They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 10

This is how it all began.  

「[General] Title: Did Any Coins Go Up Lately?」

「There are people I’ve never seen before in the streamer rooms I frequent, casually throwing around 2.5 million won. It’s terrifying, lol. Did stocks or crypto skyrocket or something?」

– Oh, you too? Lol  

– At first, I thought it was Big Man, but nope.  

– Saw someone with the nickname [BigMan2]… is that Big Man’s sub-account?  

– Nah, their tone was completely different.  

– It’s just a trend called ‘Big Man Roleplay.’  

└ “Please act naturally.”  

└ Oh, damn, it’s a template, lol.  

└ So freaking natural, lol.  

– To explain seriously, Big Man went into a streamer’s room, dropped 1 billion won and 2.5 million won, and became insanely famous in just ten days. So now, people who want to be famous too are just throwing money around.  

└ What kind of stupid trend is this?  

└ For real, lol.  

└ For real, lol.  

‘Big Man Roleplay.’  

Those who couldn’t throw around 1 billion won but could spare 2.5 million won had chosen this game. 

The method was simple—just enter any streamer’s room and drop a high-value donation.  

They admired Big Man,  

and they wanted to become heroes to the streamers.  

[‘BigMan2’ has donated 2 million won!]  

“Huh… W-wait, is it really Big Man?! Wow, thank you so much!”  

[‘BigMan11’ has donated 1.5 million won!]  

“Oh my, really? Seriously? For real? Wow… Thank you—!”  

[‘BigMan34’ has donated 1 million won!]  

“Oh, oh?! Big Man oppa?”  

There wasn’t any particular reason.  

It was just a phenomenon that arose because Big Man had become famous.  

– “I want to grow up to be Big Man!”  

– “He’s so cool!”  

Giggle!  

Up to this point, it was just another fleeting internet trend. 

But when some teenagers started using their parents’ credit cards to play ‘Big Man Roleplay,’ things took a turn.  

Parents’ complaints and worries flooded in.  

“My kid used my card to donate money in a female streamer’s room!”  

“They’re just copying what those bad adults are doing online!”  

Every newspaper and media outlet covered the story.  

The news spread like wildfire,  

Fueling anxiety among parents across South Korea.  

“What if our kids start imitating this?!”  

“…”  

The situation had spiraled out of control.  

But by now, slapping regulations on giant streaming platforms like HiTube or Pajijik was too burdensome—the cure would be worse than the disease.  

The regulatory agency gnashed its teeth.  

Grind—!  

“How dare this nameless, second-rate streaming site disrupt market order?!”  

So the agency made a choice.  

They would make an example out of just one:  

Live Future.  

The blade of regulation came down.  

Clang—  

“Wh-what is this? Why are you pointing a sword at me?”  

“Take responsibility. This is your fault.”  

“No, this is unfair! The money we make is nothing compared to the giants like HiTube or Pajijik! We’re already under stricter regulations than them!”  

“I don’t want to hear it.”  

“Please, have mercy! Compared to the profits from Paprika’s female streamer rooms, we barely make anything!”  

“Do you know why you’re being punished?”  

“…!”  

The agency spoke coldly.  

“Because you spawned the rebel known as ‘Big Man.’”  

“That’s—!”  

In the end, Live Future’s head was publicly displayed for the crime of disrupting market order. 

That was enough to quell the angry public sentiment.  

– “Big Man Roleplay is over!”  

– “We’ve defeated the rebel’s family!”  

– “Long live Korea! Long live! Long live—!”  

* 

The team leader’s explanation ended there.  

“…”  

I scratched my nose and summarized the key points.  

“So… you’re saying we just took the fall for everyone else?”  

– “Well, a lot was left out, but… yes.”  

“I see. It was just a hobby for me… I didn’t expect people to start copying it. I don’t really check SNS or communities, so I had no idea.”  

In previous iterations, I hadn’t donated regularly to internet streams. 

That’s why [Big Man] never became a social phenomenon.  

‘Maybe I just didn’t notice because I wasn’t paying attention.’  

I wasn’t well-versed in internet culture.  

So I apologized.  

“I’m sorry for causing trouble.”  

– Gasp—?!

The team leader was startled by my apology, worried that their precious VIP member might have been emotionally hurt.  

– “N-no! [Big Man], you did nothing wrong!”  

“Ah… Okay. Thanks for answering.”  

I hung up.  

“…”  

Donation limits had been imposed again.  

First, it was unlimited.  

Then, 2.5 million won per day.  

Now, it is 2.5 million won per week.  

Divided up, that was about 1 million won per week.  

If sent regularly,  

That would still be a huge help to the ABCD members.  

‘And if I use sub-accounts, I can still donate close to the old amounts.’  

But still…  

“…”  

‘With this platform’s choked user inflow, and now unlimited donations blocked… is there any reason to stay? Unless we’re contractually bound, wouldn’t it be better to escape?’  

The streamer site’s notorious lack of exposure.  

It was the biggest reason ABCD had slowly been dying out.  

And with their 3D debut approaching…  

This side or that side.  

If regulations were going to hit anyway,  

It’d be easier to play in a bigger pond.  

That’s how it felt as a fan.  

“Hmm.”  

‘Well, they’ll figure it out.’  

We… made a promise.  

