Why Is Employee D Showing Up There...?

I wondered why Employee D was showing up there of all places. I considered explaining the situation to the security guard and bringing her into the monitoring room where I was staying. But on second thought, letting her sleep inside the company might invite all sorts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of complicated talk about special treatment and exceptions. Staying overnight at a PC bang wasn't ideal either—if she threw out her back while sleeping, that would be a problem. There weren't any jjimjilbangs nearby. After weighing my options, I decided to take her to a 24-hour room café close by. The floors had heating, there were plenty of blankets and cushions, and it seemed decent enough for catching some sleep.

After paying the fee in advance and stepping into the room, Seung-yeon, who had been waiting inside, spoke up.

This was only my second visit. The first time had probably been with the boss. Before we leased the office in the Galaxy Building, we had come to scout the location. The timing was awkward, so we stopped by for a bit—I remembered it that way. The boss, who had pulled an all-nighter for a broadcast the day before, wanted to catch about an hour of sleep. I let the boss rest in the room and watched VChuVChu's stream productively from outside the door. The colossal ship of VChuVChu—Sango Livia and the other VChu members—still lingered in my memory. I'm a Wolf. It was a legendary masterpiece born from a reinterpretation of the mafia game. That time when Livia dropped a chandelier and took out three people for a massive comeback—.

"Um... Mazia-nim?"

"Ah."

There was someone right beside me, yet I had slipped into a nostalgic trip down memory lane without realizing it. I offered a small smile and guided Seung-yeon.

"Please rest here until tomorrow's interview time. Feel free to use the facilities if you want. I've already covered all the fees."

"Ugh. Thank you so much. I showed up way too early and caused all this trouble..."

"It's better than showing up late."

If she had come late, the boss would have turned into a double-eyepatched demon and chased her off for being unprepared. Had I mentioned it before? People who arrived drunk. People who were late. Even after barely passing the document and video rounds, their interview opportunity was revoked. The boss had never once been late during her active broadcasting days—this was the pre-Parallel founding standard—so she probably still applied that bar now. Even Dora, who was frequently late these days, had been an elite who passed the boss's strict standards cleanly back then. I also believed there was nothing wrong with setting the bar high.

"Anyway, I'll be in the next room catching some sleep. If you need anything, just knock on the door to wake me."

"Yes...! Thank you...!"

With that, I entered the adjacent room, locked the door, and immediately laid out a cushion. I needed to sleep too. That way I could handle tomorrow's interview. This unexpected engagement had pushed my sleep time back by a full thirty minutes....

Yet as I closed my eyes and tried to let my consciousness drift, a small sound drifted in from the next room.

I recognized it instantly. It was footage from Find the Rain, the event I had participated in at the beginning of this month.

I already knew Seung-yeon was a big fan of Parallel's streams. ...Still, it was a bit surprising that she was watching edited clips instead of sleeping when her interview was only a few hours away.

Will she be fine without sleep?

I had said it multiple times already, but it was acceptable if she stumbled over her words or spoke awkwardly. After all, eloquence wasn't crucial for the work I did. However, showing up to the interview with bloodshot eyes would be pushing it.

Well, she'll manage somehow.

She must have been truly desperate to come all the way here at this hour. I believed that same desperation would help her show her best side tomorrow.

"...No way."

In truth, Gong Seung-yeon also felt the need for sleep. But she couldn't stop replaying the voice of her benefactor who had taken her in instead of leaving her alone in the building hallway and even provided a place to stay. It sounded somehow familiar. It resembled a child's voice, yet carried a subtle adult nuance. So she immediately went to Rain's Newtube channel and watched two videos. Then she rewatched Dora's Pandemic Village footage. Finally, she quickly binged Komari's "Hold Back the Advice" content, and certainty settled in.

"Is it really Employee D...?"

The distinctive voice had made her suspicious from the first meeting. The more she mulled it over, the more it matched Employee D. Hadn't she always said she was dying from overwork—? It was a little scary to stay until 2 a.m. in a dark office, but still.

"The face... really looks just like her."

