Collabs Make Money
The usual channel meeting had begun.
And today, it was running a bit longer than usual.
Normally, we cover two main agendas during these meetings.
First, we review the backlog of raw footage, pick out the funniest clips, and discuss the editing direction.
Second, we analyze the metrics from Newtube and Peonchi to figure out which direction to take the live streams.
Today, it was the latter that dragged on.
Why, you ask?
"So, Gyeong."
"Yeah, Hyeon-su Hyung?"
When I answered my editor, Hyeon-su Hyung, he spoke in an incredibly grave voice.
"So, are you and Vini really not dating?"
It dragged on because of this useless nonsense.
"Hyung, I never thought I'd say this to you, but you're seriously cruising for a pay cut."
"Wait, wasn't that just WWE?"
"It's UFC."
"It didn't look like UFC at all. It looked like the ultimate WWE."
I immediately shook my head at my manager's comment. Even though no one was watching us, I shook it with extra vigor.
"Seriously, no. We are absolutely, positively not in that kind of relationship."
"But you live next door to each other."
"Exactly. We've seen each other at our absolute worst. How could we possibly date?"
"Why not? It could happen. How many years have you two known each other anyway?"
"Who knows."
I brushed it off, but my mind quickly started doing the math.
I was told that Lee Yebin and I first met when she moved in next door. And since she moved in when she was three...
...that makes it about twenty years now.
That's insane. I've known her for twenty years?
No, I have to subtract at least two years. My earliest memory of Lee Yebin is from when she was five, crying her eyes out because her kindergarten lunch tasted bad.
Right, since my memories only go back to when she was five, by my standards, it's only been eighteen years. Yeah, we haven't hit the twenty-year mark yet.
"But why bring this up all of a sudden?"
"Take a look at the Newtube comments."
"I saw them."
I cut him off before Hyeon-su Hyung could read them out loud.
I'd already seen them, so he didn't need to say another word.
What did they say? It was simple.
"They look so good together."
"They're like actual best friends."
"Are they actually dating in real life?"
Absolutely not. We don't look good together, we aren't best friends, and we are definitely not dating.
If I had to define it, we were frenemies bound by a begrudging affection. That was the absolute limit of our relationship.
"So, Gyeong."
"Yeah, Hyung?"
"I'm being serious here. Why don't you two try doing a We Got Married concept?"
"...Hyung, that's a ten percent pay cut next month."
"Sure, sure. Too bad I don't get paid by you~"
For the record, Hyung's salary is paid directly by the agency. When I signed with them, he joined as my exclusive editor under the same company.
Thanks to that, threatening his pay doesn't work at all. Much to my disappointment.
"Honestly, I'm on board with the WGM idea too."
"Manager Noona, you get paid by the agency too, right?"
"Of course. I was dispatched to you by the agency in the first place."
"Haaah..."
A sigh escaped my lips. A very deep, heavy sigh.
Why on earth should I do a virtual marriage with Lee Yebin? Why would I ever do something like that with a girl like her?
While I was wallowing in despair, Manager Noona brought out some very objective data.
"Do you know how many views the edited video of you and Vini got?"
I did. And that was exactly why I didn't want to talk about it.
"The most recent video is at 140,000 views. 140,000! While your other videos average around 50,000 to 60,000, this one hit 140,000 on its own. And it was only uploaded yesterday."
Views on par with my channel's golden age—that was the power of content featuring Lee Yebin. But that wasn't all.
"The first video you did with Vini is already past 300,000 and heading toward 400,000. It's already spread all over the online communities."
"I know..."
"Clip channels are grabbing it to make secondary content, and some of their Shorts have almost hit a million views."
"I know, I know..."
Because I knew, I had nothing to say.
I wanted to deny it, but the cold, hard data left me defenseless.
"Do you also know that your Newtube subscriber count has been shooting up ever since that collab stream with Vini?"
"...Yes."
Indeed. Thanks to the boost from our collab, my subscriber count had climbed even higher, officially making me a 200,000-subscriber Newtuber.
Lee Yebin was also right on the cusp of hitting 200,000 herself.
"Seriously, this is a great opportunity. It's not like one of you is leeching off the other. Both of you were in a slump, and this has opened up a brand new path."
"Still... no matter how good it is, doing a virtual marriage with... with her is just..."
"Why? Is it that impossible?"
"It is physically impossible."
It was a visceral, biological rejection. You want me to do a virtual marriage with that girl, who makes me want to gag just by looking at her? If WGM stood for "We Got into a Melee," I'd sign up in a heartbeat.
