Chapter 86: Reception

One day, the CEO contacted me about having a welcome party.

A welcome party now, after all this time since debuting?

Guzuz wondered about it but decided not to dwell on it.

Just imagining the noisy party, like the ones seen only in comics or anime, made her heart flutter, and she didn’t want to complicate things with complex thoughts.

‘In the comics, they pop champagne and set off firecrackers. Hehe, it sounds fun.’

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and Guzuz’s few friends weren’t particularly active people.

Therefore, she had never even had a birthday party, and occasions like New Year’s or Christmas were usually passed over with a single chat message.

It was only natural for her heart to pound at the thought of experiencing a party for the first time in her life.

As she was taking the subway from home towards the office, she spotted Chiro in the distance.

It was the first time they had met since the last time they saw each other before their broadcast debut.

Feeling happy to see her, she raised her hand and called out.

“Ah, Chiro~ It’s been a while!”

“Uwaah?!”

“Why, why are you running away! Chiro!”

“Eek! B-Be quiet!!”

Chiro, eventually caught, turned pale and clamped her hand over Guzuz’s mouth.

Guzuz was momentarily startled as her breath caught because Chiro was wearing a mask, but seeing Chiro quickly lifted her spirits, and she grinned broadly.

“It’s been a while, Chiro~”

“I get it, but don’t call me Chiro outside… It’s not like we’re promoting ourselves or anythin’….”

“Ah, right. Sorry.”

“And you’re too close.”

Guzuz, still holding onto Chiro, clung to her tightly, her eyes smiling.

Because of the significant height difference, it almost looked like Guzuz was hugging Chiro.

Guzuz, perhaps because she was a bit on the larger side herself, liked small and cute things.

So, from the first time she met and talked with Chiro, she had fallen completely for the small-statured, endearingly clumsy-speaking Chiro.

Moreover, Chiro didn’t get annoyed and accepted her clinginess well, so Guzuz naturally grew attached to her.

Similarly, Chiro, having a younger brother, was used to handling such clinginess.

Though the amount of physical contact compared to her brother was a bit bothersome.

Chiro noticed Guzuz seemed happier than usual and asked.

“You look happy?”

“It’s a party, a party! This is my first time at a party like this.”

“It’s more like a welcome reception, though.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? That’s why I brought lots of fun stuff.”

Guzuz opened her bag to show the contents.

Inside were stacks of board games typically played with friends at parties, like playing cards and Halli Galli.

“Zuzu, today is a company welcome reception…”

“Huh?”

“……Never mind, I’m sure the CEO will like it too. Yup.”

Seeing Guzuz’s bright face eagerly anticipating the party, Chiro couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.

Since it’s a VTuber company, not a typical one, maybe they’ll see it favorably…

Feeling like she was bringing home a retriever that had played extensively in muddy water, Chiro entered the building where the office was located.

Right, as long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.

“Hello, CEO.”

“Hello!”

The two greeted energetically as soon as they entered the office.

Jina and Sua, who were already inside, returned their greetings.

“Welcome, both of you.”

“Hello.”

“Sua, you’re here too~ It’s been a while!”

“Is Sua-chan joining the welcome party too? Won’t it get too late for her?”

“Her guardian will come later, so it’s fine.”

‘Will her parents come pick her up later?’

‘Then it’s okay.’

The office was already fully prepared for the welcome party.

Were the decorations, like balloons in every corner, done by Sua?

Honestly, one couldn’t expect such taste from the CEO.

Since the others were out buying food, Chiro and Guzuz didn’t have much to do and sat down on chairs, chatting briefly about recent happenings.

However, most of the conversation revolved around broadcasting, so it turned into something like a lecture where Jina gave advice on broadcasting matters.

“Thank you so much for helping me so much, CEO. Even finding me a new place.”

“You’re our company’s first VTuber, so this much is expected. Broadcasting in a good environment is part of the benefits.”

“CEO, what about me then?!”

“Zuzu, if you want to live alone too, just tell me. I’ll find you a place without issues. But I don’t think Zuzu wants to live alone.”

“Ehehe, you’re right.”

Afterward, they continued discussing broadcast content and things they were curious about.

What kind of capture card to buy and how to set it up if they wanted to stream console games.

How to manage the delay with wireless equipment.

What kind of content is good for subscriber-only exclusives.

With her long experience, Jina answered these questions without hesitation.

As they were talking, the topic shifted to the official YouTube channel.

“By the way, CEO, have you met Racoon?”

“Racoon? Our official YouTube editor? Of course, I’ve met her. Why?”

“If you meet her later, please tell her I’m gonna hit her for real. Because of what was uploaded on the official YouTube, people keep teasing me about my pronunciation!”

Byeolmuri’s official YouTube channel uploaded announcement videos about schedules, highlight videos of each member, or collaboration videos.

And for videos featuring Chiro alone, the overwhelmingly numerous ones were related to her pronunciation.

Apparently, the cuteness stemming from her awkward pronunciation struck a chord with people, becoming a cheat code that garnered many views.

“Me too…. Viewers keep calling me Gudulgi (Pigeon-Guz)… I graduated from a 4-year university in Seoul, but nobody believes me…”

Of course, both traits had already become established characteristics of their broadcasts, almost like memes, so it wasn’t a major worry,

but it was inevitable that a little resentment would build towards the official editor who provided the source material.

