Mamam (2)
I squirmed around under the covers until my mind finally cleared, then hurriedly crawled out from the blanket.
"Huuuh... kngh..."
My chest hurt. If this kept up, I really felt like I was going to die. I drew a deep breath and picked up the sleeping pills I'd stashed away. Two little tablets sat on my trembling hands. I couldn't get any strength into my body. Everything was spinning.
Writhing around under the covers wasn't going to fix anything. I sat shaking on the bed and swallowed the pills. The water hit my too-narrow throat so suddenly I choked, but it was fine.
"Khak...!! Cough...!! Cough...!!"
Some of the water came back up and I spat it onto the blanket, but it really wasn't a big deal.
"...Haaah... hngh..."
On the verge of tears, I picked up my phone.
After that halfhearted reply, I collapsed onto the bed like I'd been knocked out cold.
"...Save... me."
"......"
I stared blankly at the dark ceiling. I'd woken up in the exact same position I'd collapsed in after taking the sleeping pills the night before. The first thing I did was check whether everything I'd gone through yesterday had actually been a dream.
"...It wasn't a dream, right?"
Muttering that to myself, I opened the community. If my stream hadn't been a dream, someone out there would have posted about it. That was the idea, anyway.
First off, every last one of you who was spreading slander can go slam your heads into the floor.
Our Snake Emperor is a guy? Yeah right, you bastards lmao
From this moment on, this EoW Gallery belongs to the Earthworm Corps.
Every last one of you, become an earthworm.
※ New members welcome ※
Stream link: suhyunsstreamlink
※ Snake Emperor conversion video ※ (video)
※ Clip compilation ※ (video)
Apparently she's becoming a VTuber~
Finding a post, I let a faint smile tug at the corners of my mouth.
"Found it."
Thankfully, it was there. A lot of time had passed, so only one post was left — but I'd managed to find it all the same. The video attached to it was unmistakably mine. Relieved, I opened the group chat, where several unread messages had piled up.
Even while chatting away cheerfully with each other, they were still worrying about me. I smiled softly and sent them a reply.
The moment I sent that, my phone started ringing.
It was Jiwoo.
"...Oh, right."
Only then did I remember that I hadn't taken those sleeping pills and passed out just because the stream had been too much fun.
"......"
The person who was going to make my avatar — the one VTubers called a "mama" — wanted to get in touch with me. And that wasn't even the whole problem. On top of that, that person thought I was cute.
"...Why, though?"
I had absolutely no idea. Well, I'd been burned on the internet more than enough times not to take "you're cute" at face value. There was a very real chance they were just talking nonsense. But once someone said it to you in real life, the odds of it being genuine went up.
"F-first, the call."
I hobbled over to the chair, sat down, and answered Jiwoo.
"H-hellooo...?"
That's not hello, that's "hey, honey"~
"...?"
What was that? Judging by how giddy Jiwoo sounded, it was probably a joke.
H-how am I supposed to react to this?
Someone who'd heard far more insults than jokes in her life had no chance of responding properly. I didn't even know if it was funny or clever — how was I supposed to react?
...S-sorry, I didn't think you'd react that coldly? Ahahaha... a-ahem!
Startled by my icy response, Jiwoo let out an awkward laugh and a cough, then apologized.
"...No, I'm sorry I couldn't react properly. So that was supposed to be funny..."
......
"Jiwoo?"
...Unnie, you haven't changed your mind?
Jiwoo's energy suddenly dropped a notch. I was about to ask if something was wrong, but she beat me to it with a question of her own. She was asking if I hadn't changed my mind. She must have called to check one more time, just in case I didn't want to go through with it.
"Yeah, I want to try talking to her..."
I did want to have a conversation, at least once. Jiwoo's friend couldn't possibly be a bad person, and besides — I was curious what part of me she even found cute.
Really? That's a relief. My friend's been looking forward to it, too.
"...I-I see."
Jiwoo said that with a bright smile in her voice. I let out an awkward laugh and got her friend's Discord ID from her.
"So I just contact her here?"
Yeah, just message her there.
"......"
Honestly, I was scared. Could I even form a proper connection with someone new? Bad memories from my school days came creeping up all at once. All the things I'd been told. Those years when I'd cut off my own friends and turned myself into a lonely recluse. When I thought about how that had all been the product of Dad's vicious gaslighting, I felt truly sorry — both to my friends, and to the me who'd been hurt by it.
Unnie, are you okay?
"H-huh?"
Jiwoo's gentle voice came through the speaker. A kind voice that pulled me back from the edge of a panic attack. I calmed down a little and managed a laugh.
"...I-I'm okay! Yeah..."
...If you're really that scared, want me to sit in between you and my friend? I'm busy, but it's fine — you're more important.
"......"
Honestly, I wanted to nod my head off. I wanted to get down on my knees and beg her to please do that.
...If I do that, I won't be able to do anything.
That thought grabbed me by the ankle.
"...N-no, I'll try it alone. I-I can do it..."
After all, this was someone who called me cute — someone I didn't understand, but who was clearly an incredibly kind person, right? Jiwoo cheered me on as I decided to be brave.
Unnie, you got this...! And if my friend is mean to you, you tell me, okay? I'll chew her out.
Jiwoo said that, radiating reliability. I listened to her voice and tried to bleed off even a little of the tension.
Then, right before the call was about to end.
"J-Jiwoo...!!"
Yeah?
I called her name in a trembling voice.
"...J-just stay on the phone with me until the call with your friend connects... Sorry, for taking up your busy time with someone like me."
I hated myself for making up my mind and then immediately crumbling, for making such a pathetic request. I hated this ridiculous version of myself, sniffling and begging my little sister to watch over me.
Okay! Got it. Thanks for leaning on me.
"Hic...! Than' you..."
Jiwoo just took care of me, that was all.
Then, ten minutes later.
"What do I do...! W-waah, what do I do!"
Unnie, did Haram message you?
"Y-yeah... I said hi over chat, at least."
I see.
Jiwoo didn't dare say she had to go first. I told her it was okay to leave.
"Y-you can go."
Don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go.
That wasn't how I actually felt, of course. And so, as punishment for not being able to say what I really meant, I was left alone in a room without Jiwoo's voice.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
"H-hiiiik?!"
The pitiful ringtone had me on the verge of tears.
Click.
"...Huh?"
Haram was confused. Jiwoo had said the call ended, so she'd dialed immediately — and yet.
The snake had accidentally missed the call. Puzzled but undeterred, Haram called again. This time, the call was picked up before the ringtone could even start.
......
But not a single sound came from the other end.
...W-what's this? Am I supposed to greet her first? She's a little old-school.
She was about to speak first, when—
"...!!!!"
The voice of a frail, sickly-beautiful girl slammed into Haram's eardrums with devastating force. She barely managed to swallow the squeal that instinctively burst out whenever she saw something cute. Haram took one deep breath, then answered Suhyun.
"Hi, I've heard a lot about you from Jiwoo. I'm Haram."
...Y-your Discord has a different naaame, though...
Suhyun asked that timidly. Haram clapped a hand over her mouth again.
She's the UNNIE!? Unnie!? This is NOT the little sister?!
She screamed that internally while answering as if she were perfectly calm.
"That's just my streaming handle. We're acquaintances, so."
Haram answered with a big, bright smile. Looking at that kind Haram, Suhyun thought:
...She's a good person!