First Video
First Video
Even before I'd uploaded a single video, my subscriber count kept climbing.
In A-ra's case, I could accept it because she has fans all over the world,
but I had no idea why mine was going up.
Don't fans normally dislike the husband or wife of the idol they adore?
I couldn't understand the psychology of the people in this world.
"Women say they like any good-looking guy."
"Mm... even if he's a married man?"
"You don't need to overthink it. Women are just simple creatures."
The subscriber analysis system provided by Qtube
showed that female subscribers made up 90%.
On top of that, the percentage of international viewers was also quite high.
Though still lower than A-ra's.
For now, I'd created the channel,
but I wasn't planning to upload videos right this moment.
It was just a hobby; I had no intention of turning it into a job.
If I posted once or twice a week, that would be plenty, wouldn't it?
A-ra split a single shoot into two videos and uploaded them on Mondays and Thursdays.
Should I cut mine up and do four uploads a week, too?
"I'll think about that slowly later... Seong-hwan-a."
"Yes?"
"Give me one more bowl of rice, Noona."
People said soy-marinated raw crab was a rice thief,
but had it actually stolen the rice?
The bowl that had been piled high with steamed rice just moments ago was nowhere to be seen,
leaving only the empty, desolate rice bowl behind.
"It's just too delicious..."
I gently stroked A-ra's hair as she looked embarrassed,
then picked up her bowl and headed toward the rice cooker.
***
"You here?"
By now, Lee Min-ho's greeting had become familiar. I nodded
and set my bag down on the desk before taking a seat.
"Haaah..."
"What are you sighing about first thing in the morning?"
Jeong Hwan-yi placed a coffee on the desk and let out a snort of laughter.
I brought my lips to the straw and took a long sip with a jjeok.
"Because of my Qtube subscriber count..."
"What, because it's lower than you expected?"
"Sure... it is definitely lower than what I expected."
The two of them nodded as they spoke.
What were they on about?
In just a few hours, it had jumped by another million
and was currently on its way to three million, and they called that low?
"It's low when you consider how special you are."
"Didn't A-ra Tube just pass nine million subscribers yesterday?"
"Getting an influx of one-third of that is huge."
"We still don't know. Once you actually upload a video, who knows how many more it'll gain."
More wouldn't be a bad thing.
I could show other people my cooking, after all.
"Right. I was going to make you two my first guests — when are you free?"
"Oh, you're starting things off with us?"
"Anytime's fine for me, either during gaps between classes or after school."
"Me too, me too."
"Then let's do it this Wednesday. You both have a free period, right?"
The two of them nodded.
Wednesday had no major subject lectures for us first-years,
so probably no one from our year would come to campus that day.
Better to do it when their eyes were still bright and alert
than after school when they were tired.
"The professor's here."
At Jeong Hwan-yi's remark, Lee Min-ho turned back toward the front
and took his textbook out of his bag.
*
When all my classes ended and I stepped out the main gate to go home,
A-ra was waiting once again, drawing all kinds of attention with her Ferrari.
At this point, it felt like she was secretly enjoying it.
I let out a small laugh and walked over.
When I opened the door and got in, I saw A-ra watching a Qtube video
and licking her lips.
"Noona?"
"Ah— you startled me!"
A-ra dropped the phone she'd been holding.
Just how focused had she been
that she didn't even hear the door open?
Every once in a while, A-ra's level of concentration amazed me.
From the fallen phone, the voice of a guest praising the food
drifted out.
"Seong-hwan's here?"
"Yes. So what were you watching that was so interesting?"
"Huh? Th-this?"
A-ra snatched up the dropped phone. I looked to see what she'd been watching,
and it was a brisket barbecue video.
It was the kind of barbecue where you season the meat and smoke it at a low temperature —
one of those dishes that takes a whole lot of time and care.
You have to spritz it with apple juice even while it's smoking,
so it must be a ton of work...
"I-I'm not saying make it for me... I mean I'd love it if you did, but... ugh..."
She looked genuinely apologetic.
Since A-ra had seen the video, she knew full well how much effort went into making it.
Still, anything A-ra wanted to eat, I wanted to make for her.
That kind of thing was just about the only way I could give back to her.
"Noona, if you grant me one wish, I'll make it for you."
"Really?! I'll grant you anything!"
"You mean that? Anything at all?"
"Have you ever seen Noona go back on her word?"
She seemed a little worked up as she grabbed my shoulders.
Under normal circumstances, my head would have rattled,
and I should have gotten dizzy, but I held on somehow.
This was all part of my struggle to claim my rights.
I looked at A-ra with a serious expression.
A-ra, a little overwhelmed by the sudden shift in my demeanor, swallowed dryly.
"Lead-rights."
"Huh...?"
"Three lead-rights..."
"Seo... Seong-hwan-a? That's... a bit..."
"I want three lead-rights."
"Th-That's... Noona is still a woman, you know... Women are supposed to take the lead in bed..."
"Didn't you say you'd grant me anything earlier?"
"Ugh..."
A-ra's power was tremendous.
