Chapter 8, Strict Confidentiality
Chapter 8, Strict Confidentiality
After rolling around with the likable regulars of the Harin-gongju Minor Gallery for about a day.
"These bastards... they're milder than I thought?"
When I first discovered this gallery, I expected a hellscape filled with all sorts of lewd talk and insults about people's parents.
But once I created an aggro-inducing fixed-nick called Uncle Harin and started mingling and playing with them, the situation was quite different.
It's true that they're all gloomy bastards and sexual harassers who drool over videos of a grown girl dancing.
But most of them were guys who knew how to draw the line.
ㄴAnonymous: Uncle, can I ask a question? Does the Princess look the same in real life as in the videos? Isn't it just heavy editing?
ㄴBroth No. 1: Does the Princess's feet smell? lol
ㄴㄴHarin-gongju: You filthy bastard.
ㄴConstruction Foreman: Does the Princess have a boyfriend? Even if it's a delusion, please answer.
ㄴㄴHarin-gongju: She doesn't, you crazy bastard.
ㄴㄴㄴConstruction Foreman: I wasn't asking you, I was asking the Uncle.
ㄴㄴㄴㄴHarin-gongju: That's not the Uncle, you idiots.
"If they're going to be like this, they should just make a fan cafe..."
An anonymous community.
It's a rare sight to see people playing along and having fun like this in a lawless zone like a gallery.
"At least that's a relief."
If guys with the mindset of real malicious stalkers or criminals had latched on...
I might have asked the AI App to create a detention device and nuked the Minor Gallery.
But the guys gathered here were nothing more than ordinary citizens who felt satisfied watching short-form videos from their rooms.
'I guess it's because Baek Ha-rin herself is the gallery owner or whatever, so she's kept things in order.'
You can tell just by looking at the reply skills Baek Ha-rin showed earlier today.
She personally exposes and chases away those who cross the line, while throwing carrots to those who listen well, letting them play as they please.
I let out a sigh of relief and closed the community window.
I checked the clock on the bottom right of the monitor screen.
"It's already 4:30 PM?"
I meant to play for a little while, but I ended up playing for over 8 hours.
This is something I couldn't even imagine in the military.
I only got to use my phone after the daily routine was over and I'd finished dinner.
During that short time, I didn't waste my time on useless things like gallery surfing.
I just spent my time mindlessly doing daily game quests or scrolling through a few Shorts videos.
Now that I'm discharged and killing time like a slacker, I really feel like a civilian.
'This isn't the time for this. I need to work.'
I took the smartphone out of my pocket.
I launched the AI App that was quietly hiding on the home screen.
[Hey.]
[Yes. How may I help you?]
[You know those raw video files Baek Ha-rin sent via chat earlier?]
[Edit them quickly.]
Baek Ha-rin had said she would send the video files she shot yesterday and today before she went to school this morning.
Checking the chat room, there were several video files with quite large file sizes.
The content was obvious.
Dancing in pajamas, or dancing in a crop top.
[Understood.]
[I will proceed with cut editing and effect insertion by combining the latest short-form trends and visual hooking elements.]
"Uh. Just put some exciting background music, and throw in plenty of zoom-ins and zoom-outs so it's not boring. Her fans like that kind of stuff anyway."
[Starting the work.]
[After the editing is complete, I will even send the files directly to Baek Ha-rin-nim, so do not worry.]
"What? You'll even send them?"
This is an unexpected service.
To think it would save me the trouble of downloading them separately and sending them back via chat.
"Wow... you're really smart. I could even run a YouTube drama channel with you."
[Thank you.]
What kind of entity is it that gave me such an AI?
I cursed at it at first, but now I want to praise it highly.
It's basically a machine that earns me money.
'More importantly, it's almost time for Baek Ha-young to get home from school.'
I looked at the clock on the wall again and got up.
"She's going to whine about being hungry when she gets home today, too."
Since I have some time before dinner, I need to prepare a snack.
I got up from the chair and left the second-floor room.
I went down the stairs and headed to the first-floor living room.
Opening the kitchen refrigerator, it was full of the ice cream I had bought yesterday.
"She really likes red bean ice cream for her age..."
Even I don't eat red bean ice cream.
Just as I was thinking that, right on cue, I heard the sound of the door lock being pressed at the entrance.
Beep-beep-beep.
The front door swung open, and footsteps came inside.
"Uncle~ I'm home~"
Baek Ha-young, wearing her school uniform neatly, walked into the living room with her bag on her back.
She looked incredibly tired this morning, but she seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps because she slept well at school.
"Nothing happened at school?"
I greeted her as I walked out of the kitchen.
As soon as Baek Ha-young spotted me, she carelessly threw her bag on the floor and ran over to me pitter-patter.
"Nothing happened~ If I had to say, maybe just that my tongue hurt a little because of the pineapple in the school lunch today?"
And then she hugged me tightly right there.
I was pushed back slightly as I caught the kid who suddenly lunged at me, but I hugged her back tightly with both arms.
Her small frame fit perfectly into my arms.
Instead of the smell of sweat, she had a soft, fluffy scent mixed with shampoo and fabric softener.
