“I suppose it’s time I called it a day.”
Sori Hwa muttered to herself as she shut down Royal Commando.
“Next time, I’ll try playing a different character.”
While the viewers, captivated by Sori Hwa’s gameplay, clamored for more, none dared to speak forcefully to her, even in jest.
– Sister, can’t you play just one more round? ㅠㅠㅠ
– I quit Royal Commando, but this really makes me want to play again.
– You’d probably be amazing even with other damage dealers…
– Do whatever you want, sis~~
The atmosphere was a stark contrast to when she had first started streaming.
There was likely no other streamer on all of Ogogok (TL Note: The name of the streaming platform.) with such a polite viewership.
It was almost unbelievable that these very viewers had been the ‘devils’ from the broadcast’s chaotic beginning.
“So, you all know how to chat politely after all,” Sori Hwa remarked, letting out a small laugh.
Her laugh, a first for the viewers, sent the chat into a frenzy.
– Her voice is super cute, but she’s a Sister…
– How are we supposed to react to this? Should we say it’s cute?
– Collective cognitive dissonance ON LOLOLOLOLOL
– Is ‘Godmother’ your friend??
Sori Hwa frowned, taken aback by the chat’s excessively reverent tone.
“What do you mean ‘Godmother’? I’m twenty-two, I tell you.
No more chats like that from now on.”
– Your will be done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– [ Godmother ] has been blacklisted.
– But is the stream really ending?
“Ah, yes.
I plan to prepare properly for the next one.
Things were a bit chaotic at first, and I haven’t even finished setting everything up at home.
Though I did end up doing an outdoor stream (TL Note: ‘Yabang,’ a stream conducted outside of a typical indoor setup.) today by chance.”
As the true end of the stream drew near, donations began pouring in.
While small, frequent donations had been common during her gameplay, it was customary (TL Note: ‘Gukrul,’ a Korean slang term meaning ‘unwritten rule’ or ‘common practice.’) for viewers to send bigger donations during casual chat segments like this.
[ Soosung Middle School 3rd Year Class 2 sponsored 10,000 nyang of silver! ]
[ Good work on the stream, Sister. ]
[ 4000 Dangga sponsored 4,000 nyang of silver! ]
[ You’ll stream again tomorrow, right?? ]
“Ah, thank you for the donations.
Thank you.
I’m not sure if I’ll stream.
The messages are coming in too fast, it’s hard to read them.”
The donations kept pouring in without end.
Sori Hwa, thanking them in a daze, even wondered if this was real.
Considering the minimum wage was 10,000 nyang of silver, she had earned an hour’s worth of income in less than thirty seconds.
[ Shinseong-gu Merchant Association sponsored 10,000 nyang of silver! ]
[ It’s about time for our Sister to start her patrol~ ]
– Patrol time, acknowledged.
– Is this for real?
“Don’t talk nonsense.
What patrol?”
She felt her streaming concept was taking an odd turn.
Sori Hwa had envisioned a stream where she would be doted upon and seen as cute, like most female streamers, but things were heading in almost the opposite direction.
– How dare you impersonate the Shinseong-gu Merchant Association?
– IP tracing initiated.
– What nerve, impersonating someone like that!
“…Shinseong-gu is just a place where people live.
It’s not some kind of dark sect alliance, I tell you.”
She tried to clarify, feeling as though she had inadvertently warped Shinseong-gu’s image, but it seemed the viewers already perceived Shinseong-gu as an axis of evil, akin to the headquarters of the Demonic Cult.
Realizing that further explanation would only backfire, she decided to drop the subject.
“Alright, I’m ending the stream now.
I’ll be back online next time.”
– OBM (TL Note: A Korean internet slang acronym, ‘O-Baeng-Mu,’ short for ‘O-neul Bang-song Mu-seowotda,’ meaning ‘Today’s broadcast was scary.’)
– Come back.
– Come back~~
And so, her first broadcast concluded.
The final viewer count just before ending the stream was 1,500.
It was a debut stream that peaked at 4,000 concurrent viewers.
A spectacular debut for the streamer Wadeulwadeul.
Unbeknownst to Sori Hwa, her peak of 4,000 viewers was a new record for a debut streamer on Ogogok, excluding those who had transferred from other platforms.
****
Streaming proved to be far more mentally exhausting than she had anticipated.
The broadcast, from the outdoor segment to the capsule room stream, lasted only about three hours, yet the fatigue felt greater than eight hours of work at a logistics center.
Consequently, as soon as Sori Hwa arrived home, she collapsed onto her bed without even showering and fell asleep.
“Ugh.”
And as always, the sporadic cold surges from her Nine Yin Severed Meridians (TL Note: ‘Gueumjeolmaek,’ a rare and debilitating condition in Murim novels where one’s meridians are severed, causing extreme cold and pain.) jolted Sori Hwa awake.
