Attempt 4: The Bittersweet Spark of Viewers

"Today too... no one's here, huh."

If even one person had tuned into her stream, she would've apologized for cutting it off abruptly yesterday without warning. But as always, there was no one. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Arin continued her broadcast in silence. The words of apology she'd prepared lingered unspoken in her mouth as she pressed on with the stream.

After running it for a while, she finally noticed something different.

...Huh?

Viewers were trickling in. One, two, three. Ten, twenty. Maybe she was just lucky. Maybe the timing was right, or the new 2D VTuber illustration she'd commissioned was finally paying off. But whatever the reason, this was the chance she'd been dreaming of her whole life.

"Ah, ahh! I could've beaten him one-on-one, but those guys...!"

The cute girl on screen made a troubled face.

I-If I use this at the right moment, it'll be good, right...?

She still wasn't used to handling this fake face. Unless it was a death or revival moment, she couldn't time her 'emotional expressions' perfectly. There was no room to hit the expression switch keys during real-time gameplay.

"Y-Yes! Thank you so much for the 1000 won, MomPussyKimchiStuffer!"

Her first donation ever. Money she'd earned from her stream. Overwhelmed with emotion, Arin got teary-eyed before even reading the message fully.

"Tryhard? Duo... Yes! Sure! After this game... Hyaah!"

In the middle of talking, she missed the assassin character closing in on her. Soon, a gray defeat screen filled her monitor.

"Ah, ah..."

She had to focus on the game first. Her words caught in her throat, and it took a while before she could respond to the question.

"O-Of course! MomPussy... sir. What's your ID?"

Swearing scared her. Just a few days ago, while playing this game, Set-a had nearly gotten kicked—actually got kicked—for cursing. Even if she got dragged into something ugly for swearing, they probably wouldn't kick Arin over it, but it was still the last thing she wanted to deal with.

Arin entered the ID, added him as a friend, and started a game with him.

"..."

His skill was average—neither great nor terrible. He made mistakes sometimes, shone others. For a local player, nothing special.

Raw fury poured through the chat.

"Ah, we can still win, so let's just keep our cool a bit..."

Normally, she wouldn't have typed anything in chat. Arin wasn't brave enough to jump into these brutal fights. But she was streaming, so she had to say something.

The flames spread to her.

"Eh, e-eh... Y-Yeah! But... F-Focus! Focus! We're in a standoff, so no more donations—"

She didn't like either of them. To Arin, their contributions to the win were about equal. But she couldn't ignore a precious viewer. She didn't want to meddle in the fight, nor bash her duo partner.

"Ugh..."

"P-Please, stop..."

She'd thought that as long as she had even a few viewers, she could endure anything. That resolve shattered in just hours. She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

Like that, a few hours passed.

"Hoo..."

Sweat dripping down her face, Arin ended the stream and checked her private messages.

"No way... how many people watched for them to send this..."

For the first time, it really felt like she was streaming. But Arin's expression wasn't happy.

"Is... is this okay to do?"

Duoing. No guarantee the partner was a guy, but most players in this game were men, so probably. "B-But I'm a slave..."

Of course, she'd never felt any positive vibes toward him. Skill aside, his foul mouth made her want distance. No voice chat, no lovey-dovey talks. Nothing romantic. But depending on how others saw it, problems could arise. Streamers duoing with viewers was common, but a girl duoing with a guy could spark misunderstandings.

"..."

How much could a woman with a boyfriend—or a slave with an owner—interact with others? Arin turned to the source of it all: the character plush from her favorite VTuber. Always confident, always bright, loved no matter what she did. Getting caught liking her had embarrassed her, made her realize she was useless to him—and that's why she'd started this.

"It wasn't... just for the money."

Sure, she'd bought pricey games, a tablet PC, fancy delivery she never touched. But back then, no guilt like this. It was permitted, aligned with his wishes to spend on her joy. But supporting someone else? Different story.

"Hmm..."

Not expensive money. Even jobless, she'd scraped pocket money from Mom for regular subs. Not romantic feelings—just fandom, like admiring a cool big sis. Still, using his money to support someone? She couldn't be sure it was right.

Of course Se-in would say do whatever...

He wasn't the jealous, controlling type. He'd accept anything. That's what made it worse. Even unspoken, there'd be a line where he'd get uncomfortable, and she couldn't gauge it.

"Still... my favorite is Se-in."

Streaming too. She'd tried ignoring it, but rude viewers demanding lewd talk for being a girl weren't zero. She ignored them, but just being in that environment might sour his mood. Time with him was dwindling too. Not gone—they still had sex before or after streams—but the pressure was real.

Owner first. If Se-in called mid-stream someday, she'd drop everything and run. Duty, and what she wanted.

"At least... some people came in."

Peak viewers barely hit thirty. To make real money as a streamer, she'd need over a hundred. Then problems would scale up too.

"C-Can I... keep going?"

Lucky, she knew. Even stunning cam girls or heavily promoted big streams vanished without viewers. Securing steady numbers meant she was doing well.

Yet the trials ahead loomed large. The world spun.

"Haa..."

What if the stream grew? Female streamers hid boyfriends like a taboo. Reveal she's a slave? No way. They sold pseudo-romance. But could she? Loving only Se-in, her owner—sell those feelings? Was it allowed for her?

Myriad thoughts swirled past. Without even washing up, Arin fell asleep.

A stream with viewers wasn't the sweet, confident dream she'd imagined.