Chapter 8: Is the Manager a Pig?

A week passed after I started taking commissions.

As if harboring resentment for not being able to eat well before, I ordered delivery food to my heart’s content. When I bought a Mom’s Touch burger for myself, the same kind I always handed out to the gallery folks, and put it in my mouth, I actually shed a few tears.

Also, the people who commissioned me were so thankful they showered me with gifticons, turning me into a gifticon millionaire.

I worried about when I could possibly use them all, but it’s in my nature not to refuse things offered…

They were all kind people. Thanks to them, this small body could eat its fill.

“Mmm~ Delicious.”

I exclaimed in admiration, scooping up a big mouthful of gukbap from the delivery container topped with kkakdugi and chewing thoroughly.

It seems this gukbap place is a winner.

Seasoning it moderately with saeujeot and adding buchu, it was so good that the three great delicacies seemed unnecessary.

I almost freaked out when gaji muchim came as a side dish, but the other side dish, kkakdugi, had a deep, homemade taste, so maybe I’ll put some effort into the review event comment.

I lifted the gaji muchim with my chopsticks and stared intently at it.

A strangely colored food that looked both plump and mushy.

The slimy flesh clinging to the purplish surface looked like some kind of devil’s phlegm.

“Ugh…”

Just looking at it completely kills my appetite.

I remember seeing some guy hyping up a place claiming their gaji muchim was so good you didn’t need meat separately while browsing the gallery back then, but does that even make sense?

Eggplant should be grilled or fried. It’s already a watery ingredient; how could it be tasty when simply seasoned and mixed?

Looking at this body, one could easily imagine a scene of a child tearfully forcing down the eggplant their parents placed on their rice, urging them to chew it well, but I am a respectable adult who can freely exercise picky eating.

Eating well now won’t make me grow taller or anything, so I coolly tossed it into the food waste bin.

Anyway, as I was finishing up a hearty meal like that and busily working on commissions, a call came from the Bellus company number I saw in the email before.

I’m nervous. My mouth, which had been watering earlier while thinking about what delicious food to eat while watching broadcasts tonight, went completely dry.

Did I pass or fail?

The reaction during the interview didn’t seem bad, so maybe I can get my hopes up…

Come to think of it, I saw online that they don’t even call if you fail, so perhaps…?

“Hello?”

「Hello~? Ah! Hello! This is Ari, the manager of the virtual idol group Bellus! Is this Woo Seowoo-nim’s number?」

“Huk, Ari-nim.”

「It’s been a while! You’ve been well, right?」

Unlike my own kid-like voice, hers was bouncy, bright, and cute.

The tension that made me clench my tiny fists tightly loosened at the voice of Ari, the Bellus manager, who is treated practically as a 1.5 generation member among Rainbows, with many saying she would have definitely succeeded if she had debuted as a VTuber.

She really is a harmless creature.

She would have been popular if she debuted as a VTuber.

Actually, the Rainbows wondered too.

Why she was working as a manager instead of becoming a VTuber.

Anyway, the fact that she, treated as another idol by the Rainbows, called me… If it had been her personal number instead of the company number, I would have saved it and enshrined this sluggish budget phone as a family heirloom. What a shame.

「You received the acceptance email but seemed to have missed it, so I called. If you hadn’t answered the phone either, you would have been out without exception, you know?」

“Huuhhk.”

So there was that behind-the-scenes story. As expected, it was a scary black company.

I patted my sinking chest, my hand catching on the small mound, making me flinch.

It was true that women don’t wear bras at home.

Even though they’re tiny like gumdrops, it’s incredibly uncomfortable.

“Th-then… Does that mean I passed?”

「Yeees~ You passed the interview. Just pack your things and come to the headquarters by the date written in the email. The list of items you can bring and precautions are also written there, so make sure to read it carefully, okay?」

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

「Ehehehe, I’m glad you seem happy. But don’t let your guard down until your debut is confirmed, okay? Our CEO is really merciless.」

I screamed like a little girl.

I felt like jumping up and down in place so excitedly that I might accidentally summon the downstairs neighbor, but honestly, it wasn’t worth such a feeble scream.

I just wanted to see Ari-nim’s reaction. That’s all.

“Yes! I know! Thank you!”

「Yep! Well then, I need to call the other applicants, so I’ll hang up now! Please be careful on your way to the headquarters~」

Ari-nim delivered her energetic greeting and hung up immediately.

As expected of a busy person… It’s a bit disappointing, but it can’t be helped.

Still, hearing Ari-nim’s healing voice made me feel like I could energetically draw again today.

After carefully reading the acceptance email and deciding what to pack, that is.

“Phew… All done.”

I packed lightly for the two-week group lodging.

Well, there wasn’t much to pack in Woo Seowoo’s house anyway. After gathering simple clothes, cute underwear, cosmetics, a hairdryer, and some basic medicine, there wasn’t much left to put in the bag.

