Chapter 14: Is this… the best virtual group in the country?

Life is a series of plans.

Everyone makes plans, whether long or short.

The dream of a certain elementary school troublemaker to become Hokage is part of a plan,
and the decision of some basement-dwelling VTuber fan to settle for cup ramen for breakfast because the rice ran out is also part of a plan.

The kid aiming to be Hokage will gradually mature,
realize that things like chakra don’t exist in the world, and realistically revise their future plan to something like becoming President.

Similarly, the VTuber fan will wake up around 6 PM, realize the ramen has run out at home, and revise their plan.

Including them, even the aimless unemployed person who prides themselves on living life as it flows, unknowingly keeps revising plans in their head constantly.

So, what about the CEO leading Belus, a top-tier domestic VTuber group?

CEO Kim Kanghyun, who seemed like he would just dump work on his capable manager and slack off in the eyes of a former Belus Gallery moderator,
was actually going through a time of immense agony and suffering.

That’s how challenging the plan for Belus’s 2nd generation debut actually was.

“We somehow managed to get through the first week, didn’t we?”

“I know, right…”

“At first, I really thought it might fall apart right from the start.”

“…That really scared me back then.”

In a small meeting room at the Belus headquarters, CEO Kim Kanghyun and Manager Ari let out deep sighs, as if relieving ten years of built-up stress.

After kicking out two members just three days into the lodging, they couldn’t help but worry if this whole lodging process was really okay.

It was a natural worry.

A project prepared after long deliberation had almost collapsed right at the beginning.

First, the applicant who was caught smoking by the CEO and had to leave.

To some, it might seem trivial—why kick someone out for smoking when they broadcast hidden behind an avatar and wouldn’t get caught anyway?

But from Kim Kanghyun’s perspective, responsible for Belus’s future, even such minor deviations were unacceptable.

VTuber fans are beings that must be handled delicately, almost like dealing with a girlfriend on her period.

Even the slightest awkwardness can trigger them to start imagining negative scenarios amongst themselves.

This stems from the anonymity of VTubers; since they generally avoid mentioning the person behind the avatar, the inability to predict what the ‘person inside’ is doing becomes a seed of doubt.

Human psychology dictates that while people show less interest if everything is revealed openly, they desperately want to find out if something is kept tightly hidden.

Doesn’t the phrase ‘knows what’s hot’ come out more readily when seeing a tantalizingly censored picture rather than a fully explicit one?

VTuber fans pretend not to care, but in reality, they are incredibly curious about the person inside.

From trivial curiosities like whether the person inside is pretty or cute, to serious concerns like whether they are a man-hater or secretly dating someone.

Some types even wonder about their virginity—that’s how curious they are about who the ‘person inside’ is.

What if, during an event broadcast with a hand-cam, a cigarette gets caught on camera for such fans?

Nobody would argue if you declared ‘The group is finished’ that very day.

The impact is dimensions apart from when a famous idol gets caught with an e-cigarette on a live broadcast.

Although it might not get plastered across the society section of major search engines, the VTuber scene is far more closed off than the idol scene.

Those who lurk in the shadows tend to play even more insidiously.

• What? She smokes? lol Confirmed!

• They’re famous for being close, so they probably gather around puffing together lolllll

• As expected of Korean YouTubers heh heh, spiteful.

• Gotta filter out smokers. (TL Note: Refers to a Korean meme/stereotype)

It meant that having comments like these flood the official group Twitter account would be nothing.

Think it’s a joke?

Just last month, a neighboring virtual group collapsed exactly like that.

As the CEO, he had watched their broadcast to gauge the atmosphere, and the chat’s firepower was so intense that the broadcast couldn’t proceed, making him feel sorry for the VTuber.

The group’s end was angry.

One member couldn’t overcome it and graduated, and the group fell apart right then and there.

Therefore, Kim Kanghyun obviously couldn’t keep that applicant.

As someone in the same industry, witnessing events that couldn’t be dismissed lightly happening frequently, he couldn’t drag along a non-priority applicant while carrying such risk.

“Anyway, Manager-nim, how is the penalty fee situation?”

“She says she can’t pay.”

“Sue her. Is she serious?”

