Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Let's Face the Fear Together!
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After the 100-day anniversary stream, I focused on getting my health back.
I still wasn't hitting the gym or anything, but I'd take a light walk along the trail in the mornings.
Three full meals a day was tough, but I made sure to eat at least two without fail.
I set a hard limit at 3 a.m. and trained myself to sleep no matter what by then.
"Our little maknae, your cheeks are all plump and chubby now?"
"Ewww..."
Thanks to that, I'd turned into a prime Uparupa specimen.
We'd all gathered at the company for the first time in ages, and Chae-yoon unnie grabbed my cheeks.
Ugh.
Lately, it felt like all the unnies went straight for my cheeks the second they saw me.
Even Yuna, who's the same age as me.
I'm not some attachment doll or anything.
"Da-jeong, I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side while you were in the hospital. Are you feeling better now?"
Manager So-eun unnie had been overseas for quite a while during that time.
She apologized as she approached, clearly feeling guilty for not being able to look after me.
It wasn't her fault at all.
"Yeah, I'm good! I've been eating properly now, every meal."
"I told her to send me pics every time she ate. She did a great job."
"That's a relief."
The President backed me up.
So-eun unnie finally seemed to relax, letting out a sigh of relief.
Come to think of it, it had been forever since we'd all been together like this.
We'd gotten together in small groups now and then.
But the President or So-eun unnie were often missing then.
Or if those two were both there, one of us members would be tied up with something else.
Yeah.
This feels right. Being all together makes everything feel secure.
What can I say?
Blue LUV is the five of us, like sisters.
But it only feels like a complete family with President-mom and Manager So-eun-dad here.
"Anyway, since we're all together after so long, let's just have a quick content meeting. Ji-ah, you know your solo track is dropping soon, right?"
"Yes."
Whoa.
Ji-ah unnie's solo is finally coming out.
Of course, I already knew what it was.
Which made me even more excited.
Ellin's first solo—it's a total masterpiece.
"I'll share the demo as soon as it's ready, so get set. No other content you're pushing right now?"
"Oh, um... yeah. Nothing specific at the moment."
Ji-ah unnie seemed to glance my way during that question.
But she quickly looked away and shook her head, so I figured I'd imagined it.
The President turned right to Ra-hee unnie.
"Oh, and the new divine outfit you requested might take a bit. The illustrator's swamped."
"It's fine. I haven't told the Garlic Squad yet anyway."
"Good call. No point hyping it early and then delaying."
Ra-hee unnie really has great foresight.
Or more like, she judges situations objectively?
I'd have blurted it out to the Cherries right away, schedule or no.
"Chae-yoon, anything planned for this month?"
"Thinking about a vlog. Heading to Japan soon..."
"Right, yeah. Vlog sounds good, but you know what to watch out for, right?"
"Hehe, of course. Don't worry."
Oh yeah, Lilith's first vlog drops around now.
Blue LUV generally doesn't touch content that shows the person behind the avatar—what they call "inner self" stuff.
Overseas Virtual YouTubers often show hands or necks on cam.
The President seems fine with it, probably from seeing that abroad.
But Virtual YouTubers tend to have a bit of aversion to showing their real selves, so the Blues don't lean into it much either.
Except for one outlier among those Blues.
Lilith.
It hasn't caught on in this world yet.
But in my world five years from now, Lilith did tons of real-life content—vlogs, cooking, you name it.
Earned her the nickname "Queen of the Blue Pills."
Funny thing is, despite the nickname, Lilith never actually showed her real face.
"Yuna?"
"I'll think after the new games drop! Just did a cover recently, been busy... Better focus on streams for now."
"Fair enough. New games, huh... Hope some fun ones come out."
New games?
That got me thinking, then my eyes went wide.
Oh right, this is exactly when those games launch.
The jar game that blew up the entertainment streaming scene.
Outpost, which redefined horror gaming.
Perfect for streams, pouring out left and right.
Trends are king in entertainment streaming.
And the ones who ride them first get the fame.
These quarterly releases have massive name value.
Distribute them right, and boom.
Jar game's perfect for someone like Chae-yoon unnie with killer reactions.
Especially since she's all-in on games.
Horror? Ji-ah unnie, hands down.
Blue LUV's undisputed biggest scaredy-cat.
That's why they called her the "lame goddess" during horror streams.
Chae-yoon unnie? Just nudge her toward a game, she'll make it fun.
But Ji-ah unnie? She hates horror so much, pushing her feels impossible.
Plus, knowing she struggles with it makes recommending for streams feel guilty.
Isn't there some good way...?
"Da-jeong?"
"Y-yes?"
