Something's Off About Making Serin Fall For Me (3)
Serin's question was awful right from the start. Asking if I'd ever thought about wanting to kiss her? Who the hell asks something like that in front of tens of thousands of viewers? No matter how much it's for yuri business, there are lines that should never be crossed! You pervert!
To cut to the chase, of course I'd never thought about it. As I've said multiple times, I don't have any romantic feelings toward Serin. What I feel is pure admiration and friendship. Kissing her? The idea had never even crossed my mind.
…This isn't something I should be saying while I'm actively trying to seduce her into liking me, is it?
Still, that was that and this was this. The reason I'd been so flustered when she kissed my cheek last time was purely because it had been a surprise attack. If I'd known it was coming, I would've stayed perfectly calm. Besides, kissing was something couples did. And from what I'd seen online, it apparently didn't even feel that good. It was just lips bumping together, after all. No big deal. Not that I'd ever tried it myself.
So the correct answer here should be a firm no, but…
I swallowed hard as I placed my hand on the lie detector, staring at the device with nervous eyes. If it somehow came back as a lie… what would happen? It wasn't a real lie-detecting machine, after all. Sometimes it just spat out results however it felt like it, regardless of the truth. And right now, countless viewers were waiting for the outcome.
If it said I was lying, they'd probably brand me as some pervert lusting after my agency coworker's lips. Feeling my heart hammering wildly in my chest, I carefully spoke my answer.
“...Never.”
“Indeed, you never have.”
“That's right! Not even once. Absolutely never!”
I glanced sideways at Serin and raised my voice, irritated that she seemed to have regained her composure and was now teasing me. If I got through this safely, it would be her turn next!
While I was grinding my teeth and taking deep breaths, Serin silently closed the distance and suddenly poked my side with her finger. Her long, slender finger pressed up from below with perfect pressure… Caught completely off guard, I shot up from my chair.
“Eek?! Ah, wait… aghhh!”
“Oh my… You lied, didn't you?”
This… this little—! What a dirty trick…!
The electric shock surging through my hand made me collapse onto the desk, trembling. The moment the pain finally subsided, I sprang up and yelled at her.
“Hey! What the hell? You can't just tickle me out of nowhere! That's cheating!”
“But there wasn't any rule against tickling, was there? Hehe… So you really have thought about it while looking at me?”
“As if! I'm going to rip those lips right off your face, I swear?!”
My face burned with a mix of rage and embarrassment as I glared at Serin. But forgetting about the viewers entirely would be bad, so I forced myself to calm down. I couldn't actually fight her on stream, and it was my own fault for not anticipating this move. With a sigh, I dropped back into my chair, looked at the monitor, and spoke in resignation.
“Haa… No touching from now on! I'll let it slide this time since it already happened… I'll draw a penalty card…”
“Ooh, I wonder what it'll be? I'm so excited.”
“I'm mad, so shut up!”
I drew the top card from the stack I'd prepared in advance. When Serin and I checked the contents together, this is what it said.
While gazing deeply into your lover's eyes, shout "I like you" ten times.
“Th-this is…”
“That's pretty embarrassing…”
“I'll take a picture with my phone and show it on screen.”
We couldn't keep it to ourselves, so I had no choice but to share it… With a feeling of pure resignation, I snapped a photo of the card and displayed it on the broadcast. The chat exploded with praise and cheers. Just how happy were they? I felt like I was going to die!
…Still, I'd promised to do the penalties, so I couldn't back out now. Steel myself, I stared straight into Serin's eyes and opened my mouth.
“Huu… I like you.”
“Eep…”
“Pri, I like you. I like you. I l-like… you…”
Wait.
“I like you… I like… I like yooou…”
Wait a second. Wait, wait!
This was embarrassing. So embarrassing I thought I might actually die! What the hell was past-me thinking when she brought these cards? Wasn't there a gentler, more peaceful way to do this?!
“I-I like you… Ugh, that's ten!”
The humiliating play made my brain feel like it was cooking. I barely managed to finish all ten and immediately whipped my gaze away. Who knew saying “I like you” to someone could be this mortifying? If I put my hand on the lie detector right now, it would probably shock me no matter what I said. Thank god it wasn't my turn next…
I turned my back, clutching my chest, then pulled myself together when I remembered we were still broadcasting.
“N-next! Let's move on! Come on, put your hand up already!”
“O-okay. Right… It's my turn now. Yep. Yep.”
I couldn't check the chat—my mental state wouldn't allow it—but messages were flying up at an absurd speed. At the very least, the viewers' reactions were the hottest they'd been all day. These honest-with-their-desires bastards… Usually I felt like I was half a step ahead of them, but now it felt like I'd shown them something they weren't supposed to see. For some reason, it made my chest ache.
“Alright, I'm ready. G-go ahead and ask?”
“Yeah, um… so…”
Serin placed her hand on the lie detector and prompted me. I quickly recalled the question list I'd prepared in my scrambled mind. First step: ask a question she couldn't easily answer honestly. I'd taken a solid hit earlier, but now it was time for my counterattack! Forcing the corners of my mouth up into a relaxed smile, I looked up at Serin and threw her own troublesome question right back at her.
“Pri, have you ever thought about wanting to kiss me?”
“Yes. I have.”
“Immediate answer?! W-wait, you really have?!”
The green lamp on top of the lie detector lit up. It made a soft sound effect, different from the red one that came with the electric shocks. It proved her answer was undeniably true.
Wait, shouldn't she have said she hadn't?! I flinched, covering my mouth with the back of my hand and jerking backward. Serin looked down at me with an expression that said I was adorable and smirked.
“And… I already did. During our date last time.”
