Chapter 65: Spring breeze whirls – Blown away are the petals… cherry blossoms? Someone appears… Ugh… my head…

Time passed, and spring arrived.

A sweet breeze drifted in through the window, along with scattering pink cherry blossom petals.

The air, once bone-chillingly cold, had warmed up considerably, and the snow on the roof, which seemed like it would never melt, had all disappeared.

Rustle.

A single cherry blossom petal drifted through the open window and landed on the bed.

That one light, thin pink petal filled the room with the rich scent of spring.

And seeing the pink of the cherry blossoms, one person came to mind…

That person’s identity was…

Precisely…

Umm……

“Well, whatever.”

“It doesn’t seem very important, so I can probably forget about it.”

Having erased the presence of a certain figure from my mind, I got up from my seat and headed straight to the broadcasting room.

Inside the broadcasting room now stood a large soundproof booth.

The soundproof booth, installed about a month ago, had assimilated into the house so much that it now felt like a familiar piece of furniture.

Thanks to it, I didn’t have to worry about noise complaints no matter how loud I yelled, which was great.

Plus, I no longer had to feel embarrassed in front of Akari senpai next door.

Opening the door of the soundproof booth, I entered, sat down, and turned on the computer.

The screen lit up, displaying the window logo.

A few mouse clicks later, a window popped up, scrolling through my chat history with someone named ‘Whipped Cream Pie’.

[Yuki: So, an ahegao is a no-go?]

[Whipped Cream Pie: If you want to get scolded by the manager, I can make it for you.]

[Yuki: Eeeh… I don’t want that…]

[Whipped Cream Pie: Then let’s stick to what we’ve discussed so far.]

[Whipped Cream Pie: By the way, are you really okay with this?]

[Whipped Cream Pie: Even if it’s a swimsuit instead of a school uniform?]

[Yuki: Yup, Mama.]

[Yuki: I prefer a swimsuit over a school uniform.]

[Whipped Cream Pie: Alright…]

[Whipped Cream Pie: I think the school uniform would look prettier, but if that’s what you want, I can’t help it.]

[Whipped Cream Pie: So, it’s decided on a swimsuit then?]

[Yuki: Yup!]

Following that were several sample illustrations and character design concepts.

Originally, the new outfit Mama recommended for me was a school uniform.

However, having some painful memories associated with school uniforms, I declined and pushed for the swimsuit concept.

“Still, a pro is a pro, huh?”

“The illustration quality is no joke.”

Even though it was just a rough draft that wasn’t even animated yet, the swimsuit design made an otaku’s heart race.

The hair tied in a ponytail added a different kind of freshness than usual, and the hoodie worn over it appropriately covered up any feeling of it being excessively revealing.

It wouldn’t be long now until that new outfit actually moved.

It felt like just yesterday that Mama and I were working on the design and I received the rough sketches.

Time really flies.

Ding-dong~

The doorbell rang.

I immediately went to the front door and opened it, and Rin greeted me with a smiling face.

“What is it?”

“Here again?”

“Hehe… I just wanted to come.”

“Hey, I don’t mind you coming, but… aren’t you coming a bit too often?”

“We saw each other yesterday, didn’t we?”

“Yesterday was a Gen 2 collab stream, so it’s different!”

Rin spouted strange logic as she stubbornly entered the house.

This had happened quite a few times before, so I just sighed and didn’t particularly try to stop her.

Good grief, this silver-haired beauty has charmed another innocent person with her cuteness.

Honestly, she needs to fix this habit of unconsciously seducing people.

“Mattaku… Rin, you like Yuki-chan too much~”

(TL Note: “Mattaku” is a Japanese exclamation meaning “Good grief” or “Honestly.”)

“L-Like, you say!”

“Why?”

“Am I wrong?”

“…Well.”

“It’s not entirely wrong, but…”

Rin averted her gaze shyly, her face flushed.

Seeing that, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction and continued speaking with a small smile.

“Anyway.”

“Want something to eat?”

“Yes!”

“If possible, tteokbokki…”

“We had that last week, didn’t we?”

“Hmph… Can’t I?”

“…Alright.”

“Let’s eat.”

---

Click.

The sound of a mouse click echoed in the dark, room-like crypt.

Displayed on the screen was a graph with red and blue lines.

And a number displayed on one side of the screen.

[Return Rate: 3,124%]

The money had multiplied by about 30 times.

The orange-haired woman stared at it with a dazed expression, then hurriedly began to withdraw the money.

[Withdrawal Complete]

“Huff… Huff…”

Is this really happening?

Pinching her cheek, all she felt was vivid pain.

The fact that this wasn’t a dream but reality made Thick Chewy Noodles, no, Shin Ahyeon, feel like she could faint at any moment.

She had invested the money she earned before quitting her job into cryptocurrency, following her brother’s recommendation.

But because it was so high-risk, she had considered it lost money…

Moreover, after ‘that incident’ a few months ago, it was money she hadn’t even paid any attention to.

A few months ago.

Shin Ahyeon had been caught by her brother while having her ‘happy time’.

