Why Is This Working So Well? (1)
A few days passed, and just as the VTuber buzz in the Gallery had died down completely, a new post went up.
Title: 25-Year-Old Kim Cheol-deuk Mastered Air-Step Martial Arts. Proof Pic Attached.
Hey. It's undefined.
One of my VTubers is debuting soon. Wanna watch?
I nodded as I checked the reactions in the comments. Tsundere concept. It was exactly what I'd asked Song Ji-yeon for.
She was far from subculture stuff, so viewer banter or soaking up fan affection wouldn't come naturally. That's why we went with prickly but caring. In pro terms, tsundere.
"Is this really okay? I'm not used to trash-talking people."
She asked cautiously from beside me, peeking at the Gallery reactions.
"It's fine. Tsundere just means being sweet underneath, right?"
"...Honestly, I'm not sure if this is right. Couldn't you just pick some random streamer and sponsor them?"
She had a point, so I nodded without argument. Sponsoring or opening a server—anyone could do it, no problem.
"Yeah, Ji-yeon's totally right."
"Then why make me do VTuber out of nowhere?"
"But we've already done all the prep. You can't back out now."
We'd had meetings every day, about two hours each. Partly to give her the basics, partly to drill in behaviors that wouldn't tank the stream. Like the military thing.
'Wasn't her stance on that.'
It was one of my first interview questions. What do you think of soldiers? She'd smoothly thanked the men devoting themselves to the country, and said she couldn't understand the haters.
'Actually hated the haters.'
Probably because she'd been the eldest daughter holding the family together without parents, with younger brothers too. Hard to sympathize with military haters, she'd said.
Anyway, I'd taught her streamer no-gos and memes to avoid. Plus stock-making methods and everything else—crammed a month's worth of knowledge into her.
"...I'm just curious about the reason. Not saying I won't do it now."
She corrected herself and got to the point.
Fair enough. I hadn't explained much.
"Boredom...?"
She could ask someone else. Push a hakko, make content they wanna see, and they'd deliver decently.
'But then there's no fun in raising hakko.'
It was tricky. Using someone already grown felt wasteful; handing content to total newbies like flatfish was risky. And I wasn't some corporate suit—convenience store clerk and construction grunt here. No confidence I'd get what I wanted from them. Not like I was known for sweet-talking anyway.
'Just observation.'
Ever hear of the Longlegs Uncle? The cliché where he sponsors a little girl and asks her to call him that. These days it's hailed as peak grooming material, but it stuck with me.
Helping someone for no reason takes guts.
I'd pondered why forever. Why give away money you don't have and wish them happy?
But living taught me something.
'Actions often lack big reasons.'
It just happened. That's the phrase.
Why make my secretary a VTuber? Simple. Looked more fun.
"Fun..."
She frowned, not getting it.
"Just a hobby. Time to prep. Stream's starting soon."
"...Yes."
She nodded reluctantly. Would she ever get it? Hell, I barely understand my own feelings.
6 PM. A stream went live.
Clack-clack. The realistic shoe sounds on a high-quality 3D model, with movements indistinguishable from real life—viewers were hooked.
Just 10 seconds in, but everyone pictured it.
'This must've cost a fortune.'
The VTuber scene was booming lately, big corps jumping in, even hardcore Gallery VTuber otaku hunting hakko themselves—they were impressed.
"Aah."
Cold. But soft somewhere. Relaxed, captivating timbre pulling them in.
The avatar? Shrine maiden outfit oozing mystery, but it fit perfectly. Sharp eyes with a beauty mark amplifying the charm.
"Nice to meet you. Project 1st Gen. Kanako Yeonji."
The calm greeting with a gentle smile sent viewers into a frenzy.
I checked the reactions and gave my secretary a circle gesture. Nailed it.
'Worth every penny.'
Researching streams before starting a VTuber, I learned you need tons: cam, mic, audio, avatar, background. Minor stuff, but missing one leaves regrets. Not make-or-break for success, but points of criticism—I fixed 'em all with cash.
'Avatar was priciest.'
Rushed it with big bucks, split work for speed—doubled costs. Total? Probably tens of millions. No regrets.
Was gonna blow ten times more, but they said real MV-level tech for that. Anyway, look—decent viewers already.
Thought 10 was a win.
'Gallery's reacting how?'
Good. Gallery conquered.
'Dunno how long the hype lasts.'
My promo brought some, but shelf life short. Switch to next hot VTuber quick. 10% retention? Success.
"Otaku bastards."
Then, dead-serious voice from the speakers.
"Ooh."
My secretary's got fire. Chat was full of guts.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to aggro just to show you this. Viewer level for real? Shrinking my chest and balls. Not even sorry tbh."
All-ages filter, and this is what's left. Harsh stuff auto-banned via filters and keywords. 10 bans already.
'Not easy.'
Comedy from afar, tragedy up close. Spot on.
Messaged requesting manager.
"Ah, one sec."
She confirmed and granted me manager.
I started normalizing chat one by one. Spam, harassment, other streamers, "call so-and-so." Got why managers exist. Leave it a sec, guts everywhere. At 1k or 10k viewers? Chaos.
'Need a chat mod first.'
Watched streams, never managed. Rookie mistakes.
Five minutes later, realization hit.
'Why's business booming?'
Too big for a hakko debut. Burdensome, even.