Chapter 77: The Suspicion

10,000 Subscribers.

To others, it might not seem like a big deal, but to me, it was a significant milestone.

Before I started VTubing, I thought the same way.

Only 10,000?—something along those lines.

After all, when you browse VTubing channels, you’ll see countless ones with hundreds of thousands or even millions of subscribers.

It’s easy to become numb to those numbers.

However, after hiring two editors, uploading videos, and seriously getting into VTubing, I naturally came to realize—

This isn’t as easy as it looks.

Streaming and VTubing both seemed simple on the surface, but once I actually tried it, it was a completely different story.

Even content that seems like low-effort requires dedication.

Finding a personal selling point, figuring out how to attract attention, and constantly thinking about ways to make people click just one more time—all of it was a constant struggle.

Luckily, after participating in the Takerbae Streamer Tournament, which brought in a surge of viewers, my VTube channel started gaining traction as well.

People who were watching the tournament videos of other streamers gradually started trickling into my channel too.

It was a kind of mutual promotion—a cycle I had been hoping for.

I had expected to hit my first milestone of 10,000 subscribers soon, but I didn’t realize it would be now.

“Hehe…”

I logged into my VTube channel after reading a viewer’s message, and there it was—10,002 subscribers.

A silly smile crept onto my face as I watched the number slowly climb to 10,003… then 10,004.

[Wow! 10,000 subscribers!]

[Ultra-enterprise Kayak, let’s go!]

[The rising star of the VTube scene, Kayak!]

[Hasn’t it been less than a month since the channel started? That’s insane.]

[Took longer than I expected, honestly.]

[A lot of people are subscribing after seeing the tournament video.]

[If only the drunk stream from the ‘Baby Bottle’ arc was uploaded, you’d hit 100,000 in no time.]

[Please upload the replay!]

“It’s all thanks to you guys. Thank you, thank you!”

Feeling overwhelmed with excitement, I briefly turned on the camera that had only been connected but not streaming.

I carefully made sure my face wasn’t visible and greeted my viewers.

I bowed once to the left and once to the right—like a cute little mouse bowing its head.

[Oh wow… you didn’t have to do that…]

[Thank you, thank you, thank you!]

[Where did the mischievous abyssal Kayak go? Who is this elegant lady?]

[She’s insanely pretty.]

[Where did you get your hair done, sis? Your white hair is stunning!]

[Wakakyaaa PHWAH! LOL]

[A surprise face cam stream?]

[Ah, the people who missed today’s stream are gonna regret it so much.]

[Someone will clip it, right? I’m counting on you guys.]

[Clips just don’t hit the same as live streams…]

This was my little way of showing appreciation—a reaction, if you will.

After finishing my greetings, I turned off the camera and sat back down.

“I feel great! Ah, I was a bit down earlier because I couldn’t pull the Snow Queen Camilla skin.

But now I feel better.

I mean, you can always buy skins with money, right?

But you can’t buy VTube subscribers with money.”

[Haha, true, true!]

[There’s nothing money can’t solve.]

[I’d subscribe for just 1,000 won.]

[You’re going to remove it later anyway.]

[When the streamer says something, just go along with it.]

[The host’s voice getting higher is so cute.]

<BTSBongJoonHoSonHeungMinAndKayak has donated 1,000 won!>

– Teacher, how about a short Q&A to celebrate reaching 10,000 subscribers?

A Q&A, huh.

They must mean the usual thing—where people ask questions and I answer them.

Honestly, I found the idea a bit annoying, but since today was a good day, I decided to be generous.

“A Q&A… Our loyal viewers already said they’d record and upload it anyway.

Oh, you want special treatment for live viewers?

Yeah, of course.

Live streams should have their own charm…

Alright then, let’s take two or three quick questions.”

The moment I finished speaking, questions flooded in like a bursting dam.

[Three sizes! Three sizes! Three sizes!]

[What did you do before streaming?]

[What are your hobbies?]

[Your favourite food!]

[I’m curious, do you have a boyfriend? Haha]

[In your opinion, who’s the best pro gamer in the current meta?]

[Did you main Camilla from the start in Abyss?]

[What do you usually do on your days off?]

[Do you have any collaboration plans with other streamers?]

I read through the rapidly scrolling chat, but there were just too many questions.

“This is a problem—too many questions can be an issue too.

I’ll just pick a few I want to answer.

First of all, the three sizes question is obviously out.

Let’s see… Hmm…”

I paused for a moment, pretending to think.

