You'll Keep Watching, Right?

You'll keep watching, right?

"Haa..."

I stared at the community posts climbing in real time and let out a long breath. Not that I was surprised. I'd always figured the Red Pill would get out eventually. So it wasn't a real crisis, and I'd already finished talking it through with the company.

"Still... I didn't think the Red Pill would drop on the first stream. No — on the debut stream."

On the tablet screen, Tsuki was currently on her knees with both hands stacked on top of her head, sniffling. I was the one who wanted to cry here... so why was Tsuki the one in tears?

"It's not... fine, exactly, but. Whatever. It's fine. Keep those hands up, though."

"Jiwoo, the company said they'll handle it, so don't worry too much."

Yuwol unnie patted my shoulder, trying to settle me down. There was nothing to settle.

"I'm fine, so just leave it. While we're at it, should I throw a little more wood on the fire?"

"Wood on the fire... you mean you're going to make this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even bigger? Are you sure that's okay? Hoyeon unnie would never allow— wait."

That's Yuwol unnie for you. She'd already read my mind. I gave a light nod, stepped into my room, and powered on the computer.

"W-wait a second! Jiwoo. How are you actually planning to deal with the fallout later? I... when Hoyeon unnie gets mad, she's terrifying.... I won't even be able to stop her."

"Don't worry, unnie."

Jina was watching from the side with an uneasy face too, but I knew exactly why the two of them were like this. Back when I'd caused that whole Japan incident, Hoyeon unnie's rage had nearly maxed out. Apparently even the company staff — even CEO Jo Kyuhyun himself — hadn't been able to talk her down.

I could tell them not to worry all I wanted. Truthfully, I was a little worried myself. The punishment that time had been a hard cap of three meals a day. These days I'd been reading the room and slowly bumping the portions back up, but back then I really had been stuck at three meals with no snacks, and I'd nearly starved to death.

"What are you going to do if she slaps the three-meals-a-day rule on you again..."

"I've... thought about that too. So just trust me!"

I thumped my chest with full confidence, pulled the avatar up on screen, and went live on NewTube and the streaming platform at the same time.

We'd talked a lot about where to broadcast. NewTube was locked in from the start. We'd be uploading edited videos there anyway, and even if the other members weren't doing it, I'd decided to put up full-length VODs on my own. The idea was to let JO Entertainment's official NewTube and the other members' channels ride Kuro's popularity while they were at it.

The live platform we settled on was the one where Aruru — who'd MCed Re:fresh's debut stream — already lived.

Chzzk.

It was the counterpart to the platform people called "the Continent," run by a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠search portal everyone already used, which meant the barrier to entry was basically zero.

I typed in a title fast and hit go live.

The account had been made ages ago, so people who'd followed in advance saw the notification and started trickling in one by one.

I hadn't said a single word since going live, and the viewers were still throwing themselves into protecting Kuro's secret. I stayed quiet a while longer and just watched what they were typing.

The misunderstanding stacked on itself, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, the viewer count punched through a thousand.

"Ah..."

At this rate I wasn't getting anywhere. The incoming viewer count was starting to taper off, too. I finally opened my mouth to the mic.

"I'm sorry, everyone."

The sudden apology sent the chat into actual chaos.

Waiting, they say, when it was three or four months at most. These are the same people who sit pretty through a year or two for a game DLC. Why are they pitching a fit now...

I probably shouldn't think that.

"Everyone, please calm down first. Let me explain why I turned the stream on today."

I pulled up a notepad on the computer and scribbled with the mouse. I hadn't majored in art, so the drawing came out painfully crooked, but people could still tell what it was supposed to be.

One troll had wandered in and laughed a little, and the chat immediately started beating him to death. Even the troll seemed to realize this wasn't the room for jokes.

"It's fine. Even I can tell the atmosphere is... a little much. Everyone, I said I was okay, so stop now."

Even so, the mood didn't settle easily.

"Then I'll say it again — why I turned the stream on today."

I pulled the viewers' attention back, moved the avatar, and bowed my head.

"Everyone, calm down first. I manage my body very carefully, and the company looks after me too, so you don't need to worry."

On set, the title effect meant my stamina never actually dropped anyway. School and streaming were the only things worth worrying about... but they didn't need to hear that.

"Well. I hadn't thought about anything besides the apology stream today, but... for now."

I sent Tsuki a message asking if she could go live.

Bzzzt.

A reply landed in less than a minute.

I had Tsuki's permission. Today's stream, then.

"A game stream with Tsuki, who caused a massive accident yesterday!"

You'll all keep watching, right?