The First Edit After Awakening

"The deadline's pretty generous, at least."

Dayeon noona was, by any reasonable ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠measure, a pretty big game streamer. She had over a hundred thousand YouTube subscribers, and the moment she went live, one or two thousand viewers would pile in without fail. Compared to the real heavyweights of the industry, calling her a top-tier streamer might have been a stretch — but she was at least mid-tier, no question.

Which meant a mid-tier streamer was looking for an editor. Naturally, she wasn't going to hire just anyone. She'd be careful about it. The application window was about a month.

"...But if someone gets picked before then... hmm..."

Of course, that didn't mean I had the full month to work with. If someone she really liked showed up before the deadline, the listing would come down whether a month had passed or not.

"Alright. Editing first."

Honestly, spending this time making even one more decent video would be a lot more efficient — and a lot more productive — than sitting here overthinking it. No amount of agonizing over a job posting was going to magically produce a high-quality video. Time would just keep slipping away.

First things first: I needed to properly test the ability I'd gotten today. The editor recruitment post said you could take any of her livestream VODs, edit them in your own style, and send them in. No restrictions, then. I pulled up the livestream footage I'd already downloaded for a fan video and opened my editing software like always.

"Okay, cut here. No, wait — this way's better..."

I muttered to myself as I worked the timeline, and a strange feeling crept over me. Had editing ever felt this easy? The moment I touched the software, the right cuts, the right transitions — they just appeared in my head. My hands moved fast, turning those ideas into results. Even tools I barely ever used felt surprisingly natural today.

Was this the power of five stat points...?

So you really had to break twenty before you could say you actually knew what you were doing?

"Oh. This one's actually pretty good."

I'd only just hit twenty, and I knew full well I still couldn't hold a candle to a real professional. But the video I'd just made was on a completely different level from my old fan edits. The cuts connected cleanly, the effects and subtitles sat right where they belonged, and the BGM dropped in at exactly the right moments. Everything felt polished.

"I'll make a few more and send them in."

I was starting to feel confident. I wasn't at a professional level, but if I bundled a year's worth of fan videos with a few new ones that actually looked decent... maybe she'd at least give them a look.

I wanted the job. I knew it was an incredible opportunity. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠honestly? I didn't think I'd get it this time. After all that agonizing earlier, I now found myself thinking I'd be happy just sending the videos and knowing Dayeon noona would watch them.

"Well, getting hired would still be the best-case scenario, obviously."

I'd started after getting off work, so by the time I finished one video, it was already pretty late. If I wanted to apply before the deadline, I probably needed a few more. Making them one a day after work would take forever, though. I was sitting there debating whether to grind out another one or just sleep and batch them over the weekend when—

"Three points just for editing one video?!"

Considering the tutorial and daily quests had only given me one point each, this was a serious haul. Made sense, I guess... since this was an editing-related ability. Doing actual editing work really did pump the numbers up.

"One more, then I'll sleep."

They were handing out points like this. How was I supposed to stop?

I decided to allocate the points first, then get back to work. Last time I'd dumped all five into Editing. This time, I'd put one into Editing and two into Speed.

"Speed matters too."

At my current speed, short fan videos weren't a problem. But if I was going to do this for a living, I'd start falling behind.

I wanted to raise Planning and Charm eventually, but they weren't what I needed right now. Charm was... well, it would make me a more attractive guy in a general sense, I figured. I mean, yeah, that sounded pretty appealing. An attractive man! A charming person! Those were some pretty attractive words, if I was being honest.

"...So what, though."

I wasn't dating anyone, and aside from customers at work, I barely talked to people. Dumping points into Charm right now would be a waste.

"I'll raise it someday, though."

Things were different now than they were yesterday. I had a status window now. Someday, once I was a real editor with some breathing room, I could meet someone. Dream a little bigger.

"Alright. Let's do this!"

For now, it was Editing and Speed. And Planning, if I could manage it. Those three needed the most attention. Get a proper job, make some money — then I could do whatever I wanted.

