I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 82

The unexpected, unofficial collaboration between Parallel and Lapits.

In a way, it was all thanks to Magia.

If she hadn’t muttered Lapits Potion during a broadcast with fifty thousand viewers watching, Do-hee wouldn’t have had to explain the situation to Iona, and without that, the joint raid would never have happened.

And yet, the very person who set this whole thing in motion didn’t start her stream on time the next day.

[I'll be logging in two hours late.]

It seemed like she had even informed Wicker and asked them to delay the opening of the Demon King's Castle by two hours.

Worried that something had happened, Do-hee called her. But no matter how many times she tried, Magia didn’t pick up.

She had already exceeded the forty-hour weekly commitment she’d promised to keep for the Wicker server.

What if she was sick again? Or worse, collapsed?

A sudden wave of anxiety hit Do-hee.

Lately, Magia had been taking better care of herself, and since it was during the late hours when Do-hee was asleep, she had trusted Magia to manage her own schedule.

But still.

Just because she hadn’t hit the 52-hour work limit at the company didn’t mean she hadn’t gone over it.

Adding up all the time she spent staying logged into Wicker Town at home, last week’s total work hours definitely exceeded 52.

So how could she not be worried?

“Why isn’t she answering her phone...?”

Feeling uneasy, Do-hee immediately started getting ready to leave.

It was the weekend, so she looked like a mess, but she couldn’t just leave Magia alone if she was sick.

Even as she threw on a long padded coat and pulled a hat over her head, her hands were busy typing out two messages.

[Me: You’re not sick or anything, right?]

[Me: If you’re not feeling well, take the day off and go to the hospital.]

She was planning to head out regardless of whether she got a reply or not...

[Gia Manager: I’m really sick.]

“What?”

Do-hee, startled, shoved her feet into her sneakers so fast she nearly slipped at the entrance.

But just as she was about to rush out the door, another message came in—one that made her want to explode on the spot.

[Gia Manager: My stomach hurts so bad ㅠㅠ]

[Gia Manager: I watched the CEO’s aegyo clip over a hundred times since yesterday, and now my stomach hurts so much I’m crying ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Gia Manager: Chiaaa ㅠㅠㅠ I love you ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

“.......”

Annoyance surged through her as she immediately called Magia again.

At least this time, she picked up.

“Do you want to die?! Wait—so you delayed your stream by two hours just to do that?!”

[But... Oshika did aegyo for the first time in three years. How could I not replay it?]

“....”

[I was even worried the VOD might get taken down, so I downloaded it just in case. I’m keeping it all to myself...]

“When have I ever taken down a VOD?”

[I mean, you haven’t. But you never know. Gotta be prepared. Download, edit, and back it up on a personal channel.]

At that, Do-hee suddenly remembered something.

A channel that had been practically abandoned for the past three years.

Channel name: MoAeMo.

The description said it was short for Momo Aegyo Compilation.

Since five years ago, it had archived every single aegyo moment from every one of her live streams.

The person behind it was so meticulous that even clips nearly impossible to catch without watching the streams live were all compiled there.

People who found it were always amazed, leaving tons of comments.

Saying things like, You won’t find a goldmine like this anywhere else.

“...You. You’re MoAeMo, aren’t you?”

[No, I’m not.]

“Yes, you are. There’s no one else who would be that obsessive about details.”

[I’m really not.]

“If you admit it, I’ll let you come over to my place on Christmas Eve.”

[I am.]

“...Hey.”

Do-hee always felt like she was the one being played. But this time, she had set the trap.

Except... Magia was not going to be the only one visiting Do-hee’s place on Christmas.

Aside from Kang Ji-ho, who had to spend time with her family, the whole travel group from their last trip would be there.

They only had four hours of free time before everyone had to start their own streams later that night, but the first-gen members would definitely enjoy it.

They had been wanting to spend more time with Magia, but since her schedule was so tight, they held back.

But, of course, Magia was always one step ahead.

[Wait, are the others coming? If they’re there, I’ll just turn around and go home.]

