A New Year's Special Broadcast Feels Off (1)
Changing something is the same as changing yourself. Every action that brings about change inevitably invites an equal reaction in return. And change is a frightening thing. The aversion to the unknown is an instinct inherent to all living beings. Rejecting the unfamiliar and clinging to the familiar is only natural. So then, how many people can truly keep walking forward even when they know the path ahead is difficult?
Beneath the dreamy moonlight, an unrealistically beautiful girl whispered with a wistful air. “I’ve decided to quit being a VTuber.”
Even as her eyes brimmed with sorrow, she spoke those words with a calm, indifferent tone. All I could do in response was let my shoulders slump helplessly. How had things come to this? As I searched my memories for the cause of what had already happened, a thought suddenly struck me. Perhaps this had all been set in motion long ago. Yes, it must have started back then.
My consciousness sank beneath the surface of sleep, slowly reaching back into the past.
Exactly one week had passed since my pretend date with Serin. In other words, the turbulent month of January had ended, and February had already arrived.
Looking back on everything that had happened, there was certainly a lot to reflect on. First and foremost, my channel had surpassed 200,000 followers. For reference, I had already cleared the 100,000-follower mark required for the Silver Badge just two days after my debut. That meant another 100,000 people had followed me in the span of only twenty days.
“200,000 followers in less than a month… Unimori is terrifying.”
Of course, this wasn’t an unprecedented feat on a global scale. Still, in an industry where even after one or two years many VTubers struggled to reach 50,000 followers, let alone 200,000, this growth was nothing short of unbelievable by domestic standards.
Well… naturally, none of this was achieved through my own abilities alone. It was the result of the efforts piled up by the first- and second-generation seniors, pushing me forward. If anything, it was a clear indicator of just how much of an advantage debuting under Unimori provided. For the record, Marie, a first-generation member, already had nearly 2 million followers and was closing in on that milestone. She had long since transcended the VTuber category. Honestly, it was enough to inspire genuine respect. As expected of my oshi.
“Compared to Marie, I still have a long way to go.”
Just like any other job, debuting as a VTuber wasn’t the end—it was only the beginning. There were birthday events to plan, new virtual avatar outfits to reveal, collaborations with seniors, a 3D debut, and even a group concert. The more I thought about it, the more I realized just how much lay ahead. With so much to do, there was no need to feel impatient.
At least internally, things were running smoothly… or so it seemed. Externally, however, I still had a long road ahead. The reason was simple: I hadn’t managed to befriend all four of my fellow generation members yet.
“I have four classmates, but I only talk regularly with Airi and Priya. Is that really okay?”
Next week would mark my one-month debut anniversary, and I had only formed connections with half of the third generation. And this was after training as a trainee for an entire year! How pathetic were my social skills?
Still, thanks to Airi’s suggestion, Shura and I had started collaborating, and we exchanged messages every three days or so. As for Karen, with whom I had no particular connection, it had already been a week since our last conversation. I wondered if I should be the one to reach out first, but the person inside the VTuber shell was still the same hopeless mess. What if she thought, “Who is this person I’m not even close with, bothering me with messages…?” The thought alone terrified me.
“Ugh, I wish I could approach people as naturally as Airi does… She’s already talked to the seniors too!”
I was so jealous! Neither the first- nor second-generation seniors had ever spoken to me first. Was it because the cute, affectionate juniors were the ones who got all the love…? Wait a second, now that I thought about it, there was something I had completely forgotten.
If I ended up talking to a first-generation senior, that meant I would also have to talk to my oshi, Marie?! Come to think of it, next week the ban on cross-generation collaborations would be lifted! I might actually get to talk to Marie! In that case, I needed to run some kind of simulation…
“I’ve never even fantasized about talking to my oshi before, so I can’t simulate anything at all! Aaaah! What kind of conversation would even work?!”
It was an environment blessed beyond any fan’s wildest dreams, yet the mere thought of talking to Marie made my heart pound violently. Maybe it wasn’t my heart that was broken, but my head.
As I lay sprawled on my bed, floundering in emotions I couldn’t quite identify, a sudden ding notified me of a new message on my smartphone.
Who could it be this early in the morning…? I thought as I glanced at the screen. There, a now-familiar name greeted me.
“You again…”
The sender was none other than Serin. From what I remembered, she had been streaming late into the night even as I was falling asleep. Did she possess some ultimate physique that let her stay up late and wake up early without getting tired? Maybe regular exercise really did make a difference in base stamina. Feeling a small sense of urgency about working out, I replied.
So she had been trying to lure me to the gym all along, that scheming girl! I replied half-heartedly to her meticulously calculated messages and stretched lightly. My pajamas rode up naturally, letting a cool breeze brush against my stomach. Huh, had I gained a little weight? Maybe I really did need to feel a sense of crisis.
“Come to think of it… Serin still hasn’t given up, has she…”
Over the past few days, the frequency of Serin’s messages had increased noticeably. The content was always something about sharing daily life while naturally trying to reel me in. We hadn’t gone on another date because our schedules didn’t match, but the conversation about Yuri Business from last time was still ongoing. Seeing her hint at it even on stream made me feel like I was being targeted as prey. Combined with her RP as the Wolf Princess, it was honestly a little scary.
