Chapter 12
Sometimes, when I'm streaming, I get certain questions.
-Do you have any friends??
Since I stream every day after work, viewers often ask me that.
As viewers, they might want the VTuber they watch to have no friends and be stream-only.
Unfortunately, I've had seventeen years of social life since my reincarnation. There's no way I wouldn't have any acquaintances.
Especially back when I was just starting out as a child model.
Do you know what happens when someone with the soul of a genuine mid-to-late-twentysomething who used to bounce between construction jobs ends up among kids whose average age is elementary-school level?
“Where's Ahyun?”
“Ahyun! Come with me!”
I naturally became the center of the group.
Kids admire mature people, and they know how to follow them, too.
Of course, now that I'm absorbed in my hobby and everyone has gotten older, it isn't quite like it used to be.
Even so, there is such a thing as a close-knit network of models.
However, this time, it's a slightly different kind of friend.
“PD Jung Woonhyun said that?”
“Yeah. He really gave the kid hell.”
The Lee Taejin I just met isn't another model. He's my elementary-school classmate.
You could even call him my childhood friend.
“He has a good track record, but I didn't know he was like that. Sorry.”
The place I came to after making the call was a wine bar Taejin ran as a hobby.
It was a very private place, with not a single customer around.
“Here, have a drink.”
He had neatly slicked back his black hair and was wearing a designer suit. He held out a glass, and I accepted it with a shrug.
Taejin's drinks are always expensive, so letting him buy is an unequivocal win.
“You did the right thing by walking out of the shoot.”
“It's not that I don't want to shoot. Get things under control and schedule another day.”
“That PD?”
“You said he has a good track record?”
If he's competent, that's all that matters.
If he hadn't scolded the staff in front of me, I wouldn't have said much.
“Hmm.”
Taejin thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“No, I'll use someone else now.”
“He's the executive's younger brother, right?”
“I'm the chairman's grandson.”
With that, Taejin took a sip from his glass.
Right. Taejin was the youngest grandson of a chaebol family.
Not just any chaebol family, either. He was the grandson of the Lee Kang Group, which owned the company that had commissioned the ad I'd just walked out of.
He was also the president of that affiliate.
That was why I'd been at the shoot to film an ad for its product.
The ink on my contract with Andel hadn't even dried yet, so why would I have been there?
Because this friend had asked me to shoot an ad.
Apparently, releasing the ad around the time my contract with Andel was officially announced would have a pretty good effect.
Since this was a request from a friend who normally never asked for favors, I'd gladly gone.
But then the executive's younger brother put on the title of executive PD and caused a scene on set.
So, dumbfounded, I walked out.
“Anyway, enough about the shoot. Can you really be doing this on a weekday afternoon?”
“I came out under the pretext of drinking.”
Taejin answered my question calmly and continued sipping his drink.
Oh, right. He was crazy about alcohol.
As I stared at him in disbelief, Taejin set down his glass and turned his gaze toward me.
“But you're coming this time, right?”
“Where?”
When I tilted my head, Taejin furrowed his brow.
A well-groomed third-generation chaebol frowning would probably have been fairly intimidating, but I'd known him since he was a runny-nosed little kid, so I felt nothing.
“Ahyun Friends Club.”
“Oh.”
Now that he mentioned it, I knew what he meant.
Come to think of it, the group chat had been noisy lately.
“You made it, so show up. You're the group leader.”
“That was forever ago.”
It was a group we made in elementary school. What did being the leader even mean anymore?
It was amazing that it had survived this long in the first place.
“And you all do everything yourselves anyway. Why does the group need a leader?”
“The group leader neglects their duties, so we handle things ourselves.”
For reference, the group's official name was Ahyun and Friends.
They shortened it among themselves and called it something that sounded much more impressive.
It all started because I hated seeing those kids get conceited, going around saying, ‘I'm a model,’ so I brought this third-generation chaebol over and formed the group.
“Anyway, I'm busy. I'll come if I have time later.”
“You didn't come even before you signed with Andel.”
“Wasn't I busy back then, too?”
“What were you doing?”
“Um.”
That left me speechless.
For reference, only my family and Roselia knew that I streamed. I hadn't told anyone else.
…But then again, I had some social dignity, didn't I?
No matter how you looked at it, my stream was a little… embarrassing to put out there publicly.
“The kids were already talking about it. They were wondering what the group leader was doing these days and why the group leader never showed up.”
“Hey~ You're adults. Handle things yourselves. You're all creepy now.”
They had at least been cute when they were in elementary and middle school.
Once they started working, they matured early and quickly became creepy.
When they were elementary-school kids, I could lead them around and take them out to play.
Do you know how pointless it is to be the group leader among a crowd of adult men and women?
“I'll pass those words along exactly.”