“Ah, gotta pack towels!”

The creature known as woman really consumes a lot of towels.

When I was a guy, I just divided sections and wiped everything down, but that doesn’t work now.

And since I now possess a woman’s body, I wondered if I should shave and considered packing a razor, but strangely, this body doesn’t grow hair.

Anyway, after packing various things and leaving the house, I felt dizzy from the hot sun and immediately hailed a taxi.

I have lots of money now!

“That’ll be 21,400 won.”

“…What?”

That’s right.

No matter how much money I thought I had, it was just a little earned from commissions.

After ordering delivery food and even buying a travel suitcase, all I had left was 70,000 won and the gifticons.

And this much remained only because, thankfully, this small and precious body didn’t require much food expense.

Out of that, over 20,000 won just disappeared, so it wouldn’t be particularly special for my tiny heart to shrink even further.

Calming my wildly pounding heart after the shock, I got out of the taxi. After getting help from the taxi driver uncle to unload the suitcase from the trunk and struggling towards the front of the headquarters, I saw a gyaru standing there with a large suitcase.

“What’s this.”

A gyaru.

A gyaru like you’d only see in Japanese manga.

Though not the type with a deep tan, just heavy makeup and a bombastic figure revealed unconcealably. Whether kuro gyaru or shiro gyaru, a gyaru is a gyaru.

Meeting a pretty gyaru girl straight out of a manga didn’t mean my socially awkward self could possibly talk to her. I tried to naturally pass by her, dragging my suitcase that was as big as my body.

No, how do you even talk to a gyaru, let alone a Japanese person?

It’s scary.

As I struggled past her, she, who had been looking up at the headquarters building for a while, opened her light pink lips.

“Is this Beruru-su’s headquarters?”
(TL Note: She mispronounces Bellus.)

“What?”

“Hm? Good morning/afternoon?”

Bellus?

Apparently, this genuine gyaru girl in front of me wasn’t just a tourist.

Well, it was strange for a tourist from Japan to be standing like that in Daegu, where there’s nothing to see in this heat exceeding 37 degrees Celsius.

“Hello?”

“Good morning/afternoon?”

I returned her greeting with a greeting, and she replied with another greeting.

She politely clasped her hands and bowed her head deeply, mismatching her gyaru appearance, making it hard to find fault.

Though I wouldn’t have said anything even if she were delinquent.

“Uh… Nice to meet you?”

“Nice to meet you?”

I knew it instantly.

This gyaru is definitely a 2nd generation applicant.

The mischief visible in her bright eyes showed she was absolutely not destined to be an ordinary person.

And since I too was not destined to be an ordinary person, but an outcast who’d be a mod in an online community, the current situation where the initiative in this awkward conversation seemed to be mine was terrifying.

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.

Various words swirled in my head, but I couldn’t find anything specific to say and could only move my lips silently.

Argh, I should have tried talking to girls more.

Regretting the past that had already gone wouldn’t change anything, so I just bowed my head and entered the main entrance of the headquarters.

“Wait!”

“Et!”

As I opened the main door and went in, she urgently shouted and followed behind me.

Naturally, my tiny heart couldn’t withstand her sudden burst, and I startled, needing to calm my chest.

Wow, listen to that heartbeat.

This body, is it going to die young like this?

“Are you also a trainee?!”

“……Trainee?”

Well, since I’ll be lodging at the headquarters and undergoing some sort of training to become a VTuber, technically, it’s something similar to being a trainee.

When I nodded bewilderedly, she beamed and stuck close to my side.

She seemed to be quite the inssa.

My body instinctively tensed up at the encounter with a different species from me.

“I’m so glad! I was so lonely coming here alone.”

“I-I see.”

“I have no friends in Korea… I wanted to come with my friend from Japan. But my friend wanted to stay in Japan.”

“I… see.”

It was hard to keep up with her inssa energy.

As expected, to apply to a Korean VTuber company, not even the mainland, and come all alone, you probably need that level of friendliness.

“I want to see Manager-san. Manager-san was kind during the interview…”

“Ah…”

She seemed a bit scary at first because of the makeup, but she seemed surprisingly soft-hearted.

Right, leaving home like this, crossing over to the neighboring country, and taking on a challenge without even certainty of debuting wouldn’t be easy.

…Maybe engaging in conversation a bit wouldn’t be so bad.

“She called me this morning too. She even booked my train ticket.”

“Ah, Ari-nim is quite kind…”

“That’s right!”

“Um… So… According to the stories the 1st gen members told, back then Ari-nim…”

“Oh? You two have arrived?”

“Manager-san!”

Just as I was trying my best to respond to her conversation, I saw Ari-nim coming down the stairs.

And the gyaru girl immediately dashed over and hugged Ari-nim.

What the. Weren’t we just having a conversation and getting friendly?

