Let's Go on a Date (2)
Yang Cheri wasn't a streamer on the level of a total heavyweight. Still, after streaming for a decent stretch of time, she had plenty of folks she could call acquaintances. The streamer they were meeting today was one of them.
He'd ended up collabing with her through another streamer, and their personalities clicked so well they'd gotten pretty close.
"I-I'm s-so n-nervous."
Even if Nam Haneul had been meeting a ton of people lately, she was still she. The idea of facing someone new didn't sit all that well with her.
Yang Cheri nodded at the sight, thinking, Yup, that's the Haneul unnie I know. The sudden flutter of excitement had left her confused, too hard to accept all at once.
"It's fine. We're the same that way."
"Th-then it's e-even sc-scarier?"
"What? What're you talking about?"
"N-no, nothing…."
The two hopped out of the cab right after it pulled away from the café. The meeting spot wasn't far from where they'd agreed to link up anyway.
"Oh, what's the name of the streamer we're meeting today?"
"Real name's Park Joonchul, but just call him Jaman."
"Jaman?"
"It used to be ElectronMan, but he ditched the 'Electro' 'cause it sounded too corny."
"Ah…."
Yang Cheri grabbed Nam Haneul's hand and headed up to the studio. Nam Haneul thought her hand felt nice and warm.
Ah… why does this keep happening!
In reality, it was just her heart pounding so hard her body had heated up. Anyway, when Yang Cheri knocked on the studio door, a crash and clatter echoed from inside.
"Whoa… c-come on in."
The guy who opened the door was pretty tall. With his light brown, wild curly hair and thick horn-rimmed glasses, he screamed classic nerd. He was on the skinny side with pale skin, too.
W-was she always this pretty?
His cheeks flushed pink as he stared at Nam Haneul's face. She'd seemed cute on stream, but up close, she was straight-up idol-level gorgeous. Jaman scratched his cheek awkwardly, gazing at her like she was a work of art.
Yang Cheri, who'd been bowing her head with their hands linked, shot him a glare and suddenly got pissed.
"What're you staring at!"
She nailed him in the solar plexus with her free hand. He gasped, sucking in air with wide, panicked eyes.
"Ugh…?"
Nam Haneul, peeking from behind Yang Cheri, tilted her head in total confusion. A soft smile played on her lips as she tossed her hair back, exposing the elegant line of her neck.
"L-let's g-go in!"
"Y-yeah! L-let's!"
Yang Cheri and Jaman both flushed beet red at the sight and hustled inside. Nam Haneul, still clueless, just let Yang Cheri pull her along by the hand.
"Whoa."
Nam Haneul gawked at Jaman's studio. She'd been a guy once, after all, and knew her way around PC parts. The latest graphics cards were there, plus stacks of pricey RAM that cost a fortune. Boxes for phones and smartwatches piled up everywhere, too.
"Th-there's s-so much. Y-you must be loaded…?"
She muttered in awe at the unfamiliar space, loud enough for Jaman to hear.
"Hah, haha. Nah, not loaded or anything. I just splurge sometimes. Plus, I get sponsor stuff now and then."
"Ah~ st-still, that's impressive."
Yang Cheri shot an awkward-smiling Jaman another annoyed look and plopped down, arms crossed, grumbling pointlessly.
"He's just an otaku, nothing to praise."
"St-still though."
"Sit down quick, unnie. We'll get the setup and bounce."
Yang Cheri yanked Nam Haneul's arm, pulled her into a hug, and plopped her down next to her. Nam Haneul blinked in bewilderment but blushed a bit when her elbow brushed Yang Cheri's chest.
"Otaku my ass! Oh, I mentioned we'd co-stream today, right? That cool?"
"Y-yeah… I mean, I'm a streamer now too."
"You think unnie came here without thinking of that?"
Jaman flicked Yang Cheri's forehead for her extra snippy vibe today.
"Why you picking a fight?"
"Ow! Why'd you hit me! Unnie, tell him off!"
"Uh… d-don't do that?"
Nam Haneul rubbed her neck with an awkward smile. Her hair shifted, highlighting her neckline and bare shoulder.
"Ah, no! Unnie, aren't you cold? You came out like that?"
"I rushed out… y-yeah, it's cold."
