Chapter 8: (Eye Contact…) – 3

An internet community for VTubers.

For the past week, the community has been flooded with posts titled in quotation marks.

A template that guarantees upvotes if posted.

All the titles were borrowed from the famous lines of “Big Man.”

「[General] Title: “Please act naturally.”」

“(A ridiculously handsome man in a suit throws a bundle of 1 billion won at a small-time VTuber and says)”

「Upvotes: 121, Downvotes: 4」

– Damn, that’s so cool.

– I’m a guy, but I want to have sex with Big Man.

– This is so gay…

– LMAO, even my non-existent uterus is trembling.

– If I ever get rich, I want to say that line.

– But we don’t even know if Big Man is actually good-looking, lol.

└Well, if you have money, your looks get a boost.

└For every 10 million won, you gain 1 point.

└Damn, with 1 billion won, that’s a 100% boost.

└Absolute perfection… He must be handsome.

“[General] Title: ‘I am a natural disaster that rains money.'”

“(A ridiculously handsome man in a suit gives 2.5 million won daily to small-time VTubers and says)”

“Upvotes: 71, Downvotes: 4”

– LMAO, why is this so cool?

– Even the way he throws money has class.

– The Big Man template is hilarious.

– He’s a VTuber, but he’s got this magnetic charm.

– Is this the power of 1 billion won?

– Hmm, is that all? Isn’t he just a rich idiot?

└Whoa… Downvote anonymity is scary.

└(Said by a broke otaku with his arms crossed)

└LMAO

└LMAO

But as always, there are those who cross the line with their own interpretations.

「[General] Title: “Yes, I’ll pay back the money by tomorrow.”」

“(A shabby-looking man borrows 2.5 million won from a loan shark and says)”

「Upvotes: 4, Downvotes: 47」

– Is this some kind of loser’s delusion?

– Wow, I usually ignore stuff, but this is really unfunny.

– He probably thought it was funny, which is sad.

– Not funny.

– Is he an idiot?

Other comments included, ‘Can’t you just make a Big Man gallery and talk about him there?’, ‘Quotation mark literature is so loser-like’, ‘I want to confess to Patak’, and so on…

Various healthy and beneficial discussions took place.

Amidst all this, one user raised a sharp question that cut to the core of the issue.

It wasn’t about Big Man or the 1 billion won, but about the VTubers who received the donations.

「[Question] Title: “So what’s changed for ABCD??”」

「Big Man gave 1 billion won to the small-time VTuber company, and they’ve been receiving 2.5 million won daily for over a week. What’s supposed to change from now on?? Are they not doing 3D or album activities??」

– No idea.

– Everyone’s too busy with the Big Man template, lol.

– Big Man oppa’s money is so sweet♡

– Well, after announcing that the 1 billion won would be properly distributed and used for company operations, there hasn’t been much news. On stream, they sang praises to Big Man, got scolded by him, and now they’re treating him like he’s there but not really…

└”Please act naturally.”

└LMAO, even here the template appears.

└Isn’t it all just lies?

└It’s typical for the CEO to run off with the money.

So…

What are they going to do with the 1 billion won now?

Why did they say they’d use it, but nothing has changed?

These were the questions.

Very valid questions, indeed.

With the reality of ‘what the ABCD members have been preparing for a year’ still not revealed, aside from a slight increase in live stream viewers due to Big Man, nothing has changed.

The community users speculated.

– Maybe they already took the money and ran?

– Are they hastily preparing for 3D now?

Amidst such rampant speculation, a notice was posted on the channel of ‘Berry’, one of the ABCD members.

【Stream Notice】

「Hello!!! This is Berry, the chatterbox of ABCD!!! Starting at 5 PM today, we’ll be having an ☆off-collab☆ stream on my channel~!!! We’ll be sharing updates and various news, so please tune in and show your support~~~!!!」

The notice spread quickly.

Even people who weren’t interested in the group ABCD became curious. 

They speculated that the phrase ‘what’s been happening’ might reveal some internal company affairs.

– Could it be the follow-up to the 1 billion won incident?

– Hmm, but a collaboration with small-time VTubers seems a bit off.

– A collab so soon after debut?

– If Big Man comes out and does a strip show, I’ll acknowledge it.

– This is so gay…

– Fact)) Surprisingly, this group is in their first year since debut and is considered the same generation as the Romantic Drive 2nd gen.

└They debuted around the same time but are treated like rookies, lol.

└Honestly, it’s rude to compare them to groups with an average of 200k subscribers when they barely have a few hundred.

└What are you talking about, you VTuber fanatic….

*

I was doing yoga at home.

I laid a yoga mat on the small studio apartment floor and sat comfortably in just my underwear. 

I followed the instructions from the video playing on my phone.

