Chapter 13: First Time Seeing An Idol?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: First Time Seeing An Idol?
[Announcement: Final Members of Project CLOSER Revealed.]
I was mindlessly fiddling with my phone when I shot up from my bed.
...Is this it?! Is this the big one?!
As far as I knew, no announcement had been made on Luka's personal channel yet, so I could feel my heart pounding.
A 21st-century Pandora's Box had appeared right before my eyes.
Haaa... How should I put this...
I wonder if this is how my parents felt when I got my College Entrance Exam results.
I was curious, but I was too scared to open the notification.
What if Luka didn't make it, and that's why she hasn't announced anything...?
Ah... then Luka might struggle mentally again and not be able to stream...
That... that can't happen...
Smack.
As negative thoughts began to consume me, I slapped myself across the cheek.
"What kind of unlucky thought is that, Han Taemin."
Of course she passed.
Right. What I needed right now was faith.
If I, a member of the Pink Army, don't believe in Luka's success, who will?
I moved my thumb and opened the YM Entertainment app.
Maybe it was because they'd put so much effort into the project.
The site's layout was incredibly flashy.
Beneath the name 'CLOSER,' written in elegant cursive, was a line of Korean text.
[This is the list of streamers selected as final members after internal review.]
[Jennifer, Leah, Fumurin, Luka, Clover]
[We sincerely thank all the streamers who participated and the viewers who have shown their support.]
[We ask for your continued love and support in the future!]
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
My neighbors might file a noise complaint, but right now, I just wanted to scream my lungs out.
Yes! I believed in you!
There was no way she wouldn't make it!
Kim Doah. You. Seriously. You're... Haa...
Before the emotional afterglow could even fade, another notification popped up.
[Luka is now live!]
[Only those who wanna see a real idol, come on in]
Wow. That stream title is killer.
As a member of the Pink Army, I prepared myself to reverently greet my idol.
I sat down in front of my monitor and straightened my back. On the screen, Luka's avatar was beaming.
[IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL! IDOL!]
[You're amazing, Luka! I just saw the announcement and cried.]
[Luka-nim! Congratulations!]
[The philosopherdol is back! The philosopherdol is back!]
[Ahem... ahem!]
The stream hadn't even officially started, but the chat was already flooded with all kinds of gushing praise and congratulatory messages.
[Aish... really... Is this the first time you've all seen an idol? What's with these reactions?]
One corner of Luka's avatar's mouth curled into a smirk.
Ahh... this is it.
We've waited so long for this.
It was so good to see her looking so confident and witty.
[But since it's a happy day, I'll let you get away with acting up a little.]
The moment she turned on the blushing effect, the chat exploded.
[I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka!]
[Luka, let's go world class~]
[LMAO ah, this is what it's all about.]
[She's an idol now, but why do I find this so infuriating? lol]
[Just kidding. It's been a while, everyone~ Luhai~]
Dropping her act, Luka gave a bright smile.
[Some of you might have already seen the results from YM Entertainment, but I, Luka, have officially become a member of Project Closer! Woohoo~]
Clap and firework emotes poured into the chat, matching her cheer.
[Thank you so, so much, Pink Army. Thank you for your support, and thank you for waiting for me.]
[Honestly, I wanted to stream sooner, but I was just so busy, and if I hadn't made it, I would've been too embarrassed to show my face.]
[It's a long story... but I'll save that for later. For now, let's just celebrate and have fun together!]
Suddenly, Luka-tan put on a one-hour club music mix and started bobbing her head like crazy.
[Everybody, move!!!]
However, it was unlikely that most VTuber viewers would be familiar with club culture.
While some played along by typing things like 'shake shake' in the chat, many others just spammed question marks.
[Haa... you guys... I even put on music for you and you don't know how to party...]
Seeing the chat's reaction, Luka shook her head and turned off the music.
[Right... for you guys, this is your entertainment, this is your se— Ah. Right. I'm not supposed to say things like that anymore.]
It seemed Luka hadn't been updated with her new idol patch yet, as she was struggling to filter her language.