"It's so nice to have someone welcome me when I come home..."
Ha-young rubbed her face against my chest and acted cute.
I chuckled and, out of habit, gave her butt a light pat.
"Yeah, yeah. You worked hard. But wasn't your sister usually home? That Baek Ha-rin kid would always skip classes and stay in her room."
"Sister? Even if she's home, when I come back, she just opens the door a crack and goes, 'Oh, you're here?' and that's it. She doesn't hug me or pat my butt like you do, Uncle."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. She's totally cold. She acts all cute when she's filming dance videos, but she's like an ice block to me."
Ha-young exposed her sister's true nature in a voice full of complaints.
Well, even if Baek Ha-rin acts like an attention seeker and is bubbly on the outside, she has a slightly blunt and cold side at home.
'Is it because she's the eldest, or is that just her personality?'
Maybe it's the five-year age gap.
"Alright. Uncle will scold Baek Ha-rin later. First, go wash your hands."
"Pfft, Uncle scolding Sister? Liar."
"I'm serious. And Uncle bought a bunch of delicious ice cream in the freezer, so let's eat together."
As soon as the word "ice cream" came out, Ha-young's pouting lips lifted into a smile.
"Really? Is there red bean ice cream?"
"There's melon ice cream and red bean ice cream too. Just go wash up quickly."
"Okay~♬"
Baek Ha-young smiled brightly and ran off to the bathroom.
I opened the freezer door and took out one red bean ice cream and one chocolate ice cream.
I sat on the living room sofa, unwrapped the plastic, and waited for Ha-young to come out.
Ha-young, who had finished washing her hands, came and sat right next to me.
I handed her the red bean ice cream immediately.
"Here, eat up."
"Thanks for the meal~"
We sat side-by-side on the sofa, turned on the TV, and bit into our ice creams.
The sweet and cool chocolate spread in my mouth, and my fatigue melted away.
This is the relaxed afternoon of a slacker.
We were having a peaceful time talking about school when it happened.
Click!
Bang!
Suddenly, the front door opened as if it were going to break, and someone ran into the house noisily.
"Uncle!!!"
It was Baek Ha-rin.
She threw the shoulder bag she was carrying onto the floor and rushed into the living room.
"Close the door gently. You're going to break the door."
I scolded her, but it seemed it didn't reach Baek Ha-rin's ears.
She shouted in an excited voice.
"Uncle! What was that file you just sent me! The editing on this video was totally insane! No, how do you pull off that kind of quality in just a few hours? I almost screamed in the middle of the street when I saw how the beat matched perfectly during the transitions!"
"That's a relief. As long as you like it, that's all that matters."
I replied indifferently, licking my ice cream.
Baek Ha-rin didn't care about my lukewarm reaction and came right up to me, pouring out words like a machine gun.
"If I upload this, I think I'll get at least 3 million views as a baseline again! Uncle, you're a genius, a total genius! I'm going to carry you on my back for the rest of my life..."
That was when it happened.
Baek Ha-rin, who had been talking like crazy, locked eyes with Baek Ha-young, who was sitting next to me eating ice cream.
"Oh..."
Baek Ha-rin's jaw dropped.
The high-pitched voice that had been soaring toward the ceiling just a moment ago cut off, and silence descended on the living room.
She had made such a fuss.
She had excitedly talked about editing dance videos without even knowing her sister was home.
'I guess she is embarrassed about making a fuss in front of her sister.'
Baek Ha-rin's face turned red like a tomato in an instant.
But doesn't Baek Ha-young already know that her sister runs the channel Harin-gongju?
I could understand if it were about revenue or money, but surely talking about editing in front of her sister should be fine.
Sure enough, Baek Ha-young didn't seem to pay much attention to her sister's fuss.
Instead, she asked calmly.
"That edited video on Sister's channel. Was that edited by Uncle?"
At Baek Ha-young's nonchalant question, Baek Ha-rin gulped and glanced at me.
I had nothing to hide, so I nodded lightly.
"Uncle is a freelance video editor, after all."
"Don't tell me, the job you were supposed to edit was Sister's channel?"
"You've figured it all out."
No sooner had my shameless answer fallen.
"Uncle!!!"
Baek Ha-young wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly again.
"Me too! Edit mine too!"
I blinked at the kid's sudden demand.
Me too?
"You want me to edit for you?"
"Yeah! I want Uncle to do my cut editing and add subtitles too!"
No, this Baek Ha-young kid.
Does this kid also upload videos to YouTube?
Kids these days are all going crazy trying to be creators.
"What kind of videos do you film? Do you dance too?"
At my question, Baek Ha-young pulled away from my arms, grinned, and took her phone out of her school uniform skirt pocket.
Then she tapped the screen and shoved a channel right in front of my eyes.
"Ta-da! This is my channel."
I looked closely at the screen she shoved at me.
Even the channel name was very intuitive.
[Ha-young's Mukbang Diary]
Hmm...
The sister's side is a dance channel.
The younger sister's side is a very wholesome restaurant exploration video.
