Family (2)
Jet-black darkness settled in, and I lay down on the bed. Since it was a single bed, Yujin took the floor.
I was the one used to the floor originally, so I tried to sleep down there, but Yujin stubbornly insisted on it.
"How was today?"
"It was amazing for me."
"Really? What was the best part?"
"Hmm..."
I stared up at the dim ceiling, pondering seriously. My mouth opened and closed a few times.
"I... everything was great."
"Heh heh heh. Pick just one. Really, just one."
"Yeah. So... hmm..."
Asking me to pick just one was basically torture. How could I choose only one? It was all good! How do you even decide? I agonized for over three minutes.
"I... um... eating the dakgalbi was the best!"
The amusement park had its downsides—the lines were sneakily long, and it drained my energy. But lunch was free food, and they even fed me, so it was easy.
"Why?"
"Uh... it was just so good to eat without doing anything!"
"Ahaha. Oh. That reason~ Nice. I like it."
Yujin burst out laughing, leaving me totally baffled. I couldn't figure out what part was funny.
I just stared at the ceiling quietly, waiting for her laughter to die down.
"Haha. Okay, what about after that? What was fun next?"
"Uh... the cafe!"
"The cafe?! Why?"
"Well, that was because... it was..."
If I had to give a reason, it was because it was free.
"Ah, you must like coffee. What next?"
"Uh... then the amusement park."
"It was fun, right?"
Finally, the answer Yujin wanted came out.
"Yeah."
"I had fun too. Let's come again sometime."
Yujin said it in a voice full of mischief, and I answered right away.
"Yeah, but the lines were so long to ride even once—it got boring. And after riding, I wanted to go again, but seeing the line killed my motivation. It made me sad."
It was fun. But I didn't want to experience it twice.
"Heh heh heh. Really? From my view, it didn't seem that way. You rode it over ten times."
"Th-that was!"
My face burned hot.
"I mean, it was because the money felt wasted if I didn't ride a lot! Yeah. We came all this way, so we had to make it worth it, right?"
Memories of my antics at the amusement park started creeping back.
"I rode hard to get my money's worth! That's really what it was."
Embarrassed, my words trailed off longer.
"Oh, is that so? For real?"
"Yes! Totally real."
I pulled the blanket up to my eyes.
"Got it. That's how it was~"
After that, Yujin and I talked about streaming for over an hour. The more she heard, the deeper her suspicions grew.
"I will do great. I'll work super hard and totally grow."
At first, Yujin thought it was a joke or just a rich kid's hobby, but seeing how serious I was about streaming made her curious. Why stream? Why on earth?
"But... I'm curious. Why did you start streaming?"
"I... yeah..."
"For me, it's to make money. But you don't need money, right?"
"I... need a lot of money!"
"Huh? You have tons."
I bolted upright.
"That's my parents' money, not mine! I need to make my own so they stop worrying about me!"
"Huh?"
Startled by my sudden movement, Yujin slowly sat up too.
"I... uh... I mean... I can live well on my own. I'll show you. Yeah. Yeah."
I wasn't ready to tell Yujin everything yet, so I trailed off. Then I lay back down and stared at the ceiling. The night grew darker, but our conversation kept blooming. What started as light chit-chat deepened.
"I found an editor."
"I saw. Good pick. That friend's kinda fun..."
"Yeah! I hired her right away 'cause she's fun. But why didn't Maru hire her? She's a fun editor, right?"
"Ah, well... our channels' directions don't match."
"Why? What's mismatched? Isn't fun all that matters?"
"Haha. You'll get it later. You wouldn't understand now."
"Ah...!"
I nodded at Yujin's words. Fair enough.
"Hey, what should I do on stream now? I have no idea anymore."
"Hmm... gotta figure it out?"
"How? I've thought about it a ton, but no clue."
"This is tricky... Just try everything. Games, VRChat... gotta rack your brain. Or whatever."
Her advice just made me dizzier. I wanted super specific, spoon-fed details. What does "rack your brain" even mean? How? My head throbbed more.
"I dunno. No idea..."
It came straight from the heart. Yujin laughed and said,
"Hahaha. It's 'cause it's your first time. It'll get easier. Just follow the plan. Watch anime? Or movies, dramas..."
"I don't! They're too stuffy—can't watch without skips! Especially no-skip ones!"
"Me too. Boring ones make me sleepy, but I force through. You should try."
"Hmm, but if boring parts hit, I can't handle it. Even 2x speed feels draggy—skip, skip. Then I forget what I watched."
"Ah... yeah, that happens. Uh, sure."
"I got it! I'm a skip addict. Total skip bug!"
