77. Good News
77. Good News
***
Kim Hayoon's final stream, which had been heading toward a warm ending, suddenly went past awkward and straight into hostile territory.
Only about four of the twenty regular viewers were actually typing in chat.
And right now, just one of those four was flooding the chat window alone, ranting away.
[FreshSteamedRice : Hayoon, are you seriously going to chat-ban me? No, seriously, this is so unfair. What did I even do wrong? Is asking where someone lives really that big a crime? I just thought you happened to live nearby......]
While that one person's chat was the only thing coming up.
A donation went off again.
—Ding-ding-ding-ding!!!!
『Anonymous donated 100,000 won!!』
《In my opinion, whether someone's a devoted viewer or not, directly asking where a person lives is a really serious problem. I want Hayoon's stream to end cleanly, with no trouble afterward. So Hayoon, please look at the situation calmly. Is a viewer who still asks what's wrong with asking where you live really a devoted viewer? FreshSteamedRice shouldn't just be chat-banned. They should be banned outright.》
As the donation message filled the screen, Serin found herself fidgeting with her silver hair.
"Did I write too much...?"
I'd thought I was sending the donation message with reasonable justification behind it, but I still felt awkward about it.
[FreshSteamedRice : Guess money really does rot in some people's pockets lololol. You're really trying to grab the streamer by the collar and shake her, huh? Gonna use money to get every remaining viewer banned, real nice~]
And the familiar toxic viewer reacted immediately.
Actually, at first I'd considered donating a full million won and telling Hayoon to ban them outright, but after thinking it over, showing up out of nowhere with a million won and demanding a ban seemed like it would look strange.
Because, exactly like that toxic viewer said, using money to push a streamer around and tell her who to ban felt like I was controlling things too much according to my own whims.
So I wrote a long message that the editor, Kim Hayoon, could understand.
I wanted Hayoon herself to realize even more clearly that a viewer asking where she lived was dangerous. Maybe because of that, and because I thought of it as a donation to my editor, it didn't feel like a waste.
It had also bothered me at the start of the stream when Kim Hayoon mentioned her living expenses and real-life difficulties.
[FreshSteamedRice : And how guilty do you have to be to donate anonymously? You must've done plenty of toxic shit around here to donate like that lololol]
So I donated again.
—Ding-ding-ding-ding!!!!
『Anonymous donated 100,000 won!!』
《What's this, FreshSteamedRice...? Already out of money? You're flooding chat like you've rented the whole place out, and right now other people can't even chat because of you. Do you have no conscience?》
[FreshSteamedRice : No? I just don't donate because it's a waste of money. Don't you know that chatting and reacting to a small-time streamer like Hayoon is way more important than donating?]
[FreshSteamedRice : lolol You're just trying to throw money at everything. Do you have any idea how important each and every devoted viewer like me is to a streamer...]
Watching them type rapidly, as if each of my donations had made them furious, just made me laugh. The way they emphasized in every chat that they were a devoted viewer was absurd, considering who'd been trying to control whom this whole time.
'Donating's a waste, but you're a devoted viewer?'
On top of that, calling themselves a devoted viewer while saying with their own words that donating to the editor was a waste of money was beyond ridiculous.
And I wasn't the only one watching this. Kim Hayoon was clearly seeing it too. They'd already crossed the line long ago and now just looked like they were trying to rationalize it however they could.
—Viewers, I'm really sorry, but... I'm going to put a 5-minute slow mode on chat and block donations for a bit. I'm truly sorry. I've been way too wishy-washy over the last few minutes, haven't I?
And in that time, the editor's expression hardened, as if she'd made up her mind.
—I really did think about it a lot in that short time, in my own way. And in the end, I think what the viewer who just donated said was right. So I'll refund FreshSteamedRice's 100,000 won donation. FreshSteamedRice kept chatting in violation of the ban rules, so a ban seems unavoidable. And more than that, you called yourself a devoted viewer, but pinpointing where I live and asking about it was something you really should never have done.
A firm voice. The editor now spoke clearly and distinctly, as if she'd completely sobered up.
I liked that resolute attitude and instinctively went to donate again, but donations were blocked.
'Ah, I was about to donate a million won just now.'
But the editor's next words made that thought disappear.
—And to the viewer who kept donating 100,000 won... you told me not to say thank you, but really. I'm sincerely grateful. This is the first time I've ever received such a large donation, and I was so thankful that you worried about me. But I'm going to block donations from here on and not accept any more.
—Even just the money you've donated so far is more than enough. More than I deserve. And you said you didn't want reactions or thanks, so I have no way to repay you. Since today is my last stream, I'd be too shameless to keep accepting such large amounts of money. But the kindness you've shown me—that, at least, I'll treasure dearly even after today's stream ends.
The moment she finished speaking, the editor bowed her head, and watching that, I went blank.
I'd assumed she'd just be happy about my donations, but that wasn't the reality.
Seeing the editor apologize with a serious expression and a long speech actually made me flustered.
"Was it too much pressure?"
The thought crossed my mind for no reason.
