Chapter 197: The Final Concert
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: The Final Concert
November 28th.
Only two days remained until CLOSER’s graduation.
Invited to Doah's studio for the first time in a long while, I held my breath and quietly watched her, the VR headset pulled over her eyes.
“Yes! Thank you all for your hard work!”
Today was the rehearsal for their final concert.
She’d been at it for a solid six hours, and it seemed everything was finally over.
“Phew.”
Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead from the heat of the computer and headset.
“...It’s okay to talk now.”
She turned her head toward me and gave me a gentle smile.
“Did you do well?”
“...Yeah. Incredibly well.”
“Your singing. It’s improved a lot.”
I’d often heard her humming around the house, but this was the first time I’d seen her sing with such focus since we were in the recording studio.
“It’s the last one, after all.”
She had a completely different air about her than she did a month ago.
At first, she seemed to be suffering silently over the news of their disbandment, but now she seemed somewhat resigned.
Doah had confessed to me that this was her last dance, and she was determined to end it with a bang.
Her desire to be remembered as her prettiest and cutest self during her time with CLOSER would surely remain a precious memory for her fans as well.
“Don’t you have, like, a rehearsal after-party or something today? It is the last rehearsal, after all.”
“If we did, I wouldn’t have called you here, Oppa.”
“Is that so?”
“We’re having it on December 1st. Just us members.”
“I see.”
“Yep. I plan on going, hugging my unnies, and bawling my eyes out.”
Picturing each of the members in person, I nodded in understanding.
“...Want my card? You can use it as much as you want if you want to treat the members to a meal.”
“I’m good. Are you dissing the artist who’s sixth on the charts right now?”
“When did I diss you? I just meant you should go have fun.”
“Ehehe~ I make more money than you, Oppa~”
Firmly refusing my offer, she wiped her sweat and glanced around the studio.
“...I guess I’ll have to start packing up my things here, too.”
“They told you to?”
“I doubt they’ll just let me keep it... Wouldn’t it be better to start clearing things out one by one?”
Doah tapped the head of a Luka SD figure with her index finger, an undeniable look of regret in her eyes.
Feeling sorry for her, I pulled her into a hug. Doah wrapped her arms around my waist while muttering words she didn’t mean.
“I smell like sweat right now.”
“That’s okay.”
After hugging for a moment, Doah neatly organized the VR equipment, then opened the door of a mini-fridge standing in the corner.
“Let’s pack this up first and go.”
“...I really hate to say this on a day like today, but why in the world do you have so much stuff?”
Snacks and drinks poured out of the mini-fridge like it was a bottomless jar.
“When you’re streaming, you get thirsty and hungry, you know.”
“Is this why you’ve gotten a little chubby?”
“Hey! Han Taemin!”
I let out a small laugh at the way Doah glared at me.
“Kidding, kidding. Joudan da yo~”
“You seem to be periodically calling me fat these days. You mean it, don’t you! Oppa. I’ve caught you! Red-handed!”
“Hey, no. It’s not like you have that much of a tummy.”
“So you’re saying I do have one?”
...Well, it’s not like she doesn’t.
I squeezed it every night before we went to sleep; there was no way I wouldn't know.
“That settles it. I’m going on a crazy diet during my break.”
“Just eat whatever you want. You’re pretty even without a diet.”
“Since I’ve already been a VTuber idol, I’m thinking of trying to become a real idol this time.”
My girlfriend, spouting such nonsense.
I pinched and stretched her cheeks, trying to snap her out of it.
“Why are you being so cheeky? Huh?”
“Nuh-uh! I’m gonna be an idooool!”
Watching Doah squirm, I grabbed the plastic bags full of food and left the studio.
“But Oppa, are you really okay taking two full days off?”
“I took today off for personal reasons, and tomorrow, my teacher is going on strike to watch the concert, so I took the day off without having to worry about it.”
“Ooh~ Ashblock-san~ How kind~”
“Kind? He’s just an old guy busy looking out for himself.”
There wasn’t a single thing wrong with what I said.
“Ah, I’m nervous. It’s live, so I can’t mess up.”
“You did great during your solo concert.”
“Ugh... Just thinking about all the prep for that one makes my head spin. How did I even do so much by myself?”
I think it was at least over ten songs.
“That’s why you’ll do even better tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow I have to do cute choreography, too!”
“Even if you mess up the dance a little, the Pink Army will forgive you because you’re cute.”
People don’t watch VTubers for perfectly synchronized dancing.
