I Want to Be a VTuber

"I want to go back to Korea."

That was Narumi Sora's thought. She wanted to return to Korea as soon as possible.

Sure, to be honest, she’d been excited when she first arrived in Japan. After all, it was her hometown, a place she was familiar with, so it was only natural for her to feel at ease.

But that comfort was separate from the ordeal of constantly following Seoyeon's schedule. During the first prank show, she'd fainted and had to be carried out, and when she regained consciousness, she was treated like a frail child.

"Anyone would faint after seeing something like that!"

The actors involved in the prank had fled as soon as they glimpsed the scene, but poor Sora had been chased around by Seoyeon the whole time. When Sora voiced her frustration about it:

"I kept reaching out, asking for help, but you coldly rejected me! And then you tried to close the fake wall before I even got inside."

Seoyeon pouted. After the prank, her cheeks were visibly puffed in annoyance. It only lasted a couple of hours—Seoyeon wasn’t one to stay upset for long—but she genuinely seemed unaware of how intense her own reactions were at the time.

From Seoyeon's perspective, she was desperately trying to flee from the ghosts, only to have the other person randomly panic and shut the door on her.

"Still, everything was fine once the show aired."

When Seoyeon saw the episode yesterday, she discreetly snuck back to her bed and hid under the blankets. Sora couldn’t see her face, but she seemed thoroughly embarrassed.

At least, Sora thought, she’d finally had her frustrations relieved. Her desire to return to Korea wasn’t because of the prank experience, though.

It was her stamina.

She was simply exhausted.

By now, Park Eun-ha, Seoyeon's manager, was already completely out of commission.

So, Sora, being relatively stronger, was the one who had to keep up with Seoyeon’s adventures.

"I'm fine on my own. It’s not really dangerous," Seoyeon insisted, but neither Park Eun-ha nor Sora could bring themselves to nod in agreement. They didn’t believe Seoyeon was the one in danger. It was everyone else.

"If we leave her alone, who knows what she’ll get up to?"

Sora was beginning to understand Seoyeon better. In a way, Seoyeon was unpredictable.

Normally, she might seem as cool as she looked, a girl with a calm demeanor. But given the right trigger, she’d burst into action without hesitation.

And Sora needed to get closer to Seoyeon. The drama Mine was one thing, but Seoyeon was connected to so many influential people among their peers.

"Jo Seohui, Park Jungwoo."

Both were top-ranked actors of their age group.

So, getting closer to Seoyeon to learn from her would be beneficial.

Still, though...

"Just... let’s take a quick break, please."

Sora had never considered herself weak. In terms of stamina and physical ability, she’d never lost to her peers—boys or girls. But compared to Seoyeon, it was another story.

In response to Sora’s plea:

"You should work out more," Seoyeon suggested earnestly.

It seemed to her that Sora’s stamina had weakened since Mine. Sora, rendered speechless by Seoyeon’s comment, couldn’t say anything in reply.

Since arriving in Japan, Seoyeon had been tirelessly exploring. She barely spent any time at the pricey hotel room she’d booked, instead running around the city.

Most of her travels were limited to Akihabara, but that didn’t matter to her.

Yet, after a week of exploring, there wasn’t much left to see.

"I’ve bought too much... I’ll have to ship it as cargo."

And it wasn’t just her belongings. A good portion was for Su-a.

Su-a, once an avid otaku, hadn’t let go of her passion even after becoming a mother. She’d discreetly requested several items from Seoyeon that weren’t available in Korea, so Seoyeon had prioritized grabbing those first.

Along with anime, VTuber merchandise, and figures, her luggage was now packed. Just in case she found anything else to buy, she had stopped shopping for the time being.

And also...

Seoyeon hadn’t left the hotel today.

That was because she’d watched her appearance on Japanese television the day before.

With the blanket pulled over her head, Seoyeon groaned, worrying that she might reflexively kick the covers off.

"I don’t want to pay for a broken blanket," she thought.

"What if I get a strange reputation?"

Apparently, she’d trended number one on Japanese Twitter.

She couldn’t just go outside now without the risk of being recognized...

"Especially since people often ask actors to reenact famous scenes."

It was a common occurrence. Sometimes, fans would approach actors, saying, “I loved your movie! Can you show me that scene?” Usually, it was just a simple line or two. In Korea, fans had sometimes asked her to recite famous lines from her character Cha Seoa.

But what would she do in Japan?

The Chaser hadn’t even been released yet.

"Do I... have to crawl around?"

No, surely they wouldn’t ask her to crawl on the ground.

But being number one on the trend list meant she was bound to get recognized.

Her appearance on the show had been memorable even to her. Korean fan sites were already flooded with memes of her from the episode.

As she was about to switch to her secondary account to manage her image, Seoyeon noticed a new comment.

Yeonhwa High?

Someone saw that?

Holding her breath, Seoyeon read further.

Swallowing nervously, Seoyeon pondered the possibility that someone had a video. Back then, she'd been a bit overenthusiastic about scaring people.

She’d been pulled away by Jiyeon before it went too far, but plenty of people had already witnessed her antics.

