I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work

Meanwhile, at the Parallel booth right next door.
Cheon Do-hee was flustered.
“Can I get a paper bag?”
“Me too, please!”
She had indeed released Magia into the venue expecting a promotional effect.
But she hadn’t expected the booth to be swamped like this.
It made sense to expect that some people might stop by after visiting the adjacent booth for Coral Blue, currently at the peak of Mimax’s popularity.
But when more than double the expected number started pouring in, it was only natural to panic.
“Boss, we’re going to run out of paper bags. Should we pull some from tomorrow’s stock?”
“We have some in reserve, so we’ll just have to make do with those tomorrow. Let’s do that.”
“Got it!”
“Don’t bring too many—just 20%.”
“Understood.”
“Boss! Over here, for a sec.”
After lunchtime, the queue kept growing, and now it was nearly as long as the ones at Bachubachu and Mimax.
The longer the line, the greater the concern over early merch depletion.
Inside the storage area, Do-hee clicked her tongue as she saw how much stock was already gone.
“This is bad.”
“I think we’ll need to pull not just the bags, but also some of tomorrow’s merch.”
“First send out an announcement before we do. That way, people planning to come tomorrow can adjust their schedule or route.”
“True. Should I blast it across all our official channels?”
“Yeah, do that. And Team Leader Ra!”
Team Leader Ra, who had been running around with Marketing Manager Oh checking inventory, came sliding to a stop.
“Yes, boss.”
“Head back to the office and start prepping the online store.”
“Ah.”
“There’ll be people who can’t buy today because we pulled tomorrow’s stock, so have the planning team verify their Parallel membership IDs and keep a separate record.”
“Got it. I’ll head back and prepare everything, then send you an update.”
It was a crisis response, but still—
Who would’ve thought so many people would show up out of nowhere?
Did Magia hypnotize everyone just by walking around?
Or did something else happen?
Baffled, Cheon Do-hee opened the community app and started browsing the Parallel boards.
‘...Surprisingly quiet?’
Most of the posts were about the Mafe Festival.
But since the Parallel community didn’t allow uploads of other people—especially cosplayers—there was no trace of what Magia was doing.
‘Maybe I should check Coral Blue’s board.’
Just as she was about to switch tabs, thinking it might be Mimax’s booth drawing the overflow—
Tap tap.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey.”
Startled, Do-hee spun around ninety degrees with a jolt.
“What’s got you so surprised? You didn’t think we’d run into each other?”
The person behind her was none other than Taro.
It was the backstage hallway where only staff wandered, and their booths were across from each other with Mimax in the middle, so running into each other wasn’t that strange.
But it was odd that Taro had come looking for Do-hee.
The reason became clear quickly, as Taro explained unprompted.
“You really planned this one well. I’m impressed. I didn’t expect you’d been prepping for months just for today’s booth.”
“…Huh? What strategy?”
“You know. Slipping Gia into Mimax as a voice actor and having her do cosplay today. That was all your idea, wasn’t it?”
Well, yes.
But honestly, she hadn’t expected it to be this effective.
She was only hoping to lure in people stopping by the Mimax booth or wandering aimlessly through the venue.
More than anything, the cosplay idea had started with Magia.
If she hadn’t come back with that outfit after her voice gig, the whole idea never would’ve been born.
Do-hee wasn’t someone who naturally acted boastful like Darami. Even with a little competitiveness in front of Taro, she wouldn’t exaggerate.

“Saying I thought of this months ago is a stretch. I only got the idea to send Gia around in cosplay last week.”
Taro tilted her head.
Unusual for someone like her to show that much reaction.
“Ahh, then Gia must’ve improvised.”
“Improvised? What are you even talking about?”
Taro suddenly grabbed Do-hee’s wrist.
Do-hee let herself be dragged, slowing her pace with careful steps.
“What is it?”
“It’s faster if you just see.”
Taro led her to none other than the Mimax booth.
Specifically, to the middle of the long line.
“Hey, Master. You do know I have image rights, right? You can’t just snap away like that! Hand over your phone!”
“Ah.”
“Haha. Let’s see... Oh wow, you totally botched this one. You were gonna save this? Here, look this way! Say cheese!”
“Oh, okay!”
“Wait, what? Master, why the sudden formal speech?”
The moment she heard the playful voice, Do-hee froze.
The way every booth’s queue looped around so it wouldn’t block outer pathways—she could hear Magia’s voice from within the Mimax booth.
Turns ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) out, she was fully in-character as Kurokumo Momo from Coral Blue.
The audience surrounding her were grinning ear-to-ear, constantly snapping photos.
“What the hell, what is she doing over there?”
Taro chuckled at Do-hee’s dumbfounded expression.
“Judging by that slack-jawed look, I guess you really didn’t plan for this.”
They had coordinated on Mimax’s ad campaign and provided Magia and other members as voice actors upon request.
But they never discussed participating in today’s booth itself.
If they had, Do-hee, as CEO, would’ve been informed.
Magia wasn’t the type to enter contracts without reporting back either.
Too curious to resist, Do-hee shook off Taro’s hand and headed toward the Mimax booth.
Naturally, she didn’t go through the main entrance in full view of the public—but through the staff-only rear access.
But the person in charge looked too busy to interrupt.
The staff all stood anxiously, staring toward the truck lot as if bracing for something.
There was no opening to approach, so Do-hee just stood there fidgeting when Taro leaned in to whisper.
