Cheers to 400K – Explosive Growth and Newbie Flood
“Cheers. You'll be even busier from now on. Looking forward to working with you. Oh, and congrats on 400K. Nana too—200K, right?”
Really...? Can I handle this...? Huh? What'd he say?
“...400K? 2 million?”
Did I hear that wrong? I stared blankly at President Kim Manho, doubting my ears.
Right before our escape trip to Japan, when the video with actor O Seokgyun went up, subscribers had barely hit around 300K. I thought that was a miracle already.
And now, 100K more in just a week?
“What kind of nonsense is...”
At my dumbfounded reaction, President Kim Manho smiled warmly like the nice guy he was and slid the tablet PC on the table toward me.
“It's not nonsense. It's reality, Areum.”
The screen was filled with popular posts from various communities and short-form platforms.
My black history moments—thumbnails that made me dizzy just looking at them—were plastered everywhere with insane view counts.
“The camping video with actor O Seokgyun, especially that final episode and your performance there, created a massive buzz with the public.”
President Kim Manho continued calmly. “Your passionate rendition of that late '80s ballad exploded on short-form platforms. Thanks to that, the song you sang...”
He swiped to the next screen. It was a music chart from a streaming site.
Hot 100
98. [Familiar Song Title]
“...Gasp.”
“It even charted. The original singer mentioned it on SNS too. Not a retro surge—this was fresh entry-level impact.”
My jaw wouldn't shut. A song I belted out drunk made the charts? Was this real life? Even with trends moving fast, this sudden?
To help me process, President Kim Manho kindly showed the next screen. My YouTube channel studio dashboard.
Recent Video Views
EP.3 Night at Camp, and... Midnight Concert: 1.58 million views
“1.5 million...?”
It'd been less than two weeks since upload. And 1.5 million views on my channel? Never dreamed I'd see numbers like that.
“Anyone online right now has probably seen that video of yours, Areum.”
“......”
I want to die. The whole country saw my drunk ass.
But President Kim Manho wasn't done. “And the Japan trip helped too. That live stream eating chicken outdoors with Rika and Nana, playing games.”
The screen played a clip of me fumbling a tongue twister, tongue-tied and stumbling.
“That clip's blowing up in communities as the 'Three Idiots' nickname. Your chemistry is so good, the influx won't stop.”
Three Idiots... Can't deny it, so it hurts more.
“And the SNS photos were the finishing touch.”
SNS...? Oh yeah, I posted that post-onsen pic.
President Kim Manho concluded confidently. “Analyzing current buzz and inflow, 1 million subs in three months is a lock. You just got silver, but get ready for gold.”
1 million. YouTubers' dream. That number danced before my eyes. From 300 subs to 1M YouTuber. Life reversal doesn't get bigger.
“Anyway, I have another meeting, so I'll head out. Congrats again, you two.”
President Kim Manho grabbed his briefcase and left the meeting room. Just me and Im Nana left.
Im Nana finally exhaled, pulling out her smartphone. “Whoa... insane, Areum.”
She typed my name into search. Endless related videos and articles poured out.
“For real? I hit 2 million too! Whoa, we're blowing up!”
Im Nana grinned brightly, grabbing my hand and jumping around. “Congrats, Areum! For real!”
“...Uh, y-yeah. Thanks.”
I was dazed. Happy, but it felt unreal. Like hearing someone else's success story.
“Congrats to you too, Nana. 2 million—total corp level now.”
“Hehe, all thanks to you! Let's work harder from now on!”
Her positive energy finally made it sink in a bit. Yeah. Embarrassing or not, success is success. Enjoy it. This moment.
We left the meeting room for the editing bay. Time to pick up Maximus.
Walking the hall, President Kim Manho's words echoed. '1.5M views... 1M subs...' My steps felt floaty, like walking on clouds.
At the editing room door, deep breath, knock. Knock knock.
“Y-yeah, come in...” A weary voice from inside.
I opened the door. Park PD greeted me, still looking ragged. Dark circles deeper than before after a few days. Messy hair, wrinkled clothes like she hadn't changed.
...This is the one.
The mastermind who turned my black history into art and spread it nationwide. The divine hand that edited my drunk self, my '80s ballad belting, so deliciously.
