Chapter 48

Hayoon’s face kept burning, and she forced herself to suppress the urge to kick off the blanket repeatedly while trying to fall asleep.

It seemed that if she could just sleep, this overwhelming sense of embarrassment would perhaps fade.

She carelessly shoved the cosplay props into the wardrobe, then sat blankly in the darkened room, blinking disconsolately.

“What should I do with this…?”

She muttered quietly to herself.

She was at a loss about what to do next.

Not only had the broadcast gone terribly wrong, but Yusoohee had seen her in that state.

Ordinarily, all Hayoon had to do was sit at her desk and cosplay without much incident, since there was nothing else to do. Even though Hayoon’s chatter often leaked out, it was highly likely that Yusoohee, who wasn’t familiar with online broadcasts, might still have caught on.

So…

—

“Let’s talk in detail tomorrow.”

This message was sent for a simple reason.

There was a hearing to be had.

“What on earth are you doing?”

They would probably start questioning her soon, criticizing an underage person for performing cosplay and showing off on a broadcast.

It was clear that trying to explain this right now would only lead to stammering apologies, so she decided to prepare a more concrete response for tomorrow.

“What should I… say?”

Hayoon pondered deeply, her thoughts growing heavier, as it was clear this was anything but easy.

If only she had been caught just for broadcasting or doing cosplay alone in her room, the situation wouldn’t have been this severe. But being caught doing cosplay during a broadcast indicated a more serious issue—proof that the camera had been on during the session.

“Haaa…”

With her eyes tightly shut, Hayoon let out a deep sigh from the bottom of her core.

This was nothing compared to a pig being dragged to slaughter. Knowing she would be scolded harshly by Yusoohee the moment she woke up tomorrow, sleep was evading her. In fact, probably due to the adrenaline left over from earlier events, her mind was strangely alert.

“Haaa…”

With a heavy sigh, Hayoon got up, turned on the light in the room, and sat in front of the computer. In such moments, one option was simply not to sleep.

“First, the reason I started broadcasting with cosplay…”

Taking into account that she had been caught broadcasting, Hayoon began drafting something akin to a clarification statement. While she didn’t intend to read from a prepared script during the conversation, she planned to jot down some notes to use as a brainstorming guide before sleeping.

—

The next day.

“Shit…”

Hayoon woke up murmuring curses.

She must have finally fallen asleep around 3 a.m., judging by the exhaustion that lingered. All night, she had been worrying about what to say. By the time she felt somewhat drowsy and laid down in bed, her head was burning hot. She got up again, turned on the lights and went back to working on her computer, only to find her head hot again, and sleep wouldn’t come. All told, she must have repeated this cycle four or five times before collapsing around 3 a.m.

“Here we go…”

Upon waking, her head still felt hot. She hadn’t quite figured out how to handle yesterday’s situation, but there was nothing to do but face it.

“Let’s have a serious talk…”

With a sigh, Hayoon headed to the kitchen to grab a drink. She pulled a bottle of barley tea from the fridge, poured it out, and immediately gulped it down—but stopped.

Her body went rigid.

She had noticed a silhouette on the living room couch during the brief moment she lifted her head to sip.

Who else could it be?

Of course, it was Yusoohee.

Quickly replacing the bottle and leaving the cup on the sink, Hayoon turned around.

“Pang pang.”

Yusoohee tapped the leather couch beside her, indicating for Hayoon to sit.

Wordlessly, Hayoon approached Yusoohee and sat down facing away from her.

“Daughter.”

Yusoohee then grabbed Hayoon’s shoulder and pulled her closer. All throughout this, Hayoon was unable to utter a single word. It felt like a scene of a snake capturing a mouse—there was no resistance, no escape. As Hayoon’s head rested lightly under Yusoohee’s, Yusoohee finally began.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Not really. I only managed to fall asleep around 3 a.m. and just woke up.”

“It’s 7 a.m. now, so you slept for four hours then?”

“Yeah…”

“I slept for two hours. I couldn’t fall asleep.”

“Ah.”

The usual conversation began, but Hayoon still felt her breath caught in her throat, knowing why Yusoohee hadn’t slept well.

“You… you know, you chatter in your room every day?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Is it about doing broadcasts or something? The kind that’s trendy these days?”

“Oh, huh…”

“So, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The dialogue between them felt like that of an investigator and a suspect. With an already icy demeanor, Yusoohee’s voice grew quieter after having slept only two hours, making Hayoon feel even more guilty given her numerous missteps.

“How do you usually do your broadcasts?”

“I draw pictures.”

“Pictures?”

“Yes, since I also need to upload them to the sponsorship site I run. So, I use that time to interact with people…”

“I see. And you also receive sponsorships?”

“Yes, as a sort of side job.”

“Not bad. The motive is solid. Freelancers should find various ways to earn money.”

