They Became the Big Players Among the Hako VTubers - Chapter 33

Donation, Not A Side Job

After parking the truck in front of the church,

I stepped out from the driver’s seat.

Ayoung got out from the passenger side, glancing around.

It was a scenery as peaceful as could be— like a countryside nestled within Seoul.

Ayoung muttered under her breath.

“This is such a small church. Do you always donate to places like this?”

“Large-scale places wouldn’t need help as much. I just go where the aid actually means something.”

“….”

“I’ll go greet the pastor first. Ayoung, you can relax in the car.”

“…Okay.”

I carried a few boxes and walked into the church.

“Hello, Pastor.”

“!”

Even though it was a Sunday evening, the pastor and his group, who had been diligently cleaning, turned to look at me.

They greeted me with bright smiles.

The pastor approached, still wearing rubber gloves.

“President Seon, you’ve come.”

“….”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“?”

“My surname is ‘Seonwoo,’ and my given name is ‘Taek.’”

“Ah! Right, of course….”

The pastor scratched his head sheepishly.

His thinning hair swayed lightly.

I spoke to him.

“Anyway, I’m back. This time, I brought some leftover snacks, bread, frozen food, and drinks from the store.”

“!”

The pastor took off his rubber gloves and said,

“Oh my… Thank you so much. Last time, the congregation really enjoyed what you brought. Especially the children— they finished the entire box of snacks in just one day! Haha.”

“….”

I set down all the boxes.

“Is that so? That’s good to hear. I made sure to bring plenty of snacks this time too.”

“We’re truly grateful.”

The pastor took my hand and bowed.

His hand was damp with detergent, but I could feel the sincere warmth in his grip.

“….”

As we talked, a middle-aged woman who had been cleaning nearby approached.

She was the church’s deaconess, responsible for its day-to-day affairs.

“Pastor! It’s rude to hold someone’s hand with detergent all over yours!”

“Oh dear, look at me.”

“…It’s fine.”

“No, I was being thoughtless.”

The pastor quickly apologized and let go.

The deaconess looked at the items I had brought and said,

“Oh my, you really came again. I feel so sorry, what should we do! With prices rising these days, all of this must be worth hundreds of thousands of won….”

“Hello, Deaconess.”

“Yes, hello!”

She returned my greeting, then continued in an apologetic tone.

“You don’t need to bring so much food every day like this. There’s no need to overexert yourself— God already knows that CEO Seonwoo is a kind and sincere person. You must have spent nearly millions of won by now.”

The pastor also spoke in an apologetic tone.

“That’s true. We fully understand CEO Seon-woo’s sincerity. How about coming to church regularly from now on? Many of our congregation members are grateful to you as well.”

“…”

I shook my head.

“No. It’s fine.”

“Is that so…?”

“These were going to be discarded in two weeks anyway. Rather than letting them rot and throwing them away after stamping them as waste, it’s more meaningful for them to go to people who want to eat them.”

“…”

“That’s enough for me. It’s nothing special. It’s just things returning to the people they were meant to return to.”

“…”

The pastor asked in puzzlement.

“But… what do you gain from doing this?”

“…”

“If no one knows who gave it… truly, only God would know. That’s no way for a person to live.”

“…”

That question…

Hit me as a regressor in many ways.

“…”

It was also a question I had constantly asked myself.

I replied flatly.

“As long as the right people know, that’s enough. If the present has meaning, I can keep living.”

“…”

As an awkward silence filled the church—

The closed front door opened carefully again.

The one who stepped inside was Ayoung.

“Boss…? Um, is there anything I can help with…?”

“!”

With the twilight behind her,

The girl with shining blonde hair appeared.

At her arrival,

The pastor and the elder exchanged glances.

Then, they grinned and looked at me.

Suddenly, they wore sly smiles.

A distinctly middle-aged, mischievous vibe radiated from them.

“Ah-ha…”

“…”

What…?

Is this atmosphere?

The elder covered her mouth and hurried to the door.

Taking Ayoung’s hand, she led her over and said,

“Ohoho! Ah-ha… So there is someone who recognizes what a good and kind person our CEO Seon-woo is~!”

“Wh-what…?”

“You even have such a pretty girlfriend, huh? Oh my, now I understand why CEO Seon-woo is so devout!”

“Wh-whaaat—?!”

“Oh my! So sweet, whose daughter are you, so pretty! When are you two getting married? Should our pastor officiate?”

“Whaaaaat—?!”

Under her baseball cap, Ayoung’s face turned bright red.

Her teary eyes darted around, trying to make sense of the situation before finally landing on me.

—Help me…

It almost looked like she was saying that.

“…”

Wanting to put an end to the confusion, I declared:

“She’s not my girlfriend. Just a part-timer helping out.”

“…”

After a brief silence, the pastor shook his head disapprovingly.

The elder gave Ayoung a few reassuring pats on the back.

“I understand. Young men are all like that these days.”

“??”

Ayoung was the only one left utterly bewildered.

The next place we went after the church was a temple.

This time, it was relatively close to the city center.

Even though it was late in the evening, people were bustling in and out.

Smoke from cooking rice curled up in wisps.

Ayoung got out of the car in the parking lot and said,

“It’s a crowded place this time, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought we only went to quiet places?”

“Here, a lot of people come, but it’s a place that gives away so much that nothing remains.”

“?”

“They serve free dinners to hikers and local residents, you see.”

“Ah!”

Ayoung looked around again.

People of various backgrounds (mostly appearing to be homeless or elderly living alone) were sitting here and there around the temple grounds, eating their meals.

The scene somehow resembled a free soup kitchen.

“Wow, so many people come to eat…”

“The abbot here has an open mind. He doesn’t hesitate to open the doors to the public.”

“Is ‘open mind’ the right term for that?”

“A physical opening is still an opening.”

“Ugh, you’re no fun with words…”

“…”

I didn’t respond.

Instead, I went to the truck’s cargo bed and began carefully unloading boxes filled with candy, snacks, and cereal.

Ayoung came over and started organizing them with me.

“…If you’re tired, you can take a break.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Then, leave early as soon as we get back today. I’ll pay you your full salary.”

“I’m not going.”

“…”

Thud—

Ayoung neatly stacked the candy boxes, arranging them to make them easier to carry.

Then, with a little “Hup!” she lifted them.

“Let’s go!”

“…Okay.”

Carrying the boxes, we walked in silence across the gravel-covered parking lot.

“…”

Crunch

With each step, the gravel shifted underfoot, making a grating sound.

Crunch

The murmuring of the gravel was interrupted by Ayoung.

“Did you watch the broadcast on Friday?”

“Yeah.”

“How was it?”

“It was fun.”

“What part?”

She glanced at me sideways.

I answered honestly.

“The unique way Doda’s fandom, the ‘Dodaris,’ play. And the deviant atmosphere it created was impressive. Even though the PC bang event was essentially a competition, it was the decisive factor that made people feel comfortable participating.”

“…”

Ayoung pouted her lips.

Then, like a woodpecker, she began poking the candy box with the brim of her baseball cap.

Poke

An awkward silence lingered.

Poke

“…”

I added more.

“And the choice made by the student presumed to be part of Ace’s fandom was also quite impressive. Among high-performance products— like a gaming PC, smartphone, or graphics card— that the core audience of internet broadcasts would strongly desire, they were able to take a step back from their own wants for the sake of their parents.”

“…”

I glanced at Ayoung.

‘…She’s stopped the woodpecker act.’

Then I continued.

“Though a stay at a five-star hotel in Seoul may be similar in price to the other products, unlike the ‘lasting utility’ of those items, this can be classified as an ‘expenditure for temporary memories.’ The fact that they boldly resisted other temptations for the sake of these memories is impressive from a humanistic perspective.”

“…”

Ayoung pouted.

“W-well, I’m originally Japanese, so I don’t understand difficult words.”

“…”

I spoke again.

“It seems the humanity of Akki-chan’s fandom truly shone through. Perhaps it’s a shared trait among fans drawn to her purity.”

“…”

Once more, I added.

“Everyone who likes Akki-chan seems kind.”

“…”

Finally,

Ayoung smiled.

“…Hehe.”

“…”

Fortunately, there was no further questioning.

We arrived at the head monk’s quarters.

A few young children were playing there.

They had been playing tag but stopped when they saw me and ran over.

Stretching out their hands like zombies, they shouted:

“Wow! It’s the snack-giving mister!”

“Give us snacks! Snacks!”

“I want cereal! Tiger energy—!”

“Candy! Candy!”

“I want jelly—!”

Ayoung was flustered.

“Huh? Wh-what… candy? Wait a minute…!”

The chaos was stopped by the elderly head monk.

He rushed over, his face stern like a goblin’s.

“You brats! Is that any way to treat a guest?! You should say ‘Thank you!’ to someone who’s come all this way to give you precious things—!”

“Eek?!”

“Let’s run!”

The children scattered.

I greeted the head monk.

“Hello, Venerable Monk. I’ve come again.”

“…”

He didn’t speak as kindly as a pastor.

Without a word, he took the box and carelessly muttered,

“…Eat before you go.”

“It’s alright.”

“Bullshit, just eat and go. What’s with the ghost act? You even found a partner.”

“……”

Before I could even deny it,

He grumbled and quickly disappeared.

At the same time,

The monks working nearby received boxes of snacks.

They smiled wryly and asked for understanding.

“If you go that way, dinner is prepared. The abbot said, ‘A precious guest will come,’ and had it ready.”

“……”

I looked toward where the abbot had vanished.

He had already gone to the kitchen and was portioning out snacks for the children onto plates.

“……”

In the end…

Ayoung and I ate bibimbap in the quiet temple.

Unexpectedly, it was a luxurious mix of wild mountain greens, perfectly balanced.

Ayoung grinned.

“…It’s delicious.”

“I see.”

“It was fun, too.”

“Was it?”

“Yeah.”

Slurp—

We wordlessly gulped down the soybean paste stew.

None of the flavors were what we had expected.