chapter 2
chapter 2
Job Seeker Mate
“Yeah. I used to watch her streams sometimes. Laviel.”
After a brief pause at my question, the woman answered.
Hearing that, a mix of surprise and a strange sense of familiarity surged within me.
It wasn’t really that strange.
Of course Laviel was a female VTuber, but she wasn’t the kind who openly catered to that sort of fanbase.
She was closer to a healing-stream concept with a relaxed atmosphere.
Even if there were female viewers, it wasn’t an unusual kind of broadcast.
But meeting someone like that in real life was a first for me.
No, come to think of it, it might be my first time meeting a “Ravi” at all.
“Wow. So it’s real. That’s amazing.”
“What is?”
“I mean, it’s the first time I’ve met someone in real life who knows Laviel.”
There were plenty of them in chat, but in reality they would only be scattered individuals across the country.
Their numbers were extremely small.
At my words, the woman let out a small laugh.
“Well, she wasn’t that famous of a streamer. Laviel.”
It was true that there were more people who didn’t know her than those who did.
Like a hidden gem in a back alley with no signboard.
She was the kind of stream only known to those who knew.
Once I realized she was a Ravi, a subtle sense of inner closeness formed.
Even though we had just met today, it felt like we were somehow close.
If she had been the type to chat actively, we might have even hung out together.
“Still, I find you more surprising.”
“Me? Why?”
“It’s already been a year since Laviel graduated, right? And as you said, she wasn’t that famous or extraordinary of a streamer.”
“….”
“But you’re still listening to her songs. You must have really liked her.”
I really liked her.
Could something like that truly define how I felt about Laviel?
She was practically a part of my life, and close to being my only daily source of joy.
Some might ask how a single streamer could occupy so much of someone’s life.
But to me, that meant they had never truly been a real fan of someone.
The moments when Laviel comforted me, the times we laughed and talked together—those were some of the happiest memories of my life.
“I guess you could say I liked her… if I exaggerate a bit, she was basically my entire life.”
Though that wasn’t really an exaggeration.
I laughed as if joking, and the woman paused for a moment.
For some reason, her eyes seemed to tremble slightly as she looked at me.
“Then it must have been hard for you… for a while.”
“Huh? Why?”
“When Laviel announced her graduation.”
Her expression had grown slightly darker than before.
And perhaps that was only natural.
For a fan, that must have been the saddest moment.
The long announcement posted on social media and the fan cafe.
I remember how my heart sank when I saw it.
Forcing myself not to dwell on that memory, I tried to put on a bright expression.
“Ah… yeah, it was tough. Even when I tried to act like I was okay, it wasn’t easy.”
“I see.”
“My friends told me things like, why am I making such a big deal out of a streamer graduating.”
“…That’s how people usually react.”
“Hearing you say that, I guess you had a hard time too.”
“…Yeah. I struggled quite a bit. No, actually, a lot.”
The sadness in her eyes as she said that felt even stronger than mine.
I had believed I was one of the biggest fans of Laviel.
For a moment, I even felt a hint of arrogance in that thought.
“…But then, didn’t you ever feel resentment or dislike?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, there are people like that, right? Some fans feel disappointed when someone graduates, while others feel like they’ve been abandoned.”
“Ah…”
“To be honest, I felt that a bit too. Talking like we’d always be together forever, and then leaving on their own like that.”
“….”
“Didn’t they think about how the people left behind would feel? We supported them for so long, holding onto that one feeling of liking them.”
Her expression looked somewhat bitter.
Was this woman resentful toward Laviel?
If she had been a fan, I could understand why such thoughts might arise.
To be honest, while I didn’t resent her, I had gone through a deep sense of sadness after her graduation.
“That makes sense.”
“Huh?”
“Yes. It’s understandable to feel that way. The more you liked someone, the bigger the shock would be. I had a hard time at first too.”
It wasn’t just about not being able to watch a stream.
It was the sorrow of knowing I could never meet the person I liked again.
In a sense, it was not much different from losing someone.
“But I just couldn’t bring myself to resent her.”
“….”
“She gave me too much. Even when I start to feel a bit of anger, I just can’t hate her.”
“….”
“And besides, Laviel didn’t graduate because she wanted to.”
The tears she showed in her final broadcast.
