I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 123

Before the recording, both the first-year students and Majia had already paid a visit to CAT’s headquarters for some pre-lesson lessons.

But when the day of recording actually arrived, everyone was a bundle of nerves, and you could hear the chaos.

The recording studio does have a peculiar significance. It’s like a stage without an audience where you have to showcase the best performance of all that practicing you did in the lesson room, all while racing against the clock.

The time crunch is due to the limited number of recording studios available.

In the case of All Might Production, which is in charge of Parallel, they’ve set up an office at CAT’s headquarters as one of the five mainstream labels, so they do have a dedicated recording studio. But still, the projects for Parallel weren’t quite the priority, were they?

They were somewhat tacked on to existing projects, so time was not exactly abundant.

At least they were better off than other smaller labels under CAT, which were strict about their reserved recording times. Once that time was up, they had to leave without exception. Here, they could extend or adjust their timing a bit depending on upcoming schedules or situations.

Regardless, this would definitely be an unforgettable memory for all the members.

Maru, who was the most flustered, exclaimed, “This has always been a dream of mine since I attended practical music school. I never thought I’d achieve it like this. It feels heavenly…! I’m nervous, but when I look around while singing, it eases my heart… phew.”

Rain, who flew all the way to Korea hoping to become an idol rapper after seeing Snowyn from CAT reach the US Billboard charts, was so overcome with emotion that she forgot her English, unlike her usual loud self.

“Crazy. Epic. It’s lit.”

It was a dreamlike opportunity for the members.

Thus, Majia made sure she was fully prepared before it was her turn.

It was a fanciful dream she had joked about ever since the members debuted. In order to take even a step closer to gathering 100,000 spectators at the World Cup stadium, Majia could not afford to make any mistakes.

As mentioned before, her role was to feature—a bit like sprinkles on an ice cream cone.

“Hello… there?”

However, Majia had no idea that Chief Producer Nahyeon Gon would come personally to that spot.

With Ena busy preparing the second-year students’ debut, today was practically a one-on-one meeting between Majia and Nahyeon Gon.

Team Leader Kang was there too, but once Nahyeon appeared, he discreetly remembered he had forgotten something important and excused himself.

“I heard you were visiting the headquarters today, so I dropped by. While I was coming, I found out you’ve had quite a few fun events over the last two months.”

Majia awkwardly smiled and replied, “It just kind of happened.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on things. Even considering I’m not too familiar with VTuber broadcasts, they’ve been quite entertaining. I must say, your broadcasts have a fascinating pull, Jia.”

“Really, you’re too kind…”

As Majia shuddered at the compliment, Nahyeon chuckled and cut to the chase, “Anyway, I hope the recording goes smoothly today as scheduled. I actually came by because I had a few questions.”

“Oh, yes. Please go ahead.”

“There’s been a lot of buzz lately about Jia’s debut. It’s only a faction of the fanbase, but it seems like in her core fandom, they’re talking about it as if it’s a done deal.”

“Did you even look that up?” While it must have come from subordinates, for Majia, that was quite an alarming level of intel.

It was a noisy affair, but honestly speaking, it was not something a chief producer of a major agency necessarily had to know.

“Well, my daughter is close to Jia, which means I get to hear a lot of things through her.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

“However, according to the reports I’ve received, it seems that not many people believe in the debut rumor. Sena seems fairly certain about it, similar to the core fandom, so there’s likely some internal info she hasn’t shared.”

Caught somewhat off guard, Majia lowered her gaze. She noticed that Ena seemed to be oddly oblivious to the whole situation too.

Nahyeon then inquired, “So, what’s the truth? After all, we are partners working on this music, right? A little tip-off would be appreciated.”

Majia nearly blurted out the truth but then thought of Cheon Dohui and sealed her lips. After organizing her thoughts, she said, “Can I consult with our president before I tell you?”

Nahyeon burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Of course, of course. It’s not urgent. Take your time with your answer. I’m just too curious.”

You’d think someone so high up shouldn’t be getting caught up in trivial matters, but no.

“If this song goes well, we need to move to the next step. In thinking about that picture, I realized I might need to adjust our direction depending on whether Majia debuts or not.”

“Uh, should I ask you right now?”

“No. As I mentioned earlier, take your time with the answer. After all, we’re here to record today, so don’t let that take up your time,” Nahyeon said.

Ultimately, it would be a decision for Cheon Dohui, but Nahyeon’s words felt like a hint that Majia would need to be involved in the next project as well.

Given that, Majia couldn’t not ask.

While she thought additional music work might arise based on this project’s results, Nahyeon’s words made it feel like the future plans were already laid out.

“Producer, can I ask just one question?”

“Yes, feel free.”

“Does my debut affect CAT’s plans that much? If it’s something important within the company, you don’t have to answer, but I’m just curious. I think it might help when I talk to the president.”

