Debut Declaration Stream
After the cleaning was done and the chicken had been devoured, we slowly began preparing to part ways. I stood there blankly watching the three of them pack up their things to leave.
"We'll throw away the chicken on our way out, unnie."
"…Huuue."
"Spacing out again?"
My teacher smiled softly and patted my head. When I nodded lightly in response, she let out a squeal and squished my cheeks before giving me a thumbs-up, promising to get me a really good computer. Since she and Minu had agreed to handle the computer setup in place of the tech-illiterate Jiwoo, I couldn't help but think how kind and wonderful she was.
‘…Does she actually want something in return?’
The suspicion crossed my mind, so I looked up at her, but she only smiled. "You said it was five hundred thousand won, right? If you stream with that, it'll blow up…! I'll personally drag you into fun games, so just you wait."
"P-please don't drag me by the collar… I-I'm scared."
"Then how about we hold hands instead?"
"…Okay."
After nodding in understanding, my teacher continued. "Also, your avatar will be finished soon."
"…I-I see!"
"Yep, I pulled a few all-nighters and it came together pretty fast. I just need to do the rigging, so hang in there! I'll finish it within a month and send it over!"
She said that, then quickly added that it wasn't normally something that could be done so quickly, making sure to emphasize how much she'd pushed herself. Still wondering if she wanted something, I asked what I could do for her. In situations like this, it felt polite to ask even if the other person was offering pure goodwill without expecting anything in return.
"Hmm… I don't really need anything, though."
"P-please don't say that."
My siblings were family, so that was fine now. But my teacher wasn't family, and I still felt uncomfortable owing her a debt.
"I'll pay you back…! Should I give you money?"
"Huuumm…"
"J-just say the word and I'll do anything."
When I acted so subservient, my siblings tried to stop me, but my teacher held them back.
"Unnie… you don't have to go that far, do you?"
"No?"
"N-noona, you should stop too, big noona."
"Minu, I do want something."
With those words, my teacher smiled at me. That warm smile seemed to instantly transform into a cold, capitalist one, and it terrified me. Still, I met her gaze head-on.
"Call me Haram! I think it'd be really nice if you treated me comfortably like a little sister."
"…Eh?"
"Heheh, it's my wish."
"U-uhhh…"
"Didn't you say you'd do anything?"
She said that while slowly approaching. Minu caught me as I nearly tripped, then pushed my teacher away.
"Our big noona doesn't like stuff like that, noona."
"Ah… S-sorry."
My teacher scratched the back of her head with an awkward laugh while Minu smiled at us.
"Huuup…!!"
"Teacher?"
"Ah, it's nothing!"
She turned her head as she said that. Jiwoo, meeting her eyes, let out a small chuckle as if to say "here we go again."
"Unnie, can't you treat Haram like a friend now?"
"But she's an amazing person…"
"Hmm? Then just become even more amazing yourself, unnie."
"Then… I'll call you that when the time comes."
No matter what, treating someone so incredible like a casual friend still felt terrifying. Hearing my answer, my teacher nodded in satisfaction.
"As your mama, I'll turn you into an incredible VTuber!"
"P-please take care of me."
"Mm! Leave it to me!"
My teacher was full of energy. Jiwoo and Minu burst out laughing at that. Once the three of them left, my once-lively room returned to being dark, quiet, and gloomy.
"…It's clean."
Looking around the now-spacious room, I muttered that before limping over to my computer. Gripping the box cutter on the desk tightly, I impulsively turned on the stream, wanting to soothe the gloom.
[Viewers: 0]
"…Guess no one would jump in right away."
I wasn't disappointed. People wouldn't immediately join a stream by someone like me. I just sat there in silence, waiting for viewers to find me. And eventually, they did.
"Ah, hello… I-it's nice to meet you."
I smiled softly at them.
* * *
Thirty minutes into the stream. Once a decent number of people had gathered and the viewer count passed thirty, I hesitated before deciding to make an important announcement.
"Um… I have something to say. Please listen."
Worried they might ignore me, I opened Notepad instead of speaking and looked at the chat.
"I-it's not a pitiful announcement… Ta-da! It's a happy announcement, haha…"
I tried out a joke that popped into my head, but the chat froze completely. Jiwoo seemed to like that kind of thing, but apparently the viewers didn't. I quickly apologized.
"S-sorry… I won't do that again… S-s-s-sorry."
Only after I apologized did they say it was funny. Trembling, I tilted my head and took a deep breath.
"Huu… It's such surprising news that… I-I need to take a deep breath first."
After the deep breaths eased some of my tension, I looked at those comments and typed with trembling hands.
[(Urgent) Avatar completion possibly next month (Celebration)]
"…I-if things go well, the avatar will be finished within a month… The creator said so, so yep, that's how it is."
Honestly, I'd already mentioned becoming a VTuber before, so I didn't think anyone would be surprised by someone like me debuting. Assuming they wouldn't react much, I glanced at the chat. And then I couldn't help but be surprised.
"H-hiik…! The chat's moving too fast…!"
The messages were scrolling by so quickly. Though there weren't as many people as before, the chat slowed down enough for me to read before I burst into tears.
"Ah… Anyway, that's how it is… So… I'm debuting."
Once I'd calmed down a bit, I made my debut announcement in front of the viewers.
"E-everyone, don't fight…!"
After calming down the arguers, I stared blankly at the chat again.
People were calling for me. But I'd already said everything I needed to, and the gloom had lifted, so I just wanted to end the stream and rest. While wondering if there was some clever way to do it, an idea struck me.
"…Um, I'm going to end the stream now. I'll do a big bow and then end it."
My brilliant calculation was that if I expressed my gratitude with a deep bow before ending, no one would complain. So I put it into action right away. I turned on the cam and waved.
‘Did I? I don't really remember……’
"I don't know… I don't count them one by one, so I throw up… I did it today."
The chat was filled with tears. I'd been thinking since last time that I didn't understand it, so I pushed my chair away and performed a deep bow.
"P-please take care of me?! Uek… My tongue got bit……"
Curious about the chat's reaction, I endured the pain and stood up, only to taste pain once more.
- Thud!
"Ugh! My head…!"
I'd straightened up too fast and slammed my head into the desk. Somehow managing to stand while covering my face so it wouldn't show on cam, I looked at the chat.
"I-I'm fine…! You don't have to spoil me. Heheh."
Relieved that the reactions were positive, I smiled and wrapped up the stream.
"Um, then I'll be going now…! The next stream will probably be the debut stream…"
After saying that, I waved frantically at the cam and gave a small thumbs-up.
"Snake bye!"
With that word I'd blurted out without thinking, my debut declaration stream came to an end.