The Emergency Mission

Broadcasting had already been going for a month. During that time my viewer count had fluctuated between eleven and fifteen before settling at a steady twelve. There were plenty of reasons the stream hadn’t grown faster, but the biggest one was simple: I didn’t want it to.

I liked my current setup. Even with only twelve viewers, five or six of them were always chatting enthusiastically during every stream, and the rest, though quieter, still showed up without fail whenever I went live. For a male VTuber who didn’t play games or sing, pulling even this many people felt like a miracle. Over time, we’d all grown closer—more like friends or older siblings hanging out in a cozy little circle than a typical streamer-and-audience relationship. At least, that was how things had been… until that day.

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My name is Kim Minjun. I’m about to start my second year of high school. At the beginning of the year, my parents and I made a deal. Since I’d done well enough academically in my first year, they agreed to give me four to five hours of free time a day as long as my midterm grades didn’t drop. At first I just played games like crazy, but after a while my friends all got busy with academies and stuff, so logging on became difficult. I started doing some advance studying with some random streamer’s broadcast playing in the background. That was how I first met Rusty-hyung.

His stream was a little unusual. First, he never played the games most streamers focused on. He said they weren’t fun, though I personally suspected he just had terrible hand-eye coordination. I stopped requesting games because even I didn’t want to watch him suffer. Second, he had donations completely disabled. When people asked him to turn them on, he’d just say, “Go buy yourself some snacks with that money.” So I ordered chicken instead. Third, his voice was basically a cheat code. At first I didn’t notice, but after listening for a few days, that calm, pleasant low tone started to feel strangely soothing. It even helped me focus on studying while somehow making everything he said stick in my head.

On top of that, he encouraged viewers to get to know each other—something most streamers warned against—and gave us nicknames. Because I’d set my ID as JJUneee48, he started calling me “Jjun~.” He also paired me with another girl whose ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ID was JJUHeeeee9, teasing us by calling her “Jju~.” He claimed he had no intention of growing the stream big and was happy as long as he had a few people to hang out with. I wasn’t sure if that was the right approach, but it worked for us.

I thought those peaceful days would continue forever. Then everything fell apart at home. My father’s business was on the verge of bankruptcy. He’d taken out loans to expand after things had been going well, but a client failed to pay, so the funds never came through. If he couldn’t pay the bank interest by the end of the month—twenty days from now—the assets would be seized. We all cried together while Dad apologized through tears. After he gently pushed us toward our rooms, telling us he’d figure something out, I sat down at my desk. Desperate to talk to someone, I opened Rusty-hyung’s stream without thinking.

******

“Huh? Jjun~? You’re a little late today. Something up? Isn’t it about time you went to bed?”

While chatting with the others, I noticed the viewer count tick from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eleven to twelve. The only person who hadn’t shown up yet was the high schooler Minjun, so I greeted him right away.

Everyone in my stream kept strict schedules—except on weekends—so when someone was missing, it was obvious immediately.

“Huh? Hold on… Everyone, Jjun seems like he’s got something on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his mind, so let’s put everything else aside and hear him out first.”

Whenever someone had a problem on my stream, we dropped everything and worked through it together. It had become a kind of regular consultation segment. Even the quieter viewers joined in during these moments. In a way, my viewer count had stabilized right after the first time we did one of these.

“Alright, Jjun~. I’ve officially appointed myself your manager, so lay it on me.”

“……”

The sudden weight of the message left me speechless.

A heavy silence fell over the stream. The other viewers seemed just as stunned by how serious it was.

“Wait. Minjun. Just hold on a second, okay?”

I stared at the screen, thoughts racing. Several plans formed, were examined, and discarded in seconds.

“Hmm……”

Everyone was holding their breath, waiting. It was oddly cute.

‘Heh. What’s there to even think about? I’ll just do whatever I feel like.’

I chuckled quietly and made up my mind.

‘There’s risk, sure… but I’ll shoulder it. Worst case, I can just go on hiatus for a few months. Heh heh heh.’

“Jjun~. You said the deadline’s the end of this month, right?”

“Then tomorrow’s Friday, so… I’ll get some things ready. I’ll go live around 11:30 on Saturday. Anyone who can’t make it?”

“Cool. So Jjun and everyone else can make it? I’ve got a bit of prep to do, so I’ll take tomorrow off and go live at 11:30 sharp on Saturday. Make sure you’re all there.”

“Okay, everyone say bye-bye~”

I ended the stream amid the chorus of goodbyes.

“Hope it goes the way I’m thinking… Heh. When has it ever not?”

*****

Saturday, 11:25 a.m. I finished setting up and waited. A small knot of tension and anticipation sat in my chest. Thirty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠minutes later, I hit the button.

Viewers began flooding in almost immediately.

“Kya~. Look at them all pile in within a minute. How could I not love this?”

I raised my voice a little to keep the mood light.

Once the chat calmed down, I started explaining.

“Alright, let me tell you what the ‘Emergency Mission’ is.”

“For this stream, I’m giving you all a mission. If you complete it and send me proof, I’ll give you a chicken gifticon.”

I brought up the PowerPoint I’d prepared earlier.

This stream was basically a gamble. If viewers thought their streamer was just messing around while one of them was in real trouble, most of them—ninety-nine out of a hundred—would probably leave disappointed. That was understandable. Still… even if they all thought it was a joke, I hoped at least one or two of them—maybe even just Minjun—would take it seriously.

“You might be upset. You might think this is a prank.”

“That’s fine. Go ahead and think it’s a joke.”

“But this adorable, handsome Rusty is asking you to play along just this once. You can do that, right?”

“Especially you, Jjun~. You’d better send proof. At the very least, eat some chicken and clear your head, yeah?”

Thankfully, no one seemed genuinely upset. They were all just skeptical. Now all that was left was to wait…

And that Saturday night, the community exploded.