I Want to Be a VTuber

Stella watched Seoyeon’s video for a while before handing it back to the child.

Han Yuna, the little girl, glanced at Stella and then turned back to Seoyeon. She spoke in a small, hesitant voice.

“Unnie... are you friends with the angel?”

Friends?

“I don’t think so...”

“Haha, how cold.”

Stella must have overheard because she laughed as if it didn’t matter whether they were friends or not.

After all, this could very well be their last time meeting each other, so calling it friendship felt strange.

“Th-Then... unnie.”

“Hm?”

Yuna looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, her face unsure.

Seoyeon stared at her, waiting patiently, but Yuna slowly shook her head.

“N-Never mind...”

“Y-Yuna!”

At that moment, a flustered voice rang out as someone hurried toward them.

When Seoyeon looked up, she saw a woman about her height rushing over.

“I’m so sorry. My daughter wasn’t bothering you, was she?”

The woman, clearly embarrassed, bowed her head in apology.

Then, noticing Yuna’s nervous posture, she gently flicked the girl’s forehead.

“You scared me, running off like that!”

“But... the magical girl unnie was here...”

“Magical girl unnie?”

It seemed the woman only just realized that the disguised Seoyeon was actually the actress Ju Seoyeon.

Her eyes widened in shock—she clearly hadn’t expected to run into someone famous in such a place.

“Oh... hello. I never imagined I’d meet you here.”

“N-No, it’s fine.”

Seoyeon was flustered as well.

Of course, it made sense that Yuna wouldn’t be alone.

Watching the awkward interaction, Stella tilted her head in curiosity.

Seoyeon’s expression looked more complicated than ever—nostalgia, surprise, awkwardness, and even happiness all flashed across her face.

Normally, Seoyeon’s emotions were straightforward—appearing and disappearing one at a time.

But this moment felt different.

Why?

Stella couldn’t quite understand, but one thing was clear—this woman wasn’t just some random stranger to Seoyeon.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, I just thought Yuna looked like she wanted to ask you something.”

Seoyeon’s gentle question seemed to make the woman uncomfortable.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to worry about that. My daughter just wanted to be a little pushy.”

Pushy?

Seoyeon tilted her head in confusion, and Stella stepped closer.

“It’s the event.”

“Event?”

“Look over there.”

Stella pointed at a poster on the store’s wall.

It advertised an event taking place that day.

A promotion for the magical girl toy line Seoyeon had modeled for before.

‘They’re still doing this?’

And it was for yet another new product.

Considering it had only been a few months since Seoyeon’s previous event, the production schedule seemed ridiculously fast.

No wonder the company was raking in money.

‘Ah... if I entered, I’d definitely win.’

It made sense why Yuna would want to ask.

Seoyeon’s earlier performance had gone viral, and she’d even participated in a play as the magical girl.

If she joined, all eyes would immediately be on her.

‘But now...’

Seoyeon’s reputation had skyrocketed since then, thanks to Sky Garden.

If she showed up now, not only would it be impossible to leave the store unnoticed, but it could also cause rumors about rigging the competition.

She might not even get to claim the prize amid all the chaos.

“Hm.”

As Seoyeon debated, Stella glanced between her and the child before smiling.

“Want me to do it?”

“...What?”

“It’s too tricky for you to go out there now, isn’t it?”

Stella flashed a knowing smile.

“Besides, the event’s theme is for blondes. Doesn’t that suit me better?”

“Really?! The angel is going to help?!”

“...Could you not call me that? Just call me unnie.”

“Okay, angel unnie!”

“H-Hmph.”

Stella squirmed slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the nickname.

“Are you sure this is okay? I mean, it’s just my daughter’s selfish request...”

“Of course. It’s fine. Besides...”

Stella glanced briefly at Seoyeon before adding,

“It’s not just because of your daughter.”

Her gentle smile left the woman speechless.

She really did look like an angel.

*****

“Ah~, that was fun.”

Stella skipped along the Han River, looking pleased.

She had pulled off a flawless performance as the magical girl during the event.

