Hiring a Manager (2)

[Workshop has become your manager.]

Viewers who had occasionally caught her eye since the first broadcast hosted by Cheri. Especially Workshop, who had left numerous friendly chats directed at Nam Haneul, leaving a favorable impression in her heart.

'A m-manager should be someone who watches ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the streams a lot...'

And YeonYoonYeonYoon had a talent for posting amusing chats. While streaming, she'd sometimes glance at the chat and burst out laughing, and most of those were from YeonYoonYeonYoon.

"W-well then, nice to work with you. Hehe, sounds good, right?"

lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao

lmao for real

"I-I won't bother explaining a manager's role."

Nam Haneul nodded, convinced she'd wisely chosen her managers. In reality, it wasn't much different from picking randomly.

Still, she took meaning in the fact that her stream now had managers where there were none before. And on another note, she trusted her Luck stat. With over 80 Luck, even random picks should land good people—that conviction ran strong.

lmao oh yeah

'God-tier'

Eh? Could see Hong Suyeon in person?

The viewers recalled that Hong Suyeon was on her manager list. Stream managers often built close ties with streamers, sharing contacts, so they hoped Nam Haneul's managers might connect to Hong Suyeon.

Yeah true

Even those who hadn't cared about becoming managers jumped in, claiming the role for Nam Haneul. She'd planned to pick two and observe for a while, but seeing this, her mind shifted a bit.

The already-appointed managers teased the others. In truth, Nam Haneul's stream had reached mid-tier size. Managing viewers was getting tougher, so more managers were better.

After some thought, before queuing for games, she shrank her cam feed and opened an online voice program, Miscode.

"Th-then, post your IDs in chat, and I'll call. Manager auditions."

Her reason for on-stream interviews was simple.

A mission had popped up.

Nam Haneul checked the rewards and hesitated briefly. Boosting Masculinity felt like it'd build her confidence. But the points were overwhelmingly tempting. With her title's effect, they'd multiply by 1.5—essentially 300 points, a huge sum.

Insane

Let's go

Plus, Nam Haneul herself—unaware—had grown as a streamer. Interviews seemed more entertaining than just picking.

"Alright... you first."

Scanning the scrolling chat, she picked one. The nickname PuwangPpuPpuPpuPuwangPpuPpu caught her eye.

Ding—

The viewer accepted the temp voice room invite and joined.

"H-hello."

"Prrrrt."

"?"

Dingdong.

The viewer farted upon entry and left. Nam Haneul gaped, dumbfounded.

Bathroom break

Throne room princess stream confirmed

"N-no way. What? K-kick him please!"

"Eek...!"

Already infamous for getting teased, Nam Haneul was one with her viewers and managers now.

"O-okay, next invite."

Ding—

"Oh, hi."

"Whoa hehe, it's real. Hi. Hehe."

Dingdong.

She kicked the next one immediately. The voice was familiar—echoing her pre-transformation loser days. Her instincts kicked in.

It was Femininity at work—vibrating with a bad vibe.

"Ahem... N-no proper people...?"

Despite her high Luck, Nam Haneul wondered why no good fits appeared. She even grew anxious about her prior picks.

Ding—

The next viewer joined.

"The stream's blown up huge..."

Sin Yesul had watched since Nam Haneul's debut on Cheri's stream. With her short streaming history, "loyal fan" felt odd, but that's how she saw herself.

First stream, sporadic game sessions, collab with Hong Suyeon—she'd set alarms and never missed one.

"Lucky her..."

She felt a kinship with Nam Haneul. At 23, a shut-in hikikomori crammed in a one-room. She vaguely blamed school bullying.

For some reason, Nam Haneul felt like her doppelganger.

"Hmm..."

Thus, Nam Haneul's changes sparked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hope in Sin Yesul. If someone like her could grow, maybe she could too. That evolved into affection beyond admiration.

So when others got picked as managers, jealousy hit. She believed she'd excel most—surpassing Cheri and even Hong Suyeon, as the closest match to Nam Haneul.

That sentiment morphed into obsession.

"Please... please..."

Clutching her tangled hair, legs trembling.

"Next up~"

When Nam Haneul's friend request pinged on Miscode, she beamed—a pure smile after years shut in.

Dingdong—

"Uh, h-hi, h-hello."

"Uh, huh? Y-yes, hello."

Two eerily similar people met in the voice chat, stammering in sync.

"O-oh... a f-female viewer. Please introduce yourself."

Nam Haneul spoke smoother than Sin Yesul. Recent experiences and high Acting helped her eloquence.

"I-I'm, uh, 23, and I watch every single one of Haneul's streams without missing any, and I r-really like them, love them."

"Uh...? Th-thanks?"

Nam Haneul sensed the similarity but got chills, rubbing her arms. Nice to be liked, but something felt off—her first brush with excessive affection feeling weird.

"I-I have tons of time, watch lots of streams, can be a great manager..."

Sin Yesul spilled excitedly, then trailed off—typical recluse trait, starting strong but swallowing endings.

Nam Haneul scratched her cheek listening.

Viewers reacted positively. Finally, someone Nam Haneul could "win" against. Even if she shone more getting teased, variety was good.

"Hmm..."

But she hesitated to hire Sin Yesul outright. The affection felt unsettling from the start.

The new mission tempted an easy ban. The system flagged it as pathological—ongoing obsession could spell stream trouble. Her improved Intellect let her judge that.

If not for the juicy hire reward.

"Uh, alright! Be my manager!"

lmao lmao rofl

Snagging 600P instantly, Nam Haneul grinned ear to ear. To climb tiers properly, she queued games and swapped to the game screen.

"Alright... let's do this for real!"

She opened her status window and eyed the Talents tab.