Year-End Party (1)
Time flew by so fast that the year-end atmosphere had completely taken over. The platform's year-end party was finally happening tonight. I'd planned to rest until evening and then hop on stream for the party, but here I was—why the hell did I have to start the day doing a fitness broadcast in a sports bra and leggings?!
"Huff... huff..." This was brutal. I couldn't keep going like this. Time to pull some aggro and buy myself a breather.
"Fifth day of the fitness stream. I have awakened."
"Status window."
Streamer Tteongi
Intelligence: 1
Strength: 1
"Ranked first in both intelligence and strength? What a dull life."
"SSS-rank Hunter Tteongi, here is your one-kilogram dumbbell."
"Is there no stronger opponent?"
"Perfect. I was thinking of increasing the reps anyway. Let's add ten more today."
"No no no! I was joking!!"
I tried to stall for time and it backfired. Goddammit.
"Ah, thank you for the subscription~ Please come watch me a lot."
The happiness of becoming a Partner streamer was short-lived. A shitty meme had been born.
"...Heueung."
"Heueung! Is that good enough?"
"Heueung? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ah..." How was I supposed to explain this?
"It's better if you don't know..."
"When did I ever do that, you crazy bastard?!"
Gaeun stared at me with utter contempt in her eyes.
"You're not actually believing those guys, right?"
"If it was you, I could see it happening."
"This is slander..."
"Then do ten more reps and I'll believe you."
"Why did the conversation suddenly go there?"
"Just try it once."
I had already finished two sets of ten. Could I really add another full set?
"Now breathe out while..."
"Hoo..."
Huh? It was more manageable than I expected. What was going on?
"Eight, nine..."
"Nnnngh..."
"Nine... nine and a half."
"There's no such thing!"
"Ten."
"Hooong..."
My stamina really was improving from all this working out. Come to think of it, I'd been waking up feeling refreshed lately, too.
"Gaeun unnie, my stamina's gotten better, right?"
"Yeah, you're doing well. Keep it up just like this."
I took the towel The Queen offered and wiped away my sweat. The worst part was how my bangs got all sticky and clung to my forehead whenever I sweated.
"Wow~ Tteongi, that shot looks amazing."
Aram didn't miss a single moment and kept filming.
"But is it okay to keep uploading these workout streams to the new YouTube channel? Won't people get tired of it?"
"They're begging me to milk it for the rest of my life."
"Cut it off."
"Ugh. Can I return this Partner streamer badge?"
If I didn't do the heueung now, the chat would crash and get flooded with dildo spam.
"Fucking bastards..."
I stared at my phone with a deadpan expression.
"Heueung. Happy now?"
"Don't explain that kind of thing in detail, you lunatic."
"Tteongi. You've rested enough now, right?" Gaeun said.
"The viewers keep asking me to interact more, so..."
"Looks like Tteongi wants to make those weird noises again, Gaeun sunbae."
"Q-Queen. If you say things like that the viewers will..."
"Heueung, fuck."
"Then, Tteongi, ride the treadmill for thirty minutes while we work out."
"Understood."
Gaeun glanced at the phone that was still recording.
"Viewers, if Tteongi tries to slack off, tell me right away."
The treadmill belt started moving. Every step made my chest feel like it was crushing my shoulders.
"Walking is the thing I hate most in the world..."
"Ah fuck, stop subscribing."
"I'm not doing heueung anymore."
"Fine! I'll do it! Take my ahegao too, dammit."
I made a V sign with both hands and stuck my tongue out.
"Eheuuung~"
"Shut up. I'm not enjoying it."
"Tteongi."
Aram spoke while filming from the side.
"What?"
"You know there's the platform year-end party tonight, right?"
"Yeah, I know. That's why I wasn't planning to do a workout stream today and was going to start in the evening instead."
"This is your first time attending the year-end party, right Tteongi?"
"Yeah. Have you been before, Aram?"
"Yep. Partner streamers can invite a few friends, so I've tagged along a couple times."
"I see."
Aram put on a confident expression.
"That's why I'm going to give you a pre-party briefing! How does that sound?"
"Then for the pre-briefing, unfortunately the treadmill should..."
"You can just listen while you walk, can't you?"
"Do you know how many Partner streamers attended last year's year-end party?"
"How many?"
"A whopping three hundred!"
"That's a lot. But are there only that many Partner streamers?"
"That's how many attended the party. There are probably more in reality."
"True."
The briefing was pretty weak for something called a pre-briefing.
"Is that all?"
"No, the real part starts now! At the year-end party, all the big streamers turn on their broadcasts at the same time, so pulling aggro is insanely hard."
"That makes sense. Unless they're my die-hard fans, no one's going to watch my stream."
