I Was Right to Choose Oppa After All (2)
“Five hundred thousand views already?”
“Yeah! I told you, didn’t I? I was shocked when I saw it yesterday too. They say WGM is trending, but I never expected the numbers to blow up this much.”
As far as I knew, Arine’s Naty channel sat at around two hundred thousand subscribers. Factoring in her massive live audience, it was the kind of channel that pulled average views in the early-to-mid hundred thousands. Live viewers usually turned into loyal subscribers, after all. Yet a video less than a day old on that channel had already hit five hundred thousand views?
I didn’t run my own YouTube, but I’d been in this industry long enough, and I’d picked up plenty from Seoyeon back when she worked at the MCN. I knew exactly how huge this was. In other words, the channel finally had a signature hit on its hands.
“Then it’ll hit a million soon. Give it a few days?”
“Probably? It looks like it caught the WGM algorithm wave. So, so~ the editors and the Naty team have been losing their minds since yesterday.”
“About what?”
“They’re begging for the next video source. You have to row when the tide’s high, right? Heh. That means today’s collab has to produce good clips, oppa. You know that, yeah?”
“Well… I’ll do my best, at least.”
It was genuinely good to see her succeeding. Part of that came from the personal liking I had for the streamer named Arine, but beyond that, the more famous she became, the more I benefited from the trickle-down effect. The wider her WGM videos spread, the more the name Do Doyun got exposed across the internet. Of course it wouldn’t match the impact she got, but when they handled all the editing and uploading while I simply rode the exposure, I was basically standing still catching free persimmons as they fell. So her Naty doing well wasn’t only good for her.
“But when I checked the Naty comments, everyone was praising you, oppa.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Sweet Doyun this, Sweet Doyun that. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it. The fan cafe’s the same. It’s almost making me jealous.”
That was probably my new nickname. Arine had coined it on stream yesterday, and it seemed to have stuck.
“What are you going to do, getting jealous over me? None of this attention would’ve happened if it wasn’t for you anyway.”
“No~ It’s seriously all praise for you! Mine are just ‘she’s so pretty’ and that’s it?”
“You probably only saw those. You cooked yesterday’s stream. It was genuinely entertaining.”
“Aww. So unfair. I can’t even show you the Naty comments myself. For real.”
She sounded frustrated, then continued in a slightly different tone.
“So, um…”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. Seriously. Oppa.”
A sudden expression of gratitude. I had no idea why she was thanking me here. All I’d done was toss in a few lines during the live; the content prep, the buildup, pulling everyone’s attention—every bit of that had been Arine’s work.
“Naty was always my sore spot, you know? Like pouring tons of money in but seeing zero results. That kind of thing.”
It hit close to home. The way she described it sounded exactly like my own streaming life before I met her—the endless pouring in with nothing to show for it. I’d assumed everything came easy for Arine, that things just flowed for her, so learning she had that side too caught me off guard.
“But this video feels like it finally opened a path. Subscribers jumped like crazy in a single day, and at this rate I might even turn a profit in two years. I’m so excited.”
I wasn’t sure if she should be telling me all this, but since she was the boss, it probably didn’t matter. More than anything, the way she laughed with genuine excitement made me happy for her.
“What did I even do? I just stuck one spoon in what you already made.”
“No. It would’ve been hard to get this kind of result without you, oppa. The watch time was high too, not just the views. That means the video was actually fun, right?”
“…..”
“From the very start yesterday you set the perfect WGM tone. Your lines were killer—to the point I actually got flustered. A ton of people loved how real it felt because of that.”
It couldn’t be written off as empty praise. At least, considering her career and perspective, the words carried weight. Even accounting for the unreasonable goodwill she held toward me, I had clearly contributed. This wasn’t mindless cheering just because things went well. Arine was thanking me with real sincerity.
Still, the way she praised was too direct. How many people expressed favor so straightforwardly? Most would’ve been too embarrassed to say it out loud, or would’ve just bragged that it was all thanks to their own skill. But she made a point of telling me. That pure kindness was simply her nature, and I could feel it in moments like this.
“…If I helped, then I’m glad.”
When someone thanks you this purely, it leaves you not knowing what to do. I’m quick with comebacks when people diss me, but praise and recognition always feel awkward. Maybe because I haven’t received much of it.
“As expected, my gut was right. Oppa.”
“About what?”
“I told you. I had this feeling that doing WGM with you would definitely work out.”
“Ah, that again? Woman’s intuition or whatever?”
“What? You still don’t believe me? When I’m showing concrete results like this?”
“It worked because of your skill, not some feeling.”
“Haa. You really don’t get it. Anyway, that’s what I really wanted to say.”
“What?”
“I was so right to do WGM with you, oppa. Even if we’d paired with a large streamer, we probably wouldn’t have gotten this reaction.”
There it was again. Shaking my heart like this on purpose. No—she had no intention of shaking it. It was just that every single sincere line from her made my heart tremble on its own. Her goodwill was so clean and innocent, like the pure affection a child has for their parents. Taking it head-on made me so embarrassed I wanted to sink into the ground.
“Seriously, you…”
“Yeah?”
“Stop with the upward compliments. I’ve had too much baseless praise; I feel like the lunch I just ate is about to come back up.”