From the editor's perspective, I was a viewer who'd suddenly appeared and donated large sums of money, and on top of that, I'd said I didn't want reactions or responses, so she'd looked restless throughout the entire stream.
'That wasn't my intention.'
I hadn't meant it that way. I'd just wanted the editor to accept the donations comfortably, but instead, she seemed to feel even more burdened by them.
[FreshSteamedRice: 〈Message deleted〉]
[FreshSteamedRice: 〈Message deleted〉]
[FreshSteamedRice: 〈Message deleted〉]
At the same time, as if the ban had been processed, all the chats that had filled the window were deleted, and even their contents vanished in an instant.
— Chat slow mode has been disabled.
[Jambl: Maybe because it's the last stream... the mood in Hayoon's stream is strange today.]
[Larile: I always thought that person was crossing the line, and they finally got banned. You did the right thing, Hayoon.]
[Staric : Honestly, I never said anything before, but Rice was pretty bad about trying to grab and shake you]
[GreenTeaCandy: FreshSteamedRice was so disgusting, every time anything happened they'd go 'this game isn't it' and spew bullshit lololol]
And only then did the other viewers' chats start coming up.
Watching them all just sit there and watch before finally chatting—whether they were cowards or just naive—made me let out a hollow laugh.
'I can't get used to this room's viewers no matter how much I watch.'
Maybe because there were so few viewers, even the chat atmosphere was very different from what I was used to seeing.
In my stream, if there'd been a viewer like FreshSteamedRice, the other viewers would've ganged up on them without me saying a word. But here, every single chat seemed cautious.
Did even the viewers take after the editor? Every one of them seemed naive or careful.
Ding!
— Donation refunded.
— Donation refunded.
— Donation refund......
"...?"
Then, as notification sounds rang out one after another, I checked the messages and wondered what was going on.
'No, why refund...'
The editor seemed to have refunded even the donations I'd made.
—And as for the person who donated anonymously, I'll gratefully accept only the first donation. I'm truly grateful for anything beyond that, but accepting more... it wouldn't feel right. I'm sad to end the drinking stream, but I'll wrap it up here. And I'll just share the good news I mentioned at the start of the stream with you all, and then end the final broadcast.
Maybe she wanted to tidy up the stream that had gotten messy because of Rice and me. She gave her closing remarks with a small, awkward smile, and for some reason, it caught my eye.
A woman worn down by fatigue from all the editing work, her long hair loose, not really made up—a truly plain appearance.
'Someone who knows how to be grateful for each and every thing.'
The world is full of people who take kindness for granted, or who aren't satisfied with it and try to squeeze out more.
But Kim Hayoon, even though she'd clearly said she had living expenses and financial difficulties, refused the money she'd received, saying it wouldn't be proper. That was... something different.
I couldn't define exactly what it was, but watching it gave me a feeling that wasn't bad.
"This person. So this is who she is."
So this was a side of my editor.
In the end, out of the 2 million won I'd loaded up to donate, I'd only managed to donate 100,000 won.
"I'll just give it as a bonus."
There were plenty of ways to give her money anyway.
If there was no reason, I could just make one up however I liked.
[Jambl: What's the good news?]
[Larile : Yeah, what is it?]
[Staric : Did you get a job somewhere? Seeing you quit right away, maybe you already found work]
—Wow, how did you know? I'm going to be working as an editor for someone else right away! You all know her, right? Rin... the streamer who's been super hot lately. A big-name streamer with over 10,000 average viewers.
The hand holding the mouse twitched involuntarily.
"Ah."
I almost turned off the stream right then.
I'd definitely expected this, but.
'Ugh.'
Even so, watching her talk about me directly in real time gave me a ticklish feeling in my chest that I just couldn't stand.
So I found myself stroking my innocent white hair for no reason.
[Jambl: Rin? That person from Another World!?]
[Staric : Wow... I watched the stream live yesterday. Was the person picked as the second editor really you, Hayoon?]
[Larile : Wow, holy shit, insane lololol I honestly wasn't sure while watching, but I didn't say anything in case it wasn't you and Hayoon got hurt.]
[GreenTeaCandy : Fuck lolololol]
[CheeseParty : Wow, isn't that insane?]
The chat suddenly exploded.
—Yes, I'm the person whose video got picked second yesterday. Oh, what is this. So you all watched Rin's stream yesterday?
"...Stop."
The words came out unconsciously as I watched the stream.
[Of course we watched]
[It's like an editor version of Produce 11 or something? The voting made it really fun]
[Right. And weren't all the videos really entertaining?]
[Rin's editor? So if Hayoon edits her videos, isn't NewTube 1 million subscribers just guaranteed?]
—Honestly, since it's Rin and not some other streamer, I think the conditions are probably much better. The other editor who got picked with me is also really amazing. It made me feel like I need to work really hard. Rin's voice is really nice, and she's a really good person too. You know the greeting Rin sent along with the contract this morning, everyone? How kind she was.......
"Aaaah!!"
I couldn't watch the stream any longer, so I screamed and turned it off.
Flop.
Serin, her face bright red from the unexpected shower of compliments, threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in it.
And for several minutes, she squirmed and thrashed her arms and legs.