The woman who spoke to me was a TV personality with a celebrity posse.

I could tell from the “STAFF” name tag on her chest that she was a Tweeps employee working here, but she was in a strange state.

“Aaaaaah, hi. I, uh, I'm a big fan of yours, Cosmo, so I thought I'd give you a call....”
“What? No, just calm down and....”

It was refreshing to see such a beautiful person acting like a broken puppet, but it was also unnerving to watch. 

By the way, how did you know that I was Cosmo? Did you just recognize me as a staff member? The staff member at the entrance didn't seem to know me.

“Would you like to go to an empty seat first? It's a little noisy in here....”
“Oh, yes, four!”

I put my plate back on the table, figuring I'd better make sure I could hear the conversation first, and headed out to find a suitable empty seat. 

Luckily, I quickly found a private, screened-in space, and when I arrived, I saw two small recliner-style chairs. We sat there, facing each other, and made awkward eye contact.

Figuring I'd have to break the ice here before I could talk to him there, I summoned all my courage and opened my mouth.

“I guess this is the only place we can talk. How did you know I was Cosmo, anyway?”

The first thing I said was a question.

He's right, it's puzzling in more ways than one that he recognized me at a glance, broadcasting without a cam on. Surely my face hadn't been leaked somewhere?

“Cosmo was bragging yesterday that you're going to wear this to the party tonight.”
“Oh...!”

As my mind raced, the fan gave me a giggle and a quick explanation of why she recognized me.

I let out a low gasp as I realized that the clothes I was wearing were the clue.

So that's what it was, but it's still pretty cool that he recognized me based on my outfit.

“Actually, I wasn't sure if I should talk to you, Cosmo, because you don't usually have your cam on, and I thought maybe you didn't want people to recognize you....”

Ah, you thought of that, you're a true fan.

But if that's the case, you shouldn't worry too much, because the reason I don't cam in the first place isn't that I don't want to sell my face, or that I'm nervous about people recognizing me, it's just that I don't feel the need to show off when I'm not really that good looking.

“Oh, no, it's just that I don't want to spoil the viewers' eyes with my smug face.”
“...What?”
“What?”

So I tried to reassure the fan with a little self-deprecating gag, but he just looked at me like, “What the fuck is this guy talking about?

Did I just say something wrong or something?

After an awkward silence, the fan spoke in a tone that seemed to draw a line in the sand.

“I think you're handsome enough.”
“Oh, really? I've never heard that before in my life.... Thank you.”

Awww, now that's what you call fan gentleness. Even a little hikikomori nerd like me thinks I'm handsome.... I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.

“By the way, you must be a staff member here.”
“Oh, yes. Actually, I was called in on short notice because we were short-handed today, but Cosmo happened to be in town.... I got lucky.”

What an amazing coincidence. Someone who wouldn't normally come was called in because they were short-handed, and it happened to be the same day I was attending the party.

It's amazing how the stars align.

“It's kind of weird that you're such a fan of mine. Isn't this some kind of punishment mission?”

She seemed a little nervous, so I decided to crack a little joke to break the tension, and she jumped up and down like a jumping fish.

“Yeah, she's pretty.... And it's not a penalty or anything, believe me...!”
“I'm just kidding, I can tell by the way you're raising your hand.”
“Oh...!”

I apologized for making her look like she was about to cry, so I smiled and pointed to her trembling hand, and she flinched and hid her hand behind her back, as if she finally realized.

Judging by the way she blushed and stammered, I don't think she'll be able to keep her mouth shut for long. I'll have to try to create a buzz around here somehow.

“Oh, by the way, if you're a fan of mine, is there anything else you'd like me to do, like show content like this on the show....”
“Not really, I'm having fun enough as it is....”
“Oh, well, you must have at least one thing you want, so be honest, it's okay.”

I don't always bring honey jam content like the big streamers do, and I don't just broadcast sappy songs and Just Chat with a helpline every day.

The only exception is the occasional game broadcast whenever a big game comes out, but even then, I'm not very high-tension, so it's hard to see it as funny.

