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A solo concert is definitely not as easy as it sounds.

Even Hyeon-su took a long time to prepare for it. No matter how small the scale, it’s undoubtedly a tough feat for a VTuber to pull off.

The manager assured me that if the conditions are met, the company will hold it for us…

But even The Six has only done the Celestial Realm’s first-year-end concert.

Honestly, if I’m not worried about whether we can pull off a solo concert, that would be strange.

So, here I am today.

At The Six Headquarters.

It’s not like I haven’t been here before; I came here for the 2nd-anniversary talk show, after all.

“Hello!”

“Oh, Miro! Welcome!”

As I stepped inside, a staff member in the lobby greeted me warmly.

The staff at The Six are generally friendly towards me.

Being a pillar of the company’s main project, Celestial Realm, I get treated well every time I come.

But more than that…

“It’s a bit noisy, isn’t it?”

I had no idea since I took the elevator, but the lobby downstairs was quite busy.

What’s going on?

“Oh, it’s because the people who rented the place are here today.”

“Rented?”

“Yes, there aren’t many virtual studios like ours in the country, right? So sometimes people rent it to use.”

Ah, I see.

It makes sense; this studio is pretty impressive.

“But… who’s here?”

If someone’s using it, they must be a VTuber… Are there any worth mentioning aside from the Celestial Realm here in the country?

Even though smaller and mid-tier VTubers are popping up, I doubt there’s anyone big enough to use this space.

“Oh, it seems to be some debuting VTubers.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I hear that the company is really pushing them.”

“Hmm.”

Honestly, I’m quite curious.

“Can I go take a look?”

“Huh? You, Miro?”

“I’m just a bit curious.”

“U-umm, do you really have to go?”

The staff seemed a bit startled at my request.

As if they were looking at a child who might cause a ruckus at any moment.

“I’ll just go take a look quietly.”

“Then… oh, here.”

After hesitating for a moment, the staff member eventually surrendered to my request and took off their ID badge, handing it to me.

“If you wear this, they’ll think you’re staff.”

“Oh, thank you. So now I’m an employee here, right?”

“Y-You need to return that!”

“Well, I’ll be off now!”

With the ID badge hanging around my neck, I confidently headed downstairs.

If they’re renting a studio here, it must mean their company is really pushing them.

The domestic VTuber market is heavily dominated by Celestial Realm, so I’m not sure how well they’ll do, but I’m happy to cheer them on.

Being part of the same industry, after all.

I pulled my sunglasses and hat down further as I stepped into the studio downstairs.

Thanks to the borrowed employee ID, outside people didn’t suspect me at all.

Of course, the staff of The Six were surprised to see me but quickly gestured for me to keep quiet before heading deeper inside to take a look.

Having filmed in the studio a few times, I easily navigated it like my own home.

They must be filming back there, right?

I planned to quickly check it out and head back.

Just as I approached, I started to hear voices from what I presumed to be the new VTubers the other company was pushing.

But…

“Are we supposed to do it like this?”

“Yeah, stretch your arms more.”

“Oh, okay, got it, but it’s not being recognized well here.”

“It’s probably because the equipment is messed up. Ask the staff.”

What I heard was not the sweet voices of female VTubers,

but rather the low voices of men.

“Hm?”

Feeling something strange about the voices, I made my way inside further, only to find a group of guys in the studio giving each other feedback while wearing equipment.

Oh? They’re guys?

I assumed they were female VTubers, but they’re guys instead?

My interest has completely dwindled.

Okay, retreat.

With female VTubers, there’s at least a tiny chance of a collab later on, but with male VTubers, I likely won’t ever cross paths with them.

It’s not a matter of personal preference; I can clearly envision the chaos that would unfold between both their fan bases.

Just as I was about to sneak away…

“Oh, there!”

One of the guys waved at me.

“Yes?”

I flinched for a moment, startled at being caught while secretly watching.

Did I get found out?

I wonder if the sunglasses and hat were a bit too much? No way they’d think I was staff.

“The equipment isn’t being recognized well here.”

Fortunately, that wasn’t the reason for their attention; the man pointed to the equipment he had on his arm.

“Oh, right…”

It seems him and the others mistook me for a staff member… Well, I couldn’t just ignore them.

“Can you help us check?”

After pondering their request for a brief moment, I nodded and moved closer.

Well, since I seem to look like The Six staff, I might as well lend a hand.

