They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 21
Crazy Broadcast From Crazy Company - 1Monday.
The living room of the dorm where the members and manager are gathered.
“Aeri, what’s going on? Why’d you call us all of a sudden?”
“…”
Kim Aeri opened her mouth in a voice so small it was almost crawling.
She fidgeted with her fingers, her eyes darting around nervously.
“Sorry. I tried to go viral for the broadcast, but I got caught. I deleted it right away, but people already made memes out of it and started mocking me…”
“?!”
“?!”
The second-oldest dizzying mistake.
Manager Ko Minyoung and the eldest, Choi Yeseo, felt their minds go blank.
“What on earth did you do…?!”
The investigation began immediately.
“….”
“….”
A moment later.
Minyoung suddenly let out a hollow laugh, and Yeseo shook her head repeatedly.
After checking the captured post, they found nothing particularly problematic in the content.
「Our ABCD cuties HAHA. They’re all adorable♡.♡ But especially… Berry? Berry? Isn’t she kinda? Super cute? >.< Today’s broadcast is supposed to have something ~super~ special prepared♡ I really wanna see it…? What do you think? Is it just me?????」
“….”
“….”
They let out sighs of relief.
“Phew….”
‘It’s just a little cringey, that’s all…’
‘No bashing other broadcasters or leaking personal info.’
‘Not the worst-case scenario I imagined.’
Having sorted their thoughts, they gave Aeri a stern but measured scolding.
“Aeri, from now on, just stick to writing things like ‘Please look forward to it’ or ‘Thank you for your support’ on the official SNS. The post itself isn’t a problem, but people don’t take kindly to behind-the-scenes gossip like that.”
“If it’s related to the broadcast, don’t act impulsively—talk to me first and plan it out.”
“I’m sorry…”
The youngest, Kang Dohdam, shrugged.
“Isn’t this just free noise marketing? Aeri unnie’s viral skills are seriously next level. I thought it was legit drama at first. I almost called the manager but held back because something felt off.”
“….”
Yeseo sighed.
“Dohdam, when did you even see it…?”
“Lol, as if. Internet communities are basically my front yard.”
“….”
“And honestly, I’m surprised someone as mentally fragile as Aeri unnie even attempted viral marketing, but it was hilarious, so who cares? Fail and block, succeed and get clout—am I right?”
“Ugh.”
Dohdam turned to Aeri and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Don’t worry, unnie. I even gave you 10 upvotes from my alt accounts.”
“Th-thanks.”
“What kind of conversation are you guys even having…?”
Aki tilted her head in confusion.
“Up… votes? Dohdam, what’s that?”
“Getchu~”
“Getchu?”
“Yeah, it means ‘I got your heart.’”
“Oh, really? So Aeri unnie was trying to get people’s hearts online?”
“Yep, she got the Boomerangs’ hearts.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Yeah. So, like—”
Aeri’s face grew increasingly red.
Overcome with shame, her head drooped lower and lower, like ripe autumn rice.
Yeseo gave Dohdam a disapproving look.
“Dohdam, stop teaching Ayoung weird things.”
“Hehe, busted.”
“Is it something weird?”
“Yeah, so Ayoung, just ignore it.”
“Okay….”
Manager Minyoung, realizing the situation wasn’t a big deal, clapped her hands once to declare the matter closed.
Clap!
“Alright, let’s get ready to head out. We’ve got plenty of time, but we should get to the studio early to prepare. I’ll be waiting in the car, so everyone get your things and come out when you’re ready.”
“!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Dohdam did a forward roll into her room.
“Roger that—!”
“Dohdam…”
Aki smiled as she put on a baseball cap.
‘A 3D studio… To think we’d get to use one so soon.’
The incident began last Friday.
The day Aki went to work her convenience store part-time job.
*
《Live Now: Berry Returns in 3D~♡ ☆Evening Talk Show with the Chatterbox☆》
– Real-time viewers: 551
Ever since receiving her 3D model, Berry had been streaming daily.
