Virtual Marriage Makes Money
I was in the middle of editing a video at the company when the number on the screen made me stop and call for my direct superior.
“Boss, you really need to see this.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
58,432
More than double the 23,000-seat capacity of Jamsil Baseball Stadium. A broadcast on a rival platform was pulling in that many viewers in real time.
The male streamer, who used AI to create a virtual son character, and the female virtual streamer who had handled the character’s overall design, rigging, and modeling were sitting together, hands clasped, speaking in a single frame. It was a half-cam setup—no faces visible, only voices and hands. Their “child,” the AI character Albus that viewers had nicknamed, was holding up a sign that read Call it a real marriage, not a virtual one!
"At first, it really was just a joke. The person who designed and rigged my son character was Rin, after all."
⟨ ALBUS ⟩
"Honestly, people started calling me Albus's mom even before that. I didn't mind it at all. After meeting Albus and Mr. Dotori, I became a lot more famous."
The woman’s soft laughter and the way the man beside her slightly hunched his shoulders made it hard for viewers to tell whether this was truly just virtual dating content or something more sincere.
“Wait, isn’t this Dotori’s stream? The guy who played a single dad with that edgy middle-schooler character Albus and played games with him… Why are there so many viewers?”
“Who knew the power of a virtual marriage would be this strong? They say he actually flew all the way to Japan for the broadcast. Viewers must have come for that sincerity.”
Watching the stream, I couldn’t help but look a little envious. Even though it was on a competitor’s platform, the story the two of them had built was so sweet it made my teeth ache.
“The other person is Japanese?”
“Yes. The man used to work at a company doing AI development before he quit to become a streamer. The woman is an illustrator and 3D modeler based in Japan. Quite the unusual pairing.”
I opened the file I had half-prepared with personal interest on the monitor beside me and spoke to my boss. I had organized it into a document thinking our company—EASY Network, an MCN that supports and manages streamers and influencers—might be able to use it.
“Is this kind of thing trending again? I thought the virtual marriage meta had pretty much died out in the streaming scene…”
“It seems like if there’s enough narrative and story, and there’s a decent age gap, even regular viewers end up rooting for them.”
The way these two had come together for this virtual marriage was rather unique. The man had quit his job at a small AI development firm and jumped into streaming. The woman was a talented all-rounder who could handle both 3D modeling and illustration, but she wasn’t particularly well-known. No matter how good they were at streaming, broadcasts with low viewership rarely blow up without some kind of catalyst. That was the reality of internet broadcasting—an industry overflowing with every possible RP and concept imaginable. It was such a red ocean that even I had been shocked when a 90-year-old former Minister of Economy and Finance started a YouTube channel.
“Dotori started his stream from the beginning with the concept of being a single dad. He mainly did content where he bickered with an AI character while trying out the latest games.”
“So that’s why she got nicknamed ‘Mama.’ That kind of term is used in the Japanese virtual scene too.”
Lee Jihye, CEO of EASY Network, quickly grasped the situation after looking at the materials I showed her. Even though it was a tiny company, my boss had an exceptional talent for reading trends like this.
“They both must have felt it the moment they met. One was a streamer with a single-dad concept, and the other had become the image of a mother because she handled the character’s design, modeling, and rigging from start to finish.”
“…And the result is really this? Fifty thousand live viewers? At this rate, I’d believe it if you told me it was a foreign platform.”
It was a small company with so few employees that it felt like family. Having worked here for five years now, instead of submitting a report to the boss, I had simply told her to watch the broadcast herself. She had already instructed me that whenever something blew up in internet broadcasting, I shouldn’t bother writing reports—just call her immediately. She said there was a big difference between watching the actual stream and judging from numbers and text data.
"Unlike before, Miss Kamiya Rin has gained a lot more viewers too. She's now successfully working with various major corporations that people recognize just by name… So as originally planned, we'll end this virtual marriage today."
"It's been exactly one year. Haha, last year I drank alone because we had so few viewers. Honestly, the path we've walked together with all of you feels like a dream."
Besides, this was supposed to be the final broadcast for a virtual marriage project that was originally scheduled to end today. If you didn’t watch the ending in person, you’d miss the emotional weight of it.
"But, Mr. Dotori… no, Dongmuk. Did you really not feel anything for me at all?"
"Pardon?"
"Actually, today's broadcast wasn't supposed to be the two of us meeting like this. We were going to do it separately, right?"
