Complete Fall
The sound of cicadas in summer, the stifling heat and humidity, and the monsoon rains that poured down periodically, irritating people—summer was now completely gone.
When you go outside, everyone is no longer wearing short sleeves but coats of all kinds, and even the leaves, as if dressing themselves to match the people, were one by one deepening in color. It had become autumn.
And when it comes to autumn, there's another nationwide event.
"Chuseok is coming soon."
"Ah, that's right."
Yes, Chuseok.
The nationwide gathering season was approaching.
That meant that soon, all sorts of relatives would gather at our house.
Ever since Manager Kim bought a house in Seoul with a yard, it had naturally become the family gathering place.
Soon, my cousins would be swarming in.
When I was a guy, I had to gather all my cousins into my room and deal with them like Lü Bu of Hulao Gate. But the memories of female Kim Soo-hyun were a little different.
Far from playing with them, even if female Kim Soo-hyun just narrowed her eyes once and told them not to come in, no one dared enter the room.
Truly, looks were a cheat. If it weren't for this appearance, I wouldn't have been able to protect the merchandise I had in my room.
I felt a little regret at the superficiality of this society overflowing with lookism, but also a bit of satisfaction knowing I was one of those receiving privileges because of it.
"This holiday, play with your younger cousins a bit."
But this time, it didn't seem like I could freeload like in female Kim Soo-hyun's memories.
"Eh? I don't want to."
"This girl, every time the relatives come you just hole up in your room and never come out. I can't show my face anymore."
Really?
If anything, with a daughter who looks like me, shouldn't they be bragging all over the neighborhood?
Besides, both Madam Jang and Manager Kim had my photo as their KakaoTalk profile picture, and now they say they can't show their face?
"Don't you think my presence is a bit too much for little kids?"
"Do you even know how old they are?"
"What do you mean, how old? There are middle and high schoolers and little kids too."
During our family holidays, relatives from both Manager Kim's side and Madam Jang's side gathered.
So, even just among the kids, the age range was wide.
"Well, at least you know that. Anyway, you're an adult now, so take care of the kids. Last year you didn't even come down, saying you moved out on your own."
I definitely did go down last year… ah, right, female Kim Soo-hyun didn't.
Seriously, staying locked up at home had its limits.
"Fine, I'll play with them."
"Really?"
"Well, what, did you expect me to fake it?"
Even back when I was a guy, I did play with my cousins quite a bit.
And now, I entertained thousands of people every day—what's a few cousins compared to that?
"What's gotten into you? Normally you'd just weasel out of answering, that girl."
…Was my image really that bad?
No, this wasn't my image—it was the karma of female Kim Soo-hyun.
Honestly, aside from the face, the voice, some drawing skills, and minor gaming ability, everything else was a total mess.
"Come on, how hard could it be? Leave the kids to me and Mom, go play illegal gambling with the aunts."
"Hey! Don't say it like that. Just say Go-Stop."
"But you bet money, right?"
"Anything under 500 won is fine."
"Really?"
"I don't know, your dad said so."
"Did he?"
Well, if Manager Kim said so, then it must be true.
"Anyway, you promised to look after your cousins, right? Don't run away later."
"Don't worry, where would I run to?"
"Right. Besides locking yourself in your room, what else could you do?"
…That was harsh.
But still, I did have places I could go….
Hmm….
"Look at you, you can't even answer. You really don't have anywhere?"
"N-no, I do."
Maho's house?
It was close, and… if I went, they'd probably let me in.
No, wait. Maho might go down for Chuseok too.
Then… well….
"Ugh, whatever, I'm just going to my room."
"Oh dear, are you sulking?"
"How old do you think I am?"
No way I was sulking—this was just a tactical retreat.
Let's continue this debate once I had more friends.
With that, I went into my room, closed the door, and lay down on the bed.
The breeze blowing in through the open window announced the full arrival of autumn.
They say autumn is the season of reading and fine food… should I read some books? Or maybe go exploring restaurants?
Come to think of it, maybe I should study some Japanese.
I had some free time, and learning a foreign language is always useful.
Compared to other foreign languages, the difficulty was lower, and it would be helpful for broadcasting too, so learning it once wouldn't be bad.
Still lying sprawled on the bed, I searched for Japanese textbooks on my phone.
Since money piled up just from streaming at home, I should spend generously on things like this.
I wasn't making astronomical amounts, but still, compared to ordinary people, more money flowed into my account, so buying a textbook was absolutely no burden.
Come to think of it, ever since moving back home, I'd hardly spent any money.
When I lived alone, I spent a lot on delivery food and such.
But now, even when Madam Jang was away, I cooked for myself without issue.
I really did feel like a domestic woman now.
"That should do it."
I bought a Japanese textbook with lots of reviews.
Since I was only learning the basics, buying whatever book was popular and studying it should be fine.
Still, Chuseok was coming soon….
For me, Chuseok didn't come with the same worries others had.
Back when I was a guy, wasn't I an elite university engineering student? During Chuseok, my parents' pride soared sky-high.
And in female Kim Soo-hyun's memories….
She was basically Lü Bu.
With this face, who could say anything?
People just assumed she'd live well on her own and didn't bother her.
Well, the fact that she locked herself in her room and never spoke also played a part.