Part of it was me genuinely considering the questions, but I was also stalling on purpose.

One sharp-eyed viewer quickly caught on to my intentions.

<JungnangGuHuhKyungYoung has donated 10,000 won!>

– Teacher, your money-grabbing skills are impressive.

“Oh, I got caught? Hehehe.”

[The master of cashing in.]

[She hasn’t been streaming for long, but she’s already using such advanced techniques.]

[This girl is taming her viewers, lol.]

[Haha, right—if you want answers, pay up.]

[Get rid of the freeloaders!]

[Do you really think the people watching this stream have money?]

[They must have money; otherwise, why would they be watching a stream at this hour?]

[Do you think just laughing it off will let you off the hook?]

[Listen to that sly laugh; she’s like a fox.]

[Her laugh could probably end a couple’s fight in an instant.]

[A couple’s fight? LOL, they’ve already imagined getting married?]

[The thirst levels in this chat are getting out of control…]

I mean, I have to make a living, right?

I already have two mouths to feed.

Besides, it’s not just me—streamers using techniques like this are pretty common.

I sometimes stall like this, pretend to be clueless to encourage donations, or completely ignore the chat and only respond to donations.

At this point, I might not be a professional streamer yet… but I think I’ve at least graduated from being an amateur.

As I sat there, people who figured out the “rules” started sending donations to ask their questions.

<VollyVollyTVolly has donated 10,000 won!>

– Teacher, what do you usually do on your days off?

“On my days off, I just do whatever I feel like or need to do at the time.

If it’s a day like today, I’ll watch a movie.

On other days, I might go for a morning walk.

Exercise?

I should probably do that too, but it’s not really part of my plans right now.”

[So, you’re not really the planning type.]

[Does that mean if something comes up, you might take a whole week off?]

[So, you’re more of an impulsive person!]

Starting with the question about what I do on my days off, a variety of other questions followed.

I answered the ones I could, and dodged the ones I didn’t want to.

Then, one particular question popped up.

<CamillaIsStrong has donated 20,000 won!>

– Do you intentionally make your voice sound like Camilla?

“My voice?”

It was a rather unexpected question.

Voice, huh.

[Oh, this has been a hot topic on the forums too.]

[You do sound a lot like Camilla.]

[Are you doing an impression?]

[I don’t really hear the resemblance.]

[That characteristic drained voice is exactly the same.]

[Haha, a true master copies even the voice.]

[You’re literally Camilla herself.]

[You’ve reached a state of oneness with her.]

“Aha…”

I finally understood what they were talking about.

Of course, my voice would sound similar.

Right now, my body is identical to Camilla’s in every way.

From my face to my limbs, everything is synchronized, so my vocal cords must be exactly the same too.

As I hesitated, thinking about how to respond, the viewers continued to discuss the topic.

[Come to think of it, Riri said that the host looks like Camilla.]

[Riri? Did she really say that?]

[Yeah, she said she’s a super, super, super pretty girl who looks a lot like Camilla.]

[Hmm… Maybe she was just calling her pretty?]

[No, if she was just pretty, why compare her to Camilla?]

[Teacher, have you played Camilla so much that you’ve actually become her?]

I flinched.

I saw the correct answer flash by in the chat and instinctively reacted for a split second.

Thankfully, my camera wasn’t on, so no one noticed.

More importantly, Riri had been saying things behind my back.

It’s not like she was wrong, but I didn’t expect her to be handing out clues like that.

[Someone posted on the forum that they saw a woman who looked exactly like Camilla at the movie theatre.]

[A Kayak sighting???]

[No way, was that actually you, teacher?]

[Kayak rumor time: She’s been camping out at the theatre for three days straight, and now there’s a post about a Camilla look-alike appearing.]

[Teacher, are you really a super gorgeous woman who looks exactly like Camilla?]

[And she even has white hair, lol. How does everything match so perfectly?]

Crisis.

Crisis.

Big crisis.

I didn’t expect some random forum post to turn this Q&A into an interrogation session.

I’m not good at lying, so I let out an awkward laugh and spoke up.

“Uh… my voice just happens to sound similar.

Yeah.

Do I really look like Camilla…?

Riri said that?

Well… I guess she might have just imagined me that way while thinking about Camilla.

I guess I do resemble her a little… I’m not really sure.”

Leaving behind the now-buzzing chat, I quickly changed the topic.

“Okay, moving on! Next question, please!”