Chapter 48: Vancam Broadcasting, Part 4

Min Hayoon had to try to sleep, suppressing the urge to kick the blankets because her face kept burning up.

She needed to get some sleep to alleviate this shame.

She roughly threw the cosplay props into the closet and blinked in the dark room, feeling dejected.

“What should I do about this…?”

She murmured quietly.

She didn’t know what to do.

The broadcast was practically shut down, and Yoon Suhee had seen her like that.

Normally, sitting at a desk and cosplaying is something you only do for internet broadcasts.

Since Hayoon often talked loudly, even if Yoon Suhee wasn’t familiar with internet broadcasts, there was a high probability that she would notice.

In that case.

-Talk to me in detail tomorrow.

The reason for sending this message is simple.

An interrogation.

She was probably going to scold her, asking what the hell she was doing and if she was flirting on a broadcast while cosplaying before she was even an adult.

It was obvious that she would just stammer and make excuses if they talked now, so she wanted a clear answer prepared for tomorrow.

“What should I say…”

Should I say…

Min Hayoon’s thinking deepened, omitting the rest of her words.

Really, nothing was easy.

If she had only been caught broadcasting, or if she had been caught cosplaying alone in her room and giggling, it wouldn’t have been this bad.

However, being caught cosplaying on a broadcast was a serious situation.

This made it certain that she had the cam on during the broadcast.

“Sigh…”

Hayoon closed her eyes tightly and let out a deep sigh from her diaphragm.

It’s not like she’s a pig being led to the slaughterhouse.

Knowing that she would be scolded as soon as she went to see Yoon Suhee tomorrow morning, sleep didn’t come easily.

Rather, because of what happened a while ago, her mind seemed to be more awake due to the dopamine rush.

“Sigh…”

With a sound of ‘huff’, Hayoon got up, turned on the light, and sat in front of the computer.

In times like this, it’s better not to try to force sleep.

“First of all, the reason I started broadcasting while cosplaying is…”

So Hayoon started writing an explanation, assuming that she had been caught broadcasting.

She wouldn’t read it from a script, but she was going to do some brainstorming before going to sleep.

#

The next day.

“Ah, damn it…”

Hayoon woke up swearing.

She must have fallen asleep around 3 AM.

She had been thinking about what to say, and when she finally felt sleepy and lay down in bed, her head felt hot.

She got up again, turned on the light, worked for a while, and lay down again, but her head felt hot again, so she couldn’t sleep.

After repeating that process four or five times, she fell asleep around 3 AM, exhausted.

“I’m going crazy.”

When she woke up, her head still felt hot.

It’s not easy to be calm after what happened yesterday.

But what can she do.

She has to be calm and talk to Yoon Suhee.

Her mother.

“Sigh…”

Min Hayoon sighed and headed to the kitchen to get some water. She took out a bottle of barley tea from the refrigerator, poured it, and immediately drank it…

Stiff.

Hayoon’s body, which had raised its head to drink water, stiffened.

In the short time it took to raise her head, she saw the silhouette of someone sitting on the living room sofa.

Who else could that someone be?

Of course, it was Suhee.

Hayoon hurriedly put the bottle back in and placed the cup roughly next to the sink.

-Thump. Thump.

Meanwhile, Yoon Suhee patted the leather sofa next to her, making a thumping sound.

Hayoon couldn’t say anything.

Without any expression of denial, she slowly walked over to Yoon Suhee and sat down on the sofa with her back to her.

“Daughter.”

Then Yoon Suhee grabbed Hayoon’s shoulder and pulled her closer.

Even then, Min Hayoon couldn’t say anything.

Should she say she was like a mouse in front of a snake?

Even though Yoon Suhee’s arm wrapped around her like a snake and pulled her closer, she couldn’t resist, and Yoon Suhee, who lightly rested her head on Min Hayoon’s, began to speak.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I, I barely slept. I finally fell asleep around 3 AM and just woke up.”

“It’s 7 AM now, so you slept for 4 hours?”

“I, I guess so?”

“I slept for two hours. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Ah.”

And so began a normal conversation.

However, even here, Min Hayoon felt suffocated.

If Yoon Suhee couldn’t sleep, the reason was obvious.

“You, that… the chattering you do in your room every day.”

“Wh, what about it?”

“It’s a broadcast, right? The kind that’s popular these days.”

“Ah, haha…”

“It is.”

“Yes. It is.”

It was a conversation between an investigator and a criminal.

Yoon Suhee, who already had a cold demeanor, had only slept for two hours, so her voice was low and hoarse.

Moreover, Hayoon had more than a few things she felt guilty about, so it wasn’t strange that this kind of dynamic unfolded.

“What do you usually do on your broadcasts?”

“I draw.”

“Draw?”

“Yes, I have to draw illustrations to upload to the sponsorship site I run anyway… So I communicate with people during that time…”

“I see?”

“Yes, I also receive sponsorships. I do it to earn some pocket money.”

“Not bad. The motive is good. Freelancers should always try to increase their income streams.”

