The Viewers Declare Their Liberation from Jumping Up
The Lenebros officially declare that, as of today, they have been liberated from the era of Jumping Up torment.
[Lene] [Major Announcement] [Talk | 20 viewers | 1:01:23]
—Why did you even start streaming?
“This is something I mentioned once during my second broadcast, but… I needed money. There was less than a hundred thousand won left in my account, and I couldn’t find any part-time work. So I had to make money somehow, and the girl I mentioned earlier suggested I try streaming…”
Now that I’ve actually started internet broadcasting, the real source of my income is still New Dimension. The money I earn from streaming is at most around three thousand won a day. Last time, the donations from Jumping Up exceeded twenty thousand won, but that day was a special case. If the total donations on my stream ever break five thousand won on a normal day? That’s basically a festival.
“Hmm, that’s true…”
I only showed my honest side without hiding anything, yet for some reason the chat atmosphere had turned hostile. If someone were watching from outside, they’d think I’d done something terribly wrong.
“Anyway, I started streaming to make money… But these days I’ve been turning it on because it’s actually fun too.”
It wasn’t salvage. It was the truth. If I were really streaming purely to make money, these people should know that spending this time farming materials in New Dimension would be way more profitable. Has the world become too cold these days?
“…And since I’m streaming to earn money, that money ultimately comes from all of you, right? So I’ll do my best to fulfill whatever you want as much as I can…”
“…Didn’t you all like Jumping Up?”
It’s strange. Jumping Up is a notoriously difficult game, and viewers usually enjoy watching streamers fail at it, right? Since I couldn’t even clear the first area, there’s no way they’d dislike it…
“Even though you’re all saying that, you still like it, don’t you?”
They’re definitely trying to trick me…
'ㅇㅇ' has donated 1,000 won.
If you play that fucking game one more time I don’t know what I’ll do.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like they’re lying. Where exactly did things go wrong…?
“Then I won’t play Jumping Up anymore…”
…Wait. I only played it for one day yesterday. Aren’t their reactions a bit too extreme? If someone were watching from outside, they’d think I’d been stuck on a game I should never play for months.
For a moment I had that thought, but seeing the chat exploding like a real festival, I couldn’t say anything.
“Jumping…”
“That game… Well, it’s a trending game these days, and I heard that just playing it would increase my viewer count. And it actually did increase…”
The fact that there are currently twenty viewers is probably thanks to yesterday’s Jumping Up session. But the Lenebros who are still here seem to hate it, so there’s nothing I can do. Let’s let Jumping Up go here. Later, when there are more Lenebros and the new ones ask to see it, I’ll play it then.
“No, everyone. My recent streams have been stuck at a steady eleven viewers. Getting three thousand won in donations a day was considered a lot… I had to find some kind of solution.”
“No, of course New Dimension will remain my main game. I’m just saying I’ll play other games little by little like yesterday. I’d appreciate your understanding…”
Fortunately, when I asked politely, the chat seemed to accept it. I understand how you all feel. Being able to earn money just by playing New Dimension would be the absolute best… But since that’s not working, I’m just looking for other ways. Please understand…
While I was answering the Lenebros’ questions, a rather important one came up. It was related to the direction of the stream.
“U-um…”
Cam. A camera, huh… How should I answer this right now?
Of course, to put it simply, I have no intention of turning on my cam. There are many reasons, but the biggest one is that it would reveal I’m a girl. I don’t bring up the voice changer first, but I also haven’t deleted the VODs. In other words, anyone even slightly interested in the streamer named Lene would assume I’m “a guy using a voice changer to stream.”
But if I turn on my cam here, the misunderstanding or whatever would be blown away by the fact that I’m a woman. Then my grand plan of later revealing that I was actually a girl and drawing everyone’s attention would completely collapse.
…Still, I understood why the question was asked. Unless I’m playing a game, the screen is just empty with only chat messages scrolling by. Even someone like me who doesn’t know much about internet streaming could see how that might feel boring.
It definitely seemed like something that needed a solution.
“For now, due to various reasons, I have no plans to turn on my cam. But I understand the feeling that the screen looks empty and lonely, so I’ll think of some other measures.”
Most of the Lenebros are probably thinking this right now: ‘You can’t turn on your cam because you’re a guy.’ If that’s what they think, that’s fine with me.
But the recently joined Lenebros didn’t seem satisfied with my answer. Did they want a clear reason? …Well, then I can just tell them one of the various reasons. There’s no need to hide it.
“Umm… If I have to say it, it’s because I lack confidence. If I turn on the camera and I’m not the appearance you all hoped for, what if you get disappointed? That’s what I’m worried about.”
Of course, there would probably be people like Bora who would stay. But the experiences I’ve had until now—the countless gazes pouring in from all directions, the way they immediately turned their heads away as if they didn’t even want to make eye contact—those memories make me hesitate.
So if the number of viewers, the number of Lenebros who won’t leave even after seeing my appearance, grows large enough… that would probably be the day I turn on my cam.
My statement was too serious, and the chat atmosphere that had felt pretty good until just now plummeted straight into the abyss in an instant. This wasn’t what I wanted… What do I do?
While I was thinking that.
'Saint' has donated 100,000 won.
Hello, Miss Lene. I am Saint, the one who sniped you with hacks in New Dimension last time. I felt truly sorry about what happened then and came to apologize. Could we talk for a moment? Of course, you may refuse. It was entirely my fault.
You don’t need to return the donation either. I am truly sorry.
A ridiculously long donation message had arrived. And the amount was 100,000 won. That was roughly what I could earn after streaming for about fifty days… The chat was calling him an essay poster and cursing, but at least this person seemed more helpful to me than the other Lenebros…?
“U-um…”
My thoughts froze for a moment as I wondered how to respond, but as I read the content, my mind slowly returned. The person who sniped me with hacks?
“Ah, that spearman from back then…”
The chat seemed to realize this too, and the reactions instantly turned vicious. No matter how much they usually cursed me, calling me an idiot or whatever, the Lenebros were ultimately viewers who came to watch my stream. The spearman who had falsely accused me—an innocent person—of hacking back then was basically a great sinner to them.
“Everyone, please calm down first…”
But the person in question—me—had no particular thoughts about it. Of course I was annoyed at the time, but thinking about public opinion back then, at least nine out of ten people thought I was hacking. Even among the Lenebros currently in chat, some must have suspected me of hacking. So, well. He was just one of them. If I had to pick a stronger feeling right now, it was gratitude for the 100,000 won donation…
'Saint' has donated 100,000 won.
I had no intention of making Miss Lene uncomfortable. I simply thought I had to apologize… If it made you uncomfortable, I am truly sorry…
Huh?
“Ah, um… Well. First, thank you for the 200,000 won donation… But I’m thinking that, well, it could happen. I also… um… I don’t know what to say about this…”
“I truly had no other intentions. I am really sorry.”
Even when I said it was fine, ‘Saint’ kept apologizing to me through chat. At this point, it didn’t seem like a superficial apology for show—it felt sincere. Well, whether it was sincere or not, honestly it didn’t matter. As I said earlier, I now think that sort of thing can happen, so I don’t hold any ill will toward him.
The problem was that the chat, the Lenebros, didn’t seem willing to forgive him. It would be nice if they could just let it go at an appropriate point and everyone could laugh and get along. I needed some way to change this atmosphere… Ah.
“Saint. You really feel sorry toward me, right?”
“Then I have one request. Would that be okay…?”
“Then… would it be okay if I watched the video you recorded back then and did a review of it?”