I Want to Be a VTuber

A standoff between two girls.

This scene could be considered Mine’s true climactic battle.

There was still the fight against Adam to come, sure—

But Adam wasn’t exactly a powerful psychic, and his goal from the beginning had been to persuade Yeonseo, not defeat her.

“The downside to this drama is that most of the action villains are women.”

At that moment, Joseph—the overseas YouTuber—paused the video and spoke up.

“What? You calling me sexist? No, that’s not what I meant! Men and women are just different, okay? Naturally, male action scenes feel more powerful and impactful.”

He pointed to Shin Arin, facing off against Seoyeon in the frame.

“Look at her body. She’s agile, sure, but she still looks like a teenage girl, doesn’t she? Ah—of course, East Asian women tend to look younger. But I did my research. Both of them? Total teenagers. Can you believe that?”

– XD But hasn’t Seoyeon already shown insane action skills?

– You shouldn’t judge with that kind of bias.

– I’ve seen this episode. I’ll just keep my mouth shut.

– Same.

“I get what you’re all saying. Seoyeon—this actress’s action scenes are crazy, no question. Just from the making-ofs alone, it’s almost hard to believe. But that doesn’t mean this actress will pull it off too. Like, remember... that supercar woman?”

He was referencing an earlier episode.

Actress Min Doha, whose character Shim Sojin frequently clashed with Jin Yeonseo.

“She was good! But still, something felt missing. I mean, the scene where she screams while running away? That was legit terrifying. I’m not questioning her acting. The point is—she didn’t have enough presence.”

– I want to argue with you calling her “supercar woman,” but I can’t even think of a comeback

– Bro there’s already a meme of her called that

Shim Sojin had already become a buzzworthy character overseas.

Her screen time wasn’t small, and she made her mark with a solid presence.

Her tight action scenes and desperate chases by Jin Yeonseo had earned sympathy—

especially the way she fought back during the final motorcycle sequence. Some people even rooted for her.

In the end, she fell off the Han River bridge during the bike action scene.

But rumors were still floating around that she survived—or would return somehow.

– First of all, why not just watch it?

“Yeah, you’re right. I got too heated. Everything will speak for itself once I watch it. But I swear, I won’t be surprised. I’ve already seen so many shocking scenes in this show that I’m numb to it.”

– Fair point.

– The making-of clips already broke our brains.

– Honestly, the lab massacre scene was so intense it’s hard to top that.

With those final chat comments, Joseph hit play again.

And then—

“Jin Yeonseo!!”

Fire burned in Shin Arin’s eyes.

She didn’t even have a line.

Actually, Shin Arin hadn’t been given many lines in general.

A conscious decision to cover for Narumi Sora’s slightly limited acting skills.

To be fair, Narumi Sora’s acting was decent.

But going head-to-head against Seoyeon?

Ordinary acting wouldn’t be enough—Seoyeon would steal the scene.

“Stop—please, just stop!!”

Shin Arin screamed, lunging forward.

At the same time, Jin Yeonseo looked up from where she was about to bring an axe down on the back of a fleeing lab technician.

Shin Arin drew her sword mid-charge. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

One horizontal slash—and the blade sliced clean through the nearby wall.

“Ooh.”

Joseph flinched at the explosive direction.

Impressed by Korea’s advanced «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» CGI, he half-expected the fight to continue as a flashy effects-heavy sequence.

He figured that’d still be fun to watch—no complaints there.

“Not bad.”

Jin Yeonseo dodged the slash, crouched low, and closed in.

She spun halfway and kicked—clean and sharp.

Shin Arin blocked with her sword but still went tumbling, breaking through a cracked wall.

But only for a moment.

Springing up like a cat, Shin Arin charged forward again—like a panther.

Jin Yeonseo’s axe and Shin Arin’s sword clashed mid-air.

Yeonseo swung repeatedly in wide arcs, and Arin deflected every strike to the side.

Whenever she found an opening, Arin stabbed at Yeonseo’s shoulder.

But with Yeonseo’s monstrous regenerative abilities, those stabs were practically meaningless.

Concrete walls felt like styrofoam under the force of their blows.

Arin’s blade sliced through a wall—and severed Yeonseo’s arm.

Yeonseo regenerated the arm instantly, grabbed Arin, and slammed her into the ground.

But Shin Arin wasn’t far behind in durability or speed.

