143. Someone Is Lying
143. Someone Is Lying
***
Past 7 p.m., the sky gradually darkened to pitch black, but one modest studio apartment remained brightly lit.
The interior was neatly kept, and along with the bright lighting, two monitors of different sizes were casting a bright glow.
And the woman looking at those monitors right now was endlessly replaying a single video, then pausing it, over and over.
Her long black hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail, and she was absorbed in her editing work in a white tee.
The woman working as Serin's editor. Park Soyul. It was her.
"Insane. This is insane. Seriously..."
As she edited the scrim footage against G1 that she'd received from Serin, Soyul kept marveling without realizing it.
Ever since Another World had become the dominant game a few years back, editors had to know Another World, and spotting edit points had become the most basic of basics.
That was only natural, since every NewTuber and streamer without exception played Another World, so whether or not you played it yourself, you had to know it.
So Park Soyul, who was building her career as an editor, was no different.
She didn't play Another World, but she had a decent eye for it.
"No, seriously, how do you do this against the number one team in the league right now?"
Serin's figure on the dual monitors kept seizing Soyul's gaze.
Another player had been retired, leaving a hopeless 3-on-1 situation. And yet, the scene showed her displaying overwhelming prowess against two players and pressing the attack in return.
Soyul had lost count of how many times she'd rewatched just this part.
"...Seriously, this is why she succeeds. How could people not fall for skill like this?"
As she watched more and more Another World while editing, she'd naturally come to enjoy just watching it, but even after rewatching the same scene several times, she was still impressed.
She'd received G1 contact info from Serin, and they'd already exchanged messages confirming she could make two videos.
With a substantial amount of footage, there were plenty of edit points and she had to watch the video closely, but even so, this kind of work was pure happiness for Soyul as an editor.
Because no matter how outstanding a NewTuber or streamer was, they couldn't actually be entertaining every single day.
Editors essentially had to go through the five- or eight-hour-long videos they received from them, checking every bit, forcibly finding or creating fun moments.
But the nearly six hours of combined footage she'd just received was almost highlight-level the entire time.
"...Seriously, the more I watch, the clearer it gets—there's no comparing that bastard Big Cat to Rin."
Soyul smiled with satisfaction as she thought of the NewTuber she'd worked with before for no particular reason.
For a NewTube channel just starting out, Rin had offered a fairly high base salary and even promised to take good care of her, telling her to expect bonuses.
Compared to that, someone who fought tooth and nail not to pay the promised bonus and the incentives in the contract simply couldn't compare.
Even the editing work itself differed in difficulty, so Soyul naturally thought of Big Cat every single day.
Among the reasons Soyul had quit her job as Big Cat's editor, the biggest was that the pay was too low compared to the work, but another major reason was that working on Big Cat's videos had gradually become harder.
Up until when she first started, she'd thought it was decent enough, but as Big Cat's personal energy and fun material visibly ran dry, she'd grown sick of the editing work itself. Rin, by contrast, had felt new every single day from the first moment she'd encountered her until now.
Click.
Soyul paused the video mid-edit and stretched, a regretful look on her face.
"Ah, if it were up to me, I'd want to do all the work myself."
Editing work with success practically guaranteed. Editing work she was excited to show NewTube subscribers was breathing great energy into Soyul herself.
Right now, if it were up to her, she'd want to monopolize this footage all by herself.
But since it had already been decided that Hayoon would work on the first and second matches from day two of the scrims while she took the third and fourth, she felt a deep, lingering regret.
Suddenly checking the time, Soyul muttered blankly.
"I do need to eat dinner."
After focusing on work in front of the monitor for hours, she was hungry, but she didn't particularly have an appetite.
Because she wanted to keep working.
So she considered just grabbing something quick, then simply opened a delivery app. Using delivery apps while living alone was a luxury among luxuries.
But she had some breathing room since Serin had given her money yesterday to spend on a company dinner.
"Seriously. How does a person manage to do only sweet things, even down to the little stuff..."
Soyul let out a small laugh without realizing it.
Yesterday, when she'd said she and Hayoon were going out for drinks, Rin had casually deposited 300,000 won into each of their accounts without batting an eye. Even thinking about it now, it was astonishing.
They'd never even met in person, but Rin as a person just came across as really likable.
Ding.
—Order complete.
After ordering a sandwich to take care of dinner simply, Soyul leaned back in her chair with a blank face and caught her breath.
"Hoo."
She'd let all the tension drain from her body and was about to enjoy a brief, comfortable rest.
BaTalk!
Suddenly, BaTalk rang.
"Is it Hayoon?"
With that thought, Soyul picked up her phone and flinched at the name she saw.
Big Cat.
[Soyul. How have you been?]
The moment she checked the message, Soyul frowned.
Soyul.
[Just tell me what you want]
Big Cat.
[No, I just... I felt bad wondering if I was too harsh with you last time]
"...Now he reaches out?"
Soyul spoke in a tone of disbelief and thought for a moment about what to send back.
He'd obviously contacted her with some ulterior motive, but she couldn't guess what it was.
Then she sent a message outright.
Soyul.
[If you're really sorry, does that mean you admit you talked shit about me to other NewTubers?]
