Chapter 173: On Raising Children
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 173: On Raising Children
“Hey, Kim Luka.”
I didn’t know what he was so happy about, but Oppa’s face was full of mischief.
“What is it?”
“Don’t you think you should be a little nicer to me?”
I took a sip of my lemonade from the plastic cup and looked at him, my expression asking what on earth he was talking about.
“Is this because… you think I haven’t been treating you well lately…?”
We hadn’t been seeing each other as often recently, but it wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong.
And the reason we were meeting less was that Oppa was going to his composing lessons every day and coming back late.
He wasn’t as busy as when he was preparing to be an actor, but blaming me for it was a bit…
“No, no, no. That’s not it.”
Oppa waved his hands as if to say I was misunderstanding.
Then what is it? All of a sudden.
“Then why are you telling me to be nice?”
“Ahem… Well, if you must know, I am the pupil of the great Ash Block of Daebitdam.”
To think, just a month ago, he didn’t even know what Daebitdam was.
He looked pretty ridiculous, rambling on like that.
“So what? It’s great that you’re his prized student, but I don’t see how that’s a reason for me to be nice to you.”
“I… I might get to direct you guys!”
Oppa squeezed my hand tightly.
His eyes were sparkling.
“You…? How on earth are you going to direct us?”
I thought it was a delusion, bordering on an outright lie.
“No. Well… um… I won’t be directing you myself! Ash Block-ssaem said that when he works on his own song for the album, he’ll help me with mine, too.”
Ah. If that was the case, I could understand.
But that wasn’t something he could do on his own, was it?
His explanation still seemed lacking, so I tilted my head. He quickly added that he would be sitting next to his teacher, assisting him.
“Hmm… so to put it simply, you’re like his gofer?”
“Gofer! I’m his sub! His assistant! His disciple! Why use a word like that when there are so many nice ones! You!”
“No. The teacher will be doing all the work anyway, and you’ll just be on the side fetching water and stuff, right?”
His reaction was so funny that I kept teasing him, and he protested wildly, insisting that wasn’t it.
“Anyway. Congratulations, Lucario-nim. If you do well, you might even get to see us record. In that case.”
“Yeah. So about that, are you going to the company’s recording studio offline?”
Manager unnie had asked me about it, but I hadn’t made up my mind yet.
For a VTuber to step out into the offline world was still a huge burden for me.
It wasn’t like anyone would recognize me, but that’s just how I felt.
And considering what happened the last time I went to the main office… maybe it would be better to just do it at the studio.
“Umm… I wonder. But it’s definitely better to get feedback right on the spot.”
Sending the file, waiting with a pounding heart, getting rejected, and recording all over again.
Having gone through that process several times already, I felt the trauma creeping back up on me.
Ugh… I don’t want to do it…
I loved streaming, but I still hated recording songs.
“Then come to the studio!”
“You want me to go all the way there just to flirt with you?”
“No. It’s not about flirting.”
I felt a sense of relief at his overly cheerful face.
If Oppa hadn’t escaped from that pit of failure, I would have been heartbroken the whole time.
The name YM was something I was grateful for, but at the same time, a part of me felt bitter about it.
“I’ll think about it. It’s not confirmed, though.”
“Aw, why? I can even adjust your parts, you know?”
“Stop lying, will you? I bet your teacher will be the one doing that, too.”
Oppa flinched as if I’d hit a nerve.
He had a soft-heartedness that didn’t match his looks.
If you peeled back that cold, outer shell, the person inside was incredibly childlike.
“W-well… if I tell my teacher, he’ll definitely take it into consideration.”
“Yeees, yeees~ I’ll be on my best behavior~”
I stood up, signaling it was time to go, and Oppa followed me out of the cafe.
“I guess I should just stop bringing a jacket out.”
“I know, right?”
The warm May sunshine greeted us cozily.
“Oppa. You know May is the month of family, right?”
“I know.”
“So, if you get married someday, would you want to have kids?”
He was dating me, so I figured he wasn’t against marriage and skipped that question.
“Kids? Hmm… Ummm… I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”
“Huh? Why not? Isn’t that something most people think about?”
He scratched his head awkwardly and let out a hearty laugh.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I probably would’ve just stayed single forever.”
“…Really?”
“I probably would’ve just been championing 2D rights and watching Closer streams.”
“So you wouldn’t have dated any girls at all?”
