Tsuki, Oh Tsuki
I shoved my phone away without much care and stepped out of the room, hoping a little fresh air might clear my head.
"Haa... Tomorrow's already looking scary."
I sat down in the first stretch of hallway I saw and watched the world outside. The building itself had the kind of layout you'd only ever find in old-school Japanese manga, so even from the corridor the night sky was perfectly visible.
And tonight, of all nights, the sky was crystal clear. Perfect for a change of mood... except it wasn't!
Damn it. A night like this was made for a cold beer.
I'd quit smoking for the sake of my singing—back when I'd been going through them like a chimney. Being stuck in a student's body helped, and I hadn't even been craving cigarettes that badly, so kicking the habit had been easy enough.
Alcohol, though. That was a different story.
Every drama wrap party, the drinks would come out, and I wanted one so badly. I'd tried sneaking a sip more times than I could count... and failed, every single time.
"Haa... I'm exhausted. Better just go back and sleep."
Tsuki's mother had already laid out the futon before I showered. I stood up and started back toward the room.
A sliver of light leaked through a door left slightly ajar.
"Whose room is that?"
If it was Tsuki's, no problem. Anyone else's, and I was better off walking right past.
I was just about to do exactly that when a familiar voice drifted out from inside.
"Um... Grandfather. I have a dream I want to chase."
That voice... Tsuki?
I'd told her, half as a joke, to try talking to her grandfather seriously about her dreams. I hadn't expected her to actually go through with it this fast.
I knew Tsuki had good follow-through. I just hadn't known it was this good. And I definitely hadn't expected her to say it so bluntly to the grandfather she was so afraid of.
"Now I'm curious..."
What would Tsuki say? What would her grandfather say back? My feet refused to move.
"Just a little eavesdropping."
I knew listening in was a bad thing. But I wasn't exactly some prim and proper young lady who'd sworn off every vice. This much was fine... right? With that convenient little justification, I edged up to the door and peeked inside.
"A dream, is it... Didn't you say you were going to become a civil servant?"
"That wasn't... Tsuki's dream. That was what the family wanted. And back then, I hadn't found anything I actually wanted to do yet."
"So you've found it now, then."
Tsuki nodded.
"I have. I'm going to become a VTuber idol. With Jiwoo-chan and the other unnies. No—I will become one."
Even as she said it, she kept glancing at her grandfather's face. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Tsuki. That's not going to cut it. Say it like you mean it!
I sent the thought at her like a telepathic signal—and whether she actually caught it or not, Tsuki clenched both fists and spoke up.
"I like Jiwoo-chan! I want to stay by Jiwoo-chan's side!"
"You like that girl that much?"
"Yes!"
No... Tsuki, oh Tsuki. Of all the parts to say with the most confidence. What is your grandfather going to think?
He might get the wrong idea about our relationship. I silently, desperately prayed she'd get back on track.
"Jiwoo-chan is pretty! Jiwoo-chan shines the brightest when she's working! Even the way Jiwoo-chan sometimes acts like some old guy is adorable! Tsuki wants to stay right next to a Jiwoo-chan like that."
Like some... old guy?
Had I been doing that?
I started running through everything I'd done, one incident at a time. The anecdotes that surfaced in my head... numbered exactly zero.
I didn't think of my behavior as particularly feminine. I didn't think of it as particularly masculine, either. I'd figured it was just ordinary, everyday-person behavior. Apparently other people saw it very differently.
Hmm.
This could be a problem.
What if I slipped up on stream someday? Worrying about the future already wouldn't help, but I at least needed to take some basic precautions.
"Well, that girl did say she'd take responsibility for you. She asked us to give you to her, after all."
"...Ehhh?! What do you—d-did Jiwoo-chan really say that...?"
While I'd been lost in thought, the conversation had moved on. Tsuki was fidgeting, her face bright red.
What? What on earth happened in there...?
Looking any further felt like it would be bad for my mental health. I lifted my feet as carefully as I could, killed every sound, and slipped into the room where the futon had been laid out.
"Haa... Doesn't look like I got caught. Time to sleep. Gotta get up early tomorrow anyway."
I crawled under the covers and went straight to sleep.
Summer was sliding toward the sweltering season. Japan, not so different from Korea, stayed muggy even at night.
"Nngh... hot... heavy..."
My body felt considerably hot, and heavy.
Heavy? The strange word slipped out of me half-asleep, and I snapped my eyes open to check under the covers.
"Hehe... Jiwoo-chan. Good morning!"
Tsuki waved at me with a sunny smile.
I spent a moment trying to figure out what was going on—and why Tsuki was even here.
"Jiwoo-chan, Mom said to come eat breakfaaaast—!!!"
