Chapter 40: People should always be careful with their words.

It’s been a week since the viewbot incident broke out, and solutions were proposed.

During this time, streamers who were using viewbots and ranked at the top were unceremoniously banned, and even

a few streamers who were using them discreetly in the mid to lower ranks faced sanctions, leading to a significant

recovery in public sentiment regarding Cheese.

Thanks to this, I decided to meet Sister Seoha after a long time, feeling much lighter today.

• “Hey! I went to the sauna with your boss! I did it all!”
• “Does the viewbot detection program… make money?”

The moment I met her, I was unexpectedly subjected to a mental attack.

The voice currently coming from Sister Seoha’s phone belongs to none other than me. A video was made by

overlaying an animated version of a skit I recorded when the administrators issued their apology a while back.

The creator sent it to me via email, saying it could be used commercially, and as soon as it was uploaded to YouTube,

it quickly surpassed 100,000 views, gaining a sort of cult popularity.

It seems the Cheese viewbot incident added to the attention it received.

In fact, the 100,000 views were from a while ago; when I checked this morning, it had already surpassed 300,000. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

“…Sister, could you at least wear earphones while watching it?”

Sure, that was okay. The problem was that a fan of mine was playing that video loudly in front of me, inducing a

strange sense of shame. Was this a new method of bullying?

I understood she was trying to kill time before the food arrived, but it didn’t have to be that video. As I mentioned, at

least wear earphones.

“Hehe, why? It’s so fun!”

“I feel like I’m going to be humiliated. You’re doing this on purpose, right?”

“Ah, did I get caught? But it was too entertaining to see you flustered, so I couldn’t help myself.”

“…….

This sister seems to be getting more mischievous as the days go by.

Sister Seoha, who was chuckling, seemed to notice my blatant stare and finally said, “Okay, okay. I’ll watch the rest at

home,” as she closed her phone.

No, she said she had already replayed it more than fifty times when we met this morning. At this point, she could

stop watching. How invested could she be in the views?

“By the way, it’s really popular.”

“It’s because of the animation.”

“Of course, the animation quality is great, but I think it’s your acting that makes it enjoyable. Just look at the comments!”

That’s true. When I checked this morning, many comments mentioned that the acting was unnecessarily high

quality, and if it had been cringeworthy, it would have been a disaster.

So, I couldn’t really argue with her, but it was still a bit embarrassing.

“At this rate, reaching 100,000 subscribers on YouTube is going to be easy, right? You’ve already surpassed 70,000.”

Sister Seoha turned her phone back on to show me the upward trend of subscribers.

Not long ago, my subscriber count was just over 20,000, but as she said, it has now surpassed 70,000 and is nearing

80,000. This kind of response was something I could never have imagined just a few days ago.

This has led to a happy dilemma recently.

“The editor also mentioned that at this rate, reaching 100,000 will be no problem, so we should prepare for a special

event in advance.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Do you have any concepts in mind?”

“Well, not really. The only thing that comes to mind is a Q&A, but I wonder if anyone would be interested…”

Q&As are commonly used as content to celebrate reaching a specific number of subscribers or followers, not just on

YouTube but also in live broadcasts.

The issue is whether there are enough people who are interested in me to have private questions about me.

I can’t help but wonder if anyone would be curious about the private life of a 20-something recluse male whose face

they don’t even know, unless I were a pretty female streamer. If there is, I would only be curious about what’s going

on in their head.

“At least I’m interested! Just about 100 questions, please.”

“……If that’s the case, the video will exceed an hour.”

“That’s even better.”

But the person who’s right in front of me is just that. I get the feeling she genuinely wants 100 questions, which is

even more frightening.

“Anyway, it’s a bit late, but since it’s Cheese’s moving day and the opening of the YouTube channel, I’m treating you,

so make sure to eat a lot, Universe.”

“Are you going to pay again, sister? At this rate, when will I ever pay off my debts…?”

I awkwardly scratched my cheek as I lightly clinked the champagne-filled glasses that Sister Seoha handed me.

At least if we could do a Dutch pay, there wouldn’t be any guilt, but since she always pays for the meals, I feel like my

debts are only increasing.

Last time, when she helped me find an editor, the reward I wanted was more of an embarrassing level to call

repayment, so I want to show my gratitude properly someday.

“If you feel that sorry, then next time, you should treat me. But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

I was puzzled, wondering why there needed to be a condition for paying for a meal, and I asked back with a curious

expression.

If she were asking me to buy her a meal at an expensive restaurant, I could accept that cheerfully, but she didn’t

seem the type to make such demands.

“I want to eat the food that you cook yourself. Can you do that for me?”

“Me… cook?”

I was curious about what kind of condition she was putting forth, and my eyes widened at the unexpected request.

“Yes, you always said on your stream that ever since you started living alone, the only thing that’s improved is your

cooking skills.”

