I Want to Be a VTuber

---

To put it simply, Seo-yeon was upset.

It could be a prank from a hidden camera; such things happen. At that moment, she was a bit confused and couldn’t think straight, but she had seen Korean celebrities go through similar situations a few times before.

Even when filming at an inn, she should have been suspicious that none of the staff were present.

However, there was no reason to completely ignore her own situation, where she was being chased by a ghost.

“I saw you working hard to close the wall while I was running from the ghost, Sora.”

Seo-yeon said bluntly.

Sora, who had fainted and woken up ten minutes later, felt wronged by Seo-yeon’s words.

“Working hard to run away? When exactly?”

Thinking back, it did feel like something was following behind Seo-yeon.

The problem was that she couldn’t recall it well because Seo-yeon had been crawling along at an incredible speed.

“B-but why did you pick up the axe?”

“In case a ghost attacks me, I need to protect myself.”

“…….”

Of course, the axe was a prop made of sturdy plastic.

Even so, it had certainly slammed against the floor while chasing after them.

It was puzzling how that was even possible, but Sora couldn’t bring herself to ask more.

Seo-yeon was too excited.

“How could I ignore a cute girl desperately running away?”

In truth, it wasn’t just Sora.

When she barely managed to open the wall that was closing, she saw the male actors who had been running away with them.

Still, those guys didn’t look scary since their ghost makeup was coming off while they were fleeing.

“I was so scared I couldn’t even keep my legs steady!”

“Oh, I see.”

“It’s not like you crawled away frantically with your arms.”

Typically, crawling like that wouldn’t be fast.

Would that even be possible for Seo-yeon?

Even if she crawled that quickly, her legs would typically have been scraped and injured, but there was none of that.

“Wow, I really got hit hard.”

The next day after all the hidden camera filming ended, Nanjou Katsuo PD sincerely expressed his surprise.

“I had no idea you guys were preparing a hidden camera and would turn it back on us.”

“Right?? It was like, when did you start hiding cameras— wouldn’t that be the reaction?”

“Reverse ghost acting that surprised us, it was truly remarkable. Amazing. Just amazing.”

Stunned by Nanjou PD’s words filled with admiration, Seo-yeon stood there blankly without knowing how to respond.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

Still, she thought she had a reasonable grasp of the language from watching anime, but hearing the words of a native made it hard to adjust.

Especially since Nanjou PD seemed to speak Korean, couldn’t he just say it in Korean?

On top of that, she couldn’t tell whether the other people were Japanese actors or staff.

“Please translate.”

Seo-yeon mouthed to Sora, whose eyes seemed to say, “Hey, translator. Aren’t you going to translate?”

Sora hurriedly translated Nanjou’s words to Seo-yeon.

“U-um, he said the reaction to the hidden camera was good.”

“Really? Honestly, I was so flustered running away that I didn’t really notice. Mmm, please tell him the actors did a great job with the ghost acting.”

If she said it was a reverse hidden camera or that they acted as ghosts, there was no doubt Seo-yeon would get upset.

So, Sora had no choice but to tone down Nanjou’s words.

The image of Seo-yeon, looking like a pure girl escaping in panic, was just too relatable.

“But when will the hidden camera air?”

“Probably in three days. There’s not much to edit. We were originally planning to include something else, but it would be better to split this into two episodes.”

The conversation flowed naturally with Sora’s translation.

It was nice having a native speaker around.

Seo-yeon thought that.

“Well, it seems the reaction is good, so that’s that.”

By the way, it did seem like Japan’s hidden camera levels were quite impressive.

In Korea, there were so many things that couldn’t be done in entertainment recently, that now this type of comedy was practically impossible.

Japan might have its extremes, but I didn’t think the pure fun pursued by ‘variety shows’ had faded.

“Sometimes it just goes too far.”

This hidden camera genuinely shocked her anew.

“Speaking of which, this isn’t all there is to filming variety shows in Japan, right?”

After parting ways with Nanjou PD, Seo-yeon moved to the place she had booked in Japan.

She had heard she would be staying for around two weeks, but she surely wouldn’t just be having fun the whole time.

“Huh? Seo-yeon, didn’t you check the schedule?”

