Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Catching the New Whale
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BJ Yeoujjing, real name Kim Hana.
She was a fifth-year broadcaster.
Every day, around 30,000 streams went live on Koreatv.
Every month, more than a thousand new broadcasters flooded in.
Half of the newbies quit within a month, and 80 percent vanished within three.
By the end of a year, maybe 10 percent stuck around?
In a market like that, surviving five years proved Kim Hana had talent for broadcasting—and poured her blood and sweat into it.
One of those efforts was squeezing every last coin out of whales.
After all, whales accounted for 90 percent of a female cam broadcaster's revenue.
'This time, I have to hook him no matter what. Of all people, why did it have to be Song Oppa...'
Kim Hana gripped the wheel of her red foreign luxury car, steeling her resolve.
Today, come hell or high water, she had to land this new mark.
No, this new whale—and plant him firmly in her stream.
She still had a mountain of mortgage and car payments left.
And in the middle of all that, her chairman had bailed on the stream.
His wife had found out about their "relationship."
It wasn't a huge crisis or anything.
She just didn't like him privately messaging and having those pseudo-romantic chats.
Couldn't be helped.
It's not like Kim Hana could hold a knife to his throat and force him to drop coins.
Still, losing the chairman was a massive blow.
He was the one who dropped most of the coins in her room.
The other hardcore fans tried, but most couldn't even hit 10,000 a day.
That kind of chump change couldn't cover Kim Hana's inflated spending habits anymore.
Just live frugally from now on, right?
Absolutely not.
Sure, her extravagance had roots in greed and mood-boosting splurges.
But far more important was showing the industry she hadn't crashed and burned.
Koreatv was built on solo streams at its core.
But the bigger you got, the more you collabed with others.
Joint streams or public collabs.
There, you'd inevitably cross paths with other female cam broadcasters or fellow BJs.
Show any sign of slipping a tier?
Invites to those collabs would dry up instantly.
Do you really need that kind of exposure? you might wonder.
Of course you do.
A female cam broadcaster with a rock-solid base of whales and hardcore fans could ignore them.
But for someone like Kim Hana, with a shaky viewer pool, she had to keep showing up.
High-viewer streams had whales and diehards galore.
You had to flaunt your charm there and lure them back to your room.
'Is that him?'
A lone guy stood at the agreed-upon bus stop.
He was the only one there, so he had to be Unemployed Oppa.
Short stature, zero muscle tone.
Far from Kim Hana's type.
The one silver lining? Younger than your average hardcore fan.
She wasn't here for romance anyway.
She just needed to enchant him into a loyal fanboy.
Kim Hana smoothed her expression and pulled up to the curb.
"Unemployed Oppa! That you?"
"Ah, yeah. I'm WantToBeUnemployed."
"Hop in quick. Must've been rough waiting."
With the passenger window down, Kim Hana flashed a smile while scanning Lee Hyunwoo from head to toe.
No designer labels anywhere.
Doesn't like flashy stuff?
From experience, she'd learned even rich folks varied by family vibe and spending style.
The passenger door opened, and Lee Hyunwoo climbed in.
No cologne? A faint musty whiff hit her.
But Kim Hana's smile didn't falter.
"Why so tense? First time meeting a BJ?"
Lee Hyunwoo was stiff as a board.
Classic introvert type.
Perfect.
These ones were easy to cook.
She was even prepared to spread her legs if needed.
But introverts rode the vibe easy—grab their hand a bit, and they'd assume everything, offering it all up.
"Ah... yeah... I tried not to be nervous, but I kinda am."
"'Cause I'm too pretty?"
"Huh?"
"Ahahaha! Why so shocked? You saying I'm not pretty? Weird. Every guy's praised me so far."
"Oh! You are pretty. Yeoujjing. Super pretty."
"Right? Can you get specific? Like, what makes me pretty?"
"Uh... umm..."
"Hahaha, kidding, kidding. Didn't realize till now, but you're fun to tease, Oppa. And drop the formal speech. You stopped in the stream earlier—why back to it? Let's keep it casual, okay?"
Kim Hana tossed jokes effortlessly to loosen him up.
This was child's play for her.
"What food you into, Oppa? Held off reserving to match your taste."
"Dunno. I'm good with anything."
"Tch, you tell your girlfriend 'anything' and expect her to be happy? Pick properly."
"Uh, then... meat? Haven't grilled some in forever."
"Got it. Service coming right up, sir."
On the way to the BBQ joint, her efforts paid off—Lee Hyunwoo's tension eased.
And she felt his eyes on her.
'There we go. You're a guy after all.'
She'd dressed to show curves just for him.
The deep V-neck tee hugged her chest.
The short miniskirt bared her thighs to the limit.
Kim Hana curled her lips.
"You can stare outright, y'know."
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"I said stare away. Don't sneak peeks. I wore this for you to see—if you don't, I'll be offended."
