Stream Hiatus
“Sigh….”
Thinking back on everything that had happened today, a sigh escaped me all on its own.
Seriously… if you're going to lie, you should at least not get caught….
Why do they have to blow it up on their own?
I honestly couldn't tell whether I should be happy about this or annoyed.
Objectively speaking, it was clearly a win for me, but….
It just felt….
so….
strange….
“Sigh….”
Beep-beep!
Click!
I arrived home, punched in the door lock code, and opened the door.
“Ahhh….”
Having been out for so long, my body ached for the comfort of home and practically dragged itself toward the bed.
Too lazy to even change out of my clothes, I flopped onto the bed and sorted through the day's results.
Houses toured: seven.
Of those, ones that were even decent… one?
Hmm… stretching it, maybe two?
Even granting that house-hunting is notoriously inefficient, only two out of seven?
It wasn't that there were no houses I liked.
But the one I liked most was way too far from the company.
With my 3D avatar in its final stages of completion, I'd be in and out of the office more often soon enough, which made that flaw absolutely fatal. So I gave up on it.
“Oh, right.”
I'd meant to ask the Manager about housing at some point, but it had completely slipped my mind….
Now that I remembered, I figured I'd take care of it quickly.
Honestly, if I didn't do it now, I'd probably forget again.
Ring-ring
[Yes, Yeonwoo. What can I do for you?]
“Ah, Manager. It's nothing big. You know how I took the day off stream today to go house hunting?”
[Yes, I recall.]
“Well, I didn't really find anything I liked, so I was wondering—do you happen to know anything about real estate?”
Truthfully, I had no expectations.
How would the Manager know about real estate?
I was only asking on the off chance, given how absurdly competent she always was.
[Hmm… housing, you say….]
I let the Manager think for a moment, and an answer came through.
[Ah! There actually is a good one.]
“Really?”
There actually is?! For real?!
The Manager really is something else….
As a joke I'd once considered sending her a box of red ginseng—maybe I should actually send it now?
Chuseok would be a good time for it, right?
While I was mulling that over, the Manager added something.
[Back when I was scouting dorms for the company idols, I looked at every decent place near the office. All of them.]
“…What department were you in, exactly, that you were doing that?”
[Well… this and that… a department for odd jobs, mostly… things are comfortable now compared to back then.]
Right—office work is always more comfortable than field work. That's just how it is.
[…It'd be even more comfortable if you'd stop giving me ulcers.]
“If a job comes with no stress, it isn't a job.”
[…And there goes my job satisfaction again.]
“How unfortunate….”
[Wow…! I would very much like to hang up right now…!]
The Manager had gotten a bit softer around the edges compared to when we first met, apparently?
She never used to show this side of herself.
Which meant I simply couldn't pass up the chance to tease her.
Anyway.
“By the way, is the place you're recommending still on the market?”
If it was a candidate for an idol dorm, wouldn't that put it a level above merely decent?
And a house like that still hadn't sold?
[Ah, you derailed the whole conversation, so I never got to that part.]
“Exactly. And whose fault was that?”
[…Let me just say it quickly and hang up.]
“Go ahead.”
[That house has already been purchased.]
“I'm sorry, what?”
What did she just say?
[A place with those specs isn't the kind of listing that comes around often, so the company bought it in advance. The next group can use it.]
“…Would it be all right if I used it?”
Weren't you planning it as an idol dorm?
Is it really okay for me, all by myself, to use it?
[You got the game's first clear yesterday, didn't you? And in spectacular fashion, no less?]
“…What does that have to do with anything?”
[If you lean on that momentum, you can get the approval. It's an enormous hot topic right now.]
“Oh….”
So this is how far the snowball had rolled?
[From the company's standpoint, actually using it beats letting it sit empty. And unlike the idols, if we frame it not as company-provided housing but as a jeonse lease arrangement, it goes through without a hitch.]
“Oh…!”
…But why is she working this hard for me?
She's always diligent, sure, but she was never this proactive….
[In return, would you grant me just one favor?]
I knew it….
There's no such thing as kindness without strings attached in the working world.
“Let's hear it first.”
[…You really are thorough. At this point, you could just do it….]
“Let's hear it first.”
I can't promise anything.
If it's anything related to my alter ego, it's an automatic no.
But that resolve of mine proved laughably useless, because what the Manager said next blew far past anything I'd anticipated.
[Come to Japan with me.]