Thankfully, there was no video posted yet, so she could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Actually..."

Seoyeon realized something. She was still a high school student.

Of course, it made sense that some students from Yeonhwa High would be part of her fan club. In fact, it would be strange if there weren’t any.

She wondered what they thought of her at school.

The thought unexpectedly made her self-conscious.

"...I should make sure to attend school diligently."

She’d always been careful about her public image, but now, she resolved to be even more cautious. With a renewed sense of responsibility, she cautiously poked her head out from under the blanket.

"They’re still asleep."

Glancing around, she noticed Sora and Park Eun-ha sprawled out on their beds, too exhausted to move.

They had just endured a week of relentless travel, and they had another week to go.

"I’ll go out by myself today."

She hadn’t bothered disguising herself while in Japan, but today, it seemed necessary.

After all, her variety show appearance had just aired yesterday.

Right after the show aired, the Japanese media was abuzz.

Seoyeon had reached the top of the trending list on Japanese social media with a single variety show appearance.

News articles were published across channels, from F Channel to Futaba, various internet communities, and even Yahoo Japan's main page.

Even a day later, Twitter was still flooded with posts about her.

==

@naer3234

"Oh, another Korean actor? I thought, but I couldn’t stop watching lol. At first, I thought she was just pretty, but wow~~"

@tqerk_noya

"They called her a genius actor, and I thought it was just another title, but she was amazing. The actors playing ghosts scrambling to run away were hilarious!"

@kakeba_hiro

"Ju Seoyeon. I had some doubts since she’s a young Korean actress, but she impressed me on the show. I'd love to work with her if the chance arises."

@fuzio_rei

"How did she break that mannequin??? And that crawling speed... mind-blowing! I want to see her on more variety shows. She’s so pretty—like a once-in-a-millennium beauty!"

==

Most of the feedback was positive, with even industry insiders joining the conversation.

One such person, Kakeba Hiro, was a rising director known for his creative, international ambitions. The industry's response was surprisingly intense, and it left reporters perplexed.

A Japanese entertainment journalist, Furihata Yuito, was discussing the phenomenon with a colleague, tapping his pen thoughtfully.

"This is honestly fascinating. Has anything like this ever happened with an actor who’s barely started their career?"

"Apparently, the producers of The Chaser are considering an earlier release to capitalize on this hype."

"Why a Korean actress, though?"

Furihata grinned at his colleague’s puzzled expression.

"Well, she’s pretty."

"Is that all?"

"She’s young, too."

"Now that part I understand."

"Honestly, she’s like a character straight out of an anime."

"That’s true!"

Jet-black hair, striking red eyes, pale skin—she looked like a fantasy character come to life. Rumors about her red eyes were already circulating, with some speculating supernatural abilities.

"Long, black hair, red eyes, pale skin... a high school actress with amazing physical abilities."

"Isn’t that a bit much? Sounds like a character profile," his colleague chuckled.

"But it’s true."

Yesterday’s intense reactions were mostly from fans who were enchanted by her unique aura and impressive performance on the show.

And she was funny.

Her unexpected reactions were fresh for Japanese viewers, who were used to scripted reactions on prank shows.

"Now everyone’s searching for Ju Seoyeon."

"Right? But since no one was paying attention to her before, nobody knows where she’s staying."

It was as though he were talking about someone else entirely. His colleague, Muroga Ouki, squinted.

"You know, right?"

"Hm?"

"You were interested in Ju Seoyeon before she came to Japan."

Furihata grinned.

He did know. He’d even visited the set after the filming had wrapped, though he hadn’t managed to meet her directly.

"I heard she’d be touring Akihabara. I assume she’s staying at a nearby hotel."

"Akihabara?"

"She might be interested in cameras or electronics."

The area did have a strong presence of those stores. He hadn’t considered that an actress might come for an otaku tour.

Recalling the events, Furihata spoke up to Ouki.

"We could ask around the hotels in Akihabara. There aren’t too many high-end options there."

"Yeah, good idea."

As they stood up from the cafe, ready to search, a surprised shout came from Ouki.

"Y-Yuito!"

Ouki was pointing across the crosswalk, where they saw a distinctive figure.

She was nervously adjusting her phone and glancing around, dressed in an eye-catching goth outfit.

"She’s covered up, but she’s clearly a beautiful girl. So?"

"That’s Ju Seoyeon."

"Really?"

"She briefly lowered her mask while looking at her reflection in the cafe window."

"Seriously?"

Standing up abruptly, Ouki had caught the fleeting moment.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. With a face like hers, there’s no mistake."

"Why’s she in Shibuya? Is Narumi Sora with her?"

"Nope, she’s alone."

Why would she be in Shibuya instead of Akihabara? And what was up with that outfit?

But if that really was Ju Seoyeon...

"We have to get her."

If someone this popular was wandering around, it was the perfect chance for an interview. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"The crosswalk’s open!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!"

They hurried to follow her, but Seoyeon, blending into the crowd, walked with a slightly hesitant stride.

"Maybe... I shouldn’t have worn this," she thought, her regret mounting.