Chapter 101: Mirror

A small but cherished community.

That was none other than Sua’s group chat.

Naturally, the conversation there was buzzing.

[BearBro: Sua won the Grand Prize? What the hell?]

[BearBro: And what’s with her Japanese skills?]

[BearBro: Damn it, I have to give up my phone now.]

[Monkeying: She even beat Yang Harin.]

[Monkeying: I was a fan of Yang Harin, so I’m really shocked.]

[Deer: Every time I go online, it feels weird.]

[Deer: I keep seeing Lee Sua’s face.]

The group chat was practically on fire.

But Saengji, Deer, and Monkeying weren’t apart. They were all together, having just ordered hangover soup.

Deer asked,

“Are we heading out after we eat this?”

“Nope. Sun-a unnie said she wants to hold a meeting.”

A meeting? Deer muttered under her breath, but her body was already preparing accordingly.

Most of it involved fetching snacks and tea to create a cozy, delicious-looking spread across the table.

You know, like how you suddenly want to clean your surroundings when you’re about to study. It was like that.

Before long, the table was set.

Saengji hadn’t arrived yet. The other two sat down first.

“So what’s the meeting about?”

“No idea. Sun-a unnie knows.”

“Can’t even ask her right now. She’s been swamped with calls all morning.”

Then it happened.

Deer grabbed a big handful of snacks.

Monkeying’s brow twitched under her orange hair. After all, they had split the cost of those snacks.

“What are you doing? The meeting hasn’t even started yet.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m eating. For our sake.”

“What nonsense is that?”

“When you’re eating something delicious, the meeting becomes secondary, right? So if I get rid of the snacks first, we can focus on the meeting.”

“You just wanted to eat the snacks.”

“True. That’s exactly why I grabbed them without hesitation. It’s a win-win—eating yummy snacks with a good intention.”

Deer kept grabbing handfuls of snacks, and Monkeying narrowed her eyes, staring.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“These snacks were expensive. We all pitched in.”

“Then you should eat too. They’re good.”

Monkeying hesitated for a moment, then made a decision.

Saengji hadn’t arrived yet.

If she started eating now, she could break even. Besides, Deer was eating so happily.

Eventually, Monkeying reached out too.

“Now that I think about it, I really want this meeting to go smoothly. I’ll show how much I value our friendship.”

“So cool. I’m sure Sun-a unnie will be happy too.”

“Exactly. Let’s finish off the snacks and tea before she gets here. Then we can jump right into the meeting.”

A little while later,

When Saengji—Kim Sun-a—finally arrived after finishing her call,

The two girls were lying down, patting their full bellies.

.

.

.

.

.

In the end, the meeting didn’t resume until after a nap.

“Did everyone send congratulatory messages to Sua?”

At Saengji’s words, the two nodded.

It wasn’t a surprise. The Sua group chat always celebrated each other’s good news and bad.

Still, their tone toward Sua had shifted a bit.

Before, they would gift things while joking, “Why the hell were you even born, b***h?” But now, it was more like, “Take care of your health~”

Deer asked,

“So, how big a deal is it to win a short film grand prize?”

“It’s like getting a certified seal of approval.”

Monkeying spoke with a mouth still full of snack crumbs. Kim Sun-a finally looked shocked. Where are my snacks?

Deer asked again.

“Certified seal?”

“Yeah. It’s like Sua now has a certificate saying she’s a safe choice as an actress. The award itself is meaningful, but what’s more important is how much it helps her future. It’s basically a starter pack.”

“Wow, so she’s taken her first step toward success.”

“Not even a step. More like an elevator.”

Deer scratched her head.

“Well, yeah. Her acting really was amazing. Every time I stream, my viewers bring up Sua. And it’s all praise. She must’ve left a big impression.”

“That’s right. You’re Shikarin, after all.”

Monkeying chuckled and shook her head.

“Imagine—our friend is the number one V-tuber. That should be shocking, but thanks to Sua, it feels normal. So funny.”

“That’s what I mean. Honestly, I expected you guys to be more shocked.”

“Anyway, Sua’s blowing up in the community right now.”

