The Tteokguk Collaboration Scheme
Seon-a, give me content. (4)
Since it was basically free money, I planned to bring gifts for my parents the day after Seollal. So I called Dad that morning. But Dad said… “You have to deliver good content worth the money you received.” Then he added, “That way I’ll trust you and sponsor you again. If you go to a restaurant and the food tastes bad compared to the price, would you go back?”
I was shocked hearing Dad’s words. And then it hit me. This is why people need to be smart. I never even thought of that. So I spent over three hours agonizing over it. What kind of fun content should I show them so they’d come back again? I really worried a lot. Then…! I was watching YouTube. YouTube really is a god. I had just subscribed as a memento of our collab, and the algorithm popped up PapaChoi’s video. It was last year’s Seollal special: “Making Tteokguk for My Mother-in-Law.”
The moment I saw it, I went, “Ah!! This is it!!” Right. Copying. But it’s fine. When you collab, you implicitly sign a copy-permission treaty. If PapaChoi copies my content, that’s okay. I’ll just say thank you. We’ve got that unspoken treaty between us.
So we decided to eat tteokguk together on Seollal. In the process… I called Dad to get permission, and he actually knew a bit about internet broadcasting. He said doing it at home was fine, and if I made it well he’d even give me allowance!! Mwahahaha!! I didn’t stop there. Allowance… wouldn’t it be nice if Pyeong got some too? True employee love is SeonPyeong. Heh heh. I called Pyeong and nagged until he finally agreed to come!! Since Pyeong was coming… it would be great if Maru came too!! I noticed Maru was streaming even on Seollal… So Maru… then Raming would be nice too, right? Ah! I decided to invite everyone at once. Moddeok said she’d come too. I just had to ask Maru, and Moddeok could ask Raming. Ehehe. Why have I gotten so smart?
So… I opened my notebook for the first time in ages. Notebook delusions… this is truly peak content that only people in the know would understand. Notebooks are gods. Notebook romance, notebook patches, notebook delusions… the GOAT content creation tool humanity ever made is the notebook. The reason I opened my notebook was… obviously to daydream about Seollal. How should we do this? Hmm. First, let’s list the participants? Moddeok and I will have to make the tteokguk, right? Then who’s eating? Parents, Maru, Pyeong, Raming… How should we structure it? A showdown? Moddeok and I do a tteokguk cooking battle. Hmm… that sounds good, doesn’t it? But it’s obviously a fight I’ll lose. I’ve never made tteokguk before… I need some kind of handicap. At home, my position is the cold-hearted judge who evaluates the tteokguk Mom made. I was never the one cooking. So what handicap should I give myself? What do I do?
I agonized for over thirty minutes and filled ten pages of the notebook, but no satisfying handicap came to mind. In the end… I just decided to call Maru.
“Maru! Maru!”
“Hello?”
“Maru, it’s Seon-a.”
“Yes~ What’s up?”
“What are you doing on Seollal?”
“I have to stream.”
This is what a true broadcaster is. Amazing. She’s even thinking about streaming on Seollal. Heh heh. Right. I’m amazing too. I’m planning to stream on Seollal as well. Mwahahaha.
“As expected… So, you know!! Do you have plans on Seollal?”
“What kind of plans? A collab? On Seollal? Why?”
“I’m doing a collab and I want you to join.”
“What is it?”
“Making tteokguk on Seollal. I already promised Moddeok… Uh… Should I explain? It’s long!!”
“Ehehehehe. Sure~”
Honestly, I’d been avoiding collabs because I still wasn’t confident, but this was content Dad suggested. If it goes wrong it’s Dad’s fault, not mine, but I was still nervous. Seriously persuading someone for a collab… this was a first.
“So Moddeok and I are doing a half-cam tteokguk-making collab.”
“Okay~”
“But, um… we’re making it at my house? So while we cook, we’ll all eat together.”
“Me too?”
“Yes!! My idea is… Moddeok and I make the tteokguk and we all eat it together. Ah!! You don’t have to worry, Maru. You just have to show up!! And you definitely won’t appear on camera, okay? Only we will!!”
“Oh… I see.”
Her reaction was lukewarm, so I quickly explained.
“So, you know, we’ll just eat together. I’ll make it really delicious for you.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Then you’ll do it?”
“But isn’t this Moddeok’s content? Is it okay if I join?”
“Ah!! Yes. Totally.”
“What would I even do if I join?”
“Ah!! Eat the tteokguk and judge…!! The plan I have right now is everyone makes their own… and we compete… who makes it tastier… How about it?”
