The Boss's Sinister Grin
The closing concert took place the very next day after Wicker Town ended. It was a success. Even though there had been forced duets on YouTube before, this was the first time anyone had actually sung together live. The symbolism alone drew extra attention. The hastily assembled collab song racked up three hundred thousand concurrent viewers, even though it was performed as an in-game concert without any 3D modeling. I had worried someone might mess up under the pressure, but everyone finished cleanly without any major mistakes.
… ─ — Pazizik Gallery — ─ …
… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …
There were a few things that could have gone better, but the gallery reaction—the biggest community on Pazizik—was positive overall. Today, the day after, the president had been in a good mood the entire time while hosting the Christmas party at her place. The members were busy as usual, praising each other, laughing, and making noise. Still, even in a situation like this, someone had to give healthy feedback. Dropping a single calm fact while everyone else was smiling had always been my role. After all, a broadcaster's fate is unpredictable. Someone who spent three years with only a hundred average viewers could suddenly shoot to stardom overnight, and someone you thought would break through the clouds and reach the stars in a year could suddenly cause an incident and crash.
“You did well this year, but you know there were plenty of mistakes too, right? The president was in a good mood today so she let it slide, but I'm reminding you so you don't forget.”
The kids who had been about to head home after the four-hour party pointed at each other, giggling. “Reminder? What's that?” “It means don't be an idiot, you stone.” “Not idiot, remember.” “Pfft……” “Anyway, all that's left is to climb even higher. Keep doing your best. I'll keep supporting you with everything I've got, just like now.”
The members swarmed me and restarted that native tribe ritual from before. … What exactly was the point of surrounding me and spinning around like that? I still wasn't used to everyone treating me so casually. Maybe I used to give off the kind of vibe that made people keep their distance. From today until the start of the new year, everyone would be busy with their own schedules. We'd see each other at the year-end party, but it would be chaotic with everyone running around meeting people, so I gave my New Year's greetings early.
“Anyway, you all worked hard. Let's do our best next year too.”
Maru reached out and gently patted my cheek. “You worked hard this year too, Jia. Let's keep it up next year!” The others followed with their own greetings. “Congrats on getting a year older!” “You really worked your butt off, unnie. Thanks so much for everything this year.” “Jia-nim! Hehe, me~rry Christmas! Thank you so much for this year~”
After waving the girls off as they got into their taxis, I shivered from the cold—having only worn a light outfit—and hurried straight into the apartment entrance. When I returned to the president's place, she had already roughly cleared the table and asked, “Did the kids all leave?” “Yes. I watched them get into the taxis.” “They probably didn't eat properly because of Wicker Town. I never thought they'd clear out this much food.”
Up until the eighth day I had been running the command center and periodically kicking them off to sleep, but from the ninth day onward I hadn't been able to manage them properly because of the Demon King RP. Still, they seemed to have gone to bed on their own whenever they had time. It was hard to take breaks in a large-scale server like that because people felt like they were losing out if they logged off. A very Korean trait. After all, we're the crazy race that thinks we absolutely cannot fall behind others. Rain had been pretty casual about it, but I hadn't expected even Dora to get that absorbed in alchemy. Later I found out she had dragged all the competing alchemists under her and become the grand alchemist, raising prices and getting into power struggles with other professions to the point she was almost dragged into court. So that potion she slipped me hadn't been for nothing. She had been laying groundwork in case she needed to side with me. It made me add one more piece of evidence to my suspicion that Dora, who always got called a rock or an idiot, might actually be a genius.
Anyway, the Christmas party I had been dragged into by the president was over. After helping clean up, it was time for me to head home too. I put the cushions the members had scattered while watching movies back in place, straightened the misaligned table, turned off the TV, and returned to the president's side as she washed the dishes. “I'll do it.” “You won't reach without a step stool, you know?” Two months ago I wouldn't have backed down, but now I was used to my small height and retreated with a sulky expression. This kind of chore was supposed to be my job. Having to just stand there and watch the president wash dishes felt a little painful. But I was an expert at finding hidden tasks, so I eventually found something I could do. Wiping the table! The president had been so focused on the dishes that she hadn't gotten to it yet. As I wiped the table with a damp cloth, I noticed Rain's spot was especially messy. Another story to tell the fans during the monthly review. I kept wiping until the entire table was gleaming, but before long the president snatched the dirty cloth away. A hand came flying in from a height I couldn't see, and the cloth was taken from me all too easily. She rinsed the cloth in the sink and asked, “By the way, is there anyone you want to meet at the year-end party? If there is, I'll make the connection even if it's a bit much.”
