Chapter 19

“Hmm….”

Pause?

24-hour pause?

“What is going on here…?”

Hayoon wasn’t the type to regularly watch internet streams, nor did she have much experience broadcasting; today was only her second attempt.

And yet, her second broadcast had already been flagged for a pause.

Strangely, it seemed as though the broadcast itself was still running…

– Probably a 24-hour timer starting after the stream ends?

– Won’t be a problem if you don’t stop the broadcast.

As if sensing Hayoon’s confusion, the viewers quickly stepped in with advice.

And Hayoon…

“Ah, well, guess it doesn’t matter then. I’ll just keep drawing like I was doing before. Coloring still has a long way to go anyway.”

Realizing it wasn’t a big issue, she picked up her pen again and continued working on her piece.

Some might say she was taking it all too lightly, but…

“I thought I’d have to pay a fine or something, I was worried for nothing.”

When Hayoon saw the 24-hour pause message, she assumed it meant they’d take a portion of her donations. She tensed up, expecting to have to return the 100,000 won she had just received from a generous donor, but was relieved when she realized there was no penalty after all.

Anyway…

-Wow…

-Your base coloring is insanely good. How do you color so expressively without highlights or shadows?

-Why ask for an evaluation? Are you a professional illustrator?

While they were chatting, Hayoon’s cat-human illustration continued shaping up at a rapid pace.

With a whoosh, the colors filled in where her pen traced, bringing life to what was once a rough sketch.

Finally, after about an hour, the base coloring was complete.

“Okay, that took a while. Are any of the donors still around?”

Hayoon looked for her sponsors.

[1,000 won Donation]

-Still here.

Though she’d promised to work quickly, the coloring process was time-intensive. The donor’s initial enthusiasm waned, and instead of a ten-thousand won donation, it had been reduced to a thousand. Hayoon then made a proposition.

“If I complete the light source and shadow work as usual, it’ll take a few more hours. What if I stop here and send over a completed version via Pixiv later?”

[1,000 won Donation]

-What’s your Pixiv account?

“My channel may be down due to the pause, but I’ve linked my Pixiv profile. Look for the one that means ‘haru’ in Japanese, with an HK-M4 swimsuit illustration as the profile picture.”

[10,000 won Donation]

-Please finish it with full effort and upload. Thank you, Sensei.

Had the donor checked her Pixiv already?

The donation climbed back to ten thousand won, and the donor even began addressing Hayoon with the honorific “sensei.”

“No, no need to thank me. I only do what is appropriate for what I receive.”

[100,000 won Donation]

-There should be more people broadcasting at this level. I’ve followed you now and will wait for the finished piece. Also, why not take some more requests from the viewers? Oh, and there’s our roulette system here…

A sudden, generous donation with a lengthy message.

As the TTS read out the words in its mechanical tone, Hayoon remained silent but had a smile spreading across her face.

‘Gotcha…!’

She didn’t know exactly why the donor was being so generous.

It could be admiration for Hayoon’s artistic skills and a genuine expectation of the final piece, or perhaps their sense of intimacy grew through conversation, leading to this generosity. Either way…

[1,000 won Donation]

-Ah, was I speaking too much?

“No, no, you’ve given so much already. It’s only fair you say something about it. And of course, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain and make sure to upload it on Pixiv at the same quality level you’ve seen. It should be completed before the pause ends.”

[10,000 won Donation]

-I’m looking forward to it~. I’ll also subscribe.

‘This is getting exciting….’

In this way, Hayoon had secured a big supporter who would double as a regular viewer.

Though it wasn’t clear where they had come from, they clearly had a deep appreciation for illustrations.

Everything was going well so far.

With even just ten such big donors, Hayoon was confident she could gather around 20 million won in a month.

“Next, let’s take some topic suggestions…”

[1,000 won Donation]

-Gr…

[1,000 won Donation]

-Rather…

The viewers, now captivated by her artistic flair, began eagerly reaching into their wallets.

Even before the full spread of the pandemic, if this was already the case, she wondered how her earnings might surge when working from home and self-isolation became more common.

Her heart raced with excitement from her rising fortunes, but she did her best to stay composed as she continued her broadcast.

#

With 24 hours needed for the pause to lift, and with no broadcasts possible during this period, plus the fact that it was spring break and she didn’t have school, Hayoon focused entirely on her illustrations.

