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Chapter 9: Rosé’s Aegyo Chaos

“Alright! Let’s get this stream going!”

I raised my voice to shift the awkward atmosphere.

“Hey! It stalled because of you!”

“Huh?”

Huh, for real
Ugh, I wanna flick her forehead so bad today
The fact that she’s doing it on purpose pisses me off…

“Oh, then, Uju-nim.”

“Yeah?”

This felt like the perfect moment, so I suggested to Minseo,

“Since the flow’s paused, how about doing what you promised earlier?”

It’d be weird to stop again later, so now, with the vibe already scattered, seems like the right time.

“Huh?”

“You said you’d do it.”

“No! I—”

“No?”

“Uh… no, it’s fine…”

Oh, I frowned again.

Worried I’d ruined the mood, I glanced at the others—they were just watching, amused.
Phew, that’s a relief.

What’s going on?
Beating up Uju?
Why would she start to argue and then stop?
What was the promise anyway?

“Oh, it’s no big deal. Uju-nim promised to do aegyo on stream earlier.”

Yup, it was Minseo’s voluntary promise.

?
She was dead set against it. How’d you pull that off?
Actually taming her?
LOLOL 27-year-old aegyo
Yes!

“Uju-nim, let’s go.”

“Ugh! Fine…”

“Wow! Everyone, clap!”

Everyone except Minseo cheered and clapped.

“Uh…!”

“Hurry, or I’ll give you lines to say.”

This should speed her up, right?

Such an evil girl LOLOL
Message deleted.
LOLOL
She’s so good at bullying LOLOL

“U-Uju likes Rosé!”

“Eek!”

“So cute!”

Her blushing from embarrassment and squeaking out the aegyo left an impression.
It also taught me never to do aegyo on stream myself.

“I don’t like it.”

That’s that, and this is this.

“What! At least play along!”

“Oh.”

Guess my zero-to-hundred response hurt her.

Instant reply LOLOL
Said she was cute before, but now LOLOL
Oh, cute and liking are separate things LOLOL

“I meant I don’t like food rosé.”

“Hey! That’s your excuse?!”

…Too obvious?

“Hmm… the aegyo was kinda meh.”

This time, I gave an honest critique.

Making her do it and then judging so harshly LOLOL
That half-assed excuse is ridiculous

“Natural cuteness like before feels cuter than forced aegyo.”

Yup, natural’s better than artificial. Nod nod.

I nodded to myself.

Wow, she covered it like that
Was that a buildup?
Chills 😱

“Ahem!”

“Oh, now that embarrassed look is kinda cute.”

“Hey! Saying that with that face—”

Huh?

“Unnie!”

“Wait, hold on!”

“Gasp!”

That face?
Actually a prince type?
Must be kinda good-looking

“More aegyo… right…?”

Good thing there’s no big reaction, so I leaned into the stream angle.

“Hey!”

“Nice!”

“Yes! So good!”

LOLOL
Extreme!
Extreme!
Rock!
Extreme!
Extreme!

The viewers seem to be enjoying it, so that’s a win.

“Here’s a pro tip for the viewers.”

Is it okay to say this?

?
What’s the tip?
What’s she about to say now

“Everyone who already knows this, it’s more fun if you watch while looking at that photo.”

For reference, Minseo’s red pill is already all over the community.

“Hey!”

“Rosé! That’s too far!”

Crazy girl LOLOL
Message deleted.
Red pill revenge LOLOL
She holds grudges forever LOLOL
Ex-idol trainee Jeon Minseo’s photo?
Message deleted.

But! The timing was too perfect! I had the excuse of revenge! And everyone who knows already knows!

Smack!

“Ow!”

I yelped instinctively at the impact on my back.

I turned to see Minseo, who’d hit me.

“Eek! Sorry!”

Oh, I must’ve been frowning from the pain.
…But I’m the one who got hit. Why do I feel like the bad guy?

LOLOL
Rosé got hit, why’s Uju apologising?
Wasn’t she tamed earlier?

Seeing Minseo’s reaction gave me another fun idea.

“Come here.”

“Uh, yeah. Okay…”

I put my arm around Minseo’s shoulder as she approached and said,

“Sorry, buddy.”

“Uh, yeah…?!”

Wow, she’s playing along with my delinquent act so well.
Is this the instinct of an ex-idol trainee, leaning into the stream angle?

“No, I’m sorry!”

…Or was she just genuine?

LOLOL
Actually a delinquent? LOLOL
I’m getting PTSD…
Hmm… kinda hot?
Message deleted.

“Buddy, you’ll do aegyo… right…?”

“Uh, no… I…”

“You won’t?”

I added a nasal tone to nail the concept.

“Sniff, buddy. It’s fine, just talk casually.”

Oh, this feels good.

