They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 14
Broadcast Room Is Bursting! - 1The last day of May.
After persistently enduring and finally resolving the contract issues with Live Future, the long-delayed announcement was finally posted.
《Aurora Prism Entertainment Announcement》
《Title: Platform Transition and 3D Showcase Notice》
「…for the same reasons, we will be moving forward toward a wider world. Additionally, the 3D showcase will be held on the new channel on [June 1st at 18:00]. For more details, please visit the official website…」
The announcement for the 3D showcase had been made just the day before.
People laughed, focusing not on the content of the showcase but on the absurdity of the “one-day notice.”
The sheer ridiculousness of it made the news spread even faster.
*
「[General] Title: Are These OP Guys Out of Their Minds?」
「Announcing the ‘Sizzle Showcase’ with the time set for TOMORROW’ is so fucking hilarious Hahahahaha. They must really be desperate to ditch Live Future Hahahahahaha」
– Must be a real man…
– More like a real woman haha
– Is this the legendary Pajijik vibe? Hmm~
– Feels like a doomsday countdown timer hahaha
– I never imagined a one-day notice hahahaha
– “The time… is NOW.”
└ Gasp…!
└ LMAO!
└ Stop messing around, you crazy bastards!
「[General] Title: Serious Discussion) OP’s Rush to EU 」
「(Frog with glasses meme) Honestly, no matter how small-time they are, a one-day notice is beyond absurd. Common sense dictates at least a week’s notice. So, we have no choice but to speculate on the reason.」
「《RD2xDreamLiveJP Collaboration Announcement: Herin☆Usagi – [06/07 18:00~]》」
「(Frog closing a book meme) …Let’s stop here.」
– Damn, another Road 2nd gen? LOL
– Hakko the slaughterer 😱
– Domestic VTubers are just Road knockoffs
– Fr LOL
– Romantic Drive is just a Japanese ripoff anyway
– What does that mean?
└ They originally planned to do the showcase a week later, but when a Japanese collab popped up next door, they panicked and moved it up LOL
└ Ah HaHaHa
└ The sorrow of small-timers?
└ The gap is huge, just do it
└ They’re desperate Haccos who need all the attention they can get LOL
「[General] Title: OP’s Only Path is to Swallow RD’s Leftovers」
「If they invite Big Man and host <Show Me the VTuber>, they’d dominate even terrestrial broadcasts HaHaHa Just gather like 300 Hacco VTubers. Then, when Big Man throws money, they can compete to see who can react the best while staying in character HaHaHa」
– Prize money: 1 billion? LOL
– “Please act naturally.”
– I’m genuinely curious LOL
– Honestly, if they did this, I’d watch it live every day. LOL
– Big Man could easily hit 1M subs with money-throwing content Ha Ha Ha. But there’s no trace of ABCD in this post hahahahahaha
– Big Man’s too busy playing with Aki-chan to do this hahaha
└ BS, why would a chaebol hang out with small-time Hacco VTubers? Haha Want to take the red pill?
└ Big Man’s a chaebol? 😱
└ Heard he’s the son of a pharmaceutical company CEO
└ He bought Aki-chan a phone and a PC, right? 😱
└ Pretty sure he bought them for all the members
└ 1 billion won bomber 😱
Amid the indifference and speculation, a few were genuinely curious about the showcase.
「[General] Title: So What Exactly is ABCD?」
「Heard they’re idol-oriented VTubers, but who’s the center? Just curious about the 3D showcase, but I don’t know who to watch.」
– 90% of the people talking about ABCD here have never even watched their streamsㅋㅋㅋ They just meme with the Big Man templateㅋㅋㅋ
– I saw Berry? Geumma’s stream once, she was cuteㅋㅋㅋ
– They have that raw, Hacco-like charm overall
– Doda-chan is low-key adorableㅋㅋ Feels like a 4D character
– Heard Aki-chan is the best at dancing and singing among the members… Basically the center?
└ A skilled idol 😱
└ Big Man’s woman 😱
└ Jokes aside, her singing is the best ha ha But her pronunciation slips sometimes during casual streams
└ Wonder what they’ll show in 3D?
└ If they pull off a Big Man summoning trick, I’m in
└ Big Man summoning trick my ass ha ha ha
Amid the apathy and wild guesses, one fan who had been quietly supporting ABCD typed out a message.
“…”
– But still…
Tap-tap—
– They’re really serious about this.
*
June 1st.
A motion capture studio on the outskirts of Seoul locked its doors and hung a “No Entry Except for Staff” sign.
Inside, employees bustled about.
Sitting in the silent waiting room, the voices of the busy studio could be heard.
– Adjusting the cameras again.
– Clara! Stretch your left arm out once!
– Yes, yes…!
