Chapter 32: Rising Fame and Unexpected Bonds

[God] RecklessOfficeWorker has donated 3,000,000 won.

[Congratulations on your rank-up. That was really close.]

“Thank you so much, RecklessOfficeWorker, for the 3 million won! Seriously, I almost thought I’d fail the mission because there was no surrender in the last match.

But thanks to your support, I succeeded. I’m always so grateful!”

[God] RecklessOfficeWorker: Don’t mention it. Hehe~^-^

As promised, RecklessOfficeWorker donated 3 million won.

Following that, other viewers who had set missions also celebrated my promotion to Platinum by sending donations.

How much is this in total?

The donations just keep pouring in.

My mouth is going dry from thanking everyone.

This is such an easy way to make money.

All I did was play a game.

But as always, I’m genuinely grateful.

“Wow! Today is insane. I knew collaborating with Nams was a must. The amount is just on a different scale. Thank you, everyone! Let’s get into some reactions now.”

Arin, her face flushed with excitement, repeatedly bowed her head.

Then, out of nowhere, she grabbed her keyboard and smashed it against her head.

“Ughhh!”

Crash! The keyboard keys scattered everywhere, flying like popcorn popping.

What is this? Is she crazy? She’s definitely not normal.

A classic example of a “capitalism monster” birthed by the system.

Will I end up like that someday?

The thought sent shivers down my spine.

[Dajang, has all the mission money come in?]

[Yes, 54 missions, total donations amounting to 28,630,000 won. All accounted for.]

While Arin was putting on a borderline chaotic show, I checked to confirm the mission funds.

Some viewers have a habit of setting missions and then disappearing without paying, so I always double-check.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case this time.

“Arin, is your head okay? I thought I heard something crack.”

“Of course, I’m fine. There’s no way I’d lose to a keyboard.”

With a grin, Arin held out her keyboard.

It was split in half, dangling and swaying like a pendulum.

Wow, impressive.

I should be careful about teasing her too much from now on.

I guess I was lucky at the haunted house.

If she’d charged in headfirst back then, even I wouldn’t have come out unscathed.

“I don’t have any fun reactions like Arin, so I’ll just sing a song like I usually do.”

Now it was my turn to perform a reaction.

I sang a song I’d been practicing whenever I had free time.

The sound equipment was excellent, making me sound even better than usual.

“So, how was that?”

[Your singing seems to have improved a lot. ]

[Yuseong’s singing is always on another level.]

[Just amazing.]

[So sweet! Did you sprinkle sugar on your vocal cords?]

[Have you thought about releasing an album? I bet it would sell like crazy.]

“Come on, I’m not at the level of releasing an album. That’s too much.”

The viewers were overwhelmingly satisfied, as always.

My singing reactions are like cheat codes—guaranteed to get a good response.

But if I want to take things to the next level, I need to innovate.

I’ve already got something in mind.

While reading the chat, I answered them silently in my heart.

[Yuseong, look at Arin.]
[She’s frozen.]

I turned to Arin.

She had a blank expression, her mouth slightly open.

What’s wrong with her now?

She wasn’t even thinking about wrapping up the broadcast.

“Hey, Arin?”

“Huh? Oh! Sorry, everyone. No, it’s not what you think! I’m just tired, that’s all.”

It seemed like she came back to her senses.

She immediately started bickering with the viewers, looking flustered and frustrated.

She had every reason to be tired.

She’d been streaming almost non-stop yesterday as well.

Arin really is a streamer worth learning from.

“I think I’ll wrap up the stream here for today. I need to get some rest too.”

Shortly past midnight, we ended the broadcast and stepped outside.

It was already quite late.

Thankfully, we’d managed to hit the right amount of content for the day.

The haunted house experience definitely helped.

“Get in the car. I’ll drive you home.”

It was time to go home.

I was about to call a taxi when Arin offered to drive me instead.

I felt a bit bad—she probably needed rest too.

This scenario keeps happening every time we finish a collaboration stream.

