I Can See a VTuber’s Red Pills - Chapter 13
After assigning the downstairs unit to Jungyeon, I gave her the door code and told her to go leave her things there.
“M-Mister Boss! Boss!”
“…?”
“T-The house! T-The living room! T-The TV is—t-the ceiling is—!”
“Calm down. What is it? What’s wrong? Is there a problem? Did I leave the place too empty?”
“N-No! That’s not it! A-Are you really letting me live there? Seriously? Is this for real? It’s not a joke, right? Please don’t say it’s a joke!
Please!”
She’d only gone down to drop off her luggage, but came back freaking out.
She was babbling next to me—asking if she really got to live there, if she seriously didn’t need to pay rent, if this was really happening.
The sound of her chattering beside me was surprisingly pleasant.
I’d been living alone all this time, and just having someone around making noise like this made everything feel new.
“Yes. It’s all real, so calm down.”
“Kyaaaah! I love you!”
“Like I said earlier, we’ve only just met for the second time…”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Thus, I lightly rejected her second confession.
Anyway, after all the fuss, we got back to business.
“So! What exactly will I be doing here from now on!”
Standing in front of me like a soldier reporting to their commanding officer, she saluted with sharp formality.
I matched her seriousness with an equally solemn tone, posture, and expression.
“Hmm. From now on, your job is to teach me what a VTuber is.”
“…That was real?”
“Eh? Of course. I wrote it clearly in the job posting, didn’t I?”
“No no no! I saw that—but who’d seriously believe you were offering a 100 million won salary for something like that?”
“I don’t lie. And that 100 million was the minimum. If you do a good job, we’ll reevaluate your salary later.”
“…I’ll do my absolute best!”
Her slightly loosened posture snapped back into perfect attention.
I gestured for her to sit beside me.
“Okay, sit down first. Let’s talk about what’s ahead.”
“Yes!”
“I jotted down some basics before you arrived. Take a look.”
I handed her a sheet outlining her responsibilities.
As she read through it carefully, she raised her hand like a student who had a question.
“Yes? Go ahead.”
“According to this, I don’t see anything about having to cook meals—but in the job listing, one of the preferred qualifications was a cooking certificate! Why was that listed?”
“Hmm. That’s an excellent question.”
“Thank you!”
“You don’t need to worry about meals here. I take care of food with room service anyway.”
“Ooooh!”
Once again, she was impressed by the house.
“But, of course, sometimes you get tired of the same old thing, right?
That’s when I might need your help.”
“I’m amazing at cooking! My time living alone is my cooking résumé! I’ve been cooking for four years!”
“Very good.”
I nodded and clapped at her confidence.
Once that curiosity was satisfied, she raised her hand again.
“Yes?”
“There’s something called ‘free time’ listed here.
Does that mean I can do anything I want during those hours?”
“Another great question.”
“Thank you!”
Praise makes whales dance—and money buys loyalty.
Even without having served in the military, she was already more devoted than most soldiers.
Of course, in our country’s military, “loyalty” usually means resentment toward your superiors.
“You’re a VTuber, right? That’s why I made sure you had plenty of free time.
You can use that time however you want.
Ah, come with me for a second.”
I got up and led her to the room I’d checked earlier that morning.
The room was spacious, furnished with just a desk and a chair—but the equipment on and around it was worth tens of millions of won.
“You mentioned you’re a VTuber, so I prepared this.
It’s not a room I’m going to use anyway, so feel free to redecorate however you’d like.”
I had no use for the room—it had been an empty, abandoned space.
So in the morning, I set up the desk, chair, and PC all at once.
“I went with the best gear I could find based on what I know.
But if there’s anything you prefer, you can replace it. I’ll cover all the costs.
Here, use this for purchases. No need to report anything.”
She stood there stunned, so I pulled a card from my wallet and placed it in her hand.
A black card.
While researching VTubers, I’d picked up a lot of info—and I made sure to include everything I’d heard about: camera, mic, audio interface, etc.
I didn’t know what kind of stream style she had, so I prepared as much as I could.
Maybe as a thank-you—
“K-KYAAAAAA! BOSS!!!”