“I want to fall for you, huh…”
Muttering to myself, I absentmindedly touched my cheek with a finger. The right cheek where her lips had brushed against just before we parted that day. The surprisingly soft sensation from that moment still lingered vividly in my memory for some reason. If someone saw me like this, they might ask if I was interested too, but honestly, more than joy, I felt confusion about how things had turned out this way.
“I still don’t really get romance…”
Serin was a truly unique and fun person as a friend, but when it came to dating… even if I tried to set aside realism, I just couldn’t picture it. To begin with, whether I could even satisfy someone was already a problem. I guess I lacked confidence… I couldn’t understand why Serin was so fixated on me.
“Aaaah, I don’t know! No more gloomy thoughts! I’ll wash up and stream later!”
After writhing on the bed for a while, I eventually stood up with renewed energy. I had a stream today, so I couldn’t stay moping like this forever. With that in mind, I needed to raise my tension somehow before starting. Since it was the weekend, maybe I should start streaming a little earlier than usual.
Grabbing a change of clothes, I headed to the bathroom, filling my mind with thoughts about the stream. There were no problems in this world that could be solved by worrying alone. For now, I decided to focus on the tasks right in front of me. And making people happy was something that made me happy too. Thankfully, my job satisfaction was quite high.
“Alright, since I started early today, I’ll end it here. Let’s have fun in February just like we have so far! Bye-bye!”
I had started streaming at 4 PM and wrapped up around 10 PM, six hours later. I could have gone longer, but today was the day of the third-generation meeting. With that as an excuse, I had ended at a reasonable time without pushing myself. After double-checking that the stream was completely off to prevent any accidents, I immediately launched Buscode, the communication app we used.
The official Unimori Buscode channel already showed several people gathered. It seemed those who had the day off were chatting together. Seeing familiar names, I entered the meeting room without hesitation and greeted them.
“Hey. I just finished streaming.”
“Yeah! I was watching! Good work today!”
“Good work.”
“Th-thank you…”
Two of my classmates were already in the meeting room. One was Airi, who often spoke to me, and the other was Shura. Airi was sociable and playful, like a mischievous kid. Shura felt more like a thoughtful, careful big sister. Among Baekgwi Yahang, Priya was one thing, but Karen wasn’t the sociable type either. By comparison, these two were closer to the popular kids even within the group. Yet I still couldn’t speak casually with Shura… Feeling pathetic, I gave an awkward reply to her words before turning to Airi, who seemed as energetic as ever.
“Airi, did you hear what today’s meeting is about?”
“Nope? The president didn’t tell me. The manager said it’s a secret until the president says something!”
“Maybe there’s something that needs to stay secret…”
A secret, huh. Maybe they were worried about leaks. It wasn’t uncommon for Unimori members to accidentally spill company schedules. I prided myself on being tight-lipped about such things, but Airi might blurt out any plans without realizing it. As I was internally praising my own reasonable thinking, Airi let out a thoughtful hum before suddenly exclaiming as if she’d had a brilliant idea.
“Maybe they’re going to scold the people who were lazy with streaming in January!”
“Eek… Then it won’t be me.”
“Uh, th-then it must be me…”
“Huh? Shura, you didn’t stream much?”
“Y-yes, I was busy with personal matters at the start of the year… I already got permission from the president…”
Now that she mentioned it, I had noticed Shura streamed less than the others. I hadn’t expected there to be a reason like that. If it was personal matters, it couldn’t be helped, but… wait, why was I only realizing this now? The fact that I didn’t even know Shura’s real name or face… Was I too indifferent to others?
As I was seriously contemplating my own carelessness, it seemed the meeting time was approaching. Almost simultaneously, the remaining two members of Baekgwi Yahang—Priya and Karen—entered the room.
“Oh, Riya and Karen! Hi!”
“Good evening. Hearing Airi’s lively voice today really cheers me up.”
“Yeah.”
Priya had been streaming, but Karen had the day off. The fact that she arrived at such a tight time… maybe she didn’t want to have private conversations. Perhaps she was even worse at relationships than I was. Still, on stream she made an effort to show she was close with her classmates, so I didn’t want to interfere too much. Honestly, talking one-on-one with her felt a little scary anyway.
After all five third-generation members had gathered, how much time had passed? Finally, the president and manager arrived, offering an apology first.
“Sorry we’re a bit late. The conversation ran longer than expected.”
“It’s fine! We didn’t wait long!”
It had only been five minutes at most. Following Airi, who had spoken first, I also said it was no problem. Still, the president was thorough about these things and promised to treat us to a meal later. The thought of all five third-generation members eating out together sounded a little daunting, even if it might be fun. Not everything in this world could be okayed just because it seemed fun. As I was imagining Serin sitting across from me with an awkward smile, Karen—who didn’t seem interested in building friendships—asked the president in a blunt tone.
“So, why did you call us today?”
“Ah, right. Let’s get straight to it. Does anyone have an unavoidable schedule during the New Year holidays?”
An unavoidable schedule during the New Year? I didn’t have anything like that… I stayed quiet and observed the atmosphere. It seemed none of the third generation had such commitments, as silence followed. Eventually, Airi, acting as the representative, spoke up.
“Uuuuh… I don’t think anyone does?”
“Oh, that’s good then. We’re planning a special broadcast for New Year’s, so if you have any plans you can move, try to reschedule them if possible. Got it?”
“A-a New Year’s special broadcast?”
Apparently, there was going to be some kind of special official event this New Year’s. To think such a schedule had already come up just one month after debut! It was enough to make my heart race with excitement.
