Chapter 45: Has This Oppa Gone Mad? Kim Minseo's Crew is Kuni Crew.

Kim Minseo's agency was Kuni Crew. A straightforward name, and the boss was none other than Kuni himself. And Kuni wasn't originally a StarCraft streamer.

'Was he the one who did Excel...?')

From what he knew, he was a pretty well-known male cam streamer. Male cam. Originally, it just meant a guy who turned on his camera, but usually, male cams or female cams implied more than just gender. They had to be pretty and handsome first and foremost. That's how they made a living off their looks. Kuni was one of them.

And with what they called a two-track strategy, he earned money from Excel and spent it on Star University. Today was his main gig.

"Hello, hello, hello. What's up, bros."

He kicked off Excel.

"Viewers, we've got a special guest today. I'll tell you about it in a bit... shh. Pretend you don't know even if you do. Nooo. Come on, play along a little."

Kuni's tongue got subtly slurry. He was already in his mid-thirties. It could've come off as creepy, but the chat didn't react that way.

The chat flooded with laughter and curiosity. It wasn't anything new since it had already been revealed, but the viewers were still hooked.

Then Kuni started calling in his staff one by one. Starting with the waiters—the male members.

"Alright, staff, come in one by one. Maraong-i first."

"Hello, bros. Your neighborhood punching bag, Maraong-i here."

"Yo, Maraong-i, why do you look darker every day? Dude, go see a doctor."

Here, Kuni—the one called the rep—teased Maraong-i as he greeted from the stage.

"No, bros. Every time I check the cam, I look even darker for real, that jerk."

"That's 'cause you didn't sleep last night."

"Yo, why didn't you sleep?"

The moment Kuni said that, Maraong-i shot him a glare, tilting his head in a reaction that implied Kuni was the reason. Maybe Kuni felt guilty, because he burst into a silly laugh right after.

"Nah... I didn't call you for that, but you should've dipped out smartly anyway."

"Seocho-dong bro chewed me out hard for pulling the waiter away from the booze fest."

From their banter, it was clear they'd gone to entertain a big spender from Seocho-dong and got hammered. At first, Kuni handled the hosting, then called in Maraong-i to take over so he could crash.

"Dude, if you're gonna drink that much, you gotta tip at least. But get this—I texted Seocho-dong bro before heading in, like 'bro, tip please?' Know what he replied?"

Maraong-i, who had messaged the whale beforehand, showed his reply by flipping off the camera— a toned-down broadcast version of the classic 'fuck you' gesture.

"Kahaha."

Kuni cracked up upon seeing it. Everyone except Maraong-i did too.

"...Got it. You're dismissed. Now, the lower ranks, come up one by one for your entrance greetings."

They filed in by rank: intern, trainee, trainee leader (whatever that was), staff, assistant manager, manager, secretary, team leader, section chief, deputy manager, department head. Each one took forever.

"Please, just one sig... Any entrance wind...?"

The ones who bombed it bombed hard, while the good ones milked endless sigs.

"FirstMenUp! FirstMenUp!"

"As expected from our boss Kuni's section chief! Way better than that last guy!"

The longer the sigs, the more their Excel scores updated on screen.

And finally, it was time. A girl ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stepped onto the stage, one foot at a time.

"Hello!"

She hit the center and bowed deeply from the waist.

"7th-tier Toss from Kuni Crew, Kim Minseo... Ah, no, Minseo-jjang for you, oppas!"

She bowed ninety degrees. And as if she'd been waiting, her first Excel plate blared a song, washing away her nerves.

"Whoa? Duloomi!"

CrestedIbis. The same guy who'd joined Shin Jaewoo's Abong spree. He announced his presence with a massive Star Balloon dump, boosting Minseo-jjang's momentum. He teased her off-stream, but here, it made him look like a real bro.

And the one Kim Minseo had been hyped for most.

The second five-figure explosion. And Hera° didn't stop there.

A cascade of her Star Balloon barrage. Amid the bombardment, Kim Minseo danced her heart out. At some point, sigs started queuing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up—new balloons interrupting the current song to form lines.

'Whoa.'

Shin Jaewoo watched in fascination. He'd never really seen Excel before. Well, once a long time ago, but he'd bailed without getting it. His impression now was similar.

'They're pumping it hard, PD-nim.'

He hadn't expected Lee Hae-in to go all out like this.

In the midst of his surprise, more popped up.

Minseo-jjang. Watching this, it hit him.

"...This girl's got more platoon members than I thought?"

She'd come to him all insecure via KakaoTalk. He'd worried a bit. But that worry vanished as her score skyrocketed. It was oddly satisfying to watch.

'Impressive.'

He'd had mixed feelings about Excel. When she'd said she was doing it, he'd felt ambivalent. But now, that negativity faded. She was clearly loved more than he'd realized.

"Proud of her."

That's how he ended up watching her with genuine admiration. So he changed his mind about his initial plan. First, he needed to make a call.

The boss he contacted was none other than Song CEO. The Fantasia Pay CEO he'd met at the Baekje Hotel party.

She immediately clocked what he wanted. Truth be told, he had no other reason to contact her.

Pay agencies usually didn't do credit. Upfront payment only. But deposits and charges were lightning fast. He'd prepaid with her before.

'Probably 'cause of what that guy told her?'

Kim Do-hoon. He'd introduced Shin Jaewoo to Song CEO, calling him a whale on Kim Do-hoon's level. She seemed to buy it somewhat. Not entirely wrong.

If he was doing it, he'd go for number one.

"...Excel really is on another level."

Differences from personal streams jumped out at Shin Jaewoo. Top spots there topped out at 10k—if that. Most didn't even hit it.

'But here...'

10k was lining up. And first place? A whopping 90k. Early game, no less.

'Then...'

He wanted first. Just that. With that in mind, he punched in his Star Balloon amount.

The charge went through instantly. No waiting. He wired right away.

Shin Jaewoo returned to the stream after her thanks. Why 100k? He wanted to fire it all at once.

'Never dropped six figures in one go before...'

He input the numbers one by one. And discovered something new.

'Oh. I had a ton of Star Balloons left.'

He'd bought 100k once before—at StrawberryMochi or whatever—and only used like 15k. Plenty leftover.

Ignoring that, he kept inputting. But...

Shin Jaewoo frowned.

"...I swear I've seen million-unit blasts in one shot."

Whatever. He Kakao'd Kim Minseo, who was dancing happily and getting praised.

She didn't read it. Getting antsy, he considered chatting it in stream. Finally, as she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sat down, she checked her KakaoTalk.

"...Has this oppa gone mad?"

Her voice boomed through the mic. All eyes turned to her.