An Unexpected Offensive

It was no exaggeration to say that Jung Minju was a genuine fan of Wadeulwadeul. She had kept a close eye on the newcomer ever since that joint broadcast with Jo Meohyeop, one of the streamers under her direct management, and she had tuned in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to watch Wadeulwadeul's debut stream live from opening title to final sign-off.

Her instincts, honed over five years as an MCN producer, were whispering to her with absolute certainty: Wadeulwadeul possessed the raw caliber to become a corporate-scale titan. It wasn't as if So Rihwa's commentary during the broadcast had been particularly hilarious or razor-sharp.

Yet from a producer's perspective, comedic timing was something that could easily be coached. What truly mattered was the innate weight of the persona itself. Amidst a sea of countless identical streamers, So Rihwa stood out as a completely singular, peerless character. To Jung Minju's mind, that aura alone was true genius.

"I'm heading out on business!"

"Whoa, damn it, you scared the life out of me! Out of nowhere?"

The manager of Content Team 3, where Jung Minju belonged, jumped in his chair with wide eyes.

"Don't you know the Division Head is attending our monthly regular review today? I specifically told everyone not to schedule outside meetings."

"I'm going to meet Wadeulwadeul."

"Wait... what? You made contact?"

"Yes. It looks like Jo Meohyeop pulled a few strings for us."

Naturally, Producer Jung Minju was far from the only person keeping tabs on Wadeulwadeul. Having shattered records for the highest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠debut viewership among all new streamers on Ogogok, she was the hottest prospect in the crosshairs of every single MCN across the platform.

"Damn it all... well, you have to go for that. Fine, go. I'll smooth things over with the Division Head."

The moment Wadeulwadeul's name dropped, the team manager backed down without a whisper of resistance. That was just how valuable of a blue chip Wadeulwadeul was right now.

Given how quickly the meeting had come together, Minju was almost certain her agency, Arc Network, was the very first to establish contact. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If she could walk back into the office with Wadeulwadeul's signature on a contract, a stellar performance evaluation was practically guaranteed.

Minju booked a flight directly from the back of her taxi. Flights from Beijing to Xi'an were frequent, so she would have no trouble catching one aligned with her arrival at the airport.

I wonder what Wadeulwadeul-nim actually looks like in person?

Before she was a producer, Minju was an avid Ogogok viewer, so the natural curiosity gnawed at her. A streamer's real face was always the ultimate mystery every viewer dreamed of uncovering.

Her voice sounded so fragile and adorable, yet with rumors swirling that she was an absolute beast in a brawl, perhaps she looked rugged and imposing? The on-screen persona ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was such a confusing contradiction that picturing her physical appearance was an exercise in futility. Still, Minju felt reasonably certain she wouldn't turn out to be some drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Streamers who looked like models almost always turned their webcams on.

Before long, Minju boarded the direct flight to Xi'an. She spent the duration of the flight watching the downloaded replay of Wadeulwadeul's debut broadcast on her tablet. Even though she had already watched it live, refreshing her memory and outlining targeted points of feedback would help her make the best possible impression during the meeting.

The replay ran just over three hours, and by the time she finished taking notes, the plane had already touched down in Xi'an.

Minju had offered to meet right outside Wadeulwadeul's residence, but the streamer had panicked at the thought, adamantly insisting they meet outside Changgung Department Store in the heart of Xi'an's bustling downtown. It was roughly a twenty-minute taxi ride from Xi'an Airport to the department store. Fortunately, she was on track to arrive ten minutes early.

"This is the drop-off spot, right?"

"Yes, thank you so much, Driver."

Paying the fare with mobile pay, Minju stepped out onto the sidewalk. The plaza ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outside Changgung Department Store was the pulsing epicenter of downtown Xi'an. The crowd was so overwhelmingly dense that spotting a first-time acquaintance by sight alone was virtually impossible.

Just as she went to make a call, her smartphone buzzed in her palm. The caller ID lit up: Wadeulwadeul.

For some reason, Wadeulwadeul's voice had grown faint and timid at the end, sounding distinctly self-conscious. Streamers were notoriously introverted and lacked confidence in public settings, so Minju didn't think much of it.

The plaza in front of Changgung Department Store served as a universal meeting ground, overflowing with pedestrians at all hours, but as long as she knew the outfit, locating her shouldn't be too challenging.