She was already a frequent streamer, but her excitement over the frilly, fluttering dress made her broadcasts even more frequent.
“Ready to roll? It’s your chatterbox Berry, here to play! Hi! Hi! Hiiii—! How’ve you been, Boomerangs? Wow! Tomorrow’s the weekend! Time flies, right?”
– Beha!
– B-h
– Beha
【‘Jesus Venus’ donated 2,500 Pazak!】
「Behaha! What is this stream…?! So much energy!」
“Waaah—! Thank you for the donation—! Love you! I haven’t even said much yet, and you’re already donating…! Thank you!”
– B-h
– Beha
– B-h
【‘Big Man’ donated 1,000,000 Pazak!】
“Whoaaa! Hope you’re doing well today! This girl’s gonna bring even more energy to the stream! Thank you for the donation—! Stay tuned for the project! Keep watching me! Big Man—!”
– Big Man
– B-M
– B-h
– Employee casually dissing the CEO lol
– Fact: Aurora Prism Ent. has a separate CEO
– Big Man
…
…
…
An incredibly high-energy stream had begun.
Berry was visibly excited, her enthusiasm practically leaking through the screen.
“Look, look! This is 3D! Isn’t it awesome? Huh?”
Yap—!
Berry moved around the room.
As she shifted her body, her frilly dress swayed with her movements.
She pranced around, acting cute in every direction.
Bounce
Bounce
Bounce
Her pink hair fluttered, and her frilly dress moved like wings.
Berry struck a pose straight out of a shoujo manga.
Her skirt fluttered, emphasizing her femininity.
“How do I look? Am I cute? Adorable, right? Huh?”
– So cute lol
– Damn, cute af
– Panties showing, RIP
– Wait, panties?
– Confirmed white
“Panties? I’m not wearing any!”
– ?
– ????
– Gasp…!
– Dang;; Is this Hako’s boldness?
– So shameless…
“N-no! Not like that! I mean, I’m wearing shorts—!”
– Lol she’s so into her own avatar
– Why’s she so hyper? Cute tho lol
– Can’t keep up with this energy
– Oppa,,, I’m tired,,,
– Grandpa here…
Berry was overjoyed.
Just walking around elicited reactions like “So cute” and “Pretty.”
It was a world of difference from her 2D streams, where she had to constantly joke around to get a response.
‘This is so much more fun than explaining foreign memes…!’
Berry swayed cutely.
– Lol why’s she so girly all of a sudden
– And of course her avatar’s the deadliest
– Where’s the loudmouth energy?
– If you’re pretty, does it even matter? It does…?
【‘Pink Flower Pig’ donated 5,000 Pazak!】
「Hey, Berry, if you’re an idol, dance for us」
“Hehe….”
Berry’s so cute.
Berry’s the best.
Berry’s an idol….
“Hihihihihi…!”
The chemical reactions in her mushy brain.
The affectionate praise from 500 Boomerangs was an overwhelming dose of dopamine.
Even if it was just her streaming persona, her inner need for validation was being fully satisfied.
Her weak mental fortitude made her easy to please.
Her head spun with euphoria.
Ahh…
‘This is why I endured that whole year….’
A tear trickled down.
Her shoulders perked up.
Berry grinned and hopped around excitedly.
“Look at this! Look! I’m cute, right? Huh? Let’s skip the foreign memes today and just hang out with cute Berry~”
Hop
Hop
Hop
– Lol what’s wrong with her
– But she’s cute like a beagle
– Huh? Weird… Why does she look so girly today?
– Wait, Berry’s a girl? Not a speaker?
At that moment.
Ding dong!
A notification sound reached Berry’s ears.
“?!”
She hurriedly spoke before muting the mic.
“H-hold on. Just a sec—”
– ?
– ??
– What’s up?
The screen briefly switched to a standby screen.
Berry vanished from view.
