Chapter 15: Livestream Mayhem

"Okay, listen up everyone!"

Azuwa's voice rings through the living room, commanding attention. She is wearing a full stage outfit—a glittering red and black dress that looks absurdly out of place in our humble home on a Tuesday evening. Inoue is next to her, wearing a matching orange outfit and bouncing excitedly.

"Our manager says we need to do a 'casual at-home' livestream for our fans in Japan," Azuwa explains, adjusting her fake earpiece. "It is to show our 'relatable, down-to-earth' side."

"Relatable," I repeat, looking at their outfits which probably cost more than my car. "Right."

"We need you to be the cameraman, Oppa!" Inoue says, shoving a high-tech stabilizer rig with a smartphone attached to it into my hands. "Just follow us around and make us look cute!"

"Why me? Can't Hina do it? She knows about angles."

"Hina is our lighting director!" Inoue points to Hina, who is begrudgingly holding up a massive ring light.

"I'm only doing this because bad lighting is a crime against humanity," Hina mutters.

"And what about Ayumi?" I ask, looking around. My sister is suspiciously absent.

"She said she didn't want to watch," Azuwa says, dismissing it. "Okay, we go live in three, two, one... Hello, Crimson Rush fans! It's Azu!"

"And Ino! We're live from our super secret Japan hideout!"

They instantly switch into 'idol mode'. Their voices become higher, their smiles brighter, their movements perfectly choreographed even when just sitting on the sofa. It’s terrifying to watch the transformation.

I follow them around the living room as they give a 'tour', which mostly consists of them showing off random objects and making them sound exciting.

"And this is our... houseplant!" Inoue exclaims, posing next to a dying fern. "We named him Mr. Green! Isn't he tough for surviving our busy schedule?"

Suddenly, the door bursts open.

"Did someone say... IDOL?"

Ayumi stands there. But it’s not normal Ayumi. She is wearing a frilly, pink homemade idol costume that looks like it was stitched together from old curtains and sheer determination. She has glitter haphazardly smeared on her cheeks.

"Who is this?" Inoue hisses, her idol smile momentarily faltering.

"I'm Ayumi-rin, the rising star of this household!" Ayumi declares to the camera, striking a pose that is enthusiastic but lacks any professional polish. "And I'm here to show that Japanese little sisters are just as cute as Korean idols!"

The comments section on the livestream starts scrolling so fast it's just a blur. ‘Who is that??’ ‘New member???’ ‘OMG she’s kinda chaotic cute lol’

Azuwa’s eye twitches. "We are having a technical intruder. Please ignore her."

"Don't ignore me!" Ayumi jumps in front of the camera, pushing Azuwa aside. "Look! I can do the 'Crimson Heart' dance!"

She starts doing a wildly inaccurate, flailing version of their famous choreography. It looks less like dancing and more like she’s fighting off a swarm of invisible bees.

"That's wrong! Your arm angles are all off!" Azuwa snaps, her professional pride wounded. She grabs Ayumi's arms and tries to force them into the correct position while live on camera.

"Oppa, zoom in on me! Save the stream!" Inoue yells, desperately doing intense 'aegyo' (cute poses) directly into the lens to distract the viewers from the wrestling match happening behind her.

"Get off my set, you amateur!"

"I'm relatable! The fans love me!"

"I am going to monetize this somehow," Hina whispers, moving the ring light to better illuminate the brawl.

I just keep holding the camera steady, capturing Azuwa trying to put Ayumi in a headlock while Inoue frantically makes finger hearts in the foreground. The viewer count is hitting record highs. My peaceful house is now a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons.