Chapter 39
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: I'll Try to Recreate It
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1.
"F-Financial therapy... what is it yo?"
Yura tilted her head. She'd been streaming in Korea for over a year, yet she'd never heard of this? She really must not check the communities much.
"Just like the words say. It's healing the wounds you've received so far... with money."
"Communicating with viewers... what does that have to do with money yo? Don't tell me...!"
Her eyes went wide, and suddenly her body started trembling.
"People did say some harsh things, but I have no intention of suing...!"
"Pardon?"
I was caught off guard by the out-of-nowhere lawsuit talk. Had I said something wrong? Even Sis tilted her head beside me.
"Sue? I have no such plans at all. To be precise, if Yura wants to, I'd help... but."
"You absolutely can't do it yo! The community folks will come harass Yura! It'll make collabs with other streamers awkward later! Then Yura ends up on a deserted island yo!"
She shook her head vigorously in fierce refusal.
'Talk about reality...'
Yura's judgment wasn't wrong.
In truth, suing a community would put you at odds with them. If you had enough clout, you could crush them with your fandom's firepower, but Yura wasn't there yet.
In the end, all the issues stemmed from her 'weight class' in this industry. Nothing was as straightforward and brutal as viewership numbers.
"Got it. Let's wrap up the lawsuit talk for now. The financial therapy I mentioned is in a different sense."
"What sense yo?"
"If you block chat during the stream, the only channel left for communication is donations."
"So, communicate through donations yo?"
"Exactly."
"I-Is that even allowed yo?"
Yura spoke with a slightly scared look. This kind of approach wasn't easy to decide on. Mess it up, and you could get labeled as money-obsessed.
"It's my stream—what's the problem? Even if attacks come, I'll take the hit. You're just the guest."
"Ah..."
"So don't worry. I've considered everything before suggesting it."
Truth be told, cooking streams were structurally tough for real-time interaction. Sis and Yura could handle chat, but...
'As if that'd be easy.'
The situations were different from the start. With viewers flooding in, even that would be tricky. Communication took skill.
Above all, both were people hurt by others. Facing chat in real-time could terrify them.
"Thank you so much yo!"
Yura suddenly shot up from her chair and bowed deeply. While I sat stunned, she plopped back down and declared firmly.
"But financial therapy is fine yo! Yura... isn't starving or anything!"
"Then you should take it even more. Making donations the sole communication channel for this stream could net more than you imagine."
I relayed the rough estimate we'd calculated. Her bunny ears perked up above her head. Her eyes went wide too.
"W-Wow, that's tempting alright yo... With that money... I could pay back rent... and focus more on streaming without part-time jobs..."
Even now, bringing up streaming showed her sincerity.
"Then accept it?"
"Ughhh..."
Yura covered her face with both hands, burying her head and rocking back and forth.
"What should I do yo...!"
Bam―!
"Ow!"
Then she suddenly slammed her head on the table. Clutching her forehead, she rolled off the chair and onto the floor, writhing around.
Left, right. Even her bunny ears flopped along—it was pitiful yet kinda cute.
"Pfft..."
Her sudden physical comedy cracked us both up. You could really feel she was harmless.
"S-Sorry yo... But the pain cleared my head a bit yo! I've decided yo!"
Yura clutched her head as she got up from the floor.
"No financial therapy...!"
"May I ask why?"
"The money's tempting, sure yo. But I don't want my benefactor getting hate. There are things more precious than money yo!"
"So basically, you don't want us getting flak."
"Yes yo!"
When her own nose was barely above water, she was worried about us and refusing donations. Not an easy choice.
"Yura, you're really kind."
"No yo. Just have some shame yo."
"Thanks for thinking of us. That said, even if you refused, I planned to take donations anyway."
"...For real yo? Not lying yo?"
She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. Her eyebrows wiggled busily.
"No lie. For this stream to go smoothly, using donations as the communication method is best."
"...I'll believe you yo."
