Chapter 44: White Heron

The day after the intense Golden Watch tournament concluded.

Cheongha finished her rest and started her stream.

“Ah, can everyone hear me well?”

-Cheongha~

-Cheongha~

-You’re here?

-Did you rest well?

-So what game today?

-So who’s the collab guest today?

-Dunno?

-The notice just said there’s a guest.

“Well, I haven’t been told yet either.”

I heard it’s supposed to be a surprise meeting or something.

Anyway, since they put it that way, it probably won’t be someone strange, at least.

As the promised collab time approached, Cheongha entered the Discord room.

“Cheongha-nim? Can you hear me?”

“Ah, hello Solnamu-nim.”

There were three people in the voice channel.

Herself, Solnamu, the organizer of this collab.

And today’s special guest.

“Alright, Baekro-ya. Say hello.”

“What? Baekro-nim?”

Hearing the name she’d heard just a few days ago, Cheongha’s eyes widened.

“Ah, um. First, hello Baekro-nim.”

“Ah, yes…. hello.”

-The two are damn awkward lol

-Solnamu die

-Two girls and one guy…?

-Sol-ssi die Sol-ssi die Sol-ssi die Sol-ssi di…

Taken aback for a moment by the unexpected identity of the guest, the two exchanged greetings, ignoring the frantic chat window.

‘Seeing her in real-time feels strange somehow.’

Streamer Baekro.

Her weight class as a broadcaster was smaller than Solnamu’s, but the feeling was distinctly different from when I met Solnamu.

‘Well, maybe it’s not that strange.’

I met him by chance while playing a game, but Baekro was someone I happened to learn about while watching streams.

It’s like how meeting a 5-million-subscriber actor you’ve only seen on TV for the first time is more thrilling than meeting a 10-million-subscriber national actor you saw face-to-face just days ago.

The latter probably feels more like seeing an acquaintance than a celebrity.

For the record, this is based on experience.

I don’t know about others, but that’s how it was for me.

‘And, she somehow feels like the old Mayuri.’

She reminded me of Mayuri from her school days when she wore glasses.

Geez, she looks quite different from how she appeared during the tournament that day.

---

‘Uwaaah! What do I do!!’

Meanwhile, Baekro was screaming internally.

The Vtuber Kim Cheongha, introduced by Solnamu.

Baekro found her somewhat difficult to approach.

Because she’s a Vtuber?

Having always been interested in Japanese culture like anime and J-pop, Baekro knew about the existence of Vtubers to some extent.

That wasn’t the problem.

‘I can’t bring myself to talk to her…..!’

There was something emanating from Cheongha.

An aura that made her hard to approach easily?

She didn’t know exactly what it was.

Maybe it was charisma.

What was certain was that she was the type of person difficult to approach first.

‘Save me! Stork Brigade!’

Clutching at straws, Baekro turned her head towards the chat window.

Unless Solnamu took her side, her fans were the only ones she could rely on.

However.

-Baekro is cute

-So cute

-Chweeep!!!

-Feels new meeting a newbie, right?

-It’s been a while since we saw this reaction.

-Nervous Baekro-nim is cute!

Unfortunately, her viewers weren’t much help.

Baekro’s fans, the Stork Brigade, were the type who enjoyed seeing her flustered in the first place.

Also, the fact that her viewer demographic wasn’t particularly old played a part.

They were still too young to take such worries seriously.

-Things like this should be done by oneself originally.

-Agreed, what good does it do if we do it for her?

-Isn’t it about time she started talking?

-You talk fine with us usually.

-Try doing it like that.

Besides, isn’t advice from others about friendships rarely useful?

For that reason, even Baekro’s relatively normal fans decided to just observe the situation.

It might seem like a slightly harsh scene, but it was ultimately a phenomenon born out of affection for their streamer.

“Ugh…”

“….Um, Baekro-nim.”

Eventually, Cheongha, unable to watch any longer, spoke first.

“Yes?!”

“Is there, perhaps, something you wanted to say to me?”

“Ah, well, um….”

“Don’t worry about it and say whatever you want. We don’t know when we’ll meet again.”

The streaming scene is small anyway, so the faster colleagues got close, the better.

At Cheongha’s words, Baekro’s eyes started spinning.

Okay, what’s the best way to talk to someone you just met?

Should I do it like I did with Solnamu before?

No, the atmosphere is too overwhelming for that.

Then, should I ask how she became a Vtuber?

No, is it okay to ask such a question right off the bat?!

Could it cause problems, like revealing real-life info or something?

‘Ah, I’ve never even asked my academy teacher many questions.’

After pondering for a long time, Baekro desperately gathered the words floating in her head and finally managed to utter a single question.

“U-Um…. Cheongha-nim, how old are you…?”

“Let’s see, probably around 22.”

Now that Korea uses international age too, I’m glad it shaved off two years.

