chapter_0017

17 – Grow Up Healthy

17 – Grow Up Healthy

It’s a distance that takes 20 minutes, but since I had to stretch it to 40, I deliberately stopped by a café near Dora’s house.

After cleaning, my throat would be dry, so I thought I might as well buy something to drink.

There was plenty to do during those 40 minutes.

Since I was outside the office, I could watch the original Kiri cutouts without worrying about being seen.

After enduring a tough 40 minutes of holding back laughter in a corner of the café to maintain my dignity as a working adult, I bought a cup of peppermint tea, which Dora enjoys, and headed to the officetel where she lived.

[Me: I’m here!]

However, when I arrived in front of her house, there was an unusual delay in her response.

Just to be sure, I pressed my ear against the door and heard a loud clattering from inside.

It sounded like plastic things were falling and rolling around.

Why was she breaking her house when I told her to clean?

I hope she didn’t touch the soundproof booth.

Ding-dong.

I pressed the doorbell, but still, there was no response from Dora.

This time, I knocked hard on the door.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

But the sound of my fist was as cute as my hand, and while it was loud enough to not be drowned out by the ruckus inside, there was still no response.

Is she wearing headphones or something?

She had posted on Z recently about how she bought good headphones and connected them to her sound card, saying it was a new world.

It wasn’t the first time I had experienced something like this since she became cute, but it was a bit concerning since my livelihood was at stake.

“As long as she doesn’t touch the computer, it should be fine.”

She probably didn’t mess with the area around the computer.

Even though a conversation we had a few days ago on Talk Code suddenly came to mind…

[Dora: Don’t worry, I’ll pretend my equipment is broken.]

[Dora: Let’s gather at my place, hehehe.]

[Parallel Operations Team Majiya: Please say that in a chat room where I’m not present.]

[Dora: Aww.]

… It should be fine.

Dora sometimes shows nonsensical genius, but would she really go through all this trouble just to call me?

“I guess I’ll wait about 10 minutes.”

Even though she fussed about being late to her viewers and said she would accept a penalty, her tardiness usually only lasts about 5 to 10 minutes.

Then I’ll just watch two more Kiri cutout videos.

After that, she’ll probably contact me on her own.

It was chilly outside, but since it was a self-service officetel, the elevator room was indoors.

I used the coat I had thrown on as a mat, sat down on the floor, and squatted in the corner at the end of the hallway next to the front door.

The floor was a bit cold, but the air conditioning system was powerful, so the hallway was warm.

After watching two videos, the loud cleaning noise finally seemed to have stopped, and the house was quiet.

As if on cue, my phone rang.

I slid to knock on the door.

“I’m in front of your house.”

[Ah, I’m sorry…. I had the music turned up loud on my headphones and didn’t even realize the phone was ringing….]

“It’s okay, just open the door.”

As I brushed off my backside, I waited, and then I heard a beep.

The door lock was released, and the door opened.

Dora appeared from inside, looking disheveled.

Fortunately, she was wearing dolphin pants.

I was so surprised when I first visited and she came out in just her underwear.

“I’m sorry for being late to the ding-dong…. Did you wait long?”

After confirming that the door was locked again, she muttered expressionlessly.

“Not really. More than that, I’m just glad you didn’t come out in your underwear.”

“Ugh. I told you to forget about that. And it wasn’t underwear; it was a case of missing pants!”

“In the end, not wearing pants is the same thing.”

“Ugh.”

Ugh.

At that time, the top she was wearing wasn’t even that long.

If someone else had seen her like that first… I didn’t want to think about it.

Anyway, since she said she cleaned, I quickly glanced around the room, and it was definitely tidier than the last time I came.

However, there was a suspicious box in the middle of the living room.

‘… Did she run out of time to clean?’

It seemed like she had just stuffed things in there when she couldn’t handle it, so I decided to ignore it.

It would be troublesome if I opened it and found a black melon cover or a triangular cloth with lace.

I passed by Dora, who was awkwardly smiling and avoiding my gaze, and headed to where her computer was.

Even though it was an officetel, the structure divided the master bedroom and living room with a middle door, and the entire master bedroom had been converted into a soundproof booth.

So when I opened the door, it led to the broadcasting space.

Gulp.

I wondered how messy it would be,

or if she had actually cleaned up, and as I opened the door…

There were 500ml bottles of water and zero cola scattered around the area near the computer.

It looked like she had broadcasted while drying her hair after a shower, as there was a mountain of towels piled up in one corner.

The hair ties needed for wearing equipment during broadcasts were scattered around, two or three of them every 30cm, as if she rotated colors every day.

It was a complete mess, with nothing organized at all.

“… Phew.”

I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

It was the first time I felt so reassured after seeing such a mess.

I turned around to Dora, who was standing behind me, and gave her a thumbs up.

“Thank you.”

Dora shrugged her shoulders proudly.

“You don’t have to thank me that much. Hehe. If there’s anything to clean up, just hand it over here. I’ll organize it.”

… I guess she took it as a compliment.

* * *

It took about 30 minutes to restore the area around the computer to its original state.

As I handed items to Dora, she walked over like a little robot moving things, putting trash in the recycling bag and ambiguous items into that big box from earlier—

—There was a box placed on the side hidden by the door, and seeing her keep going that way made it clear.

After that, I used a dust brush and a small vacuum cleaner to remove all the dust piled on the equipment without causing a dust storm.

Dora looked at the now clean area around the computer and clapped her hands with a bright expression.

