Looks Like You're About to Get Wrecked
"……Luck-based garbage game!"
Ding!
As if she couldn't accept the defeat, Yeonha left the voice chat.
No—she fled.
"……"
Kang Haneul fought hard to hold back the laugh threatening to burst out.
She hadn't expected things to go this well—and the fact that they'd gone even better than expected was just too funny.
Wasn't it that meticulousness comes from having room to spare?
If this had been Ha Yeonwoo, none of it would have worked.
Even allowing for the difference in people's luck, not having the ball land in your intended spot more than once across an entire match? The odds were one in four—a full twenty-five percent. It was absurd. Ha Yeonwoo would have kicked her door down and stormed into her room on the spot.
But against Woo Yeonha, it worked.
That Ttyuttya brain of hers was so busy focusing on her own game that she never even realized what was being done to her—and got completely played.
"You're just so cute…… Yeonha……"
She glanced at the screen she'd tucked into the corner of her monitor. Playing there was the feed of Woo Yeonha's room—Yeonha, still fuming, had gotten up from her computer and was now on the bed, clutching her head and tearing at her hair.
Once the stream was over, she'd have to go tidy up that mess of hair for her.
"Eh, it's always like that."
……In truth, she'd been watching every spot Yeonha aimed for on ultra-HD CCTV and throwing accordingly.
Once the score gap had opened up, she'd casually tossed one into Yeonha's preferred pocket just to dodge suspicion—and somehow Yeonha had immediately turned around and sunk the next one anyway. That monster of a kid.
"Hmm? Depends on how you all behave. I'll think about consulting you."
The moment she grinned and dangled Yeonha's stream content over the chat like bait on a table—
A hundred thousand won hit the donation box immediately.
"……Now that's the kind of sincerity I like."
"That one's a market price, you little shits. This isn't nearly enough."
As the donations kept pouring in after that, she watched from the corner of her monitor as Yeonha—pillow hugged tight—stared at the donation feed in pure shock.
……She was ridiculously cute.
Today was going to be fun. Tomorrow, too.
Only, she couldn't exactly say that out loud on stream.
"Ah, this is so damn fun. Should we actually run an internal tournament with this next time?"
Beaming at the chat, she savored the sweet taste of victory to the fullest.
Sniff sniff!
"……Dyu?"
I opened my eyes to a wonderful smell. Through my hazy vision, a lavender-tinted backdrop swam into view.
"Oh, you're up? Yeonwoo-ssi?"
"Dyu……"
My head still wasn't turning over properly, and my vision was terribly foggy. Drawn by the delicious, appetite-stirring aroma, I absently moved my hand and face toward wherever the scent was coming from.
Squish──!
……Something soft pressed against my hand and face.
"……Yeonwoo-ssi is bolder in the morning than I expected."
"Dyu?!"
……It was a chest.
I lifted my head and found Nene-ssi's face looking down at me.
"What do you want first? Breakfast? A bath? Or me? I've always wanted to try a line like that at least once, but I never imagined Yeonwoo-ssi would pick me before I even asked."
"Dyu!!"
Ah, no, wait……! I……!
Swoosh──!
But before I could even resist, Nene-ssi climbed on top of me like she was pouncing.
"Then we'll save the little appetizer for later and go straight for the main course……"
Nene-ssi's eyes closed, and her face drifted slowly toward mine—
Knock knock……
"……"
At some point Karen-ssi had appeared, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, glaring daggers this way.
Nene's head turned slowly back.
"……"
"……"
"Whew…… phew……"
As I'd said before, Nene was very obedient toward Karen. So my crisis was over—
"What are you staring at, lavender-head?"
Uh…… Karen-nim?
"……And why is Karen-sunbae glaring at me, then?"
……Nene-ssi?
Faced with her junior's open insubordination, Karen raised both eyebrows like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Because a shameless junior looks like she's trying to snatch breakfast under the guise of delivering it. What? You got a problem with that?"
But Nene didn't back down an inch either.
"I do, actually? Coming from someone who already enjoyed herself as much as she wanted, lecturing other people about conscience……"
"……Has this one lost her mind?"
