I Want to Be a VTuber

There was a part of Seoyeon that had quietly dreamed about this school trip.

Namely—pillow fights.

Back in middle school, she couldn’t control her strength and got banned after doing it once.

In her first year, the trip had been so exhausting that the other students all collapsed early, and it never happened.

‘So this year.’

She had to do it.

That’s what she decided the night before the trip.

More than anything, things like pillow fights would probably make it easier to grow closer to others.

Get rid of the usual preconceived notions or walls people had about her.

‘Perfect.’

Yeah, the plan was perfect.

It’s just that the situation had gone completely different from what she expected.

“I want to join too.”

The one who said that was the golden-haired girl named Marie.

For the record, the one who was most flustered by that wasn’t Seoyeon—but Jiyeon, who had taken the lead in organizing the pillow fight.

‘Wait, who even is she?’

Even when asked who she was, she only replied, “I’m Marie.”

She didn’t offer any more information, which just left Jiyeon confused.

Even when they asked the teacher, they just gave an awkward smile and no real answer.

‘There’s definitely something going on.’

There’s no way an ordinary girl could casually insert herself into a school trip like this.

Normally, if someone was an outsider, the teacher would’ve kicked them out already.

But she hadn’t been kicked out?

Then there was clearly something there.

And she didn’t seem to have any real connection to Yeonhwa High either.

“I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before...”

Gil Dahyeon tilted her head as she looked at the girl, now without sunglasses and mask.

At first, she’d hidden her face thoroughly—but now she was showing it freely.

As if she’d confirmed that no one recognized her.

‘What’s her deal?’

Dahyeon looked pensive while watching Marie, but Jiyeon still couldn’t figure it out.

‘But whatever. You’re an outsider anyway.’

That’s what she really wanted to say.

What bothered her even more was that Marie had been stuck to Seoyeon ever since they got back from the Palace of Versailles.

Like a leech.

“Do you even know what a pillow fight is?”

Seoyeon asked Marie with a curious look.

“Yes.”

“Seoyeon, pillow fights exist overseas too.”

Marie and Dahyeon answered one after the other.

Judging from that, Marie seemed very enthusiastic about participating.

Her eyes were practically sparkling—she was clearly serious.

‘...This isn’t what I planned.’

Of course, from Jiyeon’s perspective, this was kind of frustrating.

By high school, most students didn’t have the energy or interest for something like pillow fights.

But Seoyeon had clearly been hoping for it, so Jiyeon had subtly asked her own little group to help make the vibe happen.

Seoyeon had wanted to use this pillow fight to get closer to her classmates.

And since Jiyeon was in a different class, this was her way of helping indirectly.

But then—

‘She’s not even in our class—hell, she’s not even from our school!’

Jiyeon shot a side-eye at Seoyeon and muttered,

“Must be nice, Ju Seoyeon. You’re just crazy popular these days, huh?”

“? No, not really?”

“God, you’re so clueless. I could die, seriously.”

“?”

Seoyeon tilted her head in confusion at Jiyeon’s unnecessarily snappy comment.

Like—what was that about?

Anyway.

Thus began the pillow fight.

Marie, holding a fluffy pillow from the lodging with a determined face.

The other students, likewise.

Seoyeon herself picked up a feather-soft pillow and joined in.

“Hey! Don’t hit so hard!”

“No mercy. If you don’t like it, surrender.”

“The girls from the next class are here too!”

Laughter and squeals filled the girls’ room.

Seoyeon quietly slipped in and swung her pillow at the student next to her.

Very gently.

“Oh, it’s Seoyeon!”

“Guys, Seoyeon’s here too!”

Yes, this is it.

At first, the students had hesitated. But when Seoyeon let them hit her with pillow attacks, they did so without protest.

They still seemed a little awkward, but it felt like things were easing up.

“Take that! Take that!”

Seoyeon swung her pillow as gently as she could, and the nearby girls giggled.

As she listened to their laughter, she thought, “All those middle school struggles were worth it.”

“Hmph.”

Marie, holding pillows in both hands, smiled at her.

Wait a second—was there a hint of mockery in that smile?

Seoyeon looked at her, puzzled. Marie started swinging her pillows fiercely.

Her movements were so fast it was like she was born for pillow fights.

Seriously? That much effort?

It was like she’d been waiting her whole life to do this.

The other students, who had been unsure about the unfamiliar foreign girl at first, now seemed amused by her enthusiastic pillow fighting.

Her pretty blond hair probably helped too. She blended in quickly.

And now that Marie was going all in, the others seemed to catch that same energy and get even more into it.

‘I—I have to...’

Seoyeon started to feel anxious.

If Marie, an outsider, could get along with everyone this easily, there was no way she could fall behind.

What even made Marie and her different?

Ah—maybe she was swinging too softly, so it didn’t look like she was trying hard?

‘Maybe just a little harder?’

