Chapter 168
Chapter 168
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: April Fool's Day is Approaching!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
That meeting with the composer must have been some kind of trigger.
Afterward, I spent my time smoothly pouring out lyrics without a single block.
[Me] - Composer, how about this vibe?
[Me] - (lyrics scribbled in the note)
[VN Composer] - Oh, that's good!
[VN Composer] - If this keeps up, we might wrap up the lyrics by the end of the week.
[Me] - Hehe.
[Me] - What a relief!
Even at home, whenever I had a spare moment, I'd jot down lyrics and send them to the composer for approval.
Surprisingly, not a single one of my ideas had been shot down yet.
Of course, I did get a bit of help from the composer on research or fine details here and there.
But watching the core structure and meat of it all fill up with my own words filled me with pride.
Days passed—one, then two—and as the song took shape bit by bit, I felt a swell of accomplishment and excitement.
"Long time no see, everyone!"
"Yo, hisashiburi!"
"Whoa, how long's it been since we all saw each other like this?"
"Pretty long, huh? Feels like at least a month."
March had slipped away before we knew it, and with April right around the corner, we'd finally gathered at the company after far too long.
Nothing major had come up or anything.
We just wanted to catch up in person and grab a meal together.
Plus, there was a little event lined up for April that we needed to go over.
And amid all that, here I was today...
"Da-jeong, those snacks any good? One of the staff brought them back from a trip as a souvenir."
"Yesss, they're delicious. Tons of jam inside—totally my style."
"Yeah? Dig in."
...sitting on the President's lap, munching away.
Come to think of it, what country are these from?
Judging by the language on the package, probably Taiwan or somewhere in China.
Anyway, they're packed with what tastes like strawberry jam—super yummy.
The outer crust has this texture kinda like a pineapple bun, which is great.
But best of all, the moist filling goes down so easy.
"Da-jeong, want some black tea? Or juice?"
She must've figured my throat was parched from all the snacking.
So-eun unnie offered me something to drink.
Normally, whenever the members or the President got together, they'd all just have coffee or tea without a second thought.
But since I'm the only one who doesn't go for that stuff, they always check with me.
"Um, orange juice for me..."
"Pfft, got it. Hang on a sec."
For some reason, it made me feel like the only kid in the room, so I ducked my head a little and mumbled my reply.
So-eun unnie burst out laughing and headed to the break room.
Uuu.
She definitely thought I sounded like a little kid just now.
B-but I really don't like black tea or coffee!
To be fair, I can handle sweet coffee if it's not too much.
But that slight jittery buzz from the caffeine? I hate it, so I avoid it.
In other words, it's not that I'm some baby who can't handle bitter tastes.
I'm just sensitive to caffeine, that's all.
Yeah, exactly.
"Huh? Hey, Da-jeong."
"Hm? You call me?"
Soon after, So-eun unnie brought the orange juice.
I was chowing down on more snacks when Yuna blinked at me with a puzzled look.
And then she dropped an atomic bomb out of nowhere.
"Have you... maybe shrunk lately?"
"Huh? W-what are you talking about...! Shrank?! My height?!"
Sure, I'm the shortest in Blue LUV!
Sure, I'm a good 9 cm below the average female height!
But even if I look small, saying I've actually shrunk is too much!
I growled back in a way that's not like me at all.
Yuna looked stunned for a second, then hurriedly explained herself.
"N-no, it's just... normally when you sit there, I could see a bit less of the President's face."
"Huh, you're right. Didn't Da-jeong usually only come up to about here?"
The President even chimed in, pointing to just below her neck.
I whipped my head around in shock.
I-is that so?
It feels the same as always.
Getting shorter out of nowhere? That doesn't even happen.
"N-no, it's not...! I must've hunched my back a little! No way I've shrunk...!"
"Hmm, fair point. You're not some 70-year-old; you're not at that age yet."
I protested fiercely, and the President nodded like she bought it.
The whole thing fizzled out with less drama than the initial shock, but...
A weird unease settled in one corner of my mind.
Ah, this won't do.
I should measure my height before heading home.
Conveniently, there's a height measurer in the company training room.
"Anyway, I didn't call you all here for a full meeting. Just wanted to see your faces after so long. So let's breeze through this quick and go grab food together, okay?"
The chit-chat wrapped up.
The President snapped her fingers to liven things up and kept going.
Cheers erupted from all around.
"Wooo! Food!"
"The President's treating, right?!"
"Then I'll have lobster."
"Ra-hee, trying to bankrupt the President...?"
Yeah, at this rate, it feels like they've all been starving for days.
