First Ad! (3)
The contract with PUG was for three streams at three million won apiece — nine million won in total.
Even for a complete unknown, it felt like a painfully small number. The deal, however, came with a plus-alpha: every donation that came in during the broadcasts.
If the donations hit even about three hundred thousand won per stream, she could pull in close to ten million in a short stretch. Of course, actually raking in three hundred thousand in donations was no small feat.
Then I'll just have to work harder and pull those donations in myself.
She had already occupied and studied not only the VTuber scene but every other kind of streamer out there. The ways they coaxed donations out of their viewers were carved into her head.
It's doable.
She curled her hand into a small fist and swept her eyes over the dozens of cameras set up in front of her. There were more of them trained on her than she had ever seen on a drama set. She drew a light breath, calling up the stream she had done with Luna, easing that version of herself back to the surface — and that was when her gaze met a man wearing a broad, delighted grin.
"Haha. Quite a few cameras, huh? That's because this is a variety show too, in its own way. You don't need to be that tense, though. Just relax."
His hair had been set at an expensive salon, and his eyes were packed with mischief. This was Little Boy, the man who would be running the stream with her today. Spotting what he took for nerves, he slowly swept a hand from the top of her head down, throwing himself into the job of unclenching her.
He really didn't have to. If anything, the gesture only wound her tighter.
No. Better to take his help right now.
Little Boy's face was already familiar from round after round of game-tournament commentary. He would have more rapport with the players than she did, so following his lead made sense. She did as he wanted, drawing air in and letting it out, over and over.
"How about it? Feeling a little less tense?"
"Yes. There are a lot more cameras than on a drama set."
"Come on! You can't freak out over this! A real variety show has twice as many. You'll pass out the first time you actually shoot one."
More than twenty cameras were already rolling. More than this? She let a flicker of surprise show, and the corner of his mouth lifted until a dimple appeared.
"Well, I'm Kim Hyunsoo, a.k.a. Little Boy. During the stream, please call me Little Boy — or Mr. Little Boy."
"Your name is already Little Boy... Mr. Little Boy is a little..."
His mouth shut. He nodded along with her and still looked faintly disappointed. He already knew the sound of it was weird.
She took a step toward the man who had introduced himself first.
"Hello. I'm actress Lee Jiwoo. Looking forward to working with you today."
"Aww, that's way too stiff. Just be comfortable. We'll be doing this two more times after today, not just once."
He put on a kindly smile and lifted the mood again. She followed his lead, easing a smile of her own onto a moment that had gone a little too formal.
"Wow... when you smile, you're pretty. Then... shall we try using that to pull in a few donations?"
Thirty minutes before they went live, she and Little Boy traded light conversation with thoroughly villainous smiles.
"Um... we're about to start. Please refrain from smiling like that on stream."
The game director looked at the two of them and clutched his forehead.
Around eight in the evening, he gave his rumpled hair a light shake and powered on the PC.
A low whir filled the room. The monitors lit, and with the easy, practiced motion of long habit he started his personal stream. Behind him, a Silver Play Button and a Gold Play Button were on display. This was the owner of a three-million-subscriber channel: NewTuber Arahan.
He had heard that PUG would be running an official announcement and an event today, and he had decided to watch the video with his viewers.
"They'd better actually do this right this time."
Half complaint, half hope — he sent up a quiet prayer. As a variety-game NewTuber he played all kinds of titles, but as a partner of PUG's Survival Ground, watching the game wither had been painful.
"We're starting."
He went live on the hour and, together with chat, opened PUG's official NewTube channel.
The stream was on standby. A black screen with white lettering. Streamers usually dressed their waiting screens in their own characters; this was an official PUG broadcast, so no one had bothered. They streamed maybe once a month — no, once every six months if they felt like it. There was no reason to spend money on a waiting screen. Put simply, they were merchants. They did not spend money on things that did not make money.
