Chapter 72: The Night before the storm September, Part 2

“Hmm, hmm….”

Lunchtime.

This week, the first-years were the first to eat in the cafeteria.

So, Hayoon quickly ate her lunch and came to the club room, where she began sketching rough drafts on her tablet.

These weren’t commissioned drawings.

The YouTube thumbnails for Utaite Scarlet were already done up to September, and the Patreon work was too high in its rating to work on at school.

So, what Hayoon was drawing now was purely for her own sake.

More precisely.

“A self-character just needs to be inoffensive. It’s good to have a design that doesn’t evoke strong likes or dislikes and add a unique touch with clothes or a hair highlight.”

She was seriously starting to create a self-character she could use for her streams.

At first, she considered a one-time face-cam stream and thought it would be better not to have a self-character for a mysterious concept.

But her plans had changed slightly.

Hong Seo-hyun seemed to have trouble with streaming, so Hayoon began to consider a collaboration stream with her.

Since she would be streaming with a Vtuber, it was better to have a self-character.

Hayoon felt she needed a proper self-character.

Even in the homeland, so to speak.

Overseas, where the Vtuber industry was booming, famous ” mama” all had their own self-characters.

Some even went a step further and prepared their own virtual avatars.

“It’s about following the trend.”

Hayoon planned to ride that trend and take advantage of the Vtuber boom that would soon hit Korea.

Of course, some might ask.

If she was following the trend, was it okay to make her self-character design so plain?

But Hayoon thought differently.

“Basically, the otaku scene needs a thriving fan art community.”

Why did the famous Blue Archive sweep Japan?

Because of its simple, likable, relatable, and alluring character designs that were friendly to fan art.

Vtubers wouldn’t be much different.

It was best to have a basic design that was easy for fan art and add unique touches to the outfits.

If the base design for various fan art was simple, viewers could easily dress her up in whatever clothes they wanted.

Actually, the viewers weren’t that important.

Hayoon could produce the fan art herself.

Just as Hong Seo-hyun’s Scarlet was a professor with red hair and red eyes, distinguished by her glasses, Hayoon’s Haru would have black hair and black eyes with a few hairpins.

Instead, she would produce all kinds of fan art combining these two simply designed characters.

Hayoon’s fan art would naturally spread through fan cafes and online streaming communities, attracting viewers to Scarlet’s and Haru’s streams and Pixiv accounts.

“It’s building a foundation to attract even those who wouldn’t normally be interested.”

Mama Haru draws fan art of Scarlet.

Scarlet streams herself looking at the fan art Haru drew.

Then Haru draws more fan art of Scarlet.

And Scarlet looks at it again.

Since they knew each other personally, they could naturally control the viral cycle and attract viewers.

And by building it up like this.

“When Hong Seo-hyun is struggling with streaming, I’ll use the collab opportunity.”

They would probably collab sometime in October.

Doing it this way would also serve as a buffer against any backlash for collaborating right after her debut.

Hayoon’s plan was pretty good.

“Three white hairpins should be a good enough accent….”

Hayoon, who was starting to create her self-character more than half a year after starting streaming, had no trouble because she knew otaku psychology better than anyone.

She had a long-standing belief that any lack of charm could be made up for with ample bust size.

Even if the face was a bit plain, a large chest was a charming feature in itself.

“The question is, who will do the rigging…?”

She wanted to ask Choi Arin and pay her well, but unfortunately, Choi Arin was busy with the rigging for Scarlet.

Well, she could outsource this part, so it wasn’t a big problem.

With the self-character concept roughly sketched out, Hayoon went on Bluebird to start looking for a rigging expert.

 

***

 

“This person seems decent….”

Luckily, the rigging expert Hayoon chose was Korean.

She was worried she might have to find someone from Japan or even China, but…

Avoiding the worst-case scenario was a relief.

Outsourcing to Japan or China could easily cost hundreds if things went wrong.

“The reviews are good, and it seems like they do work for overseas clients, so they probably won’t scam me and run.”

Hayoon followed the rigging expert’s account and then slumped onto her desk, exhausted.

“Ugh, I’m sleepy.”

She had just finished sketching the basic design of her self-character and found someone to do the rigging.

It was natural to feel a wave of fatigue.

“I’ll contact the rigger at home later. What should I do next….”

This is the problem when you’re buried in work.

It’s hard to even know what you should be doing.

When she was doing her usual tasks, everything went smoothly, but when she had to find new things to do, her mind went blank.

“Haaa….”

Hayoon seriously considered just lying down on the desk and taking a nap.

“Oh, you ate already?”

“Ah, unnie.”

She immediately reacted to Choi Arin’s voice as she entered the classroom and got up.

Hayoon tended to stiffen up a bit around people just slightly older than her.

A matter of formality, perhaps?

Anyway.

“How’s the work going?”

She naturally moved to sit next to Choi Arin and asked about her progress.

She was too tired for this.

She had already used up too much of her concentration.

So, she thought she’d just watch Choi Arin’s rigging work for a bit.

“Want to see? It’s going pretty well.”

“Oh, really?”

“Of course. I’m doing at least enough to not feel ashamed of taking your money.”

Choi Arin grinned and showed Hayoon the screen filled with countless dots placed on the illustration of Scarlet in a missing-bottom blouse look.

“Wow….”

This was Hayoon’s first time seeing rigging work like this.

Imagining Choi Arin placing each of those hundreds and thousands of dots and the chain reactions that followed, working until her eyes were bloodshot…

“You’ve worked hard.”

She felt so sorry for her that she almost teared up.

Hayoon patted Choi Arin’s back lightly with a bittersweet expression.

Choi Arin, taking it as a form of praise, grinned and connected a VR facial device.

Right after.

“Something like this? The tracking is good, right?”

Choi Arin smiled and frowned in front of the device’s lens, repeatedly checking the rigging’s completion.

Hayoon did the same.

She alternated between looking at Choi Arin making various expressions and Scarlet’s movements on the laptop.

“Oh, it’s really….”

Hayoon’s reaction was pure admiration.

Even considering that Choi Arin had a background in animation, her rigging quality was impressive.

The facial tracking was working well, and any occasional frame drops could be fixed in the remaining month.

“It’s good. You could go pro with this.”

“I already am a pro, aren’t I? If you’re getting paid, you’re a pro.”

When Hayoon showed her satisfaction with the result, Choi Arin smiled brightly.

The feeling of being acknowledged.

It invigorated Choi Arin.

Hayoon was like an energy booster.

If you were to quantify Hayoon’s and Choi Arin’s abilities, Choi Arin would undoubtedly fall short, and she knew it better than anyone.

But being able to take praise from someone more skilled than her at face value was one of Choi Arin’s strengths.

When Hayoon said she looked pretty in her cosplay, Choi Arin would just giggle, and when she praised her animation, she would be at a loss for words.

And on top of that, she was getting paid well, so it was natural that Hayoon was Choi Arin’s energy booster.

“Ah, unnie.”

“Hm? What?”

Hayoon, who had been quiet for a while, asked a question.

The question was none other than.

“I’m thinking of outsourcing the rigging to this person, what do you think? They seem pretty competent, right?”

It was the portfolio of the rigging expert Hayoon had just found.

And Choi Arin, after looking at the portfolio.

“Hmm….”

She pouted her lips, looking displeased.