I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 142

“Yeah. Count me in.”

After coolly expressing her intention to participate, Jia posed a question to Dohui, who looked shocked.

“I actually wanted to discuss something related to this.”

“What is it?”

“Just a moment, oh, here comes Ra Seunghyeon.”

With that, Team Leader Ra Seunghyeon rushed to sit next to Majia, indicating that Dohui’s persuasion had worked.

Dohui, who hadn’t expected this result, exchanged glances with her. “You actually pulled this off, didn’t you?”

Although she witnessed the secret exchange, Majia, who generally didn’t care much about others’ business, dove straight into the main topic.

“I talked with Team Leader yesterday. He mentioned that consistently attending the company’s group streams would be beneficial for me. Looking at today’s data, it seems to be true.

It’s only about four times a month, so I think it’s manageable. Is that okay? Of course, like always, the members will lead, and I’ll be in a support role.

I also plan to attend external group streams with the members whenever possible.”

In other words, Ra Seunghyeon had succeeded in convincing her.

Thus, Jia promptly accepted Movgun’s invitation to the competition.

To be honest, Dohui felt quite moved by witnessing Jia’s growth as a middle manager.

She couldn’t believe that the girl she brought into the company, clueless about titles and formalities, simply enjoying watching VTuber streams, had come this far.

However, Dohui was not only the president but also the sole guardian of Majia, who lived alone in Korea.

She had to set things straight.

“But can you really handle your current work along with your hobbies? Especially within limited working hours?”

Majia had always been influential in the company, and even before revealing her full potential, she had generously helped each team as a viewer-side VTuber expert.

Thus, professionals unfamiliar with VTubers had now developed a decent understanding of them.

However, as this became overwhelming for Majia, Dohui initially blocked everything.

Any matter related to Jia had to go through her, which was the reason for making Jia a direct report.

But since late last year, Majia’s presence had been steadily rising, reaching a point where it was no longer feasible to control everything.

The fact that Team Leader Ra brought up this serious discussion, backed by the opinions of other team leaders, was also because of that.

Essentially, everyone recognized Majia as team leader level.

Until now, if things seemed a bit excessive, Dohui could step in immediately.

But from now on, discussions among team leaders meant Majia would have to make her own decisions.

She needed to learn to decline tasks she couldn’t handle.

It wasn’t always competent to accept every opportunity that seemed beneficial for the company.

“Let’s not talk about cutting back on sleep or anything like that. You know that, right? Your health comes first.”

Fortunately, Majia had already coordinated that with Team Leader Ra.

“As long as I help when I have free time, I won’t go if I’m too busy. Right, Team Leader?”

“Exactly. It’s important for you to consistently show up, so take care of your health.”

“However, since things are only going to get busier, please hire one more person like Seungyeon before the second generation debuts. Even if they’re not as skilled as Seungyeon, I’d prefer someone with a personality that doesn’t clash with her.”

“Is one person enough? If you’re short-handed, we can always hire more, so don’t hold back. I’m sure all the team leaders will agree.”

Seeing Ra Seunghyeon nodding vigorously, Majia shook her head.

“Anyway, the second generation training period will wrap up soon. One person is all we need for now. If we find ourselves short-staffed, I’ll let you know.”

Dohui was about to say that she couldn’t just hire someone immediately when Majia’s next words beat her to it.

“I’ll let you know at least two months in advance.”

“… You’re especially perceptive today, aren’t you?”

“I’ve always been fast.”

She had indeed been a demanding employee.

What could it be? It felt like she had suddenly grown up in just a few months.

Despite her outward appearance remaining unchanged, one couldn’t help but worry about leaving her alone.

No matter how much Dohui wanted to protect her, she couldn’t treat her like a child forever.

“Well, fine. I’ll trust you to handle things well.”

“I’ve always managed on my own.”

“You sure talk a lot. By the way, to compete in the MCN Battle, we really need to ensure you’re officially part of our company. Is it okay to list your name on the official website?”

“Are you talking about my profile like the others?”

“Yeah. Fans already know you’re the general manager, but the competition organizers need concrete documentation. I’ll have to think about where to post it, but for now, I’ll list you as staff.”

Majia shrugged.

“I guess as long as it’s not VTuber-related, it doesn’t matter, right?”

* * *

For Parallel, it was an official website profile created to give Majia an excuse to participate in the competition.

