Chapter 8: Reality Merge

Today is the highly anticipated in-person collab day.
Since the collab’s in the afternoon at the company, I rolled around in bed for a bit before getting ready.

After showering and drying my hair, a thought hit me.

Isn’t long hair such a hassle?

It takes forever to dry after washing…
And sometimes when I turn my head, it gets in my mouth, which is annoying…

Still, I like long, straight hair, so I’ve been putting up with it, but I’m not sure how much longer I can.
Even if it’s annoying now, I can’t just cut it short on a whim, so I kept the thought to myself.

Anyway, after drying my hair, I grabbed it with both hands to tie it up.

Just slip it into the hair tie—there we go—

Ugh…
After a few tries, it still wouldn’t go in neatly, with a few strands sticking out.

I thought I was good at this in my memories.
Hmm… should I just go short? It’d probably suit me no matter what.

Maybe because I’ve been annoyed with long hair, a bob cut suddenly seemed so appealing.
To see how it’d look, I held my hair up in front of the mirror.

…Nope. I can never do a bob.
This… won’t work…

It’s pretty, but no way.

I just realised my already intimidating face could look even scarier.
My hair’s been acting as a suppressor, huh?

With a bob, no one except my parents might be able to look at my face. Including Nayeon.
Oh, maybe not even Dad.

For my social skills’ sake, I can’t go short.
And honestly, it scares me too! Even though I’m used to my face!

Sigh… let’s just tie it up.
I tried again, and the result was decent.

Oh! Not bad—wait.
On closer look, one noticeable strand was sticking out.

Since this was the best attempt, I pulled the stray strand.

A sharp sting hit the back of my head as the hair came out in my hand.

I tossed it in the trash, got dressed, and looked at my face in the mirror.

Yup, this outfit’s plenty.

I’m wearing my usual going-out clothes: a black hoodie and track pants.
They’ve evolved from casual wear to practically my comfort clothes.

“Oh, I’m excited.”

The thought slipped out loud.

Since I stopped going to the vocal academy, I rarely go out except for company visits, so I haven’t seen reactions to my appearance lately.

Given the image I’ve built, I’m naturally curious about the members’ reactions.

With anticipation, I arrived at the now-familiar company.
Who’s here first? Am I the earliest?

I headed to the meeting spot and opened the door to see two women looking at me.

“Huh? Uh?!”

“You! You’re not in the wrong place, are you?!”

Suppressing a smirk at the familiar voices, I said,

“Hello, I’m Lee Yeonwoo.”

“What?! Really?! No, the voice is definitely Yeonwoo’s!”

“Wow! Wow!”

The early arrivals were Yubin and Yuna.
They were the first in Discord during our initial call, too—must be the punctual type.

That aside, Yubin being an ex-idol trainee makes sense, but Yuna’s pretty,y too.
Pushing first impressions aside, I walked over and sat in a chair nearby.

“No way! Why are you this pretty?!”

“Exactly!”

Up until now, reactions were mostly shock, but this mix of shock and warmth felt new.

“And you’re so tall! Your proportions are insane!”

“Hahaha! Keep praising me!”

Maybe because they’re women, their detailed compliments about what’s great about me got me hyped.

“Seeing Yeonwoo suddenly wakes me up…”

“Huh?”

“Eek! Sorry!”

Oh, I must’ve frowned without realising.
Feeling awkward, I apologised.

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine…”

Just as I was about to say something to lift the deflated mood, the door opened.

“Oh! My kids?! You’re all so pretty—gasp!”

From the voice, it’s probably Minseo.
She looked at Yubin and Yuna, then gasped when she saw me.

Phew, no need for clown antics.

“I’m Yeonwoo.”

“What?! You’re Yeonwoo?!”

“Yes.”

The mood bounced back with Minseo’s shocked reaction.

“No way! You’re this pretty?”

“I told you I was pretty before.”

“No! I thought you were joking!”

“I’m hurt…”

I playfully lowered my head and eyes.

“No…! Looking hurt with that face makes me feel so bad! Look up!”

Why’s she so guilty?
Watching her overreact sparked a fun idea.

“Unnie…”

Ugh, I almost flinched. When will I get used to that word?
Still, I used it for my plan.

“Yes! Yeonwoo! Unnie’s sorry!”