Yes. It was exactly because I expected variables and sudden developments like this that I had called the boss over.
"There must be a reason you took a same-day flight all the way to Japan to come see me. Of course, I did give you my home address, but still…"
"It's the last one, after all. No matter how virtual the marriage was, after spending a whole year together, it just didn't feel right to say goodbye without even seeing each other's faces."
"I actually like that part of you, Dongmuk."
Wasn’t this basically a confession? I forced down the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth and glanced at the boss, who was watching the stream beside me.
“Oh my, oh my. That woman is a total fox. No wonder she’s so popular.”
“Yes. Most virtual marriage content usually just ends with the two of them being lovey-dovey and then drifting apart, but…”
"Even after we break up, I want to stay on good terms with you, Dongmuk. You were the only person who always treated me with the same kindness whether I succeeded or failed in life."
I smiled as I watched the virtual character frantically waving a sign in response to the female streamer’s words. It felt like watching a child’s heart at their father’s remarriage, and a warm feeling rose in my chest.
“Looking at them, it seems like they had feelings beyond simple fondness. In fact, that’s probably why the breakup feels so heavy.”
“For each other’s sake? Because their levels have grown so much compared to before that it might interfere with their broadcasts?”
“Or it could be a calculated move. Ending it on a good note like this is better.”
Looking back at legendary virtual marriage couples in internet broadcasting history, most of them maintained good relationships even after parting and didn’t stop mentioning each other. Some couples from years ago would still be brought up every time someone else tried similar content.
"People might misunderstand if they hear that."
"I said it so they would misunderstand. You're good at that kind of thing, aren't you? When I was sick, you sent cold medicine and fever patches to my company… And when I struggled making Albus for the first time, didn't you add tens of thousands of yen as a bonus?"
"That's not in the script."
"Who cares? It gets lonely when you're sick and there's no one by your side, you know? And you didn't even know I was thinking about quitting art because my anonymous days lasted so long, did you?"
⟨ YOU WERE THE REASON I COULD BECOME WHO I AM TODAY ⟩
The woman was playfully kneading the man’s hand like a toy, and the atmosphere was heating up to its peak.
"……."
"I'll wait for your answer. Dongmuk oppa."
And so, the virtual marriage finale that left its mark on internet broadcasting history ended with plenty of room for interpretation.
“Should we try it too?”
“With whom, exactly?”
“Why, wouldn’t the reason Kim Baekhyun joined our company be enough?”
Having watched that, my company’s boss was now giving me a suggestion with a sly smile.
“You’re still a huge fan of our company’s VTuber, Yujacha. Every viewer knows the story of how you started as a fan channel clipping her early streams and eventually became her official editor.”
“Boss, no matter how you look at it, having a mere editor do virtual marriage content with a streamer is…”
“You’re not just any ordinary editor, are you? Your skills are good enough that you could be a streamer yourself right now.”
She was suggesting that I—the editor who edited her streams, or rather, my oshi—do virtual marriage content with her.
“The truth is, she’s been in the red for quite a while. I was planning to have her graduate at the end of this year. She’s at that age, and she herself said she doesn’t seem to have a talent for broadcasting.”
“……”
“Wouldn’t it be better than pairing her with some other male streamer? Giving a chance to someone who’s never even broken a hundred viewers doesn’t seem right, does it? I’ve already found a replacement editor, so don’t worry about that.”
Lee Jihye, the boss, spoke as if everything was already prepared and all I had to do was agree.
“Did you prepare this content with me in mind from the beginning?”
“Who knows? You were talented enough to get scouting offers from pro gaming teams back in middle school. If the two of you complement each other’s weaknesses, I think the broadcast has a chance to grow.”
On top of that, she even brought up the future dream I had briefly held during my middle school days. After all, due to certain circumstances, I had given up on becoming a pro gamer and walked the path of a video editor instead.
“The picture isn’t bad, right? A male editor who hides his semi-pro skills and a cute female VTuber who’s really bad at games… The buzz should be enough to beat the rival platform.”
“Then I’ll contact her through the email I always receive the videos from. If she says it’s okay, I’ll consider it.”
After hearing the boss’s bold claim, I had no choice but to sigh and start typing on the keyboard. If it hadn’t been for Yujacha’s streams, I wouldn’t have been able to endure the difficult moments in my life. I couldn’t just stand by and let her quit broadcasting without achieving anything.