Red Turbo's Glory
I had my reasons for mainly playing Red Turbo among the heroes in Grand Arts Hero. When I was young, my father ran off with another woman and abandoned us. My mother raised my younger sister and me alone while working at a factory. Back then, I was naive enough to believe in Santa Claus for a while, so I went around telling everyone that since I'd been a good boy, I'd definitely get one of those combining robot toys they showed on TV.
Even though money was tight, my mother worked grueling factory shifts and still managed to collect the cheap toys that came with kids' meal sets. The first Christmas present I ever received was a Miracle Ranger toy in flimsy wrapping paper and a cardboard box—along with my mother's priceless love. That's why, even at this age, I still love tokusatsu shows and have a soft spot for Red Turbo.
“Whoa, you're a total Red Turbo expert~”
“Not really.”
“Dude, your clip has more views than mine!”
“Not really.”
The next day, when Yujacha teased me with codecode during her stream, I didn't have much to say. I figured no viewers would want to hear about such a depressing story.
“Why do you keep saying ‘Not really’? Look at this! Baekseolgi-nim took first place in daily clip views!”
The number one daily clip on the Sepia streaming platform wasn't Yujacha's Seven Star awakening scene or some clip from a corporate president. It was the insane teamfight I pulled off at the end. Red Turbo had met the awakening conditions, entered an immortal state, absorbed every enemy skill and ultimate, then countered to pull off a reverse sweep.
“I wanted to make Yujacha-nim the star of the show… I really didn't expect Red Turbo's awakening conditions to trigger right there.”
Red Turbo had three awakening conditions. First, a synergistic Seven Star had to be dead and waiting to respawn. Second, Red Turbo's skills had to be combined to push the gauge past maximum speed. Third, and finally, the hero had to survive an enemy ultimate with 5% or less health remaining.
The first condition was rare because almost nobody picked Seven Star these days. The second demanded tight timing and difficult skill combos. If I'd gotten nervous and fumbled my inputs or if even one skill had been on cooldown, that highlight never would've happened. The last condition only triggered when the enemy team was hell-bent on killing me with ultimates, just like yesterday.
“Come on, you told me to pick Seven Star from the start. You were aiming for it, right?”
“I wasn't. Did you watch the hero picks we used in the pro league?”
“No.”
Back when I was aiming for the pros, there was no reason to pick Seven Star just because the team needed it. Seven Star only became useful after collecting all seven stars, and the odds of meeting every condition in a pro match were basically zero. Even if Red Turbo awakened, it only became strong during its immortal window and didn't help the team's overall macro or build-up.
“But it looked so cool! I thought it was straight out of the game's story—like Seven Star died and Red Turbo rewound time!”
“…Thank you for the compliment.”
People loved stories where an underdog hero shone. Maybe because it rarely happened in real life, they yearned for it all the more.
“Maybe I should watch Miracle Ranger too. Editor-nim, I heard this actually aired on TV!”
“Ah, I see. I didn't know that.”
Listening to Yujacha's excited voice, I stared at the premium toys displayed on one side of my room. Even if she was a VTuber, would she really be okay with a twenty-five-year-old man who still played with Miracle Ranger toys? I didn't want to show off by dropping terms like TTFC or the official program name “Transformation Hero Time.”
“Actually, I grew up watching magical girl shows too. I was jealous of how they could become someone else when they transformed!”
“Right.”
“Why are you being so stiff today? You praised me so much while we were gaming yesterday… I'm hurt!”
No. I had to hold back. The tokusatsu otaku inside me was itching to ask which shows she'd enjoyed. I couldn't let that slip.
“So why did you set the stream to 19+ today? If you're planning to do anything lewd with me, I'm leaving right now.”
I carefully asked Yujacha while watching the chat, which had grown even more chaotic than yesterday. A 19+ restricted stream wasn't something someone who'd just hit three-digit viewers for the first time should be doing.
“Oh, that! I just wanted to have a drink! It's my first time hitting three-digit viewers in ten years of streaming~ We should celebrate with our editor Baekseolgi-nim, right?”
“Ah.”
Yujacha playfully showed a canned beer object on stream. According to streaming regulations, drinking alcohol required a 19+ restriction. I'd momentarily forgotten that even corporate streamers on Sepia sometimes did drinking streams during their year-end award shows.
“Ehehe, were you expecting something? Did you think I was going to do something lewd to our Baekseolgi-nim?”
“Not at all.”
“Aww, you were hoping for it! I never even said I was doing lewd content~”
Her stream announcement really did say it was just a celebration for reaching 100 viewers, with no suggestive content. In the end, I'd walked right into her trap.
“It's not rotten! And I'm not wine! Why do you keep teasing me about being twenty-eight? I'm not a late bloomer either!!”
Every time the virtual character raised the beer can, Yujacha made drinking sounds and her tongue grew more tangled.
“Are you actually drinking?”
“Yesh! Want me to pretend instead?”
She must be surprisingly weak to alcohol.
“Phew, anyway! Thanks to our Baekseolgi-nim, I finally hit three-digit viewers after ten years of streaming. Thank you!”
Even with the 19+ restriction, her viewer count had grown beyond yesterday, probably because the clip had gone viral.
