Chapter 138: Success
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: Success
[Eeeeeek! Dieeee!]
The ninja character, sword drawn, swung wildly at the air.
It was supposed to be one of the most powerful ultimate abilities in the game.
[Ah. He's sleeping...]
My character, hit by a sleep dart, had fallen asleep.
My teammates, who had even given me buffs to make me stronger, were now endlessly berating me.
[Seriously. What's the DPS doing!!!!]
[Fr, the DPS gap is insane.]
[Ah... no heals...]
[Sorry...]
As angry as I was, I knew it was my fault.
I meekly typed an apology to my teammates.
[Waaaaah. Why is nothing going right today?]
When I pressed the cry key to trigger the tear-shedding effect, a flood of 'don't cry' messages filled the chat.
Ugh... I'm so annoyed... I just... hate everything...
[Should I just make it a short stream today?]
The new viewers from Han Taemin were annoying.
And the game wasn't going well either.
I wanted to have fun while streaming, not gather people just to vent my frustrations.
[Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go!]
[We were wrong...]
[I can't live without Luka-tan ㅠㅠ]
[I'll report all of them for you!]
And among them, one username stood out.
[Lucario: Please don't turn it off!!!]
Excuse me, Mr. Han Taemin.
I can see the chat too, you know?
I'm already in a foul mood because of a certain someone, and now he's doing this.
Feeling indignant, I declared I was going on strike.
[Sigh... I'm sorry, everyone. Luka-tan is having a hard day, so I can't stream anymore.]
Anyway, in about ten minutes, I would have met my minimum stream time, so I was free to do as I pleased after that.
[I'll just stream longer on Wednesday instead. Heh. Bye, everyone~]
A flood of boos and crying Pink Army emotes poured in.
Sometimes I felt bad for them, but now it felt like a fixed routine, so I didn't feel much of anything.
If I gave in to all their demands, I'd probably have to stream 24/7.
After hitting the 'End Stream' button, I sighed, got up from my chair, and leaned against the small sofa.
I flopped down like a deflated balloon.
The chat messages I'd seen earlier flickered in my mind.
[Wow... he actually likes this kind of stuff?]
[Han Taemin is something else.]
[I came here after watching Taemin oppa's video. Is it always like this?]
Not everyone was baring their teeth, trying to tear me down, but one hateful comment always sticks out more than a hundred nice ones.
Just as I'd decide to let it go, a surge of emotion would well up inside me.
-Vrrrrrr-
My phone vibrated.
It was Oppa.
[Hello?]
[Are you at the studio?]
[Yeah.]
[Want me to come pick you up?]
Did he notice I wasn't in a good mood?
He asked me very cautiously.
[Yeah. Please come.]
About ten minutes passed.
A knock came from the door.
“Doah.”
It was the voice of the boyfriend I loved so much.
I got up and opened the door, and he greeted me with a bright smile.
“I brought you something to eat.”
He held out a black bag in front of me.
“...What is it?”
“It's a convenience store roll cake.”
He naturally led me to the sofa, sat me down, and handed me a disposable fork after unwrapping it.
“Let's eat.”
“Okay.”
I speared a piece of cake with the fork and put it in my mouth. The sweet, moist cream filled my senses.
“You worked hard today.”
Oppa stroked my head as I chewed.
Seeing the somehow apologetic look on his face, I shook my head.
“No, it's fine. I streamed for a short time today, that's all.”
“Still. I feel like those... weird people showed up because of me.”
It wasn't something he needed to apologize for.
It's not like he told them to do it.
“It's fine. My stream is always crawling with weirdos anyway.”
I was used to it, so it didn't faze me, but I'm sure people unfamiliar with subculture would wonder what on earth they were watching.
“They're all just doing it because they like you.”
Still, he must have felt a strong sense of belonging to the Pink Army, because he was passionately defending them.
Oppa, with that handsome face of his, chattering on, defending the Pink Army, saying they might seem that way but they weren't bad people.
“I said I get it.”
Only after I put a piece of roll cake in his mouth did he stop his explanation.