“Still, isn’t a 30-minute [Gudulgi Idiot Compilation] a bit too much…?”

“Zuzu, I saw that too, and the whole 30 minutes was packed solid with legendary moments.”

“Chiro, why you too…”

“Anyway, please tell Racoon to be prepared if she runs into us. I’ll give her a good boko-boko beating.”

“Ah, okay. Got it.”

It seemed like the CEO was trying to hold back laughter, but her expression rarely changed, so it was hard to tell.

However, Sua, sipping orange juice beside them, seemed even more cheerful for some reason.

‘Does she find this kind of talk amusing?’

They continued to complain about the humiliating parts of themselves uploaded in the official videos.

Of course, they weren’t genuinely angry or annoyed.

It was just a bit embarrassing for them, but the viewers found it funny.

While they were deeply engrossed in conversation.

Beep beep beep – The sound of the office door lock echoed, and soon someone entered.

“We’re back~ Oh? Everyone’s already here? Nice to see you all~”

The people who entered were Osorin, Lee Seongbeom, and Song, who had tagged along because she was bored.

Unlike Jina and Sua who welcomed the three, Chiro and Guzuz, meeting them all for the first time, showed slightly bewildered reactions.

‘Are they our company’s staff members?’

Since they hadn’t met any other staff, that thought occurred to them.

After everyone who entered disinfected their hands and took off their masks, Chiro’s eyes widened.

“W-Wait a moment! Are you, by any chance, PD Lee Seongbeom…?”

“Oh, you recognize me right away? That’s right, it’s the Lee Seongbeom PD.”

“Woooooow! Yabai yabai! I’m a real fan! Nomu nomu nomu, I really enjoyed watching!!”

“Nomu nomu…. Ah, <Guys. Guys. Guys.>. Haha, thank you for enjoying it.”

He flinched for a moment but quickly realized her pronunciation was a bit awkward and laughed heartily, shaking her hand.

Guzuz also seemed to know the name well, searching it on her phone and looking back and forth at Lee Seongbeom’s face.

“C-CEO! How did he end up here?!”

“First, both of you calm down. There are still many people left to introduce themselves.”

“Introduce themselves…. R-Right. We should greet them first, right?”

Jina calmed the excited pair down and had them drink some water.

Chiro and Guzuz downed the juice in their paper cups in one gulp.

They never imagined they would run into PD Lee Seongbeom in a place like this, so they couldn’t take their eyes off him.

“Alright, next person, please introduce yourself.”

Jina glanced at the woman next to her and spoke.

The woman, looking slightly younger than Jina, cleared her throat, ahem, and greeted brightly in a different voice than before.

“Hello everyone~ It’s the genius pretty girl gamer Osorin! I’m now part of Byeolmuri, so please take good care of me~!”

Clap clap clap-

Applause welcomed her.

However, two sets of applause failed to fill the quota, their hands frozen mid-air.

“Eh, uhh…. Uhh?”

“O…sorin-nim?”

“I’m not joining as a junior, but we’re part of the same company now, so please take care of me, Chiro-nim, Guzuz-nim~”

Osorin smiled sweetly, grabbing both their hands and shaking them vigorously.

Their eyes were already spinning, seemingly unable to distinguish if this was reality or a dream.

Following Lee Seongbeom, the progenitor of VTubers, Osorin, appeared before their eyes.

Suddenly, the tension made them feel like the juice they just drank might come back up.

“Okay, next person.”

Jina didn’t stop and pointed to the woman next to her.

‘If the lineup has been like this so far, just how amazing is the person being introduced this time?’

Clutching their trembling hearts, they gulped.

“Ah, I’m this person’s wife. I tagged along because I was bored alone, after asking for permission~”

“Ah, his wife…”

“Phew…. Ah, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t another figure who would put a strain on their hearts.

She sighed in relief for that reason but immediately apologized, feeling she might have been rude.

“CEO, how on earth did you get these people…”

“Ah, wait a moment, there’s still one more person to introduce.”

“What? One more?”

The self-introductions weren’t over yet.

Since no one else had entered the office, Chiro and Guzuz looked around, tilting their heads.

‘Is the CEO going to introduce herself?’

Just as they were thinking that.

Scrape- The sound of a nearby chair being pushed back was heard.

Jina’s cousin, Sua, who had been sitting next to Jina.

The girl took a ID out of her pocket, put it around her neck, and stood up.

“Let me introduce her. Our company’s Vice President, Content Creator, Manager, and also…”

On the ID, written in large font, were these words.

“Our official YouTube editor, Racoon.”

Racoon bowed her head slightly and smiled towards Chiro and Guzuz.

“Hello, I’m Racoon, the editor for Osorin unnie’s channel, the Racoon Kirinuki channel, and the Byeolmuri official YouTube channel.”

Pfft!

Dribble—

Guzuz spat out the water she was drinking, and Chiro let orange juice flow back from her mouth into the cup.

“I heard your feedback about the videos loud and clear.”

A faint, devilish smile.

“Please take good care of me starting today, unnies?”

It seemed things had gone terribly wrong.