Private An Impromptu Collab

[Aerial]

..

"Mhm. I see. So, you're cancelling on your former client's behalf? Right, right. It wouldn't be appropriate to do a show with a disgraced idol." Disgusting. Corporate swine like this made her skin crawl.

Seething anger nearly boiled over through her gritted teeth, "But did you former client want to cancel? Eh? Why should I care? This collaboration wasn't cause of some snazzy deal you guys offered me." A previously honey coated tongue became laced with bile. "What you fuckers want doesn't matter to me, 'kay?"

The irritated commands issued from her phone became muffled when she casually tossed it on her bed. "You sound like a Chihuahua. Please kindly shut the fuck up."

The moment she received the news from a certain manager, Gigi had begun to pack her bags. "I already booked a plane. Let me finish packing now. Really, this works for me. Now we can say whatever the fuck we want." Money was offered but Gigi immediately rejected the dirty filth. "I hope you look forward to the stream~"

---

That evening, Gigi arrived at her destination. At least, her information said this was the correct address. She prayed this was where she lived because her arms were jelly from dragging her gear around.

Only one way to find out.

Knuckles tapped a loud syncopated rhythm on the wooden door, "Hello? Is this the residence of Dayeon Song?"

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

It's evening already? The songstress lost the sense of time, spending the end of the year rotting in her bedroom lazing around. It's almost 24 hours since she left the bed, probably? Between playing the game, browsing on her phone, or just sleeping again.

A loud knock on the apartment door surprised her, which prompted Dayeon to finally get up from the lazy island.

"Hello? Is this the residence of Dayeon Song?"

After a while, Gigi could hear a 'please wait' voice, followed by loud steps of running before the wooden door opened, revealing a woman wearing an oversized shirt whose two-toned hair looked like it hadn't been washed for the entire day. Not just her hair, actually. The bare face and black eye bags were a big hint that she might have not been outside for a while.

"Yeji-ssi?" She asked the woman she recognized as the popular streamer, having been caught off-guard by this visit before noticing the amount of equipment that the streamer was bringing around. "I thought the entertainment already informed you that I'm not part of them anymore?"

They have never met before, but her company had set up an end-of-the-year surprise collab content with Gigi, a popular ex-esport pro whose name had been climbing up the charts of streaming services lately. Or at least that was the plan before Dayeon got kicked out of the entertainment agency.

"Ah, please make yourself at home," Dayeon gestured the woman in, opening the door wide so she could bring all the gear inside. Upon entering, the view of a messy apartment living room could be seen. Not surprising, considering the idol herself looked like she had just awoken from a pretty unhealthy sleep, "Sorry, I haven't washed up yet. You want to drink something?"

@Aerial

 

[Aerial]

..

Search "Dayeon Song" online and perfectly polished images appeared. Only the finest selections were published at the behest of a company that desperately tried to conceal unique charms with manufactured ones.

The Dayeon Song in front of her looked human. Truthfully, Gigi had been hesitant when first contacted. Idols were manipulated to be perfect. The normally confident woman had questioned how it'd work. A goddess with a mere mortal? The headlines wrote themselves.

Although, even with a bare face and black panda eyes, the former idol was absolutely stunning. But it reinforced that she made the correct decision: behind the company's wish to cancel was a human who deserved to be heard.

"Yeji-ssi?"

For a moment, Gigi didn't realize she'd been addressed. "Yeji" no longer existed. Alas, her birth certificate begged to differ. "You can just call me Gigi." she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, "And no honorifics are necessary. After all, we're the same age."

"I thought the entertainment already informed you that I'm not part of them anymore?"

Her face lightened up like a mischievous gremlin. "Yeah. I received a call from your former Chihuahua this morning." Chihuahua naturally referred to the manager who called to cancel. "I'm collabing with you - not some corporate bores. In retrospect, I could have simply called buuut.. Their yapping mouth implored me to take action."

Legs cried in excitement as she was let in. Leaving her equipment by the front door, she casually slumped into one of the couches as if she was a frequent visitor. "A mess? I think you're over-exaggerating. Then again, I'm an absolute trainwreck." she playfully joked.

Gigi produced an emergency energy drink from her hoodie's pouch. "So, did'ja still wanna collab?" she asked with an impish grin, "You don't have to be censored now. You can say whatever the fuck you want."

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"In retrospect, I could have simply called buuut.. Their yapping mouth implored me to take action."

Dayeon sighed, she could already see the headlines inside her head, "You'll get in a lot of trouble." She closed the door, before inspecting all things that Gigi brought. It seemed that the woman really wanted to stream with her, even outside of the company dealings.

