Chapter 7: Breeze

“Ehehehe…”

Buzz-

Buzz- Buzz- Buzz-

“Ugh…?”

Just as I was about to eat a large cotton candy,

the dream world shattered with a loud vibration.

The corner of my mouth was damp from the slight drool on my pillow.

[Lumi Live Interviewer]

“Uwaaa!!”

I immediately checked the time.

9:34.

I had definitely gone slightly past the time the interviewer mentioned.

I hadn’t intended to sleep, but maybe it was because I’d been pushing myself all day without a wink of sleep…

The release of tension probably made it even more so.

This was the first time I had fallen asleep so instantaneously.

“Hello…?”

“Ah yes, Eunseo. You can come in now. Were you setting up your mic?”

“Ah, yes, yes! There was a slight error with the settings…”

“Ah~ Take your time, it’s okay to come in leisurely. We’ll probably start the main discussion from 10 o’clock.”

“Yes! I’ll be right in.”

The call ended, and I hurriedly turned on my computer.

It’s a relief it hasn’t started yet…

I was invited to the server the interviewer had sent and checked the voice chat room list.

Number 1, Number 7, Number 8.

Are we still being called by numbers?

The person listed as Manager is the interviewer…

Miyu… the CEO of Rumi Live and one of the top streamers from a major company.

Even after writing her success story, she’s enjoying a second golden age with Rumi Live and is evaluated as having good business acumen.

I watched her a lot in my early twenties, and I’m incredibly nervous about meeting her in person.

‘Ugh… I’m nervous…’

It’s not simply because there are many people.

While studying to be a voice actor, performing in front of many people was a given.

However, I couldn’t help being nervous because all those people were women.

When I was a man, I never had much contact with women…

I took a deep breath and entered the voice chat room with my mic off.

Ding-

“Oh? Number 3 is here!!”

“Welcome.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Are you done with your settings?”

Even though I was the last to arrive, people welcomed me normally.

What a relief… everyone seems nice.

The sounds overlapped, so I couldn’t tell who was saying what, except for the Manager.

However, this welcoming atmosphere somehow didn’t feel unfamiliar.

It felt like when I moved up to the advanced class at the voice acting academy.

“I’m sorry for being late…”

“It’s okay~ We were planning to start at 10 o’clock anyway.”

Miyu brightened the mood with the same tone she always used on her broadcasts.

They said she was no different in person than on her broadcasts, and it was true.

“Since everyone seems to be here, shall we introduce ourselves? You can use your nicknames or real names. We’ll be deciding on new names for your debut anyway.”

“Yes! Then I’ll go first!!”

Number 7, who had a clear and high-pitched beautiful voice, shouted loudly.

Seeing how clean the sound quality is, it seems like she’s using an expensive microphone?

“I’m Jeong Suhyeon! I’m 22 years old, and I love dancing and singing!!”

It was a short and concise one-line introduction.

Loves dancing and singing… was she an idol trainee?

She’s the kind of top talent Rumi Live prefers.

“Park Sejeong, 29 years old… I graduated from graduate school last year.”

A low, subdued voice.

Fitting for someone who was a graduate student, her voice was tinged with exhaustion.

So, the identity of Number 8, about whom there were numerous speculations in the gallery, was a former graduate student.

“Wow~! What was your major?”

Suhyeon squeezed through a gap and asked, radiating positive energy.

“…It was physics.”

A physics graduate school graduate, no less, is she a really huge science nerd?

Thanks to her distinctive voice, I felt my ears perk up in an instant.

“Hello. I’m Kim Yujin. In my previous life, I was active as Yuha, but since I’ve decided to forget my past life… please call me Yujin. Oh, and I’m 26 years old.”

Yuha, I definitely remembered her because she occasionally appeared in my algorithm.

An aspiring artist who drew provocative thumbnails herself.

The memory of her frequently spouting vulgar and flippant remarks was still etched in my mind.

Seeing her in a place like this, I could observe a new side of her.

Her singing in a traditional Korean music style was art, but it seems there’s quite a big gap from her usual self.

***

Now it’s my turn.

How should I introduce myself here?

