"Yeah, but the donation pool is at 2,000— no, wait, 2,100. So we’re really letting 2.1 million won go to waste? Seriously?" The kind of person willing to sacrifice herself if it meant securing the bag. She’d make a dream employee for some exploitative CEO. If Do-hee hadn’t picked Magia up first, she’d probably be the type to get her paycheck stolen by some shady convenience store owner. "But… I mean, stopping someone from asking for more work is kind of weird, right?" While Do-hee was still hesitating, the donation pool doubled again. :: Talk to the Parallel staff who does a perfect Rain impression on TalkCord – 2,777,000 Clouds :: It was about to break the goddamn atmosphere. Did every employee in Korea get paid today or something? And the higher the amount climbed, the louder the capitalist voice in her head became. Even Magia, still on the phone, was now actively narrating the donation increase in real time, trying to force a reaction out of her. What, did she think Do-hee was money-crazed or something? [2.77 million… 2.79 million… 2.82 million… 2.88 million…] “Cut it out. It’s distracting. I can see it myself.” [Almost at the office. We’ll talk there. Oh, 2.89 million.] It was like listening to a disaster reporter sent out to cover a blizzard. Even as Do-hee ended the call, the annoying narration didn’t stop. She’d be seeing Magia in person soon anyway. For now, Do-hee turned her attention back to Rain’s stream. [Momo: Is the person donating all this money… Chairman Puddle?] [Rain: HOW DID YOU KNOW???] [Rain: CEO, you’re an elite super clever broadcast grandma.] [Momo: It’s obvious…] [Momo: And what the hell was that last part. Do you wanna die.] [Rain: CEO ABUSING FOREIGN WORKERS WHAAA ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] Of course Magia had been reading out the donation numbers. They were literally increasing by the second. And if there was one person who could be behind it… It was Chairman Puddle, who had completely embarrassed himself yesterday. Dude failed to recognize the real Rain. He was desperately trying to redeem himself with money. And also, strategically? Summoning the fake Rain was a smart move to divert the chat’s attention away from him. Well, “smart move” was a stretch. It was just another day of WWE, aka bullshit entertainment beef. But still, it was also a message for Momo herself. "You evil demon lord. I will keep raising the mission amount. Will you release the captive Princess Magia… or not?" Thinking about it like that… Yeah, this was starting to piss her off. Why the hell was she suddenly the villain in this situation? She hadn’t done anything wrong! Magia was the one who suddenly showed off her hidden talents. some random girl protesting in front of the demon lord’s castle, so the demon lord brought her inside, and now some hero had arrived to "rescue" her. the office door slammed open. A tiny figure zipped through the hallway, barely visible over the partitions, before stopping to knock on her office door. At most, the height of a fifth or sixth grader. But since she was wearing a full business suit, it somehow gave her an oddly intimidating aura. Do-hee had considered telling her to dress more casually, but this was apparently what Magia thought an office worker was supposed to look like. So Do-hee had just let it be. On Magia’s phone screen? Rain’s live broadcast. She pulled out her earbuds, her gem-blue eyes sparkling as she said— “3.03 million. Anyway. This keeps going up.” “…I know, okay? That’s not the point.” Only when Do-hee narrowed her eyes did Magia finally stop reading out numbers. Considering 100 million won was enough to unlock special reactions from the first-gen members, if Rain accepted this mission, she might as well be hosting a mini-concert. They didn’t just want Rain’s reaction. The mission itself was about getting Magia on stream. Wouldn’t they expect her to do something, too? But this was Rain’s channel. She was the one who should be getting the spotlight. Introducing Magia as a new face was something Do-hee wanted to avoid. You said you wanted to do this. So go on Rain’s stream and wrap things up. But— you know the rules, right?” Magia immediately understood. It was her core belief. she should never overshadow the VTubers themselves. But as she turned to leave, Do-hee grabbed her shoulder. “This won’t be the last time.” She really didn’t understand her own character appeal, huh. Magia, in response, hit her with a brutally honest fact. “If you’re that worried, you could just tell me not to go.” “Well. I mean. The situation…” You know as well as I do— it’s only going to get worse.” Do-hee had no comeback. Seeing her chance, Magia pressed on. “Not that I’m really in a position to give