episode_0016

“Really, are you Kwon Seo-ah?”

[Linu Virtual Metaverse Department/Member]

[Shin Sun-soo]

A woman with long silver hair that seemed bleached and exuded an elegant aura approached me, asking. She appeared slightly shorter than me. Considering the fact that the director brought her to the meeting room, she must be the person I will be forming a team with in the future. We all stood up and exchanged greetings.

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“Um, is it really you?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, you’re here as the vocal trainer! Nice to meet you. It’s an honor to receive singing lessons from Seo-ah. Amazing.”

“Oh no, I’m also a Vtuber.”

“…Huh!”

However, despite her elegant demeanor, her actions seemed cute. Was her uncertainty upon seeing me due to becoming a fan after watching my new start video? She still looked at the director with disbelief.

“Is it really you?”

“Yes. Kwon Seo-ah will be the main vocalist of the team, and Shin Sun-soo will be the sub-vocalist.”

Ah, she’s the sub-vocalist. No wonder her voice and tone were so distinctive when she spoke.

“Wow! I really… How can this be real? I’ve liked you since the Scarlet Band days.”

“Yes?”

I was actually taken aback by the unexpected response. Even though it was a band with little popularity that eventually disbanded, there were still a few fans, but I couldn’t recall such a silver-haired woman among them. If she existed, I wouldn’t have forgotten such a noticeable person.

“Let’s not talk about that for now. You came a long way… Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you. Director… Can I call you that now?”

“Yes~.”

She sipped her coffee and proudly showed off her digital album purchase certification for the Scarlet Band, boasting about the number of times she had listened to each song, including the title track Stem Cell, which had been played over 500 times.

“I’ve never been able to attend a concert due to lack of time… But does this much make me a fan?”

Ah, I see.

So she didn’t see us at concerts. However, that doesn’t mean she’s not a fan.

“Beyond being a fan, I’m extremely grateful. And… I’m sorry to hear about the disbandment.”

“Don’t say that. I’m thankful that you stayed until the end even in such circumstances. And even after the band disbanded, thank you for continuing your activities…”

She continued speaking with a bright smile.

“Anyway, it’s a fascinating experience. Becoming a team with my favorite and a Vtuber. Doesn’t it sound like a manga title?”

“Haha. It really does.”

Finally, she noticed Hyobin and Minji and exchanged greetings with them.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction.”

“It’s okay. If it’s Seo-ah unni, it’s understandable.”

“Seo-ah unni? Oh right. Now that we’re a team, I can call you that too. So, Seo-ah unni…”

“Yes, however you’re comfortable.”

“Seo-ah un… Kyaa! I can’t do it yet. How can I call the respected Seo-ah unni! For now, I’ll stick with calling you Seo-ah.”

“Sure.”

As firm as her vocals, her cute shouting echoed loudly. The director smiled contentedly at me.

“Such a coincidence. These things happen because Seo-ah is famous.”

Indeed. Such things only happen to famous people, don’t they? On the contrary, it might imply that I’ve become somewhat famous too.

“Rather than that, Sun-soo should introduce herself.”

“Oh, right! I’m sorry. I’m Shin Sun-soo, 24 years old this year, who ran the Utaite Kakabi channel.”

She confidently graduated from a well-known four-year university in practical music and vocals, diligently managing her channel while not neglecting her studies. She must have lived quite tightly.

The channel name is Kakabi. I should go listen to her songs later.

Hyobin seemed to be impressed as if he knew her, and inquired, “Are you Kakabi? Oh… I see.”

Minji also seemed well aware but feigned ignorance with a puzzled reaction, saying, “You and I are the same age, from university entrance to graduation. Quite impressive.”

“Oh no, I’m not trying to boast about it. Since my Utaite channel barely made any profit…”

Right. In the case of cover songs, the original creator holds the copyright, so except for special cases, no matter how many views there are, all profits go to the original creator.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I’m glad Seoa comforted me. Things have been improving lately. I just graduated from university this month, so I have some free time now… and I’ve also joined the Linu Virtual Project.”

“Let’s do well together.”

“Yes!”

“Seoa unnie is the main vocalist, and Kakabi is the sub-vocalist. The singing part is already top-notch.”

Some time later, the manager brought the last person for the Virtual Project. With that, all five members were now assembled.

[Linu Virtual Metaverse Department/Members]

[Egoeun]

Long black hair. Slightly taller than Jinsu. Cold-looking eyes catch one’s attention.

“Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Whether she was nervous or naturally had a stiff voice, she seemed somewhat rigid. As they all rose to exchange greetings once more, she blinked her eyes rapidly, then silently bowed her head.

