VTuber Club!
"No way...."
Even if performance assessments had been eating a bigger share of the grade than written exams lately, the idea that the exams themselves had simply vanished...
"Is it that crazy? I think it's great. I don't even have to take the test."
That was only good news for students who never studied in the first place—students like him.
For anyone actually trying to get through their work with a shred of sanity left, it was hell.
"Listen. Midterms disappearing just means the finals cover twice as much. And not for one subject—for about ten of them."
Korean, math, English, and science leading the charge, then ethics, PE, art, music, a second foreign language, and history bringing up the rear. Ten exams in all.
"Mm... I don't think so? They said arts and PE count as non-academic, so those don't get written tests."
"...Damn it."
Art? I'd given up on that thirty years ago. Music... that one I might actually have a shot at. The vocal director had praised my singing, and so had the CEO.
I didn't even need to reach that far. Just look at how people had reacted to Kuro over the weekend. Viewers were already flooding in complaints about why I still wasn't streaming.
The real problem was PE.
Yesterday's words from the dance coach came floating back.
Lower elementary. Not even upper grades. Lower.
It was easier on the heart to just accept that I had no stamina at all. I was dumping daily achievement points into it every single day, and I still needed to get myself up to at least middle-school level before the performance assessments hit.
"You've still got seven subjects left. What are you going to do about those?"
"That... I'm leaving to future me!"
Choi Wooseok flashed a thumbs-up, and all I could do was sigh.
He had no plan whatsoever. Did he even know what a plan was? Did he think at all? The thought crossed my mind unbidden. In reality, Choi Wooseok's only concern was what to eat for dinner. Studying and the future never entered the picture.
"So when did you get into VTubers, anyway?"
Out of nowhere?
"VTubers, all of a sudden? What are you talking about?"
"Yesterday. We were talking, then you took a call and left. This is just picking up where we left off."
Hearing that, I finally understood why we barely spoke even though we were in the same class. The second a break started, kids from our class and every other class came looking for him and buried him in questions. Choi Wooseok never had time to talk to me, and Kim Woojin in the next seat didn't have an easy time starting a conversation either.
"Well, I did have some questions, but I felt weird jumping into the middle of all that."
Choi Wooseok, who spent class asleep, had questions for me? I let a small smile show.
"Then now's your chance. If you're curious, ask."
"For real?"
"I won't tell you everything, but I'll answer what I can."
Choi Wooseok looked briefly thoughtful, then opened his mouth.
"Why a VTuber, of all things?"
The question caught me off guard.
"Of all things?"
"I mean... Jiwoo. With a face like yours, you could be a celebrity. And from what I saw yesterday, you can act. Why not just go that route? Why a VTuber... I'm actually curious."
I didn't know how to answer. Both paths were the truth. But a VTuber had to hide the Red Pill. Getting found out by accident was one thing. Coming out yourself was not allowed. That was what being a VTuber meant.
"The truth is..."
I told him about the Sky Garden, where I'd first encountered VTubers.
"Whoa... that can happen?"
Choi Wooseok looked like he didn't quite buy it, but he accepted it in the end. I didn't care whether he believed me or not. I hadn't lied. I'd been sitting in the hospital Sky Garden, looking at the sky, when a guy who looked like a student sat down beside me and started watching a VTuber stream. That was when I got interested. That much was absolutely true.
The end of the hallway was coming up. Past this point there was nothing but the science labs.
"How far are we even going?"
"We're here. Right there."
He led me along, checking the little map printed on the club flyer. The classroom we arrived at had a sign on the door.
2nd Science Lab
The moment we stepped inside, a familiar avatar was bouncing around on the classroom TV.
Whoa... Aruru-chan?!
Was the VTuber Club just a club for watching VTuber streams?
I looked around. Everyone was huddled on chairs, so glued to the TV they hadn't even noticed we'd come in.
"Excuse me? Is this the VTuber Club?"
"...Huh? Uwaaah!!"
"Ah—you scared me!"
"W-who are you?!"
They all jumped up in shock and promptly fell over.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah... I-I'm fine! But..."
The guy in glasses scanned me and Choi Wooseok once each, then went on.
"What are you doing in here? We've got school permission to use this room. You can't just walk in."
He stood, brushing dust off his clothes, radiating the distinct energy of someone trying to kick us out. The necktie he wore was blue—second year—and a name tag hung beside it.
...Yu...han?
So the guy in glasses was named Yuhan.
"We're interested in the VTuber Club too. I love Aruru-chan, actually."
"...What? No way! Why would someone who looks like a popular kid...?"
"...Is that not allowed?"
Don't write me off just because I look popular. I wasn't even popular. I talked to exactly two people in class. One of them was standing next to me. The other was probably in the middle of an acting lesson right about now.
I could say it with my head held high.
I! Am! A loner!
Still, he was a senior, so I kept my voice low and even.
"I like VTubers too. And you don't need to be popular or unpopular to like VTubers. So. Let's start by opening these curtains."
