I Want to Be a VTuber

“What do you mean no one took the ad?”

“Most of them declined. They’re being extremely cautious.”

“Can’t they push a little? Just take the risk!”

“The rep said their actress is still a student...”

“And so they pass up a golden opportunity? Now’s the time to rake it in.”

“People have been saying that since mid last year.”

“Oh... really? Ahem!”

Mine’s explosive success triggered shockwaves across the industry.

Last year had already been Ju Seoyeon’s most successful year.

Naturally, the ad offers had been rolling in since then—

But there were still plenty of companies hesitating, waiting to see.

Especially the big corporations.

When the star is still a minor, scandals could pop up anytime.

So they tend to stick with safer, proven faces for their campaigns.

Still, once a celebrity hits a certain threshold, they can’t ignore it.

Even if there’s some risk, they have to try locking them in.

But that only works if the celebrity actually accepts the offer.

“Was it ADZ and Éclat Étoile? Seriously, their foresight was off the charts.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Executives from companies that had managed to land ads with Seoyeon were all thinking the same thing.

Had they really predicted her value would skyrocket like this?

“What’s crazy is, when she does a campaign, she actually puts in the work.”

“Whenever a behind-the-scenes photo pops up, she’s always sitting on an ADZ chair...”

“Don’t get me started on her makeup looks.”

There just wasn’t another celebrity this diligent.

Sure, in Éclat Étoile’s case, there were some eyebrow-raising moments—

But most people brushed it off as humor.

“Ju Seoyeon, could you look this way? Hold the can like this... and big smile.”

The director of the latest commercial—this one for a beverage—gulped as he looked through the lens.

The image Seoyeon had shown in her recent drama had been sharp, intense.

But now, this bright and refreshing version of her felt just as natural.

Something had clearly shifted.

“When she debuted last year, Ju Seoyeon’s image was mostly sharp, almost cold.”

Even her ad work had leaned more toward mystical, icy visuals than anything light or bubbly.

Almost like a blue moon personified.

But now, her image was becoming livelier—

Maybe because she was still a student?

Or maybe because of all those lighthearted clips on variety shows and YouTube Shorts?

This particular ad had nothing to do with her dramas or films.

It leaned fully into her fun, casual energy.

And it was the perfect move.

Just like that, another shoot wrapped.

Then, a few days later—early morning.

“Let’s switch out the signage.”

“Whoa, this place too? Look over there.”

The workers installing new signs pointed excitedly.

They were in Gangnam, Seoul.

The area around COEX Mall was plastered with all kinds of massive ads.

On one building’s giant LED screen, a new cosmetics campaign from Éclat Étoile was playing.

A woman with long black hair swam underwater in a black dress.

Apparently, she’d actually gotten into the water in that dress to shoot it.

“She’s gorgeous.”

Like a real-life mermaid, almost too good to be true.

“And over there—that’s ADZ. They’ve got a new beverage campaign, plus a new clothing ad too.”

Gangnam Station was the ultimate battleground for outdoor advertising.

Whoever appeared on those billboards?

That’s who currently held the most influence in Korea’s entertainment world.

Foreigners.

Big spenders.

Young adults.

This was where you reached them.

Until the end of last year, Seoyeon only had one small billboard ad here.

“Can someone’s exposure increase this fast?”

“It’s not fast. It’s just the delayed effect of everything she did last year.”

Mr. Kim, a veteran in the business, spoke as he looked out across Gangnam at dawn.

“That show—what was it? Mine? That drama blew up too, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Which network is that? Ju Seoyeon’s with KMB?”

“It’s on Nettrix.”

“Net... what? Never heard of it.”

None of that mattered, though.

The show was just the trigger.

Market reactions always lag behind.

Ads, too, go up after the hype hits.

“That moment... is now.”

From The Chaser to everything after—

And now Mine.

The result?

Her face plastered across Gangnam Station’s massive LED displays.

Just by looking up, you knew.

Ju Seoyeon was now the leading actress in Korea.

“Look over there.”

