Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Withdrawal Symptoms Are This Dangerous
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After the sample avatar reveal wrapped up.
The President said she had someone to introduce us to and called them into the meeting room.
The person who appeared was a woman exuding a highly intellectual vibe.
“I’m Yoon So-eun. I’ll be taking on the role of manager for Blue LUV from here on out. Nice to meet you all.”
She looked about the same age as Ji-ah unnie, maybe a bit older.
She was already pretty tall to begin with, and the high heels with a solid heel made her seem even taller.
Her voice had this calm, soothing quality.
Her hair was neatly tied back.
And those black stockings peeking out from under her skirt, just sheer enough to catch the light.
She gave off a total stewardess vibe.
Not that I’d ever actually seen one in person.
Anyway, my first impression was that she seemed incredibly kind and detail-oriented.
“Wow!”
“Please take care of us!”
Yuna bounced up from her seat, while Chae-yoon unnie gave a polite bow.
The rest of us followed suit, bowing our heads in greeting before finishing our own introductions.
“By the way, we haven’t even debuted yet—how come we’re getting a manager already?”
Once introductions were done, Ra-hee unnie voiced the exact question I’d been wondering about.
Honestly, I’d figured a manager would come way later.
“Of course. You girls are going to be swamped even before debut. Someone’s gotta keep your schedules straight and herd you all in the middle of it.”
“We’re already getting busy?”
Chae-yoon unnie reacted with surprise, as if to say, We haven’t even done a practice stream yet.
The President let out a deliberate “Heh heh...” with this sleazy grin, like some shady boss from a drama.
“You bet. I’m gonna wring you dry down to your bones, so brace yourselves. Don’t tell me you forgot who you signed with?”
“Gasp!”
“Evil president!”
“Who’re you calling evil? You ever seen a nicer evil president?”
Chae-yoon unnie and Yuna gulped in shock and yelped, prompting the President to bark back.
We all knew it was just joking around, so the mood stayed light—no one got offended, just laughter all around.
Which made sense.
Our President might slip into some tomboyish speech now and then, but she was genuinely super nice.
No one knew that better than me.
“So, Manager, how old are you?”
“Twenty-six. Excluding the President here, I guess that makes me the oldest in the room.”
Twenty-six, huh.
Nailed the visual age.
Not that it meant the Manager looked old or anything—just that she came across way more mature than Ji-ah unnie, for sure.
Yeah, definitely.
“Did you have to rub it in...? That kinda hurts my feelings.”
“S-Sorry! I was just explaining to...”
Meanwhile, the word “oldest” seemed to hit the President like a critical strike—she clutched her chest dramatically.
We all knew it was a joke and laughed it off, but the Manager alone looked flustered, fumbling an apology like she hadn’t caught on.
“Anyway, as our manager, what’s your first impression of the members?”
“You’re all so pretty and cute.”
The President asked for her honest take, and the Manager gave this super textbook—almost stiff—response.
Apparently not amused, the President shook her head once, then sidled up and threw an arm around the Manager’s shoulders.
“Yeah? So who’s your type then, So-eun?”
“Huh? T-Type...?”
“Exactly what I said. Like, if you were a guy, who’d you wanna date? Or if you had a brother, who’d you set him up with?”
Ooh, now I was kinda curious too.
Who was the Manager’s type?
Obviously someone like me didn’t count, so out of the four... Hmm, tough call even for me.
If I had to pick an absolute favorite from Blue LUV, it’d be Ellin—aka Ji-ah unnie.
But that was mostly envy for what I didn’t have.
Purely in terms of womanly charm, I wanted to know whose vibe matched the Manager’s taste.
“Hmm...”
Man, the Manager was seriously pondering this.
Most people would just pick someone lightly on the spot.
Her intensely scanning each of us one by one was kinda adorable.
“...Huh?”
That one! Pick her!
Our eyes met.
I subtly tilted my head toward the others where the members couldn’t see, signaling with my eyes.
Just pick any of the four already.
“Pfft.”
The Manager suddenly burst out laughing, stared at me for a good while, then made her choice.
“Da-jeong’s my type.”
“Huh? M-Me?”
And the pick was... none other than yours truly.
Thinking I’d misheard, I pointed at myself and asked again, but she nodded with this warm, pleased smile.
“Da-jeong just signaled with her eyes for me to pick someone else since she was fine either way. It was so cute, so I’m going with her.”
