A Pearl Necklace on a Pig's Neck

When I said it, Cheon Do-hee didn’t take me seriously at first. She probably thought it was just another one of my usual jokes. Given how I never hesitate to try anything, she simply chuckled and assumed I was exaggerating again.

“You’re going to turn on a stream by yourself?”

“If I have to, I will. What’s the big deal?”

But even after hearing those words, she couldn’t keep smiling. The sincerity that had just flashed across my face left her with only one clear impression: confusion. Why is she worrying about something like this?

Do-hee was stunned. Every decision she’d made until now had been based on the assumption that I hated streaming. But maybe that assumption had been wrong from the very beginning. Even though I had shown some potential by jumping into Dora’s broadcast, she had thought I was only doing it to accommodate her. Was she mistaken? …Did I really have zero reluctance about streaming?

This time… I can’t dodge it.

Ever since my resignation comment, Cheon Do-hee had been treading carefully around me. But she couldn’t afford to do that now. A sharp instinct told her that if she didn’t charge forward this time, she would regret it.

“Are you serious? I thought you hated going on stream.”

“…When did I ever say that?”

I had been grinning, but when I saw Do-hee’s hardened expression, I quietly lowered the corners of my mouth.

“The mood suddenly got heavy… Anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever specifically said I dislike streaming.”

“Remember when I casually asked you about it? What did you say… Oh, right. You told me that if I asked you to become a VTuber, you would. What exactly did you say back then?”

I frowned. I had already given her the answer at the time.

“I said I’d do it if you told me to.”

“…Ah.”

Do-hee slapped her forehead and hung her head.

“Okay, that’s true, but… didn’t you politely decline right after?”

“Because even if I said yes, I didn’t think you would actually debut me. Debuting someone who isn’t qualified? The boss I know would never do that. That’s why I phrased it that way.”

In other words, Do-hee had been running in circles all by herself. The problem was that I didn’t always speak with complete sincerity either. After all, I was a long-time fan of hers. There are almost no fans who can flatly refuse something their oshi asks for. And Do-hee wasn’t just my oshi—she was also my boss. So she pressed me one more time. She wanted to hear my true feelings.

“Stop beating around the bush. Can you be honest with me? If you had to debut, what would make you not want to do it?”

But I had never actually thought about it. If I were to debut, it would only happen because the boss decided I was qualified. And if the boss gave the order, I would follow without question.

“Just a moment. I’ve never really considered it before…”

Still, since the boss was asking me directly, I had to give a proper answer. After a brief moment of thought, this was what I came up with.

“I don’t think I’d be able to stream if I had to stop watching other people’s streams. I enjoy watching broadcasts much more than doing them myself.”

Do-hee looked puzzled. She had expected reasons related to singing, dancing, or variety shows. Of course, after seeing me do impressions and rap, she knew I wasn’t completely talentless in those areas. But usually, those were the first things people worried about, weren’t they?

“…What about singing or dancing? Are you okay with that?”

“I think those would improve if I learned them properly. The first generation kids weren’t all good at singing and dancing from the start, right? Some were good at singing, others at dancing.”

I was only stating obvious facts. In reality, after passing the audition, the first generation had spent about three months in a training camp receiving all kinds of lessons like entertainment agency trainees. Vocal and dance training continued even now while they were actively streaming.

…Anyway, that one little snowball I had thrown with my resignation comment had grown into an avalanche. All the missteps Do-hee had made until now came rushing back, heating her face with embarrassment.

“Just so there’s no misunderstanding from what I said earlier, let me make this clear. I have no intention of giving you any orders related to debuting. Any broadcasting-related tasks I assign you in the future will be purely work-related requests, not attempts to debut you. Do you understand?”

Of course, I was completely bewildered. I hadn’t been thinking much of anything, but Do-hee had suddenly turned serious, lowering her voice and acting all strict and solemn. I wondered why she was acting like this today of all days. Still, even if I thought that, I listened with complete seriousness. Whenever the boss spoke about work, I became a diligent employee.

When I kept nodding, Do-hee continued.

