149. The Reason I Didn't Block Him
149. The Reason I Didn't Block Him
***
—No, well. Since you put it that way, I feel relieved too. Honestly, at some point I started wondering if I'd gotten worked up all by myself and said too much. I'm glad it helped you, Rin. This actually makes me feel kind of proud.
"No, not at all."
—Honestly, even now, when I think about Park Soyul and what that person put me through over money, it makes my blood boil. I really do think you'd be better off keeping some distance from her, Rin. There are plenty of people whose real personalities are completely different from how they appear on the outside.
As Big Cat spoke confidently, as if offering advice, Serin smiled a cold smile without even realizing it.
'So it's possible to show your true colors this openly.'
The impression of Big Cat she'd gotten from BigCatTube had definitely been that of a good-natured person. Someone considerate of others, with a decent character.
And the reason she'd reached out to Big Cat first in the first place was precisely because of that image.
But everything Big Cat was saying now was hitting Serin in a completely different way.
'Someone different from how they appear, huh.'
Serin muttered inwardly, took a sip of coffee, then parted her lips.
"That's true. How someone appears and their real personality can be different. Like you said, Big Cat, I think I'll need to be careful around Soyul from now on."
Her expression had hardened coldly, but Serin, who responded to Big Cat's words in a buoyant voice that contrasted with it, had already completely made up her mind.
This person called Big Cat was someone with no value whatsoever in building any further connection.
—Ah. But hey, Rin. Did you also see the email I sent about the collab?
"Yes, I looked it over briefly. You sent that you wanted to do a mentor-and-student concept, right?"
At the word collab, the materials Soyul had organized came to mind.
'How did she have no personal commentary at all?'
It was almost astonishing that Soyul hadn't added any personal opinion about this Big Cat.
If this was someone so sincere about tearing others down, there must have been friction when working with Soyul too, she thought, and then her thoughts reached another point.
'Did Soyul separate work from personal feelings?'
It wouldn't have been strange for her to remove Big Cat from the list of desired collabs, or to add a separate note about their character. But in the list, she seemed to have only written Big Cat's collab purpose and content.
Once my thoughts reached that point, I started to like Soyul even more.
—Ah, so you do know, you really did check the email? What do you think, Rin? Then!? Don't you think the mentor-and-student concept is pretty good too? Honestly. Well... it's a bit awkward for me to say it myself, but I'm a NewTuber with quite a lot of subscribers. If we do a collab with a clear concept like this, I think it could help RinTube, which is on a real upward trajectory right now. And I think it'd create some pretty good synergy for both of our channels.
Perhaps because Serin had been responding so agreeably on the surface, Big Cat was now openly talking about the collab and displaying enormous confidence.
At that, Serin couldn't hold back for a moment and burst out laughing.
"Pfft..."
Did he think he'd built some kind of bond by tearing Soyul down? The way he spoke in such a confident voice was really... what should she even call it?
She just thought he was truly something else.
Enough to wonder how someone with this personality had managed to build an image as a good person.
No, maybe Big Cat just particularly disliked Soyul?
Thinking it would be hard for someone to show their true colors this much from just a first call, Serin pulled herself together.
After Serin's sudden burst of laughter, the call fell into a few seconds of silence with neither of them saying anything.
—Um. Rin, why did you suddenly laugh...?
When Big Cat's slightly stiff voice followed, Serin smiled faintly and continued.
"Ah, it's nothing. The NewTube video I'm watching right now is just too funny. And regarding the collab, I have quite a lot of scheduled commitments, so unfortunately I won't be able to give you an immediate answer."
BigCatTube, visible on the PC screen that was currently on.
The man in the thumbnail of a video on its main page was smiling with a really good-natured-looking smile.
She'd laughed because the person was so different from their appearance, but she didn't feel like making an effort to hide it.
But contrary to Serin's true feelings, Big Cat was speaking again as if relieved.
—Ah, I see! Well, you really are so popular these days, Rin. It makes sense that your schedule would be packed for a while. Then I'll be looking forward to a positive answer for a future opening in your schedule!
"Yes. I'll think about it positively too... and get back to you later."
Hoping for a positive answer from someone was truly meaningless.
It felt strangely fascinating to be delivering words that were nothing more than empty courtesy to the other person.
Click.
Having hung up first like that, Serin naturally pressed Big Cat's profile shown on her smartphone.
She considered just pressing block, but she couldn't shake the feeling that ending it like this would be unfair to Soyul.
