How to Go Viral on Day One of Streaming
"Then that's it for today's stream."
As I typed the message on the virtual keyboard, the viewer chat exploded with disappointed reactions.
Part of me wanted to keep going for hours more.
My stamina could handle it, no problem.
But there was no helping it.
Stream's capped at five hours a day, after all.
A hard limit on broadcast time.
Another directive straight from Vice President Cha. Hmm, calling it a directive felt off somehow—maybe an edict was more accurate.
Vice President Cha had decreed that we stick to a mysterious, enigmatic concept early on. No point burning through goodwill needlessly, he'd said.
I had no idea why he kept harping on that "madman" angle, but I decided to humor his blazing passion and play along.
-Hissss!
I logged out of the game and popped open the machine.
The virtual machine's hydraulic hiss was faint enough that most people wouldn't notice, but my ears picked it up crystal clear as I slowly rose to my feet.
After hours of Cognitive Acceleration, my body was slick with a light sheen of sweat. This never happened in V-BAT—clearly, that feature put serious strain on the human body.
"Master, here's a towel."
Miley, who'd been monitoring from outside, rushed in the moment I ended the stream and stood up, handing me a soft towel.
I wiped my face as I asked, "Where's Vice President Cha?"
"Checking public sentiment with the civilian surveillance team."
"......Calling them the 'civilian surveillance team' makes it sound like they're plotting something seriously shady."
Civilian surveillance team.
The name alone screamed black-ops illegality.
I made a face. "You know, just in case—maybe go with something more public-friendly? A name people won't side-eye?"
Miley nodded as if she'd just had an epiphany.
"Understood. I'll relay orders to rename the team immediately. Any suggestions from you, Master?"
"Hmm......"
Nothing sprang to mind right away.
I pondered for a long moment before venturing, cautiously, "......Ego Searching Team?"
Research Team Lead Lee Jong-han wore a deeply troubled expression.
[Ego Searching Team]
The reason was simple.
The nameplate on his Research Team's office door was being pried off in real time.
The shiny plaque that had gleamed there until yesterday was gone, replaced by a piece of paper scrawled with "Ego Searching Team" in marker, hastily taped up instead.
Team Lead Lee stared at the golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty slapping on the tape, letting out a groan.
Who the hell was this woman?
She looked like high-level brass, but why was she swapping out their team's nameplate? And to something as baseless as "Ego Searching Team"!
And why was Cha Eunho, the real power player at TS Media, just standing there watching without a word!
At a loss, Team Lead Lee hesitated—until Vice President Cha finally spoke up.
"Miss Miley, why on earth has our Research Team been renamed to something like 'Ego Searching Team'?"
The platinum blonde blinked, tilting her head in a way that could melt any man's heart.
"Was this team's name 'Research Team'? CEO Kim described it as the 'civilian surveillance team'."
"Well, yeah, that's basically what we do."
Vice President Cha shrugged with a sly grin.
The butler called Miley fixed him with a disapproving glare before declaring firmly, "No helping it. It's the Chairman's order."
"Ah, then of course we change it! You should've led with 'Chairman’s order.' We'll get new nameplates ordered company-wide. No worries."
Don't just roll over like that!
Team Lead Lee wanted to scream it.
How monumental did a "Chairman's order" have to be to trash a perfectly good team name overnight!
But he was a veteran of corporate wars. No way he'd pipe up now.
Who was Cha Eunho?
The mad genius of terrestrial TV, called a "demon PD whose neck survived his antics thanks to sheer talent." In an era of OTT, cable, and niche channels, he'd smashed 35% ratings repeatedly with variety shows.
If he hadn't blown the whistle on a former president's military supply scandal during a "light" current affairs show sabbatical, he'd have ascended to the executive suites like a constellation by now!
And that monster's acting all deferential?
Team Lead Lee could clearly sense even Cha—the monster among monsters—starting to wilt under the butler's aura. What the hell was this white beauty's deal? Who was she!
And who the hell was their chairman?
Still swirling in questions, Team Lead Lee froze as Cha nodded with a grin.
"The Chairman really is something else. To achieve this in just one day—my instincts were spot on."
"Pardon?"
"Take a look at this."
With that, Cha handed over a report packed with data his team had scraped from the internet all day, eyes bulging.
"See these numbers? Minder hero-related social keywords spiked this much today!"
Cha practically danced a shoulder shimmy, whistling a tune.
"No other Minder buzz right now except the Chairman—this is all her doing. Haha!"
