Is It Wrong to Seek Encounters at the Arcade?
It was currently ten in the morning.
“Ugh.”
Today was the day I headed to the arcade for an outdoor stream, so I’d woken up a little earlier than usual.
I wanted to get there when as few people as possible would be around. Of course the arcade I usually visit is pretty empty anyway, but still.
When you’re streaming outdoors you have to talk to yourself the whole time, right? Plus my looks were bound to draw stares.
Sigh… The life of a pretty girl really is exhausting. Not that I hate it, though. Hehe.
“Whoa.”
I was genuinely surprised. My one little fitting-model gig had increased sales fivefold?
That’s actually insane.
Was I really that good? I guess I was… ahem.
Anyway, Ha Jiyeon’s last message asked if I could model again because new stock was dropping this week. She even offered to double my hourly rate.
Wait, that would be two hundred thousand won per hour?
Hey now. Is this for real?
At this rate I’d be able to buy my avatar in no time.
It really felt like debut was right around the corner.
Everything was going so smoothly. Seriously, so smoothly…!
I replied right away, of course. I also added a polite “I’m glad sales are up too lol” because that’s what you do in the working world. Where else was I going to find a part-time job that paid two hundred thousand won an hour?
“Hehe.”
I felt strangely good. Probably because things were working out so well. Streaming itself had been incredibly fun lately, too.
I was itching to brag to someone.
I really needed an outlet… though of course I already knew exactly where I was going to do it.
I really don’t know what to do…
I really don’t know what to do…
“Puhuhuhuhuhu.”
I really didn’t know what to do. Looks like I’d become addicted to forum posting. Well, I was already addicted, but now my body wouldn’t be satisfied unless I dropped at least five shitposts a day.
This was dangerous. I needed to exercise some self-control.
‘Time to get ready to head out.’
I went to the bathroom, washed up roughly, and stripped down to my underwear so I could change.
I was about to put on my usual tracksuit when—
“Hmm…”
Ha Jiyeon’s words suddenly popped into my head and made me pause.
Maybe I should dress up a little. She had given me the clothes for free and told me to wear them, after all.
Swish. Slide.
“Hmm.”
Once I was dressed I looked at myself in the mirror.
Wide-leg cargo pants and a tank top. Since wearing just a tank top in public would be embarrassing, I threw a black zip-up hoodie over it.
The ball cap was the finishing touch.
‘Oh… I look kinda hip, don’t I?’
I was satisfied. Honestly, anything would probably look good on this face.
It felt like customizing a female character in an online game.
“……”
Click. Click.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror and took a bunch of selfies—half-hiding my face in that classic Instagram aesthetic.
When I checked the photos, they came out amazingly well. They were easily on the same level as the shots celebrities sometimes post.
‘Oh, right.’
Thinking about Instagram reminded me that Ha Jiyeon had asked me to post at least one picture wearing her brand’s clothes.
I could upload one of these right now. It was a safe choice for a first post, too.
I added the tags #DailyLife and the name of the clothing brand I was wearing.
Pressed the upload button hard.
[Post has been registered.]
A picture of me in hip clothes with half my face hidden went up. With my homework done, I left the house feeling great.
I arrived at the arcade. Maybe because it was morning, I was the only person there.
Just as I’d expected—completely empty.
The first thing I did was set up the stream. I’d originally planned to buy a selfie stick, but after looking around yesterday I found something even better.
It was a smartphone chest strap!
You wrapped the black band around your shoulders and chest to secure it, and there was a mount in the middle for your phone.
It gave off serious action-cam newtuber vibes. With this I could stream safely without showing my face.
Aspiring VTuber Goes to the Arcade!?!?!!
Even though it was morning, the second I turned the stream on, thirty loyal soldiers instantly took their seats.
They really were from the same forum as me—the way they dropped logs was pure art. Or maybe they just liked my stream… hehe.
“Hey everyone~ Hi~ Today, just like I promised yesterday, I’ve come to the arcade. It’s nice because there’s nobody here. Right? But wow, you guys came in a lot even though it’s morning. I thought ten people would already be a lot… hmm.”
“Puhuhu… Why do you guys keep using that overseas-buyer joke? Unbelievable. Anyway, thank you for coming today~”
With that, I officially entered the arcade. While I was looking around to decide what to play, I heard a donation alert.
ArrogantFish donated 1,000 won!