“The company doesn’t have a legal team.”

“Manager-nim, don’t you have a lawyer’s license?”

“Are you serious?”

The manager glared, putting force into her eyes.

To others, it might just look cute, but sensing the sincerity in her words, the CEO broke into a cold sweat.

“…A hyung I know works as a lawyer in the entertainment industry, so I’ll inquire with him about this.”

The second applicant who was kicked out and burdened with a hefty penalty fee was even more serious.

Taking pictures inside the headquarters and sending them to a friend—Kim Kanghyun, being mostly a man of common sense, couldn’t even fathom what state of mind she was in.

He was even horrified that some photos included parts of other applicants’ bodies.

Fortunately, the manager discovered her sending the photos right away and stopped them before they could be shared further.

It reached a point where he couldn’t refute the common criticism that ‘streamers are uneducated and lack social skills.’

As a former streamer himself, he felt nothing but shame.

Thankfully, they managed to contact the person who received the photos, paid a large sum to ensure their definite deletion, and confirmed they weren’t shared elsewhere. Otherwise, Kim Kanghyun had seriously contemplated scrapping the entire 2nd generation debut plan over two sleepless nights.

“Ugh… Kids these days, tsk.”

“……”

The bewildered gazes of everyone in the meeting room converged on one spot.

The recipient of the stares shrugged as if asking ‘What’s the problem?’ but couldn’t garner any sympathy.

Because Trainer Lee Jia, participating in the meeting as an external guest lecturer, was the youngest among them.

She was the only one in her 20s among the attendees.

Although, based on appearance alone, Ari was also in her 20s.

“…Alright, let’s wrap up the unpleasant talk. How’s the vocal side?”

“Good.”

“Ms. Hoshino and Ms. Sumire are already complete vocals, so there are no worries.”

“Rather, we should anticipate how much the viewers will love them after debut.”

“That’s a relief.”

“If those two debut without any major incidents, we won’t have to worry about the music activity side.”

“And the others are following along well.”

“Their potential for improvement is the same as my initial assessment.”

“However, two individuals are concerning…”

“As expected…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“One of the two, Ms. Azusa, is refusing to change her singing style, so I’m continuously trying to persuade her…”

“You know what will happen if things continue like this, right?”

Sumire and Azusa were the ones employing the so-called ‘virgin singing style’ among VTuber fans, a style emphasizing purity.

Comparing the singing of these two, who shared this commonality, was like comparing a professor to a teaching assistant.

With completely overlapping styles and one being a downgraded version, there was no need to pick both.

It might have been different if they were in different generations, but debuting together in the same 2nd generation could lead to them cannibalizing each other.

However, simply dropping her was difficult because she had a recent career as a somewhat renowned Utaite, and perhaps thanks to that, her mixed recordings were quite excellent.

While most Utaite know how to mix, VTubers as skilled in mixing as her were rarer than expected, so he wanted to bring her along if possible.

“Let’s keep observing for now, and I will try to persuade her.”

“Okay.”

“Since I’m just a guest lecturer, I won’t interfere in deciding who to pick.”

“And the remaining one is Ms. Kotori, which is quite…”

Lee Jia trailed off and glanced at Producer Kim Hyunmin, who was nodding off.

Though called a producer, he handled almost all of Belus’s music-related tasks alone, leading to a moment of solemn silence in the meeting room.

Even those who shared the commonality of being exploited like slaves by a malicious company couldn’t dare imagine his workload.

“…Hmm? Yes?”

“Ms. Kotori?”

“Ah, she’s quite interesting.”

“She can only do high notes, nothing else?”

Kim Hyunmin abruptly lifted his head and calmly responded to her words as if he hadn’t been dozing off.

Hearing his words, Lee Jia scratched behind her ear and expressed her opinion.

“I’ve seen many who can’t sing high notes, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone who can only do high notes and nothing else…”

“Clearly, considering the emotional control and tension building shown in the highlights, her talent is top-tier…”

“You know what?”

“Just hitting high notes can be achieved through effort, right?”

“Of course, some people might not be able to, but still, what modern vocals demand more than that is individuality and how much emotion…”

Lee Jia rambled on for a while, and Kim Hyunmin, who had been listening blankly beside her, shook his head and started dozing off again.