However, since it contained everything from character sheets to settings released on April Fool’s Day, the Parallel community exploded with activity.

… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

[Drama rumors, second generation theories, graduation speculation, blah blah blah!]

This definitely proved it.

“Kiumin are the ones ruining the gallery.”

If you see a Kiumin, just take them out right away.

[Comments]

— Parallel851: Well, that’s expected, lol.

— Parallel586: Why does it say ‘mentally challenged’ next to your name?

— Parallel096: This guy was the one consistently posting about the second generation’s debut.

— Parallel682: After causing a stir, it’s just what I expected, lol.

— Parallel512: Honestly, half the people posting worried comments are just doing it for the attention, lol. Blocking them is the right move.

— Parallel782: Totally agree, lol.

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

[But seriously, what are you all so confident in?]

Sure, they might have listed her as staff, but if Majia debuts as a second-generation with a completely different voice, do you think you could tell if it’s her or not?

I know I wouldn’t, lol.

Unless she slips up or someone else leaks it, there’s no way to tell.

[Comments]

— Parallel005: That’s true, lol.

— Parallel122: To be honest, if it comes to that level, I guess we might as well accept it, lol.

— Parallel068: Just look at Fan_C…

— Parallel846: Didn’t that get disproven?

— Parallel571: When?

— Parallel772: Where did this guy come from, earth 884?

— Parallel966: You can clearly tell it’s a different person, lol.

— Parallel601: What are you talking about? They’re obviously the same person.

— Parallel256: ??

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

Unexpectedly, the buzz surrounding the second generation vs. Fan_C did not fizzle out.

Instead, rumors of conflict between Majia and the first generation, as well as graduation and transfer rumors, faded away completely.

For Parallel, this was the ideal situation.

But there was even hotter news that stirred up the gallery.

That would be the shorts.

Right after the Saturday Black Warning collaboration wrapped up, numerous shorts showcasing the Boombox scene poured in.

Both official and Kiri-style, they recorded unprecedented views and gained tremendous popularity.

It seems the scene itself was so impactful that, exclusively on YouTube Music, the short made using the first generation’s anniversary song “One Others” skyrocketed on the charts, surpassing other songs and achieving remarkable heights both locally and internationally.

However, this whole trend surprisingly started from an unexpected place.

Majia discovered this truth on the following Saturday.

“Hello, Jia? I’ve heard news. You’re participating in the competition, right?”

A call from an unknown number turned out to be Movgun.

Majia replied gruffly, “Yeah. Someone had to fit six people, and I was the only one left.”

“Wow, your insistence that you must have two teams based on different affiliations must have really helped out. It’s really tough to get you, huh…”

“?”

“Oh wait, that’s off the record. My bad, my bad.”

It was clear that Movgun had tried to set a trap to get her to divulge something.

However, this upcoming Baekol tournament was officially organized by the developers.

Movgun must have had his reasons to back up his claims, but if the official team acknowledged it, then it meant that Movgun wielded considerable influence over the developers.

Yet, there were many NTubers focused on Baekol, especially overseas rather than in Korea.

That said, if Movgun held such power, it indicated that developers benefitted from him significantly…

However, since Majia had long since blocked Movgun’s channel, she had no idea what made him so appealing to the developers.

“Anyway, if you’re done talking, I’ll hang up. I’m busy.”

“Wait, wait a second.”

Movgun stopped Majia from hanging up, exhaling a long sigh.

“To be honest, I never expected to hear a thank you from the agent. But still, could you express something like ‘Oh! That’s great’ or ‘I enjoyed it’ instead of just thanks? I had no idea it would go this well, but still…”

“… What are you talking about?”

“Ah, I can’t believe I’m saying this myself. The shorts! The shorts! The ones I posted last week.”

At that moment, something clicked in Majia’s head.

That was it—the shorts produced by Movgun that used the new song of the first generation as background music, which Dohui mentioned was thanks to Majia.

Now that she thought about it, she vaguely recalled that.

Being busy with her work and having blocked Movgun’s channel, she had no way of knowing what was happening.

Whenever something popped up related to the community, if she saw Movgun’s name, she instantly ignored it.

“I sent you a link on TikTok, so take a look. It went viral!”

When Majia opened the link, she was greeted by the message “This channel has been blocked.”

