Elodie's Affection Grinding Method

Elodie's newly set-up studio. For now, it only had a desk, a chair, and other essential broadcasting equipment.

"We cleared out an empty room in a hurry and bought a bunch of stuff, but it's still a bit bare, isn't it?"

"No, it's fine. As long as I can stream, that's all that matters. I had no idea you could put this together so quickly."

I offered some words of comfort to the CEO, who had worked hard all day.

"Elodie."

"Yes, Manager oppa."

"This studio is yours now. From here on out, you fill it up yourself."

"Just leave it to me!"

I'd just said it without much thought, but the others all went "Oooh." Made me feel kind of embarrassed...

"Our manager is so cool. Elodie, if there's anything you want to buy, just let me know."

"I already bought what I wanted."

Elodie showed us the Buldak cup ramen and a slice of cheese she'd bought last night.

"Buldak cup ramen mukbang! I'll start now."

She sat down in the gaming chair and blinked her eyes at me.

"Is the stream on?"

"..."

Come to think of it, yesterday we only made her account. I hadn't taught her how to actually start the stream. The three veteran streamers, experts in this sort of thing, kindly showed her the ropes.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ah. Ah! I understand perfectly. Alright, I'll start the stream now."

"I can customize the donation messages however I want, too."

"Then I want to change the donation thank-you message."

Yejin kindly changed the donation message for her.

"We all have to go stream now too, so if any problems come up, just tell Seojun. Got it?"

Still seated in her chair, she tilted her head up to look at me.

"Yes. I just call Manager oppa, right?"

"I'll be watching the stream, so you can just say 'Manager oppa~' and I'll come."

"So I absolutely have to add 'oppa' when I say it?"

"It's important."

Elodie was left alone in the studio. A shout of determination could be heard through the door, and the stream went live.

Thanks to the promotion in Seoyeon's room last night, viewers began to gather in Elodie's stream one by one, even though it was her first broadcast.

"Manager. How's the viewer count looking?"

"Smooth. Already 300 people."

The CEO and Yejin had gone off to do their own streams, but Seoyeon was glued to my side, staring at my phone screen.

"You're not streaming today?"

"You'd be bored watching the stream all alone. I'm specially staying by your side."

I couldn't see her inner thoughts since she was watching the stream, but I got the feeling she was worried about Elodie and that's why she was here.

"Pfft. Really? Thanks."

"...There's no one else here. I'm even linking arms with you. And I'm going to rest my head on your shoulder."

"Do whatever's comfortable."

Current viewer count: 300. Elodie, eyes wide open, was reading the chat.

"Uh, um... El-Ha! I know what that means. Elodie Hi~ right?"

She waved her right hand cheerfully.

"Starting today, I, Elodie, have decided to become a streamer. Please take good care of me."

"Wowaa! I got ten thousand won! With ten thousand won, you can get a burger set and even nuggets. Thank you! I'll use it well."

"Kyaaang...! Thank you all so much. I'll show you the reaction I came up with after agonizing over it all night."

"Elodie... Wink!"

"Hi, my name is Elodie. And I am sexy and cute."

It was as if all the tension had completely vanished from the broadcast. She handled the viewers' requests with ease and kept the show moving.

"So! What I, Elodie, will be doing for content today is... a Buldak cup ramen mukbang!"

"Just in case, I bought several slices of cheese, too."

"But, um. Big trouble."

"There's no hot water... Uhh..."

After fumbling around for a moment, she soon shouted loudly.

"Manager oppa!!!"

"I'll be right back."

I filled a coffee pot with hot water and headed to the studio.

"Elodie, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't have to yell that loud. I'm watching the stream."

"Ehe. I couldn't help it."

"Keup..."

I barely managed to hold back my laughter and took the cup ramen from Elodie. I took out the sauce packet and poured the hot water in. Just in case, I figured I should come back later to help her drain the water, too.

"I'll even drain the water for you before I go."

"Okay. Manager oppa, do you eat Buldak well?"

"No. I'm not really into spicy food..."

At that, Elodie made a shocked expression, as if she might faint.

"You can't do that, you're Korean! Don't tell me you don't eat kimchi either?"

"W-well, I don't exactly go out of my way to eat it."