– The foundation of yoga is breathing. Focus on your breath. Inhale, and I’ll count from one to ten. Ready, inhale—!

“Inhale…!”

– One, two, three… Now, exhale slowly.

“Exhale….”

– Good. Now, kneel down, stretch your right leg back comfortably… Twist your waist to align your pelvis. Keep breathing.

I knelt down and stretched one leg back.

Then, my cramped muscles twitched.

Twitch…!

I was the average modern person who doesn’t exercise.

“…”

If I were to go back to the beginning,

This is where I’d feel the dissonance.

‘If I knew my body would deteriorate so quickly after returning, I would’ve at least gone to the gym lightly before starting over.’

But there’s nothing I can do. My lazy body, Sunwoo Taek, is a risk I’ll have to carry forever.

For now,

This simple stretching is the best I can do.

“Exhale.”

– Good job. I hope all our subscribers have a healthy day….

I turned off the video on my phone. 

Then, I saw a notification at the top of the screen. 

It was a community notice from the channel of one of the ABCD members I subscribed to.

A group off-collab stream tonight.

“…A collab? Is Aki-chan joining?”

Sitting in just my underwear,

I scratched the sole of my foot.

“…”

A woman who slurs her words.

Someone who stayed with the company even after receiving 1 billion won.

An idol hopeful who’s a VTuber.

And,

The first VTuber to treat [Big Man] like a regular fan.

“…”

I might indirectly hear some follow-up news about her.

Hmm…

But if it’s a collab,

Donations only go to the host.

‘Are they all gathering on Berry’s channel? Well, they must know what they’re doing.’

I liked the notice and turned off my phone. 

As I put on the clothes I had taken off, I made a decision.

‘I’ll get some alleyway chicken skewers tonight.’

Even with 6.7 billion won in assets,

The 10,000 won chicken skewers from the alley still excited me.

A short while later,

I bought the chicken skewers.

As soon as I got back to my studio, I took out an imported beer I bought from the convenience store. 

I set them up on my computer desk and prepared to watch the stream.

“Here we go.”

I turned on the computer with my big toe.

And the moment I entered the channel from my favorites,

“Oh.”

《Live: Berry + ABCD Off-Collab Stream ☆Chatty Talk Show + New News~!!!☆》

– Current viewers: 1,121

Perhaps because of the follow-up news teased in the notice, there were more viewers than the combined average of the four members.

I quietly entered the stream,

And immediately prepared to perform my ritual.

The 2.5 million won donation.

Click—

“…?”

But I couldn’t do it.

What greeted me upon entering was…

A crudely drawn golden trophy made in MS Paint. Below the trophy, written crookedly as if with a mouse, was the word ‘1 billion won.’

That shoddy trophy floated on the screen.

The viewers prayed to it,

Like a primitive tribe bowing to a totem.

– Big Man…

– Big Man

– BM

– BM

– Big Man

…

…

…

“?”

I was baffled by this bizarre scene.

What…

What is this…?

With that strange trophy in the center,

The four members introduced themselves.

*

The yellow side-tail Aki-chan spoke first.

“Shining like a star in your heart! Idol hopeful Aki-chan here!”

Next, the pink frilly-dress Berry greeted.

“Ready to roll? The chatterbox Berry here!”

The next was,

Clara with a ribbon on her reddish hair.

“Shining moments together! The shining girl Clara!”

Lastly, the youngest Doda with silver-blue hair.

“Tok— Tok, tok. Logged into your heart, gamer Doda here.”

After the 1 billion won incident,

The ABCD members, who were doing their first collaboration together, shouted in unison.

[Running towards the light! We are ABCD—!]

The first to react were the few ‘true fans’ who had been supporting the struggling group.

– Wow, it’s the first time seeing them together.

– A group greeting… It’s been 4 months since I last heard it…!

– Tears are blocking my vision.

– This is all thanks to Big Man.

– So, is that 1 billion won trophy floating there? Lol.

As if the 1 billion won trophy wasn’t there,

The members began talking nonchalantly.

Clara was the first to start.

“Hello—! First, for those who are new, let me introduce our team ‘ABCD’. We are a VTuber idol group under ‘Aurora Prism Entertainment’, and we aim to perform in 3D!”

As expected,

Mockery followed Clara’s words.

– Corporate tax (on the verge of collapse) lol.

– 3D performances (nonexistent).

– They have nothing, lol.

Clara ignored them and continued.

“Due to various circumstances, we’ve had some difficulties… but we’re scheduled to receive our 3D models within a week. And we’re aiming to hold the ‘mini live’ we’ve been preparing for a year soon.”

– ???

– What??

– A live already??

– What? Are they already prepared???