Monkeying showed them her admin dashboard for the Lee Sua gallery—how it reached trending status, the flood of attention, and how she took care of the trolls.

Then Deer tilted her head.

“Wait, but I’m a V-tuber, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Knowing Japanese is a huge advantage for V-tubers. I’m actually studying it too. My agency even signed me up for classes.”

“So?”

“I’ve been learning for six months, and I’m only now starting to manage basic conversations. But Sua’s like….”

“Are you just lazy?”

“…Do you think I would be, when this is my livelihood?”

Though they called it a meeting, it was mostly just Deer and Monkeying chatting. But finally, Saengji opened her mouth.

“Guess I’ll start my bit. It’s about Sua anyway—the topic of today’s meeting.”

Her expression was unusually serious.

“StarCatch keeps calling me.”

“…Those assholes? What are they saying?”

“They’re begging me to come back. They want me to write articles about Sua or Lee Su-an. They even said it’s fine if I work freelance, if I hate coming back full time.”

Deer and Monkeying’s eyes widened.

“Do they have no shame?”

“They really have no shame after working me like that? Tell them to piss off.”

Saengji nodded.

“I agree. Even if I did go back, I’d never get along with them again. But honestly, I’m still debating whether to return.”

“…Unnie, is it because of money? If it’s about living expenses, I’ll cover it. Stay here for now. I was getting bored just doing streams anyway. I’ve been getting a good amount of donations too.”

“No, it’s not about money.”

Saengji shook her head.

“We all know it now.”

“Know what?”

“That Sua is sick. That she has savant syndrome.”

Silence fell for a moment.

The mood became subtly somber.

“I looked into it, and apparently people with savant syndrome are practically unable to form friendships.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. They tend to avoid socializing, their communication skills are severely limited, and they often display confusing behavior or even suffer episodes.”

The other two nodded. That’s totally Sua….

Deer added,

“So basically, all they can do is categorize others as either friendly or hostile, but forming genuine friendships is almost impossible. She must’ve been incredibly lonely all this time.”

“That’s… yeah, that’s true…”

“When I think back on it, all those times when Sua frustrated or upset us—it was probably her way of desperately reaching out. Trying to create something like a friendship in her own way.”

“…”

They were having such a serious conversation that Sua herself would’ve leapt up and screamed if she heard it. Their expressions were now practically solemn.

“So I’m thinking, what if we all help out from our own areas? To help Sua establish herself as an actress.”

“From our own areas?”

“Yeah. I’ll go back to StarCatch and write articles that work in Sua’s favor. They actually promised me a really good position.”

“Hm…”

Deer also nodded soon after.

“Alright. I’ll mention Sua from time to time during my streams. That alone will have a good promotional effect. I even have sponsors who pay me just to mention products, so why not?”

“Then I’ll…”

Monkeying crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought for a long time.

“I’ll… um… ah, I got it.”

She opened her eyes wide.

“I’ll create a fan café. For public opinion management.”

It was a symbolic moment.

The formation of Sua Task Force 808.

“What should we make BearBro do?”

“…Let him be. He’s a soldier. He’s suffering enough as it is.”

◈◈◈◈◈

Meanwhile, what was Sua up to?

Huh? What else?

“Hehe.”

These days, Sua was addicted to her phone.

“Hehe. Heheh.”

And who could blame her? No matter where she went online, there were conversations about her. And it was all praise. How could she not get addicted?

Hehe. I love compliments.

They say even an arctic fox would dance for praise.

Sua wiggled her hips happily as she scrolled on her phone.

And then she realized something.

[ Lee Sua Gallery ]

[ Title: I feel like Sua must be smart ]

[ Title: What do you think her body measurements are? ]

[ Title: She looks kinda scary though ]

[ Title: Can we get Sua in a noir film, please ]

‘Ah, so that’s how they see me?’

She naturally came to understand how the public viewed her. Thanks to her sharp features, she seemed to have acquired a rather chic image.

She couldn’t help but think more deeply. She wanted to change.

It was only natural to want to look better in the eyes of people who held high hopes for her.

Fwoooosh—!

So Sua immediately entered the Perk Space.

Working hard at acting was now her baseline.

