29-104

EP.104 Bae Yeri (1) – Broadcast Accident? 

As the tedious liberal arts lecture neared its end, the professor announced that the semester was almost over and posted notices about assignments and the final exam. 

But the mood in the classroom was already like a graduation party, filled with students’ quiet chatting and the sounds of packing up pens and notebooks. 

I was no different from them. 

In the corner of my notebook, before I realized it, I’d drawn a cute boy character with dark, charming under-eye circles. 

“Sigh. I’m low on Hyun-woo energy…” 

Even though I’d been with him from last night until this morning, just a brief separation was enough to make me feel withdrawal symptoms. 

Still, just thinking that I could see him again as soon as this dreadful lecture ended made a silly smile creep onto my lips. 

Once I meet him, just like last night again… 

“Hehehe…” 

I barely managed to cover up a creepy giggle with a cough. 

As the long lecture finally ended and I started packing my bag, I felt a lively energy rushing toward me from afar. 

“Seung-ah!” 

As if she’d been waiting for my class to finish, Yeri, whose class had ended earlier, ran over at full speed. 

Her vibrant presence drew glances from nearby students, but she didn’t care at all and dragged a chair over to sit right in front of me. 

“You look so much brighter after your day off yesterday! Are you feeling better?” 

“Ah, yeah. I’m much better. Sorry… for suddenly skipping the stream without notice.” 

“No worries. You’re the one streaming, so your condition is most important.” 

Yeri brushed it off coolly, but her eyes narrowed as she slowly examined my face. 

“Yeah. Now that I see your face, I’m relieved. So, did you just rest at home yesterday?” 

“Uh, yeah?! I mean, yeah, I guess? I don’t really have any hobbies besides streaming. Ahahaha.” 

“…What’s with that suspicious reaction? You’re acting like someone who secretly went on a date with a boyfriend.” 

“Date…! N-no, there’s no way!” 

Her sharp question made me react way too strongly. 

Yeri just giggled at my response. 

“Hehe. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Why so serious?” 

“Ugh.” 

“It’s your choice if you’re dating, but just be careful not to let it slip on stream. You know how sensitive people are about that.” 

“I told you, it’s nothing like that.” 

I replied in a small voice, like a scolded child, to her producer-like nagging. 

“Alright, alright. So, you’re streaming today?” 

“Yeah. I have to…” 

No way I could skip two days in a row. 

Besides, now that Hyun-woo knows my secret, there’s no need to hide it anymore. 

“Why? Are you still not feeling well?” 

Yeri looked worried at my lukewarm response. 

“N-no! I’m fine. I’ll stream as usual today. Don’t worry.” 

“Okay~.” 

Only then did Yeri relax and change the subject, her eyes sparkling mischievously. 

“Also, I’ve been thinking. Our channel finally passed 300,000 subscribers, right?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” 

“It’d be a waste to just let that pass, don’t you think? Three hundred thousand!” 

“Yeah… But what should we do? I can’t think of anything.” 

After my disastrous first attempt, I’d tried again as Moka and, thanks to the algorithm, the channel had grown rapidly. 

But I wasn’t ready for this kind of sudden growth. 

Yeri, oblivious to my worries, grinned meaningfully. 

“I’ve got it all figured out! It’s… an offline collab between Moka and Yerippi!” 

“A c-collab?!” 

Despite my shock, Yeri was clearly excited. 

“Yeah. VTuber and editor collab. Don’t you think it’s a good idea?” 

As content, it’s a solid idea. 

There are plenty of viewers curious about Yeri. 

But… 

“I-I’m not confident I can act as Moka in front of people…” 

“Oh, come on, you talk to viewers just fine. And we’re not strangers, are we?” 

“Still…” 

“We’ll answer viewer questions, play games together! Oh, a horror game could be fun!” 

She wasn’t listening at all. 

Still, a horror game… It’s scary, but viewers love it. 

But… 

“If I scream during a horror game, the upstairs neighbor might come down.” 

At my concern, Yeri paused to think, then clapped her hands as if she had a good idea. 

“Hmm… Then let’s just do a few simple games and chat. If the response is good, we can plan more content later.” 

“Is it okay to be that casual?” 

“It’s fine! For things like this, it’s all about the vibe. It’s our first time, so it won’t be perfect. What matters is that we try our best, right?” 

With her drive and confidence, she could’ve been a successful VTuber herself, not just an editor. 

Of course, I was grateful for her editing and advice. 

“When should we do the collab? It’ll be tough right away… Let’s tease it on today’s stream, get some questions in advance, and announce the date later!” 

“Uh, yeah. Let’s do that.” 

“Then it’s settled! We’ll talk more on the phone at home!” 

She seemed more excited than me, the actual streamer. 

