At Do-hee’s command, the first-gens immediately piled into the car—but when they saw Gia’s message, their heads started throbbing.
Especially Maru, who had been sobbing uncontrollably, thinking she had deeply hurt Gia—she took it the hardest.
"What the hell...? Did we just get played?"
Because, just from the message alone, it felt like Gia had figured everything out and turned the tables on them instead.
Komari sighed, muttering under her breath.
"I knew something was off when we were all piling on the compliments. She caught us."
Even if Gia wasn’t the most socially aware person, this had to be the first time first-gens had clung to her like this.
And those compliments? They weren’t just compliments—they were so exaggerated that anyone hearing them would’ve been baffled.
Komari jabbed Dora in the ribs.
"Now that I think about it... all of our lines sucked. What was that, ‘Wow, is this the seagull Gia-nim raised?’ What the hell was that?"
Maru turned to glare at Rain.
"And what about ‘Korean superconductor’? That trend died ages ago!"
From the back row, Dora suddenly reached out, wrapping an arm around both of their necks.
"Are you two seriously about to start UFC in the car? Chill out."
"I was just stating facts."
"It’s over. We’re screwed."
Their timing was too perfect—so much so that Rain couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Given the situation, she tried to stifle it, but giggles kept slipping through.
"Khuhuhu... khuhuhuhuhu..."
"Don't laugh!"
"Is this funny to you?!"
"PFFFT—! KYAAHAHAHAHAHA!"
But this wasn’t the time for them to be bickering among themselves.
The grand prank operation—where they had planned to make Gia so emotional she’d cry—had completely blown up in their faces.
Still, they had to salvage the situation.
They could at least show her the cake, sing the birthday song, and give her their presents.
Komari sighed.
"But seriously... what kind of person plans a prank for their own birthday? Gia unnie is so weird."
Hearing that, something suddenly clicked in Do-hee’s mind.
A memory from earlier that morning, when she had picked up Gia.
The ‘surprise gift’ she had casually mentioned, hidden in her massive bag.
'Knowing Magia... the moment she figured it out, there’s no way she would’ve just let it go...'
It wasn’t something she had to give tonight specifically.
But the second she realized they were trying to prank her, she had probably been waiting for the perfect moment to strike back.
She definitely hadn’t prepared it half-heartedly.
It was better to warn the others now.
Driving up the hill toward the campsite, Do-hee pulled over for a moment and turned in her seat.
"First, let’s check on Gia when we get there. Once she’s calmed down a bit, we should still do the birthday party.
Even if the prank didn’t work out, it’s better than leaving things half-finished. We still have a couple of hours before bed."
Since Maru was the one who had pushed for the prank, everyone turned to look at her.
She was emotionally drained after worrying about Gia all day.
But her determination hadn’t changed—she still wanted Gia to know she was someone precious to all of them.
Even if the prank failed, they couldn’t forget the main goal.
The whole reason they had done this was to make sure Gia had the best ‘Happy Birthday’ of her life.
Gia never even acknowledged her own birthday.
She would use her vacation days to lock herself up at home rather than celebrate.
This was the first time she had come out for something like this.
Gia had made a big decision by coming.
So Maru had to commit just as hard.
Sniffling, she wiped at her watery eyes and spoke.
"Yeah. Let’s talk to Gia first, then get everything ready again.
It’s too soon to give up!!"
***
Late November is cold.
No matter how cute the stars twinkled playfully in the sky, no matter how they danced like little flirty fireflies, it was still cold.
Not knowing how long she’d have to stay hidden, Gia had stuffed heat packs into her jacket in advance.
Being small had one major advantage in situations like this.
Even in an ordinary jacket, she could curl up completely, trapping the warmth inside.
It heated up her whole body instantly.
She hoped they’d get here soon...
She found one constellation in the sky. Then another.
She whistled softly, trying to remember what they were called.
Vrrroooom.
The CEO’s car rumbled up the hill, its diesel engine growling loudly.
Even the way Do-hee was driving showed how urgent she felt.
Normally, she would’ve braked smoothly—but this time, the tires screeched to a stop.
Six people practically leaped out of the car and sprinted toward her.
Still hidden in the corner, Gia powered on her battery pack and activated the setup.
Four long, straight blades—shaped like a fan—started spinning in a circular motion.
Whirrrrr.
Soon, thin, glowing threads of light emerged from the center, forming words in the air.
It was a hologram projector.
A magical device that made the twinkling stars above seem insignificant.
A machine that summoned her own stars down to the earth.
[Please gather around the speaker in the center.]
[For safety, don’t get too close. Stay near the speaker.]
The six of them froze, staring in shock at the words floating in midair.
Then, they quickly spotted the brick-sized Bluetooth speaker sitting on a camping chair and picked it up.
The text shifted.
[5]
The countdown began at 5.
And by the time it reached 1, the Bluetooth speaker started playing a very familiar song—one that the four first-gen members instantly recognized.
[Goddess of Rain, Aoyagi Rain]
"Holy shit. That’s my song."
