Chapter 46

Late lunch. Today, the VR Broadcasting Gallery kept endlessly repeating the usual chatter.

<What’s Han Yoorim’s deal, really? Which one is it?>

1. She’s a rich kid who saved people and made a game.

2. It’s all a concept act.

3. She genuinely forgot the game’s content.

Which one is it?

-Obviously, it’s the concept act, duh.

-Could be both the rich kid thing and the concept act.

-Honestly, it’s annoying. But what can you do? She’s gotta stay relevant, right?

<I think Han Yoorim being a rich kid is highly likely.>

Honestly, the quality is too high for an individual to make.

-True.

-But then, where are the insider stories? So far, it’s all been fake rumors. Is it really a solo production?

┗Must be tight security, huh.

<Could it really be made by an individual?>

Even if it’s an individual, they could’ve been developing it for a long time.

-This is why people fall for voice phishing.

-If you think about the release timeline, even a company couldn’t have done it that fast.

┗Did Han Yoorim develop some ultra-high-performance AI or something?

<Han Yoorim, release the AI monopoly for humanity’s sake.>

Supply humanity with Android girlfriends.

-Your Android girlfriend has been replaced by game AI.

┗Give it back, lol.

Other topics included <Estimating Han Yoorim’s weight>, <Han Yoorim’s broadcast ON>, <Anyone fishing with Han Yoorim’s name?>, <What kind of life did Han Yoorim live that no insider stories have come out?>, <Direct comparison between Han Yoorim and Arena>, and so on.

The gallery could’ve been renamed from VR Broadcasting Gallery to Han Yoorim Gallery at this point.

That’s how much of a hot topic Han Yoorim had become recently.

It was all thanks to her game’s success.

Broadcasters were all playing her game, making it almost like automatic hunting.

Even when she wasn’t streaming, people kept talking about her.

For example:

<Pushik’s mental state shattered for the 929,282nd time lol>

Han Yoorim gets another win lol.

…Whether the community’s growing recognition is good or bad, who knows? But anyway, that’s why the VR Broadcasting Gallery was happily mentioning Han Yoorim again today.

<Bunny Run broadcast ON lol>

A slightly late lunch. A post popped up in the VR Broadcasting Gallery.

Wait, not just one post—several. This made it more likely to be real rather than a troll.

The man tilted his head in confusion.

She said she’d be taking a break for a few days, so why is she streaming? He wondered.

Turning on V-TV, Bunny Run was indeed streaming, as expected.

Entering the stream, *click*. The sound of flames crackling could be heard. The camera was on.

A charcoal grill and a grill rack were visible. Clearly, it was a camping setup.

―――

???

Night stream?

Out of nowhere?

―――

It was surprising, but not bad. It had been a while since he’d seen Bunny Run’s cam.

<ㅇㅇ님이 천 원 입금>

-Are you quitting being a VTuber?

A young male TTS voice echoed through the speakers. Excited by the night stream vibe, the man started typing in chat.

―――

I thought you went on a trip with your boyfriend, but you went to stream instead?

Lol.

―――

“What boyfriend? You should’ve been banned for 30 days, but I’m in a good mood, so I’ll let it slide.”

―――

Haha

This is it lol

Is the cam just gonna show the grill the whole time?

―――

The man was also bothered by the camera being fixed on the grill.

Seeing the chat, Bunny Run said to wait a moment and adjusted the settings.

The camera split into two.

One showed the grill, and the other…

A close-up angle of a table from above.

―――

???

?

What kind of camera angle is this?

We can’t see your face, dammit.

―――

Viewers were furious, wondering what was going on.

Then, someone waved their hand in the table cam.

Was Bunny Run checking the camera? That thought crossed his mind right before…

A pleasant voice was heard.

“Everyone, can you see?”

The familiar voice made viewers react immediately.

―――

Oh

Is that Han Yoorim?

Did you go hang out with Han Yoorim?

―――

Now the extreme camera setup made sense—if the VTuber Han Yoorim was there, it all clicked.

The hand on the table cam kept moving. Like a rabbit walking, Han Yoorim’s index and middle fingers crawled across the table, and the VR Broadcasting Gallery users started posting furiously.

<Han Yoorim’s getting roasted lol>

At least she’s not fat, judging by her hands.

-Not sure about that. Only a real pig would have fat hands.

-But her hands are pretty.

<What’s with people judging her face based on her hands?>

(Pretty hand photo)

You can’t tell what someone looks like just from their hands.

-Kinda hot though. Whose photo is that?

┗It’s mine, lol.

┗┗You bastard.

The VTuber Broadcasting Gallery was just as lively.

<Yoorim-Bunny duo is back lol>

Until the North Gold Bear thrives.

-Stop multiplying.

-Why won’t these North Gold Bears die?

<……>

(An illustration of Han Yoorim and Bunny Run teasing each other)

……

-Oh

-Link please.

That’s how it was.

Many people loved their combo.

Of course, not everyone was a fan of this meeting.

<But hmm>

Can’t we say the cam setup is messed up because someone doesn’t want to show their face?

-Hey hey hey

-You’ve already been marked by the Jeong Byeong-dan.

Jeong Byeong-dan.

That’s what people who disliked Han Yoorim called her fandom.

<Jeong Byeong-nim, why aren’t you doing your concept act anymore?>

Ah, now that you’re famous, you don’t have to, huh? Lol.

