Chapter 27: Take Responsibility

“Hee… want to call me unnie?”

“No!”

I strongly denied Daengyul’s words.

In this situation, it would have been appropriate to just say yes, and it was a chance to create a warm atmosphere, but the moment she said the word ‘unnie’, I got goosebumps all over my body.

‘What do you mean, unnie!’
(TL Note: ‘Unnie’ is what a younger female calls an older female. The MC, being a man in a woman’s body, feels a strong sense of rejection towards this feminine term.)

I would rather die than call her that.

The moment I call her unnie… how should I put it?
It feels like I’m letting go of everything about myself.

Anyway, I really, really don’t want to call that woman unnie, even if I die.

My body is desperately rejecting it.

Completely impossible.
Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible.

[-Has she gone crazy lately? lol]
[-Okay, this is clipped too lol]
[-Jealousy explosion lolol]
[-Cute lol, cute lol, cute lol]
[-Ah~ so you were very upset?]
[-Ugh, what a nuisance in a public broadcast lolol]
[-Meanwhile, Dae-yul smoothly moving on shows her great stream sense]
[-I want to call her unnie too… (bulge)]
[-We were wrong-yo… we were wrong-yo… we were wrong-yo…]
[-Streamer-nim’s jealousy explosion is cute-yo lol]

And in the middle of it all, the chat’s reaction is as if they’re about to die laughing.

You b*stards.
This is all because of you!

Just as I was about to mute my mic and wreck the chat for about 10 minutes.

“Nani-nim’s viewers, you shouldn’t act like that either!”

Suddenly, Daengyul spoke in a stern voice as if she were pointing someone out.

And it seemed that the target was my viewers.

“How stressed must Nani-nim have been by the chat to say something like that! And right now, she’s already hurt and looks cute… no, sad, so is it okay to be sarcastic in this situation!? If you’re a true Nani-nim fan, you should be typing that you’re sorry right now!”

[-I’m sorry-yo, I’m sorry-yo, I’m sorry-yo, I’m sorry-yo]
[-Absolutely sorry! Absolutely sorry!]
[-Yes… noona]
[-I have committed a mortal sin-yo… I have committed a mortal sin-yo… I have committed a mortal sin-yo…]
[-I get it-yo… I won’t do it again-yo…]
[-The WWE was a bit too much-yo]
[-Who are you to say that lol? Hah, damn… sorry, Nani-ya]

At Daengyul’s few words, my viewers all bowed their heads in a dogeza.

“…….”

It was Daengyul, saying the things I had wanted to say for me.

And she seemed sincere.
This time, it didn’t seem like she was trying to be playful, and she didn’t let out that foxy laugh that she slyly mixes in whenever she talks.

…But.

“Um… Daengyul-nim.”

“Yes? Why? Are you going to call me unnie as a sign of thanks, by any chance? Heehee.”

“That’s not it, but thank you so much for what you just did. B-but how do you know what my expression is right now?”

“…Ah.”

Daengyul flinched for a moment at my sharp question.

Then, she answered in a tone as if it were nothing.

“Ah, ahaha! Well, just by looking at your speech pattern, Nani-nim, I can tell what kind of expression you’re making! Yes!”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course!”

Hmm… something’s a bit suspicious.

Just as my eyes were about to narrow naturally.

[ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!]
[Nani-ya, Daengyul is stream-sniping you right now lol]

[-Ugh, you f*cking snitch lol]
[-Why would you say that, you b*stard lol]
[-Get out, you cringe-snitch]
[-lolol]

Stream-sniping.
It meant Daengyul was watching my stream screen.

Right now, my face is in a rather unsightly state from the impassioned speech I just gave.

And Daengyul had been watching this whole time.

“…….”

“…Huk.”

“…Daengyul-nim, they say it’s true.”

“N-no, that’s, Nani-nim! I was just worried about you when you were talking so much earlier, so I just came in to check on you!”

Daengyul, speaking incoherently.
The moment she said ‘huk,’ the opportunity to make any more excuses vanished.

“Then why did you lie?”

“I’m sorry! I-it’s just that you were so cute while I was watching, I couldn’t leave!”

“Hah, really?”

I made a pouty face at the cam.
It was an expression directed at Daengyul, who had been cheekily stream-sniping.

“Then how will you take responsibility?”

“Responsibility? No, um… h-how, you’re so cute….”

“Why do you keep saying I’m cute? I said, take responsibility.”

“Uh, uh… h-how… how should I take responsibility?”

I didn’t answer her words right away.

The action I took instead of answering was to briefly avert my gaze from the cam.

There’s a key point here.
To make the most, the absolute most embarrassed expression I can.

And say in a coy voice.

“You… you already know.”

“…….”

“Will you take responsibility?”

“I-I’ll take responsibility… I will take responsibility!”

Daengyul said, as if making a declaration, as if she would really take me home and raise me.

Heh.
Heheh.
Heheheh!

Now’s the time.
This is the answer I was waiting for!

I, who had been speaking in a voice that was half-sunk in the deep sea until just a moment ago, now spoke in my original, cheerful voice.

“Really!? Then you’ll take responsibility, right!?”

“Uh… huh? Yes?”

Daengyul’s flustered reaction.

Of course.
I, who had been gloomy until just a moment ago, suddenly spoke in a high tension, so anyone would be flustered.

“Heheheh! Just kidding! Just kidding! And thank you, Daengyul-nim. For what you said to my viewers on my behalf earlier. I-I was really touched. Heheh.”

