I Became a Member of My Favorite Group! - Chapter 33

In truth, Kang Ha-neul was taking this incident positively.

She never could have dreamed that one of the members would run a Clipping channel out of pure fandom for the group—it was an absurd situation.

But even so, once it happened, she found herself smiling for some reason.

Perhaps it was a smile of pride, knowing that her instincts hadn’t been wrong.

Back when she first decided to accept Jeong Da-jeong into the group.

There had been quite a few voices of concern internally.

At the time, Da-jeong didn’t have the typical qualifications one would expect from a VTuber.

Her voice was good, and her emotional delivery when singing wasn’t bad.

That was pretty much the only thing going for her.

Other than that, she just seemed like a genuinely kind person.

But Kang Ha-neul went against everyone’s objections and accepted her.

If asked why, she would say it was a woman’s intuition.

The look in Da-jeong’s eyes during the interview had stuck with her all day.

• I’m confident that my love for the members won’t lose to anyone’s!

This was during a time when the members hadn’t even been finalized yet.

The way the girl so confidently said those words was fascinating.

Her shining eyes made it seem like there wasn’t an ounce of falsehood in her words.

Kang Ha-neul had thought, Maybe this girl could become someone who loves the members more than anyone else.

‘And it turned out to be true.’

Kang Ha-neul knew it was a foolish hope.

But Da-jeong, as if mocking her inner thoughts, boldly declared it.

That the most precious beings to her were the members.

The time they had known each other was barely a few months.

In the grand scheme of human relationships, that was incredibly short and fleeting.

Yet, where did such blind attachment come from?

Kang Ha-neul couldn’t understand it.

But one thing was certain.

The sparkle in Da-jeong’s eyes and the resonance of her words.

They were never mere lies.

‘The most radiant light I’ve seen in my life.’

Recalling how Da-jeong had described the members, Kang Ha-neul smiled faintly.

Did that girl know?

If the members were the most radiant light in her life.

To Kang Ha-neul and the members, Da-jeong herself was also the most radiant light that had come into their lives.

‘I hope she realizes it someday.’

Someday, when that girl.

Realizes her own worth and faces it.

Not as a girl chasing light, but as a light herself.

For now, Kang Ha-neul could only hope silently as she looked around the empty meeting room.

The faces of the members, still listening intently to Da-jeong’s heartfelt words, lingered in her mind.

She guessed she must have had a similar expression as she closed her eyes.

‘It’s a shame about the monetization issue, but there are plenty of other ways.’

As someone who wanted to help ease Da-jeong’s difficult life, it was disappointing that the most important condition had been dismissed.

But she was confident that only smooth roads lay ahead, so she decided not to rush.

Sip—

The coffee she sipped tasted unusually sweet today.

Even though she hadn’t added any sugar.

＊＊＊＊＊

Thud—

As soon as I got home, I collapsed face-first onto my old bed.

“Haa…”

As the tension left my body, a long sigh escaped, and drowsiness set in.

To summarize today’s outcome.

The clipping channel would remain intact as long as I adhered to the first two conditions set by the CEO.

She also said it was fine to leave monetization as it was if I didn’t want to pursue it.

“What a relief…”

Hugging my pillow, I rolled around on the bed.

I really couldn’t express how relieved I was.

Honestly, I hadn’t thought I could persuade the CEO with those words.

It felt like a miracle.

I still didn’t fully understand why the CEO had agreed.

After all, it was obvious that my activities could interfere with my streaming.

Even though I declared I would make sure it didn’t affect my streams, I didn’t think she would agree so readily.

“Well, good things are good, so yeah.”

I racked my brain trying to figure out the CEO’s reasoning, but no clear answer came to mind.

So, I decided not to overthink it and just take it positively.

After all, it’s impossible to fully understand someone else’s thoughts.

“Gasp!”

I thought about taking a quick nap before my stream.

But as I checked the time on my phone, my eyes widened.

That’s right.

It’s around the time Luci unnie—no, Luci-chan—is streaming.

It’s just past 4 PM, so she probably hasn’t been streaming for long.

This is no time to be lazing around!

Whirr—

I rushed to my desk and quickly turned on my computer.

It was the first time the high-performance computer the CEO gave me felt so slow to boot up.

Click—

Fortunately, it turned on quickly, and I moved the cursor to open a browser.

I clicked on one of the four bookmarked links—Luci-chan’s—and quickly entered the live stream.

『So, what happened to the Clipping channel Lulu made? Apparently, it’s staying.』

“Hehe…”

A smile naturally formed on my face as soon as I heard Luci-chan’s voice.

She was talking about me.

『Ah, but I’m not sure if I’m spoiling something Lulu was planning to talk about on her stream.』

No, Luci-chan.

You can spoil as much as you want.

So, no need to feel sorry.