A glance at the clock showed that she had only been asleep for about two hours.
Frowning, Sori Hwa took her medicine and gave up on trying to sleep.
Once awakened, she typically found it impossible to fall back asleep.
If her mind felt foggy, she could simply perform a Minor Heavenly Cycle (TL Note: ‘Sojucheon,’ a basic meditation technique in Murim novels that circulates internal energy to clear the mind and body.) to clear it.
Martial arts, it seemed, proved quite useful in daily life, even without having to physically fight anyone.
“Haaah.”
After completing her Minor Heavenly Cycle, Sori Hwa did what any modern person would: she checked her phone.
There was a message waiting for her.
– I watched your debut stream, lol.
The response is incredible, isn’t it?
The sender of the message was Jo Meo-hyeop.
Jo Meo-hyeop hadn’t just sent a message; they had also included a link.
Clicking the link led her to a community forum.
[ Ogogok Gallery ]
[ Title: Wadeulwadeul’s Chat Discipline is Legendary ㅋㅋ ]
[ Content: (Roughly, a video of Kkakdugi threatening someone) ]
– LOL, the chat immediately became so well-behaved after that.
– Isn’t this faked?
– No, no, you should watch that clip yourself; you’ll see it’s not faked LOLOLOL
– Bro, they’re tracing your IP~
– From the game to the outdoor stream, how is this really a debut broadcast?
Scrolling down, she saw that the post had received numerous upvotes, solidifying its place as a ‘highly recommended’ post.
This clearly indicated how impactful Wadeulwadeul’s first stream had been.
– Thank you.
I wouldn’t have been able to stream without you, Jo Meo-hyeop.
– (Gifticons for 2 Tall Americanos + Ganache Chocolate Cake)
Sori Hwa sent a polite reply along with the gifticons.
Indeed, without the virtual reality capsule Jo Meo-hyeop had provided and their encouragement, she wouldn’t have been able to stream at all.
Jo Meo-hyeop replied almost instantly after Sori Hwa sent her message.
– Oh, why would you send these? ㅠㅠ You really didn’t have to.
– I’m not in a position to send you much right now… but I’ll repay you more generously later.
– It’s just that you’re talented, Wadeulwadeul! Are you streaming today?
– Probably?
She remembered seeing in a BigTube (TL Note: A fictional video platform akin to YouTube.) video that a streamer’s most important virtue was consistency.
Given the strong momentum of her first broadcast, she needed to stream consistently to maintain it.
For Sori Hwa, streaming was less of a hobby and more a lifeline for survival.
– That’s good.
If you’re serious about streaming, consistency is key.
At first, try shifting your stream times a bit to find a schedule that works for you.
Fixing your stream time is also quite important.
Sure enough, Jo Meo-hyeop offered similar advice.
– (__) Thank you for the advice.
– How could I possibly advise Wadeulwadeul…? I’m not going to get IP traced, am I?
– ;;; I’m not that kind of person.
– Haha, just kidding.
It seemed Kkakdugi, whom she had met during her outdoor stream, had left a deep impression on Jo Meo-hyeop and other viewers.
Indeed, his appearance had decisively set the tone for the broadcast, making him a benefactor in a way.
‘Next time, I’ll only hit him once instead of twice.’
Having made that resolve, Sori Hwa decided to take a shower.
While performing the Minor Heavenly Cycle theoretically cleansed her body of impurities, making a shower unnecessary, it was more a matter of feeling refreshed.
A warm shower always lifted her spirits.
Initially, showering in her transformed female body had felt awkward and uncomfortable, but now, it no longer bothered her.
After her shower, Sori Hwa dried her hair with a hairdryer.
As someone afflicted with Nine Yin Severed Meridians, it was crucial for her to dry her hair quickly.
If she didn’t, the cold nature of her condition meant her wet hair would literally freeze.
“This is such a pain,” Sori Hwa grumbled, meticulously drying her hair from the tips upward.
If there was one truly annoying thing about becoming a woman, it was drying long hair.
She had once cut it short, but even she thought it looked terrible, so she had let it grow long again.
Once her hair seemed mostly dry, Sori Hwa checked her phone again.
There was another message from Jo Meo-hyeop, even though she thought their conversation had concluded.
– Wadeul, do you remember what I mentioned last time?
Sori Hwa furrowed her brow at the unexpected message.
She had exchanged quite a few conversations with Jo Meo-hyeop.
It was impossible to tell which particular comment they were referring to.
After a moment of thought, Sori Hwa sent a reply.
– I don’t.
– I told you I’d introduce you to an MCN, remember?
– Oh, that’s right.
Yes, that conversation had happened, but hadn’t it been conditional on her ‘building up her presence’?
Just as she pondered this, another message arrived from Jo Meo-hyeop.