In the last video she played—Komari's "Hold Back the Advice" content—the only moving part was Employee D's flat face. Between that and the real-life Employee D she had met, the only difference was 2D versus 3D. After all, for a while there had been a Shorts trend of using drawing AI to turn 2D illustrations into semi-realistic versions. There were plenty of differences if you examined them closely. But the blue-tinted hair, the bright eyes, the key points that defined the impression were identical. It felt like feeding Employee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠D's flat face into an AI would produce a semi-realistic image that looked exactly like Mazia.

What surprised her was that Gong Seung-yeon—a die-hard 2D lover—had felt a slight flutter toward the real-life Employee D. Even though it was an unrigged flat face, the appearance was enough to move even Seung-yeon, who had little interest in 3D. That was her first impression of the person called Mazia.

"There's no way we'll end up working together... right?"

Seung-yeon had already forgotten that Mazia had been guarding the company until 2 a.m. After all, wasn't Employee D currently at the center of every recent topic among Parallel fans? So many people wanted her to stream properly, yet she stubbornly maintained her mysterious aura, driving everyone insane with curiosity. And that person was going to be her senior?

"No way. No way. No way. Wow. If it's real, wow."

Anyway, the important thing was tomorrow's interview. A person needed sleep to speak coherently. Seung-yeon set her alarm and closed her eyes, determined to show everything she had prepared at the interview.

"H-hello..."

"Welcome, Seung-yeon. Please take a seat."

Following Cheon Do-hee's guidance, Seung-yeon sat down, but her eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck. She had run countless simulations, but she had never once imagined a scenario where Mazia would be one of the interviewers!

What? Was her position way higher than I thought...?!

In the center sat Momo, who was clearly the boss. The middle-aged man on the right was staring at Seung-yeon with a murderous glare. A regular employee sitting in on an interview like this? That didn't make sense. The voice had sounded young and youthful, and since she had stayed at the company until that late hour, Seung-yeon had naturally assumed the position was low. Perhaps that assumption had been completely wrong. In short, a girl hiding her true power. That might have been Mazia.

Uh... I didn't make any mistakes yesterday, right...? I shouldn't have...?

While Seung-yeon's mind spun in confusion, Cheon Do-hee, who had been fiddling with the resume, spoke.

"First, please give us a one-minute self-introduction."

"Yes!"

Still, she had to pull herself together. This was the interview of a lifetime. Seung-yeon gave her head a light shake and began reciting her prepared lines like a machine.

"Hello, my name is Gong Seung-yeon. I graduated from Junglim University's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering this summer and am currently preparing for employment. My hobbies are watching Parallel streams and participating in chats. My specialty is fixing broken electronic devices. I applied because I want to help the cherished idols of Parallel's first generation—and the future generations who will join them! Thank you!"

The moment she heard those words, Do-hee smiled.

"You fix electronic devices? Yourself?"

"Ah. Yes. Things like my friends' phones or tablets. If they suddenly wouldn't turn on, I'd fix them sometimes. I used Newtube, Google, and GPT for help..."

"That's impressive. What do you think, Manager?"

Mazia, seated to Cheon Do-hee's right, blinked once before speaking in a clear, crisp voice.

"Repairs can be handled by professional after-service or simply replaced with new purchases, so it's not particularly important. Recognizing the cause of a malfunction or identifying the faulty equipment quickly is far more valuable."

"...Ah."

"I'll ask one specific question. Suppose a broadcast that was transmitting smoothly suddenly crashes. You have to go fix it, Seung-yeon. Excluding travel time, can you identify the cause and resolve it within ten minutes of arriving at the broadcasting setup?"

Mazia's voice was certainly similar to yesterday and today. However, the burden of realizing Mazia held a much higher position than expected, combined with the worry that she might have been inconvenienced by the late-night visit, pressed down on Seung-yeon like an enormous weight. But she had to overcome it. While her main motivation was wanting to help the other members, Seung-yeon also genuinely wanted to work alongside Employee D.