• Lulu: It’s okay!
• Lulu: Lucretia unnie, do whatever you want!

I sent a chat message in case Luci-chan was worried about it.

Her pupils moved to the left, and upon seeing my message, her eyes widened slightly, and her body swayed.

『Huh? Lulu! Were you watching?』

• Lulu-ha
• Hi Lulu
• Lulu-ha Lulu-ha

As Luci-chan acknowledged me, the chat filled with greetings directed at me.

Even though they pretend not to, everyone still uses “Lulu-ha.”

I think it’s a really well-made greeting.

• Lulu: I just got here.
• Lulu: But it’s fine, you can talk about everything that happened!

『But I can’t steal Lulu’s stream material. So, if you’re curious about the rest, go to Lulu’s stream later. Got it?』

• Oh
• Is there more?

There’s not much, really.

But now that Luci-chan said that, some people seem to be getting their hopes up.

What should I do for my stream today? I’m already worried.

『Ah, but there’s something I can share without stealing Lulu’s stream material. It’s really precious. Anyone want to hear it?』

• Gasp
• Me!
• Yes, yes!
• Is it something big?

Huh? Was there something like that?

The only things we talked about today weren’t that many.

The meeting ended really quickly.

And after that, we all had streams, so we parted ways quickly.

But what could this “precious” thing be?

Now I’m curious too.

『Actually, today our Lulu said something really touching and lovely. It’s too cute to keep to myself, so I’ll share it with you all. Don’t faint from how adorable it is.』

“…Huh?”

Wait a minute.

I feel like I remember something.

What did I say today?

We were talking about the Clipping channel with the CEO…

Then, while trying to persuade the CEO about monetization, I ended up saying something in front of the members…

“…No way?!”

As the memory came flooding back, every hair on my body stood on end.

Luci-chan, you’re not planning to talk about that, are you?

I was so embarrassed after saying that!

Sure, it was the truth, but I said it in a moment of pure emotion, and it’s mortifying!

Even if it’s Luci-chan, you can’t do that!

Click-clack—

I frantically started typing to stop Luci-chan, but then it hit me.

Wouldn’t making a fuss now just backfire?

No, that’s not it.

Luci-chan’s words have no credibility anyway.

Even if she teases me about it later on stream, I can just calmly say, “I never said that,” and it’ll be over.

Yeah, yeah.

Sure, I’ll take some damage now.

But for the bigger picture, staying quiet might be the better move.

‘Luci-chan, I’m not someone you can mess with so easily.’

Hehe.

Luci-chan probably never expected me to react like this.

She’s probably feeling smug thinking she’s about to embarrass me, but no way!

Jeong Da-jeong doesn’t have any weak points!

『Alright, should I tell you? But it’s really short, so keep that in mind.』

Is she going to imitate me or something?

After that, Luci-chan’s voice went silent for a moment.

No matter what she does, it won’t work on me!

• Sniff… Sniff…

“…Huh?”

Just as I was feeling confident.

A strange noise came from the other side of the screen.

You know, the kind of faint background noise you get when recording something.

What is that sound?

As I listened closely, the noise stopped, and a faint voice began to speak.

• “I learned for the first time how joyful it is to talk to someone, to become friends, to become colleagues.”

“…Huh?”

The moment I heard that voice.

I felt all the blood drain from my body.

Because the voice coming from the other side was none other than mine.

And it wasn’t someone imitating me.

It was the full audio of what I had said in the meeting room.

Only then did I realize what was happening.

This was Luci-chan’s recording of my voice.

And it was being broadcast live to over 4,000 viewers.

“No, no!”

I shouted out loud, trying to stop Luci-chan, but of course, my voice wouldn’t reach her.

• “That’s why I made these videos. I wanted to let more people know how much I love these people.”

“Ugh…!”

My black history was being broadcast to everyone.

And there was no way to stop it.

Is there anything more helpless than this?

『What do you think? Isn’t it just too adorable? It’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone say something like this to me.』

• Wow
• I’ve fallen for Lulu-chan all over again…
• She’s the personification of loveliness, for real lol
• So she really loves the members that much…
• If it were me, I’d want to kiss her a hundred times, no joke

No!

You don’t have to compliment me!

Please just forget about it!

That’s my only wish!

• But how does Luci-chan have the recording?

『Ah, actually, I often forget what’s said in meetings, so I always record them. I got permission from the CEO to share this with the viewers.』

• Wow
• Respect

Unlike the admiring viewers, I could only slump in despair, overwhelmed by the situation.

Sniff…

CEO, why did you allow this?

All the embarrassment is mine to bear.

“…Maybe I should skip my stream today.”

The image of what my chat would look like in two hours flashed before my eyes, and I muttered to myself.

Maybe I can just say I suddenly have a stomachache and skip today.

Of course, I’ll get scolded by the CEO later.

But maybe that’s the better option.