It Feels Off That the Princess Is My Coworker (4)

VTuber debut. It was a noble moment when dazzling starlight descended from the heavens and came into being in this world. Realistically speaking, it could also be seen as a product launch event where they gathered a crowd to unveil new goods. Still, in this industry, it ranked as a major event alongside new costume reveals, 3D debuts, and birthday concerts.

The reason was probably that a debut stream was a once-in-a-lifetime special occasion in any VTuber’s life. Of course, there were rare cases of someone debuting anew with the same avatar… but last year alone, dozens of VTubers had appeared and then vanished.

Ever since I began as Marie, I would often drop in on new debut streams whenever they happened.

‘But who would have thought I’d be the one standing there…’

I felt like I was going to die. Even though I had deliberately eaten nothing, it still felt like I might throw up. What if I ruined today’s debut stream? The worry made me so dizzy I could barely stand.

I couldn’t stay still. Restless, I started pacing in circles around the living room. It was the same logic as a racehorse that feels anxious and wanders the stable in a frenzy. Apparently my inability to settle down annoyed my little sister, because she suddenly bolted upright from the sofa and smacked my backside with all her strength.

“Eek! What are you doing!”

“It’s distracting! If you’re going to spin in circles, do it in your room! I’m trying to watch TV!”

“My room is too small and cramped!”

“That’s because you crammed that huge thing in there, obviously!”

What was she even talking about? She had suddenly demanded I renovate my room. Was she planning to play an instrument or something?

Ha-yeon stepped right up to me and stared down with a clearly suspicious look. I had installed a soundproof booth because it was essential for streaming, but I didn’t want to reveal that I had become a VTuber, so I quickly averted my eyes. Explaining the booth would inevitably lead the conversation in that direction.

Maybe my silence only deepened her suspicion. Ha-yeon stared at me like she was deciding how to cook me. This was a critical moment that could affect my dignity as her older sister.

Suddenly Mom, who had been cooking in the kitchen, intervened and stopped my little sister.

“Ha-yeon, that’s enough. I told you your sister has something very important today, remember? She’s been working hard lately, so don’t bother her too much.”

“…Fiiiine.”

“Mom…”

“And Seolhwa, if you’re too nervous, go outside and run for a bit. Just sitting there stewing won’t make anything better.”

“Y-yes!”

It was perfectly reasonable advice. When stress builds up, exhausting your body with exercise helps shift your mood. It was only one in the afternoon—five whole hours remained until the scheduled time. Plenty of leeway.

I hurried back to my room, changed into the winter workout clothes I had bought some time ago, put on ear muffs and gloves for minimal cold protection, and dashed to the front door.

“I’m going for a run!”

“Unni, bring ice cream on the way back!”

“Ice cream on a cold day…? Fine, I will!”

I shot my little sister—who treated me like an errand-running robot—one sharp glare, then hastily pulled on my sneakers, grabbed my smartphone, and bolted out of the house.

The moment I left the apartment, a wind full of biting cold rushed past me. The dry, freezing temperature typical of winter made a pathetic sound slip from my lips.

“It’s cooooold!”

January 10th, the second Saturday since the new year began. Today was the day I would debut as Snow, the yuki-onna of Unimori’s third-generation Baekgwi Yahang.

Starting today, the world would change dramatically, yet all I could think about was how the tension might actually kill me.

*

Even though it was freezing, I ran hard enough to soak my clothes in sweat. When I returned home, my little sister poked her head out from the living room and stared at me. I silenced the rather cheeky girl with the ice cream I had bought on the way back, then immediately headed to the bathroom and thawed my frozen body under warm water.

‘Haaah, I feel alive again… The tension really has eased a little.’

Before the run my stomach had felt like it was tied in knots, but now I was only slightly on edge—much better than before. Sure enough, the human heart is a slave to the hormones the body produces. Sometimes the best way to lower nervousness is to mercilessly exhaust yourself.

Feeling much improved, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠returned to my room with a towel on my head. A notification lit up the screen of my charging smartphone. I wondered if the manager had contacted me before the debut, but when I checked, the sender was Min-ji—the first of the third generation to debut. It was a message from my senior coworker who would be streaming as the VTuber Airi.

“What is this message that sounds like it came from a male high-schooler at two in the morning?”

It was two in the afternoon. Had she mixed up the time? The message was so clearly laced with nerves that I let out a small laugh. I tapped out a reply saying I had just run around the neighborhood for a bit. Since I was debuting right after her, she probably wanted to hear that she wasn’t the only one feeling anxious. After thinking for a moment, I added that the tension had gotten so bad my little sister had slapped my butt. We had grown fairly close over the past few months, so I hoped my ridiculous story would help her relax.