Wait, why does the stream look so low to the ground?
“Ah, I brought some new equipment for today’s outdoor stream. It’s fixed to my chest with a strap. Basically, it feels like you’re seeing from the same angle as my chest.”
“Ugh, what are you guys even saying? Can we please stop lowering the Mwing level? Huh? And someone said they’re dizzy?”
While the chat flooded with extremely Mwing-level comments, I spotted the one about dizziness.
Was it because I was using a phone instead of a proper action cam? I spun in place once to test it.
Whoosh.
“How is it? Still dizzy?”
“Wait, is it okay or not okay? Ugh, seriously… hehe.”
I let out a small laugh at the Mwing-bongs’ reactions and spotted a rhythm game in the corner of the arcade.
It was Jump. A classic rhythm game where you stomp on panels in time with falling notes. It was one of my favorite arcade games.
A great idea suddenly hit me.
“Everyone, should I play some Jump first? That way we can tell if it’s dizzy or not.”
“Am I any good? A little?”
I answered like a total pro and stepped onto the Jump machine.
The song I picked was Brain X-War. Double mode that used two panels instead of one, highest difficulty—level 24.
Even among veterans this was considered a pretty high-level song.
The fact that I chose it meant I had some confidence!
"Let’s Go!"
The moment the song started, a grand EDM track blasted out and I grabbed the handle behind me as my feet began moving like crazy.
I slid across the panels, chaining together flashy steps.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
What? Why is this so easy?
My body moved way better than before. My reaction speed seemed faster too.
Still, I couldn’t let my guard down yet. This was just the intro; the real highlight hadn’t even started.
"Let the bass kick!"
It’s coming… it’s coming!
That insane rapid-fire section!
"Ah ah ah ah ah eh ah ee ah oo"
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
My feet hammered the panels without a single break.
My body shook wildly side to side, feet sliding between the platforms. At some point I couldn’t even tell if I was the one thinking and moving or if my body was reacting on its own.
I was practically in a trance!
But damn, this is so fun… hehe.
The chaotic rapid-fire section passed, and soon the song’s ending sound effect played.
When I checked the screen after the song ended, it said FULL COMBO. I had never once gotten a full combo on this song when I was a guy!
‘Is this because I became a girl?’
It really felt like it. Normally just this one song would leave my thighs cramping and me completely wiped out, but right now I was barely even breathing hard. My body felt incredibly light.
The TS body really is invincible… yup.
“Puhuhuhu… So everyone, what do you think of my skills? Did I blow your minds~?”
Anonymous Supporter donated 1,000 won!
I came in after seeing the title today but what the hell is this skill;; Are you originally a Jump newtuber or something?
I wiped away the sweat rolling down and checked the chat. Everyone seemed shocked. There was even a donation that mistakenly thought I was a Jump specialist newtuber.
“Ah~ I’m not a Jump newtuber. It’s just a hobby, a hobby! Why is everyone overreacting so much? Isn’t this normal for everyone?”
“What flaming? Fine, fine. Sorry for being good! Sorry for getting full combo! Puhuhu.”
After I finished speaking I made a V-sign toward the camera to celebrate the full combo.
The chat immediately exploded with “Whoa her hands are pretty,” “Seeing the hands, she’s not a pig lol,” and other nonsense. It was all just pure chaos.
While I was showing off to the Mwing-bongs—
“Wow~ How did you do that just now!?”
“She’s such a pretty noonaaaa…”
“Huh…?”
They looked about ten years old. When I turned around, two little boys were standing close together behind me, staring up.
“Noona, are you a newtuber? That was so cool!”
“She’s really prettyyyy…”
They were watching with sparkling eyes, so it looked like they’d been observing me play Jump for a while.
I answered them moderately.
“No, I’m not a newtuber. I’m a VTuber.”
That aside, why were they here instead of at school? It was a weekday—were they skipping? Hmm.
Still, being called a pretty noona felt nice.
They had good eyes.
My mood improved.
“U-um, noona!”
“Yeah? What is it?”
One of the kids called out to me. It was the one who had been staring blankly while saying “She’s such a pretty noonaaaa.”
“Uuuu…”
The kid’s face turned bright red as he looked at me.
“N-noona, please marry me!”
“What.”
He suddenly launched a surprise proposal.
…Huh?
In the novel she’s dressed a bit more modestly~