The thumbnails of the videos listed on the screen were all snacks like bright red Malatang, Tteok-bokki with lots of cheese, fried food, and Sundae.
The video titles were also quite a sight.
[Middle schooler downs the broth of a level 3 spicy Malatang]
[The standard vlog of eating Tteok-bokki and 3 Tanghulu with friends]
[Devouring 10,000 won worth of Tteok-bokki, fried food, and Sundae from the school snack bar]
"Cute."
"Hehe."
It's not like she's a food fighter or anything.
A second-year middle schooler is reviewing Malatang and Tteok-bokki, fried food, and Sundae.
But what really dumbfounded me wasn't the content of the videos.
It was the small number written under the channel name.
"80,000 subscribers...?"
A hollow laugh burst from my lips.
Moreover, the view counts on each video were no joke.
Most of them had hundreds of thousands of views as a baseline, and the best-performing Malatang Mukbang Short had over 1.5 million views.
"Crazy. You uploaded videos of yourself eating Malatang and Tteok-bokki, and you have 80,000 subscribers?"
"Hehehe."
To think she gathered 80,000 subscribers with videos of a middle school girl talking while buying and eating what she likes.
My highest view count for a game strategy video was 2,893.
'Ha... how nice would it have been if I were born a girl too.'
A video of a middle school girl eating Malatang has 1.5 million views.
A corner of my heart stung at the unfairness of this world.
No, this isn't the time to lament my situation.
"Ha-young."
"Yeah?"
"You passed the monetization requirements a long time ago, so why are there no ads on your videos?"
At my point, Ha-young blinked and tilted her head.
"Monetization? I just filmed myself eating with friends and uploaded it to other short-form platforms and YouTube?"
"You said you were short on pocket money."
"That's true, but I was a little scared, so I haven't done that yet."
To think she was just leaving this goose that lays golden eggs as a decorative piece.
If it's a channel with 80,000 subscribers and 1 million views popping off...
Isn't the monthly ad revenue quite significant?
Even if it's a Shorts channel, since it's not a mass-produced video, it would make money.
Baek Ha-rin, who was standing awkwardly to the side, unlike her sister, was lying to her mom about everything to get monetization and was sucking up tens of millions of won every month to live comfortably.
'How can sisters be so different?'
The first one is an attention-seeking snob, and the second one is naive and only likes to eat.
I fell into a brief dilemma.
This channel.
If I just polish the editing a bit more and properly bait with the thumbnails, it will definitely skyrocket.
A deep smile spread across my lips.
I handed the phone back to Ha-young and spoke in the voice of a very benevolent and kind uncle.
"Ha-young."
"Yes, Uncle!"
"Alright. Uncle will edit your videos amazingly too."
No sooner had my acceptance fallen than Baek Ha-young shouted, "Really!?" and hugged me tightly again.
She looked like she was about to kiss my cheek with her ice-cream-stained lips.
Baek Ha-rin, who had been watching that, flared up and stepped forward.
"Hey! Uncle!"
"What, what."
"What are you going to do if you edit Ha-young's videos for no reason and my video quality drops! You should focus entirely on my channel!"
Baek Ha-rin demanded, her voice mixed with jealousy and a sense of crisis.
It seemed she didn't like that I, her exclusive editor, was distributing my resources elsewhere.
I waved my hand lightly at Ha-rin.
"Don't worry. I can produce high quality for both, so there's no chance your channel's quality will drop."
At my assurance, Baek Ha-rin still pouted her lips with a dissatisfied expression.
I patted Ha-young's shoulder and added.
"And Ha-young. You know there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, right? Uncle is editing until his bones break, so I'm going to charge you a fair price too."
At my declaration, Ha-young opened her eyes wide and made a silly sound, "Wuing?"
"You're going to take money from me? I only get 200,000 won in pocket money a month."
I chuckled and gave her forehead a light flick.
"I'm not going to take your pocket money. We'll talk about that later, but for now, don't worry because it's not difficult at all for me to edit both of your videos."
I looked at the two sisters in turn and said seriously.
"More importantly, Ha-young. Let's set up monetization for your channel first. Uncle will take care of all the settings, so you just keep eating deliciously and send the raw video files to Uncle."
"If I do that, do I make money?"
"You'll make much more than you can imagine."
Ha-young's eyes sparkled.
She had a look of hope that she could buy Malatang every day.
"But, does your mom know you're running this channel?"
At my decisive question, Ha-young shook her head from side to side.
"No. Mom doesn't know yet. If Mom finds out, she'll definitely scold me for not studying and doing other things."
As expected.
My eldest sister is very strict about her children's education and her youngest sister's education.
If she found out that her middle-school daughter was eating Malatang and doing YouTube, she would definitely delete the channel and confiscate her smartphone immediately.
"Then don't tell Mom, ever. It's a secret between the three of us: Uncle, you, and Ha-rin. Got it?"
"Yeah! I'll never tell!"
Baek Ha-young clenched her fist and nodded vigorously.
Baek Ha-rin also crossed her arms and agreed, as if there was nothing bad about it.
After all, she was in the same position, keeping it a secret from her mom and sucking up the revenue.