Chapter 25: Streaming is Too Easy

Three days have passed since the second meeting with Choi Arin.

-H-how is it…?

Min Hayoon and Choi Arin were communicating through a computer call program, and from the speakers in Min Hayoon’s room, Choi Arin’s trembling voice was asking for an evaluation of something.

And that something was none other than…

“I asked you for a cocktail bar background, right? The view should be from the counter seat, looking at the heroine with the liquor cabinet as the background.”

-R-right…

A background illustration.

Illustrations that make up a dating sim, or visual novel, are largely divided into three categories.

ECG, which adorns highlight scenes.

SCG, the most frequently seen, of each character.

And various backgrounds and object scripts.

Min Hayoon will take charge of ECG and SCG, producing ultra-high-quality illustrations, but the backgrounds and objects are less prominent elements compared to the effort required.

However, if these foundational scripts are lacking, it can’t be called a high-quality visual novel.

So she entrusted the production of some of the background and other object scripts to Choi Arin.

-Is it okay?

Choi Arin’s voice, coming from beyond the speaker, was subtly trembling.

She had no experience participating in such a large-scale project in high school, let alone being scouted to work on something together.

Since this was her first time collaborating with someone other than a classmate, her nervousness was evident.

Choi Arin’s own lack of confidence in her art also played a part.

“It’s great?”

-Really?

“Would I lie?”

However, Min Hayoon was quite pleased with Choi Arin’s background illustration.

Choi Arin, how should I put it…

She has a tendency to color dryly.

It was a matte coloring technique that minimized light sources such as light processing, and this kind of background illustration is perfect for visual novels.

“Emphasizing the heroines’ SCGs by muting the background is quite a classic yet effective technique. For now, I think it would be good if you could proceed with this tone for the coloring.”

-Oh…

On the other hand, Min Hayoon is a human full of a penny-pinching spirit, always thinking about how to sell her illustrations to others.

Min Hayoon’s practical, compressed, capitalist tips broadened Choi Arin’s perspective, and Choi Arin took notes of Min Hayoon’s advice to set her future direction.

-Then what about the objects?

“The objects… it would probably be better to have some light sources. The current background illustration has removed light sources too drastically, and since cocktail bars are usually a bit dark…”

-Ah, so the objects can stand out like SCGs, contrasted with the background?

“Yes, exactly.”

Moreover, Choi Arin isn’t the type to be bad at work.

She understood quickly, and Min Hayoon handed over several real-life photo references similar to some of the backgrounds she was envisioning.

“These are backgrounds that are likely to be used in the future. It’s easier to plan if you make them in advance, so please create the background illustrations first.”

-What about the animation work?

“That’s not urgent, and it’s a headache if some illustrations end up being unusable because ideas are scrapped midway… Let’s proceed with that about a month later.”

-A month later… Okay. I’ll contact you as soon as the background illustrations are done.

Now the meeting is over…

After ending the call with Choi Arin, Min Hayoon started preparing to turn on the stream to start her illustration work.

“What should I eat…”

Min Hayoon’s stream is basically a drawing stream.

Since she doesn’t need to turn on the webcam, she doesn’t have to put on makeup or wear neat clothes…

But since it takes at least an hour to draw one picture, it’s better to grab something to eat before starting the stream in earnest to fill her stomach.

“Hmm…”

Min Hayoon rummaged through the refrigerator, hoping to find some fruit that Yoon Suhee might have cut.

Just then, she found some strawberries in a container with the stems removed, so she was about to take them…

“Daughter.”

“Ah, ahhh…”

“Why are you so startled?”

Yoon Suhee, who appeared from behind without a sound, tilted her head and looked at Min Hayoon.

“M-make some noise. Make some noise…”

“No, it’s just… your dad is suggesting we go out for dinner, what do you say?”

“Oh, that’s…”

And in this case, a normal teenage girl would probably say yes to her parents…

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I have something to do. I want to stay home.”

Min Hayoon has to stream today too.

How can she relax when she doesn’t know what tricks that damn status window will play if she doesn’t reach 20 million won before school starts.

Thus, Min Hayoon expressed her refusal with as apologetic an expression as possible…

“I see…”

Yoon Suhee inadvertently pouted slightly, looking dejected.

“It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped. Then, rest well at home.”

For someone who said it can’t be helped, her expression as she turned away was quite sour…

But Min Hayoon turned her back on Yoon Suhee and returned to her room to finish setting up.

So, today’s title is…

[LIVE] High School Girl Home Shopping (0)

That’s it.

