Chapter 23 : Stage Domination

Stage Domination

Something went wrong.

No, I realized it far too late.

Was the issue that Yui decided to hold a Q&A session after inviting Mama?

Or was it simply that the existence of “WhitePalette” itself was a trigger for Lumilive fans?

Swish, swish.

The fleeting questions that appeared briefly before disappearing seemed utterly futile.

Ah, how futilely those messages vanished—it was almost astonishing to Suhyun.

・”Heuheung, Mama…”

・”Even just the voice is so [Message blocked by manager]”

・”While eating, this [Message blocked by manager]”

・”Wagakka Hahaha! [Message blocked by manager]”

Most of those messages were so inappropriate that it wouldn’t have been surprising if their authors got permanently banned, which made it all the more shocking.

Even if Bihangwoon had fast hand speed…

It wasn’t enough to instantly delete the flood of inappropriate content produced by tens of thousands at an unimaginable speed.

Thanks to this, Suhyun glimpsed a few abysses.

‘…Why are they using my voice as a side dish?’

Starting with a “fake” abyss that she hadn’t anticipated would feel so light.

‘…Ugh. Chew.’

And going as far as facing “real” abysses that were so disgusting she nearly vomited.

While Suhyun, who lacked both broadcasting experience and resilience, was stunned, Ahyun was laughing.

In truth, the reason Ahyun laughed was the same as Suhyun’s. She was baffled by the unexpected chaos.

Were these really the people who’d go this wild just because one guest was brought in?

The Yuitomos were always famous for being gentle and polite viewers…

The real issue was that WhitePalette’s appearance, which had been anticipated by the minor Lumilive gallery, had been broadcasted.

This had gathered all the basement-dwelling wannabe Bill Gateses, who usually only watched replays and clips on YouTube while practicing their banter.

The current stream consisted of half the original viewers and half disruptive newcomers.

It was essentially a showcase of honed banter by hikikomoris…!

A competition only for themselves, where no one gave them awards or praise, had begun.

Despite the constant banning of viewers, the chat grew increasingly filthy.

No matter how competent Bihangwoon was, she was powerless against sheer overwhelming volume.

As the inappropriate messages Bihangwoon couldn’t stop began to increase, Ahyun panicked.

‘Stop…! The stream might get suspended…!’

The usual viewers, who quieted down with a bit of aegyo or a pretend sulk, were behaving completely differently, leaving Ahyun with a splitting headache.

“Ahhh! Calm down! Misa, do something!”

Ahyun looked at Arin desperately, her gaze pleading for help.

But Arin, narrowing her crimson eyes mischievously, ran toward Suhyun instead.

“It’s not my stream, so I don’t care~. Hehe. I’m going to play with Mama~!”

Hug.

“Ugh. Misa. Stop clinging, it’s uncomfortable.”

“Nope! It’s so soft and cozy!”

Did she just hug him?

・”Damn it, Yoshida Misa, I envy you!!!”

“Why can’t I hug WhitePalette like Yoshida Misa does? Why can’t I bury my face in WhitePalette’s ches—[Message blocked by manager]”

・”Why, why, why, why, why, why?”

That.

・”Screw you, fox girl, you think Lumilive is so great? Haha, looks amazing, I want to join too!”

Amid the chaos, Suhyun didn’t even glance at Arin, who clung to him.

She blinked her blue eyes slowly, staring at the stream screen.

It felt like her faith in humanity was being erased in real time.

・”If WhitePalette debuts, I’ll go lick his white hair immediately, haha.”

I Want to Start the Day with a Teabag

“I want to turn him into a teabag and start every morning with him.”

“If this is just an illustration, once the avatar is released, people will probably write full-blown erotic stories.”

“Right, haha. WhitePalette just put up one illustration, and people are already going wild. It’s hilarious, haha.”

Ah. To think that such people are members of Korean society.

Faced with this grim and cruel reality, Suhyun tightly closed her eyes.

“I said it’s a Q&A session. Stop the sexual harassment and just ask questions already…”

The mask imitating Bihangwoon’s composed demeanor was gradually cracking.

If the performance was this good, maintaining it was more critical than improving it further.

However…

“Ugh… This feels gross.”

• “Oh.”
• “Well, this has its own charm…”

“Lord Father, thank you for today’s daily bread.”

Even in the face of genuine contempt, people danced with joy.

No matter how leisurely and dangerous Suhyun tried to act, faced with such extreme vulgarity, her true personality slowly resurfaced.

Any social skills she had gained from streaming were effective up to two people at best.

In front of over 30,000 viewers, it became clear that such growth was meaningless.

Suhyun took a deep breath and, bowing her head, spoke pitifully.

“Just hurry up and ask questions…”

Her elegant posture, once upright and looking down confidently at the screen,
gradually sagged until her back rested against her chair.

The previously confident blue eyes, which had looked down at them gracefully,
lost their composure and stared nervously at the keyboard.

What emerged was a shy and introverted personality—her original self.

“Hiyah!”

Thanks to this, Arin, who was snuggled against her, was on the verge of blissful death as Suhyun leaned closer.

Soft silver hair gently brushed against Arin’s neck.

