"My Childhood Friend is a VTuber"

"Hmm? It's your birthday? Wahaha, then I, the Roman Emperor, shall gladly bless your birthday!"

And not just any VTuber—a seriously professional and quite successful one.

I'm not sure how she ended up with such an odd concept as a Roman Emperor, but according to her, she was absolutely certain it would be a hit from the start.

In her own words, "History nerds are all otaku at heart anyway."

Either way, with ten thousand viewers flooding in whenever she goes live and over 500,000 YouTube subscribers, she's clearly among the absolute top tier of Korean VTubers.

Of course, that doesn't mean her spending habits are equally top-tier, which is why I, who've been dabbling in video editing since childhood, am being forced to accept "friendship fees"—essentially unpaid labor—from my childhood friend who makes hundreds of millions of won annually.

"Well then, Romans~ I'll see you all at the next banquet!"

Finally, after a six-hour broadcast. Once I confirmed the stream was completely off, I entered the booth with grape juice, her favorite.

"Oh, thank you. How thoughtful."

She took the glass with a bright smile.

She swiveled her chair to face me. Her short legs, not quite reaching the floor, swung excitedly.

"So how was the broadcast this time?"

"Good. Though I still don't understand what you're saying."

"I told you to at least check out the wiki when you have time."

"No thanks. Eastern Roman Empire or whatever..."

"Roman Empire! Just like a South Korean, always adding cardinal directions to country names."

"You're South Korean too..."

Well, only half South Korean, to be precise.

She's ethnically Roman, adopted by Korean parents when she was young.

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, hearing the slurping sound as she sucked on her straw.

I handed back her phone, which had been turned off during the broadcast, and asked:

"So what are you doing this afternoon?"

"Why, asking me on a date?"

Choi Anna grinned mischievously.

She always threw out comments like this so casually. Yet she never actually saw me as a man.

"Yes. If you're free."

When I answered calmly, grape juice suddenly sprayed everywhere with a "pffft" sound.

"Cough, cough..."

"Drink slowly. You'll choke."

I sighed and pulled out some tissues, which she quickly snatched from my hand.

Anna wiped her mouth with them while glaring at me.

"It's your fault. Why are you being so creepy all of a sudden?"

"Creepy? I don't want to date you either."

"I want it even less!!"

She shouted and then sighed.

"I'm meeting Professor Kim this afternoon. Remember? The Roman history professor from Seoul National University."

"Ah, for that Greek translation work?"

"Roman."

"Roman is Latin, isn't it?"

"..."

She glared at me briefly before getting down from her chair.

Then she deliberately hit my shoulder hard as she left the booth.

"Sometimes I think you were born just to irritate me."

Anna grumbled.

I shrugged and followed behind her.

"But where did you learn something like Medieval Greek?"

"Self-taught."

"You're meeting a Seoul National University professor one-on-one through self-study?"

"Didn't you know? I'm a genius emperor."

Anna's expression quickly softened as she sat comfortably on the sofa.

"I may be playing the fool here, but I was actually a noble Porphyrogenita of the ancient Roman Empire. Every day, I was locked away in the library of the Boukoleon Palace, where all the world's knowledge was gathered, reading every book I could get my hands on."

"...You're really committed to this concept."

"It's true!!"

"Then why are you so bad with computers? I thought you acquired all the world's knowledge."

"I said the ancient Roman Empire! Did they have computers back then?"

"What about math? Greece is the birthplace of mathematics."

"Urgh..."

Anna closed her mouth as if she had nothing to say. She nervously downed the rest of her juice in one go.

Anna is quite cute when she's on the defensive, but if I push her any further, she'll definitely explode completely.

I sat down naturally beside her and changed the subject.

"By the way, I had some time yesterday and read a book about the Eastern Roman Empire."

"I told you, Eastern Ro... never mind. What book did you read?"

"The Alexiad."

To be precise, it was "The Alexiad: Abridged One-Volume Edition."

"..."

Anna fell unusually silent.

I tilted my head and looked at her.

"Don't tell me you don't know this book?"

"...No, of course I know it."

Looking closely, her expression had darkened somehow.

Did she ever make this kind of face before? With an uneasy feeling, I carefully asked:

"Is this a book you shouldn't mention in front of a Roman history buff?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Like, in Korean terms, something like Hwandan Gogi..."

"What? Of course not! The Alexiad is a historically invaluable book."

Anna sighed deeply and lowered her head.

"It's just... I have a somewhat awkward relationship with the author."

