Shockingly, You've Started Living with Your Oshi
After wrapping up the Daegu incident, about 30 minutes had passed. Time-wise, it was around when the frozen awakeners I'd iced should have been safely thawed out. I'd made it back home.
"Is this unnie's house?"
"Isn't it the place you saw a lot on stream?"
"But seeing it in person feels kinda unfamiliar, you know."
True to my word, I'd brought home my close dongsaeng and prospective junior. Luckily, this place had two rooms (plus a separate living room), so it worked out. If it had been a studio, we'd have been bumping into each other in the same space.
"Use this room as yours."
"Aww, it's not a studio after all?"
Why did she keep sounding disappointed? Still, the way she efficiently unpacked and organized her stuff was impressively deft.
"For someone living alone, this place is pretty big, you know."
"Houses like this have great value for money out in the provinces."
It was on the outskirts, which made it especially cheap, but honestly, it was barely different from a studio in size.
"Who's this guest you said was coming?"
Just as she finished unpacking, Su-yeon asked. Actually, before starting the stream today, a guest was due to arrive. I'd gotten the request suddenly on the way back.
"Hmm. I said she hasn't been on stream lately, right? A magical girl junior. She's nice and hardworking, so no need to worry. Weren't you still in middle school, Su-yeon? She's a first-year high schooler, so not too far apart in age."
"Hwaa... She's around Su-yeon's age and fights those things?"
"Have you seen monsters before?"
"Yees... A little, back when I awakened."
Su-yeon had awakened, but because a mascot egg had chosen her, she ended up with no actual awakener powers. Must've been terrifying for a kid her age.
"Unnie said Su-yeon could become a magical girl too, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then... does Su-yeon have to fight those scary things too...?"
Probably, back when she saw the monster, Yoo Su-ho had fought in her place. After the egg appeared, there wouldn't have been a chance anyway. And once the mascot hatches and they contract, no one would leave her alone. Harsh prediction for a girl who's not a magical girl yet, but in this chaotic world...
"If you don't want to fight, you don't have to."
That's why I said it straight.
"Hwa?"
"Being a magical girl doesn't mean you have to fight."
Fighting magical girls are the popular image, but strictly speaking, it's a concept from later generations. It's not a job designed solely for combat.
Like Seong-yoon said—if she chooses to fight herself, I'll respect and treat her accordingly. If she wants a different path, that's fine as her own kind of magical girl.
"Is that possible...?"
"Magical girls can't be forced, originally."
She'd understand right away once she transforms herself, but a little spoiler now should be fine.
"Whether you decide on your own, get pushed into it, or cornered... whatever the situation, if you fight, it's your choice, and if not, you refuse."
Magical girls have always had ridiculously strong wills. Of course, cases where coercion doesn't stop are common, but those scream obvious from a mile away. And they usually end in unacceptable directions.
"Su-yeon's choice...?"
"Might be hard to feel right now."
After all, it's a dimensional shift in your very nature. No way to see that future from your current view.
"So for now, just relax."
"Yes!"
As I reached out and patted Su-yeon's head.
Ding-dong—
"Faster than expected."
Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
"Sunbae-nim! I'm here!"
"Hmm. The junior looks pretty happy."
I was treating her as a guest since she's a junior, but honestly, it wasn't for anything fun. Seong-yoon rushing over at this hour wasn't as a magical girl, but as part of the response team.
The reason she was in that position was simple: from the government's view, she was the one most likely to get goodwill from me.
In short, it was a follow-up to the Daegu incident.
"Hehe. Skipped school. Ah, this is—"
Well, can't blame a kid who's thrilled about legally ditching school on a weekday morning.
"Ah, hello!"
"Eh."
Seong-yoon muttered something about another quirky character. Su-yeon was overflowing with personality. Honestly, school life was a worry. I paid a bit of attention in case Seong-yoon wanted to join the concern...
"Yup yup. This big egg is the culprit, huh!"
"You don't know how much I suffered, you know."
"Whew. You held up well, really. Still, you should've contacted sunbae-nim sooner."
"That's something even Su-yeon regrets."
Fitting for a girl who's entered society (response team counts as a job). After smooth introductions, she bonded with amazing affinity.
"I had no idea something like that happened in Daegu."
"Huh? You didn't know?"
"Different department, I guess."
Yeah, Shin Hye-jin said something similar.
"Still, there must've been moments needing awakener power."
