Wen Akagi, a student VTuber who loves travel and cooking as if they were the same thing, casually asks his viewers during a late-night stream what the ideal travel partner would be. The chat floods with jokes. But the next morning, a DM arrives from Mikoto, a flashy gyaru streamer at his school. She claims she seriously wants to learn to cook and travel with him. Wen, suspicious, agrees to meet at a local market. Instead of one guest, however, Haruto, Mikoto's childhood friend who is hopelessly
A Second Toast to an Unfinished Journey - A Night That Begins with a Toast
“……Cheers.”
He raised his glass of barley tea lightly toward the camera. The glass, just taken out of the fridge, had a faint sheen of condensation on it.
The time was a little past eight in the evening. Apartment 205 at Co-op Asahi, on the outskirts of the city. Akagi Wen stood in the kitchen of a small six-tatami-mat room.
He brushed back his slightly long black hair and checked the camera's position. The streaming lights softly illuminated him in his white shirt. His deep brown eyes stared steadily at his own reflection on the monitor.
“Today, I stopped by a convenience store before the stream.”
With that, he pulled a small Japanese sweet out of a plastic bag. He placed it gently in front of the camera so the viewers could see.
“This one was half-price. When you find stuff like this, it kind of feels like you've won, doesn't it?”
The comments scrolled by slowly.
“Good evening—” “I love how it always starts with a toast” “Wen-kun, has your hair gotten a bit longer?” “That sweet looks good”
As Wen read the comments aloud, he unconsciously touched the small wooden spoon pendant hanging from his neck. This habit always came out whenever a stream started.
“Um, good evening. My hair? Maybe. Well, I've been thinking I should get it cut soon.”
Fiddling lightly with the spoon pendant with his fingertips, he continued.
“For today's stream, I thought I'd keep it relaxed and focus on chatting. Oh, but I might make a late-night snack partway through.”
Saying that, he opened the fridge. Inside were some half-used vegetables and several containers of dashi stock.
“Oh, the first-draw dashi from yesterday is still here. I'll use this.”
Wen's eyes lit up.
He opened the lid of the container, and at the aroma that rose softly, his face broke into a smile without thinking. That nostalgic smell of kombu and bonito flakes.
“For this, you soak the kombu in water overnight, then in the morning you slowly raise the temperature before adding the bonito flakes. The trick is not to let it boil.”
His movements were practiced. Though his build was slender, the forearms trained by cooking showed slightly every time he adjusted the stove's flame.
“My grandmother used to make this every morning. She'd wake up at five or four in the morning.”
Wen spoke in a heartfelt tone.
“Grandma's kitchen always smelled of dashi. Even now, when I smell that, it feels like I'm back in that kitchen.”
The comments picked up a little.
“I get that, smells really stick in your memory” “Wen-kun, what was your grandma like?” “Here comes the dashi talk again” “The smell of a kitchen is something special”
Wen peered into the monitor and gave a small laugh.
“What was she like…… well, she was just an ordinary grandma. She lived in a fishing town. My grandpa was a fisherman, so there was always fish in the kitchen.”
He kept his hands moving, occasionally glancing at the camera.
“Oh, right. My grandpa was apparently an amazing fisherman when he was young. He'd get on the boat early in the morning and not come back until evening. Grandma's daily routine was making something warm and soupy for him when he got home.”
Wen's voice as he spoke was somehow gentle.
“So our family's flavor starts with dashi. No matter what we make, first we take the dashi. That's the base of our family's taste, I guess.”
The comments moved again.
“The usual dashi love today too” “I really love Wen-kun's dashi talks” “Alright, I'll try making dashi tomorrow too” “But isn't making dashi a pain when you live alone?”
Wen saw that comment and tilted his head slightly.
“A pain…… well, I'm sure some people think so. But for me, it's fun. The time spent making dashi is kind of calming.”
He returned to the kitchen and poured the dashi from the container into a small pot.
With a soft sizzle, the aroma of dashi spread throughout the room.
Wen closed his eyes and slowly breathed it in. As if confirming a memory from a distant day.
“……Yeah, that smells good.”
That expression wasn't the face of a streamer. It was just the face of a young man who loved cooking.
After a while, he added tofu and green onions from the fridge into the small pot.
“Today I'll keep it simple: miso soup with tofu and green onions. And the half-price sweet for dessert.”
A comment floated by: “Can a Japanese sweet be dessert?”
“Well, not exactly dessert, but I just felt like having something sweet after eating. I was in the mood for something sweet today.”
The room was filled only with the aroma of dashi and the gentle bubbling sound of the small pot.
Wen loved that quiet time.
Nights streaming alone. Beyond the camera, a handful of viewers watched him through their screens. But in the room, he was alone. He had already grown used to that slightly strange sensation.
“Come to think of it, I've been thinking lately.”
Suddenly, Wen paused.
The hand stirring the small pot stopped for a moment.
“……Delicious things probably taste even better when you eat them with someone than when you eat them alone.”
The flow of comments came to an abrupt halt.
A moment of silence.
Then, little by little, the comments returned.
“Huh?” “What's this all of a sudden?” “Wen-kun, did something happen?” “He's saying something unlike himself”
Wen hurriedly laughed.
“Ah, no, I just suddenly felt that way! Don't worry about it.”
But the comments didn't stop.
“Wen-kun, do you enjoy eating delicious things alone?” “Right, lately Wen-kun's streams sometimes look kind of lonely” “Maybe it's time you traveled with someone, partner-loss” “Actually, why have you been traveling alone all this time?” “You're so good at cooking, but eating it all alone is a little sad”
As the comments poured in one after another, Wen tried to laugh it off.
