Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Muscle Memory and Exploding Views
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I wiggled the fingers of the hand I was staring down at.
I moved it this way and that, pressing my thumb against the empty air.
...This was hopeless. Nothing came to mind.
"...Hmm."
I clearly remembered the fact that I'd punched in the code and come inside.
But the how of it all was hazy.
Just in case, I stepped back out and experimented in front of the door lock, but nothing changed.
"Memory... memory... memory... Nothing's coming up."
No matter how hard I racked my brain, it was no use.
The back of my head was tingling. Even though I hadn't taken a hit or anything.
The shock must've burned off all the alcohol buzz.
Maybe that buzz was the real culprit?
I clenched and unclenched my fist again.
The keyboard and mouse that had felt awkward at first.
My physical skills steadily improving as I got used to them.
On the flip side, my voice had felt strangely smooth—too smooth.
Songs coming out better than usual.
"Is this that muscle memory thing or whatever?"
I muttered in frustration, but of course, no answer came back.
...Screw it.
For now, I shoved the cola into the fridge.
Instead of the fridge packed with ingredients I'd bought to cook over the weekend, some booze storage shelf-like thing greeted me.
As I bent down, I swept back the annoying strands of hair slapping my cheek.
My lower back, which I'd been massaging with a foam roller now and then, felt full of pep.
My shoulders, on the other hand, seemed even more knotted than before.
"Ah... So much has happened."
I'm seriously exhausted.
How long would it take for this feeling to fade? For me to get used to the house?
Hanami was a veteran broadcaster.
She'd been streaming for a very long time.
Back in her school cafeteria days, before even that.
Before overseas platforms had really taken off here.
It took a while after that to fully commit to streaming, but still, you could say that's when it all began.
She'd started back when clunky early platforms were popping up everywhere, so she could rightfully call herself a veteran among veterans.
Her streams from back then even showed up in digitally weathered old photos, posing with first-gen corporate bigshots.
Not quite on their level, but calling her a living fossil wasn't much of a stretch.
Nowadays people called those days ancient history, but to her, it didn't feel that long ago.
Separate from the fact that she'd been there since the indie streaming scene's inception—the indie scene itself wasn't that long a market anyway.
About seven or eight years, give or take.
Looking back, it had been a time of upheaval.
As many fleeting connections passed through, she'd seen every type of person imaginable.
Some who'd grovel with "hyungnim! unnim!" and seem like survivors no matter what—only to plummet into obscurity overnight.
Others she'd worried about because they were so standoffish, who then broke into the pro scene and skyrocketed to the stars.
People who blew up in scandals, others who dramatically clawed their way back, even some who shot past the clouds to Mars.
Anyway, she'd survived.
Meaning she was tough.
She'd had the confidence to survive, so she'd dropped out of a perfectly fine college—and never regretted it.
That conviction had paid off.
But VTubers...
She wasn't so sure about this.
If her close unni hadn't sweet-talked her into it with that chain song, she never would've started.
Even if she had, it would've been much later, once they became commonplace, dragging her feet the whole way—that was her style. She figured that reluctance was part of her secret to longevity.
"Ah, hold up. My food's here."
"Yeah, bring it on over."
"'Bring it over' my ass, unni. So, what's the plan for our next collab stream?"
The culprit was right there.
Gathered in the voice chat room—not even streaming—and chattering away nonstop.
"Don't call me unni!! We're all 17!!"
"...Do you have to stick to that 17-year-old concept? It's kinda embarrassing."
"You punk!! It's not a concept, it's RP!! This stuff is serious!!"
"...You don't need to RP in private chats, though."
"We gotta stay in character!! RP is a major deal!!"
Florence's first-gen members... Well, "first-gen" was just for show, really.
No second-gen launch, not even plans for one yet.
Starting a VTuber group in VTuber-barren Korea meant everything was slapdash.
All improv, with the streamers handling their own business side.
Like a small-business owner juggling development, marketing, and distribution single-handedly?
Thanks to that, their boss was swamped every day, yet somehow full of energy.
Doesn't this unni ever get tired?
"Your usual behavior leaks out even in private."
The boss cut in decisively.
Hanami slumped in her chair like a sticker and pondered.
Is that the kinda thing you say in a place like this...?
"We avoid real names in private chats to prevent slip-ups. Don't want it sticking to our tongues and leaking out."
"Is that it...?"
"I've heard people who meet up often end up calling each other by real names IRL and mess up."