As promised to Aki-chan,  

All I had to do was follow along and watch until the end.  

I casually watched ABCD’s streams from my room.  

“Still, I should keep donating, right?”  

I leisurely created sub-accounts. 

But from ‘BigMan2’ to ‘BigMan56,’ all were already taken. 

Eventually, I changed the naming pattern and succeeded in my clone technique (bunshinjutsu). 

[‘Big123456Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!]  

[‘Big654321Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!]  

[‘Big123321Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!]  

[‘Big654456Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!]  

– BigMan  

– BigMan  

– B.M  

– B.M  

– But the sub-account names are hilarious lol  

…  

…  

…  

“…Didn’t expect the limit to be per platform, not per account.”  

*  

Long-term,  

Staying on Live Future didn’t look promising.  

1. Minimal user inflow  

2. Hard to secure partnerships  

3. Collaborations? Even harder  

Even in a red ocean,  

If you were paying corporate taxes, you had to move to a major platform.  

– “If this continues, we’ll slowly suffocate…”  

CEO Baek Soo-cheol knew all this.  

But he had no choice.  

“…”  

He muttered bitterly.  

“Who knew the parent company’s restructuring would hit right when we were trying to go independent? We had to take whatever platform partnership fees we could get.”  

It was a devil’s contract,  

But the creator’s benefits were sweet.  

A 10% discount on revenue fees.  

12 months of contract payments—3 million won per month.  

With the parent company’s restructuring, the company had no choice but to take the deal to stay afloat.  

“!”  

Aki, attending the meeting, finally understood the full picture and looked surprised. 

She glanced around at the gathered staff and spoke.  

“So that’s why there were 10 employees?”  

“No, the full-timers are just me, the general manager, Min-young, and Eun-bi. The rest are short-term or irregular workers… and outsourced help.”  

“Ahh…”  

Bitter smiles spread across the room.  

A desperate stopgap.  

That was the state of Aurora Prism Entertainment.  

Until Big Man appeared.  

After his arrival,  

The dying company began to revive. 

Not enough to stand tall, but enough to keep walking forward.  

Manager Go Minyoung spoke up.  

“But now, even Big Man can’t donate like before. The outlook isn’t great. Relying on personal donations isn’t sustainable for a company, but that’s the reality. The last reason to stay on Live Future is gone.”  

“…”  

Choi Yeseo, the eldest member and de facto sub-manager and editor, murmured.  

“We have the 3D debut and showcase coming up. Maybe…”  

The youngest member, Kang Do-dam, raised her hand slightly.  

“Big Man said something yesterday. He came in on a sub-account and donated 2.5 million won before leaving.”  

“…”  

Manager Go Minyoung awkwardly replied.  

“Well… we’re grateful, but if he goes that far, it’s kinda scary. We’re already incredibly thankful for the electronics donations.”  

“BigMan —”  

“…”  

Ignoring Do-dam’s prayer-like muttering,  

Go Minyoung steered the discussion back on track.  

“Anyway! After a long discussion, the CEO has made a decision.”  

“?”  

“?”  

“?”  

CEO Baek Soo-cheol declared solemnly.  

“We’re leaving Live Future. There’s nothing left for us here!”  

“!”  

“!”  

“!”  

He continued, addressing the stunned staff.  

“Aside from the revenue fee discount, our contract period is ending anyway. There’s no reason to stay. Without Big Man, there’s barely any donations, right? So we’ll use the 3D debut as a fresh start on a new platform.”  

Member Kim Aeri cautiously raised her hand.  

“Which platform? HiTube or Pajijik?”  

“That’s the problem.”  

“Huh?”  

“We haven’t decided yet.”  

“…”  

“But I want to gather everyone’s opinions here to make the choice.”  

“!”  

Kim Aeri spoke up immediately.  

“HiTube is globally dominant in terms of visibility and user inflow. Personally, I think that’d be better. International exposure isn’t something to ignore.”  

Choi Yeseo and Kang Do-dam disagreed.  

“It’s too much of a red ocean. Unless you’re algorithmically favored or doing short-form content, it’s hard to break through. You need large-scale planning to succeed there.”  

“Honestly, Pajijik is just as competitive… But for gaming or performance streaming, domestic platforms are better. Easier for collaborations too.”  

The meeting dragged on.  

After much debate,  

The mood leaned toward domestic platforms.  

CEO Baek Soo-cheol nodded.  

“I see. A domestic platform, huh? Romantic Drive’s home base could work. We were on the verge of collapse but recovered, while they’ve been stable. We could learn from them.”  

“…”  

“The remaining problem is…”  

“?”  

He sighed.  

“…Will Big Man follow us?”  

“…”  

“…”  

“…”  

A heavy silence filled the room.  

No one could answer easily. Because Big Man was truly a force of nature—beyond what ordinary humans could comprehend.  

Aki looked at her phone.  

“…”  

A brand-new, clean and cute smartphone.  

Much more convenient than her old, cracked one.  

‘He listened so carefully to just one complaint… Would he really turn away just because we switch platforms?’  

It was a childish thought,  

But somehow, she felt Big Man wouldn’t leave so easily.  

– “I’ll be watching.”  

“…”  

His words were heavy and sincere.  

Aki decided to trust his sincerity.  

“…He’ll follow us.”  

Because…  

We made a promise, after all.