You're a Male After All
Who was it that said?
A true superstar drives both fans and haters crazy at the same time.
Judging by that criterion alone, Dojin had already entered the ranks of superstars.
“It's an absolute mess.”
The video uploaded yesterday—the comment section of the video celebrating Malbok with the village elders was practically exploding.
Comments of this level were actually on the milder side.
At least they didn't contain personal insults or target family members.
Dojin didn't pay much attention to these kinds of comments either.
It was obvious they were just leaving malicious comments based on the title without even watching the video.
However, he immediately took screenshots and saved PDFs of any comments that crossed the line even slightly.
He planned to hand over all the collected data to his legal counsel to sue them.
“So you're the ones who've been riding the line and stirring up trouble all this time? I've got you now.”
As always, he had no intention of showing leniency.
He believed that people like this would only cause harm elsewhere anyway, so they needed to pay the price properly this time.
Dojin wasn't the only one thinking this.
Not only Do-hee and Seung-wan, who managed the channel with him, but also the subscribers who supported the channel were constantly leaving comments.
Supportive comments were flooding in just as much as the malicious ones.
Although there were occasional comments from the children of the village elders, most were from people who had no personal connection to Dojin.
The subscribers, who usually enjoyed the videos, were more than willing to engage in keyboard battles against the absurd haters.
“How reassuring.”
“That means you have to do even better. Right now, they are the most reassuring allies in the world, but if you cross the line even a little, Dojin-ssi, they will turn on you instantly.”
Dojin nodded at Seung-wan's words.
Just like celebrity fans, YouTuber subscribers are not fools.
While they would offer the most passionate support when they trusted someone, they were also the first to turn into anti-fans if that person disappointed them.
Many people forgot that and ruined their lives.
Even after he had quit YouTube in his past life, Dojin had closely watched how successful YouTubers fell from grace.
That was why he always monitored and cautioned himself.
Fortunately, there were people around him who kept him on his toes.
Two of them, in fact.
“Hmm, was the fireworks display a bit too much? Looking at the comments, quite a few people are asking if we set off too many fireworks near the mountains.”
“We didn't set them off in the direction of the mountains, and we had fire extinguishers ready beforehand... but we definitely need to be more careful. It hasn't rained much lately, so even a small spark could start a forest fire.”
“I'll add the safety measures we took to the description box. Fortunately, fire extinguishers are visible throughout the video, so just explaining it should be enough.”
Seung-wan, who was listening to Do-hee and Dojin's conversation, quickly came up with a countermeasure and applied it.
“Hmm, there's also a lot of talk about giving chicken to Ttorang-i and Bo-ri. Some are asking if we gave them human food, and others are saying it's dangerous to give chicken bones to dogs.”
“We made a separate batch for the animals. Was that not explained properly in the video?”
“Yes. The video overall focused on the feast preparations, the elders eating, and the fireworks.”
“Well, it's a bit late to edit the video that's already uploaded... Since it's come to this, let's shoot another video. Just about making healthy food for the animals.”
“Are you going to make samgyetang again?”
“They had samgyetang not long ago, so they probably won't like it as much. And it would feel too repetitive for the channel. Let's prepare customized health food this time.”
“Customized? What kind of food?”
At Do-hee's question, Dojin pulled out his phone and looked up the notes he had prepared.
It was the advice he had received from the Good Doctor Animal Hospital while preparing the health food for Ttorang-i and Bo-ri.
“Let's make dried pollack seaweed soup for Ttorang-i. Dried pollack is good for restoring energy, and seaweed is good for blood sugar control and bowel movements.”
“Oh, what about Bo-ri?”
“For Bo-ri, raw salmon and boiled anchovies. They're good for immunity, energy recovery, teeth, and bones, respectively. Boiled sweet pumpkin is good for both dogs and cats, so we can prepare that too.”
“It'll take a lot of work, but preparing it that way will definitely keep the content from feeling repetitive.”
“Yes. And we can subtly add the explanation that was missing from the last video. Something like, 'We actually prepared it separately like this, but the explanation was lacking!'”
“Mmh! That sounds like a good idea.”
The three of them continued their meeting after that.
Although they didn't realize it, this was their first proper content meeting.