Nahyeon adjusted his chin and smiled. “If you debut, then the existence of the Utaite called Fan_C becomes meaningless, right? There’s no need to split people’s interest into two tracks.”

“Oh.”

“However, if Majia doesn’t debut as a VTuber, I plan to continue to push Fan_C’s solo activities starting with this song.”

Since he was on the topic, Nahyeon started detailing how he would nurture Fan_C as an Utaite.

“I don’t plan to have them start from scratch. As you know, our country’s music industry is seriously a red ocean, expecting a leisurely growth curve for a star. We need to ride on existing artists or establish equal presence to appeal to the public strongly.”

Majia nodded enthusiastically, her eyes shining as Nahyeon continued.

“So if Fan_C’s activities are formalized, I’ll first push for a collaboration song between Yura from All Might Production and Jia. The two of you have completely different vocal colors that could maximize each other’s strengths, creating a dynamic that feels like a musical fencing match. At the same time, we’ll open a music channel on YouTube and upload a separate version sung by Jia…”

But after that, it got a bit too technical for Majia to fully grasp.

Seeing Majia with a pensive expression, who usually looked at him so keenly, Nahyeon realized he might have overshared and wrapped it up quickly.

“Sorry! I forgot Jia isn’t too experienced in this field. I got carried away since you understood what I was saying so well.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t understand it all, but it was interesting. More than anything, I appreciate you, a recognized producer in the industry, sharing such discussions. I’ll be sure to learn a lot whenever you have the chance to talk.”

Despite Nahyeon’s high regard for Majia, growing encounters and work exchanges only raised that evaluation further.

The attitude of eagerly learning and striving in an unfamiliar field was the best work ethic for a burgeoning employee.

Though, with Majia’s diverse talents, she was more than just an employee.

Well, she seemed to prefer being recognized as one, so…

Nahyeon smiled pleasantly. “Well then, since Jia arrived early, we have a bit of time before the recording, so let’s talk more about this.”

“Sure!”

* * *

The recording went smoothly, and Majia succeeded in delivering a hundred percent of her prepared performance without a hint of nerves.

During the session, the vocal guide made various requests, but she grasped them well, just like in the illegal duet song recording, and received compliments like “Ah, so that’s why you’re good at mimicking.”

Instead of saying it was just her putting in the effort to copy well, Majia kept her thanks to herself, fearing it might come off as boastful.

Anyway, what mattered was Nahyeon’s request.

The next day, when Majia reported the news, Cheon Dohui’s jaw dropped.

“You mean a collaboration song with Yura right after debuting as an Utaite…?”

“That’s what he said.”

Two and a half months earlier, Utaite EULa had 2.5 million followers.

Her name, transliterated to sound like an English word, caught attention before because she participated in illicit duet content and earned awards for her overwhelming performance.

She was a recognized talent among the top talents.

When the videos go up, there are more comments from overseas than domestically, proving she’s loved internationally, and she’s still on the rise, now surpassing 2.7 million followers. Recently, she even made an appearance as a guest at a concert for the most loved Utaite in Japan, showcasing her popularity.

A collaboration with someone like her?

And it wasn’t even a complementary style, but rather a concept that would spark off each other’s strengths.

Even Cheon Dohui, no matter how bold she was, would hesitate to do a song showcasing rivalry with a singing genius like Yura.

Given how well the other person sings, it would take quite a bit of effort just to meet that standard.

No matter how you slice it, this was no easy opponent.

But there was no backing down.

After all, this was a project directly discussed by Producer Nahyeon.

“Well, it seems the producer has a vision in mind. I’ll set up a separate schedule to confirm things. You can focus on what you need to do.”

“Okay.”

Momo felt a bit of a strange mix of emotions.

Majia had been swamped at the company, and now it seemed that even outside, she was being bombarded by work from all directions.

However, the fact that both Cheon Dohui and Majia were asking for work at the same time created a pretty ideal pairing.

Managing Majia’s workload to keep her from overworking might just be Cheon Dohui’s top priority task.

“Speaking of which, is everything ready for the training session for the kids next week? Are you feeling okay with how busy it’s been?”

From Monday to Friday next week, the members would receive training on how to handle nasty people from special instructor Majia.

It was a curriculum that had already existed when they were first years, and Majia would recreate the numerous nasty encounters she’d seen, confusing the second years.

As a side note, during the first year, Maru genuinely cried from feeling wronged, and Rain nearly got into a fight with Majia.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a similar scene occurred with the second years as well.

Each member had their own specific weaknesses they needed to address, so Majia was quite excited.

Imagining how the time with the second years would be spent, Majia wore a wicked little smile.

“The upgraded version of the villain template 2025 is waiting for them.”