Chapter 24: Do you know BHC chicken? It tastes better than regular chicken-

Sunlight streamed through the window.

It was already well past noon, but I was still sprawled out in bed, fast asleep.

“Mmmnya…”

To be honest, I was already awake.

If someone told me to get up right now, I probably could.

But I really didn’t feel like getting up.

I just wanted to lie in this soft bed a little longer.

Five minutes.

No, ten.

No, just one more hour.

I’ll really get up after an hour.

It’s already one o’clock, so I should wake up by two.

“……”

Come to think of it, why did I sleep so late?

Oh, right.

I cried on stream yesterday…

Even after ending the stream, I clung to Rin and sobbed for ages.

In the end, I took up so much of her time that she barely made the last train home.

[Rin: I got home]

[Rin: Are you okay, unnie?]

[Rin: Please reply in the morning if you see this]

Rin’s messages were waiting for me when I woke up.

I hadn’t replied to them last night.

Reason one: I was too ashamed.

Reason two: I was busy comforting myself.

“……”

I mean, what else could I do?

I felt like I’d lose my mind if I didn’t at least… y’know… hold my daughter pillow.

I just wanted to forget the humiliation from yesterday somehow.

Thanks to that, I now had to wash my bed sheets, but hey—at least I forgot my shame for a while… so maybe it was worth it.

“Still… She was texting me even after getting home, worried about me…”

I… might’ve been a little touched.

Rin is too sweet…

She feels reliable—makes me want to lean on her.

This has to be Rin flirting, right?

I’m not just imagining things, am I?

“…Guess I should get up.”

I gathered my scattered thoughts and sat up in bed.

Then I sent Rin a quick DM saying I was okay and headed to the bathroom for a shower.

Soon, the sound of running water was replaced by the appearance of a freshly washed, silver-haired beauty stepping out of the bathroom.

“Waking up late always makes me hungry…”

I hadn’t eaten anything since the tteokbokki I had for dinner yesterday.

That must be why my stomach was growling like crazy.

Now that I had money and no reason to starve, I immediately opened a food delivery app.

After browsing a bit to decide what to eat, I ordered the fried chicken I had wanted yesterday.

I briefly debated getting boneless, but in the end, I went with bone-in.

Because bone-in chicken is the one true path—the fundamental truth.

Fried Chicken God is never wrong, but boneless chicken is a heresy.

To sacrifice flavor for convenience is to have no romance, no conviction, and no roots.

Honestly, I wanted to enjoy it with a beer in the evening, but I had a stream to do.

So unfortunately, I’d have to settle for cola this time.

While waiting for the chicken to arrive, I sat back down at my computer.

During this little bit of free time, I watched NewTube.

As a VTuber, keeping up with memes and trends was super important.

So whenever I had time, I would binge the latest algorithm-fed videos on NewTube like this.

Definitely not watching for fun.

Nope. It’s for work.

[“And so the tears flowed on stream…”]

[GgoolgeunJjolmyun · 190K views · 1 day ago]

“Seriously, how does this person upload so fast…”

The thumbnail showed the wrinkly old lady from yesterday and me screaming with a pale expression.

That had to be from yesterday’s stream, right?

It hadn’t even been 24 hours, but the video was already edited and uploaded as a clip.

Once again, I was stunned by GgoolgeunJjolmyun’s editing speed.

[“○○PUUUNCH!!!!”]

[GgoolgeunJjolmyun · 82K views · 1 week ago]

[“Miho mama… where exactly did she touch?”]

[GgoolgeunJjolmyun · 120K views · 5 days ago]

[“Ah sh… wait a second”]

[GgoolgeunJjolmyun · 140K views · 4 days ago]

[【Playlist】Just Legendary. Yuki’s YABE Playlist!]

[GgoolgeunJjolmyun · 280K views · 2 days ago]

There were plenty of videos of other VTubers too, but lately, most of the recent ones were about me.

Could it be that GgoolgeunJjolmyun fell for me?

Got into an accident and now can’t live without me?

Seriously… my popularity is wild.

Everyone loves Yuki-chan too much.

I wish they’d love “Seo Eun” too, not just “Yuki”…

…Yeah, dumb thought.

It’s not like I’ve ever even had a real relationship.

Ding-dong!

Right then, the doorbell rang.

I got up and headed to the front door.

When I opened it, the delicious aroma of fried chicken drifted in.

I took the chicken bag from the delivery guy, who then pulled out the card reader.

“That’ll be 21,000 won.”

…Excuse me?

Why is chicken so expensive now?

21,000 won for a chicken?

Something is very wrong here.

As of 2023, the minimum wage was 9,620 won—so that means you’d have to work over 2 hours just to buy a chicken.

F*** that, chicken should not cost more than minimum wage!

“…Here you go.”

Still, I couldn’t exactly return the chicken after all that, so I handed over my card in resignation.