"From now on, make sure you always have kimchi with your meals."

"Haha... Alright. I'll try."

Seriously, she's so cute I could die.

After some time had passed, she poured the water out of the Buldak cup ramen and tore open the Buldak sauce packet.

"Should I put all of this in?"

"No-holds-barred Elodie. I'm putting it all in."

After adding all the Buldak sauce, she mixed it thoroughly. It looked incredibly spicy, but a delicious-looking bowl of Buldak was complete.

"Are you going to be okay? It's already stinging my nose."

"Hehe~ I, Elodie, have a mouth already seasoned by kimchi."

Using chopsticks she'd been practicing with, she took a bite of the Buldak cup ramen. Sure enough, a "Kyaaaack!" rang out.

"It's too spicyyy!!!"

"He-e-eck... Spicy, spicy, spicy, pant pant."

She stuck out her tongue and panted, and soon a drop of saliva trailed down her tongue and dripped down.

"..."

I stared blankly at the sight as if entranced, then snapped out of it and handed her a tissue.

"Here's a tissue, and drink some water."

"He-euu... Thank you. This is really spicy."

"But still, I chose this Buldak cup ramen. I'll finish it with grit and sheer willpower."

She took another chopstick-full, then looked at me while panting, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You don't have to force yourself to eat it. Elodie, give it here for a sec. I'll mix in the cheese for you."

"Heu-he-heu-he, ye-he-s."

Using a method I'd looked up online beforehand, I mixed in the cheese, made a sort of cheese Buldak cup ramen, and handed it back. She took a chopstick-full, chewed it slowly, and then looked at me. There was red sauce smeared around her lips. Why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is she so cute? I'm going crazy.

"...It's delicious."

"Is it not spicy anymore?"

"It's a little bit spicy, but... it's yummy!"

After that, as if she'd forgotten she was streaming, only the sound of slurping could be heard.

"Oh, right. I'm live right now, aren't I? But how did you make this? It's so good... Manager oppa is a pro!"

"It's nothing special... I just mixed in some cheese, that's all."

"Oh, wow, sudden cough, hack hack. Must be the Buldak smell."

A knock was heard from beyond the studio door. When I opened it, Yejin was standing there holding a glass of tomato juice.

"What's this?"

"Tomato juice. You know~ it's good when you eat spicy food. So I made some and brought it."

"Ah. Thanks. I'll give it to her."

"How's Elodie doing? Is the Buldak edible for her?"

"She said it was a bit spicy, so I mixed in some cheese, and she's eating it well. She completely cleaned out the cup ramen like that."

Seeing that, Yejin chuckled and headed back to her own studio.

"Elodie. Yejin sent this tomato juice for you to drink."

"Oh. Tomato juice. Yejin unnie, I'll drink it well."

"Gasp. That's the first time I've ever been complimented on being good at English. Thank you."

"I'll head out now, too. Good luck with the stream, and when you're done eating, make sure you wipe your mouth. It'll sting if you leave it like that."

"Yep!"

When I stepped outside the studio, Seoyeon was watching the stream on her own phone and glaring at me.

"Explain that fake cough just now."

"I did it to make the stream more fun."

"Well, I guess so. There wasn't any sincerity mixed in, right?"

It would be a lie to say there was absolutely none.

"About as much as mixing cheese into Buldak...?"

"You wanna die?"

When I sat back down, she naturally rested her head on my shoulder. Meanwhile, Elodie's first stream was slowly coming to an end.

"Elodie! Buldak cup ramen eating mission, success. I ate it very deliciously."

"Kyaaa! Thank you."

Her tone switched to that of an announcer as she spoke.

"This donation will be used meaningfully to vitalize Elodie's streaming content."

"Kyah-ha~ Thank you."

The long-awaited viewer count. It had maintained over 2,500 people until the stream ended. As expected, this mission was practically a freebie.

"Manager. Let's go see Elodie. Her stream just ended, perfect timing."

"Yeah... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just a sec."

While Seoyeon led the way, I pulled out my phone and checked the affection-grinding app.

I immediately went into Elodie's info window. I skipped over the minor details and only checked the newly appeared information.

She was a virgin. That's a relief. And the most important part, the affection grinding method...