I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 183

Second week of September.

As usual, Parallel HQ was bustling with activity.

With less than two months left until the offline concert, things were ramping up.

Starting this month, the company had begun full-scale senior-junior collab content and sponsored streams.

Next month was already packed with outside collaboration events, so even though it was late in the evening, there were hardly any empty desks.

The streaming department started work later in the day anyway.

The two who had come in after a hearty dinner were just beginning their shift.

Last month—

That is, starting in August—a new hire had joined.

Ha Jae-yi, 22 years old, was reviewing the members' stream schedule when she asked Gong Seung-yeon a question.

“Senior, I have something I’ve been wondering.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Our team leader... is she really going to perform live at the concert in November?”

That was the gist of the question.

They could’ve just used a pre-recorded track—was she really going up there to sing in person?

Fan_C, being a faceless utaite, was set to stand behind a semi-transparent panel so only her silhouette would be visible.

Still, it meant she’d be on stage physically.

“She probably will. She’s also hosting the event that day anyway.”

“But the CEO could handle hosting, couldn’t she?”

“Hmm, well... we’re inviting a lot of high-profile guests from the industry to the concert, including folks from CAT. I think the CEO will be too busy networking. That’s why our team leader has to MC.”

“Ah. So, in any case, she’ll be singing live.”

Looking over toward the CEO’s office,

Magia and Do-hee were busy discussing something inside.

Alongside them were Team Leader Ra Seunghyun from Planning and Team Leader Oh Seok-jae from PR, creating a rather serious atmosphere.

Ha Jae-yi stared intently in that direction with her wide eyes, then asked Seung-yeon again.

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why does our team leader keep working here?”

The reason?

Seung-yeon knew it well by now.

Because her oshi was here. Because she wanted to help her oshi.

But then Jae-yi said,

“Then wouldn’t it be better if she just became a VTuber? Rather than continuing to work, she could join the streams and content directly. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate fan dream?”

When she first joined the company, Jae-yi had assumed Magia was a VTuber under the agency.

Now, she understood Magia’s position clearly.

An office worker.

A person who sat in the office doing actual desk work, reviewed reports submitted by her and Seung-yeon,

but somehow also streamed and performed as an utaite. A complete lunatic, in other words.

From a rookie’s perspective, it all seemed insane.

Wouldn’t it be more fun just doing streams with her oshi?

Why go through the grind of commuting every day?

Those questions wouldn’t leave her mind.

Not even because Jae-yi found office life difficult.

The streaming department, where Seung-yeon and Magia were her seniors, was actually quite cozy. Even by that standard, Magia’s workload was insane.

She was small, didn’t even eat much—

Where did she get the energy to handle so many things at once?

In the end, Seung-yeon didn’t have a perfect answer for that last question either.

All they could do was wait for Magia to return.

“I have an important recording today, so I’m heading out. If I finish early, I’ll come back to the office. Keep up the good work while I’m gone.”

After finishing her meeting, Magia returned, packed her bag, and got ready to head to CAT Entertainment.

Before she left, Jae-yi asked her the same question she had asked Seung-yeon earlier.

If she adored the CEO so much, why didn’t she go full-time as a streamer and live out the dream?

A bold, blunt question from a daring newbie.

Magia replied,

“Because the CEO spends more time working than streaming.”

“Ah.”

“If she streamed more than she worked, maybe I’d consider it. But Jae-yi, you’ve been here for over a month now. You get the gist, right? Our CEO is glued to her desk all day long.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed.”

“And also, I just enjoy watching streams more than doing them myself.”

“Even though, lately, you’ve been streaming a lot.”

“I count it as work because I’m doing it for the company. I mean, yeah, the boundary is fuzzy. But as far as I’m concerned, I’m on the clock.”

She didn’t stop at just answering.

Magia also left her with some advice she might find useful later.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Honestly, working here, there are times when I don’t know if I’m doing actual work or preparing for a broadcast. But in the end, it’s all how you choose to see it.

Either way, we’re helping out our company idols, so just go with whatever feels right to you, Jae-yi.”

Seung-yeon nodded in agreement—she still considered monitoring streams part of her hobby zone, so her job satisfaction was through the roof.

“Well, it’s time for me to go. See you all tomorrow.”

“Yup. Good luck with the recording, team leader!”

“Take care.”

After Magia left,

Jae-yi, who had been immersed in work prep for a while, muttered with a confused look.

“I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like the team leader doesn’t actually hate streaming.”

Seung-yeon nodded.

“Ah. Yeah, I’ve started noticing that too. When I first joined, she seriously hated streaming. You remember Wicker Town, right?”