But that wasn't what it stood for. It meant "We Got Married."
"I want to save things like marriage and dating for someone I'm actually compatible with."
That was my personal philosophy. Maybe that was why I'd never been in a relationship in my life.
Hearing that, Hyeon-su Hyung chimed in with a question.
"You and Vini look incredibly compatible, though."
That was the final straw for my patience.
"Manager, can we please cut this guy's salary by just five percent? Please?"
"Nope. Hyeon-su is actually one of our most diligent and high-quality editors. Honestly, if he weren't assigned to you, I would've reassigned him to a bigger channel ages ago."
"Hey, what's wrong with me?"
"You're great at streaming, but your channel's size doesn't match your talent. I'm just saying I'd rather send him to an editor role for a channel with a more stable viewer base."
"That's harsh. You can't just steal someone's editor. Besides, Hyeon-su Hyung and I have been working together for three years now."
"I know, I know~"
It might have sounded like we were crossing the line, but this was just how we talked.
That was how close I, Hyeon-su Hyung, and Manager Noona were.
Above all, I knew her words were one hundred percent WWE, so I could easily laugh it off.
"Anyway, think about it seriously. If you do a virtual marriage, the MCN might even sponsor it. Vini is under the same agency, after all."
"Haaah..."
For context, the day I received a scout offer from the agency was the exact same day Lee Yebin did.
So from the agency's perspective, they had 'childhood friends who joined on the same day now doing a virtual marriage.'
It was a goldmine of content waiting to be milked.
Which made me want to do it even less. It felt like Lee Yebin and I were being exploited.
I didn't care if she got exploited, and I didn't care if I did, but being exploited together just felt gross.
"If you don't want to do WGM, you're at least okay with collab streams, right?"
"Collabs... well, yeah, those are fine."
"Great. Let me know if you two schedule any collabs."
"Got it."
I said that, but I had absolutely no intention of doing a collab stream with her.
Why should I stream with her? Of all people, Lee Yebin?
Am I crazy? Never.
Or so I thought.
"Hey, are you free next Wednesday?"
"What kind of bullshit are you planning this time that you're asking if I'm free?"
"Bullshit, my ass."
"I have a stream."
"As if. You're just going to play Valorant or Battle of Legends anyway."
I had no comeback for that.
I glared at Lee Yebin, who was lying on my bed scrolling through her phone, and asked.
"So, why are you asking all of a sudden?"
"I was thinking we could do a collab stream~ The views were pretty good, weren't they?"
"Are you trying to start a WGM thing? Do you like me that much?"
"Has our little Gyeong-dog finally lost his mind? Oh, sorry. You were always crazy, weren't you?"
I reached out toward the provoking Lee Yebin. Knowing exactly what was coming, she quickly covered her forehead.
But resistance was futile.
Flick!
"Ow!"
"Blocking it only makes your hand hurt. Move it."
"You crazy pervert! Why are you flicking a girl's forehead?!"
"Because your forehead is so damn wide, it's begging to be hit. Why?"
"Aaaaah! I hate you so much!"
Lee Yebin fumed with rage, then glared at me and asked.
"...So, are we doing the collab?"
"Depends on what we're doing."
Yes, it all depended on the content.
Lee Yebin smiled and replied.
"Dead by Dawn. Ggumyong Unni said she wants to play it for the first time in a while."
"...I feel like we're becoming a fixed crew with them lately."
"So what? Ggumyong Unni and Marty are way bigger streamers than us. It's good for us to leech off them a bit, right?"
Seeing Lee Yebin grin like that made me feel... incredibly...
Annoyed.
Bonk!
"Eek!"
"How is your first thought always about exploiting people?"
"Ow... I'm not exploiting them! They also love collabing with us because it boosts their views and viewer count!"
That was true, but she was still annoying.
Bonk!
"That hurts!"
Giving her head two good bonks instantly improved my mood.
Yep, I could forgive anything now!
...But I kind of wanted to hit her one more time.
As I raised my fist again, Lee Yebin launched her counterattack.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
"Aaargh!"
Having kicked my shin with all her might, Lee Yebin stuck her tongue out at me.
"Bleeeh~"
Her mocking face was incredibly irritating, but that wasn't the main issue.
"Ugh, you crazy bitch...!"
"Hey, are you okay...?"
"I don't know, you crazy bitch...!"
As a side note, a bruise formed right where she kicked me.
Crazy girl. Just how hard did she kick me? Does she even think before she acts?