Still, being too distant from relatives was awkward, so this Chuseok, I decided to be friendlier.
I could hand out some pocket money to my younger cousins and play with them.
"Up we go."
After finishing my deep contemplation about Chuseok, I went to sit at my computer desk.
But should I take a break from streaming during Chuseok?
There was still some time, but if I was going to, it would be better to post an announcement early.
Anyway, the "Maze Crew" wouldn't have time to watch my stream during Chuseok, since they'd all be getting beaten up by their own relatives.
I might as well take a break and play with my cousins.
So, I logged into the fan café and began writing a scheduled post for a holiday break notice.
If I wrote it half-heartedly like last time, it might cause a flame war again, so I should at least put some effort into it.
Hmm… but it was just a notice saying I'd take a break because of Chuseok cousins—did it really need to be long?
I should just write the facts concisely, sticking to the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
As I was writing the notice accordingly, the phone I'd left on my desk buzzed.
Who could it be?
Well, if not my manager, then Hye-jung.
Since I'd spoken with Hye-jung last time, it must be my manager this time.
Thinking that, I checked my phone—sure enough, it was my manager.
Curious about what news they had, I picked up the call right away.
"Hello?"
[Ah yes, Miro-nim, are you doing well?]
"I've been doing fine these days."
[That's truly a relief.]
What's this? Strangely formal.
If someone who normally doesn't act this formal suddenly does, it's usually one of two things.
Either they have something to apologize for, or they want to ask a favor.
"I'm not doing it."
[Huh?]
"I don't know what it is, but can't I just say no?"
[My, Miro-nim, you really are sharp, aren't you?]
Damn it, I knew it.
Judging from that reaction, this was more of a favor than an apology.
"So what is it? If it's another round of second-gen interviews, I'm rejecting it right away."
[Well, last time you didn't exactly… do well, did you?]
"…That was an accident."
Just remembering that second-gen interview still made chills run down my spine.
Honestly, the second-gen debuts already scared me. Were the seniors going to get devoured?
[Well, it's not about the second-gen. In fact, it's good news, you could say.]
"Oh? What is it? Is the third album coming out already?"
[That's not in the plans… it's something else.]
What? No plans? The second album's planning had been so quick.
Looked like The Six were getting a bit too comfortable.
Well, to be fair, the second album did go really well, and the other members' growth had also taken off since then.
"So what is it, then?"
[Now, there's still over three months left until the end of the year, right?]
"Roughly, yeah. About a hundred days?"
[Well, since this is the first year-end since the Celestial Project was formed, wouldn't it be a shame to just let it pass quietly?]
"Why is your preamble so long? What are you trying to make me do?"
After the initial big push, The Six had been left mostly untouched.
They supported us from the sidelines with streaming avatars and songs, but didn't meddle with our broadcasts. What were they plotting this time?
[Well, the idea came up of doing a live concert at the end of the year.]
"A live concert?"
Could that even work? A concert? Surely not offline.
[Yes, an online live broadcast. All the members would perform together to close out the year.]
It sounded great in theory… but was it possible?
"Do you think that's possible? What if we mess up?"
[Of course, it would be a pre-recorded live.]
"Then that's not really live, is it…?"
[In the industry, this still counts as live.]
Is that so? Thinking about it, the home country did it that way too.
Honestly, in the unpredictable virtual world, doing something as major as a concert completely live would be unreasonable.
What if a program error happened mid-performance?
"Well, I'm not sure if it's doable, but it does sound fun."
It did seem kind of fun.
All the members gathering to perform.
Even during Miro's 24-hour stream, the excitement had been insane. A concert? Who knew how it would go, but it was bound to be exhilarating.
[Everyone sings so well, don't they? But more than that….]
They do sing well. But why hesitate? What was he trying to push on me?
"More than that?"
[Do you happen to dance at all?]
…Dance?
There was no way I could dance.
"Can't we just use MMD for that…?"
[Unfortunately, MMD doesn't count as live. The higher-ups have already laid out a full plan for dance lessons. We'll provide the dance instructor, practice space, meals, snacks—everything. All you have to do is show up and practice regularly.]
Wow, all I had to do was bring myself? That had to cost a lot.
No, wait, that wasn't the point—if everything was already planned, then why call it a suggestion?
"Is this really a suggestion?"
[As I said, you're very perceptive. Truthfully, contractually speaking, it's something you're required to do. Still, doesn't it feel nicer when it's phrased as a suggestion?]
"What the hell…."
What kind of malicious contract was this?!
No matter how I thought about it, female Kim Soo-hyun's physical ability was trash.
She'd spent her life shut in, just drawing and doing otaku stuff—if her body was in great shape, that would've been weirder.
In fact, compared to a normal, active woman, her body was even weaker.
And now they wanted me to dance?
To make this creaky body move like that?
They might as well be telling me to die.
Even rolling in a dung heap, life was still better than death.
Why risk my life and pride for something pointless?
My survival came first.
"Argh! Just let me do the dancing in MMD!"
And so I flopped onto the bed.
I couldn't believe I was throwing a tantrum at my age.
[Why are you acting like that? You'd do great if you tried…!]
Through the phone came the manager's flustered voice, but I ignored it.
Forget it, whatever.
I can't dance.
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