By the way, our rule was to use our streamer names instead of real ones whenever possible. It prevented slip-ups on stream and stopped any potential leaks.

No, what she did to me was the sexual harassment… I stared at her messages in disbelief, practically hearing her voice in my head. Even though Airi was older than me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she was so short and youthful-looking that she could pass for a middle-schooler. That was apparently her complex. Still, this exchange had definitely eased my tension.

Smiling, I wrapped up the chat and sat down in front of the computer. I had rehearsed countless times for today, but variables could still appear at any moment. I planned to run through the rehearsal once more and review the recording to make sure everything was fine.

Just then, another notification popped up on the smartphone lying on my desk. Thinking it was Airi again, I glanced over—only to be surprised. This time it was from someone else: Priya, the werewolf who would debut right after me. In other words… Se-rin, the imperial princess.

I answered that I was about to start my final rehearsal. She asked if it would be all right to call. What? No, don’t. The moment I tried to type a refusal, the phone rang, displaying the name Lee Se-rin.

…Should I just decline? After a brief hesitation I sighed and pressed accept. A beautiful voice I still couldn’t get used to flowed from the speaker.

“Of course it’s rude. Who calls before the other person can even refuse?”

“Knowing I’d refuse and calling anyway makes it even worse, doesn’t it?!”

This wicked, self-centered princess… The thought that I had once again been swept up by her made my eyebrows tremble. In the three months since we had exchanged contacts, how many pranks had she pulled on me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply because I was the only one among our coworkers who knew she was the imperial princess? I always kept a corner of my heart reserved for the day I would repay every bit of that accumulated grudge.

Yet strangely, I didn’t actually dislike her. About a month after we swapped numbers, she had suddenly greeted me at school and I had nearly jumped out of my skin. When I dragged her to a quiet spot and asked why she was talking to me, Se-rin had answered like this:

“I thought I had finally made a friend to share my hobby with… I’m sorry. From now on I’ll try not to acknowledge you at school if possible.”

Damn it, how was I supposed to stay angry after that? She certainly had her own hardships because of her position as princess! For some reason I felt like I understood her feelings, so my hostility melted away on its own.

Besides, now that we were coworkers at the same agency, I couldn’t exactly force distance between us. We had agreed to converse normally through messenger. If someone as socially awkward as me suddenly acted friendly, I might attract the jealousy of the princess’s fan club. And staring at her face too long would drain my mental strength. Messenger was the best option for me.

After that day, Se-rin—who now understood the line—slowly closed the gap while watching my mood. No conversation at school. Light chatter on messenger. The occasional playful tease when we met at the office. If I had to classify it, we were more than acquaintances but a little ambiguous to call friends… something like that.

‘Something the me from right before high school entrance could never have imagined…’

Of course, even if I bragged about it, no one would believe me. If I told my little sister I was texting back and forth with the princess, she would suspect I was on weird drugs. And since I couldn’t talk about being a VTuber, there was no way to explain how we had become close.

Still, this was probably just another one of the princess’s whims. I shouldn’t get too attached. I pushed the overwhelming presence on the other end of the line out of my mind, let out a light breath, and adjusted my throat. Then, using a slightly higher, gentler tone suited for broadcasting, I spoke.

“So what made you call, Lady Priya? Shouldn’t you be preparing for your debut?”

“Haa, I wasn’t worried about you. That was a polite way of saying please hang up soon? Because of you my rehearsal is being interrupted right now.”

For some reason Se-rin on the other end sounded unusually slow. It was as if her mind had flown off somewhere far away. While I was tilting my head at the odd feeling, I belatedly realized one thing.

Could this girl… actually be nervous right now?

Well, her perfect-superhuman image at school often made me forget, but thinking about it, she had been the strange one who got lost right before reaching her destination on our first meeting. Even now she might be pretending to be fine while trembling like a coward inside.

Was this my chance for a counterattack? I deliberately raised my acting tone and shouted as if mocking her.

“Oh my, could it be that even the great wolf descendant of noble blood… is feeling nervous before her debut? The millions of night residents are going to be so disappointed!”

For someone of princess status to be scared of something so small was pathetic. Removing the role-play, it was roughly a meta provocation containing that meaning.

Sharp as ever, Se-rin immediately understood what I was saying. Unlike before, her voice genuinely shook with panic, and she suddenly cried out like a child.

“Pfft! Wait… when did that story leak over there?!”