advice, but from what I remember, most of the decisions you made in situations … ended up being the right ones.” “…Except the times when the audience turned against me.” “I wasn’t gonna say it, but yeah.” Do-hee had faced countless crossroads, she had made the best possible move. The real message here? She shouldn’t doubt herself. …And the biggest factor in this situation? And she didn’t even realize it. If things spiraled out of control… If Magia ended up debuting for real… That was Do-hee’s problem to deal with. sending Magia out was still the best move. “Alright. Go help Rain. If things start getting out of control, I’ll message you on TalkCord.” Magia gave a sharp, decisive nod, then walked out toward the motion studio. Do-hee watched her small but confident figure disappear… Then let out a small laugh. “Not in a position to give advice,” huh? Lately, Do-hee had been too busy running the company to keep up with the latest trends. And where did she get all her industry insight from? The girl who regularly compiled industry reports and sent them to her. Who analyzed both domestic and international VTuber trends. The same girl who had helped shape Momo’s career, back when she was just a nobody streamer, hunted by a relentless troll. “…She really refuses to acknowledge her own skills, huh.” The one-person broadcast room inside the motion studio was tense. I had Rain’s stream pulled up on one screen, and TalkCord open on the other. For now, I messaged Rain. [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: The CEO said I can join.] [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: You decide when I should come in.] pulled my condenser mic stand closer, and then leaned back in my chair. “Already at 3.5 million?” the donation pool kept climbing. It wasn’t slowing down at all. It was about to reach 1.5 times my monthly salary. How the hell was I supposed to ignore this? I mean, sure, it’s not my money, the mission gets completed, It’s basically the same as me donating to myself, right? Anyway, while I was sitting there lost in thought, [Rain: Before we start, I’ve got a favor to ask.] I thought she’d just bring me in, [Rain: I’ll give you anything you want.] [Rain: Steak, whatever. Like, for the sake of world balance.] [Rain: Next week, next month, whenever.] [Rain: Let’s do a stream together.] [Rain: I’m begging you, Magia. You’re the GOAT, please.] None of the first-gen members had ever invited me on their streams before. I never opened my mic anyway. So there wasn’t much I could do. At most, I’d play Battle Colosseum with them and carry the whole match. the VTuber should be the one carrying the show. If I did it, there’d be no synergy. But after yesterday’s "Find Rain" stream, I told them to focus on the first-gens, everyone’s fixated on me instead. I still don’t get why. But if this helps Rain, The CEO already approved it, too. I might not be as talented as our VTubers, but when it comes to games and content, I can keep up just fine. That’s what it means to be a Parallel Supporter. [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: Okay.] [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: Let’s do it next week.] [Rain: When’s good for you?] [Rain: Let’s do dinner too.] [Rain: Good chance to plan the content.] [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: Just not on the CEO’s stream day.] [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: Also, can the CEO join us for dinner?] I thought that was the end of the conversation, but then Rain added something else. [Rain: If you start feeling overwhelmed, just dump everything on me.] [Rain: I’m a seasoned streamer now, you know?] Ever since I got stuck with this cute new appearance, weird things kept happening. Rain had always relied on me, always asked for help, and always got scolded in return. I’d practically been her babysitter. Not that I fully trust her. She’ll probably still pull out the "foreign worker abuse" joke. She did think about my situation. That was nice of her. [Parallel Operations Team – Magia: Thanks for looking out for me.] As the fire in the donation pool finally started cooling down, Chairman Puddle stopped feeding the flames. it was time to start. :: Talk to the Parallel staff who does a perfect Rain impression on TalkCord – 4,022,000 Clouds :: The moment the TalkCord call notification rang out, — Huh?? Is she here?! — SHE ACTUALLY SHOWED UP. — 4 MILLION WON WAS TOO TEMPTING LOL. — As expected of Chairman Puddle. Efficient as hell. — EVIL CEO MOMO, RELEASE YOUR PRISONER!! The chat was scrolling so fast, I could barely keep up. I glanced at my mic settings, — WTF HER VOICE IS CUTE. — Wait, I feel like I’ve heard this voice before… — LOLOLOLOL HOLY SHIT.