“Nice to meet you.”

“…!”

“Egoeun, please introduce yourself. Well, anyway, we will introduce ourselves again one by one later. Please take a seat.”

The five of them sat around a round table, with the manager standing in the center.

“As most of you may know, let me start with my introduction. I am Lee Yesul, the head of Linu’s new department, the Virtual Metaverse Department.”

She showed her employee ID labeled ‘Manager.’

“Although I have closed down operations now, I used to have 90,000 subscribers in the past and also have experience as a manager at Camomile who reviewed your interviews. My dream and goal are to make this Virtual Project successful with your help.”

Applause followed. Before Hyobin could introduce herself, Yesul added a few words.

“Think of this self-introduction as practice for your debut broadcast as a YouTuber. Your specialties! Your strengths, weaknesses. Things you like, things you dislike, etc.”

Oh, it seems like real practice. Looks interesting.

“Alright. So, I’m 24 years old this year. My name is Cha Hyobin. My nickname is Threppa, and I was a solo YouTuber. I had around 2,000 or 3,000 subscribers. Not that many, but I won’t give up!”

Referring to individuals who broadcast without corporate support. Even though I’m not a YouTuber myself, I guess being a solo content creator works too.

“My specialty is dancing. My strength is my refreshing personality, like speeding down a highway? And as for weaknesses… I think mentioning them might diminish my charm, so I’ll refrain.”

“Oh. That kind of introduction works too. You can use it for your debut broadcast.”

“Haha, thank you. Things I like include dancing and people with fit bodies, especially women I want to resemble…”

Wait, did she just glance at me? Maybe it’s just my imagination.

“I don’t really dislike anything. I hate laziness the most. That’s about it. Was that okay?”

“Oh, great. Let’s have a round of applause.”

After responding with claps and bowing in three directions, she took her seat. Next was Baek Minji’s self-introduction.

“Yes! I’m Baek Minji, who turned twenty this year and became an adult.”

Still feeling a bit embarrassed, she introduced herself while looking at the ceiling. The manager noticed and pointed it out.

“Eye contact is important for YouTubers. Please face forward when introducing yourself.”

“Yes, got it!”

She corrected her gaze and continued with her introduction.

The number of subscribers is around a thousand. Still, as a life achievement to be proud of, Short Form hit the algorithm luckily once and reached one million views.

Although it’s Short Form, there is a video that hit one million views with around a thousand subscribers. It’s not easy in this field.

“My specialty and strength lie in being good at immersing myself in games, comics, and having a rich sensibility. The downside is that I tend to be quite shy… I like everything from comics, anime, games to novels without distinction… I hardly discriminate by genre. What I dislike is, reality, perhaps… Anyway, nice to meet you.”

What does it mean to dislike reality? I have a rough idea.

Next, Sunsoo’s introduction follows.

I heard a bit about the other two during the interview, but these two are completely new to me. Let’s listen more attentively.

“Just a moment. Seoa, when you look at me~ I suddenly feel embarrassed!”

“…?”

“Hehe. Alright. Let’s begin. With 30,000 subscribers, running a Kakabi Utaite channel, this year’s twenty-four-year-old graduate, Shin Sunsoo. I can be described as having a bright energy. I always try to laugh brightly no matter how hard things get. The downside is my strong perfectionist tendency. I try to fix it a bit, but it doesn’t work well. Especially when singing, I get caught up in perfection more than anyone else.”

I understand that sentiment, but getting caught up in perfection must be really tiring. Just different genres of songs they sing. We might have many similarities.

“I like coffee, tea, and drinking in general. These days, I’m into herbal tea, which is said to be good for the throat. I like all kinds of music, but especially enjoy J-pop.”

At some point, in online communities, songs were likened to food—Korean songs as Korean cuisine, Japanese songs as Japanese cuisine, etc. It sounds cute, so I often use it.

“Sunsoo, you also studied Japanese as a minor, right?”

“Yes. Director, you saw it during the interview, but if I may show others briefly…”

She speaks fluent Japanese to the point where it’s hard to believe she’s Korean. After impressing us, she bows and resumes her introduction.

“What I dislike… When things don’t go as planned? Of course, in this world, things rarely go as planned. I’m gradually fixing that.”

It was an exemplary introduction that exuded a sense of diligence. Next, the introduction of a person named Egoeun followed. I wonder what kind of person they are?

“Nice to meet you. I was a YouTuber belonging to Corporate Oz, Nikki. Twenty-five years old this year, Ego Eun.”

