I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 103
[PITMAN: Do you know who the last participant is, Momo?]
[Shiseuneunroki: Could it be Jia?]
[UtaU: Momo, I’m feeling the song! It’s urgent!]
Honestly, if you think about it simply, it was a bizarre situation.
I mean, there were two people in front with way better skills, right?
Serena was recognized as a vocalist at Rapitsu, and Lee Yura was globally famous as a Utaite.
So, shouldn’t the invitation come when those two sang instead of now…?
When viewed from a professional perspective, the thought changes.
Serena and Lee Yura are already established singers.
People like them usually have confirmed contracts with labels, making it tough to break through and secure new deals.
But what about the last singer, Majia?
To the experts’ ears, she sounded like an unrefined rough diamond — unfinished but a promising candidate whose potential was exciting.
Think of her as a Bitcoin on the verge of skyrocketing.
The reason the three seasoned persons who have worked with Parallel could contact her first is that they kind of had a hunch about the anonymity behind the name and the possibility of reaching out.
“Jia probably won’t react…”
But Cheon Dohui knows.
Even if she tells Majia about this, her reaction would likely be nonchalant.
I mean, how do you convince someone who’s not at all interested in becoming famous with “Hey, here’s your chance to get famous, want to try a song?”
But will the people around Majia just leave her alone?
Over time, her identity will inevitably be revealed, and the growing interest will be undeniable.
Even if she participated under pseudonym, there will soon be those comparing the sound of her board to her singing.
And as the platform Pajijik has recognized, Majia is a hot topic.
If any MCN or planning company has their eye on Majia, they’ll probably recommend Utaite before VTuber.
Even if Majia hasn’t debuted, she’s already webcasting on an official channel with her unique style, thus excluding VTuber debut as an option, at least for now.
Moreover, just looking at the neighbor Japan, there’s no shortage of faceless singers, Utaite, making waves in the J-pop genre.
It’s likely they could persuade her by saying she could use a different activity name and that an office worker could do it just fine.
Of course, at first, she might declare her disinterest in singing.
But what if someone proposes, “Let’s do it because it’ll help Parallel”?
Especially if that someone is from a big club like CAT or SB Entertainment?
Majia would not refuse.
Because especially those from powerful companies listen to professional opinions closely.
If it were any other company, it wouldn’t matter, but with CAT and SB Entertainment, Cheon Dohui would certainly be there to back up Majia.
Regardless of being part of Parallel, it’s a chance that could change Jia’s life.
Such an opportunity obviously won’t come easy, but one never knows how life will unfold.
Watching Majia get into the final phrase without a single pitch error, Cheon Dohui thought,
“Will she suddenly be swept away one day…?”
* * *
… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …
[Has there been anyone that couldn’t find Majia after a week?]
[Majia (probably) is F, L, Z]
[What if Lee Yura was just imitating Majia?]
[Our kids really can sing, huh?]
[ㅌㅍㅊ Graduation News]
★ [Momo) Unofficial duet award songs to be uploaded to the official channel separately]
[Crazies) More original songs please, this is negligence of duty]
…
… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …
… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …
[Momo) Unofficial duet award songs to be uploaded to the official channel separately]
(There is a plan to upload award-winning songs separately.)
People who want to can record individually in the studio, or they can just extract the audio from the illegal duet and upload it.
Below is the list of people scheduled to record in the studio:
L Participant (Finally) (Aurora tier)
F Participant (One Other) (Aurora tier)
D Participant …
S Participant …
Z Participant (Finally) (Shirahoshi Momo tier)
Looks like everyone except one is in?
[Comments]
— Parallel095: So, is F Majia?
ㄴ Parallel252 (Author): ㄱ?ㄹ
ㄴ Parallel621: I’m telling you it’s her.
ㄴ Parallel886: D is Staff D, you know.
ㄴ Parallel621: What does the official know?
ㄴ Parallel886: ? They’re not a temp.
