6.
While Lee Runa reviewed the documents, I carefully turned on my phone screen and resumed the broadcast I had paused.
…I know it’s rude to watch a stream when someone is right in front of you.
But it took over ten minutes for her to check everything, and sitting still that whole time made me fidgety.
Besides, it was a stream I’d been watching since before she arrived, so I was really curious about what happened next.
[Wait! Behind you! Zombie behind you! Ack! In front too! No, you said the world ended ages ago, so why are there still so many zombies?! If they can move without eating, put them in hamster wheels and use them as a power source!]
A shriek came through the Bluetooth earbud in one of my ears.
A weekday afternoon. As you could tell from the fact that Lee Runa was here, it still wasn’t time for office workers to get off work, so Ayeon’s stream wasn’t on.
Instead, I’d put on a VTuber who was playing a horror survival game.
As expected, corporate VTubers really were different.
How could someone be stuck in the same section for an hour?
And she’d even set the difficulty to the easiest mode.
If being extremely bad at games was a talent, then this person undoubtedly possessed a God-given gift.
On top of that, despite her hopeless gaming skills, she was somehow excellent at making retorts.
Watching her question the game’s realism while dying nonstop was so funny that I kept wanting to laugh.
Of course, since there was someone in front of me, I couldn’t laugh out loud, so I was somehow swallowing the sound and focusing on the screen when—
“—I guess you like that sort of thing?”
“Huh!”
Startled by the sudden voice from in front of me, I dropped my phone.
At some point, Lee Runa had been looking my way—more precisely, at the phone screen I’d been holding at an angle.
“I-I’m sorry.”
My face grew hot. Had I acted too childish? My mouth clamped shut on its own.
“Hm? Not at all. It took a while, so it’s only natural.”
Lee Runa gave a small laugh and defended me, saying it was understandable.
…I’d felt this since I first saw her, but she had a strange way of indulging me like I was a child.
“By the way, what you were watching on your phone just now… That was a VTuber, right?”
…I thought it was at an angle where she couldn’t see.
Since my earbud was connected, she wouldn’t have heard the shrieks.
But the avatar shaking its head from side to side like crazy had been right there on the screen.
And of all things, my phone had fallen with the screen facing up.
Lee Runa, staring intently at it, somehow looked intrigued.
“…Yes.”
…This is embarrassing.
These days, even ordinary people knew at least what VTubers were.
But it still wasn’t something you could proudly say, like “My hobby is watching VTuber streams,” the same way you would with games or exercise.
There were plenty of people who couldn’t understand the act of spending your own time and money to watch someone else’s stream.
And the fact that people could stream while wearing the mask of an avatar also meant that more people were doing strange things behind that mask.
Because of the scandals that broke out whenever people got bored, the general perception of them wasn’t that great either.
When someone asked, “Do you maybe watch VTubers?”
The reactions were so extreme that they were usually split between “You too? Guess that means we’re besties from today,” and “Why would you watch that?”
I cautiously gauged Lee Runa’s reaction.
She was always smiling, so I couldn’t read her emotions clearly. But at the very least, she didn’t seem repulsed.
Could I call that barely safe?
Feeling inwardly relieved, I was about to put my phone in my pocket even now when—
“—Have you always watched streams? Or did you happen to start during your hospital stay?”
“Pardon?”
For some reason, Lee Runa continued asking about streams.
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I ended up asking back without thinking.
“I was personally a little curious about when you started watching broadcasts like that.”
When I blinked dumbly, wondering if I’d misheard her, she added a little more and repeated the same question.
…Could she actually be interested in VTubers?
Judging by her appearance, she didn’t seem to have any connection to this side of things at all.
Of course, just as there was no high or low in occupations, there was no high or low in hobbies, so there were plenty of cases where someone’s appearance didn’t match their hobby.
But imagining someone in a stylish suit, working at the Baegya Guild at such a young age, grinning while watching VTubers like me, felt oddly endearing and yet hard to picture.
“Ah. You can just speak comfortably. Someone I know has been really into VTubers lately.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, I’ve watched them since before. When was it…? I think I’ve been watching since I was pretty young.”
Still, since she had asked, it was only polite to answer.
And from my perspective, as someone without a single friend, it would be nice if I found someone who shared the same hobby. Since things had come to this, I decided to answer sincerely.
Lee Runa said it was about someone she knew, but when people brought up “someone they knew” at times like this, it was usually a lie.
“Really? May I ask what it is you like about watching them?”
“Hmm, first of all, they’re nice to watch when I’m lonely. And since it’s a world where it’s hard to meet people for all sorts of reasons, I like being able to hear how other people live.”
“Aren’t there observational variety shows or vlogs too?”
“You can’t talk with them in real time. Besides, people like that feel too distant…”
…But somehow, the conversation that followed felt closer to an interrogation.
“A sense of distance… Even though you don’t know what kind of person is inside?”
“That’s true, but… if I were going to worry about the person inside, I’d just watch an ordinary streamer or variety show.”
Everyone had different reasons for watching VTubers.
Some people might watch because they liked the person inside the model, what was commonly called the red pill.
But I only liked what was shown on the stream.
I was the type of fan who didn’t care as long as the stream was fun, cute, and funny.
Of course, it wasn’t as if I never got curious about the red pill.
But if you’re going to dig up every single red pill, why watch VTubers instead of ordinary streamers?
“I don’t know much about it, but the decisive difference between internet broadcasts and VTubers is ultimately the avatar, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“Doesn’t broadcasting through an avatar get in the way of immersion or things like that?”
“Hmm… Since there are definitely limitations in expressing facial expressions and movements, that’s true.”
Even though technology had improved and facial recognition worked better than before, unless you poured money into it, subtle expressions or movements still weren’t conveyed exactly as they were.