She thought it might be better to leave a small opening so she could use it to her advantage.
Then suddenly, Soyul's profile came into view.
A bright-looking woman smiling cheerfully.
"...Soyul must have had a hard time too. Really."
She didn't need to see it to imagine how much Soyul, who had worked under someone like this, must have suffered.
A person who so passionately tears someone down to a person they're speaking to for the first time—that alone revealed their character.
She swept her hair back out of habit and laughed for no reason.
"A person like this, among million-subscriber NewTubers... built an image as a good person..."
She felt anew that while outward appearance wasn't something to dismiss, it also wasn't something to trust.
For an ordinary person, the traces of how they've lived tend to remain plainly on their face, but people who use that well can live well while hiding their true feelings.
The saying that the worse the con artist, the more decent and respectable they tended to look held true in that sense too.
Yes, just like Big Cat right now.
"It's really fascinating."
Looking back on the call, it was fascinating. How could someone show their true colors so stupidly?
Even if Soyul really was someone obsessed with money as Big Cat claimed, he shouldn't have torn her down like this in his very first call with me.
Anyone who viciously badmouthed other people was showing me that he could talk about me the same way to someone else too.
Even if he treated me well now, he was the type who could change his attitude at any time and tear me down to someone else.
And someone like that wasn't even worth giving my heart to.
While she was organizing her thoughts like that.
BaTalk!
BaTalk rang.
Park Soyul.
[Ah. Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd want to work on more videos, so it's such a shame that we can only make one video from the scrim. Really. What do you think, Hayoon?]
Kim Hayoon.
[Right? Honestly, I'm so disappointed that I have to fit this scrim into one video too. The quality is good enough that each match could be its own video...]
Park Soyul.
[Right, right!? Still, two videos combined means we reached a compromise, so I can't bring it up again, ugh...]
Serin, who had been watching the editors exchange messages about the videos to be uploaded to RinTube, softened the expression that had frozen cold during the call with Big Cat, as if it had never been that way.
"Really. She's working this hard."
Did Soyul know that a million-subscriber NewTuber was going around badmouthing her?
While thinking that, she suddenly remembered the message Soyul had sent just yesterday saying thank you.
That message had seemed oddly meaningful, so she'd called to ask again, but Soyul had ended the call with just a thank-you in a tone that seemed to hesitate at the end.
As she recalled those facts one by one, Serin smiled a bitter smile without realizing it.
"This... I can't just block him and end it like this."
With that, the thought of blocking Big Cat completely vanished.
No matter how I thought about it, simply blocking someone who went around badmouthing my people and ending it there didn't add up.
Just listening had already put me in a bad mood, which was a loss in itself, and he'd torn Soyul down this much in his very first call with me.
Had Big Cat talked about Soyul to other people? The thought even crossed her mind.
'He must've gone around blabbing to everyone he knew.'
The more she thought about it, the more infuriating it was.
Then suddenly, the words about bonuses and being obsessed with money came to mind.
Soyul had definitely shown signs of hoping for a bonus.
The big difference was that it wasn't unpleasant enough to warrant what Big Cat had said, but still, it was clear that Soyul needed money.
"Could Soyul be having personal financial difficulties?"
Once her thoughts reached that point... she simply considered giving the bonus in advance.
No matter how many times she thought about it, there was no reason not to give it.
RinTube still only had two videos uploaded, but each video had quite high view counts, and with the subscriber count already surpassing 300,000 within a few days, the monetization requirements had long been met.
Accordingly, RinTube simply couldn't withdraw the money yet; the revenue itself was still piling up beyond anything I'd imagined. And even if that weren't the case, giving them a bonus wasn't any burden for me.
After a brief deliberation, I put my thoughts into action.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
After a simple verification process, I sent each editor a private message saying it was a bonus and transferred a set amount to each of them.
Since Soyul had also handled the RinTube channel banner and icon work early on, and was even managing the business emails, I added an extra amount for her.
BaTalk!
BaTalk!
Immediately after, the BaTalk sounds rang almost simultaneously.
I set the smartphone down without checking the messages. I thought it would be fun to look after I finished my shower.
'Giving money to someone isn't bad either.'
It felt like paying employees their salary, but even though I was giving away my own money, it felt surprisingly good.
I wondered if this was how viewers felt when they donated to me.
Serin shook off her outer clothes and walked with a smile to take a shower.
BaTalk!
BaTalk!
Ignoring the BaTalk sounds that kept ringing.