Maybe Gigi was a little bit of a rebel, too. Judging by her gremlin grins.

"So, did'ja still wanna collab?"

"I mean, you're already here with all of this," She shrugged, gesturing at the equipment before grinning with a thumb-up. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna say no and kick you out." Tying up her hair, the idol then disappeared into the bathroom before shouting. "I'm gonna at least wash my face and put on some makeup, okay? Make yourself comfortable."

After five solid minutes, Dayeon came out of the bathroom, looking a little more presentable now even with the oversized white shirt she was wearing, the idol was as close as the version you see on the YouTube videos. "Hope I didn't make you wait too long", she walked up to Gigi, before gesturing at the equipment left near the front door.

"Anyway, she should set things up. Should we do it here? Or in my bedroom?"

@Aerial

 

[Aerial]

..

"You'll get in a lot of trouble."

The woman suppressed the urge to roll her eyes for a record of five seconds. "Trouble". A bothersome descriptive to some. However, the chaos gremlin gladly accepted the title of "Troublemaker". Life already tried to suck the fun and life out of everything. Why abide by those silly little rules that resulted in utter boredom? "I guess you don't know much about me, then."

Honestly, she was still surprised that the company had thought of Gigi when considering collaboration. Everyone in the gaming industry knew of her impish grins and flippant attitude. She'd always been a miserable troll that loved to draw the ire of others. "I like to consider myself chaotic good." she hummed in thought.

"Oh, also, the contract didn't include anything 'bout not contacting you if blah blah were to happen." Ah, yes. Gigi was brilliant with the way she weaved her words, like an intricate spider. "Don't worry. You'll be fine~ I promise I'll deal with any collateral." she brushed any concerns off without a second thought.

"Besides, it's not like I'm gonna say no and kick you out." Well, that was a good thing considering Gigi hadn't bothered to figure out a secondary plan of action if Dayeon refused her. Hotels were probably booked up due to the fast-approaching holidays. Yet again, Gigi went unpunished for her reckless actions.

"I'm gonna at least wash my face and put on some makeup, okay? Make yourself comfortable." That wasn't necessary. Gigi would have said as much but the woman vanished in an instant. A stray hand poked at her own cheek. Hm. She should have probably put more thought into her appearance. Half-heartedly, she attempted to flatten her many stray-away strands. When they didn't immediately bend to her will she threw in the towel. It wasn't worth the effort.

"Geez. I need'a learn your secrets." It was amazing how quickly Dayeon had managed to clean up. "I mean you look ah-may-zing," she accentuated each syllable, "With or without the makeup." A fact that wasn't fair to a normie like Gigi but credit was given where credit was deserved.

"Anyway, we should set things up. Should we do it here? Or in my bedroom."

Gigi responded with an unhelpful shrug after a short delay. "This is your show today. I'll follow your lead." She rummaged through her supplies, ready to setup the equipment wherever Dayeon pointed her to. "This is your day. Anything you want goes. No need to check anything over with me. I wanna know the person behind the idol. It's gotta feel freeing, eh? To not deal with those..." Controllers, manipulators, power abusers- Eventually, Gigi settled on a simple insult, "Michin gae."

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"I guess you don't know much about me, then." She chuckled, "Right," knowing Gigi's reputation in the entertainment world. "Don't worry. You'll be fine~ I promise I'll deal with any collateral." Gigi promised, to which the idol jokingly dismissed while grinning. "That's not reassuring at all."

The gamer was quite impressed with her clean-up result, "I mean you look ah-may-zing, with or without the makeup." She praised, to which Dayeon replied while tapping her cheeks, "I've learned a lot from top make-up artists during my group days," she then offered, "I can teach you some if you want. Your style might be similar to mine."

As to where to hold the livestream, Gigi left it fully to Dayeon. "This is your show today. I'll follow your lead."

Dayeon walked up to her own bedroom, before deciding that it was too much effort trying to sort out the mess that she caused. Not counting the number of undergarments all over the bed and floor, of course. "Uh, in front of the couch look better, actually. Kinda chill." She decided, helping Gigi set up the equipment she brought. Lighting, camera, microphone, computer, and other things she didn't quite understand.

"It's gotta feel freeing, eh? To not deal with those Michin gae."

