I Quit Being an Idol and Became a Youtuber - Chapter 50

The night had completely fallen.

Hikari opened the door to the reception room and stepped inside.

“President? Do you have a moment…?”

Inside the stylish reception room, two men were raising their glasses.

“Huh? Ah, you’re here Hikari…”

Maybe the alcohol was starting to kick in.

With a slightly flushed face, Kobayashi welcomed his niece who had worked hard late into the night.

“Aren’t you going to practice?”

“Well, that’s for those who can’t do anything else. Right, President?”

Practice is only necessary for those who cannot perform without it.

It didn’t apply to me, who was ready for immediate deployment.

“Come on, you could just call me uncle at times like this…”

“Well, there’s no need to say anything weird, right?”

You’re completely drunk.

But still, I had no thoughts of calling him uncle yet.

There was no need to show that I was making a parachute greeting.

After all, the way the employees looked at me was already unsettling.

“By the way, Hikari, you’ve really grown up beautifully.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Nogata, who glanced at Hikari’s impeccably maintained appearance as an idol, remarked.

I didn’t realize it last time I saw her, but she was definitely quite the sight now.

Not to mention the center of the idol group.

Her beauty was comparable to the impressive actors from across the country in Korea.

If she looked this good now, how would she appear properly dressed on stage?

At that time, she could rival Sakamiya Ren.

Seeing this, I suddenly understood just how magnificent Ren had been back then.

If I were to compare it to birds, she would be a peacock.

If I were to compare it to gems, she would be a diamond.

‘What a waste.’

I could have had a taste of it once if things had gone well.

Thinking about the lost opportunity, Nogata stared intently at Hikari.

“Hey, don’t look at our girl like that.”

Kobayashi blocked his gaze.

What a lunatic for that woman; how dare he eye my precious niece.

Kobayashi looked at his friend with cold eyes.

“By the way, I didn’t expect you to be here, Nogata. Don’t you have anything to do?”

“Yeah, nowadays the world is just so quiet.”

Nogata frowned at the discussion that started.

The ability to draw a topic with little effort was none other than news from the entertainment industry.

They summon all sorts of juicy gossip like people calling for meat, be it in abundance or scarcity.

As someone who profited the most during Ren’s downfall, that thought was especially firm.

“Well… you might be getting busy soon.”

While observing him closely, Hikari continued.

“What? Is that your intuition? Haha.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Leaving behind the hugely laughing Nogata like an internet meme, Hikari quietly sipped from the glass beside her.

“Hey, you should drink cola or something.”

“Ah.”

In an instant, Hikari’s drinking glass was snatched away by Kobayashi, and she glared at him with annoyance.

Ah, how natural.

* * *

Humans are social animals.

With sharp teeth and claws.

Even those who lack wings and venomous fangs, these weak creatures protected themselves by banding together with numerous peers.

Even now, many years later, no one can live solely on their own strength without help from others.

And this was no different for celebrities.

Behind the entertainers seen on TV, there exist countless supporting cast members who make them shine.

Among these individuals, those who stand out can become famous.

This wasn’t just a story of those in the limelight.

Just like how supporting roles in well-known works can attract public attention, the same holds true in the underground world.

If one gets well-connected with major broadcasting companies, they could quickly elevate their broadcasting stature.

In that process, major companies might also create new relationships with promising talents.

The probability was low, but if they succeeded, it would be a mutually beneficial choice.

Belena, who participated in the recent collaborative stream for d*ath Day, was one such streamer.

With 30,000 subscribers on YouTube.

It wasn’t exactly a huge number, but it wasn’t small either.

She caught the eye of major streamer Rupang at the last tournament, and that connection allowed her to participate in this collaboration.

Yes, I was sure I had promised myself that…

“I’m so sorry!”

Cursing at someone she was meeting for the first time and hitting them on the head with a crowbar.

No matter how scared she was, she had no excuse for that.

Thus, Belena quickly lowered her head.

“No, it’s okay. It can happen if you get surprised.”

Cheongha, who had a bandage wrapped around her head from the injury, replied to her.

This is a game where a murderer teleports; if someone suddenly appears in front of me, I would probably react similarly.

‘But I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.’

Streamer Belena.

I felt like I had come across it somewhere before, yet I couldn’t quite recall.

– Who is that person?

– Isn’t that the one from the last headache tournament?

– Oh, that D team?

– They seem to have come because Rupang invited them.

Ah, that was why it sounded familiar. She was from that tournament.

“Belena? Since this is fate, would you like to stick together?”

“Yes?”

Belena brightened up at Cheongha’s proposal.

‘Thank goodness…’

I was worried that I had ruined my first impression with that sudden blow, but it turned out alright.

Meanwhile, Cheongha’s thoughts were slightly different.

‘People usually stick together at times like this.’

While animals in the wild can fend off predators by gathering in groups, that only holds true for prey of comparable size.

If the opponent is an overwhelming force, like the murderer in this game who can smash cars and boats, it’s meaningless.

‘But it’s better to stick together.’

Didn’t they say humans are social animals?

If we stick together, the murderer would have to think about who to catch first.

Then naturally, even if someone does get caught by the murderer, the chances of it being me would be very low.

“What do you think?”