Since they’re colleagues I’ll be sharing joys and sorrows with from now on, it’s better to be as friendly as possible, right?

“I’m Lee Eunseo, 23 years old. I’ve been aspiring to be a voice actor for quite a long time… um…”

Now that the stage was set for self-introductions, I was at a loss for words.

“Ah! I really loved and was good at LoL. And I’m a G2 fan.”

“Oh. What’s your rank? I like LoL too…!”

As soon as LoL was mentioned, Sejeong responded with as much energy as she could muster in her exhaustion-laden voice.

“During the second interview, Eunseo said her peak rank was Challenger, and I was half in doubt, but when I checked, it was true.”

Based on their reactions to what the Manager said, I could tell whether they played LoL or not.

“Wow… Please teach me LoL…!”

Sejeong definitely seems to play a lot of LoL.

A sense of weary desperation could be felt in her tone.

“Challenger…? Oh… that’s amazing.”

Suhyeon didn’t seem to know much about LoL.

No surprise could be felt in her tone.

Seeing as Yujin said nothing, it seemed she didn’t even know what this conversation was about.

Following Suhyeon’s lukewarm reaction, a silence of about ten seconds was maintained.

Clap-

The Manager clapped her hands, intending to move on to the next topic.

“Alright~ After the CEO and I introduce ourselves, we’ll get into the main meeting~”

“Huh? Ah, I’m Miyu. As for my age… some of you might know, but I’m 33… “

The CEO trailed off after stating her age.

“The younger generation… I’m envious.”

“Ahaha~ I’m Kim Rea, the general manager of Rumi Live, and you’ve all actually met me, right? I was in charge of the second interviews.”

There are occasional people who use their baptismal name as their real name, and the Manager was one of them.

“The CEO and I reviewed the first round, and I selected the candidates for the second round by myself.”

“…Rea has more authority than me, so please treat her well.”

Miyu founded Lumi Live, but it’s said that Rea’s contribution was significant in leading it to success.

Of course, I didn’t hear this from them directly, but I saw it on Tree Wiki…

“Alright. Let’s get to the main point then.”

As soon as it turned 10 o’clock, Rea changed the atmosphere, signaling the official start of the meeting.

“First of all, unlike the 1st and 2nd batches, for this batch, we didn’t create the characters first and then pick people who fit those characters.”

Looking at the old recruitment links, they had thumbnails of already created characters.

Because of that, I did think they matched the voice actors even better…

“So, we plan to create characters that match everyone’s tendencies and voices. Of course! The company will fully support it.”

Since a high-quality virtual character costs roughly several million won, it’s a huge investment from the company’s perspective as well.

What would a character that suits me look like? I’m really curious.

“Tomorrow is Saturday, right? We’re planning for everyone to gather at the company, consult with an illustrator, decide on the designs, and also proceed with contracts. Is that okay with everyone?”

“Yes! That’s fine~!!!”

As expected, Suhyeon couldn’t contain her energetic personality and replied instantly.

“I’m fine with it too.”

“It’s fine…”

I also don’t have anything to do tomorrow…

Ah, the LoL World Championship finals are in the evening.

A fierce battle between G2 and GEN is scheduled… (TN: AFAIK this matchup never happened in any of the actual LoL finals but it may be an AU thing)

It’s at 9 PM, so it should be fine.

“Yes. I’m fine with it too.”

“It’ll be hectic if everyone gathers at once, so let’s decide on individual arrival times. You can assume it will take 3 hours per person. Please choose from 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, and 6 PM!”

Ah, I really want to avoid 6 PM.

I don’t want to experience the disaster of missing the LoL World Championship finals.

I cried so much when I missed last year’s finals…

“I live in the countryside, so I think I’ll have to do 12 PM.”

Yujin claimed 12 PM first.

Well, if you live in the countryside, it can’t be helped. I have no choice but to concede…

“Any time is fine for me! I live close to the company!”

Ah, Suhyeon is really nice.

I should do something extra for her later.

“…I tend to wake up late in the afternoon, so I’ll take 6 PM.”

‘Kya, Sejeong unni’s form is insane…’

The word ‘unni’ slipped out in my thoughts without me realizing it.

