"Yeah, I was originally supposed to debut as an idol under VIRDESS."
Magia was caught completely off guard by how casually Serena dropped that bombshell.
"Uh. You do realize I work for Parallel, right?"
"Co on, everyone who’s been around already knows that VIRDESS pushes forr idol trainees into LapiTz for VTuber debuts. And you asked, Gia."
"Rumors and confird facts are two different things."
"So what? You keep secrets, don't you?"
Where the hell was this trust coming from?
...Then again, Magia was a VTuber company manager.
It was part of the job description to be discreet.
One slip of the tongue in this industry, and entire careers could explode.
Plus, she had helped out during the tournant. That probably played a part in why Serena felt comfortable sharing.
But still—this was definitely a slip-up on Magia’s end.
Both Maru and Serena were loudmouths who couldn’t keep secrets to save their lives.
The way they got themselves into trouble was similar, and so was how they tried to fix things—which, Magia had to admit, was at least amusing to watch.
"I’ll buy you a coffee if you pretend you never heard that."
Always better to exchange favors than just letting sothing slide—it built trust.
Magia nodded and took the lead.
"Alright. That works for ."
***
The late hour, nearing midnight, ant that most cafés were already closed.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, we finally found one that stayed open until 2 AM and settled in.
As we sipped on our cappuccino and herbal tea, rubbing our chilled hands together for warmth, the conversation that had been interrupted earlier resud.
“To be honest, I’m kind of jealous of Maru.”
“Hm?”
“If I had known things would turn out like this, I would’ve debuted under Parallel too.”
“Pff—”
Serena had been talking way more than , so I figured I’d just sip my coffee in peace for a bit. But I nearly spilled it all over myself.
Thankfully, my shirt was black, so it wouldn’t have been noticeable.
I swallowed the coffee and froze, but Serena burst into laughter and waved her hands.
“Ahaha! Don’t look so serious. I was just joking. It’s not like Lapits or VIRDESS are so bad that I regret everything.”
“Right. That makes sense.”
“You know what? Let’s get so cake too.”
“Sure.”
As I awkwardly nibbled on the peace-offering cake, I found myself just staring at Serena.
What was I supposed to say?
It felt like I had just stumbled into hearing about a not-so-close friend’s complicated family drama.
If I said the wrong thing here, I’d just end up looking like an asshole.
Thankfully, Serena didn’t seem that serious as she continued.
“Honestly, it’s just little things that build up over ti. It’s not like my company is horrible, but it’s not amazing either. The support isn’t nonexistent, but it’s... you know, half-assed. They’re too busy taking care of their main idol group.”
I kind of got what she ant.
There’s always friction between managent and talent.
Even when things seem fine on the surface, there’s a lot of pent-up resentnt simring underneath.
Managent thinks, We’re already doing so much for you, why are you asking for more?
Talent thinks, How is it possible that even the most basic support isn’t being provided?
If communication breaks down, misunderstandings pile up, and when the tension finally explodes, it turns into a full-blown scandal.
Our team leader likes to bring this up sotis.
Showbiz is a nightmare to navigate.
Honestly, he was really worried when he first joined our company.
Maybe Lapits has a similar corporate culture to VIRDESS, since it split off from them?
I didn’t want to talk shit about another company, so I kept my response neutral...
But Serena wasn’t done venting.
“Well, at least things are going well now. That’s a relief.”
“That’s thanks to you guys.”
“Ehh, it’s more because of you, Gia.”
“...Huh?”
“During Wicker Town? We barely got any support. The 10-million-won donation we got? That only happened because Eona spent hours convincing them that we needed it. She argued that we were falling too far behind Parallel in recognition.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. And the funniest part? The mont Parallel Coin rumors started circulating, they panicked and threw in another 10 million. Unreal. If they were gonna rush in late anyway, they could’ve at least used that money on new outfits.”
Was she a single parent raising a company by herself or what?
“The whole Parallel Coin thing... We did kind of screw up there. It wasn’t intentional, though.”
“Right? I thought so. But then so people started claiming Parallel instigated it on purpose. Ugh, our operations team leader is such a drama queen.”
“...Haha...”
“But honestly? Things are great now. Thanks to you, our team atmosphere has never been better. You rember the year-end party, right?”
“Yeah. I still vividly rember being stuck in the middle of two circles of people, spinning like a human turntable.”