“Absolutely not! Stop thinking every problem in the world can be solved with money!”

Wanting to buy someone’s butt with cash—the worst thing I had heard all day! Goosebumps rose all over me and I shouted at the smartphone, completely forgetting to maintain my yuki-onna voice. For a split second an image of Se-rin slapping my backside flashed through my mind. My face burning, I frantically shook my head to chase away the impure thought.

Fortunately, the butt-slapping remark seemed to have been made without deeper meaning. Soon she sounded calmer, then suddenly burst into loud laughter over the phone. It was a laugh without any pretense.

“Oh, is that so? You should feel honored.”

“…Yeah. You too.”

The call, which had felt both long and short, ended. I leaned back heavily in my chair. It was as if I had spat out an uncomfortable lump I had been holding in; the tension had flown away. Thanks to both Ji-a and Se-rin, I realized I wasn’t the only one feeling nervous before debut. Somehow my shoulders felt lighter and a hot determination filled my chest.

Good. Let’s do this without mistakes and give it everything. I clapped both cheeks, sat at the computer, and prepared for another rehearsal.

It was okay to fail. This wasn’t the end—it was only the beginning. For some reason, I felt like I could purely enjoy every part of this process.

*

The buzz surrounding Unimori’s third generation, Baekgwi Yahang, was like a giant meteor crashing into the VTuber scene. The seven members of the first and second generations alone already drew tens of thousands of viewers in a massive wave. Now new faces who could interact with them had appeared? Anyone with even the slightest interest in VTubers couldn’t help but feel excited.

A week before the debut, the PV revealing their appearances dropped, and the intensified heat struck the community like a storm.

A week after the heated PV reveal, the first debut member—Airi—finally appeared before countless viewers.

And her debut stream was, without question, a success. It seemed she had drawn in not only existing Unimori viewers but also casual watchers who didn’t usually watch VTubers. The number of people who joined from the very beginning was a staggering thirty thousand. The fact that this was the lowest point was even more shocking.

Airi showed the viewers a bouncy, adorable personality with her cute, playful voice. Then she pulled out a jazz song for her first performance, revealing a solid low register that completely flipped expectations. It was a wicked trick that smashed the heads of viewers who had let their guard down thinking “a cute kid debuted.” With that incredible gap, Airi turned thousands of viewers into her captives.

She flawlessly performed both songs without a single mistake, filling the full hour while keeping her energy high until the very end, then passed the baton to the next member.

The yuki-onna who had lived for a long time in the snowy mountains but came down to the city because she wanted to feel human warmth. Everyone had assumed she would be cool and elegant, yet her very first line was:

She bit her tongue on the very first word. Naturally the chat exploded with excitement at the sight of her continuing as if nothing had happened. People generally prefer a bit of human clumsiness over flawless perfection. Her small mistake hit like throwing an ice cube at a passerby and shattering their skull.

After that she seemed to pull herself together and avoid further mistakes. She gave a decent self-introduction while maintaining comfortable energy without becoming boring. Giving strong impressions and releasing dopamine is important, but for long-term streaming it is even more crucial to show what kind of charm you possess. That was the lesson Sepia had drilled into us until our ears grew calluses before debut.

Without wasting a moment, Snow immediately played the accompaniment. To everyone’s surprise it was a nostalgic anime song known to the public. Most VTuber viewers are men in their twenties and thirties. If she sang famous anime songs they had heard as children, it was bound to work. Her calculation hit the bull’s-eye like a perfectly thrown dart, leaving a clear impression on the casual viewers who had gathered for the debut buff.

At this point it was safe to say both Airi and Snow had successfully completed their debut streams. The president and office staff who had been monitoring the broadcasts breathed sighs of relief. Even Snow—who had been the biggest worry—performed perfectly after the cute little tongue-bite at the start. If Priya, considered the agency’s top prospect, took over this atmosphere, there would be no problem. None of them who had rehearsed dozens of times thought otherwise.

But the world never flows exactly as expected.

After Snow’s stream ended, Priya’s debut stream turned on as if receiving the baton. And there, an unforeseen problem occurred that no one had anticipated.

She clearly appeared, her mouth moving, yet the microphone sound wasn’t transmitting to the broadcast at all.

“P-President, this…”

“…Of all times, it breaks now? Contact Priya immediately and tell her to pause the stream. Whether we delay the time or change the location, fixing this comes first.”

“U-understood!”

The cause was a sudden output error in the audio interface. A device that had been working perfectly just tens of minutes earlier had suddenly failed. It was truly a natural disaster—the worst misfortune sent from the heavens.