Chapter 100
Chapter 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Summer is the Season of Sea and Storms (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The swimsuit section felt way more off-putting to me than I'd imagined.
It was like a place that symbolized something forbidden for guys.
Not quite on the level of a women's lingerie store, but it packed a similar punch.
"Aren't you being a total prude? My ears are ringing."
"...Isn't this normal, though?"
"Hehe. Who knows. This is my first time having a boyfriend too. We just gotta enjoy being us."
Myth pulled her mask down.
Was it because we were inside the swimsuit store that her guard relaxed a bit?
The near-empty surroundings helped too. Not many people hit up department stores to shop for swimsuits on a weekday afternoon.
Plus, unlike me, Myth was a VTuber.
"Still, wouldn't it be safer with the mask on?"
"Nah. People who think VTubers look like their avatars are pretty rare anyway."
Ah.
A lightbulb went off over my head.
Makes sense. To me, Myth looks just like 'Myth'—stars in her eyes aside—so I'm extra sensitive, but most folks would just think she's someone who resembles 'Myth'.
"Still, watch what you say. Your voice is pretty distinctive, so better safe than sorry."
"Good point. Then—"
Myth grabbed the back of my neck and pulled it down just a tad.
My relaxed neck stretched down, and she brought her lips to my ear, right next to her face.
"I'll just whisper like this."
"...No. Seriously, stop. This is bad for my heart."
I lifted my head back up.
Mask, hat, sunglasses.
With my skin completely covered and no way for the heat to escape, my head heated up fast.
"Ehehe. You're all red."
"...Idiot."
"Eh, wait—"
This time, I grabbed the end of Myth's hair and tugged lightly.
Her head came closer, and I leaned down, pressing my lips right up against her ear.
"Bet this embarrasses you too."
My lips parted, brushing her earlobe just a bit.
My breath went in, and I felt her flinch—her whole body shuddering hard.
Whoa.
"Myth?"
She should've reacted by now.
Her unusually quiet state worried me, so I pulled back a little, and there she was—looking up at me with a completely flushed face.
Her eyes slightly misty, her expression like she was anticipating something.
"Uh. Th-that. Huh? Weird. Why can't I think straight?"
I could clearly see her eyes spinning in circles.
Was this that sudden for her? I thought it'd gotten better with time, but nope—attack power 100, defense 0 doesn't go anywhere.
Seeing her so red made me feel weird too.
The world tinted a bit pink.
My thoughts ground to a halt, and before I knew it, Myth's face was drawing closer—
"Ehey. You two. You're making the salesgirl uncomfortable."
Smack!
Right before our faces met, someone whacked the back of my head hard.
My face lurched forward naturally, and my lowered head forgot its original goal, slamming into Myth's forehead instead.
"Ow...!"
"Ouchie..."
Myth and I clutched our heads and squatted down on the floor at the same time.
I grabbed the back of my head too.
Damn, that hit way too hard—who the hell did that?
Still dazed, I turned around, and there stood a familiar face looking down at me.
"Yeon-ah noona...?"
"Unnie?!"
"Yeah, unnie, noona, whatever. Long time no see, you two."
Yeon-ah noona grinned and waved at us.
The department store's B1 food court.
Too embarrassed to keep shopping, we'd grabbed some random stuff and come down to eat with Yeon-ah noona.
Another fancy restaurant for lunch felt too much for everyone, so we settled on a decent American burger joint.
It was a place that gave extra peanuts, which was a nice quirk.
Yeon-ah noona scolded us as she looked at us.
"You kids. Good to see you're still all lovey-dovey, but PDA has to pick its time and place. You're not high schoolers—can't get that sticky in public."
Myth and I hung our heads low.
When I saw the staff blushing while watching us, I seriously wanted to die of embarrassment.
"Sorryyy..."
"No excuses, unnie. Ugh. It's all Seol's fault for being too handsome."
"...If we're blaming looks, then you—"
"Enough, enough. No more lovefest. You're already giving me blood sugar issues."
Yeon-ah noona took a sip of her espresso.
Not from the burger place—from the cafe next door. I'd heard she liked pairing coffee with burgers.
Chugging straight espresso like it was nothing... she seemed so grown-up.
Myth's eyes went wide watching her.
