The Offline Collab

Today was the day of the offline collab that so many people had been waiting for.

Since the stream was happening in the afternoon at the company, I loafed around in bed for a decent while before finally getting ready to leave. I had to go out, so after washing up, I was drying my hair when a thought suddenly struck me.

Isn't long hair just really inconvenient?

No, seriously — the drying time alone after a shower takes forever. And whenever I whip my head around, it sometimes ends up in my mouth, which is just annoying.

My taste runs toward long, straight hair, so I've been putting up with it, but I don't know how much longer I can last.

Well, even if it bothered me now, I couldn't exactly chop it into a bob on the spot, so I tucked the thought away for later. Anyway, once my hair was dry, I grabbed the length of it behind my head with both hands to tie it up. All I had to do from there was loop the hair tie around and—

Tch.

Over and over, it refused to go in cleanly, a few strands slipping loose every single time. In my memory, I used to be so good at this.

Hmm... should I actually get a bob? I suppose anything would suit me.

Having been dissatisfied with my long hair since earlier, the bob was looking like a dangerously attractive option. To see what it would look like, I stood in front of the mirror and gathered my hair up short.

...Nope. I will never wear a bob for as long as I live.

This is... not okay.

It's pretty, sure, but this is a mistake.

I had just discovered that an already terrifying face could look even more terrifying. My long hair was serving as a restraint device, apparently. If I cut it short, I suspect no one but my parents would ever be able to look me in the eye. Including Nayeon.

Ah, no — Dad probably couldn't handle it either.

So for the sake of what little social function I have, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bob is off the table. Also, it scares me! And I've already adapted to this face!

Hah. Fine. Let's just tie the hair.

On my second attempt, the result came out passable. Oh! Not bad— ah.

Looking closer, one strand was noticeably sticking loose. Hmm... just yank it out, then.

This was as good as it was getting today, so I seized the offending strand and pulled. A sting at the back of my scalp, and the hair came away in my hand. I dropped it in the trash, came back, got dressed, and studied the face in the mirror.

Yep. As expected, this outfit will do just fine.

My current look was my usual going-out uniform: a black hoodie and track pants. Though at this point "going-out clothes" had evolved into something closer to a beloved personal uniform.

"Ah, I'm actually looking forward to this."

The thought slipped out of my mouth before I noticed. These days, with vocal lessons on pause, I rarely went out except to the company, so I never got to see how strangers reacted to my face anymore. And with the reputation I'd built up, I couldn't help wondering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how the members would respond.

Carried along on that anticipation, I arrived at the now-familiar company building. Was someone here before me? Would I be first?

I found the meeting room and opened the door to find two women staring at me.

"Huh? Huh?!"

"Wait! Are you sure you're in the right place?!"

I suppressed the corners of my mouth trying to curl up at those familiar voices and spoke. "Hello, I'm Lee Yeonwoo."

"What?! For real?! No way! I mean, the voice is definitely you, Yeonwoo, but—!"

"Whoa! Whoa!"

The early arrivals were Yubin and Yuna. The two of them had also been first on our first Discord call, so apparently they were just the type to show up early. That aside — Yubin being a former idol trainee, fine, but Yuna was gorgeous too.

Setting first impressions aside, I walked over and sat in the nearest chair.

"No, seriously! How are you this pretty?!"

"Right?!"

If everything I'd seen so far was closer to open shock, this was shock blended with delight — which made for an interesting change of pace.

"And you're tall! Why are your proportions so good?!"

"Hahaha! Please, continue with the praise!"

Maybe because they were all women, they didn't hold back on the detailed breakdown of exactly what was impressive about what, and my energy rose all on its own.

"Ah, seeing Yeonwoo suddenly snapped me back to reality..."

"Sorry?"

"Eek! Sorry!"

Ah, I must have scowled without meaning to. Feeling awkward, I offered an apology. "Ah, my bad."

"Oh, no, it's fine..."

Just as I was about to say something to rescue the suddenly deflated mood, the door swung open.

"Ah! Is that our girls?! You're all so pret— hup!"

From the voice, it had to be Minseo. She looked at Yubin and Yuna, then at me, and audibly sucked in a breath.

Phew. Thank goodness I don't have to do clown work on top of everything else.

"I'm Yeonwoo, by the way."

"What?! Yeonwoo?!"

"Yes."

Minseo's flabbergasted reaction brought the room back to life.

"No! You were THIS pretty?!"

"I told you I was when you asked before."

"Yeah, but I thought you were joking!"

"I'm hurt..."

As a bit, I dropped my head and let my eyes fall.

"No...! When someone with your face gets sad, it makes me feel so guilty I can't stand it! Lift your head!"

Why is she apologizing this hard? Watching Minseo overreact was genuinely entertaining, and a fun idea occurred to me.

"Unnie..."

