Chapter 14: The Voice

“What the…”

Not only the chat, but even Leni herself was staring blankly, her intellectual facade forgotten.

It was a bizarre situation.
Had she misspoken? But all she’d done was answer a question.

-Ding!

A message from her manager popped up in YesCord, finally shedding light on the situation.

[Manager: SolNoon, I’m so sorry. It seems your voice changer was turned off when we switched screens and reset your mic ]

“Ah….”

[Manager: It’s probably best if you mute your mic for now ]

She muted her mic as instructed, but the damage was done. The wildfire in chat was beyond containment.

[Wow]
[Even her sighs are amazing……]
[Eargasm]
[SolNoon noona, I love you! SolNoon noona, I love you! SolNoon noona, I love you!]
[I’m in love…♥]
[Pathetic simps themselves lol] (Message blocked. Reason: Inappropriate chat)

Half the chat was filled with gushing simps, the other half with expressions of awe and confusion. And, of course, the trolls seized the opportunity to wreak havoc.
The chat was pure chaos, even for Leni’s stream, which was usually well-moderated.

Leni herself was flustered.

<Okay…everyone, calm down.>

The chat frenzy, which raged for a full ten minutes, only began to subside after Leni restricted chat to subscribers only. Ten-month subscribers, no less.
A ten-month sub-only mode was unprecedented, and even then, the chaos wasn’t fully quelled.

[Hide!]
[Your honor, I didn’t say anything.]

 (Message blocked. Reason: Inappropriate chat)
[Message blocked.]

-[LeniFan] SolNoonNoonaLoveYou donated $10.
〔Leni, are you still clueless? Just interview SolNoon already.〕

-[LeniFan]ILoveYouSolNoon donated $10.
〔Wow… $10 donation, for real? I’ll forgive everything, just bring SolNoon back.〕

<Seriously…you changed your nicknames already? And you even added my fan club name…>

[Get rid of the streamer!]
[Free SolNoon!!!!]
[I’ll die if I can’t hear noona’s voice again..]

Countless viewers clamored for my voice. This was Leni’s stream, yet no one seemed to care about her.

All this misguided attention was directed at me… and strangely, it didn’t feel bad. It might even be… good?

<One moment, please.>

[We are experiencing technical difficulties.]

[Not again?]
[Please open the door!!! We’re sorry ]
[Down bad, down bad, down bad]
[SolNoon noona… come back ]

Leni’s stream went into another intermission. It was probably for the best, even if it meant losing some viewers.
Though… she doubted anyone who’d stayed this long would leave.

-Ding!

Another message popped up in YesCord. This time, it wasn’t from her manager, but from Leni herself.

[Leni: SolNoon… are you alright?]

Leni’s cautious question prompted some introspection.

Hmm… was I alright?

Was I annoyed? No.

Was I uncomfortable? No.

Was I nervous? No.

Despite the unexpected and unprecedented reveal of my voice, I remained remarkably composed. So, I answered honestly.

[SolNoon: I’m fine.]

[Leni: Then…what about the interview? You don’t have to continue. If you’d rather not, I can explain to the viewers.]

Leni’s question was telling. It revealed her desperation to continue the interview with me.
The added justification at the end confirmed it.

[SolNoon: Leni, do you…]

[Leni: Yes?]

[SolNoon: …want to continue?]

-Ding!

After about ten seconds, Leni replied.

[Leni: Yes..]

This… this was satisfying. Leni, practically begging me?

Well, if our streamer wanted it this much, it was a fan’s duty to oblige.

[SolNoon: Hmm…alright. Let’s do it.]

[Leni: Thank you ♥♥]

My answer seemed to please her, judging by the heart emoticons. Anyone familiar with her streams knew what a significant achievement this was.

It was confirmed.

Today was the best day of my life.

‘Good….’

She’d successfully gotten SolNoon to agree to continue the interview.

If she’d been even slightly vindictive, she would have lashed out. That would have made future broadcasts difficult.

Of course, it was her fault.
But… that’s how things were these days. The smallest incident could blow up into a controversy, potentially ruining a career. The bigger they were, the harder they fell.

