Chapter 106

R​e​a‍d​ ‌o‍n​​ ‌​K​a‍t‍R‍e‍a​​d​in​g‍C​a​f‌e​

**Good News and Bad News (4)**

“Yeoreum! Are you okay?! Nothing hurts?! Your eyes aren’t stinging, your skin isn’t itchy, or turning red, right?! _Cough, cough, COUGH!!_”

“Uh…”

As soon as we got home, Koyuki rushed over and started checking me from head to toe.

Granted, she was _very_ worked up for someone doing a wellness check—but still, I appreciated her concern.

At the same time, I felt a twinge of guilt, like I had tricked her somehow.

She probably thought I’d dyed my hair. Yeah, that explains her reaction.

“Hey, it’s not dye, okay?”

“…I see?”

“I don’t want to say your panic was for nothing, but… it kind of was.”

“…”

Her dramatic reaction was amusing, sure, but I figured I should end this before she started holding a grudge.

I carefully took off the wig on my head. The way her eyes went wide was kind of adorable.

For some reason, _I_ never look that cute when I make expressions like that…

Anyway, Koyuki just stared blankly at the wig I handed her, then slowly shook her head.

Not sure why exactly.

“Next time, can you please explain before you send me a picture like that? I seriously thought you’d dyed your hair and had a heart attack!”

“Sorry, Koyuki.”

“Ugh… well, just in case, let me say this again—**do not dye your hair!**”

“Okay…”

“I’m serious! Absolutely not! NEVER!”

There was a hint of fear in her eyes.

She’s definitely dyed her hair before.

Koyuki didn’t elaborate on why, but I could feel how real her warning was. That’s the weight of experience.

“Got it. If _you’re_ warning me, it must be serious.”

“You want me to tell you what happened?”

“…Umm.”

Not really, but honestly, just seeing her expression was enough to convince me I should _never_ do it.

“Even if you don’t want to hear it, I’m going to tell you. This is something both you and your guardian Toya absolutely need to know.”

Koyuki took a breath and began recounting her experience with dyeing her hair.

She said it started out normal—applying the dye, washing it out—but soon her scalp started burning and turned red. Within days, her hair began falling out.

She said if she hadn’t gotten treatment right away, she might’ve gone bald.

…Yeah, hair is important. For guys—no, for _anyone_—hair can be like your identity.

“Yeoreum—no, _we_—have a lot we need to be careful about. So if you ever want to try something new, please check with me first, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Then that concludes today’s lesson.”

Calling it a “lesson” felt a bit silly, but still—I learned why dyeing was off-limits, so I guess it counts.

I clapped toward Koyuki, who had her hands on her hips and chest puffed out proudly.

Thank you, Sensei Koyuki!

She struck a proud little pose as if she’d heard my unspoken thought.

“Yeoreum really has a lot to be careful about… Looks like I’ve got a lot to learn from Koyuki.”

“True… but it’s better for guardians to know, too.”

Toya’s quiet comment made Koyuki nod. She’d grown up being cautious, so it came naturally, but for someone like me, it was all new territory.

And being careful is always better when you’ve got multiple people helping.

…And so began _Lesson Two_ of Koyuki’s “Safety First” class.

—

“Kontomo! This is V-Spe’s 1st gen, Yatogami Toya~”

– Kontomo!
– Kontomo!
– Wait, it’s been a while since you two streamed together, huh?
– Don’t you live together? Just stream every day together, then?
– I thought you shared the same studio, lol
– 草

Today was a bit of a special occasion.

We hadn’t done a joint stream in a while, but today we were.

Well, mostly because I’d overslept—waking up early had me sleep-deprived, and I conked out right before stream time…

But seriously, how is Toya this lively when she gets up that early every day?

I peeked at her from the side. Totally fine. Not a hint of fatigue on her face. I couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Natsu, time to say hi.”

“Ah, hello. I’m Ichinose Natsu from V-Spe Gamers…”

– Whoa, so shy lolol
– Is she nervous ‘cause it’s their first collab in a while?
– Don’t be nervous, Nacchan~ We’re basically family now
– Nacchan’s basically part of the Toya family, right?
– Actually… didn’t we already meet Toya’s ‘family’ on stream? 草
– Might as well change her name to Yatogami Natsu
– Or Ichinose Toya, maybe? lol

I greeted them softly, and everyone started joking around.

I mean… they _do_ know I’m Han Yeoreum, right?

I couldn’t tell if they just didn’t care or if they were purposefully treating me the same.

Honestly, the vibe of the stream hadn’t really changed much.

What _had_ changed was the viewership count and subscriber growth.

…Then again, even back when I streamed as Han Yeoreum, it felt kind of like this.

“And today’s stream is… karaoke!”

– Ohh
– Isn’t this Toya’s first time doing a singing stream voluntarily? lol
– So is Nacchan just a guest audience member today? 草
– Gearing up for the 1M live, huh?
– Isn’t this her first karaoke stream since the announcement dropped? 草
– Still, glad she’s doing one!

Honestly, there wasn’t much I could do in a singing stream.

Clap, cheer, react, bring her water—that was about it.

If it were a game stream, I could participate, but singing… not so much.

If only my condition were better, I could sing along too.

Even my break with Straight happened right around when the concert was announced, so yeah…

[1000¥]

– So… Nacchan’s gonna sing too today, right?

“Ah, Natsu…”

“…Sorry. I’ll just shake this tambourine really enthusiastically instead…”

I gave a weak shake of the tambourine in my hand to answer the comment.

Its clunky jingle sounded kind of pitiful, but I forced a smile anyway.

Ugh… now I feel like I killed the mood.

I took a slow breath. Come on, positive thoughts, positive thoughts…

“So! What’s the first song, Sensei Toya?”

“Sensei…? Pfft, what’s with that?”

“…I dunno, just listening feels too passive. Haha…”

– Well, Toya _is_ good at singing, so her being a teacher doesn’t feel weird lol
– Didn’t Nacchan sing before too?
– Nacchan’s never sung on stream, remember? 草
– Oh right. “Nacchan” hasn’t sung, lol
– These days, AI can make anyone sing. Just train the voice model well and bam

AI…? Yeah, I’ve heard of that.

Sometimes you see clips like “Japanese Prime Minister rapping” or “US President singing K-pop ballads” floating around.

All made with AI voice models.

Hmm… maybe I could train my voice data to do the singing for me?

“Well then! Since Natsu’s the student, Teacher Toya’s gonna go all out today!”

“Oh… is that how it is?”

“That’s exactly how it is!”

– The teacher’s way too excited lolol
– This went from ‘teaching’ to a full-blown talent show for the student ww
– Let’s go, Toya! Show your student what a real pro looks like!
– 草

Still, how does she manage this every morning?

She sings, dances, goes to the office early—and she’s still fine?

I stared in awe as Toya belted out a high-energy song right off the bat.

Vocal cords are precious. I hope she doesn’t overdo it.

I mean, she doesn’t sing every day, so it’s probably okay, but still…

“I just go with how I feel!”

So for now, I’ll just cheer with my tambourine.

Toya, you got this!

Fables