…
After the illegal duet on January 30th, the Parallel singing contest held the next day absorbed almost all the viewers from the day before.
Thanks to Rubko leading the Crazies crew for the watch party, the number of viewers peaked at a whopping 85,000 right before the end of the broadcast.
Afterward, Utaite Lee Yura streamed a personal broadcast of the illegal duet again, as if revealing her own participation, and the fact that they sang Maru’s first original song created quite the presence…
[Nezumi Maru / NEZUMI MARU]
@nezumimaru_parallel_vtuber | 428,000 followers
Parallel’s first batch, 🎙Singing Hedgehog Nezumi Maru🎶
Maru saw an impressive rise of over 100,000 subscribers in just one week, becoming the first among the members to surpass 400,000.
Although the growth rates varied, the other members also cleared the 300,000 mark smoothly.
This definitely laid a foundation for richer content creation down the line.
So, it stood to reason that Majia, who brought about such results, would receive a special bonus.
“No. We agreed on the rate… Are you saying you’ll give me a bonus on top of that?”
“To be honest, I never dreamed this would turn into such a big event. And looking at Maru’s number of subscribers, you’ve definitely earned it. Think of it as saving budget on promotion; I’m passing it onto you.”
“With that money, why don’t you get the kids some good outfits?”
“We’re already in production for that.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, you remember our schedule for tomorrow, right?”
Originally, the benefits for the award winners outside of prize money would have ended as the members performed the illegal duet with the award video at the next day’s Parallel singing contest.
But due to popular demand from fans to officially release the winners’ songs, it was decided to record separately and upload to the official channel.
Majia was one of those, the F participant.
“Oh. Yes. About recording the illegal duet song separately?”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Thinking that she might reject it, she had prepared various persuasive arguments that it would help promote the members.
However, Majia accepted the recording schedule without a hitch, without a hint of hesitation.
「My voice is involved, but… It’s anonymous, so it should be fine, right?」
「Really?」
「Either way, it’s still publicity.」
However, despite her immediate acceptance, Majia had a few lingering thoughts.
Upon returning to her seat, she promptly asked Team Leader Kang Jiho.
“About tomorrow’s recording… members won’t be there during my recording, right?”
For some reason, Majia’s recording was scheduled immediately after the members.
In other words, the chances of the members watching her while she recorded were high.
All four of them loved to sing, and they might suddenly groove to the vibe and start singing around her…
Turns her solo recording into a group recording?
That was a situation Majia wanted to avoid.
No matter how small and cute she may be, after all, she’s just a dogweed.
Planting her together in a beautiful flower garden just doesn’t make sense.
But there was a reason the schedule turned out this way.
Though the label had given some convenience, it was a hastily arranged recording schedule with hardly any slots open.
So they had jammed the other participants into a single day after getting their permission, and stuck Majia as an interloper on the same day as the members’ recording.
When Jiho explained the situation, Majia realized with a sigh,
“Oh, I was a free-loader?”
“Yep. They said they’d give us the extra time for free because of Jia’s red bean.”
“Hmm. Free is free… I guess.”
Thinking back, the members were recording this time for a cover song for the upcoming Valentine’s next week.
There wasn’t really a need to convert free publicity into paid advertising.
However…
Recording in the same space as the members.
That still concerned Majia.
…She didn’t want to be surrounded unresistingly.
Is there no way out?
As luck would have it, around 11 o’clock, an opportunity came knocking.
[Hello, Majia. Sorry for contacting you at this hour. I’m Choi Na-eun from UTU Records A&R Team 3, responsible for your recording tomorrow.]
“Oh, hello. Thank you for reaching out.”
[Not at all! The thing is, there’s been a slight adjustment to the recording schedule for tomorrow, and one slot opened up, but the time is a bit tight.]
“Okay.”
[Since you’re only recording solo, you’ll finish quickly, right? We could move you up to the empty slot if that’s okay with you. If you switch, it would allow another team to record in your original slot. You’d only be charged for your original team slot.]
What a stroke of luck!
