Chapter 102: What the heck does it mean

Ju Se-a seems like a cool person on the outside.

She doesn’t dwell on trivial matters and casually brushes off most things.

However, that doesn’t mean she’s an insensitive type.

Quite the opposite.

She is cautious, calculating, and thinks deeply.

The reason she appears cool is simple.

It’s not because she’s genuinely cool, but because she’s adept at portraying herself that way.

Ju Se-a plays the character ‘Tsukishiro Miya’ on her broadcasts.

A cute demon concept, a unique way of speaking, and a sly, mischievous attitude.

None of it came about by chance.

From the pitch of her voice to every single interjection, everything is calculated.

The reason she built her image so meticulously is, of course, because she analyzed that it ‘sells well’ as a Vtuber with many male fans.

She’s extremely skilled at hiding herself in the first place.

Because she’s had to do so for a long time to keep a ‘secret’.

However.

Ironically, she’s also the type who can’t easily shake things off once they start bothering her.

The reason she’s good at hiding her emotions is that she dismisses things that aren’t worth worrying about from the start.

Most things can be let go lightly.

But in certain cases, there are things that remain in her mind even when she tries to ignore them.

Especially situations where she might have had an unnecessary impact on someone.

The ‘ElfChoeun’ controversy was exactly such a case.

In truth, the ‘sniping’ suspicion didn’t even become much of a topic.

Like a firefly before the sun, the hacking allegations were overwhelming.

But that didn’t make her lingering discomfort disappear.

The controversy fizzled out, but the atmosphere she created and the words she left weren’t completely erased.

So she subtly asked about her junior’s feelings, only to receive an offer for an offline collab right off the bat.

At first, she was taken aback.

For her, who carefully managed the distance with others, this was like someone suddenly crossing the line she had drawn.

However, she soon realized it was a deeply considerate gesture.

The suggestion for an offline collab essentially meant ‘let’s create content together’.

A collab is content made not by an individual, but by two people together.

In other words, it was a proposal to resolve things together in a positive way.

Furthermore, being ‘offline’, it could render the controversy even more meaningless.

Instead of dragging things out with words, creating an event that leaves a strong impression would overwrite the previous memories.

It was a way of saying, ‘You don’t need to feel that way,’ to the senior who might be feeling indebted.

And one more thing.

Her saying she ‘wanted to see me in person’ meant more than just building rapport.

If the junior had truly found this controversy burdensome, she wouldn’t have approached it this way.

If Ju Se-a had made a mistake, or if she had truly harmed her junior –

She wouldn’t have tried to close the distance like this.

In other words, the junior showed through her actions that she didn’t consider this a problem at all.

‘She has an excellent sense of reading situations.

Right, that’s probably why she could succeed so quickly…’

There’s no coincidence in success.

If she’s a strategist who imbues even a single suggestion with meaning and strategy, then her broadcasts must also operate under meticulous planning.

If so, the junior’s RP must also be the result of detailed calculation.

As much as herself.

No, she must have put in effort and preparation far beyond herself.

Because it’s a setting that can’t be maintained otherwise.

For a person like this, there would be no impulsive choices.

Every word and action she takes on broadcast comes from a meticulously planned flow.

This collab too, she must have already sketched out a rough flow.

‘For someone like that, she hasn’t mentioned anything about the collab content until today…’

But considering the junior’s characteristics, the reason was clear.

Collabs are fundamentally content where the back-and-forth is important.

Rather than deciding everything with a script, the broadcast gains more vitality when unexpected ‘surprises’ occur.

However, that’s only possible when both parties understand each other’s styles well.

Trying it for the first time involves many variables and could easily lead to prolonged awkward silence.

Nevertheless, the junior intends to proceed without prior coordination.

Meaning, she’s confident she can take the lead no matter what situation unfolds.

‘She covered for my minor personal mistake… but in terms of broadcasting, there’s a risk my presence could be completely overshadowed.’

To have to worry about this with a junior who debuted only a month ago.

But she was already a monstrous rookie for whom experience was meaningless.

Moreover, interest in the junior had reached its peak recently.

After the broadcast where she confronted the controversy head-on.

