I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 99
… ─ — PARALLEL (VTuber) GALLERY ─ ─ — …
[Didn’t see this coming… Huh?]
————— VIEW ON Z —————
PARALLEL Parallel official KR☑@Parallel_official_kr – 2 hours ago
<Mafia's Illegal Duet🎵> features Deputy Majia too!
Thanks so much to the supporters who promised backing that day! 😍
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What the heck is this?
Why is this person actually singing?
(Recommended: 515 / Not Recommended: 0)
[Comments]
— PARALLEL983: What the?
— PARALLEL721: ??
— PARALLEL614: This isn’t a karaoke room, LOL!
— PARALLEL433: Ooh…
— PARALLEL846: Karaoke (viewer call)
— PARALLEL785: Sweet income, haha!
… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …
The next day, I walked into the office, confirming that the bomb I set the day before worked just fine. In the lobby of the building, Team Leader Ra Seunghyeon was waiting for me.
For some reason, our team leader was out as well.
I would soon find out why.
“I followed you out because I was worried Ra might bully Jia.”
“… What? That’s not it; I just came down to buy coffee for the meeting. Let’s go.”
Ra Seunghyeon.
She was a marketing expert who had been getting top ratings for ten years straight in a major corporation.
She was the one who had previously made that epic themed presentation for our first batch’s adventure.
Despite her stellar work being praised with applause each time by the president, Ra always seemed a bit disgruntled.
But it wasn’t because she had a sharp personality.
Actually, it was mostly my fault.
It’s not like there was an earth-shattering reason; it’s just that whenever I’d remember, I’d give the president a little poke—“Aren’t we doing this content?” “What about that content?”—and I’d send a reminder.
My little nudges were always a few hours or even days ahead of Ra.
So when Ra brings in a brilliant plan and presents it, our dear president would say, “Oh, I discussed that with Jia,” leaving Ra with a sour face.
You can’t help but understand why she’d feel that way.
But it’s not like Ra Seunghyeon isn’t smart.
I just toss out ideas casually without thinking much about future implications while Ra analyzes industry trends, feels the atmosphere, and submits reports with calculated follow-up steps, so she’s always late.
So, if you break it down, both Ra and I come up with thoughts around the same time.
In fact, unlike me, who had been steeped in this culture since childhood, Ra only encountered internet streaming about three to four years ago.
In that brief span, she’d absorbed everything about the industry herself, stoking the team’s creativity while submitting planner documents with a flourish.
That’s why as the head of the planning team, she ensures new songs, outfits, and timely content all come out just right.
The Lunar New Year talent show was also her brainchild, so I trust Team Leader Ra implicitly.
I’m grateful for her being the best talent helping our president.
Of course, even Ra Seunghyeon, with her rigid image, had a slightly peculiar expression around me after I shrunk.
It felt like a mix of mild annoyance with a hint of a smirk.
After we grabbed coffee and entered the meeting room, my draft of last night’s proposal was displayed large on the screen.
The moment we sat down, she wore a rare smile.
“Your draft is a bit rough, but I like it.”
“Thank you.”
Her team member had said that meeting times were like hell.
But this meeting proceeded in a surprisingly smooth atmosphere.
“Though, if you want to do proper planning, you’ll have to learn more. The proposal isn’t detailed enough to report to the higher-ups.”
“Hey, I’m not even part of the planning team.”
“The president telling me to help you suggests he wants me to teach you this area too, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe?”
“More than that, broadcasters and planners operate in entirely different environments. You need to break things down very specifically. Otherwise, misunderstandings can lead to real-world problems.”
“Oh. But I thought I could handle this on my own; I figured this would be enough.”
Ra Seunghyeon looked at me with surprise in her eyes.
“You thought you could proceed with just this much idea?”
“Yeah. I was planning to wing the rest.”
At that moment, Ra’s expression was like, “What is up with this person?”
And similar words soon slipped from her lips.
“What about during the Movgun Civil War?”
“Pretty much the same.”
“And during the Wicker server and Combative competition?”
“Couldn’t prepare for that either.”
“… Did you have all plans ready after saying, ‘This is messed up’?”
Team Leader Kang suddenly hugged me.