"Aigoo…! Hey! Unnie's cold. Crank the boiler."
"Why am I the only one getting chewed out."
Jaman grumbled but bumped up the boiler temp and sat. Blocked by Yang Cheri, he ended up one seat away from Nam Haneul.
"Alright, going live."
As Jaman hit the button, viewers piled in fast. Nam Haneul was still lowkey about it, but the other two had hyped the collab ahead of time.
But the biggest buzz was around Nam Haneul. Her interactions with Hong Suyeon and the team pick had sparked all sorts of rumors.
Four hundred viewers right off the bat—a huge win for Jaman and Yang Cheri.
The first thing viewers freaked out over was Nam Haneul's looks. Her Charm stat at 92 outdid even Hong Suyeon's. And thanks to the Camera Massage skill she'd picked up last time, her appeal shone right through the screen. She looked every bit the celebrity.
"Kiha~ Today we've got Haneul-nim and Cheri-nim here. Give 'em a round of applause!"
"Kiha…?"
"Pfft!"
Nam Haneul blinked at the weird greeting, making Yang Cheri burst out laughing.
"Ah, it's…."
"'Machine Park' shortened to 'KiPaki'—that's my fandom name…."
"Ah… okay."
"Pfft! See, that's why I said pick a different name."
"No… it has a nice ring, right Haneul-nim?"
"Uh… yeah."
"Anyway! We're here to hook up Princess Haneul with broadcast gear and a PC build, so let's dive right in."
"Hey! We wouldn't even be here without this!"
"Yeah yeah, take good care of these big sis types, Jaman."
"Haha…."
Amid the hyped-up streamers, Nam Haneul gave an awkward smile. Watching them, she thought it was nice having close streamer friends like this.
"Anyway… do you know what mic and cam you're using now?"
"Huh? Uh…. Mic's just the headset one, and the c-cam…."
Nam Haneul hopped on the PC, searched for cheap webcams, sorted by lowest price, and clicked one around 6,000 won.
"Th-this one."
"Pardon??"
"What?"
Jaman tweaked the stream overlay to show cam and browser side-by-side. Viewers couldn't believe her setup.
Viewers chuckled, piecing together why she looked extra stunning on Jaman's stream. Sure, the real reason was her skyrocketing Charm stat, but the crappy cam did play a part. Even with Camera Massage, garbage hardware couldn't deliver.
"Whoa… you really just started streaming like this?"
"Uh… n-needed money…."
Nam Haneul had basically been shoved into it. Without her dad's wrath, she'd never have started.
"Ah, s-so… keep the quote reasonable today…."
She shot him a worried glance. Even with mission cash, her balance wasn't flush.
"Don't worry about that, unnie."
"Huh…?"
Yang Cheri beamed, slapping a hand on Nam Haneul's shoulder.
"Ta-da~"
She flashed a black card. Nam Haneul glanced between it and her face, head tilted in confusion.
"Y-you're p-paying? Why…?"
"Nope, not me."
Yang Cheri shook her head—nope, not hers.
"I got this bad boy straight from God Suyeon-nim herself."
"What? For real? Yo, is that legit?"
Jaman gawked, grilling her. "Yup, for real~ She even told me to get the quote in the first place."
"Huh…?"
Nam Haneul blinked. Yang Cheri knowing Hong Suyeon was surprise enough, but her footing the bill for a PC?
"That's why I set up the meet the day after your collab with Suyeon-nim~ You really had no clue?"
"No idea…."
"Whoa, then no budget limit basically?"
"Yup!"
Yang Cheri nodded smugly. Hong Suyeon was paying, but she strutted like it was her cash.
"Wh-when did y-you two…?"
"Huh? Me and God Suyeon-nim are both unnie's managers for now. That's the excuse she used to hit me up?"
"D-does that even work…?"
"Let's spec it out then? No worries on cash, full PC and gear? This card good to go wild with?"
"Yup! She said spend big, her money's no object."
"But… why?"
Jaman buzzed at the Hong Suyeon connection; Yang Cheri matched his hype. Nam Haneul alone stayed lost in the confusion. Hong Suyeon had been weirdly nice from the jump.
"Alright, I'll whip up a build in no time!"
The card was with Yang Cheri, specs by Jaman. No time for Nam Haneul to process—he dove right in.