chapter_0094

94 – Am I that strange?

94 – Am I that strange?

The ominous Talk Code.

However, the chat window in the custom game waiting room with ten players gathered was not quiet.

The order for the Gongsa Damang team was Watermelon Hotpot, the youngest member of the Makgeolli Crew.

Since KraeMang really enjoyed teasing the younger ones, both of their wits remained sharp even in the finals.

–
[All] Watermelon Hotpot: Get ready to die, hyung-nim

–
[All] Watermelon Hotpot: I’ll show you exactly what happens when an old man butts into a kids’ tournament

–
[All] KraeMang: Yeah~ You’ll be an egg tray next year too~ You old geezer~

With two people who had a combined 5 million YouTube subscribers chattering away, everyone else could only watch cautiously without jumping in. But there was one person who boldly stuck their face into the banter between those whales.

It was Majiya.

–
[All] Majiya: kkkkkkk

–
[All] Watermelon Hotpot: Hey Jia dongsaeng-nim, don’t laugh!

–
[All] Majiya: Oh sorry, I didn’t realize this wasn’t team chat

–
[All] Watermelon Hotpot: Ugh, that makes me feel even worse?

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[All] Majiya: It was really a mistake

–
[All] KraeMang: Well done my niece, keep scratching!

–
[All] Majiya: scratch scratch

–
[All] KraeMang: ?

If we were to compare subscriber counts, Majiya’s official Parallel channel with 175,000 subscribers was nearly at the bottom among the ten gathered here.

It was only slightly higher than Serena, who was a rookie.

Naturally, it was a surprisingly novel sight for the others to see.

However, the players on the Gongsa Damang team remained tense.

That’s because this seemingly harmless little kid was more dangerous than anyone else.

If we only count after the appearance of Signal Flare (Awakened Majiya), their win rate against Young-gun’s team was 0%.

Until then it had been 100%, but the situation had completely reversed.

It was a total reversal of predator and prey.

In terms of round scores, the ratio was quite close at about 7:10, but Majiya’s crack plays that exploded at every critical moment often blew the game wide open.

Still, as the Gongsa Damang team that had defeated the favored Pandral team, they had plenty of confidence, but the stamina issue couldn’t be ignored either.

Yesterday they had gone to overtime three times, and the last set went nearly 50 rounds total, so everyone was on shaky ground.

They had barely slept due to the pressure of having to prepare for the finals.

The reason Watermelon Hotpot was bantering with KraeMang to create a cheerful atmosphere was because he knew his teammates were too exhausted to even joke around.

But no matter what, they had to go out with a bang, right?

It was the finals after all.

As soon as the game preparation signal dropped, Watermelon Hotpot finished his conversation with KraeMang and started speaking loudly in the team voice chat room.

Even Coach Gongsa Damang thought there was nothing more to advise, so he quietly listened to his words.

“First of all. Let’s not be too conscious of Majiya-nim and just do what we’ve been doing. Their team isn’t blindly aggressive without Majiya-nim’s crack plays either.

Above all, when we played against Pandral-nim’s team, I noticed that if someone could just focus on marking Majiya-nim, we could defend to some extent.”

The one who shut down Majiya 1-on-1 on Pandral’s team was Taro.

He threw flashbangs that uncannily pierced Majiya’s psyche, blinding her eyes with a fairly high success rate to the point where even Majiya seemed to falter a bit.

[That may be true. But the problem is that we can’t block Majiya-nim like Taro-nim could. That’s been the issue since the latter half of scrims.]

[The irregular plays are really unmanageable. I don’t know how many psychological tricks she’s pulling with those smokescreens. It’d be one thing if the team was playing separately, but they stick together when it matters? That’s really chaotic.]

“I agree. But that’s why we have to try to block her. We’ll lose if we can’t.”

[You’re right.]

[Let’s do our best….]

Even with the energetic words, there’s no sign of the deflated mood recovering.

Well, what else can be done.

The only option is for Watermelon Hotpot, who played the role of youngest in the Makgeolli Crew, to act silly here too.

