Chapter 27: Why the Stream was Short
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: Why the Stream was Short
Monday, 8 PM.
I sat in front of my computer, a cup of ramen at the ready, fully prepared to greet the idol next door.
While I always enjoyed her streams, today there was something extra special I was looking forward to.
[A Cheerful Bot Duo with Clover Unnie~]
The announcement had gone up this afternoon. It was the first collab stream between the members since their official debut, so the Pink Army was beyond excited.
Luka and Clover were a duo well-known for being close even before their debut was confirmed.
When the notification announced the stream's start, the chat was immediately flooded with greetings.
[Ah. Ah. Can you hear meee?]
Her tone was even more cheerful than Luka's usual voice.
[Wow, look at all the viewers. You guys wanted to see a collab this much, huh?]
Luka's viewership had been steadily growing since CLOSER's debut, but today felt like a particular spike.
If this keeps up, she might even hit ten thousand viewers today.
Soon, the waiting screen came down, revealing Luka's avatar. Doah must have been shaking her head, because Luka's hair swayed gently.
[When is Clover unnie getting on... We agreed to launch the game together at 8...]
-Diring-
The sound of a Voicecord connection played, and Clover's voice came through.
[Luka~ Hi~]
[Unnie. I almost had a flashback to my childhood birthday parties...]
[Huh? Birthday parties?]
The chat was flooded with laughing emojis, but Clover didn't seem to get the joke yet.
Ah, maybe that joke is too much of an inside joke on this channel. Having never watched Clover's streams, I had no idea what her community was like.
[I invited everyone, but nobody showed up... I was starting to think, 'Luka-tan is all alone again...']
[Aah! No, no! It's just that the game update was taking a while.]
The good-natured Clover was the type to get flustered by Luka's teasing rather than fire back.
[Then let's have you do the opening line as a compromise.]
[Opening line?]
[They said they're making a video of this stream, so we have to do our greeting!]
Having gotten to know the real Luka—Doah—pretty well, I was simply astonished to see her like this.
At school, she's so quiet she barely does more than nod...
I guess a mask really does give a person strength.
[Uh... Ah... Okay. I'll give it a try...?]
Clover, the older of the two, suddenly found herself railroaded by Luka's quick tongue.
[Hello~! I'm Clover from The Idol Next Door, CLOSER!]
[And I'm Luka~! Wooo~~]
The viewers cheered them on in the chat.
[Luka, what game are we playing together today?]
[Ayy, do we really need a long explanation? I'm sure everyone will know it just from the sound.]
She wasn't wrong. It was a game everyone recognized just from the background music on the login screen.
[CLOSER's first-ever Legends of League duo! Let's get this started with Luka!]
[Alright! Send me an invite, Unnie!]
Luka's username was [flamingafterwinning].
Am I going to be on that friends list soon...?
I hadn't played enough games to message Doah yet, so all I could do was stare at the friends list in anticipation.
[Unnie.]
[Yeah?]
[Isn't your username spelled wrong? 'Lucky Clover' should be Haeng-un-ui Clover, not Haeng-un-e Clover, right?]
I hadn't noticed because I wasn't looking closely, but Clover's username was [LuckedClover].
[Ah, you're right, but someone already took that name.]
[So I had to settle for LuckedClover.]
Her gentle way of explaining, so different from Luka, made it clear she had her own distinct appeal.
[Lucked... Clo... ver...]
Luka secretly plugged the username into a stats website and began her inspection.
[Ah... Unnie... Your match history isn't looking too hot today, is it?]
[Hey, what are you talking about, Princess? Don't you trust me?]
But even to me, a mere viewer, Clover's match history was frankly terrifying.
Her stats page was a sea of red, so bright you'd think it was on fire.
How does someone even manage to get 1 kill and 15 deaths?
[Unnie, isn't this a little extreme? Your last game looks like you were intentionally feeding...]
[Ah, the jungler was the cat. You have to cut me some slack for that.]
Oh, she was right.
I hadn't looked closely, but seeing the cat icon for the allied jungler's portrait, I immediately nodded in understanding.
Innocent! She's innocent!
[You're right. Wow... I hope we don't run into anyone like that today.]
[Luka! The queue popped!]
[Unnie. What champion are you gonna play?]
[Me... um... Can I get Miss Fortune?]
[Miss Fortune is a good choice!]
Miss Fortune, a ranged champion often played by beginners.
Since Clover and Luka were more or less at the same skill level, I thought it was a good pick.
[What about you?]
[I'm playing the princess.]
Luka instantly picked Lulu. The champion selection finished, and the game's loading screen appeared.
[Steal the ADC's kills - 20,000 won per kill]
Luka's eyes twitched at the cheerful donation notification.
[Unnie.]
