Chapter 18
A streamer.
A job where you run your own stream and communicate with viewers.
I knew that much, at least.
And that it's apparently as popular with kids these days as the traditionally prestigious professions.
But.
Do I really have to do reactions?
"Rils, I'll teach you how important reactions are."
"Yep."
"Why do viewers donate to streamers?"
"I don't know."
"Streamers are, in a way, kind of like celebrities. Or maybe they're closer to idols?"
I thought about that for a moment.
'Idols...?'
Sorry to say it, but I didn't really know much about idols either, since documentaries were the only thing I cared about. Aren't they just really skinny kids who dance and stuff?
Standing in front of me, Yerin started folding down her fingers one by one with a serious expression.
"Idols have fans cheering them on too."
"Yep."
"They buy albums."
"Yep."
"They buy merch."
"Yep."
"They go to fan meets."
"Yep."
Then she pointed at the drone.
"Donations are similar to that."
"...."
"Viewers like it when a streamer they like remembers their nickname, reacts to them, and smiles at them."
That was true.
Now that I heard it put that way, I could sort of understand.
For example, say I had tons of money and made a donation.
But the people who received it didn't even know I'd donated?
That would feel a little unfair.
Why do something nice and not get praised for it?
"I think I get it a little."
"Oh."
I looked back at the drone. It was still shouting my name and blasting out donation alerts.
Beep.
[SquishyNongBest donated 200,000 won to Rils.]
Yerin pointed at the drone again.
"See? At the end of the day, they just want Rils to notice them."
"...."
"If they donate and the streamer says their name and is happy about it, it feels really rewarding."
That part, I definitely understood a little.
If I donated to my brother, for example.
-Oh, thanks, Rils.
If he reacted like that while saying my name, I'd be so happy I might not be able to sleep that night.
I slowly nodded.
"...Then reactions are basically common courtesy."
"Exactly!"
Yerin clapped with a bright smile.
"You finally got it exactly right!"
After saying that, her eyes suddenly lit up.
That was kind of scary. What was it now?
"Good. Then let's jump right into practice."
"...Practice?"
"First, basic aegyo."
"How did it jump to that?"
Yerin gave me a quick once-over from head to toe.
Then she let out a faintly mocking smirk.
"It's not like you can put on a sexy voice and go, 'Oppaaas~.' It doesn't fit your character."
"......"
Well, she wasn't wrong about that.
Still, that almost-mocking look on her face was a little irritating.
"...What's with that look?"
"What look?"
"I don't like it. Don't smile like that."
"Then want to try saying 'Oppaaas~' in a sexy voice?"
For a moment, I pictured it in my head.
-Oppaaas~ thank you for the donation~
Ah... no, this was a bit too much.
It felt like even the little identity I had left would get trampled.
"I can't do it."
"See?"
She looked at me like she'd won, and for some reason that was weirdly aggravating.
"Rils isn't that type."
"Then what type am I?"
"Hmm."
Yerin rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. Then she pointed at me.
"The blunt but somehow cute type?"
"...Is that a compliment?"
"Of course it is."
Then, out of nowhere, she pressed both my cheeks with her fingers.
"You're already cheating with that face."
"Ow."
"If you just change your expression a little when you react, the viewers will eat it up."
I looked at her skeptically.
Am I really?
"I don't really see it."
"That's why I'm teaching you."
Before I knew it, Yerin had fully transformed into a college professor and started giving me a lecture I hadn't even asked for.
"Watch carefully."
She cleared her throat, then suddenly changed her tone completely.
"Kyaaah~ Nongnong oppaa, thank you sooo much for the donation~!!"
She even tossed in a finger heart like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"...."
A pro really was a pro.
Just seeing how naturally she pulled off such an embarrassing reaction was enough to prove it.
Yerin gave my shoulder a satisfied little pat.
"All right. Now copy that exactly."
"No."
"Just once."
"I said no."
"The viewers are giving you money."
"You're not the one giving it, Yerin. The viewers are."
In the end, Yerin let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Haa... Then I'll make you a super simple reaction just for Rils. Something really easy."
"...A reaction just for me?"
After spending this whole deserted-island trip getting pushed around by me, she seemed ridiculously excited to finally be in the position of teaching someone again.
In a way, what Yerin said wasn't completely wrong.
If I was really going to make streaming my job, maybe I did need at least one signature reaction of my own.
I reluctantly nodded.
"I'll at least hear you out."
"Good."
As if she'd been waiting for that, Yerin stepped right up in front of my face. Then she made circles with her thumbs and index fingers and brought them to her cheeks.
Her cheek fat puffed out into little circles.
"Like this."
"...."
"And then."
Yerin said it with a bright smile.
"Angnyangnyang~ Thank you!!"
"...."
You want me to do that?
It was definitely way easier than the oppa thing, but still.
"Do I really have to do this?"
"It's super easy!"
"It's embarrassing...."
"No, it isn't! It fits your character perfectly, Rils!!"
Yerin, looking thrilled, forcibly pulled my hand over. Then she curled my fingers into a circle and pressed them against my cheek.
My soft cheek popped right out. This body still hadn't lost its baby fat, so it looked different from Yerin's version.
More like it puffed out even more?
"...."
"See?"
Yerin cried out, eyes sparkling.
"It's insanely cute!"
"Stop teasing me."
"I'm not! It really is super cute!"