Soon his suppressed satoori tone burst out.

“Hey hey, dongsaeng-nims. Don’t be so down like that. It’ll all work out. Even if we lose, I’ll buy you all a delicious meal.

We lost because we lacked skill, not because our teamwork was bad, right? Come on~ Cheer up! Fighting! Let’s go!”

Meanwhile, on Young-gun’s team preparing in a calm atmosphere, everyone burst out laughing at Young-gun’s words as he hadn’t yet left the voice chat room.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we’d make it this far.”

— You bastard

— Die

— Get out

— kkkkkkkkkkk

— This guy is still kkkkk

— Let’s deal with this after the tournament kk

— We’ll need to… hold a hearing, right?

“But, it’s not like I picked a good team or anything. I’ll hold a separate hearing after the tournament is over… Those who want to come and criticize me can do so…”

— Ah so you know

— As long as you know

— Sigh kk

“Anyway. I just want to say this to all of you.”

After a moment of silence, Young-gun spoke.

“Thank you. I’ve learned a lot from this tournament. I don’t know if I’ll be able to be a coach again in the next tournament. But I’ll use this experience well to become a good coach then for sure.

I may have been a bit rude, but thank you KraeMang-nim for faithfully keeping the request to reduce orders.”

[That’s no big deal. Heheh.]

“Bajubi-nim, if you’re angry with me, you can hit me once at the team dinner. You can kick my butt. Or punch my stomach. Or even slap my face.”

[…Okay.]

“Serena-nim. You went through a lot because of me. But. It’s not over yet, so please endure a little more. Honestly, 805 points? I don’t regret it at all. If we auctioned again, I’d be willing to spend up to 1000 points.”

[Hahaha…. Can I hit you instead of Bajubi-nim?]

“Next. Kamik-nim. Thank you for quietly doing your job well. As expected, tier 1 is tier 1. We greatly benefited from you surviving while not missing kills and taking care of things well.”

[Not at all. Thank you.]

The atmosphere was as if the finals were already over, and everyone was on the verge of exploding with empathy.

After all, how much had they all struggled throughout this tournament.

Until they advanced straight to the finals by placing first in the round robin, everyone felt like it was a dream.

“Lastly, Majiya-nim. Honestly, I knew nothing about Majiya-nim, so I made the team suffer a lot, but thanks to that one time you spoke up without feeling burdened, we were able to make it this far.

I know you’re a working professional, and you actually do broadcasts as part of your company work, so I felt even more sorry after finding that out. It must have been really burdensome for you among the broadcasters. I’m so grateful for the courage you showed in confronting us then.”

But Majiya is still angry.

She has been wishing for the tournament to end quickly, both then and now.

At least after the reins were loosened, she was able to relieve some stress by going wild excitedly. But in the end, it didn’t feel like an enjoyable tournament, but more like work for company promotion, so what could be done.

Moreover, she couldn’t even see the boss properly because of preparing for the tournament, so how could she not be annoyed.

So the fierce Majiya snapped:

[To be honest, I hope I never see you again, Coach.]

Laughter erupted from all around.

Especially Serena, who had suffered the most mentally, laughed the loudest.

— kkkkkkkkkkkk

— Kyaaaaaaaa

— She says what needs to be said!

— Savage kk

— This kid kkkkkkkk

— Let’s deal with this after the tournament kk

— We need to hold a hearing… right?

“No. How could you say such hurtful words!”

[If you’re going to auction like this next time, just don’t bid at all and make a team with all free picks.]

“… Should I really try that?”

[Are you crazy?]

— kk

— This is hilarious kkkkkk

— kkkkkkkkk

“Anyway. You’ll come to the team dinner after it’s over, right? All our team members saw Jia-nim’s face at the year-end party. But I, the coach, am the only one who hasn’t met Jia-nim. I really want to meet you and apologize…”

[You should apologize to Serena-nim, not me.]