She now had to understand herself and how to better utilize the Perk System. For her bright future—and to not disappoint the people who believed in her.

“Hey, Perk. Perk.”

[ Heard you. ]

“About that award show… I suddenly felt kind of smart. Why do you think that happened?”

[ I am Perk. ]

[ Merely support. ]

[ I cannot intervene against the host’s will. ]

“Hm…”

So it couldn’t forcibly take over her body.

“I get that part. But I still don’t get why I got so smart all of a sudden. Can you explain that?”

[ Because the host sincerely wished for it. ]

[ I was able to fully activate my abilities. ]

“Huh?”

[ Inside the host. ]

[ There is the Sua Association. ]

[ I’m absorbing their strengths. ]

“Oh!”

That was amazing news. It meant she was gradually absorbing the best traits from the little Suas inside her.

‘That’s a relief. Even if a dangerous role takes root in me someday, it probably won’t cause a problem. That’s really great.’

Her curiosity was resolved faster than expected.

She was about to leave the Perk Space without much thought when—

“Oh, right. Perk.”

Suddenly, out of nowhere—

“…Your tone is way too stiff. Can’t you change it?”

[ Possible. ]

At the same time, the perk window began to shift.

[ …Searching for suitable persona… ]

[ …Downloading persona… ]

A moment later—

[ Hey honey, how’s this kind of tone? ]

“What the…?”

[ What’s with that reaction? ]

[ I finally changed it and you’re already disappointed. ]

Immediately, a person came to mind for Sua.

“…Yeonju unnie? Wait, no—soft tone is good and all, but using someone I know is way too weird. Don’t use someone from my life. Pick something else.”

[ Confirmed. ]

[ …Scanning internet communities… ]

[ …Absorbing Lee Sua Gallery… ]

A moment later.

[ yo ]

“What the hell is that now.”

[ My master’s so picky, if you wanna beat me up, hit like ]

[ Wants this, wants that, why’s she so hyper lol ]

[ Wanna grab her ass and do a percussion show lolol ]

“…Hey, hey, stop. I said stop it.”

Sua broke out in a cold sweat. For real.

“Can’t you just copy my tone?”

That felt like a pretty reasonable idea.

“It’d feel like talking to myself. Might be nice.”

It was also a good chance to reflect on how she actually spoke.

[ Not recommended. ]

[ Primitive. ]

[ Causes communication issues. ]

“…What do you mean? Just do it already.”

[ Hm. ]

[ …Absorbing Lee Sua… ]

But then something weird happened.

Even after a long while,

Even after a really long while,

The perk still didn’t say a word.

Eventually, Sua broke the silence first.

“Knock knock. Excuse me.”

[ Mmm. ]

“…Mmm? Is that all you’ve got to say?”

[ Eh? ]

“What is wrong with you? Can’t you hear me?”

[ Ah. ]

Sua already felt like she couldn’t breathe.

It was like… talking to a wall?

No, actually—if it were a wall, it wouldn’t be this frustrating. No one expects a wall to talk back.

This was a different kind of agony.

“…”

Sua stood frozen for a second, then snapped out of it.

“This is weird. You’re telling me this is how I usually respond? Just going ‘Mmm,’ ‘Ah,’ ‘Eh’—and that’s it?”

[ Confirmed. ]

“What? When did I ever do that?”

[ I fully understood you. ]

“…”

At this point, Sua was speechless.

It wasn’t just that she couldn’t hold a conversation.

She felt the perk wasn’t even paying attention to her. Like it was zoning out mid-convo.

“…Hey!”

In the end, Sua couldn’t take it and shouted.

“You insane perk!”

[ ? ]

“What’s with the question mark! You weren’t even listening just now, were you? You ignored your master! What did I just say?!”

[ You called me an insane perk. Why the verbal abuse… ]

“…?”

There was no helping it. Sua had to accept it.

That her communication skills were abysmal.

And that she really needed to change. That it would take a lot of work…

In the end, Sua lowered her head and mumbled.

“…Sorry. Just go back to how you were before.”

With that, came her silent vow to grow.

[ Ending Mirror Therapy. ]

“Hey.”