Chapter 27

What I’ve felt so far from watching internet broadcasts is one thing.

In the end, the core of internet broadcasting is the broadcaster reacting and the viewers enjoying it.

That’s why no-cam broadcasts are at a huge disadvantage. The range of reactions is limited to just the voice.

In other words, if you want to make it big as a broadcaster, you should turn on the cam.

—

Han Yoorim: So, what do you think about turning on the cam, Malang Mapang-nim?

—

“I do this as a hobby broadcast. Oh, the <Excel Busters> we played together last time is up on MTube.”

—

Han Yoorim: I’ve already watched that broadcast five times in the replay.

—

Still, I’m curious about how it was edited. I should check it out.

Mos lit a cigarette and asked me.

“Actually, Yoorim-nim doesn’t use a cam either. Or should I turn on the cam?”

The cam.

I’ve thought a lot about that part and already made a decision.

But.

—

Han Yoorim: I can’t tell Diamond.

—

Mos shut his mouth at my chat. The viewers also got excited.

—

Who dares to talk to Master as Diamond1?

Who’s in Diamond, huh?

—

“The comprehensive income tax is threatening me.”

May is the busiest month for tax accountants.

The comprehensive income tax filing deadline is approaching. It’s a hectic time.

Mos only turned on the broadcast briefly; he won’t be able to play games for a while.

But no matter how tough the situation is, Diamond is Diamond. I can’t reveal the truth.

I turned off my computer during the scene where Mos was destroying the enemy.

Kids these days watch broadcasts with VR, but I still prefer the computer.

I don’t know why they don’t use this good thing.

Tsk tsk, I clicked my tongue and put on the VR device.

It was about time to start the broadcast.

—

Han Yoorim is a rising star in the current internet broadcasting scene.

You might think, ‘Is 1,000 average viewers really a rising star?’ but that’s what a rising star is.

If they wiggle, they’re called a rising star.

Rising stars are broadly divided into three types.

First, those who wiggle and disappear immediately. The most common type. Thanks to this, dozens of rising stars pour out every year. Of course, no one knows why they’re called ‘rising’ or ‘stars.’

Second, those who inflate a bubble and then disappear. They gain attention with a flashy debut but can’t maintain it. This type is somewhat decent. They gain fame, even if briefly.

But those are ultimately fake.

The real ones are different.

The real ones use the attention as momentum to rise.

They become stars.

Han Yoorim was classified as the first type.

Her broadcast period was so short that it was unclear whether it was a wiggle, a bubble forming, or the real deal.

Since it’s uncertain, she’s evaluated as ‘wiggling and disappearing,’ but a man who’s been watching Han Yoorim since the Rozon incident thought differently.

No matter how you look at it, Han Yoorim was the ‘real deal.’

Her gaming skills, clear and refreshing voice, occasional quirky behavior (which is a compliment in the broadcasting world), all were qualities of a star.

Her connections were also good. She was close to Bunny Run, a solid mid-tier broadcaster, and had known Pape, a major company figure, and Rumen, one of the top pro gamers, for a long time.

Even among all-time broadcasters, it’s hard to find someone with such conditions.

Her only weakness was her limited broadcast time, whether due to game development or her love for fun (Han Yoorim claims it’s the latter, but the man thinks it’s the former).

Still, it’s not just a hobby level. The problem is her long breaks, but when she does broadcast, she goes all out without taking breaks.

Considering these conditions, I guarantee it. In half a year, no one in the broadcasting world won’t know Han Yoorim.

‘But she doesn’t turn on the cam.’

The man muttered to himself.

As you might have guessed from the Rozon incident influx, the man was from the VR Broadcasting Gallery.

He had mainly watched male cam broadcasters and occasionally female broadcasters like Bunny Run. This was the first time he was exclusively watching a female broadcaster.

Perhaps that’s why he sometimes found Han Yoorim’s broadcasts a bit dull.

He liked her straightforward yet insane reactions, but listening only to her voice felt lacking.

You need to see her expressions too. She probably talks nonsense with a straight face, right?

The man unconsciously imagined Han Yoorim’s face. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a beautiful girl…

“This is Thierry.”

Han Yoorim only played Thierry, so the information got contaminated.

The man shook his head to erase the image.

Even including pros, there aren’t any proper Thierry users. Now, Thierry = Han Yoorim has become a formula.

MTube MAD movies also contributed a lot to this.

For current MTube MAD movie creators, Han Yoorim was a hot topic.

Thierry is a very popular character compared to her pick rate. Her reputation is trash, but her appearance is good, and her romance is clear, making her a guaranteed view count cheat key.

There’s a reason why high-tier players occasionally upload videos of them stomping Thierry in ranked games.

Finally, someone who plays Thierry well has appeared.

It was like rain after a drought for MAD movie creators.

Creators with subscribers ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands edited Han Yoorim’s plays and uploaded them to their MTube channels.

As a result, quite a few people now know Han Yoorim as a Thierry master.

It felt like a volcano about to erupt.

If someone just pokes a hole in it…

‘No. Has the hole already been poked?’

Han Yoorim did a duo broadcast with Pape, a major company broadcaster.