OTNXSU9XcTFURXdtd0tweHpoait4akVEQVJoTmMrTm16VjVSWTNEeEJiVGExRlNBYTdYS2xlSlN5VFZXSVo2dA

“Anyway. Let’s meet at the team dinner for sure.”

[I’ll have to check my schedule. I’ve fallen behind on a lot of work because of preparing for the tournament. I feel bad for constantly dumping work on my junior.]

“I hope you can find the time. We’re doomed! Fighting!!!”

The finals match itself flowed quite evenly.

The first set went to overtime, with Young-gun’s team barely winning with a round score of 15:13.

In the second set, Young-gun’s team is leading 9:7, but the Gongsa Damang team is still hanging in there until the end.

But.

{{ Majiya >> (head)(Dragon-B) Watermelon Hotpot }}

[Majiya——!! Majiya has broken through A again!!]

[Wow, really. That smokescreen mind game is seriously cheating!! This is a play that’s not easy even in the pro scene, but this isn’t a pro tournament!! She seems to know that if she just throws it, it works half the time!!]

In the end, not having someone who could perfectly shut down Majiya’s irregular rushes proved to be a huge factor at critical moments.

With Taro from Pandral’s team, who had been marking Majiya exclusively with insane flashbang accuracy, eliminated in the semifinals, a hole inevitably opened in the defense line the moment Majiya, riding the momentum, broke through.

[What just happened was really significant because the Gongsa Damang team was trying to fall back to defend, right? But it seems Majiya has become somewhat familiar with Gongsa Damang’s tactics. She anticipated the timing of their retreat and burst out.]

[That’s right. Majiya is now thoroughly understanding and gleefully destroying the defensive strategy that the Gongsa Damang team has learned!]

Above all, hadn’t Majiya already broken through the Gongsa Damang team’s defense line several times?

While the opponent uses accumulated data with one shot-caller, Young-gun’s team had two heads.

One of those was even more threatening as it charged forward with its own will while spreading smokescreens.

[Come to think of it. Why were we worried about a team with a player like this?]

[The scrim results.]

[Ah. Right. They went 0-22 at one point, didn’t they? But! That team! Now in the finals too! 2:0! They’re one step away from winning with an overwhelming score!]

[They’re really causing an upset. It’s amazing!!]

[As we speak! With Bajubi trading 1:1 with Kaljam, it’s 4:1! The Gongsa Damang team is in a desperate crisis!! Will they crumble like this!! They need to do something!!]

And so the final round ended with Majiya raining a shower of pellets like a rain of fire on the enemy.

Boom!

{{ Majiya >> (head)(Dragon-B) Jinsam }}

[GG——!!]

When the official broadcast showed the players’ screens.

While everyone, including the coach, was jumping around excitedly, only Majiya remained calm.

It was similar when the commentators entered the Talk Code for the winners’ interview.

The commentators knew that Serena, who led the team while Majiya was rampaging, deserved a lot of credit.

But who achieved the most visible results?

It was Majiya, who wielded the Dragon-B with such hot shooting effects that she was said to be breathing fire, and who roamed the battlefield freely with smokescreens.

After briefly congratulating them on the victory, the commentators asked Majiya, who had now closed her eyes and entered a meditative state:

[Congratulations on your victory. To be honest, we were keeping a close eye on your scrim results too. But. We didn’t expect this level. We were surprised watching the videos. But we didn’t expect you to make it to the finals. What happened, Majiya?]

Majiya spoke calmly.

“First of all, Serena-nim’s shot-calling coming alive was a big factor. Kamik-nim’s own survival rate improved a lot, Bajubi-nim is definitely pulling his weight, and Uncle KraeMang now changes turret positions on his own to block enemy entry.

I think the whole team did really well.”

Anyone could see that she herself did the best.

She omitted herself from the praise.

— You did the best kkkkkk

— For real kk

— Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya! Majiya!

— You’re seriously the best

— Jia saved the team Young-gun ruined

— The Great Jia

— Meanwhile not mentioning the coach at all kkkkkk

— The Super Great Jia

— Thank you for mentioning our Bajubi thank you ㅠㅠ

— Trash Young-gun

— Young-gun go die

After a flurry of related comments rose in the chat, the commentator asked again.