Kim Kanghyun let Lee Jia’s TMI disguised as an appeal about Kotori’s talent disguised as a lecture on the direction of modern vocals flow in one ear and out the other, nodding while jotting something down on the evaluation sheet.

‘Hoshino, Sumire Vocals [A], Azusa Vocals [B], Kotori is… [D(A+)]. Depending on development, could potentially fill Haruka’s position…’

“Then how about the dance side?”

“……Haaaah.”

This time, only a deep sigh was heard.

A stark contrast to the vocal side, where detailed evaluations flowed freely.

“Not human…”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes… I mean, did they just sit at computers all day at home?”

“How can none of them last even 5 minutes?”

“And they weren’t even dancing properly.”

“……”

Everyone except Lee Jia and the dance trainer either had jobs involving sitting at computers all day or similar professions, so they just exchanged glances.

Only Manager Ari, who traveled to various places for work, confidently puffed out her narrow shoulders.

The dance trainer, seeing this state, pressed her temples as if a headache was coming on and continued.

“First, Ms. Hoshino is perfect, truly perfect itself.”

“You can really feel that KRG quality.”

“Honestly, she’s good enough to perform on stage right away, to the point where I don’t understand why she quit being an idol…”

“…!”

“Ah! That friend is a KRG trainee, right?! No wonder I heard something!”

“Mr. Kim Hyunmin…”

“Ugh!”

Kim Hyunmin, who had been nodding off, suddenly sat up and shouted something, only to be pinched by Lee Jia and weakly sunk again.

During the vocal test, he had unintentionally almost revealed Hoshino’s personal information in front of the trainees.

Since forbidding the sharing of personal information was the CEO’s rule, he had been immediately silenced back then too.

“…Well anyway, apart from her, the rest are just walking skeletons, so I think a fitness trainer is more urgent than me?”

“A fitness trainer.”

“Did you say you’re picking about 6 people?”

“Once they’re all confirmed, even if you don’t get a trainer during the debut preparation period, I strongly recommend sending them to a gym.”

“I heard that if it weren’t for the newly hired manager, the existing members would have been in big trouble too.”

“No matter how sedentary the job is, stamina is important.”

“Rather, being inactive can cause the body to break down faster.”

“Look at the CEO’s potbelly.”

Kim Kanghyun, who had been sitting comfortably, quickly straightened his posture and subtly covered his stomach with his arm.

“Y-you are correct.”

“Worst case, what if the members’ health gets ruined during the contract period?”

“What will you do for the remaining period?”

“And you’re not just going to stream, didn’t you say you’d definitely hold not only solo concerts but also group concerts next year at the latest?”

“That’s probably why you called me.”

“Ugh…”

Faced with the sharp rebuke from the dance trainer, with whom he had maintained a collaborative relationship for nearly a year, the older Kim Kanghyun couldn’t lift his head.

And beside him, the manager, who had neglected her primary duty of managing the members’ health—no matter how busy she was, barely sleeping 4 hours a day—whimpered ‘Uuuh…’

“What is this.”

“Am I the CEO?”

“Should I debut the 2nd generation?”

“I’m a guest lecturer.”

“You guys need to do your job properly.”

Witnessing this scene, the trainer let out a sigh as if dumbfounded.

‘This is… the top virtual group in the country?’

In her eyes, having worked at prominent entertainment companies domestically, this novice company, claiming to be a virtual idol production, handling work in a slapdash manner was displeasing.

Of course, most other virtual groups didn’t even pretend to attempt half of what Belus was trying, so the fact that they were currently leading the domestic VTuber industry wasn’t just luck—which was fortunate for Belus amidst the misfortune.

Time flows quickly.

Even the military, famous for its slow passage of time, is often perceived by some as having passed in an instant once it’s over.

Thus, with half of the considerably short two-week lodging period already gone, the phrase ‘passed in the blink of an eye’ felt quite fitting.

During the first week, we studied quite a bit about VTubers, sang songs, and danced.

Putting other things aside, the dancing was honestly a bit of a mess.

An idol choreographer and dance trainer, similar to the vocal trainer, came, saw us flopping around for 5 minutes before collapsing flat on the ground panting, and gave us a look of utter despair.