Furthermore, the very next day, that scumbag of a human being had shared that exact story on the broadcast of her favorite Vtuber.

Thanks to that, although her name wasn’t revealed, she was now imprinted in the minds of tens of thousands of people as the ‘glue stick girl’.

And because of that, her mood had soured completely, and she had erased any thought of that money, which that b*stard was connected to, from her mind…

“I can’t believe it soared this much…”

Her hands were still trembling faintly.

It seemed it would take a little more time for this euphoria to subside.

“Anyway, what should I do with this money…”

Now that she suddenly had money, she couldn’t think of a proper way to use it.

No, come to think of it, there might be one thing.

First of all, she hated living with her brother, no, that scumbag.

And she now had enough money to buy an apartment in Seoul and still have some left over.

“…Alright.”

“Let’s move out.”

That was the moment she decided to become independent.

---

“What?”

“Rin, what did you just say?”

“S-So, won’t you move with me…?”

“To a nicer house, closer to the Han River…”

“Are you asking me to live with you right now??”

“W-Well, depending on the situation, it could sound like that… but…”

Rin’s face turned red as her words trailed off.

It seemed Rin was more audacious than I thought.

To think she’d suddenly propose living together.

“But wouldn’t it be bad if we lived together?”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s obvious it’ll become a mess because we can’t keep things tidy… Ah, but maybe it’ll work if we occasionally call Miho over to clean?”

“…Don’t treat Miho unnie like a cleaner.”

Still, what can I do?

Even if I manage to keep things somewhat tidy, Rin doesn’t.

When I went to Rin’s place last time, it was even messier than before.

It seems Rin is only a girl on the outside; her personality is inherently male.

Wouldn’t she do just fine if sent to an all-boys school or the military?

Well, I do like that easygoing personality of hers, though.

“Alright.”

“So, where did you look for a house?”

“Huh?”

“A-Are you accepting?”

“Of course.”

“Now that I’ve saved up some money, I want to live in a nice house too.”

It had already been half a year since I started as a Vtuber.

I had saved up a decent amount of money so far, and it was about time I moved out of a monthly rental.

Besides, if Rin and I bought a house together, the burden would be halved, so it wasn’t a bad proposal.

Of course, my privacy would be somewhat reduced…

For some reason, unlike with Miho or Akari, I don’t think I’d feel embarrassed if Rin found out about anything.

After all, she was the one who had various things exposed to me first.

“Anyway, let’s talk about the house later.”

“How are the preparations for the new outfit reveal stream?”

“It’s going pretty well.”

“I’m planning to stream at 8 PM today.”

“Then you’ll have to leave soon?”

“Yes… unfortunately.”

Rin made a disappointed face.

By the way, Rin’s new outfit.

She definitely said it was a school uniform concept last time, right?

“Brown straight hair, designed with a childhood friend feel… was it?”

“Yes.”

“You said yours is a swimsuit, unnie?”

“Yup.”

“Aaaah~ I want to see Rin-sama’s new outfit quicklyyy~”

Rin-sama in a school uniform.

Moreover, according to rumors, it’s a long, straight hair version; just imagining it made my ‘arousal sensor’ start to react.

I could already picture Rin blushing shyly.

“Rin, go home quickly.”

“And start your stream early.”

“…Even if you say that, I can’t reveal it before 8 PM.”

“Damn it…”

“I’m dying of curiosity…”

“Wouldn’t it just look similar to my usual self?”

“I usually wear my hair down anyway.”

“But you weren’t wearing a school uniform!”

“School uniforms are romantic, romantic!”

Although I personally avoid them because of ‘that incident’, there was definitely an inexplicable romance to school uniforms.

A design that makes a person look about 10 years younger just by wearing it!

It’s the ultimate weapon that could even transform Miho, who always laments about being old, into a gloomy girl who just developed a bit early!

Ding-dong~

The bell rang then.

While I was chatting away with Rin, the tteokbokki I had ordered had arrived.

“Oh, looks delicious.”

“Give it here, unnie.”

“I’ll help.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“It’s my house, so I should be the one to serve you.”

I declined Rin’s help, immediately took the tteokbokki, and laid it out on the table.

As I took out the plastic containers one by one, I was reminded of when I used to eat in my old studio apartment, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia.

Come to think of it, back then, I ordered both tteokbokki as jjajang flavor, and Rin hated it, right?

Ever since then, whenever I eat tteokbokki with Rin, I always order one jjajang tteokbokki and one soup tteokbokki.

Still, my situation has improved a lot compared to before.

I have a proper house now, and someone to eat with.

Above all, I was glad that Mr. Cockroach no longer appeared.

Maxx “C” gives me a visceral aversion, so it’s absolutely unbearable.

(TL Note: Maxx “C” is a card from the game Yu-Gi-Oh!, often associated with proliferating cockroaches.)

“I wish I could keep living like this…”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Let’s eat.”

I mumbled softly, too quiet for Rin to hear, shook my head as if it were nothing, and immediately started eating the tteokbokki.