[But you did the best, right? Do you agree?]

“I’m sorry but I can’t agree with that. The whole team did well. Even the coach did his job to some extent, despite messing up the auction.”

But the commentator didn’t back down either.

After all, what is their main job?

It’s to create stars for the tournament.

In last year’s first tournament, Taro took on that role.

With perfect flashbangs that blinded hidden enemies when attacking, and took away the vision of incoming enemies to break their momentum when defending.

[Haha. If you keep saying that, we’ll have to mention everyone one by one? Shall we list them?

First, rounds 1-3 of the first set. You wiped out 3 people each time with the mini-barrel, right? You bought guns for your teammates with that, then after getting the Dragon-B, you took out at least 2 people almost every round. The kill score proves it.

And those smokescreens. What are they even? It’s unpredictable. For those on the receiving end, it’s just a disaster. Not to mention your shotgun accuracy. People die with every shot you fire.]

Throughout the tournament, opposing players kept referring to her as the “Smokescreen Killer”.

Majiya completely overturned the existing notion that smokescreens should be used strategically.

In the end, it proved that in a non-pro tournament, one person’s brilliant play that stands out like a needle can lead a game to victory.

But Majiya remained calm.

She was a bit embarrassed, but the shamelessness she had developed through training with her teammates and attending the year-end party shone through.

“I think we won because Taro-nim wasn’t here.”

[Ah-ha.]

[That’s not what we want to hear!!]

“But that’s really what I think.”

What can you do?

If the player wants to be humble.

Above all, Majiya may look like a broadcaster, but she’s a working professional.

In the end, the commentators backed down a step and prepared to wrap up the interview.

[Then, let’s hear one last word about your victory thoughts as we conclude the interview.]

Majiya spoke nonchalantly.

“During scrims, I thought we’d be eliminated early and I could focus on work, but I didn’t expect to spend two more days on the tournament. I need to wrap this up quickly and get to the office.”

[The office? On a weekend evening… You’re going to work at this hour?]

“I turn on my broadcast when I go to work. This is the company broadcasting room right now too.”

The two commentators were shocked.

Both of them had as much social experience as Majiya, so they knew all too well what weight her words carried.

[Wait, you were at the company the whole time during scrims?!]

“Yes.”

[My god….]

[2025 Combative Division MVP]

– We’re Doomed Team, Majiya (tier-3)

… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

[But it’s surprising again]

When did the Pal-gal gallery master become Majiya?

Wasn’t it just recently that they said she’s a regular person so we should restrain ourselves?

These days Majiya gossip pops up all the time for no reason kkkk

[Comments]

— Parallel732: A normal office worker played the final boss role on a large server, won a streamer tournament, and even got MVP, how can we not talk about that kkkkkk

– Parallel289: Every word is true kkkk

— Parallel841: Let’s just consider her a VTuber now…

– Parallel094: Same thought kk

— Parallel258: Honestly, there’s no point in arguing about that anymore kk

–
Parallel258: I just wish she’d turn on her broadcast more often

–
Parallel890: You too?

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

[Wait, did this crazy person do scrims while working?]

I made a note of the guy who got a job at Parallel recently

He really comes to write posts occasionally

Looking at the post from yesterday, it said you were going to work throughout the competition preparation period lol.

[Comment]

— Parallel485: Were you running the Wicker Server Situation room while at work?

–
Parallel741: Yep, they said they turned it on at the company then.

–
Parallel038: A human lighthouse, that’s what you are lol. Weren’t you logged in continuously from 6 PM to 6 AM back then?

–
Parallel900: That’s some dedication to work, scary.

— Parallel945: Majiya said it would be okay until the second generation comes in, right?

–
Parallel682: I saw on Beomang Gallery that the second generation interviews are right after Momo’s Dog Costume Competition?

–
Parallel682: Does that mean you can’t broadcast after that?