[Yeah?]
[Are you the type to get mad if I don't give you the kills?]
Luka was already laying the groundwork.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[LMAO she's already starting the hustle.]
[Damn, not even a moment's hesitation.]
The oblivious Clover gave the exact answer Luka was hoping for.
[Well... if it can't be helped, then you take it. I don't get mad easily.]
[Aha. Okay! I was just wondering if you were the petty type who'd get hung up on something like that.]
She's ruthless, I thought, letting out a chuckle at Luka's setup.
[Hey, what do you mean, petty? Even if you take all the kills, I won't say anyth—]
-flamingafterwinning has slain an enemy.
-flamingafterwinning has slain an enemy.
-flamingafterwinning scored a Double Kill!
-flamingafterwinning is on a Killing Spree!
“Whoa...”
I let out, slurping the now-cold broth of my ramen.
The chat had a similar reaction.
[Luka-tan is gonna make Clover cry LMAO]
[LMAOOOO how much is she trying to earn]
[It'd be legendary if they lose after all this.]
[Go Loansharkqueen! LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]
[Hey! Luka!]
Luka had used Ignite on an enemy Clover could have finished with a single basic attack.
Her mouse clicks were filled with pure malice.
[Ah... Unnie... I thought you wouldn't be able to reach...]
[No! I could have gotten that one...!]
[But I thought maybe your screen might turn, or your internet might disconnect, or your food delivery might arrive, so I had to!]
[It's not coming! I didn't order anything! You really need to stop now!]
Luka had already racked up five kills.
While some of them might have been unavoidable, at least three were blatantly intentional.
[Unnie... You promised you wouldn't get mad...]
Clover went silent.
Curious about what was happening on her end, I opened her stream...
[AAAAAAAAAH! LUKAAAAAAAA!]
A wail full of resentment blasted through my speakers.
[I mean... how many times has it been! I'm really not one to say anything, I'm really not!]
I never knew the feeling of being wronged could be so palpable.
Clover's avatar was bawling.
A moment later, Clover unmuted her mic and asked Luka quietly.
[Luka-tan, don't tell me you're doing this for a donation mission or something, right?]
The camera perfectly tracked Luka's expression.
One corner of the pink-haired avatar's mouth crept upward in a smirk.
[Ayy~ Unnie~ Would I ever do something that could damage our friendship?]
Shameless.
It was a truly spectacular display of shamelessness.
[Right? Haha... I trust our Luka, don't I?]
[Clover unnie, you have to trust your dongsaeng. Who else is there to trust?]
Fortunately, they ended up winning that game.
[Tada~! It was a mission after all~]
As Luka cackled while teasing her, Clover, seemingly unable to control her expression, briefly turned off her avatar.
[Aargh! I knew it!]
[Unnie, I love you. You know that, right?]
[If you love me, will you give me half?]
[Sorry. I guess not that much.]
They were, true to the stream's title, a very cheerful bot duo.
The two of them played for about three hours, and with uncanny precision, Luka only completed the missions when a donation was on the line.
It was less that she was good at the game and more that she was good at completing missions.
Luka was staying true to the fundamentals of being a streamer.
[Ah~ what was our final record for today?]
[3 wins and 2 losses. Pretty decent. Although I think we might have won one more if Luka hadn't been stealing all my kills.]
[Unnie, what's more important, the memories we made or the score?]
The way she never failed to get the last word in reminded me of a bratty younger cousin.
[Alright, everyone. Did you enjoy today's collab with Clover unnie? I think I'm going to have to wrap things up here.]
[You worked hard today, Luka.]
[Don't mention it, Unnie. I'll be sure to send the Pink Army your way with a host.]
[Thank you, thank you. Sleep well, Luka~]
[Okay~ Let's do this again!]
As Luka cheerfully ended her stream, the Pink Army wailed, begging her to stay.
[Why no part two! Clover's doing a part two!]
[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!]
[Ah... not having a solo stream is just... not cool... fr...]
Feeling disappointed myself, I typed in chat for the first time in a while.
[Ah... just a little longer.]
Luka's eyes scanned the chat.
[Guys, I have something really, really important I have to do right now. So, how about this: I'll stream until dawn on Wednesday instead. Deal?]
She must have felt bad about her viewers' pleas, because she offered them a deal.
[Okay. Then it's settled. Wednesday, 8 PM to 3 AM sharp. See you all then, Lubye~~]
[The broadcast has ended.]
Hah... that was a treat.
Watching her solo streams was fun, but seeing her interact with the other members in a collab had its own special charm.
I picked up my phone, thinking it would be great to see her play other games with Leah or Fumurin, when I saw a message...
[Oppa. Can you tell me your game ID?]
My mouth went dry. The message had arrived the second her stream ended.