Unfortunately, we only won the first match.

    After tearing through everyone’s backs that first round, the stream snipers changed their tactics—

    They started knocking Rain out first and tracking my every move.

    At that point, it was impossible.

    Even if you put a pro in my place, they would’ve given up too.

    No matter how hard I fought, it was a sheer numbers game.

    But honestly?

    I wasn’t angry or anything.

    I did everything I could,

    And more importantly,

    I got to play with CEO for four whole hours.

    There was no way I could be in a bad mood.

    :: An anonymous donor has contributed 100,000 Clouds! ::

    :: We’ll see you again... right? ::

    Normally, I wouldn’t respond to a donation like this,

    But today?

    I indulged them.

    “We see each other every day in the same chat, you know?”

    — Oh.

    — Wait, why is that true?

    — LOL, no way.

    — Damn, we really didn’t think this through.

    “So starting tomorrow, I’ll go back to being just another viewer in the chat, like always.

    As the CEO said earlier, if the opportunity arises, we might meet again.

    Thank you for today, everyone.

    Please continue to support the CEO and the first-gen members.”

    — Ah...

    — Goodbye, Employee D!!

    — D-VA!!

    — D-BA!! ??

    — D-VAAAA!!

    The CEO didn’t add anything.

    It felt like a clean ending.

    At least, that’s how I remembered it.

    But one week later,

    The smear campaign began.

    —Parallel (VTuber) Gallery—

    [Honestly, Signal Flare’s skill is overrated.]

    After the stream ended, all I heard was:

    “Damn, that was insane.”

    “She carried the whole match.”

    “Incredible performance.”

    Momo and Rain praised me non-stop.

    But actually?

    Momo held out REALLY well that match, too.

    Yeah, she died like an idiot afterward, but still.

    That first win wasn’t just because of Signal Flare.

    Maybe they were overhyping her a little, huh?

    (Upvotes: 52) (Downvotes: 50)

    [Comments]

    — Parallel901: Damn, you’re persistent.

    — Parallel731: Doesn’t even matter LOL.

    ? Parallel731: Momo’s stubborn as hell—she’d never push someone who wasn’t actually good.

    ? Parallel381: BUT YOU NEVER KNOW!!!

    — Parallel812: Blind upvote.

    ? Parallel812: If she’s so good, she should just stream and prove it.

    ? Parallel781: FR LOL.

    ? Parallel114: FR LOL.

    — Parallel393: Don’t diss Employee D.

    ? Parallel393: If it weren’t for her, the stream would’ve been ruined by snipers.

    ? Parallel571 (OP): That’s exactly my point.

    ? Parallel393: ?

    ? Parallel393: Oh.

    ? Parallel393: Yeah, she kinda sucked LOL.

    ? Parallel701: LMAOOOOOOOOOO.

    ? Parallel840: The instant betrayal LMFAO.

    ? Parallel715: He finally saw the truth.

    Even the guy defending me turned against me in the end.

    Was I really that bad?

    No, that didn’t make sense.

    I carried that entire match while dragging two deadweights behind me.

    I played manager AND shot-caller AND hard carry.

    They all praised me when I was just fucking around in Momo’s streams,

    But the moment I streamed for real, they started tearing me down?

    Maybe...

    Maybe I didn’t notice it myself, but...

    Maybe my skills really dropped when I got smaller.

    I never mentioned it,

    But my hands got smaller.

    And because I had to adjust to that, my endurance definitely dropped.

    Maybe my aim really was worse than usual.

    And because Battle Colosseum was one of the few things I took seriously,

    I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

    That’s why, even after work,

    I spent more time grinding ranked than usual.

    Not because I wanted to prove myself to anyone.

    Just because I wanted to make sure—

    Was I actually bad?

    I even stopped watching my usual Kirinuki clips

    And focused solely on improving.

    And then, after grinding match after match—

    [(Team) TandooriChickenTandooriTime: You’re actually overrated.]

    [(Team) SpacePirateNylonMusk: ...?]

    [(Team) SpacePirateNylonMusk: Do I know you?]

    [(Team) TandooriChickenTandooriTime: Aren’t you Signal Flare?]

    [(Team) SpacePirateNylonMusk: What the fuck.]

    [(Team) TandooriChickenTandooriTime: So you admit you sucked this match?]

    [(Team) SpacePirateNylonMusk: ???]

    (Team member TandooriChickenTandooriTime has left the game.)

    Suddenly, I was getting shit-talked in-game, too.

    The problem?

    It wasn’t just one guy.

    Completion: Next monthQuality & polygon count approvedNo issuesSample received from the label → Exceeded expectationsMembers are training hardRecording scheduled in 3 weeksAd banner design finishedWaiting for external company’s final site traffic test

    ? Rain → Still grinding Battle Colosseum Iron rank

    ? Maru → Some new puzzle game

    ? Komari → Ranked League

    ? Dora →

    “...Huh.”

    Dohee blinked.

    Then checked again.

    Then checked again.

    It still said “Pandemic Village.”

    “...A horror game?”

    The latest entry in the globally popular Pandemic series—

    A masterpiece of survival horror mixed with FPS elements.

    A bit gory, but not a problem with an age restriction.

    The real issue was that Dora was playing a horror game.

    Dohee glanced at the clock,

    Then called Gia.

    Ring.

    Ring.

    Ring.

    Nearly a full minute passed before it was about to switch to voicemail.

    Then, finally—

    [“...Yaaawn... Hello?”]

    A soft, sleepy voice.

    Even groggy, she still sounded adorable.

    Dohee thought, truly, a voice blessed by the heavens.

    And then she spoke.

    “Gia. Dora’s playing a horror game today.”

    Gia yawned again, then mumbled.

    [“...Mmm. Should I... handle it at HQ later?”]

    ★

    "Yaaawn."

    Even after showering, the yawns wouldn’t stop.

    Maybe I shouldn’t have played so long last night.

    I wrapped a towel around my still-damp hair,

    flopped onto my bed,

    And checked Dora’s Z-feed.

    Akari Dora ? @Akari_Dora - 5 minutes ago

    “Guys, let’s negotiate.”

    Akari Dora ? @Akari_Dora - 1 minute ago

    “How about we play something else instead of a horror game? Hmm? Please?”

    Yup.

    She got hit with the punishment.

    Dora had the worst punctuality out of the first-gen members.

    So she made a deal—

    Every 10 times she was late,

    She’d let viewers pick a horror game as punishment.

    “...She already hit ten? It’s only been two months.”

    Technically, office hours were 3 PM to midnight.

    But whenever Dora played a horror game,

    I always stayed behind.

    She tried to be careful,

    But her natural clumsiness meant she kept banging into equipment whenever she got scared.

    And since she had zero technical knowledge,

    If anything broke, she couldn’t fix it herself.

    And when a stream gets delayed because of technical issues?

    Viewers get pissed.

    It’s like watching a big esports match that keeps getting paused.

    Even if the casters try to stall,

    Too much downtime kills the mood.

    A few weeks ago,

    Dora had a major audio interface failure mid-stream.

    It looked like a quick fix on the surface,

    But it had actually butchered her live viewership.

    Some people suggested that if we were so worried,

    We should just station a staff member at her house.

    But come on.

    There was no way we could send a male staffer

    to wait inside a woman’s house for hours just because we were scared of technical issues.

    “...Wait a second.”

    I tilted my head.

    Looked in the mirror.

    Checked my reflection.

    A cute girl who had just taken a shower stared back at me.

    “If that’s the problem...”

    I muttered.

    “...Doesn’t that mean I could wait at her house?”