“If things go well today, we might hit the jackpot…?”
Unable to understand the CEO’s words, I tilted my head.
“What’s going to be a jackpot?”
“Ah, that, <Find Rain>. With you preparing so diligently, I think it’s really going to be a hit.”
I nodded, relieved.
I was worried that my presence, like a black hole among the talented first-generation members, would make the game too easy. But the fact that our CEO acknowledged me meant it wasn’t that bad.
Anyway, does this mean my practice paid off?
It’s my first time voicing on a broadcast, so I prepared really hard.
Feeling good, I couldn’t control the twitching corners of my lips.
“Hehe. I’ll work hard since I have to play the game with you, CEO.”
* * *
I glossed over it as if trying to avoid a fuss.
In truth, Cheon Dohee was utterly shocked and froze upon hearing Jia’s voice imitation.
“She unexpectedly has some talent…”
Who was she?
Before Cheon Dohee hired her, she was just someone who barely made a living with part-time jobs, spending her time watching VTuber broadcasts and causing trouble.
But when Dohee made her a manager as a form of punishment, she surprisingly did well.
And when Dohee brought her to the company, she saw everything she was assigned through to the end.
In other words, she wasn’t the type to actively seek out things on her own, but she was amazing at completing whatever she was told to do.
She was the type to shine when she met a good boss.
So, after much deliberation, Cheon Dohee entrusted her with the most difficult task in the company.
Asking if she could handle even this.
And she solved even that with ease.
Just seeing how the first-generation members treated her as an indispensable presence showed how diligently she did her job.
But that effort was only within the general scope.
In other words, Dohee thought she wouldn’t be able to conquer areas that generally required ‘talent.’
Like broadcasting, entertainment, singing, and voice imitations.
So Dohee had dinner with Jia and asked her directly.
“Jia, you. Have you perhaps done voice imitations before?”
“No. This is my first time.”
“First time?”
“Yes. If you hadn’t told me to participate in the content, I wouldn’t have even prepared.”
Her first time.
It was a voice imitation that required the ability to observe people in detail, analyze them to express them identically, and the talent to show it all without hesitation.
She accurately imitated the unique accent and intonation of a Korean-American, and even Rain’s actual outbursts, making it a near-perfect replication beyond mere imitation, except for the innate tonal differences.
‘You can’t do this kind of voice imitation with just effort.’
Jia was simply showing the talent she had been hiding all along.
She just hadn’t done it because she wasn’t told to.
She was someone who could do it if she tried.
In a way, she was a hidden genius.
“Did you perhaps prepare a song too?”
“Since it’s Rain, I prepared a rap. But I’m hoping the viewers won’t ask me to do it.”
“You prepared that?”
“I had to? When you told me to prepare for the content, you said I should prepare in case the person who guesses correctly asks me to sing.”
“Ah, that’s right. Yes.”
As the ordered tendon arrived, Jia immediately placed half shrimp tempura and half vegetable tempura on the fluffy rice and stuffed a mouthful in.
Her mouth opened as wide as before, but her jaw itself had become smaller, so it took a long time to chew.
She thought it was inconvenient because it took her a long time to chew, but to the person sitting across from her, it was incredibly cute.
Thinking about how diligently she ate with her small mouth.
Dohee imagined Jia singing in her head.
…Come to think of it, there’s no data at all.’
Dohee knew that her enunciation was clear.
It’s just that not many people noticed it because she deliberately slurred her words to correct her toxic way of speaking as she socialized.
When she spoke comfortably, she was just cute.
It wasn’t a forced voice, so it was easy to listen to, and the sustainability was good too.
What should I say? A cuteness that wasn’t boring because the highs and lows were clear?
But Jia often went to karaoke with company dinners, but she never grabbed the microphone and just busied herself with the tambourine as if she had no interest.
For her to practice singing, even rap, I can’t help but be curious.
“Perhaps, should I check if your singing is okay?”
“No, thank you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m embarrassed to sing in front of the CEO. What I practiced alone is enough.”
Today’s content has an expected viewership of ten thousand people?
Is it okay because she won’t feel the gaze anyway?
Or is it because the CEO told her to do it?
“If I told you to sing a song at the company dinner, would you have done it?”
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
“Because the CEO told me to.”
I can’t help but love this character.
That’s why Dohee has dinner with her every day.
She was worried that the already skinny kid would suddenly collapse from malnutrition.
However, at this point, Dohee was also curious about something.
Where was the limit to this crazy loyalty?
“At this rate, you’d even do it if I told you to become a VTuber.”
At those words, Jia paused for a moment.
Her lower jaw, which had been moving diligently, completely stopped.
Soon, she swallowed the half-chewed food roughly, and muttered.
“I’d do it if you told me to. But knowing your personality, you’d never say such a thing.”
…So she would do it anyway?
“What are you saying.”
“You were so picky when you were screening the first-generation members. It wouldn’t make sense to choose a VTuber to represent
the company haphazardly.”
