Vampire in the Stream (2)

"Oh?"

I headed into the office today as usual. Flicking on my laptop without much thought, I was a little surprised.

"Subscribers went up a bit?"

I blinked. The Ririri Solutions Agency channel I'd only just created. I'd uploaded about three mukbang videos featuring Ari, and the views weren't as low as I'd expected.

"Thanks to the thumbnail, maybe?"

Ari was undeniably a cutie. After taking my "Cute Girl Punch" right to the face, it was only natural. A pretty face was a weapon in its own right. And in the thumbnails, Ari's charm definitely stood out. Probably lured a bunch of clicks with that allure.

"...I've realized something terrifying."

I glanced down at my hand absentmindedly. My "Cute Girl Punch"... wasn't this actually a massively marketable item? Every swing produced one cute girl. And a pretty face was basically a weapon. So if I kept turning monsters into cute girls and debuted them as idols or something, couldn't I make a killing?

"Ah, but first I'd have to deal with their illegal resident status...?"

Clearing illegal residency cost 30 million won per person. Invest 30 million to girlify a monster, raise her as an idol, and rake in the profits...? Hmm... I toyed with the idea of becoming an idol producer, then quickly scrapped it. I'd already set up a solutions agency instead of an MCN, and besides, a pretty face was all they'd have—no other talents. Could Ari or Lisa sing well? Dance? No way they had idol potential. And the monsters I'd meet down the line would probably be the same. Superstar idol talent wasn't common, and I doubted any monster had it. More importantly, my goal was to get back to my original world. No time to run a business here.

Idol venture: service terminated. Never even launched.

Still, it'd be great if Ari could make it big with mukbangs. Even after I returned home, if she could go independent with her eating shows, that'd be perfect.

"Ari, let's film a video today too! What do you wanna eat?"

"Home cooking."

"...Delivery no good?"

"Bored. Eat it every day."

Ari boldly demanded home cooking. ...I couldn't deny it didn't cross my mind that she devoured anything without getting tired of delivery. But thinking back, yeah, we'd only been ordering out since Lisa arrived. No choice, then... I boiled some ramen.

Obviously, our agency didn't double as a restaurant. No kitchen facilities whatsoever. But we kept a portable induction cooker on hand. Grilling meat inside was a no-go, but boiling ramen to share with the staff? The landlord and management had given the okay on that.

The landlord seemed to like me quite a bit. The spot had been vacant forever, but now I was running a smooth operation and paying rent steadily. From their perspective, it made sense.

We passed the days like that—homemade meals one day, jjajangmyeon delivery the next. Filmed a couple more mukbang videos too.

"Mayuri, we have a customer."

"Yeah...? This late?"

Our office didn't have set hours. I came and went as I pleased. Usually headed home around evening. Depended on dinner plans. Sometimes ate here before leaving, sometimes at home. The distance meant delivery options only kicked in back at the villa.

In other words, dinner menu dictated departure time. Anyway, today I was running later than usual when Lisa announced a visitor.

"A customer, huh... Our first walk-in, right?"

Three cases solved since opening: Kunekune, Moon's Fall, Fox Possession. All came via phone requests—no direct visits till now.

First in-person client! Hype levels rising~!

"Hello. Still open?"

A woman stepped in. Blonde bob, blue eyes—looked foreign at a glance, but her Korean was flawless. Intriguing. Not quite on my universe-top cutie level, but strikingly attractive. Didn't seem too old. Cutie vibes, not quite matching mine.

"Yep, open. Come on in."

"...? Pardon, but are you an adult?"

"...I am an adult."

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Sighing, I pulled out my resident registration card and showed her. Places asking for ID from customers? Sure. But the owner flashing theirs to a customer? Kinda ridiculous, even to me.

"Whoa, older than me. Amazing... I'm jealous!"

"N-not that jealous-worthy... It's 'cause I'm the universe's top cutie. Not something anyone can pull off... Most people couldn't..."

"Pardon?"

"So, what brings you here?"

I gestured to the sofa. The blonde sat; agency head took the prime seat. Glanced at Lisa—she fetched a canned fruit juice from the fridge for our guest. Meanwhile, Ari stared blankly from the corner.

"Ah, her. Saw her on YouTube. The mukbang girl, right?"

"You watched the mukbangs?"

"Yeah. Got interested after that. But in person, she's even prettier. Could pass for a modeling agency."

She said it just like that. Ari's mukbangs were actually driving promo? When I hadn't expected a thing. Hmm... Might as well film properly now. Lisa cooking on video later could work too.

"But that one... not human, right?"

The customer said.

......

"Figured it out watching. Something off, y'know? Doesn't feel human."

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"I see... If it's okay, miss, where are you from?"

I shot Lisa a look as I asked. Ari and Lisa's identities were top-secret agency intel. Not planning to hide forever, but right now? We were too small-time. Not big enough to fend off Special Task Force or the Foundation. Or the cult. Had to stay under wraps till then.

Lisa and I stayed wary.

"Ah, not with the cult! Don't misunderstand!"

The customer waved frantically.

"Not the cult...? Then what?"

"Nowhere like that! I'm not human either. That's how I knew!"

She lifted her lip, flashing sharp fangs.

"Vampire?"

"Yes, exactly. I'm a vampire."

She sighed in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠relief, giving a quick rundown. Streamer "Shinoshino" on women's cam sites. Bitten by a vampire in the past, turned herself. Lived off blood packs bought with internet broadcast earnings.

Never heard of this monster...

I had vampire lore in my head, sure. But no "Shinoshino" or her real name, Shin Na-o. I'd read plenty of monster codexes too. Not knowing meant she might not count as a full monster.

More precisely, monster but non-hostile—NPC classification.

Some monsters were NPCs, not enemies. Like the recent "Deal with the Devil." Couldn't be defeated or contained—basically a shopkeep NPC. Same vibe with this vampire Shin Na-o? Less merchant, more extra NPC. Side character in some hidden quest, zero main story relevance.

"How'd you become a vampire?"

"Car accident a while back... Lucky vampire passerby saved my dying ass."

Wild story...

"Great to survive, but now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no daytime outdoors. Can't do normal society stuff, so internet broadcasts it is."

Apparently. More details followed. Blood packs sourced via anomalies like "Sealed Arcade." Pricey, though. One every three days sufficed, but costs ate over half her earnings. No normal channels available. Knew of Task Force, Foundation, cult—but stayed off their radar. No benefits to tangling; just wanted a normal life.

"That's why I came here. Feels like I'm caught in an anomaly... Can't ask Task Force or Foundation."

Shin Na-o said.

"Think I have a stalker. Can you handle it?"