I Want to Be a VTuber-Chapter 309: Polaris (1)

"Team Leader, how's the advertisement coming along?"

After the weekly meeting at Raywill Games, a developer from the team cautiously asked Youngbin.

It made sense, as the most important person at this meeting was none other than Youngbin.

"...We've decided to go ahead with it." "Really?" "Ha..."

Youngbin let out a deep sigh.

He was already feeling anxious.

Unlike him, his fearless daughter was already brimming with enthusiasm.

"So, your daughter will be coming to the company, right?" "Of course. How could we shoot the ad without her showing up in the first place?" "Well, it's not just Seoyeon, but it seems like they're planning to invite a few internet streamers to join the shoot too." "Huh? But then, what's the point of calling Seoyeon at all?" "The ad shoot is separate from the broadcast, that's a different matter."

It wouldn't be a problem if Seoyeon could handle the broadcast by herself, but if not, they needed someone to take charge.

"For now, we've decided on Heo Taegyun." "Wow, isn't he a famous streamer?" "I think he has around 700,000 or 1,000,000 subscribers." "That's huge!"

Indeed, it was.

Anyway, as a general game streamer, he had even covered Eternity Camp in his broadcasts.

His tier was the highest level, Eternity.

Among game streamers, he was likely one of the top-tier experts.

"And who else?" "I don’t know." "...Huh?" "How many early access users do you think there are? Why would famous streamers just be lining up to join?"

That was a fair point.

It wasn’t a famous game, and it was still in the process of preparing for release.

However, among early access games, it seemed to be doing reasonably well.

"Sigh..." "You seem to be stressed out, Team Leader." "Huh? Oh, yeah, right?"

Youngbin casually responded to his subordinate’s concern.

'It's not really this job that’s making me sigh.'

What he was worried about, however, was the upcoming weekend.

'What’s with the hiking? Who's going to think you're the team leader?'

Of course, when he said "you," he was referring to his not-so-cute daughter.

Being dragged to the mountains on the golden weekend was something he never even experienced as a rookie employee.

'I need to make sure to tell Suyeon to be more careful with her words next time.'

Is this what they mean by being betrayed by the axe you trusted?

He felt a deep sense of betrayal from his second daughter, who had tattled to her older sister.

'Looks like the team leader’s really worried.'

As Youngbin’s expression darkened, his employee thought to himself.

'If there aren't any suitable streamers among the regular ones...'

Suddenly, the employee recalled several broadcasts he had recently watched.

Most of them were streamers who had played Eternity Camp.

Indeed, as Youngbin had mentioned, there weren’t many regular streamers who seemed like a good fit.

Well, there weren’t any regular ones, anyway.

"Um, Team Leader?" "Hmm? What is it now?" "Well, our game appeals mainly to a community-driven consumer base... and most of them prefer cartoon-rendered graphics."

"Right?" "Then..."

After a brief pause, the employee slowly spoke up.

Eternity Camp was based on cartoon-rendered graphics.

It featured characters that looked like they belonged in Japanese animation.

Many of the players had been drawn in by the game’s unique graphics.

The audience who used internet communities overlapped with them as well.

Because of that, among regular streamers, there weren’t many who played Eternity Camp. However, among slightly more unique streamers, many of them had played the game.

That was because their user base and viewer demographics aligned closely. frёeωebɳovel.com

"Are you familiar with Virtual YouTubers?"

At that, Youngbin made a strange face.

After all, his daughter had been talking about it almost every day since she was a little girl.

****

Meanwhile, while Raywill Games was busy discussing the advertisement, filming for Mine had almost reached its final stages.

The 11th episode was up next, and with the finale being the 12th, they were nearing the end.

The staff were all nervously watching the director, Han Yegen.

After all, with just a little more to go, if the director called for a reshoot, their schedule could be delayed by a lot.

'Director Han Yegen might actually do that.' 'What? What could be wrong with what we’ve already shot?' 'Look, he’s been going over the footage again and again. There’s something he’s not happy with.' 'Could it be? The part where Jo Seokhee acted? What could possibly be wrong with that?' 'Exactly. How many actresses can perform like that at her age?'

Arthur Diaz and Ju Seoyeon—those were the only ones who could pull it off.