“Where should I look?”

“Ah, this arm isn’t being recognized well.”

“Hmm.”

This equipment is very familiar to me.

It’s the same model that Celestial Realm uses.

“You’re not tightening it enough; it won’t be recognized like that.”

I could immediately see why it wasn’t working.

Having used it several times, I know that equipment as well as any staff member.

It reminded me of when Maho had a similar issue.

Mile, too, struggled with her equipment until she figured out how to fix it.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, because your arms are long, you need to tighten it more.”

This guy seems to be tall too, so it’s probably hard for him to get recognized properly.

“Just a second.”

I headed over to the area with the spare equipment and grabbed a couple more pieces.

“If you attach these here and here, it should recognize you just fine.”

“Ah… okay.”

I stepped closer, gesturing to where he should attach the pieces, noticing the guy becoming more tense.

Something about my appearance seemed to have him on edge, regardless of the sunglasses and hat.

“Alright, attach these here, and also here.”

“Yes, got it…”

As I spoke to him, I felt his tension increase. It brought a refreshing change.

Yes, this is what a typical young man’s reaction should be.

Moon Chang-sik and Hyeon-su are way too nonchalant; it’s nice to see this change of pace.

Still, that was all the observation I had, and I slowly distanced myself again.

“…By the way, are you…?”

“Yes?”

Noticing something odd about my appearance, the guy suddenly asked me.

Feigning ignorance, I smiled.

“Well, wouldn’t I be?”

There’s my employee ID on full display after all.

…But taking a closer look, I saw that the photo on the ID looked quite different from me.

Still, thinking about it, I am technically an employee here.

Since I’m contracted with the company and bringing in revenue, I’m part of the staff in a sense.

“….No way.”

When I said I was staff, the guy didn’t pry further.

“Okay, can you go over there and move in front of the camera?”

He asked if I’d check if he was being recognized properly, and I nodded while he made his way to the camera and started moving around.

From the screen, he’s being recognized just fine.

“Yes, it looks like everything’s working now.”

Since I’ve confirmed that, it’s time for me to head back.

I’d come just to take a look; I hadn’t intended to be here this long.

“Good luck, everyone!”

Having offered a bit of encouragement, I exited the shooting set.

Well, I’ve seen everything I wanted, so maybe I should head back up?

Just as I took a lighthearted step to go upstairs…

“…Miro?”

For some reason, I ran into the manager who had come down to the studio.

“Oh, yes?”

“What are you doing here?”

Though his tone was unusually calm, the atmosphere felt slightly different.

Hmm, is he mad?

After all, I am an outsider here; he might be worried I caused some trouble.

“…Should I bow my head?”

“Ugh, just come up. You came here for a meeting, right?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, the manager didn’t seem to know what I’d been doing and smoothly moved on as we headed to the meeting room together.

“By the way, how did you know I was here?”

“I hadn’t heard anything since you said you were coming, so I asked one of the staff members.”

“I see.”

From the moment I came downstairs from the lobby, I figured the other employees must have recognized me, so the news about Miro sneaking in might have spread among the company.

“How did you find it?”

“What?”

“You didn’t see the people who came today, did you?”

“Yeah, I did.”

I mean, I had seen them, but I didn’t think he would be curious for my opinion. Wouldn’t the company staff or the manager know that better?

“Miro, you’re currently the best in the country, right? I’m curious about what you think.”

“Well, they have nice voices and are polite. That’s about it.”

“Really? How did you know they were polite?”

“Oh, they mistook me for staff. So when they were struggling with their equipment, I helped them a bit.”

“What?”

At the ‘helping’ remark, the manager stopped and stared at me intently.

“Are you joking?”

His eyes were starting to tremble slightly.

Having played around a lot, it seems he thinks I might have been messing around again…

“Your eyes are shaking there. You know this isn’t a joke, right?”

Hearing that, the manager pressed his nose as if it were in shock.

“Don’t worry. I helped them just like a real employee.”

“…You didn’t get recognized, did you?”

“Umm.”

Honestly, I’m not sure about that. It seems they guessed I wasn’t staff, but…

“I can’t say for sure. But could we head to the meeting now?”

“…Can we go back to what you said earlier?”

“What did I say?”

“About bowing your head.”

“Haha.”

What should I do about it now?

That offer has definitely expired.

With the trembling manager, we entered the meeting room together.

 

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