Chapter 91

Re​a​d on​ KatRea​d​ingC​afe

**”Natsu is ‘Yeoreum’ in Japanese. (3)”**

The next game, and the one after that, were the same.

I cleared a string of speedrun games in order—games I had played right after debuting as Han Yeoreum the VTuber.

At first, the viewers just commented on how good I was. But soon, maybe because they started sensing something odd, the comments gradually began to slow down.

I briefly wondered if they were leaving out of disappointment—but viewer count was steadily rising, so that probably wasn’t it.

**[StraightCookieThiefHanYeoreum]**

**[10,000¥]**

—First time here. By the way, did you enjoy the cookies?

“…Thank you, StraightCookieThiefHanYeoreum.”

—wwww
—First time here.
—That nickname is definitely not a first-timer lol
—First time here.
—wwww
—草

Red superchat, followed by a flurry of Korean usernames popping up in the chat.

Well… that makes sense.

If someone who ran away like I did was now streaming again like nothing happened, of course there’d be this kind of reaction.

But what made my heart sink wasn’t just the Korean usernames.

_”Thank you, StraightCookieThiefHanYeoreum, for the ₩100,000 superchat. Huh? You’re telling me to buy cookies with this instead of stealing company snacks? I didn’t steal them! I just said the cookies at the office tasted good, that’s all!”_

That familiar name. And those familiar words.

Once I remembered one memory, it was impossible to stop the rest from flowing. Everything from my time as Han Yeoreum came flooding back, like a panorama of all the streams I’d done up until now.

And so…

Overwhelmed by the heat rising inside me, I slowly closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, everything was blurry. I rubbed my eyes, and warm, transparent memories spilled down onto my palms like little droplets.

“I… enjoyed the cookies.”

Just that one sentence.

It slipped out reflexively—and for a moment, the chat froze.

Not from an error, but simply because _too many comments_ came flooding in at once.

After a brief pause, they exploded onto the screen in a torrent. I stared at them in a daze, letting the heat in my chest slowly dissipate with a deep breath.

Hello, I’m Han Yeoreum. Today’s stream, today’s stream—

“—That’s it for today’s stream. Thank you. I’ll be back tomorrow. Same time as always, 8 o’clock…”

**[Stream has ended.]**

—

**”…”**

I stared blankly at the now-black screen, then slowly melted into my chair.

It was like sinking into the cushion. I blinked slowly, feeling completely drained.

I’d done it.

I didn’t mean to go that far… but the words came out on impulse.

I let out a dry laugh—and then shuddered as tears or sweat began to cling to my skin.

—She’s back, right? She’s back, right? She’s back, right? She’s back, right?

—Han Yeoreum, say something. Say something. Say something. Say something.

—Wait, so Natsu was actually Han Yeoreum? Or Han Yeoreum was Natsu?

—Restart the stream, Yeoreum!!!

Even after ending the broadcast, comments continued to pour in. I took one last look at them and turned off the computer.

What am I even feeling right now?

Sad? …No, I don’t think it’s sadness.

My body was drained of energy, and there was a strange ache in my chest.

It felt kind of like jumping off a bungee cord—or the moments after riding a rollercoaster.

_Creak—_

“…Yeoreum, are you okay?”

“I don’t know.”

Normally, Toya would’ve been behind me watching the stream. But just for today, I had asked her not to.

Not for any specific reason—I just didn’t want her to see me at my most pathetic.

I had to plead with her, but she eventually nodded and gave me space.

Maybe if she _had_ been here, things would’ve turned out differently.

I unclenched my fists. Tears or sweat, I couldn’t tell which, stuck to my hands like glue.

“But… I do feel a little better.”

If I had to say good or bad, I’d say good.

Letting out the things I’d kept locked deep inside really did feel like unclogging my chest.

…I’m still not sure if it was the _right_ thing to do, though.

Once again, Toya pulled me into a hug. I buried my face in her shoulder.

Even though the stream had only lasted a few hours, my body felt like it had run a marathon.

“I’m just glad you’re feeling better. But still, you probably shouldn’t have pushed yourself so hard.”

“Yeah… sorry, Toya.”

“You’re all clammy with cold sweat. You’ll catch a cold—come on, let’s get you washed up, okay?”

“Okay…”

So I’d been sweating cold sweat, huh.

I nodded at Toya’s words and let my body go limp.

Normally I’d walk myself to the bathroom—but today, I didn’t want to move at all.

Anyway… what came next was a mess.

Or rather, I was thoroughly scrubbed down—whether I wanted it or not.

—

Fables