Chapter 13
“No juice squeezing! Don't badmouth the others.”
The pink cat beastkin Luna-ri on screen clasped her hands together, cheeks flushing red. Despite her words, her voice carried a hint of damp emotion, but since her face wasn't visible, she was denying it for now. Not tears of sadness. It was just that the hardships endured so far, the lingering aftertaste, and the happiness had all come rushing in now that the tension was gone.
But those tears of emotion didn't last long.
As the official broadcast ended and viewers flooded in, the chat exploded, sucking back her tears in an instant.
Ugh, maybe I need to set some proper rules and pick a manager.
Luna-ri's stream was a chaotic mix of all sorts of people, total anarchy. As a newborn with no existing fandom, there was no room vibe to speak of. She had no idea how many would stick around, but for streamer Luna-ri, this was just the beginning, Yoo Na-ri resolved firmly.
“Ahh, I really did great, right? Feels so proud. Thanks to everyone liking it. Oh, and I didn't expect Lilié to cry for me.”
“Ah, that sexual harassment is a bit... ahem.”
She spotted it with her eagle eyes, but Yoo Na-ri, still thick with civilian sensibilities, struggled with what was allowed in stream chats. When in doubt, ban. The finals vote was a razor-close nail-biter, exciting everyone. After much deliberation, judges Shin Se-young, Sion, and Lilié voted for Luna-ri. But the final viewer vote came in at 53% to 47% for Sion's win. Having delivered a clean, regret-free performance with surprisingly high scores, Na-ri was genuinely satisfied. The viewers regretting it more than her felt like an even greater gift.
Now I know how to run today's stream.
The massive floating crowd's unifying topic was, of course, the contest. Chats got less trolly and more consistent then.
“Okay, shall we watch my round of 8 song together and chat about it? I'm curious too, how it looked.”
As Luna-ri prepped the round of 8 clip, a donation chimed.
“Thanks for the 1,000 won... why's your ID like that...... Uh, but are there reactions? ...Yeah, kinda curious.”
Where to even find them? No fan cafe yet, so viewers couldn't have spread them. As she wondered if she'd have to search herself, the chat rippled excitedly.
“Ah, here it is. Enabling video donations!”
No sooner had video donations opened than several poured in at once. Some were weird old guys dancing, pointless stuff mixed in, but luckily filters let her pick and play just the stage clips.
“Hmm, the lyrics are great though! So addictive and cute.”
“Ahem! Some folks have good taste. Melody perfect for these lyrics and vibe. Even I was thrown by the title at first, but after hearing it, I was like, this is the best!”
Ignoring chats about 'eyes or ears?', Luna-ri continued the reaction stream. Pro streamers lived up to the name. Their reactions outdid even YouTube overseas ones, filling her with dopamine; at points, the intensity embarrassed her. And sure enough, it exploded for the finals stage. The illustrator MV prepped secretly from Do-yoon. Low budget and time meant not top quality, but the cute art fit the song perfectly. Highlight? The final scene, of course.
In the illustration, Luna-ri reached out toward the viewers—or the monitor—like grasping for them, and streamers were bawling.
Na-ri's face burned hotter than expected from the reactions. Was this the taste of attention? Felt like it exceeded limits. A chain of undeserved emotions. She squirmed, untangling her fidgeting limbs.
“Honestly, Young-il's song was insane, right? Isn't it?”
Na-ri deflected the praise. Someone else deserved it anyway. Her face was beet red, about to burst.
Viewers finally asked who Young-il was, what he did; some guessed boyfriend and got banned. Watching the speculation, Luna-ri spoke up.
“Did you know Young-il was originally my viewer? OG Luna-ri fan! Hehe.”
After deciding to enter the contest with Do-yoon's input, Na-ri had deleted all VODs. No one knew of Do-yoon's existence; to spare him, she'd reveal just this much.
“He might be watching now? Super quiet type, doesn't chat much though.”
Luna-ri waved at the screen like greeting him. Viewers split: 'Lucky to get Luna-ri's greeting!' vs. 'Knows the composer, jealous!' The divide cracked her up.
As the recap stream wound down, a massive donation rang out.
“Eek, wh-what?!”
IG Entertainment's official account had straight-up asked to contact Luna-ri. She agreed and posted her email in the channel description. That night, when she woke, over 300 emails filled her inbox.
Viewers of Virtual Voice Fight easily guessed why IG sought Luna-ri.
In IG Entertainment's Nonhyeon-dong HQ, one meeting room. CEO Kang Sung-min lightly drummed the table at the total viewer tally: 69,847.
“Like Jamsil Stadium.”
“Online, but impact way beyond expectations.”
Double the firepower he'd predicted. Perfect timing to dip into VTubers. If things went to plan. 20 mil cash or IG's full support as Virtual #1. Massive offer to finals winner for max buzz, ride to music hit. A&R's scripted scenario seemed on track.
But nope. Sion picked 20 mil? IG's music couldn't beat cash. Lucky it stayed in subculture, no industry leaks—or social media roast fodder. Mid hit alone tops 20 mil, plus merch, virtual concert for fans. Full production, distro, promo—why reject?
“Still doesn't make sense.”
He'd told Shin Se-young to play it cool on stream, not beg. But question marks filled his head.
“Yeah. Must be a reason? Thought any serious singer couldn't refuse... Plan B it is.”
The A&R section chief, set for virtual new biz lead if plan A worked, continued.
“#1 refused, so offer to #2. Buzz-wise, surpasses winner. Sion's a great singer, Luna-ri more artist... Issue is that vibe comes from her mystery composer.”
Luna-ri held three release-ready tracks, each building her enigmatic artist image. To protect it...
“Can't use our songs?”
“Yes. At least after releasing those three, and since she did same composer consecutively, if ours underperforms...”
“Compares to that composer? Ours?”
“...Yes.”
The complicating issue weighed down the meeting room air.