The only thing better than Suhyun’s arms was being even deeper within them.

• “Sure.”
• “Haha, got it.”
• “The way she suddenly shrank is so cute, haha.”
• “But isn’t the Q&A even riskier?”

Viewers laughed at the sudden transformation of Suhyun, who had gone from exuding relaxed confidence to shrinking timidly.

Despite all the talk of abysses and vulgarity, they were still human.

In front of something cute, their crudeness diminished, even if just a little.

• “She looks even younger now, which is great.”

“Hahahaha!”

• “Please, just die already, you verified pedophiles…”

• “Harmony-breaking witches who bring minors to tears.”

Though a few crazies remained unaffected, they were thankfully a minority.

‘There’s hope!’

Ahyun, who had been despairing over how ineffective her words were, brightened as she saw the chat’s atmosphere shift.

She was grateful there was still room to feel some faith in humanity, and she felt relieved that this chaotic stream seemed to be returning to normal.

“Alright! Then, we’ll now take a few ‘normal’ questions.

Please send them through comments or donations!”

Yui, who had been frowning in disgust and bewilderment, finally cracked a smile.

The regular viewers, overwhelmed by the influx of new faces, were so moved by that smile that they nearly cried.

• “How did it feel to catch Misa seven times in a row?”

• “Have you seen your own mad movie shorts?”

• “Favorite fan-made content?”

• “Favorite game?”

• “What do you think about your nickname, WhitePalette?”

• “Are you debuting?”

As expected, the reaction was explosive.

And some of the questions were predictable.

No matter how attractive and sexy Suhyun’s voice had seemed during the broadcast,
nothing could top the games she played during the previous collaboration.

Back then, Suhyun’s performance rivaled, or even surpassed, that of Killognote—a pro-gamer-level display.

Ahyun sighed in relief.

“Phew.”

She exhaled deeply and picked a question.

“So, Mama, someone’s asking how you felt when you caught Misa seven times in a row?”

“Ah, that… Well…”

A Slightly Awkward Exchange

Suhyun glanced at Arin, who was snuggled against her, with a hint of awkwardness.

Arin had her cheeks puffed out as much as possible, arms crossed, already looking hurt.

“Um. I didn’t feel anything. It’s just… something I always do.”

Surely, that wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.

Satisfied with her own response, Suhyun looked at the reactions.

“Ugh…”

“Ooooh. Mama, you’re so cool.”

Arin clenched her teeth in frustration, while Ahyun looked on in admiration.

Wait a second. This wasn’t what she intended.

For the second time today, Suhyun realized she had made a mistake. She turned to check the chat.

・”No, say ‘win.’”
・”Farewell, Misa. Just an ordinary mortal born in the wrong era.”
・”(Rough translation) Catching Misa is as natural as breathing.”
・”Fact: That’s just the truth.”

Suhyun briefly considered making excuses but decided against it.

After all, cheesy but cool statements like this often resonated deeply with people.

Indeed, the viewers, while pretending to tease her, seemed to enjoy it.

Trying to brush it off, Suhyun turned to Ahyun.

“Uh… Next question…”

“Sure, Mama. What do you think about the nickname ‘WhitePalette’?”

“Hah, that…”

A sigh filled with genuine emotion.

The tension from being on-air and the feeling of injustice welled up in Suhyun.

Her nickname, crafted with some youthful thoughtfulness and romance from her school days, had been crudely localized.

It wasn’t even remotely correct to begin with.

After gathering her thoughts, Suhyun spoke.

“A palette isn’t paint, you know. I just don’t understand why I got this nickname.

Think about it. Even in elementary school, people know the palette holds the paint, while the paint is what you actually use for coloring.

It’s like serving food on a plate—no one eats the plate itself, right?

It’s the same thing.

To be precise, White Palette should have been translated as ‘White Mixing Board.’”

• “Ah, I see.”
• “So, that’s how you feel.”

・”Typical nerd behavior: has a meltdown when their knowledge is ignored, haha.”
・”Alright, WhitePalette, we’ve heard you loud and clear.”

The Q&A session continued after that.

There were some mishaps, such as Arin reading out a question about Suhyun’s underwear color or Ahyun misunderstanding some inappropriate jokes from the chat.

But for a live Q&A conducted on the spot, the stream sailed along without major issues.

“Alright! The last question… This is a special one prepared by Misa and me. Misa, let’s read it together!”

“Okay, okay!”

Arin hopped off Suhyun’s lap and stood next to Ahyun’s mic, practically skipping.

Even at that moment, her mischievous smile made Suhyun uneasy.

What kind of bomb were those two planning to drop?

For the first time, Suhyun’s thoughts aligned perfectly with those of the viewers.

Like excited high school girls singing their favorite song lyrics, Arin and Ahyun shouted together:

“Mama, do you have plans to debut?”

Ah.

So this was their way of promoting her.

Suhyun couldn’t help but chuckle at their transparent plan, letting a small laugh escape.

Her mouth curved into a slight smile, and her eyes, unable to contain their amusement, twinkled with joy.

“Yes. I do.”

That confident reply…

Rendered a staggering 36,527 people speechless.