"Kinda makes sense...?"
She sure had a way with words.
Hanami let it go in one ear and out the other, already used to it, but newbie Iruka was already buying in.
Well, thinking about it, she had a point.
But after finally getting some freedom, calling a "meeting" and just chatting idly for an hour? No pearl of wisdom would land right after that.
"Ugh, fine. I'll go grab some food too."
"Ah! My tteokbokki's gonna get cold!! ...So how long we doing this call? Might as well go live."
"You find me annoying...?"
"Aish, here we go again."
"For real? You sick of me?"
"If you're gonna do this, go live! Why turn private chat into WWE?!"
Iruka was getting swept up in their antics after just a few barbs.
Hanami bolted up like she was escaping and grabbed her dinner.
Just heat up some frozen meal from the internet—low-sodium health stuff.
Streamers couldn't rely on delivery for every meal, so this was how they kept healthy.
Two minutes later, back at her seat, and the boss was already devouring her employees.
Hanami silently thanked technological progress.
If she weren't a streamer, this unni would've made her living as a con artist.
"Other people keep it quiet in private chats, so why are we like this...?"
"Isn't this why we last so long?"
"...My tteokbokki's really gonna go cold. Be right back."
The meeting finally lurched forward after spinning its wheels forever.
While Iruka fetched her delivery, they rummaged through the library.
Getting started was tough, but once they did, things moved fast.
Their boss—RP-wise, anyway—Yuuri was a veteran by experience too.
Tracing back to OurTV days, she held her own anywhere.
"So, what's next collab? Round two."
"Aish, you find it!!"
"I do, and you reject it saying you've already done it!!"
"So what's it gonna be? Round three."
A bit of commotion here and there, but they progressed quickly even while eating dinner.
How about this? Algorithm's good.
What about that? It's trending.
They narrowed it down to two candidates, agreed to download ahead, and called it.
"If we'd stayed serious, we could've wrapped three times over."
"Eating together's better than alone, right?"
"If only you didn't talk so much... What're you even eating, unni?"
"Hm? Nuts."
A crunch echoed out.
Oh god, here we go again.
Nami slapped her palm to her forehead and yelled.
"Ah, seriously, unni!! You'll die eating like that!!"
"Why? This is food to me."
"Food my ass!! What are you, a hamster?!"
"Just cracking one from the pile by my desk? That's food? Unni, I'm seriously worried."
Iruka, munching tteokbokki, landed a heavy blow.
"Yeah, you might actually croak like that."
"No, staying in character isn't about being rude..."
"Character mode or whatever, you're in half-weight mode!! Eat a proper meal!!"
"Lots of streamers are like this, but unni, you're on the severe end."
Iruka and Hanami tag-teamed her hard.
Their anger didn't subside easily.
They even forced her to order poke via delivery app—the one thing the picky eater actually enjoyed—before calming down.
The meeting wrapped up roughly, and the two dongsaengs had finished eating ages ago.
As Hanami debated logging off, Iruka tossed out a question.
"Oh yeah, Nami-unni."
"Yeah?"
"That Odin's Daughter video blew up."
The glum boss perked up and chimed in.
"Right, right. Views exploded already."
"Uh. Yeah."
"'Yeah' what? Water's rising—why not paddle? You call yourself a VTuber?"
"I'm still not sure if I'm really a VTuber..."
"Aish, you done streaming then? Aren't you a streamer?"
The boss launched her counterattack.
If she had a has-been like that on her team, she'd milk it for three invite specials, five YouTube features...
...and drag in the others for raid content, blah blah blah.
But Hanami let it slide in one ear and out the other.
"I already deleted the Odin's Daughter video."
"You idiot!!!"
Man, this unni had steel lungs for useless stuff.
No editor to tone down the decibels in private chat, either.
Just as the two were about to bicker...
Quiet Iruka cut in with a grave tone.
"Unni."
"Y-yeah? What's up, Iruka?"
"Did you check the views?"
"No, I know it's doing well, but if I reinstall it, it'll run to the ending and I'm scared. I barely calmed the viewers down—if I do this, it gives them an opening, right? They'll think I want it, swarm in. You know how once you give even a little leeway, they cling like crazy after one taste, when no leeway at all gets some to accept it..."
"That's not it."
Iruka denied it in a shaky voice.
"No. Something's weird."
"...What is?"
"Every time I refresh, the views are doubling?"