A Lunar New Year Broadcast Feels Kinda Off (3)
The early morning hours of six a.m. Maybe it was because February still carried traces of winter, but outside the window, only cold darkness had settled in quietly. Normally, this would be the time to sleep soundly under a warm blanket with the electric pad turned on. Surprisingly, however, I was standing in front of the mirror at the entrance, checking my reflection.
“No weird parts… good.”
The me staring back from the mirror was in the best condition I’d been in lately. My hair was smooth without a single strand sticking out, and my skin had a healthy glow from getting proper sleep. With just a touch of makeup, my face scored a solid nine out of ten on the pretty-girl scale. Very satisfying.
Now, what about the outfit? I usually preferred loose, oversized clothes over anything skin-tight, but since I’d be cooking today, I chose a semi-cropped top and jeans that let me move freely. Of course, it was still cold outside, so I finished the look with a winter coat. The result was the very picture of a cool city girl. If I were holding a coffee in one hand, no one would bat an eye if I said I worked in an office.
Though I can’t actually drink coffee.
“Alright, I’m heading out!”
Yeah, this should be enough. With that judgment made, I slung my bag over my shoulder and energetically pushed open the door. The biting winter air immediately rushed in and chilled my chest. Still, having just come from a warm house helped. I was able to walk without any real discomfort.
Finally, the day had come to show off several days’ worth of effort. After leaving the apartment entrance, I looked in the direction of the Unimori Office. I felt a mix of considerable tension and refreshing clarity. It was exactly like the feeling I used to get on the morning of a big test after studying hard.
*
It really was a relief that the office was close enough to home that commuting wasn’t a burden. By the time I arrived, it was already around seven. The sky, dyed a deep indigo, was just beginning to hint at dawn. Apparently no one came to the office at this hour, because the door was firmly locked. I had to use the access card I rarely needed and only then was I able to step inside.
The air indoors felt somewhat stale, and the silence was so complete that my footsteps echoed far into the distance. This was straight out of a horror game. I unconsciously gripped my bag strap tightly with one hand.
Whoa… so the office in the morning has this kind of atmosphere. With no one around, it’s actually a little scary…
It felt like wandering around an empty school in the early morning. I glanced around at the somewhat unfamiliar scenery, then walked steadily deeper inside. Following the familiar hallway toward the studio the president had said I could borrow, I suddenly noticed light leaking from the half-open door of the reception room.
Was someone here?
I approached as quietly as possible and peeked through the open door. To my surprise, there was the president, curled up and fast asleep on the sofa.
“Eh? President?!”
“Ugh?! Wh-what the… it’s Seolhwa…”
Startled by the voice that had burst out of me without thinking, the president jerked her head up. Once she recognized me, she mumbled in a half-dead tone.
A baggy hoodie paired with short shorts that showed off her thighs. For someone who always wore suits, it was an unexpectedly cute set of pajamas. More importantly, why was she sleeping at the office? Sleeping on a sofa wasn’t good for her health.
I mixed some warm water and cold water from the nearby water dispenser and handed it to her.
“You slept in the reception room? That’s bad for your body, you know.”
“I don’t know… I must’ve dozed off… Wait, what? Why are you here? What time is it?!”
“It’s seven in the morning.”
“Seven… what? Seven o’clock?”
She must have thought she’d overslept when she saw me. I pulled out my smartphone and showed the time to the clearly flustered president. She stared blankly at the clock with her messy bedhead, then scratched her head with a groan and said sheepishly,
“Why are you wandering around so early… I thought it was already noon… You scared me…”
“I didn’t expect to get scolded for coming early! Shouldn’t you be praising me for this?!”
“Shut up… Ah, I’m fully awake now. Stay right there. I’ll be back after I use the bathroom.”
“Ah, okay. Take your time.”
With an enormous yawn that looked like it might ruin her face, the president shuffled into her slippers and left the reception room. When she returned quite a while later, she opened a can of coffee she’d gotten from somewhere and asked me,
“Want a sip?”
“No thanks, I’m not really into coffee…”
“It’s good though. Seolhwa, you’ve got a kid’s palate.”
Oof. Just because I can’t drink coffee, she calls me a kid? Even if I look like this, I don’t have picky eating habits. I eat vegetables and pretty much everything else just fine. Momentarily irritated, I subtly averted my eyes from the president as she sipped her coffee and poked at her weak spot as if making casual conversation.
“W-well, when you’re young… your tongue has more taste buds, so you’re supposedly more sensitive to bitter flavors.”
“…So you’re indirectly saying I’m old and that’s why I’m strong against bitterness?”
“Yes. Eek! N-no, I’m joking! It was a joke!”
But maybe because the president held the advantage in power, authority, and physical strength in every way, my tiny act of rebellion was instantly suppressed when she grabbed the back of my neck. Wait, she’s a woman too—how is her grip strength so insane?!
The moment she let go, I crouched on the floor, rubbing my throbbing neck with a pitiful expression. But whether I looked up at her with resentment or not, the president simply took another sip of her coffee with languid eyes and spoke.
“So, why did you come so early? I’m pretty sure I told you to come around noon yesterday. At this rate I’ll look like an evil boss who drags a fresh-faced high school girl in at the crack of dawn.”
“Well… I asked the manager, and she said she’d buy ingredients at the mart in the morning and stock the studio. So I wanted to go to the mart with her early too. Since I’m the one cooking, it felt wrong to just leave everything to her…”
“Huh? You didn’t have to go that far… Haah, fine. You’re already here, so I can’t send you back. Do whatever you want.”