“Hey, it’s not like I can just like any girl I see.”
Remembering how I’d fallen head over heels for him and had a one-sided crush, I felt so embarrassed I wanted to hide somewhere.
“R-right.”
Feeling awkward, I had to get the conversation back on track.
“S-so, how many kids do you want!”
“I wonder. How many are you going to have for me?”
Our eyes met in mid-air.
Does he even know what he’s saying right now? That line?
Isn’t that basically a proposal?
Asking me to have his children means that, right?
I felt like steam was about to shoot out of my ears with a pssssh.
“W-well… h-however many Oppa decides…”
“So if I say let’s have 100, you’re going for 100?”
Ugh. What kind of joke is that?
I pounded his back with my fists.
He was talking nonsense.
“You have no filter, even in broad daylight!”
“Hey, you’re the one who said it.”
“Then go find a woman who’ll give you that many kids!”
There was a high probability that woman wouldn’t be from Earth.
As I huffed and looked up at him, he placed a hand on my head.
“You make the first offer then~ Because I have no idea.”
I didn’t like how I kept getting played by him, but the underlying premise of the conversation was that we would get married.
I couldn’t hate that wonderful fact.
“I… I’d like a son.”
“Really? I’d prefer a daughter.”
“Why?”
He’d just said he had no opinion on the matter.
“Hm? Because if we have a son, I feel like he’ll be like me.”
“Wouldn’t it be great if our son was this handsome?”
“But what if that son of ours just watches VTubers in his room all day?”
…That would definitely be tough.
I imagined myself as a mother and felt my breath catch in my throat.
“Did your mother ever say anything, Oppa?”
“Well, my mom knew about what happened to me at school… so I think she was just satisfied that I kept my grades up to a certain point. I’m not entirely sure, though.”
“I see…”
Still, I didn’t think I could ever bring myself to scold my child for watching VTubers.
Even if every other mother in the world did, I felt that I, of all people, shouldn’t.
And if my child ever found my videos…
Ugh… Ughhhhh…
I felt my teeth grinding and my sanity cracking to pieces.
But would VTubers even exist then?
Like in some manga, our consciousnesses might all be connected to the internet by then for all we knew.
“Doah, you don’t like the idea of a daughter?”
“No? There’s no reason to dislike it. Honestly, if it’s my child, I think I’d adore them no matter what.”
Oppa stopped walking and held my cheeks with both hands.
“You must have been even squishier than this as a baby.”
“Whaddaya doin? Leggo.”
We were on a particularly crowded street, and here he was, stretching my cheeks in the middle of it all.
“Ah, I’m already looking forward to it.”
Oppa must have pictured something in his head, because he smiled brightly and started walking again.
“What are you going to do if your daughter gets a boyfriend?”
“I’ll kill him.”
The answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
“…That’s more brutal than I expected.”
“…The bastard who steals Kim Doah Jr. away from me deserves to die.”
He clenched his fists, and it was clear he wouldn’t let it go.
“Then what if your daughter gets obsessed with a male VTuber?”
Oppa’s expression twisted bizarrely, as if he’d just eaten kimchi and bell pepper kalguksu.
“Aah… maybe we should just not have any electronic devices in our house?”
“What are you talking about? Do you want to make our kid an outcast?”
“Aah… but if she slams the door and yells, ‘What do you know about XX Live, Dad!’ I think I might actually kill myself.”
It was true that people were hypocritical by nature.
Vrrrrrr—
“Ah, Oppa. Hold on. It’s the company.”
[Hello?]
[Ah, yes, hello. Luka-ssi, is this a good time to talk?]
[Yes, Unnie. Go ahead.]
There wasn’t usually a reason for Manager unnie to call me. What could it be?
[An advertisement offer came in under your name, Luka-ssi.]
[Oh. Then a collab stream with the other members.]
[No. It came in for you alone, Luka-ssi.]
…A solo ad?
[I see.]
[This might take a while. Are you outside by any chance?]
[Ah, yes. In that case, can I call you back when I get home?]
[Yes, of course. Around when should I expect…]
[Please give me about ten minutes.]
[Okay!]
As I stared blankly at the red end-call screen, Oppa asked with a worried look on his face.
“Why so serious?”
“Watashi… got a solo ad deal…?”
“Ooh… Is it for baby products?”
At his unimaginable joke, I smacked his butt with a loud thwack.