Oof, that flinched me for a second. When would I get used to that form of address? Still, determined to see my idea through, I went with the term I never used.

"Yes! Yeonwoo! Unnie is so sorry!"

It seemed to be working — Minseo looked pleased. I watched her for a moment, then spoke.

"If you're sorry, then do aegyo for me."

"Huh?"

"On stream."

If she did it, great. If not, no harm done.

"No! That's a bit—!"

But Minseo wavered more than I expected, and I sensed potential, so I pressed a little further.

"You won't do it...?"

I might genuinely have a shot at a voice-acting side career. The emotion in her voice was shifting by the second.

"Ack! No! That's—!"

"Unnie! You're being too harsh! What's so hard about aegyo?! Our maknae wants to see it! Right, Yeonwoo?"

Yubin piled on and threw her arms around me.

Whoa, that startled me!

I mean, even between women — who just hugs people like this? Coming from a world where the only time guys ever embraced was to set up a suplex, this was deeply disorienting.

"It doesn't have to be long, really. Just enough to make a good clip out of it and I'll be satisfied."

Still, I exercised my professional mind and didn't let anything show, continuing smoothly. "O-okay... Unnie's sorry?"

"Heehee."

The corners of my mouth lifted, and I let the laughter spill out unchecked.

"Hm? Yeonwoo...?"

"Yay! Yeonwoo! Nice one!"

"You saved me. Thank you."

An excellent support play.

"You girls?!"

"You should tell the people who arrive later, too."

That's one proper clip secured.

"Yes! When Sua gets here, let's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ask her to say something like that!"

"I... was I tricked...?"

"No, you simply granted my request. If you'd said it yourself, then *I'd* be the one who tricked you."

One should at least be accurate with one's words.

"No! You're right!"

"Hahaha!"

Fun. Truly one of our group's two designated punching bags.

As for the other one—

"By the way, Yuna, why are you so quiet?"

Ah, I think she's about to get hers. I should hit her too, then.

"Seriously, I didn't even realize you were here."

"No! I was going to say something, but—"

"Hey! You two! We told you not to bully Yuna!"

"You should try it too, unnie! It's fun!"

"She's right. Second-best hit feedback in our group."

"Second? Then who's first?"

I said nothing. I simply kept looking at Minseo. After a while of sustained eye contact, she turned her head away and spoke.

"Me?! Really?! Me?!"

...Apparently it was scary. This damn face, honestly.

"Pffthaha! Unnie's hit feedback really is the best! Just look at her now!"

While we were busy messing around, the remaining two arrived.

"Wow! YOU'RE Yeonwoo?! You're so pretty! But... um, please don't look directly at me..."

Look, I know I have a scary face, but is that really something to say to someone you've just met?

...Actually, yes. It is. Yep.

The memories floating up in my head forced me to revise my thinking. The damage I'd taken from Minseo earlier must have clouded my judgment for a moment.

"What, Sua, you're gorgeous too, though?"

Sua was a beauty with a catlike look that matched her image perfectly.

"But where's Yeonwoo?"

And Yerin, the last to arrive, failed to recognize me at first.

"WHAT?! THIS is Yeonwoo?!"

Seeing the usually unflappable one get rattled was delightful. For the record, Yerin was also a beauty with a cold, chic look.

...Though, wait. We're a VTuber group — is worrying about red medicine even relevant here? Why is everyone objectively gorgeous?

Well, I suppose that's exactly how six people who were both beautiful AND talented ended up applying to the same audition. Let's think positively. How would I know what the interviewers were thinking?

"Alright, going live?"

After a short round of prep, we started the broadcast.

The words "offline collab" had apparently proven irresistible bait — the viewer count was alarming.

"Wow... it's ironic that people watch VTubers and then get *more* curious about reality, but you're our viewers, so I guess we have to protect you, right?"

"Hey! Rose, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you—!"

Our group's viewer base was an odd one. There were the dedicated VTuber watchers, the general livestream crowd, community dwellers, and a tiny handful of fans dating back to our trainee days. Of those community dwellers, ninety percent were viewers of my stream.

From the moment I decided to run an aggro-farming broadcast, this was the scheduled sequence of events, so I felt no particular sting about it. On my own stream, ignoring them is fine — but this is a group broadcast. Stirring the water here would just be a nuisance to everyone else, wouldn't it?

That last line was a screening process. Anyone capable of wearing a mask would have held their tongue after what I just said. The ones who got filtered simply failed to put theirs on. The people due to be weeded out got weeded out — my conscience is clear.

"Rose... you're not actually being serious, right...?"

Ah, streaming has given me the habit of letting my thoughts slip out of my mouth. I'll have to be more careful from now on.

"Of course it was a joke!"

Well, surely they'd let it slide. Reasonably.

...So, that's a no, then?