They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 35
Got It…! – 2The report that representative Baek Soo-chul brought contained the real-time viewer numbers from last weekend.
Surprisingly, the names of the ABCD members were indeed lined up at the top of the list.
【#Pazzy #VTuber】
【June 18–20 Average Real-Time Viewers Comparison】
1. [R.D.2] Danhwi: 9,155 (-1,925)
2. [ABCD] DoDa: 9,012 (+5,289)
3. [ABCD] Berry: 8,252 (+4,752)
4. [ABCD] Aki: 7,690 (+4,573)
5. [R.D.2] Yulhwa: 7,529 (-1,809)
6. [ABCD] Clara: 7,526 (+4,201)
7. [R.D.2] OIRAM: 6,881 (-1,022)
8. [Independent] Ga Na-eun: 4,210 (+727)
…
…
…
Looking at the report, the members were stunned.
“!”
“Did we… beat Romantic Drive’s second generation?”
“Just during the 3D showcase, we were avoiding their collabs and running away…”
“And even in the overall Pazzy rankings, we’re pretty high up.”
“Yeah.”
“We’re in the top 10 now.”
“….”
No wonder the real-time viewer count felt so high…
It was beyond their expectations.
Though the results were filtered by the VTuber tag, excluding a few major creators who practically carried the Pazzy platform, they were now at a level where they could be counted from the top.
The ridicule from the public— mocking them for being corporate VTubers yet performing so poorly— no longer held any weight.
They had undeniably become top-tier creators.
The members fell silent.
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
Rather than feeling joy,
they were just… bewildered.
Just two months ago,
they were slowly dying in the corner of a third-rate platform, barely scraping by with single-digit viewer counts.
They had foreseen the company’s collapse and were each considering their own paths…
“Now that we’ve recklessly broken away from the parent company, the only way to recoup production costs is through the promotion Live Future proposed.”
“We can’t expect viewers for a while.”
“There might not even be any new traffic at all…”
“But we have to hold on as long as possible.”
“We need to buy time to apply for government support or creator aid campaigns…”
The despair-filled meeting still echoed vividly in their ears.
They had tried and failed multiple times to secure funding since then.
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
But now,
As if by some miracle, they had been revived.
From the crushing depths of the abyss…
All the way to the upper ranks of the domestic platform.
In one swift leap, they had climbed to the top of the major platforms.
In that reality,
Everyone was dazed and silent, their mouths agape.
“… .”
“… .”
“… .”
“… .”
But what snapped them back to another reality was Baek Socheol, the representative who had delivered this dream-like news.
In front of the stunned members, he flicked his fingers.
Snap!
Snap!
“!”
The members all turned to look at Baek Socheol at once.
With a satisfied expression, he spoke.
“I get how you’re feeling, but this chart has a lot of holes. So, it’s a bit too soon to be this overjoyed.”
“…You’re right.”
The first one to return to reality was Choi Yeseo.
She forced a bitter smile and pointed out the flaws in the chart.
“First of all, the two first-generation members of Romantic Drive are on break, and even among the second-generation members, ‘Herin,’ who has the highest viewer count, is missing.”
“Hmm, I saw on SNS that she went to Japan for something.”
Baek Socheol scratched his chin as he spoke.
“Anyway, the bottom line is, Romantic Drive is missing their top three most-watched members right now. You could say only the weakest ones are left.”
“Plus, our PC bang event only really blew up in the community, so the subscriber growth trend wasn’t as strong as the live viewer increase.”
“Well, it was probably just people checking it out because of the buzz. Their stream was just a regular driving session, which is usually the most boring time anyway.”
In the end—
Their lowest wave,
And our highest wave just happened to overlap.
“To say we’ve definitely won… is still a stretch. It’s more like landing a lucky jab on an opponent who wasn’t at their best.”
“And we’re still behind by almost double the subscribers.”
“Our acting manager Choi is sharp— you get it without me even explaining.”
“Huh? I’m not the manager, though.”
“You are now.”
“… .”
After the usual small-company banter,
Kim Aeri made a face like she was about to cry.
“Ugh… so you’re saying we just had a lucky streak because of the big plan? Sigh… My heart was about to burst earlier.”
“Haha…”
Aki gave a strained smile and patted Aeri on the back.
Aeri, as if trying to hide her disappointment, clung to Aki and whined.
“Hmph, whatever… I’m sulking now.”
“Unnie, hang in there.”
Then, Kang Doda spoke up.
“But hey, isn’t this still huge?”
“?”
“When there’s a massive level gap, you can’t even deal damage, right? But if we managed to land a full combo in just a month and trade successfully… Doesn’t that mean we’re actually in the game now?”
“… .”
“Honestly, we didn’t even use up all of Big Man’s money this past month. We’ve got a whole year where we can just spend freely. Just the fact that we’re holding our own in the laning phase after a month is insane, don’t you think?”
“!”
“You can just coast for a whole year.”
“But we’re already seeing a path to victory in just one month.”
“So then…”
“If we keep growing steadily for the remaining year…”
“What’ll happen?”
“Once we start making money on our own, that one-year timeframe will just keep extending, won’t it? Then doesn’t that mean we’re guaranteed to win?”
“Huh?”
Oh.
Now that you mention it, yeah.
“!”
“!”
Aeri and Aki’s faces brightened.
They didn’t know much about the specifics of the game, but Doda’s prediction felt like a plausible scenario.
Doda shrugged.
“Honestly, it feels like we’ll just crush them in the long run.”
It was an instinctive gut feeling, but to Doda, this situation looked like an absolute win.
