I Want to Be a VTuber

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“I want to go back to Korea,” Narumi Sora thought. She really wanted to return to Korea quickly.

Well, to be honest, when I first arrived in Japan, it was nice. After all, it’s my hometown, and since it’s the land I used to live in, it was only natural that I felt at ease.

But aside from that, having to constantly follow Seo-yeon’s schedule was a torment. During the first hidden camera prank, I fainted alone and had to be carried away, and afterward, I was treated like a timid child.

“Come on, anyone would faint if they saw that!”

The actors who participated in the hidden camera prank just took a glance and ran off, but from the start, Sora had to be chased by Seo-yeon the whole time. When Sora complained about it, she said, “I kept reaching out for help, but you coldly rejected me. Not to mention, I hadn’t even entered yet, and you were already trying to close the fake wall.”

Seo-yeon was sulking. After filming the hidden camera prank, her cheeks were visibly swollen. Of course, it was a short pout that lasted less than two hours, but it seemed like Seo-yeon didn’t realize how she looked back then.

From Seo-yeon’s perspective, she was desperately running away from a ghost, while Sora, panicking, closed the door.

“Still, it got better after the show aired.”

After watching the variety show that aired yesterday, Seo-yeon stealthily averted her gaze and crawled into her own bed. Hidden beneath the blanket, it was impossible to tell what kind of face she was making, but she seemed quite embarrassed.

Nonetheless, Sora felt relieved that it seemed her grievances had been addressed.

In any case, Sora’s desire to return to Korea was not specifically due to the events of the hidden camera prank.

It was stamina.

Simply put, she lacked vitality.

By the way, Seo-yeon’s manager, Park Eun-ha, had already collapsed. So inevitably, Sora, with relatively good stamina, had to stick close to Seo-yeon.

“Don’t worry, I can go alone. It’s not that dangerous,” Seo-yeon insisted, trying to express her opinion, but Sora couldn’t nod her head in agreement.

Naturally, neither Park Eun-ha nor Sora thought Seo-yeon would encounter any danger. The real danger was from other people.

“If left alone, who knows what kind of trouble she’ll cause?”

Slowly, Sora began to understand Seo-yeon. In a way, Seo-yeon was unpredictable. Normally, she was just a cool girl with that appearance, but if something triggered her, she’d explode.

On top of that, Sora needed to get closer to Seo-yeon. With the [Mine] project and all the influential people associated with Seo-yeon in her age group, it was beneficial to befriend her.

“Jo Seo-hee, Park Jung-woo.”

These were top names among peers in the acting world.

So, to learn many things, it made sense to stick close to Seo-yeon.

But still…

“Le-Let’s take a little break before moving on.”

Sora had never thought of herself as weak.

With more stamina and physical capabilities than any other girls her age, including the boys, she had never lost. But Seo-yeon was on a whole different level.

Regarding Sora’s statement, Seo-yeon offered serious advice.

“You really should exercise more.”

It seemed like Sora’s stamina had deteriorated quite a bit compared to when they were filming [Mine].

Of course, Sora was left speechless by Seo-yeon’s comment.

*

Since arriving in Japan, Seo-yeon had been incredibly excited, almost never staying in the expensive hotel room she booked.

Most of her adventures were limited to Akihabara, but in all honesty, she didn’t mind that at all.

However, after a week going around for the variety shows, there was nothing left to see.

“I’ve bought so much stuff that I might have to ship it home.”

Actually, it wasn’t just Seo-yeon’s stuff.

It also belonged to Min Suah.

Once a prominent otaku, Suah hadn’t really stopped indulging in her hobbies even after becoming a mother. When Seo-yeon mentioned coming to Japan, Suah carefully asked for lots of items.

Since most of them weren’t available in Korea, Seo-yeon had to gather those first.

In addition, buying anime, Vtuber goods, and figures filled up her luggage quickly.

Now, worried that she might buy even more elsewhere, she stopped purchasing items altogether.

“Besides…”

Seo-yeon hadn’t gone outside today.

Well, that was mainly because she had watched the variety show she appeared in just yesterday.

Hiding under her blanket, Seo-yeon couldn’t help but groan in frustration.

She was trying hard not to kick the blanket off reflexively.

Even so, she had no desire to burst out the blanket and ask for anything.

“What if a weird image forms?”

It seemed she even made it to number one on the Japan Twitter trends.

If anyone were to recognize her while she went out carelessly…

“Especially since people often ask actors to reenact famous scenes they’ve done.”

This was very common.

Sometimes fans would approach actors and say, “I really enjoyed that movie! Can you show me that one iconic scene from it?”

Of course, most of those were simple lines.

Seo-yeon had a few similar experiences in Korea where fans asked her to speak some of Cha Seo-ah’s iconic lines.

