chapter_0044

44 – The Amazing Fact That Pizza is Free!

44 – The Amazing Fact That Pizza is Free!

In front of Gong Seung-yeon, who was expecting to eat a dessert of shaved ice topped with pineapple, what was delivered was a pineapple pizza.

“How is it? Looks delicious, right?”

It was a warm pineapple pizza with chunks of pineapple piled high.

The yellow fruit on top of the cheese stood out particularly today.

‘Ughhhhh….’

She loved pineapple.

She liked fresh pineapple, and she liked it as a dessert too.

As long as it could be eaten sweet and tangy, it was all good.

Except for one thing.

Warm pineapple, especially cooked pineapple on pizza, was the greatest sin for Seung-yeon.

How could one eat pineapple hot?

Just because it becomes sweeter and the sour and bitter flavors disappear when cooked?

She would understand if it were grilled directly and served as a side to meat.

To Seung-yeon, the pineapple on the pizza was like someone deliberately dumping construction site yellow paint on a harmonious painting and asking, “Doesn’t it look good?”

‘If I get reincarnated, please send me back to the time when pineapple pizza was invented… Please, let me smack the back of the head of the one who made it…!’

With her eyes tightly shut, she imagined a metaverse scenario, but soon gathered her thoughts and answered Majiya’s question.

“Ma… Ma… Ma…”

But no words came out.

No matter how much she respected her senior, how much she liked her personally, and how she was in a position to make up for the mistake she made earlier.

Did she really have to say that pineapple pizza was ‘delicious’?

For someone like Seung-yeon, who loved pineapple, it was a word she simply couldn’t utter.

It was an insult to the various foods that could be made with pineapple.

But what could she do?

Majiya was looking at her with such a satisfied expression, hoping she would enjoy it.

“Ma… Ma… Manager Majiya, I’ll eat well!!”

Only then did Majiya pick up a slice of pizza and start munching on it from the edge.

She looked like a cute hamster gnawing on a big piece of cheese, which should have whetted Seung-yeon’s appetite.

Soft bread, spicy tomato paste, savory cheese topped with sweet pineapple.

That disharmony lingered in her mind, and she couldn’t even bring herself to chew.

But no matter how she looked at it, wasn’t this a loyalty test?

Seung-yeon’s university seniors often played such pranks.

It was a subtle question of whether she would still follow them, even if she liked pineapple pizza and would often eat it together.

‘Just close your eyes and eat.’

Gong Seung-yeon knew better than anyone that Majiya was a kind person.

How easy would it be to meet someone who would take care of you when you showed up for an interview at two in the morning?

So, she could understand if Majiya liked rice noodles with lots of cilantro or mint chocolate.

Just being able to work in the same office as her made Seung-yeon’s life feel like smooth sailing.

Moreover, wasn’t it Seung-yeon who had first attacked by throwing the fish-shaped bread on the floor?

She had to accept her karma.

Just as Seung-yeon was about to take a big bite out of the pointed part of the pizza, a small hand suddenly swooped in and stole the pizza, placing it back on the greasy pizza box.

“If you don’t like a food, just say so. Don’t eat everything just because your senior tells you to.”

“Oh, no? I’ve never said I disliked it!”

“Your expression and actions are too honest; they tell everything.”

Gong Seung-yeon averted her eyes slightly, but she couldn’t escape Majiya’s sharp gaze.

“I’m sorry. I thought if you liked pineapple, you’d like pineapple pizza too. Don’t force yourself to eat something you dislike; let’s order something new, anything is fine.”

“Uh, um. But… it’s the manager who bought it…”

“Hurry.”

Majiya had a serious tone that Seung-yeon had never heard before, and her face was one she had never seen.

She was genuinely angry.

“Ah, yes!”

In a hurry, Seung-yeon took the phone from Jia to look for something to eat, but her heart wasn’t entirely at ease.

She should have just eaten without hesitating.