“I did, but some parts were a bit vague.”

To be precise, she had only heard about doing one thing.

However, since they had done the hidden camera yesterday, wasn’t that already one?

“That’s an addition. The original plan was something like an interview variety show.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And if we have time, it might be good to film one more.”

What to say about Japanese hotels?

It was just a hotel. There wasn’t a tremendous difference or anything.

“I would have preferred an inn.”

What do they call it, a ryokan?

Anyway, Seo-yeon thought it was more fun that way.

Of course, it was fake, though.

“Is the interview variety show because of Dream Future?”

Now that she thought about it, when she met Ma Yeon-woo a few days ago, he had said something like that.

“I hear Dream Future is really popular in Japan.”

“Really? Is that so?”

“………Oh, to say that, that’s a bit harsh.”

“Oh, no. I just didn’t think it would resonate so much overseas.”

Since [Golden Duckling], MDC had been in continuous contact to increase Seo-yeon’s appearances on other variety shows.

Seo-yeon had been showing more interest in MDC lately, and that was when she met Ma Yeon-woo, who was waiting to go on a music show.

“I felt like it fit perfectly with the Japanese vibe. And your popularity there is quite significant.”

“Is that so?”

“Your looks are exactly the type they would like.”

Is that so?

Seo-yeon definitely felt that there were many characters in anime that were quite similar to her style.

Like Yamato Nadeshiko, the traditional beauty image pursued in Japan, she supposedly fit that image quite well.

“Image-wise, that is. Image-wise.”

“…Why do you emphasize ‘image-wise’?”

“I’m just saying.”

Always grinning with a smile that stood out, Ma Yeon-woo confidently crossed his arms.

Today, since their song from [Just X] was nominated for first place, his confidence was particularly evident.

“Since you’re here, you should check out the music show.”

Hearing his words, Seo-yeon suddenly thought of other members of Just X.

It was about that time for some mishaps to happen.

“It’s getting close to the time when things might go wrong.”

Seo-yeon glanced at Ma Yeon-woo.

For Ma Yeon-woo, who held a great pride in Just X, wasn’t that a bit troublesome?

By next year, they probably wouldn’t be able to properly continue their activities.

“Okay, I got it.”

Thinking those thoughts, Seo-yeon watched Just X’s stage.

Indeed, aside from their personalities, the stage was extraordinary.

They really were top idols.

“Seo-yeon?”

As she snapped back to reality, she found Park Eun-ha curiously looking at her, having gone quiet mid-conversation.

She realized she had been lost in thought for a moment too long.

“No, um, about that hidden camera? After it airs, if it goes well, we can try for another.”

Seo-yeon hadn’t been overly concerned about it.

Honestly, all she remembered was running away desperately.

At that time, she had no idea how she looked; Seo-yeon had just been focused on running away from the ghost chasing her.

“I wonder if there’ll be enough footage for the broadcast.”

Thus, Seo-yeon was worried about the airing.

It wouldn’t do to have things go awry right from her first variety show in Japan.

Since she planned to use the filming as an excuse to hang out here and there, she hoped for as much success as possible for the Japanese broadcast.

Of course, that worry of Seo-yeon was probably unwarranted.

*

In a Japanese convenience store, part-timer Sato Isami was guarding the display rack while yawning.

Today was particularly busy, and she was feeling quite tired.

“I wish they’d stop coming in.”

Her legs were starting to ache, and she wanted to go home.

If it weren’t for a present for her boyfriend, she wouldn’t be working this part-time job.

Just as she was thinking that, the convenience store door swung open.

“Whoa.”

A stunning beauty entered as the door opened.

She was a beauty reminiscent of forget-me-nots, with a clear aura.

Sato unconsciously rubbed her palm against her face.

The beauty before her was different right from her skin.

“What luck to see such a beauty.”

Could she be an actress? Or perhaps an idol?

She had an aura like a celebrity.

But Sato had never seen this face before, and just as she was staring at her, the door opened once more.

“!!”

This time, it was another woman.

However, seeing this woman, Isami opened her eyes wide.

The woman who had just entered was also beautiful, but the one who had come in afterward was an entirely different presence.

It wasn’t just her looks, it was the aura that felt completely different.

