Chapter 216
She's so tense... "Th-this... are we really doing this?" Yuna unnie's trembling and denying reality right in front of me, but honestly, I don't feel sorry for her at all. I just can't stop laughing.
Yoo Seol-ah's been grinning ear to ear since earlier, even controlling her expression perfectly. Even Doyun hyung and Lee Seo-yeon, who I figured would try to stop it, are just sitting there watching. Yuna unnie seems to realize she has no allies—her eyes are starting to waver.
"Yeah. We already bought all the fabric last time, remember?"
"......"
And she was the one who helped pick out the fabric and accessories herself. She dug her own grave. Once the costume's done, Yuna unnie's only option will be to quietly put it on. Plus, Yoo Seol-ah already posted about it, so her massive follower base is sharing it in real-time right now. It's only been a few minutes, but given her popularity these days, it's way too late to back out.
"......What the hell. Is this a bug?"
Yoo Seol-ah, who'd been in full smug mode, stared at the monitor for a bit before tilting her head.
Whatever it was pulled her back to reality from teasing Yuna unnie. Curious, I slid over to her side and checked the screen where the mouse was flying around. I immediately got why she was reacting like that.
The views and likes on the post are insane. Sure, Yoo Seol-ah's been blowing up lately with super loyal fans, so every post gets a guaranteed baseline. But hitting over 10k views in under five minutes? That's straight-up weird, no matter how you slice it.
"Is it always like this?"
"No. Normally, even at peak, it's like 2-3k max..."
If she's doubting it herself, then unless there's some other factor, it could legit be a bug. No matter how much passion and effort she poured into that illustration, views multiplying like this isn't normal.
Yoo Seol-ah slowly scrolled through her account, then suddenly dropped the mouse and clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Hic."
"...What's up?"
Whatever it was left her speechless. She locked eyes with me and silently pointed at a spot on the screen with her fingers splayed.
I read the tiny text, and yeah, I had the exact same reaction as her.
"...Gasp."
"...What are you guys doing?"
Lee Seo-yeon came over snorting like we were pranking her, but she caught it too. Soon Doyun hyung was infected, leaving only Yuna unnie—sprawled on the sofa—as the sole sane one left. Well, "sane" is a stretch since her Tokyo Game Show cosplay debut is locked in, but the reason we were all freaking out was simple.
Among the users who shared Yoo Seol-ah's post was SPICA, the most famous illustrator in the subculture scene right now—with the least known personal info.
The illustrator behind Lupco Yanglip's Haruru—everyone's favorite character, including Doyun hyung's. When it comes to illustrator popularity, she's on par with Yuki-nyang. A total heavyweight.
"...Am I seeing things?"
Like Lee Seo-yeon rubbing her eyes, I wondered if it was a fake account or something, but the "following" indicator confirmed it. No way it's impersonation. Yuki-nyang has hundreds of thousands of followers, but she only follows a handful of fellow illustrators she praises for their skills. Under 30 total—and aside from SPICA, everyone else already followed her back.
Yoo Seol-ah, slowly lowering the hand over her mouth and tentatively moving the mouse, confirmed something and gaped wide.
"...Huuuh, what the...?!"
Clicking SPICA in the shares showed 1.2 million followers right away. Ironclad proof it's the real deal. But what Yoo Seol-ah pointed out wasn't the followers—it was the following list. Only two names. I'd browsed SPICA's account before, so I knew she only followed one person: QL, the Lupco Yanglip author. The one whose photo with SPICA went viral, sparking all those couple rumors.
Now it was up to two. And obviously, the new one besides QL was Yuki-nyang.
As both an illustrator and a huge Lupco Yanglip fan, Yoo Seol-ah was straight-up tearing up.
"...What's going on?"
Yuna unnie, seemingly pushing aside her cosplay worries, came over and blinked in shock at the screen.
"That's the Lupco Yanglip artist, right? I love that comic."
"...Yeah. Guess that's why the views exploded."
SPICA never adds captions or titles to her posts. Total mystery vibe—just drops a finished illustration. Her sharing someone else's post? Unprecedented. Her fans have probably never seen this, so Yoo Seol-ah's post going viral makes total sense. One look at the Ruwen illustration, and you're hooked—likes piling up too.
"But isn't she super reclusive? She doesn't usually share stuff."
Yuna unnie, less shocked thanks to her mobile game priorities, asked. Yoo Seol-ah nodded vigorously.
"Yeah. That's why I'm freaking out too..."
As a fellow illustrator, her post had a high chance of reaching SPICA. But sharing and following? That's deliberate clicks. No reaction until now, then breaking character for Ruwen's art? Must be a huge shift in mindset.
We were all glued to Yoo Seol-ah's monitor when a notification popped up in the bottom-left corner.
I nudged the still-frozen Yoo Seol-ah, and she snapped out of it, grabbing the mouse. But her stun didn't wear off.
The politeness radiates even from the message. The proper periods give off a hint of her personality. Her only photo screams calm and composed too.
Meanwhile, Yoo Seol-ah—who looks cool but is a total airhead inside—had a simple reaction.
"...Eek."
I get why she's tongue-tied. We're all Lupco Yanglip fans, but as a fellow illustrator, she's SPICA's biggest stan here. Makes sense for her role model-slash-same-industry idol.
"...I-I need a sec to think...!"
She wanted alone time, so we backed off. Since SPICA messaged Yuki-nyang directly, it could be private. We'll hear about it later if it's shareable. Her head's probably too full of panic and excitement to register our chatter anyway.
Regaining some calm, I turned to Yuna unnie—who suddenly looked super chill compared to cosplay time.
"SPICA too... one of us?"
"...Can't rule it out."
She didn't freak when we four met her, so plenty more could've been summoned. Not conclusive since we don't know her face, but clues line up. Like Yoo Seol-ah mentioning SPICA's work speed ramping up lately. Top illustrators adapt to magic easy, per her.
"...Wh-what do I do...?"
Moments later, Yoo Seol-ah shakily grabbed her phone and flopped onto the sofa, shoving the screen at us.
"...I'm too nervous, what do I do!?"
Never seen Yoo Seol-ah this worked up. Yuna unnie said no enemies on Earth, so meeting her role model sounds perfect.