“She’s here. She’s really here.”

Voices whispered as students filed into school.

Their gazes all locked in one direction.

A girl was walking.

Black hair, pale skin in sharp contrast.

She wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary—just walking.

But the aura she gave off was different.

So different that no one dared to get too close.

Ju Seoyeon.

This was what it looked like when a top star walked to school.

****

“People really do stare a lot lately.”

Honestly, Seoyeon had only recently become aware of it.

It had really hit her during that recent beverage ad shoot.

“Ju Seoyeon, is it true you’ve been getting a ton of overseas offers after Mine aired?”

Seoyeon was very selective with her commercials.

She still believed that as a student, her priority was school.

More importantly, her inner circle wanted her to enjoy her student life while she still could.

So she kept her ad work to a minimum.

Out of the flood of offers, she only picked a precious few.

“This drink ends up going big later anyway.”

Her future knowledge definitely helped her make those choices.

This particular beverage?

It would gain massive recognition in the near future.

Plus, the image it projected fit perfectly—

It helped soften her usual cold, intense impression with something brighter and more refreshing.

The celebrity who was originally supposed to shoot this ad had stayed locked into that fresh image for years afterward.

Seoyeon might not take it that far,

But she hoped it could at least help balance out the sharper impressions she gave off.

“All because of that senior.”

Seoyeon grumbled inwardly.

She’d always had a fierce, icy look as an actress.

She thought it had gotten better recently—

But Park Jungwoo’s comments had made her self-conscious all over again.

“Ju Seoyeon?”

“Ah—sorry, I spaced out. Just thinking about something. But no, not really.”

“Is that so? You’re all anyone talks about lately.”

Is that so?

Sure, Mine was doing really well—

But that didn’t automatically mean she was flooded with international offers.

Of course, there had been a few unexpected inquiries,

But it was obvious they just wanted to use Seoyeon briefly for a quick marketing spike.

They weren’t trying to treat her with real respect.

Well, even if she was blowing up, it wasn’t like foreign companies were eager to reach out to an East Asian actress anyway.

“If anything, Biol is the rare exception.”

Come to think of it, there wasn’t much time left until the Ready-to-Wear event in France.

Park Jungwoo, who would be accompanying her there, had clearly been acting more alert lately.

There were probably a few reasons for that.

Maybe he was worried Seoyeon would cause a scene.

Or maybe, because it would be their first time traveling together, he was unconsciously tense.

To be precise, he wasn’t worried about Seoyeon herself—

He was thinking about the version of Seoyeon he’d be presenting to others.

In other words, he was stressing about "Princess Yeonhwa."

“An overseas event, huh.”

It would be the first time she went abroad after filming Mine.

Honestly, even with people saying she was gaining popularity overseas,

Seoyeon didn’t feel it.

Well, she lived in Korea.

And Mine, despite its strong ratings, hadn’t really caught fire domestically.

It was seen as “a solid action drama.”

That was about it.

“But still... it’s true more people are watching me now.”

It was the Monday after her shoot,

And as she walked through the school gates, she could feel all the eyes following her.

Before, most of the attention came from her looks.

Now, it was clear they knew who she was—“Ju Seoyeon.”

“I did hear there are a ton of ads up at Gangnam Station...”

Though to Seoyeon, Gangnam always felt like some other world.

She’d never really gone there on her own.

Even during shoots, she spent most of her time glued to her phone playing games—

So she barely noticed her surroundings anyway.

“Whatever.”

What mattered to Seoyeon right now wasn’t any of that.

What mattered was high school.

Because of her packed schedule, she hadn’t had the chance to really make friends in her class.

“The school trip is a good opportunity.”

Last year’s trip had been to Jeju Island.

Some “Jeju Oreum hiking experience” or whatever,

But all she remembered was climbing random hills all day.

It wasn’t hard for Seoyeon herself—

But the other students had all collapsed from exhaustion, so there was no one to actually have fun with.

She hoped this year would be different.

And that hope naturally made her look forward to the upcoming trip.

