The Illustrator's Bargain
After successfully recruiting her, Choi Bom was lounging around at home for the first time in a while. Normally she would have been glued to the TV watching dramas or movies, but lately she'd been hooked on YouTube videos and couldn't put her phone down. Her manager—who also happened to be her mother—watched her with a slightly worried look, but decided her daughter was old enough to make her own choices and went back to folding laundry.
Choi Bom kept watching the newly uploaded videos until one ended, and she let out a deep sigh of regret. “Already over… huh, what’s this?”
After the enjoyable video finished, she hit the back button and saw a notification that a new post had gone up on the community board. When she tapped it and read the post, her eyes widened in surprise. ‘She’s not uploading videos anymore?! No, wait. Does this mean she’s moving the channel?’
She was startled for a moment, but when she saw that the same videos would be uploaded on another channel, she felt relieved. Learning that the same person was still doing the editing, Choi Bom naturally clicked the link and hit subscribe on Oh Serin’s channel. ‘I’ve watched plenty of other people’s videos, but this person’s editing really is the most pleasant to watch.’
Having fallen for broadcast editing videos, she checked out other streamers’ YouTube channels out of curiosity, but none of them gave her the same sense of fun as the ones on the Dancing Raccoon channel. On top of that, Oh Serin’s broadcasting style perfectly matched her tastes, so she naturally became a fan. What would the first video on this channel be? She was humming to herself while thinking about it when her mother, who had been folding laundry, answered a phone call and called out to her.
“Bom, want to take this call?”
“Who is it?”
“It’s PD Lee Seongbeom.”
“R-really?!”
PD Lee Seongbeom was looking for her? Choi Bom, who had been sprawled on the sofa, sprang up like a coiled spring and dashed over to her mother to grab the phone.
“H-hello?!”
Her breathing was ragged and her words stumbled from excitement and nerves, but she had no time to feel embarrassed. She was actually talking to the person she had dreamed of meeting! Her heart felt like it might burst. Yet the voice coming from the smartphone was very different from what she had expected.
—Ah, hello. Bom senior? It’s me, Sua.
“…………Ah.”
—Did something bad happen?
“Uh… no. Right, that’s how it was….”
Oh. She was PD Lee Seongbeom’s niece…. Of course she would be. Yeah….
Though Bom senior’s tone sounded oddly listless, I continued the call without dwelling on it.
“Did you do the homework I gave you?”
—What…? Oh, you mean watching the YouTube videos? Yeah, I watched them.
“Were they fun?”
—Fun… well, they were interesting, at least?
“That’s a relief.”
She was unusually skeptical about internet culture for someone her age, so the fact that she’d found them interesting was already a good sign. From her tone, it didn’t sound like her interest would stay superficial either.
“I watched the drama you appeared in too. Your acting was really good.”
—Really?
“All your other works were fine, but Playground Childhood Friend was my favorite. Especially that first-person flashback scene in episode one—your solo acting just devoured the screen…”
—Y-you saw that?! More importantly, did you call just to check if I did the homework? Bom senior stammered in embarrassment. Clearly wanting to change the subject, she hurriedly steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Well, that and other things. Ah, I also enjoyed The Moon That Rises by Day. You were great in sageuk too.”
—Can we stop talking about my childhood dramas…? It’s embarrassing….
“What’s an actress supposed to do if she hates talking about her past career?”
—My past as a bad actress is a dark history…. Don’t you feel the same?
“Me?”
—If you debuted as a child, there’d be records of everything you did. Watching those old clips must make your skin crawl or give you goosebumps. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel that way.
“I wouldn’t know. There aren’t any old records of me to begin with.”
—No debut videos or anything?
“I never debuted.”
—……Huh?
Bom senior fell silent. After a long pause, she asked hesitantly.
—Wait, are you not in the entertainment industry…?
“That’s right?”
—Then why do you call me senior…?
“Because you told me to call you senior, Bom senior.”
—…….
Another silence. She was probably remembering how she had cornered me in the broadcasting station waiting room and said all sorts of things. The awkward silence was broken when Bom senior cleared her throat.
—Ahem. Then at least speak comfortably. Call me Bom noona or something….
“It’s already stuck. Give up.”
