Side by Side with Chae Money, Part 2: Steak Mukbang
She seemed to like the idea and burst out laughing. It felt like all the work I’d put into preparing this had finally paid off.
"All right. We’ll go with this."
Broadcast ON.
It had barely started, and we were already over 10,000 viewers!
That wasn’t the end of it. More and more people kept pouring in, as if a floodgate had been opened. Just a simple greeting, and the chat was already churning violently.
What the hell was this insane scale of a broadcast? Of course, since I was co-streaming with her, maybe I had a little influence too. A little. Just a little, okay?
On the broadcast screen, I could see a cutting board, the chat box beside it, and below that, the characters for me and Chae Money.
"Nice to meet you, everyone."
On the cutting board being sent out live, our boss raised a hand to greet everyone. Compared to me, she had a mature elegance to her. And those nails of hers. Painted a pale lavender, they made her look even more mysterious.
"Today, just like I said last time, I’m going to make a steak for Haruru."
"No. The exact opposite. She’s been eating so carelessly that I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I’m making this to spoil her a little."
"If you give me money, I’ll have to spend it in Unknown Universe and turn it into food there. Our Haruru..."
"Oh, what? Samgyeopsal lunch boxes? Thank you."
I’d been waiting quietly for my turn to introduce myself, but it was too interesting, and before I knew it, I blurted out a sound. So now gifticons can be sent as donations too, huh.
"Then shall I introduce today’s guest? Our Haruru said she worked hard to prepare because she really wanted to be of help on my stream. Please give her lots of support."
"Shut it!"
"Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m Haruru, the black fox from Shining Parade's second generation."
It doesn’t go out on the broadcast screen, but before I knew it, I was bowing deeply at the waist. Watching that from the side, Chae Money let out a small laugh.
"Our Haruru seems a little nervous. She just bowed at a full ninety degrees."
"It’s because this is my first time streaming with such a major corp..."
If this had been my own stream, I’d probably have been less nervous. But this was Chae Money’s stream, my lifesaver, and that only made me more afraid of messing it up.
Besides, we’d decided to reveal my handcam first in the whole server. If I’d been a cam streamer from the start, maybe it would’ve been different, but I’m a VTuber, so even showing just my hands had my heart thumping for no reason.
I couldn’t help glancing back at my tiny little hand, wondering whether anyone would be disappointed. Objectively, it was only cute. But if I was being subjective instead?
Forget it! Times like this called for going even hotter, right?
Fine! Let’s go. Without hesitation, I showed my hand on the cutting board. Then I waved it in greeting.
"Heeey~! Haruru hand debut!"
Unfortunately, Chae Money’s hand was right next to mine, so my tiny hand looked even smaller by comparison. Was that okay? Then, as if reading the anxiety in my heart, a donation fell like salvation.
"Wow! Mone-sama gave me a full one million won so I wouldn’t feel down..."
That wasn’t all. My viewers, clearly looking out for me, started sending donations on purpose, including the Harusalidan.
...
...
"Everyone, thank you so much! Should I do some kind of reaction? Want me to do a fire show?"
"Then how about this?"
From the side, Chae Money showed me a finger heart using only her thumb and index finger.
The way she handled the reaction felt so practiced. As expected of a major company talent. I copied her and made a finger heart too.
"To all my Harusalidan, thank you so much. My name may be Mayfly, but let’s stay together forever."
"Thank you so much. I already got four Pluto lines a little while ago, so I’m in such a good mood, and now it’s even better. If I eat steak too? I might just ascend."
And so Chae Money’s steak-cooking began. As she pulled out the ingredients, wait a second. I wasn’t seeing this wrong, was I?
"H-Hanwoo?! That’s insanely expensive."
"Well, if you’re family, you’ve gotta feed them the good stuff."
"By the way, Haruru, you do know what expensive food is too, huh? Good to know your sense of money isn’t completely shattered."
"W-What do you mean by that..."
"But you pulled four Pluto lines, right? You pulled an option converter worth 7,000 in expected value for only 500, right? You profited 6,500..."
Her voice gradually shrank as she started glancing at Chae Money’s mood.
"Look at your voice getting smaller and smaller lolllll."
"Graduation behavior lol."
"Yeah. Well done."
"See? She said I did well."
That sounded like irony to me, but still.
By that point, I felt awkward just standing there, so I asked whether there was anything I could help with.
"It’s fine. Haruru, you said you’ve never cooked before, right? Then standing still and watching is helping."
"I see."
"If you really want to do something, how about filling the audio with reactions now and then, like finger hearts?"
"Sounds good."
"Huh? What?"
The manager checked for me, and apparently it really was Tama.
"Really? Tama, you were streaming until late last night. Aren’t you tired?"
"Right. There you go, finger heart. But in that case, why don’t you come over and eat steak with us while you’re at it?"
"Ah, I see."
Well, our boss was the kind of person who wouldn’t play favorites and would try to share things fairly with everyone.
"Will you be making steak for your Tama co-stream too?"
"No. Tama said she wanted bulgogi bibimbap. I’m going to prepare that just as carefully as I did for our Haruru."
"Nice."
It looked like all the prep was done, so she drizzled cooking oil over the hot pan and laid the steak on top.
Sssshh!
The sound alone was thrilling, and the smell was delicious too. Without meaning to, I swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"How well-done do you want it?"
Doneness?
I wasn’t completely clueless. I’d heard the names medium and well-done before. I just didn’t know what they meant. Still, if I pretended to know and messed up the cooking, that would be embarrassing, so I decided to be honest.
"Um... I’ve actually never eaten steak before."
"Oh, really?"
"It’s embarrassing, but all the money in my life goes straight into Unknown Universe, so the only steak I’ve ever had was one of those five-minute hamburger steaks sold at the supermarket."
"Then I’ll make it at a nice, universally liked doneness."
"Thank you."
That was how the nicely browned steak was finished. It looked so good the whole time that just watching it was torture.
I can’t take this anymore!
"Can I eat now?"
"Wait a moment. You have to let it rest."
When I gave her a look that clearly said, What is resting this time?, she kindly explained. Basically, it was like letting rice steam a little.
"So just wait a little longer."
"I feel like I’ve become a dog."
"Heh. Haruru, wait."
After enduring that long stretch of patience, I was finally able to eat the steak. As the saying goes, what looks good also tastes good, and the boss placed the steak on a plate with mushrooms and vegetables as sides.
"Haruru, eat now."
"I’ll eat well. But..."
That rich brown sheen, that savory aroma. With such a rare dish in front of me, it would be wrong to leave that out.
"Can I drink, too?!"