“Ra, you know Mafat is scary, right?”
“I didn’t do anything! We were just having a normal meeting here!”
Sighing a short sigh, Ra Seunghyeon said,
“Anyway, I’m surprised. I think I understand why the president keeps having Mafat do broadcasts lately.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“Not many people can manage the atmosphere by themselves during broadcasts, even if they can manage things. If they can get it under control, that’s one thing, but handling the vibes too? That’s rare.”
Just from her explanation, it sounds like I have brainwashing abilities, grabbing everyone’s attention instantly.
Although I’m trying hard not to show it externally, my mind is just as occupied.
However, regardless of how I look, what mattered was that I had gained Ra’s trust.
I was initially worried we wouldn’t have much chance to communicate effectively since I had barely interacted with her compared to other team leaders who had a lot of casual engagements with me.
But once we began discussing the proposal, it was like a well-oiled machine.
I barely said a few words, and she filled in the blanks effortlessly, creating an outstanding planning document.
“Then let’s report it like this.”
However, there was one major difference from my initial draft: the addition of a sponsor called ‘Aurora’ and a shirt bearing its name.
When I asked Ra about it, she quickly provided an answer.
“Kids’ talent show brought in bottled water advertising, you see.”
On the talent show day, the president and the members would gather in the motion studio on the ninth floor, with tracker-equipped water bottles being set up there.
So it seemed they were going to suggest hanging an ad for the bottled water company on the <Illegal Duet> content that would occur the day before the show.
The selected participants would receive a 1 million won prize sponsored by Aurora. That’s the plan.
“So the first-place vote from viewer participation gets the prize, and the original awards we planned will go to two people I pick, right?”
“It looks like the president also wants to participate, so we can each give him and us an award.”
“Oh, I see.”
Is the president available on that day?
Well, I’m sure Ra Seunghyeon knows the president’s schedule better than I do.
“Okay, I’ve got to get going; I’m busy.”
“Thanks for your help.”
“I helped, so now work hard.”
With a huff and a snort, Ra exited the meeting room like a whirlwind.
Our team leader, who had stayed beside me, said,
“She talks like that all the time, but she’s such a tsundere.”
“By the way, you two seem pretty close, huh?”
“Well, we’re both the same age, so it makes sense? And speaking of which, what did she say before? Something about hugging Jia…”
“Hey! Kang Jiho!”
I thought Ra had gone back, but she shot a fierce glare at our team leader, as if sparks were flying from her eyes.
“Stop saying unnecessary things.”
“Sorry, sorry! I won’t do it again.”
“Tsk.”
The conference room door slid sharply closed.
Our team leader barely stifled a laugh.
“I had no idea you and she were on such casual terms.”
“Well, since we have to keep communicating about external schedules for the kids, we naturally got closer.”
“So, what’s that story about?”
“Oh, that? Just ask Ra directly later. If I say anything, she’ll come to my house and pull my hair out.”
… What in the world is this about.
* * *
Since Ra got involved, I wasn’t too worried about the content’s completeness.
But somehow, after a few days, an unexpected sponsor had attached itself to the content notification that popped up.
————— VIEW ON Z —————
PARALLEL Parallel official KR☑ @Parallel_official_kr – 1 minute ago
🎎Lunar New Year Special Viewer Participation Content
<Illegal Duet🎵>
January 30, 2025 (TUE) 6 PM – Hosted by Shirahoshi Momo, Deputy Majia
Total Prize: 4 million won, with rare goods up for grabs!
– Sponsors: Aurora, Pazizik
– Participant Registration & Video Submission: m.site.pazizik.com/13Z6A
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“Why is Pazizik involved?”
The president spoke as if it was no big deal.
“Remember the concert viewership from Wicker Town?”
“I remember it was over 300,000.”
“And the viewership for the Cat Lovers Contest?”
“Was it 250,000…?”
“Well, there you go.”
The president stared intently at me.
Was this somehow my fault?
All I could remember was slaughtering people while muttering about Rapitsu potions, and cursing at the game.
I really couldn’t have achieved that result alone.
Of course, it’s good for more sponsors to join the party.
Since they provide production support, we can deliver quality content.