Still, the atmosphere wasn’t too bad.

Yoon Suhee mulled over Hayoon’s words and judged them calmly.

“But.”

From the moment the word ‘but’ came out.

Hayoon’s eyes began to shake violently.

“It didn’t seem like that yesterday?”

“Wh, what do you mean?”

“You weren’t just drawing. You were cosplaying while broadcasting, which means you were also filming and streaming yourself, right? You may not remember, but you were wearing a mask yesterday.”

“Uh, ah…? Ah…!”

Now she realized.

The reason why Yoon Suhee noticed Min Hayoon’s broadcast.

The mask.

It might be possible to say that she was drawing while cosplaying, but it didn’t make sense to wear a mask as well.

“You knew.”

Yoon Suhee sighed as if the ground was going to collapse, having realized it too.

Her voice even sounded raspy.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes, yes?”

“Wasn’t making a cosplay book enough? Compared to the hardships of Maxim and gravure models, a small-scale game cosplay book might seem okay. Especially since you won’t even release the digital scans.”

Yoon Suhee looked up at the sky for a moment as if her insides were burning, then continued.

“But the internet is different, Hayoon. If your real appearance, your face, is sold on the internet, do you think it will suddenly disappear one day?”

“Uh, that…”

“Yeah, it might be forgotten. But at some point, it will be brought up again. That’s how the world works. For example, what if your future in-laws find pictures of you cosplaying and broadcasting when you get married?”

“Uh…”

Should she get married?

Even setting aside such questions…

It was a sharp logic with no room for refutation.

This was Hayoon’s foolish behavior.

No matter how much she wanted to train the viewers, there was a limit to how much fodder to throw. Suddenly attempting a half-cam cosplay was…

It was a bit much.

“I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.”

“If you know that, stop broadcasting.”

“Yes?”

However, telling her to stop broadcasting altogether was a bit…

Wasn’t it?

Hayoon had gathered over 3,000 followers through her efforts, and the broadcast account would be essential for marketing the upcoming game.

“I, I can’t stop completely. I used the broadcast for game marketing, so if I stop here, I might get reported to the funding site and get penalized…”

“The, the game. How much did you receive in funding?”

“Th, thirty-six million…”

“Sigh, you received a lot. Right? My daughter is capable, isn’t she?”

“Haha…”

“Then take a break.”

When Hayoon gave an awkward laugh, Yoon Suhee offered an alternative, having thought it through.

“A break?”

“Yeah, take a break. Broadcasts have seasons, right? Take a break as long as you need to, as long as it doesn’t cause problems. Say that Min Hayoon’s broadcast is ending season 1 and will return with season 2 after some reorganization.”

“W, wait a minute.”

This could be a good move.

‘Take a month or two off to shake off the thirsty guys. They have short attention spans anyway, so they won’t come back if I take a break.’

Out of the 3,000 followers, she would shed 1,000 and go with a 2,000-strong elite squad.

That way, she could get rid of the annoying people who make reality checks and return to her usual cozy broadcast.

“I, I’ll do that. I’ll take a long break.”

“You calculated the money quickly, didn’t you? You thought you wouldn’t lose out?”

“Ah, haha…”

“Yeah, that’s just like you. But if you start broadcasting again, promise me one thing.”

“Uh, what is it?”

“It’s nothing much.”

Yoon Suhee’s voice became much brighter when Hayoon said she would take a long break.

Just as Min Hayoon was feeling relieved and relaxed.

“If you show your real appearance on the broadcast one more time, I’ll take you off the family register?”

“Gasp…”

At Yoon Suhee’s chilling words that seemed to seep into her ears, Hayoon could only nod her head vigorously while hiccuping.

Mom…

Scary.

#

“Is this, is this resolved…?”

When Hayoon declared a long break as an apology for misusing her pretty body, Yoon Suhee smiled as if nothing had happened and went to sleep.

It seemed like the aftereffects of not being able to sleep all night because she was worried about Hayoon were hitting her.

Since her precious daughter declared that she would take a break from broadcasting, she was relieved. Now she seemed to want to sleep comfortably.

“It was about time to take a break from broadcasting…”

Hayoon also nodded, thinking it was for the better.

Honestly, she had been very worried about how to fix this.

It’s better to declare a break in this way, saying that she’s taking a break because of the thirsty guys.

However, if that was the only reason, some of her main viewers, hardcore otaku, might leave, so…

“…I’ll make a character avatar while I’m on break, so let’s take a good two or three-month break.”

She posted a notice on the fan cafe about the long break and reorganization.

She said she would make a character avatar during the break, so they should wait.

If she does this, the viewers will witch-hunt the thirsty guys among themselves and direct their hatred towards them.

“Sigh, that’s a relief.”

This put out the immediate fire.

If she declares a break like this, it will give her a good reason.

She should take a good rest and think about what kind of broadcast to do after her return.

No, before that…

“I should also prepare to go to school…”

In May.

The first day of her second first year of high school will begin.