Backfire
Backfire
"Ugh... I'm sorry, everyone, I'm sorry... I said I'm sorry!!!"
A one-room apartment in Seoul.
There, Chae Na-young, who had been clicking her mouse while staring at her computer, let out a shriek without even realizing it.
And with tears in her eyes, she blocked the video's comment section.
The video that prompted this drastic measure was none other than a video criticizing Egostic.
"Hah... Honestly, why..."
She let out a deep sigh.
Chae Na-young was a reporter.
Or rather, she had been one until she was fired recently.
Alone and back to nothing, she had reluctantly opened a channel on a video-sharing platform and started uploading videos on current affairs, which was her strong suit.
With hardly any subscribers, it was barely enough to keep her fed, but it was her only hope right now.
She was juggling two part-time convenience store jobs while running the channel diligently. And then her latest video got dislike-bombed.
"...No, what is Egostic, a sacred cow? A sacred cow!"
She yelled out loud again.
The video she had just uploaded was one criticizing the villain Egostic.
More precisely, it criticized the people who blindly worshipped him. He was a villain, wasn't he? So why wouldn't even the major networks criticize him that harshly?
So she decided to take the initiative and carve out a blue ocean for herself.
Honestly, she was confident. While there weren't many people bashing Egostic yet, if she led the charge, she could absorb all the opposition.
And the result?
A complete flop.
"...Ha. It's ruined. This was my only hope..."
She said, her voice trembling with tears.
Her views were declining with every upload. Now she was really at her wit's end trying to make a living.
On top of that, she was on the verge of not being able to pay rent, and the flood of dislikes and hate comments was about to push her over the edge.
"...Ah. Should I just give it all up?"
And then—
her eyes lost focus as she muttered.
Haha, it's probably no use.
Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket...
Ah, how am I going to pay rent this month...
While she was sitting there with hollow eyes,
Ding-dong— an alert sounded.
"...What's that?"
She murmured, opening her phone.
She instantly rubbed her eyes.
"...What the... Am I dreaming?"
[DH donated 10,000,000 won.]
[Hello, I always enjoy your videos^^ Please keep making this kind of video without losing your conviction. I especially liked the latest one. Would you be interested in doing some business with me?]
"...Huh?"
She dropped her phone without realizing it.
***
"Big bro, I really don't think that's a good idea."
"No, it's a really great idea."
"I don't think so..."
I shook my head at Seo-eun.
No, this was the only option left.
And it was the most efficient.
It was really strange that there was not a single media outlet in South Korea that criticized Egostic.
After looking into it, I realized that whenever someone wrote even a slightly critical article, people swarmed in and showered it with dislikes. I felt that this needed to change.
My goal was to be a villain who gave Stardus trials and made her grow.
Strictly speaking, it would have been enough if only Stardus considered me a villain. Everything I did was for her.
Still, if nobody really criticized me by then, Stardus might grow suspicious. She might even doubt herself. Seeing that nobody else particularly disliked Egostic, she might wonder, 'Is Egostic not a villain?'—something like that.
Of course, I had faith our Stardus would never do that. A righteous hero like her would never entertain such absurd doubts about a vicious villain like me just because other people did. Even so, having not a single outlet willing to criticize me was a problem.
So I made a decision.
All right. I would simply launch a media outlet.
I would create a channel devoted to criticizing Egostic.
It wouldn't be bad for there to be at least one of those in South Korea, right?
As soon as I thought that, I hit another problem.
I mean, when was I supposed to find the time for that? Handling everything from beginning to end was difficult.
While I was worrying about it, something caught my eye.
It was the broadcast of a woman who had uploaded the only video criticizing me and got dislike-bombed.
Unlike the horrible comment section, the video was quite well made. The editing was clean, and the woman's voice was clear and articulate, just like a network news anchor.
Watching her video as if spellbound, I realized something.
...Wait. Come to think of it, there was no need for me to do it myself. I could simply cultivate this woman and have her make nothing but videos criticizing me, right?
"..."
I immediately acted on the idea.
Alright, open wide—here comes the donation.
Perhaps we should have had a nice, long conversation.
***
"Hehe..."
Chae Na-young.
She had been grinning to herself without realizing it, then flinched in surprise.
Right, I shouldn't be this happy.
Let's work, work.
"...Yessss!!"
But she couldn't help jumping up from the bed.
Yes.
A ray of salvation had been cast upon her life, which seemed like it was about to fall into the abyss.
She had gained a sponsor.
One who recognized her abilities.
That mysterious sponsor who suddenly donated ten million won.
Startled, she contacted the sponsor with trembling hands.
And soon they had a long conversation.
The anonymous man—no, that person—who asked to be called simply by his ID [DH], said he really liked her most recent video. Yes, the one criticizing Egostic.
Saying he had money to spare, he told her to really lay into that bastard Egostic, that he'd back her up generously. After seeing the quality of the next video, he might even donate more—no, invest more.
That's right.
She had been chosen by someone presumed to be a chaebol heir.
"Thank you... Thank you..."
She murmured toward her mysterious sponsor.
Honestly, she felt as though she were dreaming. Was it real? Had money simply rolled in like a windfall?
And a feeling of reverence for her sponsor.
Yeah... Is this love?
She had nearly reached the point of worshiping her sponsor. Someone as lowly as me... how could I ever dare...
"Yeah... This is no time for that."
She jumped to her feet.
This opportunity.
She couldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance. Not a chance.
The reason her sponsor picked her was because of that video bashing Egostic.
In other words, she needed to work hard so as not to disappoint him.