How hard should she go?

She gave her pillow a good swing—

And the end popped open.

‘Ack.’

To be clear, it wasn’t because Seoyeon had swung it that hard.

It was just old, and the fabric had reached its limit.

‘Another pillow—where’s another one?’

Seoyeon quickly started looking for a replacement.

Aside from the ones provided at the lodging, some students had brought their own from home.

The one she grabbed turned out to be one of those.

‘Wait, this is... a cervical pillow?’

It felt kind of firm—like it was filled with buckwheat husks.

‘This one’s sturdy.’

Seoyeon gave it a few test swings, thinking that to herself.

Of course, she didn’t actually plan to use it in the pillow fight.

It wasn’t even hers.

She was just about to put it back when—

She sensed someone behind her and reflexively swung.

“Ugh.”

Maybe because it was a reflex, she put too much force into it.

Marie, who had lunged toward her, got hit square in the temple and collapsed on the spot.

“......”

Everyone who had been excitedly playing froze.

Wait—did she just knock her out with a pillow?

Every gaze in the room turned to Seoyeon, all thinking the same thing.

‘...I’m screwed.’

Seoyeon felt cold sweat run down her temple.

She could feel the emotional distance she’d just narrowed... suddenly stretching out again.

****

Thank god Marie got up right away.

Thanks to that, the pillow fight that had been in danger of turning sour was wrapped up peacefully.

“You’re going to that Biol show looking like you did in the poster, right?”

In the darkened room, the lights off,

About five girls were huddled up, sharing one last conversation before bed.

“Yeah.”

“...I see.”

Dahyeon responded with a strangely ambiguous look in her eyes.

Seoyeon couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion at the oddly subtle reaction.

“What?”

“Oh—it’s just, your image is different from usual.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s definitely a bit different.”

Maybe it was the pillow fight, but the other girls in the room nodded along with Dahyeon’s observation.

The one nodding the hardest was Yeongmi.

Well, she’d gone to the same middle school as Jiyeon and was her friend, so it made sense.

“That’s true. It’s not quite what I expected.”

The final comment came from Marie.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

The golden-haired girl, with just her head poking out from under her blanket in the dark.

“Marie, do you know Seoyeon?”

“Yes. She’s an actress. I watched Mine.”

That got a few surprised reactions.

Wow, Mine really was a global hit—foreigners even knew about it.

The girls looked at Seoyeon with awe in their eyes.

Seoyeon, for her part, felt a little awkward.

She did like being looked at this way, but this level of open admiration was a bit much.

Convenience store clerks showing admiration was plenty.

“Turns out... you’re not a real princess after all.”

Marie added that in a small voice.

Seoyeon, who had sharp hearing, picked it up clearly.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

When she looked over curiously, Marie gave her a strange smile.

The same kind of smile she’d shown earlier during the pillow fight.

“Even if I lost the battle... in the end, I just have to win the war.”

And with that cryptic line, Marie wriggled back under the covers like a caterpillar.

Everyone looked at each other, shrugging.

Because what the heck did that even mean?

They wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

The next morning.

While Seoyeon was still in dreamland, Dahyeon shook her awake.

“S-Seoyeon!”

“Mmm... what?”

“Th-There’s an article! About you!”

An article?

Seoyeon sat up with a clean face.

Honestly, hearing there was an article didn’t surprise her anymore.

Articles were basically an everyday thing now.

Was it about Mine again?

Or maybe about the upcoming Biol Ready-to-Wear event?

“It’s not that! It’s a French newspaper—look at this!”

“Huh? This is...”

Seoyeon looked at the screen Dahyeon was holding out.

An article that had made the front page of a French newspaper that morning.

It had been discovered by someone in Korea and reposted online.

The headline read:

“Korean Actress Subdues Pickpocket Who Attacked British Princess!”

“...?”

The beginning and end made sense.

It was probably about the incident at the Palace of Versailles.

The issue was the part in the middle.

British Princess?

“Yeongmi... was a British princess? Is that why her name is Yeongmi?”

“Seoyeon, get a grip.”

Dahyeon looked at her like—what kind of dumb joke was that?

For the record, Seoyeon was being totally serious, which just made her feel even more awkward.

‘But Yeongmi’s the one who got attacked yesterday...’

Then who the hell else were they talking about?

As her thoughts reached that point—

“I was.”

A girl sat up abruptly.

The girl brushed back her messy golden hair with a few quick swipes and turned toward them.

She cleared her throat—ahem—with a strangely regal air, and somehow, it suited her.

“I’ve been exposed.”

“Exposed to what?”

“......”

Marie narrowed her eyes.

She’d been expressionless all this time, but now—now she really looked pissed off.

“You saved me.”

Marie said that, locking eyes with Seoyeon.

At those words, something clicked in Dahyeon’s mind.

She suddenly realized why this girl had seemed so familiar.