Thus, Cheongha extended her hand to Belena.

In short, it was a strategy of ‘as long as it’s not me.’

It felt somewhat like positioning myself behind a deliberately weaker group to show off my skills, but this wasn’t the time to be picky.

Like a snake slipping over a ditch, she began persuading Belena.

“Yes! That sounds great!”

“Yeah, let’s do our best as fellow newbies.”

In the end, the innocent little squirrel, who knew nothing, fell into the cunning Japanese’s trap.

* * *

After the alliance of dreams and ambitions was formed, the two quickly began farming.

“Ah, Cheongha! Take this.”

“Oh, it’s a bat?”

Perhaps feeling guilty for hitting her on the head earlier, Belena handed Cheongha various items.

Bandages, skewers, and baseball bats.

“You can escape with this, and you can hit the seeker with this.”

“Ah, thank you.”

It was hard to believe that she was the one who just cursed at me earlier, given her bright and kind tone.

– Is he collecting money?

– Kim Cheongha / controversies and incidents…

– Ah, hahaha, she’s doing the food run on her own.

– But isn’t Belena still at a higher level?

– The other side has been around long enough that they aren’t exactly easy prey…

– But at the rate Cheongha is growing, she might catch up soon.

“Let’s start by looking for a car.”

Survivors had various ways to escape from the murderer.

Boats, cars, and reporting to the police.

Among these, we decided to use a car.

“Do you have car keys?”

“Ah, no… but I found some fuel.”

For a first match, perhaps some kind of buff was in effect.

The materials for repairing the car surprisingly came together quite quickly.

“Now we just need to find the key…”

“Ah, I’ll go look for that.”

At Cheongha’s words, Belena entered the house to find the car keys.

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed from the air.

[Cheongha, what are you doing here?]

“Ah.”

The voice of Baekro grew louder through the in-game microphone.

Perhaps he was immersed in the murderer role assigned to him.

Though the voice was familiar, for some reason, I felt an unknown something within it.

Quickly filling up the fuel and pulling away,

“Uh?!”

My character wouldn’t move.

At the same time, the camera angle swiftly turned, revealing the figure of a large man wearing a white mask.

The murderer had dashed toward her in an instant, seizing her neck.

“Cheonghaneem… why did you abandon me…?”

Baekro spoke in a stilted manner.

The only thing I could say to her was one thing.

“There’s Belena in there.”

– ???

– Yes?

– Are you playing it that way?

– What is this?

– Betrayed at once, hahaha

– What did you say? Haha

– This guy even got the name wrong.

Simultaneously, countless hooks appeared in the chat window.

“Ahaha!! So Belena is in there~?”

Baekro, grabbing Cheongha by the collar, began spinning her around with a playful laugh.

What is this, a psycho?

It reminded me of the scene of a yakuza family daughter somewhere.

Especially that laugh was the scariest.

“Um, how… should I save you?”

“…Please save me.”

I had gone through so much trouble fixing that thing, and to d*e without even starting the engine felt undeserving.

Just as I was continuing to plead for my life,

Bang-!

“Ah?!”

Just as Belena, who had come out of the building, swiftly hit Baekro’s back of the head with a crowbar.

The murderer, feeling the pain, released Cheongha.

“Run quickly!”

“Ah, yes!”

It was only a moment of surprise, but soon Cheongha regained her senses and began to run quickly.

– Wow, she saved him?

– Belena is really kind.

– But what about our captain…

– I guess we have to pay a visit to that other house.

– I’ll go to apologize.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Why is everyone acting like this?

Why? Didn’t something quite interesting just happen?

Originally, in these games, the thrill of survivors betraying each other in crisis situations is the real fun.

After all, I had taken a hit too, so let’s call it even.

“Ah, I was trying to save you!”

The murderer, regaining his composure from the impact to the head, began to chase the two.

The cooldown on the skill hadn’t run out yet, so teleportation was impossible.

So while the three were playing tag,

“Hey!! Stop bothering them!”

A survivor appeared from the other side.

With the light of a streetlamp behind them, they looked like a savior coming to help a protagonist in distress.

“Hey, there’s Bubugi!!”

…Of course, it seemed that for the two, it held a slightly different meaning of salvation.

“What? There’s a Bubugi?!”

As soon as she checked the survivor’s nickname, Belena shouted.

Yes, not Cheongha, but Belena.

With that one line, in an instant, Baekro’s target shifted.

– ???

– ?

– ?

– ?

– Yes?

– I thought he was a Buddha, but it’s just a clique meeting, hahaha.

“…What? I came to help! Hey!!”

The Bubugi who had come to help but got sold out suddenly yelled.

[Anonymous donated 1,000 won]

= I thought he was a Buddha but it turned out to be Judah.

“…Shut up.”

“Kyahhhh!”

With the screech of Bubugi being seized by the collar in an instant, the two successfully managed to escape from the murderer.

“But what do we do about our car?”

“…We’ll have to leave it.”

Looking at it earlier, I saw Baekro pummeling it with his fists.

It was already a patchwork job on a used car, so it must be broken by now.

Could someone who can smash down doors of intact houses not do the same to that car?

Anyway, it seemed the ride was already out of the picture.

It might be better to find another way.