episode_0006

[Broadcast Title: Hello. Nice to meet you.]

[Streamer Kwon Seo-ah]

[Broadcast Time: 00:30:00]

[Viewers: 50]

In just about 30 minutes since starting her first broadcast, she had already surpassed an impressive 50 viewers.

These days, with larger streamers reaching into the thousands or tens of thousands, it might seem small in comparison, but for a first broadcast, this was an unbelievable number. Thanks to this, her excitement soared, and a wide smile spread across her face.

“Welcome, everyone.”

-Hello

-Seoha

-You look so pretty when you smile haha

It seemed like they were shortening Seoha’s name to Seha. It strangely suited her well.

“But really, I didn’t expect so many of you to join for my first broadcast… What should I do? I’ll just proceed as comfortably as I’ve prepared.”

-Sure

-Let’s go

-[One Hundred Percent]: Just looking at your face is nice

“Haha.”

Whether it was banter or sincerity, I found myself bursting into laughter at a comment, not knowing why. I expressed my gratitude while reading out the nicknames.

“One Hundred Percent, thank you for saying you like just looking at my face.”

-Please read mine too

-Read mine as well

It felt somewhat like taking care of children at an orphanage, calling out their nicknames wasn’t that difficult. Besides, by doing so warmly, just like calling out children’s names, I read out the nicknames. Thankfully, they appreciated it.

-Hahaha

-Your voice is so nice

-Seoha

“Yes. Nice to meet you, Daeji123.”

“By the way, are you the Scarlet Band vocalist Kwon Seo-ah? Or just a namesake?”

Questions about the band were coming up too. It wasn’t a bad thing, so let’s be honest about the current situation.

“Due to personal reasons, we disbanded Scarlet Band, where I was the vocalist and leader… If I hadn’t been so stubborn, I might have tried appearing on broadcasts and such.”

-Gasp

-Crying

-It’s quite challenging to survive as a rocker in Korea…

“Not only in our country but worldwide, rock is facing challenges… Anyway, I’m trying to incorporate that experience into my broadcasts. Please continue to show lots of love.”

-Sure

-Sure

-I’ll come every day

“You should sing at the initiation ceremony!”

Was there a culture of singing at initiation ceremonies?

Whatever the case, since things turned out this way, let’s casually sing a song.

“What song would be good…”

Although the current viewers were around 50, the speed of chat messages made it feel like more. Everyone was united in suggesting a single word.

-Fresh start

-Fresh start

-Fresh start

-From the night-time broadcast!

“Haha. Yes, I’ll sing that for you.”

After singing it once before, I got the hang of it and smoothly sang the Fresh Start song. The three-octave high note wasn’t in the original, but my version became famous, and now it felt incomplete without it.

-Wow, haha

-Indeed, the pioneer of the three-octave high note

-You seem to sing even better than last time

And as I sang, before I knew it, the viewers had surpassed 100.

“Oh my goodness. So many viewers have joined. Should I sing a few more songs?”

[User ㅇㅇ has donated 10,000 won!]

“Wow!”

My first donation ever.

Honestly, I never expected to receive more than 10,000 won, so I hadn’t adjusted the audio settings, which made it sound too loud, startling me.

-Ah!

-My ears!

-The sound is too loud

-Haha, look at how surprised you are

“I’m sorry. I was really surprised. Wow… Thank you for the 10,000 won.”

It felt like cyber busking, in a way. An internet broadcast. It felt unfamiliar at first, but familiar things occasionally appeared.

Starting from the 10,000 won donation, others began to donate one by one.

[User One Hundred Percent has donated 10,000 won!]

[I’ll also contribute a bit]

[User Daeji123 has donated 10,000 won!]

[I can’t help but donate…]

“Wow. No, you don’t have to give. It’s an honor just to have you enjoy the music.”

This is something I can’t just let slide!

Continuing, she started singing.

***

Often mentioned when selecting the top 3 IT companies, Linu.

Working as a marketing department manager there, 36-year-old Lee Ye-seul suddenly hears one surprising thing from the company chairman one day.

“Ms. Ye-seul. You said you had 90,000 channel subscribers when you first joined. Now you’ve surpassed that.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“With current 1.9 million subscribers, you’ve been helping from managing when we had 10,000 subscribers to reaching 1 million… So, you must know the internet broadcasting field well, right? How about the virtual side?”

“Yes. But why all of a sudden…?”

Talking about channels wasn’t awkward given it was an IT company. Internet and community opinions have become crucially important nowadays.

Rather than that, what’s unsettling is why the chairman called her out of the blue. Being relatively new compared to other major companies, the chairman has a somewhat different image from the usual, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

“It’s not like Camomile would speak ill of our company, right? That’s not like them.”

“Not at all. Just had a funny idea.”

Thankful that no scandal had erupted, she gets curious about what this chairman, known for calling themselves eccentric, is planning this time.

“How about we create a virtual idol group in our company?”

“What?! Are you suggesting Linu starts doing YouTuber activities?”

“You call it ‘corporate,’ right? Anyway, yes.”

While there are several corporate YouTubers in the virtual space, directly recruiting YouTubers to try idol activities is quite unheard of, especially for a major company like Linu. It’s bewildering, but she needs to hear more before making a judgment.

“Isn’t it about time you got promoted to director? You’ll be in charge of a new department creating a virtual metaverse, right? How does that sound to you?”