All it took was watching a few short clips about the character, and Stella’s acting had already captured the role perfectly.

When it came to acting, there was truly nothing to criticize about her.

“They were so grateful.”

“Yeah.”

Han Yuna and her mother had bowed repeatedly, thanking them before leaving.

Yuna, who had ended up with two free toys, looked embarrassed but happy.

It was impressive how mature the girl seemed, despite her age.

“What’s your relationship with her?”

Stella suddenly asked, turning to face Seoyeon with the river sparkling behind her.

The clear night sky reflected beautifully on the water, and groups of people enjoyed the view along the riverbank.

“...Actually, you probably don’t have one.”

“...”

“But it seemed... unusual.”

Stella sat down casually on the grass and patted the spot beside her.

“Why? Don’t feel like sitting?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then sit down.”

Seoyeon took the seat next to her without complaint.

It wasn’t that Stella made her uncomfortable—it was just the first time they’d ever shared such a moment, watching the Han River together.

The day was coming to an end, and so was their time together.

Stella’s phone had already buzzed several times, likely filled with messages from her manager begging her to return.

“Today...”

Seoyeon finally broke the silence.

“What was your second reason?”

Stella shifted her gaze.

“Was there really no second reason at all?”

Seoyeon had wondered about Stella’s reasons all day.

Buying souvenirs made sense—Stella had genuinely seemed excited while shopping.

But the second reason remained a mystery.

“You surprised me.”

“How?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually ask.”

Stella’s voice was almost like a melody.

“So I figured, if you asked, I’d tell you.”

“What if I hadn’t asked?”

“Then it would’ve stayed a secret.”

Her blue eyes met Seoyeon’s red-tinted ones.

“Why only tell me if I ask?”

“Because if you ask, it means you care about me—at least a little.”

“...”

“There’s no point in explaining if you don’t care, right?”

It wasn’t wrong.

Stella had honestly believed Seoyeon might not care at all.

To her, she was probably just an intrusive, annoying girl who showed up out of nowhere.

“Jo Seohui told me.”

Stella grinned playfully.

“She said you and I are different, so I should stop bothering you.”

“...Seohui said that?”

“Yep. She’s a good friend. She saw right through me.”

Seoyeon stared at her.

“Seoyeon.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you wonder why I act?”

It was a loaded question.

Did Stella mean the mask she wore every day?

Or the acting [N O V E L I G H T] she performed as a profession?

Maybe both.

“I’m curious.”

“Good. Then I’ll tell you.”

Stella turned her gaze to the river, the sound of distant music drifting through the air.

“I act... for revenge.”

“...Revenge?”

“Yeah. Revenge.”

For the first time, Stella’s face showed raw emotion—a peculiar kind of exhilaration.

“To the father who abandoned me and the mother who left me.”

Stella’s father had been a drunk, and her mother was an Asian prostitute who married that drunk.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how Stella had been treated by the two of them.

Her father ended up in jail.

Her mother, left alone to raise Stella, eventually abandoned her on the streets.

That must have been when it started—when Stella lost the ability to truly look people in the eye.

“That’s why.”

Stella leaned in close to Seoyeon, smiling.

“The better I do, the more they’ll regret it.”

Jo Seohui had called Stella’s acting a tool.

Now, Seoyeon finally understood what she meant.

And she also understood why Stella had felt so familiar from the start.

Was it because they both had unusual conditions?

No.

It wasn’t something that simple.

“This is the best way to make people see me.”

Through movies, dramas.

On TV and in countless video clips.

So they couldn’t avoid it, no matter how much they wanted to.

They would have no choice but to watch.

“So, it’s revenge.”

To make them realize what they’d thrown away.

Stella said it with a smile.

‘We’re the same.’

Yes, they were alike.

In the end, Stella’s goal wasn’t so different from Seoyeon’s.

Of course, Seoyeon hadn’t planned it that way.

For her, it had been more of an unconscious desire.

But Seoyeon’s acting also served to make her past-life parents see her.

To show them that she was doing well.

That she was happy.

Even if they’d never actually know.

