Something Feels Off About the New Year's Broadcast (2)
The term planned broadcast refers to content that’s prepared in advance with a specific theme or concept. Unlike regular streams that focus on real-time interaction with viewers, these feel more like organized events. So if this was a New Year’s special… it was probably meant to celebrate the holiday and bring joy to the audience. While they were at it, they’d draw in more viewers, boost donations, that sort of thing.
Which meant today’s meeting had been called to discuss the New Year’s planned broadcast. Gathering all the third-generation members on a late Sunday evening was actually a pretty reasonable excuse. As expected of the boss.
“Boss, if it’s a New Year’s special… do we need to go to the studio?”
While I was quietly piecing it together in my head, Airi asked the question with a slightly worried tone. If my memory was right, she lived outside of Mir. She was probably checking ahead in case we had to stay overnight. After all, even in this world, it’s hard to get a bus or train during New Year’s without booking early.
Fortunately, it seemed that worry was unnecessary.
The boss answered in a casual voice that said there was nothing to fret about.
“No, we won’t be using the studio. You girls don’t have 3D models anyway. This time, everyone will stream from home. However…”
She explained the New Year’s special in simple terms, her voice carrying a hint of significance. The event would run on New Year’s Day itself, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Each of the seven third-generation members would handle one hour of relay streaming with their own unique theme. The seven first- and second-generation members would appear as guests to help out.
That summary was short enough to fit in three lines, but silence fell over the meeting room once the explanation ended. Everyone must have naturally sensed the subtle discomfort in the air.
Who should speak first? An unspoken staring contest dragged on until Shura finally asked, her voice cautious.
“Um… does that mean the first- and second-generation seniors won’t be streaming themselves?”
“That’s right. You girls will be the main focus this time. Not happy about it?”
“It’s just… we only debuted a month ago. It feels like a pretty big burden…”
I strongly agreed with that. New Year’s this year fell on February 10th—exactly one month after my debut. If the first- and second-generation members were doing the relay and we were the guests, that would be one thing. But the other way around? There was no way it wouldn’t feel overwhelming. What were they doing, dumping this on rookies who’d only been around for a month?
Still, the boss seemed to have her reasons. She let out a small sigh and answered Shura’s question with a touch of apology.
“Haa, about that… the truth is, we don’t have much choice.”
“What do you mean, no choice…?”
“I assume most of you already know, but there’s something big happening in May this year, right?”
“May? You mean the c-concert!”
Whoa, hold on. I’d shouted it without thinking. My face burned as I heard my fellow genmates’ quiet laughter over the call. But how was I supposed to hold that in? When it came to Unimori in May… a ridiculously huge event like a concert was coming! Even though I looked like this now, I’d been a devoted fan of Mari before joining Unimori. I’d been looking forward to the concert like crazy.
The boss seemed to find my sudden outburst helpful instead. She quietly thanked me before continuing in a much more serious tone.
“Correct. There’s a concert. So we need to prepare… but the only time we have for group practice is right now. At the same time, we can’t just let New Year’s pass without doing anything.”
“So we’re the ones streaming, and the seniors will be guests on our broadcasts?”
“Exactly. Around that time they’ll be in training camp, so streaming would be difficult for them. But sending their voices over should be fine.”
That made sense. I hadn’t experienced it myself, but I’d heard that concert prep had to start months in advance. With only three months left until the concert, handing the baton over to us really was unavoidable. We’d just debuted and didn’t have any packed schedules yet. It was logical, I supposed.
“Right. So in ten days, on New Year’s, tell me one by one what theme you want to stream. It’s better to push what you actually want to do rather than force something from the company. It’ll give you more motivation. And it’d be good if you coordinate ahead of time so your ideas don’t overlap.”
A relay broadcast was rare, after all. Having everyone just sing back-to-back would get boring.
The moment the boss finished speaking, silence settled over the meeting room again. This time it wasn’t the awkward kind from before—it felt like everyone was quietly thinking things over. It wasn’t easy for ideas to pop up instantly when someone suddenly asked what you wanted to do for New Year’s.
The short silence was broken by none other than Airi.
“I’ll pass on singing… and I’d like to do a news-style segment!”
“News?”
“Since it’s New Year’s, maybe something like a parody homecoming news report? We could do interviews with the seniors and everything!”
“Hmm… yeah, that’s not bad. Okay. Let’s go with that for now. Eunjeong, write it down.”
Wow, it passed in one shot! I secretly admired Airi for pulling out such a fun-sounding idea right away, but it also made me feel anxious. Nothing big and obvious had come to mind for me yet.
