Seo-a's Birthday (2)

I never thought I'd live long enough to receive a birthday congratulatory video that roasted me on my actual birthday.

For a moment, betrayal and anger flared up — but the viewers' reactions were through the roof, so I had to grin and bear it.

Even on your birthday, you can't drop the clown act. That was a streamer's destiny.

Meanwhile, birthday Candies started pouring in again. Beyond the usual 125s, 1,250 Candy donations began trickling through here and there. Looking at the nicknames, most of them were Seo-a Corps members who'd been watching for a while. Of course, "a while" only meant since my debut last September — not even half a year yet.

I poured out thanks nonstop while continuing the Candy wallpaper project. There were so many that even with the images carefully layered to show only nicknames and Candy amounts, the bottom of the stream screen was already completely occupied.

That thumbnail must have worked — drive-by viewers stopped in their tracks, and a few of them even dropped birthday Candies. Before I knew it, the viewer count had broken 2,500.

Sensing the mood was ripe, I casually asked Bebe-ttang to put on the party hat I'd prepared in advance.

"That was all maliciously edited footage, so don't believe it. Do you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know how carefully I treated Chunsik— I mean, my workers?"

"Tch! Anyway, that video was totally scripted. From now on, we'll take some time to look through the birthday messages for me on the fan cafe."

What followed in the fan cafe was pure healing time, just for me. Yeah — this was what a birthday stream was supposed to feel like.

Fan-made videos overflowing with affection. Clumsily drawn pictures of my virtual avatar. There was even a video of someone playing guitar and singing happy birthday themselves.

"What am I as a streamer that you'd go this far… Everyone, thank you so much."

I'd made videos for Lucy myself and even learned how to use AI tools, so their sincerity hit me even warmer in the chest.

Apparently wanting to keep this touching atmosphere going, my manager started freaking out that the timing was perfect and I needed to play Birthday Video 2.

"……."

I'd already taken one hit to the back of the head. I was nervous. Still, they had enough sense not to cross the line twice… right?

I carefully hit play on Birthday Video 2.

Whew. Thankfully, the video was the kind I'd expected from the start — a compilation of friends giving interview-style birthday congratulations to the streamer of the day. The kind of golden-rule birthday stream video that let you peek at a streamer's social circle.

"Uh, yeah. Th-thanks……."

Why did lines like this always make my hands and feet curl up? Watching Miho's avatar wink straight at the camera and throw a finger heart, I smiled awkwardly.

Right — starting this year, Miho had agreed to handle V-Live's official YouTube channel. If she just did the work properly, my workload would drop dramatically.

After Miho came Subnitti, Han A-yeon, Na-ro-si, and the others, each expressing their gratitude toward me and vowing to work even harder as members of V-Live Company. Mayo, of course, horsed around as usual and declared she would crush my pride in Myeolmangjeon.

Hey. It's my birthday today?

You're supposed to wish me happy birthday. Did she think this was a Myeolmangjeon entry declaration video or something?

Streamers I hadn't even expected showed up too. Oh Yeong-jun and Oh-ha left birthday messages while showing off our friendship, and Wang-ko — whose bond with me had deepened through the recent vehicle auction — made a surprise appearance that drew gasps from the viewers.

And the grand finale was Lucy's video.

I'd gone from being Lucy's fan to being a fellow streamer, but inside me she was still someone special. Of course. That was what a bias was.

Even recently — watching Lucy's actions, there were moments when I blanked out without realizing it. I was sifting through the remnants of memories from the three years we'd spent together before the regression. Mayo had no idea and would pout that my eyes only changed when I looked at Lucy, calling it favoritism.

Even now, I slipped into a similar feeling for a moment. Back when I was still Seo Min-jun, before the regression, Lucy would sing me a birthday song herself every year. Past and present overlapped with uncanny precision.

They must have been watching my stream logged out in secret — the crew members all piled in right as the video ended, dropping birthday Candies. Subnitti, Han A-yeon, and Na-ro-si followed with their own donations.

Before long, Candy donation wallpapers had climbed halfway up the stream screen. That eye-catching thumbnail snagged more drive-by viewers, and the count had already broken 4,000.

Breaking 4,000 viewers on a birthday stream. Rena World's floating traffic really is insane.

Normally, even a birthday stream rarely pulled in drive-by viewers like this. At best you got regulars and fans of fellow crew members dropping by to watch. Next year's birthday, I probably wouldn't see numbers on this scale.

"Hey, stop making up weird stories. Normally that would be an instant chat ban, but today's a good day so I'll let it slide. And thank you for the donation."

Once the streamers' turns had passed, the hardcore fans who'd been waiting their moment started flexing with bigger donations. Candy donation images stacked higher and higher. The Candy gauge in the top right had already broken 80,000.

Ever since the Chairman had donated so massively during the last Landmark building fundraiser, a weird atmosphere had taken root among the viewers. The real fans stayed quiet — it was the dopamine-addicted drive-bys who kept stoking that energy. From their perspective, they just wanted to watch Candies explode on screen, so of course they pushed the vibe.

"Hey, everyone. I feel a little weird saying this in the middle of a fun atmosphere, but… I'd rather not have this kind of mood on my stream — the kind that pressures the Chairman and the hardcore fans into donating. Honestly, just what you all gave during the last building fundraiser was already so much that I still don't know how to express my gratitude. It's not like I left Candies with my fans for safekeeping. If you donate of your own free will, I'm truly grateful. If not, just enjoy the stream and chat away — that's more than enough."

"And hardcore fans — please don't overdo it! Some of you might feel pressured to donate more than regular fans just because you're hardcore. You need to take care of real life if you want to keep watching my streams for a long time. If you go so hard you max out credit cards and then suddenly vanish from the stream one day, I'll cry my eyes out, okay? For real!"

Worried the serious talk might kill the mood, I finished with a cutesy voice and a little gesture of wiping imaginary tears from around my eyes.

Huh? But the reactions I got were… not what I expected.

"Ah— no, I didn't induce that. Seriously!"

At this rate I was about to get branded as a streamer obsessed with collecting money. I frantically called out for the Chairman, Seo-a'sEmptyWallet.

"Chairman, you really need to hold back! You already donated a hundred thousand during the building fundraiser. If you keep overdoing it and end up taking out a loan, that's a real disaster——"

"……."

The gauge had punched straight through 100,000. And just like that, a brand-new infamous title was added to my name.