I mean, it’s not like I could call her ‘nuna’ anymore…

I’m not sure if I’m gradually adapting to a woman’s body or if this is natural.

Anyway, let’s just decide on a time…

“I’ll take 3 PM.”

“Then it’s all decided. Suhyeon at 9 AM, Yujin at 12 PM? And Eunseo at 3 PM, and Sejeong at 6 PM. Everyone worked hard, and those who want to leave can do so now~”

***

Although Rea said that, no one left, as they were all observing each other.

The one who broke the deep silence was the CEO.

“How about we all drop the formalities? We’ll be seeing each other often from now on, and using honorifics seems uncomfortable and distant.”

“I’m fine with that~!”

“I like that too.”

“…Okay.”

Each answer reflected their individual personalities.

I also don’t particularly prefer using honorifics with people I’ll be seeing often.

Calling someone “so-and-so-ssi,” or using honorifics even with younger people.

Those things are actually huge barriers when trying to get close.

“I’m fine with it too.”

“Well then, since I’m the oldest unni, I’ll speak comfortably, kids?”

“Kya~ Miyu unni, I was such a big fan!”

An unexpected fan meeting took place.

Suhyeon and Miyu have a 12-year age gap (same zodiac sign), is it right to call her unni?

“Um, Suhyeon? We have a 12-year age gap…”

“So what if we have a 12-year age gap~! Unni is unni!!”

The CEO naturally questioned it too, but Suhyeon, with her characteristic friendliness, quickly smoothed it over.

“Uhm… isn’t there a separate KakaoTalk group chat or something?”

Sejeong asked in a tired voice.

She said she wakes up late in the afternoon, but isn’t it time for her to be awake now?

“Ah, I’ll create a 3rd batch group chat for you.”

Rea, who had all our phone numbers, created a group chat.

Ka-talk!

Ka-talk!

(Jeong Suhyeon) : – (An ‘Annyeong’ emoticon)

(Jeong Suhyeon) : – (A ‘Nice to meet you’ emoticon)

As soon as the room was created, Suhyeon spammed emoticons.

Mute notifications… mute notifications…

Meanwhile, no one used their own face as their profile picture.

Honestly, I was a bit curious about other people’s faces, so it’s a little disappointing.

Ka-talk!

(Park Sejeong) : – Um… please teach me LoL later…! I really want to get good!

…Can’t she just say it over the mic?

Seeing her strong obsession with LoL since earlier, does she have some kind of story?

(Me) : – Um, unni, you should speak comfortably….

(Park Sejeong) : – Ah! Ah… sorry.

She seems to have a surprisingly cute side.

Her voice has a very mature, ‘older sister’ feel, but when it comes to LoL, she changes into an innocent child.

(Me) : – I’ll help you if you call me next time.

(Park Sejeong) : – Oh! Thanks…!

“Well then, the CEO and I will get going now. We have other things to discuss in a meeting~”

“Ah! Thank you for your hard work~!!!”

“Everyone worked hard.”

“……You worked hard.”

“Everyone did a great job.”

Although they agreed to drop formalities, it seems they’re still awkward since it’s their first meeting.

These things usually resolve themselves over time.

Ding-

Once the CEO and Rea left, silence ensued again.

“Um, should we disband for now too?”

Suhyeon broke the painful silence.

Perhaps because I woke up from sleep, my eyes were starting to feel heavy.

“Okay. See you next time.”

“Disband~!!!!”

“…See you all next time.”

“Let’s see each other next time.”

Ding-

I turned off the computer and could finally lie down on the bed again.

I have to go to the company, so setting an alarm for around 12 o’clock should be fine.

I almost overslept for our first meeting, but thankfully it passed as a minor incident.

I pulled the blanket up to my chin and stared at the ceiling.

The phrase “colleagues from the same batch” seems to form a surprisingly strong bond.

Even though our first meeting just ended, it feels closer than usual relationships…

I thought this new encounter would be nothing but a storm, but it’s not really like that.

Perhaps because my MBTI has changed, my personality also seems to be in the process of adapting to this body.

With a small smile, I went to sleep.

Because tomorrow, I have to attend the momentous virtual character creation meeting.