chapter_0120

120 – Like Leaving Fish to a Cat

120 – Like Leaving Fish to a Cat

The surprise announcement made during the broadcast of KraeMang had an unexpectedly huge impact.

Afterward, without any detailed explanation, the conversation shifted mainly to the game they watched with KraeMang, leaving many curious about the rumors surrounding Majiya with no way to find out.

They all flocked to the Ppajijik Gallery, the platform shared by Majiya and KraeMang.

And in the gallery, there were also demons waiting for those desperately searching for such precious information…

… ─ — Ppajijik Gallery ─ ─ — …

[Majiya Real-life Identity.clip]

(Shrek meme)

Hey buddy, I’m helping you this time, but be careful next time.

In the gallery, countless demons are lurking to show you terrible memes with titles like this.

(Upvotes 1,224 / Downvotes 1,395)

[Comments]

— Ppajijik935: I’m not grateful, Shrek…

— Ppajijik252: Ah, fuck, lol.

— Ppajijik095: I can see it’s a trap, but I still click it, lol.

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

In the end, early that morning, after numerous trolls were cut down, a new rule was added to the Ppajijik Gallery.

Anyone who tries to bait with Majiya’s photos or mentions sightings of her in real life would be banned for a week.

It would be fortunate if they could just talk about Majiya purely.

But as various tactical memes were brought in and chaos ensued, even the moderators who originally didn’t block specific individuals related to her couldn’t hold back and took drastic measures.

… ─ — Ppajijik Gallery ─ ─ — …

[From now on, discussions about Majiya’s appearance are prohibited]

[Author: 🟦Ppajijik03]

One-week ban for violations.

Repeated violations will lead to permanent bans.

Virtual Youtubers are prohibited from mentioning Real-life Identity.

And remember, regular people should definitely not do it, you fucking idiots.

I checked everything, including shit memes, and it turns out no one has actually spotted Majiya.

[Comments]

— Ppajijik384: It’s fine.

— Ppajijik991: The moderators are doing a good job.

— Ppajijik305: The gallery is finally normalizing.

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

However, they couldn’t suppress the interest people had in Majiya.

After all, Majiya had been mentioned quite a lot in the gallery recently.

Moreover, the debut rumors that had been circulating only within Parallel exploded into the Ppajijik Gallery, encompassing all streamers on the platform, igniting a lot of questions.

Especially among those who weren’t familiar with Virtual Youtubers and primarily watched cam streams, curiosity was at its peak.

Why was Majiya getting so much attention regarding her debut compared to other Virtual Youtubers?

If she debuted, she debuted; if not, then not.

Why were the stories all different?

… ─ — Ppajijik Gallery ─ ─ — …

[I think the Virtual Youtubers are getting more intense, but can I ask a question?]

What’s the difference between debuting and not debuting?

Isn’t it just starting the broadcast that counts as a debut?

What’s the difference between what I know about cam streams and Virtual Youtubers?

I thought Majiya had already debuted, but everyone says she hasn’t.

[Comments]

— Ppajijik331: Think of it as a virtual idol; it’s easier to understand.

–
Ppajijik331: So they form groups and debut, yeah.

–
Ppajijik964 (Author): Oh, so it’s not like cam streams where you just turn on the broadcast and that’s it?

–
Ppajijik331: There are Virtual Youtubers like that too, but it’s not entirely accurate; you can think of it as a hobby (side job) vs. a business (main job).

–
Ppajijik331: Parallel is an entertainment agency that sells idols, and the affiliated Virtual Youtubers are the idol groups.

–
Ppajijik331: So debuting means officially declaring that you will start idol activities.

–
Ppajijik964 (Author): That makes perfect sense, you’re a genius.

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

… ─ — Ppajijik Gallery ─ ─ — …

[But if Majiya debuts, will she have a transformation form like the others?]

The first-generation students have a concept of coming from another world and pretending to be human.

I’ve seen them have transformation animations or cutscenes.

Like Maru, who has animal ears that can be put on and taken off.

Will Majiya have that too?

From being an office worker to having a different appearance…

[Comments]

— Ppajijik650: Oh?

— Ppajijik009: Come to think of it, wasn’t Mama Dora?