Lost in deep thought, the President calling me made me jump back to reality.
Oh, right—she hadn't asked me yet.
"Any content you wanna do? Something the company can help with?"
"Oh, well... Not something I wanna do, but I have a recommendation."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
The President tilted her head, confused by my vague answer.
I hesitated, then glanced carefully at Ji-ah unnie.
Our eyes met, and her head tilted too.
Ugh, this is the moment, but how to say it?
She'll probably shoot it down flat.
Nothing to lose, though. Might as well try.
"A new horror game's dropping soon. Looks super fun... What if Ji-ah unnie tried it?"
"H-horror...? Da-jeong, you mad at unnie or something?"
"Y-yeah, Da-jeong. Anyone but Ji-ah unnie—even Ra-hee unnie or me..."
Yuna tried to dissuade me too.
True, between us, those two handle horror best.
Ra-hee unnie stays stone-faced even at ghosts.
No wonder the Garlic Squad jokes she's a real vampire.
Ji-ah unnie? Horror wrecks her.
Worse than weak, maybe.
Two months ago, she quit a famous jump-scare horror after thirty minutes.
Screaming's nothing.
She straight-up couldn't continue.
So yeah, I hesitated too.
But her playthrough has the most potential, no question.
Still, no good excuse to push it.
If I said I'd do it with her, maybe...
'...Huh?'
Wait.
Together?
Something brilliant just hit me.
Right—do it together.
Horror solo in the dark is scarier.
Someone beside you cuts the fear.
We'd never done a duo stream, just us two.
Offline collab in one room for horror? Perfect!
I'm weak to horror too, but for unnie...!
"Ji-ah unnie! How about this? We do the horror game together!"
"Huh? T-together...?"
Maybe caught her off guard.
She blinked, asking cautiously.
"Like... a collab stream?"
"Exactly! At my place, just us two—should be okay, right?"
She pondered briefly.
Not enough?
Maybe I should do it myself or suggest someone else—right as I thought that.
"...Okay, let's do it. With you there, it won't be as scary."
"Really...?!"
"Yeah."
Surprisingly, Ji-ah unnie accepted calmly.
Blue LUV's first horror collab was born.
In truth, Ji-ah had planned this before even coming to the company today.
This time, she'd ask Da-jeong for a collab.
Excluding group ones, she was the only Blue LUV member who hadn't collabed with her.
'Why can't I just say it?'
But even with her resolve, she hesitated to bring it up.
Just recently, collab prep had triggered Da-jeong's health crash.
Da-jeong promised no overdoing it now, but still.
The memory haunted her like trauma, making words stick in her throat.
"...!"
"...?"
She'd glance at Da-jeong, look away when eyes met.
Glance again, look away. Repeat.
Not like some lovestruck girl.
"Any other content you're pushing?"
"Oh, um... No, nothing specific."
Even when President Kang Haneul asked.
'Now!' she'd think.
But eyes met Da-jeong's, words vanished.
"A new horror game's dropping soon. Looks super fun... What if Ji-ah unnie tried it?"
Then Da-jeong threw an unexpected curveball.
Horror = death for Ji-ah. Total shock.
Grateful Da-jeong thought of her, but no way— she was about to politely decline.
"Ji-ah unnie! How about this? We do the horror game together!"
"Huh? T-together...?"
Da-jeong's energized follow-up hit like a revelation.
Ji-ah blinked blankly, eyes wide.
Together meant collab, right?
Parsing the meaning, she wondered if this was heaven-sent.
She asked carefully.
"Like... a collab stream?"
"Exactly! At my place, just us two—should be okay, right?"
"...!"
Collab.
Offline collab, even.
First to step into Da-jeong's new place—no members except Haneul and So-eun had!
The scales tipped in her mind.
Her dream offline collab with Da-jeong swallowed the horror fear.
'She said she's scared of horror too. If I protect her coolly as unnie, won't her affection go up?'
A slightly impure motive mixed in.
Da-jeong wouldn't know.
"...Okay, let's do it. With you there, it won't be as scary."
"Really...?!"
"Yeah."
Thus, Ji-ah became the first in Blue LUV.
To get a collab invite from Da-jeong. Nose held high.
Though Chae-yoon stole the first overall.
This was true victory.
"Hehe, I'll protect you, unnie! Just trust me!"
"Khng...!"
The maknae reassuring her weak-to-horror unnie.
Fist clenched cutely, full of resolve—utterly adorable in Ji-ah's eyes.
Where did this creature come from?
Ra-hee was right; it'd be great to carry Da-jeong in her pocket.
The thought flitted through Ji-ah's mind.