"...The book came out almost a thousand years ago."

"I told you. I was a noble Porphyrogenita of the ancient Roman Empire."

"Hmm..."

How should I respond to this...

While I was pondering, Anna shook her head as if to say "never mind" and looked at me.

"What I'm about to tell you is somewhat philosophical. Listen carefully and contemplate it."

"I'm not good with philosophy..."

"Just listen comfortably. I'm not expecting much anyway."

Anna smirked and continued.

"Imagine my channel completely fails. I'm making only 200,000 won a month. Forget your salary—even recovering the investment used to buy the avatar and build the broadcast booth seems impossible."

Anna continued speaking.

"The reasons are complex—bad luck, not being favored by the YouTube algorithm, broadcast times overlapping with other major companies. But here's the thing: our kind Minwoo thinks it's all because his editing skills are inadequate. So Minwoo prayed to God: 'Please help our beloved Anna succeed, please make Anna's channel thrive.'"

"Beloved..."

I sighed and asked:

"So what, God eliminated me and in exchange made your channel successful?"

"No. God brought an extremely competent Minwoo MK.2 from the future and possessed your body."

"What?"

"Future Minwoo was naturally several times better than you. With trendy and sensible editing, he overcame all obstacles and elevated my channel to the highest ranks. Incidentally, he also won the heart of his pretty childhood friend, Anna."

Anna stared at me intently.

"At that time, how do you think Minwoo MK.1—you—would feel, only being able to watch all of this happen?"

"Hmm..."

This was deeper than I expected.

'Me' watching 'myself' achieve everything 'I' wanted, but no longer being 'me'.

"So everything I wanted came true, but I'm no longer there."

"Something like that."

"Hmm..."

After thinking for a moment, I offered my own answer.

"Well, I'd probably be satisfied with that."

"What?"

"I got what I wanted in the end. Besides, if the person I truly loved is happy, just watching from a distance would be satisfying enough."

Someone once said that self-sacrifice for others, born from genuine goodwill, is the noblest choice a person can make.

I smiled lightly and continued.

"Besides, God is good, right? He wouldn't just abandon Minwoo who sacrificed himself for the person he loved. He would surely provide a new life and new relationships worthy of that decision."

"But... what if the Anna you love ends up in the arms of someone you don't even know?"

"That's what I was prepared for when I prayed. And God wouldn't choose someone who would make Anna unhappy. They would surely treat her much better than I could."

I chuckled and looked at Anna.

"And honestly, you're not exactly perfect girlfriend material anyway."

"What?!"

"It's true. You have a foul mouth and you're quick to raise your hand."

"T-that's because I'm comfortable with you..."

"Anyway, the important thing is that God would surely find Minwoo a better match than you. Someone who speaks kindly and doesn't resort to violence. A new relationship that could replace Anna in Minwoo's life."

That's just how life works.

"A new relationship..."

Anna said nothing for a moment. She just stared at her empty juice glass.

I scratched the back of my head, feeling slightly awkward.

"Well, using our real names makes this a bit awkward."

"Huh? Oh, right. Hahaha."

Anna also laughed awkwardly, seeming embarrassed.

As always, she hit my shoulder and mumbled with her head slightly bowed.

"God would do such..."

She soon raised her head and smiled naturally.

"Wow~ That's quite a philosophical approach, unlike you."

"Well, I'm glad if you're satisfied."

It feels like I passed Anna's test.

I sighed with relief and nodded.

"So where are you meeting the professor? I'll drive you."

"Really? You used to complain about gas money."

"What, you think I'd let you go to Seoul alone? You still can't even read the subway map properly."

"W-well, in Rome there was no subway..."

"Yes, yes, of course, Your Majesty."

I sighed, stood up, and extended my hand.

Anna stared at my hand for a moment.

Then, as if it were natural, she took my hand and stood up, playfully linking her arm with mine.

"Good, I've decided."

"Decided what?"

"I'm attending an academic seminar in Annapolis next week. I'll specially take you with me."

"What?"

All the way to that distant place?!

"No way! I have my own schedule!"

"Acting expensive for an unemployed person. No salary if you don't come?"

"What?!"

"Don't worry. The association will cover expenses like accommodation. You just need to come as my companion."

"That's not the issue... mmph!"

Anna pinched my lips shut with her fingers.

She giggled and continued.

"You should have expected this much when you first spoke to that bullied foreign kid~ I'll keep using you like this in the future too, so look forward to it!"

Truly, I couldn't help but sigh at her declaration.