Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Panicked Ranking 1st Place
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Suddenly, strange messages flooded the chat window. They were all promoting that Kim Kangrok had gone live.
Chats like this rarely showed up in my stream before. But ever since I got on Dokgo Hwayeon's good side, these kinds of messages had been popping up way more often lately.
A minor side effect, I guess?
'Haa, so it came to this in the end.'
Normally, I would've been pretty flustered.
Over 3,000 viewers had already dipped out.
I'd been holding the top spot for daytime streams on Express. Well, precisely, until Kim Kangrok fired up his broadcast.
But the moment he went live, not only did he snatch first place, but my viewer count tanked hard too.
'I went to all the trouble of booking guests and a venue, and now this? Talk about a buzzkill.'
But I had no reason to worry.
I came prepared with my secret weapon. Even with Kim Kangrok online, this trump card had me covered.
I quickly changed the stream title. It was about time to let the viewers in on it.
[Is it okay to wear something like this? Full Villa Bikini Stream with Rena, Doonggni, Ja-jang-ja-jang, and Sudden Man!]
Then I swiftly called out Rena noona.
"Our final guest is Rena noona!"
"Hello, everyone..."
Rena noona appeared soon after, looking a bit shy and hesitant.
The chat exploded the second she showed up.
-???
-Rena all of a sudden?
-No way?
-Bikini?
-Check the title, it's bikini lololol
-Kyaaaaaaa!
-Fucking legendary lololol
-The crown prince delivers!!
-Damn, I believed in you!
Just Rena's entrance had clued them in. And with the title change? Chaos was inevitable.
I sat Rena noona down on the sofa with a pleased grin.
Then I asked casually,
"Did you buy a pretty bikini?"
Last time, I'd dropped a huge donation on her stream and told her to pick one out. That's what I was asking about.
"It's your fault...!"
"Why? Isn't it pretty?"
"The exposure's way too much!"
Looked like the viewers hadn't let me down.
"See? Who told you to ignore my chat?"
"I-I didn't ignore it..."
"And I shelled out 500,000 won for it."
"That's true, but..."
"So, what does it look like? Can you show us?"
She looked embarrassed at my words.
"W-Well..."
"Your viewers already know from your stream. Just give us a peek."
"Sigh, fine."
She reached into her small bag and pulled out a white bikini set.
"Th-this is it. How am I supposed to wear something like..."
"Whoa..."
"Jackpot!"
"It's pretty, though?"
The bikini she'd pulled out was pretty sexy.
Of course, it wasn't so skimpy that she couldn't wear it, despite her complaints.
A standard white bikini with a bit less coverage, maybe?
Definitely not a micro bikini. Just sexy enough.
And that alone had the chat going nuts.
-Insane!
-Rena's gonna wear that?
-Kyaaaaaaa!
-Start the bikini stream already!
-I can't hold it in!
-ㅗㅜㅑ
The chat sped up in an instant. Everyone was hyped.
Rena noona, who usually shied away from skin, putting on a bikini? No wonder they were losing it.
I glanced at the viewer count while taking it all in.
[Live Viewers: 27,653]
Recovered the 3,000 that fled because of Kim Kangrok, and then some—up by 2,000 more. The power of bikinis.
'Play this right, and we might hit 50K?'
Even with Kim Kangrok live, breaking 50K would be huge news.
I flashed a sly smile and stood up.
"Alright, shall we kick off the bikini stream?"
"Yes! Been waiting! Bro!"
Sudden Man jumped up with a bright face. And not just him—the rest of the crew stood too.
"We'll head upstairs to change!"
"Get hyped, everyone!"
Doonggni and Ja-jang-ja-jang looked pumped as they prepped to swap outfits. They were secretly into it too.
"Oh, when you come back, cover up with towels first, full body."
"Obviously!"
"Doonggni rocks!"
That's when I spotted Rena noona fidgeting awkwardly.
I sidled up to her and poked her side, whispering,
"You sure you're not overplaying the embarrassment?"