She had already caught on and was trying to slip away.

“Hey, hey. Why? You were fine during the trip.”

[Christmas isn’t meant for going outside. If I step out, there’ll be couples everywhere, and the streets will be packed. Just thinking about it drains my energy.]

Even though she functioned just fine in society, Magia was still an introvert at heart.

And considering how crowded the streets would be during Christmas, making the trip to Do-hee’s place did sound exhausting.

“Then I’ll come pick you up. Just wait at home.”

[You need to rest, CEO. And the traffic’s going to be horrible because of the holidays.]

“Oh, come on! You’re only saying that because you don’t want to come!”

In the end, despite thinking she had set a trap, Do-hee was the one caught again.

Even if Magia said she wouldn’t go, there was no way she’d actually pass up this chance.

A visit to the CEO’s house? That wasn’t an opportunity that came around often.

It wasn’t like she hated the first-gen members, either.

[Fine, I’ll just take a taxi. You stay home.]

“...You’re coming?”

Do-hee setting traps for Magia was, in a way, a challenge to her.

Magia couldn’t just let this upside-down hierarchy slide.

Especially after hearing Do-hee’s aegyo yesterday.

[If I’m gonna be your manager for life~ I have to gooo~.]

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Hearing that exaggerated impression of herself, Do-hee squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fist.

“You are so dead when you show up for work tomorrow.”

Magia muttered in a slightly nervous voice.

Because, this time, Do-hee’s anger was very, very real.

[Guess I’ll be showing up two hours late...]

***

December 22nd, Friday.

D-1 until Wicker Town Season 2 server shutdown.

[Wicker Town Season 2 Closing Ceremony]

[December 23rd (Sat) – Demon King’s Castle Rooftop Grand Stage]

Maru x Serena (A Part Two)Iona x Rain (AKB 47)...I tilted my head at the program.

Parallel and Lapits had two collaborative performances listed?

“A sudden unofficial collab, huh.”

“It’s not exactly unofficial. Lapits gave the green light too.”

“Then it’s official.”

“Surprised?”

It wasn’t like Parallel and Lapits had been at each other’s throats, clawing and fighting over the same slice of the pie.

But they weren’t exactly on good terms either.

Lapits had entered VachuVachu KR a little earlier than us, but thanks to our CEO’s presence, Parallel had been growing at an accelerated pace.

Why?

Iona, who had stormed in with a strong start, had only reached 700,000 subscribers.

That was still far from CEO-tier.

Even if she passed some of that influence down to her members, it didn’t have the same impact as Momo’s trickle-down effect.

Naturally, that must have caused some unease on their end.

And yet, the one who broke this tense rivalry and formed an alliance was...

“You.”

None other than me.

I hadn’t even realized it.

To me, it just looked like Momo and Iona had worked things out because Maru and Serena got along well.

“I really ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) didn’t do anything.”

“Well... technically speaking, yeah. But you were the one who opened the floodgates. If not for you, Iona and I would have never even had a reason to talk.”

Momo leaned back and smirked.

“Anyway, I talked it over with the finance director. As a reward for securing this collab, your bonus this month is 4 million won.”

...4 million?

That’s more than my salary.

I turned to Momo, eyes wide, and she continued.

“Don’t think it’s a lot. Even after deducting fees, your official channel’s donations netted over 20 million. You’re only getting 20% of that, so just take it.”

“I should probably open another savings account.”

“You’re just gonna break it later to donate again. Don’t bother saving—just spend it freely for a month.”

“What would I even spend money on? I’d rather save up for the members’ upcoming merch.”

As I nonchalantly tried to slip out of her office, she suddenly grabbed the back of my collar.

“Wait! Stop right there. You actually do have something to spend it on, so don’t stash it away yet.”

“...On what?”

Momo dragged me over to her desk and shoved a printed A4 flyer in my face.

[2024 Pazijik Year-End Party]

— Date: December 29th (Fri)

— A turbulent 2024 is coming to an end. We invite our partner streamers to join Pazijik in our annual year-end celebration.