A powerful psychic herself, Arin hurled a steel beam lying nearby straight through Yeonseo’s body—

yet even that didn’t stop her.

– Were those axe swings all CGI too?

– That must’ve been choreographed

– Isn’t it too fast for that though?

Then, just as Arin landed a kick to Yeonseo’s abdomen and sent her flying several meters—

Yeonseo’s axe came whirling back through the air, straight at Arin’s head.

Arin’s pupils widened.

She reflexively swung her sword, deflecting the axe—then bolted forward.

Yeonseo’s axe remained embedded in the ground.

Now weaponless, Yeonseo was wide open—

and Arin, sword in hand, charged in for the finish.

“Oh shit, that’s bad.”

Joseph muttered unconsciously, completely absorbed.

Arin raised her sword for the final blow—

But right before impact, she froze.

She saw it.

The smile on Yeonseo’s lips.

“Huh?”

And then—

Shin Arin lost her balance and stumbled forward.

****

“Reika, look at this. Seriously. It’s a Korean drama that just blew up—and she’s in it.”

Reika perked up her slumped shoulders at the crowd of actresses rushing toward her.

She was exhausted, sure—but with people following her around, she couldn’t afford to look weak.

“Honestly, I thought that whole thing would die down after Aokigahara.”

Reika had been trying to maintain a refined, elegant image.

But on that Aokigahara variety show, she’d come off as a complete klutz.

She was convinced the “lady-like” image had been totally shattered.

“But somehow, the noble lady vibe just got stronger.”

Probably because she insisted on using a fan like Jo Sehee did.

That, plus her slightly naive behavior, had ironically made her seem even more like a rich girl.

She’d worried the other actresses might glare daggers at her, but even that had taken its own turn.

“You know Stella personally?!”

“Reika, are you about to go Hollywood? Korean actors are seriously amazing these days!”

“No, I’m really not that close to Stella Baldwin...”

But she couldn’t exactly say that out loud.

So she just smiled vaguely and nodded.

“Re-Reika, look! You remember the actress I mentioned before?”

“The actress?”

She tilted her head with a confused look.

“Back when we did that cameo shoot for a drama—remember the girl who helped translate the script for Ju Seoyeon?”

“Oh.”

Reika finally nodded like she remembered.

“...Didn’t I just call her a weird kid?”

She thought that, but kept her mouth shut.

“Here, watch this.”

With an excited voice, the actress played the video.

Reika had already seen Episode 11’s action scenes and the final making-of video.

“Wait... did she really punch that bear back then?”

The thought came to her suddenly—

And honestly, it wasn’t far off from the truth.

“No way. Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

She shook the idea off quickly.

For the record, the bear was now living a fairly happy life in a zoo.

After Seoyeon’s visit, it had become the leader of its group.

“Reika, look at this—doesn’t it look like she actually flies?”

“I think she actually did fly.”

“Come on, no way. It’s gotta be wires.”

“Or maybe not.”

“Haha, Reika, you’re too naive. So what, she lifted someone up with one hand and slammed them into the ground?”

“I think she did. Like, how is that person even alive? Normally, they’d be dead.”

“The ground’s padded, right? Plus, she probably used wires to lift them—wait, huh?”

Can you even do that with wires?

As the confused expression settled on the actress’s face, Reika pressed her fingers against her temples.

“This isn’t sped-up footage. How much CGI did they actually save on?”

Reika clicked her tongue as the axe (really a stick) and the sword (also a stick) clashed at blistering speed.

It was so fast, it didn’t even feel like acting.

In reality, it was a well-rehearsed sequence choreographed around the camera.

Seoyeon was phenomenal, of course—but Narumi Sora matching her so smoothly? That was no joke either.

“Ahem.”

Just then, the actress holding the phone awkwardly cleared her throat, catching Reika staring at Sora.

“Back when I was in Japan, we were kinda close.”

“Didn’t you say you bullied her?”

“Wh-What? No way! We’re totally friends! Friends!!”

I doubt she sees you that way.

Reika thought to herself as she replayed the making-of footage.

At that moment, the video showed Narumi Sora, dripping with sweat, giving a short interview.

“When the hit lands, you just move with it. If you practice together, anyone can do it.”

Sora said with a shy laugh.

As she turned around for validation, the surrounding stunt actors quickly shook their heads.

Clearly, not just anyone could pull that off.

