Chapter 25: A Role-Playing Genius

“Sigh…”

Among the many things I need to prepare before my debut… I’ve at least found a manager. If Kim Kyuseok doesn’t study Japanese, it’ll all be for nothing, but he’s a responsible guy… so he’ll probably study.

Well, finding a manager is only the first problem… Will I be able to find other staff? My personality is a huge obstacle.

“I guess filling the staff with only acquaintances won’t be enough.”

Groan…

No matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t come up with a solution. Okay, I can do the thumbnails myself. My skills have improved significantly compared to when I was a man, and it’s free if I do it myself, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.

But the biggest problem is the editor. ‘Huh? What kind of editor does a Vtuber need? Are you a fake nerd?’ you might ask. My answer is this:

Vtubers usually upload full streams, not 10-minute edited videos like Korean YouTubers. But editing is essential for cover songs, original songs, shorts, and so on.

Creating such short but impactful videos requires a completely different skill set. And since it’s a relatively new concept, there aren’t many skilled people.

Kim Kyuseok is only human, he’ll struggle enough learning a new language, and no one knows about this. I have to bring in someone I don’t know.

“…Is that even possible?”

How do I find someone? Would my Japanese acquaintances help me if I asked? No, that might be difficult too. I have to meet someone I don’t know…

“Sigh. If only I didn’t have all these damn conditions…”

Wait.

Is that even right? This appearance is fabricated… I’m a socially anxious, silver-haired, blue-eyed beautiful girl. If you remove the social anxiety, I’m just a typical web novel protagonist…

Ah. Even with social anxiety, I’m already typical.

“Anyway, how am I supposed to meet new people…?”

What I’ve learned from interacting with others is that I’m a keyboard warrior. Normal on the phone or through messages, but I become weird as soon as I meet them face-to-face.

The trigger is ‘meeting’ someone in person. So should I put my avatar on the screen and talk instead of showing my face? That’s even more idiotic…

“Ah?”

Aren’t I already in a similar state? Wearing the shell of a girl I created. Able to make any expression, regardless of my current emotions…

A Vtuber walking and moving in real life.

In other words, I’m a highly realistic 3D model…!

“It’s a kind of RP, isn’t it?”

My eyes sparkled with excitement. This is also just one of the many expressions I drew. The emotions I’m actually feeling are interest and relief.

If I can control my expressions and biological reactions like this…

“A perfect Kang Soohyun, free of panic attacks and social anxiety…”

Ah. This amazing discovery solves everything!

I can act affectionately towards Kang Shimjeong, always be cheerful so Kim Kyuseok doesn’t worry, and coldly ignore the other girls’ flirting.

I can become the type of person who leads, not follows.

“Since I’m wearing an appearance that isn’t even mine, expressing emotions that aren’t mine is easy.”

The communication problem is solved. All that’s left is finding someone. Ah. Everything is so easy and smooth. All that’s left is printing money…

“Hehehe. Just you wait, Mizuki Aya.”

With a terrifying expression that I don’t understand why people find trivial, I pointed at the blue-haired beauty on the screen.

“I’ll take your place!”

***

“Achoo!”

The avatar suddenly jerked back and forth. Blue hair swaying. Yellow eyes briefly closed.

Eh, cute.

Is she cold?

Maybe someone’s talking about Aya-chan.

“Hmm… maybe.”

Hoshino Sumire wasn’t feeling well.

A vague sense of unease.

Nothing was going wrong, everything was smooth sailing, but there was this creepy, unsettling feeling, the worst kind of feeling.

Maybe it was because her shorts editor recently quit. The unpleasant feeling lingered.

Sumire tried to ignore this baseless, inexplicable feeling, but it was impossible to overcome one’s own emotions.

“Sorry, everyone… I’m feeling a bit under the weather today.”

The blue-haired beauty wavered unsteadily. It was a genuine discomfort that couldn’t be faked, so no one doubted her.

Don’t worry and get some rest, Aya-chan.

Aya is definitely frail.

As long as she doesn’t take a 6-month break like last time…

“Yeah. I’ll just rest today… and I’ll do a game stream tomorrow. I have to join the Block Craft server my juniors are playing on…”

Most of them are playing it.

Looking forward to Aya’s Block Craft server life.

Get some rest!

Sumire forced a smile. When would this frail body of hers get better? She really wanted to sing today.

