Starting the Broadcast

The meal itself hadn't been uncomfortable, but the atmosphere around the table certainly had been. Once it was finally over, Maru, Ara, and I headed upstairs to Maru's room.

While we were trying to figure out what the three of us should do together, we picked up the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠conversation we'd started earlier about the YouTube video—the one we'd almost talked about and then dropped.

"So, like I said before, I think the best approach is just showing who we actually are instead of forcing some over-the-top concept."

"Mm-hmm, that sounds right~"

"…Yeah. It's not like this is going to be our only video anyway."

"Oho~ Oho~"

"…Why are you talking like that?"

"Ah, sorry. My energy spiked after eating…"

Well, the food had been ridiculously good. I'd felt like I was being treated to a full-course meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Not that I'd ever actually been to one, so I couldn't say for sure. But it felt like that, right?

"Hmm…. Is that so…?"

Maru muttered in a slightly ominous tone after hearing me, then made a suggestion.

"Then how about we film a little sample video right now…? Something short, like a bonus. We need to figure out how to shoot so it looks good, how to frame the shots, that kind of thing. What do you think?"

A video, huh…

I'd at least expected something like a school vlog. Was there even anything to film here?

When I asked that, Ara lit up like she'd just had a brilliant idea.

"Nana! How about this?! We're going to live off our faces anyway, right? Oppa Chan, of course, and everyone else joining the same club is basically celebrity-level hot."

"So?"

"You know those livestreams, right? We do something like a three-way looks competition on stream! Then after a few tries, we edit the best parts and upload them!"

"…Hmm. And we can do it right here at home…. Not bad?"

"Right, right!"

"Chan? What about you? You're the main character, after all."

Maru suddenly declared me the protagonist after the two of them had been whispering among themselves.

Honestly……

This was insanely convenient?

No, that was just my personality. They'd handle everything, and all I had to do was show up on camera. How easy was that?

Maru kept asking if I was okay with it, and I was like, oh man, thank you so much.

I packed every ounce of that gratitude into my answer.

"I'm fine with anything! Haha!!"

"Did he eat something weird at dinner…?"

"What do we do… Should we call Mom?"

What?

These little brats?

We ended up filming on Ara's phone. The phone recorded the livestream screen, and that was how our first live broadcast began.

It was a channel with zero fame, and a first stream at that, so for about ten minutes nobody showed up. That was the expected result, so it didn't really bother us.

"What's going on? Why isn't anyone coming in?"

"Right? How can anyone see this thumbnail and not click?"

…Apparently I was the only one who thought zero viewers was normal.

We spent about five minutes gently calming the two of them down from their confusion. Then, finally, viewers started trickling in. Even now there were only eight of them.

"Waaah! Someone came in! See? Of course they would!"

"Oh, eight people already~! Hello!"

"They're actually joining…?"

Honestly, I never thought anyone would. There had to be countless streamers live right now—why would anyone wander into a channel that hadn't even uploaded a single video yet?

I meant that sincerely.

"We're not aspiring idols! We're just high schoolers starting YouTube!"

I was zoning out, fascinated by the chat scrolling by, when one slightly creepy message slipped out and I asked without thinking.

"What would you even do if we were adults?"

Other viewers in chat were saying the same thing, and Maru and Ara chimed in too.

"Hey, don't ask stuff like that."

"Oppa, just ban them. Ban."

I figured I should go along with everyone else… then I thought about it a little differently.

I knew I was good-looking—I had eyes—and I knew the people around me were better-looking than average. But could we really succeed on that alone?

Sure, we might blow up for a second and trend, but could we keep it going? Honestly, I was pretty pessimistic. No matter how good-looking you were, this was still streaming. Being convinced you could succeed on looks alone was just arrogance.

So, back to what I was thinking—

"No, just leave them. As long as it's not too bad."

People flipping out over that was the natural next step.

"Whaaat?! Hey, no, this isn't right. Huh? Chan!"

"Oppa…"

I appreciated them worrying about me, but it was about time these kids learned who I was. I wasn't just saying it—I was genuinely fine, so I didn't care. Sometimes it even felt good knowing a woman was talking like that.

"I'm fine, so just aim it at me. I'm the best-looking one here anyway, so it doesn't matter, right?"

What the hell was "slurp" supposed to mean……

Even the viewers who'd been staying in line until now seemed like they'd been holding back those kinds of messages, and they started testing the waters little by little.

Yeah—we needed at least this much charm.

Still, there was one thing I had to make crystal clear.

"You all know you're never supposed to talk to high schoolers like that, right? I'm only okay with it because I am, but you absolutely, absolutely must not do that. Got it?"

"I'm not your dad… but I like that you're listening. Want a kiss for being good?"

"…You're acting really different?"

"Oppa, they say you should share love starting with the people closest to you. So shouldn't you kiss me first, since I'm the closest one here?"

"Says who?"

"The little kid inside me."

"Can't you get a little smaller yourself? Or at least less noticeable?"

"Wow, who did you take after to be this rude, our dad's son?"

"Oh my, our mom's daughter isn't exactly a pushover either."

The siblings launched into a comedy routine. It looked like they were about to start an actual fight, so I answered Maru first.

"Well, I've been thinking about it lately, and it doesn't really bother me that much anymore."

"…If you're fine with it, then okay."

"And Ara—what was that? Want me to kiss you then?"

"…Huh? No… I was joking…"

She'd been so bold with Maru, but the second I offered her a kiss she flushed red, ducked her head, and mumbled weakly. She was so cute like that that while her head was down I snuck over and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Eugh…! Wh-whaaaat the—!! O-o-oppa?! N-n-n-no!!"

Ara practically leaped into the air and stared at me. I was pretty sure I'd kissed her when we were little—had this world's me never done that?

"That much of a reaction…? Didn't I kiss you when you were a kid?"

"Th-that was when I was little……. N-now is…"

"…Yeah, things really have changed…. Not sure if it's for the better, though…"

Maru muttered under his breath, Girls are gonna swarm him like crazy… how am I supposed to stop all of that?

I wasn't a kid anymore—what exactly was he planning to "stop"? I could start dating a girlfriend soon enough if I wanted.

Chat was just as chaotic. Thankfully there weren't any disgusting comments like "A guy shouldn't be so forward kissing some random girl!" It was just… simple.

Viewers trying to buy IRL kiss tickets with money. That was a little terrifying, honestly…

Chat was heating up so fast that if I left it alone any longer it would become impossible to control, so I pulled out a clever solution.

"IRL tickets… are a bit much. But I will give you a kiss."

"Well, not that…"

After saying that, I leaned toward the camera, puckered my lips, and blew them an online kiss.

"Mwah— there. Happy?"

"Tsk, trying to cross the line, huh? Be satisfied with this much. Who said you could go after my first kiss?"

…That one seemed like a real psycho.