Hateful, yet grateful. No her, no 400K subs.
I stared silently, piercing. Eyes full of mixed awe, thanks, and a tiny grudge.
But Park PD read it wrong. She shrank, hunching. “W-why stare like that...?”
Her voice trembled. Probably thought my sharp gaze meant anger. Fair—her edit made me national meme material.
“No, just... thanks for the hard work. Here for Maximus.”
At 'Maximus,' a white fluffball exploded from the dog pen in the corner.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Maximus!”
I opened the gate; he rocketed into my arms. Tail wagging wildly, licking my face. Worried he'd forget me like at Nana's, but nope.
“Aww, you remember sis? No forgetting this time?”
Emotion surged. Hugged tight, nuzzling.
Then a brown fluff approached my feet, sniffing. Park PD's dog, Ppukku.
“Ppukku. Saying hi too?”
Ppukku rubbed against my pants, acting cute. One hand Maximus, other Ppukku. Pure heaven. Park PD hogged this bliss solo for days, huh?
After long puppy greetings, I stood, pulling a gift from my bag. Fancy Japanese snacks and character merch from the trip.
“PD, take this.”
“Huh? What's this?”
“Got it in Japan. Thought of you.”
Park PD's eyes widened. Trembling hands took the bag. Peeking inside, her mouth gaped.
“Th-this... limited edition...!”
Knew she'd love it. Picked based on her tastes from that popup store.
“Thanks for all the editing. Channel grew tons because of you. Truly grateful.”
Bowed sincerely. Park PD teared up, moved.
“N-no... I enjoyed it... Thank you, Areum...”
“Rest up. See you.”
Crated Maximus and left. Felt her hugging the bag, waving goodbye behind.
Nice person. Zombie looks aside, skills and passion are real. Please take care from now on, PD. And... handle my black history gently.
Got home, unpacked. Maximus, thrilled to be back, zoomied the living room. Watched fondly, then sat at the computer.
President Kim Manho's words still rang. '400K... 1.5M views...'
During the escape trip, I cut off the internet. Ignored what happened to my channel, what people said about me.
But time to face it. Deep breath, logged into YouTube.
And...
“......”
The three O Seokgyun series vids all smashed past 1M views. Especially the infamous Ep.3—me singing, yelling 'oppa'—charging toward 2M.
Prior eps rode the algorithm too, hitting hundreds of thousands.
Comments were a festival.
Everyone loving it. My black history, mistakes, true self.
“Heh...”
Dry laugh escaped. It really exploded. Not a dream.
Chest swelled. Weird relief too. Good. Not getting hate.
While at it, toured communities. Hit a big humor site.
Best board scan—familiar face.
Clicked: Capture of me and O Seokgyun by the campfire. Comments: 'This is true healing,' 'Wanna camp too,' 'That vibe is nuts.'
More posts.
Everywhere, my stuff popped up.
“Whoa... really blowing up.”
Bigger reaction than I thought. Now, home base. Camping Gallery. My heartland—and scariest spot.
Moved mouse to bookmark. Main page loaded.
But...
“...Huh?”
Weird vibe. Not the usual Camping Gallery.
Normally, vets flex gear, deep debates, or shitpost. But now, flooded with stranger posts.
Page after page, endless. Questions, newbie posts, rec requests. Newb flood—'ping-pong' party.
“So many... newbies?”
What happened? Vets would normally gatekeep: 'Read notice, search dummy.' But overwhelmed, questions pouring.
Then, a concept post caught my eye.
Familiar nick. Gallery mod, insane activity—Camgal pillar.
Empathized, clicked.
Mod's scream pierced the screen. Checked replies.
Ah... it was me. O Seokgyun vid drew mainstream eyes, Rika stream promo lit the fuse. Her viewers in tens of thousands—1% inflow paralyzes gallery.
“Ahem... sorry.”
Mumbled apology to monitor. Heartfelt condolences to suffering mod and vets.
But... couldn't help the smile creeping up.
“Still... more camping newbies?”
My little spark returned a huge wave. 10-min briefing, this impact? People interested, trying camping. Pure joy as camping YouTuber—no, camper.
Gallery chaos? Just lively. Not my grind anyway.
So... cheers~