They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 27
Beyond The Dimension - 1“Why not just do it with 100 people at once?”
At once.
With 100 people.
It’ll work… right?
“…”
Doda’s voice was as dry as ever.
The die-hard Dodari fans all started murmuring in response.
The phrasing sounded weirdly suggestive, but they didn’t even have time to process that.
They were too shaken.
– At once…?
– Not like multiple ranked games…?
– Just tossing us in like bean sprouts in a pot?
– Are we… a hassle?
– So that’s… how it is…
– We’re just bean sprouts, huh…
– Kkyuuung
– Kkidth…
– Punishment
…
…
…
Whispers
Trembles
To these hardcore, borderline-toxic fans, even a 100:1 penalty game was just an excuse.
They only wanted to spend more time with Doda.
But what they got instead was… the bean sprout treatment.
[‘Old Dodari’ donated 30,000 Pajik!]
「Ugh… Doboongi… my stomach hurts…」
[‘Dried Dodari’ donated 6,000 Pajik!]
「I feel like I’m losing my mind…」
Doda giggled as she looked at her sickly, emotionally fragile fanbase.
“Hehehe! Wait! Why are you twisting my words like that? Just—let me finish, okay? Ah! Thanks for the donations! Deep breaths, everyone, shake it off, okay?”
Shak
Shak
Shak
Doda’s signature move, the Thank You Head Shake, made a dazzling entrance.
But even as she shook her head, the fans were still shaken.
– Ugh… Doda’s abandoned us…
– She made money and now she’s done with us…
– We’re just bean sprouts to her now…
“Wait, no—!”
The chat was flooded with crying emojis.
It became a literal sea of sobbing.
Uuuugh
Huuuuu
Heueueung
It looked like the collected SNS posts of emotionally unstable high school girls.
Except the average age of these “high school girls” was 31 and they were all military veterans.
Doda tried to stop them, still chuckling.
“Come on! Quit crying already!”
– Ugh… she yelled at us…
– My heart hurts…
– Okay I’m gonna die then
Normally, these grandpa-aged fans were just chaotic jokers,
But their group mental breakdown was a rare sight to behold.
New viewers couldn’t stop laughing.
– LMAO why are these grandpas like this 🤣🤣🤣
– They’ve totally lost it lol 🤣
– Pretty sure they’re just doing a bit
– Yo bring the stretcher lmao 🤣🤣🤣
And while the grandpas fell deeper into their meltdown,
Ideas for 100-player games began to form.
– lol wait, what games even support 100 people?
– ‘Shuttle Ground’ or ‘Tall Guys’?
– If we play Tall Guys, I’m totally stalking Doda
– You already do tho lol 🤣
– Trueeee lol
– Heard there’s some new platform-stepping game that can do 100 players
– Oooh sounds lit
– Bet it’s boring tho…
– Tbh this sounds way more fun than getting flamed in ranked games
– Can’t we just split into a few rounds?
– It’d be wild to just all jump in at once lol
– Tbh she’s probably not just doing a couple rounds—it’s for the stream after all
– Fr, gotta secure that bag lol
– LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
Then, the grandpas’ ears also became honest.
– A group game with the dodaris?
– Oh….
– Playing with Doda?
– Not bad at all.
– Actually sounds great!
Giggle giggle
The grandpas started playing like babies again.
“…”
Doda watched the brainstorming with satisfaction and said,
“So the games I’m thinking about are ‘Tall Guys’ and ‘Shuttle Ground.’ Honestly, just playing games isn’t hard. I’m fine with doing it all night with 100 people.”
– What?!
– All night with 100 people?
– Were you always this lewd?
The dodaris cheered.
Their previously lost shamelessness had fully returned.
But Doda let out a sigh and continued.
“The thing is, it’s just a game. For a ‘big plan’ event, it feels a bit too small in scale, and that’s been bothering me. At first, I thought it’d just be some sweet, mindless fun, but after seeing Clara unnie’s plan, even the prize setup feels kinda lackluster.”
– What kind of prizes?
“I’m thinking of giving hotel vouchers, gaming PCs, graphic cards, or smartphones for ranks 1 through 10. Still, I feel like I won’t even be using half my allocated event budget.”
– LOL
– WTF I’m losing it LOL
– Big Man
– What is that prize quality? LOL
– I’m getting dizzy
– “Please act naturally.”
– This is supposed to be small scale? WTF LOL 🤣🤣🤣
– Oh right, this is ABCD
– BM
– Do you still see ABCD as a small streamer…?
– I seriously wanna hook up with Big Man
– Just this alone is already better than most other streamers’ special events LOL
– BM
– Bi… Big Man…
…
…
…
The chat went wild without end.
The dodaris trembled at the thought of prizes like hotel stays, gaming PCs, graphics cards, and smartphones.
Even so, Doda’s worries hadn’t ended.
“Hoo. It’s not quite on Clara unnie’s level, so I feel self-conscious… I’m thinking about going to the office tomorrow to ask if I can just go ahead with this.”
– Oh right, tomorrow’s Monday
– FFS I totally forgot
– What’s there to think about?
– Big Man goes hard
– For real LOL
– Wait, you already got a budget at the planning stage?
– Just talk to them
– What kind of insane company is this LOL
– Yeah LOL
New viewers were having fun spouting nonsense.
But the true dodaris felt a sense of déjà vu from this situation.
– Feels like we’ve seen this happen before
– Isn’t Big Man already in the chat anyway?
– Didn’t this happen last time too, and then Doda got a smartphone out of it….
And then— Their hunch proved correct.
To the hesitant priestess, The god gave clear permission.
[Big man: (thumbs up)]
-?!