And that day, she immediately used the money he had donated—no, invested—to rent a studio.
Yes. She was Chae Na-young.
She would show her sponsor her full potential and earn his recognition.
She would show him that she was a woman who got things done.
That there was no one in the world who could tear into Egostic more viciously than she could.
***
A week passed.
"Haa... Haa..."
Having finished the final edit, Chae Na-young collapsed in front of her computer.
"...I burned myself out..."
She could honestly say she had poured everything she had into making this one video.
Without the logo, it could have passed for a nine o'clock network news report.
The high-quality, incredibly authoritative-looking video was packed from beginning to end with nothing but attacks on Egostic.
All for one person—her sponsor.
"Are you watching, my sponsor? This symphony is for you..."
With trembling hands, she uploaded the video to the new channel she had created.
All right.
The die was cast.
***
A week had passed since I sponsored the YouTuber Chae Na-young and did something very productive.
Actually, after a whole week, I'd almost forgotten about it.
Then my phone chimed, and I saw a notification that she'd uploaded a video.
"Oh, she finally uploaded one. Let's have a look."
And the video I watched...
It was nothing short of shocking.
A video that bashed Egostic relentlessly from start to finish.
And it was produced with incredible quality, just like a news program.
It was exactly what I wanted.
And that was when I realized.
...This is a gem.
It could blow up big.
The moment I made that judgment, I ran to Seo-eun.
"Seo-eun! We have the rigging tool, right?"
"Huh? What? The rigging tool?"
"Yeah, the YouTube view rigging tool. Use it and let's get this video to #1 on trending."
"Wait, what is this??? This one?"
"Yeah. My gut tells me this one has the right angle. If we push it, it'll blow up."
"What? No, really... Ugh... Alright, fine."
And so—
an unprecedented event occurred on South Korea’s real-time YouTube rankings.
[Let’s Review the Vile Side of the Ruthless Psychopathic Villain Egostic] rose to number one.
***
Shin Ha-ru.
As always, the thing she thought about most this week was Egostic.
What on earth did he mean by living in the same house?
He was close with his comrades, almost like family??? She knew nothing about him, but perhaps he really did live with them as one.
She did not know the slightest thing about him—not even his name. But his comrades were like family, so naturally they'd know all of that. It was something she would never learn, no matter how hard she tried.
And that terrorist attack.
What was the purpose of the attack he carried out this time? He even took hostages, but then released them without harming a hair on their heads. It was almost as if he took hostages for no other reason than to summon Stardus herself.
...So then why did he commit that terrorist attack? For what purpose?
And her intuition told her.
...Somehow, it felt as though that terrorist attack had been Egostic's way of proving that he was a villain. Of course, it was a ridiculous delusion of hers, but the thought crossed her mind without her realizing it.
...Egostic. Should he really be seen as a bad guy? Can he even be called a villain?
Shaking off those thoughts, Shin Ha-ru shook her head.
...Egostic is obviously a villain. A cruel villain. She shouldn't keep thinking weird thoughts, shouldn't weaken herself with vain delusions.
Egostic is definitely a villain, and she just has to catch him. End of story.
With her head starting to hurt from all those thoughts, Shin Ha-ru sighed and went on YouTube, thinking she'd listen to some music.
And then a video with a large thumbnail labeled '#1 on Trending' caught her eye.
[Let's Review the Vile Side of the Ruthless Psychopathic Villain Egostic]
Seeing the title, she clicked on the video as if entranced.
In the video, a woman who looked like an anchor appeared, and in a calm voice began to list all of Egostic's past misdeeds one by one.
Attempting to blow up a boat full of civilians, tying people to train tracks, bringing down a plane, blowing up a bridge and damaging property, and so on.
After presenting a clear summary of Egostic's evil deeds, the anchor's voice rose passionately at the end and she shouted.
[We must lock up this ruthless, psychopathic madman immediately!! Citizens, do not be fooled! He is irredeemable lunatic trash, and even an immediate execution wouldn't be enough!! If there's a bad person in this world, it's that lowlife Egostic!!!]
The video ended with the woman's impassioned shout.
Below it, a torrent of dislikes flooded the screen.
The comment section was flooded with insults—not toward Egostic, but toward the anchor.
After watching the video to the end,
Shin Ha-ru, still dazed, quietly thought.
"..."
...No, of course Egostic is a bad guy, but.
Still, isn't this too harsh?
Thinking that, she found herself typing a comment in the video's comment section.
[Newday313][This feels too forced. The logic is weak, too. I don't think Egostic is such a bad guy.]
She ended up posting the comment right away, and she thought quietly.
...Right. This is a kind of justice.
No matter how much of a villain he is, you shouldn't bash him with insults like that. Yeah.
Honestly, at this point, Egostic is pitiful. Yeah. Because they cursed him out too much... It can't be helped.
So Shin Ha-ru, carried away, even pressed the dislike button on the video.
...For some reason, watching a video that insulted Egostic made her feel bad, with an incomprehensible emotion.
***
"Wow, big bro. The video bashing you just hit a one-to-ten-thousand like-to-dislike ratio. That's to be some kind of record."
I looked at Seo-eun, who was teasing me, and said,
"Seo-eun, that doesn't mean anything."
Right.
That video had essentially been made for only one person to watch—Stardus, Shin Ha-ru.
Since she definitely watches YouTube during her breaks, she must have seen it.
If she saw it, realized once again how awful I was, and let her hostility toward me blaze, that would be all I needed.
Even though the comments were full of people defending me, Stardus would not be among them, so it was fine.
"Yeah... That's enough..."