NOVEL NEXT chapter 248
The weekend meeting between the Na Hyun-gon couple and the Cha Seong-gyeong couple.
It started as a discussion of their respective businesses, but once the conversation warmed up, the topic inevitably turned to their daughters.
Since both families had only daughters, this shared situation had created a bond for over ten years, and their daughters had always been a staple topic at such dinner gatherings.
Naturally, it was Na Hyun-gon—who trusted and firmly supported his daughter—who brought up Ena a bit more confidently than the Cha Seong-gyeong couple, who still held some doubts about their own daughter’s path.
“These days, it’s so hard to see my daughter’s face.”
“Hard? Has Sena moved out?”
“She hasn’t moved out. It’s just that she’s so busy with her own work lately that she’s practically holed up in her room. When I leave for work, she’s either working or sleeping, and even when I get home, she’s still working.”
“Oh dear. What kind of exhausting work is she doing?”
“She’s a streamer.”
“Huh?”
Cha Seong-gyeong looked slightly taken aback.
Of course, both the Na Hyun-gon couple and the Cha Seong-gyeong couple shared the same desire to support whatever their child wanted to do.
But there was just one thing—when it came to internet streaming, they both tended to tread more carefully.
Especially since Na Hyun-gon’s daughter, Na Sena, had only a few years ago been aiming to become an idol. So hearing that she suddenly became a streamer was naturally surprising.
“When did she start?”
“It’s been quite a while. Maybe two years?”
“Already?”
“It’s been over three years since we last met, after all. That’s why, when you suggested we have dinner, I immediately said yes. Lately, our company’s entertainers haven’t had much crossover with yours, so I’ve been wondering how you’ve been doing.”
“I see. Two years…”
For Cha Seong-gyeong, this was truly an unexpected revelation.
Given that Parallel and CAT Entertainment had been collaborating for over a year now, and she had a lot of questions about Magia and the VTuber industry in general…
If Sena had already been streaming for two years, then this would allow her to gain far deeper insight into the situation.
“Has anything happened during those two years of streaming—anything troublesome?”
“Troublesome…”
When it came to ‘trouble,’ what first came to Na Hyun-gon’s mind was, of course, Sena’s re-debut.
Especially since it had happened between Lapits and Parallel—two groups that were nearly equal in size at the time.
During Serena’s re-debut as Ena, discord could’ve broken out at any moment.
But thanks to the full support of Magia and Parallel, Sena had been able to continue her streaming life as Ena without serious scars.
“There was almost a problem, but we overcame the crisis thanks to one person.”
“Really? Who?”
“Last week, you actually…”
Na Hyun-gon stopped himself just as he was about to say, “Didn’t you meet her yourself?”
Because his daughter Ena had already firmly warned him not to go around talking about her.
If the Red Pill leaked, it would only cause unnecessary headaches for their family.
There were already whispers saying Parallel only took Ena in as a way to secure a business deal with CAT Entertainment.
Na Hyun-gon fully agreed with Ena’s opinion.
So he was now caught between whether he should say it or not.
‘Now that I think about it, why did Cha Seong-gyeong visit Parallel last week?’
As far as he knew, the only company in that building with any relation to entertainers was Parallel.
‘If she read that VTuber-related article, it was probably about Thunderbolt City.’
So, who had she met at Parallel?
Magia? Or the CEO, Cheon Do-hee?
While Na Hyun-gon was still hesitating, curiosity got the better of Cha Seong-gyeong, and she asked first.
“Producer? Are you feeling tired?”
“No, as I was talking, something urgent just came to mind for a moment.”
“Oh? If it’s urgent, we can pick this up later.”
“No, let’s continue. In fact, this might be something you’ll want to hear too, Ms. Cha.”
“Oh my, really?”
Cha Seong-gyeong was a seasoned veteran of the entertainment industry, known not just for her experience but also for never misspeaking.
And her husband, Baek Seok-gyu, was widely praised as someone who speaks through his acting rather than his mouth.
So Na Hyun-gon concluded that it wouldn’t be a problem to share at least a little about the story involving himself, Ena, and Magia.
With his decision made, Na Hyun-gon finally opened his mouth.
“The one who helped us was Deputy Manager Magia from Parallel.”
“Deputy Manager Magia?”
She looked surprised, but also somewhat relieved.
Since Cha Seong-gyeong was not one to show emotion easily, Na Hyun-gon immediately asked her,
“Judging by your reaction, you must know her name?”
“I went to meet her to discuss casting Darami in Parallel. It was a one-sided request on my part, but…”
Now it was Na Hyun-gon’s turn to be surprised.
“Huh? Really? Your daughter might join Parallel?”
“Yes. And come to think of it, Producer, did you watch Thunderbolt City? Since you partnered with Parallel, I figured you’d be interested…”
“Of course. I kept a close eye on how my daughter did on stream.”
“Oh, so your daughter was also in Thunderbolt City?”
“Yes. She was one of the sub-bosses in the Faction of First Encounter. Ena, a second-generation member of Parallel, is my daughter.”
