Chapter 42: Reunion

Time flowed on, and soon it was Wednesday.

This day, one of the stepping stones towards the weekend, was meaningful in many ways.

For some, it was a day to meet an old acquaintance once again, and also a practice period for a performance.

And, it was also the day most viewers residing on Switch had eagerly awaited.

The day of the Switch Golden Watch main tournament.

Team C, which had gathered everyone’s expectations in various ways, assembled once more.

“Everyone, we can do well, right?”

“Still, let’s not get too nervous, everyone. The prize money isn’t the most important thing for us, anyway, right?”

Solnamu and Magnet encouraged the members in turn.

The prize money for this tournament was 50 million won.

While it was indeed a very large sum, for some participants, it was an amount they could earn sufficiently by working hard for a few months.

And most members of Team C belonged to that group.

It’s okay if we don’t do well, let’s just not get upset and curse at each other.

This was a rule all participants had set for themselves.

They were all colleagues sharing the tiny pie of the streaming industry anyway; there was no need to turn red-faced at each other over a few tens of millions.

“Oh right, Baekro. Do you want to do an external collab sometime?”

“Huh? An external collab?”

An external collab meant streaming with a streamer who wasn’t part of one’s own crew.

At Solnamu’s sudden suggestion, Baekro’s eyes widened.

“I found someone who seems like a good match for you. Take this chance to become friends.”

“Ugh, is it okay for me to say…?”

Baekro couldn’t easily answer, despite clearly showing her interest.

No one present was unaware of the reason.

‘She hasn’t overcome it yet.’

Those who saw the hesitant Baekro muttered inwardly.

I want to talk comfortably with new friends.

That was the reason why Switch streamer Baekro, real name Park Seohyun, started streaming back when she was in middle school.

‘…..Is that really why she started streaming?’

‘Yeah, apparently? She thought if she practiced talking in front of total strangers, she’d be able to talk well with friends too.’

‘It’s probably very different from what she imagined….’

Those were the words Mr. Suhyeon had said the day he first brought her to the MCN.

Well, in the end, he wasn’t wrong.

The girl who just wanted to talk still couldn’t properly converse with her friends.

Instead, her stream became too successful, leading her to become a full-time streamer.

I heard she even skipped the Suneung this time?

Since she planned to make a living as an editor if her streaming career failed, no one could really fault her for it.

It wasn’t like her skills were lacking enough to get fired anywhere.

‘And their age difference doesn’t seem that big either.’

Even considering the microphone effect, Cheongha’s voice sounded like she was in her early twenties at most.

It would be okay to introduce her to a new streamer friend, fulfilling her wish after a long time.

“Uhm, what kind of person is she?”

“Ah, there is someone. Someone you’ll find fascinating.”

To Baekro, who seemed somewhat intrigued, Solnamu withheld further details.

Getting excited upon finding a promising newbie is the true stance of a seasoned veteran.

If she came out as a set menu with Baekro, the walking promotional totem, it would surely attract a lot of attention.

It was a way to help her make a new friend at the same time.

“What, is it a girl? Then let me join too.”

Just then, Bubugi, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, interjected.

This jobless turtle-like guy, trying to butt into a flower garden.

“Bugi-ya.”

Solnamu replied to his words.

“F*ck, you just disappear.”

---

A shopping street bustling with numerous people.

I stood waiting for Mayuri, my cap pulled down low.

‘She seems a little late.’

I hope nothing happened.

Should I send her a Line message?

Ren immediately picked up her phone and started sending a message.

• Ren: [Mayuri, when do you think you’ll arrive?]

• Mayuri: [The traffic is a bit heavy right now. Please wait just a little longer! I’m coming quickly!]

Fortunately, it seemed there wasn’t a major issue.

Just as I was standing there quietly, waiting for Mayuri.

“Excuse me…..”

“Yes…?”

Someone tapped my shoulder and spoke to me.

Turning my head, I saw two men with sturdy builds standing there.

….What’s going on.

Feeling a sense of tension, I swallowed unconsciously.

“Could I possibly get your number?”

Fortunately, did they fail to recognize me?

The man didn’t mention anything about idols.

He merely asked for my number.

“Ah, no. I’m sorry.”

Relieved for a moment that my identity wasn’t exposed, I had no intention of giving out my number anyway.

Worried they might recognize my voice, I changed it as much as possible and refused their offer.

“Ah, is that so….?”

“Hey, see? I told you we shouldn’t do this.”

“Ahem, sorry to bother you!”

Perhaps they weren’t genuinely hitting on me, as they didn’t press further.

My face was mostly covered, yet someone still tried to get my number.

I guess the aura I give off can’t be hidden after all.

“Unnie!”

A short while later, Mayuri approached me from afar, waving her hands energetically.

“Unnie, have you been waiting long?”

“No, I just got here too.”

It’s nice seeing Mayuri’s face in person after a long time.

It definitely feels different from seeing her through video calls.