Honestly, the embarrassment still hasn’t gone away, but I’m not one to make a fuss over just stream-sniping.

In other words, a WWE you might do in a public broadcast.
The so-called ‘pretending to be angry’.

[-This b*tch, looking at her, her acting is really top-notch]
[-For real lol, I was fooled-yo]
[-This is a battle of wills]
[-Her expression just now, honestly, for acting, was so f8cking hot-yo]
[-But what did she mean by taking responsibility? I really don’t know, uhehehe]
[-Ooh la la]
[-At this rate, how are the polar bears supposed to live-yo, uhehehe]
[-I support this couple-yo… I support this couple-yo… I support this couple-yo]

And there was something else important.

Hehe.
I got one over on her.
I got one over on that high and mighty woman!

I, who had been flustered until just a moment ago, had turned the tables and made Daengyul flustered!

The moment my shoulders naturally straightened.

“Heeh.”

Suddenly, I heard Daengyul’s short laugh.

No, it wouldn’t be quite right to use the expression ‘suddenly’ here.
‘Suddenly’ would make it seem like someone who doesn’t usually laugh had laughed.

Daengyul had been speaking with a hint of laughter in her voice almost the entire time since we started our voice call.

In other words, I was already more than used to her laugh.

But this time, it felt a little different.

It was Daengyul’s laugh, but with a different feeling.

So… yep.

Should I say that that captivating laugh was a little more chilling than usual….

“Ahaha, no wonder! Nani-nim, your acting is so good.”

“Ah, th-that’s, really? I am pretty good at acting! Hahah.”

“Ugh… I was completely fooled! Nani-nim, you’re the one who should take responsibility!”

[-Huk]
[-Ooh la la]
[-The tables have turned]
[-This is nice too…]

“Ah… hahah.”

Was my thought just now simply unfounded?
After that short laugh, Daengyul immediately spoke in her usual tone, in her usual atmosphere.

Well, it’s not like I’m some kind of laugh connoisseur.

Honestly, my impression of Daengyul so far was better than I had thought.
Though I could feel a slight hint of insincerity, I felt that she was fundamentally polite and kind-hearted.

‘Right, it must be my imagination.’

That’s what it is.
Mmm, mmm.

Ddo-ro-rong!

Just then, the notification sound signaling that someone had joined the voice chat room rang.

“S-sorry! Am I too late!”

The one I had forgotten for a moment, one of my teammates.

The big-name VTuber, Erica.

“My computer suddenly wouldn’t work on the day of the group draw… ugh. I’m so sorry!”

“No, it’s okay, Erica-nim! It can’t be helped if your computer broke down. We didn’t wait that long either. Ahaha.”

“Thank you for understanding! Daengyul-nim, and… Gangnani-nim! Please take good care of me!”

“Yes, please take care of me too!”

At Erica’s greeting, I also replied appropriately, “Please take care of me too.”

My first impression of her was, how should I put it… quite cheerful? That kind of feeling.

Well, most VTubers have that kind of feeling.

“Um… excuse me, there’s a routine I always do when I collab with other people.”

“A routine?”

At Erica’s unexpected words, I reflexively asked back.

‘What’s with the chat?’

As soon as Erica said that, chats like ‘excited, excited’ and ‘ready to clip lol’ started to appear.

They seemed to be viewers who usually watch Erica’s stream.

“Yes, to put it simply, it’s like a self-introduction! Ugh….”

Erica hesitated for a moment as if she were embarrassed.

But, as if she had made up her mind, she soon began to introduce herself in a confident voice.

“Hello! I-I’m Erica, a student at the Corbudium Royal Academy! I’m 15 years old! My class is knight, and a dimensional rift suddenly opened up where I was, so I came to Earth! P-please take good care of me once again!”

[-??]
[-lolol]
[-Cringe-budium, Cringe-yal, Cringe-cademy lol]
[-Ah~ so that’s your character setting?]
[-Ugh, f*ck lol <This message has been deleted>]
[-So disgusting, f*ck lol <This message has been deleted>]
[-Don’t be ridiculous lol, if that’s a 15-year-old’s body, then what is our Nani, 1 year old? lol <This message has been deleted>]
[-Nice, nice]
[-Serves you right lol]
[-Hmm… I think there was a chat that didn’t need to be banned though]

After scrolling up the chat and banning a bunch, I hurriedly answered Erica’s words. Because it would seem rude if I didn’t answer quickly.

“That’s fun… heheh. Please take care of me too, Knight-nim!”

“Yes… yes!”

Daengyul also said, “Ahaha, it seems I’m collaborating with very cute people this time… heeh,” and continued.

“Ah, and Team 5 sent me a message asking for a scrim, what should we do?”

Without even thinking, I immediately replied to Daengyul’s words.

“A scrim? We should do it right away!”

Of course, we have to.
We need to scrim to improve our skills and teamwork, and to work on our weaknesses.
It’s not for nothing that some teams just scrim for almost 12 hours a day whenever a tournament like this is held.

“Alright, I’ll tell them we’ll do it.”

“Yep!”

And so, we immediately started the scrim with Team 5.

“Ah….”

“Ahaha, the opponent is a bit… good, aren’t they?”

“N-nice try!”

The scrim with Team 5 was over.

To just state the result….

It was a complete f*cking disaster.

We just got overwhelmingly crushed.