“Uh, well… I did say that.”

Sister Seoha presented evidence to back her up, blocking any escape for me as I nodded with a reluctant expression.

It was indeed true that I had said that, and it was also true that my cooking skills had significantly improved since I

started living alone.

In the beginning, I didn’t have enough living expenses to eat delivery food every day, and even that delivery food

quickly became monotonous, so I eventually craved home-cooked meals.

But no matter how I looked at it, my skills weren’t quite up to par for serving someone else.

“I can only make things like soybean paste stew and scrambled eggs. Is that okay?”

“Of course! Do you know how much I love soybean paste stew?”

I tried to play it down a bit to change her mind, but instead of backing down, she looked even more excited.

I might be crossing a line here, but Sister Seoha seems like the type to start her mornings with something elegant like

eggs Benedict and salad rather than soybean paste stew. I wonder if she would really be okay with it.

“If you want it, it’s not hard to make for you. I’ll treat you when I have time next time.”

“Really? Wow…!”

With her looking at me with such pleading eyes, I couldn’t refuse from the perspective of someone in debt, so I had to nod.

Then, Sister Seoha beamed with pure joy, like a child receiving a gift. It was hard to believe she was two years older

than me with how adorable she looked.

As I watched her bounce around happily, at some point, she rested her chin on her hand and started looking at me

with her eyes resembling a crescent moon.

As I blinked in surprise, feeling like I had just fallen into a trap, I suddenly realized—if I’m offering to serve food that

I made myself, it means that Sister Seoha has to come over to my place, right?

“Wait a minute, Sister! I should repay you with something else…”

I tried to change the subject, feeling oddly uneasy, but Sister Seoha grinned at me, her smile seeming to produce a

sound effect of mischief, as she presented her pinky finger.

“You promised, didn’t you?”

“……”

So she was planning this all along. Damn it.

That evening, I returned home and turned on the stream as usual. By the way, today Sister Seoha drove me home

and dropped me off right in front of my house. Just before leaving, she waved her hand and said, “Next time, I’ll get

to see this place,” which was utterly terrifying.

What could possibly be so interesting about the inside of a guy’s house?

【Kokkiahou】 – Wow, your YouTube growth is insane!

【Baekhwahyoran2】 – At this rate, you’ll hit 100,000 subscribers soon!

【Passing App Dung】 – Is this the king of cheese?

As I conducted the stream as usual, we ended up taking some time to explore the YouTube channel together, and the

viewers’ reactions were explosive.

【Ubaegnim】 – Isn’t there some kind of event when you hit 100,000?

“I’m actually thinking about it, but I’m still not sure. Maybe just a light Q&A?”

【Fokshaknaeranghwa】 – LX

【Megiyeomsoeguri】 – lmao

【Allfreed】 – Going to bed

As expected, the viewers seemed to be anticipating a 100,000 celebration event, and my straightforward answer

received a chorus of dissatisfaction as they clamored for something else.

What do they want me to do? I don’t have anything special to show for the 100,000 milestone in the first place.

【‘HakkostrimerSniper’ has donated 10,000 cheese!】

-(video donation)

“Ah, thank you, HakkostrimerSniper, for the 10,000 cheese donation.”

Ignoring the absurd content suggestions from the viewers, I was about to close the internet window when an unusual

nickname and a video donation came flying in.

It sent a shiver down my spine, but as I clicked the video to express my gratitude, my voice was the one that came out.

• No, I’m not going to watch your YouTube channel anyway. Who’s going to watch a video from a mere ten viewers?
• 100,000 is possible? Is that the name of some dog? Seriously… If I ever hit 100,000 on YouTube, I’ll do a face reveal and a grand bow. Get real.

It looked like a video from my Hakkostrimer days, when I had forgotten to even display my character’s fan art as a background.

The problem was that what I was saying in that video was incredibly unsettling.

Wait, when was that? Did I actually say something like that?

“Hey! Where did you find this? What old video is this? I don’t even remember…!?”

The video must have been from so long ago that I couldn’t even recall it, and despite digging through my mind, I

couldn’t find any fragments of that memory. I was shocked as if I had touched fire.

However, there was no reply. It seemed that, true to their nickname concept, they were just the type to go around

looking for old videos of Hakkostrimer streams and disappearing after sniping me.

【AlpacaHunter】 – kekekekekekeke

【Mongusam】 – You have this? kekekekekekek

【Koscokosya】 – A guy wouldn’t say one thing and mean another, right? Blue Mangkeng.

【Next Door Neighbor Hani】 – 100,000 face reveal ᄃᄀᄌ~

“…Ah.”

And just like that, I was completely caught off guard by that concept streamer, left with no choice but to let out a sigh

amidst the suddenly flipped chat opinions.

Ah, I’m really screwed.