Editor (1) — See You All Tomorrow. Bye Bye~
Cha Ji-hyun had Sena's stream on one screen and was editing the second Mark video on the other when it hit 11 p.m. before she knew it. Sena's broadcast ending signaled the start of Cha Ji-hyun's day. She had mountains of work ahead.
What Cha Ji-hyun had in mind: starting with the Mark server... that chat compilation... the staring contest highlights... collabs... and countless other things swirled in her head. She had to work even harder than usual.
Before becoming Sena's editor, Cha Ji-hyun's future had been murky. She was just one viewer among many watching Sena's streams. Things hadn't changed much even now, but her mindset had. She was a pro now, no longer an amateur.
Her aspiration to become an editor had been largely escapist. She'd fallen behind in the job hunt, and she wanted to help her favorite streamer.
Honestly, if she'd landed a job, she would've just donated instead. She wouldn't have gone down the editing path.
She'd started watching streams to escape reality in the first place. They put her mind at ease. They were so fun she forgot about real life. Then Cha Ji-hyun began wishing the streamer would call her name.
How could she get her name called? She'd agonized over it. After plenty of thought, she decided between drawing or video editing.
Fan passion mattered, but so did making a living. Having been weeded out of the job market, she needed to survive to donate and do whatever else.
After agonizing, she heard drawing would be conquered by AI in a few years.
No way? Curious, she tried AI image generation. The results were a massive shock.
She figured in the near future, you'd get perfect art with one click, so she gave up on drawing.
What about video? While researching, she discovered something interesting.
Even with the same footage, every editor's cut tasted different. The same clips never got boring.
That's when Cha Ji-hyun was convinced: humans could be matched technically, but not in fun. So she dove into editing.
But with her poor family situation, she juggled part-time jobs. Whenever she wanted to quit, she imagined Himaru—specifically, Himaru mentioning her—and pushed on harder than ever.
Sadly, the results were bitter. With all hope gone, she lost her drive.
She dropped editing, stuck to gigs, and scraped by day by day.
Then she discovered Sena, and the urge to edit returned.
Lucky, maybe? Back then, she figured she'd try for pocket money. If it didn't work, oh well.
She didn't even believe in herself, her self-esteem at rock bottom. Cha Ji-hyun was touched that Sena extended a hand without hesitation.
Even now, she was editing like mad while watching the stream. To repay? To prove her worth? She wasn't sure what emotion it was. She just wanted to work harder. Do better.
Lately, all she thought about was nailing edits. Day and night, nothing but editing for higher quality and fun.
Today, finally, her first edit got judged by Sena and the viewers.
"Phew~ Thank goodness."
They say praise makes even whales dance. Cha Ji-hyun felt like she was flying.
She was grateful Sena trusted her completely. The thought that she wasn't worthless brought tears to her eyes. It had been ages since she'd felt this. Her blood boiled to make even funnier edits.
She wanted to finish fast and show it off. She was editing hard when Discord pinged.
A message from Sena.
"Huh...?"
A coupon book from the stream arrived. Grateful for that, but... do they pay on the spot? No contract? Cha Ji-hyun knew from gigs—tedious contracts galore.
Personal deals different? First time in this setup, she was confused.
Cha Ji-hyun was baffled. She rubbed her nose up and down with her hand, staring at Discord.
Every thought imaginable hit her. What did this mean? Wrong person? "I got money. I won't short you!"—what?
No matter how she thought, no clue on the intent.
The reply was shocking.
Her reply had gotten weird too.
"Am... am I weird? This makes no sense... Should I read a book?"
Unable to grasp the context, Cha Ji-hyun stared blankly at the screen for a while.
"Ah. Ah. Ah."
She snapped back.
Cha Ji-hyun blinked repeatedly, reading it over five times.
"Am... am I reading Korean right?"
She tried hard to understand, typing and deleting on the keyboard repeatedly.
She slammed the keyboard and crossed her arms.
"I have no idea what she's saying. So... she doesn't know contracts... so she's telling me to do manager? Right? That's it?"
A hollow laugh escaped. This is why people need education. She felt pathetic struggling to understand.
"Eeeh?"
First time in the industry, everything confused her. She'd heard streamers sometimes made weird demands. Back in aspiring days, open chats and communities called editors slaves and doormats.
She'd laughed it off—no way. But as the one involved, it spun her head. Do it? Decline? What?
Unable to keep up with Sena's chat pace, Cha Ji-hyun did as told. Sent account—money arrived instantly.
250,000 won. Way too much for an 8-minute video. 30,000 per minute? Big-corp streamer editor level. Absurd sum left her stunned.
"Th-this... wrong amount? Meant chicken... extra zero?"
Cha Ji-hyun stared at Discord anxiously for 5 minutes. Heart pounding.
Shouldn't have said? No, trust matters... gotta speak. What if intentional and she's dense? Or whole Mark server pay? Couldn't read Sena's mind—frustrating.
Check messages quick. Couldn't focus on editing. Unresolved, she'd never sleep.
Ding.
"H-ha... so generous... this normal?"
At this rate, she'd go broke. Why so generous? Of course nice... sweet deal... but worrying.
Return it? Undermine her value? Nah. Since she got much.
"...Take as 'work harder' sign... Repay with harder work."
Editor's only way: funnier videos. That was repayment.
Cha Ji-hyun chugged an energy drink. To meet expectations, grow more. Level up fast, show better self. Vowing that, she forgot tomorrow's gig and edited all night.
I finished my schedule and checked Discord before my 2 p.m. regular stream.
Messages from Maru-nim and Editor-nim. In order, Editor first.
"No way... already?"
Edits this fast? Uploaded 1 yesterday, 2 today. 3 in two days for approval.
Tough. If I had money, fine, but I don't. Can't handle rapid-fire edits. Thought editing took 3-4 days min...
Mom said: cherish good people. Value bonds. So I wanted to treat precious Editor well... Set price myself.
Precious, so 10k/min too low... 20k. 8x2=160k. Flat rate felt stingy, so bonus.
200k exact seemed low bonus, 300k too much... settled 250k middle.
Didn't expect this speed. Should've lowballed. What now? Ask slow pace?
Small-timer like me burning 250k per vid? Deficit. Gotta say something. For my finances.
Sent with courage. Too blunt? I'm client... client! Hehe. Be classy.
10+ minutes agonizing over business chat. Phew~ I'm adult now. Grown-up stuff.
Reply instant.
Responsible too. So cool. Me, Sena... cancel adult. Not yet. Full of flaws.
But I worried hard. Unpaid labor scandals bad.
One rumor stuck: small-timer skyrocketing, then editor exposes power trip on community—crashed.
Exposure ignited, personality revealed, straight to hell.
Felt tons hated that small-timer in their Discord free chat. Openly trashed.
Brutal roasts.
Most memorable line... even memo'd: Even at bottom, good conduct matters. All boomerangs back.
Hit hard. Made me reflect. So don't get too comfy with favors. But what to do? Dunno...
Hold off. Needs thought. If I can't, ask Maru-nim.
Next, Maru-nim's message.
Huh? What's this?
Wall of text. Dizzying gukbap. Skimmed, ignored dense parts—big bold subheads first.
1: No story turbo. 2: If audio dead, read chat. 3: Think before speak.
"These off top... more maybe... Don't overthink... apply one by one..."
Too hard. How not overthink? Maru-nim...
I counted lines.
"One... two. Three. Four. Five. Six... eight... fourteen, seventeen."
Seventeen-line gukbap feedback—mind blank. Gotta read... Skimmed. So many examples—considerate? I skip 3+ lines usually. But Maru-nim, so all.