The Second Broadcast

The dim sum had undoubtedly been delicious. Yet only the vague memory of its flavor lingered in her mind; she couldn't recall what it had actually tasted like, even though she had finished eating mere minutes ago.

So Rihwa had intended to at least buy a cup of coffee for Jung Minju, who had traveled all the way to Xi'an just to see her. But the producer insisted she had to rush straight back to Beijing to draft an entirely new contract, leaving Rihwa no choice but to see her off at the station.

"Phew..."

Once Jung Minju was gone, Rihwa exhaled a massive, shuddering sigh. Their meeting had lasted barely an hour, but it had thoroughly drained every ounce of energy from her introverted soul.

The parting moment had been the most harrowing of all. When Minju grabbed both of her hands, eyes sparkling with sheer fervor as she begged her to sign, Rihwa felt as if the sheer weight of expectation would crush her where she stood.

"Whoa. Hey, look at her. She looks like a literal doll."

"Where? Holy crap, you're right."

If cultivating martial arts came with an unwelcome drawback, it was that her senses were far too sharp. She heard things she would have been much happier ignoring. Two passersby were whispering thirty meters away, naturally assuming she couldn't hear them, but every syllable rang clear as a bell in her ears.

I need to go home. Between Jung Minju's hurricane of enthusiasm and the ceaseless stares from pedestrians, Rihwa felt like she was suffering from a constant damage-over-time debuff that had whittled her health bar down to single digits.

"...Let's just go home."

Shoulders slumped in utter defeat, So Rihwa hurried out of downtown Xi'an and made her way back to the familiar, quiet shadows of Sinseong-gu.

She still needed to decide what time to broadcast today. Jo Meohyeop had advised her to experiment with various time slots until she found the one that suited her best, so she planned to keep switching it up for the time being.

"Have you lost your damn mind?"

The Content Team 3 Leader stared at Producer Jung Minju in utter disbelief as she barged into the office after her whirlwind trip to Xi'an.

His reaction was completely warranted. Handing an 80-20 revenue split to a streamer who had broadcasted for literally a single day was nothing short of corporate madness.

Minju had always worked with a bold, aggressive flair, but her past proposals had at least stayed within the realm of reason. In fact, that relentless drive had produced impressive results, earning her a reputation as one of his most promising subordinates. Yet here was his star producer, raving about an unprecedented contract as if she had fallen under some bewitching illusion in the ancient capital.

"I'm telling you, it's insane! She's just completely out of this world!"

"What's insane? You, right now?"

"No! Rihwa-nim—I mean, Wadeulwadeul-nim! She's unbelievable!"

"Wait, Wadeulwadeul's real name is Rihwa? That's a pretty name."

"Ugh, a pretty name? That's not the point!"

Jung Minju thumped her chest in sheer frustration.

"Her name doesn't matter! Her visuals are unreal! We could debut her as a top-tier cam-streamer this very second!"

"Huh?"

Only then did the Team Leader's ears perk up. Live streaming was, by its very nature, a public-facing profession; the better an applicant looked, the higher their ceiling. While extraordinary visuals weren't an absolute requirement—especially on Ogogok, where many creators hid behind custom avatars or VTuber models—they remained an undeniable competitive advantage.

"Hey, why didn't you lead with that?!"

"I didn't?"

"No, you didn't."

"I must still be in shock..."

"Yeah, you look like it," the Team Leader scoffed, clicking his tongue. Even so, his curiosity was piqued. Just what did this girl look like to make Jung Minju lose her composure like this? Minju had spent five years in this industry, meeting practically every gorgeous female streamer in the business, yet he had never seen her this worked up.

"Take a breath and calm down."

"Right. Yes, sir. Whew..."

Minju drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, gradually steadying her erratic pulse.

"Alright, let's take this from the top. Are you saying Wadeulwadeul should do face-cam streams?"

"Without a doubt. Keeping her face hidden would be leaving a fortune on the table. In fact, her visuals are the exact archetype that dominates Ogogok."

"So she's more cute than sexy?"

"Sexy isn't the right word, but she's not just simply 'cute' either. There's an aura of profound elegance and grace around her. It's captivating."

Her breathing started hitching again. The Team Leader cleared his throat, glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and lowered his voice.

"...You didn't sneak a photo, did you?"

"Isn't taking unauthorized photos of faceless creators strictly against company policy?"

"Ahem. Well, yes."

"Besides, she hasn't even signed with us yet."

Prohibiting candid photos of faceless streamers was an unwritten, sacred law in their industry. If a creator's real face leaked, the fallout could be disastrous. If word got out that an agency employee had been the source of the leak, no streamer would ever trust that MCN again.

"Still, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can't justify an 80-20 contract solely on your word. It's unfair to our other talent, and there's zero precedent."

"Come on, the terms will be strictly confidential!"

"I know that, but... whew. Can you take full responsibility for this?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

Unshakable conviction burned in Minju's eyes. The Team Leader knew her intuition was rarely wrong; when she felt this certain about a creator, she had never missed the mark.

"Fine. But this stays strictly within our team. I'll brief the Division Head privately."

"Thank you so much, Team Leader!"

"If we're going all-in, do it properly. Ask Jo Meohyeop to give her an extra push whenever he can."

"Of course!"

With that unofficial approval, the matter was settled. The Team Leader rubbed the back of his neck, feeling remarkably like a grumpy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠police captain in a noir film quietly looking the other way for his rogue detective.

"Oh..."