“Th-that was on the cheek! You scared me! We're on broadcast, so don't say things that could be misunderstood!”
“So you're saying it's okay if we're not on broadcast?”
“That's not what I meant at all?!”
No, that's not true! I spouted every excuse I could think of to calm the viewers who were going wild. It had just been an accidental brush of lips on my cheek during that city date I'd mentioned before. We definitely weren't anything more than what we'd shown on stream. Serin looked like she wanted to say something in protest, but I desperately grabbed her and shook my head, begging her not to. She was probably about to bring up the parfait… That absolutely could not happen!
If we cross the line any further, the boss will kill me!
Fortunately, Serin didn't actually want to ruin my VTuber career. She put on an expression that said she had no choice but to forgive me after my desperate pleas. This cocky brat… She completely thinks she's holding all the cards now…!
After that, the game of truth continued. Maybe because we'd both realized going too far was a bad idea, the questions stayed at a lower level than kissing. Who in Unimori you found most interesting. Whether I'd confess to someone if I were a guy. Whether the underwear I was currently wearing was white… Wait, why would you even ask that? Anyway, while we kept firing questions meant to attack each other, the first crack appeared in Serin.
“Eep…! Mmm… It wasn't a lie, though…”
When asked if she found skinship embarrassing, she'd answered no. But even though she looked completely serious, the lie detector sent a shock through her. It was probably just because her hand had gotten sweaty from using it for so long. Seeing my chance, I perked up and spoke to her in my broadcast voice.
“Hehe. So you finally lied? Time to draw a penalty card, right?!”
“…Yeah. Since you went along with my demands at the beginning, I guess I have no choice.”
Whether it was a machine malfunction or not, if it said it was a lie, it was a penalty. Maybe because I'd accepted it without complaint when she'd tickled me on purpose, Serin reached for the lover penalty cards with an expression of resignation. But the moment she brought the card up to her face, she suddenly froze.
“What is it? What does it say?”
“Umm… I drew something like this…”
“Let me see… Huh.”
Why the hell was a card like this even in here…! After reading it, my mind went completely blank and I was at a loss for words. But stopping here would cause a broadcast accident. Forcing the words out like I was squeezing my own organs, I barely managed to relay the contents to the viewers.
“U-um… It says… to lick your lover's forearm…”
“Forearm meaning from the elbow to the armpit, right?”
“Eek! Don't just touch it like that!”
Maybe because I was wearing a sleeveless top, Serin reached out without hesitation and stroked my forearm. Naturally, I freaked out and tried to pull away as far as possible, but the cramped soundproof booth didn't give me anywhere to go.
Th-this… feels like I'm the one getting punished…!
I looked at Serin with the feeling of being cornered. But fortunately, she didn't look completely unfazed either. Even for her, licking someone's forearm seemed to cross her limit. Her face and ears were bright red—a truly pathetic sight. Of course, since my whole body felt like it was boiling, I probably didn't look much different…
Eventually she seemed to steel herself. With a somewhat scary look in her eyes, Serin stepped closer.
“Come here, Snow. A penalty is… absolute…”
“Ughhh… What kind of strength do you even—!”
When I reflexively stuck my arm out in resistance, she skillfully grabbed both my wrists with one hand, pinned them, and yanked me forward, pressing her face against my soft forearm. We were both high school girls—how was there such a difference in strength? All I could do was flop around like a fish caught in a net.
“Bleeeh…”
“Haa… Th-this feels weird…”
Why would you need an R19 tag?! It's just licking an arm! I silently refuted the chat message that had flashed by and squeezed my eyes shut. If I opened my mouth carelessly right now, something that shouldn't be on broadcast might slip out. Then a damp, unfamiliar sensation slid slowly across my forearm. From my elbow toward the inner part… Wait, if you go any further that's my armpit!
I desperately clenched my teeth to avoid making any weird sounds. Fortunately I didn't have much hair below my neck even without maintenance, so showing my armpit wasn't that embarrassing. Mom, thank you for giving me this constitution…
“Haa, haae… N-next! Let's move on quickly!”
“…R-right.”
After quickly finishing the penalty, we put distance between ourselves. We acted like nothing had happened and decided to continue. Honestly it had been mortifying enough to die, but thinking Serin probably felt the same gave me a bit of comfort.
But maybe that penalty became the turning point, because after that neither of us could maintain our composure at all. No matter what we were asked, the machine would shock us and we'd get penalties. Naturally we ended up drawing penalty cards like we were competing, hugging each other, interlocking fingers, gently biting shoulders… We danced on the edge of what was allowed on Unimori and showed all sorts of embarrassing sides of ourselves.
Still, today's broadcast was unarchived—meaning no video would remain. It was truly a relief that these humiliating moments wouldn't be preserved forever.
It's already been an hour and a half since the collab started… It should be coming up soon…
The whole truth-versus-lie aspect of the game had long since vanished into the distance. The stream now felt like a competition over who could make the other take the most embarrassing penalties. When it became Serin's turn for a penalty, I drew the card in her place and my eyes sparkled at the opportunity that had finally arrived.
Yes! I finally drew it!
This was why I'd gone so far as to cosplay today to shake Serin up. This was why I'd brought the lie detector and the lover penalty cards. The answer to all my actions up until now was right here.
“This penalty is it.”
“That's…”
“You said earlier that a penalty is absolute… right?”
Inside the soundproof booth that had grown hot enough to make us sweat, I looked straight at Serin with confidence in my victory and held up the card. The penalty card that had made us do all sorts of embarrassing things until now. On the card I presented, the following was written.
Sing a song full of affection for your lover.
It was the killing blow that struck right at the heart of the “make her fall for me” competition between me and Serin.