Somehow feels like my lifespan increased by that much?

It was then.

“Really? You’re younger than I thought.”

Solnamu, hearing Cheongha’s answer, casually commented.

“….What do you mean by that?”

What, did my voice sound old until now?

For a Vtuber, for whom voice is crucial, being called old was practically a declaration of war.

At his thoughtless remark, Cheongha quietly glared at Solnamu.

“Ah, no. It’s just that your voice sounds very mature.”

“Ah, really?”

And Solnamu, quickly noticing her reaction, hastily started making excuses.

‘Sounds mature, huh.’

Well, I guess it’s better than being called cute.

Somewhat satisfied with his answer, Cheongha turned her gaze back to Baekro.

“Then, Baekro-nim, how old are you?”

Just hearing her voice, she sounds younger than me.

But people’s specs vary, after all.

“Ah, I. I’m twenty now!”

No wonder her voice sounded a bit young.

She’s about two years younger than me.

Is she starting college soon?

I should ask her what Korean universities are like later.

“But Baekro-ya, when are you going to join the game?”

While the two were introducing themselves, Solnamu spoke to Baekro.

The game for today was Battle Field.

As it was Solnamu’s main game, he could showcase his skills.

It was also a good game for properly setting up and recording.

“Ah, I’m updating right now….”

“What?”

At Baekro’s words, Solnamu’s eyes sharpened.

‘Ah, I know that look.’

At that gaze, like a peregrine falcon spotting its prey, Baekro, who was watching Solnamu’s stream, trembled involuntarily.

Let’s see, the line that comes after that look is definitely….

“Baekro-ya, when was the last time you played BF?”

“Uh, 5 months ago?”

Isn’t that basically quitting?

How many updates must have piled up in five months?

“You, you. Hand over that mouse and keyboard.”

“Aaaaaah!”

“Ahem, spit it out, quickly!”

“Huuuh….”

I even got her new gear for her last birthday so she’d play Battle Field more, and she repays me with this betrayal!

If you were watching the edited version on YouTube, Solnamu’s avatar’s head would surely be bright red with anger.

“Just wait a little bit…. Only 8 minutes….”

After somehow reaching an agreement, Baekro quickly disappeared to update.

“….You two seem very close.”

Cheongha, momentarily unable to follow their conversation, finally regained her senses and spoke to Solnamu.

Crewmates, huh.

Well, it’s definitely better being together than being alone.

‘Should I consider it someday too?’

I originally had no intention of belonging to a crew or anything.

But seeing that suddenly made me feel lonely.

Maybe I should try joining one once I’m somewhat established.

---

A new match of Battle Field was found quickly.

Although it might not be the sole dominant game anymore due to the emergence of many competitors and the game’s aging, it still ranked among the popular FPS games.

Besides, if there weren’t enough people, the slots could be filled with AI, reducing the waiting time.

“Cheongha-neem~”

“Yes?”

While jumping from the plane and starting to loot, Baekro spoke to Cheongha.

Perhaps thanks to Solnamu’s earlier words, it was noticeable that she was trying to act more casually.

=[Solnamu] If you keep stuttering, gear confiscated.

Charisma?

Hard to approach?

Who cares about that?

All that gear combined costs 2 million won.

Of course, he wasn’t the type to actually take it away, but still, one had to be perceptive.

‘And, personally, I kind of want to get closer too…..’

She’s hard to approach, but doesn’t she somehow feel like a cool older sister?

Ultimately, Baekro decided to use his words as an excuse to talk to Cheongha.

Besides, thinking about it, isn’t she the senior by far in terms of broadcasting experience?!

The fact that she couldn’t show an embarrassing side as a proper senior to her junior probably played a part too.

-Baekro adapts damn fast lol

-As expected of Baekro, excellent environmental adaptability.

-She’s only like that at the beginning; once she gets used to it, she even swears.

-Never thought that gentle voice would yell ‘Are you crazy?’ at Bubugi lol

-But it was cute, wasn’t it?

After that, Baekro continued asking Cheongha various things.

“By any chance, Cheongha-nim, are you good at FPS….?”

“Ah, me?”

Hmm, it’s a bit difficult to say I’m purely good.

“Well, I’m not completely terrible.”

Still, it’s a bit much to call myself a complete beginner, right?

Sometimes I get high rankings if I’m lucky.

“Still, I’m probably worse than you, Baekro-nim.”

Naturally, my skills would certainly be lower than Baekro’s.

Being treated as a troll pick was only because she had half-quit Golden Watch at the time.

She had been streaming for years, collaborating with skilled players, while I had just picked up gaming a few months ago; our starting lines were different.

“Aigoo, then I’ll have to take care of youuu~!”

Perhaps because she met someone worse than herself for the first time in a while.

Baekro’s excited voice came through the headset.

“…..Yes, please do.”

At her cute appearance, a smile unconsciously formed on my face.