She just wanted them to see it.

That’s why they were similar.

Except Seoyeon wished her past parents happiness—

While Stella only wanted revenge.

She wanted them to look at her and regret everything, to be filled with bitterness.

That’s why Jo Seohui had disliked Stella’s acting—it was merely a tool to her.

“I was adopted pretty quickly, you know? The foster care system in America is pretty well-organized—”

“Stop.”

“Huh?”

Seoyeon cut her off.

Stella, who had just started opening up about her past, pouted at Seoyeon’s bluntness.

“Hmph, how cold. After everything I did for you today.”

“Well.”

Seoyeon looked straight at Stella.

“Even if I listen to your story, there’s nothing I can do to change it.”

Seoyeon’s crimson eyes locked onto Stella’s.

Honestly, Seoyeon didn’t like it.

Not the fact that Stella used acting as a tool—

She didn’t care about that.

“Hmph. You could at least give me some cliché words of comfort.”

“If that’s what you really wanted, I would’ve done it.”

Seoyeon’s gaze never wavered.

She’d been watching Stella closely ever since their first meeting—drawn in by that strange sense of familiarity.

Always smiling.

Always unreadable.

A woman who was unsettling in so many ways.

“Cliché or not, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with offering comfort. But it has to be given to someone who actually wants it.”

Stella was strong.

Not because her heart was inherently tough—

But because she had no choice but to be strong.

At her core, she was fragile.

And because of that fragility, she wore a mask.

She read the room and adapted to survive.

“But you’re not that kind of person, are you?”

Stella’s pupils dilated slightly.

Seoyeon leaned in just a bit closer, as if she was peering into Stella’s blue eyes.

“If I gave you those words, you’d only mock them. You’d laugh and say, ‘What do you know about me?’”

Because that’s how she protected herself.

By looking down on others.

By keeping her guard up and pretending she didn’t care.

It was the defense mechanism of someone constantly afraid of being hurt.

Stella was like a hedgehog—

Covered in countless sharp quills.

“So I’m not going to do it. I don’t feel like being laughed at.”

“...I didn’t expect that. But still, I wouldn’t have minded hearing something scripted.”

Even as Stella said that, her voice sounded oddly genuine.

It wasn’t a joke this time.

For some reason, Stella wanted to hear it—from Seoyeon, of all people.

‘Why?’

Maybe because Seoyeon was the only person Stella could actually look in the eye.

Her only connection to something real.

Maybe that’s why, even if it was just a hollow line, she’d wanted to hear it.

“Well, I don’t want to.”

“You’re so heartless. You can’t humor me even a little?”

For the first time, cracks formed in Stella’s mask.

Her voice was tinged with genuine irritation.

And for some reason, Seoyeon found that reaction a little amusing.

“Even if I said something nice, it wouldn’t be sincere.”

“Hmph.”

“You know it too. We’re both sensitive to emotions. If it’s not real, we’ll notice.”

Seoyeon paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully before looking into Stella’s eyes.

She didn’t know when they’d gotten so close, but she could almost see her reflection in Stella’s irises.

“I can’t change what already happened to you.”

Then, Seoyeon took out her phone—the one she hadn’t exchanged numbers with Stella on until now.

“But if something just as bad happens in the future, call me.”

“...Why?”

Stella looked genuinely baffled.

She didn’t understand why Seoyeon would suddenly offer this.

“To help you, obviously.”

Seoyeon smiled—a bright, confident grin that didn’t quite match her usual expression.

Seoyeon didn’t know what Stella had gone through.

And honestly, she didn’t want to know.

Even if she did, there was nothing she could do to change it.

So instead—

“I’ll make sure nothing like that happens to you again.”

It was a bold, self-assured declaration.

As if she truly believed she could handle anything.

Stella was dumbfounded.

She opened her mouth, about to respond—

To mock her, maybe.

To call her arrogant.

But the words wouldn’t come out.

Her lips moved silently, like a fish out of water.

Why?

Stella closed her eyes for a moment, as if to steady herself.

Then, when she opened them again, her voice came out softly.

