Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Collab Broadcast Begins!
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We dragged the sofa over from the living room and sat down, and finally, the recognition system kicked in properly.
Once we'd finished setting everything up, we steeled our nerves and hit the broadcast start button.
With a satisfying click, the stream went live, and viewers came flooding in.
Maybe because we hadn't loaded up our avatars yet.
The incoming viewers were clamoring for us to show ourselves right away.
Watching them lose it was kind of fun, so Chae-yoon unnie and I exchanged glances and deliberately held off our entrance a bit longer.
Hehe.
Let 'em sweat a little.
How long did we tease them for?
As the viewers started going properly feral, I figured it was about time to make our appearance.
Unnie seemed to think the same, shooting me a grin that said, Shall we go out now?
I nodded.
She gave a small nod back.
Then, grabbing her mouse, unnie loaded up her avatar, and finally, we appeared on screen.
"Hey everyone! We kept you waiting, right?"
"Hi all! Sorry to make you wait so long."
Ruri?
Oh, right—they meant the combo of me and Lilith unnie.
It was such a cute nickname that I smiled as I waited for unnie's next line.
"Alright, as promised, today's our super special off-collab with Lulu-chan! You all came in hyped, right?"
Day off? Like paid leave from work?
Wow, someone was that excited.
Of course, I'd been excited too, but knowing the fans felt the same made me happy.
"Right now, Lulu-chan's right here next to me. As I mentioned before, Part 1 will be a quick off-collab just chatting segment, then Part 2 we'll switch to an online collab and play some games together."
"Oh, wondering what game for Part 2? Did I not mention? We're playing a game Lulu-chan recommended. Since it kinda ended up a secret by accident, I'll keep it under wraps until Part 2."
Wow.
Even here, she was teasing the viewers.
No wonder fans called her and Lucrezia the two queens of flirting.
Though while Lucrezia did it with her signature flirtiness and charm,
Lilith's version was through her trademark troll moves.
"Ask Lulu-chan? Nah, no way. I'm gonna tell her not to spill~."
"Huh?"
I was nodding to myself, appreciating Lilith's charm all over again,
when suddenly the arrows turned on innocent little me.
Looking around in confusion,
Chae-yoon unnie patted my head with a wicked grin and said,
"You won't spill the secret, right, Lulu? Even if the viewers beg, you absolutely can't tell them?"
"Ugh..."
Wh-what do I do?
Honestly, seeing how curious they were, I'd planned to tell them,
but I couldn't ignore unnie either.
And with her petting me so sweetly like this, my brain was turning to mush—I couldn't think straight.
Fine, whatever.
Unnie's always right anyway.
"Yeah! I won't tell!"
"Aww, that's my good maknae. Listens to unnie so well."
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
My top priority will always be my members, no matter what.
No amount of viewer whining will change that.
Good thing they get it.
"Anyway, that's the plan—so today, we're doing a light Q&A where you can ask me and Lulu-chan whatever you've been curious about. Feel free to direct questions at either of us."
The moment the just-chatting topic for Part 1 was set,
the viewers who'd long been fed up with Chae-yoon unnie's trolling jumped up like they'd been waiting for this exact moment.
But not on my watch!
"Everyone! If you ask Lilith unnie mean questions, I'll scold you! Behave yourselves!"
Hey now, you lot!
Trying to pin the blame on our Chae-yoon unnie?
Of course, the Lilith I know is a chronic troll who loves dunking on viewers...
But that's just her way of showing love!
How could they not get the big picture?
Still, I wasn't completely ignoring their grievances.
Time for a compromise.
"If you're that mad, take it out on me instead of unnie however you want!"
Huh? Why's everyone acting weird?
Didn't I just say something super cool?
"L-Lulu. That kind of wording could lead to misunderstandings..."
For some reason, even Chae-yoon unnie was flustered, trying to cover my mouth.
Does she not get how sincere I am?
"Misunderstanding? But I mean it... I'd endure anything for unnie's sake?"
"N-No! That's exactly the kind of thing that causes misunderstandings!"
"Everyone, quiet down! What are you saying to our pure little maknae?!"
After a brief commotion,
the mood finally settled, and we moved on to the main content: Q&A.
Donations started pouring in like a tidal wave.
Gasp.
First question hits hard.
I'd mentally prepared for something like this,
but that didn't make it hurt any less.
"Oho, I'm curious about this too. Who's your fave among the members, Lulu?"