Corporate Oz, a place I had checked out online for various information. Unfortunately, they couldn’t overcome financial difficulties and had to shut down.

Especially, there was a YouTuber named Nikki, often likened to a lumberjack girl manager, who was popular there. The channel had around 20,000 subscribers. But in the end, they couldn’t hold on. Could that Nikki person be this person? I hope things work out well for everyone here.

“So you were Nikki… I enjoyed watching your broadcasts.”

Hyobin added with an unwavering expression.

“Thank you. My skill is drawing. My strength is being able to focus and achieve something steadfastly. The downside is… I think a lot internally, so I sometimes become quiet without saying anything. I like drawing, comics, anime. I’m not as fluent in Japanese as before, but I can manage to some extent. What I dislike is…”

She paused for a moment, then shook her head slightly.

“Nothing in particular. Nice to meet you.”

“Alright. Lastly, Kwon Seoa!”

“Yes.”

She stood up energetically.

“Twenty-seven-year-old Kwon Seoa. I haven’t tried being a YouTuber, but I’ve always been interested in it. I even went to a YouTube session job once. Was my nickname Sachu?”

“Hmm… So, you’re the one with 10 million subscribers, known as the Emperor?”

Sunsoo asks with a curious expression. I was surprised too. Back then, the scale wasn’t that big, but recently, I found out that the number of subscribers had reached a whopping 10 million.

“I did some part-time work like a temporary fix. We’re not in touch now, though.”

“Wow… Still, that’s amazing. Is there some kind of connection between masters?”

Continuing, Sunsoo introduced Kwon Seoa’s channel with around 50,000 subscribers.

“I should say, she also managed to attract popularity as a streamer.”

Since everyone seemed to catch on, without further embarrassment, let’s move straight to the specialties.

“My specialty is singing, especially rock. I excel in playing band instruments, songwriting, and composing.”

As I started talking about the advantages of singing, I feared it would become repetitive and boring, so I covered my ears with my fingers.

“In terms of hearing, I have a particularly keen sense compared to others.”

“Oh, really? Then wait a moment.”

Hyobin, flustered, hid her hands behind her back and said, “Guess how many fingers I’m holding up.”

“Isn’t that related to telepathy?”

“Ahaha. You’re right. Check my sanity.”

Still, they probably know.

In a moment of silence, I heard the sound of fingers being extended.

“One. Am I right?”

“Wow! How did you guess?”

“You can hear the sound of fingers extending. It sounds different when multiple fingers are extended.”

“Whoa. That gave me chills just now.”

I didn’t say it for fear of ruining the mood, but it’s not all pleasant. When I was young, I couldn’t adapt to this excessive hearing and couldn’t sleep well. As an adult, I’ve adapted in my own way and can sleep well even in noisy environments.

“As for weaknesses, I tend to like helping others, which sometimes leads to meddling. Without realizing it, I end up patting someone’s back or stroking their head when we get close… It’s a habit developed from growing up in an orphanage. Even if I try to fix it, it doesn’t change easily.”

“Rather than a weakness, isn’t it more like a strength? Truly natural charm…”

“Is that so? Haha. Thank you. My favorite thing is singing, especially heavy metal. I eat occasionally, but I love pizza the most. If I have to pick something I dislike, it would be raw fish? I’m not good at eating raw things. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

It seemed like a normal introduction, but for some reason, everyone enthusiastically applauded. After the introduction, the manager lightly clapped to draw attention.

“Now, let’s go over the draft of the Virtual Project… No, before that.”

She paused while operating the beam projector.

“We’ve all experienced failure at least once, haven’t we? So, we all desire success more than anyone else… and I am no exception. After the unconventional support from our eccentric chairman, if the results aren’t favorable, we’ll gradually tidy up. That’s how companies work. So, if I may ask for one thing, this kind of opportunity might come once in a lifetime, or maybe never again. It’s such an opportunity… I hope you give it your best without regrets. I will do my best to help as well.”

And thus, the Lynne Virtual Project began.

“Let’s take a look at the design draft for the VTuber RP. Please note that it’s not yet finalized.”

The manager went up to the platform, prepared to present the pre-made PPT slides. At that moment, Minji quietly raised her hand and asked, “Um, did you become a busty VTuber by any chance?”

“No, I’m a loli VTuber. I think that would be more fun.”

“Kyaah, exactly! But I’ll work hard.”

“Let’s start by reviewing Kwon Seoa’s work together.”

Amidst the music playing, what will my turn be?

“Laria, the caretaker of the orphanage and the incarnation of the sun, the Luminary of the Ma’Mang position!”