"Everyone says I'm the most sensible person in Star Live. Maybe the one who's gone crazy is sunbae?"
"What did you just say?!"
"Hawawawawa?!"
M-members, please don't fight! Th-this is really scary!!
"……And why are you two just standing there watching?"
Looking thoroughly fed up, Karen-ssi turned her head toward the hallway and asked someone out of sight.
"I don't wanna fight a cute junior in front of Yeonwoo and get hated for it?"
"Same. So go get her! Fighting, Karen!"
The voices that floated back belonged to Eo and Rina.
"……"
Apparently realizing she'd just been used as a proxy weapon, Karen shot Nene a look.
"……You're still gonna keep this up even after seeing those two?"
"……I think I need to rethink my strategy a little."
Nene climbed off me, stood up, and followed Karen out into the hallway. A moment later—
"Ah, Yeonwoo-ssi. Breakfast is on the table, so eat as soon as you can. It tastes best while it's still warm. Those things."
She stuck just her head back in, dropped that helpful tip, and was gone again.
Thwump──!
……From the living room came the sound of a pillow exploding.
"Hiiing……"
I sat down at the table in a foul mood. The food Nene had carefully laid out was waiting for me.
"Th-this is……"
Abalone, jellyfish, little cabbage, shrimp, and perfectly grilled steak cut into bite-sized pieces, with sauce plated prettily beside them. A high-end galbijjim that looked like it had come straight out of a hotel kitchen thanks to the traditional Korean bowls. A mysterious porridge that looked like pumpkin soup, filled with conch, sea cucumber, shark fin, mushrooms, and other ingredients that added texture. And, in case the portions weren't enough, a side of yakbap spooned out next to it.
Looking at a spread I would have believed came from a luxury hotel menu, the first thought that crossed my mind was……
"……There's a lot."
This wasn't just too much for Woo Yeonha—it was too much even for Ha Yeonwoo. Looks like I wouldn't need to open a delivery app today.
Munch munch……
"Hiiing……"
And every single dish was delicious…… I couldn't leave any of it……
While I was eating the breakfast Nene had made and thinking about turning on my phone, a voice cut in.
"Nene made all this?"
"Shajang-nim!!"
At some point the boss had come into my room and was staring at my food with open envy. I urgently requested aid.
"Help!! Help!!"
"……Help with what?"
"Th-there's way too much! Please just eat a little with me!"
"……"
The boss studied the dishes on the table for a moment.
Thwump──!
……From outside came the sound of a brand-new pillow exploding.
"……"
She glanced toward the hallway, then waved me off with an apologetic look.
"Sorry. Looks like I really shouldn't eat any of this."
"Shajang-nim!!"
"If one meal is too much, split it into two. If two still won't do it, make it three."
"Huuueeeeeeng……!"
That's exactly why I want you to eat it with me!!
"I'm heading into the office. Eo and Rina are looking after you today, so if anything happens, contact me right away."
"Have a good……"
Then something felt off, and I tilted my head.
"……Why is the assumption that something is going to happen to me?"
"……"
Faced with my perfectly reasonable question, the boss closed her mouth, stepped closer for a moment, and then—
Whoosh──!
"Eek?!"
Before I could react, she pulled me into a hug.
Nom!
"Hiik?!"
……And lightly bit my cheek.
"……If you don't like it, get strong enough that nobody can do this to you."
"Hiiing……"
I hated that even with my cheek being bitten, I couldn't put up a single scrap of resistance.
"Rina-rina."
"What? Eo-eo?"
"I was looking at SNS, and the fans are really missing Rina-rina's streams. How about heading down to the second floor for a bit and turning one on?"
"Sure. Then come with me. I'll invite Eo-eo as a guest."
"Are you insane? Who's supposed to watch Yeonha?"
"I'll dump the stream on Eo-eo and look after her myself. Don't worry—just collect my donations for me instead."
"Are you actually out of your mind?"
"If you know I'm crazy, then don't pull any funny business. Even I don't know what I might do."
"Um……"
I mustered my courage and cut into the conversation.
"What? Yeonu-yeonu?"