"C-Can I pass...?"
"Aw, c'mon, that'd be no fun. Unnie doesn't hold grudges on stuff like this, so be honest."
Ugh.
Guess I have no choice but to answer.
The safest answer would be the Chae-yoon unnie right next to me, but...
That might backfire and make them think I'm lying.
"W-Well then... It's Ellin unnie."
"Wha—Ellin unnie?"
"Aw, disappointed? What do you mean? S-So why Ellin unnie? Can you elaborate?"
"Unnie... your glare is scary..."
She said she wouldn't hold grudges.
Anyone could see she was totally holding one.
Sob sob, I knew this would happen.
Should've just picked Chae-yoon unnie even if it was boring.
"N-No, really! I was just genuinely curious!"
Doesn't seem genuine.
That glare was pure "Why her and not me?"
But I'll stay quiet.
One wrong word now, and who knows what backlash I'll face.
"Well... Ellin unnie's just so admirable. She has all these qualities I could never have..."
"Oh? Like what?"
"She's super hardworking, gorgeous, always confident and mature."
"Yeah, can't argue there. Ellin unnie really is mature."
Not just Chae-yoon unnie—the viewers seemed to agree too.
You could tell just from watching her streams.
No wonder she's Blue LUV's big sis position.
"Hehe, of course I super like Lilith unnie too. You know that, right?"
"Know it well! How could unnie not know our maknae's feelings...!"
Once I made sure to mention that Chae-yoon unnie was a close second,
her mood lifted right away, and she pulled me into a tight hug.
The chat got a bit rowdy, but we ignored it cleanly
and moved on to the next question.
"Okay, next one's... 'What were your first impressions of each other?'"
First impressions, huh.
In this case, it probably means my impression of the real Chae-yoon unnie, not Lilith.
"Hmm, if I go first... I thought she seemed like such a sweet, fragile little sister? Something like that. Like, to the point where I saw Lucrezia unnie hugging Lulu-chan super tight from afar, and I was worried she'd break her."
Yeah, pretty much.
The other members show love too, of course.
Especially Ra-hee unnie, who's extra affectionate with me.
Hugs are daily routine when we're side by side, and sometimes she even pulls me onto her lap.
"When I first saw her, I thought she was this super cool unnie. Kinda the total opposite of me? So honestly, I hesitated on how to approach her at first. I'm a bit shy, after all..."
"Oh yeah. Plus I'm secretly shy too, so I couldn't approach Lulu-chan first either."
Everyone knows.
Chae-yoon unnie is kinda shy IRL.
"But that's what makes it cute. She looks like this super cool unnie on the outside, but seeing her fumble around when we first met made me think, 'She's actually adorable.'"
I flashed a bright smile while lightly exposing unnie's dark history,
and sure enough, cheeks flushing, she averted her eyes and fanned herself—adorable as ever.
None of our members aren't cute, though.
"Hey, it's not do as I say not as I do. I don't think I'm cute, that's why I hate it—but the other members are cute, so it's fine!"
Sheesh.
What concept? Where's my cuteness even coming from!
Everyone's just dying to tease me.
"Unnie, unnie, say something!"
But no matter how much they gang up, I've got backup today!
I slipped my arm under Chae-yoon unnie's, snuggled into her embrace, and pleaded with big doe eyes.
Hurry and give these troll viewers a piece of your mind!
"M-Me?"
"Yeah, they keep teasing me about being cute. Scold them quick!"
"Uh, umm..."
Unnie averted her gaze like she was in a tough spot.
Gasp.
S-she's not turning on me too, is she?
Where'd our sisterly bond go?!
"Unnieee..."
I whined with a pitiful nasal tone.
Chae-yoon unnie kept glancing away but sneaking peeks at me...
Squeeze—
"...O-Okay. Unnie'll scold them later. Got it?"
She pulled me even deeper into her arms and patted my back.
Hehe, I knew unnie had my back.
"Guys, Lulu-chan's all cuddly in my arms right now? Jealous much?"
With my face buried in her chest, I couldn't quite hear unnie's soft whisper into the mic,
but I smiled, figuring she was chewing out the viewers.
When I finally pulled my face away from unnie's chest, the chat was in chaos for some reason.
But I chalked it up to the usual troll viewers gunning for unnie.
Ugh, now that I'd done it, I felt a little embarrassed.
The unnies had hugged me plenty, but I'd never initiated before.
Hope jumping in like that didn't weird her out...
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