Chapter 20

It was already the seventh day of broadcasting.

One day.

Hayoon’s channel had already surpassed 100 followers, and the average number of viewers steadily maintained a range between 30 and 40.

In short, it became a niche channel of sorts.

With the impending start of the coronavirus pandemic, which would increase the overall internet broadcasting audience, she was maintaining growth indicators that would certainly lead to expansion…

“Do you guys know? If you short now, you’re guaranteed to profit by March.”

Hayoon, who had grown somewhat accustomed to broadcasting, would casually throw out insider information on stock prices that only she, as someone from the future, could know, teasing the reactions of her audience for fun.

– Isn’t shorting only at a threefold rate? It’s mid-January now, and you’re telling us to wait until March with a threefold position?

– Why don’t you draw some hentai or sell pills instead?

– You’re crazy, aren’t you?

The responses weren’t particularly positive.

After all, this was a channel for people who came just to see the lewd illustrations Hayoon drew.

Naturally, stock talk that neither resonated nor intrigued anyone was bound to fall flat.

“Never mind…”

– But didn’t you say you’re a pre-first-year high school student? You must never even have bought stocks, right?

– Oh, that’s true?

– This whole time, you were just trying to sell pills, weren’t you?

“Oh, all this is just said for making money. Whether it’s stocks or anything else, in the end, people come to my channel to request drawings because they want to make money.”

– Head explosion…

– Stop talking about things like shorting or whatever when you don’t even know anything. You’re talking about stocks like you know something, and you haven’t even graduated middle school.

– Seriously, what are you thinking about stocks?

“Alright, I’ll stop bringing it up.”

Eventually, Hayoon gave in to the wave of complaints from her audience and returned to finish drawing the mermaid illustration she had been working on.

The red hair reminiscent of a mermaid princess, the teal-scaled fins, the underwater world tinged with blue light, and the vibrantly colorful corals—they all exuded an aura of brilliance. Even though Hayoon had only filled in the base colors, the level of refinement was so high that it could easily be mistaken for the color roughs of a famous anime, leaving viewers astounded.

– I’ve watched for a few days now, but I still can’t get used to how amazing her work is.

– Seriously, how does she produce such quality with a few swift strokes, some lines erased, and a quick color fill?

– Her color combinations are on point. Just the base colors are already stunning. It’s really something…

Hayoon’s viewers had been captivated by her art for quite some time.

At first, some came to offer critique or to flirt with the pre-first-year high school female streamer, while others stumbled upon her channel by accident. But the fact that they were still tuning in was solely because they’d become enamored with Hayoon’s artistry.

There was just something about Hayoon’s art that held a certain charm.

[1,000 Won Donation]

– Honestly speaking, since I started checking Pixiv daily, I’ve completely stopped watching hentai.

There were even these kind of viewers now.

“Behave properly. Don’t let the mood spoil.”

– How does this pre-first-year high school girl, let alone a female, even know these kinds of words?

– Ugh, she’s cursing… seriously…

– Who taught you that?

In just a few days, it seemed the intimacy between Hayoon and her audience had grown noticeably. Some were reacting sensitively to even her slightest words.

‘Oops, I made a slip of the tongue. Gotta be more careful.’

Hayoon was a professional.

Thus, she needed to behave like a flower on the edge of a cliff, invincible and unreachable, towards her customers—her audience.

At the same time, she had to provide the essence of that flower, the fragrant scent.

She had to continuously provide her illustrations to the viewers, building a symbiotic relationship with them.

So…

“Why do you assume someone taught me?”

– ??

– What is this now…?

“To do broadcasting, I’ve researched a bit on all sorts of jokes and tricks.”

– Oh…

– What was that tone about…

– Even if kids these days are growing up fast, surely not that fast…

“What do you even mean by ‘growing up fast’?”

[10,000 Won Donation]

– Just focus on drawing your pictures, please.

“Oh, right. Let’s do that.”

Hayoon, feigning innocence and purity, quickly quelled the situation.

It would have been different if her channel had grown in size and had more viewers, but with the number of chat participants being so small, diving into strange topics was a bad move that almost backfired.

‘From now on, I need to speak more carefully.’

Speaking like one of the ‘goons’ might ruin the relationship she had built with the audience.

For a perfect taming of the audience.

For the establishment of a symbiotic relationship.

Every day, Hayoon was improving her broadcasting skills.

#

“So far, hanging in there pretty well.”