“…I guess not.”
“And you said that VTubers who aren’t prepared shouldn’t debut.”
“I did? When did I say that?”
“When you were interviewing the first-generation members, you shouted it loud enough for the interviewee who came drunk the
day before to hear.”
“Ah. That’s right. Um…. Yes, you’re right.”
Even if you pay them to come, VTubers quit easily due to mental issues.
If their will is weak, it’s difficult to overcome all the online harassment and slander that comes their way during broadcasts and have a long run.
Like Jia said, even if she did it because the CEO told her to, she would likely get tired and drop out quickly.
‘I should give her a bonus if she finishes the content well.’
Since she clearly expressed her refusal, I shouldn’t bother someone who already has a clear job to do.
Unless people start an online protest saying ‘Free Majia’ after she shows her face once.
* * *
That evening at 8 PM.
— Open the doorrrrrrrrr
— Rain noona, I’m so dry I’m about to crack
— Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle
<Find Rain>, which a whopping 5,000 people had been waiting for since before the broadcast, began with the appearance of first-generation member Aoyagi Rain.
[Oh hell yeah! Can you hear me!]
— Vidaaaaaaaa
— I thought I was going to die of thirst π
— We can hear you well
— Hellyeah~
— Rainha~
—What’s wrong, noona? Your voice is weird
[Ah, today the actors, uh, use a voice changer, right? So I, uh, did a little bit of this trickery too. Got it? Puddles?]
— Trickery ㅇㅈㄹ
— I thought it sounded a bit mechanical LOL
— Look at the fancy word choice
[Anyway, what’s today’s content! It’s Find— Rain——!]
— The CEO is crazy
— The first VTuber to give away pizza by the truckload
— Hey, pizza doesn’t fit in the sleeves ōō
As you can tell from the chat reactions, the viewers are actually expecting Rain’s wallet to be emptied.
The community’s reaction was that Rain’s speech was so unique that it would eventually show if they kept talking to her.
So, I have to work harder to make it a more fun content.
“Hoo…. Haaa…….”
In the one—person broadcasting room attached to the company’s motion studio, I took a deep breath and suppressed my nervousness.
I’m not nervous about standing in front of people, but I’m worried about not doing the job the CEO told me to do properly.
My Oshi trusted me and entrusted me with such an important job.
Failure? There’s no way.
I’m going to show everything I prepared today.
I finished meditating and focused on Rain’s comments.
It was almost time for the actors to appear.
[—So, the person who guesses correctly will be awarded a pizza! Okay, does everyone understand? No one’s stupid, right? Then shall we call the actors? Today, Mi, Rain A will be followed by Rain B, Rain C, and Rain D. Let’s go!]
Following Rain’s signal, I pulled her Live2D character, which had been hidden below the screen, up.
— Wow, look at the screen filling up
— Crazy, four cutting boards ㄷㄷ
[Four cutting boards, what a son of a bitch. You’re banned. Puddles! I’m B cup. How many times do I have to say it?]
— chop
— Four cutting boards and four knives, so fast~
— S…Honestly, I think B cup is still a cutting board…
Meanwhile, I checked if the Rain character I raised above the screen was moving well.
It felt a little strange that Rain was moving as I moved.
What should I say, it’s like my mischievous instincts are awakening.
If I say something funny like this, is Rain slander possible?
‘…I have to hold back.’
If Rain’s colleagues do it, it becomes content, but I’m an employee, so people might take it seriously.
Even though it seems a bit unfair, that’s the weight that the operations team carries.
If you’re a shadow following the stars, you should never go ahead of the stars.
While I was fighting with my inner playfulness, it was already my turn.
[Okay. Rain D, shall we introduce ourselves?]
What I showed the CEO earlier was ‘how Rain speaks when playing games.’
I practiced Rain’s opening comments separately.
Energetically. As if scratching my throat a little it’s not accurate because I learned it on YouTube with a feeling of clearing a path to the outside of my body and my lungs!
“Oh, hell, yeah. Puddles! Rain is dropping from the sky. I’m here today to coolly soak the dry land!”
But practicing is practicing.
It wasn’t easy when it came to the actual performance.
Just looking at how sweaty my palms were after doing the voice imitation.
That’s why I can’t help but respect our kids.
How do they say these embarrassing lines every day without a care?
VTuber, it’s really not easy.
‘…But why is it so quiet?’
The real Rain, who couldn’t hold back her laughter and giggled when Rain B and Rain C introduced themselves, is silent for some reason.
Even the chat, which was busy laughing along, saying that they could see the person inside too clearly, is now all.
— ?
— ???
— ??
— ?
— What
— ??
— ? Huh?
— Wasn’t A the real Rain?
— Puddles, I’m scared
— Suddenly she’s throwing a serious punch
— D seems like the real cutting board
— Ah, is it a one person two role?
— Difficulty what’s going on LOLOL
— Smneezn ㄷㄷ
— No, it was clearly a joke up to С LMFAO