They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 32

Saturday afternoon.  

The ABCD fandom community was buzzing.  

Normally, discussions like “Giraffe vs. Lion,” 

“Is Aki-chan’s pronunciation part of her character?” or 

“What year was the anime Clara likes made?” would be taking place— productive debates, in other words.  

But right now, the only topic was a certain PC bang.  

「[General] Title: WTF, the line is insane lol 」

「I took the morning train all the way from Gyeonggi-do to Seoul in a hurry, but damn, the line in front of Doda-ne PC Bang is crazy long lol. I’m screwed lol. I can’t live without Seoul.」  

– Everyone in Seoul must’ve rushed there after yesterday’s stream lol.  

– They say Gyeonggi-do residents spend 50% of their lives on subways…  

– Sad… story… tears are falling…!  

– Honestly, just walking around the PC bang is fun.  

– Fr, every time the interaction cam turns on, people go wild.  

– But they manage the crowd really well, so the line moves fast. I was number 400-something yesterday and only waited three hours.  

└WTF, three hours?? I’m also in the 400s.  

└Then go wait at the café.  

└What café?  

└There’s a huge café above the PC bang. They rented the whole place as a waiting area.  

└Oh, goddamn Big Man! I’m heading there now.  

「[General] Title: WTF, the café is packed too」

「Why the hell is this café so crowded? Everyone’s just sitting there. I can’t even find a seat, so I’m just standing, and my legs hurt, damn it.」

– ? I’m at the café too.  

– Omg…! Are you two dating? 👀  

– Have sex, have sex.  

– “That was the day we first met.”  

– STFU with these lame jokes.  

– What are you even talking about? There are tons of empty seats. Just share a table? I’m sitting with strangers too.  

└Not that easy…  

└LOL WTF.  

└Just share a table with fellow degenerates.  

└FR lol.  

「[General] Title: WTF, why is this PC bang so fun??」

「Damn, waiting three hours was worth it. There’s so much merch inside, and they’re playing the stream on a huge screen lol. I already lost track of time just messing around in front of the interaction cam with Clara noona. This is insane, so much fun.」

– Why does this guy sound so pissed?  

– Have sex, have sex.  

– Nah, he’s not mad, just fully torqued…  

– (Side-eye)  

– But fr, it’s nothing special, but it’s fun.  

After Friday’s stream, the PC bang continued to welcome ABCD fans.  

Even though they couldn’t participate in the event and only enjoyed simple sightseeing and interactions, they still cheered at the fact that there was a space just for fans.  

And.  

Many began to feel a sense of debt, realizing how absurdly easy it was for such a space to open up.  

「[General] Title: But it’s really fun…」

「Aside from the shock of a place like this appearing in just a week… It’s nice to see them already trying to do things for the fans, even though we haven’t spent a dime yet. Honestly, even outside of VTubers, there aren’t many places that treat fans this well…」

– FR lol.  

– We got the All-Star Box for free, and now even the event is free. Feels kinda bad lol.  

– Ah, B-Tik…  

– The funny thing is, ABCD debuted over a year ago lol.  

– Huh…? Wait…? Why am I crying…?  

– I get what you mean lol. I ended up buying the digital album and All-Star Box on my way home lol.  

└FR, I just mindlessly bought the digital album + All-Star Box + membership.  

└Still cheaper than a truckload of gacha, right?  

└Cheap… so cheap…!  

└The most cost-efficient group ever lol.  

They felt guilty despite being customers.  

‘Is it okay for us to be treated like this when we haven’t even spent money?’  

Faced with that fundamental question,  

they couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.  

Because the experience had been that satisfying.  

Though the scale varied for each,  

The ABCD fandom imprinted a sense of duty in their minds: ‘We have to give something back.’  

And that imprint quickly turned into action.  

「[General] Title: All-Star Box unboxing lol」  

「[General] Title: Full member set unboxing, let’s go」  

「[General] Title: Just subscribed to all memberships」  

「[General] Title: Buying everything doesn’t even cost over 100,000 KRW lol」  

A fandom bound by emotion.  

Loyal fans— the heart of sustaining an IP— were born.  

Not just customers who received good service, but as owners who willingly paid to belong to this ‘worldview.’  

And naturally, they began to worship the radiant god before them.  

– It’s all thanks to Big Man.  

– FR, life’s gotten more fun lately.  

– FR lol.  😂😂😂

– The taste of corporate power-level capital…  

– Has anyone ever spent money like this just to make things fun for us?  

– Any chaebols like this?  

– Nope, damn it lol.  

Beyond mere capitalist admiration,  

This was genuine worship toward the god who created this world.  

– Big Man…  

– B-M.  

– Big Man.  

– Big Man—  

…  

…  

Beyond meme-like frenzy,  

They had reached true worship.  

Loyalty to their god,  

And emotional attachment to a unique worldview.  

A fandom structure no other IP had achieved.  

And some were aware of this structure.  

*

If you asked people to name the largest cultural content production company in South Korea, one name would always come up.  

