NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45
“Next time, I’ll buy it for you.”
“Okay… I’ll hold you to that.”
In the end, Hyejeong ended up eating galbijjim at our family home together.
“Oh my, how nice.”
But seeing Bok-sil seemed to satisfy her, so maybe it was alright?
While Hyejeong, with her belly full of galbijjim, played with Bok-sil in the living room, Mrs. Jang and I unpacked the things we’d moved to the house.
“Oh, do you play guitar too?”
Mrs. Jang picked up a guitar while organizing the belongings and wore a wistful expression.
“Your dad used to play guitar quite a lot. You can’t hide that bloodline!”
“My dad did?”
“He used to play non-stop during his college days, but then he just stopped.”
I never knew Manager Kim had such a past… I can’t recall ever seeing him play guitar at home.
“Try playing it!”
“Like now?”
“Yeah, we have plenty of time, and we can unpack slowly.”
“Well, if you insist…”
I took the guitar from Mrs. Jang and adjusted it lightly.
Feeling the familiar weight of the guitar, I recalled a song I had practiced over the time.
It was a Japanese band’s song that wasn’t too easy nor too difficult.
Of course, it had a slight level of challenge for someone like me, who was a total beginner.
Ding-ting!
I lightly plucked the guitar strings and got into position, carefully placing my fingers as I started to play.
Ding-ding!
Fortunately, the practice I’d put in wasn’t in vain, and even when I corrected it right away, there was a decent sound coming out.
“Oh…”
“Not bad, huh?”
Before long, Hyejeong, who had come close with Bok-sil, was watching my guitar performance.
“So, how do I look? Pretty cool, right?”
“Up until you said that?”
“As soon as I said it, it kind of ruined the vibe.”
“Ahem…”
I got a bit of teasing for carelessly speaking up, but still managed to finish about 70% of the song.
“Didn’t get to the end?”
“Not yet, still need more practice.”
In response to Hyejeong’s question, I recalled the time I bet against the viewer.
…Not much time left, huh?
If this goes on, I might really have to pull an all-nighter on the broadcast.
What should I even do? Should I give that horror game I wanted to play a shot? Or a cooking broadcast wouldn’t be too bad either. If I’m cooking in the family home’s kitchen, I can handle the mess…
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Just then, Mrs. Jang interrupted my chain of thought as though she sensed something.
“Wait, is that all you have left to unpack?”
“No, there’s still a bit more,”
I still hadn’t brought the broadcasting equipment I would use for the show.
After all… I need to do a broadcast when I get back to my studio apartment later tonight.
“Right, your dad’s really happy that his daughter’s back at the family home.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“When is dad coming home?”
“He said he would be a bit late today.”
“Then I guess I won’t see him.”
“Are you going to stay awake?”
“Yeah, I have stuff to do when I get back.”
Looks like if I do a broadcast today, I might have to take a short break for a few days.
After moving the equipment to the family home, I’ll have to set up the soundproof booth in the room.
The room is big, but… if I want to install the soundproof booth, I’ll probably have to put half of the goods in boxes and store them in the warehouse, right?
Just thinking about that makes me feel overwhelmed.
This is why everyone says moving is such a hassle.
But then again, after I do this once, I might end up sticking around for a few years until the next time I become independent, right?
I finished unpacking the items at the family home, imagining that if Mrs. Jang heard this, she might give me a whack on the back.
***
[Important Announcement (Jin)]
After returning home for dinner, I turned on the broadcast. For now, I need to take a little break from broadcasting as I move, so this is to inform everyone about that.
More than half of my viewers don’t check the café announcements, so I have to say it like this on the broadcast.
Other members just need to post in the café… sigh, well, I guess this is just the trait of my room’s viewers.
– ???
– What’s this important announcement?
– Graduation, wow
– A new song’s coming out, huh?
– Is there a song request today?
Seeing the viewer count rise quickly again today, I started my first line.
“Hello everyone.”
– Hi hi!
– So, what’s the important announcement?
– I’ll tell you once a few more viewers come in.”
– ;;;
– Can’t you just say it now?
– Just spill it!
“If I say it now, I’ll have to repeat it for the viewers who come in later.”
Of course, it’s pretty obvious that viewers who join midway will keep asking what the important announcement is, but it’s better to wait until we have enough viewers before saying it.
– Then what should we do?
– Just say it already; I need to pay my phone bill.
“Alright, everyone, while you enjoy my guitar…”
– Aahhh!
– Please!
– Just tell a story instead!
– I can wait just fine, you know.
Why do they hate my guitar so much… Mrs. Jang and Hyejeong liked it when I played at the family home.
“…Actually, I don’t have the guitar right now.”
– Phew.
– Are you selling the guitar?
– Finally got rid of it, huh?
– I really wanted to hear the guitar.
“Why didn’t you bring the guitar?”
“The absence of the guitar is connected to this important announcement.”
– ??? Wait, what?
– Are you really that broke?
– Is it about moving?
– What on earth is it?
As the viewers kept urging me, I quickly checked the viewer count.
Have enough people joined by now?
“I’m moving!”
– Oh, really? So what’s the important announcement?
– Huh, where are you going?
– But when will you tell us the important announcement?
