Chapter 59: Starlight (8)

The aftermath of the motion capture broadcast was far, far more intense than expected.

Immediately after the broadcast, the ‘Star Cluster Galaxy’ bulletin board was practically on the verge of exploding.

New post notifications chimed in less than a second apart, and the real-time popular posts list was entirely dominated by talk of the recent broadcast.

Especially the problematic ‘Overseer Zelnaga’ avatar.

His disastrous and bizarre movements were being infinitely reproduced by the fans, sublimating into memes.

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[Star Cluster Galaxy]

[★Starlight CEO’s disastrous entrance scene.gif★]

– Is that person nervous?

– Why are they limping??

– Heard he broke his ankle~

They didn’t miss a single one of my clumsy movements, turning them into GIFs and spreading them.

Ridicule and teasing.

But strangely, an affectionate laughter lay beneath it all.

A kind of familiarity, like teasing the neighborhood fool hyung.

Then there was the reaction from another community that had hitherto been more interested in other VTubers than ‘Starlight.’

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[SM Korea Ggizzik Board]

[I watched Starlight for the first time, what’s up with them? Why is their quality like that??]

– Zelnaga: Yeah, it’s hyung~

– It’s a corporate stream made by some rich attention seeker hahaha

– Did you know that all those avatars, studios, etc., are provided for free?? Did you know that the profit split is 10:0?? Did you know that there are no restrictions on their activities??

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[The recently trending red pill about Starlight]

A corporate stream created by a Ggizzik VTuber Gallery attention-seeking user named Zelnaga.

He’s a f*cking rich guy who used to shower the gallery with hundreds of burgers and chicken every day.

On top of that, he practically worships bottom-tier VTubers and is incredibly generous with donations, to the point of sending ten million won daily to broadcasts.

But then, such a person got super interested in VTubers and created a corporate stream.

The corporate VTubers created that way are the ‘Starlight Project.’

For reference, although Zelnaga’s activity has decreased since Starlight’s dedicated fan site was created, he is still occasionally seen in the gallery.

– How do you know so much??

– OP: Chicken is god!

– Wow, how much money does he have????

– OP: People are guessing it’s in the trillions of won.

– Trillions?

– Are you kidding me?

– Is ‘Trillion’ some household dog’s name??

– OP: He couldn’t invest like that unless it was trillions.

– According to the proof shot from Ajung-nim’s broadcast before, almost 1 trillion won was invested in the company alone.

– Just look at the mocap studio, it’s jaw-dropping.

Furthermore, the ‘Ggizzik VTuber Gallery’ was even more intense, not less.

Their characteristic crude expressions ran rampant.

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[Ggizzik VTuber Gallery]

Title: Zelnaga, this b*stard is a legendary klutz hahaha

Isn’t that a disease at this point? Hahahahahaha

What’s the use of being rich if your body is like that hahaha

Still, kinda cute.

Coming out like that to help the girls’ broadcast and making a fool of himself hahaha

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Title: But is this Zelnaga-style money-flexing correct?

Having such a studio and doing this kind of sht haha

A new level of money-flexing hahaha

Playing a f*cking simple game but making a high-quality 3D set and even doing mocap hahaha

– But it was f*cking hilarious hahaha

– This won’t do, the girls should teach the CEO how to dance

– If it was funny, that’s all that matters hahahahahaha

– I want to live like that too, f*ck.

– It’s like taking a sh*t and wiping your *ss with banknotes.

– Ah fck, that’s gross.

– Seriously, come out every time the girls do a group collab from now on.

While they thoroughly ridiculed me, they simultaneously marveled at the scale and antics, showing a dual reaction.

The name Zelnaga now seemed to be establishing itself as a new meme signifying ‘overwhelming capital and unpredictable antics.’

This fervor spread beyond the fandom communities.

On video platforms like YouTube Shorts, videos titled ‘VTuber standards these days,’ ‘The sh*tshow of a VTuber company CEO,’ etc., spread through algorithms.

Even people completely uninterested in VTubers started showing interest, asking, “What’s that funny avatar with the mask haha,” and “The level of VTuber technology these days.”

Even if they didn’t know the name of the Starlight Project, the existence of the ‘weird but rich VTuber company’ was firmly imprinted.

On top of that, even other VTubers cautiously mentioned it on their personal broadcasts.

“I watched the Starlight members’ broadcast, and it was fascinating,” or “The quality is unbelievable,” they said.

Sinking deep into the sofa, I continued to check the reactions, flipping through the tablet screen.

A satisfied smile unknowingly graced my lips.

‘Ah… this is fun.’

Ridicule?

Mockery?

I didn’t give a damn about that.

The important thing was that I and Starlight were at the center of all those reactions.

That a single stone I threw had created such large ripples, making people laugh and talk.

And it was a result I had created by ‘setting the stage’ myself.

‘This is definitely more fun.’

