Chapter 3
Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: When You Become Mine
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah, yeah. Got it. Thanks for sticking around for the stream, QWER-nim. See ya~"
- Yeah, good night.
Every time I hit the end broadcast button on my streaming program, this weird feeling washes over me.
Even though my irregular schedule means the only viewer tuning in these days is QWER, and it's basically just one-on-one chatting—like a phone call—there's still this emptiness in my chest when it ends.
A hollow, kinda lonely, wistful feeling.
Is it selfish to wish you felt it too?
"...This is unreal."
I turned off the stream and took another look at the avatar QWER-nim had given me.
Shoulder-length, shimmering black hair, and a beautifully sculpted face that made me wonder if I even deserved to use a character like this.
I'm no expert in 3D modeling, but I could tell at a glance.
This was an absurdly generous gift.
"Is there really a better avatar out there?"
Not even the hot VTuber 'group' making waves in Japan right now, or the very first VTuber who introduced the world to them, has something on this level.
An avatar ahead of its time.
The phrase fit perfectly.
If anything, with a bit of exaggeration, it could dominate the front lines for at least the next ten years.
Even the custom-made avatars from low-tier VTubers—which I'd roughly researched—cost hundreds of thousands of won, and this blew them away.
I could've compromised with Live2D, but I really wanted a proper avatar, so I'd been pushing myself.
That's why I knew.
At least a thousand.
No, this was in the tens of thousands range. Easy.
But more than the money, the fact that one viewer had spent three years making this just for me... it filled my heart to the bursting point with joy.
- Virtual avatar. Made it myself studying on the side since you said you wanted to try. Been at it since middle school modeling. Three years in high school... is it lacking?
- Wanted to see you debut.
"Eek?!"
Thump.
Thump.
My heart pounded.
So hard it heated my face, threatened to burst my chest, drowned out the world with its rhythm.
Was this just joy from getting one step closer to my dream?
...No. Not entirely.
"I want to see you."
I said it aloud and immediately regretted it, glancing around my empty room.
Of course no one was there, but my face burned anyway.
Of course I'd developed feelings for QWER-nim, a viewer whose face I didn't even know.
QWER.
A self-proclaimed third-year high schooler in humanities, same age as me.
He popped in sporadically—maybe once a week if lucky—and after a six-month mega-hiatus, showed up the instant I went live today.
Do you know?
How much I agonized before hitting that start button.
How I hovered the mouse over it, hesitating, over and over.
How those few seconds between going live and you joining felt like eternity to me.
That I—
"No, no, no, no. That's not it. I can't feel this way about someone whose face I haven't even seen."
I forcibly shoved down the emotions bubbling up like lava.
My heart protested no matter how hard I tried, so please, just bear with me a little.
I don't know your face, who you are, or even your real age.
All I know is that you always show up for my streams,
and support my dream more than anyone.
That's when I realized.
- Isn't that more than enough reason for these feelings?
No. Not yet, at least.
I lay back on my bed and pulled the covers over me.
As if smothering the emotions trying to erupt.
Second Thursday in November.
The day after pouring twelve years of my life into it—I should be exhausted.
"Well, at least I exchanged contacts on Xcode..."
Thump.
Thump.
My bursting heart wouldn't let me sleep.
Gratefully sharpening these feelings even more.
And with the wish that you felt the same.
▶
After handing the avatar over to Myth, my life changed in a bunch of ways.
First off, Myth stopped streaming altogether.
- Myth: Not streaming till next year.
- QWER: Huh? Why?
- Myth: Gotta prep early if I'm practicing to be a VTuber. Just practice till debut.
I figured just slap the program on and go live, but Myth was dead serious—way more than I expected.
She posted another long hiatus notice: since she had a great avatar now, she'd practice every facial and hand-tracking feature, debut in top form.
The next change had nothing to do with Myth.
"Hey, Legend! You traitor! You came all the way to Gyeongju and you're still glued to your phone! Girlfriend?!"
"Shut up, idiot."
Post-CSAT seniors go wild as a rule.
Breaking free from three to twelve years of chains.
I had to keep up with my friends' manic, desperate partying—every day like it was life or death—running around everywhere.
Gyeongju, West Sea, South Sea, East Sea. Why do they love beaches so much? Even in dead winter, we'd hit every coast.
Makes sense—mountains and valleys are off-limits in winter.
For students, seaside pensions are the ultimate getaway.
I shoved aside friends trying to peek at my phone and kept texting Myth.
They were convinced I had a girlfriend. Whatever.
- Myth: But Manager-nim, what about RP?
- QWER: Stop calling me that.
- Myth: But you totally act like one?
- QWER: ...
Somehow I'd ended up as Myth's manager—skipping that for now—I pondered RP.
RP (Role Play) was the character's concept, its uniqueness.
Just two years ago when we first got into VTubers, this didn't exist. But in three years, Japan exploded with the boom.
And every Japanese VTuber had to have an 'RP'—mandatory.
Dragon King from somewhere, thousand-year-old fox spirit, hero from another world, demon lord who'd ruled the demon realm for 3,000 years, whatever.
The big-corp-level ones all leaned hard into it, no exceptions.
Without it, the vibe was 'not a real VTuber!' So we needed to prep too.
- Myth: That's Japan. This is Korea. Do we really need RP?
- QWER: Culture gap between Japan and Korea isn't that huge. Could even pull in Korean viewers hooked on the Japanese scene.
- Myth: But I don't want anything too out-there. Don't think I could pull it off.
- QWER: Then go safe. Story's what matters in the end.
- Myth: Any RP you wanna recommend or see? I'll consider it seriously.
RP, RP.
I looked up at Gyeongju's night sky.
Vast expanse, and beyond it, the universe.
Not many stars in Korea, but staring into that dark sky made me think of her. Guess I'm a hopeless Myth addict too.
Yeah.
That day, you appeared before me like a shooting star from space.
I typed out the idea as it hit me.
Tap tap.
Aware that this one line could shape someone's life.
- QWER: How about 'Idol from Space'?
- Myth: Reason?
- QWER: Just. Looked at the sky and thought of you.
No reply for a while.
Then I realized what I'd done and hurriedly deleted it.
Damn.
Winter dawn air has this way of stirring emotions.
Freezing cold, but my cheeks burned. Reply came soon after.
- Myth: What. Why delete?
- QWER: Dawn vibes got me. Forget it.
- Myth: No. Don't wanna forget. I like it. Idol from Space.
Myth seemed genuinely into it.
The thrill of someone—especially a streamer I liked—taking my idea? Electric.
One dawn in December.
- Myth: Awesome! Idol from Space it is! You'll help with detailed settings, right?
- QWER: Yeah, let's make a character sheet when I get home.
- Myth: Whoa, super serious?
- QWER: RP shines brighter the more detailed it is.
My idea became 'you'.
This strange, delightful feeling—
"Haha."
I laughed like a kid.