They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 23

Late Tuesday night.

Choi Yeseo tapped away on her laptop, thick glasses perched on her nose.

Even after finishing her stream as Clara, she couldn’t get up for a long while.

Tap tap—

“…”

She was organizing plans for an event scheduled for this Friday.

The scale had to be revised after a sudden budget increase—tenfold—courtesy of a “mysterious investor.”

‘As always, they’re incredibly generous.’

“…”

A wave of gratitude washed over her.

But she didn’t want to go over the top like Dodam.

-Bigmaaaaan—!

‘Come on, I’m not a kid anymore.’

“…Bigman…”

She just murmured it softly.

And then got back to work.

The best way to repay trust is with diligence.

Tap tap—

“…”

A merchandise giveaway event.

To Yeseo, this was a declaration of war.

It was the fate of a latecomer armed with capital.

‘…Realistically, this is going to shake up other VTuber fandoms. A group handing out this level of merch at a launch event, while pretending to be rookies? That’s bound to stir things up.’

Backlash and mockery were guaranteed.

Just existing would invite conflict,

To a degree that would leave others in the same industry feeling defeated.

The All-Star Box was dazzling.

T-shirts, cheering towels, light sticks, and photo cards—each set neatly packaged by member theme.

The contents were enough to crush industry customs and notions of decorum.

Unless you were a major idol agency,

You couldn’t even dream of preparing something like this.

“…”

But.

We did it.

In our own little kingdom.

Yeseo’s heart pounded with nervous excitement.

“…”

It was time to wield the sword that would protect her younger comrades.

Big Plan A Company.

The ecosystem created by this capital giant was overwhelming.

*

Yeseo made a suggestion during the Big Plan planning meeting.

“Do you think this kind of concept would work?”

“…”

President Ha of the merchandise distribution company nodded as he looked over the proposal.

His face was calm, but thoughtful.

“We can move forward right away. We already have high-resolution official images ready. Since the group’s theme is clear, we can keep the design minimal and still have strong product appeal. As for the box, we just need to print on a ready-made one.”

“How long will it take?”

“If you just send me the files, I can show you a sample image immediately.”

“!”

Yesuh immediately handed over the files.

Ha tapped on his laptop a few times and created an image sample.

The base design had already been set during planning, and the concept emphasized colors and letters, which made the composition easy.

Tap tap!

“This is how it would look.”

“Yes! This is exactly the style I had in mind.”

“Great. This model is the fastest to produce. It’s simple and durable. We can start production right away without any mold work.”

“!”

Yesuh’s face lit up.

‘Then from now on, we can go straight into…!’

Ha added a word of caution.

“But.”

“Yes?”

“We might need to make adjustments depending on the budget. From our end, the risk lies more in storage and production costs than in delivery deadlines.”

“With a budget of about 100 million won, how far can we go?”

“Hmm…”

Ha tapped away at his calculator.

“First, we can produce 200 sets of the ‘All-Star Box’ for the event. Then, in the next stage, we can make 2,000 sets, and 1,000 units of each individual product. The rest can go toward storage and shipping costs.”

“…”

3,200 sets.

Less than expected.

It wasn’t enough to shake the market
or arm the fans.

Still, Yesuh accepted it.

‘Considering each item costs over 20,000 won… there’s no helping it. I wanted to prepare at least 10,000 sets for the official store, though.’

Just then—

Suddenly, 1 billion won came in from Big Man.

–Use it.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The people in the meeting room fell into silence.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Ha put his calculator back in his bag.

He clasped his hands and looked at Yesuh.

With that kind of budget, there was no need for math.

“I’ll make as many as you want.”

“Would 20,000 sets be possible?”

“Of course. As long as we get final approval, we can start right away.”

Yesuh looked at CEO Baek Sucheol.

She trusted him.

“…”

“…”

And he trusted her, too.

Baek Sucheol nodded.

“!”

Yesuh turned back to Ha.

“It’s done.”

And just like that, the factory went into motion.

When capital was invested, there was no such thing as a delay.

*

Friday afternoon, at the convenience store.

I was grilling pork belly at an outdoor table.

Sizzle—!

Savage drops of oil splattered everywhere.

Finally, I wrapped the cooked meat in lettuce and took a bite.

“Mmm, tasty.”

Ding!

“!”

A text came in during the meal.

It was a message from Lawyer Kim saying, “All the products are ready.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed by how fast everything had been prepared.

“Huh.”

I thought it would take a few days.

“Bringing an entire distribution network with you really makes a difference.”

If this were a smaller company,

They’d still be busy bowing and scraping while looking for outsourcing partners.

But this group was different.

Their partnered companies, all linked through the Big Plan System, sprang into action immediately. Thanks to that, it took less than three days from the budget drop on Monday to full execution.

“Clara was the one directing it, right?”

“…”

Clara turned out to be more of a businesswoman than I thought.

On TV, she seemed like a quiet nerd chatting about otaku stuff.

But behind the scenes, she was a warrior on the front lines of the market.

That’s not something just anyone can do.

To grip a sword made of money,

You have to be unafraid of competition and criticism.

“Even just from the detailed analysis in her proposal, I could tell she was dead serious…. Maybe it’s the sense of responsibility as the eldest of her small team?”

You could feel the fury in those cold strings of numbers.

The desperation, the urgency—so intense it practically boiled off the page.

Her grasp of reality was on a whole other level compared to her softer, gentler teammates.

Before I even realized it, I ended up rooting for her with a ten billion won investment.

“Honestly, Clara seems more suited for a strategy team or planning division than as an idol…”

At that moment.

Another text arrived.

Ding!

“!”

It was a real idol this time.

