Meeting Her Again
I rubbed my eyes a few times. After witnessing such an absurd sight, the miserable starting line of my pathetic new life didn't seem to matter at all—I just stood there, frozen, staring blankly at the billboard beyond.
What the hell?
'That's... that Virtual Streamer RenaP from back then, right?'
It was her 100-day anniversary stream, back when not a single viewer was watching. I'd sighed at her broadcasting philosophy that seemed doomed to eternal failure—but still, thinking it my last act of kindness before dying, I'd taught her the basics and donated my remaining hundred thousand won or so to that girl.
The Virtual Streamer RenaP.
Which meant... she must've changed her name to RenaPpi now?
The moment that name—RenaPpi—popped into my head, memories from a year ago flashed through my mind like lightning.
"The nickname RenaP. What do you think? Isn't it pretty?"
I answered casually, without much thought.
"It's not bad, but what's the P at the end?"
"This? Um... it stands for PD!"
PD from what era is she talking about?
"You should change that a bit."
"Change it to what...?"
"How about RenaPpi? Ppi. It's cute."
"No way..."
I muttered it aloud without realizing. Fortunately, even though we were on a busy street, no one was nearby at that moment.
It was a huge relief that no one saw a thirty-something guy staring intensely at a dancing 3D anime girl on the billboard, whispering "no way" with a super serious face. Especially in terms of personal dignity.
Normally, you'd only whisper words like that in your head—so maybe this gives a sense of how flustered I was.
I was that shocked.
A solo concert? A Virtual Streamer holding a concert in Korea, of all places?
Well, the world had changed, and there were already Virtual Streamer idols appearing on music shows as groups, so it wasn't that weird...
'No, it is weird!'
What was going on? Had I really been isekai'd into another world?
One that looked just like my old world, with the same body and all, but where culture and stuff was different... so in this world, Virtual Streamers could blast flashy ads on billboards like that. Yeah, that had to be the rational explanation.
I shook my head vigorously.
'No time to stand here. I need to confirm this with my own eyes.'
Decision made, I bolted straight to the nearest PC bang.
* * *
"Welcome."
The last time I'd been to a PC bang was back in middle or high school with friends, so the modern version felt like a totally different world from the hellholes I remembered.
Back then, they reeked of chain-smoked cigarettes soaked into the chairs and tables, with torn leather seats, dim lighting, and school punks shaking kids down for cash.
Now? It was bright and clean enough for couples on dates. They even had food services and all sorts of perks.
But none of that mattered to me right now—the revolutionary evolution of PC bangs over the past decade or so. I just wanted to see the truth with my own eyes.
I grabbed a seat. It stung to spend my precious living expenses on PC time, but oh well.
I considered grabbing a cup ramen while I was at it, then thought better of it. Buying here would cost way more than at a convenience store—or so my biased assumption went. (Of course, I didn't know yet that you could order instant noodles and an employee would bring them boiled and ready.)
Anyway—I fired up a major portal site, and there she was again.
The same face plastered everywhere. The girl who'd thanked me endlessly, who got over-the-top excited just from me watching her stream or doing phone dates...
Now beaming with a bright smile in a place everyone could see. It felt so surreal.
'...Okay, stay calm.'
I slowly navigated to Sprout Wiki—the best spot for this kind of info.
Searching "RenaP" redirected instantly to the RenaPpi page. Shockingly, it had been updated just 30 minutes ago.
First thing that caught my eye: her avatar. Identical to the RenaP I remembered. (I'd always thought it was pretty cute back then, but...)
How to put it? Even the avatar radiated the aura of success.
And soon, I realized it wasn't just a feeling.
'Her outfit... it's so much cuter now?'
Compared to the subculture disaster she'd worn before—impossible to unsee—now it was clean, pretty, and just the right amount of otaku flair. Perfect.
Scrolling down further, there was a photo of her smiling brightly, striking a cute pose.
Below it: From the music video Just Tell Me, Sir.
'Music video...?'
Holy crap. That RenaP made an MV?
Curiosity piqued, I clicked the link that looked like it led to the video.
The song started—and it was the exact tune blasting from the billboard earlier. So that's what I'd heard.
In the MV, she danced in formation with characters I didn't recognize. Probably the other Virtual Streamers from her group, Infinite Noir, right?
And that voice... I'd heard her sing before, and we'd talked on the phone. No doubt—it was hers.
But I was way too early to stop being shocked.
'The views...!'
Views:30,000,000
Uploaded: 3 weeks ago
30 million views. Three weeks old. That's 10 million a week?? From RenaP??
'Uh...'
I froze on the spot.
What? Was this real?
Snapping out of my daze—I was wasting precious PC time—I bought a bottle of water and chugged it to pull myself together.
My vow not to buy anything here had melted away like cotton candy long ago. Hey, I'd run all the way here; water was fine, right?
With my self-justification complete (no one around to hear it anyway), I slowly scanned the page.
'Streaming for over 400 days now.'
'Ace streamer of team Infinite Noir.'
'Evaluated as the most successful in the Virtual Streamer industry; the team name Infinite Noir came from others collabing with her...'
The more I read, the dizzier I got.
That RenaP succeeded? The one who'd stubbornly push "[Trying things no one's done is cool!]" while playing obscure games no one knew?
...Reading that felt like a direct rebuttal to my memories. Speechless, I skimmed more sections.
'Team Infinite Noir... a company? Or just a group? Either way, centered on RenaPpi, with over 8 related Virtual Streamers.'
Who could've guessed she'd lead a big agency with eight streamers under her?
No, this wasn't some poetic "my ex" vibe. I'd only listened and donated out of pity... overlapping a bit with my failures.
Anyway. The page was endless—I swear each game she played had its own subpage. Then:
'RenaPpi's major fans?'
That provocative heading yanked my eyes back.
Incredibly, the fan list included famous celebrities and idols worshipped by the youth. Doubting, I clicked the [#] links beside names—videos and news clips popped up of them shouting out RenaPpi or claiming fandom.
A Virtual Streamer getting news coverage for a shoutout...?
'I really must've isekai'd.'
No room for doubt anymore... or so the silly thought went. But what really stunned me?
The massive page had no "RenaPpi/Controversies" tab. Insane—most streamers couldn't escape that wiki curse.
'...Haa.'
Right. I hadn't come to the PC bang just for wiki diving.
Calming my racing heart with more water, I loaded up the Prwichi site.
'Feels like coming home.'
Then I typed in that familiar username and hit login.
Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer, welcome to Prwichi.