The Rolling Snowball (3)
I brought chicken over to Cocoa Writer.
Director Gun Hyun-woo said he hadn't eaten either, so I quickly served it up with coffee as well.
The manager had handed it to me out of nowhere, and it turned out to have a use after all.
I even sprinkled Red Salt over Director Gun Hyun-woo's and Cocoa Writer's portions.
While I was at it, I could overhear the people around me talking.
"Ugh, it doesn't taste as good as I expected."
"Videos are always like that. Watching it, you feel like you could put away two or three birds, but once you start eating, half of one is already enough to make you full."
"What are you talking about? This isn't the chicken from the video. After we're done we should go eat the brand chicken. That stuff's actually good."
Not just one or two people—several of them.
It made me wonder how something could get this much casual mention without even being a trending challenge.
"This video has a charm you really can't put into words. I've been watching it all day. Why is that?"
"Because her jawline and lips are pretty. Prettier than most actresses, honestly."
"Come on, it's a video—there's editing. With enough editing even average looks turn into Serena-level."
"What Serena? Serena, Ari, Han Ahyoung… beauty like that can't be matched by editing."
After hearing Cocoa Writer earlier, I had checked on my own, and the view count had already blown past a million.
The climb had suddenly gotten steep.
The line at the chicken truck had already hinted at it, but I could really feel how much of a hot topic it had become.
The video I filmed and uploaded while boasting, completely entranced by the sight of Master eating.
I had figured it would do well, but it was doing so well it almost felt wrong.
Is this even normal?
"The sound. Tsk. I genuinely don't get it. Why is the sound so pretty? The sound is elegant, you know?"
"Do pretty people have pretty eating sounds too? When I switch to another video after watching this one? …Wow. Thought my speakers were broken. Listen again."
Of course, if you listened carefully, a lot of people were talking about the sound.
The reason the very first video blew up was the sound.
These days mukbang is common content.
Even the era when terrestrial TV featuring mukbang YouTubers drew massive attention is already old news.
No matter how pretty Master is or how deliciously she eats, it shouldn't have been able to go this far.
The sound recorded with the Transparent Recorder must be that incredible.
Even I, when I first heard it—no, even listening now—the clear resonance is pleasant.
Master was currently eating chicken in the car.
The car was so comfortable she preferred eating inside it.
Set up a folding table and you could eat in real ease.
No worries about powder or crumbs either.
Cleanup was no problem thanks to the Clean Clap.
As I was heading along, someone called me from the side.
"Hey, Jiwoo. Come over here."
Oh Junseo.
A staffer from the on-site sound team.
Someone I had gotten friendly with while making the rounds of greetings on set.
"Why? Got something good?"
I followed while asking, and Oh Junseo nodded.
"Right now, Ghost Story Company's life or death is hanging on this."
"…Life or death?"
Life or death, yet he made it sound like good news.
Oh Junseo looked at my expression and spoke with a faintly excited tone.
"You'll know when you hear it."
Several people were gathered.
Not only sound team staff, but the overall assistant director, prop team people, production side, managers and extras.
The mix looked like they had simply grabbed any noticeable person nearby.
All of them were holding their breath, focused on one spot, staring at something.
More precisely, listening.
Crunch.
A clean, clear sound so pure it raised goosebumps on the fine hairs of the skin.
Saliva sounds mixed in just right, and breathing laid underneath as naturally as white noise.
Then a faint whisper came through.
Normally when someone whispers, wind noise takes up eighty, ninety percent.
Being buried under wind noise is basically the definition of a whisper.
Yet that whisper somehow flowed out strangely through the speakers.
A whisper is just a whisper, but it carried an unspoken addictiveness and tingle that made you keep listening.
There was no way not to recognize it.
It was Master's video.
Why were they playing Master's video?
The moment that thought hit, another video started.
CRUNCH!!!
I frowned without meaning to.
"Ah."
"Yikes."
"Why'd you suddenly change the video?"
