Interview Aftermath

“Oww... my head... wait, it doesn't even hurt...?”

Minseo lay there in bed, piecing together yesterday's events.

“Let's see... we were all drinking together, and then...”

And then... nothing? A blank?

Wow. How long had it been since she'd drunk herself into a blackout?

Apparently her mood had been good enough to get completely wasted — her members really were all sweethearts.

The memories of yesterday began replaying naturally in her head.

...Yeonwoo's a little mischievous, though. Seriously, is that girl allowed to waste a face like that?

Oh well. Time to get up and make the girls some hangover soup!

With that thought, she wandered into the kitchen — and spotted a pot that hadn't been there yesterday.

“Huh?”

She lifted the lid. Soybean sprout soup, still warm.

“Heh heh heh. So which one of my pretty girls whipped this up?”

Had to be whoever was awake, right?

She padded around the house looking for anyone conscious — and realized something strange.

...Everyone's asleep?

“Huh? And why is the place spotless?”

It had been a complete disaster zone yesterday. She was sure of it.

Also, where were Yerin and Yeonwoo?

Did one of them cook it and head out?

After a moment's thought, she decided it was probably Yerin and dialed her first.

“Oh, Yerin?”

[Yeah, unnie.]

“Was it our Yerin who made the soybean sprout soup and left?”

[Huh? No? Yeonwoo went out and bought groceries first thing this morning, then cooked it.]

“Huh?”

Yeonwoo... did?

[Surprised? She went around taking care of everyone one by one yesterday, too. Handing out hangover pills and everything.]

Yeonwoo?!

“O-oh, really?”

That was a LOT of surprising...! It didn't match the Yeonwoo I knew at all!

The girl's face floated briefly through Minseo's mind.

Absolutely zero match! She looked like someone who couldn't survive a week on her own!

[Yeah. And she cleaned up everything afterward, too. Ah, I helped with that part.]

“Why didn't you wake us up and do it all together, then?”

[I asked her if we should. She said chores like this are the survivors' burden, and the defeated shouldn't trouble themselves with it.]

What...? Why is she so sweet...? That's not the Yeonwoo I know. But that signature way of talking really is her...?

[If it's bothering you, at least call and thank her.]

“Ah, yes! I will! You drank too, so get some rest!”

[Mm.]

Yeonwoo. Really?

Feeling the tiny seed of resentment from yesterday quietly wither away, Minseo dialed Yeonwoo's number.

[Yes, hello.]

“Yeonwoo, you awake?”

[Yes.]

It was the same blunt, flat voice as always, yet somehow it felt warm.

“Heh heh heh, our maknae! You pulled such a sweet little move before you left!”

[...I'm sorry, but could you please not say things like that? They make me cringe.]

Wait?! Am I... attacking Yeonwoo right now?

Me? The one who cried yesterday from being bullied?!

“Your unnie just~ called because our maknae was so adorable.”

[Ah. I see.]

“Thank you~ I'll treat you to a meal sometime!”

[No need. Unlocking the door for everyone yesterday was already more than enough, really.]

“Right, well — get some rest!”

[I will. I left the perilla seed powder out on the table.]

Huh? Perilla seed powder?

Sure enough, just as Yeonwoo said, there it was on the table.

Since when was this girl so... thoughtful?

Today, it seemed, her entire mental image of Yeonwoo was being rewritten from every angle.

Ugh. Seven years apart or not, that girl deserves a little more respect than that...

She tossed her phone carelessly onto the bed, flopped down, closed her eyes, and dozed for a while.

The thought hit her the moment she woke.

Ah, home really is the best.

As she rolled around in the blankets, another thought followed.

Should I just take today off...?

Yeah. She'd been going nonstop since debut, so one day off couldn't hurt.

Mind made up, she opened the fan cafe that the members had set up together after yesterday's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠collab stream.

Hmm. You could really feel everyone's personality even in their notice titles.

There. Notice posted.

She closed her eyes again.

Ding!

Oh right, she'd forgotten to turn off comment notifications.

The fan cafe's rules were strict, so everyone was awfully well-behaved.

Okay, but now — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what should I stream?

Just chatting had been more than enough to fill the past week...

Maybe a game?

Except having regressed eight years meant every single game was ancient history by her standards.

Hmm... let me think a bit more...

Tormented over stream content even on her day off — maybe she really was becoming a full-time streamer.

Ding!

Now what?

She checked the source: the Solana group chat.

What's going on?

Hm? Why were they talking about her interview?

Scrolling up through the chat, she found a link to a YouTube video.

Ah.

The title read: [Interview Stories, Straight from Solana's Manager!]

It was uploaded to their own company's YouTube channel, and the thumbnail featured some celebrity she was pretty sure she'd seen before, alongside her manager.

Hm... but she felt zero hesitation about it?

She'd done well, hadn't she?

She tapped play.

Was there anything to catch fire over? It was funny!

Oh — so THAT'S why they told her not to spill any interview stories.

She'd just assumed interviews were some kind of corporate trade secret.

Watching them promote her through a method no one could have predicted, she could only think: yeah, this really is the company that dragged VTubers into the mainstream in this country.

Well then — time to check the community.

Everyone was calling her creative. It felt good.

Buoyed by the pride, she decided the stream-planning dilemma could wait — today she was taking it easy.