I Would Never Fall For My Partner For Real (2)

I couldn't help but be shocked when I heard her proposal. I had been hoping she'd suggest doing another collab together, but I never actually thought she'd follow through. And of course I didn't. There were countless people who wanted to do content with her. Arine held all the cards. She was in a position where she could pick and choose from the flood of content ideas people brought to her. But this wasn't some temporary filler project, and it wasn't just once—it was twice? The general consensus was that there was no way she would ever be the one to suggest doing content with me first. I was far too insignificant a streamer for that. From her perspective, there was absolutely nothing to gain from collabing with me. The fact that we'd even done one joint stream together already felt like a miracle. This wasn't self-deprecation; it was the objective truth that anyone could see.

But. She wasn't suggesting we do it one more time—she was proposing a long-term series.

In a situation that I could hardly believe, I asked Arine again.

Just the two of us? Not a group collab like this time, but specifically me and Arine alone? Had I saved a country in my past life? Or was today going to be my last broadcast ever? I didn't know why this sudden streak of luck was pouring down on me all at once, but instead of joy, what I felt first was fear.

Deep down, I didn't even want to ask what kind of content it was. It felt almost rude to question her. The urge to just say yes was overwhelming. What did it matter what the content was? The person I'd be working with was Arine. The view count was practically guaranteed. If it was a stream with her, I'd even be willing to go explore a cursed abandoned house together.

Still, I had to ask. After all, I needed some information if I was going to prepare anything.

No matter how much I racked my brain, nothing came to mind. Was there even such a thing as a long-term series that streamers did together on Naty? If I had to pick one, maybe We Got Married? Most WGM series ran for a fixed period—usually six months to a year—so it was pretty much the only true long-term format. But I immediately ruled that out. There was no way Arine would want to do WGM with me of all people—

There it was. She had literally said the words herself: let's do WGM. Even though I was only reading it in chat, her tone came across so clean and straightforward that it didn't leave any room for me to suspect she had some other motive.

I wanted to type back Of course. I wanted to beg her, Please, I'm begging you, let's do it. But I couldn't.

There was no such thing as an action without a reason. And since I couldn't understand why she would choose me, I didn't think I could accept her offer without figuring that part out first.

I chose my words as politely as possible, typing only things that wouldn't offend her.

Arine laughed as if it were nothing. No, how could I not get serious about this? Did she not realize how much influence and value she held in the streaming world? Just the ad rates for her time alone were worth millions per hour. It was only natural that someone as insignificant as me couldn't understand why she would spend any of that time with me.

Was that really the only reason? The fact that no one had done it could mean it was a blue ocean, but it could also mean there was no demand. It was the classic “hit big or crash hard” scenario. Was Arine the type of streamer who thrived on taking risks? No. Just watching her gameplay made it obvious that she prioritized stability. Arine was clearly the type who tried to minimize risk as much as possible. And there were countless hako streamers besides me. So that explanation alone still didn’t convince me.

This was probably her private business. It was most likely related to her company or her own team. Since it wasn’t something I needed to know, I decided not to pry too much.

Even so, there were still parts that hadn’t been explained, so I ended up pressing her without meaning to. Despite my potentially rude question, Arine didn’t show the slightest hint of annoyance and kindly continued.

Was this person some kind of genius? Well, reaching her level in just three years probably did make her a genius. That’s just how the world worked. For every ordinary person like me who could work as hard as they wanted and still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fail, there were geniuses who could instinctively grasp what the era needed without even trying.

Why did it feel like this person was better at talking than me? Was this what being a large streamer was like? Listening to her made me feel like I was starting to believe in gut feelings too. Maybe it was because her voice was so pretty. Whatever Arine said just sounded convincing. Anyway, if that was how she lived her life, it wasn’t my place to argue. At the very least, she had achieved incredible results by following her own methods. If that was thanks to her intuition, then trusting her gut was the right thing for her to do.

Hearing that actually made more sense to me than it made me feel bad. In fact, it would have been stranger if she had invited me with zero ulterior motive. At the time I’d just been excited and assumed it was all good for me. Of course, I still had no idea when exactly she had decided she wanted to do WGM with me.

I could agree with that to some extent. If people had “frequencies,” then she and I were probably on the same one. Just like how certain materials vibrate at the same wavelength, you could usually tell after meeting someone a few times whether they shared a similar vibe with you.

When you considered how important chemistry was for a WGM series, it wasn’t an entirely unconvincing reason.

The question was so out of left field that my mind went blank. Was she thinking I was gay because of something I showed on stream today? I didn’t want any misunderstandings about my sexual orientation, so I hurriedly explained.

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So that was it. There wasn’t a single thing wrong with what she said. I had never once treated the streamer known as Arine as a woman. I had only ever seen her as a fellow streamer, as another person. Since I knew from the start that she was an unreachable wall, there was nothing more foolish than longing for a flower I could never pluck. I hadn’t intended it, but apparently that had come across to her as a positive.

…Well, for someone like her, that fear was probably scarier than the content failing. A large streamer had a lot to lose. For them, a failed project just meant it wasn’t popular. They could just move on to the next thing. But scandals like that—controversy that came from a broadcast—could deal a fatal blow to their image the bigger they were. For Arine, stability in that area was far more important than experimental content.

In that sense, a man who showed zero personal interest in her and seemed completely obsessed with broadcasting was actually the ideal partner for her to do WGM with.

This was a coincidence. An incredibly, absurdly good coincidence that felt like it had been arranged by the gods just for me. A coincidence, but her reasoning finally started to make sense to me as well.

If that was what she wanted, then I was fine with it. I was confident that I wouldn’t fall for her. I was already sick of romance after what I’d gone through with Seoyeon, and I wasn’t the type to mix work with personal feelings. And as I’d said many times before, I was a realist when it came to love. I knew that an unequal exchange was impossible, and even if it somehow happened, it wouldn’t last. In that case, doing WGM purely for the sake of each other’s broadcasts, treating it strictly as content—that would be good for both Arine and me. We could probably become pretty good partners.

And the answer I had to give was already set in stone. I, who was starving for success, who had to prove my talent as a streamer—I had no possible way to turn down her proposal.

Arine seemed pleased with my immediate answer and sent over a file. I skimmed through the PDF she had sent. It outlined the duration of the WGM, the clauses the two of us had to follow, how revenue from joint streams would be split, and various other conditions. It was a proper contract.

…This was where being a large streamer showed. They were meticulous. If they didn’t set these things in advance, arguments were bound to happen. Blocking off disputes beforehand was the mark of a true professional.

And at the very end of the document, as if it were the most important clause of all, there was one line written in large, bold black letters.

Looking at that clause—which somehow felt like she had written it by hand—I decided, without much thought, to agree to it.

…Completely unaware of how that single clause would later affect our relationship.