‘Don’t look at us like we’re stray puppies that collapsed after a short walk.’

‘We’re a different species from you.’

“Ms. Hoshino!”

“Good!”

“That’s it!”

“Are you interested in joining our team?”

Ah, right. There was another member of a different species among us.

In this dance class, Hoshino literally flew. Her dance skills were so perfect that the rest of us could only stare blankly while cooling off our sweat near the air conditioner.

The dance was for a group song, but it was completely her solo stage.

Even the trainer mostly clapped without much criticism, wearing an ecstatic expression. Hoshino was a true superhuman, verily an Übermensch.

…Compared to her, we were about Homo sapiens level.

After the hellish dance class, which made it hard to distinguish whether it was fitness training or dance training, it was time for individual schedules.

Several people, including Azusa and Miyuki, left for vocal lessons, while Sumire Mamang went to get advice from the producer, saying she had many questions about mixing personally.

That zombie-looking guy with the dark circles, though called a producer, apparently handles everything related to music—directing, mixing, recording, guide vocals, composing, lyrics, arranging—so there seemed to be much to learn.

As expected, the slaves captured by that evil CEO Kim Kanghyun are all highly skilled.

No, no. Thinking I might soon belong here, I unconsciously gave a generous evaluation.

…To think this insane sweatshop is now exploiting its partner companies too.

Anyway, Mao, Hoshino, and I, who remained at the headquarters, are currently trailing behind Ms. Ari.

Ms. Ari’s short ponytail bounces ahead, making a ‘chong-chong-chong’ sound effect.

‘Seriously, one day I’m definitely going to grab that and swing it around like jwibulnori (Korean fire spinning game).’

“You three seem to hang out together quite often? Looks like you’ve become quite close.”

As Ms. Ari said, somehow, the three of us treated as the youngest often stick together.

We are actually quite close…

Eating together, playing together during breaks—doesn’t that count as being close?

I think I used to hang out like this with my VTuber fan buddies during school days.

Still, somehow, Hoshino feels like she’s drawing an invisible line between us.

Well, considering someone among us might get eliminated, her attitude is understandable.

Besides, it’s not like I approached them first to get close; it’s closer to the truth that I’m mostly being dragged around by Mao.

“We’re going to learn about facial tracking now.”

“Some of you tried it yesterday, but you three haven’t yet~”

Following Ms. Ari down the corridor, we reached a space that looked like a series of coin karaoke rooms.

She opened the door to the nearest of what seemed like several small spaces and beckoned us over.

“Tada!”

“This is the soundproof booth the members use when working at the headquarters or starting a stream~!”

“Woow~”

“Cool!”

“……”

Seeing the computer perfectly set up for streaming and the broadcast microphone, Mao and I reacted enthusiastically in turn.

‘Anyway, Hoshino, aren’t you going to react?’

‘Our Manager-nim gets excited and even cuter when you cheer her on.’

“Okay~ Come closer!”

“Okayy.”

As we approached her gesture, the virtual avatar Ms. Ari occasionally uses for showcases or announcements was visible on the monitor, already set up.

It was a character with a relatively common black hair and black eye color design, possessing a cute, somewhat young, new-employee look. However, the stray hairs falling from her tightly bound bun were strangely suggestive.

She wore a small glasses-shaped ornament as a hairpin, and her outfit was OL-style (office lady) but with cute points that matched her real image perfectly.

And her chest was large.

‘Belus really reflects the red pill (real appearance) as much as possible, even with the 1st generation members.’

“From now on, we’ll try moving my avatar~”

“You don’t need anything complicated, just this!”

She exclaimed confidently, raising her hand high.

Her short arm shot straight up above her head.

In her hand was an iPhone.

A latest model one, at that.

“……”

I stared silently for a moment at her purely sparkling eyes.

‘What, is she teasing me for using a budget phone?’

“Aha~”

“Hmm…?”

Mao smiled as if she had guessed something, while Hoshino tilted her head as if asking ‘Why this?’

Ms. Ari looked at Hoshino and me, puzzled, and chuckled playfully.

“We’re going to use this to move the avatar’s expressions.”