Chapter 7: Fanservice and Schemes: The Accidental Cosplay Hustle

Hayoon stared intently at one of the comments in the comment section.

-Do you happen to cosplay? There are a lot of cosplayers that come to Seo-pe these days. People who run booths often do it too.

It was a comment from a clueless simp.

└Ah, f*cking simp, he’s at it again, another sudden burst.

└There’s always people like this, don’t worry about it, author-nim…

After refreshing the page, there were comments immediately reprimanding him.

That’s how rude it is to pressure a proper booth operator to cosplay just because she’s a woman.

“I did film an apology video with a somewhat innocent concept, but I didn’t expect them to bite so quickly…”

And this was all part of Hayoon’s plan.

“Well…. If the sales from the pre-orders are good, then I’ll be thankful, so should I… cosplay..?”

If I respond like this here, then in the hope that there’s a possibility, there will definitely be people who buy two of something when they would’ve only bought one, that was the big picture to encourage the desire to buy…

But after receiving that clueless guy’s line crossing comment once, some people, who were wondering if it was okay to do this, slightly started to cross the line.

ᄂ????

└Are you really going to do it?

└Specifically, how much?

“No, why are they so persistent…?”

The picture that Hayoon originally imagined was that some clueless person would urge her to cosplay…

And if Hayoon showed that she was considering it, the Girls’ Frontline gallery users would say ‘Oh, author-nim. You don’t need to go through all that trouble.’ and sweetly eradicate the simps…

But instead of eradicating the simps, they were helping her out, thinking it was a good idea?

It was like stepping on a landmine.

└So how much.

└Answer.

“Ha, f*ck…’

A mood has been formed that I have to cosplay, the opposite of what I was expecting.

If I back down here, not only would I not be encouraging the desire to buy, I would have the image of ‘a commitment-shy author who runs away after testing the waters with cosplaying’.

If that happens, it would be a plan that was worse than if I didn’t make one…

“Do I really have to do it…?”

Tsk…

Hayoon swallowed a groan and stared intently at the comment section.

Honestly, cosplaying…

I did want to do it at least once.

When I was a man, there was no reason to.

Hayoon’s favorite character is a female character, so why would she cosplay as a male character?

Crossdressing? She had never even thought about it.

She hates getting attention from other people for no reason.

She would just take photos with cosplayers at events.

On the other hand, she was a woman now…

And it doesn’t seem like other people would think it’s that strange either.

There wouldn’t be just one or two people cosplaying at the venue, and a cosplayer with a beautiful face is always the subject of admiration.

“Hmm…”

But I can’t do it for free.

I need a clear standard.

Hayoon has to record 10 million won in sales for her derivative products with her illustrations this year no matter what.

It would be better to take advantage of this opportunity.

“150 people?”

A perfect benchmark came to mind.

150 people, it’s 150 people.

If 150 people buy the full package that costs 75,000 won, then I’ll cosplay.

“There are usually more people who just buy a few individual items rather than a full package, though.”

If 150 people buy the full package, then the sales from the pre-orders alone will exceed 10 million won. That seemed like a pretty good standard.

“Full package, if 150 people purchase, um, then I’ll… cosplay… and, later at midnight… I’ll also do the lottery for the goods winners…”

The response of the Girls’ Frontline users to Hayoon’s reply as she tapped on the keyboard was…

└I worship you. GOAT.

└This is it~.

They were simply happy at the fact that there might be a cosplayer that they can take photos with when they go to Seo-pe.

***

That midnight.

Hayoon went to the lottery site and ran the lottery as she pleased, and then edited the post to announce who had won.

“Hmm, to make them my supporters for sure, it would be better to package them nicely, right?”

The next thing to do is packaging.

Surprisingly, many artists are caught trash-talking their supporters, or neglecting the basic services, such as carelessly packaging goods or drawing support-only illustrations, and end up destroying the fanbase that they had created.

It is not a simple matter that can be dismissed as simple packaging for delivery.

“If I package them nicely and they become a supporter, then that’s 10,000 won a month, which is 120,000 won a year.”

If I get 10 people like that, that’s 1.2 million won, and if I get 100 people, that’s 12 million won.

Of course, not everyone will subscribe for the full 12 months, but…

Due to the characteristics of illustrators who don’t have a fixed income, it was necessary to put my heart and soul into even these trivial services to boost the loyalty of the supporters…

“Mom, do we have wrapping paper?”

“Huh? Wrapping paper?”

“I have some things to send.”

“Where to? A friend?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

After asking Yoon Suhee and getting pretty wrapping paper and pink ribbons, I tied them around the appropriate size box and finished by taping them.

“I’m going to send it out now.”