“Marie—Marie Mountbatten Windsor! Seoyeon, she’s a British princess!”

Wait—Dahyeon even knew the names of British royal family members?

Seoyeon looked at Marie with a small spark of admiration.

‘Ah. So that’s why.’

She’d felt it the first time she saw her—there was something inherently refined about her.

Granted, that image took a bit of a hit after the pillow fight, but even now, just looking at her, you could tell she wasn’t just some ordinary person.

It wasn’t just her pretty face.

It was the kind of aura you could only have if you were born and raised in that kind of world.

Nobility. An overwhelming presence.

“I’m a fan of actress Ju Seoyeon. I like Korean dramas. Especially Mine.”

Marie said, tidying her disheveled clothes as she stood up.

Then she slowly approached where Seoyeon was sitting.

“But Biol’s Ready-to-Wear is a different story.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means... that’s where I will shine the brightest.”

Marie smiled.

Her face was blank. Her eyes weren’t smiling.

Only her lips curved like a flower.

“I was... a little worried. The poster. The new ambassador. She looked a lot like me.”

Marie had been shocked when she first saw the poster.

Biol’s new female model, photographed with a handsome male actor.

Her looks suited the Korean-themed outfit perfectly.

She had a calm, composed aura.

And in video, she looked even more graceful. Practically princess-like.

It was a kind of presence that transcended language.

Not the cold arrogance of royalty, but the soft touch of a spring breeze.

Something that seemed to gently embrace everything around her.

For someone like Marie, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} who leaned heavily on the title of "Princess" as part of her brand, it was only natural that she’d feel nervous.

Being a fan was one thing—but business was business.

Marie took her role as a model seriously, and she had a strong sense of pride as a princess.

And then here was this new ambassador—someone who overlapped with her image a lot.

If the real princess lost to a fake one... how humiliating would that be?

So who was the real Ju Seoyeon?

The one from Mine?

Or the one from the Biol poster?

Which one was acting?

Marie had wanted to find out.

And after watching her all day, she’d gotten her answer.

The "princess"—was an act.

And that meant she would never lose.

She wasn’t about to be defeated by a carefully staged image on a poster.

She was real royalty—the one and only current British princess.

“I’m the real one. You’re the fake.”

Marie said this as she threw her coat on in the same exact manner she had when she first arrived.

As if everything was settled now.

“I look forward to the Biol show. Let’s meet again there.”

With those parting words, Marie left the room before anyone else got up.

Once the article spread, there’d definitely be a commotion in the lodging.

And at her words—

‘...Is the Biol show even something worth “competing” at?’

Isn’t it just about showing up and taking a photo?

It’s not like Seoyeon would be doing an actual runway walk or anything—her role was just to “grace the event with her presence.”

‘But...’

That “gracing the event with your presence”—

To Marie, that was probably the most important thing of all.

She wanted to be the one who stood in the brightest spotlight.

As a British princess.

And as a star representing her country.

‘Should I... take that as a compliment?’

Probably no one else attending the Biol show was giving Seoyeon a second thought.

But Marie clearly thought about her—a lot.

That gaze was full of emotion.

The kind that said, “I refuse to lose to you.”

“Are you okay going back alone?”

Seoyeon walked Marie to the door.

Marie glanced back at Seoyeon with a strange look.

Even though she’d just declared herself Seoyeon’s rival—Seoyeon was acting like this?

“I’ll be fine. Like I said, the pickpocket just caught me off guard.”

“Really?”

Wasn’t it still dangerous?

As that thought crossed Seoyeon’s mind—

A taxi pulled up in front of the building.

What’s this?

As she stared—

“HEY! JU SEOYEON!!”

Park Jungwoo practically fell out of the taxi and ran toward her, his hair half a mess.

It was one of the most disheveled versions of him Seoyeon had ever seen.

As he ran, he pulled his phone from his pocket and shoved a news article in her face.

“What the hell is this article? And the princess—”

He must’ve come straight from the airport without even unpacking, rushing to Seoyeon’s lodging.

Maybe because he was so frazzled, he hadn’t even noticed the woman standing next to her.

Golden hair. Amber eyes.

The exact same face from the article.

Marie Mountbatten Windsor.

The only princess of the British royal family.

She was Biol’s UK ambassador—but not just that.

She was one of Biol’s five global ambassadors.

To Biol, she was the very heart of Europe.

The premium of being an actual princess.

That rare, princess-perfect beauty.

Her refined aura and innate elegance.

A living embodiment of luxury.

“Uh...”

Wait, is this really happening?

Jungwoo stared at Marie, completely flustered.

“Well then, I’ll see both of you the day after tomorrow.”

Marie smiled faintly and walked away.

And so—

Seoyeon and Jungwoo both...

Stood in stunned silence, saying nothing.

Because she really had been a princess who came and went like a storm.