“…So it looks like I’ll be on a short break for a few days.”
– Locked
– Seriously, Miro?
– Me!
– This is a bit too much…
– Locked
– Me!
– What the heck, Miro!
[Thank you for your donation of 1,000 won!]
Why not just broadcast at the PC room?
“Setting up will be such a hassle, though.”
Running a VTube broadcast surprisingly requires a lot of setup.
Not to mention, if I set up a camera in the PC room, it would not only be a nuisance but also attract lots of curious gazes, wouldn’t it?
I’d rather just broadcast from home without the soundproof booth.
– Ha… so that means you’ll be taking a break?
– Just give me a day, can you hurry up?
– What’s the big deal about moving?
– But why are you moving?
“Why am I moving? Since my contract for the studio apartment is ending, I’m going back to my family home.”
– Oh, I see.
– So how will you broadcast then?
“I’ll have the soundproof booth set up and do it, I guess.”
[Thank you for your donation of 1,000 won!]
Do your parents know you’re broadcasting in a weeb setup?
“…I don’t know. I made up another excuse.”
– Hahaha!
– Are you embarrassed to be a Vtuber?
– Hey, are we the ones who should be embarrassed?
– We’re already at the point of enshrinement!
– I’m… disappointed, Miro.
– I think I’ll drop out.
I expected this reaction, so as I watched the chat explode, I entered the café.
Seeing the chat room aflame felt nothing now. Bring it on.
“Then I should write an announcement, right?”
Entering the café, I simply wrote an announcement in Miro’s dedicated section, which had become somewhat more lively.
More than half of the viewers don’t check the café, but there are still some who do, so it’s good to keep them updated.
[Break]
Reason: Moving
Duration: 2-3 days
“Writing a long one won’t get read, will it?”
– Haha! If you don’t want to write, then just don’t.
[Thank you for your donation of 1,000 won!]
But why are you going back to your family home? Why not look for a different place?
“You know I dropped out of college, right? I was living alone because it was far, but now that I’ve quit, I have to return home.”
– But wouldn’t it be better to be independent?
– If you’re going to broadcast, it’d be more comfortable living alone.
“Uh, but… housework is a hassle…”
– Hahaha!
– Housework hits hard.
– Hmm… candidate for bride status? Disqualified.
– You unfilial daughter!
“Well, anyway, I’ve written down all the announcement details, so let’s move on.”
With that, I switched the screen.
– ??
– ?
– No way.
– Ha, lol.
The screen I switched to was nothing other than the game screen of Royal Ground.
I had written the announcement while pre-matching.
This meant the chances of being targeted were almost zero.
– Please give me a chance to snipe…
– Is it a solo queue this time?
“Didn’t you have a Japanese player on your friend list? Aren’t you going to play with them?”
“Oh, you mean that Japanese player I added? Did you all know they were a Vtuber?”
Given the big fight that happened last time in the community, I was surprised to see the chat going wild and decided to bring it up myself.
– Yeah.
– Yup, lots of subscribers.
– Really?
– Are you serious?
– Are you guys pretending not to know?
“Honestly, I just found out after the broadcast ended, thanks to the manager. Apparently, they’re pretty famous.”
– Ha, Miro’s luck is unreal.
– This person’s luck is something else.
– It’s like they’re destined for success.
“So are you not going to play together again?”
“I don’t know. It was offline just now.”
After saying that, I focused on the game.
I usually played duo or squad matches, so going solo felt a bit weird, but I farmed diligently.
Bang!
I got shot and died while crossing the street.
“…”
– Hahaha!
– Were you not moving left and right?
– Seriously…
– Why not use a car to get around?
– Golden goblin!
[Thank you for your donation of 1,000 won!]
Should I go for the snipe? Haha!
– Alright, let’s go!
– Should I try hiding the match again? Haha!
– Come on, come on!
They’re really hyped up for the snipes. As I watched the eager faces of the viewers waiting for the end of the match, I sighed.
“Ha… should I just go for random duo matches?”
Solo play just gets me farming and dying without any excitement.
For the first match, it’s entertaining, but if it keeps going like this, the broadcast won’t be fun.
– Let’s do it.
– Please.
– Can’t we pick from the viewers and do it together?
[Thank you for your donation of 10,000 won!]
How much for a duo?
“Whoa! Thank you for the 10,000 won, but I don’t do duo for money!”
This is something you should do randomly.
There should be some element of chance about who you get to play with, right?
– Haha!
– Where has the capital-pleasing Miro gone?
– You’re officially disqualified from marrying anyone!
– Just give me money and we can do it together, right?
“Nope, I said I won’t. Now, let’s start matchmaking. Just go ahead and target me.”
The one game I had without targeting was satisfying with my last match, and so I turned to match with the snipers.
Ding-ding!
Messages started ringing on my friends list.
“Who is it?”
The only people on my Royal Ground friend list are members of the Celestial Realm Project, past guests from The Six, and that Japanese Vtuber from before.
Since Celestial Realm project members and other big YouTubers from The Six wouldn’t message me during a broadcast… no way?
[awxt1004 : Let’s play together!]
[awxt1004 : Together!]
“Oh…”
Just as I expected, that Japanese Vtuber was sending me a message.