They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 9

《Live: Gamer DoDa’s Regular Broadcast – Stair Climbing Game》

– Live Viewers: 45

DoDa’s weekday streams were quiet.

Unlike her fellow streamers, who mostly focused on casual chatter and singing, her broadcasts were, as her profile stated, primarily about gaming. 

That’s why the atmosphere of her streams was particularly subdued.

Silver-blue hair.

A girl who seemed to live with only half her eyelids open spoke in a monotone voice.

“Took— Tok, tok. Logged into my heart. Gamer DoDa here.”

– Hi

– Oh, you’re here

【‘Big Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!】

“Oh. Thank you. Bestowing your grace upon me again today. As a reaction to the 2.5 million won, DoDa will shake her head five times like crazy.”

DoDa’s half-lidded eyes widened at Big Man’s donation. 

Then, she shook her head five times. 

Compared to other streamers, her reaction was almost comically plain.

Shake

Shake

Shake

Shake

Shake

It wasn’t that she lacked gratitude.

It was just that DoDa was a bit of a weird girl.

“…Thank you.”

The viewers were also numb to the shock.

Not because they were used to it—they were just that kind of audience.

– Whoa

– 2.5 million is insane

– First time seeing DoDa open her eyes all the way

– Yeah

– Big Man’s here

– Natural disaster has appeared

DoDa spoke again.

“Alright, let’s say a quick prayer and start the game.”

– Yeah

– Okay

In that VTuber’s stream, with those viewers… even DoDa’s fanbase, the ‘DoDaris,’ offered a simple prayer toward Big Man without much fuss.

“Big Man…”

– Big Man

– Big Man

– B M

– B M

– B M
…
…
…

DoDa raised her head and spoke.

“Alright, shall we go play some trash games today?”

When the competitive gaming season ended, she enjoyed playing the so-called “trash games” mentioned in other streams. 

The worse the controls, the uglier the graphics, and the higher the difficulty, the better.

…At least, that’s what the viewers preferred.

1 hour later.

DoDa let out a sigh.

“Hah, hah… haaah…”

The game’s protagonist, a running man, tumbled down the stairs, rolling all the way back to where he was 45 minutes ago.

It was a brutally difficult game where every joint, leg, and foot had to be controlled via keyboard.

“….”

DoDa tapped the keyboard, her voice trembling with despair.

Tap!

Tap!

“Ah, ahh… aahh…”

Flat, yet unmistakably shaky.

Beneath her youthful voice, fury simmered.

DoDa’s fanbase disliked exaggerated reactions. 

Instead, they enjoyed watching her calm demeanor slowly crumble. 

Truly a bunch of sadists.

-Lol

-Lmaooo

-Oof

-All-nighter stream today?

-I’ll grab my blanket, wait up

“…Sigh. Can’t I just play a different game?”

-Nope

-Absolutely not

-We love watching you suffer

-Let’s pull an all-nighter together

-Lol

Teased by the mischievous chat, DoDa let out a deep sigh and resumed controlling the running man.

“…Ah, seriously, you have to move the feet, knees, everything… this is garbage. For real.”

The running man trembled as he barely managed to climb one stair at a time. 

At least, after dozens of minutes of practice, it was slightly easier than before.

2 hours later.

The running man lost his balance, slowly collapsing and rolling backward.

Roll—

Back to the starting point.

DoDa was now gasping for breath.

“Hah, hahk…”

-Lmaooo

-LOLOL

-LOLOLOL

DoDa’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“Forgive me… nyaa…”

If she wanted to give up, she had to end her sentence with ‘nya’—a rule of the stream.

But the viewers weren’t having it.

-Nope lol

-If you end with ‘nya,’ it’s over

-No mercy even if you act cute

-Don’t run away! Fight!

-One of the more sympathetic DoDaris chimed in.

-Then how about playing some newer games? There are a lot of fun console games lately…

“Ah, I can’t… no gaming console… nya. Graphics cards are too expensive too… nya.”

-?

-Oh right, this company’s broke

-What about Big Man’s grace?

-You get it every day

“Grace? Grace… has a separate payout date, nya. Unless you’re a special case like Aki-chan, you have to wait a bit, nya.”

-Why are you sticking to ‘nya’ lol

-She really doesn’t wanna play

-This is hilarious though

-What kind of company doesn’t even have streaming consoles?

“Nya nya… To be honest, Aki-chan and DoDa’s phones are broken, so we can’t even play mobile games. The company’s editing PC is busted too, and they keep saying VR gear isn’t a priority… nya. They said they’d fix it after our 3D debut… nya.”

-Okay, stop with the ‘nya’ lol

– 🙁

-The reality of small companies is harsh

-The night is cold indeed

[Big Man: Understood.]

-?

-???

-Wait, hold on

-LMAOOO

-B-Big Man…?

-Dude, you’re scaring me

-????

-?????

-No way

DoDa’s silver-blue eyes darted around nervously.

“…Nya?”

*

The next afternoon.

Kang Do-Dam, the youngest member of ABCD, couldn’t believe her eyes when she arrived at the company. 

Parked in front of Aurora Prism Entertainment’s office was a massive truck.

“!”

Delivery workers were coming and going, moving boxes.

-CEO! Where should we put the 10 gaming consoles?

-Ah, those need to be taken by our staff… For now, leave four by the entrance.

-CEO, should we place the three editing PCs in front of the office?

-Huh? Wha—?! These are 10 million won each, three of them?! What about taxes?!

-Oh, the taxes were handled by the supplier. The invoices are already issued. The full amount was paid during the ordering process. We’re just moving them now.

-What…?

-Do-Dam shuddered.

“…No way.”

A single line she’d seen yesterday flashed in her mind.