“Sure, do whatever you want.”
And once they grew up, they started watching each other so closely.
Who had shot which commercial, and who had become a model for which brand.
Who had confessed to whom behind the scenes, and who had been rejected for a date.
I'd even looked after one of them since he was a runny-nosed kid, only for him to make a move on me because he was a man, too.
After that, I kept all the boys at a distance.
Well, Taejin here was the exception. He was practically the only male friend I could be comfortable around without maintaining any distance.
The reason wasn't anything particularly complicated.
“More importantly, what do you think of this person? I've had my eye on him lately.”
“Get rid of him. He's unpleasant to look at.”
Our golden-spoon alpha male, Taejin,
“Why do you hate men? Look at him. Isn't he nice to look at?”
…had a preference for men instead of women.
“I said get rid of him.”
Gay bastard.
**
After a simple drinking session at the wine bar,
I returned home in the late afternoon and turned on my stream.
-???
-Isn't today a stream break??
“Surprise.”
-Kyaㅋㅋㅋ
-What the hell
-I was watching a young-and-fresh VTuber;
“I'm right here.”
I'd had a little wine, but there wasn't much difference from usual.
I was fairly confident in my tolerance.
More importantly, I'd only lightly wet my lips.
-??? Who??
-Director, you can't act like this here
-Streamer Wayo, let's keep it appropriate
-So what are we doing today??
“What do you expect from a surprise stream?”
Saying that, I booted up Rell.
Of course, after a drink, it was time for the Rift.
-Ah
-Wow, they're really a Rell addictㅋㅋㅋ
-Do you even know how many games you've played this season??
“Did you know? I've played 200 ranked games now.”
As I said that, I showed my match history on a stats site.
The record cleanly showed 102 wins and 114 losses.
Even though it might seem like I've played a lot, the number of games was surprisingly low.
-??
-Seriously??
-That's all you've played??
“Because I only play with the stream on.”
Put another way, I'd spent 100-plus hours of this season's streaming time playing ranked, but let's overlook that little detail.
“Okay, let's gain exactly 100 points and end the stream.”
-Is this a 24-hour stream??
-I'll take vacation leave through the day after tomorrow
-Exactly 100 points, my assㅋㅋㅋ
-You know you gain 18 points when you win and lose 24 when you lose, right?
“...MMR is something you fix with a win streak.”
If you worried about little things like that, you could never climb.
I just needed a clean five-game win streak. What was the big deal?
Considering that five games would take over two hours, I wondered if I'd set my goal a little too high as I queued up.
“Huh?”
And, amazingly, I really did start winning game after game.
“Wow, have I achieved enlightenment?”
What was this? Had I awakened to the Way?
Ten years of LoL, and finally the heavens had answered.
-Your team luck is fucking insane
-How does bot lane win every game?
-Wow, so this is how they reached Emerald
However, our viewers seemed unable to accept my growth.
They began stirring up the chat and pouring out complaints.
It was probably because my consecutive wins had made them lose a ton of points.
For reference, I opened a point-betting pool every game.
In every game, a win for me had been the underdog outcome, and now four straight underdog wins had hit.
-Ahh, these points taste sweet~~
-Mom, I'm richㅋㅋㅋ
-Favorite bettors, have you come to your senses??
-If you don't believe, you deserve to lose all your points~ㅋㅋ
“Ah, it looks like I can really hit my goal?”
One more win would make it five consecutive victories.
For reference, I'd already been promoted to Emerald 3 and was within sight of Diamond.
-This team luck is fucking bullshit…
-Please lose
-How does this even make sense??
“Any complaints for Diamond-in-the-making?”
-???
-Diamond, my assㅋㅋㅋ
-You're just an Emerald hardstuck
-You know Emerald is the hardest tier to climb, right??
Wow, look at how spiteful they were.
Were they all salty?
Before going for the final win of the five-game streak, I created a custom room.
“If you're salty, you know what to do, right?”
Since I hadn't been keeping them in line, they all seemed to be pouting.
You guys think Emerald is a joke because you're watching it on a stream, huh?
“Before I end the stream after the last game, I'm going to teach you all some discipline….”
Most Rell players are Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Which meant…
“Come at me in single combat.”
Most of the viewers here were low-tier players who thought they could get ten kills in lane if they really put their minds to it.
-ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
-Wayo the Dragonㅋㅋㅋ
-I'm really going in, you son of a bitch
“Yeah~ Come on in.”
A little confident, huh? Maybe Diamond?
Still, it didn't matter.
This soon-to-be Diamond was going to give them a proper clubbing….
[WayoFan #kr1(Grand Master)]
“....”
[Would you like to kick WayoFan #kr1?]
Click.
-??
-??
-????
“Next!”
Use your common sense and only come in if you're Master or below, you bastards.