I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 133
Frequent shifts between day and night mess up your sleep schedule.
For example, instead of sleeping for a full eight hours, you start splitting it into two four-hour segments, or you take naps that last four hours instead of just one.
“Mm.”
So, even if I fell asleep at four in the morning, waking up at seven like this wasn’t anything unusual.
I fumbled around, reaching for my phone—whether it was under the blanket or somewhere outside of it.
Even if I buried myself back under the covers, nothing wakes me up better than scrolling through online communities half-asleep.
More importantly, since the CEO had all but given up on keeping up with industry discussions in those communities, if I didn’t check, we’d definitely miss things.
In a way, I was technically working the moment I opened my eyes—but if I counted this as work hours, the accounting director would yell at me, so I just pretended not to notice.
I skimmed through the top posts from the night, and, interestingly, Bazubi’s name came up a lot.
Not just in the Parallel Gallery, but even in the Pazijik Gallery—three posts had made it to the trending section overnight.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that it wasn’t about our own members.
It might sound a bit cold, but the fact that Bazubi, who had been buried in obscurity, had gained this much recognition overnight was entirely thanks to yesterday’s stream.
And by using that stream as a reference, we could think about how to apply similar strategies for our own members.
Most reactions treated Bazubi like a hidden gem that had finally been discovered.
Even now, with the stream long over, Bazubi’s follower count was still rising.
There was no major backlash, and she had managed to grab hold of the audience’s attention through sheer presence.
That said, the excitement from yesterday’s stream was already causing some side effects.
For the first time in a while, I had done a stream purely for someone else—no intention of promoting Parallel’s first-gen or anything like that.
But of all days, it just so happened that today was the announcement day for the first-gen’s new song with CAT.
And, of course, conspiracy theories had already begun to spread.
... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery / Trending Posts ─ — ...
(Notice) [Please refrain from speculating about Magia, the F contestant, or Fan_C]
★[Something feels off]
★[■■■=■■■■=■■]
★[I said from the start that this collab was suspicious]
★[??? : Damn, that's cold]
★[To the guy saying Bazubi’s collab timing is weird]
★[But isn’t this kinda strange?]
... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...
I clicked on the most recent trending post, and... yeah, some people were really going off the deep end.
... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ — ...
[Something feels off]
(Proof I'm not just trolling_Parallel4members_1year_sub.jpg)
I’ve been worried about this since people started pressuring her to debut.
If I were her, honestly, if I was good at singing, I’d rather sign with a huge agency and become a Utaite than deal with the stress of being a VTuber.
VTubers already have way too much on their plates.
And now they’re pushing someone who’s already drowning in company work to debut on top of that?
If it were me, I’d say screw it, quit, and go be a Utaite instead.
Also, isn’t it weird how the first-gen collabs have been drying up lately?
This is making me really nervous.
(Upvotes: 775 / Downvotes: 527)
[Comments]
— Parallel189: So you’re saying Magia’s been pretending to be all “we’re friends” up front while secretly planning to bail?
ㄴ Parallel771: NO!!!!!!
ㄴ Parallel251: Stop crying, please.
— Parallel834: Why would someone on the fence about debuting in second-gen suddenly ditch Parallel? Lmao.
ㄴ Parallel581: Was that ever confirmed?
ㄴ Parallel581: At the end of the day, all we saw was that she was putting out a song with CAT. Some people are still too brain-rotted to get it lol.
... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...
The reason I had created a separate alias was simple—I didn’t want to be an unnecessary extra in the perfect four-member lineup, and I wanted people to focus on Parallel’s first-gen, not me.
So how the hell did things end up like this?
The problem was that this post—clearly written by a hardcore fan—wasn’t entirely illogical.
For one, becoming a VTuber does come with way more work compared to being a Utaite.
A Utaite only needs to focus on recording songs, preparing for concerts, and fan engagement.
Most of the business side—like advertising—gets handled by the agency.
VTubers, on the other hand, have to do all of that plus daily streams, collabs, and even take on responsibilities for brand deals.
Sure, the agency helps with managing sponsorships, but the VTuber has to come up with ideas for how to execute them.
And on top of that, managing their YouTube channel is entirely on them.
There are production teams, yeah, but the VTuber themselves is essentially the team leader.
At this point, it should be clear why I keep saying that if I became a full-time VTuber, I’d never have time to watch streams.
There literally isn’t time.
And if you don’t genuinely enjoy interacting with viewers, you’ll burn out fast and quit.
That’s just how the industry works—both for corporate VTubers and independent streamers who operate at a near-corporate level.
That said, the whole “She got sick of being forced to debut, so she’s bailing to become a Utaite” theory was somewhat reasonable.
But trying to twist my lack of first-gen collabs into some kind of internal drama?
That was just reaching.
Well, at the end of the day, it all came down to an information gap.
I had told people I was busy with second-gen debut prep, but I never showed it.
Some anxious fans were bound to jump to conclusions.
The good news was that rumors about internal conflicts were always bound to pop up—and they were also very easy to shut down.
A full-force collab, one that oozed "real" camaraderie, was all it took.
Nothing dispelled drama faster than an over-the-top, affectionate group stream.
Still, it didn’t feel urgent enough to rush.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I figured I’d just text the CEO about it once my day off was over, but...
[CEO: Call me when you wake up.]
Huh.
So, for once, the CEO had caught onto the situation before I did.
Looked like we were about to have that conversation.
Leaving Bazubi sound asleep, I quietly slipped out onto the balcony.
It was rush hour. One by one, the cars were pulling out of the parking lot below.
“This is Magia.”
[...Why are you up so early? Go back to sleep.]
“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you? I know you were up past three last night.”
[Yeah, well, unlike some people who took a day off, I actually have to be at the office for the song release today.]