To me, it was as good a word as MBTI. Say "I'm an I" and everyone gets it. Same with "I'm a skip bug"—nods all around.
"Ah~ another concept like that. Still, try watching as much as you can. Builds rapport with viewers. Gives you more to talk about. If it's too hard, at least summaries."
"More to talk about..."
I muttered it like a mental note.
"Anyway, work hard and you'll do great. You've got talent. I watch streams a lot. You're cute—I like it. Keep going like that."
"I've... never been like that."
Yujin said it in a teasing tone.
"Never? You do it all the time? What'd I see then?"
"No. I've really never."
"Ah. I see. Ye~ah heh heh heh."
Not convinced, I kept muttering.
"Really not, never been like that... for real..."
"Sure, sure. Never happened. Right?"
"Yes! Really never."
"Euh huh huh."
Yujin just chuckled slyly.
In streams, "cute" chats always felt weirdly off. Once one says it, others pile on—dozens in a row. Worst chat ever.
"Cute... gotta block that. I hate it."
"Pardon? Ah. Haha. Ban it."
"Can't ban."
"Why? Just do it."
No matter how I thought, I couldn't. Every viewer precious—banning? Never.
"I... barely have viewers..."
"Ah. Whoa. Heh. Fair. Still, ban what needs banning. Delay and it becomes channel culture."
"...Still."
"Then you'll suffer later. Set rules early. That's my advice when asked."
I just blinked, no reply.
"It's late—close your eyes. Sleep. Eyes shut."
"Uh... I."
I rolled to my side, looking at Yujin. Eyes adjusted to dark—saw her eyes closed. So many questions, but...
"Goodnight."
I whispered softly, then shut my eyes.
The next day, Yujin was flustered. First time ever... does this make sense? Plan was early morning home, but chat ran long last night, couldn't sleep, scrolled phone late.
Like punishment—woke at 3 PM. 3 PM okay? Happens. But Sena gone. Searched—already left.
Left guest behind. Beyond Beomjae's simple head.
Yujin even ate lunch. Lunch fine? Sure. But then met Sena's dad.
What situation? Facing parents without her.
"Ah. Hello."
"Hello? Sena gone?"
"Uh, yeah, said she left this morning."
"Our Sena, leaving guest first."
Awkwardness hung. But brief.
"Ah, you heard from daughter? That's why you're here, right?"
"Pardon? Heard what?"
"Daughter's... well. Truly grateful. Wanted to thank you."
Yujin got more awkward.
Maru-senpai's probably sleeping soundly, right? Euhihi. I woke early and headed straight to my one-room. Woke Maru-senpai? Debated, decided no. Must be exhausted. Told Mom absolutely no waking her. She'll sleep deep and head home comfy.
Got home, booted PC first.
"Huh? Who?"
"Manager settings?" Googled it. 10 minutes later, got it.
Invite, give admin rights—grow channel fast.
Searched blogs, followed steps. Invited EditorGonnaEdit's Google ID.
Instant reply.
What time to upload? Any preferred slot? Separate confirmation/feedback?
Hmm... Stared blankly at monitor. Time slot? Never thought. Confirmation?
Searched "confirmation"—verify and approve. Hate that.
I know zilch about editing ecosystem. Just wanted her to handle everything.
Live streams kill me—YouTube too much.
Sent robot cheer. Then F5-spammed YouTube. When's the video? Dying of curiosity.
Ding.
Huh? Phone. Text from Mom.
Hmm... Swiveled chair, eyed room. Gotta clean...
Ran vacuum everywhere, scrubbed floor with cloth. I'm neat, not OCD, but tidy. Desk spotless, vacuum daily... Bed made right away.
Post-clean, sat at PC—message from EditorGonnaEdit.
Clicked link. Unlisted video. Watched—Mark video. Memories flooded.
I really thought Mark Pro meant a tournament. Thought Microsoft sponsored one. MS tier deserves Mark tourney, right? Yeah?
All lies. Hated my grinding, roasted me. Learned later—viewers spilled truth.
Now I don't trust all viewer words. But looking back, weird. Pro Mark? Compete how? "Fastest 10 diamonds wins prize"—nonsense.
Back then, praise felt good—believed blindly. How not to when showered?
Reinforcement fun too. Lucky streak, chat exploded—bliss. What else? Fuzzy, but Mark server fun.
"Ah. What?"
Video ended while daydreaming. Rewatched.
Quality top-notch. Fun. Score? 95/100. Can't give 100—next needs 101.
Messaged EditorGonnaEdit.
Sent, noticed oddity. My YouTube—I should. Felt too hands-off...
Added bonus emoji. Excited. What if 100k views? Famous YouTuber? Imagining happiness. Now get lotto fantasies—fun!