We weren't children of the dark. I yanked the dark curtains as hard as I could.
Shhhk...
Huh? Why... isn't this moving?
I put my weight into it again. The curtains didn't budge.
"Ah... damn it. Why won't this work."
No matter how hard I pulled, the curtains had no intention of moving.
"Hah... I give up. Anyway. Bright is way better than dark, right? So let's change this gloomy, shadowy club together!"
...Why did everyone look dead?
"Jiwoo... stop. Their HP is already at zero."
"...What is that supposed to mean?"
"Ahem."
Yuhan cleared his throat and stared straight at us.
"You want to join? Mind if I ask why?"
Why? That was simple.
"Well, because I like VTubers. I love them. Isn't that reason enough?"
I tilted my head as far as I could and laid on the kind of cute act I never normally pulled.
"Kh—! Fine. You're in!"
"Really? Thank you, senior."
"Khnnngh!"
The guy in glasses smiled so hard his mouth nearly reached his ears. And it wasn't just Yuhan. The other second-years sitting in the back wore the same look.
"Th-then what about you?"
"Yes! I like VTubers too. Starting with Aruru-chan just now..."
Choi Wooseok rattled off VTuber names one after another like he'd memorized a script. Yuhan nodded, looking genuinely impressed that Wooseok hadn't gotten a single name wrong.
"Good... that's all well and good... but it's not enough! We didn't start this club just because we like VTubers! We're... working to become VTubers ourselves!"
"Whoa..."
Choi Wooseok's mouth fell open at the heat in his voice. It was a good mindset. Not stopping at admiring VTubers, but aiming to become one—I agreed with that.
"That's right. I'm working hard to become a VTuber too."
"That's it! That's the spirit. And for people like you, we'll hold a club exam."
Yuhan glanced at the seniors behind him, and everything fell into place in seconds. They shoved the desks aside and set a single chair in the center of the room.
"All right! Show us what you've prepared to become VTubers!"
Show them... what, exactly? Was this a talent show?
I glanced sideways. Choi Wooseok looked the same. His pupils were shaking. We'd come to the VTuber Club thinking we'd chat about VTubers. The sudden talent showcase had clearly thrown him.
"Haaah..."
I let out a sigh and started toward the chair in the center.
"I'll..."
"I'll go first."
Choi Wooseok stepped up to the chair ahead of me.
"Oh? What did you prepare?"
"Honestly, I didn't prepare anything. I just... if I were a VTuber, I think I'd sing."
Yuhan nodded, agreeing that singing was the foundation of being a VTuber. I was curious what song Choi Wooseok would pick.
He didn't sit. He slowly closed his eyes and opened his mouth.
Mm... the tone's unstable, and he's flat. On top of that...
"Aaaack!!"
He didn't even seem to know how to use his throat. All that came out was a string of shrieks. I snuck a glance sideways. Yuhan's expression was not good.
This was a disaster. Should I stop him now? I hesitated for a second.
"Whew.... That's all."
Choi Wooseok's shrieking came to an end. I watched with a knot in my stomach, waiting to see how they'd judge him.
Yesterday's theater club president flashed through my mind—the one who'd told beginners to get lost.
They weren't wrong. But if they'd shown even a little consideration for beginners, I wouldn't be standing here worrying about this.
"Right. I heard you. You've still got a long way to go, but..."
Yuhan listed off every problem I'd already spotted in Choi Wooseok's singing.
"If you work hard, you'll be fine! I'll help you out a lot!"
Ah...
Even faced with that hopeless performance, Yuhan hunted for something to praise and encouraged him.
I could do that too.
Can't act? Then I'd teach them. From the beginning. There was no end to acting.
Why hadn't I thought of that?
A lifetime of office work in my previous life had trained me not to see beginners as beginners. Nobody would take you if you hadn't already built a resume. That was how you got terms like "experienced newbie."
We could just do it together. I'd sworn, after being left on my own, that I wouldn't let myself be stained by adult circumstances. And without noticing, I'd been stained anyway.
"So... what are you going to show us next?"
"I'll sing too."
Like Yuhan said, singing was the foundation of being a VTuber. So what I'd show them was a song.
"Oh? What are you going to sing? As you just saw, we're pretty picky about vocals~"
I know.
I hesitated a moment, and one song kept circling through my head.
That one. I'll sing that.
I lifted my pitch, let the sound out, and sang.
— ! — !
The song ended.
What... was this?
I cracked my eyes open and looked at the seniors and Choi Wooseok. Every one of them was sitting there slack-jawed, staring into space.
"The song's over, you know?"
"Whoa... that's... insane... wait... did you get an implant in your throat?"
"...An implant? My teeth are still perfectly healthy, though?"
I tilted my head, not understanding why he'd say that.
"Ah, never mind. But... that's crazy. If you keep this up, you'll debut as a VTuber in no time. Has... any MCN contacted you?"
"An MCN, huh..."