Unintended "Are You Okay...?"
The chat reactions were pretty solid. Yujin oppa had pointed out what needed fixing, and once I tweaked it, everything looked way cleaner.
"Ahem, looks like it's decent."
"I was worried it might not suit me, but I'm glad it does. The other cosplayers are so high-quality, it had me nervous."
Yeah, for sure. I'd spent money on the cosplay, but nowhere near 500,000 won.
About 200,000 won, I think. Cosplay wig and outfit. Plus the weapon the character carries in the anime—another 200,000 won or so. Even buying it felt insanely expensive at the time, but looking back now, it seemed dirt cheap compared to everyone else. My streams got decent donations compared to others, but not enough to blow 200k willy-nilly.
"Alright, I'll stick with this look then. I saw an anime booth while wandering yesterday during the stream."
Quality comparisons might happen, but I didn't care. I'd always wanted to cosplay in Japan at least once. Comparisons were inevitable anyway.
How long had I been walking with those thoughts? "Ah, there it is!"
Finally, I spotted the spot packed with familiar anime characters. I'd made a mental note while passing by during yesterday's stream, but I hadn't expected it to take this long to find.
It was definitely tucked in a corner compared to other spots. "Feels like it's way in the corner for the anime's caliber."
"Hey hey, no fighting over dumb stuff in chat."
Normally I wouldn't care about petty squabbles, but cosplay came first today. I'd prepped so much, I kinda wanted to show off. Plus Yujin oppa was watching from behind.
With that in mind, I approached the other cosplayers and gave a quick greeting. "Konnichiwa!"
Suddenly, a barrage of Japanese from around me. I couldn't translate every single one for the viewers, so I responded appropriately. Stuff like: I'm streaming right now, doing cosplay here, mind if I join? Got immediate replies.
"Hai!" Super cool approval.
Lucky. I'd been worried they might say no.
"Guess I'll hang here today then. Hard to wander around in this outfit anyway, and if any fans show up, I'll greet 'em."
"What hug? I'd kick you right away."
Just as I was enjoying the usual chat while cosplaying...
"Karin!!!"
A familiar voice rang out. This one was definitely—
"Ah, that girl from before?"
The woman I'd bumped into at the tsukemen place. The one filming her vlog.
She's kinda overwhelming.
I appreciated having a fan, but as someone who struggled with people by nature, a super extroverted one like her was tough to handle. Didn't want to come off as a total nerd either.
The chat lit up as usual at the pretty girl showing up. Probably the heavy male skew.
Nothing for it, so I kept chatting. "I've been wandering Tokyo this whole time and finally made it. Missed you, but schedule's packed so here I am now..."
"Ah, no worries. Cosplay's only today anyway—perfect timing."
"Oh, really?"
The fan grinned and came over, snapping photos and getting autographs. Then set it as her wallpaper right away.
"Gonna use this as my wallpaper!!"
"Whoa, my face as wallpaper? People might think it's weird."
"Psh, who cares. I'll just say it's a friend."
"I'm embarrassed tho?"
"No no!! It's just hard to explain who... hehe."
As we bantered...
"By the way, that guy's still filming?"
"Yeah. Came to Japan on the condition he films."
"Lucky him, friend of Karin's..."
"Ahem."
My shoulders lifted a bit. She'd started off overwhelming, but this subtle hype felt nice.
...Gotta drop her a sub later.
Feeling my mood lift naturally...
"Want me to take over filming? You look wiped."
"...Nah, I'm good."
"...You're sweating buckets. Go while I'm filming."
"...Should I?"
I hadn't realized, but Yujin oppa's stomach must've been killing him. Otherwise, a guy with that much sense of duty wouldn't hand over the camera so easily.
Anyway.
Gotta talk to him about this later. Fan or not, handing over a phone like that casually was iffy. Who knows what could happen.
I figured I'd warn her after he got back from the bathroom. Chatting with viewers in the meantime, that's when I saw oppa approaching from afar.
He'd rushed back quick. Breathing hard, shoulders heaving, face still flushed from sprinting.
"Sorry, sorry...!"
He reflexively snatched the phone from the fan's hand.
The problem came next.
The camera, which should've been on me and the other cosplayers, whipped around in the haste and—
"Huh."
Filled the screen with oppa's face.
Time froze for a second. So close his pores were probably visible.
"Ah, hold on—!"
I rushed to the now-collapsed oppa, but too late. Chat had exploded.
His face got revealed.
Oppa wasn't a streamer—he was a total normie who always avoided face reveals. This was gonna be a headache.