Gulp. The swallow echoed in her ears.
Gotcha.
Pinpoint bullseye.
For the first time since meeting, Kim Hana smiled genuinely.
"So, Oppa, what do you do?"
Confirming he'd fallen for her figure, she probed his background.
"Just work at a company."
"Company? Where?"
"Tiny place you've never heard of. Quitting tomorrow, though. Work's not for me."
"Small place means crap pay, huh. So you're a trust fund kid?"
"Eh? Kinda, yeah."
'Hmm...'
Kim Hana caught a vague unease in his response.
Too genuine for acting, but he dodged.
Worth poking?
"Whoa, lucky. My family's not loaded, so I hustle up front like this. You don't even need a job to eat."
"Yeah. I count my blessings there."
This time, confidence laced his tone.
So he had money.
Complicated family stuff?
Didn't matter to her.
Only if he dropped coins in her room.
"Jealous. You'll hit my stream tomorrow too, right?"
Kim Hana trailed a finger over the back of his hand.
Slid it smoothly.
Her long, pale fingers snaked between his like serpents.
Whoosh—her brain supplied the sound effect as his face flushed.
"Y-yeah. Of course. Th-that's... actually, got something to say about that..."
"Yeah, yeah. Oh, we're here. Hold up, Oppa. I'm parking. Suck at it, so just park first, then you talk."
Lee Hyunwoo started to speak, but she cut him off.
Time for her killer move.
Truth was, Kim Hana drove like a pro.
Great spatial awareness—parked as well as most guys.
But she played it up to grab eyes.
She reached back, gripping the passenger rear.
Twisted to check behind.
Naturally, her chest swung toward him.
She flaunted the deep cleavage.
His gaze locked on.
All per plan.
Backup cam was there, but no one to point it out.
She leaned in, giving prime V-neck view.
His stare burned hot on her cleavage.
Playing hopeless parker, she took her sweet time lining up.
Enough show— she finished parking.
"Whew, parking always stresses me out. What were you gonna say, Oppa?"
"Ah... nothing. Later. After food."
"Cool. Do that."
Out of the car, Kim Hana skipped to the passenger side.
Linked arms with Lee Hyunwoo as he got out.
Her chest pressed his forearm.
He tensed it at the feel.
His face stiffened too.
Such innocent reactions felt cute—rare these days.
'Been dealing with too many old dudes?'
Made sense.
Whales with cash were all that age.
The skinship with a peer thrilled her too.
Age mattered, huh.
Frankly, Lee Hyunwoo's looks were subpar.
Without the wealth vibe, she'd ignore him.
'Hmm, decisions...'
Tempted to toy with him.
Or tease till ripe, then drain dry.
Couldn't decide.
Best to play it by ear over dinner.
"Hanwoo beef place...?"
"Why? Hate beef?"
"Nah, not that, but expens... never mind. We're here, let's go."
What?
Sounded like "expensive" there.
Upscale spot, sure, but not top-tier.
A guy dropping 50k coins calling hanwoo pricey?
Kim Hana sensed something off, vowing deeper recon.
Over meat and chat, her suspicions solidified.
Whales had that rich aura.
A solid ego, whatever the scene or company.
Not arrogance or power-tripping.
Lots of rich folks were kind and polite.
Manners were personality.
But Lee Hyunwoo? Zero rich vibe.
Some grow up low-key, sure.
But always deferring, mirroring her? Not rich behavior.
'Wrong catch?'
No way.
He dropped 50k—that was fact.
Two options: Burned his salary and debt for coins, total psycho.
Or sudden nouveau riche.
Not the first.
A fresh dropper going mad that quick? Slim odds.
So, nouveau riche it was.
Lottery win?
Perfect.
Fresher money peeled easier.
"Huh...?"
Probing his finances, Kim Hana heard the unexpected.
"So what I'm saying is..."
"Wait, got it. You want back the equivalent of the coins you dropped? Why...? Oppa, you run toto?"
She knew it wasn't, but asked anyway.
One chairman ran illegal toto, but they didn't launder like this.
Plus 15 percent of coins? Too slim for laundering margins.
Made even less sense.
"Nah, nothing illegal. Anyway, you in? Or out?"
Her sharp instincts flared.
This answer would define their bond.
How to play?
Thought simple nouveau, but maybe not.
Really clean?
Dunno.
But one thing clear: Lee Hyunwoo across from her beat any past chairman as a cash cow.
Kim Hana beamed her most alluring smile.
"Oppa, I'm down. But 15 percent feels steep, no?"
"No... I already lowballed that. Think—tax bracket tops 35 percent, but with a tax guy trimming, it drops more."
"Not what I mean."
Kim Hana slid her foot under the table.
Her toe grazed his knee.
Her toes wriggled seductively.
"Oppa, if we get close... 10 percent possible?"