“Yeah… bye. Thank you for watching today’s broadcast.”

Click.

Silence again. A beautiful albino girl, abandoned by her parents, reflected on the black screen. Sumire knew all too well that she was beautiful.

“…So pretty, yet not chosen.”

Should she advertise herself when she’s reborn? ‘I’ll grow up to be a beautiful girl. I’m a good singer. I’ll earn 10 million yen a month easily when I grow up.’

Would she still be abandoned?

Thud.

“Oops…”

Sumire, lost in her daydreams, kicked a pile of garbage bags. She had run out of space in her apartment and it was time for one of her rare outings.

“Ugh… seriously.”

She was tired and annoyed, but if she didn’t take out the trash now, she would definitely feel worse later. There’s nothing more foolish than hating your past self.

“I’ll just take out the trash and go to sleep.”

Sumire turned off her computer, just in case the stream was still on, and put on a large white t-shirt and shorts.

She would cover her face with a mask and hat anyway, and the only thing worth looking at on her thin and skinny body was her white skin, there weren’t any curves to speak of.

Sumire looked at her shoe rack, feeling a slight sense of defeat towards all the women in the world. Six pairs of slippers and one pair of sneakers.

Sumire frowned.

“…I want to wear slippers, but my feet will hurt.”

Sumire, Japan’s top Vtuber, lived in a luxurious apartment in Tokyo with a large complex. It was so large that her legs would ache after taking out the trash.

With her already frail body, if she went out in slippers, she wouldn’t be able to walk for a while.

Sumire loosely tied the laces of her rarely worn sneakers and grabbed the doorknob for the first time in a while.

“Let’s go.”

She set off with a determined heart.

Four minutes later.

“Ugh!”

Hot.

Even with a parasol, she couldn’t block the heat radiating from the ground. Sumire was drenched in sweat.

She had anticipated this when she decided to wear a hat and mask in the summer, but humans are foolish when it comes to things that haven’t happened yet.

“pant… wheeze… ha…”

Sumire, half-dead from the heat, instinctively ducked into the shade of a tree. She leaned against the tree and caught her breath.

“Oh my. Matsumoto-san?”

“It’s been a while~.”

Despite her unique appearance, Sumire had a weak presence. The middle-aged women gathered under the tree, thinking no one was there.

‘Ugh…’

What’s the point of having all these fancy facilities for community interaction? She could just read ebooks instead of going to the library, and she never went to the gym.

Sumire couldn’t even be sure that these people weren’t outsiders.

‘Am I too much of a hikikomori…’

Oblivious to Sumire’s renewed sense of defeat, the women’s gossip session began.

“Did you hear? The family in building 103, apartment 4103 is moving out.”

‘…!’

It was the apartment right next to Sumire’s. The family whose loud parties annoyed her but somehow warmed her heart.

“What? That family seemed so proud of living in Sakamata Hills…”

“I heard he got fired from his company. For leaking company secrets…”

‘…I see.’

Sumire’s secret source of daily healing, eavesdropping on the happy family, was gone. But the fact that strangers knew about it before she did somehow made her heart ache.

“Then someone will move in right away, right? It’s a place you can’t get into even with money…”

“I saw a young Korean man talking at the real estate office. He was as tall as a mountain and so muscular. He was quite handsome too. I think he’s an athlete.”

‘…Huh? Korean?’

A Korean person was a rare sight in Sakamata Hills, a symbol of Japanese wealth. And the fact that he was the same nationality as the man she admired piqued Sumire’s curiosity.

“Are you talking about me?”

A gigantic figure, unbelievably human. Cold eyes looking down at everyone.

It was him.

WFC Middleweight Champion, Kang Shimjeong.

“Eek!”

“N-No, sir!”

‘Whoa…! It’s really Kang Shimjeong…!’

Sumire’s face flushed with excitement. Hoshino Sumire, frailer than anyone, dreamed of strength more than anyone.

Kang Shimjeong, the strongest in the fast and powerful middleweight division, unlike the slow heavyweights, redefined Sumire’s concept of strength. The moment she saw his face, Sumire’s mind went blank, recalling Kang Shimjeong’s fighting style and record.

“…Why are you running away? Is there something wrong with my face?”

Kang Shimjeong, who came to Japan to find a house for his sister and ended up intimidating two middle-aged women, looked at his phone translator with a puzzled expression.