Grow Up Healthy (2)

The distance was only a twenty-minute walk, but I deliberately stretched it to forty by stopping at a café near Dora's apartment. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠After cleaning, my throat would be dry anyway, so I figured I'd grab something to drink while I was at it. There was plenty to do during those forty minutes. Since I was outside the office, I could watch mainland Kirinuki videos without worrying about prying eyes. In the corner of the café, I endured a grueling forty-minute session of holding in my laughter to preserve my dignity as a working adult. Then I bought a cup of peppermint tea—Dora's favorite—and headed to the officetel where she lived.

But when I arrived in front of her door, there was no response. Just in case, I pressed my ear against it. From inside came a chaotic clatter—something plastic falling and rolling around noisily. I told her to clean, not to demolish the place. She hadn't messed with the soundproof booth, had she?

I rang the doorbell. Still no reaction from Dora. This time I knocked harder. Knock knock knock knock knock. Unfortunately, my small fists produced an equally cute sound. It was loud enough to cut through the racket inside, yet there was still no answer. Was she wearing headphones? She'd recently bought a nice pair and posted on Z about how connecting them to her sound card felt like stepping into a new world.

Ever since she'd turned cute, there had been more than a few first-time experiences, but this one involved my livelihood, so it left me slightly flustered.

“As long as she doesn't touch the computer, it should be fine.”

She probably hadn't touched anything near the computer. Even though a conversation from a few days ago on TalkCode suddenly flashed through my mind…

It would be fine, right? Dora occasionally displayed absurd genius, but would she really create this much hassle just to call me over?

“Maybe I should wait about ten minutes.”

Even if she made a big fuss to the viewers about being late and willingly accepting a penalty, her lateness never exceeded five to ten minutes. That meant I could watch two more Kirinuki videos. She'd contact me on her own by then.

It was chilly outside, but since this was a self-contained officetel, the elevator lobby was indoors. I used the coat I'd thrown on as a makeshift mat, plopped my butt on the floor, and crouched in the corner at the end of the hallway beside the front door. The floor was a bit cold, but the powerful air conditioning system kept the hallway warm.

After watching two videos, the wild cleaning sounds finally stopped and the apartment grew quiet. As if on cue, my phone rang. I slid the answer button while knocking on the door.

“I'm right outside.”

“It's fine. Just open the door.”

I dusted off my backside and waited. Beep-beep. The electronic lock released and the door swung open. Dora appeared in a disheveled state. At least she was wearing dolphin shorts, thank goodness. The first time I'd visited, she'd burst out in nothing but panties and I'd nearly had a heart attack.

“Sorry for checking TalkCode so late… Did you wait long?”

After confirming the door had locked again, I muttered with a blank expression.

“Not really. More importantly, I'm just relieved you didn't come out in your panties.”

“Eugh. I told you to forget about that. And it wasn't panties! It was a lower-body disappearance!”

“In the end, it's the same as not wearing pants.”

“Uuu.”

Uuu, my ass. The top she'd been wearing that time hadn't been particularly long either. If someone other than me had seen her like that first… I didn't even want to think about it.

Anyway, since she claimed to have cleaned, I glanced around the room. It was noticeably tidier than the last time I'd visited. The only suspicious thing was a single moving box sitting in the middle of the living room.

…Did she run out of cleaning time?

It looked like she'd been tidying up, gotten overwhelmed, and just shoved everything in there. I'd better ignore it. Opening it and finding a black melon cover or a triangle of lace inside would be awkward.

I walked past Dora, who was smiling like an idiot and avoiding my gaze, and headed toward her computer. Although it was an officetel, the structure had a middle door separating the bedroom from the living room. She'd converted the entire bedroom into a soundproof booth. So when I opened the door, what lay beyond was her broadcasting space.

Gulp.

I opened the door, half expecting a disaster and half wondering if she'd actually organized anything…

Five-hundred-milliliter bottles of water and zero-cola PET bottles were scattered everywhere around the computer. A mountain of towels was piled on one side—probably from drying her hair after a shower while streaming. The hair ties she needed for wearing her streaming gear were placed at roughly thirty-centimeter intervals in groups of two or three, as if she rotated them by color every day. It was a perfectly, utterly unorganized mess.

“…Phew.”

I let out a sigh of relief without meaning to. This was the first time seeing such a disaster had ever put me at ease.

I turned to face Dora, who was standing behind me, and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Thank you.”

Dora shrugged her shoulders proudly.

“You don't have to thank me that much. Hehe. Um, if there's anything to clean, hand it to me. I'll organize it.”

…She must have taken that as praise.

