Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Party Invitation Arrives
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Internet streamers' days always start late.
And I was no exception. By the time I opened my eyes and checked my phone, the clock was already pointing to 1:13 p.m.
"...Ah, crap."
That was the first thing out of my mouth as I stretched my jaw wide with a yawn and dragged myself out of bed.
Come to think of it, I had to take out the food waste and household trash today. If Mom barged in and caught me, she'd chew me out and demand I come straight home.
I couldn't let this sweet bachelor life get taken away from me. No way in hell.
Rustle.
I opened the lids of the trash cans in my room, living room, and kitchen—three in total—grabbed the ends of the black plastic bags stuffed inside, and tied them off.
Then I fetched the designated volume-based bags from the balcony and crammed everything in, pressing down hard. The bags were a bit small, so it was a tight fit, but I muscled through it somehow.
Whew, already wiped out.
Thud.
I decided to toss the trash when I headed out for my workout later, so I piled it up near the shoe rack for now and went back to my room to sit at the computer. Time to check yesterday's donations.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [12/04 Total Donations: 2,164,000] ...Whoa.
My mouse-clicking hand froze as my eyes locked onto an amount way beyond what I'd imagined. A gasp slipped out naturally.
Is this for real? With donation numbers like that, you'd think I was some big corporate streamer. All thanks to the Chairman's grace, huh?
Of course, she doesn't drop that kind of cash every day, but from my perspective, the sheer volume of her support is overwhelming enough to leave me stunned. It even makes me hesitant to spend any of it.
Heck, on my last birthday, she dropped a straight ten million. It was such a massive sum I agonized over what to do, but in the end, I sent 300k each to my parents, paid taxes on the rest, and put the leftovers toward a new PC.
Ten million donations don't even happen on major corporate streams that often, so that clip blew up on NewTube for a bit. Viewership spiked nicely because of it.
Anyway, who the hell throws around money like this? Some second-gen chaebol? Hope she's loaded, at least.
One thing's for sure: someone like her and a nobody like me would never cross paths in a million years. Outside of viewer-streamer dynamics, that is.
"...Hm?"
After checking everything else, I headed to the portal site to peek at my email last. As always, the top spot was taken by some familiar-looking spam.
But what caught my eye was the email below it from a very familiar sender: the official email from the platform I stream on.
Why would they email me specifically? They usually blast common announcements to all streamers via the platform itself.
Click.
I clicked first and foremost. Made sure it wasn't one of those occasional phishing scams by double-checking the sender a few times, but nope—totally official.
The email's opening line made my eyes bug out.
📧 INVITATION ⚙ You're Invited to Tweet's Year-End Party! Hello, Streamer Cosmo. Thank you for always streaming with Tweet. Today, we're here to invite you to Tweet's Year-End Party. How about joining your fellow streamers for a warm year-end gathering to melt away the winter chill? ... ... Whoa, is this legit?
I read every single word to the end, but I still couldn't believe it. Me, invited to the year-end party?
For context, this "year-end party" is an exclusive streamer gathering hosted by the Tweet platform itself.
You need partner streamer status to even qualify, and even then, only the top percentage selected by the platform's own criteria get invites. Most low-tier streamers can only dream of it.
And I got one? Damn, Kang Wooju, you made it.
"Gotta go shopping for some clothes first."
I'd planned to laze around until stream time, but that was scrapped.
Big shots from major corps will be there—no way I'm showing up looking like a slob. Time to splurge on some decent outfits for once. Then brag to the viewers tonight.
Great way to kick off the day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ BROADCAST STARTED ⚙ 'Cosmo' has started broadcasting. Once I fired up the stream, I did my usual: slapped a big fanart of my self-insert character on screen.
💬 Chat — Seafood Bibim Sauce Co-ha — Elephant Hoou Co-ha — Crescendo What's with the title? — Chairman Chojang Launcher Something good happen? Viewers started pouring into chat, greeting me like usual, but a few zeroed in on the title I'd set and voiced their confusion.
Everyone knows I rarely change my stream title, so they must be dying to know what huge thing had gone down.
"Guys! Got a Tweet party invite this morning!"
I skipped the usual greetings and straight-up bellowed the news about my year-end party invite, like the sound booth was collapsing around me. The reactions were split right down the middle.
— Catfish Whiskers Oh, congrats! — Please All Positive Fr? You were dying to go and now you finally did. Congrats! — Even Scorched Rice Bottom Congrats x4 Pure, heartfelt congrats from some,
— Soju-Flavored Hand Cream Bet you'll just hole up in the corner like a total loner there too — Neighbor Raises Hani Shit, I can already picture it lmao and concern from others who knew better than anyone that I was a total shut-in loser.