“Yes… Due to ‘various circumstances’, it’s been ‘slightly’ delayed. But we’ve been preparing various content since the initial planning stages. The reason it’s happening now is…”

Clara paused and quietly looked towards the trophy. 

The other members also quietly looked towards the trophy.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The hint…

Everyone could understand the situation from that one glance.

– Ah, lol, did they pay off their debts with Big Man’s 1 billion won?

– They had the content, but no money to bring it out, huh?

– This is all thanks to Big Man, lol.

– Big Man…!

Ah, how could we forget that grace?

Big Man—!

After a brief moment of prayer,

Berry spoke again.

“Our members, we all had different directions and distinct personalities…! But due to ‘various circumstances’, it was a bit tough. But with this opportunity, we’ve revamped and polished our content planning. We’ll be able to show you much more entertaining streams soon!”

– Definitely, Berry’s mic noise is gone. It used to sound like wind blowing in my ears.

– Is that a reward?

– So, are they all going full-time streaming now?

“Ah, did you like the sound of my breath? I’ll keep that in mind for future content! And about the equipment… that’s right! A lot of ‘good things’ have happened, so each member’s streaming equipment has improved a lot. The reason, of course…”

Berry quietly looked at the 1 billion won trophy. 

The other members also quietly looked at the trophy.

“…”

“…”

“…”

– LMAO

– This is so funny.

– Damn, I believed in Big Man—!

– Is this some kind of religious ritual? Lol.

A moment later,

Berry said, as if she just remembered.

“…Ah! And while I can’t go into details, we’re still balancing our individual work! It’s not like we’re being exploited, we just invested a lot in streaming equipment. But we’ve cut down on time.”

It was a brutally realistic statement.

– Even 1 billion won melts quickly when running a company…

– Damn, even after receiving 2.5 million won almost daily for a week?

– Well, considering company distribution and equipment costs, it’s hard to make a living.

Instead of mocking,

The comments were oddly sympathetic.

Berry, relieved, rambled on.

“Yes, especially Aki, she even put her own money into the project…”

“Berry unnie!”

“?!”

At Aki-chan’s interruption,

Berry quickly shut her mouth.

But it wasn’t hard to infer the context.

– ?

– What?

– She even put her own money in?

– Passion pay is insane;

– What, so Aki-chan is left with nothing?

Aki-chan quickly spoke up.

“No! It’s not like I’m left with nothing… I can’t talk about the internal rules, but I’m not left with nothing! I was paid properly! I just wanted the team to grow well… And the company is giving us lessons again. I’m really happy!”

As she said this,

Aki-chan looked at the trophy.

“…”

Everyone prayed together.

– Big Man

– Big Man

– BM

– BM

…

…

…

As if answering the prayers,

Big Man’s signature donation flew in at the end of the stream.

【’Big Man’ has donated 2.5 million won!】

*

I was about to leave the stream satisfied.

‘In the end, they reinvested in their own work like fools…’

Well,

I guess I’ll just have to keep giving them money.

I thought that.

At that moment,

A 1:1 chat came in from Berry.

[ABCD_Berry: Uh… hello?]

“?”

[ABCD_Berry: That stream just now was it.]

[ABCD_Berry: Um….]

[ABCD_Berry: It’s our way of saying thank you.]

I hesitated for a moment.

Her sudden approach was surprising.

“…”

But there was no reason to refuse.

They weren’t as close as the old man in the park or Dr. Jang.

[ABCD_Berry: ….]

In the end, I replied to her.

With a thumbs-up emoji.

[Big Man: (Thumbs up)]

[Big Man: I’ll always support you. And it’s better not to use this chat feature anymore. I’ll ask the platform to remove it.]

[ABCD_Berry: Huh?]

And a moment later,

1:1 chats came in from the other members.

Berry must have told them in a hurry.

[ABCD_Clara: Thank you so much. We’ll do our best from now on.]

[ABCD_DoDa: Thank you so much.]

[ABCD_Berry: I’m truly grateful….]

The last one was from Aki.

She must have been late because she was writing a long message.

[ABCD_Aki: Really, truly, thank you. Honestly, I still don’t know why Big Man gave me money. Whatever the reason… I can only say thank you. I’ll keep doing my best.]

Finally, with sincerity.

[ABCD_Aki: Really.]

[ABCD_Aki: Truly….]

[ABCD_Aki: …Thank you. Please keep watching. I’ll do my best with what you’ve given us.]

“…”

[Big Man: Then I’ll keep watching. Wherever you go, whatever you do. Until you quit being a VTuber.]

[Big Man: …I’ll support you.]

I ended it there and called the Live Future operations manager.

“Yes, it’s me. About the ‘1:1 chat’ feature… Please remove it from my account. I don’t think I’ll need it anymore.”

Then I hung up the phone.