It was a calm atmosphere, as if there was a completely different aura around her.

At the moment she walked in, the gazes of the customers choosing items in the convenience store all shifted towards her.

So naturally, her gaze followed.

Especially the man who had just been putting pudding in his basket was now absentmindedly grabbing multiple puddings.

With long black hair.

Contrasting with her snow-white skin.

Her eyes had a strangely red hue.

Her beauty felt unreal.

She was talking to the woman who had entered first.

“Are they friends?”

Is that the kind of camaraderie beautiful women have?

But in that moment, the woman Sato had thought was beautiful earlier seemed oddly diminished next to this newcomer.

It probably wasn’t just her sensation.

Even standing together, their attention was focused solely on the new arrival.

As Sato blankly followed them with her gaze, before she knew it the black-haired girl stood right in front of her.

Somehow, the other woman behind her was watching the girl with anxious eyes.

Seeing her empty hands, it was clear she hadn’t come to buy anything.

Did she have something to ask?

“Why?”

As she gazed at the woman holding that question in mind.

“…….”

The girl stared intently at Isami without a word.

It was as if she was contemplating something to say.

“Excuse me…?”

Feeling puzzled, Sato asked.

As if the girl had reached a conclusion, her sharp eyes focused directly on Isami.

Her eye shape was stunning.

However, her expression felt quite cold, making her somewhat intimidating.

That’s what “scarily beautiful” must feel like.

While Sato was spaced out looking at her like that.

The girl slowly opened her mouth.

“Hey, onna.”

“?”

Isami froze for a moment.

The words that flowed from the girl’s mouth were of a kind she had never expected.

*

Seo-yeon was on a happy sightseeing trip in Japan.

There was no need to wake up early.

When she opened her eyes, she would eat breakfast, then head out for a tour in Tokyo.

“H-haven’t we been there yesterday too?”

However, what Sora found particularly vexing was—

“Why does she love Akihabara so much?”

Seo-yeon’s trip to Japan was overly one-sided.

In fact, it was because Seo-yeon wasn’t really the type to enjoy observing the scenery or landscapes abroad.

And most of what Seo-yeon desired was gathered in Akihabara.

Anime, gacha games.

And even virtual YouTubers.

“Japan does have a lot of second-hand shops.”

There were many items that were hard to find in Korea.

Moreover, it was surprisingly easy to access adult content, which was astonishing.

She had entered without a second thought, only to scream and run out after seeing the plethora of adult-oriented doujinshi there.

No matter how bold Seo-yeon was, she would be startled if she encountered that unprepared.

“I’m not immune to that.”

But once she left, it lingered in her mind.

Maybe later, she would sneak away without Sora.

Thinking that, two days went by on the Akihabara tour.

Then, suddenly, something struck her.

“I haven’t been to a Japanese convenience store!”

When you think of Japan, aren’t the convenience store foods also famous?

Naturally, even though Korean convenience stores have significantly improved in quality recently.

It was still common to hear that Japanese convenience store foods are superior.

Of course, Seo-yeon was interested.

Most importantly, for Seo-yeon, convenience stores were her ‘main focus.’

After all, Seo-yeon would regularly tour convenience stores.

She had to go to Japan as well.

Moreover.

“Weren’t they selling chocolate in collaboration with a Vtuber?”

In Japanese convenience stores, sometimes they release collaboration products with things like anime and Vtubers.

Seo-yeon already knew this fact.

She thought she could pick up quite a few products while she was there.

Thus, after visiting the convenience store, she ended up saying,

“…From now on, I’ll just say everything myself.”

She had received such advice from Sora.

“Japanese is difficult.”

Seo-yeon had simply spoken exactly what she had heard in Japanese anime.

However, Nanjou PD had commented, “Seo-yeon, you sound like a gyaru high school girl~.” and she had changed her tone just a bit.

“I was just trying to say, ‘Excuse me, miss.'”

Then, wouldn’t you just call a woman a woman, right? What else would you call her?

Seo-yeon was genuinely curious.

Anyhow.

As Seo-yeon’s trip in Japan continued.

The next day, at six in the evening.

Seo-yeon’s first Japanese variety show aired.