While I’d been involved with a lot of things related to Heart Memorial.
I hadn’t really felt nervous through any of it.
Most of my work had been done at home, just quietly drawing illustrations in my room.
Nothing nerve-wracking about that.
But now.
‘…I’m actually a little nervous.’
I couldn’t help it.
After all, this was my first time stepping out into the public eye after being holed up drawing for so long.
At the same time, I was worried.
What if viewers recognized me?
I didn’t exactly have a normal voice, so anyone who watched my stream regularly could probably tell it was me pretty easily.
Feeling slightly uneasy, I posted one last message on the fan café.
[Title: To everyone attending the Heart Memorial event today]
[Content: It’s totally fine to enjoy the event, but please don’t try to find me. It’s okay to observe from afar, but if you act like you know me, it makes it hard for me to keep streaming comfortably.]
I was wearing a mask and a cap, just in case.
I trusted my viewers, sure, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
No harm in being cautious.
With that mindset, I headed toward the venue where the event was being held.
[Title: YOTTE DROPPED A NOTICE!!!!!!!!!!]
[Content: (Screenshot of the fan café post) He said don’t talk to him in person lol]
L: Mmm okay okay… which is exactly why I’m definitely gonna go say hi
ㄴ: lololol
ㄴ: Bro how are we not supposed to say something if we see him?
L: But like, are there actually people who’d go up and talk to him? Wouldn’t it be super awkward if you said something and he just shut you down cold?
ㄴ: Everyone’s just saying they’ll do it. No one actually will.
ㄴ: Yotte’s viewers are actually chill people, it’ll be fine lol
[Author: HurryAndLeave]
[Title: As Yotte’s Mod, I’m issuing a command.]
[Content: (Photo of Lusha staring intensely forward) If you’re going to the Heart Memorial event, do not approach Yotte. Just observe from a distance.]
L: Nope, don’t wanna lol
ㄴHurryAndLeave: Please… I’m begging you…
ㄴ: Still nope lol
ㄴ: You little shit.
L: Honestly, I feel like I could guess what he looks like even without seeing him lol
ㄴ: I bet he’s good-looking though
ㄴ: If he was good-looking, he would’ve done face-cam already
ㄴ: That’s like saying you walk around showing off your chest just because it looks nice
ㄴ: …Excuse me?
[Title: But doesn’t saying stuff like that just make creeps start staring down random guys?]
[Content: Just imagining it grosses me out…]
L: The idea of sweaty, smelly fujoshis doing that kinda stuff is… yeah, not great.
ㄴ: That’s kind of a yikes, not gonna lie lol
L: Like, if they hear a guy with a nice voice passing by, you just know they’ll go up and ask, “Are you Yotte?”
ㄴ: High chance, tbh
ㄴ: That’s how connections are made, ya know~ hehe
ㄴ: Bro what are you even saying, shut up with that weird fanfic brain rot lmao
[Author: Pepe]
[Title: Everyone, please do this before heading to the event.]
[Content: (photo)(photo)(photo)(photo) Please follow everything in the post and shower properly, okay? 👏]
L: That’s kind of hard though.
ㄴ: What’s hard about it, you filthy gremlin lol
ㄴ: Just please, don’t show up gross
ㄴ: For real, don’t drag Yotte’s rep through the mud
L: I gave up on showering a long time ago lol. It’s personal.
ㄴ: What kind of personal reason could you possibly have??
ㄴ: I just wanted to set the record for longest time without a shower
ㄴ: Oh my god, you absolute goblin
And with that…I arrived at the venue by taxi.
“Wow… there’s a lot of people here.”
The crowd was immediately noticeable.
I hadn’t expected this many people.
Clearly, the promotion had worked better than I thought.
‘Hope the merch sells well too.’
I told my viewers the merch was more of a promotional bonus than anything, but still, if we were going to make it, it’d be better if it actually sold.
Better that than being stuck with leftover stock.
With that thought, I pulled my cap down lower and quietly slipped into the venue.
“Everyone, please move slowly! Stay in line—it’ll be easier for everyone when it’s time to leave!”
“Oh hey, they’re selling merch over there!”
“Whoa… that figure.”
Even though I’d expected a lighter crowd because it was still early, the venue was already packed.
‘Kind of amazing people came this early.’
I’d never known anyone into this kind of culture who kept a normal sleep schedule.
It was kind of surprising.
Adjusting my cap again, I slowly started walking around to explore the venue.
“…That looks awesome.”
Right near the entrance stood a life-size panel of the first character I ever illustrated for Heart Memorial.
