I Can See a VTuber’s Red Pills - Chapter 8
Menhera. What is that, exactly?
– All VTubers are cute and great, but just remember one thing.
ㄴ Zelnaga: What’s that?
ㄴ You’ll sometimes see a few menhera chicks. They’re just straight-up landmines, so if you see one, run away immediately.
ㄴ Zelnaga: What’s a “menhera”?
It’s a term that typically refers to people suffering from mental illnesses like depression.
And I didn’t think much of it at first.
A VTuber with mental health issues?
How common could that really be?
But I was wrong.
– There’s a ton of them, so you gotta filter like it’s Minesweeper.
Thinking about it now, it makes sense.
VTubing is part of subculture.
In other words, there are a lot of female otaku.
Also, they get to hide their faces.
A lot of them started VTubing after shutting themselves in and not talking to people in real life.
So the ratio, naturally, is different from the norm.
– Zelnaga: So what are some traits of menhera VTubers?
Most of them have glass hearts.
Their mood swings are extreme.
Their self-esteem is rock bottom, and they can’t handle being abandoned.
In short, they’re people with severe affection deprivation.
And Ajung was one of those people too.
[“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I-It was my fault… sob…”]
She looked terrified, like she thought I’d leave because of something she did wrong.
And I couldn’t say it was just acting—because I could see her real self. A girl trembling and crying.
– ???
– Is this real??
– Yo we’re f*cked lmao
– Wait, she was menhera?
– Tsk…
– Kinda scary…
Then the folks who taught me about streamer and VTuber culture explained why people avoid menhera VTubers.
– I’m using my own time to enjoy something fun. Watching VTubers having menhera breakdowns just drains you emotionally. Nothing’s more stressful than that lol
ㄴ For real lol
ㄴ Suddenly crying and bleeding out feelings for no reason lmao
ㄴ Finishes stream all happy then posts some depressing “I wanna die” sh*t on the fan cafe like what the f*ck lololol
In short, the problem wasn’t just that these VTubers were depressed.
The issue was that their depression dragged down the viewers who liked them and watched their streams.
But… so what?
[Zelnaga has donated 1,000,000 Butter!]
Plop!
[“sob… P-Plop?”]
– LOLLLLLLLLLLL
– Instant financial therapy LOLLLLLLL
– Bruh he Plop’d her out of crying lmaoooooo
– Even menhera’s got no answer to a money slap
– I’m f*cking dying lmaooo
Then just keep making her laugh so she doesn’t have time to be sad?
Money is always high on the list of things that cause sadness and pain.
I don’t know exactly what’s troubling Ajung, or what her past is, but for many people, money is the root of their unhappiness.
In that case—can’t I fix that?
[Zelnaga has donated 1,000,000 Butter!]
[Crying looks cute too, but smiling is even prettier, so please smile.]
[“…Okay!”]
See? She smiled right away.
She rubbed her eyes with both hands, wiped her tears, and smiled brightly.
Her virtual model followed suit and smiled, but my eyes weren’t on that.
I was smiling at Ajung’s real face.
“You’re seriously so pretty…”
Honestly, if I just wanted to see pretty faces, I could look at celebrities.
Ajung is plenty pretty, but there are celebs who are even prettier.
But Ajung gives me something those celebrities never could.
The thrill of exclusivity.
No one else can see it—only I get to see her real face.
“Ehehehe…”
That high is almost enough to drive me insane. It’s like an addiction.
– But how much money does this guy have, seriously?
– Bro dropped 100 on a Plop, I don’t think money’s an issue lol
– LMAO
– “Plop!” cost him a million won lmfao
– This is comedy gold lol
[“But Zelnaga, what do you do? You’ve been donating so much… are you not overdoing it?”]
I’d already told them not to talk about me, but maybe that big moment stuck in people’s minds.
Chat—and even Ajung—brought me up again.
But when I heard the question, I couldn’t think of a reply.
Something about it…
“Saying I made it with crypto feels kinda lame.”
Crypto millionaires are a dime a dozen now. It doesn’t exactly scream cool.
It just makes me sound like some lottery winner.
– Zelnaga: I just do a bit of this and that.
So I brushed it off.
But the chat took it in a completely different way and started buzzing.
– Gasp
– A man of the shadows…
– No way, right?
– Uh-oh, abort!
– Let’s just listen to Ajung’s story, guys
– You think he’s a criminal? LMAOOOOO
Now they were acting like I made my money illegally.
…Which isn’t true at all.
They probably didn’t mean it seriously.
Still, it helped lighten the mood.