The others seemed to feel the same.
"Sorry. The video ended so it auto-played the next one."
The overall assistant director looked around at everyone and said,
"Now you all get it, right? Hit like and share it so people know."
With that, they dispersed.
What like and share?
Unable to make sense of the front or back of it, I looked at Oh Junseo beside me.
"What, you don't get it?"
"Um, no. I don't get it. Why is life or death hanging on this?"
"If you can record sound like this, what do you think happens? Game over. Look at the comments on this video and you'll understand."
Oh Junseo worked his phone and opened the comment section.
He showed it to me while talking.
"It's chaos. Just from the sound alone. You can already see the official account left a comment."
Official account…?
Looking closer at the screen, the official account of the chicken brand Master had eaten yesterday had left a comment.
Thank you for eating it so deliciously… we'd love to film together.
An ad offer?
Reading with surprised eyes, I ended up reading all the comments below it as well.
This was that, right?
The worship-spam comments that pile under the labor-song uploader's posts.
Even a mukbang ASMR was getting this treatment.
Clap!
Oh Junseo clapped to pull everyone's attention back.
"Looking at it, seems like the AC was running too? But zero AC noise is also ridiculous."
I hadn't turned the AC off.
"Anyway, think about putting this sound into the work. Sound is the most important thing for immersion. With this, you'd have no choice but to watch all the way to the end."
"…"
"I don't know what equipment they used or how they recorded and edited it. But if we can just get in contact and work together, it's really game over."
Oh Junseo spoke with clear excitement.
"If this goes well, our Ghost Story Company could lead a whole new trend."
What. Just from sound. Become a new trend?
On a big stage like a drama?
What kind of possibilities were the experts seeing?
"But there's no way to contact them. No email either. So I left a comment for now. Hit like so it rises."
"Th-that, yes."
"Upload this to the group chat too. We need to make contact."
Contact had already been made.
How was I supposed to react to this?
It was good that Ghost Story Company could produce more vivid scenes.
But since it was recorded with the Transparent Recorder, there was no actual technology to speak of.
Meeting to talk about something felt unreasonable.
Even without it, things should go fine.
In the future, nothing had ever been said about Ghost Story Company's sound.
For now I just hit like and slipped away.
A4 papers were stuck up everywhere.
The props Master had helped with for two hours were decorated with real atmosphere.
These days people said CG and AI tech had advanced a lot, but handmade preparation still hadn't disappeared.
If anything, the prop team's role had become more important.
Because CG was so good, if you just prepared the props well you could melt truly perfect scenes into the work.
"Ready, action."
The take began.
A guide for making a ghost story gentle.
A scene of entering a room that held a ghost story, risking one's life to act.
A scene thick with tension where emotional acting mattered most.
"Cut. Okay!"
And Master's form rose again.
Day after day her acting skill was climbing higher.
More precisely, was her true ability finally coming out?
"Aigoo. So good today? Finally the tension's released."
"Thank you!"
Director Gun Hyun-woo smiled as he praised Master.
She still seemed a step behind Han Ahyoung, but looking at the rising skill it didn't feel that way.
As filming continued and she warmed up further, she might gradually close the gap.
That was probably why Director Gun Hyun-woo was smiling.
Why had Master's form risen?
Just now in the car… I had come back after breathing in Master's scent until I was full of it.
Master had thoroughly soaked me in her body odor and defeated me.
While thoroughly cursing Han Ahyoung the whole time.
Master carried an inferiority complex toward Han Ahyoung.
More precisely, she wanted to somehow beat her and crush her.
Because of that she had been impatient, and her true skill hadn't come out.
Now, thanks to thoroughly releasing it in the car, she seemed much freer.
Was it because she could finally vent the long-accumulated stress?
Then something felt strange.
In the future, Master couldn't act well enough that she was buried not only by Han Ahyoung but even by Oh Jihyeon.