And as long as it was an avatar, no matter how excellent the model was, it couldn’t help but fall short compared to the immersion a real person provided.
Someone like me, steeped in VTubers to the bone, could become deeply immersed just by looking at an avatar. But objectively speaking, it was undeniable that it interfered with immersion.
“Still, I don’t think that’s purely a downside. Because of that avatar, you can take things less seriously.”
The exaggerated expressions of the avatar could create even funnier situations.
And even when heavy real-life topics came up sometimes, the fictional avatar softened the atmosphere to some degree.
I thought that was also why the VTuber market, once a niche even among niches, was gradually growing.
As reality became more exhausting and dangerous, people wanted to go play in a virtual space where they didn’t have to worry about anything.
And the things best suited for that were VR and VTubers.
When you talked with an avatar in between, you stopped caring completely about backgrounds like status, age, or economic situation.
“You can take things less seriously… It’s true there’s a lot of heavy news these days, so that could be an advantage. And lastly, um… this might be a somewhat sensitive question.”
Lee Runa, who had been nodding, paused for a moment and gauged my reaction.
It seemed like she was trying to judge whether it was something she could say or not. What kind of question was it for her to hesitate like that?
“Sometimes, among streamers, there are cases where they seem a little… mentally unstable, aren’t there? Or they don’t know something that should be incredibly basic common sense, so it feels awkward? What do you think when you see a streamer like that, Ms. Ari?”
…Ah. It was indeed a question sensitive enough to warrant caution.
What I thought when I saw a mentally unstable streamer.
She probably meant something like… depression, right?
When you went around streams with few viewers, you could rarely find rooms where the atmosphere or topics were heavy—so-called “deep” rooms.
I didn’t know what extent Lee Runa was thinking of, but just listening to those rooms for a little while made my own mood gloomy, so I didn’t particularly prefer them.
“…So what? It’s not like the people watching are any different. In a world like this, if they can find a reason to keep living day by day even that way, isn’t that a good thing?”
That didn’t mean I disliked them or couldn’t understand them at all.
It had become difficult to meet people outside, and the world was one where painful and sad things happened often.
If they could let out their emotions that way and keep living day by day, wasn’t that wonderful in its own right?
“—So, may I ask why you’re asking?”
At first, I’d thought it was simply a conversation about hobbies or interests.
But as we talked, the direction of the conversation was leaning more toward the people who watched VTubers rather than VTubers themselves.
And she really didn’t seem to know much about VTubers either.
Yet despite saying it was a personal question, she had suddenly thrown in such a heavy one.
I was starting to feel slightly rebellious, as if I were being interrogated.
“Hoho, that’s a secret.”
If you won’t tell me your purpose, I won’t answer anymore either!
When I narrowed my eyes sharply and asked the purpose of her question with that nuance, Lee Runa gave a sly smile and avoided answering.
A secret? You asked me all those questions, that’s not fair.
…Come to think of it, they said a VTuber group was coming out of the Baegya Guild.
Considering she’d said “not yet,” maybe this was market research related to that?
“Finding a reason to live. The more I think about it, the better those words sound.”
With those words, Lee Runa rose from her seat.
Holding an armful of documents, she said she would see me again in the near future and left. For some reason, her face looked extremely satisfied.
* * *
“Ah— I’m finally going home.”
After filling out a full two months in the hospital, the time had finally come for me to be discharged.
They ran several more tests afterward too, but it turned out there was nothing seriously wrong with my body.
However, there seemed to be a few suspicious points, because they gave me their contact information and asked me to come by regularly.
But after two months of all kinds of tests without anything happening, I wondered if there would really be any reason to call.
“Thank you for everything.”
“Please get home safely.”
I wore the tracksuit the guild had prepared for me from top to bottom, and pulled a black baseball cap low over my head.
After briefly saying goodbye to the nurses who had helped me in all sorts of ways—not only bringing me meals every time, but even teaching me how to put on underwear…
I slung the bag containing the clothes I’d originally been wearing over my back, took the elevator down, and came out into the large lobby.
What if someone recognizes me? Thinking that, I cautiously walked while conscious of the people’s gazes.
But truly surprisingly, not a single one of the many people in the lobby paid any attention to me.
It was only natural, and also a relief… but somehow, I felt a little awkward. Had I been way too self-conscious?
“…Now I’ll have to cook for myself again. I’ll need to look for a part-time job too.”
The world I’d stepped back into after so long had barely changed at all.
And so, I was about to quickly return to my daily life and raise my hand to hail a passing taxi when—
“—You are Ms. Yeon Ari, correct? We would like you to spare us a moment of your time.”
“Pardon?”
Large men wearing Baegya Guild badges approached and suddenly blocked my path.
For reference, all employees of the Baegya Guild wore black suits.
Rumor had it that this was because the guild was closely connected to the National Intelligence Service.
Whatever the truth was, when several large men in black suits stood firmly in front of me, the pressure they gave off was no joke.
I hadn’t committed any crime, yet it made me think, Huh? Did I do something wrong?
“That’s me, but what is this about…?”
“There is someone at the guild who wishes to speak with you, Ms. Yeon Ari. If you have no immediate schedule, we would like you to accompany us. Would that be all right?”
…I didn’t have any schedule, but was it okay to just follow them so honestly?
While I was hesitating, the door of a black car that had appeared at some point opened.
The burly men bent at the waist as if to escort me with the utmost respect, and people around us began murmuring as they watched.
“I don’t really know what’s going on, but let’s g-go quickly!”
The situation itself was so burdensome that I had no choice but to get into the car.
I thought I would be able to go home.
But it seemed my return to daily life would take a little longer.