“Why even bother asking? It’s plain as day.”
“What is?”
“Mimax asked Gia for help, and she’s helping them.”
Why would Mimax need help?
They were seasoned event veterans.
Did they make a major mistake today and beg Gia to stabilize the crowd?
As if reading her mind, Taro smirked dryly.
“You’re right. I glanced into their storage earlier—completely out of merch.”
“Out of stock?”
“I’m sure the plan was perfect, but something must’ve gone wrong with shipping. No matter how prepared you are, accidents happen.”
“They should’ve had a truck on standby.”
“Maybe they did. Ever consider that the truck ran into trouble?”
“Hmmm…”
Exactly.
No matter how much you prepare, unpredictable accidents always happen.
Even Parallel had barely avoided a major screw-up despite solid prep.
Disasters are inevitable—the only question is how big they get.
Not long after, Taro’s prediction was proven true as a truck slowly backed into Mimax’s parking area.
As soon as the rear doors opened, Mimax staff rushed in to unload boxes of merch.
Amid the chaos, one girl stood out.
It was Pino, cosplaying as Loro.
As soon as Do-hee spotted her, she ran over to help carry boxes and asked,
“What happened? How’d you end up helping?”
“Oh, Mimax asked me. Though… I don’t know if I was supposed to say that. I already did though, oops.”
“I’ll ask the person in charge. No way they borrowed one of our staff without telling us.”
“Right. Anyway, let’s move these boxes quick. So that Gia can get freed.”
“What is she, some kidnapped princess…?”
“She is! We were supposed to walk around more, but then she ran off to help Mimax, and we got separated!”
From Pino’s frustrated voice, Do-hee finally grasped just how urgent the situation must’ve been.
Turns out, Taro had been right about everything.
Now helping with the boxes, Taro grinned and said,
“Told you I was spot on.”
“You’re so spot on it’s annoying.”
“Exactly. Gia never ignores a chance to help the company.”
After about eight round trips, the truck was empty.
As staff scrambled to restock the booth, the flustered Mimax rep came out and bowed deeply upon seeing the three of them standing there.
“I’m so sorry, boss. We should’ve informed you first. Things were just too hectic…”
“It’s fine. If Gia agreed to help, then it’s fine.”
“Yes. We offered her proper compensation, and she helped right away… Honestly, she saved us from a disaster.”
Just as Taro had said—this was who Magia was.
Though she might seem overly accommodating with VTubers, she’s calculated and methodical in corporate matters.
That’s why Do-hee entrusted her with full authority over member streams.
As long as Magia was in charge, Parallel wouldn’t suffer.
And judging by the rep’s reaction today, Magia had essentially landed them another major deal.
“We’ll be reaching out about the ad soon. I’d love to formalize the contract and pay her properly. Even expensive pro cosplay teams can’t deliver this kind of effect.”
With time short, the rep rushed back to booth duties. Taro clicked her tongue.
“This is why I wanted to recruit her.”
Do-hee shoved Taro lightly and growled,
“Stop eyeing her. Gia picked me. Why are you trying to stir things up?”
“I didn’t do anything today. You’re the one being paranoid.”
“Ugh, whatever.”
As Taro walked away, hands up and grinning smugly, Pino turned to Do-hee.
“Then I’ll head back to Gia now.”
Do-hee composed her scowl into a smile.
“Sure. Thanks in advance for helping until the end.”
“Leave it to me, boss. I’ll protect Gia no matter what it takes. Hehehe.”
As she sent Pino off and prepared to return to the Parallel booth—
Bzzzz, her phone buzzed.
It was from Magia.
Even while acting in front of a crowd, she’d noticed that Do-hee had seen her.
[Assistant Manager Magia: Sorry]
[Assistant Manager Magia: I should’ve told you in advance]
[Assistant Manager Magia: It was just so urgent]
[Assistant Manager Magia: But Mimax will probably have good news soon]
[Me: I know, it’s okay]
Do-hee texted back with concern.
[Me: It’s fine since you’re not a VTuber]
[Me: But if your identity gets out, you’ll attract attention, and…]
[Me: I’m just worried people will start pestering you…]
Magia replied cheerfully, as if to say don’t worry.
[Assistant Manager Magia: That should be fine]
[Assistant Manager Magia: I’ve checked the community posts. Everyone thinks I’m just Danbi’s voice actor—they don’t know I’m Magia]
[Assistant Manager Magia: Even if Loro’s voice sounds like Tia’s, there’s a slight difference]
[Me: Right, right…]
[Me: You’ve probably got it under control]
And then, as if to say the day wasn’t over yet—
[Assistant Manager Magia: Oh, and I think I have to work the booth again tomorrow]
[Me: Booth? I told you not to come to ours]
[Assistant Manager Magia: No, I mean the Mimax booth]
[Me: Huh?]
What had once been just a rumor in the community had now become real.
Magia was officially working the booth as a cosplayer.
[Assistant Manager Magia: If I do tomorrow like today, they promised us two ad deals]
[Assistant Manager Magia: Hiring a pro cosplayer for a day usually costs 150–200k]
[Assistant Manager Magia: The ad payout is way higher, so it’s a huge win, right?]
Do-hee squinted and gave a helpless laugh.
[Me: Okay, fine. Let’s talk again after the event ends today]
[Me: Tell the rep I’d like to meet them later]