From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 27

Broadcast Observation Day 1. (3)

—

“Ah, hello…”
My voice flowed through the mic.
They’re all hearing it, right? Over 4,000 people hearing my voice.
It was something I used to do so effortlessly, but now… I was nervous for some reason.
Maybe it’s because it’s not my own stream, but Toya’s?

To be honest, I didn’t really have anything to say.
After greeting, I just kept my mouth shut.
‘As long as I can prove I’m not some weirdo or the infamous Han Yeoreum, that’s enough…’

Sometimes during a VTuber’s stream, you’d hear another voice in the background.
If it was a male voice, that’d obviously be a huge problem.
But if it was a female voice, people usually assumed it was a friend or family member.

I never brought anyone home, nor did I have any family around, so I’d never had that kind of situation before.
Anyway, as long as the voice wasn’t male, the first major hurdle was cleared.
No one really cared who the person was, or what their relationship with the VTuber was.
In fact, people usually liked it.

– That voice is so cute.
– Who is that? A little sister?
– Didn’t Toya say she doesn’t have a sister?
– And didn’t she say she lives alone too?
– She even said she doesn’t have any friends.

– Now that I think about it, it’s impressive Yeoreum managed to become Toya’s only friend outside of V-Spe.
– So who is it? Tell us more! We want to hear more of that voice ww
– LOL

“Uh, so… she’s not my sister! She’s a friend, a friend!”
Toya regained her composure faster than I expected.
She still looked a bit startled that I had suddenly spoken, but there was a hint of relief too.
She must’ve realized that thanks to the chat’s reaction, the viewers had dropped any suspicion that I was a guy—or Han Yeoreum.

Right, of course. Who in the world would believe Han Yeoreum turned into a girl?
Only four people in the world knew that truth.

– What’s her name? Can she introduce herself?
– Even if she’s a friend, is it okay for her to be on stream?
– Is this finally the long-awaited private meeting with the manager? ww
– Would’ve been nice if you’d said you had a friend from the start LOL
– I’m just glad it wasn’t a guy…

“Didn’t get official company approval! But it’s probably fine! No, it’s definitely fine!”

‘…What kind of confidence is that?’

A VTuber’s personal relationships—so-called “red pills”—were sensitive issues within the company.
Even if they were lenient, family was usually the limit.
Trying to pass someone off as a “friend” would still likely be a contract violation.

…Wait, doesn’t that mean I just did something really dangerous?
If Toya ends up having to quit VTubing because of me—

‘No.’

A chill ran down my spine.
God, I’m such an idiot.
I spilled the water, made a noise, spoke without thinking…
Even if I was flustered, this wasn’t the right way to handle it.
I would’ve been better off staying silent.

“Agh, it’s fine! She’s going to be a VTuber! Yup, she was one too. Right~?”
“…”

– For real?
– Then is this the legendary 2nd gen finally debuting?
– Toya’s finally getting a junior!
– You called her a friend, but now she’s a junior? LOL
– Can’t believe we’ll have to call Toya ‘senpai’ now… life really is cruel wwww
– To be honest, Toya-senpai just sounds off. It doesn’t suit her.
– Wait, she’s done VTubing before? Never heard that voice before though.

Suddenly, I was a VTuber (debut pending).
I shot Toya a glare.
How can you just decide that on your own?! I haven’t even said I’d do it yet!
But Toya just looked at me with an expression that said “You’re going to do it anyway, right?”

“Feeling pressured to talk more? Okay, okay, this is Toya’s stream, so let’s let the host do all the talking from now on~”

– Tyranny.
– Let your friend talk more!
– By the way, what’s her name?
– Like they’d actually tell us wwwwww
– Not even a nickname?
– We wanna hear more of that voice!

“Uhh… let’s just go with Totomo for now?”

That’s such a lazy nickname… and isn’t that just your fandom name?!
I gave her a look of disbelief.
Toya tilted her head like she was unsure herself.

I knew what she was trying to do.
Saying I was Han Yeoreum in front of all these people was completely impossible.

“Then let’s just say she’s the real Totomo! Ahaha…”

– ‘Real’ Totomo?
– Wait, does that mean she never thought of us as friends?
– Betrayal, I say! wwww
– I can’t believe Toya only sees us as ATMs. KEK
– Toya-chan… is that really how you feel? Were we just that to you?
– Lmfao
– LOL

“No, no, that’s not what I meant…!”

When Toya panics, she really just digs herself deeper, huh.
It wasn’t anything too serious, but it was enough to fuel some teasing.
As I watched her flail around, I tugged on her sleeve.
Calm down, calm down. You’re the one who’s not supposed to panic here.

“…I think she called me that because I’m a Totomo too.”

– The friend is a Totomo wwww
– Is she Toya’s friend because she’s a Totomo, or is she a Totomo because she’s Toya’s friend? ww
– Obviously the friend came first www
– I can’t believe such a cute girl is a Totomo too ww
– I can proudly say I’m a Totomo now ww

“Right? She’s the Totomo-iest Totomo of all!”
“…I don’t remember signing up for that.”
“Eh? Didn’t you subscribe to my ITube channel?”
“Well, yeah, I did…”
“Then you’re a Totomo~”

Is that all it takes? Just subscribing makes you a Totomo? Not even membership?
I tilted my head at Toya trying to forcibly induct me into her fanbase.
She smiled sweetly—then suddenly grabbed both my cheeks.

And she started squishing them.
At my involuntary mumble, her face melted into a grin.
Is there something in my cheeks that makes her melt like that?

– Toya looks really happy.
– Just a while ago, she looked kinda down. ww
– The only people Toya ever brought home were her genmates. This is something else…
– Did she make a friend during her trip to Korea or something?
– Maybe she went looking for Yeoreum and came back with a new friend wwwwww

“…She’s an old friend! A very, very precious one, okay?”

She proudly slid her hand under my arm and lifted me up.
Not that the viewers could see me or anything.
…But still, does she really have to pick me up whenever she feels like it?

My legs dangled toward the floor—I felt like a cat.

“Put me down.”
“Ah, sorry. Anyway! That’s it for introducing Toya’s closest Totomo! I have a mountain of marshmellows to get through now!”

If this keeps going, the Totomos will be stuck listening all night.
As Toya spoke with a grin, the corners of my mouth curled up too.

Streaming really is fun, huh.

Even though I didn’t do much, the rest of the broadcast went on entirely under Toya’s lead.
I just watched from the side—basically no different from the viewers.

‘Still, what’s this feeling?’
Just sitting in front of the computer, watching the chat and the avatar on screen…
It made my heart pound with excitement.

I thought I’d sworn off VTubing forever…
So why am I feeling this flutter of excitement again?

—