“What, why is everyone suddenly like this? I'm not lonely or anything——”
He stopped mid-sentence.
The words in the comments were painfully sharp.
“I get it, thinking it'd be even better if you ate with someone” “Wen-kun's streams are kind of like talking to himself a lot” “Watching you do travel videos and cooking all by yourself, sometimes it makes me a little sad” “Maybe it's about time you found a partner?”
Wen stared at the screen for a while.
Only the sound of the pot echoed through the room.
“……Does it really look that way?”
He murmured quietly.
He turned off the heat and dissolved in the miso.
“Honestly, for the past year or so, I've been thinking about it. How nice it would be to travel with someone, eat together, and tell each other it's delicious.”
But, he continued.
“Between streamers, it's hard to build that kind of relationship, you know? It'd be rude to invite someone casually. It's pretty difficult.”
Comments flowed by: “I get that……” “Wen-kun, you're actually shy, aren't you” “You seem bad at inviting people”
Wen protested, “I'm not shy!” but his voice lacked conviction.
“……Well, I'm not great with places that have too many people.”
He gave a wry smile and poured the miso soup into a bowl.
Steam rose softly.
“But seeing comments like earlier, I thought maybe I should actually try looking for someone.”
When he said that, Wen felt his heart grow lighter.
Something that had been stuck deep in his heart for so long. A vague feeling that wouldn't take shape until put into words. He felt like he had finally been able to say it.
Turning serious eyes to the camera, Wen straightened his back.
“Hey, everyone. I'm going to seriously put out a call right here.”
The comments stirred.
“Huh?” “What what?” “A call?” “IT'S HAPPENING!”
Wen looked a little embarrassed, but spoke in a clear voice.
“I'm looking for someone to travel with me. There are three conditions. You have to love traveling. You have to be interested in cooking. And——”
He paused for a beat.
“Someone I can eat with and tell each other it's delicious.”
The comments surged.
“IT'S HERE!” “It can only be Mikoto-chan” “What kind of character is this” “No but this is a real call” “Wen-kun has serious eyes” “Wait, these conditions are incredibly touching”
Wen scratched his head with an embarrassed laugh in front of the screen.
“Come on, everyone, you're having way too much fun with this! I'm being serious.”
But his eyes were earnest.
The viewers could tell it was a call from the heart.
After that, the stream continued lively for a while. He answered questions from viewers and shared memories from his travels.
Before he knew it, it was past eleven at night.
“I think I'll wrap up soon. Today, I'm glad I got to talk about a lot of things.”
Wen smiled at the camera.
“Well then, everyone, thanks again for today. Good night——”
The stream ended.
Silence returned to the room.
Wen exhaled deeply and turned off the streaming equipment one by one. When he turned off the lights, the room went dark all at once.
“……Phew.”
He took a bottle of barley tea from the fridge and poured it into a cup.
He sat in a chair and took a sip.
Outside the window, the lights of the city night dotted the darkness.
“A partner, huh.”
He murmured, touching the spoon at his neck.
He'd put out the call himself, but would anyone actually apply?
Or rather, even if someone did, could he handle it well?
Various thoughts crossed his mind, but strangely, he didn't feel bad about it.
If anything, his heart felt lighter than it had in a long time.
“Well, I'll know by tomorrow.”
With that murmur, he collapsed onto the bed.
He closed his eyes.
In the distance, he could hear the sound of cars driving.
The next morning.
Wen picked up his phone with sleepy eyes.
Morning light filtered through the gap in the curtains, faintly brightening the room.
“……Mm, what's this?”
There was one notification.
A DM on Milview.
He tapped it open.
What was written there was:
“I seriously want to travel. And of course, I want to learn cooking too.”
Seeing the sender's name, Wen rubbed his eyes.
“……Mikoto?”
The sender was Mimori Mikoto.
A popular gyaru-style streamer who attended the same academy. A campus celebrity with over forty thousand subscribers.
“Wait, hold on, is this real?”
Still lying down, Wen opened her profile.
What appeared was the icon of a girl with bright hair, cheerfully making a peace sign.
“No no no, this has to be a joke……”
A DM from such an unexpected person—his mind couldn't keep up.
But the message was more polite than he'd expected, and the emoji usage was restrained.
It wasn't even written in heavy gyaru slang.
“Is she…… serious?”
His heartbeat quickened slightly.
He knew they attended the same academy. They'd probably passed each other before. But they'd never spoken once.
That celebrity had watched his stream, wanted to travel, and even wanted to learn cooking.
“……How should I reply?”
He placed his phone on his chest and stared at the ceiling.
The clock had just passed eight in the morning.
From beyond the curtains, he could hear birds chirping.
After hesitating for a while, Wen slowly moved his fingers.
“Thanks for reaching out. If you'd like, would you want to talk at the local market sometime?”
Sent.
A reply came immediately.
“Got it! Looking forward to it!”
Seeing that response, Wen couldn't help but laugh.
“Wait, she's actually going to come?”
Even though they hadn't met yet, he found himself strangely excited.
But.
“……If she doesn't show, I'll just buy some sushi on the way home.”
Telling himself that, he got up from the futon.
That night.
Wen was streaming.
“So yeah, about the response to yesterday's call—everyone keeps asking if I got any DMs.”
He spoke to the camera with a hint of excitement.
“Actually, I got exactly one. And it's from a campus celebrity.”
The comments exploded instantly.
“WHAT!?” “Who!?” “No way” “A celebrity, no way” “Stop being coy and tell us!”
Wen took a breath, then said it.
“Her name is Mimori Mikoto. She's a streamer at the same academy, and she's really popular.”
The screen was b
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