“Anyway, because of this, the awards for viewer votes have increased to four. Pazizik contributes 2 million won for two winners, and Aurora adds another 1 million for two winners.”
“So that totals 4 million… and we’re still giving away the goods set we decided on, right?”
“Yup. With the increase in prize money, we need to manage potential controversies about internal advantages, so Pazizik will handle the participant list to ensure anonymity.”
“I was really just suggesting we keep it light, but things have escalated.”
The president chuckled.
“Looks like our Jia is still an inexperienced broadcaster, huh? Getting nervous about things like this.”
“I’m not worried! I’m just worried you might pull something risky!”
“What the hell?! That’s my line!”
“If you mess around on the official channel to raise the rates, I won’t sit quiet either.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me….”
Even though we were casually joking, it was clear that at that moment, I had no real worries about what was to come.
Even though we had sponsors, it was still a domestic event for Parallel.
The voting system for viewers emphasized that the content was still more about the fun than serious talent.
But the moment the broadcasting platform Pazizik got involved, rumors began to swirl out of control.
Pazizik is sponsoring it!
The prize is 4 million won!
What? 4 million per person?
As the rumors spread their wings and began to fly, another piece of news came in.
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[🥔Nutube] – Community
Rubko RoofKR | Subscribers: 1.09 million
I thought I’d take a break during the holidays, but I’ll be streaming from the last day of the holiday on the 30th.
– 30th: Watching Parallel’s Illegal Duet together!
– 31st: Watching a talent show with the crazy dogs from Parallel!
After that, a drinking stream while hosting the Parallel World Cup!
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Rubko suddenly scheduled the Parallel World Cup he promised to do with our group on the same day as our talent show.
While deciding on the execution date, it seems they reconsidered after seeing Pazizik majorly push our content.
With the crazy dogs’ crew having a combined subscriber count of 3 million, their effect was immediate.
“Pazizik said the applicants suddenly doubled?”
“How many is that?”
“210.”
“?”
“Apparently, we still can’t see the list, but many recognized names are said to be included! The most famous one has 2.5 million YouTube subscribers.”
“Were people just bored with the extended holiday?”
I had been trying to generate interest by anonymously participating, but I couldn’t quite grasp why things were escalating so quickly.
But I still thought that having things get bigger was not a bad thing at this point.
Having well-known names participate is a boon.
After all, our members are more than capable of holding their own with singing in any context.
Wait, famous people are showing up to sing with our members for free?
No way to pass up that opportunity!
I just hoped that famous individuals would push through to the finals and showcase their voices on the broadcast.
This escalation even increases my chances of dropping out in the preliminaries.
If I get disqualified early, judging day will be way more relaxed.
Everyone will be scrambling to find me, while I can just smile and move things along.
“So, what song did you sing for the preliminaries?”
“It’s a secret.”
“… If you suddenly sing a Rapitsu song, that could be a problem, right? It’s not like any other time; this time, it’s a definite no.”
“I didn’t sing that.”
* * *
Even after that, more variables continued to emerge.
————— VIEW ON Z —————
PARALLEL Parallel official KR☑@Parallel_official_kr – 1 minute ago
[<Illegal Duet🎵> 26 Finalists Announced]
m.site.pazizik.com/Az04q
Did you know?
Deputy Majia is hiding among the 26 finalists…!
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Somehow, the video I submitted received a passing score and advanced to the finals.
————— VIEW ON Z —————
Lee Yura Eula☑ @Eula – 1 minute ago
I’ll be taking a break on January 30 for personal reasons!
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Yura fighting @fightwitheula
Oh? Yura, did you also apply for the Illegal Duet?
ㄴ Eula Lee☑ @Eula
(Shhh meme)
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As it became almost certain that the 2.5 million-subscriber Utaite Eula was participating in the Illegal Duet…
On January 30.
What was initially projected to be an event with a maximum scale of 25,000 was now predicted to host over
[ (🔴Live) Parallel Illegal Duet🎵 ] 👪58,437
#PARALLEL #MAJIA #MOMO #ILLEGALDUET #TALENTSHOW #VIEWERPARTICIPATION
Starting with roughly 60,000 viewers.