From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 26

Broadcast Observation Day 1 (2)

—

“I’m sorry I’m late!”
It began with an apology.

“So on that note, shall we do the marshmallow Q&A we originally planned~”
The way Toya smoothly transitioned the stream earned an invisible round of applause from me.
She had already posted on social media that the break might be extended.
If she apologized too much, it might backfire and upset the audience.

Some chat messages were asking for more details, but most said things like “We’ve been waiting.”
‘I really feel bad…’
After all, I was the reason Toya suddenly went on hiatus.
And I was also the reason that hiatus had to be extended.

If it had been a normal break, no one would have complained.
Of course, I understood where the viewers were coming from.
Since there had been no proper explanation, they’d naturally want to know what had happened.

‘If people found out Toya went to Korea because of Han Yeoreum, and extended her break because of her… it could be a problem.’
Online friendships were one thing—but meeting in person? That was another.

Most female VTuber fans didn’t like their oshi being linked to male VTubers.
Actually, “didn’t like” wasn’t strong enough. They flat-out couldn’t stand it.
Honestly, I was lucky they’d even tolerated Toya collaborating with me so often in the past.

“Instead, I’ll take as many questions as you want! I’ll stay up all night answering them for my beloved Totomo~!”
Toya spoke boldly, and the marshmallows started flooding in.
There were about 4,000 viewers right now, so probably more than half were submitting questions…

Messages flew by so fast they couldn’t even be read.
It was clear: they wouldn’t let Toya sleep tonight.

Even though I used to do all-nighters often, doing one on my first day observing a stream?
Bold move.

“Alright, first question!”
[Did you meet Yeoreum? How is she doing? We want to know how sick she really is.]

“Ah, Yeoreum, huh…”
Difficult question, right out the gate.

I glanced at Toya. She began dragging out the end of her sentence.
She seemed to want to sneak a glance at me, but since that would make the character’s eyes move, she was trying her best not to.

Maybe it would be better to just say it outright.
Like, “I met Han Yeoreum in Korea, and actually he’s right here beside me!” And I’d chime in with a greeting—

…That would cause an absolute uproar.
“Han Yeoreum is actually a girl?!” That wouldn’t go down quietly.

Better to avoid this topic altogether.
Even if rumors like “Toya is avoiding Han Yeoreum” started, it was still safer than the alternative.

“he is sick, but I think he’s doing well. Right?”

“What do you mean ‘Right?’ wwww”

“Only Toya knows how Yeoreum’s doing, why ask us?”

“Still, glad to hear he’s okay.”

“So she did meet Yeoreum?”

“Is it okay for my horn to break?”

“So the whole three-week break was because of Yeoreum?”

Yeah… I figured this would happen.
I broke out in a cold sweat and turned my head.
Toya was struggling because of me.

She tried to ignore the chat and moved on to the next question, but she seemed tense.

“Alright! From now on, no more Yeoreum-related questions~ I’ll explain everything when the time is right, but let’s not talk about sick people right now, okay? This is Toya’s stream, not Yeoreum’s!”
…Isn’t it?

Thankfully, the viewers accepted Toya’s boundary.
Her reputation helped. And I guess people just wanted to enjoy their time with her again.

“Next question!”

Even after that, more questions about Han Yeoreum kept coming.
Toya quietly sent them all to the trash.

Some were about my health. Others were… darker.
Questions about whether Toya and I were dating, or vague threats about coming after me if we were…

Ugh, I’m nervous. My throat’s dry…
Why was I the one nervous when Toya was the one streaming?

Even though I had more streaming experience than her, I couldn’t calm down.
Maybe it was because this was Toya. I didn’t want to be a burden.

Would it have been better to just be open about everything…?
I glanced around and saw a water bottle on the desk.

Toya, I’m just gonna grab some water.
But I couldn’t say that aloud. I couldn’t even catch her eye.

So I decided to quietly grab the bottle.

If my throat dried out, I might start coughing—and that’d get picked up on the mic.

…But there was a problem.
My sense of reach was still calibrated to my old body.
I reached—and didn’t touch the bottle.

I leaned forward—still couldn’t reach.
Why can’t I reach it…?

Panicked, I leaned even farther—and lost my balance.

Oh, right. I’m really small now.

I forgot. I kept moving like I still had my old proportions.

Thunk!

“Hh-hhhnn…!”
Luckily, my body was light, so the noise wasn’t too loud.

I bit down hard on my hands to keep from screaming.
Don’t make a sound, Yeoreum. Stay quiet!

Tears welled up and rolled down my cheeks.
God, this life is hard…
But more than the pain—
I was mortified.
Mortified at my own stupidity.

—

– What was that sound?
– Did something fall?
– Toya looks surprised lol
– There’s someone else there, right?
– A surprise collab, maybe?

I turned toward the sound and saw Yeoreum crumpled on the floor.
Her hands were clamped over her mouth, tears falling.
She looked like an abused child.

There was no question now.
Between the stream and Yeoreum, Yeoreum came first.

“Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah… I’m okay.”

She answered in the smallest voice.
Her body was so fragile. Just bumping into something left a bruise.

She was trying to seem fine so I wouldn’t worry—and it hurt to see that.

—

– Did you hear another voice just now?
– Was that Yeoreum?? lol
– So he is at VSPE now??
– But VSPE only hires girls… lol

“…What do I do?”

I helped Yeoreum back onto the chair and looked at the chat.

Yup. Chaos.

“Who was that?”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Was that a girl’s voice?”

I turned to Yeoreum, who lowered her head, looking ashamed.

That wasn’t what I meant at all.
I wasn’t blaming her.

“Ah, that sound just now? Umm, well…”

I tried to come up with a way to explain.
Maybe say something fell? Pretend no one heard a voice?

But then—

Yeoreum?

She suddenly leaned in close, her eyes serious.

Her lips moved without sound.
“Back me up,” they said.

Back you up…?
What are you—

And then, she opened her mouth.

“…Ah, hello.”

And her voice… flowed out.