Seeing Minseo look happier, I said,

“If you’re sorry, do some aegyo.”

“Huh?”

“On stream.”

If she does it, great. If not, oh well.

“No! That’s a bit…!”

But seeing her waver, I sensed a chance and pushed further.

“You won’t…?”

I should seriously consider voice acting.
My emotions switch so vividly in my voice.

“Argh! No! I mean!”

“Unnie! That’s too much! Aegyo’s not hard! Our maknae wants it, right, Yeonwoo?”

Yubin jumped in, wrapping her arm around me.

Whoa, hold up!
Even if we’re both women, hugging like that?!

As a guy, I thought the only time guys hug is to suplex someone, so this was jarring.

“Yeah, it doesn’t have to be much. Just enough for stream impact.”

Keeping my pro mindset, I didn’t show it and continued.

“Alright… unnie’s sorry?”

“Hehe.”

I let my smile come out naturally.

“Hmm? Yeonwoo…?”

“Yay! Yeonwoo! Nice!”

“Thanks for the assist.”

Great support.

“Guys?!”

“Tell the latecomers too.”

This’ll make for great stream material.

“Yeah! Let’s ask Sua for lines when she comes!”

“Did I… get played…?”

“No, you just granted my request. Saying that makes me sound like I tricked you.”

Get your words straight.

“No! You did!”

“Hahaha!”

So fun.

She’s definitely one of our group’s two punching bags.

The other one—

“Why’s Yuna so quiet?”

Oh, she’s setting herself up.
Gotta hit her too.

“Yeah, I forgot you were here.”

“No! I was about to say something—”

“Hey! You guys! I said Stop bullying Yuna!”

“Unnie, try it! It’s fun!”

“Yeah, she’s the second-best punching bag in our group.”

“Second? Who’s first?”

I didn’t say anything, just stared at Minseo.
As I kept looking, she turned her head and said,

“Me?! Really?! Me?!”

…Guess I scared her.
This darn face.

“Hahaha! Unnie’s the best punching bag! Look at her now!”

While we were messing around, the last two arrived.

“Wow! You’re Yeonwoo?! So pretty! But… don’t look at me…”

Am I so scary that someone says that on first meeting?

…No, yeah, fair.
Memories in my head corrected my thoughts.

Guess Minseo’s earlier damage clouded my judgment.

“Sua, you’re super pretty too!”

Sua was a cat-like beauty, matching her image.

“Where’s Yeonwoo?”

Yerin, the last to arrive, didn’t recognise me at first.

“What?! That’s Yeonwoo?!”

It was fun seeing the usually chill Yerin shocked.

For reference, Yerin’s a cool beauty type.

…But is it normal for a VTuber group to care this much about red pills?
Why’s everyone objectively pretty?

Well, six talented and good-looking people must’ve applied. Let’s think positively.
How would I know what the interviewers were thinking?

“Shall we start?”

After a quick prep, we began the stream.

The “in-person collab” title must’ve pulled agro, as the viewer count is wild.

“Wow… it’s ironic that VTuber fans are more curious about real life, but since you’re our viewers, we’ll take care of you, right?”

“Hey! Rosé!”

• ?
• Why’s she starting a fight right away?
  Message deleted.
• Came to see your face, jerk
  Message deleted.

Our group’s audience is unique.

VTuber fans, casual stream watchers, community folks, and a tiny minority of fans from the members’ trainee days.

Of the community folks, 90% are my viewers.
It was inevitable since I chose agro-pulling content, so I’m not upset.

But while I can ignore it on my streams, isn’t it a nuisance to muddy a group stream?

That comment was a filter.

Those who know how to wear a mask held back.
The ones who got cut just couldn’t.

They’re the ones who got weeded out, so I’ve got no guilt.

“Rosé… you don’t mean that, right…?”

Oh, streaming’s making my thoughts slip out loud.

Gotta be careful.

“Obviously a joke!”

They’ll let it slide, right?

• ^^ I’ll wear my mask diligently!
• Even if I get weeded out, I’ll curse you first
  Message deleted.
• Rosé’s extra annoying today ^^!
• Joke my ass, anyone can see it’s real
• I’ll be careful not to get weeded out ^^
• No conscience?

…Guess not.