Chapter 2
Mister Rich headquarters.
Kim Jin-seo, the front-desk receptionist, was honestly a little flustered.
No.
Very flustered.
‘...She really was here for the interview?’
She gave the girl in front of her another once-over.
A girl dressed like she ought to buy a carton of chocolate milk at the convenience store and head straight home.
And yet this little kid was
an applicant for the 14-Day Deserted Island Survival Project?
A streamer, too?
...Haah.
Kim Jin-seo pressed hard against her throbbing temple.
Lord. Why are you testing me like this?
Most of the applicants who came to the headquarters arrived in luxury foreign cars and decked out in designer brands.
They were all streamers with at least some clout, after all.
Compared to them, this girl was... just
small and cute.
Not just a little cute, either. Seriously, absurdly cute.
The kind of cute that made you want to fuss over her and take care of her.
Wasn't a deserted island way too dangerous?
Couldn't she just hold hands with her big sister and go to an amusement park instead?
Kim Jin-seo's thoughts wandered completely off course.
Barely managing to shake herself out of it, she thought to herself,
This kid—
No, the streamer named Reels was a bona fide guest visiting Mister Rich headquarters.
And she was the receptionist.
Kim Jin-seo promptly switched to a polite, professional manner and began guiding her.
Then please follow me.
Yes.
The little streamer named Reels hurried after her in tiny steps.
Flop.
Flop.
Dragging Crocs bigger than her feet across the marble floor.
......
When they reached the elevator, Kim Jin-seo tapped her employee card.
Beep.
The private elevator doors slowly slid open.
Wow.
A small gasp escaped from beside her, and Kim Jin-seo glanced over.
Reels was peering into the elevator with sparkling eyes. She was so cute that Kim Jin-seo's gaze drifted to her without thinking.
...You must find this fascinating?
Yes. It's my first time riding an elevator with glass on all sides.
The high-speed elevator began to move.
The thirty-fourth floor.
The floor where Mister Rich's private office was.
Kim Jin-seo suddenly found herself curious.
Why had this adorable little creature applied for the deserted-island content?
By the way, Reels-nim.
Yes?
Aren't you scared of going to a deserted island? There could even be snakes.
She couldn't send an angelic kid like this to some dangerously remote island.
I'll scare her into giving up on her own. She's obviously just a kid.
Little kids were usually scared of snakes.
That was what Kim Jin-seo thought.
Reels, who had been admiring the view outside, smiled sweetly.
Snakes are a great source of protein, though.
...Pardon?
I heard they're really tasty. Supposed to taste like chicken.
......
The pain in Kim Jin-seo's temple got even worse.
*
The elevator soon arrived on the thirty-fourth floor.
Ding.
When the doors opened, a spacious lobby came into view.
And then—
Wow...
there were a ton of people.
You applied too, unnie? You won't even be able to do your makeup on a deserted island.
I wouldn't have applied if it weren't for Mister Rich's content.
True. Just getting my face on camera would make it worth it.
Most of them looked like famous streamers.
The applicants greeted each other like they all knew one another.
Honestly, I had no idea who any of them were.
I wasn't interested in much besides documentaries.
I was only guessing based on the luxury brand logos plastered on their clothes.
Standing in the long line, I tugged my hoodie sleeves down over my fingertips for no reason. My heart was pounding.
Hoo... let's not get nervous.
Just think of it as a convenience store part-time job interview.
Relax. Relax.
I calmed myself down and looked at the long line ahead.
Is this person an applicant too?
A huge guy was standing in front of me, and he was absolutely massive.
He was crazy tall too. One-ninety?
His shoulders were broad, and his forearms were as thick as my thighs.
But that bear-like man
kept sneaking glances this way.
....
Why was he being so creepy?
No way.
Was he some kind of lolicon... into little kids or something?
The hairs all over my body stood on end, and I flinched.
If someone that huge threatened me, I felt like I'd piss myself on the spot.
Then, at that moment,
the huge guy slowly turned his body toward me.
Eek...!
I instinctively took a step back.
I balled up my fists and readied myself for battle.
Should I kick him in the balls?
No matter how trained he was, if he was a man, there was no getting past a hit to the nuts.
I could guarantee that as someone who used to be a man.
One ball-shot KO.
Hit a guy in the crotch and he can't do a thing.
But without saying anything, he rummaged through his pocket,
and then plopped something out.
It was a single piece of candy, held out in front of me.
Cola-flavored.
...Huh?
The man mumbled without meeting my eyes.