Usually, they just edited and uploaded footage captured on the action cams, so there was no real need for meetings.
The closest thing to a meeting they had before was sharing updates on the pets' conditions.
But once they sat down for a proper meeting, there were many items on the agenda to decide.
“Once Ttorang-i's condition improves a bit, I think we should walk around the village.”
“The village? Why?”
“Ttorang-i sometimes whines while looking over the wall. I think she wants to go out and take a walk.”
Ttorang-i had never gone for an outside walk since moving into the Three Meals House.
Everything had been done within the grounds of the Three Meals House.
This was possible because the property was vast, unlike a typical house.
Perhaps because of that, Ttorang-i seemed to want to go for an external walk.
“Hmm, if she looks in good condition, I'll take her for a spin around the village.”
“Yeah, it's just that it's a bit difficult for me to go out.”
Do-hee made an apologetic face at Dojin's words.
Even though Seo Uk had been arrested, she still hadn't recovered from the shock of that time.
Anxious that her biological family might show up at any moment, Do-hee was avoiding going out as much as possible.
Seeing Do-hee like that, Dojin tried to reply casually.
“...Yeah, leave it to me. But can I ask you to give her a bath when we get back?”
“Yes! I'm really good at that!”
While Dojin was laughing at Do-hee flexing her nonexistent biceps and telling him to leave it to her, Seung-wan brought up a new agenda item.
“We received calls from the fire station and the public health center.”
“The fire station and the health center? Why them?”
Unlike the police station, those two places had no real connection to them, so a look of confusion appeared on Dojin's face.
However, that expression soon had to turn into embarrassment.
“First, the health center... cutting out all the preamble and getting straight to the point, they asked us to show restraint.”
“Ahem!”
“They said that while our administrative procedures and hygiene management are sufficient, they asked us to understand the public sentiment. After all, with the entire nation sensitive to quarantine, if one area seems too relaxed, it makes it difficult for them, as the ones responsible for public health, to manage the residents.”
“...That makes sense. I'll call them and apologize politely.”
Hearing Seung-wan's words, Dojin readily admitted his mistake.
No matter how carefully he had prepared to avoid any loopholes, if it caused trouble for others, it was right to exercise self-restraint.
If they had protested rudely or threatened me, I would have fought to the end.
But from what Seung-wan said, that wasn't the case at all.
Even just hearing about it, he could feel how politely the other party had made the request.
Dojin was not so thoughtless as to refuse a request from people struggling in an already difficult environment.
Sensing Dojin's thoughts, Seung-wan also nodded and continued.
“And we received an expression of gratitude from the fire station.”
“Gratitude...?”
“Yes. They thanked us because the hornets in the area have decreased significantly thanks to us.”
“Ah.”
Hornet nests were piling up daily at Cheongdung-i's house, which was set up behind the main building.
At first, they thought Cheongdung-i wasn't eating the hornet nests he brought back, but after watching the footage, the group realized that wasn't the case.
Cheongdung-i was actually devouring an astonishing amount every day.
The only reason hornet nests were still piling up at his house was simply that Cheongdung-i brought them back every single day.
“Apparently, there are a lot of honeybees around here, so there have always been many hornets. It was to the point where the village's nickname was 'Hornet Village,' but they said hornet-related reports have dropped to less than a quarter this year.”
“Could it be because of Cheongdung-i?”
That was the only reason that came to mind.
Considering the number of hornet nests Cheongdung-i brought back daily, it was clear he was raiding at least one nest every two or three days.
“Yes. They said hornet reports have plummeted, especially in the surrounding villages centered around ours. Compared to last year, they're almost nonexistent, and they think the expanding safe zone is thanks to us.”
Even now, videos of Cheongdung-i were steadily being uploaded to the channel.
However, they weren't tens of minutes long like before, but rather Shorts videos under a minute.
Thanks to editing them from different angles and scenes as much as possible, the fire station seemed to have noticed that Cheongdung-i was destroying the surrounding hornet nests.
“Since things turned out this way, should we make another Cheongdung-i special video? We have the action cam footage from Cheongdung-i, right? I think it would be great to make a video of him clearing out hornet nests with that.”