The next day, she gathered even more attention by reading ‘conversion letters’ and rewatching the broadcast.

Although two days had passed since then, it was naturally a period where intense interest was still maintained.

Ju Se-a waited for her junior with a complex mix of anticipation and concern.

Ding dong –

Glancing at the small silhouette reflected on the monitor, Ju Se-a didn’t pick up the speakerphone receiver but headed straight for the front door.

Taking a slight breath, she naturally turned the handle.

“You’re here?

Earlier than I thought.”

It was a casual remark spoken with her usual natural smile, but the moment her junior’s face came into view, the corners of her lips stiffened slightly.

A pause, a very brief halt in her breath.

‘Wait a minute.’

The junior before her possessed an appearance that one simply couldn’t help but admire.

Between strands of flowing golden hair, purple eyes shone brilliantly like well-polished jewels, staring straight at her.

For a moment, Ju Se-a’s mind faintly wavered.

She had certainly met countless people until now, but never had her gaze been captured like this.

Beyond matters of taste.

Transcendental beauty for which no word other than objectively ‘beautiful’ came to mind.

Admiration, surprise.

And a slight sense of bewilderment arose simultaneously, causing her heart to beat a little faster.

By the time she snapped back to reality after being momentarily captivated by her junior’s appearance.

Only then did a different kind of shock, distinct from the intense admiration moments before, hit her.

‘…This face, it’s exactly the same as her avatar?‘

The junior before her looked exactly the same in reality as she did on broadcast.

Hair color, eye color, even the aura.

It was as if the character from the screen had been brought directly.

No, an appearance that seemed even more intense and beautiful.

“You seem a little surprised,”

The junior tilted her head slightly with an unreadable smile.

“…A little.

It’s different from the image I imagined.”

Ju Se-a regulated her breathing, slightly slower than usual, and composed her expression.

“That’s what I wanted to say.

Among the people I’ve seen, you’re number one, senior.”

“…What is?”

Ju Se-a asked back, feeling slightly dazed.

“You’re the most different between reality and Vtuber.

There’s almost no similarity…”

The junior’s eyes quickly scanned Ju Se-a.

But it was soon clear where her gaze lingered.

Because her flowing gaze stopped precisely around her chest area.

It wasn’t the first time.

In fact, one could say it was familiar.

Unlike her avatar, Ju Se-a’s figure in reality was a bit… no, actually quite voluptuous.

So she had countless experiences of gazes lingering below her face.

But a gaze as blatant and piercing as this was rare.

“Ah… It must be quite different from the image you imagined.”

Even though it was something she would usually brush off, somehow this time it felt embarrassing.

‘Was she… disappointed?’

The thought popped into her head unintentionally.

The junior’s expression and the gaze that seemed mixed with subtle disappointment made it appear that way.

“No, I expected it.

It’s rare for a Vtuber avatar to be the same as reality.”

Having already been slightly shaken since opening the door, this situation felt a bit more bewildering.

Smiling awkwardly, she lightly adjusted her clothes with her fingertips.

“Isn’t it not just rare, but nonexistent?”

At the remark thrown to change the mood, the junior finally tore her gaze away from her chest and looked at Se-a’s face.

However, disappointment still seemed to linger in her eyes.

“There’s no need to be so certain.

There are cases like me, after all.”

“I think that’s a choice you can make because you have that level of appearance.”

Moving past the shock of her face, she recalled her assessment of her.

Sharp situational judgment.

Meticulous planning.

‘This is definitely a strategy based on the premise of a red pill leak.’

Does it mean she accurately understood her strengths and reflected them from the initial planning stage…

She immediately returned to practical concerns.

Even if they were going in without coordination, they needed to set at least a minimum direction.

“About today’s collab…”

“There’s something I need to tell you regarding the collab…”

Their words overlapped, and they both fell silent simultaneously.

Ju Se-a spoke first.

“Yes.

You want to go first?”

“Senior, your RP is a demon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Even if I’m a bit rough during today’s collab, I hope you’ll understand.”

“…Rough?”

For a moment.

Her thoughts jumped in a strange direction, but she forced herself to shake it off and asked nonchalantly.

“What exactly does that mean?”