I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 155

After the MCN competition, Cheon Do-hee’s surveillance had intensified.

At least, that’s how it felt to Magia over the past few days.

Setting up the streaming environment for the second-generation talents with Seung-yeon.

Recording Fan_C’s new song and cover track.

She had to spend more than half of her day outside the office because of work, yet every time she returned, the CEO was right there at the front entrance.

And she always asked the same questions.

“Where are you going?”

“Did you come straight back after work?”

Magia couldn’t figure out what had gotten into her.

Do-hee never cared if she worked outside the office unless it was something critical, yet now, for four days straight—Monday through Thursday—she kept repeating the same questions like a parrot. Wasn’t that strange?

Knowing the CEO’s personality, it was clear something was bothering her, but instead of asking outright, she was subtly dropping hints.

And Magia could think of only one possible reason.

So, that day, as Do-hee was getting ready to leave, Magia casually approached her.

“I haven’t been slacking off on my external assignments. I actually took proper breaks when I was supposed to. Please don’t give the Finance Director any wrong information.”

“......”

“I mean it. If I stayed over at the girls’ place for a while, it’s only because they told me to stay and eat. And meal breaks aren’t counted as work hours, right?”

“...Sigh.”

Do-hee’s sigh made Magia realize something was off.

“Wait, was that not the issue? You kept asking about work, so I thought...”

Before she could finish, Cheon Do-hee placed her hand on top of Magia’s head.

“Right. Now that I think about it, it’s not like you’d be interested in anything besides company matters and Fan_C’s recordings.”

“Of course not. I barely have time to watch streams as it is.”

“I know, I know. But—be honest with me.”

Do-hee suddenly closed in, and Magia swallowed hard.

Even after spending every season of the year in the same office as her, being this close was still nerve-wracking.

Not that she had any idea she’d be hit with such an out-of-nowhere question.

“Since the MCN competition, have you met with Taro, yes or no?”

“I haven’t.”

“For real?”

“If it were about a collab, he would’ve contacted you, not me.”

“...Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”

At that moment, Do-hee realized she had slipped up.

Her rationality had just been sucker-punched by her emotions and sent flying.

The fact that Taro, now a massive star, was constantly looking for a chance to pull Magia into his orbit had made her anxious, despite knowing exactly what kind of person Magia was.

The pull from that side was just too strong. She worried that, before Magia even realized it, she’d be dragged away.

Do-hee, realizing her mistake, subtly tried to shift the topic.

But there was no way an opportunist like Magia would let it slide.

“Do you need me to repeat what I said three years ago?”

“No!”

“You sound like you want to hear it.”

“I said no!”

“Then should I go tell Taro instead?”

“...What?”

“I am—”

Momo’s fanbase was Mongmongs.

Taro’s fanbase was Kadulgis.

Three years ago, Magia had received the same proposal from the leaders of both groups at the same time.

And back then, she had declared—

“I am a Mongmong—!!”

For someone small, her voice was surprisingly powerful, filling the entire Parallel office.

Magia was never one to raise her voice, even in major crises. So, hearing her shout made the team leaders poke their heads out of their workspaces, startled.

Cheon Do-hee immediately stepped out of her office and addressed them.

“It’s nothing. Get back to work.”

After the team leaders awkwardly returned to their desks, Do-hee pinched Magia’s cheek hard enough to turn her mouth into a fish’s pout.

“I told you not to do that.”

Magia’s lips trembled as she quickly retreated.

“But seriously, why are you so worried? Don’t tell me the reason you’ve been avoiding any association with Bachubachu all this time wasn’t because you didn’t want to seem like a leech—but because you were afraid I’d switch sides?”

“No.”

“You don’t look like that’s a ‘no.’”

“Shut up?! What do you even—”

Magia’s unwavering stare.

Seeing it, Do-hee let out another sigh.

“Right. You probably know more about me than I do about you.”

“Hearing you say that makes me embarrassed.”

“Yeah, real funny.”

“Anyway, even the stray dog at my grandma’s place knows I’ll always be a Mongmong. The only way I’d ever switch oshis is if you suddenly brought in some ridiculous guy and said you were marrying him.”

“Wow, I just remembered—you said that exact same thing three years ago.”

“At least it’s a bit more refined now. Back then, I actually named Movgun.”

“...Do you hate /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ him less these days?”

“Well, he’s been acting all friendly toward our company and handing out perks. Plus, I’m just relieved he’s bothering me instead of you.”

“You blocked his number again, didn’t you?”

“I actually unblocked it. Turns out when I block him, he just starts messaging you personally.”

“...I mean, I’m glad you did, but that reasoning is...”

“If it’s to act as a shield protecting Oshi, I’ll gladly do it.”

“God, do you have to call yourself a shield...?”

Momo, who had been rubbing her forehead for a while, let out a short sigh.

It seemed like the issue was settled, at least for now.

But as they talked, something about it still nagged at Magia.

Had she really made any major moves toward Taro?

She had never once said she intended to transfer to Bachubachu.

‘That wasn’t the case.’

Then, was it the opposite? Had Taro been overly interested in her?

That... might actually be true.

During the recent competition, Taro had been more talkative than usual.

And among the things he had said, some were outright directed at her.

People read deeply into Taro’s words because she was always incredibly careful with what she said—every single comment carried weight.

It was common for something she had casually mentioned to later turn out to be a teaser for a future collaboration.

Her fans even made a habit of listening to her streams and predicting, “The next collab will be with X brand!” long before anything was officially announced.

The final match of the MCN competition had been the same.

There had been no real reason to communicate via voice, but he had spoken to her first.

Given that, a future collaboration between Bachubachu KR and Parallel could be on the horizon at any time.