“...Okay.”

And for some reason, Seoyeon’s face looked blurry.

She wasn’t sure why—

But her eyes were filled with starlight.

*****

Incheon Airport.

Ahead of her flight to America, Stella smirked at the familiar faces staring her down.

“You actually followed me all the way to Korea?”

“We can’t trust what you might do.”

“What about filming?”

“It resumes in two days.”

“So, you came all this way just to see me off?”

Stella couldn’t help but think Jo Seohui and Lee Jiyeon were over-the-top.

‘Or maybe... they just couldn’t stand the thought of me being alone with Seoyeon?’

It wouldn’t be surprising.

Stella laughed softly to herself.

She was already on her way out, yet they were still so fixated on her.

“Stella.”

“Hmm?”

Just as Stella was about to head further inside, Seoyeon hesitated before calling out to her.

She’d meant to give it to Stella yesterday, but after Stella suddenly broke down crying, she hadn’t been able to.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“A bracelet.”

Seoyeon handed it over.

She’d noticed that Stella didn’t wear any accessories.

But since she did wear a watch, this seemed like a safe choice.

“I figured you wouldn’t like necklaces or earrings.”

It was just a guess, but Seoyeon thought it might have something to do with Stella’s upbringing.

Maybe wearing accessories had made her feel self-conscious.

Or perhaps it was because jewelry could leave visible marks if someone hit her.

Considering how often Stella had been moved around as a child, it wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

“...A bracelet. These look like stars.”

“It matches your name.”

“Pfft, I guess it does.”

Opening the box, Stella smiled faintly at the bracelet inside.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, Stella slipped it onto her wrist and held it up for Seoyeon to see.

“How does it look? Does it suit me?”

“Yes. It... it looks good.”

But just as Seoyeon was finishing her sentence—

Stella suddenly stepped in close.

The sudden move startled Lee Jiyeon, who widened her eyes, and even Jo Seohui reached out reflexively.

“Fast as always.”

“W-What are you doing?!”

With Stella’s face inches away from hers, so close that she could hear her breath, Seoyeon instinctively pushed her back with her palm.

Stella grinned mischievously.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Don’t pull stunts like that.”

“Stunts?”

Stella laughed brightly, as if she’d just heard the funniest thing in the world.

And then—

“Seoyeon.”

“Yes?”

“Come to Hollywood.”

It was an unexpectedly straightforward request, and Stella’s expression was unusually free of pretense.

Seoyeon’s eyes widened slightly.

The smile Stella wore now didn’t feel like an act.

“Why?”

“Oh, come on. Is ‘why’ really the first thing you ask?”

But Seoyeon thought about it.

She liked Korea.

She had no real desire to go through the hassle of moving to America.

“Well, that’s fair.”

Stella grumbled, but only for a moment.

Then, she turned to face Seoyeon again, stepping closer once more—so close that Seoyeon flinched.

“If I had to explain...”

Leaning in even further, Stella shifted slightly to the side this time.

Seoyeon hesitated, unsure whether to block her again, since it wasn’t straight on this time.

“I’m trying to seduce you.”

Stella whispered into her ear.

“W-What?!”

Seoyeon jumped back, clutching her ear, her face burning with embarrassment.

Her usual blank expression shattered completely.

Stella covered her mouth, laughing uncontrollably.

“Ahaha, I’m joking. Just joking.”

“Don’t joke about stuff like that!”

“But I was serious about Hollywood. If you come, I’ll help you a lot.”

“...I-I’ll think about it.”

Still flustered, Seoyeon barely managed a reply.

Stella finally stepped back, flashing one last smile.

“But you know...”

“Yes?”

“You’re surprisingly conservative.”

With that, Stella smirked.

“In America, this is trendy. You should study up in advance.”

“W-What are you even talking about?”

Stella just grinned, shooting a wink at the two frozen girls behind Seoyeon.

“This time, I’m not joking.”

Then she turned and walked away.

“...”

The three girls could only stand there in stunned silence, watching her disappear.

Even as Stella’s plane took off, leaving Korea behind.