I Want to Be a VTuber

"Seoyeon, come over here and take a picture with the bear first."

Reika spoke while watching the bear wail sorrowfully, seemingly overjoyed to see Seoyeon again.

Since Reika had also shared memories of riding the bear with Seoyeon, she, too, was happy to reunite with it after a month.

"Shall I?"

Seoyeon, feeling cheerful, approached the bear standing beside # Nоvеlight # the zookeeper.

But the moment she drew near, the bear slowly started stepping backward—

only to suddenly collapse onto its rear.

It looked as though its legs had given out.

But a bear's legs wouldn’t just buckle like that.

People watched in amazement at the unexpected reaction.

Flustered, the bear flailed for a moment—

then started crawling backward using only its front paws.

The zookeeper, startled by the bizarre behavior, exclaimed,

『This is unbelievable!』

『What’s wrong?』

『We were worried the bear might miss Ju Seoyeon too much, so we frequently showed it videos of her appearances on Japanese variety shows. You know, the ones where she runs away from ghosts...』

『Wait, could it be—?!』

『Yes! Could it be copying Ju Seoyeon from those videos?!』

『Oh my, it must’ve missed her so much!』

People watched, delighted, as the bear continued crawling away in an almost comical manner.

At first, Seoyeon found it amusing too.

But then, something felt... off.

Why was it getting further and further away?

"Where are you going? Come here and take a picture with me."

She reached out and grabbed the back of the bear’s neck.

The bear let out a deep, low growl—

but obediently settled down on the spot.

As more people gathered around, Seoyeon suddenly noticed something and curiously asked,

"You seem to have a good relationship with the zookeeper."

Reika translated.

『Huh?』

"I think the bear is trying to hug the zookeeper."

『Oh, you’re right! Why’s it acting like that?』

The zookeeper looked flustered.

The bear had always been obedient,

but it had never shown such affectionate behavior.

"Hah, you sly thing."

"So you’re siding with the zookeeper now, huh?"

"Makes sense, I suppose. It’s only been with me for a few days, but it’ll stay with the zookeeper for a long time."

Feeling oddly sentimental, the zookeeper wiped under his nose with his index finger.

He made a mental note to give the bear an extra serving of meat later.

『What a heartwarming scene. Look at how calm it is. It must really like Miss Ju Seoyeon.』

『I know, right?』

The staff chuckled at the wholesome moment.

But while everyone else found the scene touching, Seoyeon scrutinized the bear’s face.

She leaned in close—so close the zookeeper nearly had a heart attack.

But the bear only averted its gaze.

"Something feels... off."

Had it grown distant after so much time apart?

Maybe bears weren’t great at remembering faces.

"Are we done with photos? Can I play with the bear for a bit?"

『Huh? Oh, of course. Reika-chan, you’re coming too, right?』

『Yes, I think so.』

『Alright, just be careful and follow the zookeeper’s instructions.』

And so, they were given some free time.

There wasn’t much left to film anyway.

The reunion had already been captured,

group photos were taken,

and even promotional shots were done.

『I’ve never seen anyone ride a bear like that before.』

"Really?"

『Of course. Even if they could ride one, most people would be too scared to go near a bear in the first place.』

Seoyeon tilted her head.

Was that so?

In Russia, people boxed with bears and treated them like pets.

Maybe things were different in Japan.

『Since you’re here, would you like to see the other bears? They’re friendly, and as long as you stay near Taro, it’ll be safe.』

"Taro?"

『Ah, that’s this bear’s name.』

At some point, the bear had been named Taro.

Reika briefly wondered,

"Isn’t that usually a name for a dog?"

The reason for the name was simple—

when people had seen Seoyeon playing with the bear in Aokigahara, it had looked exactly like a pet owner playing with their dog.

『Oh, right! Can you show us that trick? The one where Taro fetches a stick?』

"Shall we?"

It wasn’t a bad idea.

If they played together like before, maybe the bear would warm up again.

Seoyeon picked up a sturdy-looking branch.

"Alright, fetch it like before, okay?"

At her words, the bear gave her a deeply conflicted look.