Should I just buy a car?

But then again, I don’t even have a driver’s license yet.

Learning to drive and all that would take up so much time.

It’s a bit of a dilemma.

“Just get in. I’m grateful for your help with today’s content. And hey, I’m not the type to be this kind to just anyone.”

“Are you sure?”

“What do you mean, ‘are you sure’? It’s freezing out here. When do you think you’ll find a taxi? Stop being stubborn and get in.”

“Alright, I’ll take you up on it.”

Pretending to give in, I opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

Refusing would’ve been too much at this point.

She wanted to do it out of gratitude; there was no reason to decline.

It was about a 30-minute drive.

Arin and I had a comfortable chat on the way to my place.

“I had fun today. And I’m sorry for planning the haunted house content without telling you in advance.”

“It’s okay. I understand. Thanks for driving me home. Get back safe.”

I’m a streamer too, so I know why she came up with that sudden idea.

Preparing a horror-themed stream in advance often dilutes the reactions.

I get it. And I learned something.

The next time I invite a guest, I’ll have to use this tactic myself.

“Alright. Let’s collaborate again sometime.”

“Sure. I’ll return your clothes then. Oh, wait! I left my own clothes in your bathroom.”

“Oh… right. You can keep mine or toss them out. They’re stretched out anyway, so I can’t wear them anymore. You can come pick yours up later.”

“Alright, got it.”

I said goodbye to Arin and headed home.

Ah, stepping into a warm place after being hit by the cold wind made my whole body feel like it was melting. I felt so drowsy.

Should I change clothes first? These pants are way too tight.

The tightness is making my thighs bulge painfully like a cartoon character’s exaggerated expression. It hurts so much.

I stripped down completely and walked into the dressing room.

Seriously, there’s barely anything to choose from.

I really need to pick a day and go shopping at the department store.

For now, I just grabbed the usual tracksuit I wear often.

[Hey, Ms. Hyejeong, are you awake?]

I realized I hadn’t even texted to ask if she got home safely.

I thought about calling her but decided to just send a text message instead since it’s been a while since the broadcast ended, and I didn’t want to disturb her if she was asleep.

[No, I’m not sleeping. What’s up?]

Oh! She replied right away.

So, she’s still awake. In that case, I should call her.

Speaking directly would seem more sincere than just sending a text.

“Sorry, I should have contacted you first. But after confirming everything during the broadcast, it felt a bit redundant to ask if you got home safely.”

[I got home fine. I slept like a log and only woke up well past lunchtime. Maybe because I drank too much too quickly? It was a bit rough.]

“Ah, I see. Are you feeling okay now? Ugh, this is bad. I was just about to suggest having another drink together sometime, but I guess that was thoughtless of me.”

[No, I’m usually a strong drinker… It was just the rush of drinking quickly. Stop making me sound weak.]

Was it just me, or did her tone suddenly turn a little cold?

I meant it out of concern, but it seems like she misunderstood it as me looking down on her.

Does she take pride in her alcohol tolerance? Hmm, I need to fix this impression.

“Then let’s set up another drink. When would be a good time?”

[How about Friday night? I’m free then, and this time, it’ll be my treat.]

“Sure, sounds good. I’ll keep my schedule open.”

I arranged the meeting with Moonhwa.

Considering her status, someone like me might typically find it difficult to get along with her.

But for some reason, she feels surprisingly approachable.

Well, I guess it makes sense.

In this world, the only peer I can have a genuine conversation with is Moonhwa.

I’m already looking forward to Friday.

I need to use this chance to get closer to her by talking more.

After hanging up, I checked my emails.

As expected, Dajang had edited and sent over the videos.

[“A Man Who’s Serious About Fitness”]
[“Delivering Rice Cakes While Meeting a Celebrity”]

Unfortunately, there were only two videos, but both of them were packed with impact.

These are bound to rack up explosive views.

I uploaded the videos to YouCube and then called Dajang to discuss today’s broadcast.