"I heard from Danbalqueen that you're wearing a dress. Is that true?"
"Yeah..." I didn't remember agreeing to it, but somehow it had become an established fact.
"A plain dress won't do. If it were up to me I'd tell you to go naked."
"You crazy woman."
"Danbalqueen probably picked out something pretty for you, right?"
I hoped it would be something normal, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.
Thirty minutes later, I stepped down from the treadmill. By then The Queen and Gaeun had come over to my side.
"Um... Tteongi."
"Yes?"
"It somehow ended up that I'm going to the year-end party with you."
Gaeun spoke with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Really, Queen?"
"Yes. I won't be asking the butler to handle outdoor broadcasts anymore."
That made sense. The butler did seem a bit advanced in age.
"From now on, Gaeun sunbae will be in charge of my outdoor broadcasts."
Then I just had to stay on Gaeun's good side.
"Please film me sometimes too! The Queen's room has so many viewers that pulling aggro there would be amazing."
"It feels like I've been given a heavy responsibility. Anyway, I'll do my best."
Meanwhile, Aram walked over to The Queen.
"Danbalqueen! What kind of dress is Tteongi going to wear?"
"You'll be shocked when you see it."
"Oh! I'm looking forward to it."
The Queen gave me a suggestive smile.
"..."
It was probably just a normal dress, right? I'd already walked around in a bunny girl outfit, so a dress should be nothing.
"Tteongi, shall we go shower now?"
"Ah, yes."
"You can't follow."
"Aww~ I know that much at least."
Inside the underground parking lot. We decided to head to The Queen's mansion and stay there until the party started.
"Whoa~ The car is really nice."
Aram immediately started filming around the car.
"Queen, why are you still streaming..." I was about to end the broadcast.
"Ah~ I got a call earlier. The dress has arrived, so we're doing a prep stream too."
"It's a strategy to build anticipation before the party! As expected of Danbalqueen, that veteran vibe!"
With around 4,300 viewers right now... showing them the dress for a bit wouldn't be bad.
"Alright~ Everyone hop in quickly."
"Excuse me."
"This is my first time riding such an expensive car!"
The Queen and I sat in the front, while Gaeun and Aram took the back seats.
"Could I hold that for a moment?"
"You can speak casually. I'm two years younger than Tteongi."
"Ah, really? Sorry. We haven't talked much so... your name was Aram, right?"
"Yes! Feel free to call me Aram, Gaeun unnie."
Gaeun took the selfie stick and started handling it like a dumbbell. The screen shook like a boat on rough waves.
"Oh, it's got some weight to it."
"Around four hundred grams?"
"Yes, about that."
"Seeing you carry this around, you're still better than Tteongi."
"That doesn't really sound like a compliment..."
Suddenly Gaeun shoved the selfie stick toward me.
"Tteongi, do some aegyo."
"What?!"
"I want to see what it feels like on camera."
"No, I..."
"Gaeun sunbae, Tteongi does a really good cat impression, remember?"
"Oh right, that would work. It'd be a waste if only we got to see it."
"Ugh..." These people were really something else!
"N-nyaong..."
It felt like I was walking around the streets naked.
"Hoo..."
"Kyaaak~ Tteongi, let's use this as the intro for the new YouTube channel!"
"Don't you dare..."
"Understood!"
"Don't make it..."
"So that's the vibe. Okay, I got it now."
We arrived in front of the mansion. I was already dying from the workout, so why did the garden have to be this ridiculously huge?
"Wow! Everyone in Tteongi's chat, there's even a pond in the garden here!"
Aram swung the selfie stick around, filming the scenery.
"I've only seen stuff like this in dramas..."
"Amazing, right Gaeun unnie? This is our house."
"It's not your house."
"Ah, baby house?"
"They're saying weird stuff again. Gaeun unnie, scold them please."
"From what I see, you're the problem."
"..."
We entered the dressing room inside the mansion. Two dresses that had just arrived were hanging there wrapped in plastic.
"Oh..."
What was this? The exposure was lower than I expected and it looked really modest.
"It's navy. Pretty."
This I could wear without any issues.
"That's the one I'll be wearing. This black dress is for you, Tteongi."
"Huh?"
I examined the black dress right beside it. The back was completely torn open as if something had gnawed through it.
'Yeah, this is exactly what I'd expect from The Queen.'
"Wow, the exposure on this is no joke."
"Tteongi said she definitely needs to wear something like this to pull aggro."
The Queen spoke as if it had been my own suggestion, completely calm.
"As expected of Tteongi! You were born with the talent for pulling aggro."
"Well, you've worn clothes like this plenty of times, Tteongi."
No I haven't. This is my first time wearing something like this today.