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“Th-that wasn’t meant to… wuhh….”

My junior’s bright eyes became misty, and tears began to fall.

“Why are you making her cry, Soo-hyun?”

“Huh? Me?”

Oh no. Did I really scare her that much?

“Are you alright?”

“Soo-hyun is really scary!”

What is going on… I suddenly feel like a criminal.

“Oh dear….”

The manager rubbed his head, comforting my junior.

“Sun-hee, Miro was just joking.”

“Yeah, it was just a little prank, Junior.”

And yet, it’s still quite awkward trying to soothe her.

“It wasn’t exactly a joke.”

“Ohhhh.”

“Sun-hee, stop crying for now. We wrote a script for today, you know?”

“A script?”

But the manager said something curious while comforting my junior.

A script?

“Did you really just shout those lines from the script without thinking?”

“…Yes.”

“Uh-oh.”

So she really mustered up the courage to come here.

“What happened was….”

After that, the manager helped calm her down and explained the situation.

It seems that my junior had been waiting for this 3rd anniversary all along.

She overheard the manager casually mentioning that I would be coming to the studio, and today she finally mustered the nerve to declare her feelings after racking her brain day and night.

But to break down and cry right away upon my single line…

“What am I supposed to do if you start crying after preparing so hard?”

“Wow….”

“Soo-hyun, that’s a bit too T-ish.”

“Excuse me?”

No, no, if she really prepared sincerely, then…

I should have been encouraging after hearing her response.

“Miro-senpai is right….”

With the manager’s gentle pats, my junior finally lifted her head.

Unlike before, though, she couldn’t meet my gaze.

It’s a bit pitiful, really.

Was it that shocking?

“Let’s try again.”

“Yes, huh?”

“Declare it again.”

She’s my junior from Japan.

It must have been sincere for her to write a script in a foreign language and come all the way here to declare it in front of me.

If this ends awkwardly, it’ll leave her with constant regret.

“I’m s-sorry….”

“Sorry for what?”

“Ah, no….”

“No?”

“Waaah….”

So then, I need to hear it again and accept her declaration, right?

She should boldly declare it and work hard until she becomes the top VTuber.

“Hey, Soo-hyun, why are you tormenting the junior?”

“Me? Ah, no, that’s not—”

But it seems the other members don’t understand how I feel.

… Or maybe not?

It looks like she’s shivering a bit now.

“Are you alright?”

“Can I do it again later?”

…Where did that earlier confidence go? She’s become like a little animal now.

“Well, if you want to do it later, then it’s fine.”

I can wait if she’s going to do it later.

I wanted to accept her grandly this time, but it looks like it turned out disappointing.

“Now we all have to go.”

“Huh? Is it already time for the filming?”

More than that, it’s time to head to the 3rd Anniversary Talk Show.

“Yes, there isn’t much time left before we begin.”

“Oh, then I really have to go.”

The members get busy preparing to move since they need to do a light test before the broadcast.

In the midst of that, I noticed my junior just standing there and said,

“Are you heading home now?”

“Eh? Oh… yes.”

Surprised, she calmly answered me again.

It seems she’s gathered herself somewhat after the initial shock.

“Aren’t you going to watch our commemorative broadcast?”

“Commemorative? I-I’d like to watch it.”

“Then do you want to watch it live?”

“Um, is that okay?”

Of course!

Even when we’re filming in the studio, there are a few staff members waiting in front.

She can just squeeze in and watch.

“Then I’ll stay and watch until the end.”

“Really?”

“Since you’re already here, let’s have a meal together.”

I’ve treated everyone from the 4th generation, but I haven’t treated her, so I’ll make sure to do so.

After all, even though she cried at the end, I admire her courage to challenge herself and the effort she put into rehearsing lines for days.

Yeah, a junior like that is worth it.

“Uh? Yes? Okay….”

My junior opened her mouth slightly and nodded at my words.

Hmm, her expression looks a bit stiff, though.

She’s not rejecting the idea or anything, right?

Anyway, we made our way to the center of the studio for the 3rd Anniversary filming.

“Soo-hyun, are you really holding her too tight?”

As I was about to sit down in the studio, Anna said that to me.

“Huh? Me?”

“Poor Junior, poor thing.”

“Yeah, Soo-hyun really did film it well.”

‘Filmed’…?

I mean, isn’t that looking out for her?

For that junior, it must be a joy.

… Probably.

**

“It’s nice to see everyone together again.”

– R-L-O-L

– How long has it been since we gathered like this?

The 1st generation’s 3rd Anniversary Commemoration Talk Show began.

“It really has been a while.”

“Time flies, doesn’t it?”

Now that it’s been three years, there’s an easy-going vibe among the members sitting in the studio.

After all, we’re past the nervous stage now.

I believe we’ll manage to smoothly handle most questions that come our way.

“Since it’s the 3rd anniversary, we have many questions to go through today.”

It’s to be expected, but the manager has decided to be the host.

I hear that, nowadays, he’s even hosting commemorative broadcasts for other generations, so he’s become rather famous among the Celestial Realm fans.

“What kind of questions will you be asking today?”

“Among the viewers’ questions, we’ve selected some for today.”

Hmm, viewer questions, huh?