But what should she show in Japan?

[The Chaser] hadn’t even been released yet.

“Should I crawl?”

No, no way they would ask her to crawl around.

But with her trending at number one, there would definitely be people recognizing her.

The performance she gave yesterday was intense, even to her own eyes.

By now, on Seo-yeon’s fan cafe in Korea, numerous memes and edited pictures had arisen.

– “Seo-yeon, you really went too far today…”

– “I thought Joo Seo-yeon would show something, but this is beyond imagination lol”

– “We always knew she flew high in variety shows, but now she’s crawling lol”

– “But how did Joo Seo-yeon break that mannequin?”

– “If you can’t break it, are you even Joo Seo-yeon?”

– “Ah…”

– “But was Joo Seo-yeon acting? Or was it real?”

– “Joo Seo-yeon is actually timid, right? Can’t be real?”

– “No, seriously, I have a friend who goes to Yeonhwa High, and they say she made a haunted house during a school festival. So maybe it was acting?”

As Seo-yeon was about to use her alternate account for image control, such comments flooded in.

Yeonhwa High?

Could it be that someone had seen that?

Seo-yeon held her breath while reading it.

– “Really???? Oh, then did she use what she learned there? They say she crawled back then too?”

– “Yeah, they said she flipped upside down and did a bridge while crawling.”

– “???? What does that even mean?”

– “Am I understanding this right??? Are they talking about the dragon pose?”

– “Yeah, but apparently it was so quick that it wasn’t easy to escape, they said.”

– “Haha, I can’t believe it, but since it’s Joo Seo-yeon, it feels possible.”

– “Come on, that’s obvious nonsense.”

– “I won’t believe it without a video.”

Amid this chain of events, Seo-yeon swallowed hard.

Could there really be someone who has a video of that?

Back then, she might have overreacted in her excitement while scaring others.

Although she had stopped when Lee Ji-yeon grabbed her in the middle, quite a few people had seen her by that point.

Fortunately, since everyone was merely observing the situation, no videos had been uploaded, and Seo-yeon felt relieved.

“Come to think of it.”

Seo-yeon realized one thing.

Considering she was a current high school student, it was only natural that some of Seo-yeon’s fans might be enrolled at Yeonhwa High.

In fact, it would be odd if there weren’t any.

What would those fans think of her at school?

Contemplating that made her worried for no reason.

“…I really need to attend school properly.”

She had always been diligent with her image management.

But now, as she resolved to be more cautious, Seo-yeon peeked her head out from beneath the flipped blanket.

“Just let me sleep.”

Gently moving her eyes around to take a look, she saw two people lying on the bed.

Sora and Park Eun-ha were both sprawled out, unable to wake up.

It seemed they were thoroughly exhausted from a week-long trip.

Although there was still another week to go.

“Today, I guess I’ll go out alone.”

In Japan, she hadn’t really disguised her face at all.

But today, it felt like it would be a good idea to dress up just in case.

After all, it was just after that variety show aired yesterday.

*

Right after the variety show aired, major broadcasters were quite shaken.

After all, with just one variety show appearance, Seo-yeon achieved real-time trend number one in Japan.

Of course, on Channel 5, Futaba, and various Internet communities that dealt with the entertainment industry.

Moreover, an article even made it to Yahoo Japan’s main page.

A day later, if you searched on Twitter, there were still countless posts flying around.

==

@naer3234

“Another Korean actor? I watched it and got so absorbed lol. At first, I thought she was just a pretty actress, but she’s no joke!!”

@tqerk_noya

“They called her a genius actress at first, and I thought that sounded absurd, but her performance was incredible. The actors playing the ghosts running frantically had me bursting with laughter!!!”

@kakeba_hiro

“Joo Seo-yeon. I initially looked at her through rose-tinted glasses thinking she’s just a young Korean actress, but after seeing her performances in that variety show, I was impressed. If given a chance, I’d love to work with her.”

@fuzio_rei

“How did she break the mannequin? lol. And the speed at which she crawled was shocking!! I want to see her in other variety shows!”

Most reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

Occasionally, industry insiders appeared too.

Notably, the person who expressed a desire to work with her was “Kakeba Hiro,” an up-and-coming young director.

With a motto to aim overseas rather than domestically, he was known for his creative filming techniques.

Just one appearance on a variety show.

Honestly, the level of reaction was somewhat excessive, leaving industry connections perplexed.

Especially the reporters.

Being those who deal with gossip, they certainly knew how rare this atmosphere was.

“Wow, it’s honestly amazing to see an actress who hasn’t even been active get this much attention. I mean, this sort of thing is a first, right?”