“….”
– What’s going on?
– Lol is it another member?
– Oh right, they live together
– Lol did the neighbors complain?
– LMAO noise complaint?
Click
Berry returned to the screen.
But her demeanor and tone were noticeably calmer than before.
“…I’m back. Um… So.”
– What’s up lol
– Spill it
– Neighbor complaint, right?
“Huh? No. Not a complaint.”
Berry hung her head low.
The 3D sensor captured every dejected movement, making her look like a six-year-old who’d just been scolded by her parents.
“Manager unnie told me not to jump around in tight spaces. Said if I bump into something and mess up my knees, it’ll be a big problem… So I got scolded.”
– Lol got told off
– Knew it
– Damn lol
– Is this the maturity of a 20-something…?
“Sigh… W-well, I’ll just do today’s stream in 2D again~”
– LMAO
– Already lost her spirit
– So cute lol
– Berry’s mental is paper-thin
【‘Mom is an Alien’ donated 10,000 Pazak!】
「Berry’s adorable. Do whatever you want!」
“Th-thank you for the donation… But I’ll just sit and stream today. Let’s go back to fun meme explanations, okay? Hehe….”
– This is the sorrow of communal living…
– Should she just get her own place?
– Who’s gonna pay the rent?
– If they had a studio, she could stream there
– Ngl watching Berry’s 3D antics is hilarious
“Oh! A studio… Well, it’s been hard to rent one lately because of other events… We’re working on setting up a studio, but it might take a while. Still, I’ll do my best to stream in 3D as much as possible.”
The stream continued like that.
One man silently watched the scene unfold.
“….”
The next morning, Saturday.
He quietly packed his Sky Kong Kong and headed out.
Big Man had made up his mind.
‘A 3D studio… Now that I think about it, there was a motion capture studio up for sale. I’d been eyeing it on paper for a while. We even got an acquisition offer.’
Hmm.
“I should buy it.”
Beep
Beep
Beep
With those words, a struggling motion capture studio was pulled back from the brink.
And by Sunday, it was announced that they now belonged to Big Plan A Company.
CEO Baek Soo-cheol received a call on Sunday morning.
“….”
He was silent for a long time.
Then, he finally spoke.
“…Huh? Wh-what? A studio? We own it?”
*
And now, Monday.
The day of the test broadcast at the studio.
The members arrived at the 3D studio.
Dohdam jumped at the entrance.
She was pulling out all the stops to grab attention.
“Kyaaa—!”
“Dohdam…”
“What? Jumping is the standard entrance move.”
“….”
Yeseo shook her head in exasperation.
‘We’ve lived together for a year, but sometimes I just don’t get her.’
Is this…
What are kids these days like?
Aki looked around in awe.
Though smaller than the showcase studio, it was more than enough space for dance performances and rehearsals.
‘If we practice here as a group… It’s basically like rehearsing every day, right?’
“…I’ll work hard.”
The last to enter was Aeri.
“Hihihihi…!”
Ah, this is it.
The place where my affectionate life begins.
“Yahoo—!”
*
Berry appeared on screen.
This time, it was clearly a much larger space.
Though the background was just plain white, it was obvious she had far more room to move around.
The pink-clad girl skipped around excitedly.
Tip-tap…!
“Ta-daa~! Studio’s all set—! The others are still adjusting their equipment, so today it’s just me introducing things. But you’ll hear their voices!”
[Hello, it’s Clara. Honestly, I’m still shocked too.]
[Kyaaa—! Praise Big Man—! Big Men!]
[Hey…]
[…Doda here. Got a little too excited, meow.]
[Hello! Aki-chan here! Just my voice for now, but please take care of me!]
– LMAO
– What is this lol
– No way LOL
– What kind of shit is this LOL
– A studio just appeared over the weekend? LOL
– This insane small-time stream is wild LOL
Berry raised one arm high and declared:
“Alright, shall we begin—!”