– Good. Now, walk in a circle!
– Okay!
Aki lifted her arm.
“…”
Even though she was wearing lightweight athletic wear, the tracking devices attached to her limbs felt heavy.
The compression bands restricted her joint movements.
Somehow, even breathing felt difficult.
“Haa…”
‘What if these studio-provided devices fall off during the dance? Are these different from the ones we usually use?’
Worry surged.
They had practiced with sandbags during group training, but wearing the actual equipment in this space… felt unsettling.
“…”
Aki raised her head.
Berry, sitting with the tracking devices on, was shaking her legs nervously.
She buried her face in her trembling hands, muttering a prayer in English.
“Dear Lord… please…”
“…”
“Please, help me…”
Clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown.
The pressure of their first official event was getting to her.
Though she was the second-oldest in the group, her sensitive nature made it inevitable.
‘But she always pulls herself together during lessons and streams. You can do it, Ellie unnie.’
“…”
Aki didn’t say it out loud. Words might only add to Berry’s burden.
Instead, she glanced to the side.
Doda had taken off her tracking devices and was pouting while watching their group choreography video on her phone.
Her expression was serious but relaxed.
– Doda, you’re not nervous?
– No one expects a perfect performance from us anyway. We’ll just do our best.
But Doda kept biting her lips.
“…”
This wasn’t even a formal live stream—just a showcase to mark their transition to Pajijik.
But it was their first.
Their first time presenting a performance to the world.
– Rehearsal starts in 5 minutes! Everyone, get ready—!
“!”
“!”
“!”
Everyone looked up.
It was starting.
The weight of it hit them anew.
‘And even then, the actual performance is just one three-minute song…’
Out of the four group songs they had prepared, only one could be performed.
After the 10-billion-won incident, restarting lessons and polishing everything in two weeks had been impossible.
A 45-minute live showcase.
The rest of the time would be filled with individual segments and concept-based content.
It was a mess.
Everything was rushed and rough.
But…
“…We’ll give it our all.”
They had no choice but to pour their hearts into it.
Just then, Clara and manager Go Minyoung entered the waiting room.
Clara’s face was pale.
She had broken into a cold sweat during the equipment adjustments.
The responsibility of being the eldest, practically acting as an assistant manager, weighed heavily on her.
She spoke.
“Guys, rehearsal is starting.”
“!”
“!”
“!”
Aki silently recalled Big Man and the CEO as she stood up.
[Wherever you go, whatever you do…]
[We’re cheering for you.]
“…”
‘…Please cheer for us.’
The members walked toward the studio.
Step by step,
Step by step…
With each stride,
It was hard to believe they had made it this far.
For some, this was just the starting line.
But for others, it was a dream more precious than the finish line.
Even as mere VTubers,
It had taken a year and Big Man’s miracle to get here.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
In the middle of the hallway, CEO Baek Socheol was waiting.
He bowed his head slightly, his expression somber.
“I’m sorry for rushing the schedule like this.”
“CEO…”
“The only day we could book the studio to avoid Romantic Drive’s big collab was today…”
“…”
Clara responded calmly.
“It’s okay.”
“!”
“We’ll do our best with what we have.”
Just like they always had.
And always would.
*
– Then, let’s begin… <Stage Error>!
With a lively EDM intro,
The prelude that had only echoed within the company’s walls finally played.
A song that had stumbled for so long was finally seeing the light.
“…”
The rehearsal had begun.
And soon, the showcase would start…
CEO Baek Socheol stood blankly in the hallway, watching.
PR team leader Jo Eunbi approached him.
“CEO.”
“Hm?”
“Did you plan the live-stream promotion event near the universities?”
“?”
What?
Why would the PR team leader ask me that?
“…?”
He turned to her, confused.
But Jo Eunbi’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.
“Look at this.”
“…”
Baek Socheol looked at her phone.
A photo shared on SNS showed food trucks and digital billboard trucks set up near major universities.
The billboards displayed the live stream of ABCD’s official showcase on Pajijik.
People lined up at the food trucks, receiving snacks while sharing one hashtag relentlessly.
[#ABCD 3D Showcase Live]
[#Share and get free snacks from the food truck!]
It was like an idol festival.
A celebration for a rookie idol group taking their first step.
The kind of large-scale promotion only a major company could pull off.
“?”
Baek Socheol tilted his head slowly.
After renting the studio and purchasing 3D tracking equipment, the company’s finances were stretched thin.
There was no time or resources for such an elaborate event.
‘Who… did this?’
As Baek Socheol stood dumbfounded,
Jo Eunbi asked urgently.
“Did you plan this, CEO?”
“…No.”
“Then who…?”
“!”
Who else could it be?
The two of them looked up at the same time.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”