“So, we’re making a total of four videos?”

[Yes. Haunted house experience, shower controversy, promotion match, and reaction. Those four topics. Are you unhappy with grouping the promotion matches into one video?]

“Four videos are enough, but the first game was a bot duo, right? I think it’s worth splitting into a separate video. There were a lot of funny moments, and honestly, it feels like a waste to group them together.”

[I understand what you mean. I’ll split the promotion match video into two, then.]

“Thanks. By the way, are you sure editing all these videos by yourself isn’t too much? I can hire more editors if you’d like.”

[No, it’s not hard at all. Actually, I prefer working alone—it’s more comfortable that way.]

After ending the call with Dajang, I went to my room and lay on the bed.

Ah, I worked hard again today.

It’s a relief that things are turning out as I hoped.

Now, for tomorrow’s schedule… Ugh, it’s already giving me a headache just thinking about how packed it is.

I need to get to sleep quickly. As my eyelids grew heavier, I drifted off.

“Why is it so cold? Is it even fall?”

Originally, I was going to head straight home, but I had some business to take care of, so I went back to the studio.

Click! I entered the bathroom and turned on the light.

Yuseong’s clothes, the ones he took off earlier, were still here.

I was on edge, worrying he might ask for them back.

I grabbed his pants and carefully separated the briefs that were layered inside.

“Arin, what are you even doing? Are you some kind of pervert?”

Even I felt pathetic enough to sigh. But the temptation was too strong.

I had always thought Yuseong was ridiculously good-looking, but seeing him in person somehow made my thoughts spiral into strange and inappropriate directions—thoughts I couldn’t control.

The rest of the clothes were stuffed into a bag to be taken to the washing machine.

As for the white briefs… Well, washing them later should be fine.

I crumpled the briefs and shoved them into my pocket before heading back out.

[A Man Who’s Serious About Fitness]
Views: 730,000

[“Wow, such a precious video… Thank you!”]

[“Phew, I used up an entire box of tissues watching this. You better take responsibility!”]

[“Stop with the inappropriate comments, seriously.”]

[“Mind your business. Yuseong said he’s fine with typing whatever he wants.”]

[“This isn’t a stream, it’s YouCube.”]

[“Honestly, if you don’t find Yuseong sweating sexy, are you even a woman?”]

[“By the way, the cameraman is obsessed with collarbones, right?”]

[“Why else would they focus on his collarbones for a whole minute? LOL.”]

[“Actually, I like it.”]

[“Respect. You’ve got good taste.”]

As expected, it was a massive hit.

It wasn’t even past noon yet, and the video already had over 730,000 views.

It was surprising to see this level of impact without any explicit content.

This is pure gold.

I need to tweak and reuse this concept whenever I run out of ideas.

[Delivering Rice Cakes While Meeting a Celebrity]
Views: 710,000

[“Wait, why is Juhee showing up here?”]

[“Cameos by Han Woo-hye, Song Seorin, and Lee Juhee. LOL.”]

[“Legendary broadcast, seriously. How many celebrities appeared in this?”]

[“Yuseong is so kind. Look at him walking around with rice cakes—so adorable!”]

[“Wow, Luxury TheHill really has a ton of celebrities living there.”]

[“Give me rice cakes, too! I love red bean rice cakes.”]

[“You don’t live at Luxury TheHill, though.”]

[“I do live there but didn’t get any. Boo.”]

I checked the rice cake delivery video next.

While the fitness content seemed slightly more popular, this one was no less impressive.

Both videos were clear hits.

It looks like both videos will surpass 2 million views before the day is over.

All the effort I put into running around yesterday paid off.

The subscriber count had already reached 2.14 million.

The growth was accelerating.

How far could it go? 4 million? 5 million? Or even higher? I couldn’t predict it myself.

It was shaping up to be a great day.

Today marked the beginning of one of the most important projects in my life.

As they say, strike while the iron is hot.

I’d thought about it thoroughly yesterday, so there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

I checked my email and made a call right away.