Hobbyist VTuber

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“Hey, would you like to try pitching, my daughter?”

When I first heard my father suggest pitching, I thought it was just his usual joke.

However, his expression, which lightened up a bit with an unexpected seriousness as he shared more details, hinted that he wasn’t really pushing me, ending with the notion that the choice was entirely mine.

“Um… are you worried about me?”

“Well, it’s a concern, I suppose.”

The experience of being the center of attention for countless spectators made me seriously ponder what it would feel like.

If you think about it, being a VTuber is also a job where you get watched by many people.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to consider this as a way to experience the tension I would feel as a VTuber.

However, the short-lived anxiety I’d feel on the pitching mound didn’t significantly influence my decision.

What impacted me the most was the simple fact that my father was “worried about me.”

“…I’ll give it a try.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

I knew it was natural for a father to worry about his daughter, but honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about it.

Could this also be a residue of my past life?

Having lived a life far from health concerns, it felt like I had developed an allergy to the very notion of worry.

Somehow, I began to dislike the fact that anyone—even with good intentions—was concerned about me.

I wished to show through a perfect pitch that there was no need for my father’s obvious worries and concerns for his daughter.

My expression, which mixed confidence and anticipation about pitching, was just an extension of that thought.

“What if you pitch so well that you get scouted as a pitcher?”

“Speaking of which, the Sehwa Eagles’ pitchers have been underperforming lately. Maybe they really will scout our daughter.”

With a gentle pat and a familiar lightness returning to my father’s voice, I finally put on a smile.

And thus, I decided to pitch.

As days of catch with my father became more frequent and lasted longer, the day of the pitch soon arrived.

“Feel free to make mistakes, just don’t be nervous.”

“Okay.”

Parting ways with my parents, who looked at me with half worry and half expectation, I headed towards the pitcher’s mound with the Sehwa Eagles’ mascot.

Almost simultaneously, the immense size of the baseball stadium hit me.

And just for a brief moment, the gazes of countless people focused solely on me.

“Hmm….”

Still, I wasn’t as shaken or nervous as I thought I would be.

I felt like I had effectively trained my mind to view all those spectators as future viewers of my streams.

After all, they weren’t staring at me up close.

The only difference between the stadium audience and my stream viewers was whether they were watching me in person or through a phone screen.

After that, I mentally convinced myself that I was simply doing a short five-minute stream.

After locking eyes with the catcher way over there, I imitated the pitches I had seen on TV.

-Whoosh!

With a lightly powered fastball, I finished the pitch without any issues.

It was merely the straightforward motion of throwing the ball as hard as I could that I had practiced countless times during catch with my father.

Only until I high-fived the mascot standing right next to me did I believe that I had pitched normally.

Looking at my mother’s digital camera snapping away at me, I probably didn’t look too weird either.

However, just a few seconds later, the announcer’s praises echoing through the stadium speakers filled my ears with an overwhelmingly large cheer and applause.

“…Huh?”

The sound of the cheers and applause was much louder than I had imagined, flooding my ears.

Not knowing what expression to make, I pulled my cap down a bit more.

Yet, I didn’t forget to bow and greet the audience.

In a way, I had just gained another story to share on my future streams, so I considered it a good experience overall.

It wasn’t until I stepped off the mound and received compliments from my visibly excited mother that I didn’t think too much about it.

The unexpected turn of events began after the game was over.

“Excuse me, could I have a moment?”

Just as I was about to leave my seat, a man with a face I had never seen approached me.

After exchanging a business card, I soon heard an odd proposal.

“We’d like to film a children’s nutritional supplement CF with our Haeun as the model, could you spare some time for us?”

For some reason, I felt as if a turning point in my life was approaching.

Even though I was still only six years old.

*

When it comes to advertising a product through CF, the model is the most important aspect.

No matter how dazzling the CG or direction is, if the product and the model don’t create synergy, the CF will struggle to gain attention.

That’s a sort of truth.

It was common knowledge that those working in advertising would know without needing further explanation.

