Former Pro-Gamer Trainee Kim Baekhyun (2)
Rumors about Yujacha were fairly common. Despite never escaping her small-time status over ten years, the fact that she kept streaming at all led to speculation that her family must be incredibly wealthy. Or perhaps she streamed as a hobby while holding down another job. The most prominent rumor claimed she got into the agency through connections because she attended the same school as EASY Network's CEO, Lee Jihye.
“Hello everyone~ Yujahi all around!”
Anyway, after memorizing the script I had given her, the VTuber Yujacha began her stream the next day with a slightly excited voice.
“No, I’m not an auntie! I’ve never been married, and I’m still in my twenties by international age!”
Age or truth never mattered when it came to teasing streamers. Viewers simply enjoyed the reactions they provoked.
“No! It hasn’t gone bad! And it’s not a chicken coop either!”
Normally Yujacha would maintain her saintess RP, but anything involving age or romance seemed to hit a nerve, and her voice came out raw with genuine emotion.
“Ahem. Anyway, I am the saintess of the Holy Kingdom Elysion and a succubus, Yujacha. Not an auntie.”
When I first watched her streams, the main concept had been politely listening to viewers’ concerns or occasionally showing a provocative side.
Before long, viewers began noticing the unusual stream title and posting confused messages.
That title sense really made her seem like an auntie. The outdated emoticon only added to the dissonance. No, VTubers and their inner selves were like organs—doubting over such trivial details was pointless.
“Yes! Today I’ve specially invited a teacher who’s going to teach me Grand Arts Hero!”
Aside from a collab she did in her debut year, Yujacha had no connections with other people. She followed the script she had prepared in advance and acted with practiced ease.
I was already sipping water to clear my throat while reading the message Yujacha had left me earlier. I knew from helping edit other popular VTubers at the company that streamers needed to drink water or beverages regularly during long broadcasts. Since Yujacha hadn’t generated proper revenue even after I joined, the company had no choice but to assign me other tasks. Of course, the difference in quality and care was subtle—noticeable only if you looked very closely. I poured just enough personal touch into the editing without overdoing it.
“Everyone, have any of you seen my clips on Nutube? There’s a fan channel called ‘Yuja Sweet’!”
Commonly known as kirinuki. Clips cut from a virtual YouTuber’s stream for the funny parts, or with Korean subtitles added if the streamer was overseas.
The fan channel’s average views hovered around ten thousand, with the highest exceeding a hundred thousand, so some viewers still remembered it.
“Yes! That very person is now our company’s official editor! On top of that, his peak rank this season is Cosmos, so we decided to duo together this time!”
The chat exploded with question marks the moment Yujacha mentioned him. It had been months since I’d seen the chat move this fast. Grand Arts Hero was a major title popular even on rival platforms besides Sepia, consistently ranking high in PC bangs and hosting various leagues and tournaments. Even in a country where the SF genre felt unfamiliar, the game had swept the AOS market purely on fun. It was also something I had once devoted half my life to.
“Yes! Although that Cosmos rank was from ten years ago! He still plays occasionally as a hobby, so he knows the game really well!”
“Now now, let’s not jump to conclusions. That kind of thing could be a sensitive personal matter, right? I only managed to call him because I don’t know any other streamers. Please don’t be like that.”
Yujacha deliberately added a touch of aegyo to her voice. Demon wings sprouted from her waist as her eyes glowed pink. Performing her succubus RP, she occasionally showed this side of herself to charm viewers.
In reality, some internet broadcasters invited their editors over to play mahjong, and there were cases of people becoming famous after appearing together on stream.
“Everyone, do you really think I have someone I’m close with privately? Ah, that’s funny. If we were that close, I would’ve announced we were dating right away!”
Yujacha laughed loudly and stood her ground even against the viewers’ suspicions.