But she genuinely cared about my channel’s success. 

Sometimes her burning enthusiasm was just overwhelming. 

‘At least on the collab day, I absolutely must not invite Hyun-woo.’ 

If Yeri found out about him, things would get so much more complicated. 

I made up my mind again and again as I finished packing and stood up. 

“Thanks for the meal~!” 

After hurriedly eating the dinner her parents made, Yeri ran straight to her room. 

On one wall, limited-edition Moka posters and merch were proudly displayed. 

She set her coffee tumbler on her desk and sat before her dual monitors one showing Moka’s livestream, the other running a real-time data analysis program. 

Now, her real work began. 

On screen, “Moka” was announcing the 300,000 subscriber event as promised earlier. 

“So, my babies! After much thought, for the 300k milestone, I’ve decided to do an offline collab with our channel’s secret MVP editor ‘Yerippi’! Waaah!” 

[ID: ShotaBest] This is insane lol Editor’s finally appearing! 

[ID: Anonymous Supporter - 10,000 won donation] I bet the editor’s voice is pretty too. 

[ID: YerippiMarryMe] Yerippi! Yerippi! Yerippi! 

As Moka hyped up the mood, the chat exploded at the announcement of the mysterious editor’s appearance. 

“Oho? Look at this! Are you guys starting to like Yerippi more than your noona~?” 

Pretending to be jealous, Moka joked, and Yeri smiled as she checked the other monitor’s data. 

“Concurrent viewers are good. Donations are steady.” 

Even after a day off, maintaining this many viewers proved Moka’s popularity was no fluke. 

“And her energy’s good…” 

Watching “Moka” interact confidently with viewers, Yeri smiled in satisfaction, wondering where the timid Jeong Seung-ah from college had gone. 

She really had so much talent why was she so lacking in confidence in real life? 

“But that’s part of our Seung-ah’s charm.” 

Just then, a small donation message popped up in chat. 

[ID: MokaLover - 1,000 won donation] Noona, you said you were sick yesterday are you okay? ㅠㅠ I was worried! 

As soon as the TTS finished, Moka smiled sweetly on screen and replied, 

“Aw~ MokaLover, you worried about noona? I’m fine now! After a day of rest, I’m totally recharged!” 

Yeri snickered. 

That “sick” excuse was almost certainly a lie. 

It was just a hunch, but she knew Jeong Seung-ah was a terrible liar probably better than anyone except Seung-ah herself. 

‘Well, she’s been working hard lately. Maybe she just needed a day off.’ 

If it was just exhaustion, that was a relief. 

Suddenly, Yeri remembered how giddy Seung-ah had looked on the way home. 

“Don’t tell me she really snagged a guy?” 

Yeri shook her head. 

No way Seung-ah would actively seek out a relationship. 

If she really was dating, it would’ve been obvious by now. 

Still, why did she have this ticklish sense of unease? 

‘Maybe I’m just too sensitive.’ 

With the channel growing so fast, maybe she was as on edge as Seung-ah. 

This was the time to be extra careful. 

Trying to refocus, Yeri took a sip of her cold coffee. 

“Noona, I’m thirsty can I get some water?” 

“Pffft?!” 

A strange, unfamiliar boy’s voice came through her headset, making Yeri spit out her coffee. 

Luckily, she turned her head just in time to save her expensive monitor and keyboard. 

Coughing, Yeri stared at the livestream in disbelief. 

That was unmistakably a young boy’s clear voice. 

On screen, Moka’s avatar froze for two or three seconds. 

At the same time, the chat went wild. 

‘Who’s the boy??’ ‘Who??’ ‘Moka’s boyfriend??’ 

“Uh… haha! S-sorry! My cousin dropped by for a bit! Right, Hyun-woo?” 

She seemed to be signaling frantically off-camera. 

A moment later, the boy’s voice came closer to the mic. 

“Yes! Hello, I’m Moka noona’s cousin, Lee Hyun-woo. Please give Moka lots of love~!” 

The boy’s cute voice quickly shifted the chat from “boyfriend rumors” to “aww, he’s cute,” “just a cousin lol,” and so on. 

Seung-ah seized the moment to steer the broadcast back on track. 

But Yeri, watching, was frozen stiff. 

“…Cousin?” 

She’d never heard of Seung-ah having a cousin. 

At least the situation was salvaged before the stream got too weird. 

But this wasn’t over. 

Even if viewers bought it, she couldn’t. 

Yeri wiped coffee from her lips, grabbed her phone, and typed: 

[Me: Seung-ah.] 

[Me: Call me as soon as the stream ends.] 

After sending the message, she set her phone down and turned back to the monitor. 

Yeri’s eyes gleamed sharply as she stared at the still-buzzing chat.