"Yes. If it's not a major issue, I believe I can manage it within ten minutes. However, if the equipment completely fails, I will make a proper announcement and take full responsibility to protect the VTuber! Of course, I think the most important thing is preventing such issues from occurring in the first place. If I am given this role, I will minimize related problems through regular inspections!"

Mazia's lips twitched. Then she asked another question.

"Since you watch the streams often, you know they mostly happen late at night. If an issue arises after you've gone home following an unavoidable situation, what would you do?"

She had tried to look intimidating to apply some pressure, but she simply came across as a pouty girl. However, because Seung-yeon mistakenly believed Mazia held a high rank, her answer was exceptionally sincere.

"I would immediately contact the members, rush over, fix it, and restore the broadcast."

"Even if that time is three or four in the morning, a late-night hour like that?"

"The members' streams run until late at night, so I consider that perfectly natural!"

At those words, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mazia nodded with a smile.

"Not bad."

That smile was... quite cute.

...No, this is not the time for those thoughts. Pull yourself together.

Calling a superior cute? What was she thinking during an interview? While Seung-yeon lightly shook her head, Cheon Do-hee threw out the next question.

"Then I'd like to hear about your motivation for applying. We already know you like Parallel, so we'll skip ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that. I want to know how you came to like us and why you want to work here."

She took a deep breath. Seung-yeon had prepared a very long speech for this part—because this was the story she most wanted to tell.

"Parallel is my sanctuary. I still remember it clearly. I was completely worn out while preparing for my graduation exams. That's when I happened to hear Komari's cover of Top of the Top. It really was pure coincidence. I had only stopped by the PC bang briefly for research, but the part-timer had it playing."

"I learned some Japanese from a young age, so I could understand the lyrics. Hearing lines like 'Don't be scared, don't worry, be brave'—and on top of that, delivered in Komari's powerful voice—made courage well up inside me. Until then, studying for the exams had been so exhausting that I was thinking of half-assing it and giving up. But after listening to the song, my motivation surged like an erupting volcano."

The appearance of such splendid metaphors made the HR manager swallow a chuckle. It was rare for a new applicant to deliver everything she wanted to say without freezing up, and her words were genuinely entertaining.

"So after that day, I decided that if an opportunity came to make use of my major in electrical and electronic engineering, I would join Parallel without fail. No matter how difficult or grueling the work might be, I would do anything for the members. This application is the result of that decision. If you give me the chance, I will do my absolute best in whatever role I'm assigned!"

A heart that truly loved something would convey that feeling even without words. Perhaps that was why Mazia gave a small nod and asked,

"Your love for Komari really comes through. Are you perhaps a Komari oshi?"

"Ah, yes! I'm a Golden Leaf!"

"Wow, you must have donated quite a lot, then?"

"Ehehe. It's a bit embarrassing, but... about five million won over ten months..."

"Where did you get that kind of money? Isn't this your first time job hunting?"

"I worked every long-term and short-term part-time job I could find. To send Komari a message of support, that much was necessary."

"Then have you seen Komari's recent 'Hold Back the Advice' broadcast?"

"Ah." Seung-yeon's expression quickly turned gloomy. "I was busy preparing for the interview, so I only watched the edited version..."

"That's too bad. Still, it's good you watched the edited version at least."

"Yes...! It was nice seeing a lot of sides of her I hadn't seen before! Especially when Employee D's avatar moved, she kept trying to hold back bad words and ended up repeating the same roundabout phrases over and over. It was such a rare mistake for the smart Komari that it was genuinely hilarious..."

"Right, that part was funny. Did you watch the Rubber Duck House stream the next day?"

"I was worried about Komari's mental state. The number of clip submissions that day alone exceeded a thousand. Most of them were clips I already knew, but since Komari was seeing many of them for the first time, she had a total meltdown."

"So, did you send any clips that day?"

".........No."

Mazia didn't miss the way Seung-yeon's answer dragged out.

"You really didn't send any?"

After staring at the floor and agonizing for a long moment, Seung-yeon answered vigorously.

"...Actually, I sent fifty-one!"

A brief silence. Then Mazia kicked her chair back, stood up, and shouted.