She quickly finished up her cat-human piece and the few other drawings requested during the broadcast, uploading the completed versions to her Pixiv account.

Existing followers were delighted with the increased frequency of her uploads, while the new viewers who had come from her channel appreciated seeing their requested illustrations go up immediately. Hayoon wanted to steadily build trust with her audience through these small acts.

After all, what she aimed for were long-term, nurturing relationships with her viewers.

When she shared her illustrations, the viewers, like cute puppies seeking affection, would respond with donations.

It was a perfect relationship, and with a generous viewer now secured as if Hayoon had stumbled upon a golden retriever, she was optimistic.

“In so many ways, I’ve been quite lucky.”

Once again, Hayoon marveled at how things were playing out according to her plan, despite her current following being a modest 40 or so.

Still, it was clear that most viewers from that particular broadcast had followed her, with a few additional curious visitors.

Once the pause was lifted, she could simply set a regular broadcast schedule and gradually integrate herself into the daily lives of her audience.

If the number of listeners, those casually tuning in without donating but appreciating her finished works, grew steadily, then it was only a matter of time before a big donor like the one from the first day would naturally appear.

“Broadcasting isn’t such a big deal after all. Just draw while casually commenting, and it’s like the money keeps copying itself.”

By now, Hayoon’s self-confidence couldn’t help but soar, and she shut down her computer and crawled into bed.

“Ugh…”

It was chilly. Despite heating, the 1st month of the year meant frigid air, and Hayoon shivered until the warmth of the goose-down quilt embraced her.

“Now that I think about it…”

She opened her phone to check the news.

The coronavirus, or rather, what people were calling the Wuhan Pneumonia at the time—she wanted to check its current spread.

[Breaking] Confirmed case of Chinese-origin pneumonia within the country.

The first patient was reported, and…

1st confirmed case was Chinese, why wasn’t entry banned?

└ Is this lazy work?

└ It’s not as easy as it sounds. If entry is banned for people, but goods keep flowing in, the virus could still spread via contact among personnel handling cargo.

└ As long as we don’t fully lock down, perfect quarantine is impossible. We just have to believe that it will pass like the flu.

There was no strong response yet from authorities, and the general public didn’t seem to grasp the severity…

…which would mean an inevitable rapid spread of infection.

“Maybe I should get into short selling…”

The idea to take advantage of the anticipated stock market crash briefly flirted with her mind…

“It’s probably not the right move…”

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes. After all, she preferred earning money by truly showcasing her abilities rather than through the stock market.

#

The next day arrived.

Hayoon turned on the broadcast later in the day.

Since the 24-hour pause began right after the previous broadcast ended, the stream could be restarted from 9 PM the previous night.

[LIVE] Day 3 Release Broadcast (7)

Still…

“Hmm…”

There were fewer viewers than expected.

Only 7 people had joined despite having close to 40 followers. That wasn’t right.

“I’ll just keep drawing and play some music in the background. Let’s try a late-night radio vibe to this broadcast.”

Also, the big donor from yesterday hadn’t showed up.

After promising everything, including subscription, they were absent, leaving a sour taste.

“I’ll modify the title for a bit.”

[LIVE] Reserve High School Girl Release Broadcast [47]

[10,000 won Donation]

-Soybean curd for you.

“Oh, thank you very much!”

Changing the title had done the trick, and the stream was suddenly flooded with new viewers, including the big donor’s return.

“Guys, do you think I’m getting good at broadcasting?”

-All of a sudden?

-??

“Ah, yeah, I’m actually doing pretty well. If you check out my completed illustrations, honestly, you must feel good seeing them, right?”

-Good, it is.

-Feeling stiff makes me shy…

-Hayaa…

Actually, it wasn’t so much that Hayoon was getting particularly skilled but that the word “high school girl” had immense appeal in this industry…

Regardless, understanding her strong points was itself a skill, and in that sense, Hayoon could claim to be improving in broadcasting…

[6,000 won Donation]

-This next piece, is a dog human theme possible? If the first was a cat, you should do a dog.

[10,000 won Donation]

-He seems knowledgeable about your work.

[1,000 won Donation]

-I like that this channel has financially capable, knowledgeable donors.

In this manner, Hayoon’s broadcast smoothly continued its course.

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