After the video was released, Moogun kept his promise and continued the World Cup series. The broadcast maintained an audience of nearly 30,000 viewers for almost an hour, successfully fulfilling its promotional purpose.
The consistent branding with the nickname, attention-grabbing actions by Magia, the teaser video release, and the seamless continuation of the World Cup felt almost orchestrated. Even some international viewers in Moogun’s chat room seemed captivated.
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[🥔Nutube]
Midday Mirage (真昼陽) Nezumi Maru Cover
Nezumi Maru | 197k Subscribers
520k Views | 1 Week Ago
— #NezumiMaru #Parallel #真昼陽炎
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@Listen Why – Just now
MOVGUN brings me here
@tamatama-sang – Just now
Voice of Heaven 😪😪😪
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As the influx of new viewers continued to grow, there was a noticeable increase in views across cover songs, original tracks, and overall content. Furthermore, tags related to “Parallel” first-generation members, their anniversary, and 3D modeling dominated Z’s real-time search rankings.
Anticipation was through the roof, with everyone buzzing about the possibilities unlocked by 3D modeling. Concerts, collaborative variety shows, and more – the potential felt limitless.
This news reached Cheon Dohee’s ears around midnight, two hours after the live broadcast ended, when the announcement was made that the long, grueling motion-capture session for the first-gen’s new song had finally concluded.
“Seems like Manager Oh from the PR team was watching the stream without sleeping.”
“Oh, really?”
“He said he’s taken a new look at Magia. Said he regrets not recruiting her earlier if he’d known she had this much talent.”
“What did Manager Kang say to that?”
“He told him, ‘If you’re so upset about it, become the operations manager yourself.’ Honestly, even though she’s technically under my team, I hardly interfere with her.”
Cheon Dohee and Kang Jiho chuckled as they exchanged glances, though both were on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.
“Once the kids get out of their suits, let’s head straight home. I’m so tired.”
“Agreed… It’s strange how they’re the ones running around, but we end up more drained.”
“They’re in the thick of it, so they don’t feel it as much. For us, watching their mistakes or the points that still need polishing just keeps piling on mentally.”
Both were longing to head home, stretch out their legs, and sleep, thinking they’d leave showers and everything else for the next morning.
That is, until the first-gen members, at midnight no less – after a 14-hour session excluding meal breaks – began pestering them about going out for food.
“Let’s keep hanging out!”
“Yeah, let’s go! Pub time!”
Not just any whining, but full-on tugging at Jiya.
“But what about Jiya? Jiya? Jiya? Third round, fourth round, fifth round…!”
“…You got it wrong, unnie.”
“Are you dumb? Jiya is third round. Jiya is fifth. Do like this.”
“Leng-unnie forgot number four, huh? Can’t even count anymore?”
“Shut up.”
“Wow, look at these kids who haven’t even played games with Jiya talking so much. I even helped with Jiya’s stream by drawing illustrations, okay~.”
“Oh? Are you trying to make us jealous now? Are you looking for a bloodbath, really?”
“Calm down, both of you….”
“Fuuuuuck! So jealous! I wanted to meet Mido too! Fuuuuuuuck!”
Honestly, it made sense.
During their individual shooting breaks, they had nothing to do but look at their phones. And every time they checked their phones, the biggest news was naturally about Magia’s recent broadcast appearances.
Teaming up with Moogun, she’d performed spectacularly against top-tier players.
Not only did she finish her promotional stint cleanly, but she even got Moogun to watch the Parallel Song World Cup.
With more than 30,000 viewers, no less.
The fact that someone like her had been quietly sitting in the monitoring room, simply watching the broadcast until now, was unbearable for the first-gen members.
They clearly wanted to bring her in, surround her, and drown her in a storm of praise until she became a “compliment onion.”
It seemed like they were determined to make her join their late-night gathering.
But then again, seeing how Magia had been trying to get along with these kids lately, maybe bringing her in was the right move.
Still, she wasn’t the type to enjoy being the center of attention, which made Cheon Dohee hesitate. After some thought, she decided to send a message first.
[Me: Jiya]
[Me: Are you awake?]
The reply came quickly.
[Magia: No]
[Magia: But I feel like I’ll hit Master tonight, so I’m grinding ranked games right now]
[Magia: What’s up?]
[Me: We’re going out for late-night food. The kids said they miss you.]
[Me: You don’t have to come, but I just wanted to check if you were interested.]
[Me: If you feel like coming, join us.]
[Me: No pressure, so don’t force yourself.]
[Magia: I’ll rest at home.]
“…Right. That’s typical Magia.”
Honestly, it was for the best. If she’d come, they might have ended up dragging her out when she was already resting well. Knowing she was staying home gave Cheon Dohee peace of mind.
…Until her phone buzzed again.
[Magia: But how are you planning to get the kids home later?]
[Magia: It’s definitely going to be 2 or 3 a.m. by the time you finish.]
Dohee felt a sudden pang at her nose. Despite all the hard work Magia had gone through today, she was still worrying about everyone else.
[Magia: You know there’s a stream tomorrow, right?]
[Magia: If anyone’s late, I’m burning the café down, seriously.]
“……….”
[Me: Thank you for the reminder…]
[Magia: You’re welcome LOL]
[Magia: If you skip the stream because you’re tired, I’ll personally set a fire LOL]
What a menace.
She was just worried about missing her own chance to watch the broadcast!
Feeling a little annoyed for no real reason, Dohee quickly started typing a response.
[Me: Or how about you come over and watch the kids for me?]
[Me: That way, I can head home early and won’t be late for tomorrow’s stream.]
[Magia: Oh?]
[Magia: That’s… an option.]
[Magia: Are you a genius, boss?]
She actually agreed?
Now Cheon Dohee felt like the bad guy for teasing her earlier.
