Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Summer Is the Season of Sea and Storms (2)
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『Everyone, you really shouldn't laugh when you see it...』
Through the screen, Myth had positioned only her face within the camera angle, wearing a thoroughly deflated expression.
The Nutube chat window, capturing the scene exactly as it happened, was absolutely on fire.
The video I was watching now was Myth's 4.5th anniversary stream, which had since been taken down from Nutube.
How could I watch a taken-down Nutube video? She'd just switched it to private, so as her manager, I could still access it.
...Not that I was doing much actual manager work, but whatever.
『Seriously, for real. Don't expect anything. You get me, right?』
『No, you guys really have no idea at all.』
Myth wore a genuinely troubled expression.
The uproar showed no signs of stopping, as her fans—crushed under Dream Live's endless swimsuit teases—united in demanding the bikini reveal.
Ugh.
Myth bit her lip and trembled, before reluctantly stepping onto the stage.
And then, without a shred of exaggeration, the chat froze solid.
Just a few slow chats trickling in, like from someone in Norway or wherever, while the chat window felt like a sudden midwinter in the heat of summer online.
And after a good long while.
One chat finally popped up.
...A single line that perfectly nailed the situation.
I paused the video and scrutinized Myth's model in detail.
The swimsuit quality looked downright tragic to my eyes, but there were extenuating circumstances.
Roughly three years ago?
Swimsuit modeling was pretty much at this level across the board back then.
The real issue was that the one wearing it was Myth.
No matter how decent the swimsuit was for the era, Myth's sheer presence completely obliterated it.
To the point where it looked worse than if she'd been naked.
The swimsuit's beauty clashed so badly it was outright alien. That says it all.
Up to here, it was still forgivable.
What viewers wanted from a "swimsuit" reveal was peeking at Myth's hidden skin after all that buildup.
...Saying it out loud makes me sound like a total perv, but guys are all like that, right?
Anyway, it was passable so far, but the crucial reveal of Myth's skin was the problem.
"Whoa... Even I have to say this is kinda rough."
Arms, legs, head—all the parts I knew as Myth were fine.
Shoulders too.
But the core areas of the swimsuit—abdomen and chest—were so atrocious it hurt to look.
A slight exaggeration, but calling it a walking sweet potato wouldn't be off base.
I stuck out my tongue and closed the video as the chat exploded with confusion, disdain, and mockery.
This was more than enough to get the picture.
"Yeah, definitely worthy of being called the darkest black mark of Myth's life."
Whoa.
If I'd gotten a chat barrage like that, I'd have burst into tears on the spot.
Myth really had it rough.
Her old agency pressuring her into that sweet potato getup played a role, sure... but the bigger culprit was me barely designing those parts at all.
"...I was still in high school back then. Kinda hesitant about modeling a woman's body, y'know."
Even if it felt like less than a year had passed, at the time I questioned whether I should detail a VTuber's intimate areas.
So I slapped a black dress on her and left the torso hollowed out.
More precisely, like a wooden frame with just bones and a sloppy finish.
'No wonder shit hit the fan when they tried to patch it up half-assed.'
Word was her old agency president was clueless about the industry and just winged it.
Guess that's why they say presidents need real industry know-how.
"Sigh... What to do."
Truth is, the swimsuits were done ages ago.
If I could whip up a whole concert hall, slapping together a few fabric scraps top and bottom was nothing.
The key was the body.
It had to convey beauty, but I'd never seen a real woman's belly.
Referencing photos of female athletes and models just felt off somehow.
"...Maybe I should just ask to touch it once."
One feel and it'd all click.
She'd probably let me if I asked.
But asking outright? Total creep move.
Or is this normal boyfriend stuff? I mean, you occasionally see dudes groping butts in places like Hongdae.
Lost in eternal virgin angst, I failed to notice.
"Heh."
Someone quietly eavesdropping on my mumbling from the living room through the cracked-open door.
The next day.
I'd been dragged along to a massive department store with Myth since morning.
The same place I'd first met Yeon-ah sis. Felt like months since last time—new waves of nostalgia hit.
"Whoa, doesn't hitting the town together like this feel super overdue?"
"Fate of a streamer and her shut-in dev, huh."
"Hehe. Hold up. Your mask's a bit crooked here."
Myth fussed over my face, adjusting my mask and sunglasses.
Time had passed; the store had changed a bit, but our outfits had evolved more.
Even setting aside winter layers turning to summer shorts, now I had to wear a mask as standard gear.
"Can't stroll the streets barefaced anymore—everyone'd spot Seol-i the celeb. Gotta be careful."
"...Never imagined living like this."
"Nutube hit 2 million subs, right? Congrats."
"...I'm not even uploading or doing jack."
"Hehe. Good things are good."
Our past chats with Myth stayed pretty contained.
Even a VTuber's beautiful love story only reached the small VTuber crowd—articles got buried unless you sought them out.
But this time, with noona, Jeonseon, and the Highwatch world finals? Totally different league.
What was Highwatch?
An absolute juggernaut dominating the world for over a decade.
Longevity meant massive fanbase, including normies who just watched casually.
Hell, half of Korea's young guys had probably played it or followed the league.
"Noona, you're way more famous than I thought."
"Duh. Getting ranked top influential 20-something in Korea wasn't a joke."
And noona, Jeonseon, Frontline? They always topped Highwatch popularity polls as the elite pros.
Top-tier skills ranking them among the all-time greats, and she's a woman to boot.
Pretty too. Figure... honestly all bones, but that decadent vibe scratches a certain itch for male fans, apparently.
Not my take—straight from the classmate DMs flooding in after I showed up on the Highwatch billboard.
"Nutubers, influencers... even celebs were posting about it."
"Hehe. Celebs love Highwatch too."
So even in summer heat, sunglasses, mask, and hat were non-negotiable.
A fully masked couple wandering drew stares, but better than flashing faces.
That'd be a total disaster.
"So why are we here today? Something you wanna buy?"
"It's a surprise. Can't always be me getting surprised."
Myth beamed.
Department store surprise, huh.
She didn't splurge on something crazy, did she? Hmm... not thrilled.
Anything from Myth is great, but my pleb cells still rebelled at extravagance.
Dad was company president, grew up loaded, sure—but never got extra allowance.
Clocks or wallets? Politely decline.
'Myth gets weird with money sense when it involves me. Gotta rein her in.'
Mid-thought, Myth grabbed my hand and yanked me off the escalator.
I glanced around to scope the floor.
4F.
- Women's clothing. Women's swimsuits. And so on. The ladies' floor.
"What, shopping for clothes?"
"Yeah. Summer's here—time for matching fits."
Myth hummed happily, tugging my hand as she skipped along.
Weak surprise. But then she halted me in front of a store.
"Uh, hold on, Myth."
A riot of fabrics so tiny you could barely call them clothes—man-sized palms at most.
My face heated up instantly.
Instinct kicked in; I spun away upon IDing the shop.
Wait, no way, this is bad.
But Myth clamped my sleeve tight.
"Swimsuit."
I turned; she'd slid her sunglasses down, staring right at me.
"Pick one for me. Seol-i."
Her grip crushed my wrist like she'd never let go.
"Haa..."
Seeing that look, all tension drained from my body.