The manager told me about it in advance, but seeing it in person still felt surreal.
Just… right out in the open like that.
I carefully took out my phone and snapped a photo.
Click.
I didn’t usually have the habit of taking pictures of stuff like this, but I figured it’d be fun to share it with my viewers and talk about it later.
With that, I started slowly exploring the venue from the entrance onward.
“Oh wow, didn’t expect this part.”
The place we’d rented this time was huge, so there were all sorts of unexpected corners and setups tucked around.
For example, there was an event zone where you could throw darts to win random prizes.
“We’re giving out merch based on balloon size—would you like to give it a try?”
“Ah… sure, why not.”
I mean, I didn’t expect something like this to be at the event.
Maybe it was just because I’d never been to one before, but to me, this all felt really fresh and fun.
Sure, for people who knew this kind of scene inside and out, it might’ve just been par for the course.
“Phew.”
After a quick deep breath, I focused, steadied my aim, and threw the dart straight at a tiny balloon right in the center.
It looked so deliberately hard to hit that it made me want to hit it even more.
Pop!
The dart flew cleanly and landed dead center in the small balloon.
“Whoa… You’re the first person to nail that on the first try.”
“…Didn’t you guys just open?”
“Well, yeah—but still, you are the first.”
“Fair enough.”
We exchanged a few light-hearted comments, and the staff handed me my prize.
It was a grip tok featuring a character illustration—one with a bit of revealing clothing and an intensely suggestive stare.
‘…Yeah, that’s going straight in a drawer.’
Couldn’t risk having something like that out in the open.
Might bring bad vibes or something.
And it wasn’t like I was even into that kind of stuff, especially not when it came to guys.
With that thought, I stuffed the grip tok into my pocket and kept walking around the venue.
Step, step, step.
How long had I been walking around like that?
Before I knew it, I started noticing something… odd.
There were noticeably more men around.
To be more specific, men in cosplay.
“Ah.”
I immediately turned my gaze away.
I could tolerate seeing that kind of thing when it was work-related, but outside of work?
No thanks.
‘Maybe I should check the fan café.’
Some time had passed since the Heart Memorial event started, so it felt like a good moment to take a peek.
People who came to the event had probably already started uploading pictures.
[Real-time event photos—what is this…?] [4]
[I’m actually speechless lol] [2]
[Thoughts on the merch? I’m thinking of buying it] [12]
[Whoever’s in the women’s restroom—get the hell out already, I’m dying here] [5]
Sure enough, more posts than usual were popping up.
There were always a fair number of posts, but today felt like a surge.
‘Looks like a lot of people really did show up, huh.’
I’d been worried turnout would be low, but now I was honestly relieved.
Feeling a bit lighter, I started skimming through the posts.
[Author: Pepperoni]
[Title: Real-time from the event… what is going on…?]
[Content: (photo) Who is this person? Why are they rolling around on the floor like that? Can someone deal with this, please…]
“…Huh?”
Was I seeing this right?
A fully grown woman was literally rolling around on the ground.
And not in a joking, fun way—it looked serious.
And it was happening… here.
In this venue.
Right now.
‘Where is that exactly?’
I hadn’t explored enough of the venue to know exactly where something like that could be happening.
It was hard to tell where the chaos in the photo was even taking place.
Confused and a little rattled, I scrolled down to check the next post.
[Author: faggot]
[Title: What do you think of this merch? I’m thinking about buying it]
[Content: (photo) The merch looks really cute—should I go for it? Looks nice at a glance, but I’m not sure.]
L: I think it’s worth it tbh.
L: If you get it, you’ll actually end up using it more than you think lol. That humidifier is surprisingly handy.
ㄴ: For real?
ㄴ: Yeah yeah, it’s actually great.
L: If you’re gonna buy a humidifier anyway, might as well get this one while you’re at it lol.
ㄴ: Noted.
Reading through the replies, I could clearly tell the viewers were genuinely enjoying the Heart Memorial event.
That was a relief.
‘If people ended up not enjoying it, I think I would’ve been a little hurt.’
Glad things seemed to be going well, I slipped my phone back into my pocket, planning to explore the venue a bit more.
When suddenly.
“Excuse me…”
A woman dressed completely in black—head to toe like some kind of cosplay KKK member—walked up to me.
She had a strange look in her eyes.
“Yes…?”
What was this about?
Did she want directions?
Was she lost?
I was still trying to figure it out when.
“You’re Yotte, right…?!”
There it was.
The one sentence I really, really didn’t want to hear today.