It felt like her relationship with her senior was going off track…

–

‘She’s the type who can’t say she dislikes something.’

Or maybe it was just because she was a fresh graduate?

Thinking back, she didn’t think she ever refused to help anyone when she first joined the company.

Since the boss had firmly established, “This is your job,” and “Only when you have no work,” there wasn’t much opportunity to stray outside her job scope. Whenever she stepped outside the partition, she would bring back work.

However, even though her first task as a manager was not much different from when she was taking care of the boss, Seung-yeon was doing something entirely new in an environment she had never experienced before.

So, it was right for her to firmly establish that if she disliked something, she should say so, and that she didn’t have the luxury to be polite right now.

A little while later, Seung-yeon, who had received the hamburger set she ordered, bent at the waist before sitting down.

“I’m sorry for the trouble because of me…”

“Eat. You need to eat to have the energy to work.”

“Yes, yes.”

Since the Halloween special first-generation group stream was still in the middle of chatting with four people, there was plenty of time for meals.

In a situation where they were all doing a joint broadcast, as long as they synced up, there was almost no need to pay attention to all four screens at once.

The workload was reduced to a quarter, but the number of people was doubled.

So, the work burden was one-eighth.

When work was this easy, when else would they eat and chat?

Seung-yeon’s expression, as she took a big bite of the ordered hamburger, was very bright compared to when she was contemplating the pineapple pizza earlier.

“Your expression is completely different from before.”

“Gulp.”

“From now on, if there’s something you dislike, don’t hesitate to say it. We’ll be working together for a long time, so we should know each other’s likes and dislikes to avoid embarrassing each other.”

Seung-yeon gulped down her cola and exhaled deeply.

“Yes… you’re right.”

“You’re speaking too formally. Let’s be a bit more casual. We’re only a year apart.”

“Really? How can that be?! You’re the manager…!”

“Oh, you want to keep your distance from me? I can accept that.”

“No, no, no, no, no! That’s not it!”

Gong Seung-yeon, who was worried her voice was too loud, spilled her true feelings.

“I’m a fan of Parallel too. Of course, it’s nice to work with Jikwon D. Half of the fans are dying to see Jikwon D. And now I can see you every day… So, um. Fan? It feels weird to call it that. Anyway, I’ve been cheering for you. Jikwon D has been so fun every time you appear on broadcasts. I really wanted to meet you. Ugh.”

Even though she hadn’t revealed that she was Jikwon D, it seemed everyone had figured it out, as if her voice had a fingerprint.

However, unlike other candidates who proudly talked about seeing ‘Jikwon D’ right after the interview, Seung-yeon didn’t mention anything about the boss’s appearance in her post-interview comments.

She had already deeply engraved the unwritten rule of protecting her real-life identity in the Virtual Youtuber industry, prioritizing the company over herself.

She was the closest to the junior she had hoped for while being filled with a heart that cared for Parallel.

So, she wanted to take good care of her in any way she could.

Finding another junior like this wouldn’t be easy.

“If you feel that way, we should be more comfortable with each other. I may be above you in rank, but we’ll be doing the same work anyway. If I’m busy, you can take on some of my tasks, and if you’re busy, I’ll help you out in return.”

“Ah. Ah…”

“Besides, we’re both Woldeungi, right?”

Woldeungi, derived from the Parallel World, refers to the entire fandom of Parallel.

In other words, whether it’s you or me, as fans of the whole group, it meant we should get along like friends while enjoying our fandom together.

The slight discomfort that had been showing on Seung-yeon’s face finally faded.

“Woldeungi… that’s right.”

“After the broadcast, you can call me manager or whatever you want. At least while we’re watching the broadcast together, think of me as a friend.

Why? When you were watching the first-generation group stream in the Talk Code, you probably shared funny stories like how another member was crazy about their favorite friend. Just think of it as doing that in real life. Simple, right?”

Seung-yeon smiled widely.

It was the first smile she had shown since she had thrown the fish-shaped bread on the cold floor.

