Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Ma-sam Ran Away Afraid of Losing Viewers to Me?
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Ma-sam bit his lips furiously. It was a habit that showed up whenever he got anxious.
'Ha, why of all times did Dokgo Hwayeon turn on her stream now...!'
Already, Jae-ho was sucking away (?) his viewers. And now Dokgo Hwayeon had shown up too.
This was like going to crush Jae-ho and ending up taking a loss instead.
In reality, the viewers' reactions weren't good either.
💬 Chat — Viewer Why is Ma-sam's viewer count like this? — Viewer Only ten thousand? Is this really Ma-sam? — Viewer Totally washed up ㅉㅉ — Viewer Look at him getting beaten three times over by Dokgo Hwayeon lololol — Viewer Gonna get overtaken by Jae-ho at this rate lololol I'd mentioned it before. His fans were extremely sensitive about viewer counts.
Sure enough, they turned on Ma-sam without mercy.
"All you weird chatting guys, get out now!"
[TotallyWashedUp has been kicked.] [DoIReallyLookWeak has been kicked.] [LittleMa-sam has been kicked.] [KarmaIsABitch has been kicked.] [WashedUpIsStillMa-sam has been kicked.] No matter how much he kept kicking, it was useless. Trolls kept swarming in to attack him.
Naturally, the stream couldn't proceed properly.
He'd already stopped the game stream. His mentality was shot, so he couldn't even perform at his usual level.
'W-what do I do?'
This was a first for him.
Ma-sam had always sabotaged other streams like this. He'd ruined plenty of streamers because of it. In bad cases, he'd even mobilized his fans to wreck their broadcasts.
But getting hit back like this? First time.
His viewer count kept dropping. At this rate, he'd get overtaken by Jae-ho, just like the viewers were saying.
'N-no, I can't let that happen!'
He could endure anything else.
But losing viewers to the manager he'd personally fired?
Absolutely unbearable.
His mentality would shatter completely.
He kept biting his lips. His thick lips were practically torn to shreds.
That's when he caught sight of Jae-ho's stream viewer count.
During his streams, he always kept the Express main page open. To check real-time viewer numbers.
And before he knew it, Jae-ho's viewers had broken nine thousand.
Just a thousand short of his own.
His heart started pounding wildly.
And ominous thoughts flooded his mind.
'M-me, getting overtaken by Jae-ho in viewers?'
Mental shatter was a given.
Then the massive fan backlash would follow. His fans wanted the top-five-corp Ma-sam. Not some Ma-sam beaten by his ex-manager.
Ma-sam had no choice but to make a decision.
It was the only way in this situation.
Not that he'd really decided. His mouth just opened on its own, words spilling out.
"W-wait a sec! Everyone! M-my stomach hurts...! That's it for today's stream!"
That's right.
Ma-sam chose to run from the situation.
He'd abruptly declared the end of the broadcast.
He thought it was unavoidable.
Better to run like this than lose to Jae-ho.
💬 Chat — Viewer ??? — Viewer What? — Viewer Running 'cause he's about to get overtaken? — Viewer 퇴 — Viewer 물 Of course, the viewers' reactions weren't great.
But he didn't take it back. This was the only way right now.
[Broadcast has ended.] 'Ah, whatever!'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I took a photo with Heyni. Afterward, we strolled through the hanok village side by side, sightseeing.
"Hehe."
"What's got you so happy?"
"Everything's just great."
"Yeah? What's the best part?"
"Hmm... Oppa!"
I grinned at Heyni's adorable answer. I hadn't realized she had this much aegyo in her.
Anyway, both of us were in an incredibly good mood right now.
Part of it was the sweet date stream.
But what really had us buzzing was breaking ten thousand real-time viewers.
📊 Viewer Count 10,234 It had been stuck at nine thousand, refusing to budge. Then suddenly Ma-sam ended his stream, and we shot past ten thousand in an instant.
This was the first time either of us had crossed ten thousand viewers. Of course we were thrilled.
'What happened to Ma-sam all of a sudden?'
I'd look into that later.
That's when Heyni pointed at the sky.
"Oppa! It's snowing!"
"No kidding?"
It was 5:30 p.m.
Sure enough, white snowflakes were drifting down slowly from the sky.
The first snow of the season.
Especially under the streetlamp lights, the snow sparkled, putting on a show for the world. It was the kind of sight that naturally turned heads.
"So pretty..."
"Yeah."
Heyni and I stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the first snow. Any fantastical show would pale in comparison right now.
I turned my face from the snow and looked at Heyni.