Majia didn’t hesitate for a second to respond.
“Oh, I’ll take it. Just let me know the location and time? I was going to go with my group, so I’m not sure where it is.”
[Of course! I’ll send you a message with all the details.]
“Thank you. Have a great night!”
[You too, Majia~ See you tomorrow.]
After hanging up and grinning ear to ear, Gong Seungyeon, who had been monitoring, curiously asked,
“Did something good happen, Head of the Department?”
“Oh. Yeah. It’s a good mood; I’ll load 50,000 clouds for you on Pajijik.”
“Really?! Uh, is this okay to take…?”
“Of course! Use it to throw a thousand won punch at Komari.”
Majia smoothly loaded 50,000 clouds into Seungyeon’s currently logged-in account.
Seungyeon lit up, wiggling in her chair while giggling.
“OMG. Thank you! How about pineapple pizza today?”
“Ha… That’s perfect.”
You might wonder about the pineapple pizza, but…
Seungyeon found a compromise, rummaging through nearby food places and discovered a pizza place that operated until midnight and only topped their pizza with charcoal-grilled pineapple.
After finishing the order, Seungyeon asked,
“By the way, have you heard the rumors?”
“Rumors?”
“Yeah. There’s been a lot of noise in Rapitsu’s gallery. They’re saying Serena’s graduating because it’s our second generation’s debut… Isn’t that a betrayal?”
“Aha.”
It’s the kind of controversy that was bound to arise.
Serena had announced her graduation knowing full well it might unfold like this.
However, while there could be reincarnated VTubers who didn’t know the ‘red medication’ or had never heard of her voice…
Last week’s interview had not included Serena.
This side had seen her face, so there’d be no mistaking it.
Seungyeon might write about Majia’s commuting habits or lunches and dinners they shared in the gallery, but when it came to sensitive topics, she always chose her words carefully.
Recently, following Majia’s advice, she even created a secondary account, so there shouldn’t be any issues revealing information.
“This time, Serena didn’t interview with us. We’ve never proposed a debut to her.”
“Aha. That makes sense.”
“Yeah. Anyway, it’ll blow over in a few months, so don’t worry too much about it.”
“But, yeah. There’s some division. Most seem to hope she transfers and continues broadcasting.
You know how this industry is, right? No matter how much they liked a character at first, they inevitably fall for the person behind the mask. If they’re okay with a different face, they’ll follow along.”
Seungyeon was right.
When a persona changes, some fans detach because their feelings wane, but at the same time, others continue to chase the real person inside.
That’s why many re-debut as individuals after graduating from a company.
Many seek to be reborn in better environments.
What kind of path will Serena take?
…Honestly, Majia found it hard to confirm.
Although they had had a friendly relationship, she wasn’t quite deep enough with the first batch members to discuss their thoughts openly.
“If I were to be reborn, I’d prefer to go to Bachu Bachu. Honestly, if you say you’re a VTuber in Korea, they’re still the top of the game.”
“Ugh. Right. Even if you don’t want to send someone off, you have to… Not everyone can access a 30 billion studio…”
* * *
But the next day, when Majia visited the label’s recording studio earlier than the members, she unexpectedly encountered someone…
She had assumed it would be a meeting with the recording overseer to discuss directions and guidelines before recording.
Yet somehow, Serena was waiting in the label’s conference room.
“Hehe, hello Jia!”
Beside her stood a well-dressed gentleman in casual attire, hands clasped in front of his chest.
With thin glasses resembling a germ-fearing school principal, his vibe reminded Majia of a department head at Parallel.
“I’m sorry for just showing up unexpectedly. I’m this kind of person.”
[Nahyeon Gon]
[CAT Ent. / Chief A&R Producer]
Chief A&R Producer.
This means he’s the overall producer managing all labels under CAT Entertainment.
You could think of him as the person just below the CEO; all music-related decisions ultimately pass through him.
… But why is this person here?
As Majia blinked in surprise, Serena spoke up.
“He’s my dad.”