“H-Hey, Seoyeon! Good morning!”

“It’s, uh, great weather today, right?”

“......”

If only she could erase the awkward tension in the classroom.

****

“The survey you’re getting today has the destination options for the school trip.

Check the one you want and submit it to the class president.”

The homeroom teacher of Seoyeon’s new class, Ms. Chae Younghee, said as she passed the papers from the front row back.

Honestly, most school trips just stuck to domestic locations.

“Is it going to be Gyeongju again?”

“We did Jeju in first year, so it’d be nice if it were somewhere different.”

Everyone was thinking the same thing, flipping through the paper without much excitement.

Seoyeon was no different.

“Anywhere that doesn’t involve hiking, please.”

Back in Jeju, there hadn’t been much to actually do.

They’d spent the entire first day climbing oreum hills, and on the second day, climbed Hallasan.

It was all uphill, all exhausting, and they never even got a chance to enjoy themselves properly.

A little sightseeing was necessary—if only so they’d have something to talk about later.

“Huh?!”

One student’s eyes shot open as they looked down at the paper.

Was this real? Did it really say what she thought it said?

“Teacher, is this really that Paris?”

“Japan’s on here too!”

A few students called out to Ms. Chae, dumbfounded.

And no wonder.

“France? Japan?”

The school trip destinations were overseas.

There were four options listed: Japan, China, France, and the United States.

“Is this what Seoul schools are like?”

Seoyeon’s pupils quivered as she looked over the form.

She glanced around at the other students,

But none of them looked particularly shocked.

Especially class president Gil Dahyeon,

Whose /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ face betrayed deep discomfort.

Well, of course.

If the school trip was abroad, it’d obviously cost a lot.

“This year, the chairman of the school board decided to make a big investment.

So don’t worry too much about the cost.”

Basically, Yeonhwa High School was shifting toward being more arts- and performance-focused,

So this trip was part of a big PR push.

If the destination included Europe,

It was guaranteed to get parents talking.

“Where do you wanna go? They all look cool.”

“Not China.”

“We can go to Japan anytime. Shouldn’t we go to the U.S. or Europe while we have the chance?”

Once the teacher left, the classroom exploded into chatter.

No one had expected something this luxurious for a school trip.

Even Seoyeon, who had expected something like Gyeongju or Jeju, felt a bit thrown off.

“Do people have pillow fights in Europe or America?”

She was dazed enough to actually wonder that.

Of course, back in middle school,

A pillow fight had ended with two kids passing out—

Which had led to Jiyeon banning Seoyeon from all pillow fights ever since.

But she’d gotten way better at controlling her strength now... so maybe?

Anyway—

“What about you, class prez?”

Seoyeon casually asked Dahyeon.

Because right now, the one holding the power in this class... was definitely Dahyeon.

Despite being a second-year, Gil Dahyeon had unanimously been chosen as class president again.

Now she looked a little troubled.

“Hmm... personally, I think Japan or China would be fine...”

As she spoke, she glanced over at two nearby friends.

They were from the same class as last year,

And didn’t seem too intimidated by Seoyeon.

“Well, thank god for that.”

If only Lee Jiyeon were in the same class, too.

Seoyeon found herself really thinking that now.

Still... when fewer than five people in class could make direct eye contact with you,

You couldn’t help feeling a bit... off.

“But it looks like most people don’t agree with me.”

Trips to Europe weren’t common in Korean schools.

It wasn’t unheard of, but rarely actually happened due to all the complications.

“Isn’t it a little tight on timing, too? Even if we decide now and book everything, it’d be late April by the time we go.”

“Late April?”

“Yeah, why?”

Seoyeon’s expression hardened.

Because—

“That overlaps.”

Late April was when Biol’s headquarters would be hosting the Ready-to-Wear show.

The fashion event in France.

And that, Seoyeon knew, was non-negotiable.

She had to go.

“No way.”

She’d been waiting all year for this trip.

If it ended up overlapping and she couldn’t go?

She couldn’t think of anything worse.