The Rumor Spreads Like Wildfire

The rumor spread like wildfire. It started from the tiniest spark, then raced along the dry grass and up the mountain, growing bigger with every passing second. By the time you looked back, the person who had first lit that match could no longer control the blaze they had created.

“Okay, okay. Everyone, that’s enough about the virtual marriage.”

“I know a lot of you have been asking for it for a while, and I understand why you’re so excited now that it’s actually happening. But we can’t keep the broadcast going like this.”

“I’ll think it over on my own and let you know if I decide to do it. So let’s stop here for today. Starting tomorrow, virtual marriage talk is banned! Got it?”

From the moment the broadcast started, the virtual marriage topic that had set the pre-chat on fire kept circling around the entire stream. Arine had known from the beginning that internet broadcasting was basically one long chain of brain-melting chaos, so she had braced herself the second it exploded. Still, she never imagined the virtual marriage brain-rot would continue all the way into the after-chat.

……So this is how much people love virtual marriage?

Honestly, Arine hadn’t fully realized it until now. Of course she knew the format was popular on Naty. There were always people begging her to do it, and plenty of streamers around her had already tried it. But because her own channel had never touched the concept, the complaints had never come straight at her like this.

Yet here they were—after nothing more than a single spark about a fortune reading—swarming like madmen. Of course, part of it was because her own intentions had worked a little too well. When she had done the joint stream with Do Doyun, she had deliberately tried to act friendlier than usual and subtly layer on a strange atmosphere. The plan had succeeded. The problem was that it had succeeded far too naturally, overlapping with perfect timing.

She had told them to stop with the brain-rot, but she already knew it would continue tomorrow. Viewers were never the kind of creatures who listened that easily.

“Alright. Okay. Then we’ll wrap up the broadcast here. I should sing the sign-off song before I go.”

“Thank you so much to everyone who chatted, donated, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stayed until the very end. See you tomorrow~ Bye!”

After her final greeting, she sang the sign-off song—one of the few tracks nicknamed “Arine’s National Anthem.” Today she picked the brightest, most upbeat one and ended the stream.

“Ughhh… I’m exhausted… I’m going to die…”

Dealing with the virtual marriage fans had completely drained her. She collapsed onto the simple cot tucked in the corner of her studio—the one she sometimes used when she pulled all-nighters. She didn’t even have the energy to go home right now. She would rest a little before leaving.

She ordered some late-night delivery and, out of habit, logged into her fan cafe. Checking the fan cafe after every broadcast had become a ritual for her. She wanted to see how the stream had gone, whether the reactions were good, if she had made any mistakes. Arine, who took self-feedback seriously, always observed the viewers’ responses like this once the broadcast ended.

In the early days when she had no viewers, she used to check galleries named after herself, but as her channel grew she gave up on ego-searching communities full of trolls and hate comments. Instead, she turned to the fan cafe.

Among the several new posts, she unconsciously clicked on the one with the highest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠view count.

A thousand views. Considering her official notices usually got around five thousand, this was still an impressive number. Posts by regular members rarely broke a thousand views unless they were blatant clickbait. It was proof of just how much attention people were paying to the idea of the two of them doing virtual marriage.

She couldn’t tell yet whether public opinion was fully positive, but it didn’t feel like outright slander either.

“……Could we actually do this right now?”

Whether it was luck or skill, Arine was satisfied with how things were unfolding exactly as she had planned. With this much firepower, even if she announced she was starting virtual marriage with Do Doyun immediately, she could probably push it through despite how sudden it might seem.

“No. Let’s let it simmer a little longer. There’s no need to rush.”

If it started too quickly, as if everything had been prepared for this exact moment, it would look suspicious. They had done quite a few joint streams already. If she suddenly bit down on the bait, some people would definitely smell something fishy.

The best picture was exactly what she had shown at the end of today’s stream—the image of Arine reluctantly agreeing to virtual marriage because the fans kept pushing her. That was the most natural direction and exactly the scenario she had been dreaming of.

……How can I make this explode one more time?

Her wish was answered far sooner than she expected, almost as if someone had been listening.

# February 8th.

Arine dressed up especially beautifully that day. She had also decorated the studio until it sparkled—balloons, lights, hanging decorations, strings of bulbs. Anyone who saw it would think she was throwing a solo Christmas party.

Winter-born Girl

Her slightly nerdy title indirectly revealed that today was her birthday. Her twenty-fourth birthday.

Wearing a party cone on her head, Arine pressed the start broadcast button.

“Hello, everyone?”

