Something Feels Off About Her Not Being Able to Sing (1)
Long holidays always come with a lingering sense of regret, like a tag you can’t shake off. The fun of lounging at home without anyone bothering you, or heading off on a trip, eventually ends. In its place comes the cruel reality of having to return to work or school. If you really think about it, it’s like an intensified version of the Monday blues everyone experiences each week. Honestly, I’m sure most people have wished at least once that tomorrow would never arrive on the final day of a break.
But strangely enough, even after this holiday ended, I barely felt any of that disappointment. The reason was ridiculously simple if I stopped to consider it. Because I streamed straight through the entire break. And it’s winter vacation, so I don’t have school anyway.
My family keeps in touch with relatives but we’re not the type to make the trip home for the holidays. Thanks to that, aside from taking a single day off, I spent nearly every day broadcasting. The seniors were all holed up preparing for a concert and couldn’t stream, while several of my peers had taken time off to visit their hometowns. Because of that, my channel—which I kept live almost daily—received a massive holiday boost. The viewer count had nearly quadrupled from its usual numbers. I was genuinely shocked.
Maybe it’s because I made a strong impression during the Lunar New Year stream…
When I seriously considered the cause, the special Lunar New Year broadcast had clearly played a big part. The company had gone all-in on the third generation by bringing the seniors on as guests. It might have even pulled in casual viewers who didn’t normally watch Unimori. At any rate, my activities over the Lunar New Year break could be summed up like this: stream, stream, take one day off, then stream some more.
I wasn’t doing anything particularly special—just my usual content. The chat moved at nearly twice its normal speed, which made reading it a little dizzying. It’s only been a month, but… at this rate, hitting a million subscribers next year might not be a dream.
Of course, the boss had told me not to get too hung up on the numbers. Still, a million felt different. It gave me a real sense of motivation. If I reached a million and got that gold badge… I’d have to display it proudly in my room! Just imagining it put me in a good mood as I tied my shoelaces tightly at the front door. Alright, appearance is perfect today too!
After confirming in the mirror that I was still a beautiful girl, I nodded in satisfaction. That was when Ha-yeon poked her head out from the living room and asked with a puzzled look.
“Sis, where are you going?”
“I’m meeting a friend.”
“Hmm…”
“What’s with that look? I already told you they’re not an imaginary friend.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Tsk…”
Her face clearly said she wanted to tease me about it! Feeling a little annoyed, I turned my back on my sister, who was giving me that pitiful stare. It was true that I was lying about meeting a friend… but I obviously couldn’t tell her I was going to the VTuber agency. Ha-yeon was a total normie who didn’t even watch anime or cartoons, let alone VTubers. If she ever found out I was putting on a virtual avatar and acting cute on stream… ugh. Just imagining it gave me goosebumps on my arms.
Anyway, that was something that absolutely could not happen. Beautiful women who understand otakus like my mom are rare in this world!
“I’m heading out!”
“Yeah. Bring ice cream when you come back.”
“You really love ice cream, don’t you! I’ll be home late!”
I gave my sister an exasperated look, then flung the door open and left the house. Maybe I used too much force, because I suddenly heard a rustling sound from the bag I was carrying. Hmm… I hope it doesn’t get damaged on the way. I’d wrapped it carefully, so I could only pray it would be fine.
*
By the time I reached the office, it was already lunchtime. Since I usually skip breakfast, I stopped at a nearby fast-food place, grabbed a burger combo to go, and headed into the office with the bag in hand before the food could get cold. When I arrived at the meeting room—which I could now find with my eyes closed—the manager, who had been diligently working on documents, greeted me warmly.
“Ah, Seolhwa! Welcome!”
“I’m here. Manager, have you eaten?”
“I have~”
The manager answered with a bright smile. She looked exactly like an innocent middle-school girl. It wasn’t just her height—her face was youthful, and her hands and feet were tiny. How could anyone see her as an adult old enough to drink and smoke? I sincerely hoped our manager would stay this cute forever…
“That’s a relief… I felt bad eating alone.”
“It’s fine. Oh, can I have a few fries?”
“Of course! You can have them all!”
“N-no, not all of them!”
With my permission, the manager reached into the bag and plucked out a single fry. True to her hamster-like nature, she nibbled it carefully from one end. I watched with a warm feeling as I took out my burger and cola. After she finished the fry with great care, she peeked over and asked.
