Rabbit Vader Goes Viral
A week had already passed since that morning meeting that would later be dubbed the "Phantom Agreement." With several of the members' biggest secrets now out in the open, the dorm atmosphere had grown noticeably more relaxed. Tasha and Seong Jiyeong, who had once kept their distance to protect their identities, no longer had to maintain that careful separation. Still, our dorm life wasn't quite the idol trainee experience I had imagined.
So much time had passed that the original novel of this world, Retired Superhuman Raises an Idol, had grown hazy in my memory. A few scenes, however, remained vivid—particularly the one where the five debut members huddled together in the dorm, discussing their post-debut plans and how to attract even a few more fans. I remembered it because their eager, slightly clumsy excitement had struck me as genuinely cute. The author might not have been the best writer, but the characters were decently drawn.
Anyway, the image of pre-debut idol dorm life stuck in my head was something like that: sleepless nights filled with anticipation and anxiety, yet everyone encouraging one another and building teamwork. If I ever debuted as an idol, I figured my dorm life would look roughly the same.
But reality had other ideas.
"So that weird rabbit-ear helmet and full-body suit were something you made, Ji Seoeun? Using Materialization?"
"Correct."
"Good grief. GPS, comms function... and even acceleration assist on the suit? Then what's this bad-breath ability supposed to be?"
"On standby for deletion. Planning to add recording function instead."
"Could you make additional equipment? It seems pretty useful."
"Possible. But you'll have to show me your combat footage. Need inspiration."
"That's easy. Deal. Come to the physical training room tomorrow at dawn. If you make my gear, I'll make sure you never have to worry about budget again."
"Oh. Really? Then... I can upgrade Unni's equipment too."
Watching the "Villain Hunter" girl, starved for cutting-edge gear, team up with the "Space Battleship Villain" girl while fiddling with that menacing rabbit helmet was... something else.
"How do we get Yeri to go out on her own?"
"Exactly."
"Well, our Yeri isn't the type to move for nothing. Hmm... How about this~?"
"...Isn't that a little underhanded!?"
"To gain something big, you sometimes have to let go of the small things~"
"Hah. So that's how it is. As expected, impressive."
Seeing the "Legendary Squinty-Eyes" girl and the "Hot-Blooded Idiot" girl scheming in the corner made me seriously question whether this was really the right path. It was nothing like the dorm life I had pictured. Though, in terms of results, some parts did line up with my expectations. Worried they might cause trouble, I sometimes lay awake at night, and while figuring out how to efficiently crush villains, we were indeed strengthening our teamwork.
"At least the goal of the debut-group training camp was achieved. Building teamwork among members was the final objective, after all."
Of course, it wasn't quite the direction the company had intended, but since the teamwork part was undeniably accomplished, it was probably healthier to just roll with that interpretation.
"What, watching that again?"
"Mm-hmm. If I don't get my daily dose of Yeri, the day just doesn't start right~"
"Ugh, you're really..."
Honestly, dorm life was the least of our problems. Even if it felt a bit off, it was just us. No real issues there. What actually pissed me off was a single video that had appeared online—the "This Week's Hot Issue" upload from the YouTube channel Psyker Mad, the very video Yu Hana was currently humming along to.
"And here, a new figure appears. An unidentified stranger wearing that rabbit-eared helmet. The two exchange a few words, then immediately clash! From the dialogue alone, you can guess what this is, right? That's right—this is footage from the day I headed to Yeongdeungpo wearing the rabbit helmet to stop Tasha."
Some stalker from Psyker Mad had apparently tailed us the entire time and uploaded crystal-clear footage of me and Tasha together. I had expected something like this. Black Yaksha had already gone nationwide; if he kept showing up in the same area, of course people would start camping there—especially click-hungry channels like Psyker Mad. I just hadn't thought they'd manage a perfect, start-to-finish tail.
The real problem was that the video's popularity had far exceeded my expectations. The clip of me and Tasha had racked up five million views in just four days. Psyker Mad's subscriber count was skyrocketing along with it. The heat felt excessive for a single video.
"Whoa, they edited this part really well. Feels like watching a movie~"
"Hah, why on earth is someone with that kind of ability doing this kind of thing?"
"Come on~ Psyker Mad makes a ton of money. This is probably better than most movies."
"Ugh, is it really that much?"
"Kya~ That scene is seriously legendary~"
"Tch..."
The Phantom videos were always popular, but the massive reaction this time had clear reasons. The dramatic moment where Black Yaksha and the rabbit stranger temporarily joined forces to take down the swarm of local villains felt like a movie scene, and our coordinated takedown of the incoming enemies was ridiculously cinematic.
The geometric red patterns glowing on the full-body suit and the crimson beam sword (?) were, in the truest sense of the word, unnecessarily stylish. Even I had let out an involuntary "whoa" the first time I watched it.
"Pfft. Oh my god, that's hilarious. Rabbit Vader."
"Hah, seriously, what kind of bastard..."
Everything else was fine—the secret filming, the massive popularity. But straight-up branding me as a Phantom and slapping on an alias? That crossed a line. And the alias itself... Rabbit Vader. Sure, it fit the visual, but watching Yu Hana cackle with a reddened face beside me was enough to make me want to commit murder.
For the record, Ji Seoeun—the very person responsible for this situation—was extremely satisfied with the name "Rabbit Vader." Something about how it had the right feel while offering plenty of ways to dodge copyright issues. Vader was also used as a surname in English-speaking countries, after all. The girl who sold guns to villains getting sensitive about copyright was proof she wasn't normal either.
"Can't we do something about that video?"
"If we report it, they might take it down~. But will that actually work?"
"Yeah, that's why they're uploading it so openly."
It was a clear violation of portrait rights, yet there was nothing we could realistically do. If I stepped forward claiming portrait rights infringement, it would be the same as admitting I was the person in the video. The Superhuman Agency would probably request an interview immediately. Becoming a YouTube star without even realizing it was just absurd on multiple levels.
Psyker Mad had casually dropped at the end that Golden Roll had appeared at the scene. Apparently they'd captured Seong Jiyeong showing up late, thrashing the security forces, and taking Tasha away. They just couldn't upload that part, so they were only teasing it. The reason they couldn't release footage that would easily pull tens of millions of views was simple: uploading a scene of the security forces getting wrecked would be genuinely dangerous. Depending on how it was framed, it could even fall under national security law. No matter how tempting it was, they couldn't release it.
"If Shasha, Jjing-Jjing, and Yeri-Yeri all moved together, would they still not release that scene?"
"Honestly, I don't know. If they edit carefully, they could probably cut out the security forces and just use the part where Tasha and Seong Jiyeong escape together."
"Kick, that would be pretty funny."
"I don't think it's funny at all."
"Yeri! Time to go!"
While we were grumbling at the video, quite a bit of time had passed. Tasha was calling me from outside—it was time to head out for rap lessons. Sigh. Whatever. Might as well just go to the lesson.
"Ah, I'm coming right out! Anyway, stop watching that already. You're totally teasing me right now, aren't you?"
"Ehh~ No way. Yeri-Yeri~ Have a good trip~"
After politely asking the beaming Yu Hana to please stop watching the video, I left the room for my rap lesson. Though the chances of that squinty-eyed girl actually listening were zero.