Chapter 4: Wait, Is Being a Bum My Actual Job?

[“Uh… um… I’m calling about the recruitment for the 1st generation of Wonderland…”]

That was the first sentence I heard over the receiver.

Wonderland, was that the VTuber group from back then?

It was so long ago that I had completely forgotten about it!

[“H-hello…?”]

Ah, first, I need to answer.

I had to clean up the mess of shouting at the first contact.

“Ah, yes, um… I’m sorry for shouting! I’ve been getting calls from insurance companies all morning…”

[“Ah… it’s alright. Are you available to talk right now?”]

Phew, I’ve passed the first hurdle.

“Yes, I am.”

Now it’s time to handle what comes next.

[“I’m Kang Jiwon, the manager in charge of Wonderland. Am I speaking with Ms. Jung Yua?”]

“That’s right.”

[“First of all, you have passed the first interview.”]

I couldn’t believe it, but it seems I really got in.

[“Also, the second interview will be conducted in person.”]

Huh? An in-person interview?

The answer was slightly different from what I expected, and I started to feel flustered.

Screw it, I’ll just go for it!

“Then the place and schedule…?”

[“Ah, that was sent to the successful applicants’ emails.”]

Come to think of it, I haven’t checked my email recently.

It was something I did every day when I was working.

But after a few days off, the habit just disappeared.

[“And, there’s something else I forgot to mention… you need to submit a resume and a simple cover letter to the company email by the 17th.”]

Until the 17th is about a week.

That’s enough time… huh?

But a resume and a cover letter?

Do you need that to become a VTuber?

“A resume and a cover letter?”

[“Ah, well… our CEO said he wants to do it properly this time.”]

I could almost see the woman on the other end of the line sweating profusely.

Most of the applicants would be in their mid-20s at most.

They wouldn’t be familiar with these kinds of things.

Asking for a resume and cover letter would be pointless.

The person who called herself a manager seemed to be well aware of that fact.

The CEO must be quite stubborn.

I felt sorry for the woman on the other end of the line and answered.

“Yes, I understand.”

[“Thank you for applying, and I’ll see you next time!”]

Click

The call ended.

My energy drained in an instant.

I passed… well, it’s not the final round, but I did one thing.

VTuber.

To be honest, I applied half-jokingly.

I don’t have any talent, nor am I sociable.

I thought it was a profession that didn’t suit me.

But, but I applied as if possessed, and now that I’ve passed even the first round, I feel strange.

I’m not incredibly happy.

Nor do I feel regret or any negative emotions.

Perhaps because of that ambiguous feeling, the word ‘worry’ slowly surfaced in my mind.

But the word ‘worry’ soon disappeared.

[Balance]
-1,201,063₩

Yeah, what the f*ck is there to worry about.

If I don’t do this, I’ll have to sell my house.

The magic of capitalism solved my complicated thoughts.

-Click.-

Might as well act right away.

I turned on the computer.

She definitely said a resume and a cover letter…

-Click.-

Fortunately, the resume and cover letter I used when I joined ‘Samsung Electronics’ were still there.

The funny thing is that the picture on the resume was of my changed face.

I really don’t get it.

It would have been so much better if even the perception of the people around me had changed.

Because of that, the teasing I get from that crazy b*tch has doubled.

“Hooo… calm down, calm down.”

I calmed my boiling emotions again and opened the cover letter file.

I was planning to piece it together instead of writing it from scratch.

Even if it’s pieced together, the quality will be better than most cover letters.

Of course, who do you think wrote it?

I nodded and continued editing.

I ended up staying up all night.

I didn’t know changing the content of the cover letter to be about a VTuber would be this difficult.

No matter how many VTuber broadcasts I’ve watched before.

It seems there was a significant difference from the perspective of me trying to become a VTuber myself.

Whatever the case, it’s done.

Before I forgot, I sent it along with my resume to the email address she gave me.

As for interview preparation… I’ll just think about it when the time comes.

It doesn’t seem like preparing right now will do any good.

What I need most right now is a good night’s sleep.

“I’m going to sleep…”

I lay down on the bed, closed my eyes for a moment, and then opened them.

I closed them… and opened them?

Uh oh?

I literally just closed and opened my eyes, and nine hours had passed.

I was extremely tired, but.

I didn’t know time would pass so quickly.

“Hmm…”

Anyway, I slept, so I got up.

Because I have to stick to my routine.

Even if my routine is just a bum’s routine.

If I don’t even stick to that, then I’ll really become a beast.

Because humans are beings who become endlessly lazy.

“Nom.”

So I started eating lunch.

As expected, it’s delicious today too… huh?

“Ugh! Ptooey, ptooey!”

There was eggplant in the fried rice.

How dare they put eggplant in frozen fried rice?

And then name the product something like ‘Meat Meat Fried Rice’?

I threw the warm fried rice into the food waste bag.