“However. If, by any chance, you ever truly want to debut as a VTuber, tell me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

I let out a small laugh.

“I doubt that will ever happen, but… yes, I understand.”

With that, the complicated tangle of thoughts between us was finally sorted out. The moment her worries disappeared, Cheon Do-hee immediately brought up the topic of the model.

She had been hesitating to mention it to me directly out of fear it would feel like debut pressure. But now that we had confirmed each other’s thoughts, she could speak freely. After all, while she was a boss who worried about me, she was also an ambitious businesswoman.

“Then let’s get back to work… When you participate in tomorrow’s civil war, let’s use the model I prepared.”

When I had appeared on Dora’s stream, I wasn’t an officially invited guest, so we had glossed over it. But this time, I would be appearing as Parallel’s representative in place of its CEO, Momo, who had been formally invited by MoovGun. We needed an iconic face—a model—to represent the company.

This was to honor the unspoken agreement between the fans and the agency. The fans would enjoy Parallel’s world as it was, and the company would avoid anything that broke immersion in that world. It was a natural consideration for anyone running a VTuber business.

I nodded immediately.

“Because it’s official, right?”

“Exactly. You don’t need to turn on your own stream, but tomorrow you’ll be representing our company.”

“Understood. But did you already prepare something? This is the first I’m hearing about a model.”

“It’s that fan art Dora said she would draw. She said it would be finished today.”

I counted on my fingers. It had only been four days since the topic first came up.

“Wait. No wonder she’s been yawning so much during her streams lately. Don’t tell me Dora stayed up all night drawing?”

When Do-hee nodded, I immediately sent a DingTalk message to Dora like the manager I was.

“Don’t scold her too much. She did it because she likes you.”

“Even so. The person who should be prioritizing streaming is losing sleep over fan art for an employee. And if she ends up being late, I’ll have to go in her place again.”

Ah, so that was the real issue? Do-hee burst into laughter, genuinely amused for the first time in a while.

“Ahahaha…!! So, aren’t you curious how the fan art turned out?”

“I know Dora’s skill level, so I’m sure it’s well-drawn. Besides, is my model even that important? People reacting to the first generation’s new song teaser is far more important…”

“That’s true. You’re right about that.”

Most people would probably flock in just to see me. Quite a few had been drawn in by the fireworks show that started with MoovGun’s sniping. On top of that, the sudden reveal of my model would drag every starving fan who had been deprived by Parallel’s unscheduled break straight into MoovGun’s stream. We had originally expected around twenty thousand viewers, but this could easily push it to thirty thousand—or even beyond. It was a number that was rarely seen unless something truly special was happening.

“A ton of people are going to show up tomorrow. Aren’t you nervous?”

Even if I got scared and ran away at this point, Do-hee would have understood. She herself had felt so nervous the first time her viewer count broke ten thousand that she had almost hyperventilated. But I simply let out a small laugh, as if it were no big deal. Whether thirty thousand or fifty thousand showed up, they were still just viewers. As a six-year hardcore fan, six-year anti-fan, and five-year manager, viewers were basically friends to me. Sometimes they were mischievous and never listened, but they were friends who shared the same hobby of VTubing.

“Well… no matter how many tens of thousands there are, they’re all my fellow fans.”

That evening, Dora called before she started her stream.

“Yes. Just a moment.”

She had really finished the illustration in less than a week. They say artists burn with far more passion when drawing fan art than when doing paid commissions—though that was just my personal theory—and it seemed that was why she had worked so quickly.

“Opening it…”

I downloaded the file from my inbox and tilted my head.

“Isn’t this a character sheet? Dora-nim, I think you sent the wrong file by mistake.”

It was a full character sheet with front, back, and side views, plus individual parts separated out—the kind usually prepared for a VTuber about to debut. My eyes were immediately drawn to the character wearing a large witch hat.

The eyes were a slightly brighter blue than my real ones. The eye shape was similar, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the clear mischief at the corners of the mouth was unmistakable. She was crouching like a small animal, gripping a broom with both hands. Even the long hair tied in low twin tails made her look even cuter.

