Chapter 1
The life of a small-time streamer is a sad one.
“Could you all shut up for a second? I can’t concentrate.”
-No, you bitch lol
-You’re playing the game however the fuck you want
Unlike big-name streamers and other places, this is what the chatroom—often called the shady side—is like.
Is that still better than some? A truly tiny streamer doesn’t even get chat messages.
I remember those days.
These days, as many as 200 people are watching my stream, but there was a time when not even one message came through.
“Of course I have to do things my way. If I’m not going to do that, why play the game?”
-You can’t beat it !!
-The problem is, you suck ass, duh
-Your mechanics are good, but your brain leaves something to be desired
“Wayo doesn’t know anything, I swear. Don’t be so mean, everyone.”
-???
-Look at her switching positions like that lol
-Wasn’t she just saying something about dicks??
“Other people protect their streamers even when they’re bad. Why don’t we have any of those broth-knight white knights in our chat?”
-You killed them all yourself
-What a fucking asshole lol
-Broth knights, my ass
-All right, Wayo fans, come on in
“No, no, there’s no need to come in….”
-Who’s bullying our baby??
-Are you okay, Wayo? Want a hug?
-Wayo, are you okay? Hehe, oppa’s here, so don’t worry
“Seriously, I’m just going to ban you all.”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Ugh, disgusting as fuck
-Please ban them all
Saying that, she didn’t actually ban anyone.
Just a temporary timeout, that’s all….
Without those log gentlemen who immediately switch positions like that, the stream couldn’t keep going.
“Haa, this is so miserable.”
She sighed again.
How had the atmosphere of the stream ended up like this?
It wasn’t this bad at first.
With such a small following, I chased laughs and ended up like this.
-?? All of a sudden?
-What are you whining about, fuck? I have work tomorrow
“I have work too, so I’m miserable.”
Being a small-time streamer with a second job really is miserable.
I stream this hard, then have to go to work tomorrow morning.
-If you hate it, go full-time lol
-Don’t you make thirty million won a month??
-A big streamer whining about being well-off lol
“Do you really think I make thirty million won a month? What big streamer….”
I chuckled as I looked at chat.
Not even close. Not even remotely.
An average of 200 viewers barely gets me minimum wage, so what are you talking about?
“I want to go full-time too. Full-time….”
-We’re telling you to
-Do it, go go. Not my life
-Haven’t you saved any money?
-Bet your life on it
“...I’ll go full-time if this starts doing better than my day job.”
-What’s your day job?
-Apparently this person works for a major corporation
-Is it an overseas company? Tomorrow’s Monday and she’s still streaming until dawn lol
“I’m a freelancer. A freelancer.”
Wayo, a streamer in her first year.
She always dreams of going full-time.
**
‘I have to live a glamorous life!’
Her second life.
That was the very first thought she had when she opened her eyes as a baby.
Having lived consumed by work and died from overwork in her previous life,
she vowed to live a cool, glamorous life this time around.
“You’re a beautiful little princess~”
‘What?’
But that dream shattered the moment she heard the nurse.
A princess?
Then what about the little brother who had been with me in my previous life….
‘Oh.’
My little brother... is gone?
Right. He wasn’t there.
‘Aaaaaah!’
She screamed inwardly then and there.
Me, a princess?
Me, a testosterone-fueled macho man, a former super rookie on construction sites, a princess!
It was shocking and despairing, but that thought gradually changed.
“Oh, what a pretty little princess we have~”
Because every time she looked in the mirror, the sight that met her eyes was astonishing.
Even with the plump cheeks of a young child, her features stood out.
Objectively speaking, she was far too beautiful to begin with.
She was the most popular child even in kindergarten.
Old folks would give her gifts whenever she walked down the street.
“Honey, isn’t our baby so pretty?”
“I know. The people at work are always jealous.”
“Speaking of which… when we went to the department store last time….”
Pretty children are extremely popular in Korea.
Naturally, she was scouted at a department store.
“Look over here, Princess~ Ahyun’s doing so well~”
Becoming a child fashion model from such a young age was only natural.
Especially since this was her second life.
“How is she so well-behaved?”
“Ahaha, I know, right? She’s been well-behaved since she was little.”
Unlike the other child models, who were actual children, her well-mannered attitude and near-adult-level understanding of photoshoots received rave reviews.
“If you work with us this time….”
“Does Ahyun have any openings next year? We have a new children’s bag….”
Work poured in from all over, and she began walking a smooth road as a fashion model.
Over a decade later.
[Model of the Month]
[The one garnering attention from world-renowned designer Andel….]
Before she knew it, she had become a young model with a fair amount of recognition.
“Huh? I was wrong?”
-That’s what the fuck I said
-Don’t think with that head of yours
-Are you playing the game by yourself right now??
“Wayo doesn’t know anyth—oh? I was right, though?”
-lol my bad
-Oh, you’re right lol
-My mistake, my mistake
“Lol; I’m banning everyone who cursed at me.”