And when she threw the branch—

it trudged forward, picked it up with its mouth,

and slowly returned.

『Wow, it’s real! It wasn’t edited for the documentary... Ahem! I mean, I can see now that they really were close.』

Even the zookeeper, who had worked at this safari park for over twenty years,

was amazed.

People chuckled, taking videos of Seoyeon and the bear.

『Ah, looks like they’re bringing in another bear.』

『Is that safe?』

『Of course. Bears don’t attack when they’re full. And these ones are trained.』

Even so, the interaction would be limited to watching them from outside the enclosure.

No matter how domesticated they were, it wouldn’t be wise to step into a full bear pack.

The new bears observed Taro carrying the stick with strange expressions.

Among them, a particularly large bear—

stood up on two legs and struck a threatening pose.

『Why is it acting like that?』

『That’s Jako, the biggest bear in the group before Taro arrived. They’ve been competing ever since.』

『I thought bears didn’t live in packs?』

『They don’t, but they still establish territories. The strongest bears roam freely.』

"Wait... why is its name Jako?"

Reika had her suspicions,

but chose not to ask.

Jako trailed behind Taro,

growling mockingly as if to taunt him.

Taro paused momentarily, but still obediently returned the stick to Seoyeon.

"Hmm."

Seoyeon didn’t like how Jako kept threatening Taro.

Subtly, she bent down—

and picked up a small rock while pretending to grab another stick.

"Fetch this one."

She threw the stick normally—

but as soon as people looked away—

she flicked the small rock,

hitting Jako square in the chest.

「KWOONG!!」

The bear let out a pained groan and collapsed backward.

People turned their heads, startled.

Taro froze, stick still in his mouth.

"Oh? What happened?"

Seoyeon approached the fallen bear naturally,

as if she were genuinely concerned for it.

With the cage bars between them,

she stared down at the bear that had just been threatening Taro.

Taro, still holding the stick in his mouth, stood nearby, silently watching.

Seoyeon’s crimson eyes locked onto the bear, unblinking.

The bear flinched—

then slowly inched backward.

Under normal circumstances, it would have let out a growl.

But it couldn’t.

Because it knew.

It understood on an instinctual level.

This cage wasn’t here to protect people from the bears.

It was here to protect the bears from her.

"You won’t pick a fight again, will you?"

Seoyeon took the stick from Taro’s mouth and casually patted his head.

Of course, from the perspective of the other bears,

Taro was just a newcomer who had suddenly barged into their territory.

It was only natural that he’d struggle.

If not for the cage, she would’ve knocked that bear on the head a few times.

A shame she couldn’t.

"Hm? What’s up? Are you offering me a ride?"

As she clenched her fist and raised it toward the retreating bear,

Taro suddenly lowered his body.

As if inviting her to climb on.

He’d never done that on his own before.

Usually, she had to ask him first.

Seoyeon found it odd—

but ultimately decided it was a good sign.

Maybe Taro was feeling better now.

His gloomy attitude earlier had made her worry that something was wrong.

"That other bear must’ve been bullying him."

With sympathy, she climbed onto his back and patted him.

Taro flinched slightly—

but then sprang to his feet with renewed vigor.

All traces of his previous meekness had vanished.

Standing tall and proud,

Taro moved with powerful, confident strides.

As if declaring:

"I am Taro, a noble wild bear of Aokigahara!"

With his head held high,

he swept his gaze across the other bears.

One by one, they averted their eyes.

A rare sight indeed.

Taro proudly paraded Seoyeon around,

making sure every bear outside the enclosure could see.

『It looks like Taro wants to show off Ju Seoyeon to the other bears.』

『It seems that way. This is the essence of bonding between humans and animals.』

『I should visit the zoo more often.』

The spectators, watching the scene unfold,

smiled warmly and took out their phones, capturing the moment in photos and videos.

Seoyeon, after a pleasant reunion with Bear Taro, returned in high spirits.

Sometime later, the zookeeper sent her an update. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Taro had fully established himself as the dominant bear of the enclosure.

And along with the message...

"A photo?"

Seoyeon opened the file.

