I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 103

[PITMAN: Momo, do you know who the last contestant is?]

[SiSseuneunRockHee: Is that Gia?]

[Utau: Momo, I’ve got an idea for a song. Urgent.]

At a glance, it was a strange situation.

After all, there had already been two people far more skilled before this.

Serena was a recognized vocalist from Lapits, and Iyura was a globally renowned utaite.

Shouldn’t the industry people have reached out then, not now?

But from a professional’s perspective, things looked different.

Serena and Iyura were already established artists.

Talents like them usually had firm contracts with record labels, making it difficult to approach them with new deals.

But Magia, who had just sung last?

To an expert’s ear, she was an unrefined gem.

An intriguing rookie—one whose potential was exciting precisely because she wasn’t fully polished yet.

Like a Bitcoin right before it skyrockets.

The three who had contacted Momo had worked closely with Parallel for a long time.

Even if the contestant was technically anonymous, they likely had a good idea who was behind the mask.

And that meant there was a chance to reach out.

"Gia’s probably not going to respond to this...."

Cheon Do-hee knew.

Even if she told Magia about these messages, she wouldn’t care.

Someone with zero interest in fame wouldn’t bite at an offer like, “This is your chance to be famous! Want to release a song?”

But the real question was—would the people around her let it go?

Over time, her identity would definitely be exposed.

The number of people taking an interest in her would only grow.

Even if she had participated anonymously, there would be fans comparing her singing style with her usual speech patterns.

It wouldn’t take long for someone to connect the dots.

And since Pazijik had practically endorsed her by sponsoring the contest, Magia had already proven to be a hot topic.

If there were any MCNs or talent agencies watching, they wouldn’t suggest making her a VTuber.

They’d push her toward becoming an utaite first.

Even if she hadn’t debuted, she still had her distinctive virtual faceplate that she used for her official broadcasts.

That alone made the VTuber route less likely—she was already recognizable.

And besides, just looking at Japan showed how faceless singers—utaite—had made a mark in J-pop.

All she had to do was use a new alias.

They’d pitch it as something she could easily manage while keeping her day job.

Of course, she’d reject it at first, saying she had no interest in singing.

But what if someone phrased it like—

"It’ll help Parallel. Just give it a try."

What if that someone was from a major powerhouse like CAT or SB Entertainment?

Magia wouldn’t say no.

She always listened to industry professionals—especially if they had real power.

If it were some random company, Cheon Do-hee wouldn’t care.

But if CAT or SB Entertainment were involved?

She would personally push Magia forward.

It wasn’t just about whether she was under Parallel.

This was a chance that could change Gia’s entire life.

Opportunities like that didn’t come easy.

But life had a way of throwing surprises.

Watching Magia sing her final lines—without a single mistake in pitch—Cheon Do-hee couldn’t shake off one thought.

"At this rate... one day, she might just fly away and disappear."

***

— Parallel (VTuber) Gallery —

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

[Has it been a week and there are still idiots who haven’t figured out who Magia is?]

[Magia (probably) is F, L, Z.]

[What if Iyura was just Magia doing another voice impression?]

[Our girls are seriously amazing singers.]

[LPC graduation news.]

★ [Momo: Winning illegal duet songs will be uploaded separately to the official channel.]

[Mad Dogs: Give us more original songs, this is neglect.]

.

.

— [Parallel (VTuber) Gallery] —

★ [Momo: Winning illegal duet songs will be uploaded separately to the official channel.]

(Uploading_separately_the_winning_songs.clip)

Participants who wanted to could record in the studio individually, while those who didn't could have their vocals extracted from the original illegal duet performance.

Below is the list of those who chose to record in the studio:

L Contestant (Finale) (Aurora Award)F Contestant (One Other) (Aurora Award)D Contestant ...S Contestant ...Z Contestant (Finale) (Shirahoshi Momo Award)Looks like everyone except one person is recording?

[Comments]

— Parallel095: So, is F really Magia?

ㄴ Parallel252 (OP): ??? Dunno

ㄴ Parallel621: Yeah, it’s her.

ㄴ Parallel886: D is literally Employee D.

ㄴ Parallel621: The official account doesn’t know anything.

ㄴ Parallel886: ? I’m not even an intern.