“I-I’ll… do a quiz game with prizes and viewer wishes on the line…”
“Well, that’s safe. I’ll note it down for now, but think about it a bit more.”
“I’ll pick viewers who can’t go back to their hometowns through a raffle and visit their hometowns for them using internet maps.”
“Ooh, that fits Karen perfectly. Let’s go with that for you.”
While I was still hesitating, Shura and Karen stepped up one after another with their ideas. Shura’s extremely safe choice of a quiz and Karen’s unique map-exploration concept that perfectly matched her hobby as someone who loved cartography. At this rate, it looked like I was next!
My head was spinning from thinking too much, so I ended up blurting out an answer while still hesitating.
“I-I’ll do a broadcast where I make New Year’s dishes…”
“What kind?”
“Donggeurangttaeng… or something like that.”
“Huh? Can you actually finish that in an hour?”
“If I prep the ingredients in advance, all I have to do is chop them, mix them, and fry them in oil…”
“That’s… surprisingly domestic of you…”
I mean, I can cook a little, you know… I glanced around, wondering if this was too weak. But surprisingly, the boss gave a rather positive reaction. She actually seemed more surprised that I knew how to cook at all.
Unimori rarely allowed cooking streams in the first place. Since it was for a New Year’s celebration, she probably figured there wouldn’t be any issues.
“It’s not bad, but doing it at home might be a bit of a hassle. Want to use the studio instead? I can clear a spot for you.”
“I-I’d really appreciate that.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t thought at all about how I’d actually pull off the broadcast. I’d just thrown out the first thing that came to mind, but she was taking it seriously! The problem was that I’d have to use the kitchen at home. That meant my little sister would definitely catch me, which was obviously bad. She didn’t know the details, but offering me the studio was an enormous help.
Damn it, Chef Mode activated! I’d make the most delicious donggeurangttaeng ever!
‘So that leaves…’
Airi with news, Shura with quizzes, Karen with maps, and me with cooking. That naturally left only one option for Priya and Serin. I waited for the obvious answer to follow.
But after a brief moment of hesitation, she gave a completely unexpected reply.
“Then I’ll… do a betting game. Something like competing against the viewers with a time limit…”
“…Alright. Got it. Let me know what you’ll be doing in advance. We’ll need to get approval first.”
“You’re being rude, Boss.”
“I told you to call me Boss-nim.”
Huh? What about singing? I tilted my head at the sudden game content. I wasn’t good at singing to begin with, so it hadn’t even been an option for me. But Airi, Shura, and Karen had all naturally yielded the singing slot for Priya. No one could have predicted she would pick something else.
‘Wait a second… has this girl still never sung on stream…?’
That was when a question I’d somehow overlooked until now finally took shape in my mind. Even though her streaming style had changed after she started doing yuri business, the fact remained that she had never once sung on her broadcasts. Could her failed debut stream still be affecting her?
While I was lost in thought, Karen—who had been quiet until now—raised her voice.
“Hold on. What are you even saying, Boss-nim? Priya, you obviously have to sing. Suddenly deciding to do a game instead is weird.”
“I don’t think there’s any rule that says I absolutely have to sing.”
“If you don’t, then who’s supposed to?”
Crackle. Crackle.
Invisible sparks flew fiercely between the two women over the call. It seemed Karen simply couldn’t accept Priya avoiding a singing segment. Priya, the ultimate my-pace type, and Karen, who never hid her feelings and always spoke bluntly. Their completely incompatible personalities—water and oil—were on full display.
The mood was turning dangerous, and no one dared to step in. Karen’s voice continued, sounding both angry and strangely calm at the same time.
“I really don’t want to admit it, but when it comes to main vocalist for Baekgwi Yahang, it can only be you. You narcissistic woman. I can’t understand you choosing something else instead of doing a singing segment.”
“Karen… I didn’t know you thought that highly of me. You have a surprisingly cute side.”
“Are you picking a fight right now?”
“No, it’s pure surprise. If it sounded like I was, I apologize.”
“That condescending way you talk to everyone… your personality is seriously annoying.”
Hiiiieee! They’re actually fighting!
I was panicking, unsure what to do, when the boss—who didn’t sound the least bit shaken—spoke in her usual tone.
“Hey, kids. Don’t raise your voices like that in front of your boss. If you’re going to fight, do it when it’s just the two of you.”
“B-Boss-nim! Shouldn’t you be stopping them right now?!”