Oh.

It was the same year-end Pazijik party that happened every year.

Of course, Momo and the first-gens had been partnered with Pazijik for ages, so their names being on the list wasn’t surprising.

But then—

[Parallel / PARALLEL] @parallel_official

— Deputy Manager Magia

Right under the first-gens, my name was sitting there.

...Excuse me?

I’m not a streamer.

I’m not a VTuber, nor a partnered content creator.

“This... isn’t a mistake?”

“Nope. It was sent directly to you.”

“...Why?”

“What do you mean why? Pazijik officially recognized your channel as Parallel’s main official channel. You’re a partnered account, so they probably just sent you an invite on principle.”

Just thinking about it gave me a headache.

As far as I knew, Pazijik had about 300 partner streamers.

Last year’s party had around 250 attendees.

And 50 of those were absolute industry giants.

It included all VachuVachu KR-affiliated VTubers and Pazijik’s long-time titans—YouTube’s 3-million-sub Crkemang, Makgeolli Crew, and...

The former emperor of Battle Colosseum, now a comedian with 1.9 million subs—Movgun.An entire squad of ex-pro gamers.The “Mad Dog” group led by Lupko, the insane Baseball Manager.Ronze, a second-tier pro gamer currently in off-season.That was just the heavy-hitters—only one-fifth of the list.

And I was supposed to go? Why?!

I’m a corporate employee.

But unlike me, Momo was determined to drag me there.

She tapped the collar of my blouse, still holding onto it.

“You... don’t own anything suitable for a formal event, do you? Let’s go shopping the day after Christmas. I’ll tell Seung-yeon in advance. Mark it as a business expense.”

“I really don’t think I should go.”

“Why? You got an official invitation.”

“Maybe they sent it by mistake? I’m not a VTuber.”

“You don’t have to be. They invited you because you’re a broadcaster now. And weren’t you just talking about increasing your stream hours?”

...Damn it.

Two days ago, I had suggested running a centralized control room for large-scale server events.

Wicker Town had drawn huge attention. In just two weeks, the official channel had raked in 27.49 million won.

And as someone who lives and breathes efficiency, I couldn’t just ignore such an opportunity.

Momo smirked.

“Big servers happen at least six times a year. And you were planning to do monthly review streams in between, right?”

“...Yeah?”

“Then whether you like it or not, people are going to recognize you. And think about it—networking is crucial for our talents, right? But wouldn’t it be just as beneficial for their manager to build connections?”

Up until recently, Parallel’s members and Lupko’s crew hadn’t interacted much.

The I’m Wolf collab had been their only crossover, and even then, they had stayed distant.

But once the Wicker server introduced creditors, debtors, betrayals, and dramatic storylines, I naturally ended up talking to Lupko more often.

Since I was already in contact with him, it became easier for our members to join in.

Sometimes I introduced them, and sometimes Lupko recognized them first.

The conclusion was obvious.

My connections could directly benefit Parallel’s members.

These days, I was already seeing viewers from Movgun and Ronze’s channels popping up in our chat.

People who would normally tune in to their main streamers were starting to pick Parallel as a backup option.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

In other words, my network was bringing real value to the team.

I was carrying on what Momo had been doing all along—bridging connections.

“...That actually makes sense.”

“Right? Then we need to get you a proper outfit for the party.”

The logic felt like it hit a dead end somewhere, but...

If Momo said so, then that was that.

TPO.

Time, Place, Occasion.

Dressing appropriately was a universal rule.

The reason I always wore a suit at work was to adhere to that very principle.

So, in this case, it would be best to trust Momo, who had actual experience attending parties.

Not to mention, she was way better at picking out women’s fashion than I was.

When I nodded in agreement, she grinned.

“Then keep the 26th open.”

“...An entire day? How much are we buying?”

Momo’s eyes blazed with excitement.

“This is a party.

There’s no way I’m sending my employee out there looking half-assed.”

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