I Can See a VTuber’s Red Pills - Chapter 13

After letting Jeong-yeon use the apartment below, I gave her the passcode and told her to leave her belongings there.

"B-Boss! Boss!"

"……?"

"T-The apartment! The living room! The TV! The ceiling!"

"Calm down and speak properly. What’s wrong? Is there a problem? Was the place too empty?"

"N-No! That’s not it! C-Can I really live there? Is this for real? Seriously? You’re not lying, right? Please don’t say it’s a lie! Pleeease!"

She had gone down briefly to drop off her things, but when she came back, she was practically bouncing off the walls.

Can I really live there? Do I really not have to pay rent? Is this real? And so on.

The sound of her chattering excitedly beside me was oddly pleasant.

After living alone for so long, just having someone talk animatedly next to me felt refreshing.

"Yes. It’s all real, so calm down."

"Kyaaaaah! I love you!"

"As I mentioned earlier, we’ve only just met for the second time……."

"That’s not what I mean!"

And just like that, I lightly brushed off her second confession.

Anyway, despite the commotion, we eventually got back on track.

"So! What exactly will I be doing here from now on?"

Jeong-yeon stood stiffly in front of me, saluting like a soldier while I sat on the couch.

Matching her serious demeanor, I straightened my posture, put on a solemn expression, and spoke in a firm voice.

"Hmm. From now on, your job will be to teach me about VTubers."

"……You were serious about that?"

"Huh? Of course. Didn’t I make it clear in the job posting?"

"No, no, no! I saw that, but… who in their right mind would pay 100 million won a year just for that?!"

"I don’t lie. And 100 million is just the base salary. Depending on how well you perform, your pay could be adjusted later."

"……I’ll do my best!"

Her previously relaxed posture snapped back into perfect alignment.

I gestured for her to sit beside me.

"Take a seat first. Let’s talk about the future."

"Yes, sir!"

"I wrote up a simple outline before you arrived. Take a look."

I handed her a sheet of paper briefly outlining her responsibilities.

As she read through it, she raised her hand like a student with a question.

"Go ahead."

"Looking at this, it doesn’t seem like I’ll be handling meals, but the job posting listed ‘cooking certification holder’ as a preferred qualification! May I ask why that was included?"

"Hmm. Excellent question."

"Thank you!"

"You won’t need to worry about meals here. I usually just order room service."

"Ooooh!"

Once again, she marveled at the apartment.

"But eating the same thing every day gets boring, right? That’s where you come in."

"I’m an amazing cook! My years living alone are basically my cooking experience—I’ve been cooking for four years!"

"Perfect."

I nodded approvingly and gave her a round of applause.

As soon as one question was answered, her hand shot up again.

"Go ahead."

"There’s a section here labeled ‘free time’! Does that mean I can do whatever I want during those hours?"

"Another excellent question."

"Thank you!"

Praise makes even whales dance. And money? It buys loyalty.

A woman who’d never served in the military now stood before me with more dedication than a soldier.

(Though, to be fair, Korean soldiers are less about loyalty and more about hating their superiors.)

"You’re a VTuber yourself, right? I factored that in when scheduling your free time. You can do whatever you want then. Oh, come with me for a sec."

I stood up and led her to the room I’d checked out earlier.

The spacious room held only a desk and a chair. But the equipment on and around them was worth tens of millions of won.

"Since you mentioned being a VTuber, I prepared this. It’s your space, so feel free to decorate it however you like."

It wasn’t like I was using the room anyway.

Originally just an empty, abandoned space, I’d had the desk, chair, and computer set up all in one go this morning.

"I picked what I thought was the best equipment, but if you’re more comfortable with something else, you can swap it out. Of course, I’ll cover all costs. Just use this for any purchases—no need to report back."

I pulled a black card from my wallet and placed it in Jeong-yeon’s stunned hands.

While studying VTubers, I’d researched all sorts of things and made sure to include everything—cameras, mics, audio interfaces, you name it.

Since I didn’t know her streaming style, I went all out.

And as if in gratitude—

"……K-Kyaaaaaah! BOSSSS!"

"Oof!"

