Me? Why Me?

The next day, at four in the afternoon. Just as I finished getting ready for the year-end party, my phone rang. It was Seung-yeon, who had been resting at home.

“Really?”

“VChu KR is… never mind. Anyway, got it. I'll tell you everything tomorrow and the day after. Since you'll be working hard through the end of the year and into the new one, make sure you get plenty of rest.”

Somehow, the person staying behind seemed more excited than the one actually going. Still, no matter what anyone else thought, this was strictly a business trip and a work meeting for me. I needed to get serious. A lot was riding on this.

I slipped my phone into my coat pocket and shoved my feet into the dress shoes I'd left by the front door. These were the ones I'd bought to match my outfit, so today was my first time wearing them. I'd even stuck bandages on my heels in advance because I hated getting blisters. When heading out for work, you had to be fully prepared.

Click.

After locking the door and walking down from the entrance, the fierce December wind swept between my legs. It felt like the first snow would arrive soon, announcing the true beginning of winter. I watched my breath fog up and fade, then started walking toward the subway station… when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

“Yes, boss.”

“I don't want to be trapped in the car and tortured. I'll go on my own.”

It must have been on speakerphone, because the members immediately erupted.

“See you all later.”

I ended the call immediately. Even hearing it through the receiver was terrifying. After being thoroughly harassed by those four during the Christmas party a few days ago, I'd already exceeded my quota for first-generation members. Getting trapped in a car and verbally roasted again? That was pure hell.

An hour later, somewhere in Gangnam. The lobby of the large hotel was absolutely packed. Probably because ID verification was taking time, the line to enter the banquet hall—located deeper inside the building—stretched out like a snake. It kept growing without shrinking, to the point where it was actually obstructing people's movement.

Since I could only enter with the boss, I decided to wait in the hotel lobby. Even if it seemed boring, YouTube was always there to keep me company. And when I shifted my gaze around, there were surprisingly many things to look at.

First, familiar faces. It was already surprising to spot people I knew in a place like this, but even more so to see people I'd been playing with on the server just recently. The ones that immediately caught my eye were MoovGun, Ronze, Roofkr, and Kamik—four of them. The reason only the guys stood out was because I barely watched female cams. I only watched VTubers, and any red pill content got instantly erased from my memory, so I wouldn't know.

Anyway, I observed the people I knew for a bit…

Second, the stunningly beautiful women who drew the eye. Everyone had great style like the boss, so it was genuinely fun to watch. Ever since I'd shrunk, the burden of staring had disappeared, so I looked quite openly. Maybe because my appearance itself was harmless, whenever our eyes met, people would just chuckle softly. Even now, everyone who made eye contact with me would giggle and steal glances my way.

…They all smiled so prettily that it somehow put me in a good mood too. That person over there even came in some seriously high-quality cosplay. I should ask to take a photo with her later.

As I immersed myself in people-watching for a while, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

'It's not as uncomfortable as before.'

How long had it been since I'd been able to stand in a crowded place like this without worrying about anyone's gaze? I used to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have a habit of immediately looking for a corner in crowded spaces. Maybe hanging out with the boss and the members had boosted my confidence a bit, because I was standing quite far from any corners. Still, I couldn't deny that I was still relatively close to one.

Above all, it was a good thing I'd stayed hidden behind my avatar. If I'd turned on my cam and streamed, with fifty thousand people officially watching the broadcast in real time, surely some of them would have recognized me and come running.

Of course, that peace didn't last very long.

Roofkr, who had been chatting with his hyungs and dongsaengs in the lobby while glancing at the entrance line, suddenly looked my way. If that had been the end of it, fine. But he suddenly turned his head left and right, said something, and then both MoovGun and Ronze looked over too. Only Kamik, who wasn't particularly close to me yet, tilted his head in confusion.

Fortunately they didn't come over, but since the distance wasn't that far, I could clearly hear the chilling words Roofkr muttered.

“Isn't that Mazia?”

For once, MoovGun came to my rescue.

“This idiot really doesn't know anything about VTubers. Where in the world would someone make their avatar look exactly like their real face?”

“Is that so?”

If I'd shown even the slightest reaction, I would have been caught immediately. Wait, so what Iona said was true? That I was that easy to recognize? Dora had said she'd drawn my avatar to look like me. And when I saw it myself, I did think it resembled me… but still, recognizing me right away seemed ridiculous. Especially since I wasn't even wearing that office outfit from my avatar today.

Since I was anxious, I had to keep pretending I didn't know until the end. The moment I acted like I knew them, they'd swarm me. Of course, once the members arrived it would get revealed anyway. But having the members as a shield and not having one were two completely different things. In a large, crowded place, I could use my allies as cover to run and hide. Like playing Battle Colosseum. Take cover, shoot. Run, take cover.

After that, I naturally retreated to a corner and waited for about twenty minutes. The entrance line had shortened considerably, and the area in front of the door was gradually clearing up. The group of four that included MoovGun had grown to ten people at some point, and they passed through the now-empty entrance.

