I Can See a VTuber’s Red Pills - Chapter 14

"Please explain this part in more detail later."

"Yes! I’ll do that!"

This isn’t something to decide hastily. I can look into it separately, hear Jeong-yeon’s additional explanation, and then make a decision—it won’t be too late.

"Then let’s call it a day for now? It’s about time for me, too."

Soon, it would be time for A-jeong’s stream.

Naturally, the schedule I gave Jeong-yeon had A-jeong’s usual streaming hours marked as free time.

This time is solely for watching the stream. There’s no room for anything else.

"Hmm. Boss, do you watch that VTuber... A-jeong, was it? Her streams?"

"Yes. So, let’s continue this conversation later..."

"But I have something I’m curious about!"

"...What is it?"

Jeong-yeon raised her hand abruptly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at me.

"Why do you like that A-jeong person?"

"...Huh?"

"I mean, I just don’t quite get it. I did some research on you, Boss, and even watched some of her past streams... but I don’t see what’s so captivating about her."

Well, of course she wouldn’t. I like her for reasons others can’t see.

"People shouldn’t judge others just by their appearance. Pretty avatar? Nice voice? What’s the point of that? What matters is what’s inside."

Exactly.

A person’s inner self (the red pill) matters more than their outer appearance (the avatar).

Frankly, I can see everything inside, so how could I possibly like someone just because their avatar is pretty when their true self isn’t even my type?

But I couldn’t say all that honestly.

"Hmm! I see!"

"Yes. That’s right."

"Then you’ll watch my streams too, right?"

"...Huh?"

"I made my avatar stitch by stitch myself, and I’ve even got the red pill down pat, right? Plus, I’m the kind of deep person you were talking about... right?"

"Uh, sure... Yeah. I’ll try to watch when I have time."

"Yay! Got myself one more viewer!"

This was the first time I’d seen someone openly call themselves pretty. Her complete lack of pretense felt refreshing, but now it was really time for A-jeong’s stream.

"Well, I think I’ve given you a rough idea of what you’ll be doing here... If you have any questions or something important comes up, just text or call me."

"Yes! Then I’ll go unpack and start decorating the room I’ll be using from now on!"

"Alright. Good luck."

—Salute!

With Jeong-yeon’s crisp salute, I headed back to my room.

—Thud!

"Alright! This should be enough for now?"

After coming down from Ha-jun’s place and entering the house where she’d be living from now on, Jeong-yeon immediately started unpacking the belongings she’d roughly brought along.

If anyone had seen it, they’d have thought someone had already been living there—the house was fully equipped with everything, leaving nothing to be desired.

A bed, a vanity, a wardrobe... Even down to a toothbrush, toothpaste, and towels, everything was already there.

"Ehehehe..."

After finishing her rough unpacking, Jeong-yeon looked out the window and let out a satisfied laugh.

Even the view outside was beautiful. It was hard to believe this was really the place she’d be living from now on.

After losing herself in thought for a while, gazing at the scenery outside, Jeong-yeon headed back upstairs to Ha-jun’s place.

The free time Ha-jun had given her—she had to use it to take care of her other job.

And that was...

"Wow. The quality here is no joke..."

Setting up for her future streams in this space.

She hadn’t brought all her equipment from home yet, but honestly, even if she left it all behind, the gear here was incomparable in both price and specs.

Of course, she’d still have to bring the rest of her things after clearing out her old place.

"First, I’ll set this up... Huh? How does this work again...?"

Since it wasn’t her usual equipment, there was a bit of trial and error, but what era was this?

A quick search on YouTube would show her how to use everything.

Having set up her VTuber streams and handled all the equipment herself, she’d gotten pretty good at tech stuff.

In no time, Jeong-yeon finished the setup.

"Then... Hah, should I test it...?"

She considered doing a test stream, but she was nervous.

Truthfully, she hadn’t told her fans yet—that she’d gotten a job, that she’d be streaming from here from now on, and so on.

She hadn’t explained anything. On top of that, she’d gone silent for almost two days without a word, so she was worried.

"But... I’ll have to do it eventually anyway..."

—Gulp.

Jeong-yeon closed her eyes tightly and started the stream.

[Long time no see!]

[Linne!]

As soon as she turned on the stream and played some music, viewers started trickling in.

When about 100 viewers had joined, Jeong-yeon loaded her character model and turned on her mic.