"I told you not to infiltrate my futon."
"B-but! Jiwoo-chan was sleeping so peaaaacefully!! Ow!"
The more Tsuki thrashed, the harder I squeezed, clamping down on her head.
"Fine, I get the part about breakfast... but why are you in my futon? And why are my clothes all messed up?"
"That's... hehehe... ow!"
Tsuki made a show of wiping drool on her sleeve, like she still hadn't come to her senses. I put every ounce of strength I had into my grip.
My grip strength was a measly forty-odd pounds. Even pressing on her temples, it shouldn't have been enough to make anyone actually scream.
"Enough with the theatrics. Let's move. The time is..."
I grabbed the phone I'd left beside the futon and checked.
6:21 a.m.
The flight was booked for ten. If we ate and left right after, the timing would work out just fine.
And so, after another delicious breakfast to follow last night's dinner, Tsuki and I hurriedly packed our things and headed for the airport.
The only reason Tsuki had come all the way there was to see me off.
"You really didn't have to come with me."
"Hm? No way. If I leave Jiwoo-chan alone, weird guys might come after you. So..."
"Hey... are you two here on a trip by yourselves? We're a pair too, actually... if you've got time..."
Two guys approached before Tsuki could even finish. They were the kind of well-dressed men you saw everywhere.
Everywhere in Japan, that is.
If they'd dressed like that in Korea, people would have taken one look and thought, ah, tourists from Japan. They were even wearing those mystery chain earrings.
Did they actually think that looked cool?
Ever since I'd become an actress and my face started showing up in the media, pickup attempts had pretty much vanished. Instead, whenever I appeared, people were too busy pulling out their phones for photos or scrambling for autographs.
It's been a while since anyone tried to pick me up.
Not long after I'd become a girl, I'd gotten hit on several times in Hongdae. Reliving those memories for a moment—
"Hey. Get lost."
"...Huh?"
"...Tsuki?"
Ugly words started pouring out of Tsuki's mouth.
"You miserable sons of bitches. Nothing better to do first thing in the morning than hit on people? What are you standing around for? Get the hell out of here, you pieces of trash!"
"W-we're so sorry!"
"Please excuse us...!"
I froze solid at this side of Tsuki I'd never seen before. The pickup guys fled with terror written all over their faces, and even the people around us started staring at Tsuki like she was some kind of freak.
"Hehe, Jiwoo-chan. Tsuki drove the trash away. So don't worry. Let's go. Tsuki will be your bodyguard, right by your side!"
"Uh... y-yeah. Thanks."
"Hehe, it was nothing!"
What on earth had happened yesterday? The question rose all the way to the back of my throat, but I forced it back down and held it there.
One wrong button and I could already picture Tsuki exploding in some very weird direction.
"Jiwoo-chan! We have to get off here! Come on, let's go!"
"Ah... yeah. Okay."
Tsuki took my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world and led the way. I flinched a little, but I followed her guidance and we made it to the airport in one piece.
Even on the way there, we got hit on several more times. Every single time, Tsuki drove them all off with a venomous glare.
I hadn't expected Tsuki to change this much—but it was fine. It was actually good. It meant she'd gotten that much stronger on the inside. All that studying from watching streams had paid off.
Every broadcast had its trolls. Degenerates who got off on hurting a streamer's feelings and making them cry. If she could stand up to guys like this without a scratch, she could weather those people too.
"Jiwoo-chan... we have to say goodbye now. When you get back... make sure you Discord me."
"Got it. The second I get to the dorm... wait, no, I can't. Hoyeon unnie might actually kill me."
"Ah.... Th-that's something even Tsuki can't do anything about."
Both of us had been chewed out by Kang Ho-yeon before. The image of a furious Kang Ho-yeon rose in our heads, and just thinking about it made our bodies tremble and a cold sweat break out.
"Maybe I should just... live here?"
"Uh... J-Jiwoo-chan... that's impossible."
What? I'd figured Tsuki would jump at that. Today just kept refusing to go the way I expected.
A chill ran straight down my spine.
The voice came from right behind me. Not a shred of emotion in it—just cold, and crawling with dread.
"Ah... I really don't want to turn around."
"I-I'm sorry, Jiwoo-chan!"
Tsuki bowed her head and apologized. Now I understood what she'd meant by impossible.
She'd been holding her phone the whole way here... she'd probably been sharing my location with the person standing behind me.
"Jiwoo. Let's go home. And... you'd better steel yourself for when we get back."
"Haa... I really... don't want to turn around."
I slowly turned.
"Ah, damn it... leave it to Japan. There's an oni standing right there."
If this were Korea, it probably would have been a tiger.