"What? Yeonwoo-yeonwoo?"
"……"
Under the pressure of stares coming from both sides, I scraped up one more scrap of courage and said—
"……It's cramped."
Right now the three of us were sitting side by side on the bed. Me in the middle. Rina on the left. Eo on the right. Packed tight against each other, each of us tapping away at our phones.
"Eo-eo. Yeonwoo says it's cramped."
"Rina-rina. Yeonwoo says it's cramped. Get down a bit."
"I got up here first. Sunbae should get down."
"If you're the junior, act like a junior and yield. Rina."
"……"
I had no idea why they were glued to both my sides like this in the middle of summer. Granted, with the AC on it wasn't that hot, but still……
"Yeonu!"
"What is it?"
To break this suffocating stalemate, Eo finally drew her sword.
"Which of us do you want to get down?"
"……"
"……"
"……"
At that single question, the atmosphere in my room went dead silent.
"……"
"……"
Under two pairs of eyes that seemed to be demanding I tell the other one to leave—
"I-I'll get down!!"
I immediately chose escape.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Running!"
"Away!!"
"Hing hing……!"
……Of course, I was caught right away.
"……Sit."
"Sit right here."
"……Yes."
In the end, the positions reset completely. The three of us were once again sitting side by side on the bed.
"……Instead of this, why don't we all go watch that thing in the living room?"
As I glared at a phone I wasn't even looking at out of sheer claustrophobia, Rina—as if something had just occurred to her—floated the suggestion first.
"That thing?"
"What is it?"
"Mirai. They said it drops at lunch today."
"……"
"……"
Apparently even Eo was getting thoroughly sick of the current situation.
"Let's go! Living room!"
She was the first to stand and head out.
"Come on, Yeonwoo."
"Huuueng……"
Rina and I followed her out to the living room on the 3rd Floor.
"The boss's place really is nice. Right?"
We turned on YouTube on the big screen installed in the 3rd Floor living room. Noon—a time that was reasonably accessible for both the unemployed and the employed. We opened the Star Live official video marked for scheduled release and checked the mood in the live chat.
"Wow…… everyone's already seated."
"……Are they all unemployed?"
"Ahem! Don't talk about the fans like that! Either of you!"
"You hear that, sunbae?"
"I didn't say anything?!"
We waited for the video to drop while trading little bits of banter like that.
[10…… 9…… 8……]
The countdown began.
[0!]
……And was over in no time.
The future we once dreamed of……!
A song that opened with a duet between Karen and Nene—Star Live's representative vocal picks.
We're right here!
It immediately opened into a full-group chorus, and the song began.
There were times it was so hard I wanted to give up.
"Wow…… they even put that in."
The foundation of Star Live that the boss and Eo had built from nothing but bare ground.
There were times it hurt so much I wanted to sit down and stop.
"That's me! I need to mark the timestamp!"
Rina and Karen, of course—and the first-generation members who had expanded that land and cultivated new ground.
But you never let go of my hand, so I could keep going.
Then the second-generation members layered on color—and for four minutes and thirteen seconds of full-length animation, a brilliant flower bloomed for the group called Star Live.
Beyond the fans' awe flooding the chat—
Poke poke!
Eo jabbed me in the side. I glanced over.
"See that? That's me. You should lock in now while you can."
Poke poke!
Not to be outdone, Rina jabbed my other side.
"Rina is still at a total bottom. It's not too late to get on board now."
"……"
Caught between the strange competition unfolding on either side of me, I pulled out my phone to change the subject.
"H-how about we check the fans' reactions first instead?"
"Ah, should we?"
"Let's split up. I'll take YouTube."
"Then I'll start with the official cafe."
"I'll…… check other communities first."
And so, in the middle of each of us checking fan reactions separately—
"……Huh?"
I saw something strange.
Mirai was clearly an MV made with only Gen 0, Gen 1, and Gen 2. And yet the reactions on the Star Live Gallery were……
"……Gen 3?"
At that completely unexpected word, I casually clicked into one of the gallery's concept posts.
"Uh……"
……What do we do, boss?
I think you're about to get wrecked.