Heyni was staring up at the sky with sparkling eyes. It was an incredibly pretty—and cute—sight.
'I can't hold back anymore.'
I'd resisted the urge to kiss her so many times. But now it seemed impossible.
I leaned my head toward Heyni. Slowly moving my face toward her cheek. Planning a sneaky peck and then watching her reaction.
'Gonna be adorable.'
Soon my lips neared her cheek. I pursed them toward it.
But that was the moment.
"......!!"
Heyni's head whipped around suddenly.
And just like that, her face was staring straight at mine.
That's right.
She'd pulled off the exact same move from episode 1.
I'd clearly aimed for her cheek. But somehow, my lips met hers.
Mwah.
I made a pretty shocked face. I'd never expected her to prank me like this again.
But I decided to let it slide.
'She's cute, so I have to forgive her. What can I do?'
I slowly closed my eyes.
And Heyni did the same.
Fortunately, no one was around. A quick kiss would be fine.
'This'll look gorgeous on camera.'
If this were a real drama, pretty background music would be swelling right now.
And so, in the hanok village under the first snowfall, Heyni and I shared a kiss.
Then I slowly moved my hand toward the end broadcast button.
I'd planned a plain, uneventful end this time, unlike episode 1.
But I couldn't help it.
I couldn't miss a moment this dramatic.
Soon my finger pressed the button.
[Broadcast has ended.] And instantly, Streamer Gallery and every streaming community exploded.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day.
In a large room that looked like a conference room.
'Did Ma-sam really run away?'
I was there, checking out the current communities.
The communities were in absolute chaos. All because yesterday's stream with Heyni had been a massive success.
Popular posts were buried in threads about me and Heyni.
Kiss scenes were too numerous to count, plus hand-holding, hugging, walking side by side—total mayhem.
Someone had even edited our date into a music video. Naturally, it racked up insane views.
Dokgo Hwayeon posts were plentiful too, of course. She was top-five-corp material. Not quite on our level, but still a ton of threads.
This alone showed just how huge an impact yesterday's stream had.
But the post that caught my eye was something else.
📰 Breaking News Ma-sam really ran away afraid of losing to Jae-ho. Video proof included. Posted by: WashedUpMa-sam
It was a post by a user named WashedUpMa-sam, and it was getting massive attention.
I clicked it and checked the video.
In the video, Ma-sam was glancing at something on the left. Then his expression changed in an instant, and he abruptly ended the stream.
[W-wait a sec! Everyone! M-my stomach hurts...! That's it for today's stream!]
I knew exactly what he'd seen.
'Checked viewer counts for other streams on the side monitor.'
Obvious. It was one of Ma-sam's habits.
And it wasn't hard to guess which stream's viewers he'd been watching.
There was only one broadcast fiercely chasing him at that time slot.
'Whoa, the great Ma-sam ran scared of losing viewers to me?'
A thrill shot through me.
Ma-sam had been so conscious of me that he bailed. Basically a win over him.
Sure, luck played a part.
I'd pulled out my ultimate move, while he did a plain game stream. Plus Dokgo Hwayeon suddenly started up and stole his viewers too.
Could call it good luck.
But a win was a win.
I savored the thrill for a moment. This was an achievement worth enjoying.
'He'll probably be too scared to sabotage for a while.'
Easy to predict with Ma-sam's personality. High chance he skips daytime streams for a bit.
Grinning, I checked the comments.
⭐ Top Comment — Anonymous Ma-sam really ran scared? — Anonymous ㅇㅇ Yeah for real. Look at that face lololol He got spooked. — Anonymous Yeah, nothing more embarrassing than losing to your ex-manager. — Anonymous What're you talking about? Ma-sam just ended 'cause his stomach hurt? — Anonymous Ma-sam fan above? lololol — Anonymous Or maybe Ma-sam himself lolololol — Anonymous Ma-sam prolly shaking with rage alone rn lololol — Anonymous For real, if he'd just behaved normally lololol Look at everyone gleefully tearing into Ma-sam lololol Everyone was excitedly posting comments.
Nothing's more fun than watching a hotshot crash and burn. There were occasional defenses of Ma-sam, but most were bashing him or reveling in his fall.
I almost added a comment myself but barely held back.
'Really wish I could see Ma-sam's face right now.'
A bit disappointed, I clicked the next post. Another Ma-sam bash. Seemed like more pent-up viewers than I'd thought.
📰 Breaking News 5 Reasons Ma-sam Should Be Booted from the Top 5 Corps. But I couldn't read any further.
Creeeak.
The door suddenly opened, and several people walked in.