“Um…”

It seems like a great opportunity, but new departments often have more failures than successes. And in cases of failure, the blame usually falls on the department head, in this case, the director. Especially in areas like the metaverse where many companies have tried and failed.

“We’ll fully support you at the company~ Let’s give it a shot. You have an eye for internet broadcasting. With your experience managing a NewTuber with 1.9 million subscribers, gather talented individuals, create a virtual idol team, move beyond being a manager to becoming a director…”

Getting greedy for the director position could lead to a project failure. While it’s a good proposal, she decides to decline. However, for some reason, she can’t bring herself to say no.

Ye-seul felt a barrier after reaching 90,000 channel subscribers. She reluctantly gave up on her dream and accepted reality. Helping Camomile with 1.9 million subscribers, she felt she excelled more in caring for others as a manager than in broadcasting.

That’s how she ended up in the marketing department of this major company, Linu.

But now, they’re offering to support her abandoned dream without holding back.

“Let’s do it. Our project: Linu, one of the top 3 IT companies, creating a virtual idol group. Head of the department, Director Lee Ye-seul. Can you see the picture already?”

Could such an opportunity come again in her life? Even if there’s a chance of failure, would she not regret rejecting this opportunity for the rest of her life?

“Imagine the YouTuber you nurture from scratch having influence not just in Korea but worldwide. Unrealistic? The world is led by those who dream unrealistically. Look at me.”

…

If last time Ye-seul chose reality over dreams, this time she decided to choose dreams over reality.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good. Give it your all. Director Ye-seul. If you need anything, just let me know. I won’t spare any support for the time being.”

The biggest issue would be the person. The one who will become a virtual idol. Even if everything else is in place, if the main person has issues, it’s all for naught. Conversely, even if other aspects have problems, creating just one successful YouTuber can sustain an entire company.

So, how should that person be selected? There was a time in the past when there was a big boom in YouTubers, so now there are many who debuted as YouTubers and gained great popularity, but there are also many who failed as YouTubers, like me, feeling the wall and giving up.

In such a situation, finding talent. It’s harder than finding a needle in a haystack. One fortunate point is that the chairman mentioned not sparing support and my connections with famous streamers. Let’s make good use of these.

Promising radical support, wouldn’t it be good to hold auditions?

Ye-seul first called Camomile.

– Ye-seul unnie? What’s up? We talked yesterday. What’s going on?

“Oh, I need a little help.”

She relayed her recent conversation with the chairman and explained her future plans. She might refuse. Of course, busy people can also decline.

“You’ve helped me a lot, so I can do that much. But a director, huh? Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I may be just a temporary director…”

“Hehe, will the audition be broadcast publicly?”

“No, it will be private.”

A public YouTuber audition is suitable when existing YouTubers participate, but when creating new ones like us, debuting as a reborn and new YouTuber, it’s not appropriate.

While a public broadcast audition may attract attention, interest will wane rapidly during the preparation process for the rebirth, and when debuting anew, there may be a sense of alienation from the original YouTuber, potentially losing freshness. So, it’s better to prepare slowly and privately, even if it takes longer.

“That’s good. By the way, when evaluating someone, you’re quite straightforward.”

“I said that with that in mind.”

“Okay. Please schedule the audition date. I’ll clear my schedule. But if that fails, will you come back as my manager?”

“Even if it’s a joke, don’t say things like that.”

“Too bad. Those were good times. People becoming virtual idols must be nice. Got it. See you then.”

Fortunately, Camomile is a well-known female streamer and singer, famous for her singing and communication skills. She knows quite a bit about YouTubers, making her an excellent person to evaluate potential. Just her participation as a judge will naturally draw significant interest. It’s already reassuring.

[Notice]

[Linu Corporation is recruiting those who will become virtual idols.]

[Judges: Camomile, Ye-seul, and others…]

Even though I felt the wall with 90,000 subscribers, that’s still a significant number. It’s better than nothing, so let’s write it down.

[Industry-leading radical support guaranteed!]

This should stir up some controversy, right?

Please let this work out. Please, really, please!

It didn’t take long to write the audition notice and post it on the website. Shortly after posting the notice, as she expected, interest began to gather and spread across various communities.

[Linu is recruiting YouTuber idols]

[Judges: Camomile, Ye-seul, and others…]

– ??? Is this for real?

– Out of the blue, isn’t it? Wow.

– But are there people left to join there? Haven’t all the talented folks settled down already?

– Why would this be fake?

– Oh, are there personal grudges targeting this?

– Wasn’t Ye-seul the one who quit broadcasting after joining Linu? Nice to see her after a while haha

– Drama alert

Someone still remembers me. I’m glad. And looking at the comments, it seems like many share the same thoughts as me. Yes, as I mentioned earlier, people are the most important. That’s why I won’t just end it by posting audition notices here and there; how about checking out auditions in various places? I’m thinking of being proactive.

Not just limited to good-looking YouTubers, but also streamers, utaites, and even singers if possible! I am determined to persuade with all my might. It’s an opportunity earned, so if I don’t give it my all, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

So, even after work, she opened a community window on one side of her computer at home and multiple streaming sites on another window, diving into her talent search project.

That was the moment.

One post on the community caught her eye.

[DeepChiDon: Anyone watch the late-night singing contest? Kwon Seo-ah who appeared there is currently live broadcasting, wow]

“Huh?”