“That’s the spicy chicken burger they sell next door, right? You handle spicy food well?”
“Hmm, I wouldn’t say I handle it well… I’m pretty average. I can manage buldak-level spice?”
I absolutely cannot stand bitter flavors, but other than that I’m not picky. Personally, I thought I had the spice tolerance of an average Korean. But apparently that still counted as strong. She stared at me with wide eyes, clearly disbelieving.
“Ehh, that’s not average! I can’t even eat spicy ramen!”
“Spicy ramen… isn’t that just because your tongue is too baby-like, Manager?”
“Baby-like! I’m older than you, Seolhwa!”
“Yes, yes… you’re a proper adult, Manager…”
“Hey!”
Uhehe, this is healing. How can a creature like this exist? I wish my little sister were as small, cute, and affectionate as the manager… I sat down, took a bite of the spicy chicken burger, and smiled brightly. Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind. I set the burger down, rummaged through my bag, and pulled out a carefully wrapped chocolate, offering it to her.
“Manager. Think of this as an apology gift—would you like it?”
“What is this? Oh my, chocolate?”
Thank you. I’ll enjoy it. The manager accepted the chocolate without hesitation. It was small enough to fit in her palm, so she probably didn’t feel burdened. Yeah, it was good I didn’t mention it was homemade. Then, remembering something I’d been curious about, I asked while she nibbled on the chocolate.
“It looks like some of the other girls came to the office today too. Do you know who?”
“Mhm? Um… probably Serin and Cheong-ha. I think the boss called them in?”
“Huh, so those two…”
I kept smiling on the outside while secretly breaking into a cold sweat at the manager’s answer. If my memory was correct, Cheong-ha was the real name of Karen from the same third generation. That meant Priya and Karen were both here at the office right now. After that intense argument a few days ago, things had become awkward between them. I worried what might happen if the two of them were left alone. Out of all the possible combinations, why did it have to be those two? If it had been Airi, maybe, but I had zero confidence in mediating between them. I just hoped they wouldn’t fight.
*
By the way, the reason everyone had come to the office today was for a recording session. We were planning to release a cover song next month, so I needed to stay busy. VTubers don’t necessarily have to be good at singing, and I wasn’t exactly confident in my skills, but viewers still enjoyed it when I covered popular songs. It was a kind of fan service. I’d already talked to the office and reserved the recording booth for my day off. After being advised that recording more might strain my throat, we decided to stop here for today.
The boss said if my throat has problems, his life will have problems too… so I need to take good care of it. I still have to stream, after all.
I bowed politely to the staff member and left the recording booth. On the way out, it occurred to me that I hadn’t run into Serin or Cheong-ha—Karen—yet. I should at least say hello before heading home. With that thought, I wandered around the office. Eventually, near the boss’s room, I spotted the two of them facing each other.
Whew, no wonder I couldn’t find them—they were in such an out-of-the-way spot. I was about to casually walk over when I quickly hid myself and peeked around the corner of the hallway. The reason was simple: the atmosphere between them felt extremely off.
W-what’s going on… Cheong-ha’s expression looks scary…
Serin, wearing her glasses, had the gentle smile I often saw at school. Across from her, Cheong-ha stood with her arms crossed, clearly showing discomfort. Their heights were surprisingly similar as they stared at each other. Since Serin was around 170cm, Cheong-ha was probably in the upper 160s. Why am I still under 160cm! I gripped the wall tightly, feeling strangely upset.
Anyway, as the two women—who were nearly eye-level with each other—continued their silence, Cheong-ha, with a slight frown, spoke first.
“I’m asking because I don’t think it’s true, but… do you have some kind of problem with your throat?”
“No? I wouldn’t call it the best, but there’s nothing particularly wrong.”
“Then what’s the issue? Why are you refusing to sing? You’re a second-year in high school now, right? I don’t think you’re at an age where you should be stubbornly clinging to pointless pride.”
“That’s…”
Hiek, this conversation… it’s a continuation of what came up during the meeting! Hiding and eavesdropping, I let out a silent scream of anxiety. For some reason, Serin had stopped using her specialty—singing—and for some reason, Cheong-ha seemed extremely bothered by it. After that day she hadn’t brought it up again, so I thought it had blown over… but here they were, face to face, talking about it again.
Serin’s expression showed clear agitation, enough that I could see it even from a distance. I’m curious too. Serin is really good at singing. Why is she so determined not to do it…?