Yet Minju couldn't easily spot a woman in a beige blouse and a black skirt. What caught her attention instead was a peculiar bottleneck in the pedestrian traffic. There was one specific pocket in front of the department store where people were bunched tightly together, shuffling forward at an inexplicably glacial pace.

Trusting her gut, Minju squeezed her way through the throng. Within seconds, she understood exactly why the crowd had ground to a halt.

"Whoa, isn't that a child actress?"

"Is she a kid model or something?"

"Too tall for a kid model, isn't she? She looks at least middle school age..."

Standing in front of the plaza's marble statue was an ethereal girl. Even Minju momentarily forgot her professional duties, stopping dead in her tracks to gawk. If a seasoned corporate producer was paralyzed like this, there was no need to mention the everyday passersby. This breathtaking girl was the sole reason the crowd had backed up into a bottleneck.

Luminous silver hair cascaded past her slender waist, framing striking crimson eyes, while her skin looked as dewy and pure as fresh milk.

Whoever had styled her had an immaculate eye; the beige blouse paired with the black midi skirt was an exquisite combination.

The only slight mismatch was the pair of black sneakers on her feet. Had she been wearing low heels or strappy sandals, her natural beauty and clothing would have coalesced into an overwhelming explosion of loveliness. The bystanders' whispers about models and actresses were entirely justified by her sheer visual presence.

"...Whoa."

For an instant, Minju felt a wild urge to grab the girl by the wrist and scout her as an influencer on the spot. But as she took another look, the outfit struck a chord of deja vu.

It matched the exact description she had heard over the phone just seconds ago.

A beige blouse. A black skirt.

As if drawn by a spell, Minju walked toward her. A flurry of sharp, resentful glares snapped toward Minju from all sides. A wide circular perimeter had naturally formed around the girl as if she were projecting an untouchable domain that no one dared enter, and Minju had just brazenly breached it.

"Wadeulwadeul... nim?"

"Ah."

The moment Minju called out with cautious hesitation, the anxious, overwhelmed tension clouding the girl's features dissolved into a brilliant, radiant smile. It was the expression of someone adrift in an ocean of strangers who had finally caught sight of a familiar face.

"Whoa..."

"Hah..."

Collective sighs rippled through the spectators pretending not to look. The sight of a troubled beauty melting into a bright smile was akin to a field of flowers bursting into bloom all at once.

"Are you Producer Jung Minju?"

"...Ah, y-yes. Yes, I am."

Completely stunned by the display, Minju found herself stammering, utterly stripped of her usual composed sharpness.

"It feels a bit awkward to introduce myself as 'Wadeulwadeul.' My name is So Rihwa."

"...Ah! I'm Jung Minju, producer at Arc Network!"

Still reeling from the shock, Minju scrambled to pull out her business card with flustered hands. Seeing the erratic reaction, So Rihwa tilted her head in mild confusion. The stunning girl standing before her genuinely seemed to have no inkling of just how devastatingly captivating she was.

"Ah, um, s-so! I made a reservation at a restaurant nearby. Shall we head over?"

"Sure, that sounds great."

Minju stuttered through her words. So Rihwa offered an amused, gentle grin, leaving Minju staring blankly once more before she violently shook herself awake.

This meeting was going to be on a whole different level of difficulty than she had anticipated.

To tell the truth, this was completely uncharted territory for So Rihwa as well, leaving her intensely embarrassed. Originally, she had planned to pull on her usual oversized black tracksuit and yank a black ballcap low over her face before stepping out. But since this was an official business meeting, she decided that would be terribly disrespectful. So, she had chosen to wear the clothes Dang Riah had bought for her.

Having spent her entire life dressed in neutral, functional clothes, feminine attire felt both cumbersome and bizarre. In particular, the draft of wind brushing against her bare legs beneath the skirt was a sensation she had never experienced before.

Worse, she could feel stares drilling into her from every direction for reasons she couldn't fathom, forcing her to keep her eyes pinned to the pavement. When Jung Minju finally arrived to rescue her from the spotlight, her face had naturally lit up with pure, unadulterated relief.

Strangely, though, this energetic producer wasn't nearly as crisp and sharp in person as she had sounded on the phone. Rihwa had assumed she was a green junior, but when she checked the business card, she saw the title of Assistant Manager. An assistant manager meant at least four to five years of corporate experience. It was a little puzzling.

"Where did you make the reservation?"

"Ah, I booked a table inside Changgung Department Store. A place called Dowon Dimsum—it's a very famous establishment."

