I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 158

Comparing herself to Magia the whole time, Regon’s thoughts finally settled into place.

‘She’s on another level.’

She had seen countless hardcore fans of Kesa. And aside from a few extreme cases, most of them were pretty similar—including herself.

But Magia was something else. A fanatic among fanatics.

The mindset alone—"I will personally eliminate anything that could force my oshi to graduate"—was already out of the ordinary. Most people accepted reality and prepared themselves for a peaceful farewell.

Since she no longer felt a sense of kinship, all that remained was awe.

From then on, Regon simply quietly rooted for Magia.

There was a saying—be grateful that your oshi is still here. Watching Magia’s desperate efforts, she could only hope that she never burned out.

With that realization, Regon also understood why Magia kept bombarding KG staff with questions.

It was all information that would help Parallel grow. Since she had the chance now, she was making the most of it.

She was probably planning to build a dormitory for their members. She even asked Boron something very direct.

“Boron, Kesa was your idol, right?”

“Yeah. He was a legend to me. The number one person I wanted to play with.”

“Was there anything inconvenient about dorm life that you managed to overcome?”

“Oh, yeah. You know how Kesa’s snoring was famous, right? Before we moved into this dorm, our old place was smaller, and I had to share a room with him. I seriously thought I was gonna die. Liking someone is one thing, but... I almost woke up and punched him.”

“Pfft... I’ll keep this off the record.”

“Haha, thanks. By the way, doesn’t this apply to you too, Magia? Your oshi is your company president. There must be things that annoy you, but you put up with them, right?”

“Oh, a lot. For example, the fact that her streaming schedule is completely wrecked and I just have to deal with it...”

“Ah... Yeah. As a fellow VTuber enjoyer, I get that. It drives you insane when your oshi rarely streams.”

“But when you can see why it’s happening, you can’t even complain. So instead, I just work harder.”

“...You really love working, huh.”

“Actually, this is connected to my earlier question—Kesa’s snoring must have made it hard to sleep, right? Did that affect your daily life, or did you manage?”

Boron smirked.

“You know about soundproof tents?”

“...That’s a thing?”

“Yeah. It’s a bed tent. I used that, plus earplugs and a shooting range headset—finally found peace. Snoring can drive you insane. But man, the second this guy touched a keyboard and mouse... His cracked plays were unreal. The only player who ever bullied Mugeon during his prime? That was Kesa. What a legend.”

“Mm. Agreed. When I was studying how to counter Mugeon, most of the reference videos were Kesa’s.”

“See?! That’s why when I first discovered you, I watched some of your past gameplay and thought, ‘Why does this remind me of Kesa?’”

“Thank you. That means a lot.”

Seeing Magia working so hard was inspiring.

Regon even started reaching out to her own contacts to help answer Magia’s questions—regardless of their rank or whether they were off duty.

Since they were in similar positions, they also exchanged various survival tips.

***

After experiencing a scrim match with second-string players from other teams, the company tour was officially over.

As she saw the three visitors off in the lobby, Regon gave her final words.

“Thank you for coming today. Was there [N O V E L I G H T] anything inconvenient, like during the meal or on the way here?”

“No! It was perfect! I wanna come back! Reshlin 3 stars!”

“The food was amazing!”

“Thank you.”

Six eyes turned to Magia, the only one who hadn’t spoken yet. She glanced around, then said—

“You two can wait in the car first. I need to talk to Regon for a moment.”

“Oh, got it. Rain, shall we?”

“I need air conditioning now. We’re f—king overcooked.”

“Have you heard of heat domes?”

“Wait, it’s already here?!”

After watching the two chatter their way to the car, Magia turned to Regon.

“We’ve established a partnership now. If you ever have questions about VTuber-related stuff, just contact me with the number on my card. If I can help, I will.”

Regon blinked, slightly slow to react.

“Oh. I already learned a lot just from talking to you today. And you’re already so busy—I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s fine. I don’t count this as work—I count it as VTuber fangirling. I keep my work hours and fangirl hours separate, so no need to worry.”

“Wait, huh—”

Now that she thought about it, Regon had heard rumors that Magia took care of almost every VTuber—unless they were truly problematic.

A VTuber mom—that was the kind of reputation she had.

But still, Regon felt bad just accepting help so easily.

This was Magia, the one who constantly fought for her oshi’s streaming time.

She appreciated the offer, but her own problems were her own to solve.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“If there’s ever something I truly can’t handle alone, I’ll reach out. But I’d rather try my best first. Let’s keep working hard together, Magia.”

For the first time today, Magia—who had remained stone-faced all day—smiled.

“Oh, and—once the tour video is uploaded, our viewers might swarm your stream and demand a collab. If that happens, call me immediately. I’ll calm them down for you.”

Regon laughed.

“You know, that was the most reliable thing I’ve heard all day—even compared to actual streamers.”

“I just learn from the best. There are so many amazing VTubers around me.”

“And yet, you’re just as impressive as a corporate worker.”

Hearing that, Magia left one final impression on Regon’s mind.

“That’s why... I want to work even harder. People say I’ve been given a lot—things that others don’t have. It’d be a waste to just let it sit there.”

She looked small, like a child.

But inside, just how big was the giant living within her?

She was someone you couldn’t help but root for. Someone whose success you couldn’t help but wish for.

“I hope your company thrives. With you here, I’m sure it will.”

