The Life of a Large Streamer (4)
The manager’s half-joking, half-serious remark wrapped the situation up nicely. The car fell quiet again. In that sudden silence, I replayed what had just happened. Why had Arine gotten so angry? And what was she really trying to do?
Arine is a large streamer. Hadn’t I seen it for myself during the external shoot earlier? She could smile brightly on camera without letting a single real emotion slip through. For someone that professional to show her feelings so openly while the camera was rolling, there had to be a reason.
It really had looked like she was genuinely upset. Almost like she was on guard against me getting too close to other women—and like she was actually jealous. …Though throwing a fit just because I patted her head once did seem a little extreme.
Besides, if I weren’t virtually married to her, I wouldn’t be the type to pull something like that in the first place. Still, after turning it over in my head for a while, the pieces clicked together with an almost audible pop, like a cartoon lightbulb moment.
That was it. Arine was playing the jealous wife. She was pretending to be envious to spice up the virtual marriage content. I felt a rush of admiration for my own detective skills. All those hours watching Detective Conan as a kid had finally paid off.
Once I looked at it that way, everything made sense. Her sudden outburst that had seemed so emotional was just acting. The way she’d overreacted to the skinship, the way she’d pretended to be mad at me for making her jealous—it was all performance.
After all, a girl as beautiful as Arine must have dated before. Her everyday behavior came across as innocent, so maybe she didn’t have a ton of experience, but with a face like hers she could’ve dated anyone she wanted. Even as a trainee she probably had. Getting that startled over a single head pat was just unnatural. So it had to be acting. The more exaggerated the reaction, the funnier it would look on camera.
Ah, so that’s what it was.
Honestly, up until that moment I’d been low-key panicking—Did I cross a line with the skinship? Is she actually mad? Did I screw up? Understanding her reasoning instantly lifted the weight off my chest. At the same time, I felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.
I’d almost convinced myself she might actually have feelings for me. My heart had even fluttered a little in the middle of it. …All because of the question she’d asked and the way her emotions had flared. Damn male instincts, jumping straight to maybe?
And when she tried to paper it over with that clumsy excuse, that’s when I finally caught on that something else might be going on.
Now that I understood, I turned my head and snuck a glance at her. Our eyes met. I gave her a sly little smile, sending her a look that said: I see exactly what you’re doing. You’re really sharp.
But Arine just stared back with a puzzled, innocent expression. What? Why did she look like she had no idea what I was talking about? Was she still acting?
When our gazes locked, she suddenly spoke as if she’d just remembered something.
“Oh, right—I meant to ask earlier but the conversation got away from me. How did it go? The shoot with the editor, was it okay?”
She was talking about the YouTube footage. Since she’d been busy with her own ad shoot, she hadn’t been able to check on it. Still, this project mattered just as much to both of us as the filming itself.
“It turned out decent. Nothing bad, at least. It’s only going to be a short segment anyway, so I think we got enough material.”
“Makes sense. No point showing too much of the external shoot. Anyway, thanks for your hard work.”
That was when Editor Lee Jin, who had been silently driving up front, cut into our conversation. He called out to Arine as if the thought had just occurred to him.
“Ah, Arine.”
“Yes, Editor? What is it?”
“If it hadn’t been for Do Doyun earlier, we would’ve been in serious trouble.”
“Huh? Why? What happened?”
Like he was returning a favor, Lee Jin cheerfully exaggerated what I’d done.
“I don’t have much experience with night shoots, so the focus kept slipping. But Do Doyun reached over, adjusted the camera a couple times, and fixed everything.”
“Really?” Arine turned to look at me. Her eyes asked if it was true. I felt oddly embarrassed, scratched my ear, and looked away.
“He’s overselling it. I didn’t do much. Just switched the shooting mode, that’s all.”
“Wait, Doyun, you know how to work cameras too? Oh~ That’s kinda cool.”
“It’s not a big deal. Anyone who’s done a few night streams picks it up. I just helped out.”
Aish. He didn’t have to hype me up like that. Being praised for something so minor felt strangely embarrassing. Still, there was no way I could feel bad about receiving a compliment from Arine. Even if it was flattery, praise from a beautiful woman always lifts a guy’s mood.
The way her eyes sparkled with trust when she looked at me felt a little overwhelming, though.
“You must have done a lot of night broadcasts back then, huh? That’s interesting. I want to see the old footage sometime.”
“No way. It’s embarrassing. I’m not showing you.”
“Don’t the VODs still exist? Hehe. I’m definitely looking them up when I get home tonight~!”
“Hey! Don’t watch them! Why would you even want to? Then I’m digging up your debut video.”
“Nooo! That one’s seriously cringey!”
You started it.
The time was four in the afternoon. We had only finished the first schedule of the day, yet somehow hours had already slipped by. Arine stopped by her place briefly to wash up and finish getting ready, then came back out and headed for the studio. Doing full makeup, hair, and outfit changes took an enormous amount of time. She usually handled all of it herself for her personal streams, but since she had been waiting in the car instead of at home, I didn’t get to see that part.
In the end we ate a late lunch-slash-dinner while driving.
“Triangle kimbap? This enough for you?”
“Eating a lot before a stream makes me sleepy, and anything else feels like too much effort. So I just go with this.”