Speed had only gone up a little, but my heart was already pounding at the thought of how much faster I'd be. Editing had jumped massively with five points. Two points in Speed should still give me a solid boost. I forced my racing heart to calm down and grabbed the mouse again.

I was exhausted. Genuinely, painfully exhausted.

I'd ended up pulling an all-nighter on the video. I'd tried making something longer, and it ate so much time that I'd only gotten about halfway through by dawn.

"Still, I definitely got faster."

If this had been before, I wouldn't have gotten even this far. I used to grind until dawn just to finish a single short fan video. Speed-wise, I'd clearly improved. Only two points, and the difference was already this noticeable.

This was my first long-form video. Once I finished it, I'd probably unlock another achievement and pocket a decent chunk of points. The thought alone put a grin on my face.

"Can I check out, please?"

"Sure thing~ Want a bag?"

"No, I'm good."

Even this tired, I could smile my way through the rush. That rush of energy came from one thing: I was a little closer to the work I'd always wanted to do.

Once the busy stretch passed and things quieted down, I restocked the shelves like always, mopped the floor, and checked the status windows of the occasional customer who wandered in.

"Hmm..."

I kept turning over how to finish the video I hadn't completed last night. I'd always had plenty of ideas. The problem was that they never quite looked the way I'd pictured them once I actually put them together. That used to disappoint me a lot. Now they were coming out pretty close to what I imagined, and that made it even more fun. All I wanted to do was edit all day.

"Haa... I just want to quit this job."

If I became Dayeon noona's editor, I could actually leave this place. But I couldn't just walk out. I'd have a rent problem on my hands. I needed a new job lined up first. If this application didn't work out, I'd start applying to every other editor listing I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could find.

"Tomorrow's the weekend, so..."

I figured I'd hole up at home all weekend and do nothing but edit. Not that that was any different from usual.

"The weekend? Got plans or something?"

I was so lost in my own head that the voice from beside me nearly made me jump out of my skin.

"Why're you so jumpy? You're making ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it awkward."

"Manager? Why are you here so early?"

There were still about two hours until the shift change, but the manager was standing there grinning, having shown up way earlier than usual. Thank god I'd been cleaning. If he'd caught me zoning out at the register, I'd have been in real trouble.

"Ah, just some stuff I need to check on today. Don't mind me — keep working."

"Ah, yes, sir."

Don't mind you? How was I supposed to not mind my boss standing right there?

That said, if you listened to the horror stories from other convenience store part-timers, our manager was a genuinely good guy. He always told us that once the work was done, we shouldn't worry about looking busy — sit at the register, study, do whatever. No need to walk on eggshells.

"Wow, it's spotless again today. I've never seen this place look this clean on any other shift. Only when Dohyun's on the clock."

"Come on, everyone else works hard too."

"Still, you work the hardest. When you eventually quit, I don't think I'll want to let you go. I'll be too sad, kid."

People came and went — that was just how part-time jobs worked. I'd been here since I got out of the military, but the manager already knew I was dreaming of something else. I'd mentioned a few times over company dinners, or when he treated me to a meal, that I wanted to go into video editing.

"Even if I do leave, I'll make sure the handover is thorough."

"If you wrap everything up that perfectly, I really won't want to let you go. Khuh~ But a young guy's dreams deserve support."

He was talking like I was about to walk out any day now. I wasn't quitting until I actually landed a real job somewhere. I'd probably keep working here another year or two, stacking points and raising my editing skill, before I even thought about leaving. That was the vague plan, anyway.

"Anyway, the cleaning's good enough. Go take a break."

"Ah, yes, sir. Just let me finish wiping this last bit."

"You're more of a neat freak than I am, I swear."

He'd come in to handle his own business, so after telling me not to overdo it, he headed into the back storage room. I finished wiping down the last uncleaned spot, wrapped up the mopping, and started tidying the shelves one by one — already sinking back into thoughts about editing.

"Hmm, hmm~"

A little tune hummed itself out of me. It was still a vague kind of certainty, but unlike before, I now believed that in a year or two I could actually make a living doing the work I'd always wanted. That alone was a massive step forward.