299. First Meeting with the Editors - (4)
299. First Meeting with the Editors - (4)
***
What's the easiest, best way to get close to someone when you first meet them?
There are countless answers—being considerate, complimenting their appearance, finding common ground.
But an external factor like alcohol was also a pretty valuable method.
In that sense, the fact that this first meeting was over drinks worked out well for the three women.
For Soyul and Hayoon, Serin could be seen as a superior in some ways, so there was a cautious atmosphere about speaking up. But just clinking wine glasses brought on a light buzz, and the words started flowing.
"Serin, seriously! Do you know how happy I was that first time I got a bonus?"
Hayoon, her face flushed red as if the alcohol had hit her hard, murmured as if talking to herself.
"Right. When I saw my first bonus, I had that thought too—am I really allowed to take this? Seriously... I met some weird people before, and we were always fighting over money, arguing every day..."
On the other side, Soyul kept pouring out stories from her past like she was venting. Serin tilted her wine glass and nodded along the whole time.
'Have they both been through a lot...?'
I could tell the alcohol had loosened their tongues, but everything they said was expressing gratitude toward me, so it felt strange to listen to.
I didn't think I'd done that much for them.
Listening to them, it sounded like I'd saved their lives or something.
"Serin, seriously, thank you so much. You even listen to us so well. The more I think about it, the more it feels like everything's been going great since I met you!"
All I'd done was nod, but Hayoon's eyes sparkled like she was deeply moved as she looked at me. It was almost embarrassing.
"No... I'm the one who's been lucky to meet editors like you two. And as for the bonuses—I gave them because I thought you both deserved that kind of treatment."
So I shook my head and answered.
"How do you always say such nice things? Serin, be honest. Are you secretly an angel or something?"
When Soyul hyped me up with such exaggerated words, all I could do was laugh awkwardly.
Soyul, who had been enjoying the seafood, parted her lips again with a loose, goofy expression.
"I'm really so glad I met someone like you, you know? You gave us a big bonus before payday, you don't micromanage our work, and you even encourage us. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I met such a good person. Hayoon! Don't you think so too!?"
"Yeah. Even now, I think I'm lucky. Getting picked as an editor, and even now, sometimes while I'm editing, I get that thought—is this a dream?"
Hayoon nodded in agreement, and Soyul burst out laughing.
"Pfft... Hayoon is even more ridiculous, honestly. How do you meet someone like Serin on your first editor job? Seriously, the more I think about it, the more insane it is."
"Right? We really met such a good person."
"..."
Were they drunk-talking?
The awkwardness from when we first exchanged greetings was completely gone. Watching them chat so animatedly, I felt dazed.
'These two really know how to embarrass a person...'
Complimenting someone to their face is one thing, but they just kept hyping me up like this. My face felt like it was turning red from embarrassment rather than the alcohol.
I picked up a piece of steak for no reason and opened my mouth.
"Honestly, when it comes to RinTube, you two have done an amazing job. The video quality always gets great reviews. So why would I ever need to micromanage you?"
In fact, from the moment the channel was first created, RinTube's growth had never once stopped.
Even I, who sometimes checked a few metrics on the RinTube channel, found myself thinking, 'Does this even make sense?'—the graph only ever went up.
From my perspective, the two editors were doing an impeccable job.
No matter how much raw video material I provided, cooking it into something appealing for viewers was entirely their work.
"Seriously, Serin... if you have that face and a good personality too, isn't the world just too unfair? And what do you mean there's nothing to micromanage? Remember when the video upload got delayed because we were working on the G1 scrim RinTube video, and the viewer reaction was bad? If you were any other NewTuber or streamer, it wouldn't have been weird at all for you to chew us out or say something. But instead, you encouraged us..."
"Right. Even now, I feel so bad about that. My work was delayed... Soyul isn't normally the type to work that late. It got delayed because of me, so the mood was a little off."
As Hayoon apologized, saying it was her fault, Serin wondered where this conversation was even going.
'I remember it being resolved on good terms.'
At the time, the RinTube upload had been delayed, but I'd thought it was understandable.
Making a video while coordinating with a pro team—I didn't think that was easy.