“Da-jeong did that...?!”
Manager! Why’d you have to spill it?!
And if you knew and picked me anyway, that’s even sneakier!
I screamed internally, but it didn’t reach her.
Meanwhile, the members stared at me in wide-eyed shock, like they had no clue I’d pulled that stunt.
Ugh, so embarrassing.
“Well, yeah—our maknae’s gotta be sweet and cute, right?”
“Agreed.”
Ra-hee unnie and Chae-yoon unnie whispered to each other, ignoring my utter mortification—like I wanted to crawl into a hole.
I could hear every word, so tone it down, please.
At this rate, I might dig a pit and burrow into the earth.
Anyway, with the Manager’s favorite officially declared as me, our first meeting wrapped up.
Happy ending...?
After our first meeting with the Manager, we headed to a room for broadcast practice as scheduled.
There was a dedicated soundproofed space right next to the meeting room, and that was the spot.
“Originally planned to do it all together, but since it’s the first day, let’s just have each of you try a taste solo. So, who wants to go first?”
The President called for volunteers from where we stood clustered around the desk.
It was just practice—no real viewers—so no need to stress too much.
Still, I shrank back a step, scared I’d come off disappointing if I jumped in.
“I’ll show some senior dignity!”
That’s when Yuna—the only one among us with actual VTuber experience—stepped up.
Come to think of it, didn’t Yuna not even need practice?
“Alright, Yuna first since she’s got experience. We need one more person to play audience besides me and So-eun... Any takers?”
Just as that question crossed my mind, an offer that really tempted me dropped.
Audience role?
That was perfect for me!
“P-President. Can I do it?”
“Huh? Da-jeong?”
I timidly raised my hand to show I was game, and the President blinked in genuine surprise.
Was me volunteering that shocking?
Well, I did tend to hang back usually, so maybe.
“Y-Yeah... Would that be okay?”
“Sure, it’s fine... Da-jeong, you’ve watched a ton of streams and stuff, right?”
“Yes! I’ve seen plenty of VTubers, even if I don’t look it.”
“Whoa, really? First I’ve heard of it.”
Obviously, since I’d never mentioned it before.
No way could I say, I fan-girled Blue LUV hard in a future five years from now.
So I name-dropped some famous Japanese VTubers and Korean streamers, claiming I’d checked them out.
Yeah, total lie—I’d never watched any.
When it came to VTubers, I was Blue LUV all the way.
And other streamers? None really grabbed me, so I’d barely seen any.
“Cool. Then Da-jeong, play audience and chat accordingly—throw in some troll chats here and there too.”
“Troll chats?”
“Yeah. Gotta prep for that stuff so you can handle it smoothly during the real thing.”
Ah, got it.
A little disappointing for me—I’d been hoping to bask in pure Pista mode for old times’ sake.
I’d planned mindless, blind cheer spam.
But this was all for our Blues!
Today, I’d step up and play the troll.
“There are two more PCs in the other room, so me and So-eun will handle audience from there. Da-jeong, use your phone or the one nearby.”
“Got it!”
The President personally set up the avatar and stream, said “See you later,” and left the room.
Probably planning to record Yuna’s practice and review it together later.
Unofficial or not, this marked Blue LUV’s very first stream.
“Da-jeong, ready to start?”
“Yeah.”
Yuna checked with me, cleared her throat with an “Ahem,” then went live on the private stream and spoke into the mic.
“Conyuki, everyone! I’m Yukimura Yukiko, the little snow girl debuting with Blue LUV! Nice to meet you!”
She nailed the pre-planned greeting and intro like it was her debut proper.
The Yukiko avatar didn’t move quite like I remembered, but that voice through my earphones was spot-on, stirring my dormant fangirl heart... which I barely held back.
Calm down, Jeong Da-jeong.
You’re here to help with the Blues’ stream.
Act like a normal viewer.
- Yukiko-nim, you’re so cute! The hairpin in your hair suits you perfectly, and that outfit feels like a modernized miko garb—so pretty! Love your voice too! I’ll cheer you on for 100... 200 years, so stream forever...
I typed out the chat as flatly as possible, just some random passerby viewer.
Clunk—
“Da-jeong!”
“...Huh?”
The door suddenly flew open, and the President yelled at me for the first time ever.
Did I mess up?