– Actually, I’m not really introducing you myself; it’s just that my MCN wants to contact you directly.
I’m merely connecting you.
– The MCN reached out first?
This was unexpected.
An MCN was a company that managed streamers, and Jo Meo-hyeop’s company, Ark Network, was a mid-sized MCN with nearly fifty affiliated broadcasters.
– Yes.
Haven’t you received any other contact?
I thought there would already be some messages on your Ogogok account.
At Jo Meo-hyeop’s words, Sori Hwa logged into her account.
Her message inbox, usually sparse, was now full.
While most were from viewers, as Jo Meo-hyeop had suggested, company messages also stood out.
[ Subject: Hello, Wadeulwadeul.
This is Janggang Entertainment. ]
[ Content: Hello, Wadeulwadeul!
This is Producer Park Cheol-sam from Janggang Entertainment’s content team.
We are contacting you after thoroughly enjoying your broadcast… ]
The lengthy message that followed detailed how they saw immense potential in Wadeulwadeul’s streaming talent, unique character, and buzz-worthiness, earnestly urging her to sign a contract with their MCN.
The messages from other companies were similar.
It was bewildering to receive such an influx of messages after only a single broadcast.
– Is it normal to get so many?
I’ve only just had my first stream…
– MCNs are in a fierce war these days.
They’re desperate to snatch up any streamer who shows even a little promise.
It’s only natural for a major rookie like you, Wadeulwadeul, to get contacted.
Judging by Jo Meo-hyeop’s serious reply, it didn’t seem like a prank.
Then again, who would dare prank the current Wadeulwadeul?
– I’m not saying you absolutely have to sign with my company.
I’m just a streamer here, so I’m merely making the connection.
It’s perfectly fine if you don’t meet them.
Listen to the offers from other MCNs too, and sign with the one that gives you the best terms.
Another message arrived from Jo Meo-hyeop.
Even with their words, Sori Hwa felt a sense of indebtedness, so meeting with their company was, of course, something she could do.
– Then, before I hear the conditions from other companies, I’ll hear your company’s offer first, Jo Meo-hyeop.
– Oh, you really don’t have to do that… but you’ve saved my face, haha.
Thank you.
Feeling a sense of pride upon receiving Jo Meo-hyeop’s thanks, Sori Hwa then saw a message from them, providing the contact number for their designated producer at Ark Network.
– You can call this number.
– Understood.
– Thank you!
Ending her conversation with Jo Meo-hyeop, Sori Hwa gazed at the producer’s phone number.
Could her world truly change so much in a single day?
‘I, who couldn’t even work properly in a factory because of my appearance, am now a blue-chip in the internet broadcasting world?’
It felt like a light novel title had become her life.
Sori Hwa cleared her throat and made the call.
The other party, perhaps having been waiting, answered immediately.
“Hello! Wadeulwadeul! This is Producer Jung Min-ju from Ark Network!”
As soon as the call connected, a cheerful female voice greeted her.
It was a peculiar situation, with the person receiving the call initiating the greeting.
Jo Meo-hyeop must have given them Sori Hwa’s number in advance.
“…Ah, yes.
It’s Wadeulwadeul.”
For a moment, she considered giving her real name, but then decided to use her streamer nickname.
She hadn’t known this would become her streamer nickname, but since everyone already knew her as Wadeulwadeul, there was no turning back.
“Wow, thank you so much.
I became such a huge fan after watching your stream; I really wanted to work with you.”
‘A fan, after her very first broadcast?’
It was likely a mere platitude, but it still made her feel good.
“Ah, yes.
Thank you.
But this is my first time with something like this, so if you could explain it in more detail…”
“Of course.
Naturally.
I think it would be more convenient if I visited you, showed you the contract directly, and explained everything.
What do you think?”
“…Uh, yes?”
“You mentioned on your stream that you reside in Shinseong-gu, Seon-an City, didn’t you?
Our company is in Beijing, so a three-hour flight would get me there.”
The MCN’s desire for Wadeulwadeul was evidently genuine, as they were incredibly proactive.
Overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, Sori Hwa stammered her reply.
“You’d, you’d even take a plane to come?”
“Yes.
I really want to meet you!”
Never in her previous life nor her current one had a stranger taken a plane just to meet her, leaving Sori Hwa flustered.
“But then I’d feel so bad…”
“Oh, it’s fine.
I love going on business trips!
So, where shall we meet?”
Jung Min-ju swiftly arranged the time and place, as if frying beans in a flash.
It was exactly three hours later.
Since it was 9 AM now, they would likely meet around lunchtime.
“Then, I’ll see you then!”
Caught in the whirlwind rush that made her head spin, Sori Hwa couldn’t offer a proper response before the call ended.
It was a business meeting she hadn’t even conceived of until yesterday.