I suppose any strange questions will have The Six handle the cuts, but I still have some concerns about the types of questions we might get.

Nevertheless, since everyone is seasoned now, they should be able to handle almost anything well, but the issue is that The Six knows that too.

Thus, intense questions could come up.

“Now, before we start questions, what are your thoughts on reaching the 3rd anniversary? Let’s start with Anna.”

Instead of jumping straight to questions, they’ve opted to ask about everyone’s feelings first.

“Uhm… first of all, thanks to all of you, we’ve been able to continue our broadcasts and received love until this time….”

Anna started, followed by Mile, Maho, Haru, and Loa, in order of age, sharing their thoughts on reaching the 3rd anniversary.

Thankful for the love received, determined to keep doing well, and so on.

After everyone shared similar sentiments, the microphone came to me.

This is the moment for Buhwang Miro to speak.

– Miro, why so arrogant today?

– Look at how you’ve crossed your legs, haha!

– That overly confident attitude is a bit irritating, haha.

Oh right, I am crossing my legs.

Arms crossed confidently, head held high, while glancing at my junior, Sun-hee, who seems eager to surpass me today. I plan to show the true essence of Buhwang.

“Ah, is it my turn now?”

“… Yes, please share your thoughts.”

I held my head high and looked down at the camera.

“First, I want to thank all of you for supporting us and helping us reach this point….”

…But I don’t intend to sound arrogant during my thoughts either.

If I were to act haughty, well, the backlash would be something fierce.

After all, this isn’t my broadcast; it’s the official broadcast.

– ???

– What the heck is he saying?

– This is absurd.

– So Miro.

– You’re going to pull out, huh?

– You’re backing out?

“Ah, yes… um, thanks for the ordinary response despite my posture.”

– LOL

– For real.

– What a classic Miro move.

– I was half-expecting drama to unfold here.

“Well then, moving on…”

For now, since it’s a talk show, we’ll continue with some light conversation afterward.

“Now, let’s begin with the questions.”

This is essentially the main event of the anniversary talk show: question time.

“Let’s see, first question.”

With that, the manager displayed the question on the screen.

[Which junior do you have the most affinity with?]

“Uh…”

“Wow.”

“Isn’t this a bit much?”

The first question, and it’s already tough!

When they say “affinity,” it’s practically asking who your favorite junior is.

It’s obvious this question was intentionally crafted to be tricky, courtesy of the malicious The Six and their knack for chaos.

– LMAO

– Whoaaah.

“Alright, Anna starts.”

Fortunately, as always, the first responder to the question was Anna.

“Me? Uh…”

True to her usual demeanor of caring for all the juniors, Anna looked quite flustered.

“Uhm… I appreciate them all.”

Her eyes darted around as she struggled to answer but eventually spoke up.

“…I guess Gan?”

After a moment of deep thought, Anna managed to respond, naming 2nd generation Gan.

It seems she’s fairly close with Gan since they often collaborated due to their frequent broadcasts.

“So you’ve been pretending to treat them all equally while actually favoring one, huh…?”

“Miro, can you be quiet?!”

– LOL

– For real!

– I can’t believe Anna would say that.

“Alright, so Anna named Gan as her favored junior. Let’s move on to the next.”

“Ah, that wasn’t favoring or anything….”

After Anna, the guillotine moved upon each member without mercy.

Mile, Maho, and Haru each took their turns until—

“Me? I’d say Rain.”

Loa responded quite confidently.

I expected her to mention Harbin, but turns out I was wrong.

– Oh, is that her toxic relationship factor again?

– The essence of toxicity.

– Rain’s the consensus, for sure, haha.

“Oooh… any specific reason?”

“I want to become closer, I’m keeping an eye on her.”

– DDD:

– Whoa!

– Loa is as straightforward as ever!

After Loa’s decisive and refreshing answer concluded, the microphone turned to me.

“Now then, the long-awaited turn for Miro!”

– Finally, it’s Miro’s turn!

– Who is Buhwang’s pick?

Hmmm, who do I have an affinity with among the juniors?

There’s no particular junior that stands out to me, but if I had to choose, it would have to be Rain, wouldn’t it?

Considering her family background… who knows when the Celestial Realm could end up in shambles?

Besides, Rain has made her mark in Miro Family, so I thought I’d pick her, but…

“I’d say Sun-hee, junior.”

I thought of my junior, who is likely now watching this talk show.

– ???

– That’s unexpected, haha!

– All the way from Japan, huh? Everything must feel good!

“Actually, I met her in the waiting room earlier.”

Since she bravely stepped up to the challenge, I figured sharing this thought in the official broadcast would only make her happier.

Hmm, it’s all for my junior’s sake!

And since she took on the challenge, she must be ready for what comes next.

“She actually told me she’d beat me.”

With that, I boldly declared.

“So, I have high hopes for her. If she wants to surpass me, I welcome it.”

Regardless, I’ll be waiting at the top for her, inviting her to join me whenever she’s ready.

– ???

– Really for real?

– LOL

– Wow, haha!

– Do you really think you can do that?

– This is way too bold!

– Could be challenging though.

One who dares to step forward must be interested.

Seeing the look of that junior — who will probably be delighted by my statement — makes my heart feel warm.

 

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