“I didn’t do it alone at first. Oliver helped me.”

Oliver.

The legendary Hollywood stuntman.

Famous for partnering with Arthur in action scenes.

He didn’t say anything, but it was obvious he’d helped Sora a lot behind the scenes.

“The axe... I just reflexively blocked it. Seoyeon said she threw it by accident, actually. The kick too—it was all improv on my part.”

Sora scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed.

She figured Seoyeon could handle it, so she put a little extra force in her kick.

Seoyeon, deeply immersed in her role, reflexively threw the axe (a plastic stick).

Sora reacted instantly and deflected it with her own plastic sword.

“I’ve learned so much since coming to Korea. Especially...”

She trailed off, then smiled and waved at Seoyeon, who was approaching her in the background.

That warm interaction made Reika... just a little envious.

“Having talented actors around really must make a difference.”

She glanced over at her own entourage.

One of them had just proudly claimed to be “close friends” with someone she’d barely met.

“Ugh.”

Maybe she really should study abroad?

Reika found herself seriously considering it.

Of course, as a high school student, there was no way her parents would let her transfer to Korea.

That was never going to happen.

And that only made Narumi Sora seem even more impressive.

“Guess I’ll have to visit when I can.”

That’s the conclusion Reika came to.

It was a connection that started in Japan by chance.

And she didn’t want to let it slip away.

****

Seoyeon arrived at school early that morning.

She’d stayed up late binge-watching Mine’s international reactions, so she was more wired than usual.

She didn’t sleep much, but that kind of thing never affected her performance anyway.

“I should subscribe to that guy Joseph.”

His reactions were sharp and satisfying—totally her style.

Plus, all the other foreign YouTubers being mentioned alongside him were also positive.

That gave Seoyeon some peace of mind.

“Thank god.”

Honestly, she’d been a little worried Mine might flop.

But with this kind of response, she could finally relax a bit.

Actually, the reactions were so over-the-top that it was becoming a little stressful.

Even her agency told her to stay low-profile for a while.

“Now my schedule’s completely empty.”

The ads were flooding in like crazy—

So much so that even her mom and Sua had gotten calls on their phones.

Her dad, Youngbin, practically had his chest puffed up like a mountain when he left for work.

Probably planning to brag to everyone at the office.

Sometimes, she wondered if she’d inherited his love of showing off.

“Honestly, personality does seem genetic, no matter what my memories say.”

Whatever. Seoyeon didn’t mind.

She nodded to herself, feeling good.

Aside from the fact that everyone at school had been keeping their distance since the action scenes went viral...

It felt like she was back to the start of freshman year.

At least the class president was in her homeroom.

“Maybe I should figure out how to make friends a little faster this year.”

Just as she was thinking that—

“You all know there’s a school trip in a month, right? This year we’re deciding the destination by vote, so be ready.”

An unexpected opportunity presented itself.

She glanced down.

A spinning axe swept between her legs.

What? How?

She was sure she had deflected that axe—

And just then—

“Wouldn’t it be weird if the original couldn’t use telekinesis too?”

Yeonseo grabbed Arin by the hair and sneered.

“You were holding back this whole time?”

“Not holding back. Just didn’t need to use it until now.”

Yeonseo smiled as she said it.

It was the smile of a villain—not a hero.

After that overwhelming finish, Joseph instinctively lowered his hand from his mouth.

“Okay, I take it back. I was completely wrong. That was just... insane.”

He had seen countless movies.

He knew a thing or two about film production.

And even for him, that scene wasn’t just impressive—it was beyond anything he expected.

Yes, the CGI was great.

But what stunned him most was how real the axe and sword choreography felt.

CG? Or perfectly synced choreography?

“Best action I’ve seen in years. Hollywood included.”

He said it with conviction.

No exaggeration. Just truth.

“Man, I need to finish this and watch the making-of.”

He had to check.

Especially that final axe throw.

It felt too real.

Shin Arin’s expression looked genuinely shocked.

And, just like he thought—

“Told you this wasn’t CGI. But seriously, how is that not CGI?”

The making-of footage from Episode 11.

Walls cracking and breaking? Mostly CGI.

“I figured the sword deflection was real...”

But the part where someone gets kicked and goes flying?

He hadn’t expected that to be real too.

Joseph rewound the clip, laughing in disbelief.

Apparently, a person really can get launched like that from a single kick.