"Don't say that. If anything goes wrong, I'll step in and handle it for you."
When Magia said that, Dohee didn't take it seriously.
She figured it was just the usual banter.
Knowing how Gia never hesitated to try anything, Dohee chuckled, thinking it was just her bragging a bit too much.
"You'd go live by yourself or something?"
"If you tell me to, I will. What's the big deal?"
But she couldn't keep laughing after hearing what came next.
The sincerity plain on Magia's face just moments ago.
What Dohee sensed from it was pure bewilderment.
Like, 'Why are you worrying about something like this?'
Dohee was baffled.
Up until now, she'd based every decision on the assumption that Magia hated going live.
Maybe that assumption was wrong from the start.
Even when Magia had shown her stuff on Dora's stream and proven her potential, Dohee had chalked it up to just playing along for Dora's sake.
Wasn't it?
...She really had no qualms about streaming at all?
'This time... I can't dodge it either.'
Dohee had been treading carefully ever since Magia's talk about quitting.
But not this time.
Her instincts screamed that she had to push now, a sharp jolt racing through her mind.
"You're serious? You hate going on streams."
"...When did I ever say that?"
Magia, who had been grinning, caught Dohee's hardened expression and let her smile fade a bit.
"The mood shifted all of a sudden.... But anyway, I don't think I've ever said I hated streaming."
"You remember when I casually asked you about it? What did you say.... Oh, right. You said even if I told you to become a VTuber, you'd do it. And what did you reply?"
Gia furrowed her brow.
She'd already answered that back then, after all.
"I said I'd do it if you told me to."
"...Ah."
Dohee smacked her own forehead and dropped her head.
"Yeah, that's true, but then you politely turned it down after that, right?"
"Even if I said yes, I figured you wouldn't debut me. Debut someone unqualified? That's not the president I know. That's why I said it."
In short, Dohee had been flailing around on her own.
The problem was that Magia wasn't being entirely straightforward either.
After all, Magia was Dohee's longtime fan.
Fans rarely flat-out refuse what their oshi asks for.
And Dohee wasn't just any oshi—she was the president too.
So Dohee pressed once more.
To hear Magia's real feelings.
"Stop beating around the bush. Be honest with me. If you had to debut, what would make you hate it?"
However, Gia had never really thought about something like that.
If she debuted, it'd be because the president decided she was worthy (since Dohee would only approve if she believed Magia had what it took), and if the president said so, Magia would've followed without question.
"Hold on. I've never thought about it...."
But with the president asking point-blank, she had to give a proper answer.
After a moment's thought, Gia's response was this.
"I feel like I'd miss watching other people's streams. I love watching streams way more."
Dohee was puzzled.
No mention of singing, dancing, or variety skills.
Sure, from her impressions and raps, the girl clearly had some talent there. But didn't most people worry about that stuff first?
"...Singing and dancing are fine?"
"I think it'd be different if I trained properly. The 1st Gen girls weren't great at singing or dancing from the start either, right? Some were good at vocals, others at dance."
Magia was spot-on with every word.
In fact, after passing auditions, the 1st Gen had lived in dorms for about three months, training like idols from an entertainment agency—vocal and dance lessons that continued even now, as they streamed.
...That single comment about quitting, that little snowball Magia had tossed, who knew how big it would roll.
All of Dohee's past missteps came rushing back, burning her face.
"Just to clear up any misunderstanding from what I said: I have zero intention of ever ordering you to debut. Any future stream-related tasks I assign will be purely professional requests, not steps toward debuting you. Got it?"
Naturally, Magia looked baffled hearing this.
She hadn't been overthinking it, but now Dohee was getting all serious, lowering her voice, stern and grave—why was she acting like this today?
Still, she listened intently.
When the president talked business, Gia became the model employee.
With Magia nodding vigorously, Dohee continued.
"But. You know. If someday, for real, you ever want to debut as a VTuber? Tell me. I'll make it happen, no matter what."
Gia let out a small laugh.
"Probably won't happen, but sure, got it."
That settled the tangled mess of their thoughts.
The moment her worries lifted, Dohee jumped straight to the icon topic.
She'd agonized over whether bringing it up would pressure Gia into debuting, but now that they'd cleared the air, she could speak freely.