“At this time?”

“I’m just going to go for a bit to get some fresh air.”

“But still…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Yoon Suhee seemed uncomfortable with sending her daughter, who was only sixteen, outside around midnight.

“Then, should I go with you?”

“Huh?”

“We don’t have any snacks at home either, if you’re going to the convenience store to ship it, then I can come with you too. Okay?”

“Ah, yes. Okay.”

“Okay, just wait a bit. I’ll get my coat.”

In the end, Yoon Suhee, who had seemed to be hesitating, went inside to get a suitable coat, and Hayoon registered the shipping information on the convenience store delivery app.

‘I’m not going to use my real name or my phone number, and for the address, I’ll just use my mom’s studio address…”

Hayoon, despite this, is quite sensitive about the management of her personal information.

Even when she was a man, when she had something to send, she used her pen name instead of her real name, a sub phone number that she didn’t use, and Yoon Suhee’s studio address.

Now that she’s a woman, she had to be even more sensitive about the exposure of her personal information.

It’s too much of a self-praise to say it like this, but since Hayoon was a man, she knew that her current appearance was at a considerable level.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to be careful. Hmm…’

She carefully wrote down the sender’s information, paying attention to her personal information, and next it was time to write down the receiver’s information…

‘The winner’s nickname was definitely…’

M4BabyRoomGuard.

Judging from the fact that he didn’t mention his real name even when we were talking in an open chatroom, he must also be the type who doesn’t want to show his real name to others.

Still, since he had to receive his goods, he did tell me his phone number and address, and I wrote down all of his personal information except for his name as M4BabyRoomGuard had told me.

“Mom, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Now it was time to head to the convenience store with Yoon Suhee, who had come out wearing a coat.

The night air at the end of November felt particularly cold, and as we got into the elevator to go to the first floor, Yoon Suhee naturally hooked her arm with Hayoon’s.

“Oh, it’s cold. Right? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

To be honest…

Hayoon was unfamiliar with this side of Yoon Suhee.

The mother that Hayoon remembers was closer to a cynical career woman.

But, what should I say about this side of my mother who is being so affectionate…

‘It’s nice.’

It really was nice.

I don’t know if it’s because I became a daughter, but it feels like I can spend such a tender moment with my mother, who I usually felt a sense of distance from.

‘Even if I died and came back as a woman, there are some good things.’

Hayoon smiled and gently leaned her head on Yoon Suhee’s arm.

As expected, family is the best.

***

November 28th.

The time when December was just three days away.

“Yes, it’s mine. Yes, I’m sorry. Yes.”

M4BabyRoomGuard.

He was scolded a lot by his parents and ran into his room, and then started typing on the keypad as he went into the Girls’ Frontline gallery.

“Ah, f*ck… I did something stupid. Why didn’t I tell the author-nim my real name? Ha, this is a small problem, my parents are…”

An unprecedented situation occurred where a package came with my nickname, and then my parents found out about that nickname.

It was maddening, but this could also be seen as a featured post ticket…

M4BabyRoomGuard put his shame behind him and uploaded a post…

-Do you want to get featured even in this situation?

-You’re a tough one, you’re a stubborn one…

“Still, the quality of the goods is certain. Do you see this? The size of the acrylic stand, the fabric of the desk mat too…”

He made a new review post to introduce the goods he had received in order to get his second featured post.

This also easily entered the featured post and got him 2 stacks.

Lastly…

“From now on, I will be a passionate fan who wishes for the success of Haru’s booth…”

He drives the wedge with a worship post.

With this, he successfully parked 3 posts in the featured post section in a row.

M4BabyRoomGuard, whose only joy in life was in the community due to the boring school life and the stagnant Girls’ Frontline content updates, felt a deep sense of exhilaration, and turned off the lights and lay down on his bed.

Because if he was still awake, his parents would start coming after him again asking what M4 was and what ‘Baby Room Guard’ meant.

M4BabyRoomGuard, who committed the disloyalty of a teenager once again, was…

[The guy who got roasted by reality at this time.]

[Why doesn’t that author come to our side?]

[But the quality of the goods is so good, it’s frustrating.]

[But the quality is amazing, isn’t it?]

[Can someone give me the link to pre-order this?]

[I just bought it.]

[I saw that there was also a cosplay promise?]

While he was falling asleep, the three featured posts quickly spread throughout every Girls’ Frontline community.

At first, it was a mood of ridicule towards M4BabyRoomGuard for getting roasted by reality, but at some point, they started to praise the quality of the goods that Hayoon had made and start uploading posts certifying their purchases one by one…

And then the number of full package buyers started to explode.

It was as if the entire universe was telling Hayoon to cosplay.