January 30 – The Aftermath of the Illegal Duet Contest

Thanks to the momentum from the illegal duet event, the Parallel Singing Contest the next day managed to retain almost all of the previous night’s audience.

On top of that, Lupko led the Mad Dogs Crew in a watch party, causing the stream’s viewer count to skyrocket.

By the end of the broadcast, they had reached 70,000 concurrent viewers, with a peak of 85,000.

Then, utaite Iyura further fueled the hype by watching the illegal duet VOD on her own stream—

Almost as if she wanted to subtly confirm that she had been a contestant herself.

And since the two most iconic performers had both chosen Maru’s first-ever original song, the buzz only grew.

[Nezumi Maru / NEZUMI MARU]

@nezumimaru_parallel_vtuber | 428K Followers

Parallel 1st-gen, 🎙 Singing Hedgehog Nezumi Maru 🎶

Maru’s channel gained over 100,000 subscribers in a single week, making her the first among the members to break 400K.

Even though the growth rate ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) varied among them, all other members also surpassed 300K with ease.

With this, they had established a solid foundation for more ambitious content moving forward.

So, it was only natural that Magia—who had played a huge role in this success—was given a special bonus.

“Wait. Didn’t we already set our pay rates? You’re giving me another bonus on top of that?”

“Honestly, I never imagined this would turn into such a massive event. And look at Maru’s subscriber count—she totally earned it. Just think of it as giving you the marketing budget we saved.”

“You could’ve used that money for new outfits for the members.”

“We’re already making those.”

“Oh. Then sure, whatever.”

“...Anyway, you remember your schedule for tomorrow, right?”

Originally, the winner’s perks were supposed to end with a special duet performance with Parallel members during the next day’s singing contest.

However, due to overwhelming fan demand, an option was added for contestants to officially record their songs and have them uploaded to Parallel’s channel.

Magia was among those who agreed to record—her alias in the event had been F Contestant.

“Oh. Right. The separate recording for the illegal duet song?”

“Yeah.”

“I know about it.”

Momo had expected to convince her with various arguments about how it would help promote the members.

But Magia agreed so immediately that she didn’t even get a chance to use them.

[Magia: My voice is in it, sure, but I’m anonymous. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?]

[Momo: Seriously?]

[Magia: Either way, it’s good promotion.]

Still, despite accepting so quickly, Magia wasn’t entirely without concerns.

When she returned to her desk, she immediately turned to Team Leader Kang Ji-ho.

“About the recording tomorrow... Is there any way I can do it separately from the members?”

For some reason, Magia’s slot was right after the members’.

Which meant they’d probably be watching her as she recorded.

Since all four of them loved singing, there was a high chance that they’d get carried away and spontaneously start harmonizing with her.

Her solo recording could easily turn into a group recording.

And that was exactly what Magia wanted to avoid.

No matter how small and cute she might be, she was still just a blade of grass.

Being planted among a field of beautiful flowers just didn’t sit right with her.

But there was a reason the schedule was set up that way.

The record label had already made accommodations for Parallel’s convenience, but since the schedule was last-minute, there were barely any slots left.

To make it work, they had squeezed all the contestant recordings into a single day,

And Magia had been tacked on to the members’ session as an extra slot.

When Kang Ji-ho explained the situation, Magia sighed.

“Ah. So I’m just freeloading?”

“Yeah. They cut us a deal—your session doesn’t add extra costs, since it’s piggybacking on the first-gen slots.”

“...Well, I can’t really complain about a freebie.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She vaguely recalled that the members were recording a Valentine’s Day cover for next week.

Since this was already free marketing, there wasn’t much point in paying for additional promo.

But still—recording with the members?

Magia wasn’t thrilled about it.

...Getting surrounded without resistance isn’t ideal.

Is there any way around this?

A Lucky Break – 11:00 PM

Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself.

[Hello, Magia. Apologies for the late contact. This is Choi Na-eun from UTU Records A&R Team 3, and I’ll be handling your recording session.]

“Oh, hello! Thank you for reaching out first.”

[Not at all. Actually, the schedule got adjusted, and we have a last-minute slot open.

It’s a short time slot, though.]

“I see.”

[Since you’re doing a solo recording, you’ll finish quickly, right? We can move you into the open slot. That would free up your original time slot for another team’s recording.

