Rivals in the Editing Room
While Seol-ah stood frozen in shock at Hwa-ryeong's appearance, Ha-rin stepped forward and greeted her warmly.
"It's been a while. You look even prettier than before!"
"Thank you."
"Is it because your hair is neatly done? It would have been even better if you'd paid attention to your clothes too!"
"Isn't the hoodie fine?"
"It is, but... well."
Hoodie? At the word, Seol-ah tore her gaze from Hwa-ryeong's face and took in her full appearance. A loose hoodie that hid her figure and relaxed jeans came into view—similar to what Seol-ah herself was wearing. The only difference was that on Hwa-ryeong, even casual clothes looked effortlessly stylish.
After finishing her greetings with Ha-rin, Hwa-ryeong approached Seol-ah. Her pitch-black eyes swept over her before she spoke in a businesslike tone.
"Are you Seol-ah-ssi?"
"Yes! I'm Park Seol-ah! Please take care of me!"
Seol-ah's voice came out louder than intended due to nerves, drawing the attention of everyone in the café. Her face turned pale the moment she realized it. I made a mistake. I messed up the very first time I met Hwa-ryeong-nim. What do I do!?
Contrary to Seol-ah's panic, Hwa-ryeong sat down without the slightest interest in the stares.
"The other editors haven't arrived yet?"
"They said they're on their way."
Is it because she's a streamer that she's so used to people's attention? Seol-ah was marveling at that when a man in his mid-thirties came running toward them from a distance. He froze for a moment upon seeing the three women gathered together, then cautiously approached.
"Are you Hwa-ryeong-nim?"
"Yes. Park Han-sik-ssi?"
"That's right. I'm sorry for being late."
"No, we still have some time before the appointment."
Suddenly finding himself seated among three women around his niece's age, Park Han-sik wore an awkward smile as he took his seat. Once everyone had gathered, they exchanged introductions. As expected, Ha-rin took the lead in guiding the conversation.
"I always thought the Apis League highlight videos were incredible—who knew you were the one editing them?!"
"Haha. I poured my soul into them."
"Wow. So you were the one running that fan channel, Seol-ah-ssi?"
"I also thought that video was amazing when I saw it."
"Th-thank you."
After getting to know each other and exchanging numbers, Seol-ah felt a thrill at the realization that her phone—previously containing only family contacts—now held three new numbers. And one of them belonged to Hwa-ryeong-nim! Suddenly, her smartphone felt heavier.
"Shall we start discussing work?"
Hwa-ryeong first covered the necessary formalities—payment details, how many videos needed to be made, and channel management. Since both Seol-ah, who had freelance experience, and Han-sik, who had worked in the industry for years, knew more about contracts than she did, the discussion proceeded smoothly.
Once the contracts were signed, Hwa-ryeong showed them a video saved on her phone. "This is the first task I'll be entrusting to you all."
"I've muted the dialogue between them."
Hwa-ryeong looked oddly proud as she said this. Isn't that something you can do with just one button? The thought crossed Seol-ah's mind, but she kept it to herself and turned her attention to the video instead. She didn't want to make another mistake.
The video Hwa-ryeong showed was of her fighting... herself.
"Is this a fight against the Heavenly Demon from Hwaryong Muin?"
"Yes, that's right."
The Heavenly Demon of Hwaryong Muin was one of the monsters standing at the absolute pinnacle of that game world. And now there was footage of Hwa-ryeong fighting against such a being. Seol-ah watched the video in silence. Her first impression was awe. It was a blood-soaked battle between transcendent beings in human form, their realms so far beyond her comprehension that she couldn't even begin to gauge them. A clash of Heavenly Demons, each fighting to prove whose sky was higher. And in the end, victory belonged to Hwa-ryeong.
Even though the video was quite long, Seol-ah didn't look away from the screen for a single moment. Though it was nothing more than a raw, unedited duel, the martial arts of both the Heavenly Demon and Hwa-ryeong had transformed it into a work of art.
"I'll edit this one."
The moment the video ended, Seol-ah spoke without taking her eyes off the screen. I can't entrust something like this to anyone else. I can't allow anyone else's hands to touch this. The process of polishing an already brilliant gem cannot be left to an amateur.
"I'd like to take this one too..."
Though Han-sik had enough experience to be called a veteran, he still harbored ambition when it came to video editing. But after meeting Seol-ah's gaze, he took a step back. Her eyes held something sharp enough to feel like ice.
"Then Seol-ah-ssi will handle this one. Next is..."
Ha-rin stared at her editing program, sighing in frustration at the uncooperative process.
Whenever she watched others work, it seemed like they could produce stunning results with just a few clicks. Why couldn't she manage the same no matter how hard she tried? Ha-rin irritably tapped her mouse before stretching with a strange sound. Ahh. I guess I'm still not skilled enough to be an editor. Leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling light, a sigh escaped her lips.
