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

To be honest, I’ve always been a bit of a cynic.

Whenever my birthday gets close, I find myself wondering, Why do people even celebrate birthdays?

All I think about is how to get through the day as quietly as possible.

Of course, I have no desire to throw a party myself.

And I’m not used to people noticing on their own and handing me gifts or favors out of nowhere.

I guess my parents were the biggest influence on that.

They always believed that the birthday person should be the one giving back to the people who came to celebrate.

I don’t really remember when it started, but at some point, birthdays in our house stopped including gifts altogether.

Instead, the birthday person had to cook seaweed soup, prepare a cake, and send out an announcement like, "Let's meet at this time, this place." It became an unwritten rule.

But now, my parents live in the U.S.

There’s no reason for me to celebrate my own birthday.

Of course, I always attended the CEO’s birthday parties and the first-gen members' celebrations—I saw that as a given.

But I never once advertised my own birthday to anyone.

So when the morning of November 22 arrived, my birthday had already slipped from my mind.

All I was focused on was the first-gen anniversary trip.

In fact, the huge hiking backpack—half my size—stuffed to the brim with supplies was entirely for celebrating the first-gen members.

As I waited for the CEO to pick me up, having already finished getting ready, I called my mom in the U.S.

Ding ding, dee-dee-ding.

The cheerful ringtone played for only a moment before she picked up.

She must have been free.

[Daughter! How have you been? Seriously, why is it that you only call me on your birthday unless I call first?]

That word, daughter, still felt unnatural to me.

But after being bombarded with Komari's "unnie" massages lately, it didn’t take long to adjust.

"And yet you don’t even bother coming to Korea for your own child’s birthday, Mom."

[That’s because you don’t like it when I come. Besides, is nagging your mother the first thing you do when you call?]

"Whatever. Did you have seaweed soup?"

[Your dad somehow figured it out and made some. We were actually waiting for your call, expecting it.]

"...Waiting for me?"

I had assumed my family hadn’t changed much over the years.

But something about this felt... warmer.

Before, it was like, "You’re handling your own life just fine, so we don’t need to interfere."

Now, their tone had a more concerned nuance.

Even if they knew I always called on my birthday, my parents had never waited for it together like this before.

Usually, either Mom or Dad would pick up—never both.

[Anyway, want me to put Dad on? He’s dying to talk to you.]

"Ah... Sure."

This was definitely different from before.

[Daughter!!]

"Yes, Dad?"

[What happened to your voice? Why does it sound so thin?]

"...Huh?"

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

[I told you to eat properly! You’ve lost weight in your vocal cords! What are we going to do?!]

...Was this really my dad?

For a moment, I had to question reality at least ten times.

"Yeah, make sure you eat properly. Call us if anything happens."

That had always been his standard response—his way of showing he cared.

But now?

Now I had a completely different middle-aged man, losing sleep over his daughter’s well-being.

...Even if he was grasping at straws, saying I had lost weight in my vocal cords was a bit much.

I figured it was best to stick to the facts and reassure them.

"I actually wasn’t feeling great recently, so I went to the hospital and started taking better care of myself. But I’m fine now, so don’t worry."

Before, he would have just said a few words of concern and moved on.

After all, he had seen firsthand that I was fully capable of handling myself before he left for the U.S. years ago.

[Honey. I don’t have any major schedules coming up, right?]

[Hmm? No, I don’t think so. Why? Are you thinking of going to Korea?]

[I can’t just sit here not worrying. I’ll just make a quick trip to check on her.]

...Has he lost his mind?

A round-trip ticket costs over a million won even in economy class.

And he’s considering flying over just to see me for a day or two?

"I’m fine, so don’t even think about coming. If you do, I’m not opening the door."

[Gia, do you really want to see your father freezing in the streets?]

"If a foreigner with black hair is loitering in Korea without a visa, I can always report them to immigration."

[GIA!!]

"Don’t come. Seriously. If you do, I’m ignoring you."

Mom, who had clearly caught on to my intentions, started holding Dad back in the background.

[Calm down, honey, calm down.]

"Anyway, thanks for giving birth to me. I’ll call again later."

[Gia!! Do you hate your father that much?!]

[I’ll handle your dad, so don’t worry about it. Go take care of your business, okay? I’ll message you later once he cools down.]

Call ended.

All I did was make my usual birthday call.

...But somehow, this was already a bad omen.

Like it was warning me that something would go wrong on this trip.

Hopefully, today would be uneventful.

But before I could even dwell on it for long, my phone rang again.

The moment I saw the caller ID, the uneasiness in my chest instantly disappeared.

—Incoming Call: CEO-nim—

The CEO’s car was probably already parked outside.

Well then—

Let’s get going.

Brace yourselves, West Sea shrimp.

I’m coming to devour you all.

*

The area was a quiet one-room apartment district, and since it was already past the morning rush hour, around 10 AM, the streets were nearly empty.

A small Magia stepped out into an alleyway just wide enough for two cars to squeeze through, glancing around.

She quickly spotted Do-hee’s car and hurried over with her tiny steps.

Do-hee couldn’t help but smile the moment she saw her.

That huge backpack, bulging way beyond Magia’s small frame—what the hell was even inside it?

It made her waddle with every step.

It was just a one-day trip for fun, not an actual camping expedition, and yet Magia had packed like she was preparing for war.

As soon as she reached the car, she carefully placed her bag in the trunk before hopping into the passenger seat.

Do-hee had been carpooling with her every day last week, and every time, she was reminded—

Those legs are so damn short.

The car was too high for her, so she had to jump to get in.

Even though Do-hee had lowered the seat as much as possible, Magia’s feet barely touched the floor.

"What the hell did you pack to make it that big? Are we going to war tomorrow?"

"I packed what I needed."

"Like what?"

"You’ll see later."

"Hmm...."

"And you absolutely cannot open it. It’s a surprise."

As someone who was actively conspiring with the first-gen members on Operation Magia Tears, Do-hee felt a tiny pang of guilt.

"Who just announces that something is a surprise like that?"

"You’re the one who asked what was in my bag, CEO."

Oh, so this was my fault now?

Magia’s passive-aggressive comebacks were as sharp as ever.

Laughing to herself, Do-hee punched in a stop on the GPS—a Starbucks drive-thru a little ways away.

Soon, they had their drinks in hand, and as they reached the first red light, Do-hee asked,

"So, how’s the review content coming along?"

"Seung-yeon’s handover speed is insanely fast, so I’ve had a lot of extra time. I think I’ve pretty much got everything ready."

After her I’m Wolf collab, Magia had gained confidence and decided to run the review show solo.

Do-hee believed in her, but still felt like she was throwing a kid into the deep end.

So last Friday, she had promised to help Magia as training wheels for the first few times.

"Already? You’ve only been preparing for four days."

"Yeah, but we’re only covering October. Since it’s recent, all the memorable moments came to mind quickly."

"Hmm. What clips did you pick? Give me a quick rundown."

Magia listed the October segments she had selected for her review content, officially named “Monthly Fantasia.”