My Private Nest Invaded

Not my own nest anymore—what the hell was this? My brain just wasn't processing it. It was such an unexpected turn that I was left completely dumbfounded.

That daze didn't last long, though. '..Gotta watch it again.' Unless it straight-up revealed personal info, I figured I'd let videos like this slide. More viewers meant a livelier stream, after all. Sure, back in the day, even a handful of watchers felt like enough... but yesterday changed my mind. If it had stayed quiet from the start, fine—but after seeing that chat explode, the sudden silence was seriously bugging me.

With that thought, I hit play on the video again.

"Hmm..."

I watched from start to finish, and nothing jumped out as problematic. I'd been super careful during the stream—no slips about personal stuff. The only iffy part? This video could probably monetize. So after some agonizing—

'Gotta warn them on the next stream.' I decided to give a heads-up in advance. Better safe than sorry on stuff like this.

Anyway.

"Ahh..."

Maybe 'cause I'd streamed so much yesterday, but I woke up later than usual today. Normally I'd be up earlier. I dragged my groggy body out of bed.

"You're up early."

"Hima da...!"

Looked like she'd gotten bored and woken up. And speaking of which, I'd noticed since yesterday—she was making a real effort to speak Korean with me. The Japanese words she slipped in were super basic, too. It felt thoughtful, like she was going out of her way to accommodate me.

Scribble-scribble.

"Whatcha drawing?"

"Ahaha..."

Yuu just gave an awkward laugh instead of answering. What could she be sketching to react like that? Suspicious as hell. I peeked at the tablet—

"Huh?"

It was a familiar style. But somehow off. Familiar, yet with dialogue I'd never seen. No way.

"Is this the next chapter's manuscript?"

"Yep."

It really was. The manuscript for Electric Man, the masterpiece everyone raved about from Kashio Yuu. Getting to watch her work up close? Impossible to resist. I sidled up cautiously.

Scribble-scribble.

Even with me right there, Yuu didn't spare a glance—working at a manic pace. Her focus was on another level, almost rude to compare to her usual self. How much time passed like that?

"Ugh..."

Finally, Yuu paused the manuscript and stretched. I'd wanted to offer pose advice, but she'd stayed ramrod straight the whole time, so I'd kept quiet, lips sealed. Guess she only slouches when she wants to relax. Makes sense—working like that nonstop would've wrecked her back ages ago.

"All done?"

"Ten percent."

After grinding that hard, only 10%? Japanese manga schedules were no joke. Korea's were brutal too, but damn.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was feeling kinda bad for her when—

"Anyway... now, collab talk...!"

Yuu stretched fully and brought up the collaboration. That was the whole reason she was crashing at my place—something with Komai Rito.

"So, where do we start?"

"Hmm..."

Yuu kneaded her stress ball furiously while pondering. Ah, gotta grab another one of those. No wonder she'd eyed it last time. The capybara-shaped ball squished mercilessly. Looked like it might pop any second when she made a suggestion.

"Let's do the cover first...!"

Hmm. Cover first, huh.

"Sure."

Having collabed with her before, I figured the cover would be quick. I already had a rough plan in my head.

"Ahem, let's start...!"

And just like that, we huddled around the computer and got to work. Thank god I'd splurged on a good one.

*

Collaboration. It sounds simple—"Hey, let's collab!"—but it's a whole process. At our level, we're usually tied to agencies, and verbal agreements? Big no-no. Even with a contract, you can't just dive in—gotta clear existing schedules first. Natural disasters happen, after all.

And right now.

Scribble-scribble.Tap-tap.Slurp.

Three days into it, the only sounds in my tiny apartment were pen scratches.

"Wanna eat?"

"Just... finish this..."

"Got it."

With so many pieces tied to this collab, no room for slacking. Every minute not eating or sleeping went to art.

'..Wish we could extend the deadline.' But that'd mean Yuu sticking around Korea longer. A week? Manageable. More? Daily life gets awkward as hell. So, wrap by end of this week.

Cover was done ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ages ago. Left: merch designs and special booth layout. What the hell was Komai Rito thinking, handing this to me? Just some X-Net perv artist. My dumb brain guessed Yuu must've pushed hard for it with him. No other way he'd trust a "Korean" with this.

"Haaah..."

"Tough...?"

I groaned and flopped back, but Yuu didn't budge an inch. A total monster. How does she work without twitching? Explains why she never misses deadlines. If I'd serialized in Japan, I'd be late every meal.

Impressed anew, I crashed on the mattress for a breather when—

Bzzz.

Phone. I'd set it to silent vibes during work. Who?

Seo Haneul? Any reason she'd call direct? I checked the group chat too.

"Hold up."

What time was it? Goosebumps hit as I checked.

Fucked.

Already late, but I fired off a reply ASAP.

And moments later.

Ding-dong.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.