‘...Has something already been discussed behind the scenes?’

Maybe the collaboration was nearly finalized, and that was why Do-hee was worried.

Parallel and Bachubachu had been maintaining their distance for a long time.

Now, that distance was closing.

And once that process had started, there was no stopping it—

Trying to forcefully block it would only lead to rumors of internal conflict and unnecessary controversy.

Not to mention, compared to a corporate giant like Bachubachu, Parallel’s working environment had a lot of flaws.

And it wasn’t just the staff who thought so—

Even VTuber fans had that perception.

What? Graduation? Aren’t they planning a reincarnation?

Oh, Bachubachu? If it’s Bachubachu, then yeah, I get it.

How could they possibly compete with a company worth billions?

On top of that, Do-hee seemed uneasy about Taro’s personality—

She was the type to get what she wanted, no matter what.

So no matter how many times Magia reassured her through words and actions, Do-hee just couldn’t fully relax.

If this concern only affected company affairs, that would be one thing—

But knowing Do-hee, it would also affect the stream scheduling.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The broadcast schedule was already in shambles.

If Magia wanted to stabilize it, she needed to make a move.

What would be the best way to prove her loyalty?

Something that would clearly show that even if Bachubachu sent her a gold-plated contract, she wouldn’t be interested...

‘Ah.’

Magia suddenly had an idea and spoke up.

“By the way, I’m thinking about moving.”

“Moving?”

“Yeah. The second-generation talents’ homes are on the east side of the company now, so things are more spread out.”

The first-generation members had all lived north of the office.

And Magia’s home was the farthest north, making the commute roughly the same whether she was heading to work or going to visit them.

But the new second-generation members’ homes were all in the east, and the distance was significant.

To make things worse, Seung-yeon’s home was in the northwest, meaning that under the current setup, her travel time to the newer members had increased.

Especially Eona’s place—it was ridiculously far.

Located in Dongcheon-dong, Songpa-gu, it was all the way on the eastern edge of Seoul.

“Seung-yeon’s place is still relatively close to the company, but I’m too far now. So I’m thinking about getting a place right next to the office.”

“Here? But the housing prices around the IT cluster are insane...”

“It’s a studio apartment under 10 pyeong, so it should be fine. I’ve been working for four years now, so if I’m short on deposit money, I can take out a bank loan.”

“Hmm...”

It was working.

Bachubachu’s headquarters was located in the northwest IT cluster of Jongam Complex.

Parallel’s headquarters was in the southwest IT cluster of Gwanro Complex.

And Magia’s current home was practically within arm’s reach of Jongam Complex.

For Do-hee, Magia moving closer to the company meant moving farther away from Bachubachu.

And if Magia was relocating near the office, there was something Do-hee wanted to suggest.

“Hey, why don’t you just move into my place? I’ve got a spare room. You know my place is only a ten-minute walk from the office, right?”

From Magia’s perspective, it was completely out of nowhere.

But for Do-hee, it wasn’t an unreasonable offer.

After all, Magia had no family in Korea.

The only person looking out for her was Cheon Do-hee.

There was even something Do-hee had never told the Finance Director—

She had seriously considered establishing a company dormitory for the debuted members and having Magia, as the general manager, live there as well.

“I’d get to manage your work hours. Your safety. Your meals. Your health. That’s four birds with one stone. Plus, you’d save on rent. More money for other things, right?”

Of course, no matter how logical the reasons were, it wasn’t an easy decision for Magia.

“Can I think about it for a bit?”

“You realize the other Mongmongs would kill to be in your position, right? Think carefully.”

“I know. That’s why I need to think it through.”

“Think about what?”

“If I live too close to Oshi, I’ll end up knowing things I don’t want to know.”

“?”

“Like... the disastrous state of your room.

The clothes lying around everywhere.

The leftover delivery containers you never clean up...”

“Hey, hey! What do you take me for—”

Momo’s face turned red as Magia casually hit her with a barrage of brutal facts.

“People who live alone are all like that.

Even my place, which I try to keep tidy, probably wouldn’t look clean to someone else.

So I don’t expect your place to be as neat as I imagined.”

“That’s not true.”

“Besides, you don’t even live in a studio apartment like me.

You have a three-bedroom apartment—it’s bigger, so cleaning is even harder.”

A light flick to the forehead landed on Magia’s head with a thunk.

“You say too many things that are just right—it makes me want to hit you more.”

“Ahh! Violence is bad.”

“Do whatever you want. I just figured you’d save money, and I have the space, so I brought it up.

If you’re uncomfortable, just get your own place.”

Magia rubbed her forehead, pretending to be wounded, and said playfully—

“Well, I’m visiting the KG Dragons dorm tomorrow.

I’ll ask the players about it and then decide.”

“...Ask them what?”

“I looked into it a bit.

Some players actually joined teams because they wanted to play with their idols.

If I ask them, I might learn the pros and cons of living with Oshi.”

To be honest, Do-hee was a little thrown off.

She had expected Magia—who had been a Mongmong for six years—to jump at the idea, answering, Yes! without hesitation.

But suddenly, she was acting like some meticulous scientist, listing all the reasons it wouldn’t work—

Saying she needed more data from multiple sources before making a decision.

Then again, no matter how much Magia adored her Oshi, some people preferred a bit of distance.

And Magia had always been one of those people.

She had mentioned the messiness of Do-hee’s place, sure—

But in the end, that could have just been an excuse because she found the idea overwhelming.

Still, as long as Magia moved closer to the company, that was good enough.

Better to let it go than push too hard and make her reconsider moving altogether.

“Alright. Let me know after your visit.”