Chapter 40:Who comes to an interview at 2 in the morning?

It was a hard-fought victory, but memories are always prone to distortion.  

Above all, after that, there were hardly any proper games due to disconnects, trolling, going AFK, and intentional feeding.  

Even if there were, from a broader perspective, Magia could be considered trolling too.  

In the end, what stuck in the viewers’ memories was the first game—a heart-pounding, movie-like backdoor victory.  

… — Komari (VTuber) Gallery — — — — — …  

[A backdoor I’ll never forget in my life]  

(last_backdoor.clip)  

For a moment, I forgot this was an Abyssal game ㅋㅋㅋ  

It’s been ages since I’ve played such a nerve-wracking match like this.  

[Comments]  

– Komari834: ㅋㅋㅋ  

– Komari021: On a side note, Staff-D is seriously such a pest…  

  ㄴ Komari245: Whoa! How dare you call the great Staff-D a pest!!!  

  ㄴ Komari004: Wanjaaaang!  

– 🟦Komari02: Summoned over something like this ㄴㄴ  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

… — Komari (VTuber) Gallery — — — — — …  

[Revisiting Staff-D’s legendary quotes]  

(You_can’t_trust_Iron.clip)  

(I_did_nothing_wrong.clip)  

(It’s_the_team’s_fault_I’m_in_Iron.clip)  

(As_long_as_we_destroy_the_base_we_win.clip)  

(300_gold_is_earned_from_1_kill_anyway.clip)  

Ah, so this is what it means to experience Epol.  

[Comments]  

– Komari385: Addicted to “Top-tier Syndrome” and has fully become Epol itself…  

– Komari874: Watching this gives me rust poisoning, seriously ㅋㅋㅋ  

– Komari770: Why no Naore? Why no Naore? Why no Naore? Why no Naore? Why no Naore? Why no Naore? Why no Naore? Why no Naore? | Why no Naore?  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

… — Komari (VTuber) Gallery — — — — — …  

[But don’t you think Staff-D could hit Diamond in Naore pretty quickly too?]  

For someone playing for the first time, aren’t they doing pretty well?  

When emerging from the clouds, I think the stealth only lasts 0.2 seconds or something, but they used it like it was second nature.  

Also, their item builds are completely random, but it’s impressive how they figure it out without asking anyone.  

I had no idea full-attack Epol could hit that hard ㅋㅋ  

[Comments]  

– Komari030: You don’t usually go full attack because you get melted instantly, but pairing it with clouds doesn’t seem half bad.  

  ㄴ Komari385: Just don’t play ranked right now, smh.  

  ㄴ Komari385: Every game, you run into Top-tier Syndrome players. It’s a disaster.  

  ㄴ Komari385: All the copycats are rushing into the clouds, taking AOE damage, and disintegrating on the spot ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  

  ㄴ Komari884: Staff-D really spread the poison, huh?  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

… — Live Best Posts — — — — — …  

[Today’s chaotic NaChels moments]  

(Did_An_Aeipolla_Just_Show_Up.clip)  

(Full_Attack_Cloud_Aeipolla_What_Is_This!!!.clip)  

(Aaaaah_The_Base_Is_Exploding_Aaaaah!!.clip)  

Sigh Didn’t Ronje watch Komari’s stream two days ago?  

Even if it’s just a secondary league match, it’s ridiculous how quickly it’s being adopted ㅋㅋㅋ  

(Source: Komari (VTuber) Gallery [View Original])  

[Comments]  

– Komari344: Wow, but why are they so good at it though? ㅋㅋㅋ  

– Komari029: It’s got a different vibe from when Staff-D plays ㅋㅋ  

– Integrated842: No, I’m telling you, this is surprisingly decent? ㅋㅋ  

  ㄴ Integrated842: I even tried it in ranked matches. As long as you’re good at tracking enemy positions, you can take down outer turrets in no time and apply map pressure.  

  ㄴ Integrated344: Is this The Guy Rank Thing?  

  ㄴ Integrated842: I’m hovering between Emerald and Diamond.  

  ㄴ Integrated511: Did you even read the post? What “The Guy Rank Thing”? ㅋㅋㅋ It’s already been used in pro games!  

  ㄴ Integrated002: But isn’t it super squishy and just dies in the cloud?  

