Lemon-Scented Goodbyes and Streaming Surge

A spritz of lemon-scented shampoo. I patted Yuu to wake her up, but she still showed no signs of stirring. "Mmm..." Maybe the beer from last night had been poison after all—Yuu was completely out of it, like she was still lost in her dreams. I perched on the edge of the chair and gazed down at her quietly. Through her tousled hair, I could see her cheeks flushed a soft pink. Where had all that energy gone from yesterday, when she'd been yelling "Just one more can!"? Now she was just surrendering to her hangover, letting out soft, ragged breaths.

I gave her shoulder another gentle shake and called her name. "It's morning. If you keep sleeping, your head's gonna hurt even more later..."

"Unngh... Mou chotto dake..." Yuu seemed to hear me, at least—she pulled the blanket up over her head and curled up like a turtle. But I wasn't backing down. I tugged the edge of the blanket back and added in a mock-stern voice, "You've got a flight to catch today."

At my shout, Yuu's eyes snapped open. The word "flight" was like a magic spell—she bolted upright like a spring. But sitting up too fast backfired; she immediately scrunched up her face and clutched her head with both hands. "Ugh... Atama ga itai.. Flight? What time is it...?" Her clumsy mix of Korean and Japanese told me her brain was total mush. She checked the clock, and her eyes went wide like a cat's. As far as I knew, there were about four hours until takeoff.

"This is bad..."

Had spending the whole week together boosted her Korean that much? She was getting good now—most everyday Korean she could understand without a translator. No need for me to dumb it down anymore.

"Go wash your face at least. I'll pack your stuff roughly."

Clatter. With a quick "Thanks!" Yuu dashed into the bathroom. I could hear the frantic sound of running water inside.

Hmm. I'd thought she'd just splash her face, but she was taking a full shower too, apparently. Guess I should tidy up and step out. With that thought, I plopped down in front of Yuu's massive suitcase in the living room.

"Can all this even fit?"

I was muttering to myself, Tetris-ing her stuff in, when—clatter! Yuu burst out into the living room with a towel slung over her head. Wait, what? I hadn't expected her this fast. Her face still glistened with moisture as she plopped down urgently next to me.

"Gomen..! Hontou ni gomen nasai..!!!"

She kept repeating "gomen nasai" like a mantra, her hands flying everywhere. Her usual meticulousness crumbled before the flight time—she started balling up clothes and shoving them into the suitcase corners. I gently stopped her hands and burst out laughing.

"It's fine, take it slow. You don't wanna forget something."

She paused at my words and stared right at me. The earlier panic was gone; she looked like she was pondering something. Then she opened the suitcase again and pulled something out: the lemon-scented shampoo. With a playful yet somehow meaningful smile, she placed it right in the center of the bathroom shelf.

"I'll leave this here!"

"Why this...?"

She snickered at my question and showed me her translator app.

The bold declaration hit me like the sharp lemon scent wafting over—I froze for a second. Yuu grinned wide, clearly enjoying my flustered face, with a cheeky "Hehe," as she zipped the suitcase shut.

"Joke, joke!"

Sigh. Spending that week together had definitely cranked up her prank level.

"What joke..." I grumbled as I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood up, pretending to be annoyed. But whether it was the lingering lemon scent tickling my nose or her mischievous eyes, I couldn't help the itch in my chest.

Yuu stood the suitcase upright and put her hands proudly on her hips, but water droplets were still dripping from her hair ends onto her shoulders. She'd catch a cold like that.

"Dry your hair properly. I'd be the one bummed if you got sick."

I snatched the towel and lightly ruffled her hair. She obediently let me, murmuring softly, "Bummed? For real?"

Instead of answering, I draped the towel over her face. Muffled giggles erupted from underneath. God knows how comfy she felt around me. Well... not that it was a bad thing.

*

After dropping Yuu off at the airport and getting home, I fired up the stream right away. I'd wanted to buy her food too, but time was too tight. If we missed the flight over a meal, that'd be a real disaster.

I kept the title simple: [Horizon Gate Review Stream from Yesterday].

How long had it been since I went live? Viewers started trickling in.

Hmm. Definitely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way more viewers jumping in right at the start compared to before. Must be the Nutube effect.

"I just dropped her off at the airport. She's heading back to Japan today."

"She's got her own busy schedule... Can't be helped. Her staying a whole week was already rare."

Hmm. Couldn't spill her real job. So I brushed it off vaguely. "It's a job with no sense of day or night. I'll try inviting her back when there's time."

Anyway. "Anyone seen the Nutube video? The views are insane."

Shorts get inflated views, sure, but even accounting for that, it was ridiculous. Was that clip really that popular?

Sigh. That much? Usually, people laugh at funny shorts and move on—no reason to track down the stream. I was musing on how wild that was when...

"Oh."

Followers exploding like this? Wild.

"I used to not love more viewers... but now the chat scrolling fast is kinda fun. It felt awkward before."

I had something to say about that. "Nah, I had no idea you'd like those super long streams. That one was like eight hours."

What? Did I miss something? VODs?

"You guys record it...?"

Tricky. I didn't really want to leave VODs. More precisely, I didn't want to leave traces online. I was about to rant when...

A random donation popped up. From Suihwa, no less.

"..Mineblock?"

What were they on about? I knew Mineblock the game, but a streamer server?

Hmm. Hard to turn that down. Suihwa knows my personality too well. Gotta be on purpose. I'd grill her later, but for now, I opened my mouth.