Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Members Over-Immerse in RP
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'Why didn't the film cut out.'
Even though she'd gotten completely wasted and rambled on drunkenly without end, her memory was cruelly intact.
Forgetfulness was said to be the greatest blessing granted to humanity, so why wasn't that blessing kicking in?
She wondered if she could maybe use it as broadcast fodder someday, but exposing her own black history like that—could she really pull it off?
'What the hell did I do...'
People sometimes stumble upon their own unconscious urges without realizing it and get startled.
It made her think there might have been a deep-seated affection starvation clinging to her heart like scorched rice stuck to the bottom of a pot—too sticky to just dismiss as mere drunken nonsense.
Her body from before had probably been the shackles on her heart.
A grown man acting like that would have been creepy.
But if it was a beauty?
Pretty girls really were a cheat code.
The world visible outside the hotel was peaceful, the sunlight dazzling.
Looking down from up high, all the humans looked like specks of dust. Ha ha.
She'd been staring blankly out the window when A-ryeong noona stealthily snapped a photo of her.
"I took it because you looked so pretty without thinking." As if that excuse existed.
A little later, she, A-ri sensei, and A-ryeong noona took a photo together.
"Send the photo via KakaoTalk!"
A-ri sensei said that as she added both her and A-ryeong noona to the group chat.
Women's numbers were piling up in her phone!
Wasn't this the golden age of her life?
After enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet to cap off their hotel staycation, they checked out.
A-ryeong noona paid the bill without batting an eye.
Was that the flex of a successful streamer?
So cool.
She vowed to succeed one day and pay her back no matter what.
It was the kind of day that inspired such resolutions.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ What was the easiest way for a streamer to grow?
Collabing with a famous streamer.
Derisively called "sticking a straw in them," but in reality, nothing beat absorbing an established streamer's audience—especially if the vibes matched and the content meshed well.
What other method could rival appealing directly like that to viewers already hooked on internet streams?
It was pinpoint marketing for the target demographic.
Of course, the one doing the straw-sticking had to have real talent as a streamer for it to work.
Plenty of streamers had blown up via collabs only to flop hard due to lack of skill—being boring as hell.
'She was seriously goosebump-level pretty.'
Cats thrived on human worship solely for being cute.
Despite zero practicality and barely any bonding.
Han A-ryeong's favorability toward Jang Gyeon-u had skyrocketed after drinking together and sharing a bed.
Enough that she'd happily collab once or twice after debuting as a streamer.
No clue why someone with that face was hiding behind a red pill Vtuber act, though.
💬 Chat — A-ryeong Can I mention Gyeon-u's company and group name on stream? — Gyeon-u I'll ask the president. Not yet. She says it's okay after debut. — A-ryeong That's so far away! Frustrating!!!! Unfortunately, info on World Live Entertainment's KEYS was still embargoed.
Some might think blasting it everywhere was best, but the entertainment industry had this thing called "image depletion."
Freshness, novelty, fun—those had limits, so no point leaking deets early and deflating the hype like a limp balloon.
Like pre-boiling ramen. Best served fresh off the heat.
Too early, and it bloats into inedible mush.
A-ryeong itched with frustration at her blocked goodwill.
But she was also excited.
What kind of project was Gyeon-u handling that involved someone that impressive?
No way it'd tank enough to starve her, though.
Meanwhile, back at the office, Gyeon-u was spilling the full tale of hanging with A-ryeong to the World Live Entertainment crew.
No embargo on this side.
"That girl's totally down to hype you up, huh? How'd you snag her? Used these wicked boobs again?"
"How do you even 'use' boobs?"
"Like hugging and rubbing up against them like this!"
Evangelion actually hugged Gyeon-u and ground against her.
Gyeon-u's face flushed a bit.
And she felt guilty.
She had clung to A-ryeong and A-ri nonstop at the drinking party.
"The other person was a girl, you know? No way she'd like that."
"Why assume it wouldn't work on girls?"
'How much of this is serious?'
Before the Vtuber RP concept solidified, similar antics were just called "concept zealotry."
All the KEYS members were so passionate about their concepts that Gyeon-u couldn't tell where the act ended and real feelings began.
Evangelion's old-man schtick—how far did the concept go?
'Eh, she's pretty, so whatever.'
It didn't really bother her.
Not even the sexual jokes.
The other person was a pretty girl.
No malicious intent—just playful banter.
Yeah, between girls, it was fine.
Girl-to-girl.
Would Gyeon-u ever learn the truth?
Would Evangelion ever learn it?
Who knows.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The most important thing to survive as a composer?
Unyielding spirit.
Composers got rejected more often than not, and even released tracks flopped more than they sold.
Going insane because your track slaps to you but not to others—that's the real madness.
Outsiders said it too easily.
If it's good enough to sell, it will.
Didn't sell? Then it wasn't good enough.
Unsold composers had no choice but to argue.
That guy's got connections, dumped mad marketing cash, lucked into the trend—so he blew up.
His track was no different from mine.
Hell, mine was better.
Just give me a shot, some luck, one spotlight...
I'd make it for sure.
Had to believe that.
Then the mockery came back.
Bangers blow up anyway, don't they?
Good tracks rise, right?
Yours just wasn't that good?
What do you know to say that?
You the god of music who's heard it all?
Did you check every buried track to confirm they sucked?
Don't skim a few grains from the sand pile and pretend you know the whole beach.
"Gasp!"
In a shabby room, the man bolted up on the bed, breathing raggedly.
He'd woken from a nightmare.
Name: Hong Seon-yul. Age: 27. Job: Self-proclaimed composer, unemployed part-timer. Scraping by on three days a week at a convenience store.
Should've listened when people said music wasn't for amateurs.
Regretted it a thousand—no, ten thousand times.
Should've studied hard, gone to a good college, landed a stable job.
Everyone else lived that way. Why not her?
That's just artist syndrome.
She'd snapped back at her raging parents.
It's my life.
Now she was owning it.
At just 27: noticeable gray hairs, 20kg lighter than school days, isolation so ashamed she couldn't even call home.
That was the end for most who rejected normalcy.
Beneath one shining star lay countless star-chasers' corpses.
The pathetic finale of those who dreamed big but fizzled.
'Please, today of all days.'
On non-workdays, Seon-yul's routine was rote: check email for collab offers or buys, sigh at emptiness, compose till the grim future broke her.
Today was different.
An email from some company.
"Another crapshoot."
Six employees? Crapshoot of crapshoots. Barely a club, calling it a company was embarrassing.
'If they buy a track, who cares.'
A finished track gathering dust, zero revenue—if they paid, she'd be grateful.
But the client wanted something else.
'Meet up?'
One-on-one contract.
Direct commission: composer crafts track, company pays.
Simple, but Seon-yul wasn't thrilled.
'They're a total nobody.'
No releases, just a fledgling prep agency for debut.
Virtual idols, even. Korea's scene was just sparking—tiny compared to real idols.
One-hit life-changers were fairy tales now.
But this was too small-scale.
'Gotta eat somehow.'
One-on-one sucked if the client was a nightmare.
But solid contracts could shield her.
Hardened 27-year-old convenience store drone, self-styled composer Hong Seon-yul.
"I'm Kim Mi-myo, president of World Live Entertainment."
"I'll take the contract."
"I haven't even said anything yet?"
But if the client's a cutie, what can you do?