It took roughly thirty minutes for the area around the computer to return to its original state. I'd pick up items and hand them to Dora; she'd toddle over like a delivery robot, tossing trash into a separate collection bag and putting ambiguous items into that big box from earlier. The box was hidden behind the door, and the fact that she kept going in that direction confirmed it. After that, I used a duster and a small vacuum to remove every speck of dust from the equipment without raising too much dust. That was it.

Dora looked at the now-clean computer area and clapped her hands with a bright smile.

“It's completely clean! As expected of Miss Jia.”

“If only you had the equipment knowledge, you could've done it yourself.”

“Ugh. Fact ban. I know that, but how could I possibly manage it?”

“What about dinner?”

“I have to eat.”

“The boss gave me the company card before she left and told me to buy you something delicious. So tell me what you want.”

“Whoa. Steak! Can I get two?”

Typical dragon-concept VTuber—completely obsessed with meat. If you asked her how many steaks she wanted, she'd always shout “Two!” without hesitation. Right after her debut, the boss had taken the kids to a buffet to celebrate a successful broadcast, and Dora had reserved steak four times there.

“You have to eat everything you order. And no burping on stream.”

“Ah! Seriously!”

Dora huffed and shook herself around, causing the two sizable assets hidden beneath her baggy T-shirt to jiggle and wave hello at me. They were twins, each as large as her streaming monitor. But they had no effect on me. When I'd first met the first-generation members at the audition, I'd been envious of their charm, talent, and charisma. After working with them for a year, they were now simply an airhead, a perpetual complainer, an eccentric, and a walking loudspeaker. The longer we spent together, the more they felt like family—almost like looking at hopelessly chaotic younger sisters. So even if Dora shoved two melons in my face, it wouldn't stir a single thought.

I smirked and opened the delivery app.

“Want cola?”

“Hmph, no thanks.”

“I'm getting some.”

“……”

Dora, who had been watching me, suddenly placed both hands and her chin on my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

“Queen's Zero Lemon… just one…”

Despite having the most mature figure among the members, Dora carried a soft, fluffy, sweet scent. When I tilted my head to glance at her, she just giggled as if asking what I was looking at. Was this the same girl who used to shrink back shyly whenever I stared at her? Just from how she was constantly pestering me on TalkCode to eat together, I'd known her attitude toward me had changed, but this was more direct than I'd expected. She'd been a bit distant right after opening the door, but that seemed to have been because she was apologizing for being late. Now she was charging straight in like this.

…The other first-generation members were probably the same. I shouldn't be too surprised if the rest started treating me like a friend from now on.

“Added the cola.”

“Thank youuu… hehe.”

Since I'd ordered for Dora, I figured I should order for myself too and returned to the delivery app's home screen to search for pizza. Dora, who had been peering at my phone from over my shoulder, asked,

“Huh? You're not eating steak with me?”

“I'm craving pizza today.”

I'd meant we'd each get our own thing, but Dora opened her mouth in surprise and mumbled,

“Now that you mention it, I suddenly want pizza too.”

“What about the steak?”

“Sorry. Please cancel it.”

Now? After all that?

“There's no need. Why don't we just order both?”

“Ugh. I'm not a pig. I can't eat that much.”

“I can.”

Hearing that, Dora lightly placed her palm on top of my head.

“Even if you eat, it's only one slice of pizza and then you'll say you're full~”

She even flashed a cheeky grin. It seemed she was getting revenge for all the times I'd teased her about being a “crybaby dragon” by calling me a tiny sparrow who only ate birdseed. She wasn't wrong. Ever since my body had shrunk, my appetite had been cut in half. But challenging me to a scratch battle? That was truly foolish. After all, being called tiny didn't bother me one bit.

“I should ask Dora's YouTube editor to make a compilation of all your crying moments.”

“Ugh…”

Even though she was much taller than me, the way she puffed out her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cheeks was adorable. Maybe because I kept reacting, I couldn't help but keep teasing her. It was the same when dealing with the boss—when the other person treated me comfortably, my wicked instincts kept slipping out. But I was their manager, and I was working right now. Time to calm down a little.

“I'm kidding. So, what pizza do you want? I'll order both pizza and steak. We can take the leftovers home.”

The air that had been swelling Dora's cheeks instantly deflated.

“I'll eat whatever you want to eat, Miss Jia. Since I already picked the steak, hehe.”

You're going to regret this.

Without hesitation, I completed the order and showed Dora what pizza I'd chosen. She immediately scrunched up her face and backed away from me.

“I suddenly don't want pizza anymore…”

Hearing that made me annoyed all of a sudden. What was wrong with pineapple pizza?