“Us? Making it isn't hard... but I can't predict what kind of reaction we'll get.”
“We can just label it as a tribute video for Cheongdung-i. After all, hornet damage in the surrounding villages has decreased thanks to him.”
Even as he spoke, Dojin wasn't particularly worried about views.
Even if general subscribers didn't watch it, there was a solid core audience.
The Ornithological Association and related organizations will probably watch it often. They might even request the edited footage.
As far as Dojin knew, nature documentaries filming honey buzzards usually took about three to four years of hard work.
They had to find a nesting bird among the migratory honey buzzards,
and then locate the hornet nest that the bird targeted to set up cameras in advance.
But what about Dojin?
He could whip one up in just a few days using the ultra-small action cam attached to Cheongdung-i's neck.
Of course, it won't have the clear and beautiful angles of those nature documentaries.
But they probably wouldn't care much about that.
For those interested in the habits of honey buzzards, including the ornithological society, just having one more reference video would be satisfying enough.
Fortunately, the camera Cheongdung-i wore had a fairly long recording time.
If the resolution was lowered from 1080p to 720p, it could store at least six and up to ten hours of footage.
After the meeting, Dojin retrieved the action cam from Cheongdung-i's chest and changed the settings.
After inserting a memory card larger than the previous one, Dojin couldn't help but be flabbergasted by the unexpected scene he saw the next day.
“...”
“Oh, who is that?”
“It looks like... a honey buzzard, but its appearance is slightly different from Cheongdung-i's?”
The group, having retrieved the action cam from Cheongdung-i's neck when he returned home at dusk as usual, played the saved video to check it.
And seeing Cheongdung-i nuzzling beaks with a hawk they had never seen before, they immediately fell into a state of mental breakdown.
“Could it be... a female?”
“It certainly looks that way.”
“I think we can find out immediately if we ask the association.”
Thanks to the camera being mounted on his chest, the new hawk's appearance was captured in quite detail.
However, the hawk's appearance was subtly different from Cheongdung-i's.
First of all, the pattern of its feathers was clearly distinct from Cheongdung-i's,
and its overall impression was a bit softer.
Above all, the way it constantly rubbed beaks with Cheongdung-i made it almost certain to be a female.
“Sigh, romance here too. Seriously, why is the universe doing this to me?”
Watching the video, Seung-wan stood up abruptly with a sigh.
Her gaze darted back and forth between the video and the couple, Dojin and Do-hee.
It was a look that made it perfectly clear who "here too" referred to.
“...”
“Heheh, sorry, Seung-wan!”
Unlike Dojin, who felt embarrassed, Do-hee apologized quite boldly.
That only made Seung-wan feel more drained.
“...Sigh, whatever. As if romance is in my cards.”
Her energy instantly drained, Seung-wan plopped back down into her seat and played the video again.
Kkiyak!
Kkiyak?
The male and female honey buzzards, who had been affectionately rubbing their beaks together, soon took flight into the sky.
What was unusual, however, was that they didn't fly side-by-side; instead, Cheongdung-i took the lead.
Wondering where Cheongdung-i, who had been showing so much affection to the female, was heading, Dojin soon discovered their destination.
“Right. So you're a male after all, Cheongdung-i?”
“Pfft!”
“...”
The place where the two hawks arrived was a hornet's nest,
and it was clearly a spot that Cheongdung-i had already found and half-destroyed.
Ack!
When Cheongdung-i pointed at the hornet's nest with his beak and stepped back, the female, who had been blinking behind him, stepped forward.
Kkiyak.
Expressing her gratitude by rubbing her beak against his with a short cry, the female immediately began to decimate the remaining hornet nest.
The remaining hornets desperately lunged at the female, but their resistance was blocked by Cheongdung-i.
Cheongdung-i, standing beside the female, ate up every single hornet that tried to attack her.
Thanks to him, the female was able to comfortably pluck out and eat only the hornet nest and larvae.
Meanwhile, Cheongdung-i simply stood a step back, diligently guarding the female.
Dojin found the sight utterly absurd.
“I only intended to film a video of him clearing out hornet nests, but we ended up getting even rarer footage.”
He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of reaction would erupt when this video was uploaded to the channel.