“Hmm… like Black and White Chef?”
What’s that? I quickly searched. Oh…!! Ah, it’s a cooking competition. This is good.
“Uh… Yes!! Something like that?”
“But how are you going to do the cooking half-cam? If you’re showing the cooking process, half-cam won’t work, right?”
“Masks… masks!! Wear masks on our faces… or mascot heads!! Mascot heads are perfect!! What do you think?”
“Oh… You already have everything. You didn’t even think that hard. Good job.”
“Yes!! Will you do it?”
“Hmm… Do you know Bana?”
“Uh… I do!!”
I remembered. The old Healing Server operator. She and Maru were super close. But I didn’t really know what kind of VTuber she was.
“Have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“Hmm… I guess you haven’t. A lot of people joined, but there weren’t enough people to bring in viewership. Ah. It’s a bit disappointing… Ah, never mind. Anyway, Bana is opening a Minecraft server? For about five days. Probably starting the day after tomorrow?”
“Yeah?”
What does that have to do with this?
“If you participate in that… Ah. And bring Moddeok too for views. Ah. Anyway, if you do it, I’ll come on Seollal.”
“Uh… Ugh. Yep!! Moddeok isn’t participating?”
“Probably not? I heard their team isn’t joining… Ah, yes. Uh. Yes. If you have other plans you don’t have to, I’ll still come. Really.”
“No!! No!! I’ll definitely do it!! I’ll definitely tell her!!”
I’m totally fine with that. Minecraft server? This time I’ll do it completely differently. Last time I was a total noob and didn’t know anything. So whenever I mined I kept saying “Minecraft pro here…” thinking it was a compliment, and I kept glancing at others… This time I’ll make it fun!! I’ve grown, so I’m curious!! How fun will she make it. Ehehe.
“Thank you.”
“Why. Why are you thanking me?! Maru, why?”
“Ah. I’m going on a long break starting tomorrow… but since Bana is opening the server… Hahaha. Never mind. Never mind. Please make it fun.”
“Hmm… Yep!! I’m really grateful. I’m only telling you this, Maru, but I didn’t have any content!”
“Hahaha. That’s a relief. Really a relief.”
After chatting for about twenty more minutes, we ended the call. As expected of Maru. I got lots of content advice and encouragement. After explaining everything to Moddeok, I turned on the stream.
I applied for Bana’s Minecraft server while listening to the viewers’ very detailed explanations.
“This is how you do it, right?”
Looking at the chat, I sighed in relief. Thank goodness. This server is a looting RPG server? Minecraft really has every kind of content. It’s an endless spring. Honestly, I’ve never even tried a looting RPG server and don’t know what it is… but apparently that’s what it is.
“How do you play it?”
“No… Why Bana?”
Honestly, I barely even remember Bana’s voice now. Back in the early days, during the Healing Server, we only passed by each other once or twice. That was the only connection. But I did know that Maru and Bana were super close. That was about all I knew.
From what I heard about Bana… she’s a really scary person. Someone who enjoys watching things burn. The reason she opens servers is to see things go up in flames. She just wants to witness it directly. A total VS addict. A broadcaster who loves causing chaos. Bana opens Minecraft servers often, and apparently there have already been three meltdowns. The previous server also had a meltdown. The one I participated in. I didn’t know because I was too far away, but apparently there was one huge meltdown. And instead of stopping it, she enjoyed it, so other fans scolded her. Even while getting scolded she said, “If you’re upset, why don’t you open one yourself?” Truly terrifying.
“Is it really that bad?”
I glanced at the chat. The chat was in an uproar for the first time in a while.
I couldn’t tell from the chat alone. There’s so much fabrication going on… I’ll only know the truth when I see it with my own eyes. Anyway, after applying, I booted up Minecraft for the first time in ages.
“I really don’t remember anything.”
Since it had been so long, my memory was fuzzy. I pondered for a moment, then…
“Back then… Seon-a… I’ll become a diamond mining pro. I’ll keep running until I get an offer. When will that overseas offer come?”
I fell into old memories for the first time in a while. I really thought it was real. When they said an offer came… Microsoft is really something. How did they even think of holding a tournament with Minecraft? Wow, that’s what a big company does. I used to think that.
“Uwah!!… Bill hyung came!! Thanks!! I… don’t check my email. After Miss PhonePyeong confirms…?”
Now I can handle this level of roleplay!! Mwahahaha. If it’s real? Wait. I don’t check my email. Pyeong will check and tell me. I’ll wait until then.