-!!
-Nani?
-WTF lol 🤣
-Ah
-No way lol 🤣
-Oh right lol 🤣
-I’d totally forgotten about that lately lol
-They always throw out a million won at the start of every ABCD stream anyway lol -It’s like a natural disaster, so you just forget about it lol -“I am a money-throwing natural disaster.” … … …
The chat exploded again.
They kept shouting “Big man” and cheering.
God said, “Do as you please.”
“…”
Doda quietly closed her eyes.
She folded her arms and solemnly declared:
Big man—
‘But honestly, doesn’t my project seem kinda small-scale compared to all this?’
As a true believer in Bigman, She wanted to do something big.
Not just a simple viewer participation game…
“A big event.”
*
A quiet Sunday at the convenience store.
I watched Doda’s Sunday stream until the end and then stepped outside to the outdoor table.
I also grabbed a few apples from the fruit basket in the storage room.
Picking out just enough to eat,
I began peeling apples while waiting for Ayoung.
“…”
Slice
Slice
The apple danced as its skin peeled away in a flourish.
As I quietly peeled the apple,
memories from a previous round, when I worked as a bar staff member, came to mind.
That life of reversed days and nights had worn me out both physically and mentally.
‘At least when the round resets, my physical state goes back to normal, so I could sleep well in the next round.’
Press—
At that moment,
I almost cut my finger due to a clumsy stroke.
“…”
Sure enough,
Skills tended to slip when moving between rounds.
“…”
I stopped thinking and focused on slicing the apple into bite-sized pieces.
Slice
Slice
When the sun had just hung over the apartment-filled horizon,
I heard light footsteps of a woman approaching in the distance.
“Huh? Oh—?!”
“…”
“Manager—! Hello—!”
“Hello.”
“Oh? You cut up apples?”
“Yes, please have some.”
“Thank you so much!”
Ayoung grabbed a slice of apple without any hesitation.
As she bit into it with a crunch, she made a fuss.
“Wow! It’s seriously good!”
“Yes, have as much as you’d like.”
“Okay!”
She literally started chomping down on the apples like a hamster, cheeks puffed out.
‘What if she chokes on them like that?’
But despite the worry,
she skillfully chewed and swallowed just fine.
“So good!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Give me more!”
“Just a moment, please.”
I pulled out a few more apples from the basket.
After washing them at the sink, I began peeling again like before.
Slice
Slice
“…”
“…”
Sensing someone nearby,
I looked up.
“…”
“Hehe.”
Ayoung hadn’t gone into the convenience store—
She just sat next to me, smiling contentedly beneath her baseball cap.
‘Something good must’ve happened?’
I lowered my gaze again,
focusing on peeling the apple.
Slice
Slice
“All done.”
“!”
I had peeled all the apples neatly.
I handed over the plate, and Ayoung grinned bashfully as she picked up slices one by one.
In front of the quiet Han River park, the only sound was that of apples being crunched.
Crunch
Crunch
Time passed quietly like that.
Suddenly, Ayoung spoke.
Her voice was a little shy and embarrassed.
“…Manager.”
“Yes?”
“You’re exactly the same.”
“?”
“Even after hearing yesterday that I’m a VTuber.”
“Ah.”
I nodded.
“Because you’re still Ayoung. Just like how there’s no need for a performer to keep up their persona off-stage, I’m just treating you as ‘Ayoung.’”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Ayoung lowered her head.
Then she asked what she really wanted to know.
“Manager. I’m happy, but…”
“Yes?”
“That T-shirt…?”
“Oh, this?”
I lightly grabbed the hem of my shirt.
The yellow T-shirt had a simple letter “A” printed on the front, and the cheerful smile of the VTuber Aki-chan was illustrated on it.
It was a beautiful smile.
“When I took it out after receiving it yesterday, I noticed it was great quality. The makers must’ve put a lot of thought into it. I tried it on just to check the size, and it fit perfectly, so I ended up wearing it all day.”
“…”
“The print of VTuber Aki–chan was also very well done. The way it captured the energetic part of her smile was impressively detailed.”
“…”
“I’ve been wearing it for two days straight, and it’s still comfortable. Thank you for the thoughtful gift.”
“…”
Ayoung opened and closed her mouth like a fish, then buried her face in her hands.
“…You’re teasing me.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re totally teasing me.”
“Am I?”
“You are teasing me!”
“Is that so?”
“Ugh, seriously—!!”
Ayoung, looking annoyed, slapped my back.
A sharp pain struck— her hits were stronger than expected.
Maybe she really was working out.
“…”
Hmm.
I wore it because it was comfy and good quality.
‘She gave it proudly and was obviously happy I liked it, and I wore it to cheer her on. But I guess it feels like too much when we’re not in a “fan mode” context.’
I understood.
As I headed to the rooftop room, I said:
“Then, I’ll go change.”
“Okay…”
A little while later,
Ayoung and I were sitting absentmindedly outside again.
Naturally, I had changed out of the T-shirt.
“…”
“…”
As we sat there in silence,
Doda’s stream came to mind.
‘She seemed to be thinking hard about ways to have fun with her fans. Whether it’s the location or budget, I just wish she’d do whatever she wants.’
I had said something in the chat to break the silence, but—
‘Maybe she needs a clearer hint…’
But I didn’t want to dictate things like a Big Man.
I believed it only had meaning if the plan truly came from Doda herself.
‘Someone not as a Big Man, but someone who could offer a new hint for her life…’
Was sitting right beside me.
“…Hmm.”
“?”
Ayoung tilted her head curiously from beside me.
Feeling her presence,
I suddenly spoke.
“Shall we take a walk?”
“Huh?”