“Yes. Magia was hilarious.”

“Back then, it was like... she kept making excuses, trying to force herself to find reasons to stream.

But now? She actively looks for things to stream about...”

Huh.

Seung-yeon scratched her cheek, murmuring.

“Now that I say it out loud, yeah... she really has changed. Maybe I didn’t notice because I was always around her?”

And so, one thought naturally came to both of their minds.

What if—really, truly—Shirahoshi Momo dropped the business and returned to being a full-time streamer?

What would Magia choose then?

Would she finally become a VTuber?

Return to being a personal manager?

Or... would she stay right where she is, a regular staff member at Parallel?

***

“Maybe I’ve been brainwashed a bit over these past three months.”

About an hour later, when Magia arrived at the conference room of Allmight Productions, Iyura was already there, sipping her coffee.

Curious about what she meant, Magia asked,

“Brainwashed? How so?”

“Well... I used to be an utaite, and technically still am, right?

But I feel like I’ve gotten so used to the VTuber mindset that I’ve forgotten what it was like being an utaite.”

“I don’t quite follow.”

“I mean... don’t you think utaites are kind of boring now? That sort of thing?”

Magia had a feeling she understood.

Utaites were like singers.

People who proved themselves purely through music.

They tended to be serious about their art, focused on sound-based promotion, and preferred diving quietly into their own musical world.

VTubers—especially corporate ones—were more like idols.

Sure, singing was important, but the real focus was on interaction and engagement.

You had to constantly build stories with your groupmates,

And keep up with collabs with seniors, juniors, and other streamers.

It’s not a perfect metaphor, but—

If utaites were calm and static, VTubers were noisy and dynamic.

Basically, Iyura just fit better as the VTuber Natsuki Luna.

She preferred dynamic energy over stillness.

There were plenty of people in the world who never found the right fit for their talents.

So Magia didn’t think much of it and replied casually.

“People’s tastes don’t stay the same. What you like can change depending on timing. Right now, it sounds like being a VTuber is just more fun for you.”

“Oh—it’s crazy busy, but definitely more fun.”

Bachubachu probably knew this about Iyura’s personality, too.

Which is why they were doing everything they could to keep her locked in.

It had been just under three months since Magia and Iyura last saw each other at the MCN showdown.

Even back then, Luna was already close with the seniors. Now, she was on easy terms with JP, EN, and ID talents too.

The more people she got close to, the less likely she was to graduate from Bachubachu.

Even if she kept releasing songs as Iyura, she probably wouldn’t go all-in like before.

And that made sense.

Balancing VTuber life with utaite work wasn’t easy to begin with.

Especially in a big company like Bachubachu, where you had personal sponsors, collabs with seniors and juniors, and company-mandated events.

No one could really predict what the future held for Iyura the utaite.

This current song collab with Magia might even be her last project as Iyura.

“Either way, thanks for making time despite your busy schedule.”

“No, no, no. I should be the one thanking you. Honestly, I bet you’re even busier than me, Gia.”

“Am I?”

“Of course I’m grateful. And more than that, you even gave permission for a Luna vs. Magia track in the future. Strictly speaking, you didn’t have to.”

“I mean, we’re doing it because it’s good for both sides, right?”

Iyura clearly enjoyed working with Magia.

From everything she’d shown so far, it wasn’t just “liked”—she loved it.

So if Magia really wanted, she could probably pressure Iyura into staying active.

It would help CAT too, as her business partner.

But the problem was—Iyura was now a full-fledged VTuber.

And Magia, of all people, was soft when it came to VTubers.

Rather than pushing for something, she usually listened to what the other person wanted first.

So she had no plans to strong-arm her into anything.

Sure, Parallel’s gains were important, but she didn’t want to be some heartless exec.

Well, if the Fan_C and Iyura duet ended up being a smash hit and caused a major stir in the industry, that might change things.

The rough benchmark?

About fifty million views—Iyura’s usual bar for a hit.

At that level, she’d be a fool to abandon utaite work completely.

There was money, sure—but more than that, just a bit more effort would let her reap the rewards from both fandoms and maintain her status.

“Fifty million, huh...”

Of course, it was a ridiculous number.

Even the Parallel VTubers—Momo included—had never reached that figure.

Maybe Iyura could do it alone, as she's hailed as the goddess of utaites in Korea.

But if they had to package her with a total newbie like Magia, it was another story.

So Magia was putting in the effort, but trying not to expect too much.

If it ended in disappointment, she figured she could just let it go.

After all, even just having a personal connection with Iyura was already a huge gain for Parallel.

Iyura was especially kind to her, too—easy to work with.

Like now, for example.