“Yes, yes!”

She turned up the volume on her headset and leaned back in her chair.

Seung-yeon also relaxed her stiff posture and subtly leaned back, glancing at me.

Just then, the first-generation group stream was about to finish their communication broadcast and start the main content.

[ (🔴Live) Candy Duo ] 👪9,142

Today’s group content was Trick or Treat.

It was a guest-receiving content often done on birthdays, known in professional terms as Dotsumachi.

The streamers would keep the voice channel open and wait for guests to arrive, and the guests (usually fellow Virtual Youtubers from the same corporate affiliation) would leave congratulatory messages or various gifts, and the streamer who received the gifts would give a simple return gift as part of the content.

In a way, it was also a chance for the first-generation members to showcase the connections they had built during their broadcasts.

The guests would bring candy drawings or photos, or simple gifts they prepared themselves.

Since each guest would bring something different, it was characterized by the variety of quick exchanges that could be experienced in a short time.

“Who do you think will come first?”

I asked Seung-yeon, who was eagerly biting into her hamburger as if I were asking a friend watching the broadcast.

After she swallowed what was in her mouth, she replied.

“I think… Mugeon?”

“I think the same.”

“Considering he’s been streaming a lot lately. Plus, he suddenly inserted Maru’s original song into his play mad movie. It’s just about mealtime for him…”

“Right. He’ll probably come to greet us and then go back to his own stream.”

Just as we finished our conversation, the notification sound for entering the Talk Code rang.

As predicted by the big data, Mugeon appeared.

[Hello. I didn’t particularly wait for an open run, but I happened to have some time, so I came to bring candy. Looking forward to the new song release in five days. Let’s go!]

Everyone was busy thanking him, saying things like thank you for the World Cup, and thank you for allowing us to promote during the civil war, etc.

After exchanging brief updates, what did Mugeon leave behind?

[I watched Komari’s stream recently. I was a bit worried about the fans’ teeth, so I prepared this.]

What it was, was a nighttime mouthpiece to prevent teeth grinding.

Komari’s astonished voice was priceless.

[Wow……. Thank you…….]

— Hahaha

— Taking care of the fans’ dental health, that’s our Mugeon, haha

— Normalizing teeth grinding, wow

— The first candy is already something else, haha

The ‘candy list’ in the upper right corner of the broadcast screen was updated.

After Mugeon left, people who had been in the group stream gradually started to arrive.

Members’ moms and dads also began to show up one by one.

After about twenty people had gathered, a wave of guests passed through, creating a waiting line, and the broadcast naturally entered a brief lull.

It seemed it was around 8 PM, and it was time for everyone to start their own streams.

It would be great if the boss could come in at this timing to fill the gap, but he was currently too busy with planning and promotional meetings related to the one-year anniversary event to attend.

Glancing at the meeting room, everyone was up, writing and erasing something on the whiteboard in a frenzy.

The first-generation members were diligently filling in the sound, but as the gaps grew longer, the anticipation for the content naturally diminished.

It was the right time to add some fuel to the fire.

I quickly switched from my monitoring headset to earbuds and connected to the Talk Code on my phone.

“I’ll help the kids with their broadcast for a bit, so keep watching.”

“Ah, yes.”

Ding.

As soon as my nickname appeared in the broadcast waiting room, I was pulled up into the broadcast channel.

Dora must have been watching and immediately brought me up.

The members greeted me noisily.

[What? D? What’s going on?]

[Oh, it’s Jikwon D!]

[Sister!]

[Hello!]

— What?

— I’m glad I watched today’s broadcast, haha

— Those who already knew this would happen are lucky, haha

“Hello. Happy Halloween. It was quiet for a moment, so I thought it would be nice to come and greet you now.”

Usually, when someone arrives, the person most related to them takes the lead in the conversation. In my case, it seemed to be Dora.

It felt like a privilege granted by Mama (the illustrator).

As soon as Dora started talking, she tried to keep me on the broadcast.

