I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 182

And so, as waves of congratulations poured in from the viewers, the group sat together beneath the setting sun.

Surrounded by a glowing campfire, they shared stories they hadn’t had time to tell, creating a warm, heartfelt ending to the stream.

Perhaps it was because the embargo had finally been lifted.

They reminisced about memorable moments and struggles from their journey leading up to this second year since debut.

There were smiles, tears, and quiet nods as they reflected on the hardest times.

What was especially interesting was that—even though the stream was supposed to celebrate the first-gen members and their next chapter—Magia ended up receiving a surprising amount of congratulations herself.

— There’s no Parallel without you

— Thank you!

— Please stream more often

— Thank you, Magia

— You’re the hope of Parallel village!

Magia insisted she was just doing her job.

That all the credit belonged to the idols.

But the continued urging from the first-gen girls made her finally acknowledge the truth—

It had been a group effort, and everyone played their part.

And so, as a show of gratitude, donations to Magia began to flood in as well.

With that, the stream announcing both the members’ new swimsuits and the long-awaited offline concert came to a successful, heartwarming close.

***

Of course, while everyone else was preparing to head home in high spirits...

One person wasn’t.

Maru, shuffling nervously, approached Magia ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) after changing clothes and bowed her head low.

She still believed what happened earlier had been a genuine leak—her own mistake.

But before she could apologize, Magia gently lifted her shoulders and spoke first.

“Sorry for not telling you in advance.”

“...Huh?”

“I tried to get tickets we could use for the prize, but the only ones I could manage were for the Asabara concert. Everything else fell through. And the date was kind of awkward too.”

“It was.”

“So I kept thinking about what to do... and I figured, knowing how you are, it would probably turn out this way. So we decided to just roll with it and use today to officially announce the offline concert.”

“....”

Maru opened her mouth to say something, then scratched her cheek and mumbled,

“Still... I did mess up, didn’t I? You were probably planning to announce it during the campfire, and I screwed up the timing. You’re just saying it was your fault so I won’t feel bad, right?”

“No. You all just got played by my little trick, that’s all.”

“I really hope that’s true...”

“You’re getting all mopey again. I told you, it’s not your fault.”

“Ugh...”

Magia stuck her hip out and said,

“Go on. Kick me as hard as you’re mad.”

“Kick? I’ll break you.”

“Everyone else kicked me just fine.”

“Wait—what?! Even the others? Where exactly were they kicking, huh?!”

Sighing, Maru raised her hand and gave Magia’s butt a loud—but painless—pop.

“There. Lesson learned: I need to think more carefully when I stream with you...”

“You really don’t. The whole reason I stream with you guys is to cover for mistakes. If you’re always careful, then I’m just wasting my role.”

“But I wanna be good too, y’know? I don’t want to keep relying on you for everything. And yet I almost messed up again today... seriously, what is wrong with me?”

“I said it’s fine.”

Magia chuckled softly and patted her shoulder.

“People like you because you make mistakes. That’s what makes you a Donguri. So don’t stress yourself out trying to be something else.”

Then, with a mischievous grin, she added,

“Besides, I had a secret backup plan, just in case.”

“A backup plan...?”

“Yep. Come take a look.”

Magia went over to the control room and adjusted her virtual 3D model.

The surfboard was gone.

On the monitor appeared Magia in a school swimsuit—with a giant sticker slapped across her flat chest.

Printed on it was the same concert announcement from the earlier banner.

“If you’d spilled it early, I was gonna pretend it was my mistake and cover it up with this.”

“......”

“That way, it wouldn’t be you who leaked it—it’d be me. And if it’s an official leak, well... what can they do, right?”

Had she revealed that, people would’ve been talking about Magia’s swimsuit more than the concert itself.

Still, it would’ve completely buried Maru’s mistake.

It was honestly kind of terrifying how prepared she’d been.

Maru smiled faintly and pulled Magia into a light hug.