We’d still only charge for the first-gen members’ slots as planned.]

What luck.

Magia didn’t hesitate for even a second.

“Oh, I’ll take it. Just send me the time and location—I was planning to go with the members, so I don’t actually know the way.”

[Of course! I’ll send the details now. See you tomorrow, and have a good night!]

“Thank you! Good night.”

After ending the call, Magia grinned.

Watching from her monitor, Gong Seung-yeon tilted her head.

“Something good happen, Part Leader?”

“Yeah. Feeling generous—wanna charge up 50,000 Pazijik clouds?”

“Really?! Uh... Am I even allowed to accept that...?”

“Of course. Use it to throw 1,000-won punches at Komari.”

Magia casually topped up 50,000 Pazijik Clouds into Gong Seung-yeon’s account.

Seung-yeon’s face lit up instantly, and she wiggled in her seat, grinning ear to ear.

“Daaamn. Thanks! How about pineapple pizza tonight?”

“...Ha... That sounds absolutely perfect.”

Why pineapple pizza, of all things?

Seung-yeon had been scrolling through nearby restaurants looking for a compromise and stumbled upon a place that stayed open until midnight—one that only used fire-grilled pineapple as a topping.

Once she placed the order, she turned back to Magia.

“By the way, have you heard the rumors?”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah. Lapits Gallery is in total chaos right now.

Apparently, people are saying Serena is graduating just to debut as a second-gen in our group... Some are even calling it a betrayal.”

“Ah.”

It was an obvious controversy.

Serena must have anticipated this reaction when she announced her graduation.

Still, Magia had her doubts.

There were always resurrected VTubers—streamers who rebranded with a new character.

Maybe there were some who had never taken the red pill—who had never figured out that a reincarnated VTuber was someone they’d watched before.

But Serena?

Magia had attended the second-gen auditions last week, and Serena wasn’t there.

There was no way she could have mistaken her for someone else—she knew her face.

Seung-yeon did post about Magia’s work schedule, lunch choices, and even late-night snacks on the forums.

But she was always careful not to leak sensitive details.

Lately, thanks to Magia’s advice, she had even created a secondary account for posting.

So Magia felt comfortable enough to clarify.

“Serena didn’t even attend the auditions. We never made her an offer.”

“Ah, so I was right?”

“Yeah. It’ll die down in a few months, so don’t worry about it.”

“Well... it’s a mixed reaction, actually.

Most people don’t really care if she transfers—they just want her to keep streaming.

You know how this industry works.

At first, people fall in love with a character, but eventually, they become attached to the person behind it.

As long as the person sticks around, they’ll follow—even with a new avatar.”

Seung-yeon was right.

Some fans did quit when a VTuber changed their identity.

But others didn’t care about the faceplate—they followed the person behind it.

That was why so many corporate VTubers graduated only to redebut independently.

And why so many reincarnated into better environments.

Where would Serena end up?

... Honestly, Magia couldn’t say for sure.

She was friendly with Serena, sure, but not close enough to know her deepest thoughts.

“If she reincarnates, I’d want her to go to BachuuBachuu.

Let’s be real—if you’re doing VTubing in Korea, they’re still the top group.”

“Ugh, yeah. Even if we don’t want to let her go, we kinda have to...

It’s not like just anyone can use a 30-billion-won studio.”

***

The Next Day

Magia had arrived early at the label’s recording studio, ahead of the members.

She expected a simple meeting—just a discussion with the recording director about the session guidelines and instructions before starting.

But instead...

She found Serena waiting for her in the label’s conference room.

“Hehe, hello, Gia.”

Next to her stood a middle-aged man, dressed in a neatly pressed casual suit, without a tie, his hands clasped in front of him.

The thin-framed glasses gave him the look of an overworked executive,

while his presence reminded Magia of Parallel’s HR director.

“I apologize for the sudden visit. Allow me to introduce myself.”

[Na Hyun-gon]

[CAT Ent. / Chief A&R Producer]

Chief A&R Producer.

In other words, this was the head producer overseeing all the labels under CAT Entertainment.

Basically, the person right below the CEO—

The final authority for any music-related decisions within the company.

...What the hell was he doing here?

Magia blinked, wide-eyed in confusion.

And then Serena, grinning, spoke up.

“He’s my dad.”