With me here, Master who could now thoroughly release her stress—how on earth could she still be buried by acting?
Had there been something more?
If I stayed by Master's side like this and grew the YouTube channel while gathering buzz…
She would have no choice but to succeed.
She would have no choice but to stand out even more than Han Ahyoung.
As long as I didn't leave Master and go somewhere else, wasn't it impossible?
Han Ahyoung had also… given permission for me to keep staying.
What on earth had happened?
There was no way I would leave Master and go elsewhere.
Spank spank!
"Hek♡ Hek♡"
"Does our Jiwoo baby get hard just from looking at Master?"
Pat pat.
A small hand like a baby's patted my butt.
Fox-like, seductive eye corners.
It was Oh Jihyeon.
I hurriedly put distance between us.
My premature-ejaculation dick had almost come.
"Wow… Maso♥ Almost came…♥"
Twitch twitch♥
"Hehe, sorry? I didn't know my touch would feel that good."
"…No, what coming from something like this."
"No? Shall we check?"
Oh Jihyeon seductively raised her hand in the air and fluttered it.
Like she was spanking a butt.
Twitch♥ Twitch♥
I shuddered and hurriedly said,
"You can't do this with people around. Last time we almost got caught."
"Hmm, but Jiwoo getting hard in a place like this is okay?"
"That…"
"Did you automatically get hard seeing Master?"
I closed my mouth.
I had revealed Master's name at the hotel back then.
But why was she bringing it up only now?
If she was going to tease, wasn't she the type to tease from the start?
Oh Jihyeon seductively propped her chin with both hands.
"Or did you get hard because of me?"
Twitch♥
"Hit. It twitched…♥ If it's this easy, what to do…♥ Trash♥ Idiot♥"
A rough breath escaped me.
Seeing that, Oh Jihyeon erased her smile and spoke with a worried face.
"Ah, sorry. Are you okay?"
"…What?"
"I'm just too cute… What to do if you get excited just looking at me?"
Thump♥
"Sorry for making you conscious? Even though Master is here, I made you aware of me…♥"
Thump thump♥
"Will you accept the apology?"
"…Yeah. Okay."
I had no idea what apology I had just accepted.
Oh Jihyeon's shameless words and seductive aegyo left me unable to come to my senses.
Oh Jihyeon grinned and tilted her head.
"There's something I want to do—play along."
"…What do you want to do?"
"I wanted to try breastfeeding."
Right now. What.
"Why that… with me…"
Oh Jihyeon slowly approached and looked up at me.
"Please…♥ Ung?"
"Hehe. Have you done lewd things with Seo-ah here?"
"Nehet♡"
"Eungheut♥ What… Really degenerated into a baby♥"
I suckled Oh Jihyeon's nipple with soft chomp-chomp pulls.
No milk came from the nipple, but I sucked as if drinking something.
Stroke stroke.
Oh Jihyeon gently stroked my head like that.
I felt guilt doing this in the car while Master was working.
"Our Jiwoo baby…♥ Don't think about anything♥ Since you're a baby, just feel good♥"
Twitch♥
Is a baby… only supposed to feel good?
What kind of easy life is that.
"While sucking Mama's milk, spit out white pee…♥"
A hand gently wrapped around my dick.
Oh Jihyeon let out lewd moans while softly shaking it.
"It's okay, our baby♥ Forget Master♥ Just feel good?"
Twitch twitch♥
"Eung♥ I think it's coming…♥ Byut byut let's come♥ Baby pee♥ Byut byut byut byut♥"
Byut byut♥ Gush gush♥
Oh Jihyeon kept shaking the ejaculating dick while whispering.
"Aigoo, so much coming♥ Don't hold back, discharge it all♥ Doing well. Ujju jju♥"
"Het♡"
"Ogu ogu♥ Good job, good job♥ Our baby is healthy♥ Came a lot♥"
Oh Jihyeon stroked my head and asked,
"Shall we have sex with Mama now? Ung?"