“Sorry. And thanks... really. I’ll try even harder from now on.”

“For the next two months, take care of your throat, alright? You know you’re the main vocalist for Another. If your voice gives out, the whole show falls apart.”

Maru grinned and asked teasingly,

“Not Fansy?”

“Fansy’s just a featured guest vocalist.”

“Please. I’ve heard your original songs and your covers. You’re seriously good.”

“That’s just thanks to the teachers. CAT’s professionals are top-tier.”

Maru smirked.

“Even so, your channel’s growing fast. And aren’t you working on a collab song with Iyura this month? Pretty soon you’re gonna hit a million, huh?”

“Pfft, a million? What, is that a dog’s name or something? There’s no way it’s that easy.”

The last time Magia had checked was a month ago.

Back then, she had 100,000 subscribers.

Since then, she’d released two more songs.

But aside from a few features in Parallel’s group songs, nothing huge.

She didn’t think her subscriber count could’ve jumped that much.

But Maru insisted otherwise.

“What are you talking about? You’re already at 200k.”

She checked—

and sure enough, it was 200,000.

I’m literally just working and my sub count’s climbing on its own???

Sure, she’d gone and done whatever CAT told her to...

But Magia couldn’t help but think:

Being a singer isn’t just about talent—it’s also about the company behind you and whether the public connects with your songs.

Parallel’s original tracks had all recently been breaking the 1-million mark like it was nothing.

That meant their recent music was really hitting the public taste.

And while they’d always worked hard and sung well,

there was no denying that CAT’s involvement had dramatically improved the hit rate.

Which meant that even someone like Magia, who had delegated everything but the singing to CAT,

could go viral after releasing her duet with Iyura—

suddenly rising as a major utaite.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Your singing’s not perfect, Gia. But it’s got such a strong charm it makes people forget the flaws. Your technique and tone are unique. It’s like... listening to you is just as unpredictable as being around you.”

“Hm.”

“Also, it’s easy to listen to you. And that’s huge. There are tons of people out there with unique tones and weird techniques—

But what matters is whether people actually enjoy hearing it. That’s what makes or breaks a singer.”

She’d always tried not to over-edit her voice, to keep the members’ individuality intact.

And she didn’t want to mess up their beautifully crafted songs, so she worked hard to make it sound nice.

Maru’s compliments were probably thanks to that.

Producer Na Hyun-gon had never given her such detailed feedback,

But judging from how consistently he invested in her, Maru’s words held weight.

Magia nodded slowly.

Maru gave her a beaming smile and said,

“When you get super famous as a utaite, don’t pretend you don’t know us.”

“Oh please. You call me for a feature, I’ll show up in a heartbeat. Don’t even worry.”

“Sweet! I’ve got a Magia Free Pass now~”

Their pinky fingers intertwined.

They didn’t say the word “promise,”

but a contract—one that would never be broken—had just been signed.

Of course, being Magia, she couldn’t leave the moment untouched.

“So uh, did you gain weight? Your pinky feels kinda thick.”

“Wha—what?! I did not gain weight!!”

***

Thanks to an advertisement that firmly embedded itself in the minds of the viewers, the conversation about the concert didn’t slow down for a second across online communities.

But while everyone else was thrilled, happily chattering about how Parallel had finally caught up to Bachubachu by hosting an offline concert—

The Slug Squad had a rather miserable week.

All because of Magia’s unrevealed swimsuit.

... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery — ─ ...

[I’m gonna lose it over Magia]

Heard from Maru’s post-stream chat—

Turns out Magia did have a swimsuit aside from the surfboard. Aoooo LOLLLLLL

Seriously, what a little gremlin LOL

[Comments]

— Parallel731: Wait, is this a leak?

ㄴ Parallel863: Nah, she said it was okay to mention

ㄴ Parallel731: So Magia wanted us to hear this

ㄴ Parallel863: Uh...?