Someone I wanted to meet. I hadn't really thought about that. Ideally, I'd like to meet big names on Pazizik and build deep connections that I could pass on to the members. And if I was going to meet people, it would be good to focus on ground the president hadn't fully secured yet. Since she was more of an expert in this area than I was, it wouldn't be efficient for me to just follow her around. ‘The Batyu side is a bit uncomfortable because of Taro…’ The first and second gen members of Rapits had already done a collab, so getting closer would be good. I had become somewhat friendly with Ronze, Roofkr, and Kamik from I'm a Wolf, but we weren't close enough to suddenly suggest collabs or content, so getting closer there would be good too. The crazy dogs who hung out with Roofkr were probably the main targets. The former pro gamer legion on MoovGun's side was tempting, but I passed on that since I just didn't like MoovGun. Ah, right. I couldn't leave out Keugaemang, the three-million-subscriber Pazizik veteran, and the Makgeolli Crew he led. They were older, so I wasn't sure how well they'd accept VTubers, but they hadn't shown any discomfort when interacting with the members on the server. ‘Is that about it…?’ The president was such a social butterfly that there weren't many candidates. Even the ones I had carefully selected were all around or well over a million subscribers. If I tried to chase too many rabbits and ended up with none, that would be a disaster. And since I wasn't in a position to lead the conversation…… I needed to prepare so I could keep the conversation going when the president introduced me. I should watch the streams of the people I was targeting and do my best to build rapport. The Makgeolli Crew was probably the one I needed to focus on the most? The president seemed a bit intimidated by them compared to the others. “I'd like the Makgeolli Crew.” “Oh. I wanted to catch up with the uncles too. Perfect timing.” “Have you talked to them properly before?” “We exchange greetings every year when we meet, but they're such old guys that it's hard for me to match their interests.” “I figured as much.” “Anyway, if there are other people you're curious about besides the Makgeolli Crew, tell me right away. I've already met about eighty percent of the people who'll be there.”
I could see once again just how hard the president worked at networking. She really lived diligently. … The problem was that it made her stream less often. I worried every day about how to get her to stream more, but nothing useful came to mind. I was only worried about what would happen after the second generation joined. Right now she streamed two or three times a week, but once the new members debuted she'd probably only manage once a week while taking care of the rookies. Aigoo, aigoo. The Mongmongs were all going to wither and die. * * * Of course, even if the Mongmongs withered and died, I would be fine. Who was the person who had the right to go shopping alone with the president on a Tuesday afternoon? That would be me. And it wasn't just shopping—we could also see the president in casual clothes. At the company she always wore formal attire, a pantsuit with a jacket, but when she went to a PC bang or shopping mall like this, her outfits were much more varied. The president arrived with two minutes to spare, and today's coordination was excellent. It was the kind of outfit that deserved praise. As expected, winter called for a padded sweater and jeans. When I nodded with narrowed eyes like a critic, the president chuckled and asked, “You look like a fashion show judge.” “The clothes make it impossible not to evaluate them.” “Really? I just wore what I usually do.” The president said that and then stared at me intently. “More importantly, you changed your clothes, right? You're not wearing the same thing you wore two days ago, are you?”
Ever since I started living as Mazia, my fashion sense had completely inherited the style of this body. Going out to buy clothes was a hassle and a waste of time. Time that could be spent watching more streams. After two months of living like that, it had simply become my style. For work I rotated the same brand's dress shirts (with slight differences in decoration, though they were basically the same) and skirts. My casual clothes were also fixed by season. For cold winter days like these, I wore a fleece hoodie that covered two-thirds of my body and fleece leggings. “I changed everything except the coat and scarf.” “The colors were so similar I wasn't sure.” “I have multiple sets of the same design. I don't rotate the exact same clothes.” “Good. That's a relief……” So that was how I was being evaluated. Without realizing it, had I been dragging down the average of the president's Mongmong fandom……? Well, I could start paying attention little by little from today. Even if I wore the same clothes to work, I should add some variation to my casual outfits. Since I didn't go out often, I didn't need too many sets. It would be good to have about three outfits per season. But I knew absolutely nothing about clothes. Even the seasonal outfits I rotated were the pinnacle of simplicity. So the best I could do was get recommendations from the stylish president. “I don't know much about clothes, so I'll buy whatever you coordinate.” “… Really? I can add my own taste?” “Yes. I don't know what anything is anyway.” “Hmm. Really…?” The president looked me up and down, then pursed her lips and started searching something on her phone. Then, with a sinister smile I had never seen before, she said, “You said it, right? That you'll leave everything to me?”