Lemoni and the Surprise Comment
"Ooh. Oppa’s pretty good." The topic of tiers came up while we were talking about League of Legends. My rank was Diamond. I guess you could call it the power of fandom. Watching Yuna get sniped made me wish I could play just one game with her, so I started climbing. I wasn’t terrible to begin with—I was around Gold level—but I really grinded back then. In the end, I hit the limit of my talent and never reached Master, so I gave up on the sniping plan.
"Nah. Not compared to you."
"...Huh? Have I ever mentioned my rank?"
Yuna tilted her head, looking confused. Ah, crap. I’d blurted it out without thinking once I knew her actual rank. ...She wouldn’t find it weird, right?
I scrambled to cover it up with a lie. "No, I just figured you’d be higher than me."
"Ah... really? Oppa’s got good instincts. Yep, I’m Master. Hehe."
The way she puffed out her chest and bragged was ridiculously cute. I liked this cheeky side of Uni, too.
"Whoa, really? You’re actually good at the game."
"Mhm. You’re allowed to respect me even more, you know."
She was doing the exact same thing she did on stream. Unbelievable.
"But if you’re Master, you must play a lot."
"Yeah. Honestly, when I’m home I pretty much only play games."
I’d heard her mention on stream that she played even during breaks. [A full-time streamer has no separation between work and rest. Hehem.] The proud way she used to say that flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Just... because you’re cute."
"...What?"
The honest thought had slipped out on its own—a side effect of excessive fandom. The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. What was I even saying to a girl I’d only met twice?
"N-no, I didn’t mean it like that. It was purely innocent, I swear." I rushed to explain before she could think I was flirting. "Really, it wasn’t like that, Yuna."
"Ah... okay."
She answered while loudly slurping up the rest of her sujebi. Strangely, she didn’t look upset.
*
"Shall we head out now?"
With dinner finished, it was time to go. I wanted to stay a little longer, but fan meetings were supposed to end while you still wanted more.
"You go ahead. I’ll pay and come out."
"Okay."
I watched Yuna walk toward the counter, then stepped outside. Even though some time had passed, the sun was still blazing. Maybe because I usually stayed holed up indoors, the bright light made it hard to keep my eyes open.
"Oppa, I’m done paying. Let’s go?"
"Yeah, let’s go."
We headed back the way we came. Unlike earlier, the walk was quieter. Yuna was the one who broke the silence first.
"Does Oppa live this way too?"
"About five minutes up the hill from your place?"
"Ah... so that’s why you walked me home that time."
Yuna nodded as if she’d just figured it out. If our houses hadn’t been in the same direction after the drinking party, we probably wouldn’t have run into each other at all.
Still, something had been bothering me since earlier. Given who she was, I kept hesitating over whether to say it. Ah, maybe I didn’t need to bring it up after all.
"Aren’t you hot, though? Your clothes look pretty thick."
It was almost summer now, even if it was still technically spring, and today had been quite warm. Compared to that, Yuna’s outfit seemed a little heavy. I’d noticed it back at the restaurant too, but hadn’t said anything.
"Ah. I caught a cold, so I’ve been feeling a bit chilly."
"Oh, I see."
So that was why. She’d mentioned having a cold during a recent stream, too. Come to think of it, didn’t I have some in my bag? The small box of Lemoni my parents had sent me recently. They’d told me to always carry it since I got colds often.
"Still, today was really fun, Oppa. You were a little different from what I expected."
"What was your first impression?"
"When I first saw you at the bar, I thought you might be super cold. You had this blank expression and barely talked."
If she put it that way, I was usually like that—but right now, the person in front of me was Uni, so of course it was different.
"But you seem like a really nice person. We even have similar tastes."
"If you think so, I’m grateful."
"You’ll say hi if we run into each other at school, right? No pretending you don’t know me."
"You’re the one who has to do that."
If she hit me with a “Who are you?” next week, I’d be genuinely hurt. I trusted Uni. I believed she wouldn’t do that.
Before I knew it, we’d reached the area near Yuna’s house. She bowed politely.
"Well then, I’ll be going."
"W-wait a second!"
Even if she was leaving, one Lemoni wouldn’t hurt, right? I pulled the box out of my bag and held it out to her.
"You said you had a cold. Want to take these?"
"Huh? Thanks, but... this many?"
Ah, right. A whole box was probably too much. I should’ve just given her one. My affection for Uni had messed with my sense of proportion. She stared at the Lemoni box with a slightly burdened look.
Besides, anyone who carried around an entire box of Lemoni in their bag would look suspicious anyway.
"No, my parents sent me way too many last time and I can’t finish them alone."
"Ah, I see."
Somehow, the excuse sounded flimsy even to me. It really was from my parents, though. Whatever. I just wanted Yuna’s cold to get better quickly.
Yuna stood there awkwardly, unsure whether to accept it. I decided I couldn’t leave it like this. Like some auntie shoving flyers in university town, I pressed the box into her hands.
"Vitamin C is supposed to be great for colds. Make sure you take it morning and night, okay? I’m heading out!"
With that, I spun around and hurried away before she could try to return it. Why did my parting line have to sound like I was prescribing medicine? “Take it morning and night”? How embarrassing.
Still, at least I’d managed to shove it into her hands. The embarrassment would fade, but the satisfaction would last all day.
"Um... Oppa! Thank you!"
Yuna called after my retreating back. Her thanks made my steps feel even lighter. Get well soon, Uni-chan.
*
"What should I use... hmm..."
The clip of me raging at the pot game from three days ago? Or yesterday’s talk stream where I said nonsense? Or the pentakill clip where I declared I was a funeral director? Staring at the folder of collected clips, I clutched my head. This was the daily life of a full-time clipper and part-time college student.
After agonizing over which clip to use and rewatching it a few times, I’d get a rough idea of how to edit it and jot it down in a notepad. As someone who’d been clipping for almost a year now, this part was the hardest. Everything after that was just tedious, repetitive work—cutting the original footage, inserting the usual effects, making a thumbnail, and slapping on a title that might attract some clicks. Done!
"Haaa... finally finished."
I dove onto my bed after uploading today’s video. The soft mattress welcomed me like an old friend. Since these were fan videos, they weren’t monetized anyway, so there was no need to pour my soul into them. But I always gave it my all when editing. Because cheap things like money didn’t matter to me. Spreading Uni’s cuteness to the world was far more important.
Once the upload was done, I’d watch Uni’s stream and then check the comments on Vtube before bed.
Seeing the flood of comments filled me with satisfaction. It felt like I’d done my duty for the day. This was how I slept well—spreading Uni’s cuteness to her followers and feeling fulfilled afterward. It had become a routine.
[Uniclip. 49.9k subscribers.]
"When did it get this big?"
Once a video hit the algorithm, subscribers poured in nonstop until it reached this point. A subscriber count that rivaled most YouTubers. At this rate, wouldn’t I become world-famous before Uni did? The delusion faded quickly, though.
"Anyway, this channel only grew because of Uni."
It succeeded purely because Uni was cute. All I did was edit videos and upload them.
While scrolling through the comments, one caught my eye.
Normally it would’ve just been another comment, but this one was different. Because the poster was...
"Whoa. It’s Uni."
A smile refused to leave my face. Uni herself had descended upon my Vtube channel.