Even while walking right beside her, Minju kept sneaking sidelong glances at Rihwa. Whenever their eyes met, Minju would abruptly whip her head away. While it was baffling behavior, Rihwa simply assumed the woman was painfully shy. How someone with such social anxiety managed to work in talent acquisition and client relations was a mystery, but that wasn't Rihwa's problem.

Still, Dowon Dimsum? Dowon Dimsum was a high-end franchise that prided itself on elevating humble dim sum into luxury cuisine. Booking a place like that felt a bit excessive.

"I only came out to hear what terms you were offering, so even a quiet cafe would have been plenty."

"Not at all! It's standard industry courtesy for an MCN to treat a streamer to a proper meal when meeting in person. Please don't feel burdened."

"I feel a bit sheepish even being called a streamer in the first place." Rihwa chuckled, scratching her cheek bashfully.

Minju continued to avoid direct eye contact, speaking in rapid, careful bursts. "Even if the initial crowd gathered out of pure curiosity or drama, keeping 1,500 concurrent viewers until the moment you signed off means you're already an exceptional streamer. The moment an average concurrent viewership breaks past 1,000, it generates enough revenue to sustain a full-time career."

"Really?" Rihwa asked, her interest instantly piqued.

She had no real concept of how much a 'full-time streamer income' amounted to, but those words alone sent a comforting warmth through her chest. What So Rihwa needed more than anything in this world was a steady, reliable source of income.

"And I don't say this lightly—Rihwa-nim, you are someone destined to become an absolute titan in this industry. I would bet everything I own on that."

"...Wait, I've literally only streamed for a single day."

"Even a needle tucked inside a pouch will eventually poke through the fabric. How could a massive greatsword stay hidden?"

What on earth is with this shameless flattery? Rihwa wondered if she had ever received such excessive praise in her entire life. It was ticklish and embarrassing, yet she couldn't deny that she wanted to hear more. An utterly intoxicating feeling.

She knew she shouldn't let herself be swayed so easily, but she was already itching to sign on the dotted line.

Chatting as they rode the escalator, they soon arrived in front of Dowon Dimsum.

"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, under Jung Minju for 12:20."

"Yes, Minju-nim. Right this way."

Rihwa had visited upscale restaurants a few times back in South Korea, but this was her first time stepping into such an opulent venue in the Central Plains. It was lavish in a manner completely distinct from Korean fine dining. Everywhere she looked, the decor dripped with brilliant gold ornaments and rich crimson accents.

The host guided them into a private dining room. Beneath the table was a recessed floor well, allowing them to sit comfortably without tucking their legs beneath themselves.

"You can place your orders using the tablet kiosk beside the table."

"Thank you."

The employee slid the door shut. The moment the room was sealed, Minju whipped a contract out of her briefcase.

I'm starving, couldn't she at least let us order some food first? The thought had barely formed in Rihwa's mind when Minju took the thick stack of clipped papers and tore it clean in half right before her eyes.

"...?"

"This is the contract I originally brought to sign you with. It's the industry standard agreement we hand to every rookie streamer."

Does that mean she isn't signing me?

As Rihwa blinked in utter bewilderment, Minju pressed forward without missing a beat.

"Having met you in person, I know for a fact: basic terms like these could never secure someone of your caliber, Rihwa-nim."

"...Excuse me?"

What kind of bizarre theatrical performance is this now?

While Rihwa was left completely flabbergasted, Minju seized the momentum and went on an aggressive offensive.

"How many agencies have reached out to you so far, Rihwa-nim?" Minju demanded.

Just minutes ago, the woman couldn't even look her in the eyes. Now, her gaze burned with such white-hot intensity that Rihwa was the one forced to look away. Was this the true face of Producer Jung Minju?

"Am I allowed to share that?"

"Of course! You don't have to name names."

"Around... five places, I think...?"

"Great. But their terms are all going to be practically identical. A 60:40 or 70:30 split, right? If management and dedicated marketing are bundled in, it's 60:40; otherwise, the standard baseline is 70:30. The contract I just tore up was 70:30 as well."

"...Right. And?"

"Go ahead and talk to every single one of them. Then come back and tell me whoever offers you the absolute best terms."

While So Rihwa was still reeling from the dizzying barrage of numbers, Jung Minju drove home the final, decisive nail.

"Whatever their cut is, I will beat it by ten percent. Guaranteed."

So Rihwa stared back with an utterly dazed expression as Minju bulldozed ahead with relentless aggression.

It was an entirely unexpected offensive.