I knew better than anyone that they were genuine.
“I’m sorry, everyone. I think I’ve reached my limit… I’m not good enough… I can’t continue any further…”
Her reason for graduating didn’t fit the fantasy-like role of a “healing fairy” at all.
It was a very realistic issue of income.
Earning from a fluctuating viewer count of around 100 to 200.
A channel that hadn’t grown much even after three years.
Unable to overcome the uncertainty of the future, her graduation was inevitable.
If anything, I thought it was more impressive that she had lasted three years.
Though I didn’t know the full details of her home life, she lived alone.
And her family likely wasn’t wealthy enough to support her.
She must have been balancing part-time jobs to get by.
“So I actually support her.”
“….”
“As much happiness as she gave me as Laviel, I hope she’s doing well and happy wherever she is now.”
That was my sincere feeling.
Nothing but pure honesty.
If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t still be listening to her songs.
“…I see.”
“Yes.”
After listening to me seriously, she looked closely at my face.
Then, with a faint smile, she suddenly gave me a compliment.
“You’re a really good person.”
“Ah? No, not really. I just…”
“No, you are. How many people among left-behind fans can genuinely think and say something like that?”
“….”
“Only those who truly cherished and loved Laviel would say that. Or rather, most people have probably already forgotten Laviel. There are so many VTubers in the world.”
She looked at me with warm eyes as she spoke.
While she wasn’t wrong, I had never really thought of myself as a good person.
Embarrassed by receiving such praise from a stranger, I didn’t know how to react.
Then she suddenly checked her phone as if snapping back to reality.
“Oh my. It’s already this late.”
“….”
“Then I’ll go back to studying. It seems like you were doing something too… I interrupted you.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. This happened because I played music on my phone in the first place.”
She turned to go back to her seat, then paused.
After a moment, she asked me in a cautious tone.
“…May I ask your name?”
“My name? It’s Kang Ijun.”
“Mr. Ijun, you come here every day, don’t you? And you always sit in this seat.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
So I wasn’t the only one who had noticed that.
Even if she didn’t seem to pay attention, she must have inevitably noticed me over time.
“You’re a job seeker… right?”
“Yes. As you can see.”
“Then I guess we’ll be seeing each other often.”
“I suppose so.”
We both chuckled softly.
Then she casually said something to me.
“Let’s talk sometimes when we have time. The two of us.”
“Pardon?”
“About Laviel. You said it yourself—it’s the first time you’ve met a Ravi in real life. Me too.”
“Ah, I see.”
“It’s fun talking about Laviel like this after a long time. It feels like meeting an old friend from the same neighborhood.”
If that’s the case, I’m more than welcome.
I could talk about Laviel all day.
“As you can see, I’m also a job seeker. You know how it is, right? Being a job seeker.”
“….”
“It’s not obvious from the outside, but during this period it’s hard to meet friends, there’s no money, and it’s lonely.”
“That’s true.”
“Meeting like this was a coincidence, but we’re in similar situations, right? I think you and I could be good job seeker mates.”
That’s just how job hunting is.
A time when you have to suppress your desires, endure uncertainty, and carry the burden of silent struggles alone.
A time when it’s hard to stand tall in front of others.
Feeling lonely in that process wasn’t something only I experienced.
“Job seeker mate… it’s the first time I’ve heard that, but I like it. I’m all for it.”
A job seeker mate who goes to the same cafe every day.
It would be nice to share the struggles that only job seekers understand.
A sudden friend of sorts. A colleague of the opposite sex. Without realizing it, my heart felt a slight flutter.
“But are you sure about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought talking about Laviel with me might be tiring for you.”
“Why?”
“I tend to talk endlessly whenever Laviel comes up. Sometimes I lose control, and my friends tell me off.”
A typical trait of an otaku, or perhaps just a habit of someone who’s a bit socially awkward.
When something they like comes up, they get excited and start talking a lot.
I worried that the same might happen during our conversations.
Then she smiled softly and replied with a cute expression.
“Don’t worry, Ijun.”
“….”
“I’m just as much of a Laviel fan as you are. You might be the one who needs to brace yourself.”
After the cafe closed, Seorin returned to her one-room apartment.
