Chapter 128
“Wow, that looks incredibly sweet just from looking at it. Is it good?”
“... Slurp.”
“I really forgot the cafe had moved! Sorry for making you wander around. So, won't you stop being sulky?”
At Name's piercing glare, Seomaru scratched his head with an awkward smile.
As the Java chips were sucked through the straw, Maru stirred the ice in his iced Americano.
The cherry-like lips that had pulled away from the straw moved busily.
“I'm not sulking. I was just thinking a little about the person who failed to keep the appointment.”
“The foreman wouldn't let us finish early today... But I ran here as fast as I could.”
Just as Maru had said, his hair was completely drenched in sweat.
In fact, when he entered the cafe in his dirt-stained work clothes without even changing, Name had understood his circumstances to some extent.
“Then how about quitting the job you have now?”
“Huh? All of a sudden? Even so, how many places pay as much as this one? The foreman is strict, but he's a good person. Don't be so—”
“How much do you want?”
Before Maru could finish speaking, Name rotated a sheet of paper 180 degrees and pushed it toward him.
“A VTube joint business agreement? So this is what Yuna was talking about. She said an acquaintance streamed, right?”
[Twissy streamer ‘NoName’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘Party A’) hereby enters into the following joint business agreement with VTube editor ‘ ’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘Party B’) for the purpose of distributing revenue generated through the joint operation of VTube.]
While Maru slowly scanned the paper, Name corrected his misunderstanding.
“No, I'm the one doing it.”
“You? Wow, that's impressive for someone so young! I heard elementary school kids these days all dream of becoming internet broadcasters.”
“I don't know about that.”
“Hey, I owe you a debt, so you really don't need to go this far and draw up a fancy contract. I can do some simple editing whenever you need it without taking any money, so just let me know. But where on earth did you get this contract?”
Maru held the paper up to the cafe lighting as though he found it fascinating.
Name's eyes narrowed for a moment. He didn't keep his appointments, nor was he serious.
I thought he was incredibly mature, but could I really entrust this to him?
Deciding that this was all for Yuna and her family, Name took a thick envelope from her bag and handed it to Maru.
“Here, take this. I'd like you to take it and quit your job as of today.”
“Huh? What's this? Hmm... Whaaaaaaaaat!”
The moment he opened the envelope and saw the bundles of yellow banknotes inside, Maru's chair toppled backward.
Crash—
The clerk, who had already been looking at them sourly, looked even more displeased.
Name bowed and apologized in his place, then helped Maru to his feet.
“What are you doing in a cafe?”
“M-money... You came all the way here alone carrying this? What if you'd lost it on the way?”
There was far too much money in the envelope for a young child to be carrying around.
Even if they were all one-thousand-won bills, there were enough of them to pay for a buffet and still have money left over.
“This is just the five-million-won advance.”
“Huh?”
“Use it to buy a computer or another capsule. You could go out for a meal with Yuna, too.”
“Are you serious? Do you even know how much money this is?”
Maru's expression stiffened.
Even after working all day drenched in sweat, he only made three or four of those bills at most.
Maru couldn't understand Name's intention in casually handing him that much money.
“I know. That's why I'm giving it to you.”
At Name's innocent expression, Maru slapped a hand to his forehead.
“No, I can't accept this money. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“I think there's been a misunderstanding.”
Name stopped speaking, brought her Frappuccino to her lips, and took a sip. When she pulled away again, a small smear of white cream remained around her mouth.
“I'm seriously trying to hire you as my editor, Maru oppa. I'm not just handing you money out of charity or as volunteer work.”
She wiped the cream from her mouth with a napkin. Even in that small gesture, she exuded the elegance of a European aristocrat.
“Since it's your first month, there might not be any revenue even if we upload videos. That's why I'm giving you five million won. After that, you can take all the revenue up to five million won a month. As you can see in the contract, anything above that will be split fifty-fifty. I'll set aside my half for Yuna later.”
“Wait...”
Hearing Name's suddenly serious explanation, Maru began reading through the contract carefully again.
This wasn't something she was saying as part of a child's game. The contract covered detailed clauses, not just the division of revenue.
When he lowered the paper, the face of an eight-year-old girl peeked out from behind it.
“So, do you feel like accepting now?”
At Name's faint, knowing smile, Maru hesitated before answering.