It was true that she'd hoped to become Hwa-ryeong-nim's editor. Even with her lacking skills, she'd thought that since they knew each other, she might get picked. That small hope had been there too. In the first place, half of why Ha-rin had encouraged Hwa-ryeong to start MyTube was her fan's desire to see her in action, and the other half was her own wish to create those videos herself. That was an undeniable fact.
But now that her wish had come true, what filled Ha-rin's heart wasn't joy or happiness—it was self-reproach for her own inadequacies. Ha-rin wasn't a professional. She'd studied video editing, but it was only superficial knowledge. There was more she didn't know than what she did, and more she lacked than what she possessed. She often comforted herself by saying she was decent for an amateur, but whether she was at the level where she could be paid for her work was another matter entirely.
Just look at the two people who had become editors alongside her. One was someone who created highlight videos worthy of a movie every single day in the Apis Pro League. The other was someone whose fan MyTube channel had received praise from countless viewers. And what about Ha-rin? She was nothing more than an inexperienced, insignificant amateur.
Hwa-ryeong-nim had said she hadn't chosen her simply because they knew each other—that Ha-rin had the qualifications. But did she really have any skills worth mentioning? As she was thinking this, a message arrived in the group chat from Seol-ah. It was a draft, and she was asking for feedback.
Wow. She already finished editing?! How long has it even been since she received the video! Does this person even sleep? Ha-rin, who had been deeply impressed while watching Seol-ah's former fan channel, opened the video more out of curiosity about how amazing it would be than to actually evaluate it.
The video Seol-ah had created was undeniably impressive. It was hard to believe she'd achieved such quality in such a short time. If this were uploaded to MyTube, Ha-rin was certain it would receive an enthusiastic response. However, separate from its excellence, there was something that bothered her.
<Seol-ah-ssi. Can we talk for a moment?>
<Yes, that's fine.>
"Seol-ah-ssi."
"Yes, Ha-rin-ssi. What is it?"
"I'm not sure if I should say this, but around the 1 minute 17 second mark, shouldn't the focus be on something else?"
"...Please explain in detail."
Ha-rin explained her thoughts to Seol-ah—what the Heavenly Demon's intent had been in that section, and where the focus should be to properly convey it. As she spoke, Ha-rin was filled with conviction. It was true that she wasn't deeply knowledgeable about video editing. But when it came to martial arts—after spending the past few months rolling around like a dog learning from Hwa-ryeong—she was second to none in understanding martial intent. Unless it was Han Seo-woo, the modern-day Heavenly Demon, that is.
Seol-ah, a veteran of Hwaryong Muin who had recently awakened her ability to perceive martial principles, countered Ha-rin's criticism. Her pride in martial arts wouldn't allow her to back down without a fight. However, as Ha-rin presented several pieces of evidence and persuaded her, Seol-ah eventually fell silent before responding.
"I think you're right, Ha-rin-ssi."
"It's not just that part. Around the 3 minute 23 second mark..."
As Ha-rin pointed out each section that could be improved, Seol-ah's responses grew fewer and fewer. Even if she wanted to argue, there was nothing wrong with what Ha-rin was saying. When all the feedback was finished...
"...Yes. I'll need to make some revisions."
Seol-ah's voice was trembling. Huh? Did I speak too harshly? I made a mistake. I talked exactly like Hwa-ryeong-nim always does. I could have been gentler...
"I..."
"Ha-rin-ssi, you're still working on your video, right?"
Just as Ha-rin was about to apologize, Seol-ah spoke first.
"Yes, I haven't finished it yet."
"Send it to me. I'll watch it and give you feedback."
"No, you'll be tired, so it's fine..."
"Send it."
Though Ha-rin felt reluctant to show her incomplete work to others, she eventually gave in to Seol-ah's insistence and sent the video. After the call ended, Ha-rin waited anxiously for a response. Soon, Seol-ah called again.
"Yes, Seol-ah..."
"The intro is the problem."
"What?"
"I'll explain it simply. It's like this."
Seol-ah proceeded to point out the problems in the video one by one, her voice filled with venom. In essence, her words amounted to: "Your video is complete garbage, so you'd be better off starting over." Though it was constructive criticism that could help her improve, Ha-rin couldn't bring herself to smile. Seol-ah's tone was far too sharp to accept as mere advice.
Is she getting back at me for criticizing her martial arts knowledge, Seol-ah-ssi?! How narrow-minded can you be!
"Do you understand? If you fix just those parts, it'll be decent enough to watch."
"Yes. Thank you very much."
When Ha-rin answered through gritted teeth, Seol-ah let out a satisfied snort.
"Well then, I'll be going now since I need to fix the parts you pointed out."
After the call ended, Ha-rin gritted her teeth. Fine. I understand. I'll create a proper video exactly as you said and make sure you have nothing to say about it. In that moment, Ha-rin forgot all thoughts of her own inadequacies. Her mind was filled with only one thing—the determination to be acknowledged.