Episode 22: 100,000 Subscriber Milestone
Blonde hair with a puppy headband. A big dog comes to mind... what was that breed called again?
"Haha... so you're saying I'm like a dog?"
"I know. Just joking. Thanks for the donation."
If it weren't for the people watching, I'd reach out and pet that blonde hair. Too bad.
Just then, Elodie came up beside me and popped into Yejin's stream room to say hi.
"Hello! I'm Elodie."
"You thinking of appearing on my stream too? Welcome."
Elodie stared at Yejin wearing the puppy headband.
"You look like a dog!"
"A dog?! Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Ah! Sorry. I didn't, um, mean to tease you." She was sweating bullets as she made her excuse, like she genuinely hadn't meant anything by it.
"Haha. This person is... well, I just met her, but we clicked, so I decided to do a collaboration ad together."
"Nice to meet you! I'm from America."
"In a situation like that, saying someone's 'like a dog' sounds like an insult, so you should say 'like a puppy' instead." Yejin smiled brightly, explaining kindly.
"Ah. Like a puppy!"
"That's right. Good job. You want another one of those chocolates I gave you earlier?"
"Yes! Yes!"
Yejin unwrapped a chocolate by hand and gently popped it into Elodie's mouth.
"Aigoo~ You eat so well. Been having a tough time in a foreign country?" Still wearing the puppy headband, Yejin patted Elodie again. It looked like a puppy raising a puppy.
"Hehe. Everyone in Korea is so nice, it's easy."
"Kruu... how can even the way you talk be this adorable."
It was almost time, so we headed to the Beast Tamer booth.
There was a massive panel with the game name Beast Tamer, and a long table set up next to life-sized cutouts of the characters, nearly the size of a person.
"Manager. Look at that huge line of people over there?"
"I don't want to pressure you, but I heard this Beast Tamer they're releasing is the most anticipated game of the year." Curious how the two would react, I said it playfully.
"W-well, that's good. Makes the ad worth doing."
"Ugh, seriously! That's so much pressure. So. Much. Pressure. Seojun."
The two of them tensed up from head to toe as they followed the boss toward the table.
"Go do well. I'll be right beside you, and..."
"I'll help with everything I can! Just let me know if anything comes up."
"...You know the word 'assist,' huh."
The ad was split into two parts. Part one was the game introduction with a host, and part two was a streamer autograph session.
Part one, the game introduction. Unexpectedly, Yejin handled it smoothly, and even Seoyeon made a few mistakes, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, so it went off without a hitch.
"Heeh..."
"What's wrong, Elodie?"
Elodie was watching the scene from a distance. Her eyes sparkled.
"It looks so fun. Those are streamers, right?"
"Yeah. Interested?"
"...A little?"
The misunderstanding from the restroom had been cleared up, and I'd shown a decent side of myself during the broadcast earlier. I pulled a business card from my wallet and handed it to her.
"Singgeul Bunggeul Internet Broadcasting Management... Kwon Seojun?"
"Yeah. That's my job. I help streamers. If you're ever interested, give me a call. Or you can come by the address written here."
"Kyaaa~ I got street-cast!"
"Uh..."
It's a little different from that. But hey, she's happy, so it's fine.
After the game introduction, part two — the fan signing event — began. Naturally, the boss's line was the longest, but Seoyeon and Yejin's lines weren't short either.
"Those three. Are they famous people?"
"To some extent? The most famous one is over there. The one with brown hair. She's the boss, and she has over a million subscribers on NewTube." NewTube is popular overseas too, so that was the easiest way to explain.
"Whoa!"
"The other two both have over 90,000 subscribers right now."
"Really?"
Never thought I'd hear the word 'really' in a native accent. "Yeah. Really."
"Then let's go get their autographs." p>
"Sure. I guess getting signatures on a memo pad was too small after all."
We decided to line up for Seoyeon first. With her silver hair and a magical girl outfit covered in jangling decorations, Elodie drew people's eyes toward us.
"Hi. I'm from USA."
"...?"
"Hehe. Promotion in between."
Was she practicing being a streamer? The line shortened quickly, and soon we had time to talk to Seoyeon.
"How's the signing going?"
"Manager... you came to get an autograph." The moment she said 'manager,' people's gazes shifted.
"Tough?"
"Ah... it's fine. Knowing everyone here is my fan gives me energy, I think."
"That's surprising. Didn't know you could say stuff like that." She felt so different from the Seoyeon before the affection grinding.