“I know. I said it on purpose.”
[Do you want to die? Look at you, all giddy from playing princess with Bazubi. You looked like you were having so much fun.]
“I was handling things, thank you very much.”
I chuckled.
“Anyway, you saw the community reactions, right? I think we need a first-gen collab soon. What do you think?”
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on ƒгeewebnovёl.com.
[I expected some kind of overblown take. And it’s not exactly hard to fix, so don’t stress over it.]
“When have I ever stressed over stuff like this? I’ve stared into the abyss way too many times for this to faze me.”
[Yeah, yeah. But still—if anything ever gets overwhelming, just say the word. I mean, if I don’t look out for you, who will?]
“Team Leader Kang?”
[Yeah, besides me and Team Leader Kang, who else is going to look after you?]
“Seung-yeon?”
[...Cut it out, will you?]
“Anyway, about the collab. We should do one, but when? I know the members’ schedules are packed with ads and external collabs after the new song release.”
The CEO thought for a moment before speaking.
[How about you host next week’s collab instead of me?]
New corporate VTubers usually avoid collabs for the first few months so they can build their own connection with fans.
Our first-gen members also streamed solo for their first three months before finally doing their first four-person group collab.
That debut collab was called "We’re Really Close!"
It was a simple concept: first-gen members answered questions and shared stories about each other.
The first time, it was a bit awkward, but now that the initial tension was gone, it became a chance to bring up stories they never got to tell and share fun behind-the-scenes moments with fans.
Of course, rather than just being wholesome, the collab often turned into playful bickering, with everyone poking at each other’s weak spots.
That’s why someone always had to be there to make sure no one crossed the line or let their emotions get hurt.
Viewers enjoyed it like a lighthearted WWE match, but if things suddenly turned into an actual UFC fight, it could get awkward fast.
That’s why the CEO had hosted the collab last year and was planning to do it again for the new song release.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to do it?”
[You’ve already proven yourself, so it’s fine. Plus, if you’re hosting, won’t the members try to mess with you? I think that’s the best way to show how close you all really are.]
“If they mess with me, I’m not going to react in a funny way.”
[That is funny.]
“?”
[It’s really funny. I mean, I can’t say my perspective is exactly the same as the fans, but watching the others desperately try to take you down? That’s entertainment. You get what I mean?]
Was ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) it, though?
I hesitated, and the CEO continued.
[Think about when you were targeting me. Watching me struggle to escape your bullying—wasn’t that funny?]
“...Ah.”
[See? Same idea. No need to explain further, right?]
“Yes, I get it now. You really are the best, boss.”
[...You don’t have to flatter me when we’re talking about stuff like this.]
“You’re the greatest, boss.”
[I swear, you’re impossible.]
Still, I wasn’t entirely thrilled about taking over as the host.
Not because of the collab itself, but because of what it meant long-term.
[Once you do it once, everyone’s going to want you to keep doing it.]
“Why would they? You’re still here.”
[They’ve already seen me host for over a year. It’s about time they got tired of it.
Besides, like I said, your hosting style is totally different from mine. I’m the type to pamper and dote on them, while you actually fight back. That’s way more entertaining to watch.]
More than that, the CEO had a point.
Since I had joked about possibly becoming a second-gen member during April Fools’, I was now seen as a more internal figure within the company.
That meant that if I hosted, it wouldn’t feel like some corporate presence interfering—it would feel like a VTuber talking to fellow VTubers.
[Honestly, I’ve never liked the idea of the company getting too involved in their collabs. It breaks immersion.]
“I mean, you’re both the CEO and a VTuber, so doesn’t that make it fine?”
[Yeah, but the way they act around me is totally different. The moment they treat me like their boss, the illusion is gone.
But you? You talk casually with them now. Your model setup is the same as theirs.
And you’ve already teased that you share a similar concept. It all works.]
To sum it up, if the audience ended up loving the dynamic, I’d inevitably become the default host for every future collab.
“That’s going to make me even busier.”
[If it gets to be too much, just say the word. We can always hire more people.]
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.”
[Anyway. That should be enough to clear things up.]
The CEO let out a small sigh before casually asking,
[Since you’re doing the collab, how about grabbing a meal with the members beforehand? We’ll do the rehearsal the day before, obviously, but you haven’t seen them in a while. It’d be good to have a little extra to talk about on stream.]
“I’ve been keeping up with their streams, even just through summaries. Is it really necessary?”
If it was just a meal, that was fine.
But to me, this was still work.
I tried to wriggle my way out of it, but the CEO wasn’t having it.
[Everyone knows you’re a dedicated fan of the members. But this time, you need to show a friendship dynamic. That means you need some real, casual conversations to pull from—something unrelated to work.]
It made sense.
Talking about work with colleagues was a given.
But if we wanted to kill the drama and prove we were close, we needed interactions outside of work.
[You do know they’ve been avoiding using the free collab passes you gave them, right?]
Right.
During our first anniversary trip, I had given every first-gen member a free-use pass to invite me onto their streams whenever they wanted.
And yet, months had passed, and not a single one of them had used it.
Either they were still hesitant around me, or there was some other reason.
“...Now that I think about it, none of them have invited me at all.”
[They made a silent agreement not to bother you too much. It’s been two months already.
They know how busy you are, so they’ve been holding back. Go break the ice a little. That way, the collab will feel even more natural.]
“I gave those passes so they could use them, though...”
The CEO clicked her tongue.
[You seriously don’t realize how chaotic your schedule looks to other people, do you?]
“I don’t feel that busy.”
[That’s because you’re a machine. To them, you look like a workaholic.
No one wants to be the one to bother you when you seem that swamped.]
I scratched the back of my neck, mumbling.
“...It’s not that bad...”