"N-no, it's not like that?"
Truth was, Rena noona had been dieting hardcore for a month straight to rock a bikini. She'd even gotten a body profile shoot-ready figure out of it.
'An Young noona spilled all the details.'
Acting all reluctant up front, but she'd prepped behind the scenes. What a sly fox.
Maybe because of what I said?
Anyway, she followed the other two upstairs without a peep. Guess she figured she was hamming it up too much herself.
The three ladies headed up.
Sudden Man and I changed quick. Guys are fast.
Then we hopped into the indoor pool setup.
Splash!
"Sudden Man! Get in here!"
"On it, bro!"
Were all guys like this?
I couldn't help looking forward to seeing those three.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A lavishly decorated indoor party hall.
More precisely, the inside of Kim Kangrok's penthouse.
He lounged on the sofa there with a relaxed expression.
Today's content was an end-of-year party vibe.
Like calling in all his wizard buddies for a bash?
Everyone was indeed having a blast, bright-faced.
Most stuck to Kim Kangrok, sucking up. The rest mingled and partied.
"Kangrok oppa! It's been forever since you called us!"
"Sorry, been a bit busy lately."
"Kangrok bro! Got party gifts ready!"
"Whoa, you didn't have to bring anything."
Kim Kangrok really was a genius wizard. No surprise his fellow wizards fawned over him.
And his fans ate it up.
He secretly loved the VIP treatment.
Anyway, he wasn't putting much effort into streaming.
No camera on him either.
His manager roamed around filming everyone—that was plenty.
Rare chance to see so many wizards in one spot. They were even scarcer than martial artists.
Viewers were thrilled, judging by the flying chat.
"But oppa! Why a daytime party?"
"Yeah, bro! Isn't it always nighttime?"
"Gotta mix it up sometimes. You hate it?"
"N-no, oppa!"
"N-not at all, bro!"
One word from him, and heads bowed. Clear sign of his massive influence.
He glanced at them, satisfied. Power was the best. Few craved it like he did.
But he hadn't gone live on a whim just to kill time.
Nope—to crush that annoying Park Jae-ho, that's why.
He picked up his smartphone casually.
Opened the Express app.
'Let's see how he's doing.'
Before starting, he'd peeked at Park Jae-ho's stream. Booking big corps and guests—pathetic.
'Healing stream? Pfft.'
Newbie couldn't even stream right.
He'd laughed his ass off. Park Jae-ho's corp gig was pure luck, probably.
Anyway, he checked Korean streams on Express, scanning viewer counts from the top.
'Wonder how many he's got now?'
First, his own count. Even daytime, should be around 100K by now.
But his face hardened.
'Huh? 65K?'
Weird. 40K short of expectations.
He eyed second place curiously.
His expression froze.
'What? 47K?'
Incredibly, second was nearing 50K. And it was Park Jae-ho—the very guy he'd planned to stomp.
Unbelievable.
'What the hell?'
He checked Park Jae-ho's title quick.
[Is it okay to wear something like this? Full Villa Bikini Stream with Rena, Doonggni, Ja-jang-ja-jang, and Sudden Man!]
And it clicked.
'Bikini?'
He knew it'd been a healing stream. That's why he'd relaxed.
But suddenly, the title flipped to bikini stream.
'Th-this is bad...'
He'd figured squashing Park Jae-ho would be easy. Never saw this coming.
Kim Kangrok shot to his feet.
No time for lounging. Had to do something.
"Oppa?"
"Kangrok bro?"
Everyone stared, puzzled by his sudden move. His face screamed anxiety.
"Everyone, gather round. Got something to say."
Truth? Nothing to say. Just buying time to think.
'What now?'
And just like that, Kim Kangrok found himself in a pinch he never expected.
All because of that Park Jae-ho he'd dismissed.
This was why streaming was a riot.
One mid-tier corp streamer in the top 10 had the almighty Kim Kangrok sweating.