Ugly Possessiveness (3)
「Huh? You're gonna teach me?」
「Yeah. What's so hard about it? I taught you a ton about League back in the day.」
「I guess you did, lololol. You were so frustrated with me back then.」
To be honest, Dayeon wasn't particularly talented at games. There was a big difference between liking games and being good at them.
「But is your schedule okay? I can do it on the weekend, but don't you have to stream?」
I thought for a second before answering her question.
「Don't you usually stream on weekends too?」
「Yeah, normally I do. But if you're gonna teach me, I was thinking of skipping it.」
「Then let's just do a collab stream. Wouldn't that be better?」
「A collab? You and me?」
If pulling out separate time to teach her felt like a waste, then why not just turn it into a collab stream? After all, both she and I were streamers now.
「I told you before, didn't I? Once we both become streamers, let's collab.」
「That's true, but... things are a little different now, between you and me.」
There was a cautious tone in her voice, like she was reading the room. I could guess what she was worried about. She was probably afraid it would look like she was riding my coattails. But honestly, I didn't feel that awkward about it at all. If we're being blunt, I'd basically done the same thing with Arine to get where I was. The idea of succeeding purely on personal skill without any collabs? That only happened to a handful of insanely talented people in fairy tales.
「Hey, what are friends for? This is exactly when we should help each other out.」
「Are you really okay with it? Our stream sizes are pretty different.」
「Who cares? A few months ago I wasn't any different from you. And I think the visuals would actually turn out pretty good.」
When I thought about it, I'd never really shown my viewers a proper collab stream before. The only one I'd ever done was with Arine. Maybe it was time to show them me collaborating with someone new.
「Plus, newbie training content is pretty popular. There are a lot of funny moments.」
Since she was still a hako streamer, there wouldn't be much viewer crossover benefit. But the teacher-and-student format of teaching someone who didn't know the game had its own decent demand. For people who already knew the game well, it was frustrating but entertaining to watch. And because the newbie didn't know anything, there were tons of hilarious moments. Accidental trolling, that kind of thing. Since it was a type of content my viewers didn't usually see on my stream, it would feel fresh. It wasn't a bad deal for me at all.
And besides.
「Aren't you struggling a bit right now? Your viewer count isn't growing at all. Streaming alone must be tough.」
I understood her current state better than anyone. I'd been in that exact position for over three years. The lack of interaction, how exhausting it was to stream for just a handful of people. When there was no income at all. Sometimes you'd wonder why you were even doing it when no one was watching. For Dayeon, who hadn't even built a clear fanbase yet, it had to be even harder. Back then, I'd regretted starting to stream so many times and wanted to quit. I'd somehow endured it all by myself, but did she really need to go through the same thing?
「Can I be honest?」
「Yeah.」
「It is pretty hard. Even after work when I turn on the stream, I barely get ten viewers. They all feel like random passersby. I don't even know why I'm doing it anymore.」
Just as I'd expected.
「Damn, that's literally what I used to say every day. For real.」
「Really? You too?」
「There probably aren't many people in the streaming scene who know that feeling better than me.」
There couldn't be that many streamers with such a long period of obscurity. Seeing my past self reflected in her made me want to help her even more.
......Because I'd been there too. Back in those desperate moments, I'd wished so badly that someone would reach out and help me. Just like how Arine had extended a helping hand to me, I wanted to give her what people called a "boost."
It wasn't like I'd be some massive help. My own stream size was still small. But at least she'd get to share a bit of the incoming traffic. Knowing how much even one or two people could mean in the early days, I couldn't just ignore it.
「So let's do it. The collab. Don't feel too bad about it. Just think of it as keeping that old promise we made.」
「......If you put it that way, okay. I just didn't want to cause you any trouble. Then, as thanks, I'll buy you a meal sometime.」
「What trouble? Okay. Let's figure out a schedule.」
While we were coordinating times, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. There was one thing that bothered me. Was it okay for me to collab with a female streamer? I had Arine as my We Got Married partner right now. Wouldn't doing a collab with another woman be a bit much?