It was only a few days since the first confirmed patient had appeared, so the number of confirmed cases was only around five, and the atmosphere wasn’t as gloomy as expected.

However, Hayoon knew the future.

A pandemic was inevitable, and she needed to follow its flow to generate 20 million won in revenue.

“Ultimately, my strength is in producing high-quality illustrations.”

Patreon and Fanbox, excellent cash cows that could generate approximately 2 million won monthly in revenue, were her allies.

Treating sponsors well could sustain the revenue, but this route lacked scalability.

Because during the time when people proudly declared, “Why would I pay to read webtoons?” there were only a handful of eccentric individuals willing to support illustrations.

The connection with her current internet broadcasting was enough for marketing on Patreon and Fanbox.

“Merchandise…”

The situation with merchandise was unfortunately much more bleak.

While events like Comiket could compel people to open their wallets generously, with Hayoon’s current level of recognition, hosting a merchandise exhibition alone was likely to only lead to losses.

“Animation?”

No, it wouldn’t work.

Hayoon lacked the skills for that.

Her strength lay in her exceptional still art, not in creating animation.

While making GIF-like animations for patrons could marginally increase profits, the amount of time required for production would make it unfeasible.

Hayoon had almost no relevant knowledge in this area.

“Full-time streaming…”

Rejected.

Hayoon hadn’t started broadcasting to shake her chest or dance for money, and she wasn’t in a rush to debut as a VTuber, given the risks of identity exposure.

The remaining means of income was…

“Visual novel.”

Of course, only dating sim games.

The only way to significantly increase Hayoon’s earnings was to sell sponsorships via fundraising sites tied to marketing campaigns.

But…

“I don’t want to do it half-heartedly.”

For her “Ha-young” brand’s sake, she wasn’t planning to make the game offhand.

If she decided to create a visual novel, it would feature full voice-acting, incorporate Live 2D technology, and be an epic masterpiece that left jaws dropping.

And with collaborations through connections made at Comiket, she could also sell high-quality merchandise alongside it…

“More than enough.”

Generating 20 million won in revenue wouldn’t be that hard.

But there were two problems.

“Live 2D artist and programmer…”

People who would handle tasks outside Hayoon’s realm as a character illustrator.

And Hayoon…

“Live 2D artist?”

While it wasn’t certain if this person was a Live 2D artist, Hayoon did know the contact details of someone who seemed to specialize in art-related fields.

@Arin_Choi_03

Chae Arin.

The individual she had encountered consecutively at AGC and Comiket. Their individual profile address.

“How about I take a shot…”

Living alone, only drawing illustrations and chatting aimlessly, Hayoon didn’t have any industry connections. Out of desperation, she decided to check this profile.

When she entered the individual profile address…

“Uh, uh…”

The joints of the illustrations seemed a bit rough, but…

By placing points, sometimes dozens or even hundreds, on the joints and moving the illustration based on those points…

“Isn’t this Live 2D technology?”

Rigging, wasn’t it?

Though that might have been a 3D art term, regardless…

Chae Arin.

This person was capable of doing what Hayoon couldn’t.

Thus…

“I should meet them.”

If this individual had wanted Hayoon to reach out, they would’ve shared their individual address.

She’d contact them, meet up, and directly ask them to collaborate on a visual novel.

But…

“What should I send…?”

She hesitated.

After pressing the follow button on Chae Arin’s account and entering the Direct Message window, Hayoon’s fingers froze stiff.

How does one contact a girl?

Never mind having a girlfriend; someone who barely even had female friends like Hayoon was now facing a rather difficult problem.

“How should I start this?”

Upon reflection, since her return to 2019, Hayoon hadn’t made any friends and only exchanged messages with her parents. Of course, she had no idea how girls conversed.

Ultimately, she would have to rely on instinct to come up with an appropriate message.

– Do you remember me…?

“No, that sounds too much like an ex-girlfriend vibe…”

Click, clatter…

She deleted the message after pressing the back button…

– Hello, we met at AGC and Comiket…

“Isn’t this too formal? What if they think it’s spam and don’t respond?”

Click, clatter…

She deleted the second message as well.

“Aaah…”

Hayoon let out a soft groan, her head already aching.

Talking with girls…

It was difficult.

But still…

“I have to send something…”

Eventually, Hayoon typed in what seemed like the least bad option she could come up with and pressed send, all while feeling completely uncertain.

---