Jeong-yeon, who had been staring blankly at the setup, suddenly lunged at me, wrapping her arms around me and screaming.

I frantically raised both hands, signaling with my entire body that this was not my idea.

"I love you! For real, for real, for reeeal!"

"J-Jeong-yeon! Your Honor! It wasn’t me! I swear I didn’t do anything!"

You crazy woman. I don’t want to go to jail.

This was Korea—a country where if a woman hugs a man, he’s the one who ends up in prison.

I stood frozen like a rock, weathering Jeong-yeon’s excitement while silently singing the national anthem in my head until she finally calmed down.

"Back to business. I’ll now assign you your first task."

"Sir! Just say the word!"

"I need an original avatar—no, make that two. One 2D and one 3D. Find me the best artists available."

"Sir! A 2D avatar artist and a 3D avatar artist……?"

She diligently scribbled notes in her notebook before suddenly freezing, her eyes widening in shock.

"W-Wait, are you that crazy— I mean, uh, Zelnaga?!"

"……Crazy bastard?"

"N-No, not like that! I-I just did some research on you last night, and… people were saying… it just slipped out……."

"…………."

Seems she stumbled upon the forums I frequent.

Well, it’s hard not to find them if you’re looking into me.

And the names they call me? Plenty.

Crazy bastard. Lunatic. Absolute nutjob.

But they all meant one thing: The guy who dropped 100 million won on a VTuber after just one week.

"Wait, so you really went that far just for one VTuber? You like her that much?"

"Ahem! Let’s stick to work for now."

"Okay…… But I’ll make sure to find the best! For both 2D and 3D!"

"Good, good."

With that, the most urgent matter was settled. The avatar for A-jeong was the top priority.

"Now, the second task."

"Huh? A-Already?"

"Ah, this one isn’t as urgent. Just focus on the avatar first."

"Sir!"

The second most important thing?

Finding my new career—my dream.

Last time, A-jeong had asked me: What do you do?

I couldn’t answer right away. I couldn’t just say I dabbled in crypto and got lucky.

I didn’t want to be just another crypto millionaire in her eyes.

I wanted to be special. To seem special.

So I chose one path.

"What kind of work is there related to VTubers?"

"VTuber… related…? What exactly do you mean……?"

"Hmm. Like a VTuber-related profession, I guess?"

I’d take on a job connected to VTubers. If A-jeong was serious about being one, I’d do something that would make me stand out to her.

Meeting her gave me a new goal: making A-jeong—and other red-pill-pretty VTubers—my collection.

Being the only one to see their true selves, hidden from the world.

Some might call it a creepy hobby, but so what?

Who else could possibly know that the VTubers I watch are all red-pill-pretty?

"Uhh… I’m not sure what you’re asking. A profession? Do you want to start a company or something, like a corporate VTuber agency?"

"……Corporate VTuber? What’s that?"

"……Huh?"

Corporate VTuber? I’d heard the term floating around in forums.

My confusion only made Jeong-yeon more baffled.

"You don’t know corporate VTubers? And you call yourself a fan?"

"Well… I’ve only known about VTubers for about a week."

"……Oh."

Finally catching on, she launched into an explanation.

"Corporate VTubers—in short, they’re VTubers signed to a company. The company handles everything: avatars, equipment, lore, you name it. The VTuber just streams using what they’re given."

"Oh……."

"Donations and merch sales get split with the company, and most of their activities follow corporate policy. Basically, they do what they’re told."

"……But why would anyone agree to that? Why not just go independent?"

It didn’t make sense to me. Why?

Why give up so much control just to be a VTuber? Wouldn’t it be easier alone?

"Money, obviously."

"……Huh? But you said they have to give cuts to the company?"

"Yeah, but the company covers everything. The avatar, the equipment. Do you know how much it costs to start as an indie VTuber from scratch?"

"Ah."

"Plus, if you join a big agency, you get instant exposure. Some VTubers debut to thousands of viewers right away. That’s why a lot of indies ‘graduate’ and then re-debut under a company."

"…………."

Corporate VTubers, huh…

I still didn’t fully get it, but this was something I needed to look into.