Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Secret Company Founding
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"Follow me."
Lee Soo-yeon, who had been examining me with her stethoscope, stood up from her seat.
I had no idea why a doctor was heading outside, but I followed her anyway.
We arrived at the treatment room right next to the exam room.
The nurses were nowhere in sight, probably because it was lunchtime.
'Ah... No nurse in the injection room, so she's doing it herself.'
Come to think of it, the first time I came here, she had given me the shot too.
It had been a little embarrassing back then.
"Lie face down here."
Lee Soo-yeon pointed to the simple bed.
I gripped the edge of the bed with my hands and lay down slightly, just as instructed.
Swish.
Lee Soo-yeon gently pulled down my pants a bit.
Soon, I felt the damp, cold alcohol swab rubbing against my skin.
"Relax. It'll hurt more if you tense up."
"Ugh... Okay."
I tried my best to loosen up.
But something felt off.
Normally, she'd smack my back or butt around this time.
Something about distracting from the pain or whatever.
Anyway, there were no such warning signs at all.
Poke.
"Eek."
The sharp needle pierced my muscle without warning.
The sensation of the drug spreading made me clench my fist involuntarily.
"There, all done."
Lee Soo-yeon skillfully removed the needle and pressed the injection site firmly with the alcohol swab.
Then she patted my butt lightly and stuck on a bandage.
"Alright, Min-jae. It's over, so get up and fix your clothes."
I pulled up my pants and stood.
My butt still stung.
"Why'd you smack me after the shot? Usually, you do it before to make it hurt less."
Lee Soo-yeon tossed the used syringe into the disposal bin and chuckled at my question.
She turned her head and stared right at me.
Her smile looked especially pretty today.
"Just because."
"Just because...?"
"I just felt like teasing you, Min-jae."
There was something annoyingly captivating about Lee Soo-yeon's beaming smile.
What was it? Like a little sister, maybe.
She was younger than me, technically...
"Soo-yeon, keep this up, and I'll have to make a follow-up video."
"A follow-up?"
"Yeah. Something like [Doctor Lee Soo-yeon Only Smacks Butts AFTER the Shot?]"
She giggled at my not-quite-threat.
No, I was serious.
A video like that would flood her comments with trolls.
But unlike my worries, Lee Soo-yeon shrugged it off without a care.
"Go ahead. People won't believe it anyway."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because I only do it to you. I'm super kind and gentle with other patients."
"Whoa."
"So they'll just laugh it off as another one of The Truth of the World's nonsense videos, right?"
"..."
What? Why couldn't I argue back?
She wasn't wrong, so I had nothing.
My channel's whole gimmick was pretending to uncover "truths" with total bullshit.
And even if I told the truth, viewers would dismiss it as high-quality crap.
"Yeah... Guess you're right."
I laughed weakly, and Lee Soo-yeon rummaged in her pocket, pulling something out.
A lollipop.
She unwrapped it deftly and popped it into my mouth.
The sweet strawberry flavor filled my mouth.
"Good job, Min-jae. You took your painful shot like a champ."
Then she patted my head.
Like she was soothing a kindergartener.
She was much shorter than me and even went on tiptoes to do it.
"Soo-yeon, you treat me too much like a kid."
"Can't help it. You seem so much younger, and you just look like you need taking care of."
Lee Soo-yeon said that and patted my butt once more.
She drummed on it like a bongo.
I could sue for sexual harassment, and she'd have no defense.
Not that it bothered me.
"I'll prescribe three days' worth of meds, so make sure to pick them up. Take them right after meals."
"Yes, yes. Got it."
"Ugh, people who answer like that always end up back in the hospital."
I paused on my way out of the exam room.
Something felt unfair about leaving like this.
I reached out and lightly patted her butt.
"You take care too, Doc."
"Heh, your revenge is so petty, Min-jae."
"Petty? I patted your butt."
"I'd probably just shrug even if you stroked it."
"...Am I really treated that badly?"
No, not quite.
I didn't remember enduring full-on groping.
I stopped by the pharmacy, got a bag full of meds, and headed home.
Normally, I'd return to the logistics center and dive back into work, but a late text sent me straight home.
"Team Leader looked really worried..."
I hadn't gotten an IV, so I said I'd come back.
But she insisted I shouldn't push it and risk collapsing—that I'd used a half-day sick leave, so rest at home. She really drove it home.
"But she said to bring the outpatient treatment certificate."
With that, it wouldn't count as sick leave.
I'd tossed the envelope of documents in the passenger seat when settling the bill.
Just bring it when I go back to work.
The moment I opened the front door, a wave of hot, humid air hit me.
I turned on the AC I'd left on the table and collapsed onto the bed.
"Ugh... I'm dying."
Tension released, my head spun again.
I pulled the blanket over me without even changing clothes.
"Bleh, so nauseous..."
The ceiling seemed to spin.
I wanted to pass out and sleep.
But lying there, sleep wouldn't come.
My body actually felt a bit more comfortable against the bed.
"Might as well watch some YouTube."
Even in pain, my hand instinctively groped for the charging cable by my head.
Phone in hand, I opened the YouTube app.
Thumbnails flooded the screen.
Unconsciously, I swiped to the Shorts tab.
[Shocking Facts You Didn't Know!]
[Watch This and You'll Win 1 Million Won Guaranteed.]
Mass-produced clickbait scrolled by.
My mindless swiping stopped.
"Huh?"
A familiar video popped up.
The game teaser I'd uploaded a few days ago.
More precisely, someone reacting to my video on stream.
[Whoa... Insane. What kinda quality is this?]
The guy on screen gaped.
A gaming streamer with a decent sub count.