Most viewers who harbored pseudo-romantic feelings had already left during Yujacha’s ten years of small-time streaming, leaving only those who genuinely supported her. A so-called deserted island. It was only possible because she had avoided collabs or interactions with other streamers except during her first year after debut.
“Besides, I stream almost every day without breaks. If I really had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t be able to do that!”
Combined with Yujacha’s habit of streaming over twelve hours once she started, the VOD records themselves revealed her every move.
“The believer who just chatted that will be chat-banned for one minute. I don’t know why you keep calling twenty-eight international age thirty. Ahem.”
After calming the buzzing chat, Yujacha pressed the CodeCode call button and contacted me.
Messages like that only made me more nervous. One word from me could either keep my favorite streamer’s broadcast alive or send her crashing into oblivion, forcing her out of the industry forever. But I couldn’t run away now that I’d come this far.
“—Ahem, can you hear me?”
The moment my voice came through the stream, the chat reacted differently. Thanks to the provocative title and major game tag, the viewer count had doubled from twenty.
“Yes, I can hear you! Everyone, please welcome him! He’s the one who ran the fan channel ‘Yuja Sweet’ and is now working as my editor!”
“Hello. Nice to meet you all. My name is Kim Baekhyun, formerly active on Yujacha’s fan channel.”
I greeted the viewers while maintaining as calm a demeanor as possible. Knowing that every word I said would reach so many people made me nervous.
“We haven’t seen each other’s faces. We’ve only exchanged professional messages through the company email, so I believe that’s what a true fan should do. Don’t you agree, Citruses?”
The moment I mentioned “Citruses,” the fan name Yujacha had set in her early days, the chat atmosphere shifted again.
The mood flipped like a palm. It felt like diving into a massive wave that could easily sweep an ordinary person away.
“That’s right. He’s been working like a machine for five years, so I’m the one seducing him this time! Uhehe.”
Yujacha suddenly went off-script and started provoking me, while the chat looked at her with their usual pity.
“Let’s log into Grand Arts Hero right away. You can add me as a friend with Baekseolgi#1026.”
I immediately launched the game and gave the nickname I had used during my pro-gamer trainee days, and soon Yujacha’s high-pitched voice came through.
“What, is your name Kim Baekhyun so you went with Baekseolgi? That’s such a cute nickname!”
I had picked it thoughtlessly back in school. Hearing her call it cute directly made something tickle inside me.
After checking my nickname, viewers immediately searched the ranking site and reacted with surprise that the rank wasn’t a lie, moving on to another topic.
October 26th. The ID tag numbers matching Yujacha’s birthday sent the chat flying upward once more.
“…It’s just a coincidence. Though after realizing it matched Yujacha’s birthday, I didn’t feel like changing it, so I left it as is.”
In moments like this, I thought it was better to honestly reveal my true feelings rather than make excuses.
“Oh, that’s unexpected? I thought the editor was an emotionless AI robot.”
That couldn’t be true. My heart felt like it was about to burst just from streaming together right now.
* * *
The character the former pro-gamer trainee and devoted viewer Kim Baekhyun recommended to Yujacha was a magical girl named Seven Star.
“Why Seven Star specifically? I’ve heard that character has a low floor and is difficult among players…”
“If you’re going to duo with me, Seven Star is the best choice. It’s a character that can make a comeback even after dying a ton to the enemy.”
A joker pick whose performance transformed completely once all seven stars spawned on the map were collected. There had even been plenty of Nutube videos attempting Seven Star’s awakening, but only a handful of people had actually succeeded. Kim Baekhyun wanted only one thing: to make the VTuber Yujacha the center of attention, enough to flood the platform with clips.
“I’ll go with Red Turbo, which has synergy. The magical girl and Miracle Ranger are both tokusatsu-concept characters, after all.”
“…In the in-game story, they’re in a situationship without knowing each other’s identities. You’re not aiming for that on purpose, are you?”
The character settings felt similar to the current relationship between Kim Baekhyun and Yujacha. The chat burned hot from her provocation.