Chapter 190

Ṛ​εａｄ​ ｏո ǨɑｔṚėɑｄｉṅǵĊаｆҽ

An Unintended Substitute Broadcast. (1)

Today was going to be a lucky day.

I occasionally get to see a fairy in the office:
A lovely person with white hair and red eyes—

—Ah. Maybe calling her a “kid” would be rude.

Anyway.

“Hello~”

“H-Hello!”

I was suddenly brimming with energy.

She’s a friend of Toya, the most popular Vtuber in the company, and is even rumored to be the hidden power behind the scenes.
Just getting to see her in person—and greeting her—already felt like I’d hit the jackpot.

Today might turn out fantastic.
I had a hunch I should maybe buy a lottery ticket on my way home.

But then—

“Hello~”

“Hi— Wh-What? Huh?”

…Why are there two of them?

—

Recently, a strange rumor was going around V-Spa (V-Spe, the company name).

They say that Ichinose Natsu, a Vtuber at V-Spa, has been popping up here and there as if by teleportation.
Someone sees her on the first floor, then they head to the third floor and see her there, or they see her in the cafeteria only for her to appear on the second floor moments later.

“How?” didn’t really matter.
People were just excited at nearly double the chance of spotting precious Natsu.

“Yeo-reum’s really popular these days~”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

She tilted her head in confusion while I grinned mischievously.
After all, rumors don’t usually reach the person they’re actually about.

“By the way, you’ve been pushing yourself extra hard lately, huh?”

“…Well, yeah.”

She sighed at my teasing and picked up a pink dumbbell lying nearby.
Probably because Koyuki recently started working out, too—each one spurring the other on.

Of course, if I’m around, I won’t let Yeo-reum push herself too far.
I always watch her closely, making sure she only goes up to the point of exhaustion, but not past it.
Even just that much is enough to help her get stronger day by day.

“Heck… huff… haaah…”

“If somebody saw you like this, they’d think I’m torturing you, Yeo-reum.”

“D-Doesn’t matter… haah… it’s just us… heh… here anyway…”

Her body looked about ready to collapse, but she forced herself to remain standing, breathing raggedly.
Her stamina has improved compared to before, but she’s still the same Yeo-reum.
Maybe it’s because she’s physically small that she barely gains any visible muscle.

Or maybe she’s just not the type to bulk up easily.

“Here, drink some water. You’re about to keel over.”

“…Thanks. gulp”

She gulped it down, emptying the entire bottle in seconds, then let out a long breath and slumped her shoulders.
Even so, she’s gotten so much healthier compared to when she started—like a completely different person.
That fleeting sense that she might vanish at any moment was gone.

She might still be small, but she’s undeniably there—my little Yeo-reum.

“I think this is a good stopping point for today.”

“Eh, really? Is that okay?”

“You’ve got a stream soon, right?”

“Oh… oh! You’re right. Time flew by…”

On workout days, she usually streams from a soundproof booth at the company.
She could do it from home, but sometimes you just need a change of scenery.

To be honest, it’s also nice to be in a small room alone with her. But anyway—

“S-So, I’ll shower first…”

“Want me to help scrub your back?”

“No thanks!”

With a huff, Yeo-reum dashed into the shower. I stared after her.
Hmm, is she in her rebellious phase? She’s well past that age, though.
I figured she wouldn’t be shy about bathing together at this point, yet she still seems embarrassed.

Maybe I should cling to her so persistently that she stops feeling awkward about it.
No… boundaries matter. Everyone needs their personal space.

Come to think of it, Yeo-reum’s seemed worried about something lately.
It doesn’t look too serious, so I’ve just been watching quietly.
But if the result of keeping quiet is that we can’t bathe together, do I really need to keep it up?

The only thing that can come between me and Yeo-reum is either me or Yeo-reum.

> [“Nacchan’s been working out a lot lately, so adorable lolol”]
>
> [“Apparently Nacchan’s gained weight? lol”]
>
> [“She did say she was underweight, so I guess it’s good she’s putting on pounds…”]
>
> [“Glad she’s getting healthier haha”]

When the body gets healthy, the mind usually does too.
Not that Yeo-reum’s mind was ever unhealthy; but lately, as her body gets stronger, she’s living more vibrantly day by day.

