Chapter 54: “I Need to See It with My Own Eyes”

“Does this even make sense…?”

How could this happen?

I momentarily forgot I was streaming and muttered in disbelief, wearing a blank expression.

Fifty-fifty.

A perfect 50-50 split.

I couldn’t hide my astonishment at the result, split precisely down the middle.

An unbelievable situation.

The kind of thing that only happens in novels—an unrealistic event unfolding right before my eyes.

Life is full of surprises.

Things like this happen too, huh?

It’s as if the viewers all conspired together…

[What’s going on?]

[Please announce the results.]

[She’s sitting there alone, saying it’s unbelievable.]

[I feel like flicking her forehead right now.]

[What’s the result?]

[Did it end in a tie or something? LOL]

“Yes.

It’s actually a tie.”

As I spoke, I showed the screen I had been looking at.

The voting result window clearly displayed that both option 1 and option 2 had 50%.

“Is this a site hack?

Or did you all plan this together?

Exactly fifty-fifty… how many people?

1,523 voted for option 1, and the rest voted for option 2?”

[What are you talking about, LOL.]

[This actually tied?]

[Wait, wasn’t option 2 better?

Why would people vote for option 1?]

[Viewers uniting as one: the great harmony of option 1 and option 2 supporters LOL.]

[A true national reconciliation…]

[Kayak for Congress!

Kayak for Congress!]

[Whoa.]

[Let’s stick to reasonable comments.]

[The host randomly blurting nonsense is the funniest part, LOL.]

[Welcome to Kayak’s Truman Show, LOL.]

[Turns out this was all a hidden camera prank~.]

[The prank within a prank~.]

[But this is live, LOL.]

[We’re orchestrating a grand scam on Kayak!]

Looking back calmly, there’s no way that was the case, but the absurdity of it all made me blurt out something ridiculous.

So, for a while, we chatted about how unbelievable and strange the situation was.

<“Kayak’s Footrest” donated 1,000 KRW!>

-What happens now?

A re-vote?

“What re-vote?

We just move on.

If we do a re-vote, the result will change every time.

We’ll stick with what we’ve got.”

Though I was flustered by the tie, I decided to take it positively.

It meant the competition was that tight in the viewers’ eyes.

Neither candidate seemed overwhelmingly better than the other.

Ultimately, the viewers’ vote was only a reference.

No matter the result, the final decision was up to me.

Looking at it this way, the tie might have been for the best.

If the result had been skewed heavily to one side, I’d have felt a subtle pressure when making my decision.

And so, we’re back to square one.

“Who should I choose between the two?

The gallery regular, Sia Sia, or the FanTube operator who’s already quietly gaining subscribers?”

[It’s gotta be the OG mod, LOL.

They were making highlights back when concurrent viewer counts weren’t even a thing.]

[You need to absorb the FanTube subscribers!

Their starting point is entirely different.]

[OG versus rising star…

This isn’t an easy decision.]

[Gold Cup vibes, LOL.]

[If you’re a gallery regular, support option 1.]

[Got blocked by the mod, so I voted for option 2.]

[Can’t we just pick both?

It’d be a waste to let either of them go.]

[KayTube two-pronged strategy, let’s go!]

[We haven’t even set up a VTube channel, and now you’re talking about a double setup?]

<“World’s Strongest Tool Girl” donated 1,000 KRW!>

-Might as well do a personality test while you’re at it, LOL.

Especially with all the issues editors have been causing lately.

I’d heard a similar story before.

Wasn’t it about Dekal, my opponent in the semifinals?

His editor had been hitting on various female streamers in their chatrooms, causing a scandal, and eventually got fired over it.

As a result, Dekal’s VTube channel had been inactive for a month now.

To prevent such issues, it’s crucial to carefully evaluate people before hiring them.

In that sense, the viewer’s suggestion to do a personality test, though it sounded absurd, wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

A personality test.

A personality test, huh…

But outright demanding editor candidates to take a test seemed awkward.

This isn’t some major corporation’s interview process, after all.

I couldn’t exactly say, “Take this test and submit the results.”

Besides, personality tests can easily be manipulated.

If someone isn’t being genuine and mixes in a few lies, the results often look favorable.

They’re not very reliable in the end.

In that case…

Wouldn’t it be better to meet them in person and judge for myself?

When you meet someone face-to-face and have a conversation, you can usually get a sense of what kind of person they are, or whether they might cause problems.

“Forget the personality test.