Rain muttered in English, stunned.
Above them, her 3D streaming model appeared, dancing in midair.
It was the groovy choreography from her first-anniversary song.
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the hologram.
As Rain danced, the image transitioned seamlessly, replacing her with a glamorous red-haired character.
[The Dragon Who Loved Humans, Akari Dora]
The music switched to Dora’s signature song, highlighting her crisp, refreshing voice.
"Whoa... Did you see that transition? That was insane!"
Dora twirled gracefully, fluttering like a bird, her movements perfectly in sync with the beat.
It was a recreation of her music video, modeled in 3D.
Then, her figure shattered into countless glowing particles—and from the lights, a petite elf took form.
[The Battle Genius Elf, Midori Komari]
"...Holy shit."
Her dance was simple. Her singing was decent.
But when it came to gaming, Komari was brilliant—so in the hologram, she took the form of her favorite archer, dashing across a battlefield.
Again, it was a directly recreated scene from her MV.
And finally—
The light faded to black.
Then, a powerful vocal erupted from the speakers.
A beam of light shot down from the sky, striking the ground like a fountain of fireworks.
As the light spread and blurred, a silhouette emerged.
[The Singing Hedgehog, Nezumi Maru]
Standing at a standing mic, gripping it tightly in both hands.
The music paused for a moment.
Then, Virtual Maru started singing with raw emotion, as if no matter where she stood, the stage belonged to her.
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
"..................."
Real Maru stood frozen, staring at the screen.
As her digital self vanished into the air, four stars appeared—each representing one of them.
They danced together in a synchronized motion before forming a diamond shape.
In the center, the message I had prepared appeared.
[Parallel Another, Congratulations on Your 1st Anniversary!]
Maru, who was already emotionally unstable, started trembling as she tried not to cry.
Even though she had just cried her heart out earlier, her tear reserves had somehow fully recharged.
The others immediately rushed in to hug her.
...Hmm.
I wasn’t done with the hologram yet, but they were already getting emotional.
— Buuurp. Ah. Dragon burp. Damn, that was clean~.
A sudden belch echoed from the speakers.
Dora, who had been caught up in the moment, jerked in shock.
And thus, the second half of the anniversary hologram began.
"...W-What? What is this?!"
— W-Well, dragons burp like this all the time. It’s a sign of good health! Ehehe!
"KYYYYAAAAH!!!"
It was my favorite Dora moment—her dragon burp.
I had commissioned an MMD expert to recreate it in 3D.
— Hic... Sniff... Thank you... I never thought I’d get this far...
— God damn it! Defense sushi. What the fucking delicious! HELL YEAH!
— AH! Rain unnie, can you SHUT UP?!
— Hey, Maru. SHADDUP. Stop crying and eat your damn sushi.
**— SOBBING INTENSIFIES **
"...No way."
"What the..."
Next up—Rain and Maru.
It was from a legendary collab, where Maru had been crying over getting to eat fancy sushi after her debut.
And Rain?
Rain was right next to her, ruining the moment with unhinged commentary.
It was one of my all-time favorite clips, and MMD Expert #2 had worked hard on this one.
— You fuckers. If you keep throwing, I swear. I’ll FIND YOUR HOUSES and YEET YOUR PCs OUT THE WINDOW! I SWEAR TO— YAAAHHHH! FUUUUUCK!
"Ah. Ah. Ah... AH!"
And lastly—Komari.
There were plenty of swearing VTubers out there.
But none of them could curse with such adorable ferocity as Komari.
Again, one of my personal favorites.
MMD Expert #3 had done an amazing job.
Then came a flood of their most humiliating clips—
"Ara ara."
"Darling~."
"I’m so mad, hmph!"
All of it—the kind of moments fans adored but they wished they could erase from existence.
And finally—
[FIN]
[Another, let’s have a great second year too!]
As the final message faded, the hologram projector slowed to a stop.
Everyone stood in stunned silence, staring at the empty space where the images had been.
And then, as if they had planned it in advance—
"MAGIA!!!"
"JIA! WHERE!! I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!"
"Where the hell are you?! Unnie, come out NOW. I have the speaker in my hand. This thing is a BRICK."
"Where are you, Gia-nim? I’m about to commit a crime."
A beautiful four-part harmony.
Not all celebratory messages had to be emotional.
And not all anniversaries had to be filled with tears.
This was the kind of gift I wanted to give—something hilarious, chaotic, and unforgettable.
Judging by their screams of rage, they had definitely enjoyed it.
Of course, if they caught me now, I might actually get beaten up.
I needed to stay hidden for at least five minutes until their anger cooled dow—
"Magia."
Just as I had spent six years observing my boss, she had also spent six years watching me.
There were still many things we didn’t know about each other.
But if there was one thing she understood, it was that when I pulled a stunt, I was always hiding nearby to watch.
Before I could react, I felt a firm grip on my back.
In a low, commanding voice, the CEO murmured.
"Come out."
Hoeeeeee.