“Hehe…”

Perhaps happy to see my face after a while, Mayuri quickly ran up and linked her arm with mine.

“So, where should we go?”

“Ah, anywhere is fine with me.”

Both of us are living the hikikomori life now; we need to get outside sometimes.

“Then, let’s go somewhere with as few people as possible.”

Since we’d have to take off our masks to eat, it seemed best to find a place with minimal crowds.

---

Following Mayuri’s recommendation, we moved to a ramen shop tucked away in an alley corner.

It wasn’t exactly peak business hours, so there were no other customers inside besides us.

After ordering our respective dishes, we sat down.

Now, shall we talk about ourselves a bit?

“Mayuri, how’s work these days?”

She mentioned creating avatars for Vtubers last time; maybe I should hear about that industry.

“Ah, the novel’s hiatus just ended, so I’m back to drawing illustrations. I posted an update on YouTwitter too.”

“Ah, really?”

Oh dear, she’s going to be busy again.

I was thinking of asking her to make some new clothes for my avatar someday.

If this is the case, I guess I’ll have to grab a number and wait.

“Ah right, Unnie, you don’t use the internet much, do you?”

“I just haven’t looked recently. I used to use it a lot back then.”

I retorted to Mayuri, who spoke as if I were some kind of eccentric.

When I was active, I went online many times to check entertainment news, but now there’s no way there would be articles I’d like.

It’s obvious they’d all be unrelated to me or just trash-talking me.

Japan’s internet is slow anyway, making it inconvenient to search for articles, and now the reason to search has disappeared too.

“Ah, is that why someone who claims that posts about the cleaning truck near her house being loud and annoying?”

“….There was nothing else worth writing about back then!”

The agency told us to each write and post something about our daily lives, but there’s really nothing in my house.

Still, it’s not like I’m completely cut off, so it should be fine, right?

“More importantly, Unnie, why did you ask me to draw that thing last time?”

Mayuri suddenly threw a sharp question.

What she was talking about was my virtual avatar.

Since she has experience working on avatars before, she probably understood what I had in mind when asking her to draw it.

“Don’t tell me, Unnie, are you also heading that way?”

“Well, something like that. My face is already all over the place, so there’s not much else I can do.”

Of course, I didn’t mention the status window.

It would just make the explanation unnecessarily complicated.

“I see….”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“No, honestly, I just never thought you’d do something like that, Unnie.”

Well, even I think my image is a bit like that.

There was absolutely no room for what they call ‘gap moe’ in professional terms, and my impression is incredibly difficult to approach.

If someone like that suddenly decided to become a Vtuber, even I wouldn’t believe it and would ask again.

“Ah, the food’s here.”

How much time had passed while we were chatting?

The food we ordered arrived.

Perfectly cooked ramen topped with various fried items, including karaage, was enough to make anyone’s mouth water just looking at it.

And…

“It’s delicious.”

Did they say everything fried is delicious and everything that pops out is scary?

I could truly feel the truth in that statement.

“Ah, come to think of it, Unnie.”

“Hm?”

While eating, Mayuri spoke to me once more.

What is she trying to say?

“Um, how is Sion Oppa doing these days?”

“…..What?”

Why is Sion coming up here all of a sudden?

Taken aback by the unexpected words for a moment, I quickly started thinking.

Talk about a guy all of a sudden?

I soon arrived at one conclusion.

“You, do you like Sion?”

Although he wasn’t an original character in the game, considering Sion’s looks, it was a plausible hypothesis.

Doesn’t romance rely on looks for plausibility?

Anyway, if this is true, it’s going to be tough; how many competitors are there?

“What? No!!? How could I when you’re here, Unnie….”

Startled by my words, Mayuri began to refute.

…But wait, what?

“Me, what?”

As I inadvertently contorted my expression, Mayuri continued speaking with a surprised look.

The words that came out of her cute mouth were nothing short of shocking.

“Weren’t you two in a ‘ssum’? I thought you’d start dating soon.” (TL Note: ‘Ssum’ is Korean slang for the ambiguous stage before dating.)

….?

What on earth is she talking about.

The universe seemed to form in the background as Ren’s mind went blank.

After sorting through words in my head for a long time, I finally managed to utter one sentence.

“…..Are you out of your mind?”

Why on earth would I be with him?

No, I admit Sion is handsome, but I was active back then, okay?

What do you expect from an idol actively working?

“Anyway, we’re not in that kind of relationship.”

“Hmm, really?”

You seemed awfully close for that, though.

I tried hard to ignore the inner voice I heard from her.

Ah, whatever, we’re not like that.

We’ve basically lived together since elementary school, how could those kinds of feelings develop?

I’m sure even if you asked Sion, not me, he would deny it.

He probably prefers cuter and gentler types than me anyway.

“Ah, yes.”

After staring at me suspiciously for a moment due to my rapid-fire denial, Mayuri finally averted her gaze.

Ah, I shouldn’t have offered to buy lunch today.

Ren lamented silently in her heart.