–
Ppajijik009: Dora is also a famous sister hunter, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Majiya was drawn secretly.

–
Ppajijik961: I wonder if they’ll answer if I ask on the broadcast?

–
Ppajijik864: You should be prepared, yeah.

–
Ppajijik961: It’s fine; I’m just here for the rumors anyway.

–
Ppajijik864: Ugh, you’re a wandering soul.

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

Anyway, the baiting was a huge success.

What started as a wildfire on the first day was gradually being extinguished as time passed, but interest still remained.

The proof of that was the number of viewers flocking in as soon as the members turned on their broadcasts.

The average viewer count for the first-generation students was 7,000, but today it started at 9,000.

Perhaps even more than that, 12,000 viewers gathered for Dora, who might have Majiya’s transformation form.

Fortunately, Dora, acting maturely and sometimes foolishly, managed to slip through the encirclement of people while saying, “Hehe, I don’t know.”

However, it didn’t seem like all the focus was on Dora; during this week, Majiya also briefly switched places with Team Leader to sit next to Gong Seung-yeon.

After all, she was the one putting out the fire that someone else had started.

Naturally, she was the one who had to extinguish the fire she had started.

Above all, the plan to expand the game board that she had promised to Cheon Do-hee wasn’t just for the opening day of the professional baseball season on March 24.

It was crucial to prevent people from getting information elsewhere, especially from the first-generation students, for the following week.

* * *

Thus, a truly busy week passed for Majiya.

On Saturday, the first-generation students held a group karaoke stream as previously agreed.

Today, there were many Korean songs, and the viewers responded positively…

Finally, the long-awaited Sunday arrived.

As they prepared for the scheduled surprise announcement broadcast, Cheon Do-hee said,

“You’re really lucky, you know.”

“Lucky?”

“Yeah. The week after the opening day of professional baseball is April Fool’s Day. No matter how much you light a fire, it’s forgivable on April Fool’s Day; it’s truly a stroke of luck. The timing is perfect.”

Majiya shook her head.

No matter how busy she was, Majiya was well aware of the days when special events could occur for Virtual Youtubers.

Even in a situation where she was overwhelmed with preparing for the second-generation students’ debut and vocal lessons for a five-person group song recording with the first-generation students—though she just had to follow along, it was a considerable burden for Majiya, who had never properly learned to sing.

“It’s not luck. I knew that the week after the KraeMang meeting was April Fool’s Day.”

“… Really?”

————— See on Z ——————

Parallel official KR☑ @Parallel_official_kr – 1 minute ago

2025.04.01(SUN) 8PM

Check it out on the official channel!

——————————

That’s right.

The day of the surprise announcement that Majiya mentioned during the collaboration with KraeMang just happened to be April 1st.

And because it was April Fool’s Day, there was a special significance to this announcement.

What is said on April Fool’s Day is either believed or not.

Even if a broadcaster doesn’t say “believe me” or “don’t believe me,” it becomes an unspoken agreement among viewers.

In other words, whether Majiya’s debut announcement or the announcement of a new song with CAT comes out on April Fool’s Day, it would be hard for viewers to be certain about either.

Majiya aimed for a situation where people would discuss different possibilities and continuously spread the rumors.

In fact, the fire she had started wouldn’t easily die down, and whenever someone felt bored, they would reignite it with comments like “I think it’s not true after reconsidering,” keeping the topic warm for a long time.

Do-hee laughed in disbelief.

“Were you also considering that if you talked about your debut and the song with CAT at the same time, people would ultimately believe the latter more? That’s quite impressive?”

Only then did Majiya tilt her head.

She wasn’t as certain about her future plans as Cheon Do-hee was.

“I was just thinking of using April Fool’s Day to throw in some logs to get people to have different convictions.”

“… Ah, so you didn’t intend for it to be that way?”

“No.”

“You still don’t think about the aftermath, but your idea is brilliant, Jia?”

“I’m embarrassed by your compliments.”

“It’s not purely a compliment, but… Anyway, in the current situation, it won’t split exactly in half as you intended. If people have common sense, they’ll have to lean more towards the announcement of a new song with CAT.”

At the end of the teaser video that would be released, the name and logo of CAT Ent. would appear.

