A Calculated Controversy
Whether it would prove poison or medicine depended entirely on how one wielded it. EYEAI's CEO, Jung Ho-young, held that thought close. A little controversy… not bad at all.
EYEAI held a prominent position whenever the domestic VTuber industry came up in conversation. Yet the VTuber industry in Korea had never truly been considered major. Even in the neighboring country, there were dozens of VTubers with over a million subscribers. In Korea, however, one could count the number of VTubers who had reached a million subscribers on one hand—perhaps two at most—and even those were people who had not originally been VTubers at all. They were simply streamers who had later acquired VTuber models after already building their audiences through regular broadcasts.
Demand for VTubers was gradually growing within the country, but a great many people still harbored an instinctive aversion to the concept itself.
In the end, we have to go global.
That was precisely why every VTuber under EYEAI bore a Japanese-style name. Jung Ho-young had not watched many foreign streamers. The language barrier was one thing, but there was also something inherently off-putting about a foreign face. To Koreans, the most familiar face was a Korean one, followed by other East Asian faces. By that logic, Western faces simply lacked that immediate sense of familiarity. Even in the past, plenty of people had admitted they "couldn't really tell Western faces apart." Unless someone was deeply immersed in Western culture, most people today would feel much the same.
That was why a VTuber who could never become mainstream domestically might, ironically, fare better from a global perspective. Every country had its share of hardcore otaku. Even if the number in any single nation was small, when you gathered every otaku across the entire world, the total became substantial. After all, the VTubers who had reached two or three million subscribers had done so by collecting fans from all over the globe.
So this controversy, viewed from a global standpoint, is really nothing at all.
There had once been a VTuber who caused an incident right after debuting in the neighboring country—a rather serious leak of confidential information. The fallout had been so severe that the VTuber had been forced into retirement less than a month after debut. Yet overseas fans had burned with outrage, insisting it was hardly a big deal. That was simply how it worked. Once a plate was beautiful and a voice held even a shred of attachment, people stopped caring about the rest. Especially when the incident had occurred in another country—then it truly did not matter.
If the controversy was not particularly grave to begin with, then why not use a little of it to draw attention?
—Knock knock.
"CEO."
A knock sounded, followed by Rion's voice. Jung Ho-young straightened his clothes.
"Come in."
The door opened. As Rion held it, someone stepped inside with natural grace. Hair black as the night sky. Deep crimson eyes that seemed to pull you in. Click. Click. The steady rhythm of high heels echoed as she entered the room without the slightest trace of nervousness, carrying herself with complete confidence.
"Hello."
She smiled faintly as she spoke. Jung Ho-young caught his breath at the sight. He had heard she looked exactly like her plate, but he had not expected the resemblance to be this perfect. Feeling the elegant aura that Lora exuded in person, his conviction only deepened. He had sensed something similar while watching Anna's stream, but seeing her in the flesh was on an entirely different level.
He had to secure her. Better to claim her first and think later than to risk losing her to another company.
"Welcome. I'm Jung Ho-young, CEO of EYEAI."
He offered a smile. They might be seeing a great deal of each other from now on, so it was best to make a positive first impression.
"Thank you for coming all this way. I'd like to discuss Aurora's debut today. Ah, Rion, you may stay as well. Both of you, listen carefully."
Rion had begun to slip out, so Jung Ho-young spoke up quickly.
"CEO, is this… something serious?"
"It could be. Aurora is currently facing some controversy."
At the word "controversy," Rion's expression grew serious. Lora, however, maintained her usual faint smile. From the moment she had entered the room, Jung Ho-young had noticed how strangely unshaken she seemed—neither tense nor rattled in the slightest.
"Of course, we are aware of what happened, and we know Aurora is innocent. Still, a strategy will be needed to quell the rumors. Fortunately, Rion has already prepared something, so let's discuss that."
"Haa…"
Rion let out a long breath in front of the computer.
—We will handle the response at the company level.
—If the PV goes up and the fire starts spreading, Rion, please step in.
—So Aurora, you don't need to worry.
The words she had heard from the CEO echoed in her mind. From his perspective, he would want to protect Lora no matter what. Lora possessed exceptional gaming skills, and above all, she was going to be a VTuber whose main content revolved around Labyrinthos VR. Since Labyrinthos VR was currently the most popular game in the world, the CEO had calculated that if Lora could showcase her superior skills, fans from other countries would naturally flow in.
Rion's thoughts were no different. That was why their goal this time was swift suppression. The very existence of controversy meant people were watching with interest. If handled well, Lora could start with a considerable number of subscribers. So they would absorb as much attention as possible, then explain everything before public sentiment could plummet—explaining that Lora had done nothing wrong in the first place.
Of course, the CEO's real objective lies elsewhere.
The CEO was probably far more interested in the "Labyrinthos fandom" than in simply inflating Lora's subscriber count. The EYEAI member with the most subscribers was the 1st generation's Kisaki Rinko, with around 300,000. No other EYEAI VTuber had surpassed that number. While not an exact figure, it would be fair to say EYEAI's total fandom hovered around 300,000.
That was not a particularly impressive number. "Serenade at 23:00," which had once dominated Japan, had two VTubers with 2 million subscribers each. "Horizon Air," popular worldwide, boasted a VTuber with 4 million subscribers. Compared to major corporations, 300,000 was pitifully small.
The bigger problem was that growing beyond 300,000 was extremely difficult. As mentioned before, subscribers rarely ventured outside their preferred company. Horizon Air's 4 million fans had little reason to watch VTubers from other agencies—especially when Horizon Air already had roughly eighty active VTubers. Why would they bother with smaller companies? Stealing fans from Horizon Air was impossible. The same applied to Serenade at 23:00.
From EYEAI's standpoint, the only viable path was to attract people who had never watched VTubers before. The CEO was clearly aiming to capture the Labyrinthos fandom that EYEAI had so far failed to properly cultivate—through Lora.
"…Right. I have to protect her. I have to protect our Lora unnie…"
Rion murmured to herself as her fingers quietly tapped the keyboard. She did not entirely agree with the CEO's way of thinking, but she acknowledged the soundness of his business judgment. After all, no one in the world wanted Lora's success more than Rion did.
"I hope my fans will come to like Lora unnie."
After finishing the post, Rion murmured softly. She no longer held any lingering attachment to being a VTuber. If any remained, it was only for the fans who had supported her. Since there was nothing more she could do for them, she could only hope. She hoped that her fans would come to like Aurora.
Would you like to start the broadcast?
Rion clicked the "Start Broadcast" button.