He kept gasping in awe at my video.
[No way this is solo-dev, right?]
[Don't bullshit me. For real.]
[Oh, you haven't seen that part yet?]
[Just popped up on some random personal channel, huh?]
[Check that hit feedback. Sound design is nuts.]
[How is this solo-dev?]
[Be real or die mad.]
He hammed it up the whole time.
Chats poured in like a waterfall at the bottom.
Mesmerized, I checked the views.
[Views: 4.2 Million]
[Likes: 80K]
[Comments: 4,120]
"Whoa..."
My jaw wouldn't close.
Way less than my original, but 4 million views just from yapping at it?
My stomach hurt, but a weird thrill hit me too.
Pride that my creation spawned more content.
'Internet broadcaster, huh... Looks fun.'
I didn't watch much, but...
Just sit, react to videos, and make bank?
Sure, he had charisma and talent.
No shade to anyone's hustle.
Point was, I wanted to try a reaction vid.
But streaming with my face? Nah.
'Gotta show face.'
Doxxing? Hard pass.
The Truth of the World already had haters; showing face might get me jumped.
For bullshit videos, even.
Virtual avatar? Too much setup.
"Wait."
A lightbulb went off.
"I don't have to do it myself?"
I had a trusty partner.
The AI app.
I closed YouTube and launched the AI app.
[Enter command.]
Characters from my channel flashed in my mind.
The mad doctor spouting nonsense seriously. The Asian-American conspiracy nut. The blonde chaebol heir throwing money at everything.
Most popular with subs? The doctor, hands down.
Messy white hair, round glasses.
Mad scientist vibe with eerie conviction in his voice.
"Yeah, him."
I hit the voice input button by the chat.
[Make a video of the Doctor character reacting to my game teaser.]
[Concept: Amazed by the tech but suspects a hidden conspiracy.]
[Mix in over-the-top freakouts and some swearing.]
Send.
The app spun.
[Generating video...]
[Estimated time: 20 minutes]
"Twenty minutes?"
Usually three max, but this was new reaction footage plus compositing.
"Eh, 20's fine."
Nothing else to do anyway.
Back to bed, opened YouTube Studio.
Time to moderate comments.
Recent vid comments were a warzone.
Dozens piled up per refresh.
Your mom's doing great? How do you eat after making this crap?
Dr. Lee Soo-yeon tho... killer body. Bikini vid when?
Eun Ha-min was flirting too lol. You two hook up?
Watch your back at night. Coming to your house tomorrow with a knife.
I deleted mom insults without mercy.
Sexual harassment? Delete and perma-ban.
Don't cross the line, psychos.
Terror threats? Screenshot to cyber police quietly.
Probably just a basement edgelord, but better safe.
Cleaning trash ate up time.
Ding!
Cheerful alert.
[Video generation complete.]
Finally.
Quick tap to preview.
Doctor character on screen.
"Damn, check this quality."
Shouting from the jump, eardrum assault.
Doctor nose-deep in the monitor, dissecting the teaser.
[This lighting! This physics engine! Impossible with current tech!]
[Made by AI torturing aliens, no doubt!]
[Wait! That pixel just now!]
[Wasn't that some text?!]
Spit flying, ranting mad.
Two-minute Short, no dull moments.
Perfectly edited highlights for Short grammar.
Freakouts on witch-of-the-end fanbait spots.
'AI knows its stuff.'
It made the teaser, so it knew the killer parts best.
Reacting to its own work.
True self-sufficiency.
I cackled and hit upload.
[Genius Doctor Shocked by That Game! Deep Analysis!]
Views skyrocketed as subs swarmed.
Whoa, now he's going after vtubers? LMAO
Nah lol no live stream but chats? Detail god.
Made full chats lol
Reactions are chef's kiss lol. Pls do game streams with this doc char
Make this a series. Huge hit.
Reactions were solid.
Especially loving the "god-tier reactions."
Rolling in bed reading comments was addictive.
Money, praise. YouTuber life.
'But Shorts don't pay.'
The longer teaser made bank.
Shorts? Still nada.
Grumbling when—
Top banner: KakaoTalk notification.
[Oppa.]
Eun Ha-min.
It was coming.
She'd said this morning she was meeting her dad, Chairman Eun.
To negotiate for Hanbit Soft.
'Already got it?'
Chaebol efficiency is scary.
Shaky fingers opened the chat.
[How'd it go? Talk to him?]
1 vanished instantly.
[Yeah.]
[Just wrapped.]
[He give it?]
Typing... vanished... repeat.
I swallowed hard.
If she got Hanbit Soft, problem solved easy.
I could sell the game quietly, no spotlight.
But the reply was unexpected.
[No...]
[Dad said absolutely not.]
"...Huh?"
Didn't see that coming.
Thought it'd be a freebie since it's a shell company.
[Didn't know Hanbit Soft holds a bunch of copyrights.]
[Freeware's fair game, but copyrights stick. Hanbit Electronics uses that freeware as OS base for their products, so can't hand it over.]
[Ah...]
I got the gist.
Tech/patents transferred, but copyrights stayed with Hanbit Soft.
If Hanbit Electronics needs those copyrights, group keeps Soft.
Made sense they wouldn't give it up.
[So anyway,]
[Better to set up our own corp under our names.]
[Acquire and merge a small-mid game company with it.]
[That'll dodge most eyes.]
"..."
I stared blankly.
Start a company...?
[I'll fund 100%, be CEO.]
[Give oppa dog 51% shares.]
[Deal?]
She funds everything, but majority control to me?
No reason to say no.
[Call.]
She handles the hassle, I just take shares.
Nothing bad about it.