“It’s not baseless, it’s true! Even between large streamers this doesn’t happen easily. Idiot. Can’t even accept a compliment when it’s given.”
“…”
“Fine, fine. I won’t praise you anymore. Hmph. I won’t even say thank you. If you’re going to be like this, why bother?”
Her tone was slightly pouty, but the playfulness mixed in told me she wasn’t actually upset. Instead of answering her thanks, I hid my embarrassment by talking about what was coming next rather than what had already passed.
“……Then let’s do well on today’s stream too. Harin.”
“Kk. Of course. Oppa.”
I pretended not to hear her muttering, “This is exactly why he’s cute,” and moved on.
# [Today on a date with my husband hehe]
While checking Arine’s cute stream title, I connected the call. It didn’t take long for her to pick up. It was the same voice I’d heard right before the broadcast, yet hearing it again felt strangely welcome.
“Harorong. My husband~”
“Yes. Miss Arine. Long time no see?”
“What do you mean long time no see? We saw each other yesterday. And why are you using formal speech? Are you drawing a line with me?”
“What line? No way. Hey.”
“Right? I almost got a little upset, you know?”
I paused for a second to blind the obvious sponsored message in the chat.
“Honey?”
“What’s with that nickname? When did it change again?”
“You don’t like it?”
“No. It’s not bad at all?”
Actually, I liked it. I wished she’d use it more. It gave off a slight newlywed vibe that made my heart flutter.
“Did you kill someone? I heard mouse clicks.”
“Ah~ The ad. After yesterday’s stream and with the viewer count jumping today, looks like ads are finally coming in.”
“Wow~ For real? Congrats~! Wait, is an ad something to congratulate?”
I didn’t mention the exact number, but I’d been surprised when I turned my own stream on today too. Five hundred. A full five hundred average viewers had appeared out of nowhere. The stream that had only grown from fifty to two hundred not long ago had exploded once again thanks to the WGM announcement.
“Even so, I’m still hako. Compared to our esteemed Arine, it’s nothing but a drop in the bucket.”
“What are you talking about~ Anyway, speaking of viewer numbers reminded me. Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“You know the platform next door? They say a monster rookie just appeared. Hit over ten thousand average viewers in one year and is even appearing on public TV now.”
“Ah. You mean Kevin?”
Kevin, the former male idol trainee. Famous for his looks, he started streaming on the neighboring platform and showed terrifying broadcasting sense while growing at an insane pace. He rose so fast in the shortest time possible and reached the top ranks, so the internet broadcasting world had recently been treating him like a hero or superhuman. After appearing on public broadcast and becoming known to the general public, word had reached even us on a different platform. Since Naty was an internet broadcasting platform itself, it was a hot topic among both viewers and streamers.
“How can someone grow that fast in such a short time? It’s honestly amazing.”
“Right. Talent and luck, I guess? You’re no slouch compared to him either.”
“No way. I built mine slowly over three years, while he exploded in just one. The scale is completely different. That’s what you call a real genius, isn’t it?”
“He’s definitely a genius. A broadcasting genius.”
If we were using that standard, what did that make me after three years of fumbling around? But talking about it only deepened the wound, so I kept my mouth shut.
“But I think Kevin nailed his character perfectly. These days, people with strong character tend to blow up. Like you, Doyun.”
At Arine’s playful words, I glanced at the chat. I knew this would happen.
“Hey, hey, hey. Who are you comparing to who? Are you surrounded by Kevin’s fans and want to watch me crash and burn? Huh?”
“Pff. Ah, I got caught. Too bad.”
The reasons behind Kevin’s success. There were many—his face, singing ability, quick tongue, and on top of that, insane gaming skills. In a way, he was someone who had everything.
I didn’t really understand what made successful people succeed. If I had, I would’ve succeeded myself. Thinking that, I naturally asked her.
“But Harin.”
“Yeah?”
“You said Kevin succeeded because of his strong character, right? Then what do you think made you successful?”
“Eh? Me?”
“I’m kind of curious. I want to know what a top-tier streamer like you thinks about why you succeeded.”
Arine’s voice sounded slightly flustered. She probably hadn’t expected the focus to shift to her. To me, though, Arine right in front of me was far more interesting than some distant Kevin.
The viewers seemed to share my curiosity; the chat sped up. Arine hemmed and hawed before giving a vague answer.
“Uh… um… I don’t know? The reason I succeeded… Wasn’t it just good luck?”
Come on. Even for humility, I’d expected at least some plausible analysis. That was the kind of answer you’d give in a textbook essay. The atmosphere in her room’s chat looked like it was about to catch fire, so I glanced at the broadcast screen on my sub monitor.
The chat beside the muted screen was flying up at high speed.
As Arine’s eyes seemed to scan the chat, they began to tremble faintly. Her expression unknowingly hardened.
Why was she reacting like that? For a second I panicked, wondering if I’d said something wrong. That was when a donation popped up in her stream.
The chat atmosphere had turned ugly in an instant. And Arine, who had suddenly gone silent.
“….Harin?”
I felt an inexplicable chill and called her name carefully, but…
“……”
There was no answer. The face on the camera had gone completely stiff.