  ㄴ Integrated842: When enemies use their skills, you briefly go stealth as you move out of the smoke. Using that is critical.  

  ㄴ Integrated842: If you can’t manage that tightrope act, you’ll just die and troll ㅋㅋ  

  ㄴ Integrated002: Ohhh, thanks for the tip. I didn’t know that!  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

… — — Knights of Legends Gallery — — — — — …  

[Staff-D vs. Seong Shin-jae: Honestly, Staff-D wins by a landslide]  

(squirrel_image.jpg)  

Oh dear, Na-boong-kun.  

I know exactly what you were thinking when you clicked in here.  

But be careful in the future, alright?  

Posts that go up at this hour are often tactical nukes…  

This time, this Squirrel-Man will protect you.  

But don’t feel too grateful (wink).  

(Upvotes: 1,422 / Downvotes: 442)  

[Comments]  

– Naore934: I’m not grateful, dammit…  

– Naore841: For the love of God, can you virtual youtuber fanboys make your own gallery and leave?  

  ㄴ Naore740: ㅋㅋ~  

  ㄴ Naore454: ㅋㅋㅋ~  

  ㄴ Naore358: Hey, accept it. VTubers are the “trend” of the era.  

– Naore742: Seong Shin-jae is getting outdone by some unknown VTuber now…  

– Naore002: This gallery is in shambles ㅋㅋ  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

Thanks to this, Knights of Legends spent the entire week in chaos.  

A mysterious new meta had emerged, coinciding with an Aeipolla buff and its use in the secondary pro scene.  

To make it worse, when people tried to find out who first discovered the meta, they learned the person wasn’t streaming.  

So where could you see this in action?  

Parallel streams?  

Oh, should we just wait for Komari’s broadcast? That was the mood.  

As a result, Komari’s stream managed to maintain an average of 7,000 viewers the next day, even while playing Rubber Duck House.  

Viewers idly watched ducks until boredom overtook them, prompting Komari to enable video donations.  

The influx of chaotic, absurd videos paired with toxic comments made her reactions endearing, significantly boosting her fanbase.  

The viewer spike continued for several days.  

The next day, when the Full-Attack Aeipolla meta appeared on NaChels, Komari’s stream briefly peaked at 9,000 viewers.  

[Komari: Thanks for that day, unnie.]  

[Komari: Let’s hang out again sometime.]  

[Komari: After we’re done with all the busy November stuff, we’re going on a trip.]  

[Komari: Want to come with the boss?]  

[Me: If the boss says to go, then I’ll go.]  

[Komari: What, so you won’t come if I ask?]  

[Komari: This is discrimination.]  

[Me: I mean, if it’s a work-related trip, I get it. But it’d be kind of awkward for me to crash your hangout.]  

[Komari: …]  

[Komari: ㅋ Just get ready to go.]  

A few days later, I was called to the boss’s office.  

“So, in mid-November, the kids are going on a group trip to celebrate their first anniversary. Want to come along?”  

Ah, this is how they use the boss to get what they want…  

If it were anyone else, they’d never dare ask something like this.  

Honestly, Parallel is the most cunning of them all.  

“Where are they planning to go?”  

“From what they’re saying, probably the beach. Something about wanting to eat shrimp.”  

“Doesn’t Dora avoid seafood?”  

“She doesn’t eat raw stuff, yeah. But grilled things like crab, lobster, shrimp—she loves those. Also, since it’s hard to see the sunrise on New Year’s Day, they want to watch it early this time.”  

I thought about it.  

It’s shrimp season, sure, but shrimp are only found in the West Sea.  

To see the sunrise, you’d need to go to the East Sea.  

Wait, so are they planning to eat dinner on the West Coast and then drive overnight to the East Coast?  

“Is the plan to have dinner on the West Coast and then head to the East Coast to catch the sunrise?”  

“No? To see the sunrise, we’d have to go to the East Sea.”  

I shook my head and informed the boss of the simple truth: shrimp are so picky that they wouldn’t even show their faces on the East Coast.  

“Ah. Then that won’t work. Okay, I’ll adjust the plan with the kids. So, how about you, Jia? Are you coming?”  

Here’s a quiz:  

Why does Magia know that it’s shrimp season and that they’re only found in the West Sea?  