“Hehe…”
“Oh, and I brought some soy sauce and salt from home.”
So saying, I showed the president the inside of the bag I’d set on the reception room floor. It wasn’t every day you borrowed a studio to do a cooking broadcast. Buying a bunch of stuff just for one meal felt like a waste. The president leaned over, checked the contents of the bag, and looked at me with genuine surprise.
“You… are surprisingly well-prepared, aren’t you?”
“Just what exactly do you think of me normally?!”
I fluttered my eyebrows at her, who was seriously shocked over something so minor. Even if I looked like this, I was the type who worried a lot. If I couldn’t prepare properly, I couldn’t even sleep… Was my evaluation with the president really that bad? Maybe I needed to seriously reflect on my past behavior.
*
After the manager arrived a little late, we stopped by the mart to buy the ingredients needed for the broadcast, then returned to the office. Carrying our things, we headed to the studio inside the building.
Studio C. Unlike Studio A, which could hold up to fifteen people, or Studio B, which could hold eight, this was a relatively small studio that could fit at most four. Its main purpose was real-time 3D content using optical motion capture. However, with the cameras and lights currently covered in cloth, it was going to be used for something else today.
The moment I opened the door and stepped into the studio, I couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the sight.
“Whoa… Amazing! There really is a kitchen!”
The inside was a fully functional kitchen. A large, long table sat in the center, with induction cooktops and a sink on either side. Even further back, there was a refrigerator! Of course, the induction and sink looked like they were for camping or travel use, and the fridge was a cute little mini-fridge… Still, I never expected them to go this far.
While I was wandering around in a daze, inspecting every corner of the studio, the manager set down the bag of meat and vegetables with a grunt and smiled brightly.
“The staff worked hard to set this up yesterday. Do you like it?”
“Wow, it’s perfect! It feels just like home economics class at school!”
“Home economics? Ahaha, yeah… I can see what you mean.”
The manager let out a lovely laugh, as if my words had struck a chord. Maybe it was because a beautiful woman had laughed at something I said, but I felt strangely proud.
But of course, at such a pleasant moment, something had to interrupt. The sudden vibration of a phone made her reach into her pocket. She asked for my understanding.
“Sorry. I’ll take this call real quick.”
“Ah, sure!”
By the way, the manager in charge of the third generation was a woman even smaller than me. If I had to compare her to an animal, a tiny hamster would fit perfectly. But since I was only a little below average high school girl height, the manager who was smaller than me… Yeah, let’s just stop that thought right there.
Anyway. I have to cook here today… I can do this, right?
After putting all the ingredients I’d brought into the mini-fridge, I stood in the center to test things out. The camera positions and the monitor where chat would appear naturally caught my eye. With this setup, communicating with the viewers didn’t seem like it would be a big problem.
Then I needed to figure out the best movement path while cooking. I started moving around as if I were already doing the broadcast when the manager, who had been talking to someone in the corner of the studio, walked over.
“Um, Seolhwa. Mina… I mean, Reine asked if she could call you. Would you like to take it?”
“…Huh?”
I tilted my head, unable to process the words she’d just said. I understood each individual word perfectly, but when put together into a sentence, it felt like my brain short-circuited.
So… who asked to make a call? First-generation Reine-senpai? That Reine-senpai who’s all lovey-dovey with Mari?!
For a moment I lost the ability to speak and opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water. Then I nodded vigorously and took the smartphone from the manager with trembling hands.
“Hiiiiek! I-it’s really Reine-senpai’s voice!”
Even though it was over the phone, it was the first time I was hearing Reine’s real voice. I let out a scream that was practically a shriek. She wasn’t quite the once-in-a-lifetime idol who had shaken up my entire life like Mari, but Reine was still one of my favorite VTubers. Of course I was thrilled.
“I-it’s really Reine-senpai?!”
“Y-you can speak casually! I’m your junior! No, please speak casually! I’m begging you!”
“Hehe… You think so…?”
I scratched my head with an embarrassed expression. About half my brain probably wasn’t functioning properly right now, but anyway, the fact that Reine-senpai found me interesting made me incredibly happy.
I was simply basking in that moment when her next words made me freeze solid.
“Th-that will never happen!”
“It’s true that Mari is my oshi, but the only ship I’m pushing is ReineMari. For me to dare intrude on that world would be far too blasphemous to bear! If such a thing were to happen, I would immediately commit suicide on the spot!”
No, I’m serious… Mari and Reine aren’t just doing Yuri Business, it’s real life… Breaking that would be actual NTR. One person’s heart would be torn to shreds. Especially mine! If ReineMari collapsed because of me, it would basically be the end of the world. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to go on living…
I suffered at the nightmare that had flashed through my mind. Realizing she had touched on something dangerous, Reine hurriedly continued in a very flustered tone.
“T-together?”
What?! The confusion had only just started to settle when this unbelievable new information hit me again. Now that I thought about it, the president had said she would attach seniors as guests to every broadcast, but I never imagined one of them would be Reine-senpai!
The tension I had somehow forgotten came rushing back, tightening around my throat. If I made even a single mistake while cooking, Reine-senpai would remember me forever as a hopeless junior… It already felt too late, but somehow we managed to finish the rehearsal safely.
And so, within the continuing Unimori Lunar New Year special relay broadcast, my turn finally arrived.