Physically, she didn't seem all that different from me, but outward appearances and actual strength were two different things.
She restrained me with terrifying strength.
Since I had no way to break free,
I got completely overpowered every single time.
Of course — maybe because I was a pervert, I couldn't say for sure —
it did excite me a little,
but truth be told, when the play gets repeated, it starts to get a bit stale.
"Three lead-rights. In return, I won't use them back-to-back... How about that?"
"Ugh... for the sake of brisket... No... but still, as a woman, my pride..."
She seemed to be agonizing over it.
Even for a beloved husband, was the lead in bed truly non-negotiable?
I was going to have to demolish those walls one by one.
"Slicing into a brisket so tender it practically springs up like pudding,
piling it on top of bread, and taking a bite — ah...
And just imagine how perfectly the sriracha sauce pairs with it..."
"Gulp..."
"And on top of that? Filming it as my very first video and posting it would be so memorable..."
"F-fine! Three lead-rights!"
I grinned a sly, wicked grin.
Could she even imagine what was in store for her?
I was going to do every last thing that would make her blush.
A-ra's eyes filled with dread, but seeing that only
made my smile grow wider.
***
Since we'd decided the first video would be me making brisket with A-ra,
I postponed Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho to the following week.
They seemed a little disappointed,
but when I told them I'd make whatever they wanted, they immediately started debating what to pick,
already worrying about which choice would make them look like they'd chosen well.
Then I went to Costco with A-ra and bought a whole brisket, seasoning, apple juice,
and — most importantly — a barbecue grill capable of smoking.
Apparently, modern barbecue grills could even regulate the temperature precisely these days.
It looked a bit expensive, but A-ra declared it was something we'd use for years to come
and stuffed it into the shopping cart.
"Imported brisket flat is pretty cheap, huh?"
"It really is. About 60,000 won for 4 kilograms."
Cuts like sirloin, tenderloin, striploin, T-bone, and porterhouse
were probably meant for steaks and were disgustingly expensive by comparison,
but brisket flat was a total steal.
"I'd say it's even bigger than the belly."
The barbecue grill A-ra was holding was a high-end piece worth about 800,000 won.
While I'd been trembling nervously about buying it, A-ra didn't seem fazed at all.
As expected... idols have a whole different level of nerve.
We also ordered this and that online.
When A-ra filmed videos, she said viewers were impressed by the little details,
so she'd ordered expensive things like a copper pan.
Brands like La Cinturra Di Orione,
or ones like MAUVIEL.
The first brand was the insane kind where a single frying pan costs between 800,000 and 2,000,000 won,
while the latter was comparatively reasonable at around 200,000, so I chose the second one.
It seemed A-ra didn't mind spending any amount if it was for me.
But even so, a 2,000,000-won frying pan was unnecessary, so I turned it down.
For reference, the camera, microphone, and lights were all sponsored by her agency.
Those were the kind of items where I had no idea how much the total would come to, so I was really grateful.
"Do you know how to use this?"
"The producers showed me, and they also set it up for me, so you don't need to worry."
We were already recording.
They'd said even these little chitchat conversations would be fun to include in the video.
They'd edit it to make it entertaining, I was sure.
And then, finally, the main event.
Holding a sharp kitchen knife, I trimmed the outer fat cap off the brisket.
*
When A-ra operated the camera and the recording-end sound rang out,
I sat down in a chair and leaned back.
'I'm never doing this again.'
Spritzing the apple juice was way too annoying.
It was the part that would barely show up in the video that was the most tedious and exhausting —
no matter how you looked at it, this food was absurdly unreasonable.
"How was it?"
"It was delicious! Putting it on the bread makes it insanely good!"
A-ra, who'd stuffed nearly a kilogram of meat into her stomach, smiled happily,
as if she couldn't possibly fit any more.
Was she an idol or a mukbang Qtuber?
I almost got confused for a second.
"Hey, all women eat about this much, don't they?"
"Well, when I look at Eun-ji or Yeji Nuna, I can understand that."
I touched A-ra's stomach as she let out a light 'hehe' giggle.
There was no flab to grab, but how should I put it?
It felt like she was totally full inside.
"But is it okay to release this?"
A-ra devouring a kilo of meat wasn't an issue,
since she'd done the same on her own Qtube channel,
but there were also scenes where we briefly kissed or showed other affection.
What would the editor think?
"It's fine, it's fine. Editors can never leak that kind of stuff."
"Really? Do you trust them that deeply?"
"No? In the industry, there used to be a few editors who leaked footage of celebrity skinship,
but... they're all in prison now."
"Aha..."
"And it's not a big deal if a little skinship between a married couple gets spread around.
Though I guess you'd be a bit embarrassed, Seong-hwan-a."
A-ra seemed perfectly confident.
Well... if A-ra was okay with it,
I didn't really mind much, either.
"Then I'll compile it and send it to the editor."
"Okay, go ahead~"
"After I send it and come back... you know, right?"
As soon as I put on that deeply sly expression again,
A-ra recoiled in horror.
Because I was planning to use up one of my lead-rights tonight.