Case in point: the recent TonaYui stream.
She used to hang back and watch everyone else, but now she can actively steer the situation.
Just seeing that emotional growth made me tear up (figuratively).

Though I didn’t actually cry.

Kchunk—

“Hoo…”

I was skimming through posts about Yeo-reum when the shower door opened.
She emerged in a simple T-shirt and shorts, letting out a content sigh.
Her white hair was still a bit damp, but it looked like she’d wrung it out well inside.

Drying her hair on her own might still be tough right now, especially after all that upper-body exercise.
It’d be a bit demanding to have her dry her own hair on top of everything.

“Come here, Yeo-reum. I’ll dry your hair.”

“Thanks, Toya.”

“No problem.”

I picked up freshly-showered Yeo-reum and placed her on a chair.
Seeing her feet dangle above the floor, I paused, and she must’ve felt my gaze because she started swinging her legs up and down.

Thump, thump-thump, thump-thump-thump…
At first, I thought she was just flailing, but there was a noticeable rhythm.

‘No way…’

“Is that Little Devil Revolution (So-akma Hyeokmyeong)?”

“Gasp, how’d you know?!”

“Because that was the hardest song I ever sang.”

One of the earliest original songs I made—
Back when my voice was nothing like it is now, I had to dig deep into every bit of “cuteness” I could muster to sing it.

A difficult time, a difficult song. I never really liked it, but I can’t forget it because—

> “Toya, you’re such a great singer; I know you can pull it off!”

—That bit of encouragement still stays with me, even if I don’t really want to sing it again.

“I found it super fun to listen to.”

“…In what way?”

“Huh?”

She’d said she found it “fun,” and I felt a bit of mischief creeping in.
It’s not huge malice—just a tiny bit.
Of all my later original songs, not a single one ranks lower than “Little Devil Revolution.”
Yet that’s the one she found most entertaining?

Maybe she literally meant “entertaining” in a comedic sense…

“What made it so fun?”

“Well, how should I put it…”

I couldn’t see her face because I was behind her, blow-drying her hair, but I could tell she was embarrassed.
Like a middle-schooler confessing a crush.

“It was… super cute.”

“… …”

So she found it cute, huh.
For me, it’s a cringe-worthy relic on YouTube. I never expected Yeo-reum to have found it “cute.”
Even more surprising that she found it so “fun” to listen to.

‘Speaking of which…’

“…You seem to know the beat by heart, so you must’ve listened more than a few times.”

“Yep, probably over a hundred times.”

“…Why?”

“Why not? I liked it.”

“… …”

I was speechless.
I wanted to say something, but any more talking and we might cross a line we couldn’t come back from.
I knew she was a fan (a “ToTomo”) to some extent, but not to this extent…

“I even had some merch from back then.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah… I ended up giving it away to other ToTomos.”

“…Why?”

“I… well, that’s just how things were back then.”

“… …”

Her voice trailed off, sounding a bit bitter.
Right, that’s how it was.

I’d gone through a whole ordeal calling all over the place trying to find the missing Yeo-reum.
Eventually I decided to go to Korea and ended up finding her.
All the stuff that happened in between was her story, not mine.

“Yeo-reum.”

“Yeah, Toya?”

“Would you tell me about what happened before we met?”

“It’s probably not a fun story, but… sure.”

But that’s all in the past now—something she can talk about casually, presumably.

—

### **[Comment Section Snapshots]**

**[Galju’s streaming?!]**

> (Link to Ichinose Natsu’s stream)
>
> Didn’t she say she couldn’t stream right now because of her workout? Why’d she suddenly go live?

└ [Maybe she finished her workout early?]
└ [Works for me, I’m glad she started earlier, haha]
└ └ [I’ll drop a like, obviously, haha]
└ └ [I had nothing else to do anyway, perfect timing lol]
└ └ [Thank you, Han Yeo-reum, for blessing our daily life ㅠㅠ]
└ └ [As a professional “Han Yeo-reum observer,” this is great news]
└ [Are we not getting TonaYui today, I guess?]
└ └ [If she’s at the company booth after working out, maybe not haha]
└ [Galju seems extra excited today, LOL]

—

Fables