After That

I was caught completely off guard when a filming schedule with Evermore's leader got arranged out of nowhere.

I mean, I couldn't help thinking—since when was our department this good at its job?

So this was what they meant when they said they'd be investing more?

Anyway, the shoot turned out to be more fun than I expected.

The edited version will probably turn out great too.

Maybe this video will pull in a decent number of new people to our group.

"Well then, take care getting home."

"You too, Yeonwoo! Get home safe!"

I was already curious how people would react when the edited video dropped.

With the shoot wrapped up, I decided to stop by our department for a moment to see the Manager's face before leaving the building.

"Manager."

"Ah, Yeonwoo. All done with the filming?"

"Yep."

"So, the live-action shoot turned out better than expected after all, right?"

Hmm... To be honest, I'd actually been against the live-action format.

Two people were filming, but only one stayed on screen while the other was sometimes just a voice off-camera—and this was supposed to be a VTuber video, so I genuinely couldn't wrap my head around why we needed to film it in the real world.

But then—

"Yesul's reaction was incredible."

The overwhelming result won me over on the spot.

"Oh, thank goodness. If you'd been glaring at me because you hated it, I would've had nightmares tonight."

"What, no, I would never go that far—"

...Wait, would I?

"I'll... keep my mouth shut now."

If I said anything more here, I'd only be the one getting hurt...

With that, I exchanged quick greetings with the others and headed out of the building.

The moment I stepped outside, the humid, sweltering air swallowed me whole.

Ugh... The weather lately is honestly unreal.

Yes, it's July, peak summer, but isn't this going a bit too far?

And keep in mind, my mind has already experienced the Earth of the future, where global warming has progressed even further!

My body never got to experience it, of course...!

Wiping away the sweat trickling down my face, I entered the subway station, and with the sun gone, things felt a good deal more bearable than before.

I tapped my transit card, waited a short while, and boarded as the train pulled in.

Thankfully, it was four in the afternoon—a lull hour—so there were plenty of empty seats.

So cool...

Seriously, I cannot overstate how much I love the air conditioning on the subway...

Savoring that blessed chill that made me feel like my taxes were finally paying off, I scrolled through the news on my phone and stumbled across an intriguing headline.

Hmm... The title's a bit dated-sounding, but somehow that's exactly what piques my interest.

Plus I can already guess what the article's about.

Sure enough, when I tapped on it, it was about our group.

The article closed with the line: "The new virtual idol venture has achieved a Top 100 chart entry, a record that bodes well for its future."

A textbook, by-the-numbers news article—but since it was about me, it read with a strange, novel thrill that made it genuinely fun.

Curious whether there was anything else about us, I dug through a couple more articles, and before I knew it, my stop had arrived.

The moment I stepped off, the underground air that had felt so refreshing now seemed suffocating.

...Isn't this temperature whiplash a bit extreme?

If it was like this down here, it would be brutal outside—so I steeled myself mentally and stepped out.

Perhaps thanks to that mental preparation, it felt less hot than I'd braced for, and I headed home with some relief.

Hot was still hot, though, so I quickened my pace and hurried along.

Thankfully, my place was near a college district, only a ten-minute walk from the station.

Beep-beep-beep!

The second I unlocked the door and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got inside, I peeled off my sweat-soaked clothes.

"Ahh... so gross..."

The damp fabric clung stubbornly to my skin and refused to come off cleanly, which annoyed me to no end, but with a dose of patience and another attempt, I finally managed it.

Wow... I really sweated a lot, huh...

My bra in particular was completely drenched.

If I'd stayed outside just a little longer, would it have given up absorbing altogether and started pooling instead?

I was spacing out on that pointless thought when the breeze drifting in from the window hit my sweat-pickled bare skin, raising goosebumps.

I snapped back to my senses, swiftly grabbed a change of underwear, tossed it in front of the bathroom, stepped in, and cranked the shower to cold.

"Hyeok!"

The sudden shock of the freezing water sent a fresh wave of shivers through me, but I gritted my teeth and brought my back under the stream.

"Whew..."

Once I'd adapted, the goosebumps faded, leaving nothing but cool relief that left me feeling refreshed.

I luxuriated in that sensation for a bit, gave myself a quick wash, and stepped out.

"Ahh..."

The moment I emerged, the coolness evaporated instantly, replaced by the atmosphere of a sauna.

Ugh... Can I even dry my hair in this?

In this weather, the sweat from blow-drying would probably mean drying it all day long...

Hmm...! Too much work!

In the end, I gave my hair only a cursory towel rub and dove into bed.

Leaving my body to the mattress, I worked the fan beside me with my foot and set it to max power.

Ahhh... now this is survivable...

Seriously, should I just buy an air conditioner...?

But then the fact that the lease on my place was nearing its end nagged at me.

Right... where should I move next?

Should I just go back to the family home?

Having to redo my whole streaming setup every time I move sounds like a pain though...

Oh, right!

Thinking of my parents' house reminded me that I still hadn't told them I'd dropped out of college.