– Ah, that place…  

– Their logo always appears at the start of movies.  

– They make dramas too.  

– They also have an idol agency.  

『Arc Network』  

A conglomerate that always led the way in movies, music, and dramas.  

A giant in cultural content,  

Colloquially called ‘Arc,’ this entertainment company was involved in various businesses— idols, film production, OTT, streaming, and games.  

Arc’s ventures were far-reaching.  

They brought in future industries, analyzed them, and made them their own.  

The ones steering the ship were the ‘Investment Strategy Division.’  

And…  

Among the new investment targets chosen by the division was ‘VTubers.’  

Downtown Seoul.  

Though it was Saturday afternoon, the lights at Arc Network’s headquarters remained on. 

Employees bustled about in offices overlooking the city.  

– Submit the revised proposal by 9 PM today. Don’t write whatever you want.  

– Understood.  

Tap tap—  

Among them, in a particularly isolated office,  

The young team leader of ‘Investment Strategy Team 2,’ Jung Yuri, was typing on her laptop.  

“……”  

What she was drafting was a risk analysis report on the threatening IP expansion of ‘a certain VTuber group.’

A direct threat to the group she managed.  

[ABCD’s re-entry into the market and its impact…]  

[When quantified, this…]  

[Beyond scale, the notable aspect is the independent ecosystem…]  

“……”  

Tap tap—  

‘The Romantic Drive operation we invested in doesn’t need changes, but if its role as a future business test bed is disrupted to this extent, it’ll be irreversible…’  

Jung Yuri was involved in ‘VTuber investments.’  

VTubers.  

To be honest, many executives were skeptical about this field.  

– VTubers?  

– Isn’t it too niche?  

– Subculture businesses have low ROI compared to risk.  

– Outside of Japan, no major corporations are seriously investing in this…  

– Shouldn’t we focus on core businesses—  

But that’s exactly why it was worth trying.  

Testing the waters while others weren’t looking.  

As platform businesses gradually became red oceans dominated by conglomerates,  

The domestic subculture market was the only one not yet conquered by big corporations.  

‘That’s why we spent four years preparing Romantic Drive.’  

The plan succeeded.  

Romantic Drive became a successful test bed, taking the lead in the subculture market.  

And then…  

Suddenly.  

Big Man appeared.  

And the market was upended.  

“……”  

Jung Yuri had a headache.  

Watching the insane, efficiency-defying antics of this capitalist monster made her wonder if she should just quit her corporate job and buy lottery tickets instead.  

Tap—  

“……”  

Her fingers stopped.  

‘I must be tired. I’m having weird thoughts.’  

She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.  

In the quiet office,  

A soft sigh echoed.  

“…Huu.”  

Big Man.  

Big Man…  

“……”  

His moves were impossible to predict.  

Money?  

Though outsiders couldn’t know the exact corporate finances, he somehow kept making and spending it. 

No signs of attracting investors or sponsors.  

Profit?  

He didn’t care. 

He was solely focused on emotional attachment and consumption.  

Market?  

ABCD established its own distribution network, making it hard for corporations to counter their runaway success. 

Small in scale, but undeniably in control of an independent distribution channel.  

In short—  

‘A monster fueled by emotion, running rampant…’  

Jung Yuri defined the ‘Big Man phenomenon’ as such.  

“……”  

And then she thought.  

What if.  

If she could join hands with this monster as an ‘investor’?  

If she could bring this uncontrollable variable under control?  

“…Things would get easier.”  

Muttering to herself,  

she looked back at her laptop screen.  

There, the trajectory of the group ‘ABCD’ was laid out.  

A year of stagnation.  

Big Man’s appearance and 1 billion KRW.  

Showcase debut and 3D.  

『Big Plan A Company』  

“……”  

Jung Yuri coldly began analyzing the structure of these events again.  

Tap tap—  

Before attacking,  

Analyze the enemy.  

‘Whether they’ll be an enemy or an ally to recruit… It’s still unclear.’  

Such gray relationships were familiar in this industry.  

—  

“Manager-nim.”  

“Yes?”  

“What’s all that?”  

“Unsold food items.”  

“Whoa…”  

Sunday evening.  

Surprisingly, Ayoung hadn’t taken a break from her part-time job.  

She had come to the convenience store at her usual evening time and caught me in the middle of loading boxes onto a truck.  

Endless stacks of snack boxes.  

Ayoung tilted her head in confusion.  

“Are those all for disposal?”  

“No. I bought them with my own money before they got discarded.”  

“Huh? Why?”  

“Because once they’re discarded, they can’t be donated.”  

“?”  

She tilted her head the other way.  

“Donated…?”  

“Yeah. Before the expiration date, I buy them with my own money and distribute them to temples and churches.”  

“Whoa… Why?”  

“Because it’s better for someone who wants to eat them to have them before they’re thrown away. Want to come along?”  

“Huh? Where?”  

Thud—  

I tossed a box and answered.  

“The donation site.”  

“!”