The answer: because nobody ever invites her to join these trips, and she doesn’t have the time to travel to the West Sea herself!  

So, there was no real reason for me to turn down this opportunity.  

If the kids are relaxing and the boss is too, then I wouldn’t have much to do that day anyway.  

“How about we bring our team lead along too?”  

“Oh, Team Lead Kang? Sure, I’ll ask her.”  

The reason I brought up the team lead is that she’s the field manager for all first-gen trainees’ external activities.  

Whether it’s for recording tracks at a studio under our label, heading to a motion studio, or attending any other external event, the team lead is always there.  

I thought it’d be better if she joined this trip too.  

More importantly, maybe because she used to manage idols, she’s really good at filming vlogs.  

Even if the kids’ faces aren’t shown, just having their voices in the video can make for great content.  

The planning team might request this later, and it’d mess up the schedule if we had to call her in separately. Filming it ahead of time would be helpful.  

Of course, I also secretly hoped for an extra pair of hands to manage the kids, who are naturally carefree and all over the place.  

“Oh, and one more thing.”  

The boss shuffled through a few freshly printed pages, tapping them into alignment before neatly filing them.  

She handed the file over to me.  

“I heard from the team leader that you have an interview tomorrow, right?”  

“Yes.”  

“The HR manager and I will be joining the interview, so don’t feel too pressured. Here, go over these documents and get familiar with the candidates in advance. It’d be great if you could mark the ones you think are good and prepare a few questions to ask them.”  

“Hmm. Okay.”  

To think I’d ever end up as an interviewer.  

I feel a little nervous, to be honest.  

It’s strange enough knowing I’ll be working with someone new, but the fact that I’ll be interviewing and selecting that person?  

“The HR manager and I will prioritize your decision. So pick someone you really feel good about, okay? It’s fine even if none of them make the cut.”  

“Yes.”  

“During the interview, we’ll call you ‘team leader,’ so don’t let it feel too awkward.”  

I’m not planning to reject everyone, though.  

If that happens, we’ll just have to reschedule another interview.  

I only have to think back to the chaos of assisting with interviews for the first batch of recruits. The sheer amount of work involved—reviewing applications, preparing for interviews, coordinating schedules, and so on—was overwhelming.  

I can’t let our busy boss go through all that again.  

Hopefully, there’s someone promising among these four applications.  

*        *       *

… — — Parallel Gallery — — — — — …

[Ugh, I can’t sleep. This is bad.]  

I have an interview tomorrow, but I’m so nervous.  

I tried taking a warm bath to relax, but it just woke me up even more.  

I thought drinking warm tea might help, so I had some corn tea, but it just made me want to go to the bathroom and now I’m wide awake.  

I tried watching a Komari broadcast to fall asleep, but it was so funny I ended up staying awake laughing.  

What do I do? This is a disaster, lol.  

[Comments]  

– Parallel835: Where’s your interview?  

  – Parallel067 (OP): Parallel.  

  – Parallel835: Really?  

  – Parallel067 (OP): I applied for a management position on the operations team.  

  – Parallel835: I heard a lot of people get filtered out during the document review. You’re lucky to have made it!  

  – Parallel484: Impressive! 👏👏  

  – Parallel067 (OP): I packed my portfolio with 10 full pages, haha.  

  – Parallel994: I’m so jealous.  

  – Parallel994: I applied too but got rejected, lol.  

  – Parallel067 (OP): I’ll do my best for both of us!  

  – Parallel994: Thanks! Now go to bed already.  

Later that day.  

After all the broadcasts were over, I casually browsed the Parallel gallery.  

If someone is passionate enough to want to work for our company, wouldn’t they post here?  

As expected, it didn’t take much effort to find someone who fit the description.  

“A 10-page portfolio? Could it be this person…?”  

Since I’m only interviewing four candidates, I had already skimmed through their profiles earlier today, and one of them immediately came to mind.  

Even for a new applicant, this resume was particularly memorable for its thickness.  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

[Resume]  

Name: Gong Seungyeon  

Age: 23  

Education: Bachelor’s degree (Junglim University, Electrical and Electronics Engineering)  

Experience: None  

Languages:  

– Japanese: JLPT N2  

– English: TOEIC 950, OPIc IH  

… — — — — — — — — — — — …  

There were two standout features.  