The chat went wild congratulating her the moment she smiled and greeted them. Arine laughed brightly like always and spoke to the viewers.

“Guys, guys. You’re congratulating me before I even say hello? Come on.”

“You’re asking if I hate it? No, of course not. I love it.”

“Aish, I told you not to donate already! Why are you throwing a hundred thousand won right at my face the second I start! Ah, thank you so much for the 100,000 won~! You’re too much~!”

High-value donations poured in from the very beginning. She handled them professionally, mixing in cute gestures and reactions while smoothly continuing the broadcast. She cleared the backlog of donations, did a short after-chat, then placed her birthday cake in front of her and watched the congratulatory videos together.

The MCN had requested the videos, and streamers she had worked with appeared one after another.

“Wow, thank you so much everyone. I guess I really worked hard on my broadcasts, huh?”

It felt good to have so many people celebrate her birthday. She also felt like the connections she had built over the long years of streaming were finally paying her back.

Then came the final video. Judging by the length, this was the last one.

The familiar camera setup in a semi-basement room appeared. A close-up of Do Doyun’s face filled the congratulatory video. Arine unconsciously muttered in pleasant surprise.

“It’s Doyun. Heh.”

The people in Arine’s chat had grown completely used to him by now. Whenever Do Doyun appeared, they greeted him warmly. His plain appearance combined with that shy, fidgety demeanor somehow came off as cute. It was probably the gap moe between his usual broadcast-crazy image and this timid side.

He thanked her for getting along with him even though they had only met recently, said he hoped they would continue to get along, and ended the video.

“Isn’t Do Doyun kind of cute even though he’s older? He’s twenty-six—no, twenty-seven now—how can a guy still act like that?”

After the video ended, Do Doyun’s face lingered in her mind. So the first present she picked up from the mountain of gifts was the one he had sent.

“After watching Doyun’s video I remembered—he sent me a gift too. Let’s open it together, guys.”

“Have I opened it already? No. I have no idea what’s inside. I left the wrapping completely untouched so I could open it with all of you.”

“But why did he send something so big? It looks like a fruit box or something?”

She cut the tape on the delivery box with a knife and pulled it onto her desk. She laid the box on its side so the camera could see inside, put on white latex gloves, and began unboxing.

“He didn’t send something weird just to be funny, right? There’s so much bubble wrap…”

While she grumbled worriedly and checked the contents, two fairly large boxes popped out. They had complicated English printed on them. They looked like broadcasting equipment, but she couldn’t tell what they were at a glance, so she asked the viewers.

“Guys, what are these?”

Shock mount? Noise gate? The names sounded vaguely familiar.

“So what are they exactly? I don’t know much about broadcasting gear. I usually just have the technicians set everything up for me.”

Sound engineers who were watching jumped in to explain. In terms Arine could understand, both devices were meant to reduce noise and vibration.

“Okay. I get what they are now. Thanks, but… why did he send these to me?”

It felt like a rather random gift. If it was just because she was a streamer, there were too many better options. But the viewers were more interested in the equipment than in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her question.

“Guys, are these really that expensive?”

Two pieces of audio equipment that together cost nearly a million won. Arine had never received such an expensive gift even after becoming a streamer, so she was genuinely stunned.

……Why did he buy something this expensive for me?

Inside one of the boxes was a small sticky note. Arine noticed it before the viewers who were focused on the gear and picked it up.

“Guys. There’s a note here too? Want me to read it?”

“I figured if I sent something cheap you’d already have better equipment, so I went all out. My hands were shaking the whole time I was buying and wrapping it. I’m worried I spent too much. Pfft.”

The message was so characteristically Do Doyun that Arine burst out laughing. The chat exploded with rows of lololol.

“While we were doing the joint stream I noticed you have a habit of tapping your nails on the desk and keyboard. I don’t know much about audio either, but when I rewatched our stream I could hear the tapping mixed in. So I thought these might help reduce it. It’s nothing special, so don’t feel burdened and just accept them, okay?”

Reading it made a warm feeling spread through her chest. The nail-tapping habit had been with her since the very beginning of her streaming career. She always told herself she would fix it but never had. Most of her long-time subscribers knew about it, but people who hadn’t watched her for very long usually didn’t.

……So he had been watching me that closely?

Maybe he had paid extra attention during the joint stream. The gift showed a delicate thoughtfulness that didn’t match his rough exterior, and Arine felt touched.

Combined with Do Doyun’s delicate sense, the donation from the virtual marriage fans triggered another wave.

Once again, a huge wave of virtual marriage talk crashed over Arine’s stream.