“Yeah, it seems the party behind [The Chaser] is rushing to push forward the release. They want to take advantage of this buzz.”

“Why is a Korean actress…”

Japanese entertainment reporter Furihata Yuito was conversing with a colleague, tapping his pen against his lips.

The name appearing most frequently in his notebook.

Joo Seo-yeon.

This wasn’t simply because she came to Japan this time.

Furihata Yuito had already watched [The Chaser] in Korea and anticipated that Seo-yeon would very much do well in Japan.

With a puzzled expression directed at him, his colleague asked, “Is it really just that?”

“She’s beautiful.”

“…Heh, is that really all there is to it?”

“She’s young.”

“That feels a bit relatable.”

“Honestly, she has that anime character vibe, doesn’t she?”

“Definitely!”

With her black hair, the part that’s been trending on social media lately was Seo-yeon’s eyes.

There were all sorts of theories about whether the camera light made her eyes shine or if someone was speculating she might be a superpower user.

Various discussions swirled around her striking red eyes.

There was a previous broadcast in Korea that examined her eyes, and surprisingly, they claimed they were quite normal.

The reason they shimmered red was still unknown.

Was there something genuinely fantastical going on?

This information had an aura that provoked such thoughts.

“Black hair, red eyes, and pale skin. On top of that, a genius child actress… a high school actress with amazing physical abilities.”

“Wait, wait, that’s a ridiculous setup. Seriously? That’s a lot to pack in there. Hehe.”

“But it’s true.”

That was more or less the complex reasons behind it.

Even though she shocked everyone in the variety show, it seems to have been interpreted as a masterpiece performance by a genius actress to the Japanese, who had their illusions blooming.

Rather, they seemed to praise her quick-wittedness in handling the hidden camera and embraced her as an actress due to her performance skills.

Most importantly, they found it entertaining.

In a recent landscape where typical reactions had become predictable, she brought responses that had never been seen before, even amongst the Japanese.

“Seems like everyone’s looking for actress Joo Seo-yeon now.”

“Of course. But at first, no one was interested in where she was staying, so no one seems to know.”

Yuito casually communicated as if he were talking about someone else’s business.

His colleague, Muro Ouki, blinked slowly in response.

“Do you know?”

“Eh?”

“You were interested in Joo Seo-yeon before she came to Japan, right?”

At that remark from his colleague, Yuito smiled.

That’s right.

Yuito was very much aware.

He had visited the filming site after the shoots had already wrapped.

Of course, he hadn’t met Seo-yeon.

Knowing well that she wouldn’t meet with him, he had asked the other actors from the variety show to learn about her general whereabouts.

“In Tokyo, she said she plans on going sightseeing in Akihabara. It’s likely she’s near a hotel around there.”

“Akihabara, huh?”

“Yes, she probably has an interest in cameras and electronic devices like everyone else, right?”

Since a business district for such items was formed around there.

It didn’t feel right to think that an actress would head to Akihabara for otaku tourism.

In any case, recalling those events, Yuito opened his mouth to Ouki.

“If we ask around at a hotel nearby Akihabara, we should be able to find her easily. There aren’t too many good hotels in that area.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Since we’re at Shibuya now, if we start to move soon, we should have just enough time.”

Shibuya wasn’t far from Akihabara.

Thinking that, they rose from their seats at the cafe.

“Y-Yuito-san!!”

At that moment, Ouki pointed toward something with a bewildered expression.

That was at the crosswalk.

There was a person standing out oddly.

A woman, looking somewhat flustered, was checking her reflection on her phone.

However, her outfit was a bit peculiar.

What was it? It seemed like a surprisingly flamboyant gothic-style outfit.

“Wow, even with her face covered, she gives off a sense of a cute girl. But?”

“That’s Joo Seo-yeon.”

“Eh?”

“Just the other day, she was standing at the cafe’s glass door, briefly taking off her mask. She must have been checking her reflection.”

“Seriously?!”

Ouki, who had just been standing up, happened to see it.

“Is that true?”

“Swear it’s true. I’d never mistake such a face!”

“Why is she in Shibuya? Was Narumi Sora with her?”

“As you can see, she’s alone!”

Why would someone who’s supposed to be in Akihabara be in Shibuya?

And what’s with that outfit???

But if it was really Joo Seo-yeon…

‘This is definitely a chance to catch her.’

If a hot topic figure was walking around casually like that on the street?

Is it possible to get an interview on the street like this?

“Ah, the crosswalk is on!”

“What are you doing? Why aren’t we chasing after her?”

“Of course, we should go!”

Thus, the two rushed to follow Seo-yeon.

Of course, Seo-yeon, blending into the crowd, didn’t walk normally, slightly fidgeting along the way.

‘Why did I even wear this?’

Filled with deep regret.