Outing (4)

"Thank you all so much for being happy for me. It looks really pretty," I said with a bright smile, and the chat immediately erupted with congratulations.

"…Thank you for loving me. I'll definitely be happy," I replied with another soft smile. My avatar, who looked exactly like me, beamed and conveyed my gratitude to everyone. My chest felt warm and fuzzy.

"Someday… I'd like to try an outdoor stream too. I want to invite my siblings and do it together… and maybe even do a face reveal…"

Revealing my face had always been my ultimate goal for streaming, but everyone was firmly against it. Well, if I didn't have to do it, that would actually be easier for me, but it still felt a little disappointing to lose that goal.

"…Um… Originally, my streaming goal was to confidently show my face someday… If it's not allowed, then I guess there's nothing I can do."

"That's right… I-I didn't plan to say anything, just… sh-show my expressions as a VTuber… B-but now that I think about it, that would've made me look super suspicious of being a netkama."

"Ah… yeah. I really thought I was going to die from the injustice."

The chat exploded with affection when I blew my nose while saying I'd nearly died from the unfairness. I smiled faintly and told everyone that was how things turned out, then opened the fan cafe.

"Today… I'm going to set a few rules for the cafe…"

The cafe was pure chaos right now. People were flooding in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from everywhere, posting panty shots of me and spamming vulgar comments. With my growing popularity, it seemed like trolls from places that didn't like me had come to stir up trouble.

"…Um… vulgar comments are fine with me… I've been through a lot, and it's not like my body is particularly attractive anyway… but it's making everyone uncomfortable…"

Most of them were just bored people looking to cause trouble. Since EoW communities kept mentioning VTubers, a lot of them had probably gathered because they felt annoyed. I didn't want the Jireongis to fight with people like that. It was something I could just ignore.

"…Seeing too many insults makes me depressed, so… I'm going to appoint moderators. You don't have to apply if you don't want to… I'll just manage it myself."

Surprisingly, quite a few people volunteered. I bowed my head in thanks and started recruiting moderators for the cafe.

"The b-benefits… it's a bit awkward to call them that, but… you might get the chance to… have a private Discord call with me…?"

"The interview… I'll do it later with Kits… For now, I'll just take applications today."

After quickly changing the subject, I opened the announcement window and began writing down the cafe rules.

After setting the rules and establishing the joining process, I also decided on the rank names.

"Th-the ranks will be: Stage 1 Jireongi, Stage 2 Big Jireongi, Stage 3 Giant Serpent……"

Snakes were truly adorable creatures. It was a little disappointing that people didn't understand that, but anyway, the cafe now had rules and order. So far, there were only five moderators: the witch who created the cafe, plus Yeon-a, Haram, Jiwoo, and Minwoo. With the current small number of members, it seemed manageable for now.

"Now… I've done everything I needed to do, so I'll just chat a bit more and end the stream. I'm tired……"

"…Th-thank you. I thought you'd try to keep me here."

They were letting me go so easily when I'd expected them to beg me to stay. I was a little flustered but thanked them anyway. Then they asked if I was disappointed.

"I-I'm not sulking… I just like you all too much."

Every time I looked at the chat that cherished me, I felt a strange sensation. It was almost unreal. The fact that dozens of people who tuned into my streams every day cared about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me didn't quite feel real. It felt nice, though, so I chatted for another thirty minutes while wrapped in that odd feeling before ending the stream and moving to my bed.

— Thud!

Of course, I made the mistake of falling on my butt while getting up from the chair.

"Ow ow ow… that hurts."

Rubbing my backside, I climbed back onto the bed and looked at my legs that didn't move well.

"…If I can go outside, maybe I should try going to the hospital……"

While fiddling with my phone and thinking that, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

4:30 PM. When I woke up, there were +99 unread messages. I yawned as I scrolled through the endless chat history of everyone excitedly planning where to meet and what to do.

"Ugh… I'm sleepy. So when are we meeting……"

I'd thought they'd awkwardly wrap things up since things were still awkward between us, but I'd forgotten that everyone except me was outgoing and sociable.

"…I should've just joined from the start."

Rubbing my closing eyes, I scrolled to the bottom of the messages. There was a text from Yeon-a.

Smiling at Minwoo's still-hesitant message, I quickly replied.

Jiwoo replied at the speed of light.

Yawning, I rubbed my growling stomach.

"…I'm hungry."

I could've gotten up and eaten, but it was too bothersome. While lying there smacking my lips and staring blankly at the ceiling, I sighed and closed my eyes.

"If I just… sleep… I won't be hungry anymore……"

My desire to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sleep won over my appetite. I fell asleep and only woke up the next morning.

* * *

8:30 AM. Jiwoo, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, giggled while looking at Minwoo.

"This really makes me feel like a bodyguard."

"…Noona, is this really okay? Won't the eldest sister freak out?"

"The bodyguard concept is nice, isn't it?"

"Haa……"

Minwoo sighed while Jiwoo adjusted his sunglasses properly.

"I heard Haram has a uniform or suit fetish. I heard it back in high school."

"Noona is the best noona after the eldest sister. She's the third coolest person in this world."

"…Let's say the first is obvious, but who's second?"

"Haram noona."

"……"

"Heh."

Jiwoo sighed after flicking Minwoo's forehead as he grinned stupidly.