Next, I went to my Coupang purchase history.

[Everyone, please don’t buy this. This is food waste packaged as food…]

Alright, let’s see you handle my 5700 characters of rage.

I vented my anger on the villains who put eggplant in fried rice.

And register.

“Repent in your next life and be reborn as good fried rice.”

After defeating the villains, I closed the window and logged into League of Legends.

This feels like déjà vu…

Playing League with an uneasy heart.

But I thought I had released most of my anger, so I just played.

[Victory]

Phew, what a relief.

This time, I really only played one game.

I happily turned off the computer and put on my outdoor clothes.

Because today is Wednesday.

No matter how much I came to dislike going out.

I decided to go out only on Wednesdays of the week.

It was a rule I made because I didn’t want to become any more of a shut-in.

Ding-a-ling

I carefully opened the front door and looked around.

It was an action born of nervousness.

“Alright, nobody’s here.”

After confirming that the hallway was empty, I started walking.

The outside world, which I hadn’t been to in a week, was quite chilly.

I regretted not wearing more clothes.

But it was too much of a hassle to go back up to the house and come back down, so I just walked.

Where should I go today?

Last week I went to the park and the supermarket, so I wanted to go somewhere else.

“A PC bang is no different from home… a movie theater is scary to go to alone…”

As I walked slowly while pondering for a long time, I soon arrived in front of a certain building.

It seemed to be a newly opened cafe.

The size was just right, and I quite liked the interior.

And most of all, it seemed to be packed with comics, even for a simple cafe.

[Unlimited use with the purchase of one drink]

I didn’t intend to come here.

But since it turned out this way, I decided to kill time here today.

I’ll catch up on the Spy x Family I’ve been meaning to read.

Tinkle

The cafe greeted me with a clear bell sound.

It was a bell sound that matched the building filled with the rich aroma of coffee beans.

I passed through the door and approached the counter.

An old man with a kind impression was sitting at the counter.

“Little customer, what can I get for you?”

“Uh… a hot Americano, please.”

As I placed my order, he made a slightly surprised face.

“That… it’s going to be very bitter…”

The old man muttered something.

But the sound was too quiet to reach my ears clearly.

Hmm, was it too shameless to try to use these facilities with just one Americano?

I glanced at him cautiously and continued my order.

“Th-and… right, that chocolate cake over there, please!”

“Is the kid ordering first…?”

He muttered something again this time, but I couldn’t hear it.

But seeing that his expression was much better than before.

It seems my guess was right.

7000 won… it seems expensive, but I’ll get my money’s worth with the comics.

He processed my payment with my card and said.

“The menu you ordered will be out soon, so would you like to wait here for a moment?”

“Okay.”

Swoosh, swoosh, pour…

His hand movements were extraordinary.

An Americano completed in 30 seconds.

I thought he might be a master among masters.

Anyway, I took the coffee and cake he handed me and moved to a seat.

By the way, the cups and plates here are also high-class.

Beautiful golden stems on a black background.

The coffee in such a cup was like looking at the universe.

And the chocolate cake, placed angularly on a spotlessly white plate.

Gave off an atmosphere of being disconnected from the world.

“Sip.”

In addition, the aroma of the coffee was perfect.

As someone whose hobby proudly included coffee tasting.

I was confident that this coffee must have used high-grade beans just from the aroma.

First, a sip.

Calmly from the lips to the tip of the tongue.

Then to the back of the tongue.

The impression I got after taking a sip of the coffee was…

“Pfft!”

‘Why did he give me poison?’

Coffee is originally bitter.

I understand that much.

But, this coffee is ridiculously bitter, isn’t it?

Even when I used to enjoy espresso, I had never tasted such a bitter taste.

A bitterness so intense that it could be considered a terrorist attack.

I hurriedly cut a piece of cake with a fork and put it in my mouth.

“Uhehe…”

The luxurious sweetness neutralized the hellish bitterness.

Phew, now I can live… no, why is it so bitter?

Does the owner here have some grudge against me?

That can’t be right.

Because we’ve definitely just met for the first time.

I recalled my memories in reverse order.

Ah.

It wasn’t a problem with the coffee, it was a problem with my tongue.

It was a conclusion drawn from the taste I felt while eating the chocolate cake.

Damn it, being sensitive was a curse, not a blessing after all!

To take away even the fragments of my hobby!

I wiped away the slightly flowing tears and looked at the container next to the table.

Is this the only way…

Clatter

Plop

I’ve done it.

I broke my belief of insisting on ‘100% coffee only’ and threw in a whole bunch of sugar cubes!

Not even one or two, but eight!

I sipped the coffee, which was now a little more drinkable.

It was quite delicious with the cake, but I started to feel depressed.

In this state, even if I read a comic, it won’t properly enter my head.

I quickly finished my food and came out of the cafe.

Yua is not an adult anymore… I’m a baby… babies can’t eat bitter things…