The Yuri Business Trap
Yuna once said something along the lines of this: Yuri Business was never meant to be the main focus, only a supplementary element. Nothing more than a seasoning meant to heighten interest and immersion. In other words, while Yuri Business couldn't stand on its own as content, sprinkling a little of it over existing content produced an astonishing effect that created fun where there had been none before.
For example, even a plain and boring game became far more engaging when played by two girls who bickered with each other. A common real-life collab would feel much more heart-fluttering if it featured two girls holding hands and acting shy, wouldn't it? So when Yuna suggested doing Yuri Business with me, it was the kind of deal where both sides stood to gain without any real losses…
"B-but I'm already doing it with Riya…"
That was the problem. What bothered me most was none other than Serin's existence. It seemed the aftereffects of our last collab had been quite significant. The agency had practically started treating Serin and me as an official couple, and the viewers seemed to like the pairing too. There was already plenty of fanart depicting the two of us side by side.
Yet now I was suddenly supposed to do Yuri Business with Shura. For various reasons, I wasn't exactly thrilled about it.
"But Yuri Business doesn't have to be limited to just one person, right? Reine-senpai gets along really well with Chen-senpai too, doesn't she?"
"Well… that's true, but…"
Her point wasn't wrong. Yuri Business wasn't restricted to a single partner. After all, it wasn't real dating. It was simply about showing viewers an exaggerated version of two people getting along well. If anything, the more connections there were, the richer the picture became, and various harmonies emerged from the overlapping relationships. Jealousy because it looked like you liked another girl? That could just become new broadcast material and turn into a profit. Yuna was probably suggesting it with that kind of mindset.
Unfortunately, I had a reason I couldn't easily accept it.
'But Serin even confessed to me. If I do something like Yuri Business with someone else, I have zero confidence I could handle the aftermath…!'
That was the issue. Serin had confessed to me. We'd even shared a kiss that friends definitely shouldn't share… At any rate, we were clearly more than just friends. Of course, I was the one who had rejected her confession, so technically I could do Yuri Business with whoever I wanted. But if the usually docile Serin heard about this and flipped out, demanding something from me, would I be able to handle an aggressive Serin?
'…Absolutely not. If Serin pounces on me, I won't even be able to resist. I'd rather not give her any excuse.'
Yeah. No matter how I looked at it, the downsides of doing Yuri Business with Yuna outweighed the benefits. There was no helping it. I had to refuse.
I was about to turn down the offer with a heavy heart when Yuna, as if sensing my thoughts, lowered her head dejectedly.
"Is it… because you're disappointed that I'm not the popular girl from school?"
"N-no, that's not it! I think the current Yuna is great too. If anything, it's easier to talk to you now?!"
"But you don't want to do Yuri Business, right?"
Yuna brought the now-cold fish cake to her mouth. Then she sniffled while staring at the floor as if holding back tears. Maybe it was because the girl I had always admired in my heart looked sad, but an absurd sense of guilt pressed down on my chest.
Urgh. I wanted to explain my reason, but I couldn't bring up Serin…
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I floundered before answering as if making excuses.
"Ugh, it's not that I don't want to. It's just, um, well…"
"So you do want to?"
"I mean, if I had to pick one… I'd lean toward wanting to…"
This was difficult. Breaking through this predicament was proving incredibly hard! How could I refuse without making her sad? My back grew damp with cold sweat in this extremely troublesome situation.
Just then, Yuna, who had been sitting across from me, suddenly stood up and scurried over to sit right beside me. Her pitiful eyes looked as though tears would fall if I so much as poked them. The way she sniffled tugged at my protective instincts. Before long, she leaned her soft, fluffy body against mine and spoke in a fatally sweet voice, almost like she was begging.
"Can't you… do Yuri Business with me?"
"I-I'll do—mmph!"
"Tsk."
I almost agreed without thinking! I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands. If I said yes here, there would be no taking it back. Thankfully, I remembered that fact just in time.
But perhaps she didn't like that I had come to my senses. Yuna clicked her tongue cutely, looking disappointed. She had clearly been on the verge of tears just moments ago, yet now there was no trace of sadness on her face.
