Chapter 16: I want to do my best

The Cradle Korea Customer Support Team.

A man sat holding a phone receiver.

“Haa…”

Thanks to someone who still wasn’t answering the phone today, he was getting tired of only hearing the dial tone.

“Assistant Manager Ha, are they still not picking up?”

“Yes. I think it’s safe to say they’ve gone into hiding.”

It wasn’t just any employee, but an assistant manager who was personally trying to contact a user. However, considering the importance of the matter, this was a natural measure.

The person they were trying to contact was ‘Elf Cho Eun,’ who had recently caused a storm in game-related communities.

There were rumors that she had collapsed after the 100-hour broadcast and was taken somewhere, or that something even worse had happened.

However, Cradle actually considered the probability of the person being unconscious to be quite low.

Why? Because her phone kept turning on and off!

“Have you checked again to see if they’ve read the emails or in-game messages?”

“Yes. In addition to the emails sent by the operations team, we sent more, but they haven’t been read. Since she’s not logging in, she obviously hasn’t seen the in-game messages either.”

Constantly calling someone who was ignoring you was bound to be stressful. Since it was for work, Assistant Manager Ha was doubly annoyed by the pressure of the work delay.

“Deputy Manager, honestly, don’t you think it’s a hack? If you look at the logs, there’s not a day since the account was created that she hasn’t logged in. How can she just not log in right after the incident?”

“It does seem suspicious given the circumstances.”

“Anyway, it’s true that there are some unusual data points. Since they’re refusing verification, I think we should just report it to the operations team as a hack…”

“We can’t do that.”

The deputy manager habitually spun his tablet pen.

“Even if the person in question doesn’t cooperate, we need to go through a reasonable process to ensure the credibility of the judgment. That’s why the operations team is constantly pushing us, isn’t it?”

Looking at his watch, the deputy manager stood up and said.

“I know you’re frustrated, but please bear with it a little longer. Send a text message as well.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Assistant Manager Ha picked up the receiver again and sighed. Why couldn’t game companies collect resident registration numbers? If they had, he would have gone to her house and knocked on the door…

Ring- Ring-

The all-too-familiar dial tone. I’ll just wait about a minute and then hang up…

“Hello. Who is this?”

At the sound of the beautiful voice coming from the receiver, Assistant Manager Ha straightened up in surprise.

***

The first thought that came to mind when I heard the voice was.

‘She really was a woman?’

Cradle had basic information about the person they were trying to contact. It included information that she was most likely a catfish.

At first, Assistant Manager Ha thought that the reason she wasn’t answering the phone was because she was reluctant to expose her voice. He had dismissed that guess because she was ignoring all other forms of contact, but.

Anyway, the voice he was hearing now.

It wasn’t just that she wasn’t a man who was insecure about his voice.

“May I ask what this is regarding?”

It was a clear, soft, yet deep voice with clear pronunciation.

He had planned to maintain a businesslike tone since he was just delivering a message, but because he had made her wait for days, Assistant Manager Ha was going to deliver an even more rigid atmosphere.

That thought flew away somewhere after hearing her voice twice.

“Hello. This is the Cradle Customer Support Team. We’ve been trying to reach you, but you haven’t been answering your phone. Your phone has also been frequently turned off.”

“I’ve been taking some time these days to clear my mind and body. So I wanted to distance myself from external disturbances for a while and focus on my inner voice.”

‘What… is she talking like this in real life, not just on stream?’

Following the fact that she was a beautiful-voiced woman, this was the second shock.

“Ah.. We also contacted you by email and text message. Did you not see them?”

“I don’t usually check those.”

It was a hard-to-believe excuse, but there was no need to dwell on it. The important thing was that they had made contact.

“Thank you for answering the call. The reason we’re calling is that we need additional verification regarding your recent gameplay.”

“Additional verification, what do you mean?”

“Yes, there are currently allegations among some users that you are using unauthorized programs. For a clearer verification, we would like to check your gameplay directly.”

“…Are you also suspecting me?”

Her voice had dropped a tone. Although there was no need to be submissive, Assistant Manager Ha hastily spoke.

“That’s not what we mean. This verification is simply a procedural check to maintain a fair gaming environment. From our perspective, your gameplay is so outstanding that this decision was made inevitably. Even if it’s a bit inconvenient…”

“I understand for now. I’ll keep listening.”