[Big Man: Understood.]

“….”

She gulped.

Since there were a lot of outsiders around, she waited outside until manager Go Minyoung contacted her.

Dozens of minutes later.

Before Do-Dam’s eyes…

Stood a fortress of boxes. 

All of them contained electronics ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of won.

‘Gaming consoles, VR gear, high-end PCs, the latest tablets and phones… Apples and Milky Ways everywhere…’

CEO Baek Socheol was happily taking pictures of the box fortress. 

It was obvious who was behind this, so he was singing praises.

-Big Man—! Wow, all this adds up to almost 300 million won…!

-Are you planning to resell them?

-What? How dare you sell what Big Man bestowed?! That’s sacrilege!

-CEO…

“….”

All it took…

… Was a single complaint.

And 300 million won worth of electronics arrived.

Do-Dam’s head spun. All she could do was mutter weakly.

“Big… Big Maaan—.”

Manager Go Minyoung called out to the staggering Do-Dam.

“Do-Dam! Come here and take your stuff. Everything labeled ‘members only’ is yours, except the shared items.”

“Huh… huh?”

“Let’s see… Two latest smartphones (one for each brand), one tablet, one laptop, one gaming console, one VR set. That’s what each member gets.”

“Whaaaaat…?!”

“Too heavy? Want to just take what you need for now?”

“Nya—?! Nyaa, nya—?!”

“Nya…?”

Minyoung tilted her head and dragged a box over to Do-Dam. 

It was heavy, packed with multiple devices.

When opened, it indeed contained everything mentioned earlier.

1 gaming console.

1 laptop.

1 VR set.

1 tablet.

2 smartphones (one for each brand).

“….”

The most insane part?

They didn’t know if she preferred iPhones or Galaxies, so they prepared both. 

This oddly meticulous care terrified Do-Dam.

God does not know the hearts of men.

Man can only worship God when they see Him.

Do-Dam fell to her knees.

Thud…

Minyoung was startled.

“D-Do-Dam…?”

“….”

Do-Dam raised her arms.

And in a low voice, she spoke.

“Big Man…!”

In her 21 years of life…

…she had never seen so many iPhones and Galaxies in one place.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

“Big Man—!”

That day.

Not as DoDa, but as Kang Do-Dam…

…She became one of Big Man’s devout followers.

In her heart, she fervently admired Him.

Oh Lord,

Thy will be done.

‘I shall devote myself to VTubing…!’

*

A shared apartment in Sinchon.

ABCD’s dorm was filled with boxes. 

It took three trips in manager Go Minyoung’s car to move everything.

-Ugh… So tired. Rush hour made it take three hours.

-You worked hard…

Choi Yeseo, the eldest of ABCD (also known as Clara), picked up the latest smartphone box. 

In a trembling voice, she asked Do-Dam:

“…They just gave this to you?”

“Yep.”

“So… because you complained about the stream?”

“Yep.”

“For real? Under ‘Big Man’s’ name? Not a corporate sponsor or partnership?”

Do-Dam, wearing her VR headset, answered firmly—like a zealot from a fantasy game.

“Sponsors for our company? There’s only Big Man. Even if He doesn’t reveal His name, it’s an undeniable fact.”

“….”

-Big Man’s the only one who does this for us.

A single sentence settled the debate.

Yeseo finally accepted reality.

“Is he… an oil tycoon or something?”

Kim Aeri smirked.

“Do oil tycoons even exist in Korea?”

“…Good point.”

“Anyway, I’m really grateful. The phones aren’t just about preference—we can use one for work and one for privacy. Unnie, can I post this on the group SNS?”

“What should we say?”

“Since Big Man’s name isn’t public, we can just say, ‘We received these gifts. Thank you so much.’ People will figure it out.”

“….”

After a long deliberation, Yeseo nodded. 

It was a decision made after repeatedly checking for legal issues.

“Let’s do that.”

“What about Aki? Want to post together?”

“….”

“Aki?”

Aeri looked at Aki.

“….”

Aki was hugging her gift box tightly. 

Eyes closed, she mumbled softly, tears welling up.

“Thank… you. Really… thank you…”

“….”

“….”

“….”

It wasn’t just because the gifts were expensive.

Or because they were things she needed.

It was the feeling…

…That someone was always watching over her.

For Aki, an orphan, aside from her adoptive mother…

…This was the first time someone made her feel this way.

That’s why she cried.

Yeseo and Aeri didn’t dare interrupt her emotions.

“….”

“….”

Only Do-Dam, who understood those feelings, smiled bitterly and hugged Aki. 

Patting her back, she said:

“Aki, let’s stream. Our equipment’s upgraded now. Let’s make even more fun content.”

“Okay.”

“Go blow your nose, then post about your new phone on SNS.”

“…Okay!”

Finally, Aki giggled.

*

“Ah, yes. Everything arrived safely? Good work. No, it’s fine. You worked hard. Then…”

I hung up the phone.

Now, I turned my computer back on, ready to watch ABCD’s streams with their upgraded equipment.

And as always…

‘Should I start with the usual ritual?’

Right as the stream began,

I tried to send a 2.5 million won donation.

– Payment canceled.

“?”

– Payment canceled.

“…?”

I tilted my head and examined the payment screen. 

There was an extra line of text:

【Daily donation limit: 500,000 won / Weekly donation limit: 2,500,000 won】

“Huh…?”

What?

Why is it suddenly mimicking major platforms…?

I called the Live Future operations manager.

He answered in an apologetic tone.

– Sorry. Recently… too many people have been trying to imitate [Big Man]’s donation style. We received a corrective request from government authorities. This policy will likely stay in place for at least a few months.

“….”