I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work
Chapter 201

In fact, Magia wasn’t the only one stepping onto the stage for the first time at this offline concert.

There was the second-generation member.

She had just debuted three months ago,

and aside from her online concert experiences in a bedroom setting, this was her first time performing in front of an audience.

Even more daunting was the fact that the 6,000-seat venue was packed with people.

Though the location wasn’t directly on stage, and it was slightly removed,

the environment still resembled a 2D setup, similar to the one they usually broadcast in, with no choreography required.

The heat and cheers from the crowd still reached them.

So it wasn’t surprising that Miho, who had been nervous, was now finding it hard to control her body.

“Hii...! Hic... hic...”

“This is bad...”

“Miho, drink some water.”

“Hik...”

Why wasn’t anyone worrying about the second-generation member?

Well, that wasn’t the case.

Everyone was just as concerned about the second-generation members as they were about Magia.

Miho, who had appeared calm up until her turn, was now struggling with hiccups. She was slightly out of focus, but it wasn’t that she hadn’t been prepared—

she had been very composed until now.

From Team Leader Kang to Gong Seung-yeon and Ha Jae-yi,

everyone had followed along to take care of the members.

And after Magia started the performance, they had all stayed close by, ready to assist.

But no one had anticipated that this would happen just before the second-generation members’ turn.

Soon, the four members were about to take the stage for their song in the temporary booth, and Do-hee rushed in.

“Miho, are you okay?!”

“Just... Hic... I’m okay now...”

“Not okay at all...”

Do-hee immediately turned to the stage director who was already at the scene.

“How much time do we have until the next turn?”

“It’s been about 5 minutes already. I told the first-generation members to stretch it out, but it was all on the fly, so it won’t be much longer.”

“Ugh.”

Then the stage director spoke.

“Maybe we could ask Gia to fill in for Miho? I heard she’s great at impressions and mimicry.”

“That...”

Do-hee hesitated, and at that moment, Magia immediately declined.

“No. This concert is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the second-generation members. It would be wrong for me to steal that from them.”

“Then...”

Magia moved closer to the director.

“I’ll go out as Magia’s proxy and stall for time. Could we use that translucent panel from Fanxi’s performance earlier?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just turn on 3D in the motion capture studio—”

“No, it takes too long to get dressed.”

“Even if we adjust the shadow angle, the silhouette would be too similar to Fanxi’s, and people might realize it’s the same person.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a solution for that. Just let me know if I can use it, Director.”

Magia’s eyes showed a sense of certainty.

Though Cat Entertainment had provided support for the performance,

and the stage director was from Cat, ultimately, the leadership of this concert belonged to Parallel.

In other words, it was now Do-hee’s decision to make.

Magia remained confident, and Do-hee had always trusted her in moments like this.

“Please go ahead with Gia’s request.”

The director immediately nodded and guided Magia.

“Whatever you need, we’ll go right away.”

Hurrying out, Magia pointed toward Miho.

“CEO, please calm Miho’s hiccups. I’ll leave it to you and Team Leader Kang.”

Magia followed the stage director down the corridor, mentally reviewing the sequence of events for the rest of the concert.

The performance was already halfway through.

After a 10-minute break, they would continue with the third song of the second half, followed by a time for talking on stage.

She had already roughly planned what she would say during this time.

But after performing several songs, the first-generation members would probably be in an over-energized state.

They might be confused about what to say and what to talk about,

likely sticking to discussing the previous and upcoming performances.

But since the second-generation members couldn’t go on as planned,

she had to think of something to entertain the audience with in the meantime.

In other words, Magia had to come up with a topic that the four of them could talk about to fill the time.

And it wasn’t as difficult as it seemed.

Having spent over three years with Parallel,

Magia knew exactly how the members would act and what they would say in any given situation after just a few simulations in her head.

“Panel is ready for lift-off.”

Upon hearing that, Magia pointed to the blue waterproof tarp that had been covering the performance equipment on the side.

“Can I borrow this for a second?”

Though it was perfect for hiding the red pills,

Magia had a feeling she ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) might trip if she wasn’t careful.

She couldn’t see in front of her after all.

“Are you planning to use that and go out? You’ll trip.”

“It’s fine, I’ve memorized the movement path during the preparation.”

The stage director sighed, pressing the panel lift button.

“Be careful. The stage might be slippery. And here, put on these in-ear monitors. Let me know when the second-generation members are ready.”

“Thank you for looking out for me, Director.”

“Good luck!”

*

Meanwhile, in the temporary motion studio capturing the footage being broadcasted to the stage.

Just as Gia had feared, the first-generation members were starting to run out of things to talk about.

After talking for so long, their throats were getting sore.

All four of them could instinctively tell they needed to save their voices for the performance later.

Maru and Komari, blessed with steel vocal cords, were doing their best to keep the banter going, but—

“What do we even say now?”

“I have no idea!”

They were already hitting their limit—

And that’s when it happened.

Suddenly, one of the stage panels began to rise, and the audience started murmuring.

The four first-gen members tilted their heads in confusion at the sight of a wriggling blue tarp emerging from the rising panel.

“What the—where am I?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Everyone flinched at the sudden voice that rang out through the venue.

The wiggling tarp was way too small to be a full-grown adult.

It was clearly a child.

And among all the children who might possibly be on stage with a voice like that, there was only one candidate: Magia.

From the first-gens' perspective, it had to be a tech glitch that somehow brought Magia onstage.