Dohee was the president who cared for Magia,
but also an ambitious businesswoman.
"Anyway, back to business.... For tomorrow's in-house tournament, let's use the icon you've prepped."
She'd glossed over it during Dora's stream since she wasn't an official guest.
But this time, she was going as Parallel's official rep—standing in for Mugeon-invited staffer and president Momo—which meant she needed an iconic face (her icon).
It was to honor the unspoken pact between fans and the company.
Fans would enjoy Parallel's lore as is, so the company would strip out most elements that broke immersion.
Anyone in the VTuber business had to think that way.
Magia nodded right away.
"Official, right?"
"Yeah. No need to go full stream, but tomorrow you're repping our company."
"Got it. But you said prepped? First I've heard of an icon."
"That fanart Dora was drawing for you. She said it'd be done today."
Magia counted the days—one, two, three—and realized it had only been four days since it came up.
"No way. No wonder she's been yawning non-stop on stream lately. Did Dora seriously stay up drawing?"
Dohee nodded, and like the manager she was, Magia fired off a TingTalk to Dora.
"Don't be too hard on her. She did it because she likes you."
"Still. Someone who should prioritize streaming is skimping on sleep for fanart. And if she oversleeps, I'll have to go again."
Oh, that was the issue?
Dohee burst into a genuine laugh for the first time in ages.
"Ahahaha...!! So, aren't you curious how the fanart turned out?"
"Dora's skills are top-notch, so it'll be great. It's not like my icon is a big deal anyway. People's reactions to the 1st Gen new song teaser matter more...."
"True, that's right."
People would flock to see Magia first, no doubt.
The fireworks sparked by that shot at Mugeon had drawn crowds.
Toss in the surprise Magia icon reveal, and it'd pull everyone starved from Parallel's day off straight to Mugeon's stream.
She'd projected 20,000 viewers, but this could hit 30,000—or more.
A number you rarely saw without something huge going on.
"A ton of people are gonna show up tomorrow. Not worried?"
Dohee could've understood if Magia bolted in fear here.
She herself had hyperventilated briefly when her viewers first topped 10,000.
But Magia just chuckled like it was nothing.
3,000 or 50,000, they were all viewers anyway.
To Magia—six-year stan, six-year troll, five-year manager—viewers were just friends.
Friends who sometimes ignored her and talked trash, but friends sharing the VTuber hobby.
"No matter how many tens of thousands... they're all fellow stans like me."
* * *
That evening, before her stream, Dora called.
[Magia! Magia! Can you check your email now?]
"Sure. One sec."
She'd finished the illustration in under a week.
They say artists pour more passion into fanart than paid commissions—Magia's theory, anyway—which explained the speed.
"Opened...."
I downloaded the file from the email and tilted my head.
"Isn't this a character sheet? Looks like Dora sent the wrong work file."
It was a full character sheet: front, back, side views, full body and parts separated—the kind prepped for a debuting VTuber.
Amid it all, a character in a huge witch hat caught my eye.
Brighter blue eyes than my real ones.
Similar eyes, but mischief clear at the corners of her mouth.
Crouched like a little animal, gripping a broom in both hands.
Long hair tied in osage twintails, dangling cutely.
'It kinda resembles me in a weird way....'
Eye-catching design, no matter how you sliced it.
If I had to quantify, my heart fluttered like getting hit by a 2.5-ton truck.
About the same vibe as first seeing the 1st Gen girls' illustrations.
The president balanced moe and glamour well, so it'd fit right into 2nd Gen's moe trend.
Dora spoke up.
[Nope, that's the right one. It's the fanart.]
I blinked at it for a good while.
It did look like me.
...Wait, now I see it—it's blatantly based on me.
I'd been staring in the mirror daily, adapting to my cuter self, and still missed it.
"Fanart? This?"
Dora started explaining like she was making excuses.
[Oh, well, plain fanart felt lacking, so I added stuff and it just exploded outta nowhere. Drew the front, wanted the side too. Side led to back. Wanted her without the hat, without the robe... Yeah, that's how it happened! Hehe.
I'll send separate PNGs for each outfit variation, so pick what you like for tomorrow!]
Legendary situation.
My icon making me simp for it.
But no real issue.