–
Parallel253: No way, damn it

–
Parallel870: No, crazy

–
Parallel009: Is this frfr?

–
Parallel325: There’s no way around it lol. It’s amazing that they even let a company employee broadcast this much.

–
Parallel029: I suddenly feel suffocated.

–
Parallel383: We will definitely find a way…

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

Even after the Right Answer Competition and the Dog Costume Competition, competitions and large servers were still planned, but Majiya’s capabilities and time were always limited.

Unless an environment where she could focus solely on broadcasting was established, she could disappear at any time due to work.

[ Parallel / PARALLEL ]

@parallel_official | 190K followers

Official channel of the Virtual Youtuber group, Parallel

[ (🔴Live) Parallel Situation room ] 👪5,332

#NightOfLegend #Parallel #Dora #Komari

No matter how much the official channel’s size kept growing.

Even if the average viewership of the Situation room broadcast increased.

There was a limit to Majiya prioritizing broadcasting over her original job.

Of course, the opportunity that changed Majiya’s attitude towards broadcasting came surprisingly quickly.

It was two days after the finals.

On the way to the subway with Serena after Team Young-gun’s company dinner.

“Today was so much fun. Bajubi can’t talk much, but it was amazing how well they played.”

“Actually, I think it was possible because Serena translated almost everything…. But I wonder if you could even hear that small voice. It was a room, but it wasn’t soundproof, so it was noisy.”

“I kind of guessed from their lip movements? I could be wrong, but then they would subtly grab my sleeve. It was cute.”

I thought they were a desperate small-time streamer, but surprisingly, Bajubi just genuinely enjoyed eating delicious food and hanging out with people before going back.

They just said they were happy to have new good memories and friends.

Kamik and Serena, who are good people, kept trying to become close friends, but it was a little sad to see them running away, saying their sizes didn’t match.

… Majiya knows that feeling too.

Her Boss, Cheon Do-hee, also had a fit when a big streamer acted friendly when she was a small-time streamer.

There was one guy who started with Mu and ended with Gun.

Serena chuckled and said.

“That’s why I’m always amazed by Jia. Actually, it wouldn’t be strange if you were similar to Bajubi. You’ve just seemed so used to broadcasting from the start.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Honestly, I’d believe it if Jia introduced herself as ‘I’m a Virtual Youtuber.'”

Feeling good from eating delicious food, Majiya wanted to joke around, so she cautiously asked Serena.

“What do you think it would be like if I became Serena’s junior?”

“Hehe. That would be fun…… Eh?”

Serena, startled, asked back.

“No. Uh. Eh? Re. ally?”

“Spit it out.”

Serena, who had been smacking her lips for a while, said.

“Geez…. You’re lying. I’m not stupid, you know?”

“What if I’m not lying?”

Serena narrowed her eyes and stared at me intently while bending over.

Then she said.

“If Jia debuts? Then I’ll go to Parallel headquarters and shout, ‘I love Parallel!'”

Is it because there are so many people around me gaslighting me even in an atmosphere where we’re supposed to be self-restrained? I reflexively retorted to Serena’s words.

“People say it’s weirder that I’m not debuting?”

“If you were going to debut because of those opinions, you would have done it at Parallel a long time ago. You’ve already had plenty of opportunities to do so. But the fact that you haven’t means that Jia has a reason not to. Debuting because of other people’s opinions… I’m honestly against it.”

The reason for not debuting.

Majiya was the first person after Boss to point this out.

‘She’s a good person after all.’

But listening to her, it also sounded like something someone who debuted against their will would say.

Like how she worked so hard like a young breadwinner on the Wicker Server.

And how she tries to gain practical benefits while being a healing Virtual Youtuber.

One way or another, the word ‘personal matters’ came to mind, so Majiya naturally asked.

“It might be rude, so don’t answer if you don’t want to. Did Serena not want to debut?”

Serena laughed, “Heh.”

“Yes. I originally wanted to debut as an idol in VIRDESS.”

Author’s Note

??? : You can go to work on weekends