"Probably coordinated with other teams. Considering Woo-jin ajusshi's personality, no way he'd come to us."
"Aha."
Yeah, with that guy's temper, if he'd known about Daegu's mess, he might've charged in. But compared to motivated and strong Seong-yoon, his state was way worse. And he wasn't quite strong enough to end it "casually" like me, so it probably turned into a bloody mess.
"Hmmm. Is that so?"
Su-yeon's reaction was lukewarm, her trust in the government at rock bottom.
"...Ahaha."
Seong-yoon, technically government-affiliated as a subcontractor, gave a wry smile.
"That's how people are—some good, some bad. Anyway, junior? Let's wrap up the annoying talk quick and hang out."
"Y-Yes. I'll connect."
I was tempted to send her back to school after, but it'd be harsh for a kid reveling in her rare school escape. Not an everyday thing, so letting her enjoy some legal freedom this once wasn't bad.
Thinking that, I slipped on the blue armband labeled 'Yoo Su-yeon Guardian Proxy'.
"When did you make that...?"
"Just now."
Made it with magic. It's ice, quality stuff.
After wrapping up the dull, pretentious discussion.
It was time to start the stream, and we huddled in front of the computer.
"But suddenly as guests in a collab— you okay with that?"
"Yees. It was kinda fun last time, sneakily."
"Oshi collab content is a major issue, you know?"
How did it end up like this? Originally, I'd planned to send Seong-yoon home and handle Su-yeon with magic to minimize influence. But both wanted to join, and no reason to refuse, so I adjusted for a collab setup. That's now.
"And today'll be pretty chaotic too."
"Huh?"
"Daegu incident's already spreading."
Hmm. Yeah, I went big. The incident itself was serious enough to downplay, but my flashy intervention made covering it hard. Probably a huge issue again.
"Rollercoaster ride today too, huh."
I double-checked the virtual setup and hit start.
The chat from waiting viewers exploded as soon as it went live.
"No, mystery show? Come on."
Hadn't even strayed from genre yet— no way I'd kill 'em. I smacked the scary commenter with a ban hammer.
News already? Fast workers since morning.
"Ahem. Let's hold off on that for now. You all saw the title, right? Important guests today."
"There's a reason. Managers, hustle today. Alright, first guest!"
I dropped the intro line and popped up an image next to my virtual avatar: a chibi illustration of the magical girl Divine Blaze.
Seong-yoon had no avatar, so in virtual setup, we twisted it like this.
"It's me~"
"That's too much!"
"Why me, sunbae-nim!"
"Ah. Busted."
"Eek."
Me and Su-yeon, secretly chatting on phones, pretended to freak and put them down.
"Oops. Spoiled it."
Sharp bunch. Nailed the guest voice perfectly.
"Since it's out, second guest!"
This time, I loaded an illustration of a silver-haired girl in a fancy Western dress. Su-yeon had a virtual avatar prepped for debut like me, but... to avoid Seong-yoon looking left out with just art, we went all illustrations.
"O~hohohohoho! Hello everyone, nice to meet you! Today's guest is... um... eh."
"Ah."
"Oops."
We planned the intro, but forgot a name for the stream.
Magical girl names are just transform names, so it slipped my mind.
While viewers laughed, I tried to salvage by pulling her original debut name—
"Ahem! Ufufufu. This lady has another name, but as a guest here, I'll claim this one now!"
The echo of 'YareYareOjouSama!' filled the stream.
Thankfully, the recognizing viewers didn't sour the mood—instead, hype exploded.
"...Hype is hype, but is this okay?"
"No hate, at least."
Right, but fun vibes! Probably from all the debut hints last time. Casual acceptance.
"No, not that."
Can't let misconceptions spread.
"If so, it'd be 3. She's, like, a prospective magical girl."
Military drift here? "Not that! Literally. Mascot picked her, but no contract yet. So I'm keeping her for a bit."
Skipped details, but true. Viewers didn't mind.
"Nope~ This lady's staying at unnie's house~ Everyone's oshi, this 'YareYareOjouSama', has started living together! O~hohohoho!"
Su-yeon replied to the shocked chat like she was about to go blonde and tan.
The chat boiled over...
...but in a weird direction.
"Everyone. Hold up! She's a minor!"
"Hey, Su— I mean, you! Why're you chatting!"
Su-yeon's sudden fuel pour had me and Seong-yoon sweating bullets. Who knew she'd sprint straight to the line. Now I get why they hesitated on debut...