VTuber stans simping for cute icons? Totally fine.
'Oh well, shame though.'
I'd love to see this labored-over character come alive.
But asking someone else to stream your gift illustration? No way.
All I could do was silently mourn the art.
Wishing it'd met someone who could take it higher....
"Anyway, thanks a ton, Dora. You didn't have to put in this much effort. I'll make good use of it tomorrow."
[Yep! Use it next time we collab too!!]
"Best would be if you skipped horror games."
[Eeeek, don't say thattt. I really wanna game with you, Magia.]
Click.
She hung up abruptly, and I poked at the character sheet.
Super cute, no doubt.
Dora's passion shone through—every tiny detail nailed perfectly.
Especially this outfit.
A tiny kid in a prim office-lady skirt? Reverse-cute effect.
Plus the ill-fitting witch hat and robe screaming "bumbling witch."
"...Mmm. Such a waste not to use this."
What a shame it ends up with me.
Like pearls before swine.
But what can you do.
I hadn't expected Dora to go all-out like this.
Still, gotta honor the effort—use it every time my face shows on stream.
* * *
… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …
[MOOVING] Re: Hello, Mugeon. This is Parallel Operations Team
From | Mugeon [[email protected]]
To | Parallel Operations Team [[email protected]]
?Attachment:
Untitled_5_NoHatNoRobe_IDCardO.png
Hello,
Thanks for the image file.
I'll set it up next to my cam during the stream.
Appreciate it.
Mugeon
MOOVING Crew
… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …
Beyond sending my icon ahead, there wasn't much prep for the stream.
I'd joined the TokCode early, keep an eye on Mugeon's stream, then hop into the group chat when it starts—no lines to memorize.
Streaming from the company's solo booth, but I brought my home mouse, so gameplay should be fine.
Just in case, practice range: bang bang bang.
Tested shotgun, ran smokes.
Mouse turns smooth, sensitivity good.
Keyboard responsive, movement crisp.
'Hope team luck's on my side.'
Best case: opposite team from Mugeon.
Teaming up might overshadow me with his presence.
But if I drop Mugeon with tens of thousands watching?
Especially with my ID: '1st Gen 1st Anniversary Song November 5th Release'.
Burn the 1st Gen anniversary reveal date into minds.
I'm Parallel staff who downed Mugeon.
Combined: Parallel 1st Gen 1st Anniversary Song November 5th Mega Reveal!
"Perfect."
Team assignment's luck-based,
but if there's a promo god out there, hook a brother up just this once.
Hands clasped, praying for promo jackpot, when the in-house TokCode chat pinged.
[Mugeon: Staff-D, stand by]
[Staff D: Yes]
Short wait, and Mugeon showed the empty lobby slot, introducing me to viewers.
[Alright, as you can see on screen, not 24 players today—23. Know what that means?]
— Guest
— Who is it?
— Spill it bro
— Held breath 3 days for this
[Whoa whoa, no rushing. Time to intro. Let's see... she's got this look.]
My icon debuted first.
The version Dora nailed hardest—office worker vibe popping.
ID card instead of hat and robe.
One small, cute company rep appeared.
— ?
— Who's that?
— Lol
— Who??
— New face?
— VTuber??
— Never seen this mug...
— Cute tho?
[Getting cozy with today's guest? Any Parallel fans here?]
— Eh
— Kinda
— Staff-D maybe?
— Day off, nothing to watchㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— Unfamiliar icon wtf
[Oops. Even fans don't know? Guess we gotta call her in for a self-intro.]
Time's up—calmly join voice chat.
Heh, mic check, then to Mugeon.
"Ahem. Can you hear me?"
Chat went dead quiet, like the eye of a storm hitting shocked viewers.
But silence didn't last.
Soon, text piled up skyward.
— ??
— Staff-D?
— What
— Hol up
— Huh
— Wtf
— Signal flare?
— What?
— ?
— ???
— Illus qual insane ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
— No wtf
— ??
— Real Staff-D??
— Staff-D debuting???
— What
— Wtf ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
— No way!!!!!!!
— ?
— Been waiting for Staff-D!!!
— What the
— Real deal Staff-D??
— JYDT!JYDT!JYDT!JYDT!JYDT!