Chapter 7: The Price of Attention

“I’ll give you cultural gift certificates! Watch the broadcast and check it out.

Right now, I’m buying 3 gift certificates worth 100,000 won.

Wow, this is insane.

This is such a great deal, seriously.

If I win one game, I get 100,000 won?”

[Yu Seong is panicking, hahahahaha]

[Crazy bastard, hahahaha]

[I like that jerk, but he’s probably crying blood inside, hahahaha]

[It’s better than getting screwed over, hahahaha]

[Look at that desperate butthole show, hahahaha]

A flood of mocking chats. Deep down, my pride was hurt, but it couldn’t be helped.

I have viewers who like me, so even if I break a promise and repeat it, they’ll understand.

They still want to keep watching the broadcast.

But what about the viewers who aren’t like that?

They’ll rush in, trying to tear me apart.

They’ll flood the chat with questions like why I haven’t verified yet.

Can I still properly carry out the content in that situation?

No way.

Therefore, I cannot lose a single game.

I must never give them a reason to sabotage me.

“Ah! And I bought a 200,000-won cultural gift certificate too. See it? I definitely bought it, right? I’ll give it to the MVP. Just by playing one game well, you’ll earn 300,000 won? Wow! Money really multiplies like this?”

[Are you a snake oil salesman? You’re rambling well, hahahaha]

[Money copying joke, hahahaha]

[But 300,000 won is a lot. How many skins can you buy with that?]

[If I were a wheel, I’d fall for that too, hahahaha]

[Does loyalty feed you?]

[Ah, you’re hilarious, hahahaha]

Why haven’t I gotten any responses yet?

Should I throw out more money?

While I was thinking about it, Varus sent a message in the chat.

[Varus: Can we win this? The gap is too big.]

Finally, after spending 500,000 won, I got a bite.

I couldn’t miss this moment.

I quickly raised my fishing rod, while tossing out another bait.

“Just follow my orders, and we’ll turn this game around in 5 minutes. It’s really touching. If we win this game, isn’t Varus-nim going to be MVP?”

“It’s looking like it’s confirmed?”

[What nonsense? The game isn’t even over yet. This is unfair.]

[Sonya: No, I’ll give you bonus points. How can a support carry?]

The rest of the fish were hooked.

As expected, money is the best.

Thank you, Mr. Moonhwa.

I made a lot of money today, so I could buy gift certificates without any burden.

Support should get bonus points too.

Varus is still the most likely, but the game is just starting.

Everyone, hang in there! Let’s go.

“Let’s eat!”

Now, I can finally play a proper game.

Both the top and bottom duos acknowledged the gap and started hugging the tower.

Yeah, just stay safe like that.

From now on, I’ll take care of everything.

[Victory]

“Ha… we actually won. That was tough. Thanks, everyone!”

I barely won.

While trying to close the gap with my orders, the well-grown enemy bottom duo started pushing the mid-lane, making it difficult again.

It was a blessing that Orianna went back to base, allowing me to get a double kill.

If they had pushed the mid tower first, it would have been impossible to turn it around.

I couldn’t grow at all.

Anyway, I managed to grow, take the lead, and reverse the situation.

With an ally who seemed hopeless, we somehow pulled off the impossible win.

Especially… Master Yi, who dealt 340 damage.

He only farmed the jungle until the game ended.

Because of that, we were always one man short during a teamfight.

Why does he play like that? If he wants to hunt monsters, he could play an RPG.

Why play League and drain people’s health?

[Ah, these bastards. No loyalty. Are they abandoning me over a cultural gift certificate?]

Master Yi, you were a Wheel Nine fan too?

That’s creepy.

Does this mean our whole team was sniping?

How the heck did we win this game?

It’s amazing when I think about it.

[Now give me the cultural gift certificate.]

[You’re working hard, hahahaha. But I think MVP is me. I tanked really well.]

[No, I did the most damage after Zed. Hurry up and give me the gift certificate so I can buy skins.]

“Okay! I’ll give it to you. Thanks so much for sticking with me until the end. Please send me a screenshot of your League result with your Twitch nickname. Once I verify it, I’ll give you the gift card pin number.”

[MVP is?]

“I spent 500,000 won too, so we need content. Haha. I’ll choose the MVP while reviewing this legendary game.”

[OK. I’ll take a screenshot and send it.]

“Okay, I’ll be back in a moment. I’m going to the bathroom.”

I splashed my face with cold water and looked into the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot.

It was really tough.

Outside of the game, my whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

How much stress did I accumulate for my body to feel so heavy and exhausted?

I really admire streamers who endure so much trolling.

“Alright! Let’s check the messages.”

[Won 100,000 won after one game, hahahaha]

[MVP, who is it? Hurry up, hahahaha]

[Should I start sniping too? So jealous, hahahaha]

[Isn’t this the same pattern?]

[Pick up on the signs]

[Wow, they hit the jackpot today, hahahaha]

I sat in my chair and checked the messages.

About 20 messages came in.

Most were messages saying they love me, or they’re cheering for me.

There were also beggars asking for cultural gift certificates.

I closed all of them and kept only the 3 important messages.

“Are the Twitch IDs 96legend1, ghc0716, and ghost08 correct? If so, could you type in the chat window of the League result?”

[Yes! Hurry up, my mom is telling me to eat.]

[Yes.]

[This is such a sweet deal, hahahaha.]

“Of course. I told you it’s a great deal. All three of you have been verified. Haha.”

It was time to give the gift to those 3 snipers.

I went to the streamer management page and searched for their IDs.

One by one, I blocked 96legend1, ghc0716, and ghost08.

“Yep, blocked. Get lost! You bastards! f*ck, am I crazy? Why would I give cultural gift certificates to scumbags like you?”

[Legend, hahahaha]

[Personality pass!]

[Ah, this is hilarious, hahahaha.]

[Look at the Wheel fan, hahahaha.]

[Did she get caught? Is she a woman? Her intelligence is lacking, hahahaha.]

[Yu Seong is really acting, hahahaha.]

Sigh.

Finally, I feel relieved.

Who’s trying to ruin someone’s life by trolling?

These assholes need to learn the hard way.

Then they might finally realize and stop causing harm to others.

[Game, hahahaha.]

[Out of all the streamers I’ve watched recently, you’re the funniest, hahahaha.]

[No cam, and it’s this fun?]

[You’re really funny, hahahaha.]

[So that’s why Moonhwa picked you, huh?]

[Ah! Hurry up and start the next game, hahahaha.]

The chat is going crazy.

The number of viewers has already exceeded 700.

The result far surpassed expectations.

I could get greedy and continue the broadcast, but… I’m so tired right now.

Repeating something I’ve never experienced before, the mental fatigue was piling up.

After all, I never declared that I would do no broadcasts, and as long as I don’t lose, it’s fine.

The outcome of my placement matches will be determined in the next broadcast.

“I’ll end the broadcast here. I’m really tired today. I’ll use the gift certificates for a different content next time. Thank you to the viewers, and to Dajang, great job. Bye~”

[?]

[You’re going to grab a run here?]

“Hmm? The broadcast is off. Tch! At times like this, you should broadcast more to grow faster. What a fool.”

I felt a little disappointed.

I had found a streamer I liked after a long time and was enjoying it.

He was witty and had a lot of charm, which made the show enjoyable.

Now that the broadcast ended, I was feeling bored again.

Alright, let’s get back to work.

Not that I was slacking off, but I can’t be efficient when my focus is divided, can I?

The Twitch TV monitor was still there… I stretched and looked at the dozen monitors piled up in front of me.