Chapter 116
Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: I Met Verdi-chan in Real Life!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the day had arrived after two days of waiting.
My heart was already pounding at the thought of meeting Verdi-chan.
The first time I met the members, my heart raced because I was seeing my ultimate bias.
But this time, it was different. She was the first VTuber friend I'd made privately, outside of the group.
I was dying to know what she looked like in person.
I'd sent her a photo of myself just in case we might not recognize each other.
But Verdi-chan hadn't sent one back, which only made me more curious.
She'd told me, "When we meet, you'll be so shocked by how pretty I am."
Just how pretty could she be?
More than that, I was amazed she had that level of confidence in her looks.
Was this what they called an American mindset?
Crunch-crunch.
While waiting for Verdi-chan, I stomped on the pile of snow at my feet, making unnecessary noise.
The sky had been so quiet on Christmas Day itself.
But it started snowing lightly last night, and now a decent amount had piled up.
Hehe.
I should make a snowman when I get home later.
I'd made one in the VR world before, too.
But it just couldn't compare to the fun of making a real one.
I prayed the snow would hold out and not melt until then.
Like a meerkat, I kept scanning the surroundings.
Thank goodness today wasn't too cold.
If it had been freezing, it would've been tough to hang out with Verdi-chan.
Especially since I didn't have a car or anything.
I'd been worried about making her uncomfortable, but since that wasn't the case, it was a huge relief.
"...Huh?"
I was fiddling with my phone, double-checking the restaurant I'd looked up in advance.
Suddenly, something flashed into my view and vanished.
What was that? Did I imagine it?
I swear I just saw Ji-ah unnie's golden hair fluttering over there.
And someone wearing the coat Ra-hee unnie often wears...
Nah, must be my imagination.
Why would Ji-ah unnie and Ra-hee unnie be here?
This morning in our chat, they'd said, "We've got a lot of work today, so we're staying home."
To be honest, I was a little disappointed in that sense.
Since Yuna's ultimate bias was Verdi-chan, I wanted to bring her along if possible and hang out as a trio.
But she'd turned me down, saying she had something urgent today.
Well, everyone was busy this time of year.
Christmas was over, but New Year's was coming up soon.
They probably had a ton of prep work to do.
Take Chae-yoon unnie, for example. She'd shown such determination, saying things would change starting New Year's.
She'd even signed up for a gym and was working out hard lately.
It was like practice for her resolutions.
What kind of content should I prep for New Year's?
I was lost in such thoughts, on the verge of spacing out, when—
"Lulu, right?"
"Eek...?!"
A woman's voice suddenly came from behind me.
Her speech had a slightly clumsy feel, but I had no time to focus on that.
What she said was just too shocking.
W-What?
How does she know I'm Lulu?!
I-I can't let anyone find out...!
"N-No, that's not me...! I don't know any VTuber like that! Never met her...!"
I couldn't reveal my Red Pill identity, so I kept my head turned just enough and waved my hands frantically, denying it vigorously.
But only after the words left my mouth did I realize.
Shouldn't I have said "Who's that?" instead of "No, it's not"?
A regular person wouldn't even know what a VTuber is.
Was my Red Pill secret about to go public like this? Panic set in—
"Pfft! Puheheh...!"
"...?"
Suddenly, I heard a muffled laugh.
I whipped my head around reflexively, and there she was...
A woman stood there, striking a pose like she was teasing a child.
She spoke in English with a familiar accent.
【Woof! Surprised ya? Guess I went too far with the prank. Sorry.】
Silver hair, blue eyes, and porcelain skin.
She had an appearance so otherworldly, like something out of a manga or novel.
I was completely captivated, blinking dumbly in a daze.
Wow, she's gorgeous.
Of course, my members were no slouches in the looks department either.
But this felt... not like a real person from this world.
Hang on...?
This voice... I've heard it somewhere before...
No way?
"V-Verdi-chan...?!"
【That's right. You figured it out? First time seeing me in person. Nice to meet you.】
I tentatively said her name, half-guessing, and she nodded coolly.
I couldn't believe it.
This elegant, pure-looking beauty was the playful, energetic Verdi-chan?
【Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Linnea Rondstroum, the VTuber known as Verdi. Thrilled to finally meet you, Lulu.】
【M-Me too. Oh, just call me Da-jeong. Jeong Da-jeong.】
【Da-jeong? Oh, I know that word. It means 'friendly' in Korean, right?】
【Yeah, that's right.】
I'd heard Verdi-chan was learning Korean.
She must be serious about it.
She even knew the meaning of the word in my name.
【It suits you perfectly, Lulu. Oh, and you can call me Rine. All my close friends do.】
【Okay, Rine-chan.】
【Pfft! That's so Japanese-style. But it's cute, so okay!】
Oh right.
I'd habitually added "-chan" to Verdi, so it slipped out as Rine-chan.
Good thing she didn't seem offended.
【Anyway, Da-jeong, you're way cuter in person than in your photos. I'd love to put you on my bed and hug you every day.】
【Th-Thank you.】
Being called cute still gave me some mental resistance.
But since it was from Verdi—no, Rine-chan—I decided to accept it gratefully.
【You're stunning too, Rine-chan. Is your hair natural?】
【Yup. I'm actually from Sweden. Natural silver hair isn't that rare there.】
【Whoa...】
I'd thought her name was a bit unusual.