She worked as a small-time streamer on the side.
*
Why did she become a streamer? The first reason was that she was frustrated.
Becoming a top-tier model was great. But.
A naturally restrictive life came with it, leaving her short on dopamine.
She maintained her figure to stand on runways,
posted social-media content that had been vetted in advance, and traveled abroad for work.
She had lived this way since she was a student.
Though she was satisfied with her new life and its high-level career, desires had built up somewhere inside her.
‘Ah, I want to play games.’
So she started gaming, but it wasn’t fun alone.
“It’s fun, but… I have a schedule tomorrow, so I should go to bed early.”
“Oh, that? It was way too hard for me….”
She coaxed a few friends into trying, but the only friends she had were people she’d met through modeling.
Since they were inherently far removed from games, she ended up playing alone again.
What a predicament.
It was too late to find new gaming friends now,
and playing alone wasn’t much fun.
So she started streaming.
Since she couldn’t show her real face, she chose to be a VTuber who could stream using an avatar,
and spent day and night thinking up a distinctive character to set herself apart from others.
The result was VTuber Wayo.
A character that looked as though a question mark had been given human form.
Blonde hair with waves in it,
bangs shaped like an upside-down question mark, and accessories with question-mark-themed accents… anyway, and so on.
-This character looks so damn weird lol
-What was that? The goddess of question marks?
-You look just like Miaping, bitch lol
“Shut up, shut up.”
They’re calling her weird now, but she was still fairly satisfied.
“Ah, I want to go full-time.”
-Then do it, fuck
-Do it do it do it
-Just quit your job
Anyway, even if she screamed that she always wanted to go full-time,
“What did everyone do today?”
-I w a i t e d j u s t f o r y o u a l l d a y l o n g
-Are you fucking American? You said you’d be here at eight
-Streamer Wayo.
“Sorry….”
Even when she was cursed out for oversleeping after work and being late to stream,
“Damn—that was sick.”
-For real lol
-True
-You did well on this one lol
-Your mechanics were top-notch
Still, the stream itself was sailing along.
With a solid concrete core audience, loyal viewers who’d watched for ages (a year), and a steady influx from the few clipped videos,
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow?”
-Ah, it’s the weekend, don’t go
-You’ve gotta go until morning;;
-Your streaming hours are insane;;
“I’ve already streamed for eight hours?”
-ㅋㅋㅋ;
-You need to hit ten hours
-You’ve lost your beginner’s spirit~
Thus, although very slowly, the stream was tracing a growth curve.
She thought she could protect this little stream and continue broadcasting happily.
“Ahyun, you’re free on Christmas, right?”
“...Excuse me?”
Until her Christmas schedule was set.
*
Christmas.
All female streamers, VTubers, and so on.
For female broadcasters who cater to viewers’ fantasies and needs to some extent, this is a season when they absolutely must not take a break.
After all, their viewers would be waiting to see them even on Christmas.
Wouldn’t they feel bitter if she suddenly took a day off?
On top of that, it is the quintessential holiday for couples.
Staring at a dark streaming screen alone, viewers’ giant pile of kindling would catch fire at the thought, “This bitch really went off with a guy…!”
In that sense, she had naturally planned to run full streams throughout the coming Christmas holiday….
‘Christmas?’
‘Yeah, there’s that place people have been speaking well of lately, right? Andel. They’re holding an event there and invited you, Ahyun.’
She had been invited to an event she couldn’t refuse.
Andel was a brand that had recently been discussing making her an exclusive model, so she needed to stay in its good graces—and they had invited her personally.
Not going would be rude, and she couldn’t say she was skipping such an important event because she did an internet broadcast.
And so.
“Ah, seriously.”
She sighed for a moment, then checked the stream title.
[Christmas Break Briefing]
This is insane.
There was still some time before Christmas, but calling it a “break briefing”…
She could already picture what the chat would be like, but she couldn’t think of a better title.
“Phew… whew.”
Then it was time for a frontal assault.
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned on the stream.
“H-hello, everyone.”
Still, since she had called it a briefing, maybe everyone would listen with at least some degree of attention?
Their friendship, trust, comradeship, and so on, built up over the years.
She firmly believed, without a doubt, that they would take their seats with such positive feelings—
-?
-??
-Streamer Wayo.
-Do you want to quit streaming?
-Just try it, fuck
-Thank you for everything…
“Everyone, calm down and take your seats….”
-Calm down?? So the stream title is serious?
-All right, let’s fucking go lol
-I came here from the forum lol
-So a boyfriend is more important than us, huh??
-I knew it, you bitch
-Does this person have no attachment to streaming??
“....”
She sighed as she looked at the chat already in chaos.
‘This isn’t going to work….’
Can’t be helped. There was no choice but to use her trump card.
Wayo, a first-year streamer.
A peculiar glint appeared in the eyes of Ahyun, a 17-year fashion model (including her years as a child model).