A chuckle escaped me. That's so Luka, I thought.
[Anyway, I'll play some music that you all can enjoy!]
And what came on next was a compilation of nostalgic anime openings.
[LMAO, now this is a club.]
[So comfy~]
[Any zoomers who don't know this should get out~]
Just like with the club music, Luka bobbed her head from side to side.
[Running towards my dream~ Hoo!]
Every time she sang along, I found myself grinning like an idiot with a contented smile.
The reaction was definitely twice as good as it was for the club music.
[Um... I don't think I'll be able to stream for very long today.]
Luka turned off the music and delivered the bad news in a calm voice.
[The company just called me, and it looks like I have to go in for a briefing or something. The contract came in too, and there's just so much to go over...]
[Where are you going T_T]
[You're leaving already? You're leaving already? You're leaving already? You're leaving already? You're leaving already? You're leaving already? You're leaving already?]
[Ah... that's a shame...]
[I'm disappointed too, but it's just...]
Luka trailed off, sounding almost wistful, but then...
[Idols are supposed to be busy!]
She suddenly yelled at us.
[Huh? You think being an idol is easy? You otakus!]
But weirdly enough, we loved it.
Most of the viewers' reactions were along the lines of 'cute,' and some even called it a 'reward.'
[Aigoo... you guys... Anyway, I'm off to work, so don't you dare go looking elsewhere. Just wait for me patiently, okay?]
I don't know who made the saluting emote, but I thought it was brilliant.
As everyone responded as if pledging their loyalty, Luka nodded with a satisfied expression.
[Thanks for understanding! Heh... Well, I'm really going now! Next time, there will probably be a YM logo up here, so look forward to it! Bye~]
[Luka has ended the stream.]
Oof... what a tease.
Still, seeing Luka so happy left me with no regrets.
I really wanted to buy Doah a nice meal to celebrate all her hard work...
Maybe I should just offer to treat everyone to a meal tomorrow.
It seemed like a good plan, especially if Junseok was there too.
Minji had already told us she couldn't make it tomorrow because she had a tutoring session.
Since Doah had already bailed on them once, it would have been awkward for Junseok not to accommodate Minji, so he seemed to have just resigned himself to it.
It was something I always felt, but getting four adults together at the same time was surprisingly difficult.
"It's been a while since I've gone downtown."
The VR Experience Center was about a 30-minute trip from my house by public transportation.
I think this was my first time going since Yoonje dragged me to that club.
Anyway, the thought of meeting Doah, who was now a real idol, made me feel restless.
I felt like I would start smiling just by looking at her.
A contradictory feeling—it would be incredibly awkward, yet I'd be so happy to see her I could burst.
-Bzzzzzzzt-
My phone vibrated, and I picked it up.
Who would be calling at this hour?
["Uh, hello?"]
["Hey, Taemin. It's Junseok."]
["Yeah. What's up?"]
["Ah... well..."]
Something was clearly wrong; Junseok hesitated, unable to continue.
["What is it?"]
["Is there any chance you and Doah could go by yourselves tomorrow?"]
...Huh?
["All of a sudden?"]
["Ah... they said my grandmother is in critical condition."]
The reason for his somber tone was far more serious than I'd expected.
["Ah. If that's the case, then..."]
A sick family member was an unavoidable excuse.
I couldn't very well tell him he had to come play VR ping-pong when his grandmother was in critical condition.
["Don't worry about us. Just go."]
That was all I could say.
["...Thanks for understanding."]
["No, no. You just focus on your family."]
["I'll let Doah know. I'm really sorry."]
["Don't apologize. Of course you have to go."]
["I promise I'll make it to everything once this is over."]
["Right, right. You must be busy, so you should go."]
["Yeah. Thanks."]
The call ended with a click.
I felt bad for Junseok, but only for a moment.
I realized this was no time to be worrying about someone else.
"Oh..."
So, the end result was that tomorrow, it would be just me and Doah.
And not just anywhere—we were going to a VR experience center?
"...I'm screwed."
First the professor, and now you, Junseok?
I could feel my face flush.