“No need to thank me. It's all thanks to Yujacha-nim's streaming skills.”
“Ehehe, if you keep hyping me up like that, I might actually misunderstand~”
My favorite VTuber, tipsy from the alcohol, thanked me in an adorable voice.
“But why do you keep calling me Baekseolgi? You can just call me Editor or use my real name.”
I had to steer the conversation elsewhere to suppress the selfish thoughts bubbling up. Every time I talked with my favorite like this, I hated how the corners of my mouth kept curling upward.
“There's no affection in that! Affection! Besides, Baekseolgi is one of my favorite foods! It sounds cuter than calling you Editor, doesn't it?”
“Huu…”
Yujacha let out a hot breath while explaining why she wouldn't call me Editor or Kim Baekhyun.
“…And I figured our good Baekseolgi-nim wouldn't cross any lines or try to confess or get close even if I teased you like this.”
Her slightly serious tone after that deviated from the script I'd prepared for the virtual marriage. I'd been told that building things up properly would prevent backlash from existing or new viewers even if the virtual marriage progressed or ended.
“Right? We've been in contact for five years because of video editing, but AI-nim has never once crossed the line.”
“I'm not AI…”
“Liar. You're secretly messaging me on codecode right now telling me to stop drinking! Aigoo, your typing speed is insane! I almost thought you were a machine~ Hehe.”
But what Yujacha did next was an unscripted, impulsive act.
Yujacha captured part of my private codecode message and showed it to the viewers. She transformed her virtual appearance into a scheming succubus and made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
“If you're really worried about me, go grab a beer from the fridge. We should celebrate together on a day like this, right?”
“…You were aiming for this from the start?”
“Who knows? I just wanted someone to drink with after so long!”
We hadn't even started the virtual marriage yet, but the way she was leading me—probably from her years of streaming experience—left me a little flustered.
“I'll head to the convenience store real quick. I'm not usually much of a drinker… It won't take long.”
“Okay then. Everyone! While our Baekseolgi-nim is gone, should we watch yesterday's clip and chat?”
Our Baekseolgi. If someone who didn't know heard her, they might misunderstand the lines she was spouting in excitement. Yujacha looked just like she did during her early high-energy streams.
And in the brief moment Kim Baekhyun went to the convenience store, something unusual was happening on another Sepia stream.
“What's this about?”
Retired Grand Arts Hero pro-gamer Cha Seungwoo was checking the clip that came with the donation message.
“What? It's just a normal mad movie. Though I haven't seen a Red Turbo awakening in ages… What's wrong with it?”
More anonymous donations kept coming in. The small-time stream clip had suddenly gone viral and caused misunderstandings.
Internet broadcast chats were vulnerable to baseless rumors, so people were already badmouthing Kim Baekhyun and Yujacha.
“Guys, quiet down for a second. Let me check the replay. I can't focus with all this noise.”
Cha Seungwoo, a mid-sized streamer with around 2,000 average viewers, didn't fall for the flow so easily. He paused donations and chat, found the original VOD instead of just the clip, and analyzed Kim Baekhyun's play.
“This isn't just Cosmos level?”
After checking the video frame by frame, calling an editor to verify it wasn't manipulated, and even looking up match histories, the conclusion former pro-gamer Cha Seungwoo reached was this:
“At minimum Origin-tier play. Even current pros couldn't pull this off even if you set up the perfect scenario for them. The fact that he stayed calm in that situation is even more impressive.”
“Look at 29:32. He predicted the enemy ultimate coming in, pre-cast Dead Heat to combo, and fully charged his gauge in advance.”
With chat and donations back on, Cha Seungwoo explained the situation to his viewers.
“That's why the enemy just dumped their ultimates on him… There was nothing suspicious when I checked MMR or match histories either. The tank, DPS, and healer were all Grandmaster, and the others were Master.”
“Honestly, I'm more surprised that this level of mechanics came from someone working as an editor now. That kind of skill wouldn't be strange even if he went pro.”
Cha Seungwoo felt regret for the first time while watching someone else's play. If that person had been an actual player instead of an editor, and if they'd been on the same team as him, maybe they could've lifted the trophy together.
“Does anyone know the ID? I want to add them and see their real skill.”
“Oh, thanks.”
A small lingering regret from his pro days was moving Cha Seungwoo.
Right after returning from the convenience store, Kim Baekhyun—who hadn't recognized the nickname—sent a hasty reply that was broadcast live on stream.
“Hah, got rejected immediately.”
“That's a shame. Really a shame, huh?”
The sight of Kim Baekhyun drawing a line for the sake of his favorite actually piqued Cha Seungwoo's interest.
“Guys, should we prepare for a virtual marriage?”
“I can smell it. If there wasn't something more than just liking her, there's no way he'd reject me after pulling off that insane play, right?”
The reason retired pro-gamer Cha Seungwoo had left Grand Arts Hero was because he had to marry his ex-girlfriend, now his wife.
“Besides, I really like this kind of thing. It's sweet, isn't it?”
Because of that backstory, Cha Seungwoo—known among streamers and viewers as “Virtual Marriage Uncle”—wasn't about to let this golden opportunity slip away.