She looks strangely like me…

Whatever the case, it was an appearance that caught the eye. If I had to describe the impact, it felt like getting hit by a 2.5-ton truck. It was exactly the same feeling I had when I first saw the first generation’s illustrations.

For a brief moment I thought that since the boss liked to balance out the flat and glamorous types, this would be perfect for a second generation flat-chest archetype. Then Dora spoke.

I blinked several times and looked at the character again. She really did resemble me. …No, now that I looked closer, she was blatantly modeled after me. Even though I looked in the mirror every day to get used to my cuter appearance, I hadn’t noticed the similarity.

“Fan art? This?”

Dora began explaining as if making excuses.

A legendary situation had occurred. I had been run over by my own model. But there was nothing particularly wrong with that. There was nothing wrong with a hardcore otaku getting hooked on a pretty model, right?

Well, it’s a shame.

I did want to see this character I had put so much effort into come to life and move around. But asking someone else to use an illustration I had received as a gift on their stream was out of the question. All I could do was offer a silent prayer for it. If only she had met someone other than me, she could have reached much greater heights…

“Anyway, thank you, Dora-nim. You didn’t have to put this much effort in. I’ll make good use of it tomorrow.”

“The best thing would be if you stopped playing horror games, though.”

After she abruptly ended the call, I examined the character sheet from every angle again. It really was cute. Maybe because it was drawn with Dora’s sincere feelings, the small details were perfectly captured. Especially the outfit. A petite girl wearing an office lady-style slit skirt created an ironically cute effect. The oversized witch hat and robe that didn’t quite fit only emphasized the clumsy witch concept.

“…Ugh. This is such a waste.”

To think this treasure would end up on my neck. It was like putting a pearl necklace on a pig. But what could I do? I hadn’t expected Dora to go all out like this. Still, since she had put her heart into making it, I should use it whenever I appeared on stream.

Other than sending my model in advance, there wasn’t much preparation needed for the stream. I just had to keep an eye on MoovGun’s broadcast from the pre-joined talk room and enter when invited. There was nothing to memorize. Although I would be participating from the company’s solo broadcasting room, I had deliberately brought the mouse I used at home, so there would be no issues with gameplay. Still, just in case, I practiced at the range—firing the shotgun, running through smoke screens. The mouse moved well, the sensitivity felt good, the keyboard responded perfectly, and my movement was solid.

I just hope the team luck is on my side.

The best scenario was obviously ending up on a different team from MoovGun. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If we were on the same team, my presence might be overshadowed by his. But if I managed to take down MoovGun while tens of thousands of people were watching? And if my ID was “FirstGen1stAnniversarySongNovember5thRelease”?

The release date of the anniversary song would be burned into everyone’s minds. I, the Parallel employee who defeated MoovGun. Put it all together: Parallel First Generation 1st Anniversary Song November 5th Grand Reveal!

“Perfect.”

Team selection was up to luck, but if the God of Promotion was listening, couldn’t he do something just for today? I clasped my hands together and prayed for a promotional jackpot. At that moment, a call came through the civil war talk room chat.

[MoovGun: StaffD-nim, please stand by]

[StaffD: Yes]

After waiting a moment, MoovGun showed an empty seat in the waiting room and began introducing me to the viewers.

[Alright everyone, as you can see on screen, today we have twenty-three people instead of twenty-four. You know what that means, right?]

[Alright, alright, don’t rush me. I’m about to introduce them. Let’s see… First, this is what they look like.]

My model was revealed first. It was the version among the ones Dora had carefully drawn that best captured the office worker image. Instead of the witch hat and robe, I was wearing an employee ID badge. A small, cute office worker appeared on screen.

[Have you all gotten a little familiar with today’s guest? Are there any Parallel fans in the chat?]

[Oh dear. Even the fans don’t seem to recognize her? Can’t be helped. Let’s bring her in and have her introduce herself.]

It was time. I calmly joined the voice chat. After a quick mic test, I asked MoovGun.

“Ah ah. Can you hear me?”

The chat’s reaction was like stepping into the eye of a storm—completely silent. But that silence was only temporary. Soon, letters began stacking up like a tower reaching toward the sky.