At that time, the viewers exceeded 40,000, so it might not even be a matter of poking a hole.

Pape’s MTube subscribers exceeded 1 million. If that broadcast was edited and uploaded to Pape’s MTube, Han Yoorim’s recognition could quantum leap, and it wouldn’t be surprising.

Indeed.

I realized how good Han Yoorim’s situation was.

Is that so? The man had lost his appetite.

He felt good confirming that his judgment was correct, but strangely, he also felt a bit disappointed.

Why is that?

The man furrowed his brow. He couldn’t understand why, but everyone else seemed to know except him.

He was already in the process of becoming a “육수화” (a term referring to becoming a fan/subscriber).

Doubt. Denial. Compromise. Escape. Return. Among the five stages of “육수화,” the man was still only at stage one.

There were quite a few viewers like this in Han Yoorim’s room right now.

Among female broadcasters, she was doing exceptionally well. Han Yoorim’s position was quite unique, which is why it ended at this level. Otherwise, there would have been an overflow of people reaching stage five within just two weeks.

Watching female broadcasts is that dangerous. You have to be careful.

Anyway.

The man habitually opened Han Yoorim’s broadcast community.

During the last Q&A time, Han Yoorim had promised to post announcements on the community. Since then, the man had been checking her community every time.

Not a single post had been made, though.

The community was, as expected, spotless.

The man clicked his tongue and was about to access the VR Broadcasting Gallery when he shifted his gaze back to the broadcast community.

In that short moment, a post had appeared.

The content of the freshly posted announcement, uploaded just 0 seconds ago, was brief.

<Important Announcement>

“I’m turning on the cam today.”

The man’s mouth hung open in shock.

Is she really going to become a cam broadcaster here?

Seriously?

Han Yoorim is a rising star. And rising stars are always compared to existing stars.

At first glance, it might seem like the rising star is at a disadvantage when compared to an established star. After all, there’s bound to be a difference in ability between someone who has maintained a career for a long time and someone who has just entered the market.

But reality is different.

Surprisingly, it’s the rising star who often gains the upper hand in these comparisons.

The evaluation criteria aren’t based on ability, but on other factors.

No one is perfect. Everyone has flaws and makes mistakes.

Stars are exposed to the public for a long time. Naturally, their flaws and mistakes are revealed to the public more often.

So, when comparing a rising star to an existing star, it usually goes like this:

“This rising star doesn’t have the flaws of the existing star.”

“This rising star hasn’t made the mistakes the existing star has.”

All of this is an advantage that comes from having less information available because they’ve just debuted.

This advantage tends to disappear as the debut period lengthens.

Rising stars are human too. They’ll make mistakes. They’ll have flaws.

That’s why, the moment a rising star fails to show a perfect image, those who might be fans or just bandwagoners immediately turn into enemies.

Han Yoorim is no exception.

Right now, Han Yoorim is receiving excessive attention.

There’s a whole truckload of people imagining the best version of Han Yoorim and believing that’s the real her.

Of course, that imagination includes her face.

About half of Han Yoorim’s viewers are watching her broadcasts while imagining her with a face so stunning that they’d say, “If she looked like that, she’d have gone into idol work.”

The other half is also watching while imagining her with a pretty face.

That’s just how human imagination works.

Even if it’s not intentional, people tend to imagine the best possible version of something.

That’s why it’s hard for a “no-cam” broadcaster to turn on the cam and meet people’s expectations.

If she had turned on the cam from the beginning, it might have been different, but now it’s just a bad move…

[Han Yoorim’s broadcast has started.]

A notification came.

The man, half excited and half worried, turned on Han Yoorim’s broadcast.

The broadcast title was [Nice to Meet You]. It was an appropriate title for just before turning on the cam.

Han Yoorim’s self-composed OST started playing, and soon her voice was heard.

“Hello?”

The chat went wild.

From people asking if she was really going to turn on the cam, to others telling her not to lie. It was pure chaos.

<ㅇㅇ님이 1000원 후원>

-You’re not going to do a half-cam, are you?

“No. I’m going to show my full body.”

It wasn’t even the last resort of a half-cam.

This meant something big was coming.

A clicking sound was heard. Han Yoorim was adjusting the cam program.

The man swallowed hard and focused on the screen.

And then.

A blonde beauty appeared on the screen…

An avatar.

No matter how realistic it looked, the subtle sense of discomfort made it clear that it was unmistakably a polygon model made of data.

The man couldn’t hold back the words that rose to his throat.

“Why the hell is a VTuber turning on a cam?”

The chat seemed to share his sentiment and went on a rampage.

―――

Why the hell would a VTuber call it a cam? (Deleted by the clean bot)

Who the hell calls a VTuber a cam?

I said VTuber, I said VTuber, I said VTuber, I said VTuber, I said VTuber, I said VTuber.

―――

It was a complete mess, but the man agreed with the chat.

Why did she lie?

She could have just said she was a VTuber from the beginning.

“That’s it.”

That’s it?

“This is me. It’s practically a cam.”

What nonsense.

The man angrily typed in the chat.

―――

You made the VTuber design look like Thierry because she’s your one pick, huh? You’re gonna get sued, you crazy bitch.

―――