[Jikwon D, you can just stay here. Let’s get candy together, hehehe.]

But that was out of the question.

There hadn’t been any prior discussion, and I was busy with work handovers.

“I came to bring candy, so just accept it quietly.”

[Really? What are you going to give us?]

I had actually planned to treat them to celebrate my promotion today.

“Pizza gift cards.”

While the members were in awe, Komari was the first to catch on to my intention.

[Sister, no way?]

Rain still hadn’t caught on, and a beat later, Dora and Maru reacted.

[No way… that pizza isn’t what I think it is, right?]

[No, it’s not, is it?]

Without answering, I sent a bundle of gift cards to the gift reception area (Open Talk).

As soon as Dora saw it, she let out a deep sigh.

[Jikwon D, you know this is for the viewers, right?]

“The viewers getting to experience fine dining is a happy thing.”

Komari roared like a beast.

[You wicked person. Is this what you call candy? Worse than a devil!]

“It’s my favorite food. If you say that, it might make me a little sad.”

— ?? What is it?

— If it’s pizza, I can’t eat it anyway.

— What’s all this fuss about? Haha

As the curious viewers requested to reveal the gift, the capture of the gift card, excluding the barcode, finally appeared on the screen, updating the candy list.

‘Candy List’

–
…

–
(MAJAPIZZA) Hawaiian Pineapple, Cola 1.5L x20

–
…

It was the hottest item at Majapizza, which had double the amount of pineapple compared to a regular Hawaiian pizza.

The kids’ reactions were enthusiastic.

And the chat was flooded with responses.

[This is really terrible…….]

[I need to rethink eating with Jikwon D.]

[But why does Rain dislike it? She lived in America.]

[Shut up! Never say that again. Even Americans cut Hawaiian pizza immediately!]

— Guaaaah

— Crazy, this is 20 pieces

— Haha, nowadays, landmines look like pizza

— But isn’t Hawaiian pizza actually not that bad?

— There must be a reason for this

The previously quiet atmosphere suddenly became lively.

Just as guests were waiting in the broadcast waiting room, I needed to step aside.

“Anyway, I’ll be going. I hope the viewers have warm pizza and a happy Halloween.”

–

Gong Seung-yeon was taken aback.

“Getting to experience fine dining is a happy thing.”

“It’s my favorite food. If you say that, it might make me a little sad.”

“I’ll be going now. I hope the viewers have warm pizza and a happy Halloween.”

Whether Majiya knew it or not, her appearance, which had barged in to liven up the broadcast, was completely different from the Majiya Seung-yeon had seen until now.

The way she spoke with a gentle gaze and a cheerful smile made her look so happy and joyful.

It felt like Seung-yeon, who was watching, was also becoming fluffy and warm?

Even though Momo had stepped in to hide Jikwon D, thinking it was because she was afraid or uncomfortable with the broadcast.

Judging solely by the sight she had just seen, it felt like Majiya was genuinely enjoying watching people cry out for Jikwon D.

So, when Majiya finished her task and put her earbuds back in the charging case, Gong Seung-yeon reflexively clapped, as if she had just witnessed a wonderful performance.

“So this is the dignity of Momo, the hardcore Simp and skilled Parallel general manager… Weren’t you nervous in front of ten thousand people…?”

Jia said it so casually.

As if she were used to this sort of thing.

“I’ve seen over thirty thousand during Mugeon’s civil war.”

“Wow… That’s so cool. Are you going to be a host for events or something later? We have our 1st anniversary events coming up soon.”

However, Jia was good at catering to broadcasters.

You could say she extremely preferred to predict how the other person would react and then play jokes.

So, she would drag the broadcast along by the hair?

That was far from Majiya’s ideal, who was an expert at blending in.

“Nah. That’s probably not going to happen.”

The author’s note:

It’s a sad fact, but protecting new employees is really not upheld except in large companies with well-established new employee training programs…

It’s so scary.