Thus, for Kang Euntae, who was having a hard time selecting a model, Haeun was like a blessing that fell out of the sky.

A child who could give him the confidence he lacked even after reviewing profiles of about twenty candidates was nothing short of miraculous.

“42 km/h. That was a very clean fastball, textbook pitching.”

“Her expression is as good as that of a seasoned adult. She exudes charisma.”

Haeun’s stable pitching posture naturally drew praises from the commentators.

Her neat appearance, which couldn’t be hidden by a slightly large baseball cap, kept capturing Kang Euntae’s attention.

She could easily be compared to other child models he had seen on set.

Above all, her calm demeanor as she finished her greeting and stepped off the mound amidst the crowd’s thunderous applause was incredibly impressive.

It was the subtle, indescribable aura that couldn’t be captured by the word ‘nervousness’ alone that made all the difference.

“I can’t let this slip away.”

Currently, Kang Euntae was responsible for advertising a children’s nutritional supplement for a pharmaceutical company.

As it is a supplement, it goes without saying that the model’s healthy image had to be highlighted.

Haeun’s unexpected pitching prowess would also soon become a hot topic.

An appearance befitting an advertising model.

Her pitching stance was so well-polished, you could believe she was dreaming of becoming a baseball player.

A presence that couldn’t be drowned out by the thunderous applause from the crowd.

If these three elements come together harmoniously, both Kang Euntae and the advertiser would surely be pleased with the resulting advertisement.

He couldn’t have predicted that he would end up working in a baseball stadium a bit away from the advertising studio, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter.

He just wanted to take that girl Haeun and bring her to the studio, in front of the camera.

“There’s really no need for you to act like a professional actor and force your emotions. Haeun’s natural self is what we want.”

What they aimed to capture on camera was purely Haeun’s healthy appearance.

If it were a plain food advertisement, then the taste of the food would need to be highlighted through direction and acting, but for nutritional supplements, the focus had to be on embedding its benefits in the audience’s minds.

The profiles of child models Kang Euntae had seen until now all bore a somewhat bland impression.

Even as the CF shooting date drew nearer, he hadn’t secured a model because he couldn’t find someone who matched the specific image he envisioned.

Neither too lively nor too shy.

The most ideal image he wanted was that of a serious athlete preparing for the Olympics.

“As you might know, most ads featuring child models have a slightly noisy feel to them.”

The cute charm of child models, a significant advantage compared to adult models, wasn’t the core of this advertisement but rather a secondary role in his vision.

In other words, he intended to capture Haeun’s appearance with her desired charm while also revealing another distinctive quality.

“I aim to express Haeun’s calmness as confidence brought by the nutritional supplement, instilling the belief that no adversity can bring her down.”

Thanks to his careful, step-by-step explanation, he was not immediately rejected.

Just as he was about to suggest that they hoped to receive a response soon.

“Um….”

“Yes?”

Haeun, who had been silently listening, finally opened her mouth.

With a small opening, she slowly posed a question that felt remarkably childlike yet not quite.

“How much is the advertising fee?”

“Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part!”

He carefully began to write down the amount on a plain white note so that Haeun could easily understand it.

As expected, her eyes widened with delight every time a zero was added to the note.

While the amount wasn’t too much in an objective sense, it was a considerable sum for a child.

Considering that being a VTuber—which was central to Haeun’s future aspirations—required a fair amount of initial capital, this proposal felt incredibly sweet.

Then Haeun slightly turned her head toward her father.

“Can I also make money like Dad…?”

Unintentionally, she asked a slightly offbeat question.

“Then, I need to help you open a bank account.”

A clear and straightforward answer carried an implicit agreement.

Kang Euntae reached out his hand towards Haeun in a gesture of goodwill, and they exchanged a few shakes.

However, no one could foresee that Haeun’s pitching article would be featured on the morning sports newspaper, leading to a significant increase in her market value.

An interview from a fan expressing the desire to recruit Haeun over the current struggling Sehwa Eagles’ starting pitchers would also be included at the end of the article.