“Oh my. My daughter played Darai… She was the boss of Red Hood…”
“Darai?! Ah. Oh… I see? Baek Darami… Darami. I completely missed that connection. Ha ha…”
“And I didn’t expect your daughter to be part of Parallel…”
How Ena ended up as a VTuber under Parallel. What role Magia played in making that possible. How Darami ended up tied up in this situation with Magia.
All the things they had hesitated to say, weighing whether they should or not—suddenly flowed freely between them.
And in that process, Cha Seong-gyeong got the answer she had been looking for.
The sweet offer Magia had made.
And whether or not that offer was poisoned.
“So… you’re saying she started singing purely because she wanted the company to do well? She didn’t even really want to sing herself?”
“That’s why it’s even more impressive. She didn’t even enjoy singing, but she’s so good at it she could line up most singers beneath her. And she doesn’t half-ass anything, either.”
I had my suspicions because she seemed too perfect as a manager. But hearing that the perfection was all real just added to the surprise.
“How can someone go that far? Honestly… she kind of sounds like a weirdo.”
“I agree that she seems like a strange person. The closer you get to her, the more surreal it feels. It’s like she barely has any spare time in a day. If it’s for the company, she’ll do anything—and she gives it her all, and the results are always great... It’s almost like she’s casting magic.”
“What kind of company is it that she goes that far…?”
“Because it was founded by the person she likes the most. She said she never wanted to let it fail. That’s how it started, and now she wants Parallel to become the best in the VTuber industry.”
“Aha. So that’s what you were wondering about.”
“Yes. Our daughter’s kind of softhearted, so I kept wondering… is Magia just saying sweet things to rope her in? Or does she actually believe Darami can succeed?”
Na Hyun-gon shrugged.
“To be honest, I didn’t know either until I actually started working with Magia. But she pulls it off. Even I found it hard to believe.”
There are plenty of people who apply for jobs like manager or stylist because they admire a particular artist. They want to follow in that person’s footsteps.
But about half of them end up quitting once they see the artist’s real personality, which is usually very different from the fantasy.
Artists always show their brightest side to the public. To work in this field long-term, you need to understand even the darker parts behind that shine.
Sure, an artist’s personality and various factors can affect how long someone stays.
But Magia wasn’t one of those people.
When Cheon Do-hee suddenly called her on the phone and challenged her to a fight, Magia didn’t even think, “She’s so different from the Do-hee who always jokes around.”
Instead, she reflected—rare for someone like Magia—wondering just how much she must’ve provoked Do-hee to get her that riled up.
And Cheon Do-hee also admitted, as soon as she got home, that her behavior that day wasn’t mature. That it was different from how she normally handles things.
In a way, the two of them were constantly repeating the process of respecting and trying to understand each other. That’s how they’d managed to charge forward, watching each other’s backs without any major fights or falling-outs, for four years now.
Na Hyun-gon had a rough idea of it too—
That it’s because it’s Parallel, and because Cheon Do-hee is the president, that Magia shines so brightly.
“Of course I understand your concerns, Ms. Cha. You’ve been through a lot to reach your position. But speaking as someone in management, you can trust Deputy Manager Magia. If I didn’t believe in her, I wouldn’t have entrusted my own daughter to her.”
“Well… you’re right. If it were you, Producer, you could’ve easily assigned someone even better, but you chose to trust her.”
“So why not take a leap of faith too? I’m sure your daughter can go far.”
Parallel, led by Magia and Cheon Do-hee. And behind them, CAT Entertainment and Na Hyun-gon, actively supporting the Parallel members’ idol activities.
A solid powerhouse, ready to launch Darami into the skies at any moment.
…In that case, Cha Seong-gyeong would have to make a decision soon.
“Thank you for the wonderful conversation today, Producer.”
***
The next morning.
Just as Magia had finished monitoring the weekend member streams and was about to enjoy a well-earned nap, her phone rang.
[We’re good!]
A cheer signaling that there would be no major issues in joining Parallel.
Magia lifted the corners of her mouth and said,
“Congratulations. You’ll ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) be able to keep streaming from now on.”
[I know… When I got caught, I really thought I was gonna die.]
“Well, it all worked out. This means we can start training as soon as next week.”
[Yes! Sounds good! But… what kind of training are we starting with?]
With the spring season fast approaching, Cheon Do-hee was overwhelmed—handling the new outfits for the 1st and 2nd generation talents, plus preparing a pop-up store for the Manae Festival.
So Darami’s training was left entirely in Magia’s hands.
They had already decided Magia could handle everything Do-hee usually taught, so for the next 2 to 3 months, Magia would be glued to Darami.
No matter how well Darami had been running her streams on her own, there was no escaping Magia’s spicy training.
“We’re obviously starting with mental training.”
[Mental? That’s fine with me.]
“You should be nervous. I’m going to break you harder than anything you’ve experienced before.”
[Break me? What are you breaking!?]
If Darami had been joining with a group, she might’ve had someone to commiserate with. But since she was coming in solo, one-on-one time with Magia was unavoidable.
If she could endure it, she might come out with a mental fortitude to rival Cheon Do-hee. If not, she’d be stuck in a loop of infinite 1:1 repeat training until she could.
Like someone who’d just gotten a fun new toy, Magia grinned and said,
“You’ll find out when you show up at the office tomorrow.”