“It’s completely clean. Just like Jia-nim!”

“If only Dora had the knowledge of equipment, she could have done it alone.”

“Ugh. Fact ban. I know that too, but do you think I could do that?”

“What about dinner?”

“I have to eat.”

“The boss gave me a company card to buy something delicious while he was out. So tell me what you want to eat.”

“Awesome. Steak. Can I have two pieces?”

She really loves meat, just like a dragon-themed virtual YouTuber.

When I asked her how many she wanted, she immediately shouted “two” like it was a reflex.

After her successful debut broadcast, the boss took the kids to a buffet to celebrate, and she had reserved steak four times there.

“If you order it, you have to eat it all. And no burping during the broadcast.”

“Ah! Really!”

As Dora flailed around, her two hidden assets under her baggy t-shirt waved at me.

I mean, they were just blobs of fat.

They were twins that boasted a size as large as her broadcasting avatar.

But that didn’t matter to me.

When I first met the first generation during auditions, I admired their charm, talent, and skills, but after working with them for a year, they were just a bunch of dorks, foreigners, and weirdos.

As time went on, we became more like family, and now it felt like I was looking at hopeless little sisters.

So even if Dora offered me her melons, I didn’t think much of it.

I opened the delivery app with a smirk.

“Are you going to drink cola?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I will.”

“…….”

Dora, who had been hesitating, suddenly placed her hands and chin on my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

“Just one Quincy Zero Lemon….”

Despite being the most mature among the members, she had a soft and sweet scent.

When I tilted my head to sneak a glance at her, Dora was smiling as if to ask why I was looking.

Was she really the same girl who used to shrink back a little when I stared at her?

Just looking at how she was causing a fuss about eating together on Talk Code showed that her attitude towards me had changed.

She had been a bit aloof right after I opened the door, but that was probably because she was late for our appointment and was apologizing.

… Other first-generation members probably felt the same way.

I shouldn’t be too surprised if another member treats me like a friend in the future.

“I added cola.”

“Thank you… hehe.”

Anyway, since I ordered for Dora, I thought I should order for myself too, so I returned to the delivery app’s home screen and searched for pizza.

Then, Dora, who had been looking at my phone from my shoulder, asked.

“Huh? Aren’t we eating steak together?”

“I’m craving pizza today.”

We were supposed to eat different menus, but Dora opened her mouth wide and muttered.

“Now that you mention it, I suddenly want pizza.”

“What about the steak?”

“I’m sorry. Please cancel it.”

Now?

“There’s no need for that; can’t we just eat both?”

“Ugh. I’m not a pig. I can’t eat that much.”

“I’ll eat too.”

Upon hearing that, Dora placed her palm on top of my head.

“What’s the point? You’ll eat one slice of pizza and say you’re full.”

Then she even smiled mischievously.

It seemed like she was trying to counter my teasing about her being a little chick that eats like a sparrow.

It wasn’t wrong.

Since my portion size had actually halved after I got smaller.

But challenging me to a scratch battle was really a foolish move.

I wouldn’t be affected at all even if they teased me about being a little chick.

“I think I should ask the YouTube editor for Dora to make a compilation of your little chick moments.”

“Ugh….”

It was cute to see her puffing out her cheeks despite being much taller than me.

Maybe because she kept responding, I found myself teasing her without realizing it.

It was the same when dealing with the boss, but when the other person treated me comfortably, my mischievous instincts kept popping out.

But I was their manager, and I was working right now.

I needed to calm down a bit.

“I’m just joking. So, what pizza do you want? We can order both pizza and steak, and if there’s any leftover, we can take it home.”

The air seemed to deflate from Dora’s cheeks, which looked like they were about to burst.

“I want to eat what Jia-nim wants. I picked the steak because it was what I wanted, hehe.”

She’ll regret it.

I completed the order without hesitation and showed Dora what pizza I had chosen.

Dora immediately scrunched up her face and moved away from me.

“I suddenly don’t want pizza anymore….”

Hearing that made me suddenly annoyed.

What’s wrong with pineapple pizza?

* * *

… ─ Dora (Virtual YouTuber) Gallery ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

[Is there a collaboration today?]

————— Viewing on Z ——————

Akari Dora☑ @Akari_Dora – 1 minute ago

(photo)

How can a person eat something like pineapple pizza 🤮

——————————

Dora doesn’t usually post pictures of her meals unless there’s a collaboration.

[Comments]

— Dora185: Did you call Komari?

–
Dora351: Komari can’t come to the Naore ranked game today.

–
Dora351: And Komari hates Hawaiian pizza.

— Dora874: I don’t think there’s anyone to call today.

–
Dora716 (author): That’s why I asked.

–
Dora716 (author): The boss is broadcasting today too.

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

… ─ Dora (Virtual YouTuber) Gallery ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

[I found out]

Hahahahahaha

Wow~ Ryoikitenkai

But I didn’t expect her to like pineapple pizza, hahahaha

[Comments]

— Dora185: What the hell, I want to know too.

— Dora157: This guy is laughing.

— Dora951: Hey, you too?

–
Dora363 (author): You too?

–
Dora910: Reporting for harassment.

–
🟧Dora1: Hey, you guys too?

–
🟦Dora01: You too, Judak?

–
Dora240: What about the armband?

–
Dora932: Is it a secret…?

–
Dora910: ??????

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword)

I don’t dislike Hawaiian pizza.

I don’t dislike it.

Yes.