blame here.』

『Do you guys even have a conscience…?』

Not just Chae-yoon unnie, but even Ra-hee unnie and Yuna shifted the blame onto me. Jia unnie, baffled, spoke up for me instead.

Ugh, now Jia unnie’s my only ally.

[‘DingDingDing’ donated 20,000 won!]

• Financial therapy is the answer here

“Ahhh, thank you for the 20,000 won donation! But, uh… I’m still not over it….”

• Lol she wants more
• 20K ain’t enough, huh?
• Lulu’s turning into a money-grubber…
• Axolotl corrupted by capitalism smh

No, that’s not what I meant!

20,000 won is huge! I lived off braised tofu and bean sprouts—you think I don’t know its value?

But money can’t heal emotional wounds! So stop misinterpreting!

『Anyway, you guys handle Lulu. I’ve got work to do, so I’m out.』

Just as I was starting to calm down from bickering with cherries, CEO Kang dropped that bombshell and dipped like it wasn’t her problem.

“Wait, CEO! You lit this fire and now you’re leaving?!”

“Yeah! You were the one who exposed my dark history first…!”

• No conscience LMAOOOO
• We’re sorry, Lulu…
• If Lulu wants to join Prism Company, smash like lol
• Verdia’s probably grinning so hard her gums are showing lol

For once, everyone united in outrage, but our CEO’s unstoppable when she’s in her own world.

『Nah, not my fault. Bye.』

Ding—

And just like that, she left the Discord channel. Sure, she probably had work, but the rest of us were left speechless. Especially me, the victim.

『Wow, she really left?! After starting this?!』

『Right? Gave our Lulu every possible trauma!』

『Our Lulu must be so hurt…』

『You guys have no right to say that…』

Suddenly, the members were stuck cleaning up the CEO’s mess. Sensing danger, they pretended to take my side now—but as Jia unnie said, none of them earned that right.

• LMAO she really dipped
• Yo this crazy bitch LMAOOOO
• Cloud Squad, drop and give me 20! How’d you raise this CEO?
• We apologize on behalf of the Cloud Squad…

Nah, it’s not the Cloud Squad’s fault.

Sure, I sometimes blame cherries for my own mistakes, but that’s different. The Cloud Squad did nothing wrong.

“…I’m gonna go play games, hmph.”

After seeing the CEO abandon us, I made a show of storming off to play. No point staying here to get bullied more.

『W-wait, Lulu! Let’s play Overwatch together! How about it?』

『Yeah! We’ll ditch the traitor CEO and just 6-stack!』

『Sounds good! Lulu loves Overwatch, right?』

“Hmph, maybe?”

• LOL where she goin’?
• She’s properly sulking
• Shameless duo trying to bait her with a 6-stack smh
• Yukiko… she’s still the CEO…

Seeing me about to leave, Chae-yoon unnie and Yuna scrambled to coax me back. But their offer wasn’t sweet enough.

We played Overwatch a lot during breaks, though rarely all together. This won’t cut it.

But then…

『Come on, it’ll be fun with everyone! We’ll take care of you.』

“Uuugh…”

Jia unnie, the only one who stood by me, was pleading so earnestly…

Maybe I can let it slide just this once.

It’s not even their fault, and they’re trying so hard to lighten the mood.

…Fine, I’m an adult!

Sure, getting bullied hurts.

But a true streamer—a true adult—knows when to rise above it!

“…Alright! Only because Erin unnie went this far to ask.”

『Yes…!』

『Kyaa, our Lulu’s heart is so wide.』

『Thanks for forgiving us, Lulu.』

• As expected of our leader Lulu lol
• Empress Lulu is peak coolness
• Empress Lulu is the peak of forgiveness

Hmph, I didn’t forgive them!

Don’t get the wrong idea!

I’m only letting it go this once for Jia unnie’s sake!

But seriously, what’s up with cherries cracking jokes even now? They’re the weirdest part of the fandom—and that’s saying something, since I’m their leader.

“Should I send the invites?”

『No, no! You relax, Lulu. We’ll handle it.』

『I’ll give all my nanos to Lulu only.』

『Then I’ll just stick a straw in Lulu and sip.』

『Full simp meta today, huh?』

Hehe, exactly.

Total simp meta!

But… it’s not bad. Feels kinda like being a queen.

“Ahem! Today, I’m the queen, so you all obey me—got it?”

『Yes, Your Grace!』

『Command us, Your Majesty!』

『How about “Master” instead of “Queen”?』

『Can we just hit the ready button already…?』

• Their true colors are showing lol
• Erin suffers so much…
• Lulu being excited is adorable

Eek, don’t call me cute!

I’m still mad!

Anyway, we even roped in Nyangtamon to fill the last slot, and the day ended with a 6-stack Overwatch stream.

***************

The day started in chaos but ended happily.

The next morning, a message lit up the group chat:

[CEO Kang] – Sorry, but gather at the company today.

[CEO Kang] – We’ve got 1st-anniversary prep.

[CEO Kang] – And something else to discuss.

1st anniversary.

The words alone made my heart flutter. But that last line left me uneasy.

Something else? Something important enough to say in person, not over chat.

“Tofu, sorry—hold down the fort. Mom’ll be back soon.”

“Nyaaa.”

After a quick prep, I waved at Tofu and left.

[Ra-hee unnie] – Sorry, Da-jeong.

[Ra-hee unnie] – Had to visit family. Can’t drive you today.

[Me] – It’s fine!

[Me] – See you at the company!

It’d been ages since I commuted alone. Ra-hee unnie had always driven me since moving next door. Maybe this was for the best—less guilt over relying on her.

Beep—

Nostalgic, I swiped my transit card and boarded the subway.

“—Next stop is…”

“Huh?!”

I nearly missed my stop, too glued to my phone. Back in the day, I’d never zone out like this. Funny how things change—for the better, of course.

After rushing off, I headed to the office, memories of my first day surfacing.

Creak—

“Good morning…”

CEO Kang looked up from her tablet, alone in the meeting room.

“Da-jeong? Where’s Ra-hee?”

“She went to her family’s place. I took the subway.”

“Ah. Well, sit. Want a drink?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

Her calm—no, grave—demeanor made me stammer.

“Da-jeong.”

“Yes, CEO?”

“You love the members, don’t you?”

“Of course!”

A pat on my head. Then, after a pause:

“I planned to tell everyone together, but… you should hear this first.”

“W-what? Is someone… graduating?”

“No, no need to get scared like that.”

Phew. Not that.

“It’s the opposite, actually.”

“Opposite…?”

If graduation is subtraction, then the opposite is… addition.

“Yeah. We’re planning to prepare Blue LUV 2nd Gen soon.”

“Huh? 2nd Gen?!”

My eyes widened. In my world, Blue LUV never had a 2nd Gen.

…So the future’s changed?

Translator Note

WAAAAAA!!!!! WOAHHHHHH!!!! EXCITING!!!!