"This is why you're the troublemaker," She laughed again, knowing well that she herself was also labeled as some kind of a troublemaker, before sighing, some sadness apparent in her words. "Would feel better if not for the fact that I'm not making any money for the last three months." It did not take long for them to finish setting up, and as she fell back on the couch to rest a bit, Dayeon prompted the gamer to start the stream and introduce her as a surprise guest by clapping.

"Alright, we're set up. The floor is yours, Gigi."

@Aerial

 

[Aerial]

..

"That's not reassuring at all."
"Eh, I've always sucked at reassuring people."

As for the offer to learn the art of cosmetics? Gigi quickly shook her head "no". "That sounds like way too much work. It's not like I have anyone to impress." Although, maybe she'd inquire into her assistance for special events. But what events were special enough to experience such torture? She still recalled her friend pinning her down to apply that eye stuff to her lashes for a charity event. A shiver ran down her spine - not an experience she looked forward to.

Once given directives, Gigi worked with uncharacteristic professionalism as she practically cradled her expensive equipment. Her babies. Normally, they would remain safe in her room but this was too big of an occasion to leave them behind. Her trusty babies would make sure this stream was of the highest quality.

"That's not reassuring at all."
Huh. Gigi assumed Dayeon would still receive royalties. Ugh - that'd been too optimistic. Whether it be the gaming industry or the music industry, businesses were always to be looked at with a dim, barely lit, and flickering light. "Well, any donations we get today will go to your piggy bank." she hummed, various ideas assaulting her at once, "Maybe we can set you up a MeTube page or something."

Now... How best to present this stream? Wait, why was she even considering a plan? That had never been her forte. As per usual, she'd make shit up as she went and pray it didn't backfire. After tampering with the stream's settings, she twittered out, "You're not going to want to miss the chance to witness this incredible collab ;D"

"And we're live." User accounts already spammed the chat with emotes, questions, and copypastas.

Rando123: the fuck is up with the clickbaity title
Anon333: its gg wtf do u expect?
Person9: she hyped smthng up on her social media pages
ToxicTroll69: GG SUXXX!!
WarWoofer: First-time viewer here. I've never been able to catch one, only the uploaded vods.
VesuNYAN: @warwolfer1 run there r only degens here
P4ND4: lolol washed up LOL

The chat and streamer exchanged banter until she held up her palm. "Okay, everyone, calm the fuck down. We have a special guest today so try to be on your best behavior." A wave of emotes followed her rules. "Aiish." Gigi rubbed her temple as she awaited the tempo to settle even slightly. "Here's a clue: someone who has always ranked high on the charts!"

HORDELUV: BDSM?
Typow: that beaver kid????
SinisterGiraffe: yall are expecting too much from her rofl
IPINKYOU: omfggg if its bdsm then we need to protect our bois from this monster!!!!!!! our precious oppas TT

Eyes absorbed the messages the second they appeared. "Holy shit. Don't start a goddamn fan war in my stream. My level of fucks given to each of your stan groups or whatever are at the same level of absolute zero."

shyly: Dayeon Song....?

Finally! Someone who hadn't guessed BDSM, Wandering Children, BlackBlue, or XTX. "Bingo! I introduce you all to the one.. the only.." The camera panned over to Dayeon as she exclaimed, "Dayeon Song!"

Cue fans freaking out in chat.

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"Maybe we can set you up a MeTube page or something."

"I had a friend that suggested the same. I'll take a look at it when I have time." She winked at the other woman, as the preparation for the livestream was complete.

"And we're live."

Somehow, there were already a lot of users watching the stream. Gigi's very popular, alright, and judging by the chat's comments they were already haters already joining the stream. Guess more fans also means more haters.

"Bingo! I introduce you all to the one.. the only.. Dayeon Song!"

baeyeonsong: Wait it's the real Dayeon wtf??
fearless111: POGGERS
badbunny9: HYPE

Dayeon could already see the chat going crazy before the camera panned toward her, "Hello, everyone! DAYEONSONG here!" She waved at the camera, before making finger hearts, and bowed to the audience. The idol then nodded to the woman beside her, "Thanks for having me, Gigi."

Even after five years of experience performing in front of audiences and cameras, streaming was a very different thing; you can't see your audience but are still expected to interact with them. Never getting used to it was why Dayeon never had a lot of XLIVEs compared to her groupmates.

redsun: dayeon are you returning to music

Her lips pursed, trying to think of an answer. She wouldn't break her fans' hearts, but promising something that might not come true was worse. The idol ended up responding with a vague answer, "Don't worry, I'm still working on it!" She raised a fist, before turning to Gigi, the host. "So, Gigi, what are we doing today?"

@Aerial