That didn’t mean Jo Seokhee was vastly inferior compared to them.

Though her intensity may have been lower, Jo Seokhee had delivered a clean performance with no faults.

So, for them, it seemed excessive for Han Yegen to keep requesting revisions from her.

"Isn’t he being too sensitive?" The filming director, An Daeil, said as he watched Han Yegen replaying the same footage for the umpteenth time.

He knew that Han Yegen had called Jo Seokhee aside for a private conversation.

Honestly, An Daeil couldn’t understand Han Yegen’s actions at all.

Filming never goes exactly as a director envisions it.

Even Jo Seokhee—

She was a good enough actress to be popular without needing to be in Mine.

If she had slacked off during this shoot, he would have noticed, but that wasn’t the case.

Jo Seokhee's strength was her consistency in acting.

She didn’t have the fiery intensity of others, but she delivered solid performances that fit her roles.

She had done that again this time.

In fact, An Daeil had been impressed with her performance.

"Other staff members also praised her, and I don’t think anyone had any issues with her dialogue or acting." "That’s right."

Upon hearing An Daeil’s words, Han Yegen paused the footage and turned his gaze.

"I know that." "Then why..." "Well, it’s simple. Greed."

Han Yegen crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Jo Seokhee, of course, but also Arthur Diaz. And now, Ju Seoyeon too."

Naturally, he wanted to make the best film possible when they had such talented actors.

Even Arthur Diaz was a famous Hollywood actor.

Now that he was part of the film, Han Yegen could not afford to fail.

If he didn’t achieve something remarkable with this production, his career would likely be filled with hardships from then on.

"...I understand. But, really, what else can we do here?" "Right. So, I just proceeded with it."

"Then why [N O V E L I G H T] do you keep calling Seokhee? And you’re still watching the footage, aren’t you?" "Well, it’s because it’s still on my mind. I’m trying to find some improvements."

The footage of Jo Seokhee and Arthur, who had filmed their scene together, was playing.

Since no CGI had been added yet, Jo Seokhee appeared against a green wall, performing passionately.

'It’s not bad.'

Watching Jo Seokhee in the video reminded Han Yegen of someone.

Baek Seoran.

A genius actress who had once captivated him.

Clearly, Jo Seokhee had studied her acting a lot.

And seeing how she was able to imitate it, he could see her effort and talent.

"By the way, is something going on today? You’re paying a lot of attention to me." "Well..."

Han Yegen hesitated, as he was concerned about whether he should criticize Jo Seokhee again.

But he wasn’t foolish enough to say that aloud.

However, his reaction gave An Daeil a pretty clear idea of what was on his mind.

"I won’t do it." "...Hmm, I haven’t really said anything yet." "It’s obvious. It’s obvious."

Han Yegen was only disappointed, watching the footage once more.

'But there won’t be any significant changes in such a short time.'

He figured it was just a matter of timing.

Eventually, he thought, it would all be overcome.

And so, he prepared for today’s shoot.

The 11th episode, which was essentially the climax of the film.

Today’s shoot was focused more on Jin Yeonseo’s emotional scene rather than the action.

Jin Yeonseo arrived at the lab and was about to fight against two people.

Adam Lowell, who had taken care of her when she was young.

And Shin Arin, who had briefly been her friend.

Against them, Jin Yeonseo would finally release all the emotions she had been holding back.

'Ju Seoyeon.'

Since it was such an important part, Han Yegen was a bit worried.

Of course, he didn’t doubt Seoyeon’s abilities.

She had been performing excellently as Jin Yeonseo all along.

But still...

"Rather, that's why I'm worried."

She had been doing so well so far, and now he was worried if she could show even more in the climax.

It was probably just greed.

Considering the outstanding performances she had given up until now, if she could just maintain that level for the finale, it would be perfect.

But deep down, he was hoping for even more.

The intensity she had shown up until now.

The girl who had perfectly understood and portrayed Jin Yeonseo, a girl who had transformed while learning emotions.

Could she show even more than that in the climax?

Could she deliver a more distinct, intense performance?

If she could do that... then she would truly deserve to be called a genius.

Like the genius actress who had captivated Korea in the past.

But, it was probably impossible.

That’s what Han Yegen thought.