Relieved by her brighter voice, Assistant Manager Ha continued.

“We would like to ask you to visit the Cradle headquarters as soon as possible. When you visit, please bring your ID for identification, and any equipment you deem necessary.”

Having delivered the message, Assistant Manager Ha quietly waited for a response. It took some time for the answer to come.

“…That might be a little difficult.”

Assistant Manager Ha’s heart sank. Why can’t she do it? Ah, I hope she’s not really a hacker. I don’t want to say things like, you may have to accept some disadvantages.

“May I ask if there is a reason why you can’t?”

“If I play Ori, I might not be able to control my emotions.”

Assistant Manager Ha tried to interpret her words. Emotional disturbance? Was she hurt by the group criticism? So she didn’t even want to play Ori anymore?

Fortunately, Assistant Manager Ha didn’t have to complicate his thoughts further. The other person changed her attitude.

“But I also think that I shouldn’t just keep avoiding it. Alright, I’ll visit you once.”

“Thank you! Then please tell us the possible date and time, and we will contact you again after consulting with the participating departments.”

“Hmm… I need about two weeks.”

“Two weeks is too long. We are also in a somewhat urgent situation, so we have to ask for a prompt process.”

“I can’t compromise on that either. I have something important coming up, so I need to maintain my composure until then.”

Yeah, she can’t compromise. I felt like nodding, wondering how important it must be… but.

As an employee, Assistant Manager Ha couldn’t just end it like that.

In the end, he found out what the important thing was (preparing for an interview).

He got her to promise to inform Cradle as soon as the exact interview date was confirmed, since she didn’t know it yet.

After the call, he reported that the verification could be postponed for this reason, got approval, and.

He was able to finish by contacting her again and informing her that they would wait up to two weeks for now.

***

The same number kept calling too often. So I thought it might be someone who really had something to say.

I was going to block out external variables as much as possible. Until I could regain some balance through training and meditation.

‘Maybe I should check text messages and emails a little more often.’

It wasn’t the announcement date for the application results yet, but they might inform me a little earlier.

Since I didn’t know the results, the interview wasn’t confirmed. But I was already preparing for the interview on the assumption that I had passed.

Not because I was confident, but because I wanted to do my best.

I thought it was better to fill in the insufficient parts in advance than to start preparing after receiving the results.

The VTuber market was beyond the expression of a red ocean.

It was rare for an individual to succeed, rather than a corporate VTuber with a solid fandom and recognition.

I wasn’t greedy for the honor and wealth that came with success.

Since I had made up my mind, I wanted to reveal myself to as many people as possible. In that sense, Blooming Core was a very valuable opportunity.

Recently, I had been practicing singing. Rather than improving my skills, it was more like learning new songs.

There were many popular songs that I didn’t know. I listened to pop songs, pop songs, and since it was VTubing, I also listened to a lot of Japanese songs.

Among foreign songs, it was much easier to sing in English. Even when I listened to the recording, there was nothing wrong with the pronunciation. Memorizing the lyrics was also very easy.

English and Japanese. I was bad at both languages, but strangely, the speed at which I was learning English was terrifyingly fast.

It was as if I was reviving forgotten memories.

I had never thought of myself as having a special talent for languages. Even if I learned Elvish naturally, I had to put in a lot of effort to learn Spirit Language and the Imperial Common Language.

But English was being absorbed and expanded on its own without any special effort.

It was very helpful for now, but it left a question in my heart.

Anyway, I spent the remaining time preparing for expected questions, practicing singing, and studying for general interviews.

And finally, on the day of the announcement.

[Blooming Core 3rd Generation 3rd Recruitment Application Results]

Hello, this is [Blooming Core].

First of all, thank you for applying to our company’s recruitment process.

We are pleased to announce that you have passed the document screening for the 3rd recruitment of Blooming Core’s 3rd generation.

Interview Information

*Date: ……

*Time:

*Location:

*Attire: Neat attire (There is no specific dress code, so please prepare freely)

To confirm your attendance at the interview, please reply to the link or number below by 5 PM on [March DD, 2030].

If you have any other questions, please contact us at the above contact information.

Thank you.

[From the Blooming Core Recruitment Team]

I received the long-awaited text message.

Author’s Note

Episode 11: The remaining period until the deadline for the 3rd additional recruitment for Blooming Core’s 3rd generation has been changed from 2 weeks to 1 week!