Chuseok Special Stream
"I kept getting asked why I never mentioned having a sibling, so here's my explanation: on stream, at least, I wanted to keep their very existence unknown to all of you."
"They are a malignant mass occupying a full eighty percent of my stress index — my blood pressure spikes just from looking at them. Removing them isn't an option in real life, so I was merely practicing on stream. It is regrettable that they've now been exposed like this."
No fabrication.
Genuinely, zero fabrication.
Hm. Thankfully, it seemed I'd managed to pick out only the things that were safe to say.
For starters, I'd edited the story about my featured song pretty liberally. And even though Doyeon and my aunt had taken up a huge chunk of this Chuseok, I hadn't mentioned them at all. The last thing I needed was for Doyeon to catch on somehow. As for the games, I switched the fixed choice to Go-Stop so it would just feel like oh, our family has a similar tradition...
After going that far, surely nobody would piece it together?
Hm. Anyone with the perceptiveness to figure it out from all that would have caught on ages ago anyway.
With my thoughts neatly organized, I closed the community tab and switched my microphone on.
"Aah."
— There she is?
— 3 minutes to go, everyone
— Why are you so late
— Probably off checking public sentiment again lmao
— Oh, so THAT'S what it was?
"Now that the weather's turning cold, I made tea instead of water today. Chamomile."
— Ooh
— Sounds good
— Chamomile tea is great
As always, I swapped out an awkward topic for a safer one, then turned on the Discord mic.
"I'm here."
[You are? ]
"Yes."
[I-I'm getting nervous, what do I do...?!]
"Stay nervous."
— What kind of exchange is this lmaooooooo
— "Stay nervous" is killing me lmaoooooooooo
— Plenty of new quotes getting added today lmaooooo
[...Are you trying to make me sulk again?]
"I can only offer the textbook solution, and you'd just tell me that doesn't actually calm you down."
[Well, if it were you, you'd probably just say you'd already done it.]
[...This is the first time it's actually annoyed me how well you all know me.]
— Ugh, these Ts
— You're a T with a huge C core, aren't you?????
— Come on, troll, show a little empathy
"But you're feeling a little less nervous now, aren't you?"
[Huh? Uh... I mean... I guess...?]
"Then we're all good."
— What?
— Is THIS a build-up too?
— lol this whole situation is absurd lmaooooooooo
[...Roze, you just blurted something insensitive because you couldn't be bothered, then patched it up afterward, didn't you?]
"Siru?"
[...I'm sorry.]
— lmaoooooo
— Siru drops the truth bombs lmaoooooo
— She always says what needs saying, Sirucola lmaoooooo
— No wonder lol I was wondering why that build-up felt so off lmaooo
"How many minutes left until the cover song?"
[O-one minute now!]
"I just finished calming you down, and now you're getting nervous again? What am I supposed to do with that."
[Th-the CLOCK is what's making me nervous, what am I supposed to do about THAT!]
"You sang the song beautifully and the video turned out great. I genuinely don't understand why you're nervous."
— She got a preview?
— Wait, she's already seen it?
— Ah, no spoilers please
"No? I haven't seen it. That's simply what I expect of you."
[D-don't put pressure on me!]
"Pressure? This is called trust."
— That IS pressure though...
— Do these two not know what pressure is?
— This message has been deleted.
— She's a troll... cut her some slack...
Anyway, a little while later, the cover song went live.
"Oh, this song?"
[It's going to suit you so well, unnie.]
[J-just, um... don't get your hopes too high when you watch it...]
The song she'd covered was a historical-drama-style piece. She must have deliberately picked this genre knowing she'd be releasing it on Chuseok.
"Mmhm."
Not bad at all?
I'd expected it to suit her, but it exceeded even my expectations. Minseo's clean, idol-ready tone layered with traditional Korean vocal technique made for a genuinely lovely listen — and before I knew it, lost in the music, the song had ended.
[S-so, how was it?]
"Hm... I'm not saying anything here. I'll post it as a YouTube comment, so go check there."
[Oh, that's fun. Unnie, I'm doing that too.]
[Gu-guys...?]
[Wooju! You were the best! Absolutely the best! The greatest!]
[Siru! From your unnie, it's you and only you!]
Ding!
— Seriously, these Ts lmaoooooo
— That's pure evil lmaooooooo
— Just compliment her to her face lmao why does it have to be in the comments lmaoooooo
"Everyone, please choose one of two options: the funny version, or the sincere version."
— Funny version GOGOGOGO
— Ah lol funny version, obviously
— Are you kidding? Funny is the default — why even ask?
Watching them roar "funny version" in perfect unanimity, without a single dissenting voice, a question occurred to me.
Why do these people insist on calling me the vicious one...?
Maybe we're not so different after all?
"Well then. Per the audience's wishes, I'll write the funny version."
"Something like that. What do you think?"
— Psycho lmaoooo
— This message has been deleted.
— Whoa lmaooooo this transcends imagination lmaoooooooooo
— You're... seriously... wow... incredible...
— lolololololololol
Hm... Why do they pull this act on me and me alone, when they're the ones who chose the funny version in the first place?