No matter how much it was April Fool’s Day, this couldn’t be a lie.

Would a company use another company’s name to lie?

Especially a small company like Parallel using a giant like CAT?

Cheon Do-hee wasn’t crazy.

While people who had their heads broken could argue that “Majiya is trying to obscure the point to cover her debut,” it wouldn’t last long if things continued like this.

“But I understand what you were thinking. The more intense both sides are, the longer the fire will last, right?”

“Yes. If one side is dominant, the other will quickly get buried.”

“Right. I agree. Then you should sprinkle more clues that you might debut? Since it’s April Fool’s Day, there’s no pressure.”

After pondering, Cheon Do-hee made this suggestion.

“Today, let’s switch avatars. I’ll use your avatar and say something like, ‘Boss, I have a dream. I want to be a Virtual Youtuber like you.’

Oh. Yeah, how about showing the transformation feature that’s in your avatar? If you’re not going to use it, it would be a waste since Dora made it for you.”

Majiya’s avatar was made with the same specifications as the first-generation students.

Since it was a collaboration between Dora and Pino, its quality was exceptional.

Wearing a blouse and skirt that gave off both office and school uniform vibes, draped in a large-sized witch robe and hat, and carrying a cutting-edge mechanical staff integrated with rocket engineering, it was a witch-themed transformation form.

If she showed this, it would give both sides similar power, just as Majiya originally intended.

Both sides would have credibility.

However, at this point, Majiya was also feeling flustered. She wondered if Cheon Do-hee was enjoying setting fires.

Above all, being told to use Momo’s avatar felt like stepping into a sacred and untouchable realm for Majiya; was it really okay?

Seeing Majiya hesitate, Cheon Do-hee understood her feelings and said,

“Just think of it like when we did . It’s a one-time thing, so don’t feel pressured.”

“That was Rain, and this is the Boss.”

“Ah, what’s the difference? Just do it. This is right.”

In terms of broadcasting, Majiya absolutely respected Momo’s choices, so she nodded.

However, Majiya had one more concern.

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

“It’s okay because it’s April Fool’s Day. And as long as we don’t provoke the viewers, we’ll be fine. No questions like ‘What’s real?’ Let’s keep it simple. After all, the main goal is to reveal the teaser video.”

“Hmm.”

Cheon Do-hee was misunderstanding something.

Majiya’s question about whether she could handle it wasn’t about the content of today’s broadcast but was directed at Cheon Do-hee herself.

The April Fool’s Day body swap was the ultimate luxury and joy that Majiya could enjoy.

She had been holding back from touching this area, which she absolutely shouldn’t have.

But if they were going to do it, Majiya had plenty of ideas.

What if she unleashed the cute antics that the Boss rarely showed during today’s broadcast through impressions?

Those clips would remain and become Majiya’s daily bread for a while.

Moreover, if Majiya played around like that, how would Momo, wearing her avatar, react?

Surprised expressions, angry reactions, and so on.

Various expressions and reactions that she could hardly implement with her own avatar would be captured.

Why, it was the regret Majiya felt when she first received her avatar, thinking that no matter how well facial tracking worked, she wouldn’t be able to use it all, which was resolved thanks to Momo.

Unbeknownst to Majiya, who was having such audacious thoughts…

The delayed response was mistakenly thought by Cheon Do-hee to be due to concerns about the aftermath of the broadcast, and she tightly held Majiya’s shoulder, saying,

“It’s okay because I’m giving permission. Let’s go with this today. And since it’s April Fool’s Day, we need to be even more ridiculous. That way, it’ll be harder to tell what’s real and what’s fake.

Don’t feel pressured and just have a comfortable broadcast. After all, you’re not the one who’s going to cause trouble. If any problems arise, I’ll take responsibility.”

Responsibility.

This word carries a heavy meaning in social life.

Once you utter the words “I’ll take responsibility,” it becomes impossible to back out.

Only then did Majiya feel relieved and smiled.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

A word from the author (Author’s note)

I was really surprised in the past few days.

I registered for the Virtual Youtuber convention, and it’s only the fourth day, but nearly 200 have been sold…

They turned out cute, but the readers’ insane purchasing power…!!

I often express my gratitude, but I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you once again!

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!