The thought popped up so suddenly that I considered asking Arine about it, but then I stopped myself.
「No way. Why would I bother her with something like this and ask for permission? It's just a virtual marriage show anyway.」
In all the We Got Married content I'd seen, none of them restricted their partners from collaborating with the opposite sex. That was obvious. We Got Married was just business partners pretending to be a couple. Since it wasn't a real relationship, trying to control each other's streaming schedules would be ridiculous. Just like how if our positions were reversed and Arine wanted to collab with another man, I wouldn't have any right to stop her. And naturally, there was nothing in the contract that said we couldn't collab with the opposite sex during the show. Unnecessary consideration would only end up bothering her. She already had so much on her plate. There was no need to make her worry about something like this.
If I asked, I could already picture her answer: 'Why are you asking me? Just do whatever you want, oppa.' And if I did ask, she might misunderstand and think I had feelings for her. In the end, after hesitating, I decided not to bring it up with Arine.
Today was an off-stream day. For some reason, Arine woke up unusually early. She quickly finished her daily tasks and flopped onto her bed. Normally she would have slept until late afternoon and still be working right now. Strangely, even though she'd slept less than usual, she felt great. Since she rarely got free time, Arine was excited about this rare moment of freedom.
"What should I do~? Maybe watch Doyun oppa's stream~?"
Humming an oddly cheerful tune to herself, she opened Naty on her phone. Since streaming was her job and she genuinely loved it, she still watched other streamers whenever she had time. It helped her stay on top of trends and was good market research. Lately, what she was most into was obviously Do Doyun's streams. She'd glanced at them before, but after what happened last time, her mindset had changed a bit. Just like how learning an idol's growth story made you root for them more. Having witnessed Kim Doyun's pain and effort firsthand, Arine found herself cheering for him more sincerely than before. She had become a real fan of the streamer Do Doyun, not just a colleague.
Maybe that was why. On weekdays when she had some spare time or a gap like this, she usually ended up watching Doyun's stream.
[I'm Becoming a Battlegrounds Teacher!]
[457 viewers]
She let out a small laugh at the title that sounded like it came from some cringy light novel. ...She'd noticed it before, but oppa seemed to have pretty solid knowledge of subculture too. He didn't seem to lack understanding of it at all. The stream hadn't been on for very long, so it was still on the waiting screen before the game started. From the title, it looked like he was playing Battlegrounds today.
"Teacher? Is oppa doing a collab with someone?"
Normally, Doyun's streams were solo island streams. He liked that style, and because he'd spent so long as a hako, he didn't really have any streamer friends. Because of that, Arine had never once seen him collab with anyone other than herself. This was unexpected. Who could it be?
If there was a teacher, there had to be a student. Naturally, Arine grew curious about who Doyun was collabing with.
......It couldn't be a girl, right?
And then one thought suddenly flashed through her mind. The moment that thought crossed her mind, Arine felt a chill.
"If it's a girl, so what? Why wouldn't it be okay?"
She shook her head, not understanding why she was even thinking something like that. What did it matter if he collabed with a girl? After all, she and Doyun were just We Got Married partners. No, even if they were actually dating, this was still just work. It was nothing more than professional cooperation.
Thinking that, she clicked on the stream thumbnail as if in a trance and entered the broadcast. Right then, Doyun seemed to have finished his chat and was moving on to the main content. He was giving a wrap-up comment.
「Alright everyone. We'll end the chat here for today, and as I mentioned earlier, I'm going to try being a Battlegrounds teacher.」
Doyun glanced at the chat, then turned on Discord and joined a voice channel.
「Ah, can you hear me?」
Someone was already in the channel. When Doyun spoke, a reply came back.
「Ah, yes. I can hear you clearly, Do Doyun-nim.」
The voice that answered with a giggle was a slightly mature and bright woman's voice.
The moment she heard that voice, Arine's expression hardened completely.
".......What? It really is a girl?"