“This track we’re working on is going to be a huge step forward for Fan_C, so I’m going to give it my all.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best, too.”

“Since we’re on the topic... Gia, what’s your goal as an utaite?”

“My goal?”

“Yeah. You could’ve become a VTuber with Parallel, or just stayed a regular office worker... So you must’ve had some kind of goal to go out of your way to start utaite activities.

CAT moving forward with this project with me—that’s obviously based on their own goals. But I’m curious about what you personally want.”

“Hm.”

Magia was surprisingly open.

“It’s not really a goal, per se. But there is something I want to do if I ever become as popular as you.”

“What’s that?”

“Give a Parallel shout-out at a huge public event. Like, somewhere packed with people.”

“Heh...”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m serious.”

“No, sorry! I wasn’t mocking you. Honestly, that’s better than what somebody had.”

“Who?”

“Me. I mean me.”

Hmph.

Iyura rubbed her chin and muttered.

“To be honest, I kind of stumbled into my debut... I didn’t really have a big goal. That’s partly why I ended up wandering into VTuber stuff like this. I just sort of became an utaite by accident. And now I’m a VTuber too because there’s still so much I want to try.”

“Really? Then how did you hit 2.5 million?”

“They asked me: do you like singing? I said yes. Then they said they’d support me, so I should just do what I want. And... yeah. Here we are. CAT really is an incredible company.”

In other words, there was a chance that Magia, who was now walking a similar path, could end up in the same place.

That whole theory Maru had about Fan_C reaching one million subs?

It didn’t sound so far-fetched anymore.

Maybe—just maybe—that dream of shouting out Parallel on a big stage could actually come true.

Magia was entertaining some hopeful thoughts when—

Seeing her serious expression, Iyura, who had been gently pressing her lips together, spoke.

“So you do have a clear goal. In that case, I can’t exactly ignore it as your senior...”

“Oh no, really—just doing this once already means so much to me.”

“I’m not saying I’ll help you unconditionally. I mean, it’s mutually beneficial. I may be at the top in Korea right now, but I haven’t released a song in over three months. The rankings could flip any day.”

In other words, helping Magia grow now might benefit Iyura later.

You never know where life will take you.

“You stamped your contract without blinking, but now you’re being all meticulous about this?”

“Agh... I—I’ve got no excuse for that.”

Anyway, Iyura had a proposal.

And it was something that could actually benefit Parallel in a big way.

“Listen—there’s a mixer happening at the end of October.”

“A mixer?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a private thing. Japanese VTubers, utaites... People I’ve collaborated with on songs. We get together every few months and play games.

Most of them don’t game much, but they still enjoy these occasional meetups.”

“I see.”

“If our collab song hits one million views within the first week, I’ll use that as an excuse to bring you along. I really think the connections you make there would help you.”

Iyura had 2.5 million subs. She was the top utaite in Korea.

She had collaborated with tons of big-name Japanese artists.

And now she was offering to bring Magia into a mixer packed with those kinds of stars.

That one-week one-million benchmark wasn’t just arbitrary—it was a way to use results to overcome any suspicion people might have about bringing in someone unfamiliar.

In short, it was an incredible opportunity.

If Magia could make the right connections there, Parallel might be able to secure some real chances.

But according to Producer Na Hyun-gon, the collab track’s planned release date—assuming there were no recording delays—was early October.

Which meant, the moment recording fell behind, they wouldn’t even be able to aim for a million views in the first week.

And the mixer opportunity would vanish just like that.

“So how well we record today is going to be the deciding factor.”

“Exactly.”

On top of that, CAT had high hopes for this song.

They saw it as a turning point—Fan_C, their rookie they’d invested so much into, rising to true stardom.

Naturally, they were planning to conduct the recording under the strictest standards yet.

Iyura could meet those demands with ease.

But Magia? She was the greenest of greenhorns—someone who’d only ever sung exactly as instructed by the recording director.

In the end, how long it would take to finish the track depended entirely on the kind of performance Magia could deliver.

She lowered her head for a moment, deep in thought.

Iyura, being relatively tall, couldn’t see Magia’s expression clearly—

But she figured it must have looked pretty tense.

“In the end, it comes down to whether I can keep from holding you back.”

And yet—

As always, Magia was the type who got even more fired up the tougher the conditions became.

Rather than backing down out of fear,

She preferred to charge in headfirst, even if it meant breaking her nose on impact.

And so, a few seconds later, the emotion that rose to the surface of her face was a blazing competitive spirit—

The kind that said, no matter the challenge, I’ll smash it to pieces.

“Iyura, you better keep your promise.”

Once she set a goal, she charged straight for it like a racehorse with blinders on.