“How is it that after five years, this kid still manages to surprise me every time?”
[Me: Okay, I’ll send you the location once we arrive. Come meet us there.]
[Magia: Sure.]
[Magia: I’ll get ready to head out now.]
Even so, she couldn’t help but smile.
Who else in the world would agree to get called out at midnight to look after coworkers?
“I’ll have to double her bonus this month.”
Since Magia’s salary was fixed, Dohee had been consistently giving her extra bonuses whenever unexpected situations arose. Still, as the boss, she couldn’t overdo it every time. People would start raising fairness concerns eventually.
The ultimate solution was clear: promote Magia, increase her salary, and officially recognize her contributions.
If she got a higher position and her own staff, even Magia who had always downplayed her value would have to acknowledge her worth.
This time, Dohee had the perfect excuse to push the promotion, even if Magia resisted. The work she had done promoting on Moogun’s broadcast made her achievements undeniable.
In the past, Magia had avoided promotions, saying she lacked the educational background, expertise, certifications, or the kind of career experience that other staff had. But now?
There was no running away.
Her accomplishments were not only evident, but also recognized by everyone in the company.
* * *
By taxi, I arrived at the izakaya 30 minutes later.
But the bar I hadn’t visited in a while was challenging from the entrance.
“Can you show me your ID? You look so young.”
It seemed like wearing a formal suit was fine, but with just a hoodie on, I must have looked like a kid.
Left with no choice, I showed my ID. Even though they reluctantly let me in, the suspicious glances didn’t completely disappear.
Still, I guess I should be grateful they let me in at all.
Anyway, I walked down the izakaya hallway and opened the door to the room at the very end.
Huh?
“What’s this? Everyone’s gone, and it’s just you, Mari.”
The only person left was Komari, with her short, round bob hairstyle, dressed in a knit sweater layered over a shirt.
She was sitting on one side, sipping a cola. When she saw me, she gave a polite nod and kindly explained the situation.
“Rain unnie and Dora unnie went to a karaoke bar after drinking.”
“Again? What about Maru-nim and the boss?”
“They went to throw up. The boss went to help pat their backs.”
An idol throwing up after drinking—what a sight.
I keep telling them to drink in moderation.
Moments like this make me adore Komari even more.
Even if she’s a bit eccentric, she drinks moderately and listens to the boss better than anyone.
It didn’t seem like the boss would return anytime soon, so I sat down casually in an empty seat.
But just sitting like that made the awkwardness double.
Komari wasn’t much of a talker, and since I rarely initiate conversations with others, silence quickly filled the room.
Still, silence isn’t so bad.
I don’t mind this calmness.
Broadcasters talk nonstop while on air, right?
Moments like this are perfect to rest and take care of our voices.
Even if drinking cola is… not exactly ideal.
But when else would we get the chance to indulge a little?
So, there we were, two small figures sitting quietly.
It was Komari who couldn’t endure the silence and spoke first.
“Jiya-unnie.”
The word unnie felt so unfamiliar that it tickled down my spine.
“What?”
“Well… next week, would you play a game with me?”
Her tone was flat and detached, but that’s Komari’s standard way of speaking.
She doesn’t say much, and her tone is so even and calm that people who don’t know her well might think she’s upset and start overthinking.
Still, she’s undeniably adorable.
Honestly, you’re the only one in our first generation that feels like this.
I bet even the boss dotes on Komari the most.
Not that I’ve ever asked…
“What game? Don’t tell me it’s Naore.”
“How did you know?”
“You’ve been playing Naore all week, haven’t you? So of course it’s Naore.”
“…I didn’t play it every day.”
“Really? Out of your 40-hour stream time this week, you spent 30 hours gaming, 28 of which were on Naore. And that’s not every day?”
“…….”
Komari shot me a long, steady glare, her expression laced with faux irritation.
At best, though, all she did was puff out her cheeks slightly and angle her eyebrows.
Her mostly unchanging expression was pretty amusing, and it was reflected in her avatar too, which her fans absolutely adored.
So, Naore, huh?
…I have no interest, have never played it, and barely even know what kind of game it is.
“Just so you know, I’m a total beginner who’s never touched it. If you make a secondary account to carry me, people are bound to talk.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. It’s not ranked anyway.”
“Alright, I’ll try to learn the basics before we play.”
“Nooo, don’t do that. It’s more fun when you don’t know anything!”
“Oh~ so you just want to see me flail around cluelessly in the game, huh? Am I right?”
Komari immediately clammed up, her lips pursing in defeat.
Honestly, her attempts at harmless pranks are so obvious that teasing her in return becomes irresistible.
Of course, this is only true before she starts playing ranked games.
Once Komari switches to ranked mode, it’s best to leave her alone.
She starts radiating an intimidating aura.
“Alright, I’ll ask the boss to teach me a bit this weekend. We were planning to hit a PC cafe together anyway.”
“Tch. Fine”
Komari scoffed and snorted before grabbing her glass of cola again.
She took a sip, swallowed it with a gulp, and then let out a satisfied “Ah.”
“Right, I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
“It’s about Pino. He asked me to get your company’s email address.”
“Pino?”
Pino, by the way, is the “Papa” who breathed life into Komari’s panel. He’s a Live2D rigger who exclusively takes on outsourced projects for a famous mobile gaming company.
The reason we haven’t exchanged contact information until now is that we never really had any overlap.
He mainly communicates with the planning team.
But why does he want my email?
Komari soon explained the reason.
“Pino said he wants to work on your panel.”
For a moment, there was silence between us.
I mean, I understood what she meant, but the phrasing was a bit… off.
Komari seemed to realize this too, as she avoided my gaze and muttered softly,
“Well, what I mean is… he wants to take on the rigging work. For your illustration…”