Chapter 76

Since Hayoon, who had some experience in modeling, taught Hong Seohyun how to control her facial expressions, Hong Seohyun seemed to follow along quite well.

The last time I checked, she took a lot of selfies or similar pictures, and for some reason, she knew how to capture a wide variety of expressions.

“Not bad.”

“Hmm, what does ‘not bad’ feel like…?”

“Your expressions themselves are good. It feels like the facial expressions are coming through just as you intend.”

When Hong Seohyun smiled, Scarlet smiled, and when she frowned, Scarlet frowned as well. If Hong Seohyun looked sad, Scarlet looked sad too.

The facial expressions themselves had no major issues. It was quite clear that Arin had done a great job as a beginner in rigging.

“The question is whether you can maintain this during a live broadcast.”

“Uh, well…”

Hong Seohyun’s expression suggested that she understood what was being asked, and Hayoon nodded, confirming that her suspicion was correct.

Virtual broadcasting doesn’t reveal the real person, but emotions are clearly conveyed through VTubers. For example, if during a chat, Hong Seohyun verbally responds nicely but her VTuber avatar frowns harshly, what would the viewers think?

“There would be talk of hypocrisy, wouldn’t there? It’s pretty predictable. Whatever.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true…”

Until a certain point, it might be okay to push aggressively, but if in the early stages, the audience perceives someone as difficult or pretentious, there’s a high chance they won’t return. Therefore, it’s important to build a loyal audience by being friendly and approachable until the channel gains more traction. If, from the start, your spoken words are friendly, but your on-screen facial expressions are full of arrogance, even newer viewers will likely run away.

“First, let’s look at some recorded chats I’ve compiled while you, Senior, try to respond.”

“Uh, ‘compile chats’…?”

“It’s just that this kind of chat doesn’t really have another way to describe it besides ‘compiled chats’…”

Hayoon placed her tablet on a stand and played a video from a few days ago. The game was *Legend of League*. She had taken a video from a notorious streaming channel known for toxic interactions and replayed the chat. The recorded chat window on the right side of the screen quickly filled up with messages.

– “Oh… Another feeder support! Can’t you even see with your eyes closed?!”

– “The main damage dealer must want to kill this guy. The support’s looking so bad; what can you even do?”

– “They said this 2nd division support was good… Where are the results?”

– “The parents of that guy who’s playing support… really…”

Of course, this is already relatively mild.

Under normal circumstances, there’s often lots of senseless numbers and meaningless spam. Hong Seohyun saw these as some of the more intense chat texts she could understand.

“Do you know what *Legend of League* is, Senior?”

“Uh, I do know it… isn’t it around level 3?”

“That would mean you haven’t unlocked flash yet, then. Hmm…”

If you were to play ranked games, you’d be covered in bronze at best. The teammates’ skill level would be serious, and there would probably be intentional trolling…

“You need to think about the fact that if you start a *Legend of League* stream, the chat could escalate to this level.”

“Uh, well…”

“It’s a very popular game, so naturally, there are a lot of toxic players. If you only do singing streams, you might even strain your voice, so it’s necessary to have a game for time-filling entertainment…”

In such cases, *Legend of League* is a good option. Many viewers are familiar with it, and if your skills improve in the future, you could even join streamer leagues; it’s a game that can’t hurt to play from time to time.

“The only problem is that it’s so popular that everyone knows it, and naturally, everyone participates in the chat, regardless of their level.”

“So, why don’t we simulate these kinds of chats and practice managing your facial expressions?”

“Um… Alright.”

Hong Seohyun nodded, cleared her throat, and began the simulated broadcast.

“Support characters can die too, right? The other person probably didn’t pass away with bad intentions, right?”

It started off fine. She managed her expression well enough, and her tone conveyed a sense of concern.

But…

“Why curse parents…? Isn’t it possible that they made a mistake…?”

Maybe the spicy comments typical of those streams were beyond what she could handle. When Hong Seohyun saw the level of swearing that an average high school girl can endure, her spirit seemed to diminish quickly. The VTuber facial expressions showed clear distress. At this point, it was evident.