With that in mind, I decided to poke around and see if there was anything I could recommend.

“Can I tell you one thing, then...?”
“Sure.”

There it is.

I nodded, knowing that I wouldn't necessarily do something just because it was recommended, but that if it was something I thought would be interesting, I might show it to her. 

His response was completely unexpected.

“Nu, would you mind calling me sister just once?”
“...What?”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard, and I blurted out something stupid.

She wanted me to call her sister, not recommend content?

“I know you're two years older than me, Cosmo, so I thought.... I just thought I'd give you a shout out, I don't actually have a sister, I'm just my brother.”

Well, it looks like you literally said what you wanted. I wasn't expecting that.

By the way, you're two years older than me? I thought you had a very mature look about you. I don't mean that I look old, but the aura I feel from my body is mature.

Anyway, a fan asked me to sing, and that's all I can do. I have an older sister, so it's not that hard to call her.

“Sister...?”
“......!”

I didn't know her name, so I just called her by her first name, and she stared at me wide-eyed, and then nodded her head vigorously, as if to say, “This is it!

Uh.... I don't know, but I'm glad you liked it.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“I'm sorry there's nothing I can do for you, but I've never met a fan like you before.”

I wanted to give him an autograph, but I'm not a very famous person, so I was embarrassed to ask him, “Do you want an autograph?” first.

But I'm glad I could bring a smile to your face. That's why idols are so encouraged by their fans, and I feel like I can relate to that a little bit.

“No, actually, I've always wanted to tell you, Cosmo, that I'm getting a lot of strength from your show, and I'm really grateful.”
“You don't have anything to thank me for, it's your interest in me, and I'm grateful for that.”

I don't mean that in an empty way. I realize that the reason I've been able to continue broadcasting for so long, and even though I'm still not good enough, I've been able to become a medium-sized company, is because of the affection of my viewers.

As I bowed my head to convey that sentiment, the woman sitting across from me shook her head in disbelief and placed her hand over mine.

The softness of her touch stopped me in my tracks for a moment.

“Of course, Mr. Cosmo, you might think so, but I really appreciate it, so if you'll excuse me, I just wanted to say hello.”
“.......”
“I just want you to know that there's someone who really cares about you, Cosmo, because sometimes I feel like you don't realize how much you mean to me.”

He smiled softly at me, and it was warm enough to make me stop thinking.

On the one hand, it was strange. It was amazing that someone could care so much about a complete stranger, and that it was someone as insignificant as me.

“Oops...! I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was touching .... You didn't mind, did you?”

The woman, who had been watching me wordlessly for a while, realized what she had done and quickly pulled her hand away as if it had been set on fire.

Gone was the calm and intelligent feeling from a moment ago, and I felt like one of the fans I'd seen earlier, and it was almost cute.

“Don't worry, it's nothing at all.”

What man wouldn't want to be held by such a beautiful woman in the first place, and to be honest, I would have liked to stay there a little longer. I just didn't want to say it for fear of being rude.

“I'm not usually this kind of girl.... But now that I've seen Cosmo in real life, I can't help but feel like....”
“I'm a little embarrassed to hear you say that, but I can understand that you're a fan.”

I scratched my cheeks, feeling somewhat embarrassed that someone like me, who wasn't a star or an idol, had taken her attention for a moment.

Still, I realized that in his eyes, I must feel like a star like those people, so I understood. 

“Oh, no, it's not just because I'm a fan....”
“What?”

My eyes widened at the next word, which was muttered in a low whisper. It was hard to decipher the meaning behind those words.

What do you mean, it's not because you're a fan? It sounds like there's some other reason.

“Oh, well, keep up the good work, I watch your live streams every day, so I'll always support you!”
“Thanks. Oh, and by the way, do you have a tweep nickname....”

I wanted to make sure to mention it in the future, so I wanted her to give me her nickname if she couldn't use her real name, but she left me with that last greeting.

As I stood there, feeling as if a storm had swept over me, I felt a faint residual warmth in my hands.

It was a moment when I realized that I had made the right choice in coming to the party tonight, and that it was a good idea to start the broadcast.