Thankfully, the atmosphere wasn’t that oppressive. Yusoohee thoughtfully considered Hayoon’s words and gave her a calm judgment.

“However…”

The moment those words left her lips, Hayoon’s eyes started trembling violently.

“Weren’t you behaving differently yesterday?”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t just draw, did you? During the broadcast, you were cosplaying. And did you broadcast your appearance? Do you remember? You were also wearing a mask.”

“Huh… What? A-Ah…!”

Hayoon realized now.

The reason Yusoohee had noticed her broadcast.

The mask.

Even if cosplay while drawing could be justified somewhat, the presence of a mask was undeniably suspicious.

“You’re at fault.”

Yusoohee sighed with great despair, almost sounding like the world was caving in.

“Do you have any judgment, at all?”

“Yes, but—”

“Isn’t making cosplay photobooks enough? Compared to the hardships faced by models at Maxim or in gravure shoots, the small-scale game cosplay photobook doesn’t seem that bad. As long as we don’t release digital scans, we should be fine.”

Yusoohee paused for a moment, glancing up at the sky as if her heart was aching, before continuing.

“However, the internet is different, Hayoon. Once your real face or appearance goes online, do you expect them to disappear suddenly one day?”

“Uh…?”

“Yes, it might be forgotten, but it might resurface at any moment. That’s how things work. What will you do if, say, when you get married and your in-laws find pictures of you doing cosplay broadcasts?”

“…”

Would she even get married? Be that as it may…

There was no refuting her logic. Clearly, this had been a reckless move. No matter how much Hayoon wanted to train her audience, it was too much to just start with a live-feed cosplay without any prior steps.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think thoroughly.”

“Then stop broadcasting.”

“Huh?”

But to quit broadcasting entirely… wasn’t that a bit…

Unreasonable?

Hayoon had built a following of over 3,000 people painstakingly. These numbers could play a significant role in upcoming game marketing plans, where her broadcast account was essential.

“But that’s impossible. I’ve used broadcasts for game marketing. If I stop now, I might face penalties from the crowdfunding site…”

“How much sponsorship did you receive?”

“Three-six-hundred… thousand won.”

“Hmph, you really collected a lot. Our daughter’s capable, isn’t she?”

“Heh…”

“Anyway, take a break for a while.”

As Hayoon laughed awkwardly, Yusoohee suggested a possible compromise after some contemplation.

“A break?”

“Yes, just take some time off. These days, many broadcasts follow a seasonal format, right? Take a break where you won’t run into any troubles. It’s season one of Min Hae-yun’s broadcasts ending and season two to premiere shortly.”

“Wait, just a second!”

This wasn’t a bad idea.

‘Let me take a break for a month or two, clear out the nuisance viewers, and re-enter after getting rid of the trolls. Since they’re volatile, even a short break would keep them away.’

She would aim to reduce the 3,000 followers by a thousand, leaving her with a solid 2,000 followers, thus eliminating troublemakers and continuing with her usual broadcasting.

“Alright, I’ll take an extended break.”

“Did you calculate all the financial aspects? You aren’t expecting any losses, are you?”

“Heh…”

“Yes, you’re being practical as always. In exchange, let’s make one promise when you start broadcasting again.”

“What kind of promise?”

“Nothing major.”

With a suddenly cheerful tone post agreeing to the extended break, Yusoohee’s voice lightened up. Just as Hayoon started to relax and unwind,

“One more exposure on broadcast and I’ll write you off the register?”

“Thud…”

The cold, chilling tone of Yusoohee sent Hayoon into an uncontrollable fit of gulping, nodding profusely in agreement.

“Mom…”

“You’re… terrifying.”

—

“So, did we resolve this nicely?”

Declaring a long-term break to apologize for misusing her precious talent brought a smile back to Yusoohee, who then went to sleep, seemingly having worried the entire night about Hayoon.

Hayoon’s declaration that she would take a break likely eased some of Yusoohee’s concerns, and she finally seemed ready to rest.

“Hmm, maybe it was the right moment to take a break…”

Hayoon, too, nodded in agreement. Honestly, she had been at a loss about how to fix the situation.

Taking a break out of frustration with the nuisance viewers might be the way to go. However, doing so might lead to some loyal viewers leaving as well.

“During the break, I’ll also create some original characters to post… Let’s see how things are in two or three months.”

She posted a long-term break notice on the fan club website stating that she would use the time to re-adjust while creating new characters. She asked for their patience.

Even this measure would likely lead to the fans hunting trolls and airing their grievances among themselves.

“Phew, at least this is good.”

With this, the immediate fire was put out. Declaring a break this way gave her a reasonable excuse.

For now, she would take a good rest while contemplating the kind of broadcasting she’d do upon her return. Before that, though,

“I need to prepare for school…”

May was approaching, signaling the start of her second year as a freshman in high school.

---