—Tch….
I could almost picture Bom senior’s face turning bright red on the other end of the line. Imagining that expression, I considerately changed the subject and got to the main point.
“Let’s leave the greetings there. Bom senior, are you busy right now?”
—…Not really. I’ve finished all my child actress parts, so I don’t have any drama schedules left. If anything, I’m preparing for other drama auditions?
“That’s good to hear.”
—That sounded ominous.
“Of course not. Senior, you’re really good at drawing, aren’t you?”
—Suddenly? Ah, you saw that variety show.
“So, would you like to work on something with me?”
—What kind of work…. Don’t tell me it’s with PD Lee Seongbeom?!
“No, it’s not that.”
—Aww….
A voice thick with disappointment came through the phone.
“I’m working on something and I need illustrations for it. Your art style seems like it would match perfectly, so I called to ask. Of course, I’ll pay you properly.”
—My drawings? More importantly, you said money….
She sounded like she was taking this seriously.
“That’s right.”
Realizing that my request wasn’t just a favor but a proper commission, Bom senior immediately switched to a more serious tone. After thinking for a moment, she apologized as if she had no choice.
—I can’t make decisions about money on my own. And if I start earning money from something other than acting while I’m still an actress, it might damage my current identity. Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.
“That’s a shame…. Ah, then how about something other than money as the condition?”
—Something else? I’ll listen first and decide.
“Hmm…. Within the limits of what I can do, I’ll grant you one wish?”
—What could you even….
“And in a few months, when Uncle… I mean, that program airs, I’ll try to get you invited as the first guest.”
—I’ll do it.
Bom senior answered before I even finished speaking. Then she spoke again, her voice full of determination.
—I’ll do it.
—How many drawings? No, how many do you need? Just tell me anything!
Great. The call recording came out perfectly.
* The illustrator has been successfully recruited. And for free, no less. Of course, I offered a wish coupon and a guest spot on Uncle’s program, but that’s a cheap price. If she says she can’t grant the wish, that’s that, and the guest spot is for a future YouTube content program, not a TV broadcast. A YouTube program is still a program. I didn’t lie.
I connected Bom senior and Serin together, and though I received a flood of protest messages from Bom senior—
—I ignored them cleanly and went about my business. Since I’d already given her a heads-up, she couldn’t run away. Besides, it didn’t seem like Bom senior actually disliked the idea. Even during the call, it was obvious she’d found Oh Serin’s videos entertaining. And the way she became extra careful whenever Oh Serin’s name came up made her seem like a fan who had just met her idol. She must have already grown quite fond of Oh Serin after watching the videos. It was fortunate that she would be doing something she liked rather than something she had no interest in—productivity would be higher that way.
‘Now the question is how to present the first video….’
It wasn’t about showing off some grand production. The first video on a new channel served as both an indicator of its direction and the face of the channel itself. If I uploaded a regular broadcast video right away, it might create a barrier for first-time viewers. That was why the first video needed to instantly communicate the channel’s concept and direction. And there was one type of content that was perfect for conveying that.
“Serin, did your conversation go well?”
—Yeah, she said she couldn’t talk on the phone so we chatted instead, but she was really polite. She seemed super mature.
“Mature…. Well, she’s been in the industry for a long time.”
It had already been five years since Bom senior debuted, after all. It made sense that she would come across that way.
—But what’s going on? Is this about YouTube?
“Ah, yes. I’ve thought of the content for the first video.”
—Oh, what is it?
A surefire way to introduce both herself and the broadcast to first-time viewers.
“Serin, would you like to try auditioning?”
It meant participating in a large-scale broadcast production.
***
On a major broadcast being watched by around 12,000 people, a cute otter pajama character appeared on a screen set up like an audition stage.
[Alright, next participant. Entry number 9, Ms. Oh Serin?]
[Ah, a-uh-uh! Y-yes! Entry number 9, Oh Serin!]
[You seem very nervous. Shall we help you relax a bit? Could you tell us why you chose the nickname Oh Serin?]
[Ah, th-that, uh? I-I just really like honey otters….]
Watching Oh Serin deliberately fail to hide her awkwardness unlike usual, I thought to myself.
This… might actually work as a video.