Before debut, on the day we gathered because of the original song, she had said her specialty was singing. And just as she claimed, her skill was undoubtedly the strongest among the third generation. I hated to admit it, but it might even rival my favorite, Mari. Yet now she was treating streams like they were all about gaming instead of singing. Why wouldn’t she do the thing she was best at…? I had to agree with Cheong-ha on that point.
But Serin, who had completely lost her usual composure, seemed too flustered to answer. Karen took a step closer and spoke with a rather intimidating look in her eyes.
“Whether you don’t feel like singing anymore or whatever, that’s not my business… but you know, right? That collab song broadcast Airi was planning got canceled because of you. Frankly, it’s a nuisance. I may not look it, but I take this seriously.”
“…Yeah. I feel bad toward Airi. And toward you, Karen, and the other members as well.”
Serin offered an apology with a rare downcast expression. Cheong-ha’s tone had been quite sharp, but her point was entirely reasonable. Especially since sharp-eyed Serin would never fail to notice that the boss and Airi were being considerate. Perhaps Cheong-ha hadn’t expected her to look this defeated. The girl who had seemed ready to keep pressing bit her lip, then walked past Serin while muttering.
“…Being swept around by someone else’s selfish circumstances is something I’d rather avoid.”
Step, step. She walked away down the opposite side of the hallway where I was hiding and disappeared. Each step carried clear anger—it was a truly intimidating exit. Yet even after Cheong-ha was completely gone, Serin remained standing there. She looked quite shocked, like a lost child who no longer knew where to go.
M-maybe I should just pretend I didn’t see this and move on… Feeling the urge to escape, I turned to leave. That is, until I noticed how small and fragile Serin’s back looked from a distance.
“Ahem… S-Serin, what are you doing over there?”
“…Seolhwa?”
I walked over after pretending I had just arrived, glancing around. Serin looked at me in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected to see me here. Maybe she thought I’d overheard. Acting like I knew nothing, I shrugged and asked.
“I heard you were at the office today too, so I wandered around a bit… Are you busy?”
“No, not really…”
“That’s good. I actually wanted to give you something.”
Rustle, rustle. I pulled a palm-sized chocolate from my bag and held it out to her. The previously dejected girl looked back and forth between the chocolate and me with a puzzled expression.
“This is…?”
“The day before yesterday was Valentine’s. Think of it as friendship chocolate.”
By the way, it’s homemade. I just had leftovers from when I was bored. I stared at her, waiting for thanks. She gazed blankly at the chocolate for a moment, then looked back at me with an unreadable expression and spoke.
“Um, Seolhwa… Can I ask you for one favor?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Just for a moment… can you hug me?”
“Eh.”
What the heck was that? Wait, so… she wanted a hug? From me? No way! I immediately tried to refuse what felt like a burdensome request. Serin was pretty enough to charm even someone as clueless as me. If I hugged her… who knows what weird rumors might start.
“I guess… it’s not okay?”
But the way she looked at me like a pitiful puppy left out in the rain made it impossible to turn her down. I awkwardly spread my arms and said, with great reluctance.
“J-just for a moment, okay…”
“Yeah…”
“Hngh…!”
Squeeze. Serin pulled me into her arms with surprising strength. She held me so tightly I couldn’t move my arms at all. Since I was shorter, my face naturally pressed against her collarbone. Her refreshing scent was far too close and intense, making my head spin.
I-I’m embarrassed…
This was definitely starting to feel a little dangerous! As suspicious desires began filling my mind, I flailed my arms desperately to signal that this was too much. Thankfully, Serin seemed to understand. She gently released me. My face felt so hot I worried it might actually be boiling.
“Thank you. I feel much better now.”
“Y-yeah… I’m glad.”
Feeling strangely warm, I fanned my face vigorously. Still, the hug seemed to have worked—her complexion looked much healthier than before. W-well… if my body was the sacrifice, I guess it was a cheap price to pay. As I felt relieved, Serin—who had returned to her usual self—smiled at me.
“I’ll definitely repay this kindness.”
“No need to make it sound so grand. Just give me something similar to eat later.”
“I’ll work up the courage this once.”
“…Hey, I feel like we’re talking about completely different things here?!”
But unlike before, her eyes now held the look of someone who had made up her mind. I suddenly felt anxious about what kind of reckless thing she was planning to do.