“That was protection, not spinning!”
“Uh-huh. Thanks for that.”
“Anyway, everyone really likes you. Eona was a little skeptical at first, but after Wicker Town, even she changed her mind. I an, who would’ve expected a rival company’s employee to be the one boosting our exposure?”
“I didn’t expect it to turn out like that either...”
“My dad even ntioned how fascinating he thinks you are.”
Wow.
I got the Serena’s Dad Seal of Approval.
Not sure what that ans, but okay.
“Honestly, if you were running our operations instead of our useless team leader, Lapits would’ve at least caught up to Vachubachub KR.”
Vachubachub KR’s first generation already passed a million subscribers ages ago.
The most successful in Lapits, Eona, is at 700K, so there’s a 300K gap between them.
That’s not sothing you can close easily.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Look, I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear any of this... But can I ask you sothing?”
“Yeah?”
“Does your team leader... not help with streams?”
“He doesn’t help. He just tells us what to do and then sits there glued to his phone whenever we try to ask sothing.”
“Hmm.”
“If I were the CEO, I would’ve fired him imdiately and put soone like you in that position. You actually work hard and have skills.”
That’s so next-level nepotism.
Is he dating the CEO or sothing?
At the very least, he should try to be competent.
But then again, the world is full of people who just sit in positions of power without actually deserving them.
I didn’t expect our conversation to go this deep, but the bottom line was clear.
Serena was jealous of how much I worked to support my team.
But I’d been struggling with sothing lately too.
I wanted my work to bring in opportunities for my team mbers...
But sohow, all the offers kept landing on .
“Honestly? The real issue is that all the work keeps coming to instead. I want to redirect it to the others, but it’s not that easy.”
Serena tilted her head.
“That’s a good thing, though. If that happens, doesn’t it an that you and Momo are both opening doors for Parallel? Even if the work doesn’t go directly to Maru, having an open channel for opportunities is way better than having none at all.”
She made a good point.
I had been so focused on why I kept getting the work that I forgot...
As long as I built up our official channel, it could act as a second pillar of support.
If there were two bosses, then twice as much work would trickle down.
I had been too focused on just networking...
But I was missing the bigger picture.
Damn. She really is a healing-type VTuber, huh?
She seed like she was just venting, but she was lowkey great at therapy.
Final Decision
I was officially convinced.
I’d continue running the Command Room and Fantasia as promised.
But I wouldn’t stress over whether the work was coming to or the mbers.
If the CEO approved it, then I’d do it.
...Except for Combative tournants.
‘I might need to extend my streaming hours after all.’
There was still a lot I hadn’t taught Seungyeon yet.
Like how a proper corporate employee should have at least three alt accounts for different situations...
Well, we’d just have to make do until the 2nd-gen debuts.
Balancing work hours, managent duties, and streaming...
Man, I really wish days were 48 hours long.
"Technically, my Command Room streams shouldn't count as work, right?"
"If I say I'm just doing it as a volunteer out of fandom loyalty, would the boss imdiately shut it down?"
As I rested my chin in my hand, lost in thought, Serena suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, are you really not joining our post-tournant stream?"
"Oh. That."
"You're the tournant MVP, after all. I'd really love for you to co. And I think the audience would too..."
It had already co up during the afterparty—since the Naore Invitational Tournant Draft was happening this Friday, we had talked about playing a ga together on Thursday before the event.
Whenever a group of people ends up spending a long ti together on a big project or tournant, it’s common to host a follow-up collab stream instead of just wrapping things up with a private afterparty.
It’s a way to give fans an extra dose of entertainnt and show the team’s camaraderie.
(Think of it like the lingering heat from a car engine—post-tournant streams let the hype cool down gradually instead of cutting things off abruptly.)
Serena had full control over the ga selection, and I had already made it clear that I wouldn't touch anything remotely Combative.
So, what did she pick?
"What ga are we playing? Did you decide already?"
Serena grinned and held up her phone, showing a video.
Onscreen, adorable, squishy jelly-like animal characters were aggressively grabbing each other by the collars and tossing each other around in a chaotic brawl.
A 2:2:2 team-based fighting ga that sat at the perfect intersection of physical skill, strategy, and sheer luck.
It was Teddy Bear League.
Oh, thank god.
I had intentionally pretended to be busy to avoid getting strong-ard by Youngun and Kamik into another Combative match, but this?