I really mustered my courage…

“Huh? Why are you making a face like a puppy whose snack got stolen?”

“…It’s nothing.”

The puppy seems to be that gyaru.

I thought, glaring at the gyaru who was clinging to Ari-nim like a Golden Retriever wagging an invisible tail, but naturally, I couldn’t say it out loud.

Anyway, they seem quite close already. What happens if she gets eliminated?

“……”

I don’t know. I need to survive first.

I didn’t have a grand ambition to become a VTuber, but it’s hard to pass up the chance to see Haruka in person and broadcast with her.

If we become friends, I’ll ask her to hang out together for a 1 night 2 days trip…… Ehehe…

“The other applicants are already here, you know.”

“Neeh? Is watashi late?”

“No, everyone just moved quickly since they came from far away~”

“…Sokka.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I came from the farthest but arrived last. Watashi is a lazy buta (pig).”

“That chest certainly looks like a pig’s, though.”

“Manager-san’s is big too! Is Manager-san a pig?”

“…Your Korean is good?”

“? Yes! Watashi practiced a lot with K-dramas.”

I followed behind them, eavesdropping on their stand-up-comedy-like conversation.

This feels exactly like pretending to sleep with my head down in the classroom while listening to the inssas talk.

Plus, my legs are short, so chasing after the two of them taking large strides up two steps at a time was incredibly taxing.

How does Ari-nim, who has similar physical conditions to me, climb so comfortably?

My soft thighs vibrate like aspen leaves with every single step I take.

Clunk-

“Kek.”

Right. I was pulling a suitcase.

“Are you okay?!”

Ari-nim, who was ahead, quickly turned around, startled, came over, and helped lift my luggage.

She finally noticed me…

Anyway, following them up to the 2nd floor, just as Ari-nim said, 8 women who had arrived before us were sitting in their respective spots in a cafeteria-like area.

“……”

They’re all pretty… As I stared blankly, their gazes gathered on me.

Feeling my face flush, I lowered my head.

It was the first time I had received the gazes of so many women.

And each one of them clearly prettier than the average person… I really can’t look them straight in the eye.

Are they trying to create a virtual idol group here, or a real idol group?

“Good morning/afternoon!”

“……”

“Yes.”

“…Hello.”

However, the cheerful gyaru, unlike my shrunken self, greeted them with a broad smile. When only a few people acknowledged her with a slight nod, she froze on the spot.

Honestly, the atmosphere was quite murderous.

It didn’t feel like they particularly disliked each other, but it was a competitive situation nonetheless.

Only now did I realize my situation.

I have to be among at least the top 6 here to be able to film a sweet, close-up, outdoor date 1-night-2-days special with Haruka.

“Ah, the CEO just arrived. He’s coming this way.”

Ari-nim said with a smile, completely ignoring the seemingly murderous atmosphere, and went down the stairs.

Presumably to greet Kim Kanghyun.

“……Should we sit down for now?”

“…Hai.”

I led the gyaru, who looked thoroughly deflated, to an empty seat.

This girl seemed scary at first because of her makeup, but her actions are exactly like a large dog’s.

It wasn’t a nickname to give a girl, but anyway, she is taller than me.

As I cautiously observed the awkward atmosphere, Kim Kanghyun finally came up with Ari-nim. He smiled back as we hastily stood up to greet him, maintained his smile, and then suddenly said this:

“Thank you all for coming all this way… But first, I’ll tell you the rules you must follow for the next two weeks. From now on, we will never use our real names within the headquarters. This will be the same even after you debut. Sharing personal information such as real names, ages, places of residence, or phone numbers among yourselves is also prohibited. Simply put, don’t introduce yourselves by name. If you already have, it can’t be helped, but those who haven’t, do it after your debut is confirmed, if you must. The 1st generation, who might become your seniors, all went through this process, so if you have any complaints, you can leave now.”

“Huk.”

Don’t even exchange names?

No matter how much they are competitors, and even if those present don’t seem particularly friendly, they are people who have to live, eat, and rub shoulders together for two weeks.

It sounds a bit suggestive, but physically or psychologically, they have to clash.

But can they endure being here in this awkward state, not even knowing each other’s names?

Of course, people can become friends without knowing anything about each other, but for someone socially awkward like me, that’s too high a hurdle.

Isn’t this basically a declaration to leave now if you don’t have the confidence to be completely thick-skinned?

Well, based on my VTuber otaku experience, it probably means they’re observing whether we can adapt to the VTuber RP, but even if maintaining a VTuber RP is tough, isn’t this a bit too much from the start?

It feels like human dignity might vanish.

“……”

No, didn’t that man do something similar to the 1st generation too?

It’s amazing that our soft-hearted, affectionate, precious Haruka, whose heart is as delicate as Goryeo celadon, endured it.

Hmm.

Should I just report him to the police?