It’s not a bad idea to meet them in person and make a decision.”

[Excuse me?]

[W-w-w-what?]

[Meet?

Meet?

Meet?

Meet?

Meet?

Meet?

Meet?

Meet?]

[Do you even know what kind of people they are?

The world’s a scary place these days.]

[Chat’s losing it, LOL.]

[Oh, so it’s like passing the first round and moving on to an in-person interview, LOL.]

[Seeing all the sweethearts showing up, I guess that’s accurate.]

[My horns hurt…]

Is this the power of collective intelligence?

What once seemed like a complicated problem now felt like it had a clear solution.

It’s definitely better than mulling over it alone.

I’ll meet both of them, then decide who I feel more comfortable working with.

Having made up my mind, I nodded and spoke.

“That’s it for today’s stream.

While I’m offline, I’ll talk to the editor candidates and decide who I’ll work with.

I’ll let you know next time.

Talking with you all really helped organize my thoughts—thank you.”

[No, wait!]

[You’re leaving like this?

For real?]

[Is she serious?

LOL.]

[She just addressed her own concerns and logged off?

LOL.]

[It’s been ages since you streamed.

Stay a little longer…]

[“It’s because you all kept teasing and harassing her—”]

[“Kayak’s lost her initial spark… This can’t be stopped now.”]

[“You’ll stream tomorrow, right? If you don’t, that’s only two broadcasts this week!”]

[“Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go.”]

[“After that, Kayak never returned. And for the viewers, there was only a single mysterious video left behind…”]

[“Unnie ㅠㅠ, meeting people randomly like that can be dangerous!”]

Ignoring the pleas of my viewers as usual, I ended the stream.

“What? Meet? You’re actually going to meet them?”

Meanwhile, the two editor candidates watching Kayak’s broadcast were thrown into a small panic.

The meeting was unexpected.

Normally, recruiting an editor didn’t involve arranging in-person meetings.

Reasons like personal safety, inconvenience, or sheer hassle usually prevented such encounters.

Even if there was a meeting, it typically happened after the hire was finalized and enough time had passed to establish familiarity.

Before that, the relationship was purely virtual, with tasks shared online without face-to-face interactions.

The idea of meeting potential hires in person during the recruitment process was something usually reserved for large corporations.

For Kayak to take on such trouble just to pick an editor showed her dedication to VTubing.

It was akin to Zhuge Liang launching the Northern Campaigns and submitting his memorial to the emperor—Kayak was making her intentions clear.

For the candidates, this was a good sign, demonstrating how serious the employer was about VTubing.

But their thoughts didn’t reach that far.

Kayak’s unexpected declaration of an in-person meeting had set their nerves on edge.

“What do I do? What do I do, what do I do…”

Yoo Sia paced nervously.

Her feelings were a mix of excitement and apprehension.

As a fan of Kayak, meeting her in person was undeniably thrilling.

Had it been any other situation, she would’ve welcomed the chance with open arms.

It was almost like a personal fan meeting.

But this was an interview, one to decide the new editor.

Between Yoo Sia and the FanTube operator, only one would be chosen to work with her.

While Kayak hadn’t explicitly framed it that way, the implications were clear, and Sia couldn’t hide her growing anxiety.

The same was true for the other editor candidate, the operator of Kayak’s midday FanTube channel, Jeong Oh.

“Phew…”

Kim Jaejun, a man in his mid-twenties, stood in front of a mirror with a tense expression.

He kept slicking his messy hair back, alternating between parting it to the left and right, as he anxiously checked his reflection.

On his bed lay a formal shirt he hadn’t taken out of his wardrobe in ages.

Jaejun tried it on, then took it off, looking deep in thought as he weighed his options.

“Uncle, what are you doing?”

“Si-hyun, Uncle’s busy. Go play later.”

“No, really, what are you doing? You’ve been standing in front of the mirror for ages.”

When his cute yet cheeky niece puffed her cheeks in protest, Jaejun paused his hair-slicking to answer.

“Uncle has an interview to attend. I’m trying to figure out what to wear.”

“Whoa! Uncle got a job?”

“Not yet, but I hope so.”

That was Jaejun’s honest feeling.

The reason he had been so diligent in running the FanTube channel was his deep fan devotion.

Working with someone he genuinely admired was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Like Sia, Jaejun was nervous but determined to succeed.

Both candidates anxiously anticipated their meeting with Kayak, and time crept forward.

Finally, the day of reckoning arrived.