This was perfect. A lighthearted, goofy ga.
"If you suddenly switch to Combative on the day of, I'm quitting on the spot."
"If they even suggest switching, I'll personally cave in Youngun’s skull."
Serena was usually cool and sophisticated when she gave orders or sniped enemies in-ga.
But at the end of the day, she was still a healing-type VTuber.
Hearing soone like that calmly talk about bashing a guy’s head in was kind of hilarious.
***
The Next Day – CEO’s Office
"A collab?"
Magia went straight to report to Do-hee.
Other VTubers might have just sent a brief notification, but Magia was an employee—it was only natural for her to get approval first.
She had promised to discuss everything with the CEO, so asking for permission ca first.
"Yeah. They want to do a post-tournant ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) stream."
"Ahh. Makes sense. You kind of have to, after a tournant. It’s happening tomorrow?"
"Yes. The next day is the Naore Invitational draft, so they wanted to do it before everyone gets busy moving around."
"Sure, sure. Do whatever works best."
"And while we’re on the subject... Once the second-gen auditions are finished, can we consider hiring one more staff mber? Soone to work with Seung-yeon."
Do-hee raised an eyebrow. "You serious?"
"Yeah. The tournant made realize sothing—networking in the streaming industry isn’t sothing you can just build overnight. It’s not just about one collab and calling it a day. You have to follow up with post-tournant content, keep connections alive... Right now, it’s just and Seung-yeon handling everything, but once the second-gens debut, there’s no way two people will be enough."
Do-hee was a little thrown off.
She knew Magia had pushed herself hard for the tournant—how stressful it must have been for her.
But now?
Instead of burning out, Magia seed more invested in streaming than ever.
‘She really made a killing in the Wicker server...’
Do-hee still couldn’t believe this crazy girl was happily watching the company profits grow instead of focusing on her own.
For soone who used to prefer watching streams over making them, seeing Magia actively engage in streaming and content creation felt like a miracle in itself.
But this only made Do-hee more curious.
She knew Magia was loyal to the company.
So why had she ignored Yeon Seong-mook’s offer?
"Alright. I’ll prep the job listing so we can post it imdiately when you’re ready. ... But, wait. Are you thinking of switching jobs or sothing?"
Do-hee’s eyes locked onto Magia’s.
Her gaze clearly said: "There’s sothing you’re not telling . Spill it."
In that mont, Magia realized—her secret was busted.
With a sheepish grin, she tried to joke her way out.
"Ah, you caught . Guess I better go apply to Lapits now."
Imdiately, Do-hee pinched both of her cheeks.
"You really think that’s gonna fly? The sa person who’s asking to hire more staff is also about to quit?"
"Ow, ow, ow! I surrender!"
Frantically, Magia fished through her wallet and pulled out a business card, then sent an audio recording file to Do-hee via TingTok.
"Jeez, that hurts... So, when did you figure it out?"
"At the year-end party."
"Huh. Guess it was smart not to tell you earlier. The timing is perfect now—the situation’s cooled off."
"Could you stop talking about people like they’re a boiling pot?"
"Co on. If I told you that night, you’d have called Lapits and raised hell."
"I’m not that much of a fight-starter—"
"I still rember the Gwanro-dong Sashimi Incident from a few years ago."
Magia snickered.
"Anyway, I have a plan, so please don’t contact them just yet."
"...A plan? What are you up to now?"
Do-hee felt an uneasy sense of déjà vu.
Not too long ago, Magia had set the Wicker Town server on fire by shouting about Lapits Potions left and right.
Now, she was up to sothing again.
"You know the fable The North Wind and the Sun?" Magia asked.
"The one where the traveler doesn’t take off their coat in the wind, but does when the sun shines?"
"Wow. A VTuber talking about taking off clothes so casually—what a scandalous remark..."
"You little—"
"Kidding. Kidding. Anyway, I’m just planning to warm things up a little."
Magia wasn’t planning anything crazy.
She would just keep supporting her teammates and the VTubers she liked, as always.
She would simply stay in place and shine like the sun—steadfast, steady.
Not a howling North Wind that chased people away.
But Do-hee misunderstood for a mont.
"...You’re not planning to stir up drama on the forums, are you?"
"Of course not."
"And you do rember our agreent, right? You promised to talk to before causing any trouble."
"Relax, I’m not gonna do anything reckless."
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