Oasis in the Desert
As I said from a fandom perspective on private relationships between VTubers and viewers, Kang Nari was excellent at protecting her own red pill.
You could tell from the fact that even her family and friends had no idea what she did for a living. This tendency stemmed from her thorough "ordinary person cosplay" that she'd maintained since her school days, and it had now evolved to the point where getting exposed would make her want to die of shame. You could see that from how she'd freaked out and bolted the previous time her red pill got leaked.
But every otaku has an instinct to gush about the things they love, and Kang Nari was no exception. So it was truly "unavoidable" that she became obsessed with Seol Yuna—a fellow VTuber superfan who knew her red pill and was around the same age.
It absolutely wasn't because she was trapped in an infinite validation spiral, craving extreme pampering in the arms of the pretty, busty Seol Yuna. All Kang Nari wanted was a no-holds-barred chewdeg girls' talk where she could vent about her red pill, the hardships of being a corporate VTuber, her favorite anime, VTubers, and so on!
"Um, Kirene-sama came on, so... as my oshi...! I've watched all her streams! I-I even sent superchats!"
"I run a kirinuki channel too, mostly uploading Kirene clips...! Not many views yet, but if it gets popular, you have to mention me...!"
"Th-the streams are so fun...!"
"Hee... heehee... Y-Yuna... eheheh..."
Probably...?
But there was one thing to note here. While Kang Nari could hide her red pill from family and friends, she couldn't from her coworkers. Not that it was even possible to hide in the first place. So besides Seol Yuna, a few others knew—and among them, three more around her age.
The other Scalaiive 2nd gen members.
They knew her red pill, were corporate VTubers just like her, similar age, and shared encyclopedic chewdeg knowledge. At first, Kang Nari wanted to get close to them... but they had major flaws.
"Yeeessss?!?! Let's hit karaoke first and think about it there?! Wooohoooo~~~~ New karaoke buddy wwww This is gonna be fun wwww"
One was too E, overwhelming to deal with.
"Um, th-that... I-I need to finish Kant's Pure Critique of Reason that I was reading yesterday..."
One was too I, impossible to approach.
And the last one...
"Oh my oh my oh my... To think our orphaned, profane vampire lady would seek help from me... Oo-hoo-hoo..."
Was a pure 100% lunatic.
They could keep a decent distance during collabs and have fun, but getting privately close offline was a Herculean task. So to Kang Nari, Seol Yuna's existence was like stumbling on an oasis while crossing a scorching desert.
She desperately wanted to get close. But in that process, a massive dilemma arose...
"C-can I... message her...?"
The age-old entertainer's conundrum: Is it okay for a celebrity (beggar) to have private contact with their fan?
It was a perennial issue in the industry, with no satisfactory answer yet, and tough for anyone to resolve.
She wasn't a real celebrity anyway—just an internet streamer, a VTuber at that, and same-sex, so what was the problem? But...
Imagine a "celebrity" privately messaging a "pretty, busty" fan... Doesn't that feel kinda shady? Like the celebrity's tricking this innocent, pretty, busty fan into something nefarious!
Someone might argue it's legally fine—celebrities message and even meet fans privately without issue. But by that logic, affairs aren't illegal under criminal law either. And everyone knows cheaters are scum.
Same principle. Even as an "internet streamer," a "VTuber," same "sex," it was natural to feel that aversion, Kang Nari insisted.
Absolutely not because she had ulterior motives deep down.
So with that psychological barrier, Kang Nari waited for Seol Yuna to message first... waited... kept waiting... Not a single message in a week.
Every night, she'd drift off with her heart pounding: When will our Yuna send the first DM? But Seol Yuna utterly betrayed that hope...
Stricken with acute Seol Yuna deficiency syndrome, Kang Nari considered "accidental" run-ins or fabricating excuses to contact her. On the seventh day, with no new kirinuki uploads as her pretext, she finally messaged.
And looking back later, it was really, truly, unbelievably fortunate that she did.
"What?! No home?!"
"What?! No money?!"
"What?! No family?!"
"Why haven't you uploaded kirinuki videos?!"
The call from Nari-sama was about why I hadn't uploaded kirinuki. I explained my current situation...
"What?! No home?!"
"Yes!"
"What?! No money?!"
"Yes."
"What?! No family?!"
"Yes..."
Suddenly hit with personal attacks and pad-lip. But it didn't feel bad. All true, after all. How could I hate Nari-sama for promising to help after hearing everything? I was grateful.
Nari-sama first sent an address via KakaoTalk, saying I'd meet someone there who could help. Following that faithfully...
I faced someone with an overwhelming economic, social, and physical gap.
Kneel.
Thud—
This is the difference in our eye levels.
It felt like taking a Conqueror's Haki blast straight to the face. Like facing the overwhelming magma-fire hierarchy.
I had no choice but to kneel before the woman ahead of me.
There sat the president, in a luxurious suit, perched at the head seat, glaring down with an imperious posture and expression...
[Scalaiive President An Huiyeon]
...The boss.
...
Scalaiive's president, An Huiyeon (29), was currently exhausted, drained, and pissed off. Thanks to endless overtime and a deluge of work.
