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3 – … Actually, I Just Tried It Once

3 – … Actually, I Just Tried It Once

“Boss, I want to resign.”

It seemed as if she was throwing an unavoidable challenge at the Boss, but it was merely an outburst of pent-up emotions.

If anything, it was a careless mistake.

Resigning in a situation where she could be friends with the Boss?

Resigning wouldn’t increase the time she could spend with the Boss, so why would she do something so detrimental?

Moreover, the Boss had been busy for three years.

With 1.6 million subscribers, it was a number that couldn’t just be created without effort.

Choosing and rejecting collaboration and advertisement proposals coming in from all over.

In the midst of it all, she had to make time to interact with viewers, and this year, with the addition of the first batch of Parallel students, she became even busier.

So, it was only natural that there was no time to play.

… I guess I’ll just have to work harder on my sub-account.

She muttered as she barely managed to close her protruding lips.

“I was just joking. I wanted to see what kind of reaction I’d get if I said I was resigning.”

*

After Jia left the Boss’s office with a sulky expression, Cheon Do-hee could only stare blankly at the door for a while.

Then, as her mind snapped back to reality, she couldn’t help but recite the famous lines from the Night of Legends broadcast in her head.

Emergency.

Critical emergency.

“What… what’s going on all of a sudden? Resigning?”

The girl who had been doing well for two years as a manager and three years in the company suddenly seemed completely upset.

Her disappointed eyes and the corners of her mouth that seemed to have lost all hope.

No matter how she looked at it, she seemed like someone who could no longer find a reason to stay at the company.

However, reflecting on what she might have done wrong, Do-hee realized that she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Sure, she had played games with Jia from time to time, but since starting the company, there had been so little time that it had become a rule to inform each other of schedules in advance.

In other words, what Do-hee had said was not a rejection, but a promise that they could play together in two months.

But Jia didn’t know that.

She should have had the chance to be friends with Do-hee.

With no other choice, Cheon Do-hee called the team leader of the operations team.

Kang Ji-ho, who was thirty-two this year, entered the Boss’s office and immediately cupped his cheeks with both hands, making a groaning sound.

“Boss, is there something wrong with Jia…?”

His tone sounded as if he were a startled owner whose cat had suddenly stopped eating.

“Is something going on? Jia’s expression is completely dead.”

“No, I called you because I was curious about that.”

“Huh? If the Boss doesn’t know, how would I know?”

“Well, you’re a member of the team.”

“Even if I’m part of the operations team, I’m essentially the Boss’s personal secretary. I only do the tasks assigned by the Boss.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

She regretted calling him.

As Do-hee thought that, she issued a command to Kang Ji-ho.

Normally, he would have left immediately, but he delivered a sharp remark.

“Um, just in case, did you happen to get angry at Jia or yell at her or scold her…?”

A moment of silence.

Kang Ji-ho, who had been observing the atmosphere, fiddled with his glasses and quickly exited the Boss’s office.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s a department issue. In the end, it’s about what I might have said wrong earlier.”

Do-hee had merely suggested setting up a schedule as she always did.

Could that have been the problem?

Was today a special day?

Jia’s birthday?

No, that was still about two months away.

Then, Do-hee’s birthday?

That had already passed about two months ago.

“… I really don’t know.”

While Do-hee was at a loss, Kang Ji-ho, who had returned to his seat, appeared again.

Knock, knock.

— Boss?

“Come in.”

She entered the office quietly, adjusting her glasses and speaking nervously, tapping her toes anxiously.

“I think we might need to put someone else in for the content instead of Jia later. What do you think?”

“… Is it that serious?”

“Yes. I’m worried about the content later, and when I try to talk to her, she keeps going, um, um… like that, not really responding. She’s usually so cheerful, works hard, and is polite.”

Do-hee frowned and rubbed her forehead.

If Jia’s dazed state continued, they would need to find a substitute for the content scheduled for eight o’clock.

“I’ll go check on her. Don’t worry too much.”

“Thank you, Boss…”

“No, I think it’s my mistake. I need to handle this.”

At least as she left the Boss’s office to head to the operations team, Do-hee had a significant realization.

It was that Jia had come to work much earlier than usual today.

She was supposed to come by three o’clock, but today she arrived at two.

And she even asked if there was anything she needed before coming in.

‘Today is the first time Jia is properly doing content with the first batch of students….’

Originally, that was a role Dora was supposed to take, but she had to miss it due to her grandfather’s memorial service, so the role unexpectedly fell to Jia.

Jia had participated in Do-hee’s broadcasts a few times as a manager, so she had some experience.

But since she had only taken on the role of a silent gamer, she had never communicated with people in front of a microphone like this.

‘She must have been so nervous that she couldn’t sleep. She probably wanted to ask me something when I was free.’

Moreover, since she wasn’t good at expressing her thoughts, she might have hoped that I would understand her feelings, even if it was in a clumsy way.