...She really was insane.

“As long as the president doesn’t graduate, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“Haha...”

***

It had been an excellent half-day tour.

I had asked an almost excessive number of questions, but I hadn't expected everyone to be this willing to answer.

I had resolved more than a few doubts, but if I had to pick the most important takeaway, it would probably be this—

Q. What’s the most crucial factor in reducing dormitory operating costs?

A. Owning a building or a floor in a building yourself.

The initial purchasing cost will definitely not be cheap, but in the long run, it will free you from major financial burdens.

In the end, it’s a choice—either make a large one-time investment, or pay an even larger sum over time.

That said, purchasing a building outside of Seoul is not recommended. The fact that the dormitory is in Seoul itself makes it more attractive for potential employees.

Of course, commercial buildings and office spaces in Seoul rarely go on sale because simply owning them increases their value.

It would be useful to know people with expertise in real estate, particularly those interested in commercial properties and office buildings. They could provide information on auctioned properties and offer various other insights.

‘Someone like that...’

After thinking it over, the only person I could ask was Na Hyun-gon.

CAT Entertainment had several dormitory buildings for managing their idols and trainees, and there had to be an entire department dedicated to handling them.

Of course, getting consultation alone wouldn’t be enough. The biggest issue was still money.

‘Maybe I should learn about investing too.’

There was nothing wrong with pouring my own money into the company through donations. But in the end, a significant portion of that money would be lost to platform fees.

I would still continue donating to encourage members and buying merchandise for my own satisfaction. But lately, with all the bonuses and extra income coming in, I was starting to accumulate more money than I could spend.

Maybe it was time to get Na Hyun-gon’s help and start learning investments.

If I could successfully reinvest my extra money and contribute even a little to purchasing a building, wouldn’t that be a good outcome?

Which meant—from now on, all unnecessary expenses needed to be cut. And the biggest one right now was probably my rent.

“Living with the president... Now that I think about it, it might not be such a bad idea.”

So, as soon as Monday came, I told the president my conclusion.

She pursed her lips in surprise.

“Huh? Didn’t you say my place was too messy?”

“When did I ever say that?”

“You said something similar... Anyway. So you’re fine with it? When do you want to move in? Should I clear a room for you?”

“Wasn’t there already a vacant room?”

“Nah. I stuffed it with random junk. It’s basically a storage room.”

“...So it is a mess.”

The president lightly flicked my forehead before asking,

“Listen. Having a spare room means using it for storage. Since you brought it up, why don’t you stay over this weekend? Try it out for a day before committing to moving in.”

“...That sounds reasonable.”

“You wouldn’t want to move in immediately only to hate it and leave, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Is there anything you want to eat while you’re over? I’ll make it for you.”

I quickly shook my head, making sure to express my absolute refusal.

“Can’t we just order delivery or go out to eat?”

The president looked offended.

“...Wait, is this because of the cookie incident?”

“You remember that time I almost ended up in the hospital with food poisoning from your cookies, right?”

“Come on! You’re exaggerating! You just got an upset stomach! And you were the only one who had issues. You wolfed them down because they were ‘oshi-given cookies’—that’s why it happened.”

“You should’ve made cookies that don’t cause food poisoning, even if eaten in a hurry. Anyway, I’d rather not get poisoned again. We either go out to eat, or I’ll cook.”

“Oh, shut up about poisoning. And no, I’m not letting you cook.”

“Why not? Just because I haven’t shown you doesn’t mean I can’t cook.”

“I’ll be lucky if you don’t cut your own fingers trying to chop something.”

The president stared at me with an annoyed expression for a moment, then suddenly snapped her fingers, as if she had an idea.

“Hey. Why don’t we turn it into a cooking battle? We’ll invite people to judge.”

“...I was just going to check out the room. Why is this turning into something huge?”

“We’re not just doing it for fun—we make it content for the viewers. It’d be a waste not to.”

At the mention of content, all my complaints vanished instantly.

With the massive boom in cooking competition series thanks to Redflix, interest in cooking content had skyrocketed again.

Even in internet broadcasting, everyone was scrambling to bring in famous chefs or culinary experts.

Even our first-gen talents had done their own versions—hiring personal instructors or making cursed food creations.

But we’d never done it as a group.

“There’s just one thing. Instead of first-gen talents, why don’t we invite the second-gen members?”

“The second-gen...?”

“They already have a confirmed debut date internally, but it hasn’t been publicly announced yet. If we adjust their pre-debut schedules, it might work out.”

“Hmm... The second-gen....”

“We could use TTS for their judging, or just show their handwritten comments. There are plenty of ways to do it.”

“Oh, handwritten comments... Not bad. And they could even say a quick goodbye at the end. Hold on a sec.”

The second-gen debut had been in the works since March, planned for mid-July to early August, coinciding with vacation season.

Their broadcast setups were nearly done, and after a couple of mock streams in their home environments, the company’s preparations would be finished.

Today was July 2nd. Which meant, at best, their debut was two weeks away, and at worst, four weeks.

Of course, there were plans to gradually unveil them—releasing their social media accounts and teaser videos in the meantime.

But if we could sneak them in as surprise guests, wouldn’t that build hype even more?

The president seemed to be weighing the idea before finally making a decision.

“I’ll call Team Leader Ra. Let’s hold a meeting right now.”