"Plus, my stream image isn't great to begin with, so I don't care about reputation. No interest either."
"Can't believe that yo. How could someone this nice have a bad rep? Yura doesn't think so yo."
I shrugged. Explaining that myself would be embarrassing. And honestly, I didn't see myself as nice.
"Anyway, since Yura said no donations for you, we'll take all the incoming ones from this cooking stream?"
"Got it yo! Yura's fine yo!"
She nodded with a bright smile. It made me feel unnecessarily guilty.
'...It was a joke.'
I hadn't expected her to take it seriously. Her unexpected reaction flustered me.
"Ugh~ Trash~ Won't take rent money when she's late on hers~ Already owns a Han River view apartment~"
"H-Han River view apartment...! Jealous yo! Yura's walked Han River Park yo! Maybe you saw Yura yo!"
Sis poked at me with a jeering tone. Yura's innocent reaction piled on the guilt.
"...Kidding. We'll split the donations. This cooking collab is for Yura anyway."
I cleared my throat and hurried to say it.
"R-Really yo? But I have shame..."
"These things, take 'em when offered. Sometimes you gotta be shameless."
"Got it yo! Shamelessly accepting yo! Thank you so much yo!"
"No problem."
I sighed inwardly. Hadn't even gotten to the main point, and I was already drained.
"Alright, basics covered. Now let's discuss the collab properly."
"Got it yo. But first time, so I dunno what to do yo. Kinda exciting yo."
"First time for us too, so no worries. Let's figure it out together."
"Got it yo!"
Yura answered with excitement all over her face. Her bunny ears shook with tiny vibrations.
"First, stream concept. What format do you want specifically?"
"Format...?"
"Cooking streams can go many ways."
I slowly counted on my fingers as I explained.
"Like a cooking contest, or add/remove ingredients via donations. Or disruptive elements every set time."
"S-So many options yo."
"Could go intense, or calm and warm. Which way for you?"
She crossed her arms, pondering. Her bunny ears drooped slightly.
"How about recreating tastes yo?"
"Recreating tastes?"
"After coming to Korea, Yura missed Mom's cooking yo... But couldn't eat it, so sad yo..."
Yura's gloomy face made me ask carefully.
"...Is something wrong with your mom?"
"No yo? Mom's healthy yo? Doing super well yo!"
She shook her head with a bright smile. But at the end, there was a subtle loneliness.
"But she's in Japan, so can't see her often yo... Lately, calls are rare too yo... I know she's busy, but still lonely sometimes yo..."
Yura dropped her gaze to the floor, fingers fidgeting together. She glanced around before continuing.
"And while Yura was in Korea, Grandma passed away yo..."
She took a small breath. Her voice trembled slightly, but Yura pressed on quietly.
"Did the funeral with Mom. Staying in Japan a few days then was okay yo. But after Yura came back to Korea, Mom changed a bit yo..."
"Changed how?"
"Acts cheerful on calls, but Yura knows yo. Mom's struggling... Voice keeps drooping yo..."
"Maybe Mom doesn't want to be caught sad, so avoids calls."
Yura nodded silently at my words.
"Thought maybe 'cause Yura not there, so streamed harder yo. Mom watches sometimes, says it's fun—that makes Yura happiest yo!"
She trailed off with a small smile. Bit lonely, but sincere.
"So you miss your mom's cooking. And grandma's too. Right?"
"Yes yo. Know it's shameless, heavy story yo... But sometimes gotta be shameless yo!"
Yura stood and bowed.
"Please yo! Know it's near impossible, but recreate Mom and Grandma's food yo! Wanna see Mom smile again yo!"
Her body trembled. Scared I'd get mad, probably.
"Yura."
I stood and went to her. Bent my knees slightly to cup her cheeks. Her gaze lifted naturally, eyes meeting mine.
"I'll take your request."
"Y-You mean...!?"
Yura's eyes widened like saucers. I smirked.
"Sure. I'll recreate that taste somehow."