Chapter 204: The Class President's True Feelings
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204: The Class President's True Feelings
She began her career as a VTuber in earnest during her first year of high school.
Before that, she was a gaming streamer with a small, niche following. But when the new culture of VTubing took root in the industry and began to surge in popularity, her career took off as if propelled by a tailwind.
In a way, you could say she was blessed with good fortune.
In an industry where people flock to anything that makes money, turning it into a red ocean overnight, she had started her activities back when the term "VTuber" itself was unfamiliar. This allowed her to enjoy a significant first-mover advantage.
Thanks to that, she had now become one of the top ten most recognized VTubers among the hundreds in the field.
In the early days, she never imagined she would become this popular and was often bewildered by it all, but Ayase eventually grew accustomed to her hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
The memory of the day she received her first paycheck from her VTuber earnings was still vivid.
It was the first time in her life she had ever handled that much money.
But the more popular she became, the more a certain doubt began to grow within her.
On the surface, she played the glamorous character Minazuki Luna, but behind the avatar was just an ordinary high school girl named Ayase Satsuki.
The popularity she was receiving wasn't for her, but for the character Minazuki Luna. This thought created an unavoidable sense of disconnect.
How long would this popularity last? How long could she keep playing this character?
It was only natural for such thoughts to cross her mind.
Moreover, unlike her own quiet and reserved personality, the character Minazuki Luna—with her backstory of being a "Rabbit from the Moon"—was energetic and outgoing.
The longer she streamed, the more the act of playing someone who wasn't her became a significant source of stress.
It was during this time, as Ayase juggled her double life between home and school under two different names, that it happened.
"Class President, is this you by any chance?"
The boy in her class who seemed the least likely to be an otaku suddenly spoke to her.
*
Kim Yoo-Sung.
She knew his name and face.
Of course she did. The Korean student standing before her had entered the school as the top-ranked freshman of the year.
She considered herself a good student, but she paled in comparison to Kim Yoo-Sung.
He was academically gifted and handsome.
Until the first semester, he had been the center of attention among the female students, whether he knew it or not. But once the second semester began, for some reason, he started bulking up to an excessive degree, and now, he was someone people actively avoided.
The nasty rumors circulating about him at school probably played a big part in that.
In any case, her perception of him was simply that of a classmate she had little reason to interact with.
That was all the man named Kim Yoo-Sung was to her.
…Or so it should have been.
"Class President, is this you by any chance?"
The question came out of nowhere.
On the screen of the smartphone in his hand, Minazuki Luna—the character Ayase Satsuki played—was screaming her head off, angry at a viewer who had called her a cutting board.
The stream had been just two days ago. For a moment, she almost lost her composure, but she managed to feign nonchalance.
"H-huh? What's this?"
But the suspicion in Kim Yoo-Sung's eyes didn't fade.
"Your voice sounds a lot like this person's."
Unless she was a complete idiot, there was no way she would answer his question honestly.
"I don't know what you're talking about, so could you please leave?"
A VTuber's real identity was a trade secret.
The moment it was revealed that the person playing Minazuki Luna was an ordinary high school girl named Ayase Satsuki, she couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen.
Even now, some people would dig up old footage from when she used to stream without a camera and bluntly ask if it was her.
When she played dumb, Kim Yoo-Sung thankfully returned to his seat without another word.
At the time, she thought she had successfully fooled him, but the reality was different.
It was only much later that she learned he had been half-certain it was her but had let it go, sensing her circumstances.
And this very incident was the catalyst that brought Ayase Satsuki, who played the part of an ordinary honor student at school, and Kim Yoo-Sung, who was revered as a macho man, to become rapidly close.
*
Click.
After Kim Yoo-Sung closed the door and left, Ayase Satsuki slowly opened her eyes in the darkened room.
'Idiot.'
There's a reason a woman shows her bare skin.
Even if they were friends, who asks someone of the opposite sex to wipe the sweat off their back?