"I clearly said it was fine back then. You don't need to apologize like this."
At my words, Soyul shook her head vigorously, her face flushed.
"Back then, it wasn't just Hayoon's fault. I'm to blame too. Honestly, I couldn't get a feel for how to approach the editing, so I was lost the whole time. I even studied editing techniques to make an action-heavy video with real polish. It ended up helping a lot."
"Actually, back then, when I tried to edit like I normally do, it just felt off, you know?"
"Right. I seriously scrapped everything mid-edit and started over."
As the two of them, thoroughly tipsy, naturally carried on the conversation, Serin quietly watched them.
Hearing them talk about editing—something I didn't know well—made me realize anew how close they were.
'Anyway, these two are really serious about RinTube.'
Even though this was supposed to be a casual private get-together over drinks, once the alcohol kicked in, they ended up getting worked up about RinTube.
As the channel's owner, I could only feel proud of them.
Because people this passionate were on my team.
"Seriously, you two... you're that dedicated to RinTube, but do you actually rest properly?"
I smiled and asked. The two of them made subtle expressions.
"...Honestly? I think I might be a workaholic. These days, just watching Serin's streams and editing takes up my whole day. And RinTube growing in real time is so fun that I can't rest even if I try."
"I 100% agree with Soyul. RinTube's in the middle of a growth spurt right now. The more it grows, the more I feel like I should work harder, so instead of resting, I actually want to work more."
Hearing them say they weren't resting at all, I blinked without realizing it.
"Still, take it easy sometimes. I'm glad you care about video quality, but don't push yourselves too hard."
"We do it because we love it anyway. Right, Hayoon?"
"Yeah. These days, just looking at RinTube makes me satisfied."
The sight of the two of them grinning happily, tipsy from the wine, was funny for some reason.
They seemed so pure, and oddly cute too.
As I naturally lifted my glass, I noticed it was already empty.
"Oh, let me pour for you!"
Soyul smiled as she picked up the wine, and I held out my glass.
Glug, glug.
"Pfft..."
Along with the sound of wine pouring, Soyul kept smiling brightly, and I found myself smiling too.
After that, when I raised my glass, the two of them clinked theirs against mine.
Cheers!
As I wondered how many times we'd clinked glasses already, I noticed the empty plates.
'Should I order more?'
I thought this amount might be enough, but these two really could eat.
Just as I was about to order more.
Soyul spoke up.
"Oh right, you haven't seen the video we uploaded today yet, have you, Serin?"
"No. I had things to check today... I haven't gotten to it yet. Why?"
Serin answered calmly, showing curiosity, and Soyul beamed brightly.
"I shouldn't say this myself, but the reaction today has been amazing. Maybe because Jeanne d'Arc appeared?"
"Jeanne d'Arc, and Plea too—she's a pretty popular streamer. The video that went up today got an especially good reaction."
As Hayoon, her face flushed, added in an energetic tone, Serin found herself growing interested.
"Wait, are you talking about when I gave them the rings?"
It felt like only a few days ago. I was surprised it was already uploaded to RinTube.
"Yes! The scene where you handed over the rings! Even watching the stream live, I thought it was guaranteed to blow up, but the actual reaction was even better, you know? Oh, wait, no—let me just show you!"
Then Soyul fiddled with her smartphone and suddenly gasped. My eyes went to her automatically.
"Whoa. This is insane! It already has 170,000 views!"
She held up the screen to show me.
On the screen was the thumbnail of RinTube's latest video.
[Jeanne d'Arc vs Plea! Which woman will be chosen by Rin?]
Views: 171,431.
Likes 15K, Dislikes 173.
I was in the thumbnail, holding two rings with a troubled expression. On the right was Eunha, and on the left was Sua.
'What is this?'
The moment I saw the thumbnail, a laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
"Oh, right. How about we watch the video together? I'm curious how you normally watch RinTube, and I'd love to see your reaction. What do you think?"
Soyul spoke brightly, and I nodded without thinking.
"I don't mind."
"Ah! Then I'll watch too."
We naturally closed the distance between us and started watching the RinTube video together.