Take it.
......
For a moment, I looked back and forth between the candy and the man.
Then I bowed my head deeply.
I was the sort of person who never turned down anything offered for free.
And my mouth had been feeling bored anyway.
...Thank you.
I unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth, and a cool cola flavor spread.
Nom nom. Tasty.
He was a nice guy after all.
*
After a long wait, my name was finally called.
Reels-nim.
...!
I had been squatting in the hallway, and I jumped to my feet in surprise.
I hurriedly crunched up the cola candy in my mouth too.
It might look rude to walk into an interview sucking on candy.
When it came to interviews, first impressions were everything.
Yep. Absolutely.
Following the staff member's lead, I went into the interview room.
Click.
The moment the interview room door opened,
...Huh?
the atmosphere inside stirred.
A long table.
Filming equipment and cameramen.
And three men seated at the table.
In the center, naturally, was Mister Rich.
He looked exactly like he did in his videos.
Handsome face, expensive watch on his wrist, easygoing smile.
Beside him were Mister Rich's friends I'd often seen in his videos too.
One of them was sitting there with his arms crossed, but the moment he saw me, his eyes went wide.
Hey. Why'd some kid come in here?
The other man looked just as dumbfounded.
You crazy bastard.
He turned to Mister Rich and said,
Why the hell are you interviewing some little kid for content even grown adults can't handle?
This was so unfair.
I might look like this, but I was twenty.
Ever since my body changed, people treated me like a complete child.
I'm a proper adult!
As I awkwardly fidgeted with my hoodie sleeve in the uncomfortable atmosphere,
Mister Rich simply watched me in silence.
With everyone staring at me, I shrank in on myself for no reason.
I'm an introvert, okay.
After taking his time observing my awkward fidgeting, Mister Rich suddenly let out a snort.
...This is honestly kind of wild.
What is?
When the man beside him asked, Mister Rich rested his chin on his hand and said,
Reels-nim may look that young, but she's twenty.
...Huh?
Seriously? No way.
This was so unfair.
Why wouldn't anyone believe me?
First the bus driver,
then the receptionist,
and now even the interviewers.
I'm telling you I pay the adult fare, so why won't anyone believe me?!
In the end, I pulled my wallet out of my pocket.
I have my ID.
Really?
The man who'd had his arms crossed held out his hand in a half-joking way.
Meaning he wanted to check if it was real.
Wearing a deeply aggrieved expression, I walked over and handed him my resident registration card.
Yuyeon
06XXXX-4XXXXXX
Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul...
...Huh?
The man's expression stiffened.
The man beside him leaned in too.
Holy shit.
It's real?
Born in 2006?
What the hell.
In the photo was the same dopey-looking girl as now, staring blankly into the camera.
And the back half of the resident registration number.
It had definitely been a 3 before.
But now it had changed to a 4.
I had no idea why, either.
It was already changed when I checked it at home.
Either way, it was a relief.
At least it meant I wasn't going to get hauled off to the police station over my ID.
Wow... so it really was true.
I took my ID back and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the interviewers still looked like they could barely believe it.
That's really an adult?
That?
What the hell did you just call me?
Don't point at a person like they're some object.
They looked my face over again with unconcealed amazement.
It was obvious they were all thinking, She's totally just a kid.
After studying me for a while, Mister Rich suddenly burst out laughing.
Puhahaha... this is seriously amazing.
He propped his chin on his hand, clearly amused.
Reels-nim is a total hardcore survival-game veteran. You've only gone live a few times, all no-mic, no-cam, but still.
...Huh?
I blinked in surprise.
He watched that?
That sleeping-pill stream?
The one with zero viewers?
My face instantly grew hot.
I couldn't believe Mister Rich had seen that black-history moment of mine.
Embarrassed, I opened my palm and fanned my burning face.
Honestly, I only did it because having my total stream time at zero hours would've looked kind of pathetic.
All I did was boot up a few survival games I liked.
Mister Rich still looked ridiculously entertained.
No, seriously, it was hilarious. Most streamers, when they play survival games, usually push through the story, kill monsters, and try to reach the ending, right? But Reels-nim settled down alone on the island. And then never even thought about leaving.
T-that was! Because the scenery was nice....
I had something to say in my defense too.
The island was gorgeous.
The emerald sea was beautiful, and the lush green forest was beautiful too.
People just had different ways of enjoying games in the first place.
Still holding back laughter, Mister Rich rested his chin on his hand and stared at me.