These punks hitting me with straight facts outta nowhere. Let's keep it fair—fight with lies and manipulation, folks.
"Anyway, so I bought some clothes to wear to the party? Help me figure out what looks good."
— Good Thoughts ? Asking Tweetards for fashion advice? — Hundred Flowers Uproar Fuck, if we knew that, we'd... — Neighbor Raises Hani Boss is sneakily fishing for compliments, ffs — 18-Year-Old Female College Student Keep talking cute and I'll break your legs so you can't go? Don't hit me like that all of a sudden—what am I supposed to do? I even bought a bunch today hoping for real advice. This is a total bust.
⭐ Top Comment — Cosmo Absolute Guardian I dress pretty well myself—want some advice? "Oh!"
I was about to scrap the whole fashion consultation bit when the Chairman's familiar nick popped up with the exact chat I'd been waiting for.
Damn, the Chairman's got fashion sense too? I rarely compliment anyone's style, but she's speaking with such confidence. Makes my chest swell with pride.
— National Hit No.1 Cosmo Fashion pro here, I'll advise ㅇㅇ — White White I buy my bf's clothes too, so I can help a bit Emboldened by that, more viewers stepped up to offer help.
That one's probably a female viewer—couple vibes. Should I ban her?
— Elephant Hoou Tbh your face ruins everything, clothes won't help — Seafood Bibim Sauce Fr lmao, even in luxury brands he'd get bounced at the door — Hundred Flowers Uproar Like getting cut at a club entrance? — BINGO Tencent reject!!! Meanwhile, the chat's itching to bury me alive. But facts are facts—no rebuttal here. Face ruins it all is just universal truth at this point.
"Anyway, I went with the clerk's recommendation—here's a pic of just the outfit."
— Octopus Sashimi Ok — BOOMBOOM Advise away lmao — Lucid Dream 7 Bet this idiot got scammed at Dongdaemun for some trash—super chat if so lmao Chat's making me nervous, but I trust my viewers aren't total assholes. I snapped pics of each outfit, transferred them to the PC, and popped them up on screen.
For reference, what I'm wearing now is beige cotton pants, a black half-polo knit, and a gray cashmere jacket. All stuff I'd never heard of, but I crammed the clerk's detailed explanations into my brain.
The saleswoman's smiling face as she picked them out for me still haunts me. Talk about pressure.
— You Know Wassand Oh, looks decent? — Lock on Glasses Can't see it on you, but the clothes look good ㅇㅇ — White Forest Safe pick, not bad? Thankfully, viewers gave the outfits decent reviews after checking the pics. But the consensus? "Clothes are fine, the rack wearing them is the issue."
No mercy with the roasts, you evil bastards.
"So this combo's good to go? Ignoring my trash visuals, obviously."
— Elephant Hoou ㅇㅇ Clothes are fine — Please All Positive Just rock this? — White White My bf would rock this too Only after getting the green light from chat could I wrap up the fashion advice segment.
And that one's been couple-baiting non-stop. Ban incoming.
💰 DONATION ALERT 💰 'Cosmo Absolute Guardian' has donated 10,000 won. — So you'll wear that to the party?
I was closing out the image windows and settling back into low chat when the Chairman dropped a sweet 10k donation with a question.
"Whoa, thanks for the 10k...! Yeah, planning to go with that."
The crowd-sourced big data pick felt safer than my trash taste, so I locked it in with a nod.
No reply came back, though. She step away for a sec?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 10:28 p.m.
Most folks are wrapping up their day, hitting the hay, or chilling to prep for tomorrow.
"Ah, it's me. Secretary Kim. You free to talk right now?"
But this woman, calling someone out of the blue in the dead of night, didn't seem to think it rude at all. She spoke in a flat, composed tone. The response was polite.
- Yes, of course, Director. Is it urgent?
She turned away from the computer screen she'd been staring holes into, stood from her seat. A far cry from the fangirling she'd been doing alone moments ago—now all business.
"You know Tweet? That internet streaming platform."
- Yes, of course.
It's so huge, it'd be weirder not to know it. Even if not deep into it, everyone’s heard of it. Secretary Kim was one such person.
His boss was youngish too—maybe she'd picked up an interest in streamers. He steeled himself to answer with what little he knew, but then came the curveball.
"Good, that speeds things up. They're having a year-end party, and I want to attend. Can you make a spot for me?"
- ...Pardon?
Who now, and where?
Secretary Kim had to wonder if his ears were playing tricks. Anyone who knew the woman on the other end would react the same.
"Got someone I want to meet briefly. Possible, right?"
- ......
But realizing it wasn't his ears malfunctioning left him speechless.
Being handed a high-difficulty quest in the witching hour was a vassal's sad lot in life.