‘Ugh…’

The thought made her shudder. Thankfully, SolNoon seemed to be a decent person at heart. Despite the trolling.

Regardless, it was a blessing in disguise.
She’d almost been swept away by the sudden influx of attention, but… she’d managed. The viewership had already exceeded 30,000, continuously breaking her previous records.

Now, all she needed to do was row, and success would follow.

With renewed resolve, Leni resumed the broadcast.

“Everyone, I apologize again for the interruption.”

-[LeniFan] LLVESole donated $10.
〔So, is SolNoon noona coming back now?〕

Donations started pouring in. Even with the increased donation minimum of $10, the momentum was strong.

“Yes, SolNoon has agreed to continue, so we’ll resume the interview. And let me reiterate, absolutely no inappropriate comments. She’s not a streamer, she’s a regular person.”

[Respect]

[Regular? Person? lol]
[Hey, you malicious sniper!!  Who’s calling a regular person that? lol]
[SolNoon noona… please let us hear your voice. I think I’m going to die..]
[Everyone, take your seats!!]

Leni took off her stuffy blazer and sat down. The broadcast’s concept had long been abandoned.
There was no need to maintain it anyway. The overwhelming majority of viewers weren’t interested in the concept; they wanted the interview with SolNoon.

“Ahem. SolNoon, can you hear me?”

<Yes, I can hear you.>

“Thank you for agreeing to continue… despite the circumstances.”

<Don’t mention it. I’m a huge fan, Leni. It’s the least I can do. Hehe…>

SolNoon’s voice ended with a subtle laugh.
A laugh that might have been creepy coming from someone else, but with her pleasant voice, it had a strangely captivating effect.

Even Leni, a woman herself, flinched slightly. The viewers, with their lower tolerance for attractive female voices, were completely enthralled.

[Yesssssss!]
[Noona! I’m dying..]
[Someone needs to make an ASMR compilation of this.]

“I didn’t expect you to be a woman.”

<Oh… is there a problem with that?>

“What? No, not at all… it’s just that usually women…”

<Don’t snipe?>

“…What? I-I mean…”

<So… I’m not a woman?>

“No, no! That’s not what I meant….”

[lollollollollollollol]
[If that voice isn’t a woman’s… I’m just gonna die]
[Leni can’t even form a proper sentence lol]
[Streamer, step aside for today. SolNoon noona is the true host.]

– donated $10.
〔Why is Leni stuttering so much? Getting flustered in front of another woman, she’s just a pretty simp lol〕

[Real talk lol]
[ hilarious lollollollol]
[This is the first time I’ve seen Leni so flustered]

“Ahem!”

The chat’s reaction wasn’t bad. It wouldn’t hurt to play along a little. This was all part of the act, after all.
She was definitely not flustered by SolNoon’s voice and struggling to respond. Definitely not.

<How sad. To think I wasn’t actually a woman all this time…>

[Noona, don’t cry… ]
[Seriously, get rid of this streamer]

“N-No! I misspoke.”

<You really… mean that?>

“O-Of course!”

<Did you do something wrong, or not?>

“Huh…?”

<Did. You. Do. Something. Wrong?>

“I… did something wrong.”

<Then what should you do?>

“I… I’m sorry…?”

<Yes. Very good.>

[I want to be scolded by SolNoon noona too!!]
[This is crazy]
[Noona, scold me too! Noona, scold me too!]

Only after hearing SolNoon’s praise did Leni come to her senses. What had she just done?

SolNoon was the one in the wrong. SolNoon should be apologizing, not her.

She’d maliciously sniped her and ruined her mission… well, she did win, but still.

She’d prepared a specific build for the snipe… which admittedly generated a lot of content.

And she’d even made her flustered during the interview… which Leni herself had requested…!

“…….”

<Leni? Are we not continuing the interview?>

Well, it didn’t matter anymore, right?
The viewers loved it, and the YouTube content was golden. So, whatever.

“Ah… yes. We should.”

But SolNoon wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.

<Okay, ask me anything.>

[Anything??]
[Me!!! I want to ask!!!!]

That single, careless phrase was a bomb.

The chat exploded again, and Leni felt a headache coming on.