Chapter 149
Chapter 149
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: A New Base in Pangyo
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Since I was starting this, I planned to prepare pretty thoroughly.
“Huh? What’d you say?”
“I found a place in Pangyo. I’ll be staying there for a while.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“Just… I’ve got some stuff to do for the time being.”
Seo-ah reacted like it was out of nowhere. Still, she nodded.
“If you’ve got things to do, nothing you can do about it.”
She didn’t pry too much. She probably figured I’d handle it fine on my own.
For reference, there was a reason I’d gotten a place… no, a whole building in Pangyo.
It was close to the company.
And buying the building itself was so that someday Pathfinder employees or others could drop by easily if they needed to.
More than anything… I didn’t want to show my family me streaming.
This wasn’t just about family.
The only person around me who knew I was doing VTuber stuff was Min-hyuk.
To keep my identity hidden, it was better to do it thoroughly.
Not that there wasn’t some embarrassment involved.
It was a kind of rebellion, you could say.
No, but how was I supposed to stick to the RP? Bounty hunter? Basically a human hunter.
Of course, there were plenty of cases where people stuck to RP just at debut and then dropped it while keeping the setting…
Still, it was a relief that the RP wasn’t about acting cute or anything.
Even if it was an image reversal… that’d be a pretty high hurdle.
The RP itself appealed to me quite a bit, but the issue was how to play it out.
Maybe merch or something…?
But even that had to fit the situation, or I’d just get called a weirdo.
I’d have to ask the President about this stuff later.
“So this place’ll just be for me now?”
Seo-ah actually looked relieved. Which made sense.
No matter how big the house was, everyone needed their alone time.
“You’re honestly uncomfortable with me around anyway.”
“Can’t deny that.”
“Anyway, I’m heading out, so take care… We’ll see each other at the Management Bureau if anything comes up.”
“Yeah~ But you’re not packing? Oh, magic teleport?”
“If there’s an easy way, no need to make it hard.”
“True.”
“Then I’m really going.”
“See ya~”
* * *
I unpacked on the top floor of the new building I’d acquired in Pangyo and opened the window.
Maybe because it was morning, I had a clear view of people commuting into Pangyo.
I took the opportunity to call the President.
-Yes, Seo-hyun? What’s up?
“I’ve got something I’m pondering.”
-What’s that?
“Um, it’s about the RP. It’s fine if I don’t worry about it too much, right?”
-Yes. It’s just about giving people a rough story and worldbuilding at first. In Korea, RP isn’t that big a deal. Later on, some even treat it like a black history… so you can just ignore it. Though it’d be better to think about your streaming direction.
“Ah, got it.”
-And for the concept, if you’re not sure on direction, go with a bit of an edgy style but show some clumsiness. That works well.
“I think I get what you mean.”
-Since you’re a bounty hunter, you can keep the usual streaming energy a little low.
“But won’t viewers hate that? I hear most people prefer bubbly streams…”
-Tastes differ. More importantly, we’re picking bubbly types from your cohort, and giving you some gravitas to balance it out.
“Ah…”
-Bubbly voices can get tiring over long streams because of vocal strain. But a lower voice tends to be less fatiguing, like a trickle-down for viewers. That said, you’ll need good chemistry with your cohort… We’ll handle the adjustments.
It felt like the President had already planned out the cohort composition from the moment I’d agreed to join.
“You’ve already mapped all that out?”
-It’s easier with a central figure. First gen was put together the same way. Oh, once the cohort’s all picked, we’ll do proper training… I’ll have you hide a bit then.
“Huh? Why?”
-Mystery concept. Cliché, but it sparks curiosity. ‘We haven’t seen Seo-hyun’s face among the cohort. Can we get a peek?’ Like that.
I could tell the President was smirking triumphantly without even seeing it.
“Uh… so how’re you planning to keep me apart from the cohort?”
-Just say you’re living overseas or whatever.
“Nice idea. Should I grab a place in the US while I’m at it?”
-…You can do that?
“Yeah. I’ve got US permanent residency already, and Nia said there’s space for me in Paradise.”
-Nia… you don’t mean…
“Yeah. The World Tree.”
-…Your scale is insane. Alright, I’ll allow it.
“But there’s a concern… Won’t there be rumors of member discord?”
-That’s the point. We’re stirring the pot on purpose. And using it to build a narrative. And above all… doesn’t it fit your RP perfectly?
What the President meant was this.
With an RP as a bounty hunter ruthless to others, even if I didn’t stick to it perfectly in streams, keeping distance from others itself could become a story.
It might even highlight the RP more and give people plenty to speculate about.
To design everything down to that just from “bounty hunter” was impressive in so many ways.
“Ah… yeah, it does.”
-So your streaming concept should be calmly subdued, but get intense during games.
“Because games involve a lot of killing no matter what?”
-Exactly. Go for violent games or challenging ones. Calm normally, but dead serious in games.
My head cleared up.
“Feels like I’ve got a handle on the RP at least.”
-Good. Now, shall we talk training?
“Sure.”
-Pathfinder’s concept is ultimately virtual idols. You need basics in singing and dancing, and we pick high-level singers especially. Look at other companies’ VTubers—some are even pro singers.
“This industry’s brutal…”
-It’s tough to survive in from the start. Anyway, you’ll need vocal training too.
Hearing “vocal training” brought certain people to mind.
“Uh, is vocal training flexible?”
-We usually assign a renowned vocal trainer. Pathfinder’s big enough that we have close ties with them… Any preference?
“Oh, no, not really… But since I’m friends with Ark Angels, I was thinking of learning from their exclusive vocal trainer.”
-…Come to think of it, that’s better. Ark Angels’ trainer—Jung Hyun-joo, right?
“I think that was the name… She famous?”
-Top of the industry. Her students are all over the music scene. Better than average anyway—getting trained by the best. We’ll skip adding you to the vocal schedule then.
“Got it.”
-Next…
From there, the talk shifted to the virtual avatar.
The decided avatar was a cool woman with dark blue hair and golden eyes.
Her outfit… how to put it, a rugged coat, wide-brim hat with crow-feather-like decorations.
Not overly revealing, but sharp and edgy.
Right after settling the concept, the President jumped into illustrations and avatar production.
Wasn’t the progress a bit too fast?
While thinking that, I started training slowly.
When I asked Han-gyeol, she nodded and assigned Jung Hyun-joo to me…
“Oh my, what brings the Director here?”
“Just… wanted to learn singing.”
“For fun?”
“Fun level, but I want to do it properly, professionally.”
“Then it’ll be tough… You okay with that?”
“Yes. Domestic situation’s stable now, so I’ve got time.”
“Great.”
Under Jung Hyun-joo’s guidance, my singing improved incredibly fast.
Naturally, since I could control my body so freely.
Singing’s physical too, so mimicking her movements produced solid vocalization in my tone.
“This is… impressive.”
Even the teacher was amazed.
And dance was no issue either…
My dance instructor was Ark Angels member Haniel, who checked my moves.
Dance improved at a crazy pace too.
“Uh, um… You really learn fast.”
“Once I see it, I don’t forget… I can see exactly how the body moves. And I’m skilled with my body.”
“Cheating, total cheating. Even I, who’s used to dancing, struggled when seriously learning…”
Like that, by the time I’d finished prepping to become a VTuber at breakneck speed,
A message arrived from the President: all my cohort members had been selected.
* * *
This is Seo-hyun’s swimsuit illustration!
Tried generating it with AI!
>