Whatever, I’ve got plenty of money.

Who am I?

The woman who makes 50 million won an hour.

Only thing left to do is FLEX with charisma.

After paying, I laid the chicken out on the table.

As I opened the bag and box, the smell of greasy chicken grew even stronger.

Seriously, I couldn’t remember the last time I had real chicken.

Even after I started making money, I clung to my broke habits and only ate ramen.

But now, with chicken right in front of me, it felt like I was finally living like a proper human being.

Slurp…

I wiped the drool from my mouth and lifted a drumstick.

A light glaze of soy sauce coated the crispy batter.

My glistening fangs, wet with anticipation, sank into the chicken.

Crunchcrunchcrunch!!!

That sound alone was pure s*x.

The explosive umami of MSG knocked me senseless.

Between the shattering layers of batter, the rich flavor of chicken burst forth.

The juices hidden within the crispy shell blended everything together into a masterpiece of taste.

The true king of fast food.

The one and only Fried Chicken God had descended once more, never failing to bless the hungry lambs.

Ssst!

But it didn’t end there.

The canned cola delivered alongside the chicken.

I popped the tab with greasy fingers and poured the black, gem-like liquid down my throat.

Gulp, gulp…

The fizzy sweetness slid down my throat.

The thrill of it all nearly brought tears to my eyes.

“Pwah…!!”

I let out a refreshed sigh after drinking the cola.

It felt like I’d been reborn from head to toe—an experience of pure, human ecstasy.

Yes.

This is it…

“This is what s*x tastes like.”

A higher-dimensional bliss that satisfied both hunger and desire.

If chicken doesn’t qualify as s*x, what does?

Crunch!

Another bite of chicken.

Another sip of cola.

One bite of chicken, one gulp of cola.

This s*x-like meal of bliss continued for quite some time.

---

[Manager: So, Miss Yuki.]

[Manager: Are you feeling better after yesterday’s stream?]

[Yuki: Yeah, I’m okay now.]

[Yuki: I’ve calmed down.]

[Manager: That’s a relief. You looked seriously shaken.]

I could practically picture the manager blushing behind their stiff tone.

Is this… a tsundere moment?

That gap moe made the manager seem kind of cute.

Even though they’re younger than me and have that sharp face.

[Manager: Will you be streaming today as well?]

[Yuki: Yep]

[Yuki: Probably the pot-climbing game?]

[Yuki: That one.]

[Manager: Sounds good. It’s a popular choice.]

[Manager: More importantly, it doesn’t have any sexual content.]

[Yuki: …Hey, Manager.]

[Yuki: Just what kind of person do you think I am?]

[Yuki: I’m not some pervy monkey who only makes dirty jokes!!]

[Manager: Isn’t that exactly what you are]

[Manager: Honestly, it’s harder to find a stream without dirty jokes.]

Okay, sure, but like…

If there’s a big red button in front of you, everyone wants to press it, right?

It’s the same concept.

Lewd jokes are like my impulse-trigger button. I have to hit it.

[Manager: Anyway.]

[Manager: More importantly, will you be moving soon?]

[Manager: Your serious activities will be starting soon.]

[Yuki: Hmm…]

[Yuki: I guess I probably will?]

[Manager: Alternatively, you could buy a car and commute.]

[Manager: Didn’t you say you have a license?]

[Yuki: I do have one…]

[Yuki: But I’ve never driven since the driving test.]

[Manager: ……]

Look, I couldn’t help it, okay?

I didn’t have money to buy a car.

Even a cheap used one or a tiny compact car was a huge burden back then.

And I didn’t exactly have anywhere far away I needed to drive to.

[Manager: Then how about crashing at a friend’s place for a bit?]

[Manager: I live with my parents so I can’t offer, but Miho and Rin both live alone.]

[Yuki: Mmm… no thanks.]

[Yuki: I have my privacy, you know!]

If I moved in with Miho or Rin, there’d be too many restrictions.

For one, I couldn’t even open NewTube freely.

Thanks to my janked algorithm, I had way too many shameful videos in my recs.

And I’d have to give up all my favorite eroges.

No way I could let my classmates see a cute girl getting ravaged by tentacles.

And at night… things would get awkward.

I need some private happy time too, okay?

It’s not like I do it every day, but I do need to unwind five times a week, at least.

[Yuki: I’m already looking for a place.]

[Yuki: I’ll move as soon as I find one I like.]

[Manager: We’ve got cover songs and dance practice starting early in the new year, so please find one quickly.]

[Yuki: Got it.]

I really do need to find a place soon…

I guess I’ll start looking for a place to rent in Seoul.

Can’t afford to buy, so it’ll have to be a lease or monthly rent.

“I guess my dream penthouse will have to wait…”

With that, I mumbled to myself and opened a browser to start house hunting.