Thinking the boss should be arriving soon, I took out my phone and started heading that way when someone suddenly appeared right in front of me.

It wasn't angry enough to look furious, but the slightly upturned corners of her eyes clearly showed a strong personality. Her features were sharp and distinct overall, and her eyes—perhaps wearing colored contacts—were a violet hue. If I'd stopped there, I would have simply thought she was beautiful and moved on.

But then I saw the earring and realized.

A round character with + and - symbols attached like horns. Iona's fan character, “Plumadan,” was dangling from the hoop, swinging back and forth.

But since the other party had recognized me first, and a pizza was on the line, I kept my mouth shut for now. Then Iona spoke.

“Found you. It's you, right?”

“Who are you?”

“You're pretending not to know me right away.”

Iona whispered in my ear.

“It's Jia, isn't it? Even your voice is exactly like your fingerprint.”

Congratulations. The prize is a pineapple pizza, and you have no right to refuse.

“…I'll send you the pizza gift card when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I get home later.”

“Wow. I'll enjoy it.”

In truth, Iona had already been inside the year-end party venue for a while. However, even while her peers and juniors were each wandering around building connections, she periodically walked out to the lobby and kept staring near the entrance.

Because she had an important task.

Meeting Mazia.

At first, she'd simply planned to meet Iona alone to express her gratitude. But today, suddenly, on the way to the party, she'd received a call from the operations team leader.

Thanks to the mention of Rapits on the Wicker server, Serena had grown tremendously, and Rapits as a whole had benefited greatly. The company wanted to thank her on an official level. So she'd been constantly watching for when Jia would arrive. Since the team leader kept saying there was no time, it seemed best to show her face quickly and let her go about her business.

That's when she spotted it. Among the countless people, one person who was particularly small. Just in case, she called out—and the dry, office-worker tone that came back was unmistakably Mazia.

“Just how much detail did Maru give you?”

“It wasn't even that detailed… she just said you looked like your avatar?”

Mazia nodded as if that made sense. It seemed she acknowledged that she resembled her avatar.

“More importantly, your eye color is really fascinating. It looks foreign.”

“It's from my great-grandfather's genes.”

“Were you actually a foreigner?”

“I'm Korean. My great-grandfather was American.”

While they were having this brief conversation, the operations team leader—who had been waiting in the banquet hall—came running out, straightening his tie and clothes. Iona pointed at the operations team leader wearing thin-framed glasses.

“I'm sorry for the suddenness, but our operations team leader said he wanted to express his gratitude while he has the chance. I only received the call a little while ago, so I couldn't tell you in advance. Would it be alright if I introduce you right now?”

“Ah. Of course. But gratitude?”

“We received help on the Wicker server before. It's because of that.”

“I see.”

Mazia felt puzzled. She wondered if repeatedly mentioning the Rapits potions had really been something worthy of thanks. Or perhaps this was a warning about how she'd tormented Iona with her dark history in the Demon King Castle.

Still, in a way, this was a rare meeting between people in the same industry that was hard to arrange. Following the PR team leader's advice, it was right to hand over the business card she'd brought along. Sure enough, the approaching Rapits operations team leader also extended his own business card first. It was a natural exchange of cards, as if they'd planned it.

The place Rapits belonged to was an entertainment agency that also managed regular singers and celebrities, so it felt a bit different from Parallel, which specialized only in VTubers. But the team name was “Operations Team,” and the glasses frame was the same thin style as Kang Ji-ho's. Thinking that he played a similar role to Team Leader Kang Ji-ho in Rapits, it was impossible not to feel an odd sense of closeness.

When Mazia reflexively extended her hand, the other party took it, and the handshake happened naturally. After shaking hands, Yeon Seong-muk asked Iona a favor.

“Ona, could you give us a moment? We need to talk, fellow industry people.”

“Suddenly?”

“It's important.”

“Ah, yes. Well. I'll go get some fresh air for a bit.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

After sending Iona away, Yeon Seong-muk looked around for a long time before speaking. His behavior seemed conscious of the surrounding gazes.

“First of all, thank you for taking care of Serena on the Wicker server.”

“Not at all. I just helped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because it looked like you and Lady Merisha were struggling.”

“And also for promoting Rapits while you were acting as the Demon King.”

It wasn't exactly promotion, but she decided to let it slide. More importantly, why had he sent Iona away while giving thanks? Was he finally about to reveal his true intentions? Had the Rapits potions been a sneaky attempt to kill her with kindness? And what exactly was that dark history video of the Demon King Castle's fourth-floor members?

Before Mazia could ask out of curiosity, Yeon Seong-muk provided the answer first.

“While we've been watching what you do on the server, we've come to realize something. You clearly have talent in broadcasting. Your pleasant voice and vocal mimicry go without saying.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“So, with that said… have you ever considered debuting as a VTuber?”

Mazia blinked for a long moment before asking back.

“…Me?”