And Baek Socheol and Choi Yeseo agreed.
“Doda’s right. The question isn’t ‘Did we beat Romantic Drive?’ but…”
“If we’ve come this far in just a month, how much further can we go in the time we have left?”
“Exactly! Our genius director Choi gets it! Keep up the good work till the live concert!”
“…I’m not a director. I’m already the assistant manager, editor, and a member, remember?”
“Tch…”
Yeseo clicked her tongue at Socheol, then asked,
“By the way, how’s the live concert venue booking going?”
“…We’re negotiating to rent ‘Colorful Star,’ a live house in Yongsan. It’s a popular spot for subculture events, so there’s some competition.”
“I see.”
“It’s a pretty famous place. At least pretend to be impressed.”
“Huh? Oh, I’m genuinely shocked. I’ve been there before. That’s amazing.”
“Director Choi…”
In the middle of this,
Aki raised her hand.
“CEO, so…”
“?”
“Does that mean we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing? If we keep working hard like this until the live show, we’ll be fine, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Keep taking lessons, doing broadcasts… and working on the Big Plan.”
“Mmm… That’s right.”
Baek Socheol smiled quietly.
‘Ayoung is the real MVP behind this turnaround, but she’s not taking any credit. If I were her age, I’d be bragging all over town…’
Even with 10 billion won,
Even leaping from the underground to the mainstream…
Even stepping onto the same stage as the industry’s top players…
They just kept going,
Working hard today like they did yesterday.
In the end, that was all there was to it.
*
The Big Plan meeting was scheduled for Tuesday due to the members’ lesson schedules.
The members went straight to the practice room and had a group lesson.
A few hours later.
Inside the spacious practice room lined with mirrors, the members struck their final dance pose.
After forgetting about it for the past few months, a month of lessons had begun to shape their posture into something more polished.
With Aki at the center,
The three others each struck their signature poses.
Ta-da—!
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
Even after the music ended,
They maintained their smiles, sweat dripping down their faces.
This, too, was part of the training.
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
One,
Two,
Three…
About five seconds passed.
The instructor clapped, signaling the end.
Clap, clap!
“Good work, everyone!”
“Pant…!”
Yeseo, Aeri, and Doda immediately collapsed.
Unlike Aki, who had kept up with workouts despite her busy schedule, the others had average stamina.
Dancing four songs in a row was still exhausting.
“Pfft—! Pant…! Gasp…!”
“Huff… huff…”
“Inhale… Gasp… Pant…”
Doda lay flat on her stomach like a frog, her thin limbs twitching as she groaned dramatically.
“Ugh…! I’m dying, groan, I’m dead!”
Aeri’s legs trembled as she bowed her head.
But beneath her pale chin, something— whether saliva or sweat— dripped steadily.
“Huuuuk… Pant…”
Yeseo quietly lay down on the floor.
Covering her face with a cold towel, she completely gave out.
An eerie aura seemed to linger around her.
“….”
The members were completely wiped out.
Aki wiped her sweat and smiled wryly.
‘They’ve improved compared to a month ago, but doing it all in one go is still too much for them.
If we keep this up until the July live show, they’ll probably get there…’
At least they were just refreshing what they had learned a year ago.
If they had to start from scratch, there’d be no way they’d make it in time for the live performance.
The lesson instructor spoke to Aki.
After all, she was the only one in the group capable of holding a proper conversation at this point.
“Wow, you’re really good. You had a completely different energy on your own.”
“Huh?”
“No, seriously. You alone covered almost twice the frames, so even if the other members were half a beat slower, you could compensate for it.”
“Ahaha….”
The instructor’s praise didn’t stop.
“On top of that, your gaze control is perfect, and the way you account for the virtual camera angles… Honestly, you’re the only one here who’s absolutely dominating in terms of pure ‘performance.’ And even while doing that, you’re still looking out for the other members….”
“Oh, r-really? Ehehe….”
Probably because she was taking extra lessons every Friday at dawn.
‘At first, I wondered why it cost 60 million won, but it’s like my perspective has completely changed… I feel like I’ve truly learned how the pros perform on stage.’
-Dodaiya, swing your arm like whoosh~! there!
-Berry unnie, your feet should go tok-tok! not tak-tak!…
-Clara unnie, look at the red sticker over there!
Each piece of advice like that came together to refine the details.
As a result— aside from stamina issues— the performances of the ABCD members had improved dramatically over the past month.
“……”
Everything was going smoothly.
Aki grinned.
And then, a collaboration offer from Romantic Drive came their way.
I sighed as I looked over the documents.
The dozens of pages of formal paperwork felt both familiar and stifling.
【ABCD x RD2 Collaboration Proposal】
【Produced by Arc Network Headquarters】
“……”
‘…I’ve been looking at simple big-plan proposals for a while, so it’s been ages since I’ve seen proper paperwork like this.’
Flip—
As I skimmed through the dozens of pages, the intentions behind the numbers became clear.
Rather than a full-on offensive, it felt more like a probe.
“……”
Testing the waters, huh.
‘This feels like the behavior pattern of an investor leading an M&A deal from a foreign-affiliated company.’
“Hmm….”
Closing my eyes, an image of the other party flickered in my mind.
Foreign background Large corporation Suit-wearing Meticulous personality
“…A woman?”
What she wanted— was it really pro wrestling…?
Or perhaps mixed martial arts.
It was hard to guess just from the documents alone.
“……”
Well then, I’d have to accept to find out.
I sent a text to Attorney Kim.
[Go ahead with it. I’ll provide an additional 500 million in budget.]