You Should Start Broadcasting Too, Huh?
"Ugh... what time is it?"
I'd stayed up till dawn watching Shorts, and now I felt all groggy and half-asleep.
Ae-ri. It's 2 PM.
"What? How long did I sleep?"
You fell asleep at 4 AM today, so you've slept a total of 10 hours.
"Wasting my whole day like this..."
You're unemployed anyway, so does it matter?
Hera's words hit too close to home—I wanted to argue, but couldn't. I didn't exactly have a real job, after all.
"Well, shall we kick off a lively day?"
It's a bit late to call it the start of the day.
"Shut up!"
I started pondering what to do. The only thing that came to mind was dropping by Lee Jung-woo's place.
"My life's so sad when the only thing on my to-do list is seeing Jung-woo."
You made that life for yourself—karma, right?
......Someday, if I meet Hera's developers, I'll wrap 'em up tight with my wires.
"Oh? Ae-ri noona, hello!"
"You're here again today, Ae-ri noona!"
"Hey everyone."
As soon as I stepped into the building, the Prince Financial staff greeted me. They looked older than me, calling me "noona" so politely—it felt a bit off, but I'd seen these faces so often, I just rolled with it.
"Has Ae-ri come in?"
"Ah, Duk-cheol. Hey."
Duk-cheol was giving orders to his subordinates when he spotted me and came over with a greeting. I smiled back and returned it, and he said,
"What brings you here today?"
"Oh, just came to see Jung-woo."
"Got it. Big sis is probably in the president's office."
"Thanks for the info. Keep up the good work today."
"Yes, ma'am."
I gave Duk-cheol one more nod, then hopped on the elevator to the top floor.
As Duk-cheol resumed barking orders, one of his underlings piped up.
"By the way, isn't it big sis's broadcast day today?"
"Oh, right, forgot."
"What kinda stream is she doing today?"
"Dunno... whatever it is, it'll be fine."
Duk-cheol brushed it off without much thought.
Once I reached the president's office, I hatched a plan to scare the crap out of Lee Jung-woo.
Ae-ri. I doubt Jung-woo would get spooked by something like that from you.
"Shut up. Humans jump when you sneak up from behind—fact of life."
Lately, with all this boredom, pranks were all I could think about. But hey, fun right?
I quietly cracked the door open and tiptoed in.
"Where is she?"
No Lee Jung-woo at her desk. Duk-cheol said she was here, though?
"Sponsor... thank you..."
"Huh?"
Her voice came from somewhere. Following it led to that little boxy booth she always called her "no big deal" streaming setup.
"It's coming from in here?"
Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked inside.
PrinceKnight sponsored 15,000 Auks!
"Filth? What kinda bullshit is that—I'm a woman."
"Y'all told me to do it, now you're whining why?"
Inside was a woman in some cosplay getup, with a floating chat window beside her. The voice was definitely Lee Jung-woo's, but did she do cosplay streams?
Search result: To make Lee Jung-woo cosplay, sponsor 100,000 Auks—equivalent to 40 coins.
'40 coins? That's 400,000 won? Damn, pricey rate.'
They say streamers make bank easy, but raking in 400k for one cosplay? Wild.
You're still thinking streaming's easy money after seeing that price tag?
I glanced at Lee Jung-woo again. Yeah, she looked mentally drained. Sorry, my bad—slipped up there.
"What're they sayin'? Who's behind me?"
Lee Jung-woo turned around, our eyes met, and her face flushed beet red in an instant.
"A-Ae-ri, when the hell did ya get here?!"
"Like two minutes ago?"
"Th-this is a stream. It's just my hobby!"
"I never said anything..."
PrinceKnight sponsored 25,000 Auks!
PrinceKnight: Make the guest cosplay too as payback for skipping my sponsor reaction!
The chat was exploding. I had a bad feeling and tried to slip out of the booth, but Lee Jung-woo grabbed me.
"Where ya goin'? Can't ya see the minions lookin' for ya?"
"C-can I go anyway?"
I was sweating bullets as I asked, but she grinned.
"No can do."
Lee Jung-woo dragged me off, forced makeup on me, then shoved me into some outfit.
'Ugh... so embarrassing...'
Ae-ri. It suits you well.
Just shut up already, Hera. Please.
"Bit of a commotion, but lemme intro our guerrilla guest. Ae-ri, come on out front."
Mortified, I hesitated, but her piercing gaze won out—I had no choice but to step forward.
TanningManiac sponsored 45,000 Auks!
TanningManiac: Self-intro go go
"H-huh? Okay?"
The sudden chat and sponsor message in front of me left me flustered, and Lee Jung-woo barked, "What're ya waitin' for? Get to it!"
"Uh, my name is J-Ju Ae-ri."
PrinceKnight sponsored 60,000 Auks!
PrinceKnight: Make Ae-ri-chan repay the prince's skipped sponsor reaction—dance go go
"D-dance?"
"Just do anything."
What dance? I'd never danced in my life...
Then I remembered that old footage restoration Short from yesterday. Some goofy dog-leg dance vibe.
I recalled it and went for it—nothing else to do.
Vassal3 sponsored 40,000 Auks!
Vassal3: Got talent, why no channel?
Vassal28 sponsored 50,000 Auks!
Vassal28: Start a channel now and you'll eat the prince alive, agree?
Sponsors and chat flooded in after that.
"Alright, that's the stream for today. Off tomorrow, ya know."
Lee Jung-woo hit end stream, the chat vanished, and I collapsed on the floor, drained.
"Good work. Thanks to ya, sponsors went nuts today."
"Hahaha..."
"Change and come out. Got stuff to talk about."
"Okay..."
Changing clothes lifted my spirits a bit. Outside, Lee Jung-woo lounged on the sofa waiting.
I sat opposite and eyed her.
"So, what's this talk about?"
"Ae-ri, ever thought about streaming?"
"S-streaming?"
Her out-of-nowhere question left me blinking stupidly.
"Saw the viewer reactions today. Ya got talent for it."
"W-well, maybe?"
Truth be told, I'd considered it. In this world, broadcasting is power. Skipping it was like giving up strength—but today's ordeal taught me big power comes with big costs.
"Hit me up if ya ever wanna. I'll hook ya up with setup, gear, whatever."
"...Got it. I'll call if I decide to."
"Anyway, good job today. Sent ya appearance fee to your account—go treat yourself."
"Huh? Fee? You don't have to..."
"Take it graciously."
"Th-thanks."
We chatted a bit more before I left Prince Financial.
Streaming, huh... Gotta head home and mull it over.