I Haven’t Graduated Yet
RIP Haruru.
Whether they were serious or joking was hard to tell. Still, on second thought, how could someone who burned through three million won of the CEO’s money on day one possibly go on broadcast the very next day as if nothing had happened?
But there was one thing the viewers had overlooked. Our company’s CEO was none other than Chae Eun.
"Heh."
We had already talked it through. If I’d seen those posts before speaking with the CEO, I might have been trembling, but now they only made me laugh. So this was what she meant when she told me to go look for myself. I called her at once.
"CEO? Are you driving right now? Is this a bad time?"
"No. I’ve got my earphones in. Why?"
"Ah. Like you said, I checked the cafe, and... wow. It’s all about me. I don’t know whether I should be happy about that or not."
"Mm. I thought it would be all about Tama, but it’s about the same. Superstar wasn’t an empty word after all."
At that, I laughed breathlessly. Superstar. That had been pure bluff.
"I deleted the really nasty ones, so don’t worry. It’s fine to read it without feeling pressured."
Now I was even more curious about that. What counted as really nasty? No, better not to know. Ignorance is bliss. There’s no reason to stick my finger into a pile of filth just to see if it tastes bad.
"Somehow everyone’s turned it into a memorial, but this much is fine, right?"
"Yes. I can probably turn it into good stream material."
"Good. You remember what we talked about last time, right? Post a stream review, reply sincerely to anyone who writes one for you, and don’t answer the nasty ones. Contact your manager instead. When you do reply, don’t get too buddy-buddy with people. Also, don’t forget tomorrow’s stream schedule and write it down..."
The CEO went on and on. But I listened to every word and didn’t let a single thing slip past me. She was my idol, my light, my role model.
"Sorry. That probably sounds like nagging."
"Not at all. I heard every single word. It reminded me again that you didn’t climb that far on luck alone. I worship you, the GOAT of the streaming world, my idol, my light, my role model, Chaemoney."
As if she liked the growing list of nicknames piling up day by day, just like her achievements, she fell silent for a moment.
"Good. If you’re not tired, write it now. The first impression of a broadcast matters."
"Yes, ma’am. Sorry for calling while you were driving. Safe travels."
After we ended the short call, I clicked open the cafe post. But how was I supposed to reply? In moments like this, the best move was to study other people’s answers. First, let’s check Tama’s post.
[Stream Review] The word elf wasn’t added for nothing!!! Isekai Tama-chan’s absurd singing skills!
"Nice."
Our Tama had already won over a true fan. I felt oddly proud. The post was mostly glowing praise, too. How had Tama replied?
[Tama: Thank youuuu! I was deeply moved by your review! I’ll work hard so I can sing even better songs from now on! Thank you for enjoying the stream!!! (•‿•)]
Even the emoticon. Brilliant. The middle bit, where she wrote "to sing" a little strangely, was probably just a slip, but that was easy enough to forgive. Still, why was she ending her sentences with that old-fashioned "thank you" form? Was that her concept? Or had she somehow learned Korean that way? I’d have to ask her later.
And now I was curious about something else. Sally, the first-generation talent who had helped lead Shining Parade’s revival, how had she answered? Just then, a title caught my eye.
[Today’s Stream Review] Yep, that’s Sally. The value packed into just two syllables: "Sal-ly."
For reference, the "today" in today’s stream review was yesterday. Sally had taken a day off because she was helping with the stream I did with Mizuki.
The post was far more heartfelt than Tama’s. Even reading it moved me; I wondered how the person it was written for must have felt. Had anyone written something like that about me? I should check Sally’s reply first.
[Sally: Thanks for watching today’s stream too! That’s right! The name Sally really does carry more value now! It’s all thanks to you guys, my sparks! I’ll keep growing and becoming an even better Sally!!!]
Just looking at the comments made it feel like everything was blazing. All right, now it was time for the main event: the review post about my stream. How much would it move me? As for RIP Haruru, that was just a casual post in the free board, so I could let that one slide. The stream review would be different.
[Stream Review] Remembering the Haruru who is no longer here...
"Make it different!"
[After spending three million won in one day and getting forced into graduation, I will never forget Haruru. There were trolls everywhere at the start of the stream, but she brushed them off with so much grace... She declared she’d become the peak, tossed aside B-grade gear like it was nothing, and somehow pulled an SSS-grade result out of nowhere like it was a horse race. I’ll never forget it.]
Well, the content was full of praise, so I couldn’t help feeling good. At this point, it was worth replying happily.
[Haruru: Thank you for the compliments. Also, I am alive. See you again tomorrow.]
But a reply wasn’t enough. I needed to let people know through the stream review, too. Haruru is alive. Don’t just graduate a person, or in this case a VTuber, whenever you feel like it!
Title: This is Haruru... I have not yet graduated... I am alive.
What should I write for the body? Long-winded wasn’t my style. Short and sharp. That was the way to go.
Three-line summary first
1. Thank you so much to everyone who came to my first stream today.
2. I’ll explain everything that happened after the broadcast tomorrow morning when I go live.
3. Not graduating, yep.
Body
Have a good day.