As soon as she came up with a title that strongly attracted attention, she started streaming and popped a strawberry in her mouth while waiting for viewers to arrive.

“Hmm…”

While the unique taste of the strawberry spread across her tongue, about five or six people joined.

-Why aren’t you talking?

-Are you eating something again?

-This is a routine at this point.

Three chats popped up instantly, and as she watched them while silently eating strawberries, about a dozen more people joined.

Shush, shush, shush.

The number of viewers continued to rise, and Min Hayoon silently chewed on strawberries.

Because eating too fast makes you hungry sooner.

Just as she was finishing the strawberries.

[LIVE] High School Girl Home Shopping (72)

The number of viewers, influenced by the attention-grabbing title, exceeded 70 for the first time.

Indeed, in this field, stimulation is everything.

Pushing something stimulating guarantees attention.

-Haru, you brat, stop eating and say something.

-Are you really selling high school girls?

-At least tell us what you’re eating!

-Yaaaaaa!

Suspicious people came in and chatted, and the existing viewers were grinding their teeth, wondering what Min Hayoon was up to.

Since she turned on the stream but didn’t say anything, they were understandably annoyed.

“Strawberry.”

Min Hayoon answered briefly and then maintained her silence again.

-?

-No.

-Are you not going to say more? Is that it?

-I sometimes miss when you used honorifics in your first streams…

-Haaa.

Naturally, the viewers who had been waiting for Min Hayoon screamed, and when their complaints reached their peak.

“Finished eating.”

-You’re really crazy.

-You wasted 10 minutes eating strawberries?

“My parents went out for dinner, so this is my dinner.”

-Ah.

-Then why didn’t you go with your parents?

-Hey, hey, hey.

-Anyone who mentions her parents, just leave.

The start is ice-breaking.

Capturing the viewers’ attention by chatting about trivial things.

For Min Hayoon, who is approaching her first month of streaming, this kind of technique is basic.

It’s basic but…

‘What’s with that guy.’

A newcomer was disrupting the chat.

He was clearly a thirsty guy lured in by the title ‘High School Girl Home Shopping’.

Then…

-Haru only comes here to draw.

-Kyaaa~

-That’s right~

-This is why Haru comes here to draw for us.

This is the correct response.

Of course, this is closer to viewer manipulation than the viewer ‘keeping’ that Min Hayoon aims for…

But according to Min Hayoon’s limited streaming knowledge, gained from occasional studies, using words that emphasize the bond with existing viewers is said to dampen the spirits of troublemakers.

‘He left.’

As expected.

The thirsty guy who mentioned her parents quickly left after realizing that Min Hayoon and the viewers were about to move on to a different topic.

‘Yeah, how many suggestive pics have we exchanged.’

The loyalty of her regular viewers towards Min Hayoon is truly overwhelming.

It wasn’t difficult to create an atmosphere that filtered out such thirsty guys.

“Now, let’s start the home shopping as the title suggests.”

She smiled and got to the main point.

-?

-??

-What, are you really selling something?

“No, I’m not crazy, why would I sell a high school girl… That’s human trafficking, human trafficking.”

[10,000 won donation]

-Then what are you selling?

“Ah, thank you for the 10,000 won. Today, rather than selling something right away, it’s more like introducing an investment product. Actually.”

-?

-Then it’s not home shopping, is it?

-It’s a scam.

“How is this a scam? I’m a high school girl, and I’m going to sell something later, and you guys are watching the stream at home, so it’s also home shopping. I didn’t lie about anything. Are you guys stupid?”

-Ah.

-That’s, true…

-You sure know how to talk…

Even if there are some who dislike it, since they know she’s a fresh-faced teenager, there are almost no dropouts.

Especially in Min Hayoon’s case, she has all sorts of suggestive pics on Pixiv and Patreon as hostages.

Min Hayoon’s stream is deeply connected to one of the three great human desires, lust.

Usually, this level of scolding is taken as a joke, so viewers won’t leave over something like this…

“So, in that sense, let’s take a look at the works I finished coloring after the last stream. You’re supposed to show these when there are a lot of people.”

-Wow.

-I’m really screwed tonight.

-The drawings are really…

Still, the remaining bit of anxiety is resolved by showing the completed illustrations uploaded to Pixiv.

Min Hayoon had truly become a streaming genius, and after a brief illustration viewing session…

“Now, let’s start the home shopping. You know Cosplay Holic that we discussed last time? I have a few concept art pieces…”

It’s a build-up to maximize the funding effect.

This is the main content for today, so Min Hayoon took a sip of water to prepare her throat and started talking in earnest.