And in that little pause, I finally asked the question I hadn’t been able to until now.
– Zelnaga: So Ajung, how did you end up becoming a VTuber?
[“Me? Hmm… well… I used to be a college student… then I took a break from school and didn’t go outside at all. I just stayed home. That’s when I binge-watched movies, dramas, even anime—everything I’d missed until then.”]
Her face twisted slightly when she mentioned college, but it quickly returned to normal.
[“After doing that for so long… I ran out of stuff to watch. So I got into YouTube. That’s when I saw it—VTuber videos. And I started thinking. I want to try that. Could I do it too? Could I talk to people who are watching only me?”]
Her forced smile gradually changed into one of real hope.
[“That’s when I started learning about VTubers! And eventually… I drained what little was left in my bank account… bought a computer, got some gear… and started like this.”]
And then she smiled again, just like when I first saw her.
– Damn…
– She really didn’t have money back then 😭
– That’s why the model looks like it’s made of playdough 😭😭
– We’re sorry 😭😭
– But why does Zelnaga keep calling her pretty tho?
– Bro’s beauty radar is busted lol
[Ajung’sSword#1 has donated 10,000 Butter!]
[Stay strong…]
[VtubBro has donated 1,000 Butter!]
[I’ll be back more often]
…
…
…
Viewers like me who just learned Ajung’s story also began supporting her with messages and donations.
[“Thank you! Let’s meet again often! I’ll do my best so things like today don’t happen again!”]
With encouragement not just from me but from others too, her eyes welled up again—but this time, the tears were from joy, not sadness.
The stream continued with some more of Ajung’s personal stories before ending.
After Ajung’s stream ended, I ordered dinner through room service and logged into the community to do what I had to do today.
[Ggizzik VTuber Gallery]
– I’ve chosen my home base from today
– Today’s cracked voice from a tiny VTuber
– You menhera sniffers, I found a new one
– Why the f*ck is that bastard Zelnaga like this
– Is Zelnaga in his 40s or what?
…
…
…
Even today, top-voted posts were about VTubers—and about me.
One title caught my eye, so I clicked.
Title: Why the F*ck is That Bastard Zelnaga Like This
(Picture of VTuber “Ajung” character)
You seriously think this chick is pretty?
Are you f*cking blind? What about this is attractive?
I get that you’re new to the VTuber scene, but come on—there’s a limit.
You’re throwing all this f*cking money and calling this pretty?
If Ajung actually starts thinking her model’s good-looking because of you and doesn’t change it—are you gonna take responsibility?
F*cking hell, just drop another 10 mil and tell her to get a new one already.
– LMAOOOOO
– That dude’s nuts lmao
– Keeps calling her pretty, what a f*cking simp
– Didn’t he donate like 6,000 yesterday and today combined?
ㄴ That’s enough to get a fully custom model lmao
– This dude spends money and gets flamed for it lmao
After reading the whole post, I scrolled back up and looked closely at Ajung’s character model.
It was the first time I’d ever really examined a VTuber model in detail.
And after all that inspection, my impression was—
“…Oh dear God. My eyes.”
Even as an atheist, I was praying to God and covering my eyes in despair.
I hadn’t noticed during the stream because I was focused on her real face.
But her model? A complete trainwreck.
I should bring this up next time she streams.
Then I checked the next post.
Title: Is Zelnaga in His 40s or What?
(Screenshots of my chat messages from Hajun’s stream)
Sometimes he gives off that old dude trying to be sweet vibe and it’s f*cking cringe.
Hey, to the guys who taught this dude VTuber culture—
Teach him properly, would ya?
He’s still not fully “washed” from normie life.
– Oh
– Damn lmaooo
– Bro do you even know what ‘Plop!’ means?
ㄴ I wanna plop your face off, ffs lmaoooo
– Don’t slander Brother Zelnaga
– Enough.
– He’s still learning, f*ckers
It was a pretty aggressive post, but the comments weren’t too bad.
Hmm. Definitely warmer here than the last gallery.
“…Eh, screw it. Feeling generous.”
Title: You Guys Are So Sweet…
■Zelnaga
I’m really touched by you all…
This is from my heart…
(Chicken gift cards 1–10.jpg)
(Chicken gift cards 11–20.jpg)
(Chicken gift cards 21–30.jpg)
(Chicken gift cards 31–40.jpg)
…
…
…
Enjoy your meal!
P.S. Write down the number you took in the comments!!
When someone helps you, you repay them with chicken.
That’s the unspoken rule I’ve learned in this community.