I’d barely posted it when the comments started flooding in. Exactly what you’d expect from Shining Parade, the agency everyone was calling the hottest thing going right now.
- Gasp! A ghost is speaking
- Morning stream? Okay, I’ll check it.
- Why is the summary longer than the body?
- You’re not going to do an apology stream in a suit tomorrow morning, right?
- Everyone, tomorrow’s streamer is the second Haruru. The first Haruru got scolded by a goddess, turned back into a black fox, and went home to the mountains.
↳ T_T
↳ First Haruru, from now on don’t get into trouble and live a healthy life, okay?
↳ RIP
The cafe was already acting like they’d sent off a person, no, a fox. What about the rougher Korean VTuber gallery?
[Haruru’s Stream Thoughts for Today]
It was the post I’d just put up. The important part was the comments.
- The great Ru Lu lolol
- You’re really making people look forward to tomorrow’s stream lol
- Looks like CEO Chae is pissed? Evening streams are the usual, but she got exiled to morning duty
- Spent three million on day one, then had to explain the graduation on day two. This guy’s just built different
- "Not graduating, yep" <<< weirdly infuriating lol
- I thought Tama would overshadow her, but she turned it around and buried Tama instead, whoa
The reactions were hot. That was when I was browsing around and my phone rang. It was Mizuki. I picked up at once, and she asked in a worried voice,
"Ru-chan, are you okay? You’re not quitting streaming, right? The CEO didn’t tell you to stop?"
"Huh? No, no. Things somehow worked out, so I can keep streaming."
"That’s a relief... I thought Ru-chan was disappearing..."
She must have been really worried. Her voice was shaking.
"When I looked at the cafe, everyone was saying the CEO killed Haruru."
"...Huh?"
That was way too blunt.
Mizuki really needed to learn not to believe everything she saw online.
"Just because something’s written on the internet doesn’t make it true. Besides, this was kind of... exaggerated joking around, so..."
"Really?!"
"Yeah..."
"I see! If it weren’t for you, Ru-chan, I really might’ve believed it. It got deleted now, but one post said, 'Look at how Chae Eun looks. Anyone can tell she used to be yakuza. Haruru, you’re dead.' That was a lie too, right?"
Before I knew it, I burst out laughing. She really did look like the sort of person people might mistake that way. But her insides were nothing like that at all.
"She is absolutely not that kind of person. She’s a very, very good person."
"I knew it! I thought so! She really was a good person when I talked to her too. I was just a liiittle... a very little bit scared, so I was nervous."
I understood that. I’ve met plenty of gangsters, but the CEO was on a different level. The scariest thing about her was that she wasn’t a gangster at all, just an ordinary person.
"Anyway, what are you doing up so late instead of sleeping?"
"I’m too excited about my first stream today to sleep. I still can’t quite believe I really debuted as a VTuber."
"I get that. Still, you should settle down and stream again tomorrow. Do you know what you’re doing tomorrow?"
"Yep yep. I’m going to talk with the fairies about all the things we didn’t get to finish talking about. I’m going to play a game too. What about Haruru?"
Fairies? That must have been the fan name. Cute. Come to think of it, I was the only one without a fan name so far. I should decide one for tomorrow’s stream. And I’d need a greeting phrase too, right? Actually, I’d already decided that a long time ago. I’d planned to use it for my first broadcast. There had just been too many trolls for me to do it.
"I’m going to decide on the fan nickname and greeting I couldn’t do on my first stream. I’ve already picked the greeting, but want to hear it? You can judge it for me."
"Sure."
"Instead of saying hello, I’ll say: Hello, Haruru!"
"Kyahhh!"
She launched a sudden sonic attack, and I yanked the phone away from my ear.
"W-what?"
"Kawaii iiiiiiii!"
What was she even saying? It sounded like she was saying kawaii. She meant cute, right?
"That was so cute. If I’d been beside you, I would’ve hugged you."
Then I’d better watch myself around Mizuki. The last time she ambushed me with a hug, I thought my bones were going to crack.
We talked a while longer about the stream and various random things, and then I suddenly remembered the cafe post and asked,
"By the way, why did you write it like that?"
"Huh? That’s how you write it, isn’t it? That’s how I learned it."
It wasn’t like I had any right to talk, but Mizuki still had a long way to go, both with streaming and with Korean. I was going to have to help her properly from here on out.
***
The next morning, I ate breakfast, washed up, and headed to the company. In the streaming world, evenings were usually peak time, and mornings had very little competition, so things were pretty relaxed. In other words, the streamer who woke up early got the viewers.
Stream Title: Haruru, Back From the Dead
The clickbait title seemed decent enough. I’d thought about going with something like thank you for everything, but that felt like it crossed the line, so I scrapped it. All right, stream start!
"Oh..."
Was it because the rumor had spread so widely? Or because I’d chosen the quiet morning slot and gone in through the back door? Either way, not long after starting, I had already blown past 6,000 viewers!