In fact, I thought seeing them flail around a bit was overwhelmingly cuter.
“You think so?”
“Yeah.”
After punching in the passcode and unlocking the door, we tried our best to spend the day as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
We played duo games we didn’t usually play, and for dinner, we ordered a pizza to share.
I figured talking about the concert now would only make her more nervous and sad, and nothing good would come of it.
“Oppa.”
Doah slurped a long string of cheese into her mouth.
“Yeah?”
“Please really look forward to the stage tomorrow.”
“Of course I am.”
“I couldn’t show you, but the stage... it’s really spectacular. The avatars are no joke, and we’re going to have some surprise events in between.”
“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”
“And also... also... what else was there?”
At her expression, which seemed to be asking me, I just shrugged.
“How would I know, Luka-Luka?”
“Ah, I forgot. Anyway, make sure to cheer for me a lot tomorrow. And type a lot in the chat.”
“Don’t worry.”
Just as Doah had prepared with all her might, I was fully prepared to cheer for her with all of mine.
Even before it began, the viewer count was already breaking all-time records.
People were chanting the names of the members they supported and the name CLOSER.
I had also brought a wireless keyboard and was sitting on the sofa, spamming Luka’s name.
[I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka! I love you, Luka!]
A beautiful group illustration slowly faded to black.
As the screen went completely dark, we all knew it was time.
-Tantan-tan, tantan-dadan
A very familiar drum sound.
The song, which started without any warning, began to stir the fans’ hearts.
Ah. To think they’d start with the song I made.
Of course, it had performed well on the charts and had been popular recently, so it made sense for it to be on the setlist, but I never expected them to open with it.
On top of that, today was a rare live performance with all five members.
On screen, the members of CLOSER held microphones, singing along with cute, simple dance moves.
The quality of their avatars was top-notch.
Even the trackers reflecting their movements were so detailed that they made the members look truly alive.
When the first song ended, the members stopped in a single line.
[One, two. Hello! We are the idols next door, CLOSER! Woooo!]
Back when they first started, even that simple greeting used to be so awkward.
Jennifer, who led the segments, wasn’t as skilled as she was now, and seeing Fumurin occasionally forget her lines was quite the sight.
[How many... how many people are watching right now?]
At Clover’s question, the members all looked in the same direction.
It seemed there was a display, like an electronic billboard, showing the chat window on the virtual stage where they stood.
[Whoa... No way...]
Luka’s jaw dropped.
A whopping 230,000 people were watching a VTuber group’s live concert.
Honestly, even though I was one of them, it was an unbelievable number.
[Uwaah... I’m so nervous, Unnie!]
Fumurin clung to Leah and whined, but Leah just stared blankly into space.
[Th-There are so many people...?]
Isn’t this what makes them a little different from real-life idols?
I believed one of the biggest reasons they were so loved was this exact kind of realness and spontaneity.
What current idol would stand on stage in front of a huge crowd and say, ‘There are so many people...’ like that?
[Ugh... We’re so happy that so many more people came than we expected! Please don’t leave, and stick with us until the very end! Now, shall we go to the next song?]
[Yes!]
[Music, please!]
Jennifer, who seemed the most composed, smoothly moved things along, and CLOSER effortlessly performed their next song.
Today’s setlist was a magnificent feast.
Original songs, every track from the albums they featured on, and one popular cover song from each member.
There were raffle events for the fans in between, and they had also prepared video messages of support from other VTubers and actual idols from YM Entertainment.
It was so wonderful, but I wanted the feeling to stop.
How should I put it? It felt like eating the last piece of your favorite side dish, the one you’d been saving.
The end of this sweet VR world was approaching.
The last song of the night.
All that remained was “Boundary,” their debut song that had brought them here.
[Everyone.]
The time had come.
The moment they would say goodbye to us.
[Tomorrow... is our graduation ceremony.]
The fiery excitement that had been burning so hot was gone, and not even their virtual avatars could hide their sorrow.
[Thank you all so much for coming today, and thank you for giving us, CLOSER, more love than we ever deserved.]
Jennifer finally burst into tears.
She couldn’t continue, and the other members gathered around to comfort her.
They took turns giving short farewells.
The CLOSER members said they would keep it brief, since the long goodbyes would be for tomorrow.
From what I could see, more than half of them were already crying. I wondered if they’d even be able to sing.
[Well then! Everyone! Here is our last song!]
The powerful intro to “Boundary” began, and Luka sang with more passion than ever before.