Chat trickled in, one line after another. The viewers — the players — were not expecting much. This was not some rival company rolling out an actor or an idol. Every time the words "special guest" went up, it might as well have been a synonym for Little Boy. The pattern had hardened into something like official policy.
Arahan tossed a question at the people watching with him.
"You guys think the special guest is Little Boy this time too?"
Arahan laughed at the viewers staking even a man's pride on the bit and standing firm.
"Fair. It's been Little Boy every single time, so it'll be him again. Then... I'll put something on it too. The donation window's open for this one, so I'll drop a million won in there."
In his heart he wanted to do exactly what chat said and bet that the special guest was not Little Boy. Inwardly, though, he was sweating. This was not ten or twenty thousand won. He had put a full million on the line. That was a month of living expenses.
"Obviously! I'm betting on Little Boy! That's a safe asset!"
He said it with his chest out.
He flicked a glance through chat and then brazened it out. Of course he did.
"Aagh! No! If I donate a million won I'll be living on cup ramen for the rest of the month... After I pay the staff and peel off everything else, there's nothing left!"
Chat did not budge even after the sob story, and his shoulders gave a little twitch. These little bastards. After everything he had done for them. Fine. They had started it.
"Die! Just die!"
He passed the time handing out bans, one after another. Then the black screen changed, and the game director appeared.
"Hello, viewers, players. I'm Game Director Lee Seokhan. As for why I turned the stream on today..."
The director spent about thirty minutes on bugs and balance, and then, at last, it was time for the special guest they had been waiting for.
PUG's official NewTube chat was wallpapered with summons for Little Boy. The game director nodded and turned his gaze to the side.
"Haha! Caught already, huh. Hello, everyone! Little Boy here! Man, I was gonna surprise you, but you already knew. Fast on the uptake, aren't you~"
Easy banter, a voice laced with mischief. The viewers reacted exactly as if they had known all along.
Then—
"Unfortunately, you are all wrong! I was not actually the special guest this time! Curious who it is?"
The corner of Little Boy's mouth hooked up in a grin. Chat flooded with question marks. That was how badly they had been thrown.
The camera swung sideways, and a woman filled the frame. Every viewer's hands froze, Arahan's included. Chat locked in place. No one had seen this coming.
"Uh.... uhhh?"
As the seconds passed and their brains slowly came back online, the woman walked, unhurried, to the seat Little Boy had just been occupying.
And then—
"Hello, Survival Ground players and PUG viewers. I'm rookie actress Lee Jiwoo. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Jiwoo waved, the corners of her mouth tipped up just slightly — and Arahan shot to his feet with a shout, startled half out of his skin by the sight of her.
"Why... why is she here?!"
"My one million won!!"
He should have listened to chat...
I had been crouched in a corner for nearly thirty minutes when the camera director finally signaled that it was my turn. I set my coffee on the chair, quickly neatened my hair and my clothes, and walked to my mark.
"Cue."
At the director's sign, the cameras swung toward me. I pushed the faint tremor down and offered the lens a small smile — only a small one, because Little Boy and I had a plan. Matching the camera's pace, I walked slowly to my seat.
"Hello, Survival Ground players and PUG viewers. I'm rookie actress Lee Jiwoo. It's a pleasure to meet you."
I waved with both hands as I greeted them, and my voice reached living rooms across the country. Only then did the frozen chat start moving again.
"Haha. Chat's losing it today. Can't say I blame them. I've seen a lot of celebrities over the years, but among them there are three people who just radiate light."
Little Boy suddenly thrust a hand toward the camera and started raising fingers, one by one.
"First, as everyone knows — the visual menace of Korea's top idols! Kyla!"
"Second, a world-class actor! Klaus Merry!"
"And the third one was decided today! Actress Lee Jiwoo!"
Little Boy introduced me without managing to get his excitement under control.
Please... please... stop.
Are you trying to kill me with embarrassment?!