"H-Hey, long time no see...?"

—"Long time no see" my ass

—Why the radio silence? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

—Breaking news: A viewer of VTuber Linne left their final words before passing: "Holding my breath until Linne returns. Gasp"

—Ah... She’s gone...

—Apologize to me!

She’d expected this, but the chat was furious over her unexplained absence.

"Ah, sorry! There were circumstances! Really! A boyfriend? No! It’s not that!"

Only after desperately pleading with the chat, which was full of wild accusations and baseless rumors, did the viewers start to calm down.

"Actually, there’s something I haven’t told you all yet..."

—?

—What is it?

—As long as it’s not a hiatus ㅋㅋㅋ

—Lol as if it’d be a hiatus ㅋㅋ

—Huh

—Wait...

—No way..?

As Jeong-yeon dragged it out, viewers who’d noticed her recent struggles began imagining the worst.

Just a few days ago, she’d been considering quitting streaming, so she felt a little guilty—but she shouted that it wasn’t that.

"No! Not that! It’s just... Ugh, how do I say this...?"

—What the hell is it ㅅㅂ

—Reincarnation or something..?

—Huh

—Nice to meet you..?

—If it’s not a hiatus, then shut the hell up, you’re giving me PTSD

The longer Jeong-yeon hesitated, the more wild theories flooded the chat. As word spread, more people joined, and the viewer count kept rising.

Somehow, it had turned into a major announcement, so before things got worse, Jeong-yeon shut her eyes tight and blurted out:

"W-Well... I got a job recently...!"

—?

—??

—Ah..

—What the hell ㅅㅂ

—Congrats congrats

—Wait... so is it actually a hiatus?

—If it’s not a hiatus, then just fewer streams, right?

—Can’t lose Linne sobs ㅠㅠㅠ

Once she’d said it, the rest was easy.

She just had to tell the truth.

"You know how I’ve been struggling lately? It’s true I was thinking about quitting. I need to make a living, you know? I have to think about my future."

—What?

—What

—Huh

—Huh

—We’re orphans now ㅠㅠㅠ

—??? : So you guys just slacked off, huh? Should’ve paid up when it was time!

—Huh

"No no! That’s not what I meant! Ugh, anyway! So I looked into a few job opportunities, got it?"

The chat was making her out to be some money-obsessed person, so Jeong-yeon sighed and continued.

"You’ve probably all seen it. That job posting for a secretary who knows a lot about VTubers?"

—Oh that one ㅋㅋㅋ

—The legendary ZelNagaHam ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—That guy seems legit insane

—But why bring that up?

—Huh?

—No way

—Nah

—Lol ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

At first, the chat laughed at the mention of the infamous posting, but gradually, their reactions shifted toward disbelief.

"...Yeah. I got hired as a secretary. From now on, I’ll be working as the boss’s secretary while streaming."

—???

—??????

—Is this for real??

—Wait, so ZelNagaHam actually saw the red pill??

—It’s the opposite, dumbass

—They say ZelNagaHam is handsome—is that true???

—He really pays that much???

—What the hell, explain properly

Finally, Jeong-yeon had revealed the whole truth.

And as word spread, a flood of viewers poured into her stream from all over.

"I had an interview for the secretary position! And I passed with flying colors! Plus, the boss even gave me my own room to stream from! That’s the truth!"

Unlike her initial hesitation, once she started talking, the rest came easily.

She just had to lay out the facts.

"'So what exactly will you be doing?' Uh... My job? He just asked me to research VTuber stuff for him? Oh, right. He also told me to find good 2D and 3D avatar artists—anyone here know any?"

—Like we’d know ㅅㅂ

—No way this is real ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—Hiring a secretary just for A-jeong ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

—Linne’s just a maid now, fetching avatars for some guy ㅠㅠ (This message has been deleted.)

—How is this real????

—So you’re streaming from ZelNagaHam’s place right now?

—Wait, are you living together?

—Huh

—What

—Our pure Linne is gone ㅠㅠ

—Linne’s fallen ㅠㅠ

—Linne’s spoiled ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

But as expected, after revealing everything, the chat became hard to bear.

Since VTubers are also in the "entertainment" business, the idea of living alone with another man wasn’t exactly a good look.

But.

"‘Is the 100 million KRW salary real?’ Nope? He said if I do well, he’ll pay even more?"

It was too much money to refuse—or to criticize.