“Uh… uh…!”

She kept avoiding my gaze, clearly flustered.

I’m scared now 😭
Actual PTSD-inducing stream?
I’m developing PTSD I didn’t have

Seeing a delicate-looking beauty react like this makes me want to tease her more.

That thought led to a sudden curiosity.

What if I suddenly got touchy?

“Eek!”

I slid my arm from her shoulder to her back and grabbed her hand with my other hand.

Her reaction suggests that ignoring my inner Confucian dragon was worth it.

“Buddy, you’ll do it… right…?”

“Uh…! I…!”

“Buddy! What’s so hard about it!”

“Yeah~ just do it once, and we’ll let you go!”

Yubin and Sua joined in, enjoying the moment.

Ugh… I’m scared…
Isn’t this group bullying?
They’re not VTubers, they’re a delinquent group?
So real

“Ugh…”

I saw Minseo’s face scrunch up, her eyes getting watery.

“Oh.”

I’m screwed.

“Unnie.”

I let go of her and pulled her into a hug.

“Sorry, I did it ‘cause I like you so much.”

“Uh…! I…”

“You okay?”

“Yeah…”

Using a term I rarely use, dropping to informal speech, and adding physical contact—
It just came out in a rush to calm her down.

Crazy LOLOL
Handled it quick LOLOL
Wow, I’m sweating buckets
😲😲
Polar bears are extinct…

Guess that was too much for soft-hearted Minseo.

“Alright! I’ll take over hosting!”

I changed the topic to shift the vibe.

“Last week, we said we’d talk about first impressions in person, right? Let’s start with our eldest unnie, Uju-nim!”

I started with Minseo to comfort her quickly.

“Wow!”

“First, from me! I was shocked at how delicate she looks! I saw her photo before, but her real presence is a total knockout!”

LOLOL
Beating her up then slathering on Medicasol LOLOL
She does look delicate
Message deleted.
She’s really pretty
Message deleted.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah! Uju-nim! You’re seriously gorgeous!”

“For real, unnie! Be confident!”

“Yup! Total delicate goddess!”

LOLOL
Not the maknae? Eldest unnie, right? LOLOL
Uju’s so cute LOLOL
So cute

We went around like that.

“Terri-nim gives total ice princess vibes.”

“Yeah, she looks cold.”

Oh
Cool girl
LOL ice princess

“She just looks like she’s got no thoughts.”

With me used to my face now, that impression feels warm to me.

Gasp
😱
No fact attacks!

“Hanbyeol-nim’s got puppy vibes.”

“Yeah! Like a golden retriever!”

“Her personality, too—human golden retriever.”

Looked super lively
Message deleted.
Her face matches her personality
Bet she looks like a total insider

“Somi’s got cat vibes.”

“Kinda haughty-looking.”

“Her face matches her personality perfectly.”

…Is matching her personality a compliment or an insult?

Looked like she’s been around
Message deleted.
Smells like a veteran
Bet she looks like she’d buy you bread

“Oh, Siru-nim?”

“Cute vibes, right?”

“Yup, our Siru’s so adorable!”

“I wondered if her legs would break if I kicked them.”

Yuna’s so tiny and frail-looking, I wondered if those skinny legs could hold her up.

“Huh?”

“Rosé?”

“Yes?!”

A dude? LOLOL
How’s your first impression of breaking legs?
LOLOL

“…That’s a compliment, right?”

“Of course.”

Oh, my turn?

“Uh… she looks like her avatar.”

“Right?! I thought so too!”

Yup, I thought the same.

“…Thought she was a delinquent.”

Huh?

“Siru-nim?”

“Eek! Sorry!”

“No, no need to apologise. It’s just what you felt.”

My face is scary, but it’s not delinquent-level.

I’ll show Nayeon a photo later.
Gotta teach her what a real delinquent vibe is.

Not that Nayeon’s a delinquent either.

Avatar-like delinquent vibes?
Must look like a total player?
Veteran confirmed
Revenge 😱

“Her face is too good for her image.”

“Huh?”

For reference, Yerin said that.

“Hahaha!”

“Hehehe!”

What’s her face like…
Fact is Terri
Must be blue pill?

We’d discussed it a bit beforehand.

Since half the group’s red pills are already known, it’s natural the focus would be on the other three, right?

So we agreed to either say they’re pretty or just describe the vibe…

Staring blankly at Yerin, she lowered her eyes and spoke.

“Uh, sorry…”

“Oh.”

This darn face.

Must be super scary-looking
First time seeing Terri shrink like that LOLOL

“Rosé! Why’re you scaring Terri!”

“No—”

“You’re too scary-looking!”

“No! For real!”

Yeah, it’s true, but…
Hearing it collectively like this kinda stings…

And so, today’s collab ended successfully.