Chapter 23: Studying Animation with a Pretty Unnie, Part 1

[LIVE] I’m a soon-to-be high school student, need some advice. (59)

Min Hayoon, who has been diligently streaming, has steadily grown her viewership to a stable 50.

Although the second big spender hasn’t appeared yet, right now, she needs collective intelligence, not a big spender.

“Now that we’ve gathered quite a few viewers, let’s have a discussion.”

-A discussion?

-What discussion all of a sudden?

-Aren’t you drawing any lewd pics today?

“What I drew on stream were hot pics, not lewd pics, and from now on, you guys are going to plan a game with me.”

Min Hayoon, who had been waiting for the right moment, brought up the topic she had been thinking about all the way home.

-Plan a game?

-Are you paying?

-I’m asking you to draw lewd pics.

It wasn’t easy to control the viewers who were chattering like baby birds…

But thanks to a viewer who usually donates 1,000 won more frequently than others stepping up, she was able to proceed somehow.

“We’re going to make a visual novel. In the end, I think that’s the only genre where I can properly showcase my drawing skills.”

-Visual novel? What’s that?

-Ah, a VN.

-You’re saying you’re going to make a dating sim, basically.

-Will there be lewd pics?

“Manager, temporarily ban the one obsessed with lewd pics and let’s continue the discussion in a serious atmosphere.”

-Already done.

“Nice.”

The manager, who was chosen by lottery from among the regular donors, banned the most talkative lewd pic-obsessed viewer, and Min Hayoon continued the stream.

“Back to the main topic. For now, my goal is to make the highest-rated game in the country.”

-Oooh…

Click.

Min Hayoon opened Notepad with a click.

“The basic premise is 17+, and we’re going to decide what kind of game to make through discussion with you guys. For now, I’m thinking of a cafe as the main concept.”

-Cafe?

-Why a cafe?

Tap, tap.

As Min Hayoon typed, the words ‘Maid Cafe’ were written on Notepad.

“When you go to Japan, there are a lot of unique cafes like maid cafes, right? I’m thinking of a story where the main character, a customer, has a romantic relationship with the part-time staff, giving it a unique feel like that.”

-What;; Isn’t it all planned out already then?

-Yeah. What are we supposed to discuss with you?

The viewers complained, saying why she was pretending to discuss with them when she had already planned everything out, but Min Hayoon shook her head, saying that wasn’t the case.

“This is just a concept for now, right? It could change based on our discussion.”

-Can’t we just go with this?

Of course, the viewers’ reactions were still lukewarm.

Usually, what viewers like is interacting with the streamer.

But Min Hayoon has already laid out the groundwork…

So they’re subtly expressing their disappointment like this.

This tendency is especially strong in small-scale streams like Min Hayoon’s.

“Ah, help me out here. I just had a meeting with a Live2D artist, and they said I need a proper draft to persuade them.”

Min Hayoon responded strongly.

There’s a limit to the kind of story that someone who isn’t a professional scenario writer like Min Hayoon can write.

It’s not for nothing that Min Hayoon is streaming and gathering viewers to utilize their collective intelligence.

-Ah, what. You even had a meeting?

-Why are you so serious? Aren’t you just going into high school?

“To survive in this harsh world, you have to start earning money from high school. Do you think taxes won’t go up in a low birth rate society? Considering that, I need to earn even more.”

[10,000 won donation]

“Ah, thank you! A 10,000 won donation! Thank you!”

She didn’t forget to thank the donors who sent donations in between.

She even deliberately used a cutesy, lispy voice, saying, ‘Thank you!’

This was all the know-how Min Hayoon had accumulated from streaming over the past few weeks.

-Wow, shit… what’s with that laugh?

-I feel strangely upset.

“Then give me some proper ideas. You free-loaders.”

Rather than those who complain a lot without spending money, she needs to cater to the big spenders who donate so that the donations keep coming in.

-Free-loaders, seriously…

-Kids these days are harsh…

“I’ll choose people who give good ideas and draw illustrations they want. So come on. Huh? Give me some ideas, come on!”

Of course, pushing away the free-loaders by calling them free-loaders is amateurish.

Here, she needs to use the illustration request as bait to naturally create a push-and-pull dynamic.

-But does it have to be a cafe?

-A must-have situation in dating sims is alcohol.