As she entered the small, dark room and turned on the lights, she felt a sense of relief that the day had ended safely.
She untied the ash-purple hair she had tied up for studying, letting it fall down to her waist.
She tossed her bag somewhere carelessly and decided to fill her empty stomach.
“Maybe I’ll just have ramen for dinner.”
She hadn’t gone grocery shopping in a while, so there was likely nothing in the fridge.
Living alone in Seoul meant money disappeared just by breathing.
For Seorin, who wasn’t working part-time and was living off her savings, ordering delivery was out of the question.
She filled a pot with water, turned on the stove, and sprinkled in the ramen seasoning as she muttered,
“…So there were still fans left.”
Seorin had once been a solo VTuber under the name Laviel.
And it had already been a year since she graduated due to real-life circumstances.
After graduating as a VTuber, she tried to find work related to music, moving around here and there, but nothing worked out.
Eventually, she gave everything up and shifted her focus to preparing for civil service exams a few months ago to make a living realistically.
But then, at the cafe where she was studying, she happened to hear her own song playing.
At first, she approached to ask him to lower the volume.
But upon realizing it was her own song, she unconsciously became curious and started talking to him.
It couldn’t be helped that she was surprised.
A small VTuber barely maintaining around 100 viewers.
She had released quite a few cover songs and original tracks despite not having much money.
So discovering that someone was still listening to her songs a year after her graduation was quite shocking.
“In the first place, this is the first time I’ve met one of my fans in person.”
Given the nature of being a VTuber, it was difficult for her to meet people who even knew her in real life.
Meeting someone who genuinely liked her in reality made her feel excited and curious at first.
And seeing that he still remembered her made her heart race.
But as she talked with him, Seorin began to feel increasingly apologetic.
…Because she was no longer Laviel.
In a corner of the room, she noticed the broadcasting equipment hastily packed into a cardboard box.
The soundproof booth had long been removed from her cramped room, but she hadn’t been able to throw away those items.
Maybe she would use them again someday.
Or perhaps she could sell them secondhand.
Thinking that way, she had left them untouched for a year.
“I had forgotten…”
Talking with him brought back memories.
They were truly happy times for her.
And knowing that they had been just as meaningful to her fan made her feel both rewarded and bittersweet.
But it was enjoyable.
Talking about Laviel, in any form, was enjoyable.
Just as she had told him, she too had loved Laviel deeply.
“He was a good person. Mr. Ijun.”
He sincerely wished for her to do well even after her graduation.
At that moment, Seorin almost cried in front of him.
She barely held it in and pretended to be fine.
But she couldn’t help feeling drawn to someone who had cherished and loved her that much.
She had often wondered during her broadcasts what her viewers were like in real life.
So now, after graduating, if she could get closer to a fan who didn’t know her identity…
She felt like it wouldn’t be a bad idea to become friends with him as Laviel.
“Maybe being friends would be okay?”
That was why she had casually suggested becoming job seeker mates.
Perhaps it would be fine to occasionally talk about Laviel during breaks.
She carried the finished ramen to the table and sat down.
Then she turned her head and looked at a plush toy placed in her room.
A heartfelt gift from a fan she had received through her fan site during her VTuber days.
A pink rabbit plush that had arrived on the day of her one-year anniversary stream.
It had long since become her most treasured possession.
“I wonder how that person is doing.”
Laviel Baragi.
The viewer who had donated the most and spent the most time watching her streams.
From her debut stream through all three years, they never missed a single broadcast.
They listened to her worries when she struggled, laughed with her when she was happy.
From her early, unknown days to the day she graduated.
They always supported her, saying they would stay by her side no matter what and that she had brought them happiness.
Because her viewer count wasn’t large, she remembered the nicknames of her fans one by one.
And among them, the viewer she was most grateful for was Laviel Baragi.
Feeling that person cross her mind today for some reason, she turned off the stove.
“I wonder if Mr. Ijun could be Laviel Baragi…”
She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
There was no way such a coincidence could exist.
Meeting a viewer who remembered her after a year was already a coincidence.
The chance that it was her most cherished viewer was far too low.
Though she had briefly felt that his manner of speaking and overall atmosphere seemed somewhat similar.
“Ah, no way. What am I even imagining.”
At the time, she simply dismissed it as a foolish thought.