[Ayoung: 😭😭 Manager, I’m sorry for skipping my shift. I’ve got something this evening I really can’t miss….]

“She really doesn’t need to apologize for this.”

The convenience store is just a resting space for Ah-young anyway.

I replied:

[Ayoung, you really don’t need to feel bad. If you’re tired, you can take tomorrow off too. Actually, just work whenever you feel comfortable this week.]

The reply came almost instantly.

Ding!

[Ayoung: I’m so sorry…. I’ll definitely treat you to dinner tomorrow 😭😭 Please don’t be mad 😭😭]

“…?”

I wasn’t mad at all.

Chewing on my meat wrap, I tried to decipher Ayoung’s message.

*

【ABCD Weekly Big Plan Special Broadcast】

《Live Now: Special Broadcast!! ABCD Merch Giveaway Quiz Show~!》

– Live viewers: 31,074

The majesty of an extraordinary underdog special broadcast.

Even though it was still the waiting screen, the viewers were already flooding in. 

The power of free merch truly was incredible. 

But thanks to prior coordination, the server lag was less than during the showcase.

【Admin Notice】

“Chat delay is currently in effect to ensure smooth broadcasting. Please understand that certain keywords have been restricted due to repeated reports.”

– Highshighshighshighs…  

– Open the dooooor~  

– Berrrrrrrrrry…  

– Something feels off here  

– LOL WTF LOL  

– Resellers, get lost already  

– This place is like a black market lol

【‘BigMan’ donated 1,000,000 Pajik!】

– BigMan drops cash and watches silently~  

– Wait, that’s BigMan?! Damn.  

– WTF someone just threw a million?!  

– If you don’t know BigMan, you’re not one of us  

– BM  

– Worshipping big names is so gross lol  

– Kick the spies out!!!  

– Ugh I can’t even praise him with keyword bans LOL  

– “         ”

【‘Bald Octopus’ donated 50,000 Pajik!】  

“Merch fee paid in advance, lol”

– LOOOL WTF  

– Thought it was BigMan for a sec lol  

– First time seeing a bald guy be generous  

– Don’t make fun of bald people, assholes!!!!  

– Why’s your scalp so wide when your heart is so narrow? LOL  

– Time… is fleeting… only tears remain…

Amid the chaos—

The music finally changed, signaling the start of the broadcast.

“!”

Lights lit up the dark studio.  

It looked like an actual quiz show set. 

The members’ personal-colored lasers softly glowed around them.

– Whoa, this is the power of a studio broadcast…?  

– LMAO that’s insane  

– This is too much  

– Looks legit though  

– Waste of money lol

From the far end of the set,  

ABCD members entered one by one.

Aki came in politely with hands clasped.  

Berry hopped in with little jumps.  

Doda suddenly rolled in from the floor.

“Hello~! Please take care of us again today—!”

“Yay~! Are our Boomerangs all here? Huh?”

“The one and only has arrived.”

Last to enter was Clara, the planner behind today’s event. 

She walked in calmly, smiling brightly.

“Hello! Nice to see you all—!”

Inside, she was already analyzing the chat window coldly.

‘…More live viewers than expected. Comments not recognizing BigMan and lots of hate. Newcomers? This event really made waves.’

From a marketing standpoint, it wasn’t bad at all.

‘Still, the girls might get hurt by this… Hopefully Minyoung unnie handles the cuts well.’

The ABCD members lined up.

“The star in your heart! Idol trainee Aki-chan here!”

“Ready to roll? Your chatty friend Berry is here!”

“Shining moments with you! Sparkling girl Clara here!”

“Tock— Tock, Tock, logging into your heart. Gamer DoDa, online.”

[Running toward the light! We are ABCD—!]

– brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr  

– Berry-ri! Good after-noon~  

– Hais! Hais! Hais!  

– dododododododo  

– Haha… Lady Clara… long time no see…  

– Leaving a rose for Clara @))—  

– Are Carats all boomers or what?

As soon as the introductions ended,  

Numbers appeared above each member’s head.

『500』  

『500』  

『500』  

『500』

– ???  

– ?  

– Gasp…!  

– ????  

– What’s with the numbers?  

– Kinda embarrassed…  

– ??  

– W-wait…  

– Is this an adult stream?  

– WTF you sickos lol what are you imagining  

– Typical for our kinda stream—awkward and weird

Clara cheerfully spoke up.

“These numbers, 500, show how many ‘All-Star Boxes’ are left per member! Every time you get a quiz question right and win a prize, this number goes down—!”

– Health bars? lol  

– Wait that’s a lot more than I thought  

– Fr lol  

– FREE MERCH!  

– Thought they’d prep like 100 at most lol  

– Wow that’s some budget right there  

– No lie I seriously want one  

– I’ve been watching since Live Future—just give me one already;;  

– All-Star Box woooow  

– MERCH! WOO! MERCH! WOO!

“Here’s the rule! The first member whose number hits 0 has to do a punishment. So if you make your questions too easy, your number will drop fast. You’d better be careful when making your quiz questions!”

The other members acted surprised.  

They stomped their feet and looked around nervously. 

It looked like an awkward skit.

“W-wait, no way…!”

“Uuuu, Berry’s so nervous.”

“An unexpected twist…?!”

– LOOOL  

– Their acting sucks lol  

– LMAO no way  

– I’m dying  

– Oh right, they are small fry lol

Clara shouted:

“Then—! Starting off with Aki-chan! Shall we begin?”

At that moment—  

a surprisingly well-made UI graphic appeared on screen.

Whirrrr—

In the chat, an announcement appeared:  

“Quiz starting soon”  

And a live countdown for the multiple-choice question began.

The viewers freaked out.

“?!”

‘How much money did they even pour into this…?’