"What a shame. I could've gotten a definite answer."
"Wait… was that just now an act?!"
"Of course. I may not look it, but I'm in the drama club. Pretending to be sad and crying isn't that hard for me."
Sheesh, I was worried for nothing. I really thought she was crying! When I glared at her resentfully, Yuna stuck out her tongue and acted cute, as if asking me to forgive her.
To think she would go this far just for Yuri Business… A terrifying chill ran down my spine. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before I got caught. Feeling genuinely threatened, I spoke to her.
"You don't have to do Yuri Business specifically with me. There are plenty of other girls like Airi or Karen."
"When there's such a good person right in front of me, why would I bother taking the long way around?"
"Nngh…"
"Besides, that collab you did with Riya got insane views, right? I want to try topping the weekly popular videos chart at least once too…"
"No matter how you spin it, that's your real motive!"
Even if she was greedy for broadcasts, the determination to make such a request to a friend was terrifying! I recoiled at Yuna's honest display of desire. But it seemed she had already decided in her head that she would be doing Yuri Business with me. She wiggled her fingers in the air and opened her mouth.
"In that case, should we at least get our stories straight first? Since Snow and Shura aren't particularly close right now, how about we say we met at the agency, had a meal together, and became friends? For the menu… tteokbokki sounds appropriate."
"…You're talking about what we're eating right now, aren't you."
"Ah, and even if we didn't show it much, we could also say we were interested in each other during our trainee period and had been looking for an opportunity!"
"No matter how you look at it, that sounds completely forced…"
What Yuna wanted to say was simple. If our attitudes suddenly changed, the viewers would be confused. She meant we should build things up step by step first. When I did Yuri Business with Serin, it had been right after debut, so even if we forced it, people accepted it quickly. But it had already been over a month since our debut, so a more careful approach was necessary.
In other words, she was seriously thinking about the Yuri Business too, but…
'No, I already said I don't want to do it!'
I had clearly expressed my refusal, so why was she pushing forward on her own? Slightly annoyed, I was about to give her a sharp retort when Yuna suddenly threw herself into my arms.
"Hiek…!"
"I know you don't want to… But can't you just do it once? Please?"
"D-don't do this…"
She was only a little shorter than me—about five centimeters at most. Sitting in the chair like this, our eye levels were almost the same. So when she hugged me, her face rested against my shoulder, and our chests pressed together directly, making it hard to breathe.
'S-so close…!'
Maybe because we had both taken off our thick blazers, I could feel Yuna's warm body heat through her vest. And there were soft sensations pressing against me everywhere…
Wait a second. Was this person trying to seduce me with her body?! Even so, there was no way I'd fall for something like this! Feeling flustered, I tried to push her away. I just needed to grab her shoulders and shove, but…
"Actually, I'm really shy by nature…"
"Heuuk?!"
Yuna's whispering voice reached my ear at the worst possible moment. The sensation of her warm breath brushing inside my ear sent a jolt of electricity down my spine, and the strength drained from my waist.
'D-dangerous… I'm going to make a weird sound!'
My body was already extremely weak to ticklishness. The sensation from my ear was far too stimulating. So instead of pushing Yuna away, I had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep any sounds from escaping.
"At school everyone finds me cute so it's not hard to approach them, but I still can't have a proper conversation with the agency people…"
"Hngh…"
"That's why you're the only one I can ask, Seolhwa… Okay? Just once. Just one collab…"
"Hieup…"
Why did she keep blowing into my ear?! I couldn't even understand what she was saying anymore! All my nerves were focused on the stimulation in my ear, and even though my eyes were open, I couldn't see anything in front of me. My sense of direction was completely lost.
"Uh, uhh?"
"Heueut."
Unable to stay sitting any longer, I collapsed backward. Thankfully the bench was long, so nothing serious happened, but Yuna ended up straddling me in her surprise, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
"H-huh? Seolhwa?"
"Haa, haa… W-wait…"
Maybe because Yuna had stopped talking in her panic, I finally managed to gather enough strength to push her shoulders away. Looking up at her flustered face, I covered my own with both hands and spoke.