Could Nayeon have told them...?

...Nope.

Hmm... I'll tell them when I go home for Chuseok, then.

My son—er, my granddaughter.

If I say your granddaughter joined Gaon Entertainment to sing, they'll understand.

By then the recording of the featured song should exist, so I can just play it for them.

It's not that I'm embarrassed about being a VTuber—I just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can't be bothered to explain it.

As I lay there, today's stream suddenly surfaced in my mind.

Hmm... What do I do?

I don't want to get up...

After a brief deliberation, I made my decision.

Today's stream... is cancelled!

Yeah, I already spent hours doing what was essentially a broadcast under the name of "filming."

Why would I stream on top of that?

Decision made, it was time for swift action.

A clean, crisp hiatus notice, as always.

By leaving the reason blank, I give my viewers the fun of letting their imaginations run wild—and then, on a later stream, I get to tell the whole story. Two birds, one stone.

With the streaming question settled, my next great deliberation began: dinner.

...Isn't that a lot of things to agonize over for one day?

But as someone who finds genuine pleasure in the act of eating, deliberating over dinner is a joyful task, so I embraced it gladly.

First of all, cooking for myself is out of the question.

They want me to stand over a hot stove in this weather?

I just showered; I have no intention of creating a reason to shower again.

So, delivery it is...

I posted again on the fan cafe.

If one brain isn't enough, just solve it with collective intelligence, right?

A flicker of unease stirred at that comment, but I kept scrolling down anyway.

Poké bowls, salads, braised kimchi, tonkatsu, pasta, stir-fried pork—there were plenty of menus, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Phew! For a second I panicked, thinking no one would bother recommending anything.

Among all the options, cold noodle soup (chilled udon) called out to me, so I replied "Approved!" to whoever suggested it, then opened the delivery app.

Wait, the udon is 4,500 won?! (About three dollars.)

Before I regressed, the cheap ones were 9,000 won and the pricey ones broke 10,000...

That double-the-price gap made me realize all over again just how brutal inflation had been.

Minwoo considered himself an ordinary college student.

An ordinary college student with a deeply strange older sister, that was.

"Argh! Come ON! Stop watching that cringey otaku stuff!"

"Excuse me?! How dare you badmouth our Roze?! Drop dead, you little brat!"

He couldn't pinpoint exactly when, but roughly a few months ago, his sister had started acting strange.

She used to be a boy-group stan, and then suddenly, a woman who'd never once watched anime in her life began consuming the cringiest otaku content imaginable.

"Come on! That company has Evermore! And Dynamic, for the boy groups! Why! Why do you like something so cringey?!"

"That's because you're too blind to see our Roze's charm, you twit!"

And that remark was always followed by the same inevitable line.

"So just watch ONE video of our Roze!"

"Ack! Enough already!"

Roze this, Roze that!

Last time they went out for a meal together, she even force-fed him Roze at the table!

Was she actually in a cult or what?!

"Minji, go easy on Minwoo."

"Okay!"

His sister's trust in their parents was ironclad, which meant there wasn't a single ally for him in this household...

"Oh, and a song came out recently too!"

"Huh? What song? A cringey otaku song? In Japanese?"

They sing too?

Weren't they just streamers?

"No! You dumbass! It's a girl-group song!"

"What kind of nonsense is that? It's a girl group, so it's a girl-group song? It's AI music, isn't it?"

"You little—!"

Enraged, Minji drove a knee strike into his thigh.

The sudden impact sent him crumpling to the floor.

"Ow! Wait! My bone! You hit the bone!"

Ugh! I shouldn't have said it out loud! Should've just kept that thought in my head!

And then she pounced on him as he lay there sprawled and locked in an armbar.

"Say you'll listen to the song, and I'll let you go."

"I'll listen! I'll listen!"

"If you don't, you die! For real!"

"I'm the one about to die right now!"

He barely managed to calm her down and obediently listened to the song.

But...

"Why... is it good...?"

If you listened without knowing it was from some cringey VTuber outfit, you'd honestly mistake it for a brand-new girl-group track.

It was that good.

And especially the first chorus!

"Whoa... who's this? Her voice is insane?"

"Heh heh heh!"

Wait... surely not...?

"See! You recognized our Roze's voice right away!"

Oh, for fuck's sake.

"Noona, I get it now, so can I go?"

"Nope. You stay until you understand at least one more of Roze's charms."

"Ah, DAMN it! Seriously!"

And so, held there against his will, he began watching the videos.

"Huh? Her voice is different from the song earlier?"

"Same person."

"What?!"

The song earlier had none of this vibe at all?

Anyway, he watched the video all the way to the end.

"So? What did you think?"

"Never show me anything like that again!"

But even as he grumbled on the surface, a different thought formed underneath.

Well... it was pretty entertaining, actually...

Exactly one week later, Minwoo would be caught by Minji watching Roze's YouTube channel and die of sheer embarrassment—but for now, he had absolutely no idea.