She hadn't been home in nearly a week, shuttling between her office and the on-call room. Just imagining it was tiring.
Too busy even to eat properly, subsisting on quick sandwiches and energy bars while buried in tasks... that never seemed to end.
The reason the president was drowning in this workload? Controversy.
During Scalaiive 3rd gen debut prep, a massive controversy erupted.
Those fucking idiots...
Four 3rd gen members selected via auditions. Two were indie VTubers... and huge scandals broke from both.
One was school violence (perpetrator), the other misandry—bombs too big to even defend.
Scalaiive had to scrap all related materials. But debut was in three months; losing half the project now was fatal.
Delaying for adult reasons was risky, and new auditions impossible. Some backup candidates from old files, but none satisfactory.
So An Huiyeon was scrambling everywhere for talent.
If only two decent VTubers appeared like a miracle...
Leaning back with a heavy sigh—ring ring! Her phone rang.
Who calls this late...?
Forcing her drooping eyelids open, she checked the screen: Kang Nari glowing bright.
Thump!
Her heart dropped like a stone. Heavy lids lifted like feathers; drowsiness and fatigue vanished.
Deep breaths, desperate prayer:
Please, anything but graduation talk...! We'd be screwed without you...!
"Hey~! Yeah, Nari! What's up?"
Composing herself, bright tone: "S-Sis... It's, uh, kinda awkward to say, but..."
Her hesitant voice made An tense up.
"Y-yeah...? What's wrong...?"
Please no graduation...! Please no graduation...! Please no graduation...!!!
With utmost desperation, she listened slowly. Two exact emotions:
"Oh, first off, not about graduation..."
"Ah... O-okay."
Whew... Thank god...! Really relieved...! Relief it wasn't graduation.
"C-can I send someone to the company...?"
"...What?"
...What? Bewilderment at the out-of-left-field proposal.
That was it.
===
So now, An Huiyeon and Seol Yuna faced off in the president's office.
Though "faced" was a slight misnomer. Seol Yuna, citing social anxiety, hid her face in a hood and mask.
An Huiyeon made no effort to hide her discomfort at this unplanned interview.
Ugh... If not for Nari...
Already irritable from fatigue, now the interviewee shows up faceless, resume-less, just a body—and what was she supposed to do?
Thinks she'll auto-pass? Pathetic... Looks down on me...
So An saw Seol Yuna as a nepotism leech gaming connections for a free ride. That glare made Yuna shrink naturally...
But Yuna was wronged.
I-it was an interview...? Th-then I'd have prepped properly...!
Kang Nari hadn't mentioned it. If she had, Yuna would've worn neat clothes, brought a resume, portfolio, self-intro—meticulously.
Among Seol Yujin's inheritance was interview experience and social skills. She was confident.
Having aced tough ones before.
...If not for social anxiety.
But Kang Nari felt wronged too. She hadn't requested a job hookup!
What she'd asked the president: Let this poor kid with no home, money, or family crash in the on-call room temporarily...
An Huiyeon interpreted it as "hire her." Hence the sudden interview.
Partly Nari's fault for vague explanation, partly An's for misunderstanding.
But the world isn't always fair, so... all we can do is pity Yuna, dragged here blindly...
"So... You know what our company does?"
"Uh... Y-yes... VTuber agency..."
Whether misunderstanding or not, the interview started and had to finish.
Thus it proceeded.
"Oh yeah? Watch a lot of VTuber streams?"
"Y-yeah... I watch all Scalaiive members... And Tensorlive JP and EN fully... Plus Oshi Aru-sama, Naimaru-sama, Ura-sama, Eshitie-sama..."
"Wait— you watch all that?"
"W-well, can't catch all lives... Lots of VODs though..."
"...What was Aru-sama's latest stream?"
"Collab with cheese-it streamers... Joint survival horror, the part where she solo-survived round 5 was hilarious..."
"Hold up... For real?"
It proceeded.
"Hoo... Spot-on critique. She does get swept up in vibes and panic a lot..."
"Right! That's why Krone appears way more in Tensorlive's legendary kirinukis. Stats show a clear difference—did you know?"
"What...? Stats exist?"
"My hobby stats... Data's on cloud. Send now?"
"Y-yeah."
It proceeded.
"How dare you shove that filth into the sacred VTuber realm?!"
"What's wrong with male VTubers? You watch some Vermilions too."
"Vermilions and male VTubers aren't the same?!? Gender's different!!!"
"What kinda crazy talk is that?!?"
"Kieeeek---!!! Filthy dickheads can't enter my paradiseee!!! My horns huuurt--!!!"
It kept...
Proceeding.
"I-I'm here! Yuna! You came o—...ut?"
...Until Kang Nari entered the office.
"Ahh...! I feel it...!"
"Ahh...! Yes...! So true...!"
"Aaaah!!! Praise her! We praise!!! "
In the office: Seol Yuna preaching like a zealot at full volume... and the president kneeling in prayer.
Kang Nari watched briefly...
Then quietly slipped out.
What the hell did I just see? She couldn't comprehend.