Since I was experiencing her day with her, I ate the same thing. I had eaten breakfast before leaving, but this was my first meal in nearly ten hours. Filling up on triangle kimbap seemed ridiculous. Now I understood why Arine never gained weight. She moved constantly but barely ate anything. Other than occasionally grabbing jelly on stream, I rarely saw her eat at all.
I thought to myself that living like her would probably kill me. Even when I streamed for twenty-four hours straight, I still made sure to eat proper meals on time. Which was exactly why I could never have an idol-like figure like hers.
With the triangle kimbap in her mouth, Arine mumbled to me as the car moved through traffic.
“So sometimes I think… even if I have money, I don’t have time to spend it. That kind of feeling. I don’t even have time to sit down for a proper meal. Does that sound like a spoiled complaint to you, Doyun?”
It was an honest remark she would never make on broadcast.
“No. I think I get it.”
After actually living through her schedule with her, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. If this was what her life looked like, what was the point of having money?
We got out of the car, grabbed the camera, and walked toward the studio. This was my first time seeing a real broadcasting studio in person, and even the exterior felt impressive. We took the elevator down to the basement level of what looked like a newly constructed building.
“This is it?”
“Yeah. It used to be a small company office. I renovated it into my personal studio.”
It still looked pretty big. While I stood there admiring the space, Arine grabbed the handle of the soundproof door and gave me a cautious look.
“Wait a second, Doyun. I didn’t clean up properly inside… Can you wait out here for a bit?”
She blocked the entrance with an awkward smile.
“Wouldn’t fans want to see the real, lived-in version? Like a glimpse of Arine’s everyday life?”
“No, no. I’m Naty’s idol. I have to show them only the best side. I can’t ruin their fantasy, right?”
When I reached for the door handle, she leaned her whole body against it to stop me. Sensing a battle of wills coming, I finally nodded and stepped back.
Too bad.
A moment later Arine came back out, breathing hard.
“Haa… You can come in now.”
“What did you do in there? You’re panting.”
“Nope. Knowing would only hurt you. Don’t try to uncover a woman’s secrets. Okay, this is my studio. Follow me~”
She made the little jingle sound people use when showing off a new house and led me inside. The moment the door opened, the interior of her studio unfolded before me. Seeing with my own eyes the space I had only ever seen through her camera felt brand new.
“…This studio is as big as our whole place. Wait, is it actually bigger?”
Our apartment had the kitchen combined with the living room. If you subtracted the kitchen and boiler room, it would definitely be smaller than this. And it wasn’t just the size. The pure white soundproof walls were spotless, the interior tidy, and the equipment clearly expensive.
“Whoa, so that’s the light that glows from behind?”
“Ah, the special lighting? I barely ever turn it on, so I’ve been wondering if I wasted money on it.”
While Arine checked her computer, I wandered around exploring. Whether it was equipment she rarely used or not, everything looked fascinating to me. I watched from the side as she turned on the front and side lights and adjusted her broadcast settings.
Why were there so many lights? What was that device? This looked like an audio interface—I knew those were crazy expensive. The camera was obviously high-end too. As both a streamer and a guy who loved broadcasting gear, I found myself staring at her desk like I was in a trance.
Just owning a large soundproof studio like this was already enviable. I was still streaming without even a proper booth. Before I could finish feeling jealous, my eyes landed on the noise gate next to her audio interface and the shock mount attached to the studio microphone.
“Is this the one I gave you?”
“Yeah. The gift you gave me. I called the installer the same week I received it and had everything set up. I did good, right?”
“You did great. How is it? Useful?”
“It definitely catches the sound better. I monitored it myself—the nail tapping noise didn’t disappear completely, but it’s almost inaudible now. I love it. Hee.”
She tapped the shock mount lightly with her fingernail, a gentle gesture. Seeing the warm, affectionate look in her eyes—like she was gazing at a beloved pet—made me want to give her even more gifts.
…She really was the kind of person who made gift-giving feel worthwhile. It wasn’t easy to treat someone else’s present so preciously and thank them with genuine sincerity. Watching her actually use it, not just say she liked it, filled me with quiet pride.
I knew it was pointless bravado, but there was that feeling, right? Like when you whale hard on a game and feel like you personally built one of the company’s pillars. Knowing I had contributed even a small part to the broadcast of a large streamer named Arine felt surprisingly good.
And then it was finally time for today’s live stream. We set up the guest chair beside hers and sat side by side to begin.
Before we started, I caught sight of my own face on the camera feed. The correction made it look strangely polished.
“How’s it look, Doyun? Want me to brighten your skin tone even more? I could make you look like a total idol.”
“If you do that, the reality check when I get home will be brutal. Please don’t.”
As expected from a proper female streamer setup, the difference from my cheap camera was obvious. Still, it wasn’t over-the-top. Arine herself didn’t even need correction in the first place, so it seemed like only light touch-ups had been applied.
Even so, sitting next to her made my face look like a squid in comparison. That part was a little bitter.
“Ready for me to turn on OBS?”
“Yeah.”
I swallowed nervously without meaning to. We had done combined streams together several times before, but this was our first time doing it in person. Having the real Arine right beside me made my heart pound for no reason.
She turned on OBS, hit the stream button, and a flood of quick greetings from viewers poured in. The waiting screen disappeared, and finally our faces appeared on the live feed.
“Hello, everyone! This is Arine. Did you see today’s broadcast title? Today is a very special day—we have a special guest with us~!”
And so, under the pretext of experiencing a day in her life, our first real-life combined live broadcast began.