Rather than going up on stages built by others, watching my step and trying to please them, it was far more enjoyable for me, for Starlight, to build the stage ourselves, become the protagonists, and elicit reactions.

It was an incomparably higher-dimensional pleasure than my previous simple ‘rich attention-seeker’ days.

The success of the last broadcast instilled a clear conviction in me.

“CEO-nim, I have something to report.”

With good timing, Yoon Taesoo entered the office.

Jungyeon was with him.

In their hands, as expected, was a list of external collaboration proposals.

“Is it that again?”

I deliberately asked with an indifferent expression.

My mind was already made up.

“Yes. After the motion capture broadcast last time, the number of proposals has increased even more. I brought them as I thought it would be good for you to review them, CEO-nim.”

Yoon Taesoo placed an even thicker file of documents on the table.

Glancing at it, I saw quite a few streamers recognizable just by name.

Tempting conditions also caught my eye.

However, my mind was already set on something else.

“Yoon Taesoo-ssi, Jungyeon-ssi.”

“Yes, CEO-nim.”

“Yes, CEO-nim.”

“To be honest, I’m not really interested in these kinds of proposals anymore.”

A look of bewilderment crossed Jungyeon’s face at my firm words.

Yoon Taesoo also seemed surprised for a moment but quickly regained his composure and waited for my next words.

“You saw the last broadcast, right? How was the reaction when we set the stage ourselves?”

I tapped the document file on the table with my finger.

“Tell me honestly. Do you think collaborating with the places on that list will generate more buzz than when we did it ourselves last time?”

My question was sharp.

Indeed, the last broadcast had surpassed 30,000 viewers and become a hot topic.

“…That is.”

Jungyeon couldn’t answer easily.

The objective metrics spoke for themselves.

“Of course, since we haven’t done a collab like that before, it might generate more buzz, but do we really need to show our faces as guests on a stage someone else has set up?”

I continued in my characteristic straightforward manner of speaking.

“Starlight’s brand value has risen enough now. It seems more valuable to go our own way than to clumsily try to get a piece of the pie here and there. The last broadcast proved that.”

If we needlessly showed our faces everywhere, we might just consume our image.

“And if we do that, it’s perfect for hearing bad things like, ‘They went on that person’s broadcast, so why did they reject the collab offer from our streamer?’ It will only become tiring.”

It was a realistic problem.

There was no need to get entangled in useless gossip.

“Rather, let’s set the stage ourselves.”

I proposed in reverse.

“Our studio, our technology, our capital. We have more than enough to show. If they want to see, tell them to come and watch. If they want to join, tell them to come in according to our rules. Wouldn’t that be cleaner, and a better picture?”

Yoon Taesoo listened to my words quietly.

A faint smile, as if he found it interesting, hung on his lips.

“From now on, I want to make it a principle that external collaborations, unless we are truly in need, will take the form of us hosting them.”

I declared.

“There’s also the issue of protecting the members, and there’s no need to be swayed by the atmosphere of other places. And above all, a picture where we are the center. I think that suits Starlight.”

Protecting members, securing initiative, and flaunting capital.

It was a decision reflecting my complex thoughts.

There was no longer a need to conform to external gazes or standards.

We just needed to become the standard.

Yoon Taesoo gazed at my face for a moment, then nodded with a gentle smile.

“Understood, CEO-nim. I believe it’s a considerably rational direction. From now on, external collaboration matters will be reviewed and proceeded with according to your policy, CEO-nim.”

He accurately grasped and accepted my intentions.

In fact, he seemed to find this direction more intriguing.

Jungyeon stood blankly for a moment at my unexpected proposal and firm attitude.

She might have thought of expanding Starlight’s position further through successful external collaborations, but it seemed she judged that my words also had a point.

No, perhaps this was a more Starlight-like way.

In my words ‘a form where we host’ and ‘we set the stage,’ she seemed to have discovered some other possibility.

Her eyes sparkled for a moment.

A thought she had cherished for a long time seemed to flash by.

The opportunities she had desperately desired but couldn’t obtain when she was a bottom-tier VTuber.

Countless colleagues who had talent but couldn’t see the light.

What if we could set the stage?

What if we could invite them onto that stage?

‘…This, might be possible?’

Jungyeon cautiously opened her mouth.

She could feel her heart beating a little faster.

“CEO-nim.”

“Yes, Jungyeon-ssi. Do you have something to say?”

I looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression.

“Then, if it’s content that we host… are there no major restrictions on the format or content?”

“Well. As long as it doesn’t ruin Starlight’s image or needlessly cost a lot of money, anything is fine. It’s even better if it’s fun and can showcase our abilities.”

I replied with a shrug.

What was important to me were the results and the image projected.

“Then, perhaps…”

Jungyeon swallowed dryly.

“There’s a project I’ve wanted to try for a long time. It seems to fit well with the ‘form where we host’ that you mentioned, CEO-nim, and I think it would also benefit our image.”

A deep yearning could be felt in her eyes.