After his laughing fit, he scratched his head at Miley's stone-faced stare.
"Anyway, that's the gist. Team Lead Lee?"
Called out, the team lead stepped forward hastily and briefed them on the day's findings.
"Yes, sir. Overall, mentions of the Minder hero surged mainly in male-dominated large communities. Key terms: 'scam,' 'stream,' and 'Pachichik.' Abusive language ticked up too."
A chill ran down Team Lead Lee's spine. He looked up to find the "butler"—the white woman—glaring at him murderously.
"......Collect all abusive language data separately and forward it to the audit team. Every last bit."
"Y-yes?"
"Audit team. Abusive data. Forward it."
She enunciated each word like a martial artist planting her stance before unleashing a massive technique—heavy with intent.
No clue why abusive comments went to the "audit team," but Team Lead Lee silently prayed for any basement-dwelling trolls who'd dared insult the Chairman under this monster's watch.
"Got it!"
Miley sighed at his crisp salute and prompted, "Continue."
"R-right. Shares of the stream link you mentioned earlier spiked dramatically. Actual viewers are way lower than shares, but the buzz is building."
"I see."
Then a leisurely contralto voice drifted from behind her.
Team Lead Lee knew exactly who it belonged to—she'd had one of his subordinates doubling as stream monitor and manager.
"Chairman, you've arrived."
"Master, good evening."
Cha and Miley bowed. The underlings followed suit, necks rigid.
"Good evening!"
"Chairman, sir!"
Like a mob syndicate paying respects, the Research Team—no, Ego Searching Team—all bowed in unison.
And with the click of heels...
The head of TS Media.
No—the parent company, Top-Star Inc..
Revealed herself.
"......What is this, a mob office? Vice President Cha, I know entertainment's tangled with gangsters, but not in my company. That's an order."
"Chairman, that's 80s-90s stuff. Pre-my-birth, half a century ago......"
"No excuses. Don't do it."
"Yes, ma'am."
She shut down his protest in seconds, then Seongwon slid naturally into the head seat like she'd been born to it—innate nobility radiating from her.
And that beauty.
The bizarre bear mask on stream had hidden her face, but now the Ego Searching Team saw it plain.
Holy shit.
Quitting my old job was the best call ever.
That skin...... which derm clinic?
Thank you God for this chairman I must've saved the nation in a past life frfr.
Flawless, goddess-like without a speck of makeup. Petite, sure—but that only amplified her charm!
The team gaped, mouths agape. Seongwon crossed her legs arrogantly, chin raised in a haughty tilt utterly unlike her stream persona—pure conqueror's aura, commanding the room.
"Alright, let's hear the detailed report."
Her majestic proclamation snapped the tension; one deputy fainted dead away.
"Huh?"
"P-Park deputy's down!"
"Looks like he passed out?"
"Call 119! Now!"
As Miley—despite being a woman—tried CPR on poor Park, Seongwon caught a subtle glance and turned.
Cha was eyeing her steadily.
"......I didn't even do anything this time."
"Ahem."
No, really.
Seongwon felt a bit wronged.
After shipping hapless Park Deputy to the hospital, Vice President Cha dispersed the chaos.
"Paramedics said it's nothing major. No known conditions, right Park?"
"None."
"Then we're good. Back to work, no fretting."
He clapped briskly, pulling fresh docs and sliding them my way slyly.
"Chairman, have a look."
"Sure."
Viewer trend graphs.
"Your stream's audience patterns. Can't crack Pachichik's internals, so we crawled it ourselves—not perfect."
"Can't be helped."
No hacking a streaming site just for viewer data.
"As you see, highly irregular. Typical of jobless NEETs, freelancers, or part-timers—what folks call 'sentinels.'"
"Sounds kinda dismissive of viewers."
"Just facts—no need to take it personal."
Cha shrugged.
"They're the 'first tier.' Not huge numbers, but engagement's off the charts."
Though they breed the worst trolls too.
"First tier's got endless time. They hop streams aimlessly—no goals, just killing hours. Yours just happens to hook 'em."
"Hmm."
"Target them right, Chairman, and they'll spread your name to other streamers organically. 'Tas relay' or cuckoo-ing, as they call it......"
Suddenly, some team lead in the back shot up his hand, phone in grip.
"Vice President Cha! 'FistQueenGirl' live stream just mentioned you—confirmed via community post. Still talking now."
Cha grinned like a classic meme.
"See? That's how it works. Easy, right?"