57. Chuseok Special Stream

Once the festivities at the family home wrapped up, I packed my bags for the trip back to my apartment.

"Mom, I can't eat all this."

"Eat it."

"No, it's not that I won't eat it, it's that I can't."

"Eat it."

"What am I supposed to do when it goes bad?"

"Eat it all before it goes bad."

In my previous life I'd lived alone for so long that she never really had the chance to fuss over me, but now, less ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than a year since I came back, she was overcompensating hard.

…Well, at least I won't have to worry about side dishes for a while.

"Alright, I'm off, then."

"Be careful not to catch a cold."

"…It's still autumn?"

"You think colds only come in winter? People catch them in summer too."

…I have no counterargument.

"Fine, fine… Oh, if you're curious how I'm doing, just watch my stream."

"I won't. You'll manage on your own. As long as you're not out committing crimes, I have no intention of commenting on what you do. Your private life even less so."

Hm. Cool as ever.

This is exactly why I love my mom.

"Oh, but hurry up and find yourself a man. Since you're in entertainment anyway, I wouldn't mind a celebrity son-in-law."

…Everything except the romance stuff, then.

"Aaah…!"

With the unpacking done, I stretched my arms toward the ceiling.

"Whew…! That hits the spot."

Hmm, maybe I should look into a massage chair next? Everyone swears by them….

The new apartment was more spacious than anywhere I'd lived before, so there was a real pleasure in picking out furniture piece by piece.

But that could wait. Right now, I had a stream to do.

I opened the door of the soundproof booth, stepped inside, and powered on the computer. The expensive desktop lit up with a satisfying glow, and the three monitors facing me flickered to life one after another.

"Ohhh, yeah…!"

In my previous life, I could never afford a setup like this no matter how badly I wanted one!

Deep down I was still a gamer through and through, so of everything in the new place, the state of my booth was what gave me the most satisfaction.

Anyway — time to get the stream ready, fast. God knows I'd love to keep dawdling, but today was the Chuseok special Yutnori collab I'd promised, and there wasn't much time left.

Preparation complete, I went live.

As usual, I opened with my old commute song, Moment — and as usual, the complaints rolled in.

Hm… I wonder if they'll die out completely after another three months?

Even now, those comments only existed because the song hadn't yet cemented itself as my stream's signature culture. Once it did, they'd vanish on their own, so I didn't let it bother me.

When the song ended, I switched on my mic.

"Ah, ah."

"Hello, everyone."

"Hehe, what do you think? You can really feel the difference, right?!"

Yes! Even listening myself, the improvement over yesterday was obvious!

Everyone was appreciating the results of the setup I'd painstakingly tuned right before leaving for the family home, and my energy shot up on its own.

"…Please don't say things specifically designed to ruin my mood."

Ah, damn it.

I knew saying that would—

…Called it.

There was only one way to bury a chat section in this state: smother it under a bigger topic. I switched on my avatar without missing a beat.

"Ta-da."

"In honor of Chuseok, I've prepared a brand-new outfit for you all."

Just as planned, the chat's attention swung over to my new outfit.

"Shall I share some behind-the-scenes stories about it, then?"

There wasn't a mountain of stories behind this outfit, but there were a few.

For one, a single Live2D outfit absolutely devours money, so our department's designer poured herself into making this one undeniably beautiful, since she was going to be making it anyway.

For another, since my avatar is a black-haired, black-eyed character with a cold look, only cool-tone colors suited her — and the designer spent ages fine-tuning the palette.

And then, when I reviewed the draft and it wasn't remotely to my taste, she had to start over from scratch — which cost her even more of her sanity.

…Why is every single one of these stories about grinding a person down?

Well, the results speak for themselves, so I'm sure the designer's satisfied too.

"Black hair and black eyes really are the perfect match for a hanbok, don't you think?"

After that, I walked everyone through the finer details of the outfit.

"Now then, time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for my Chuseok story… actually, no. This one can wait."

Hm? That reaction was more explosive than I expected.

Then I might as well feed it.

"It's just that it's a bit of a long story, so I was planning to save it for later…."

"Fine, I'll drop just a tiny teaser, and tell the rest properly later."

You people have lost it….

"If you're that curious, you're welcome to stay tuned until the collab ends. Just hold on a little, okay?"

But I had zero intention of changing my mind.

Time before the collab was short anyway, and a well-fed curiosity was prime bait for stirring the pot.

"Hmm… to put it simply…."

"My family found out I'm a VTuber."

"And that's all you get."

"Like I said — if you want the rest, stick around until the collab wraps up. Simple, right?"

Hm. Excellent effect.

Having confirmed the reaction, I hopped into the Discord call.

"Hello, everyone."

[Oh, Roze's here?]

[Oh, welcome!]

"Yep."

[So we're just missing Wooju-unni, then?]

Today's collab lineup was Yerin, Yuna, and Minseo.

There was no deep reason it turned out this way. I'd simply asked who was free today, and these three answered first.

First come, first served — cleanest system in the world, as always.

"It's only polite for the young ones to arrive early, after all. We should be considerate of our elders."

[…Did something happen to you over Chuseok? Your combat power seems even higher than before?]

Ah. Looks like the banter I'd been trading with my aunt hasn't worn off yet.

"Oh, nothing major. My family just found out I'm a VTuber, that's all."

[What?!]

[Um… is that really "nothing major"?]

"Oh, and they also found out I dropped out of college."

[…Huh?]

[W-what?!]

"Anyone curious about how it all happened is welcome to hop over to my stream once the collab ends."

We were still swapping updates on our lives when Minseo joined the call.

[Aaah! Sorry I'm late! Did you wait long?!]

"Hm, Minseo, did you eat a lot of food over Chuseok, by any chance?"

[Uh… I did eat a fair bit, but why do you ask?]

"I was wondering whether changes in one's real-world body weight also affect internet connection speeds."

Ah. That was not the line I'd planned.

The instant I opened my mouth to walk it back, Minseo's furious voice came bursting through the call.

[Hey! I barely gained anything! I can't help what the numbers say! I barely gained anything, I'm telling you?! Want to meet up?! Want to check for yourself?!]

…My aunt truly ruined a human being today.

Cursing the woman responsible for my tongue these days, I turned my eyes to the chat window.

…All things considered, this is entirely my aunt's fault.