First was the language proficiency. Among the four candidates, Gong Seungyeon was the only one fluent in both Japanese and English, with strong writing and speaking scores for the latter.  

The second was the 10-page portfolio.  

It documented Gong Seungyeon’s history as a dedicated viewer of Parallel-related broadcasts.  

Why would that count as a portfolio, you ask? There’s a reason.  

— — — — — — — — — — —  

[Komari Midori, 1st Generation | Subscribed: 10 months]  

– January 28: Participated in viewer content “Knight of Legend”  

– March 14: Participated in viewer content “Knight of Legend”  

– May 7: Participated in viewer content “Knight of Legend”  

– July 17: Participated in viewer content “Knight of Legend”  

….

[Nezumi Maru, 1st Generation | Subscribed: 9 months]  

– February 11: Participated in viewer content “Duel of Spirits”  

– April 24: Participated in viewer content “Relay Drawing”  

– June 27: Participated in viewer content “Duel of Spirits”  

…..

[Aoyagi Rain, 1st Generation | Subscribed: 5 months]  

– May 22: Participated in viewer content “Mini Rider”  

– June 13: Participated in viewer content “Battle Coliseum”  

…..

[Akari Dora, 1st Generation | Subscribed: 5 months]  

– May 29: Participated in viewer content “Animal League”  

– August 14: Participated in viewer content “64 Cubix”  

….

— — — — — — — — — — —  

The accuracy of her participation in the viewer content was impressive, her gaming skills were solid, and her knowledge of the games was extensive—there wasn’t a single game she hadn’t mastered.  

On top of that, the comments she left about each broadcast she participated in stood out.  

She wrote things like, “This part could’ve been better,” “It would be good to improve on this,” or “When there was a delay in the stream, the operations team could’ve prepared by doing this or that.”  

These were the kinds of observations only someone in the industry would think about. It left a lasting impression.  

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “We absolutely have to hire her,” she seemed like someone who could make minor mistakes in the interview, and I’d still give her the benefit of the doubt.  

That’s why I decided to memorize her face. I went back to the first page of the resume to check her photo again.  

“Yaaawn…”  

Considering I usually fall asleep around 5 a.m., yawning at 2 a.m. was unusual for me.  

Maybe it’s because I’ve been extra busy lately with our team’s broadcasts and other responsibilities.  

Deciding it was time to sleep, I shut off the monitoring computer, set up a temporary bed, and rolled out a sleeping bag.  

Occasionally, when I stay at the office late, I end up spending the night here. Tonight was one of those nights. With the interviews starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow, I didn’t want to waste precious sleep time commuting.  

I set my alarm for 8 a.m., one hour before the staff starts arriving.  

Though the CEO told us not to worry about the electricity bill, I kept the heating at 27°C.  

Just as I was about to lie down, ding.  

A notification popped up.  

 [Security Guard at Eunha Building: Jia]  

 [Security Guard at Eunha Building: Hey, uh, there’s someone hanging around outside your office.]  

 [Security Guard at Eunha Building: Just don’t come out. I’ll go check it out.]  

It was 2 a.m. Who would be coming to the office at this hour?  

Curious, I crept through the partitions toward the glass doors.  

Sure enough, there was a shadow pacing near the hallway corner.  

Who could this be? A homeless person?  

Before long, ding the sound of the elevator arriving. The security guard stepped out and approached the shadow.  

Their conversation seemed calm, not heated, so I cautiously unlocked the door and stepped outside.  

When I walked up, the guard gave me a polite nod. I nodded back and turned my attention to the person standing in the flashlight beam.  

It was a woman.  

The guard continued speaking to her.  

“Look, I get that you’re here for tomorrow’s interview, but you can’t just wait here by yourself. You need to find a place to stay.”  

“No, it’s just… If I sleep, I’m worried I won’t wake up on time. That’s why I thought I’d wait here instead…”  

Having assisted with interviews before, I could tell immediately this woman was an interviewee.  

Her neatly tied ponytail and business suit screamed “candidate,” and her face, illuminated by the flashlight, was one I recognized.  

It was the same face I’d just seen on the resume.  

“Are you Gong Seungyeon?”  

The woman, who had been nervously glancing between the guard and me, responded quickly and enthusiastically.  

“Yes! I’m Gong Seungyeon!”