"Shut up. Get your autograph and go."
"Me too!"
"Sure. I'll write 'To Elodie'."
When we got Yejin's autograph, she even gave us chocolates, saying thanks.
And the boss's line was so long that the event ended before we could even get her signature.
After successfully finishing the game festival's part two fan signing event, the clock was already pointing toward 6 PM.
"Ugh... I literally can't do this anymore, fuck."
I found Seoyeon and Yejin, drenched in sweat and on the verge of collapse. The festival was over, so only a few people remained.
"Phew... Seojun. Signing was tough, but I think it was rewarding."
Unlike the two of them, the boss still looked fresh as a daisy.
"Hehe~. I could still do over a hundred more."
"Come to think of it, we at least had breaks in between. The boss didn't get a single break because the line was packed the whole time."
"This ajumma looks different today..."
"Praise me a little more!"
I handed each of the three hardworking women a towel and a bottle of water.
"Elodie said she didn't get an autograph. Is there any chance...?"
"Haha. She did? Elodie, come here."
"Oh! Can I take a picture too?"
"Of course you can~."
The three streamers were sitting at the signing table. They pulled me in, arms linked, for a group photo.
"Hehe. I'll keep this forever." p>
She even got the boss's autograph as a bonus, hopping around like she was about to fly away.
"Wow. This is my first time getting a million-subscriber NewTuber's autograph."
"Good vibes. Everyone got time? I'll have time, right? I'm treating you to samgyeopsal."
"Oh. Really?! Seojun. She said samgyeopsal!" Yejin's face, which had looked half-dead, lit up.
"You're not taking us to some all-you-can-eat joint, are you?"
"Hey. I have pride. I don't go to places like that."
In the warm atmosphere, Elodie watched us with envious eyes. The boss read her expression and said,
"Of course you're coming too, Elodie."
"Kyaaa!"
Inside a top-rated samgyeopsal restaurant. We sat around one table, and the first thing we did was crack open a bottle of soju.
"Elodie. Oi?! Do you know what this is?"
"Green bottle... could it be the legendary..."
"That's right, girl! This is Korea alcohol, is what it is." Seoyeon showed off her skill by dramatically opening the soju in front of Elodie.
Just then, the samgyeopsal arrived and was placed beautifully on the grill.
"Wooow... Sizzle! Looks delicious."
"Seojun, want me to cook the meat?"
"Take a break. Your arm must hurt from all the signing."
"Ah. Okay... thanks."
I cut the beautifully golden-brown samgyeopsal into bite-sized pieces. About time to eat.
"Our manager. You worked hard today. Have a glass of soju."
"Uh... Boss, then who's driving..."
"I'll do it. I'm drinking cola."
One glass of cola and four glasses of soju clinked together beautifully. Looking at this, Elodie already seemed like she was one of our company's streamers.
"Kruu... so this is the legendary samgyeopsal and soju!"
"The glass can't stay empty. Come here, Elodie. Have another shot. Unnie will pour for you."
"Kya~ Thank you."
Seoyeon... she doesn't handle alcohol well. I hope she's okay.
***
In the back seat of the boss's car. I shook Seoyeon awake, who was half-dead, her head leaning on my shoulder.
"I want to sleep more, unnie..." That passive-aggressive thing is practically a reflex now.
"We're at your place. Time to go."
"...Mmm."
"Such is the power of Korea alcohol...!"
"Isn't she already dead? Why'd she drink so much if she can't handle it?" Yejin's scolding came from the front seat.
Drunk but still sharp enough to catch that, Seoyeon muttered, "Mmm... Kim Yejin is a dummy."
"Let's just abandon her here."
No choice. I got out of the car and offered Seoyeon my back.
"I'll take her up. Lee Seoyeon. Hurry up and hop on."
"Unnie..."
"That's right. I'm your unnie."
Seoyeon obediently climbed onto my back. When we were out of sight from the car, I squeezed her ass with both hands.
"No manners?"
"You sober?"
"Yawn. I wasn't really that drunk in the first place." She said she didn't want her sister to see anything inappropriate since she'd be home, and got off my back. When she staggered, I grabbed her shoulder to steady her.
"Hey. I did well on that game festival ad today. Aren't you going to give me a kiss?"
"A kiss? Pfft..." Saying things like that without hesitation... guess she really was pretty drunk.
I gave her a light kiss, then a notification came through on my phone.
"Seo-Seoyeon. Your subscriber count passed 100,000."
"What?!"