Sitting in front of her monitor, So Rihwa browsed the Ogogok Gallery for the first time. Since a surprising number of viewers had tuned in yesterday, she figured someone might have posted about her.

Sure enough, threads mentioning 'Wadeulwadeul' were sitting right on the front page. When she entered her handle into the search bar, dozens of posts popped up.

Seeing total strangers discuss her online felt bizarrely ticklish. Most of them had likely started out as malicious trolls looking to raid her channel, but Rihwa herself had spent weeks spamming repetitive memes in Jo Meohyeop's chat, so she hardly had room to complain.

"Ugh. Better stop reading."

Just as she was about to close the tab before she developed an unhealthy obsession, a spasm from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians seized her chest as if on cue.

"Ngh... aaah..."

Her teeth chattered violently as she scrambled for her pills, tossing one into her mouth and swallowing dry. Sitting in stillness with her eyes closed, she waited as the frigid, violent tremors slowly subsided. When she checked the bottle, barely a few doses remained. Because advanced cases of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians were exceedingly rare across the Central Plains, the specialized medication wasn't covered by public health insurance and cost an exorbitant fortune. If only to keep buying these pills, she needed to start making money as soon as possible.

A glance at the clock showed it was eight in the evening—the golden hour for live streaming. It was the prime window when working adults came home, showered, ate dinner, and finally settled down to relax. Rihwa had taken a brief nap after washing up from her outing, and the time had flown by.

"Should I start now?"

Even as a novice, she knew broadcasting at eight was a double-edged sword. While viewer traffic was at its peak, virtually every heavyweight corporate streamer was online, fiercely dividing the audience.

"...Or should I wait?"

A hesitant voice inside urged her to rest until eleven, but a spark of stubborn resolve flared in her chest. Running away wouldn't change anything. If she wanted to build an audience, she had to face the prime-time slot sooner or later.

"Alright. Let's do it."

With solemn determination stamped on her face, Rihwa climbed into the virtual reality capsule. The familiar sensation of the system scanning her body washed over her as she transitioned into virtual space, where she tweaked her stream overlay and audio settings. Having decided to take this seriously, she had no desire to look as amateurish as she had yesterday.

Unlike yesterday's empty start, viewers poured into the channel the instant the feed went live. A substantial number of people had evidently turned on notifications after watching her debut.

The chat room instantly roared to life. To Rihwa's immense relief, it was no longer overflowing with hostile trolls, but filled with viewers genuinely welcoming her back.

"Hello..."

She had intended to project quiet confidence, but watching the text scroll at dizzying speeds immediately brought her meek habits rushing to the surface. Steeling one's resolve in private was meaningless the moment reality struck.

"I'll... I'll start with the game first. Come to think of it, I promised to try different characters today."

Flustered, Rihwa hastily launched Royal Commando. Most streamers spent thirty minutes to an hour chatting with their audience before jumping into gameplay, but Rihwa had no idea how to make small talk, so she used the game as a shield. Her veteran viewers saw right through the evasion.

During yesterday's outdoor broadcast, Rihwa had held all the leverage, but now that she was back to her timid self, the viewers gleefully resumed teasing her. Still, she rationalized that taking playful abuse was part of a streamer's job. Convinced she was simply acting as a deliberate punching bag for their entertainment, she queued straight into a normal match.

Question marks flooded the chat at her reckless queue, but Rihwa had her own reasoning.

"You learn fastest in real combat. Besides, it's just a normal match."

Having witnessed her mechanical talent, the chat conceded. With her unreal aim and reflexive movement, no one in this low matchmaking bracket stood a chance.

True to expectation, Rihwa swapped characters every time she died, showcasing terrifying precision across the board.

However, Royal Commando was a hyper-FPS where pure aim wasn't everything. Game sense, macro rotations, and tactical positioning were equally paramount. Consequently, whenever she piloted tanks that relied little on aim or heroes who utilized slow projectile weapons, her inexperience became evident. Even so, her raw mechanics allowed her to carry twice her weight in this bracket.

Thanks to her dominant statistics and consecutive victories, her account level surged at an astonishing pace.

Praise for her absurd tracking and evasion flooded the chat. Because she focused purely on gameplay without distractions, the chat atmosphere remained noticeably orderly.

"...Ah, but this is getting a little dull. I wish I could play against some skilled players."

Rihwa muttered her honest thoughts without thinking. From her perspective, it was a natural sentiment; stomping novices was fun at first, but it quickly grew monotonous.

To her viewers, however, her remark sounded like an arrogant declaration of war.

"Wait, I never said that...!"

Delighted by her slip-up, the viewers instantly twisted her words into outrageous memes. As Rihwa's voice grew increasingly flustered and meek, the chat laughed harder, relentlessly egging her on.

A donation of a thousand silver taels flashed on screen. While some complained that the message was too wordy for a thousand taels, the suggestion sparked genuine interest among the viewers.

"Viewer custom matches?"

Rihwa hesitated. Her concurrent viewers sat around eight hundred—lower than yesterday due to less drama, but still an extraordinary number for a creator on her second day.

She had to admit it was a great way to elevate the stream's energy, and playing against capable opponents sounded fun. Her only concern was whether she could maintain control over a lobby full of high-ranked viewers.

"What should I do..."

While Rihwa pondered, the audience had already made up their minds. Hopeful participants began submitting applications through donation alerts.

"Wait, hold on! You're going too fast...!"

As applications flooded the screen and left Rihwa scrambling in bewilderment, an absolute megaton bomb detonated across the chat.

An active professional player had just entered the arena.