"Huh? Unnie, you don't like bitter stuff."
"Depends on the case. Some days, you just need that bitterness."
"Days like that exist?"
"They do. Days like this."
Yeon-ah noona narrowed her eyes and glared at us in turn.
Wondering if we'd done something wrong, we exchanged looks, and she sighed, dropping her head like 'forget it'.
"Sigh. You dumb couple. What am I gonna talk to you about? Anyway, Legend bro."
"Yes, Yeon-ah noona."
"Heard you stirred up trouble again?"
"Trouble... nah, more like a touching family reunion."
"My follower count just topped my sister's. Ugh, jealous. Power of connections, huh? Mind if I host a collab sometime later? I'm a huge FrontLine fan too. Check this out."
Yeon-ah noona pulled a sleek black card from her wallet.
It had "FrontLine" scrawled in elegant script, with noona's signature.
Collabs like this in modern times, huh.
Back when I was around, pro gamers didn't have this kind of status. Felt fresh.
Or maybe noona was just that badass, elevating the whole scene.
Yeon-ah noona rambled on about my sister for a good while.
Hearing the noona I knew praise my own sister felt... off. Like,
'Is that how it is?'
That kind of vibe.
Our burgers arrived, and as we ate, we chatted about all sorts.
Main topic was, naturally, streaming stuff.
Wondered if it was okay talking about that in such an open space, but surprisingly, crowded noisy spots are great for casual chatter to blend in.
I could hide my face by sitting in the corner.
Having to worry more about my exposure than Yeon-ah noona's felt weird.
"Hoo... all done. Problem with this place is the burgers are too big and greasy. Tasty though, right?"
"So good."
"Heard American burgers came to Korea, but first time trying one. Ugh. Don't think I could eat it twice, unnie—tastes great, but feels like it's clogging my arteries."
"Haha. Time for you to start caring about health too, Myth."
Yeon-ah noona sipped her second espresso while glancing at me.
Refilling on espresso like crazy—she really loves the stuff. Gotta get her some as a gift next time—
As I thought that, she leaned forward a bit and asked.
"So, this about prior research?"
"Prior research?"
"Y'know, that big move from Japan this time."
Japan? Big move?
News to me—first I'd heard.
I glanced at Myth, who shook her head like she had no clue either.
"Makes sense. Announcement went up less than two hours ago. Pure coincidence, huh."
"Coincidence what?"
"Everyone, check the DreamLive official account on your phones?"
Myth pulled out her phone.
I leaned over to peek at her screen.
There was some pretty interesting news.
In super flashy Japanese.
I couldn't make heads or tails of it, so Myth quickly translated for me.
"...Or so it says?"
"Heh."
A little tension crept into my throat as I sipped my shake.
Yeon-ah quietly smiled as she watched Myth and Legend.
Those two wildcards.
When she'd seen the announcement two hours ago, she'd been floored—enough to call Myth on impulse, but Do Not Disturb was on, so she'd let it go.
'So, Legend bro. How're you gonna react to this?'
Yeon-ah wasn't in the VTuber scene herself, but with so many around her,
Like this cheeky little sis and bro.
She swirled her espresso lightly.
Legend's face reflected in the pitch-black bitterness.
'This is DreamLive's declaration of war. And on a unprecedented scale.'
'Beyond "Legend".'
A shot straight at VTuber legend Myth, QWER, and Legend bro himself.
'Doesn't feel like bluffing.'
No, it couldn't be a bluff.
DreamLive had made it happen.
A 'Mika' to surpass 'Myth'. With that mega-corp throwing money and time at it, totally plausible.
Myth ruling the top for over seven years? That was the real monster.
'Let's see that Legend bro face.'
Yeon-ah had good instincts.
A quick glance, and she could predict the outcome.
How would you respond to a declaration like this, Legend bro?
Yeon-ah met Legend's eyes—
"Pfft."
Laughter burst out.
His eyes weren't filled with shock, fear, or panic—
"...This looks fun."
Joy.
That was all.
This summer, the internet wouldn't be quiet.
A storm was brewing.
From Japan's giant corp.
From Korea's little burger shop.
'Ah, this'll be fun.'
Yeon-ah downed the rest of her coffee.