“Haa... But honestly, I really don't like seeing girls confessing their love to you, Oppa.”
Saying they love Han Taemin, that they're going to marry him.
Of course, I knew from seeing comments about idols and actors that it was a perfectly normal part of the culture, but when the target was Oppa, I guess I still couldn't get used to it.
“Don't you feel anything when you see the Pink Army fawning all over me?”
When you thought about it, it was true.
They even say a lot of perverted things to me.
“Because Luka-tan is everyone's idol.”
...Don't make that face.
With a stern and solemn expression, Oppa took my hand.
“And besides, they might say things like that, but it's just their way of cheering you on.”
Right. He's just built different.
His entire mindset, the way he accepts things, was different.
To him, I was the VTuber Luka from the very beginning.
So it made sense that he didn't feel any particular sense of incongruity about it.
But me...
“Oppa. Just a second.”
“Hm? Why?”
“Can you bend down for a moment?”
“Like this?”
As he leaned forward, I stuck out my tongue and licked the cream from the corner of his mouth.
“...You saved this for me to eat, right?”
“No, I didn't.”
My boyfriend laughed as if my actions were absurd.
His hand stroking my hair was so warm that I pushed the top of my head into it, asking for more.
Yeah, I think I like it best when Oppa is my Han Taemin, and mine alone.
I hated myself a little for that petty, unspoken truth.
“Taemin-ssi! Seriously! The response is amazing right now.”
Inside the YM building.
Before my acting class, the manager pulled me into a seminar room, saying she had something to talk about.
“Ah... you're talking about the interview video, right?”
“Have you seen the view count?”
“Yes.”
“It's almost a million in just one week. And there are a ton of comments.”
I tried to look up most things about myself, but there was so much I couldn't even get through it all.
“Just as I thought, going with that honest concept was a stroke of genius.”
Letting the whole world know I was an obsessive fan of a VTuber.
I'd hoped it would help Doah, but seeing the new people who came in giving her a hard time didn't make me happy.
If anything, I felt a little sorry.
“Like I mentioned before, we've been flooded with offers for broadcasts and acting roles.”
“Yes.”
“And seriously, an offer came in with unprecedented conditions for a rookie.”
Unprecedented conditions...?
When I blinked and asked what it was, the manager held out her phone and showed me a document.
“It's a drama that will air in the second half of the year. This is the production company, and these are the projects they've worked on recently...”
After listening to the full explanation, I swallowed nervously.
“So you're saying you want me to be a part of this?”
I didn't know the director's name or anything, but I couldn't help but be shocked when I heard the title of their recent work.
Because it was a massive hit, one that even I knew about.
Tons of 10-minute drama summary videos were floating around, and I remembered seeing clips of it here and there.
“I was really surprised when this offer came in, too. But it seems the director is interested in trying out some new talent. And Taemin-ssi, you were on that list.”
I checked the listed lineup one more time.
This time, unlike the last, the lead roles were filled with the names of actors I recognized.
Real celebrities from TV.
I would be working directly with them.
“I really, really recommend you take this. It's often impossible for us to get our talent into projects by people like this, even if we try to force it.”
I understood that it was a huge project, but I had to wonder if it was right for me to do it.
Even if they wanted to use a rookie.
Would it really be okay to cast someone with only one month of experience at an acting academy?
My self-esteem was already pretty low from all the practice, so my hesitation only grew.
“Uh... can I... think about it a little more? If you give me the script, can I decide after reading it?”
“Taemin-ssi. This isn't an opportunity that comes around every day. Really.”
My reaction must have frustrated her, because the manager looked at me as if wondering how she could possibly explain it.
“Don't you want to succeed?”
At the word 'success,' I chewed on my lip.
From her perspective, I might have been incomprehensible.
After all, I'd joined an entertainment agency, was receiving this level of support, and was trying to turn it down.
But to me, this job...
Success, to me, was...
I closed my eyes and let out a short sigh.
“When do I need to give you an answer by?”
It was time for some serious consideration.