“WHOA!”
Staring at the equipment, she suddenly launched at me and wrapped me in a hug, screaming.
I threw up both hands, trying to make it as clear as possible that this was not my doing.
“I love you! I really, really love you!”
“Jungyeon! Judge, I swear! It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!”
You crazy woman. I don’t want to go to jail.
This is Korea.
Even if a woman hugs a man, he’s the one who ends up behind bars.
I stood like an unmoving boulder through rain or snow—until she finally calmed down.
Then I returned to my seat, as if I’d been singing the national anthem in my head the whole time.
“Back to business. I’m assigning you your first task now.”
“Yes! Just give the order!”
“We’re going to create one original avatar—no, two. One 2D, one 3D.
Find the best artists for both.”
“Yes! A 2D avatar artist and a 3D modeler…?”
Taking notes like she was at a strategy meeting, Jungyeon jotted everything down.
But then she paused, tilted her head, and suddenly widened her eyes.
“W-Wait… Boss, you’re that crazy b*tch—I mean, that guy Zelnaga?!”
“…Crazy what?”
“N-No, I didn’t mean it like that! I-I went home yesterday and looked you up, and people kept saying that, so it just… slipped out…”
“………”
She must’ve come across the community I always use.
It’s hard not to find it once you start looking into me.
They call me a lot of things there:
Madman. Psycho. Nutcase.
All different words for the same thing—
The lunatic who spent 100 million won on a VTuber in a week.
“Wait, so you really did all this just for one VTuber?
Do you like her that much?”
“Hey! Focus. We’re talking about work right now.”
“R-Right… Still, I’ll find them! Top artists for both 2D and 3D!”
“Good, good.”
With that, the most urgent fire was dealt with.
This was for Ajung’s avatar—so it was the most important task.
“And the second task.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Ah, this one isn’t urgent. Just take care of the avatar work first.”
“Understood!”
The next most important thing—was finding my new job.
My dream.
Ajung once asked me what I did for a living.
And I couldn’t answer.
I couldn’t bring myself to say I just dabbled in crypto and had a bit of money.
I was afraid she’d lump me in with all the other lottery-winning crypto bros.
I wanted to be someone special in her eyes.
Or at least look that way.
So I made a choice.
“What kind of job could I do… related to VTubers?”
“Related… to VTubers? What exactly do you mean?”
“Hmm. A VTuber-related career, I guess?”
Let’s do something connected to VTubing.
If Ajung is serious about it, then I want to do something that looks meaningful to her.
Meeting her gave me a new goal—
To collect VTubers with red pills like her.
To see their true selves—those sides no one else sees.
You could call it a creepy hobby. But so what?
Who would know that all the VTubers I see… have beautiful red pills?
“Hmm. I’m not sure what you’re getting at. Like a job? Do you mean… like starting a company?”
“…A company? What’s that?”
“…Huh?”
“Company”?
It was a term I’d seen around in the community sometimes.
My confusion seemed to puzzle her more.
“You don’t know what a company group is? You said you watch VTubers!”
“I do… but I’ve only been into them for about a week.”
“…Ah.”
Realizing where I was coming from, Jungyeon began to explain.
“A company group—basically, VTubers who belong to an agency.
The company provides everything: avatar, equipment, roleplay concept, all of it.
The people who stream with all that are called corporate VTubers.”
“Ohhhh…”
“If they get donations or sell merch, they give a cut to the company.
Most of their content has to follow the company’s guidelines.
In a way, they’re doing what they’re told.”
“…But why go through all that?
Why become a VTuber through a company if it means so much control?”
“Money, of course.”
“…Huh? But you said they give a cut of everything to the company.”
“Yeah, but in return, the company covers everything.
Avatars, gear—you name it.
Do you know how expensive it is to start from nothing as an indie VTuber?”
“Ah.”
“Plus, if you get into a top company, you debut with a built-in audience.
Thousands of people watch from day one.
That’s why a lot of indies ‘graduate’ and come back as corporate VTubers.”
“………”
Corporate VTubers, huh…
I still don’t know much yet, but it looks like I’ll need to study that part more carefully.