“I'm sorry—what was that?”
Japan? Out of nowhere?
What's with the Japan?
[I have to go on a business trip about 3D technology, and they asked us to bring one VTuber from our company along.]
Hmm… I see?
I could understand why she'd want me to come.
But still.
“Okay, I get that part. But why me?”
This is the same woman who, not five minutes ago, was complaining about me making her job harder.
It doesn't add up?
If it were me, I'd have brought one of the well-behaved members, which made it even more of a mystery.
[If I have a tactical nuke for preemptive strikes, it'd be a waste not to use it when I'm struggling.]
Huh…? A tactical nuke…?
For a split second I wondered if she meant I was that bad, but then I remembered how candidly she'd been venting to me about the housing situation just minutes earlier, and understanding dawned whether I liked it or not.
…Let's just gather more information.
“Which company is the business trip to?”
[You know the most famous VTuber company there is.]
“Ah, that one.”
[Yes. It's a three-day trip, but if you help out for just one day, you can use the other two as free time.]
“Hmm… when would it be?”
[The week after Chuseok.]
“Oh… you're telling me not to stream at all this month, basically?”
Moving, Chuseok, and now a business trip, all crammed into one month?
I'd have to stream literally every remaining day just to hit half my usual schedule.
…Should I walk back today's hiatus, then?
As I was agonizing over my streaming schedule, the Manager pressed again.
[So, what will it be? If you say yes, I'll have everything arranged so you can move in as early as next week.]
Next week?!
That would be genuinely huge….
Hmm… I really am torn….
I'm tempted, no question.
Unlike today's disappointing haul, this came with a guaranteed result attached.
But… Japan….
I've never been to Japan….
And the Manager would be too busy to hang out with me the whole time.
Which meant I'd be sightseeing alone….
“All right, I'm in.”
Well, I'm good at entertaining myself, so it should be fine.
Two days would fly by just hitting the tourist spots.
My Japanese listening comprehension, honed by years of translation apps and anime, would carry me through.
And if I truly ran out of things to do, I could just cover the camera and put on a stream.
[Ah! Thank goodness! What a relief!]
“…Can I mention the reason for it on stream?”
If I told chat I'd be off for three days because of a business trip to Japan, it would at least burn a little less….
[…I'm sorry.]
…So that's a toughen-up-and-endure-it, then?
“Understood for now. Have a good one.”
[Ah, yes… you too, Yeonwoo….]
Click.
First order of business: reversing the hiatus….
Considering everything coming down the pipeline, streaming now would be the best move for keeping viewer morale up.
Having made my decision, I got ready right away and turned on the stream.
Oh, right—I never changed the stream title.
I switched it to [Schedule Notice].
Hmm… it is three days….
The problem was that they came back-to-back on top of everything else….
For now, I put on Moment as my opening song.
Why? Because it's my morning commute anthem, obviously.
But since they were only grumbling that much, I let it slide and went over my schedule instead.
If I spent this week packing everything up, could I finish the move in two days next week?
Yeah, if I asked the Manager for help, two days would be plenty.
Also… Chuseok was a five-day holiday this year, wasn't it?
Counting three of those days for visiting the family home….
And… did I even have a passport at this point in time…? I'd need to check….
While I was still sorting out the schedule, the song ended.
Already?!
This song is four minutes long—why is it so short?!
“Aaaah.”
…I'll have to sort that out later.
I'd already organized everything I needed to announce on stream, so I got started.
“Hello, everyone.”
Everyone was so delighted my conscience started to prick….
“So… should I go through the schedule notice quickly? Or slowly?”
Sorry, but the decision's already been made.
“Then I'll get straight to it. First, I'm moving next week, so that's two days off stream.”
“Also, the week after that is Chuseok, so I'll be visiting the family home—another three days off, roughly.”
“And….”
“Three days off the week after Chuseok.”
“I can't tell you the reason—it's under embargo.”
Hmm… I saw it coming, but chat had gone fully apocalyptic….
Well, I'd administered the whip—now for the carrot, right?
“But in exchange, when I get back from the family home for Chuseok, I'll do a special broadcast.”
Hmm… I'd anticipated this situation too.
So I moved on to the next stage.
“If you don't want it, don't take it. With this much pushback, I'll just cancel it. Oh, in that case, make it five days off instead of three?”
“So the Chuseok special broadcast sounds good then, yes?”
Good thing everyone was happy.