First Single Album
[Boohoo! Our maknae!]
“No, your voice is worse than it was earlier? How much did you cry?”
Earlier her voice had just been hoarse, but now it sounded badly cracked.
[I don't know… It's been like that since I talked to you earlier?]
“Then you *do* know.”
Koreans must have some kind of special trait — they insist they don't know even when they clearly do. Whenever I got curious and asked why, they'd explain while still claiming not to know, so I eventually gave up on figuring it out.
No way lmaooo
Is she genuinely a bitch? lololol
Wow lol she goes for the jab instead of comforting her lmaooo
That's what you're worried about? lmaoooo
Ah lol she's speaking facts lololol
…Am I the only one who's curious?
[Boohoo! Our maknae! She acts like this on the outside, but she's actually so sweet!]
“Okay, okay, just lower your voice a little. Are you not streaming tomorrow?”
She must be really good at handling antis
Wooju praised her even right after that outburst, so it must be real, huh?
↳ [This message has been deleted.]
Teri was praising her too
A total demon on stream though lmaoooo
Wait, so that means the bitch thing really is her concept
Was my image really locked in as an utter bastard?
No wonder so many people had been calling me one lately…
Just as I was pondering my public image, I heard Minseo sniffling through the call.
[Sob! I don't care! *sniff* I'm just so happy right now I could cry!]
“I see.”
[Our maknae… really, truly… *sniff* You're so much younger than me, but you get along with your unnie so well… *sniff* Thank you so much for always being so dependable… *sniff*! Your unnie loves you!]
“Ah. Yes.”
THAT'S your response to that?
"Ah. Yes." lmaooo ice cold
And here I was getting emotional
T_T
She never talks about her age, so she must really mean it
No, look. Even if I write off everything before elementary school that I barely remember, I still have thirty-four years of life behind me — twenty-one plus thirteen.
So calling me "young" feels a little off too…
And being dependable? Wouldn't Minseo be able to manage that too if she went through a TS *and* a regression at the same time?
Which leaves me at a complete loss for what to say.
[Ehehe, are you getting embarrassed? How cute?]
“Ugh, gross.”
[…Huh?]
“…Ah.”
…That ambush was maybe a step too far.
My unintended true feelings had slipped out, and neither of us said a word. A heavy silence settled over the call.
LMFAOOOOO
???? lmaoooo
That one was REAL though?
First time I've ever seen Rose be this genuine lmaooooo
Wooju's gonna be hurt lololol
No, um…
“Er…”
[…Well, the gloomy mood's gone now.]
"…Glad to hear it."
[Yeah… Good luck with your stream. Let's talk again later.]
“Ah, yes…”
Beep!
I ended the call with Minseo and sneaked a glance at the chat window.
lmaoooo
The vibes just died lmaooooo
It is SO awkward in here lmaoooooo
Hm… so everyone's thinking pretty much the same thing…
“Alright then, I'm off to go comfort Wooju-nim.”
Rose out
lmaoooo
She's using THIS as content?
bye bye
She's selling out her oldest unnie on the spot lmaoooooo
See you tomorrow!
later
Feeling relieved that the chat sent me off coolly, unlike earlier, I hit the end-stream button.
Hm… who's streaming right now…?
Checking which of the members had their broadcasts live, everyone except Minseo and me was still on air. Thankfully it seemed Minseo had already ended hers…
…Still, I should probably go comfort her quickly, right?
Things like this have a way of festering into real hurt feelings…
Ring ring…
[…Hello?]
“Hi. Are you feeling a bit better?”
[Yeah… Thanks for worrying about me.]
“That's a relief. Don't make your water too hot — just warm it up nice and lukewarm and drink a lot of it. It's good for your throat.”
[Oh, I will.]
“Um… I called to say I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier.”
[Huh?! Oh! AHAHAHA!]
Whew. Thank goodness. Looks like it didn't quite reach "hurt."
[I'm seriously fine! If anything, I should thank you for snapping me out of it?!]
“Well, that's good to hear.”
[Yeah! Let's all grab dinner together later — a little celebration!]
“Sure. You're treating, right?”
[PUHAHA! Look at her! Fine, unnie's buying!]
“Yay!”
[Okay! Talk to you later!]
Click.
Hm… that all went well, right?
I got up from my chair, went to the bathroom for a quick face wash, then flopped onto my bed and pulled up the community forums on my phone.
Is this actually happening??
Just you guys showing up might be enough lol
Seriously, if we all just show up we've got this
[God, this dopamine is insane]
Now that I'm starting to think it might actually work, my hands are shaking like crazy
For real, this is so fun?
The dopamine is unreal
If this succeeds it's gonna be even crazier, right?
[So Rose's Top 100 promise is officially live?!]
(Clip of the singing-stream promise)
Lol it happened, so I'm posting it!
Wait, is this really her first singing stream?