“Senior, should we hire someone part-time to handle the chat?”

“Huh? Um?”

Looking closely, Hong Seohyun seemed to have almost no resistance to cursing. Sure, there are people who can swear themselves but freeze when they are cursed at. Since her streaming experience is short, it might help if she had someone managing the chat for her from the start.

“It can’t be bad to have at least one reliable person as a manager. Besides, an RP-oriented VTuber needs their chat closely managed during the early days…”

Assuming no major bugs in the game…

Jin Ho might make a fine chat moderator. His academic interests are long gone; he’s building experience in his field of expertise, and he’s no stranger to spending countless hours on video games.

“It might not be a bad idea to ask if he’s interested in the role of an unpaid eraser.”

“An unpaid eraser…?”

Hong Seohyun silently nodded in agreement with Hayoon’s concise description of the chat moderator role, and after a short break, they continued facial expression practice.

“Let’s try a chat version with less swearing.”

Click.

This time, Hayoon showed chat windows filled with lighthearted comments like “Aww, you’re cute~” or “What kind of voice do you have…?”

This was just a casual no-cam stream where the broadcaster would eventually transition into a VTuber.

“A-ah, thank you! Maybe I’ll start by singing a song?”

Hong Seohyun followed up on the chat window exactly like that broadcaster would.

“The song I’ll be singing today is called ‘Ghost Ship.’ There’s almost no Korean cover of this song… but since I’m a linguistics PhD candidate, I’ll give it a go with my own flair!”

She handled the broadcast quite confidently. It seemed like she had mentally prepared a few templates to transition the chat into a singing segment. She also seemed unaffected by lighthearted, silly comments like “Aww, you’re cute~” or “What kind of voice do you have…?”

In that case…

“The so-called ‘feminine’ type of broadcast might suit you best.”

“Feminine…?”

“Do you know foundation makeup? People call applying foundation ‘powdering up.'”

“Hmm?”

“You know the sweet scent of a made-up woman? That’s what we mean.”

“Um…?”

“It’s the commonly understood ‘feminine broadcast.’ Since you don’t visibly react to casual comments like ‘cute’ or ‘what’s your voice like?’, we can probably go this way?”

“Huh, um…”

Hong Seohyun tilted her head slightly, pondering, and then nodded.

“It doesn’t seem too stressful for you to handle this way. Both comment types are just compliments after all.”

“That kind of personality is great. To make money, you have to over-immerse, and it’s important that the viewers who are immersed don’t get stressed. Some people develop panic or depression because of it.”

“I don’t think that fits my personality…”

Whatever the case may be, positivity is good. Since there are people who twist compliments into something negative, just simply accepting compliments for what they are can already be beneficial for mental health.

“Still, if the chat gets too excessive, don’t hesitate to ask Senior Do to filter some grooming chats. Mention if you feel stressed immediately.”

“Uh… Does that mean Senior Do is confirmed as a chat moderator?”

“Considering his personality, he’ll probably nod and agree, saying, ‘VTuber chat moderator? Sure!’”

“Hmm, definitely.”

He’s the kind of person who even sets his laptop background with illustrations of chewy girl characters, even while living in a dorm with three other girls. He’s unlikely to pass on a unique VTuber chat moderator role that others would be envious of…

“Alright then, let’s test our Senior’s broadcasting skills a bit further?”

“Huh, uh…?”

With a sly smile, Hayoon pulled up a third chat and broadcast window. This time, the chat situation was normal. No cursing, no silly chats—just literally clean chatting.

In other words, in broadcasts like this, the broadcaster’s abilities stand out clearly.

“Alright, focus on the broadcast, okay? Scarlet? Since we’re recording your facial expressions, deductions will happen if you make strange faces in between.”

“Uh, uhh…”

Hayoon’s hand naturally began patting Hong Seohyun’s shoulder. It wasn’t so much patting as it was close to massaging…

“Ugh, it’s ticklish…”

Due to the female’s relatively weaker physical strength, the peculiar effect of ‘God’s hands’ came into play…

Scarlet’s VTuber face gradually started to show a blush.

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