It had been her own bold attempt at an appeal, but Kim Yoo-Sung seemed completely oblivious to her advances.
In truth, Ayase had started developing feelings for Kim Yoo-Sung back in their first year.
To be precise, it wasn't romantic love, but more of a thought that he wasn't bad as a potential partner.
Besides, back then, she wasn't in a position to have a boyfriend anyway.
At first glance, Kim Yoo-Sung was burly and had an intimidating expression. She figured that unless someone had a peculiar taste, no one would fall for him.
So she had let her guard down.
But when their second year started, a formidable rival appeared.
Kishimoto Rika.
A blonde gyaru from Shizuoka.
She was so radiant that an ordinary girl like Ayase couldn't even compare, and in an instant, she had claimed the spot next to Kim Yoo-Sung.
If there had been any room for her to squeeze in, she wouldn't have given up.
But one after another, charming girls appeared by Yoo-Sung's side. Before she knew it, she, who had been the closest to him, found herself on the outside looking in.
At that point, Ayase gave up on her feelings for Kim Yoo-Sung.
It made sense. The girls around him were all beautiful, even to her eyes.
It was better not to even try than to make a clumsy attempt and be consumed by feelings of inferiority.
With that thought, Ayase had cleanly given up on him.
…Or so she had thought.
But today, she finally realized.
All this time, she had just been ignoring her own heart.
The one who came to find her when no one else cared was the very same Kim Yoo-Sung she had once given up on.
No matter how bluntly she spoke or tried to push him away, he approached her with a warm and friendly attitude.
'I'm so stupid. It's not like he'll start liking me just because of this.'
Kim Yoo-Sung didn't know it, but as she ate the porridge, she had been stealing glances at his face.
There he was, sitting peacefully, oblivious to her inner turmoil.
Some might find his stoic face frightening, but Ayase was the first to notice the kindness hidden within.
'He doesn't seem to be dating anyone yet.'
She had given up prematurely, assuming he would start dating someone soon.
But as time passed, she never heard any news of him dating anyone, and that remained true even after the school trip ended.
'Does that mean I still have a chance?'
Until now, she had taken a step back, wanting to avoid a messy fight. But maybe it was no longer the time for such considerations.
If Kim Yoo-Sung didn't belong to anyone yet, she would make him hers.
With that resolve, Ayase closed her heavy eyes, a side effect of her slight fever.
First things first, she had to get over this cold.
*
After finishing the pile of dishes, I checked my phone to head home and saw that it was already 7 PM.
"Well, I'm going to head out now. Make sure you lock up."
"Okay!"
Ayase's younger brother nodded his head vigorously at my words.
"You have to come again, okay?"
"Of course."
His younger sister tugged at my pant leg. I crouched down to pat her head, then said my final goodbyes and opened the front door.
"Oh?"
Standing there was Ayase's mother, looking surprised.
"Isn't it Yoo-Sung?"
"Hello."
As I bowed my head deeply in greeting, Ayase's mother spoke with a bewildered expression.
"It's been a while, but you're still as big as ever. Are you here to visit my daughter?"
"Yes. I was just about to leave."
"If I'd known, I would have come home a little earlier. I would have cooked you something delicious."
Ayase's mother said, showing me the plastic bag she was holding in her right hand.
Back in our first year, she would often cook for me whenever I came over to see Ayase, so I knew it wasn't an empty promise.
"I'll come again when I have time. You can cook for me then."
"You must. I'll be looking forward to it."
"Yes, ma'am."
I bowed my head once more, and as I was about to head to the subway station to go home, something occurred to me.
"By the way, is Ayase still exercising regularly these days?"
"Thirty minutes a day, just like you told her. So you don't have to worry too much. She won't suddenly collapse like last time."
"That's a relief. Sitting for too long isn't good for her health, so please nag her to stretch from time to time."
I said with a warm smile, then started on my way home.