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“Here I am.”

“Welcome.”

Is Da-young’s lively greeting due to her makeup?

With slightly heavier makeup than usual, she seemed almost unrecognizable.

Is this what it means for a woman to transform?

“Did you have a hard time coming?”

“Yeah, what about Mother?”

“She’s still at the hospital. It won’t be easy for her to fully recover.”

“Oh, I see. She’ll get better soon.”

I said that, but asking about it felt unnecessary.

I hurriedly needed to change the topic and said while pointing at an elegantly wrapped box.

“By the way, I brought this.”

I handed over a ruby-colored glass bottle that boasted an elegant body line.

It’s Pepe the Frog’s red wine.

The frog logo, the original mascot of the region, was quite impressive on the bottle.

It costs several hundred thousand won, making it a drink hard to come by.

Before being summoned to this world, it was an item my father would pull out during family gatherings.

I had only sipped a few gulps when he popped the cork.

“I can’t remember what that day was like.”

No matter how much I forced my brain cells, the memories wouldn’t resurface; shaking my head felt like it would cause a headache.

Time might feel like hundreds of years, but does a hero get dementia?

“Have you arrived, Bichisehee? I, Ppabbe, am finally having my debut match!”

Even horse manure can be of use…

Returning to the sound of a sly voice, Ppabbe welcomed me, bouncing around.

Seeing her making a mess of the house like that, it seemed Da-young’s mother was still in the hospital.

I wondered if Da-young might one day need financial therapy.

“Wait, what’s this drink? Why is there a super cute version of my face on the bottle?”

“Because it’s cuter than you, so shut it.”

“Ha, feeling inferior, huh, Bichisehee?”

Oh please…

One day, if something goes wrong, I might just dunk her in a barrel of this wine.

“Do you want to put on makeup too? It might be a little awkward without any at all.”

I shook my head at Da-young’s query as she brought over snacks.

It didn’t seem necessary to put on more makeup here.

Honestly, when I was putting on makeup at the shopping mall that day, I felt like I was wearing a mask that clung tightly to my skin.

As if pulling off the mask would take my skin with it, I became someone who felt awkward about makeup altogether.

It brought an odd sense of guilt.

“Ppabbe. I’ll lend you my laptop, so you log in here. I’ve already set up an account for you, so just log in. I’ll make sure you’re an admin before we start broadcasting.”

“Don’t worry, Da-young, I’ll take out all the troublemakers like I would the twilight in Moscow.”

“Don’t just put on a show, keep it calm. Calm.”

As Da-young set up the laptop, she seemed to be giving me essential guidelines as a chat manager.

Based on her usual behavior, I was half hopeful, half anxious… definitely a chicken-type.

Whether it was cold or warm chicken remained to be seen.

“Oh, do you want to try this?”

“…?”

What Da-young handed me was…

“Ears?”

Rabbit ears. Or rather, a headset adorned with rabbit ears.

What’s this?

Clearing her throat, Da-young justified her choice.

“Since you already did the face reveal, it’ll be a plus to try out some different items. We can’t keep using a bare face or a helmet forever. This has great functionality. Want to see?”

When Da-young adjusted a button on the headset, a ballad started playing from the LED lights attached to the long ears.

“I can hear it, and on top of that, the speakers in the ears let others hear too. The metallic design is chic, subtly appealing to various tastes too. You might actually enjoy wearing it.”

By the way, I’m wearing a cow ear headset.

While I tried on the rabbit ears, Da-young, with a cow ear headset, had a satisfied smile on her face.

After hearing her explanation, I gave them a little tweak.

With a push, one side perked up, then both, which was impressive.

—Twitch, twitch.

“Hmm.”

Pretty cute.

*

*

*

“Poha~! Another great day~.”

[Poha~]

[Teckle look!]

[Are you collabing with Friede-noona?!]

[Don’t know~]

[LOL, if you don’t know, you gotta get hit!]

[What’s with the cat concept?]

[Why not a dog?]

“Why? Cats are cute! And check this out, it lights up. Look.”

When I pressed a button, a clean green light lit up.

Perfectly set up with the lights dimmed just for this, the cat ears on the headset stood out even more.

「Emperor Gura has donated 6,000 won!

－Nyangachi, come on in!」

“Ah, calling me Nyangachi is too much. Cats are adorable!”

[Nope, not really. A furry wheel on the street. ^^]

[If they weren’t cute, they’d have been extinct long ago!]

“Also, since Friede-noona matched with me on this, let’s see if she can still say the same things now. You can look forward to it.”

[Oh, is Friede really coming?]

[I came from Frigel! Where’s our sensei?]

[Look at that influx speed ㄷㄷㄷ]

[They’re really gonna collab with that ten-ren guy…let’s hope our Poming walks the flower path. T_T]

[Friede is taking care of Poming…looks really good!]