"Today’s shoot, I’m counting on you."

Before he faced the girl who was staring at him with her red eyes, he thought about it.

****

Dark as the night, with hair as black as the ocean, and a black dress to match.

Her snow-white skin stood in stark contrast, drawing attention.

The most striking feature was her red eyes.

The iconic look of Mine’s protagonist, "Jin Yeonseo."

As Seoyeon stood there, just like the poster, the staff whispered among themselves.

"She’s even more intense today than usual." "Yeah..."

The reason was unclear.

Today, both Jo Seokhee, who had caught a cold, and Seoyeon were together on set.

"Wasn’t Seokhee supposed to not be shooting today?" "Well, since she’s close with Seoyeon, it makes sense she could show up."

It was a well-known fact that Seoyeon and Jo Seokhee were close.

Both were talented actresses of the same age, so it wasn’t unusual that they became friends.

"But, with their similar age, it would be easy to become competitors." "They both have good personalities, though."

As they listened to the staff’s conversation, Jo Seokhee coughed.

'The winter sea was a bad idea after all.'

While Seoyeon had walked by the beach full of energy, Jo Seokhee, who had been carried along, had caught a cold.

Why was that?

Seoyeon had kept dipping her feet into the waves.

Sometimes she thought it might be because her body was too strong.

"...Hmph."

Seokhee sniffled and stared at Seoyeon.

Today, Seoyeon was filled with enthusiasm.

The winter sea.

Walking along it, Seoyeon had whispered something to her.

'My earlobes are hot.'

Was it because of the fever from her cold?

Seokhee touched her earlobes with her thumb and index finger while staring at Seoyeon.

Watching her reminded Seokhee of something she had heard earlier on the beach.

'I came back after watching Seokhee's ad.'

She should’ve said that sooner.

Always teasing her with the parachute thing.

And when would the honorifics end?

'That was bad, really.'

Sniffling, Seokhee moved to sit in a place where she wouldn’t disturb the shoot.

It wasn’t that her cold was severe, but the mild fever made it hard to stand for long.

'...It’s not like this is the first time I’ve watched someone else’s acting on set.'

Was it the cold?

Or was it because of what Seoyeon had said by the sea yesterday?

Her slightly dazed mind tried to mask the scene in front of her with past memories.

Five years old.

The time when she had just entered kindergarten.

She would follow her mom around on set, sitting at a distance, watching her act.

'Seokhee, stay here quietly while mommy acts, okay?'

'Yes! I’ll stay quietly.'

Seokhee liked watching her mother act.

Her mother would shine when she acted.

Sitting there on set, Seokhee could always find her mom right away because she was shining so brightly.

'She shines.'

A green wall.

Props made for later CG processing.

The background was a research lab.

The hell where young Jin Yeonseo had lived.

The researchers, scared of the returning Jin Yeonseo, rushed to escape.

In such a scene, there were more actors gathered than ever before.

Including extras, the supporting actors, all of them were preparing with determination.

But among all those people, there was one girl who stood out.

A girl who was clearly the protagonist.

Watching her reminded Seokhee of the time when she had watched her mom.

That sparkle was something Seokhee remembered fondly.

She wanted to shine like that too.

That's how she came to want it.

"Alright, let’s start the shoot."

Director Han Yegen spoke after finishing the acting direction.

The staff moved to their positions, and the one holding the slate quickly ran out.

This would be the part that marked the climax of the drama.

There were plenty of extras, but no real fight.

Most of the people here weren’t resisting Jin Yeonseo, but running away from her.

The tense gazes of the young actors all focused on one spot.

The protagonist of this drama.

Jin Yeonseo.

And then—

"...!!"

As the slate clapped, the shoot began.

Seoyeon’s usual vibe shifted in an instant.

"Hello, everyone."

With a soft smile, Jin Yeonseo looked around.

Her smile was the same as before, but the feeling was completely different.

Until now, Jin Yeonseo had mostly mocked others, her attitude one of arrogance.

But now, it was different.

"I'm so glad you all stayed just as you are."

Though her smile stayed on her lips, her eyes—dark and intense—seemed to burn like a fire.

Anger.

The emotion that Jin Yeonseo had never shown before was now revealed for the first time.

And it showed in that very moment.