Ji-ah unnie seemed like the only one holding the sane position, but then she timidly raised her hand and said, "Pizza for me..."—true to form as our resident bread lover.
Now that I think about it, Ji-ah unnie's tastes are kinda childish.
She doesn't seem picky or anything.
But whenever she mentions cravings, it's always pizza, burgers, that sort of thing.
Though, does pizza even count as bread?
No clue.
"Alright, you all decide what to eat among yourselves. For now, let's get through the meeting. I heard from So-eun that you've got a stream planned for April?"
The President pressed on to kick off the real meeting.
We all instantly knew what she meant and lit up with excitement.
We hadn't actually told the President yet.
It was an idea that came up when we got together on our own recently.
We adopted it because it sounded like a blast.
"Yes! We talked it over among ourselves, and it's guaranteed fun! President!"
"And we need your help too!"
"Huh? My help?"
Chae-yoon unnie's words made the President tilt her head.
We do sometimes borrow company resources for content prep.
But she probably picked up that this meant help from streamer Haneul Bom herself.
"See, we need at least six people this time."
"We're planning to do it in teams of three..."
"Teams of three? Ah, that's why you need me."
Ra-hee unnie and Ji-ah unnie elaborated.
The President finally got it and nodded.
That's right.
The little content we'd prepped would be done in teams of three.
We'd originally thought about doing it all together.
But that would've been too chaotic.
That said, it's not like there won't be any group stuff.
We plan to all hop on at the end for an April Fool's wrap-up and some low-key chat.
That should make for some fun moments too.
"So, what's the content? April means April Fool's special, I guess."
"As expected of the President...! So quick on the uptake!"
With all her streaming experience, the President clocked it the second we mentioned April content.
She must've guessed what we'd be doing too.
It's one of those super classic streamer pranks for April Fool's.
"...Hey, no way, you girls aren't...?"
"Hehe, correct!"
"This is why I can't stand sharp presidents!"
Horror dawned on the President's face.
Yuna and Chae-yoon unnie grinned in contrast.
I stifled my laughter and snuck another bite of snack.
"This is insane...! Hey, count me out! Why drag me into it?!"
"Aww, we finally made some fun content, and you won't help? President?"
"That's too much!"
"Uuu, time for the employee-hating President to awaken!"
"Right? It won't be fun without you."
The President resisted hard, like she really didn't want to.
But no way could she win a 5:1 battle, President or not.
We had the perfect justification from the start too.
For a total streaming pro like her, nothing beats appealing to her "broadcast instincts."
"No way! Do it yourselves somehow!"
But surprisingly, the President dug in her heels.
Normally, we'd back off here and suggest a compromise.
But today, compromise wasn't an option, so we went nuclear.
"Tch, no choice... Da-jeong, grab her!"
"Hya!"
"Da-jeong...?!"
At Yuna's command, I whipped around fast.
I plunged my arms into the President's underarms and hugged tight.
President, sorry...!
But the members' happiness comes first for me!
Plus, it's for the stream, so it shouldn't be a bad deal for you!
"Unnies, now!"
"You should've just come along nicely, President."
"Sorry, President. Mind if we...?"
"You girls too...!"
Action leader Yuna barked more orders.
Ra-hee unnie and Ji-ah unnie stepped up, hands heading for the President's underarms and sides.
Our seemingly flawless President's weakness?
She's super ticklish.
And all us members knew it.
"Kyahahahaha!"
Her laughter echoed out soon after.
Victory—we finally got her surrender.
And per the team draw we'd mentioned earlier, the President ended up grouped with me and Yuna.
Four days later.
As April Fool's Day arrived, the Cherries buzzed with excitement, waiting for Lulu's stream.
Lulu usually went live around 7 PM, so when she announced 5 PM for once, they had a hunch.
Oh, they're prepping some content.
And it's definitely a collab.
Why? Because around the same time today,
Yuki and their President, Haneul Bom,
had posted notices saying their streams would start at 5 PM too.
Everyone flooded into Lulu's stream, hyped to the max.
They were already waiting, rattling the virtual doorknob for all they were worth.
Roll roll—
The chat exploded with question marks as everyone voiced their confusion.
It was because Yuki's signature effect played: her snowballs rolling by.
This was the transition from waiting screen to live broadcast on Yuki's channel.
And on the screen that appeared...
"E-everyone, kon Yuki! Kon Yuki! I'm Yukiko from Blue LUV! The snow girl with cold hands but a warm heart, Yukihara Yukiko... uuu..."
The avatar on screen was unmistakably Yuki's.
Yet the voice coming through sounded like it belonged to someone whose face was right there.
A voice that was a little airheaded, a bit fawning, but undeniably cute.