Never imagined she was Swedish.
Natural silver hair— so cool.
To me, silver hair was the most fantastical color, like something from comics or novels.
Who knew it existed naturally in real life?
【Oh yeah, there's something I've always wanted to do when I met you. Can we try it now?】
【Uh, sure? What is it?】
What could she want to do?
It felt a little ominous, but...
Rine-chan wouldn't do anything weird in public.
With that in mind, I hesitated briefly before nodding.
【Yeah, go ahead.】
【For real?! Then I won't hold back...!】
Squeeze—
True to her word, she spread her arms wide and pulled me into a tight hug.
In the middle of a snowy winter street, her warmth felt unbelievably cozy.
I'd never been hugged like this by anyone outside the company—members, President, So-eun unnie, etc.
It was so novel that I blanked out for a moment.
Rine-chan had a unique perfume scent too.
Even I, who wasn't big on perfumes, found it alluringly sweet.
Like a mix of peach and freesia.
【Finally meeting my ultimate fave...! It's like a dream!】
【Hehe, tell me about it. Meeting you feels like a dream too, Rine-chan.】
We shared the joy of our first real-life meeting for a good while before heading to the restaurant I'd scouted ahead of time.
We almost got caught.
The four Blue LUV members sighed in unison, clutching their chests in relief.
That's right.
Today, they'd come out here secretly spying on Da-jeong's first real-life meetup with an outsider, without telling her.
To a third party, it would look like plain old stalking—a crime scene.
But the four members here had their own justifications.
This was purely out of concern for Da-jeong.
Not some shady group gathered to keep an eye on our cute maknae getting stolen away.
Da-jeong herself had said it in the group chat.
This was practically her first time privately meeting someone from outside the company in real life.
They were just checking on her out of worry—no ulterior motives.
And if asked why they were keeping it secret from Da-jeong when there was nothing shady?
Adult circumstances, they'd all say in unison.
"Is Da-jeong still looking this way?"
"Nah, she just met someone and isn't looking over here."
"Is that the Verdi-a person Yuna and Da-jeong were talking about?"
"Looks like it. Whoa, silver hair? Is it dyed?"
After huddling behind a building pillar and whispering anxiously,
once they confirmed Da-jeong wasn't looking anymore, the four poked their heads out in sync.
There, a mysterious silver-haired woman who'd approached Da-jeong was chatting amiably with her—then they hugged.
"Da-jeong's getting NTR'd...!"
Yuna shuddered in despair at the sight.
It didn't matter if the one hugging Da-jeong was her own ultimate bias.
In Yuna's mental hierarchy of relationships,
even if Verdi-a the VTuber sat at the top as her fave,
above that peak, beyond the clouds, was the true summit: Da-jeong.
No fave was worth yielding that to anyone.
For Yuna, that was Da-jeong.
"Yuna, calm down. It's just her meeting a close friend."
"Even friendships have NTR, unnie...!"
"......"
Ji-ah tried to soothe her like the eldest, but
Yuna spouted nonsense and sank back into despair.
It was like watching a sitcom; Ji-ah was speechless.
Probably because Yuna was weak to the cold—spending so long in the snow must've gotten to her head.
Ji-ah decided to ignore it and turn away.
"Gasp! They're getting in a taxi—heading out?!"
"What do we do? We gotta grab a cab and follow quick...!"
As the two hopped into an arriving taxi,
Chae-yoon and Yuna panicked, throwing out urgent suggestions.
But Ra-hee motioned for them to calm down and smiled leisurely.
"Don't worry. I came prepared for this."
"Prepared?"
She smugly pulled out her phone and showed the screen.
It was her one-on-one chat with Da-jeong.
[Me] - Da-jeong-ah
[Me] - So, you got your date course planned for tomorrow?
[Me] - Want unnie to check it just in case?
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - Hehe
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - No worries!
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - (Memo screenshot)
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - Planned it with times and all!
[Me] - Wow
[Me] - Da-jeongie's so thorough lol
[Me] - So we'll go with this tomorrow?
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - Think so!
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - Verdi-chan said to leave it all to me!
[Me] - Got it
[Me] - Have fun tomorrow
[Me] - (Fox waving goodbye emoji)
[Cutie Maknae ♥] - Yep! Thanks unnie!
That's right.
Ra-hee had interrogated her ahead of time with leading questions to scope out Da-jeong's plans from the start.
"Whoa! Unnie, you're a genius...?!"
"It's exactly one o'clock now, so if Da-jeong sticks to the plan..."
"Yeah, she'll definitely head to that spot I recommended. Lunch there, and plenty to do nearby."
"Alright, let's tail them there!"
As Chae-yoon and Yuna marveled at the airtight scheme,
Ji-ah alone sensed something was off and pulled a face.
'Aren't we just straight-up stalkers at this point?'
Realizing it now was impressive in its own way.
Too late to head home, though.
And Yuna's plea sealed it for the hesitant Ji-ah.
"Unnie! Hurry! What if Da-jeong hands her oshi spot to Verdi-chan?!"
"...!"
That was the unyieldable official fave position—the oshi throne.
If today's meetup made Da-jeong even closer to Verdi-a, and she passed that crown along?
'Can't let that happen.'
She didn't even want to imagine it.
So Ji-ah shoved aside any pangs of conscience, hopped in the arriving taxi with the members, and they were off.