At that moment.
Beep.
[Nongnongnongnongnong donated 2,000,000 won to Rils.]
Yerin's eyes gleamed at the perfectly timed donation message.
"...Rils."
"...Yes."
"Now."
"What?"
"Angnyangnyang timing."
@
The handle Nongnongnongnongnong.
His main thing was investing in stocks and crypto.
When he woke up in the morning, the first thing he did wasn't wash his face. It was check the charts.
He started each day by turning on multiple monitors and analyzing the movement of the graphs.
Back during the coronavirus panic, when the whole world was seized by fear and coin prices crashed, every other investor ran away.
But he moved in the opposite direction.
'This is a heaven-sent opportunity.'
He shoved most of the money he had into crypto.
And then.
A few years later, his life changed.
After that, it was basically just money making more money.
The moment crypto mooned, he quit his job, so he didn't even have to go to work anymore.
His daily routine was watching charts at home and browsing online communities whenever he got bored.
Investors usually use dual monitors.
On one screen, they keep the charts open.
On the other, they put on something to kill time.
The stream he happened to stumble across like that was the Mystery Rich Deserted Island Project.
At first, he didn't think much of it.
It had been going massively viral even on the stock gallery, so he just turned it on.
But.
As he kept watching, one strange streamer caught his eye.
A small-time streamer named Rils.
She was unbelievably cute. The kind of looks you could honestly call the embodiment of all things squishy-cute.
But then came the twist: her survival knowledge was on par with an expert's.
Before he knew it, Nongnongnongnongnong was watching the Mystery Rich stream more intently than the charts.
There was nothing strange about his tastes.
He just happened to prefer soft, squishy, adorable girls.
Anyway, he was perfectly normal.
He sincerely believed that.
Beep.
His finger naturally pressed the donate button.
2,000,000 won.
To him, honestly, that wasn't even a lot of money.
His seed money was overflowing anyway, and his fortune kept growing.
The problem was what happened next.
Rils, on the screen,
raised a hand with an awkward expression.
Then she made a circle with her thumb and index finger and brought it to her cheek.
Squish.
Her round cheek puffed out.
After a brief silence, Rils spoke in a small voice.
"...Angnyangnyang. Thank you."
And then she got incredibly embarrassed. Even her ears turned red like a ripe tomato.
In all the time he'd watched the stream, this was the first time he'd ever seen Rils like that.
Nongnongnongnongnong's hands froze over the keyboard.
"......"
Then his hands moved on their own and his card got swiped.
[Nongnongnongnongnong donated 10,000,000 won to Rils.]
"Holy shit."
Nongnongnongnongnong clamped a trembling hand over his mouth.
His heart pounded.
This was dangerous.
He felt better than when his coins had mooned.
He was seriously in trouble.
"...She's so damn cute."
It was the first time in his life that Nongnongnongnongnong had ever become a fan of someone.
@
[Nongnongnongnongnong donated 10,000,000 won to Rils.]
[Current funds: 30,000,000 won]
"...?"
I stared at the numbers floating in the hologram and couldn't believe my eyes.
Just now.
How much did that say?
T-ten million won?
...That actually worked?
My brain stopped functioning.
No. I mean, sure, there are a lot of rich people in the world, but.
Ten million won for one bit of aegyo?
Wasn't something wrong with the world? They hadn't swiped their mom's card or something, right?
Instead of feeling happy about the money, I was getting worried.
Even Yerin, who had seen the donation explode right beside me, just gaped.
"Wow, holy shit."
"...."
"Rils."
"...Yes."
"I really think you're a streaming genius."
My face burned.
I'd never done aegyo in my life.
That wasn't even my personality to begin with.
But that one tiny reaction had just made ten million won explode onto the screen.
'...What exactly is a streamer?'
It made no sense to give that much money to a total stranger.
Even if this job is about enduring shame for cash, that's still way too much!
Yerin's expression turned unusually serious as she suddenly grabbed my shoulders.
"Rils."
"Yes."
"When this content ends... you're not going to ditch me, are you?"
"Huh?"
What was she talking about all of a sudden?
A 300k girl streamer was asking a small-time streamer with 24 subscribers not to abandon her.
I was dumbfounded.
"...Yerin, you're way more famous than I am."
"That's old news."
Yerin's face was serious. She wasn't joking.
"Rils, I really think you're going to be huge."
What on earth was happening out in the outside world right now?
Without a smartphone, I had no way of checking.
I just wanted to come to this deserted island and heal in peace by myself.
So why were ten-million-won donations suddenly blowing up,
why was a girl streamer trying to teach me how to stream,
and why were people throwing money at me?
Then the corners of Yerin's mouth slowly curled up.
That felt ominous.
"Rils."
"...What."
"Still, what needs doing needs doing."
"...?"
Yerin grabbed both my cheeks again with her fingers.
Squish.
"The reaction."
"Ah."
I stared at the drone with dead eyes. Then, as if resigned to my fate, I curled my fingers into a circle and pressed them to my cheek.
"...Angnyangnyang."
"Cuter."
"Thank you...."
"With a smile."
"......Angnyangnyang~ Thank you."
Beep!
[Nongnongnongnongnong donated 1,000,000 won to Rils.]
"See? It works!"
"...."
At least there was one thing I knew for sure now.
For me, reactions were harder than surviving on a deserted island.