“No. Even so, I don't think this is right.”
“Why?”
Apparently she hadn't expected him to refuse, because Name pressed a hand to her forehead in dismay.
As he folded his arms and made his stubbornness clear, she asked him why.
Seomaru's point was ultimately simple and clear.
He would rather work two jobs, but he couldn't give up his current livelihood.
He didn't know how much editors earned, but his current job paid enough to live on, and he had no room to invest in something uncertain.
It was perhaps the clearest indication of his responsibility as the head of his household.
But Name picked up the envelope once more.
“Oppa, do you know something? I earned this in one day.”
“Huh?”
“Actually, not even a day. The daily withdrawal limit is five million won, so I probably earned more than this.”
“Seriously? What kind of stream do you do? Do kids' channels really make that much money?”
Had he underestimated the internet streaming market so badly? Faced with a truth he had never imagined, Maru's mind went hazy.
“If only I'd known, I should've just bought Yuna some Jjawang...” Seomaru muttered something incomprehensible.
“It's not a kids' channel.”
Name tilted her head for a moment, then laid the recording capsule beside the table.
The blue-tinted hologram gradually changed to a white background, and footage from the game she had played just yesterday flashed past in a dizzying blur.
“Have you ever played WoA?”
“Huh? I used to play it a lot back in the day. It's been quite a while since I last played.”
He didn't watch the entire twelve-hour recording. After watching for roughly five minutes, he paused the video.
“If there were twenty thousand live viewers, isn't that a huge number? Right?”
“You certainly couldn't call it a small number.”
“I already knew you were an amazing kid, but the more I learn about you, the more I feel like I'm falling into a maze.”
“So are you doing it or not?”
As her irritation began to mount, Name snapped.
“I'll do it. No, I should be thanking you for giving me an opportunity like this. But are you really okay with me? You could find any number of more skilled editors.”
“Yuna told me. She said her big brother draws better than anyone in the world. Editing videos just means cutting them up and uploading them, and your editing skills will naturally improve. What I particularly want you to handle is the thumbnails.”
“Thumbnails?”
Name opened the VTube app and scrolled through the list of trending videos.
Every video simply used in-game footage as its thumbnail.
“Don't do it like this. Please draw thumbnails yourself to match each video, oppa. I don't want editing to become simple, repetitive labor for you. That way, later, you can show Yuna pictures of what you do and proudly tell her about your work, can't you?”
“So is that why you called me...”
Maru looked back and forth between the hologram and the contract with trembling eyes.
It was a dream he'd abandoned so long ago that he had completely forgotten it.
“Yuna still hopes you'll become a wonderful illustrator. Do you still hold on to that dream?”
“I do... Yeah...”
Seomaru bit down hard on his lip as a surge of emotion rose within him.
The future he had been forced to sacrifice for his family.
He was struck by the realization that opportunities truly did come from the most unexpected places.
“I don't think true art ends with imitating phenomena perceptible to the senses. It only reveals its value when one grasps the essence of a phenomenon or existence, reflects on it sufficiently, and reinterprets it as one's own. I believe you're someone who can do that, oppa.”
“When you talk like that so well... Who could possibly believe you're a child?”
Maru chuckled and looked proudly at the girl before him.
“Thank you... I'll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
As though embarrassed, Name awkwardly looked away and handed him a ballpoint pen.
“Good. Then you'll take it on, right? I'll send the detailed requirements via chat again, so you just need to sign here. That's why I called you today.”
“Then do I start working today?”
“What are you talking about? You already finished today's work and came here. Hurry home and buy Yuna something tasty.”
“But I received this much money.”
“I didn't give you money.”
What Name meant to give him wasn't simply money.
She placed the file binder and video device into her bag one after another and said,
“I gave you time that nothing—not even a vast fortune—could ever buy. So I hope you have a good time with your family. And please give my regards to your mother.”
Not money, but time.
And with it came friendship, love, memories, and happiness.
Hoping he would fully understand the meaning before regret came, Name gathered her belongings and left the cafe.
Just then, a news report appeared on the giant hologram hanging in the blue sky, announcing that a protest by WoA users was underway.
‘You said you were going to file a complaint because they served you the wrong food.’
Determined to show them exactly what a truly unreasonable customer looked like, Name took her phone from her pocket again and called someone.
[Cheon Semin]