The image showed Taro carrying around a stuffed doll—

one that looked exactly like her.

According to the zookeeper,

Taro had been so lonely without her that they had made the doll just for him.

Now, he roamed the park with it on his back,

proudly displaying it to all.

He had even become the official mascot of Fuji Safari Park.

"Isn’t this... a bit much?"

Seoyeon thought, amused.

But it warmed her heart nonetheless.

She made up her mind.

She’d have to visit more often.

****

Seoyeon's reunion with Taro, the bear from Aokigahara, was merely a brief shoot meant to be included in the afterword segment of a documentary.

In reality, the footage wasn’t even part of the original schedule—

it was only filmed because Seoyeon happened to be in Japan.

Her true purpose for being here was promoting Kyungsung Lady.

She just had some free time before filming I Took On the Challenge and Won.

"You won’t be staying long this time, so things are going to be a bit hectic."

Just as her manager, Park Eunha, had said,

the next few days were packed with back-to-back schedules.

The trip to Fuji Safari Park?

That was just a brief moment of rest before the real work began.

Yet, despite her busy itinerary,

sightings of Seoyeon quickly spread among Korean tourists visiting Japan.

With Seoyeon’s event photos flooding the internet,

even her fan communities were stunned.

Sure, they had heard about her promotional activities,

but it was hard to believe whether the overwhelming response was real

or just manufactured marketing.

After all—

Kyungsung Lady had just broken the record for the strongest opening of any Korean film released in Japan.

It had held the #1 spot at the box office for two weeks straight.

And in Korea?

It had already surpassed six million admissions.

Meanwhile, in Japan?

It was approaching three million.

A combined total of nearly ten million viewers worldwide.

An unprecedented feat.

With both Korean and Japanese media scrambling to book the film’s cast,

the ones smiling the most were KMB in Korea and YHJ in Japan,

who had secured exclusive rights to the key actors ahead of time.

『We look forward to today’s shoot!』

Ninomiya Daiki, the producer of I Took On the Challenge and Won,

spoke with an immense sense of pressure.

Despite securing his position as a young producer,

he had long been ridiculed as a mere nepotism hire.

His show’s moderate success had been enough to silence critics—

but if today’s episode flopped...

It would be a disaster.

Even the network president had personally warned him:

"Do not make any mistakes with Ju Seoyeon."

When asked if she had a preference for any past challenges on the show,

her management had given a simple response:

"Everything’s fine, just don’t make it overly extreme."

Still—

"She said she’s confident in physical challenges..."

After much deliberation, Ninomiya decided to play it safe.

『For today’s episode, ten masters with various talents have been gathered to challenge Ju Seoyeon!』

One of the show’s hosts, Katsuyoshi,

was startled the moment he saw Seoyeon in person.

Given how powerful her presence was in the movie,

he had expected her to be taller.

But in reality, her physique was smaller than he imagined.

『Seoyeon will draw three numbers,

and if she wins all three challenges,

she will be declared the overall winner!』

Normally, the show featured three rounds against a single expert.

But for Seoyeon, they had decided to switch things up—

one challenge each against three different opponents.

Of course, the format could still be adjusted mid-filming.

"Alright, I got it."

『Now, let’s see... Number seven! It’s number seven!』

At Katsuyoshi’s announcement,

Door #7 swung open.

Out stepped a broad-shouldered middle-aged man.

Thick arms.

Even thicker fingers.

『Contestant #7, Itsuo, is a master of piercing through coconuts with his bare hands!

He holds the record for piercing through three in a row!』

As Katsuyoshi hyped him up,

Itsuo smirked and flexed his fingers.

Seoyeon watched for a moment—

then glanced at Katsuyoshi and whispered something in his ear.

『Huh? Oh... She already did this? Wait, seriously? Hold on...』

Somewhere in the archives of Korean variety shows,

there was a fleeting moment—

A scene where Seoyeon had already done something exactly like this.

The production team quickly verified the footage.

『Um... Mister Itsuo...

You can... You can sit this one out.』

『......』

A catastrophe before the show had even begun.

Katsuyoshi felt his throat go dry.