It seemed she needed to figure out what the hit was, so Majia unblocked Movgun’s channel for the first time in almost four years.

And then, lo and behold.

[🥔Nutube Shorts]

@Movgun

**Mov Wick** #Movgun #BattleColosseum

👀52.29 million / 👍6.45 million / 💬45,611 / 🔄221k

♬ Original Sound (Music Source: Finish Line – Parallel Another (Feat. Fan_C))

The recently posted short had garnered nearly 52 million views within just a week.

Over 200,000 shorts were made using the audio from that video.

It was an outrageous hit.

Considering that it was an FPS video showing a character effectively taking down targets with a handgun, which dealt relatively weak damage compared to other firearms, it was among those videos that were quite common in that genre.

Even if the creator was Movgun, Majia couldn’t fathom why it took off so wildly.

Movgun attributed the success to Parallel’s song.

“Clearly, this new song is optimized for short-form promotion. It gives off that CAT vibe.

The sound is perfectly crafted for easy listening, and the beat fits the visuals flawlessly. … Oh, I’m not saying your previous songs weren’t good. This latest one just happened to be better suited for video background music.

And if you check the comments, you’ll see people immediately recognizing it as a song made by CAT. A name speaks for itself.”

The influence of Movgun was clear as day.

Along with the catchy chorus of the new song, the trend was set, leading to widespread popularity.

Some may have wondered why it spread so suddenly, but this was just how trends worked in the short-form realm.

YouTube shorts, TikTok, and Facebook Queue.

Regardless of the platform, once a video ranked high due to algorithms, a plethora of similar videos using the same sound would soon arise, spreading worldwide.

This was one of the most effective promotional methods for currently trending music.

Musicians intentionally create songs optimized for short-form platforms to ride the wave of the charts and algorithms.

Idols? Of course, they pour effort into promoting themselves through shorts.

Each member showcases their distinct colors in the same part, releasing videos in preparation—just like the first generation of Parallel, who are now rolling out pre-prepared videos after revealing the song.

Keep in mind, succeeding in the global algorithm, not just the limited Korean one, is what leads to massive success.

Movgun’s short racked up 52 million views, serving as a prime example.

The result was that the original music video for the first generation song, “Finish Line,” was also experiencing a rapid upward trend.

Majia, who kept an eye on the data, couldn’t help but be shocked; she hadn’t expected this level of success.

“Wait… when did this happen?”

“? Were you pretending not to know?”

“I’m busy and only check it once a week. I didn’t know.”

Movgun looked equally boggled.

“You know, I thought you accepted our competition participation after seeing this.”

“… Honestly, until just recently, I had your channel blocked, so I had no idea.”

“That’s a bit much…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll re-block you.”

“Come on now.”

Had it not been for the impending deal with CAT based on the song’s data, Majia would have surely blocked Movgun’s channel again.

But she couldn’t ignore someone who had continually supported Parallel, especially after having unwittingly thrown him under the bus before.

Most importantly, unlike before, Majia was now one of the faces of their company, with her face (though it was a digital face) plastered across the official website.

Thus, managing public perception was essential.

Even if she conflicted with someone on a personal level, avoiding them was no longer an option.

This was part and parcel of becoming the impressive adult she aspired to be.

“Just kidding. Once the MCN tournament is over, I’ll drop by to express my gratitude. By the way, do you have a favorite food?”

At that, Movgun hummed.

He seemed to mull over it for a moment before saying, “I’m good with food, but how about a collaboration before the MCN tournament? It should be one of the days next week, either Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.”

If it were once before, Majia would have turned down a collaboration.

However, she didn’t hesitate this time.

“Sure, does that mean another civil war, like last time?”

“No, it’s more of a preliminary skirmish. I’m thinking of bringing one representative from each of the companies for a three-person squad to play ranked games and host a talk show as a way to stir interest in the upcoming competition.

I’ve also requested others from rival MCNs, not just you.”

“Really? So am I collaborating with… Rapitsu? Or is it Iona?”

Movgun promptly shook his head.

“Nope. It will be that person you shouted out during the combat tournament.”

At that moment, Majia could already guess who he was talking about.

With 3.5 million subscribers.

The second generation of Bachu Bachu KR.

Shirahoshi Momo, a real-life friend of hers.

She was currently holding the top spot as the number one female VTuber in Korea.

“It’s Taro, isn’t it?”