-It’s disgusting every time brainless idiots praise you.

You can’t be loved by everyone.

You can’t get attention from everyone.

Life’s already too short to care only about the people who like you.

Going out of your way to make haters like you is just stupid.

But.

A superstar is…

How to drive both haters and fans crazy.

An ordinary person couldn’t become a super game developer.

“Wait a second.”

Han Yoorim said that and then messed with the broadcast settings.

*Click.* The angle of the table cam changed.

To a full shot capturing the entire left side of the table.

If someone had been sitting on the left side of the table, their entire body, including their face, would have been in the frame.

―――

?

???

?????

―――

<What is Han Yoorim doing?>

Why is she like that?

<Is Jung Byung-ryun crazy?>

No.

In an instant, viewers, VR Broadcasting Gallery users, and even people who disliked Han Yoorim were all thrown into confusion.

Han Yoorim made a V-sign toward the camera and asked,

“How is it?”

<ㅇㅇ님이 천 원 입금>

-What do you mean, “How is it?”

The bewildered viewers quickly regained their composure.

They understood what was going on by looking at the moving avatar on the screen.

Real-time AR filter technology.

It was a technology that overlays a designated avatar onto a real-life appearance.

With AR filter technology, even VTubers could do late-night broadcasts. In theory, at least.

<ㅇㅇ님이 천 원 입금>

-You’re gonna cause an accident, you crazy girl.

But theory doesn’t always match reality.

I guarantee it. There isn’t a single VTuber in the world currently doing late-night broadcasts with AR filter technology.

When real-time AR filter technology first came out, many VTubers used it without thinking and ended up in accidents. If you search on MTube, you’ll find dozens of them.

VR technology has advanced a lot, but AR technology has only improved slightly compared to before.

Of course, it’s become much more natural, but the fundamental issues with AR technology still haven’t been resolved.

Sometimes.

Very rarely.

The problem is that the AR filter can glitch, revealing the real appearance.

“Look.”

Whether she knew the risks or not, Han Yoorim excitedly adjusted the settings.

In an instant, Han Yoorim’s appearance changed to Bunny Run.

“Hello? The world’s cutest bunny who gets lonely alone! It’s Bunny Run!”

Even with the nostalgic line, the chat was filled with concern.

But Han Yoorim ignored it and explained the camera setup.

Since one camera couldn’t handle two AR filter technologies, Han Yoorim split the screen.

She divided the table in half, with one camera capturing only the left side and the other capturing only the right side.

Bunny Run awkwardly walked into the right camera. The camera captured her, and she also transformed into a bunny avatar.

As Bunny Run sat down, a donation came in.

<고양이캣잎님이 십만 원 입금>

-It seems like neither of you fully understand AR filter technology. It’s not a perfect technology, and sometimes it glitches. If you move too much or the camera shakes, the AR filter can turn off. Because of that, many VTubers―.

*Click.* After skipping the rice, Bunny Run opened her mouth.

“I know.”

―――

You know?

You know and you’re still using it?

―――

“But unnie wants to do it.”

<ㅇㅇ님이 천 원 입금>

-What if your face gets exposed?

To the worried donation, Bunny Run replied,

“That’s true.”

After giving a half-hearted answer, she picked up some meat and headed for the grill.

The chat was filled with question marks at the absurd response.

The VR Broadcasting Gallery…

A dopamine festival broke out.

All the negative rumors about Han Yoorim were pushed far away by the live broadcast.

<You must be confident in your looks, huh? lol>

Whether your real appearance shows or not, you don’t care, right?

-Bunny Run really likes Han Yoorim, but she doesn’t seem to care, so Han Yoorim’s real appearance might be ㅅㅌㅊ (top-tier).

┗Stop fantasizing about subscribers.

<This could be a mask trick>

(A link to an MTube video where a VTuber confidently using an AR filter glitched, revealing their real appearance, but they were actually wearing a mask.)

It’s an old trick.

-ㅅㅂ Do you have to go this far to survive as a VTuber?

-But if it’s a mask trick, you can’t eat, right?

┗Half-mask, maybe?

┗┗If it’s a half-mask, the lower part of the face would show, so a full mask would be better. This is more dangerous.

Now, Bunny Run’s broadcast wasn’t about the late-night show.

It had shifted to whether Han Yoorim’s real appearance would be exposed on the broadcast or not.

For a VTuber, their face is extremely important.

If you ask why, when only the avatar is visible…

Explaining the psychology of someone who prefers the blue pill over the red pill would take more than 4,200 characters.

Let’s move on.

And so, the late-night broadcast continued for over an hour.

Fortunately or unfortunately, while the AR filter occasionally became blurry (hundreds of people paused the screen and took screenshots), the real appearance never showed.

It was early summer.

*

“This is fun. Should we do it in the evening too?”

“Unnie. Just reveal your face. From what I can see, you’re dying to show off your pretty face.”

“I can’t just reveal it outright.”

“Why?”

“Because it’ll reduce the content I can do later.”

Revealing your face is an ultimate move. You have to save it.

“Then why do you keep trying to use the AR filter?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because the AR filter is the most fun content right now, while people don’t know what I really look like. It’s worth the risk.”

How can you not understand such a simple logic?

This Bunny Run girl. She still has a long way to go.