[Ah, 3 minutes left]
I'm watching Rose's stream right now and I swear I'm trembling harder than she is
Lol everyone in Rose's chat is like that
Go check Shiru's stream, she's shaking so bad it's kind of heartbreaking
[Ugh…]
What if it doesn't work?
Don't even worry about chart manipulation checks
Spend the time you'd waste worrying sending more gifts instead
[YOOOOOO!!!!!! FUUUUUUUUCK YESSSSSSSSS]
WE DID IT!!!!!!!!
LETS GOOOO!!!!!!
It actually worked
Wow. Just wow. The dopamine is off the charts
[Teri's crying?]
She went quiet and I wondered what was up, and now I can hear her sniffling
?? Teri's crying too?
So basically everyone's crying except Rose, huh
[Rose's situational awareness is elite lmaoooo]
She spotted the perfect moment to slip away to the depths lmaooooo
Tbf there were some people who seemed uncomfortable earlier
Gotta be careful with the scope
No harm in being careful
[Wait, Wooju called HER first though?]
??? Why does her voice sound like that??
It's been wrecked for ages
It's a miracle she hasn't gone into full dehydration
[LMAOOOO fuck lmaoooooo Rose is an even bigger demon than I thought lmaooooo]
lmfaoooooooo
For real lolol
"Then you *do* know." — that line lmaooooooo
Lmao I genuinely thought I'd misheard for a second lmao
[Apparently Rose is a beast with antis?]
Why is that so easy to imagine?
That type is always scarily good at tearing people apart
She's out here using honorifics with "you" attached even now — imagine how vicious she gets with antis
[lmaoooooooo]
That last "yes, of course" was SO forced lmaoooooo
The most genuine she's sounded all night, which makes it hilarious lmaooooo
I was scared for a second there
[No, girl, don't go]
We just got you up the charts and you're leaving already
She's going to comfort her official wife
Hm… overall, the reaction was good.
Especially at the moment the song climbed the charts — posts had been flooding in nonstop. Well, now that they'd had a taste of that rush, they'd surely keep working hard on the next song too. There's a saying that starting is half the battle, after all.
And now the dopamine of record-breaking was waiting for them as well, so I didn't need to worry much about the streaming campaigns.
Ring ring…
My phone rang, and when I checked who it was, it was the Manager.
“Yes, Manager-nim.”
[Ah, Yeonwoo! Great work on the stream! And the charts!]
Her voice was louder and higher-pitched than usual — she must have been pretty worked up. Come to think of it, back when we'd had the meeting about the first single album, she had told me not to expect a chart entry, so it made sense.
Hm! A pleasant failure of prediction is always a joy!
“Oh, it was nothing. The song was just that good — it made cheering for it fun.”
[That's only possible because you sang it so well, Yeonwoo!]
“Thank you.”
[Anyway! The results came in well above the investment, so it sounds like we'll be getting even more support going forward!]
“Ah, you're getting updates this late at night?”
It was already one in the morning, wasn't it?
[Yes! I suppose they consider it a project worth high expectations!]
Well, that would explain why the CEO personally sat in on my audition.
So… are they going to invest even more than in my past life?
…Just how big is this thing going to get?
“Thank you for letting me know. I'll keep working hard from here on out.”
[Of course! Sleep well!]
I hung up and stared blankly at the ceiling of my room.
The ticking of the clock's second hand, which had grated on my nerves at first, now sounded almost soothing. In this quiet, everything I'd been through came drifting back through my mind.
I regressed, went through a TS, became a VTuber, released a song — and that song broke into the Top 100 charts?
Honestly, deciding to become a VTuber in the first place had been something I did impulsively, in the middle of a total mental mess…
And yet I was getting more and more drawn into something I'd started just for fun.
Tormenting my viewers was fun…
The members were all good people too…
It struck me all over again that becoming a VTuber had been the right call.
But even as those thoughts warmed me, one thing snagged somewhere in my chest.
Hm…! What is this feeling?
It had been a long time since I'd felt it…
Frustrated that the word wouldn't come to me, I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow. The air thinned, breathing grew hard, and with the weight of gravity pressing down on me, I slowly picked apart what this emotion could be.
Hm… Is it that hollowness singers supposedly feel after a performance?
No. No, it isn't.
This was something different altogether.
My mind felt stuffy and my body felt suffocated — maybe that's why I couldn't place it. I rolled back over and stared at the ceiling again.
Something… more fundamental…
Ah! That's it! Regret!
It had to be regret.
“Ha!”
The identity of the feeling, so utterly unexpected, pulled a laugh out of me before I knew it.
So even regression doesn't erase this feeling of regret?
Come to think of it… that's exactly why infinite regressors grind themselves to the bone chasing better outcomes, isn't it…
And yet, the regret I felt right now didn't feel negative at all.
It was an emotion born from genuinely enjoying my life as it was.
One thought led to another after that, and before I realized it, my eyes had drifted shut.
For the first time since my regression…
I fell asleep with a truly peaceful heart.