Playing with My Heart
My heart was being toyed with.
"Hello, Ms. Han Areum. This is Kim Manho, the manager for Nana Channel. Would now be a good time for a call?"
"Ah, yes. Sure, go ahead."
"I just spoke with Nana, and she said she owes you a huge debt of gratitude. Allow me to thank you on her behalf."
"Nah, no debt or anything. I had fun too, thanks to her."
"Haha, hearing that makes us even more grateful. Nana mentioned you run a YouTube channel too."
"Ah, yeah. It's just a little hobby channel, nothing much."
"I took a quick look beforehand. 'Camping, Steadfast as Ever.' The visuals are so unique. Do you edit it yourself?"
...Is he beating around the bush?
"Yeah, sorta. Just rough cuts and pastes, nothing fancy."
"Haha, no, it's got this subtle charm despite seeming simple. The reason I'm calling is—how about our pro editing team handles the video you two shot together?"
Pro editing, for free?
"Editing? Out of the blue like that?"
"Think of it as a small token of thanks for the favor you did Nana. Combining your footage into one video would boost the quality big time."
Ooh... what a spot-on offer. He knows exactly what I want.
"Can I upload that edited video to my YouTube?"
"Of course! Without you, Nana might've come home empty-handed."
No reason to turn this down.
"...Well, sure. Thanks a ton if you do."
[...]
Ah, was my tone weird...? I could feel him flinch through the phone.
"Haha... yes, got it. Upload it to your channel first, then to ours a week later—sound good?"
"Yes, perfect. Thanks for the consideration."
"No problem. I'll contact you once editing's done."
The call ended, and I stared blankly at my smartphone screen for a while.
...What is this?
Kim Manho, manager. His overly kind voice lingered in my ears.
A token of thanks? A favor? Give me a break. Nothing's free in this world. They're probably desperate for content—Nana's footage alone wouldn't cut it, so they're sucking up to me.
Still, no loss for me.
A 1.5 million sub channel's pro editors doing my video for free? Unthinkable for a failed YouTuber like me.
Life's full of surprises.
Humming cheerfully, I dragged my heavy body to the bathroom. The thought of skipping that dreadful editing had my lips grinning throughout the shower.
Flopping onto the bed fresh and clean, a pleasant fatigue washed over me.
"Im Nana... Nana Channel... Time to check her out?"
Since we'd be collabing again, I searched for 'Nana Channel'.
And there, at the top, was a steaming hot new upload.
...Huh? What the—Manho? Didn't we just talk 30 minutes ago?
They work this fast these days...?
Unable to resist, I tapped the preview.
It opened with Nana despairing in the rain, unable to pitch her tent.
Then the screen faded to black with a dramatic subtitle.
[The moment she was about to give up on everything... a single ray of light appeared before her!]
Next, me in rain gear, tossing her an umbrella and expertly pitching the tent—in slow motion.
Epic hero-movie BGM swelled in the background.
Wait, hold up. They're editing it like this?
Then, massive Gungsuh font subtitle filled the screen.
[Wh.o .is .sh.e.?]
And it ended.
My mind reeled at this heretic-of-camping-YouTube visual style.
...That crazy manager, what the hell did he do?
My hands trembled.
This a 'thanks'? A 'favor'? This is just making a fool of someone!
Legendary wildman? Ray of light? What is this third-rate wuxia novel?
I had to call out this nonsense right now. I couldn't hold back. This mocked my camping philosophy.
Bolting upright, I furiously scrolled my call log.
Found the top recent call and hit dial without a breath.
"Manager! What the hell is that preview? How can you edit like that?!"
"Pardon? Ah, you saw the preview. Was there... something you didn't like?"
"'Didn't like' doesn't cover it! What's the essence of camping videos? Raw emotion! Heresy like flashy BGM or Gungsuh subtitles—HERESY! HEEEEERE-SYYYYY!!!"
"Y-yes...?"
Kim Manho sounded totally flustered by my sudden outburst.
"Viewers want wind rustling, crackling firewood, nature sounds in camping vids! Real camping YouTubers minimize narration, skip intros even! It's about stark visuals and info—that's a true camping YouTuber!"
Huff, huff... After my rant, I was winded.
But silence from the other end.
...Did he hang up?
Did I sound so insane he bailed? Just as panic hit—
[...Sigh.]
"..."
...He's pissed?
What now? Did I come off as some arrogant newbie? What if he ghosts the collab?
Anxiety swirled as—
"...Ms. Areum."
His voice was deeper, more serious than before.
"We were short-sighted. We took your deep content philosophy too lightly. Truly sorry. We'll take down the preview now and re-edit the main vid your way."
...Huh?
His sincere apology caught me off guard. I was speechless.
No, I just... yelled 'cause my camping vid got B-movie'd...?
Deep philosophy? Is this worth that much deference? Aren't they the big shots?
Couldn't say 'I was just pissed lol' now.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, deepening my voice.
"Ahem, yes. Got it. Please take good care of it this time."
"Yes, Ms. Areum. Leave it to us. Good night."
"Ah, yes. You too..."
Call ended. I held my phone blankly.
Then it hit: what did I just do?
Ah, shit... I'm screwed. Looked totally unhinged.
I clutched my head, rolling on the bed, kicking the blankets in self-loathing.
Agh, you idiot...! No, idiot girl...! Why act like an expert? Should've just apologized and hung up!
Regrets crashed like waves.
The collab... it's toast, right?
That night, I tossed and turned, dreaming of the collab imploding.
Next morning, eyes snapping open, I grabbed my phone on reflex.
Trembling hands opened 'Nana Channel'.
Thank god—the tacky preview was gone.
In its place, a new one.
I recalled spilling drunk about Dad in the last vid.
Fuck, the editing's god-tier... Toys with your heart...
Amazed by the quality, I scrolled to comments unconsciously.
Hundreds already, despite being fresh.
Lots saw the old trashy preview.
I sighed in relief, reading on.
Old preview was dopamine bait; new one tugged heartstrings, skyrocketing hype.
...Perfect.
That evening, after gear maintenance, I lounged checking notifications.
Wondering reactions during cleanup.
But a higher alert caught my eye.
...Already?
Raged last night, and they re-edited overnight? Do they ever sleep?
Let's see how epic they made it.
Gulping, shaky hands opened the email.
Download bar crawled like a turtle: 10%... 25%...
Argh, so slow!
Minutes felt eternal; I paced, leg jittering.
> Download Complete
Alert popped—I pounced on the mouse.
Please... don't screw it up...
Prayer mode, hit play.
Opened serene: me guitar by campfire.
Gentle melody, subtitle: [The Real Reason She Camps]
Then my drunk Dad story, tastefully emotional.
Timeline flowed: despairing Nana in rain, me helping.
...Jackpot.
Heart pounding, I opened my channel admin.
Dragged the file; blue upload bar filled.
Title:
[[SUB] No Camper Without a Story. (with Nana Channel)]]