“Kids grow up by fighting. You’re both fresh high schoolers. It happens.”
…Wait a second. Karen was a high schooler too?
I froze solid at the shocking new information I’d just learned. The last time I’d seen her at the office, she looked so mature I’d assumed she was an adult woman. I’d never once imagined she was a high school girl like me or Serin.
Did that mean more than half of Unimori’s third generation were currently active high school students…? Was that really okay? Wouldn’t we get in trouble with minor labor laws?!
My mind suddenly filled with random worries about the boss.
“Thanks for worrying about me, Karen. I’ll give your advice proper consideration.”
“Tch…”
Priya and Karen quickly wrapped up the conversation as if forcibly extinguishing the fire they’d started. With the boss and the rest of us here, they must have decided this wasn’t the time to keep fighting. That had been scary. For real.
“All done fighting? We haven’t finalized anything yet, so we’ll work out the details later. That’s it for today. Sorry for keeping you so late.”
“Not at all! It was nice getting to talk with you, Boss-nim!”
“That’s our Airi! She always knows how to make people feel good!”
After that, the meeting didn’t drag on much longer and wrapped up fairly quickly. Everyone started leaving the meeting room, so I naturally exited the call as well. Maybe because I’d been so tense from the sudden situation, my shoulders felt incredibly stiff. I stretched my arms up high, let out a small sigh, and rolled my neck.
“Haa, that was scary… I was hoping the genmates would get along…”
I already had trauma from situations where girls spoke to each other in that icy tone…
I straightened my posture in the chair and picked up the smartphone I’d left on the desk. After thinking for a moment, I sent a message to Serin. No matter how she acted, something like that had to have left her feeling a little uncomfortable. That worry had suddenly bubbled up.
I’d tried to be careful with my words, but the reply came back quickly. She didn’t seem bothered by what had just happened at all. The message was exactly like her usual self. Did she really not care that much? I broke out in a cold sweat, wondering if I’d been meddling for no reason.
But then, suddenly, Serin called me. I nearly flung my phone into the air in surprise, but I managed to calm down and hit the accept button.
“W-what the heck? Calling out of nowhere.”
“Just felt like hearing your voice. Was that rude?”
“Not really… I was just about to lie down and rest anyway.”
I answered the familiar voice without much thought. But I soon realized Serin’s tone sounded a little drained. Even though she was pretending to be fine, it seemed getting poked about the singing thing had done some damage. If I had to guess, her voice was about three keys lower than usual. Just a feeling, though.
‘I’m curious why Serin isn’t singing too, but… this isn’t the atmosphere to ask about it…’
When you see an obvious landmine, the smart thing is to walk right past it. I decided not to touch on why she hadn’t chosen singing.
Then what should we talk about? After thinking for a bit, I brought up the question that had occurred to me earlier, as if creating a new topic.
“Hey, um… is it okay for you to stream on New Year’s?”
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“Well… you’re a princess. I figured you might be busy on a day like that.”
“Ah, that’s fine. Like I told you before, I decided to pause my outside activities while I’m in high school. So I asked Father if I could skip the royal rites during the New Year period, and he said it wasn’t a big deal. The event will have the Crown Prince there anyway, so the ceremony itself won’t have any problems even without me.”
“Heee… I see.”
It was kind of complicated, but from what she said, it seemed participating in the New Year’s special wasn’t an issue for her. Wait, so she was skipping a national event to celebrate New Year’s as a VTuber…? It felt a little wrong, but if she said it was fine, I couldn’t really argue.
After that, Serin and I chatted about nothing particularly important. What manga we’d read lately, funny things we’d seen in Shorts—that kind of meaningless, completely unrelated-to-streaming talk. Maybe it helped after all. Serin eventually murmured in a slightly bashful voice.
“…Thank you.”
“I didn’t even do anything. …Seriously.”
“Hehe.”
She’s always so composed, but she gets embarrassed so easily. It was rubbing off on me too. I thought that to myself and scratched my cheek with a finger for no reason.
She then asked if we should go on a date together sometime later. I relaxed my shoulders with a helpless sigh and told her to let me know when she had time. Somehow, even the worry I’d felt about the New Year’s broadcast had settled. Honestly, I was a little happy that I seemed to have been helpful to her.
‘New Year’s broadcast… I should prepare properly.’
After ending the call with Serin, I looked at my calendar and quietly renewed my determination. It was my first official event since debuting. I needed to work hard to do it right.
And just like that, ten days flew by. February 10th arrived—the day of the New Year’s special, the Unimori relay broadcast.