"D-don't whisper… My ears are weak…!"
"Whoa, I knew they were weak, but this much?"
"Urgh…"
"Hmm… So your ears are that weak?"
Yuna's eyes sparkled as if she had discovered a weakness. She leaned closer to me as I lay there. Of course I struggled, twisting my body, but maybe because I had already lost all my strength, it didn't accomplish much. In the end she climbed onto my waist so I couldn't get up and whispered into my ear with a voice full of breath.
"Seolhwa~"
"Hyaaaak!"
"This is your weak spot? Oho~"
"Huit! Hieek…!"
Twitch. Twitch. Every time Yuna's ticklish breath entered my ear, it felt like a strong current ran through my nerves. They said the ear canal was connected to the brain. It was as if her breathing was going straight into my brain and messing everything up.
'I-I can't breathe… It hurts…'
I… I wasn't this weak normally. But every time she spoke, my body twisted on its own. Even so, Yuna showed no intention of letting me go. All I could do was sob and make pathetic sounds.
"Do Yuri Business… with me…"
"Hik, heut…"
"I won't let you go until you say yes… I'll keep going like this, hooo… tormenting you…"
"Heueut!"
I endured. What was the big deal about someone whispering in my ear? It was just ticklish. Nothing more. But when it was repeated dozens of times, a mass of desire gradually built up inside me. And just like dripping water into an already full cup, at some point the sensation crossed a critical threshold and burst out all at once.
"Ah."
This was impossible. I really couldn't take it anymore. It was too painful, too painful, too painful, and too pleasurable. My resolve completely crumbled. Even though I was the one being pinned down by Yuna, I clung to her and begged with tears in my eyes.
"I'll do it… Please let me do it… I don't want this anymore…"
"Hehe. You really said you'd do it, right? You definitely said it? I even recorded it, you know?!"
"Yeees…"
I didn't even know what I had agreed to. All I could do was nod. But even after gaining my freedom, the sensation lingered. My head still tingled and I couldn't breathe properly. So with one arm covering my face, I lay there panting, waiting for my breathing to return to normal.
"W-wow… Hold on, this is kind of lewd… Um, Seolhwa, are you okay?"
"Huu, huu…"
Was I okay…? I didn't even have the energy to answer and just bit my lip. A few minutes passed with me lying on the bench like that. When I finally managed to sit up, the heat having subsided and my rationality returning, I looked at Yuna resentfully while feeling the lingering tingle in my head.
"That's too much… I said my ears were weak…"
"I-I mean… I didn't know they'd be this weak. Is this okay for daily life?"
"N-not usually. It's just that your voice feels especially ticklish…"
"Hee…"
"So that's a thing." Muttering that, she stared straight at my face. No, wait. She was looking at my ears. Feeling threatened, I quickly covered them with both hands. Then I lowered my posture and growled at her. But apparently my threat had no effect whatsoever. Smiling brightly, she spoke in an extremely calm voice.
"From now on, we're officially doing Yuri Business, right?"
"…"
"Sorry for pushing so hard like that. But I feel like this could give us a clue about the direction of our future broadcasts."
So, please take care of me! Yuna said this while bowing her head politely. There was a seriousness in her that hadn't been there during her earlier playfulness. Maybe this was her true intention. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.
'Direction, huh…'
At this point… I couldn't refuse. Yuna probably knew she was being unreasonable. Even knowing I disliked it, forcing the issue must not have felt good for her. But she was earnestly thinking about how to grow as a VTuber, holding onto that serious concern. As a fellow VTuber rather than just a friend, I couldn't bring myself to be cold to her.
"Ah, fine. If you're going that far, I guess I have no choice…"
"R-really?! Thank you, Seolhwa!"
"Uwah! Not the ears, not the ears!"
Yuna smiled brightly and hugged me. I reflexively covered my ears at the action. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have any intention of tormenting my ears again. She simply held me and smiled innocently.
'Just what is going to happen to my VTuber life…'
Doing Yuri Business with two agency colleagues, and on top of that, both of them being beautiful girls I knew from school. Feeling the softness of Yuna in my arms, I prayed that nothing problematic would happen from now on.