The Gossip

With a click, Kate ended the stream. That had been a disappointing experiment. Sure, she knew any female game streamer who doesn't look like a shovel impact crater will have some of those viewers, but she thought it wouldn't be that many. So, when she saw how many people left when she mentioned her camera was "broken", she couldn't have fun with her stream anymore. All she needed now was just to be in the arms of someone she knew saw far more in her than a hot gamer girl.

As she stepped out of the gaming room, she was met with a wall of the sounds and smells of cooking. The sizzling of a wok, along with the smell of bacon. "MMMmmm, smells good as always, David" she called towards the kitchen. "You ended right on time. It's just finished now" came the reply. A few seconds later, her fiancé walked out a wok full of his staple bacon fried rice. The moment he put it on the table, he was almost bowled over by Kate wrapping him up in a crushing hug. "Oooooo, you're eager today" he fake wheezed, "it went that badly?"

"Way worse than I thought. I was expecting somewhere around one in twenty at the very worst, but it must have been closer to a fifth of the audience. Is this really how people think of me? Am I just another hot streamer for teenage boys to fantasi-" she was cut off as he gently put his hand on her cheek and brought her face around to meet his. It didn't need words. Just a shared look was enough for Kate to know that David saw all of her. When she looked into his eyes, all of that insecurity vanished. She was more than that, at least to David, and that was enough.

"I did warn you." David reminded her. "I told you that this stream would only make you feel bad."

"I had to know, though. I knew there were more than I thought, but the chat mods are doing way more than I expected. I need to message them to tell them about today and thank them for all their work."

"Are you going to take that break?"

"What about paying for the wedding and the honeymoon? Won't we need the revenue?"

"I've already planned that. We have plenty already."

"But what if-"

"No 'what if's." David cut her off. "I know you love doing it, but don't try to find an excuse to not look after yourself. I can't have you getting burnt out just before our wedding. If you are going to take a break, we'll find a way to make it work."

Kate didn't respond. She just held him tighter.

"Now sit down. The food will be getting cold."

Kate was exhausted. It had been a long stream, and it had felt even longer. As she heard the shower start running next door, she flopped down on the bed. Or at least, she tried to. But when she should have hit the bed, she simply kept falling. It went on long enough for her to just realize something was wrong, before she roughly hit the ground.

"And contestant number two! Welcome, Kate" came a voice from above her.

Kate looked around, confused. Instead of lying in her bed next to David, she was on the ground in the middle of some castle, with a woman looking down at her from a stage of some kind, and another sitting on one of the chairs forming a circle around her. "Am I dreaming?" Kate asked the woman above her.

"No, honey. This is as real as it gets."

"Then how did I get here? Last thing I remember was going to bed... and falling through it?"

"Well, I can't really explain the 'how', but I'll give you the short version of the 'why'. You're on what is essentially a reality TV show called Harem Hotel, in which we take a group of people and mould them into a harem for a master. My name is Marianne, and I am the host for the show this time around. That's the general gist of it, and I'll explain the rest once the others get here. In the meantime, could you please introduce yourself to the audience?"

"Audience? Ok then. Hi, I'm Kate Howard. I just turned 28 five days ago. I do a mix of voice acting and live streaming games for work, and I love doing both when people aren't watching to simp over me. I'm engaged and going to get married soon. The only partner I've had in bed is David, my fiancé."

"Thanks Kate. Now if you could take a-" Marianne started.

"Hang on, you said this was a show where we become a harem?" Kate asked, sizing up Marianne.

"Why, yes. What of it?" Marianne responded, seemingly knowing what was coming and accepting the challenge.

"I hope you're not expecting me to cheat on David. If you are, you might as well chuck me out right now."

"Darling, I hate to break it to you, but I think you'll find that you will play along." Marianne said, somehow a mix of sadly sharing bad news, and firmly setting the rules.

"It's not happening."

"Please. Refusing this show has never turned out well for anybody."

"NO"

"TAKE A SEAT" suddenly Kate found herself sitting next to the other woman in the circle. Marianne continued, "We'll finish this discussion later, but please don't make me do anything drastic. I honestly want the best for all of you, but I am here to make sure the show runs smoothly. Now, if we can put this aside for now, our third guest is just arriving." As she said that, there was a thump, and another person landed in the middle of the circle.