That's why you're such a surprise.
He let out a quiet laugh.
Honestly, I thought you'd be some really hairy dude.
....
Looking down at the papers on the table, Mister Rich continued.
Your application was weird from the start.
He read it aloud slowly, one syllable at a time, like he was reading from a textbook.
Reason for wanting to participate in the content.
Then he stared at the form and giggled for a while before continuing.
Because it looked fun.
The interview room fell silent for a moment.
Even the cameramen and Mister Rich's friends glanced around. In the hush that followed, Mister Rich grabbed his stomach and laughed.
Puhaha... that was it. Six characters and done. I've never seen anyone submit a Mister Rich application like that in my life. Isn't it incredible?
Only then did the cameramen and his friends burst out laughing too.
Pfft. Guess the Mister Rich channel still has a long way to go.
Damn. Incredible. We need to work harder.
Overwhelmed by embarrassment, I avoided their eyes.
They were totally roasting me now.
I mean, I never thought they'd actually call in a tiny nobody like me for an interview.
That's why I filled out the application so carelessly. This was unfair.
While I stood there only fidgeting with the end of my hoodie sleeve in embarrassment, Mister Rich looked at me with a meaningful gaze.
But, Reels-nim.
...Yes?
Do you really want to go to a deserted island?
Yes.
Is it the prize money you want?
He tapped the table with his finger.
Or is it fame?
His eyes had changed slightly.
He was still smiling like before,
but it strangely felt like he was peering straight into what was inside me.
An unidentifiable pressure radiated off him.
Did top-tier streamers automatically unlock Conqueror's Haki or something?
After thinking for a moment, I opened my mouth.
Both would be nice, but...
Oh?
More than that, I applied because I genuinely want to go.
The man beside him asked back with a half-amused look.
...Huh? You want to go to a deserted island?
Was this guy dumb?
Of course I wanted to go to a deserted island.
Leaving behind the noisy world, breathing in the fresh scent of grass, listening to the bugs chirp, and falling asleep under a sky strewn with stars.
How romantic is that?
Just imagining living alone on a deserted island got me a little hyped up.
You know, there's just something romantic about deserted islands. Catching fish with a spear, painstakingly building your own shelter, struggling to start a fire.
....
The interviewers' expressions turned odd after hearing me, but I kept talking excitedly without caring.
Wouldn't that be insanely fun? Going back to prehistoric times and living like my big bro!
The interview room fell silent.
Then Mister Rich slowly smiled.
And who is this 'big bro'?
My big bro. Bear Grylls....
Aha. Him.
After that, the interview ended a lot faster than I expected.
They asked what one item I would bring if I could take something to the deserted island.
Naturally, I said I'd go empty-handed.
Using a cheat item like that would be lame.
Thank you for your time. Please be careful on your way home.
...Yes.
I gave them a bow and left the interview room.
Click.
The moment the door shut behind me, all the tension drained out of me.
Haah.
I honestly had no idea.
Did I do well?
Or not?
Honestly, I got excited halfway through and just rambled on by myself.
...Ah.
Suddenly, I wanted to kick my blankets in embarrassment.
What the hell had I just done in front of Korea's number-one YouTuber?
And halfway through, the interviewers' expressions had gotten kind of weird too.
...Was I screwed?
Pulling my hoodie hood low over my head, I stepped out of the building.
The streets of Gangnam were still packed with people.
Expensive cars.
Gleaming buildings.
Well-dressed people.
If I fail, I'll just have to go back to working part-time.
A sigh escaped me at the thought of living expenses.
If it were just me, maybe that'd be one thing, but Baby's food costs were no joke.
I swear his food bills were higher than mine.
But.
Could I even do manual labor in this body?
I looked down at my arms.
Thin.
Thin enough that I felt like lifting a single brick would wreck my wrist.
Maybe I could work at a convenience store.
But that was a problem too.
If I worked at a convenience store with this face, all kinds of troublemakers would probably flock to me.
Someone trying to barter a pigeon for a bottle of soju.
Someone who obviously looked underage demanding cigarettes.
A customer leaving their trash behind, then getting pissy when I told them to clean it up.
With how easy a target I looked now, any kind of job felt overwhelming.
Then, at that moment,
Ding.
The smartphone in my pocket went off.
...?
Without much thought, I checked the screen.
And froze on the spot.
['14-Day Deserted Island Survival Project' You have been selected as a final participant. Congratulations.]
I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked at the screen again.
The acceptance message was still there.
...Huh? Really?