The question about whether she needed anything could be interpreted as ‘I need help.’

The question about whether she wanted to play games together could be seen as ‘I really need help, and I’ll carry you later.’ (Or not)

‘But why did she suddenly mention resigning?’

Could it be that she found participating in the content that burdensome?

I thought she was capable and suitable for the tasks I assigned her.

Was it a mistake?

‘For now, I need to talk her out of it.’

Do-hee wanted to avoid a situation where Jia would resign due to her own mistake.

If she resigned, filling the resulting T/O would be a problem.

From three in the afternoon to midnight, she would have to monitor the entire company’s Virtual Youtuber broadcasts like a command center, and if she was late, she would have to stay awake until the morning.

Even weekends, while they were called weekends, were essentially on standby.

The love for Virtual Youtubers had to be immense, and they had to be discreet, while also being able to recommend games or animations appropriately according to the requests of Virtual Youtubers who sometimes experienced content shortages, and they needed to have knowledge of broadcasting equipment to take immediate action when broadcasting issues arose….

Honestly, there was no one to replace her.

Sure, at the first meeting, I thought, what kind of wicked person is this?

But after five years, there was no one more passionate about taking care of Virtual Youtubers than her.

She had said to forget about her resignation, but for Do-hee, who had never considered Jia quitting the company, it was a more serious crisis than the popup store incident that occurred six months after the first batch’s debut.

*

“Is participating in the content too burdensome?”

As I sat in the office chair, watching the cutout videos of the first batch’s Rain that I had saved in a playlist, that was the question the Boss asked me.

Since I had already given up on playing games together as friends and was just doing my work, I was taken aback.

“Uh… what?”

“If it’s too burdensome, just tell me now. I’ll find a substitute.”

“No, no. It’s today, so why would I say that now?”

Before I knew it, the Boss had taken Kang Ji-ho’s chair and slid it close to me.

“Then why did you mention resigning earlier?”

“… You don’t need to know.”

The lingering gaze felt like a palm pushing against my face, so I had no choice but to express my honest feelings.

“I just said it because I wanted to play games together like before. The resignation… well, when you rejected it outright, my heart suddenly turned dark, and I thought maybe I should just snipe from home again.”

Immediately, the Boss opened her mouth like a fool and then,

“Puhaha, ahahahahaha!”

She laughed like a mad person, and then started to pat my head.

I was about to protest what she was doing to a grown adult, but the feeling of her pressing down on my head was so nice that I just kept my mouth shut.

So this is what it feels like to be petted by a Favorite.

I had never experienced it before, so I had no idea.

After the Boss calmed down from her laughter, she let out a short sigh.

“I’ve watched you for five years, and you still don’t know this.”

“It’s strange to know. You’re not living my life for me.”

“Right. I really don’t know what to do.”

Then she took a comb that had been on Kang Ji-ho’s chair and started to comb my messy hair, which felt good too.

Is this what it feels like to be a cat that gets petted by a person?

“… Ah.”

No, this isn’t the time to be dazed.

Now that the Boss is in a good mood, I should propose again.

The earlier retreat was to gain momentum.

“Can we really play a game? If we can’t play long, just for an hour. No, that’s too short, so two hours.”

I don’t know if the desperation showed in my eyes, but the Boss spoke in a tone that was quite different from earlier.

Her lush eyelashes curled softly, and my mouth corners lifted in response.

“If today’s content goes smoothly, I’ll even cut back on my sleep to play Battle Call with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Until we get first place.”

“Oh. You should probably take that back.”

“Why? Are you trying to sabotage us from getting first place?”

“How did you know?”

“Just give me a break. I’m dying here.”

I said it as if I would play all night, but I had no intention of doing so.

As if I didn’t know how busy the Boss was.

Just two hours, that’s all I would take.

As a fan, that would be more than enough.

“I’m watching what you’re doing.”

“By the way, are you feeling confident today? Is the content prepared well?”

Feeling good, I showcased the Rain impression I had prepared all week.

Although my voice tone had changed significantly from yesterday, surprisingly, there wasn’t much difference in how I tightened and loosened my vocal cords.

Due to having learned Korean in a makeshift way, I had a strong foreigner vibe, but as long as I maintained the clean pronunciation of the English phrases that came in between, anyone could become Rain.

“Wow, Sibal. You guys really play games like a pot. Is it Rain’s fault? Yeah. Your pace~.”

The Boss and the Team Leader were silent for a while, looking embarrassed.

I thought I had done well.

It seemed like it was less impressive than expected.

Just as I was about to feel a bit down, the Boss asked with a surprised expression, a beat late.

“Why have you been hiding this talent until now…?”

“… I didn’t really hide it.”

“You’ve never shown it in front of us.”

“You never asked me to.”

“……”

For some reason, the Boss then looked at Kang Ji-ho and said,

“If you do well today, it might be a big hit…?”

A word from the author (Author’s note)

The next episode will be uploaded as soon as the revision is complete!!