[Right? Poming is going to do that on her stream too. Sisterly love is too nice.]

Setting the title to [Poming X Friede Collab] seems to have caused a dizzying spike in viewers.

The chat surged at a speed I had never seen while streaming before.

However, the experience I had built up so far wasn’t going anywhere; Poming welcomed all with a bright smile, arms opened wide.

“Yes! Today, we have my sister, Friede! Welcome her warmly with your donations♥”

As I shifted to the side of the camera, a blonde woman infiltrated the empty space.

Her contrasting look from Poming, with adorable rabbit ears glowing with deep blue LEDs, perked up in rhythm.

“Hello, I’m Friede.”

「Ruqkakung has donated 10,000 won!

－I thought she was cute because of the bunny, but what’s the difference with Poming?」

「Zikgaterbelt has donated 8,000 won!

－What a strong level-max bunny!」

「Poming Forever has donated 15,000 won!

－Our Poming wouldn’t be outdone by anyone, right?… *sniff*」

「OoO564654 has donated 20,000 won!

－Sensei, please take care of our Poming!」

「I’ll also support you! has donated 10,000 won!

－What’s with the twitching bunny ears fitting with Friede’s theme?」

“Yeah, it’s Uncle Ben. Sayonara~.”

With a snap of her fingers, they permanently ejected the viewer, causing an uproar among the remaining crew.

[What? A gathering? Tiananmen?]

[What’s Tiananmen? Do they think everyone expelled ends up at Tiananmen?]

[Poming did great! There have been so many crazy folks harassing Friede lately.]

[Understand the good purge!]

‘Good job, Ppabbe.’

For her first attempt, her timing and actions were exceptional.

Poming internally praised Ppabbe and firmly said, “If anyone brings up something weird about my sister or during the stream, all you uncles will hit rock bottom. Understood?”

The chat atmosphere seemed decent.

While expelling viewers instantly wasn’t ideal, if it was this warm…

That alone was a sign that the malicious comments and donation messages toward Friede had been severe thus far.

“Now, let’s start with some pre-talk. Given how our sister has been unusually mysterious, now that we have her here, I’ve prepared some questions. Are you okay, sis?”

“Yeah, but this is interesting?”

—Twitch, twitch.

While adjusting the buttons behind each headset, the constantly twitching rabbit ears were thrust in front of the camera.

If that seemed cute, was it just me?

It brought a festival atmosphere to the chat, entirely different from what Friede normally showed.

[LOL, we don’t need questions! Just keep twitching!]

[Friede twitches while I’m fired up!]

[What’s fired up?]

[Oh nope! It’s about feelings!]

[The collab effect is solid ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Poming will soon break her record for viewers! LOL]

A true otherworldly experience.

‘Just like I knew it, sis!’

You really get it!

Poming clenched her fist in her heart.

This collab was just a continuation of the first time she and Friede met in Soul Warfare.

Even then, I felt it; this sister’s face and body were a walking attraction.

Even without trying, every little movement became content.

‘This too will probably take off as a clip or gif.’

With water gushing in like a flood, if I didn’t maintain my composure, I’d drown here.

Poming steeled her resolve.

*

*

*

“…….”

Seems fun.

Must be nice.

I want to squeeze in there too.

In a dark room with all the lights off, relying solely on the flickering lights from the monitor, Ah-jin gnawed on her nails.

Becoming Friede’s editor finally gave me hope for rescue; I thought I could get closer to her than anyone else.

Wasn’t I supposed to be the one closest to her publicly?

Then why was it that the airhead and that girl, whoever she was, were dividing her attention?

“I should have gone for it.”

Ah, if I had known this would happen, I should have volunteered to be a streamer myself.

—Crunch!

Did I bite too hard? A metallic taste filled my mouth.

Regardless, Ah-jin sucked the blood from her cuticles, and a strange longing crept into her eyes.

Anxiety swelled.

Her body shook with unease.

[So, the first question is, do you have a boyfriend, sis?]

[Huh? A boyfriend? Nope. I’ve been single my whole life.]

[Oh? Really?]

Really, my foot.

That fake tone and gesture triggered my jealousy.

[What?]

[Is this… deceit?]

[That face and body are single till now?]

[The hell? Are those guys blind?]

[No, everyone calm down. Maybe she’s too intimidating to approach.]

[This is… the local number one heroine? ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Hey! Local? Our Friede sensei is on a cosmic level!]

[Who’s pushing a local heroine? Even with Poming there, she could crush easily.]

The chat revels in their hilarity.

Fools.

Birds with poor eyesight.

Eerie ones.

While I cursed them silently, my own eyes turned darker, reflecting the hollow sounds echoing outside.

—Twitch, twitch.

Every time Friede’s rabbit ears twitched, my gaze unconsciously shifted there.

Instinct was reliable.

 

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