She sent the message meaning: if you're really sorry, do you admit to the shit-talking too?
During the roughly three months after quitting as BigCatTube's editor, when she'd been unemployed.
Back then, when she'd been turned down by various NewTubers for all sorts of strange reasons, the shame Soyul had felt was bigger than she'd expected.
She'd kept wondering whether her skills were really that bad, and her self-esteem had crashed through the floor and straight into the basement.
Until she became Rin's editor, Soyul had agonized internally a lot.
But when she'd only recently learned that it was all because of Big Cat, Soyul had gone beyond simply losing any fondness for him—just seeing the two characters of his name made her blood boil.
After about five minutes with no reply, Soyul twisted her expression into a crooked smile.
'Of course.'
Unlike his publicly known nice-guy image, he was a petty little man who was narrow-minded and nitpicked to avoid paying up. There was no way he'd admit his own fault.
Just as she was about to straighten up and get back to editing.
BaTalk!
Big Cat.
[...I still don't really know what kind of misunderstanding there was between us. Me, talk shit about you? Soyul, do I really seem like that kind of person to you? Soyul, we had good times when we did NewTube together...]
"Fucking hell, seriously. Anyone would think he was my ex-boyfriend or something. Good times, my ass."
Gritting her teeth slightly at the message, Soyul began moving her hands quickly.
Soyul.
[If you're not going to admit you talked shit about me, don't bother messaging me again. And we don't have any good memories, so what exactly are you saying was good?]
Another five minutes passed after Soyul sent that message with no reply.
"Hah."
Letting out a small sigh, Soyul tapped on the BaTalk profile.
She briefly considered blocking Big Cat.
If they kept talking, nothing good would come of it... but Big Cat's standing as a million-subscriber NewTuber made her hesitate.
If she blocked him recklessly, who knew what rumors might spread among NewTubers. As Soyul hesitated.
BaTalk!
Big Cat.
[Icon of a rabbit holding a bundle of bills and scattering them]
【—Receive 1,000,000 won.】
When Big Cat suddenly sent her a million won, Soyul muttered with a baffled expression.
"What... is this supposed to be, right now?"
So rather than hastily accepting the money, she sent a message.
Soyul.
[What is this, all of a sudden?]
Big Cat.
[I just felt like I didn't take good enough care of you when you worked for me... it's a small gesture, just take it]
Soyul.
[No, look. I'm not doing this because I want money. I'm asking if you admit you talked shit about me. Yes or no. Just answer that.]
In the first place, I'd heard from someone I knew that Big Cat had been talking shit about me, so I was almost certain.
An acquaintance who edited for a NewTuber with 300,000 subscribers had asked me out of nowhere whether something bad had happened when I'd parted ways with Big Cat.
After talking about it for a while, I naturally found out.
Big Cat had been saying all sorts of things about me to other NewTubers.
Even just the bits I'd happened to hear were unbelievable.
He'd said things like I was just an editor trying to boss a NewTuber around, that the NewTuber was boring and hard to edit for, that I was desperately demanding bonuses on top of my fixed salary... and all sorts of other ridiculous things.
Big Cat.
[Soyul, I'll say it again... I really never said a single bad thing about you. When I worked with you, my channel did really well, and both you and I know that. Why would I say something like that about you? Soyul, was I really that kind of person to you? Did I really seem like that much of a piece of trash to you?]
Soyul wondered if the phrase "going from bad to worse" existed for moments like this.
Soyul.
[...Look. More than anything, stop texting me all creepily like you're my ex-boyfriend. You've got a girlfriend right there—aren't you embarrassed sending messages like this?]
No, seriously, he obviously had a girlfriend, and yet texting her all creepily like some ex-boyfriend was enough to make her cringe.
Big Cat.
[Soyul. I broke up with my girlfriend.]
He replied instantly, as if proud of it, and Soyul just let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
Soyul.
[Okay, and?]
Big Cat.
[No, I just. That's all... And I really didn't talk shit about you. Soyul, please, I just want you to believe me. The reason I sent you that sharp message last time was because things weren't going well for me either, seriously. I've been having a hard time lately too...]
"Right... sure, he's the only one having a hard time. Meanwhile, thanks to someone, I couldn't work for about three months, was stuck unemployed, and even ended up depressed."
Soyul spoke in a tone of disbelief, then just asked outright.
Soyul.
[So why did you contact me? You must have a reason]
Big Cat.
[...Thinking about what I couldn't do for you, I'll send a bit more money. No, seriously, thinking about it, I feel bad, that's all... And Soyul, you're doing really well these days, aren't you?]
Soyul froze for a moment.
Soyul.
[I'm doing well?]
Big Cat.
[Soyul, right now. You're working as an editor for that person called Rin or whatever, right? RinTube or whatever, I watched it too, and it's really blowing up... And I just thought of you because I realized all over again how capable you are, so I reached out.]
"...How can a person be this transparent? It's revolting."
Ding.
Looking at the text notification that her delivery had arrived, Soyul just tossed her phone onto the bed.
She didn't want to reply.
How could a person's motives be so blatantly obvious?
In the end, he'd contacted her because she was doing well now.