-Right, the fun part is watching the heroines get drunk, but cafes don’t sell alcohol.

There are more than a few otakus in this stream.

As soon as she offered the illustration request as a prize, they started giving ideas as if they had never been upset.

“Manager, write down the nicknames of those who mentioned alcohol just now.”

-Already doing it.

“So, let’s say we remove the cafe setting, what’s the alternative? A convenience store?”

-Nah… a convenience store is a bit… It would be hard to plan a marriage if the heroine is a convenience store worker.

“A bar?”

-A bar is no good because the heroine would seem cheap.

-Yeah, a bar girl as a heroine is a no.

“Then what should I do?”

They want a situation where the heroine is drunk on alcohol, but they’re also picky.

From Min Hayoon’s perspective, who needs to attract viewers as game buyers to complete the status window’s mission, this was all very frustrating.

[10,000 won donation]

-How about a bar?

“A bar, like a cocktail bar?”

[10,000 won donation]

-A cocktail bar where the bartender heroines make drinks. But they don’t accept male customers.

“Oh? Ooh…”

As expected of a big spender.

From the beginning, he recognized Min Hayoon’s potential and readily spent money.

He was also knowledgeable in this field and provided a story that hit the nail on the head.

Bartender heroines who only serve drinks to women would be a good subject for a dating sim since there’s a thrill to winning them over.

“That’s good? This person gets an illustration for sure. Manager, make a note.”

-Already did. It sounds good to me too.

“Then, I think we should slightly change the maid concept…”

-How do you want to change it?

-A maid bartender sounds good…

“I think it’s better to go with different concepts altogether. Maid, bunny girl, butler, things like that, changing outfits while serving customers.”

-I see…

-This is pretty good.

-But won’t that be too much work for you? You’ll need a lot of illustrations.

“I’m fast, so it’s fine, and that way, I won’t have to draw separate illustrations for the merchandise later. Besides, I’m the artist, so no matter how many I draw, the labor cost is zero.”

-Are you a genius?

-So smart.

The viewers praised Min Hayoon, half-jokingly and half-seriously, and a plausible plot began to form in Min Hayoon’s mind as well.

“So, now for the story…”

Min Hayoon, feeling the greatness of collective intelligence, began to plan the story in earnest.

She will definitely persuade Choi Arin and hire her as an animator.

Click.

Click, click.

Tap.

Choi Arin, who had been continuously clicking the mouse to add life to the illustrations through rigging, suddenly stopped.

“This is driving me crazy…”

She can’t do this.

Perhaps it was because she had heard a lot of unsettling things from Min Hayoon today, but she can’t concentrate on her work.

“What the hell is she thinking…”

Choi Arin couldn’t understand why a soon-to-be high school freshman was making a fuss about creating a game with such confidence.

So she was just planning to ignore it and continue with her original work.

But…

“Ugh, seriously…”

Choi Arin knows what kind of illustrations Min Hayoon draws.

They are almost perfect.

Choi Arin isn’t what you would call an ‘otaku’, but if she had to choose between hyper-realistic and 2D illustrations, she would definitely choose the latter.

“Why does it keep ringing in my head…”

Even though she has no intention of participating in Min Hayoon’s project, she keeps thinking about wanting to animate Min Hayoon’s illustrations.

There were no GIF files on Pixiv, Patreon, or Fanbox…

If she did it, she could definitely breathe life into those perfect illustrations…

Such thoughts keep messing up her mind and preventing her from concentrating on her work.

And one more thing…

“She said she felt like she would die if she didn’t make a game right now…”

Choi Arin also found Min Hayoon’s last words quite meaningful.

Because Choi Arin has never felt that way when animating.

You’ll feel like dying if you can’t make a game?

Why?

You’re not even majoring in game development, right?

Couldn’t you just do it later when you get a job?

All sorts of questions kept popping up and intertwining in her mind.

“What’s so special about a game…”

“Well, maybe…”

Saying that’s going too far, Choi Arin shook her head…

But she couldn’t possibly know that the last one was the closest to the truth…

“I am curious though…”

She idly fiddled with her phone, vaguely curious about why Min Hayoon was so eager to make a game.

Should she meet and ask?

Or should she just ignore it?

That was the dilemma…

“Hmm…”

But judging from the fact that she was unconsciously checking her DMs with Min Hayoon, it seemed her subconscious had already made up its mind.