Maru let out a startled gasp, and Rain tried desperately to do damage control.

“What the—Gia?!”

“Stupid, Maru! Why would you say that out loud...!”

“Ah.”

But once something’s said, there’s no taking it back.

The murmuring in the crowd quickly turned into chants, all yelling the same name.

— Magia! Magia!

— Sing! Sing!

Sure, it probably started with some Slug Squad fans messing around.

But crowd psychology always follows the fun.

And now, behind the first-gen holograms, the real Magia had appeared wearing a blue tarp. How could anyone just let her go back?

Even if she hadn’t popped up like this and had come out in full 3D with the others, the fans would’ve begged her to sing anyway.

Magia, sing!

“Hello, Wanggu. I kinda ended up here by mistake.”

— Sing!

“I should probably go get the others. I don’t have time to sing right now.”

And with that—

Magia started walking toward the audience as if she’d taken a wrong turn.

Even though her body was completely covered in the tarp, if she got too close to the edge of the stage, the height difference could reveal what was underneath.

Maru shouted out.

“Gia! Not that way, turn 180 degrees, the other direction!”

“Oh, thanks!”

“No! Not that way! 90 degrees. Turn. Turn a bit more!”

“This way? Is it this way?”

“Is she, like, directionally challenged or what?”

“Maybe she can’t see where she’s going in that thing...?”

The blue tarp waddled back and forth across the stage.

And every time she got close to the edge, the audience would cry out in concern.

Even if the height difference was only 1.5 meters, one wrong step and a head-first fall could lead to serious injury.

Yet Magia, even with her unsteady steps, started parading along the edge like a tightrope walker, encouraging the crowd to cheer in waves.

Eventually, people started realizing something felt off.

Did she really come up here by mistake?

Just in time, Komari, the group’s resident troll, jumped in with perfect timing.

“You didn’t come up here by accident, did you? You’re here to mess around. Be honest.”

That line cracked up the crowd, who erupted into a chorus of jeers.

— Booo!

— If you’re just gonna mess around, get off!

— If you’re not singing, go away!

It was all in good fun, and Magia giggled as she muttered:

“No way, you’re all so mean. I really did get lost.”

And then, right after saying that, Magia walked straight toward the same panel she’d come up through.

Komari facepalmed and muttered,

“She did come up here to mess around...”

“Nope. I also came up to sing one song.”

“...Seriously?”

Singing as Magia wasn’t even part of the plan.

—or so Komari barely managed to keep herself from saying out loud.

There had been some trouble with the second-gen team, and Magia had come onstage in the middle of that chaos?

Anyone could tell she was stalling for time.

Instead of pointing out that it wasn’t scheduled—

It was better to just let her do what she wanted.

Komari signaled Dora, who promptly clamped a hand over Maru’s mouth.

Maru, clueless, lost his speaking rights on the spot.

Komari had moved fast to stop him from blurting out the facts without thinking.

Meanwhile, Magia—now behind the panel again—began to sing into the mic.

It was that familiar childish tone she used when singing trot.

That one song that everyone in the world sings without fail at celebrations.

“♪ Happy performance to you~ Happy performance to you~ ♪”

It was the birthday song.

“Hey, you guys begged me to sing, but no one's cheering. What gives?”

She scolded the audience mid-song and then restarted the first verse.

The fans joined in, turning it into a massive group singalong and dedicating it to the first-gen members.

“♪ Dear Another—— Happy performance to you~! Woooo!”

— Waaaah!!!

The venue thundered with cheers.

And at that moment, Magia received an update through her in-ear monitor.

[Gia, the second-gens are ready. You can come down now!]

Having successfully completed her mission, Magia tapped her foot twice on the stage panel.

It was the cue to the tech below that she was ready to come down.

The panel began to descend slowly, returning her to her original spot.

Magia spoke one last time.

“Now then—there are others who want to congratulate our first-gens just as much as all of you do. You all know who they are, right?”

The crowd shouted in unison.

— Nearby!!

— Second-gens!!!

“That’s right! The performance we’ve all been waiting for—even the first-gens can’t wait! Please give them a huge welcome!”

Right on cue, Dora let go of Maru’s mouth.

The first-gens joined hands, bowed deeply, and shouted together as they stepped back from the stage.

“Nearby, come on out!”

After completing her mission and stepping offstage, Magia took off the tarp and laid it out neatly.

Even though it was early November and the weather was getting chilly, she’d worked up a sweat running all over the stage.

The inside of the tarp was drenched with moisture.

The general director gave her a big thumbs-up.

It meant, You nailed it.

Just then, Do-hee came running over, panting as she bowed slightly and scolded her.

“You really pick the most dangerous things to do.”

Magia replied like it was nothing.

“It’s fine. I’m staff, so even if I get caught with the red medicine, it’s not a big deal.”

“Still!”

“But I’m really glad the CEO managed to stop Miho’s hiccups in time. Otherwise, I would’ve had to take the tarp off for real.”

“...Thank goodness, right?”

“Super lucky.”

Even in a situation this serious, she still wanted to joke around.

Do-hee started to raise her hand for a light bop on Gia’s head, but instead patted her on the shoulder.

“Alright, go check on the others. I’ll head back to the audience.”

“Bet it’s tough, huh? Bossing people around as the company head is one thing, but handling VIPs is a different beast, right?”

Cheon Do-hee chuckled.

“Think I have it harder than you? Thanks for watching out for everyone. I’ll do my part too.”