Virtual Marriage Announcement (3): What Are You Saying?!
She was flustered. The way Arine stuttered in surprise was so fresh it was almost delicious to watch.
“If I hadn’t done that, you wouldn’t have called my name, right? Imagine if I used a different nickname. How sad would that be?”
“......”
“Arine? Why aren’t you answering? Aren’t you going to stream?”
“......Um, we haven’t even had the wedding yet? We’re starting already?”
“Sorry, but you already introduced me to people as your husband. After doing that, you’re trying to back out now?”
“No. It’s not that… It’s just that if you suddenly come at me like that…”
“Come at you like that?”
“Should I say it’s embarrassing… or that I don’t know how to react… or that it’s bad for my heart… Anyway… it’s kind of a lot.”
Her voice twisted shyly. Was she actually embarrassed? Or was it an act? I couldn’t tell. But one thing was certain. Embarrassed Arine was seriously so damn cute. And it seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
The chat window showed an explosive reaction as expected. And the compliments about me that followed.
I liked it. It was clear the viewers were enjoying themselves. Naturally, my prediction had been exactly right. It was obvious. There was no way people watching virtual marriage content would dislike something like this. This was exactly what they had come to see. In fact, not showing it would have been a disservice to them.
“Then should I turn my blinker on before coming in next time? Like, ‘Sweet comment incoming~’ this way?”
“Pfft. What is that? That’s even weirder.”
With a light joke she instantly cleared the slightly melancholic atmosphere. If it stayed too sweet the whole time, hosting would become difficult. Adjusting the pace like this was the right move.
“Seems like we’ve roughly finished explaining the name, so shall we move on to the next?”
“Yeah. Next, next.”
The next item listed was directly related to broadcasting style.
“Next is the broadcasting style I pursue. Well, this is something you already know, right? Slapstick where I throw my whole body into it, going all in with my life the moment an angle appears. Pushing through with pure grit. That kind of vibe?”
“So primitive fun? Human victory. You like that sort of thing?”
“Oh. As expected, you really do know me well. I find it fun to throw away shame and show primitive humanity.”
“In terms of position, you’re a total comedy character?”
“I am a comedy streamer, but I want to show a changed side now.”
“How?”
“We’re starting the virtual marriage now. I can’t just be funny all the time.”
“Ooh~ You’re thinking a lot about the broadcast? So are you becoming Sweet Doyun now?”
“It depends on what you do. I could become an angel or a devil.”
“What are you on about. Heh.”
She laughed as if it were ridiculous. But I could feel it in her eyes.
...You’re serious, aren’t you?
Arine was asking me that. She had understood from my previous line exactly why I had said what I did. If a streamer is an actor, then content is the genre. In parts that need comedy acting you have to be funny, but when filming romance you have to be sweet. And since the virtual marriage we were filming was romance, even though I was a comedy character I would do my best to at least give off rom-com vibes. Because that was the proper attitude of a professional broadcaster.
And Arine, who was more professional than me, would never fail to understand that.
“Next is my strength. It’s this. Stamina. My stamina is seriously good.”
At those words, people—whether from my stream or Arine’s, I couldn’t tell—began typing in the chat.
“Ah, I’ve seen it too. The game upload from a while ago. Your grit was seriously crazy. I really couldn’t do that.”
That’s because you’re a pro. You have to manage your condition the next day, after all. Well, regardless, it is true that my stamina and tenacity are good.
“You watch my streams too?”
“Huh? Occasionally? After I got to know you, I watched a few Naty clips.”
That was somewhat of an honor. She had probably watched some from the clip section that fans edited and uploaded. Just the fact that Arine watched my broadcast made me a little nervous. It felt slightly different from when we did joint streams. After all, it meant she was now my viewer. It was like a successful singer telling me they had listened to my song.
“Hmm. And the next one is weaknesses. There are quite a few, but to summarize: being ugly. And being too serious about laughter. About that much?”
“Come on. You’re not ugly~ You look perfectly average.”
“Hey, hey. That’s biased coming from you. Imagine standing next to you. Just thinking about it is horrifying?”
It was the usual self-deprecating gag. Normally Arine would have played along with something like ‘Yeah, you’re not that handsome,’ but today, for some reason, she reacted differently.
“Uh-uh. No matter what, you can’t diss my husband’s face. Stop it.”
Her voice was completely serious. She had spoken up to shield my appearance from belittlement.
I couldn’t tell whether she was saying it sincerely or if it was just WGM acting to match my tempo. But for some reason my heart was pounding. At the same time, words Seoyeon had casually thrown out in the past flashed through my mind.
It had been a boast about her own looks, but underneath lay the subtle implication that she was far superior to me in appearance. Well, it was true. Both Seoyeon and I had acknowledged it, and that was why I had liked her. Still, I never understood why she had felt the need to say it right in front of me, her boyfriend. But unlike then, Arine’s incredibly warm words carried genuine respect for me. Using herself as the excuse, she had stepped in to stop my self-deprecating joke. Even though she possessed overwhelmingly superior beauty—honestly the kind that would make passersby look away or feel too intimidated to complain—she remained humble and kind to others. She never carelessly judged or looked down on anyone.
.....She really is a good person.
I felt once again just how decent a human being Yoo Harin was.
“So why is being serious about laughter a weakness? Isn’t that a strength for a streamer? If anything?”
She seemed to dislike any more talk about appearance and changed the subject. Or maybe that was just my own delusion. She might not even care about my looks at all. I simply wanted to believe that. I hoped she didn’t feel any dislike toward my appearance. I knew it rationally, but instinct was screaming. At least the instinct of a man who doesn’t want to earn a bad impression in front of a beautiful woman. But I shoved that guy deep into the basement of my heart. It’s not your place to come out right now. And I focused solely on responding to her comment again.
“Ah, that’s because I have a bit of an obsession. So if what I say is funny to me, that should be enough, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“But even if a lot of people laugh and say it’s funny, if even one person doesn’t find it funny I get a bit self-conscious.”
“It’s like an occupational disease?”
“I guess so. I’m not sure, but now that you mention it, it does seem that way.”
Since I have a job selling laughter, having an obsession with it isn’t strange. So rather than that—.
“That’s why it’s nice when I’m with you.”
“Huh? Why? Because I laugh a lot?”
“Yeah. You laugh at everything I say. So talking with you feels worth it.”
“Uh… ah… is that so…? It’s just because you’re funny that I laugh… yeah.”
Arine squirmed at my praise. The viewers who loved that sight. Yes, that was enough. That was my role. Well, and it wasn’t a lie. She had no idea how much joy it brought me that she laughed so well at everything. Her good reactions made every joint stream taste so much better.
“No matter what I say you laugh at everything? At that level, isn’t it just that my face is funny?”
“Hey, hey. It wasn’t to that extent, okay? Don’t overdo it.”
Once again we cleared the atmosphere with our back-and-forth. Before I knew it, my self-introduction PPT was coming to an end.
“And this is the last one. Now my goal?”
Arine looked at the phrase listing my goal and began reading it to herself.
“Hako escape? I get that, but what’s that at the end?”
“What?”
“Make a real girlfriend within this year? .....What did you write this with what intention?”
Her words made the chat window shine once again.
Glancing at the chat window, I felt my plan had aligned perfectly. To liven up the broadcast even more, I answered her in a meaningful tone.
“......Who knows? What meaning could there be? I guess I just wanted to date someone within the year. Everyone writes goals like that, right?”
“Aaah~ Is that so? I’ll cheer for you. So you can get a girlfriend this year.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
She didn’t look like she believed a single word of it, though.