ㄴ Parallel731: That little shit

ㄴ Parallel225: Classic Ja-pyeong-stirring, LOL

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery — ─ ...

[Stupid Parallel stans]

How are you still falling for this? LOL

Magia’s totally doing this on purpose

You know what Tier 0 Slugs do in times like this?

We collect Magia swimsuit merch, LOL

Good luck with your rage—I'm off to hit the secondhand market~

[Comments]

— Parallel494: Wise young man

— Parallel800: Honestly true, these are gonna skyrocket in price

ㄴ Parallel036: There’s not even any resellers though...

ㄴ Parallel557: Slugs are so loyal they basically never resell unless they quit the fandom entirely LOL

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

And so, interest in Magia naturally spilled over into interest in the upcoming concert.

Countless people began digging into Fan_C, the mysterious artist announced as a featured guest.

... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery — ─ ...

[Do you guys know this, or not?]

————— Seen on Z —————

Parallel Parallel official KR☑ @Parallel_official_kr · 15 mins ago

Another World / Parallel Another 1st Live Concert

2025-11-03 / Hwayoung Gymnasium, Korea University

Join our beloved 1st-gen in a night of radiant music!

Guests: Parallel Nearby (2nd-gen), Fan_C

————————————————

Fan_C is officially listed for Another’s concert.

Looks like she’s joining as a featured vocalist.

[Comments]

— Parallel225: If it’s Magia, of course she’s showing up

ㄴ Parallel095: Wasn’t that theory debunked?

ㄴ Parallel225: Huh? I was always told it was her

ㄴ Parallel446: Yeah, and look where that got you. Still no answer LOL

— Parallel491: So this means we’ll finally know if Fan_C is really Magia?

ㄴ Parallel005: How would we know?

ㄴ Parallel491: It’s not like she can host and sing at the same time

ㄴ Parallel491: If you watch closely, you can probably tell

ㄴ Parallel393: Oh damn

ㄴ Parallel090: I’m going. Save me a seat LOL

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

People were more hopeful than ever that the truth behind Fan_C and Magia would finally be revealed.

But pre-concert sleuthing turned up very little—

Magia hadn’t released enough songs to allow for any real comparison.

Ironically, this ended up working in Fan_C’s favor.

... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery | Public Board — ─ ...

[Is it okay to talk about Fan_C here?]

—————————————————

[🥔Nutube]

Fan_C 🎵

@Fan_C_CAT · 201K subscribers · 10 videos

“I love Parallel”

—————————————————

She literally has “I love Parallel” on her channel.

And every song she covers? Originally a Parallel track.

Can I talk about her or not?

[Comments]

— 🟦Parallel02: It’s fine as long as you don’t start a “Magia is/isn’t her” war

ㄴ 🟦Parallel02: Check the pinned post for details

ㄴ Parallel841: There’s actually a rule for this?

ㄴ 🟦Parallel02: Yeah, the board was a dumpster fire for a while because of it

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

There hadn’t been enough activity to justify creating a separate board for Fan_C—

But since the Parallel gallery had grown fond of her, discussion naturally increased.

And as the conversation grew, so did her fanbase.

It wasn’t just flattery from Maru or Na Hyun-gon.

Magia’s solo songs really did draw people in with their unique atmosphere.

... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery — ─ ...

[Personal Listening Notes]

『Common Fan』

– Original song by Fan_C

– Captures the sincere feelings of an average fan looking up to their idol

– If you’re a Parallel fan, it’s fun to guess who each lyric is about—Momo, 1st-gen, and 2nd-gen are all in there

[Comments]

— Parallel093: This song’s actually good

— Parallel225: Maru said she’s gonna cover it soon

— Parallel831: This is honestly solid

— Parallel090: So relatable it hurts LOL

— Parallel201: Yeah, it's been polished up, but it definitely screams OG Puddle vibes

ㄴ Parallel551: Why do you think she got into the illegal duet? LOL

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...