Loser of a Bygone Era
"What's up? Latte unnie making a request like this?"
A girl with a youthful face peered at her monitor and spoke. On the chat program's screen, the icon of a silver-haired saint character. The voice from the speaker replied to the girl—no, to Noa—as if it were no big deal.
"Eh? Unnie? All for that...?"
It wasn't just what they thought—it was a fact. Among streamers, "Latte" had become slang in place of "money demon." But Noa didn't let it show, just laughed it off.
"Haha... just saying! Besides, if it's that Yume, I've been keeping an eye on her since debut."
Korea's top girl group, Zenith. Among them, Eunha Seong was famous for her skills and had virtually no scandals. For her to suddenly jump into the VTuber scene? As a fellow industry worker, Noa couldn't help but covet that talent. She'd proven it over the past few days of streams, too.
Noa continued, "Anyway, I just need people to play board games with."
"I only started streaming 'cause it was hard to gather TRPG sessions."
TRPG was what people called a "niche genre." Hardly anyone played it, but you needed a group to even start—an ironic setup. So when Latte brought in a big fish like Yume, Noa had no choice but to welcome it.
"Finding newbies in this scene is so tough. Sure, it's just board games now, but if I gaslight her bit by bit... heh heh heh..."
Even through the speaker, Noa could feel the pitiful stare. Latte watched Noa cackle sinisterly for a while before continuing.
"What?"
"Why's Yume your little sis? Since when were you two that close...?"
They were that close, but Latte didn't correct her. Noa dropped the joking tone, groaned a bit, then continued.
"Ugh... it's a bit risky, but what can ya do? Gotta roll with it."
"I'm at 500k subs now? If I can't calculate this, I should quit streaming."
High risk, high return. Some controversy was fine if it meant buzz. Plus, Latte—who knew the industry better than her—was leading the charge, proof the risk was worth it.
"It doesn't happen that often anyway?"
This wasn't even Yume's first time. Three years ago, when "that angel" debuted, the same thing happened. And Noa, seasoned in this world, knew what came next.
"Earthquake."
The board was about to flip. Adapt or get weeded out.
-?????
-How's it already 300k
-(Real GOAT)
-Holy shit;;;
-(Real GOAT)
-(Real GOAT)
-I worship you GOAT...
-Da Yume
wtf is up with this Pudding bastard??? Vanished for 3 years and comes back as a VTuber killer
-(VTuber is culture GOAT)
└Real quality difference
└Pudding's a famous VT-killer
-Art shows up in other vids too
└He's the editor dude. Check description.
└???????
└No fr insane???
└How much they paying to snag Pudding as editor??
└(Spinning real GOAT)
Debuted as VTuber
Gave us massive oppai
Business beamed with Latte
Donated 10 mil won
Brought Pudding back
Fuckin did EVERYTHING
└That Yume
-I worship you GOAT
-If she does all this what’s left??
└Info) Nothing left but still livin large
└Oh right VTubing’s just a hobby lololol
Members: Galju, Noa, Latte
Board Game: UNO
└Pudding officially certifies as top pick
-But Noa outta nowhere?
└Noa and Latte are tight...
-Board games again?
└UNO again lol
└Fuckin hell!!!
└ROFLLLLLLLLLLL
└Insane viewership dog...
A few days after Noa's message, the UNO collab began.
"Uh, hello... I'm VTuber Yume..."
-Why's the intro so awkward lololol
-Shy Yume... precious
-Subtly hiding the RP
-17yo HS girl dreaming of idols, VTuber Yume-nim.
-No lolololololol
-Lmao idol VTuber lololol
-Intro properly~ Woo woo~
"......"
[● 8,046 viewers]
Compared to the Latte collab, viewer count was way down. But considering it was a separate stream, not by much.
'Thought it'd drop to 5k range.'
My recent average was 7-8k. Stabilized now, so this was probably my weight class.
"...Idol VTuber. Yeah."
-She said it
-Idol VTuber (real)
-Insane lololol
-Why am I embarrassed watching...
-And no singing
As I finished my awkward intro and waited awkwardly, a soft high-pitched voice came through the speaker.
"Hello! I'm Noa."
"Ah, yes..."
"Nice to meet you! The 17-year-old high school girl VTuber dreaming of idols, Yume-nim...!"
"......"
-You knew
-Dreaming of idols lololol HS girl VTuber lololol
-Straight-up mocking lololol
-NoaNoa
-Blushing face in the meantime... heh
Her teasing made my face burn with shame. Latte-unnie, unfazed, gave a bored intro.
"Yeah. Latte here, streaming on Jijijik."
-This is... 1 mil??
-No beginner's heart
-Old and no sincerity...
-Streaming's a joke???
"...Unnie."
"What? Me too? We're not strangers like you two."
Veteran streamer for sure—blunt and sassy, pulling aggro on purpose. But she wasn't wrong, so Noa and I nodded and continued.
"Yume-nim, first time with board games?"
"Yeah, first time."
"Outside streaming, ever played?"
"Uh... not really...?"
-Never played board games...?
-Surprising...
-You Korean?
-Tsk these MZ gens...
-Yeah phone games everywhere now
Aside from school days with Noble Blocks era, not much exposure. UNO's famous so I know it, but other rules? Forgotten.
'And no real reason to play.'
I immediately asked Noa, "But why UNO specifically?"
"Huh? Why UNO?"
"So many games, why pick an old simple-rules one like UNO..."
-?
-Nim...?
-??
-Uh oh...
-Asking that?
"......?"
Chat flooded with question marks right after. Feeling off, I tilted my head as Latte-unnie cut in urgently.
"Hey, hey...! You just..."
"...Keep going."
Noa cut her off. Flustered, I pressed on.
"I mean...? It's so old... For stream entertainment, UNO's a bit..."
"......"
"Not fun... I guess..."
-What? Not fun?
-Poor thing, got a mom?
-Hey hey...
-Not going far
-Daring say that to Noa...
-Next ep) Yume, dies...!
-lolololololol
"You just said UNO's no fun right in front of me?"
"W-Well... yeah...?"
"Ha."
A hollow laugh. She continued, "Say it again."
"...Yeah?"
"Not that."
Her once-gentle face turned murderous. Trembling, I repeated as ordered.
"No fun...?"
And in that instant, she growled at me with killing intent.
"Take it back... right now...!!"
Noa burst into flames.