I Quit Being an Idol and Became a Youtuber - Chapter 61
“Life is solo.”
As the saying goes, it was hard to expect warm kindness in modern society.
As the Internet developed, communication between people decreased. Naturally, even the interest in each other faded away.
In Korean society, it’s a common reality that we don’t even know what the person next door is doing.
When one is busy trying to make a living, how could they care about such things?
Right now, Oh Sanghun was one of those people.
For a regular office worker like him, paying attention to others’ affairs was nearly a luxury.
“Why are there so many people…?”
Sanghun frowned at the bustling scene at Busan Station today. He needed to get to the meeting place quickly; what was going on?
He looked around, wondering if there had been an accident, but there was no sign of it.
It was just that at some point, people had gotten stuck and were moving slowly.
“Excuse me, could you step aside for a moment?”
It was at that moment, with his face scrunched up, that he squeezed through the crowd.
“Wow, she’s so beautiful…”
“Is she a celebrity?”
‘Huh?’
The voices of the people around him pierced his ears.
A celebrity.
No matter how much they build a friendly image these days, they live in a completely different world from him.
In short, they are like mythical creatures that can only be seen on TV.
Even a person who doesn’t believe in superstitions would be interested if they heard that unicorns really exist.
Driven by that curiosity, Sanghun found himself turning his head.
“Wow…”
And he couldn’t help but be in awe.
Where the people’s gaze gathered, a woman was passing by.
With a hat pulled down and a mask on, she looked like a celebrity from somewhere.
Regardless of gender, she possessed a beauty that anyone would turn to look at.
Even a manager-looking woman beside her.
And there were two people who were reluctant about that attention.
One was Ren, the one drawing everyone’s gaze.
‘…Help me.’
The other was Baekro. Seohyun, who found such attention burdensome.
The blank expression on her face was likely to stir sympathy in those who saw her.
Despite being fully covered, how could she attract so much attention?
It was an achievement that even regular celebrities would not dare to accomplish, but the actual thoughts of the main character seemed different.
‘I should have just come wrapped in a puffer jacket.’
Receiving such countless gazes made him resent his past self who thought a mask and a hat would suffice for cover.
Yeah, could this appearance be hidden anywhere?
With this level of beauty, would I not be visible even on a battlefield?
‘No, still, isn’t this a bit too much?’
I could allow the gazes I received in Japan.
Since I was the leader of a group that everyone knew, I was accustomed to not being able to walk around carelessly.
But receiving such gazes in a foreign country where I was not that famous, especially in Korea known for beautiful people, felt burdensome.
‘Aren’t there plenty of beautiful actresses in Korea?’
Thinking about it, it wasn’t strange.
What were the chances for an average person to see a celebrity in real life?
I had an appearance that looked forged by a god (Illustrator).
I never thought I would lose in comparison to Korean celebrities.
Well, if you can’t believe it, just argue with my illustrator.
As he tried hard to ignore the gazes and walked for a few minutes.
“Um, why don’t we just go in?”
Eventually, unable to bear the attention any longer, Seohyun asked Ren.
It felt a bit embarrassing to say this when she had promised to guide them.
‘Still, this is too much…’
As a recluse, it was hard to stay long in a place where everyone’s attention is focused.
“Hmm, should we?”
After a moment of hesitation, Ren agreed to Baekro’s suggestion.
‘If my photo goes up on the internet, that would be a whole different issue…’
If it was simply admiration for my looks, I’d gladly accept it.
But what if the netizen investigation squad finds out that I’m in Korea?
I’m not a criminal, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s exactly the kind of hassle I want to avoid.
“Yes, why don’t we go out when it gets a bit quieter at night?”
Seohyun’s suggestion was reasonable.
After all, there would be many people around in the morning.
When it got dark, people would likely decrease, even for safety reasons.
Plus, my hair is a dark navy.
At night, it wouldn’t stand out much, so maybe it could act as a camouflage.
“Okay, then let’s go back for now.”
Having those silly thoughts, Ren agreed to Baekro’s proposal.
* * *
A quiet alley.
‘Hmm, this feels a bit off…’
While avoiding people’s gazes and returning to the hotel with Ren, Seohyun fell into deep thought.
“I’m a bit nervous since it’s my first time visiting Busan.”
Seohyun suddenly recalled what Ren had said.
She had definitely mentioned that it was her first time in Busan.
Carefully, she watched Ren’s back.
Although her expression didn’t reveal much due to her usual demeanor, she must have been secretly looking forward to Korea.
That’s why she probably asked me to tell her about tourist spots.
So she might feel disappointed about having to go back now, unable to withstand the gazes.
Look at her now.
Her shoulders seemed to be oddly slumped, and didn’t her footsteps look drained of energy?
‘No way, I can’t let her leave like this!’
As a warm-hearted Korean, it was something I simply couldn’t tolerate.
Something special.
If we’re going to go out again at night, doesn’t that mean we’re going to have to meet once more anyway?
If so, wouldn’t it be better to take her home and head out together?
Hmm, it’s not like I have any ulterior motives here!
“Um… Cheongha unni!”
After rationalizing to herself, with a trembling voice, Seohyun spoke to Ren.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Um, would you like to come over to our house?!”
“…What?”
Ah, I messed up.
Seohyun thought inwardly.
Though she usually did this frequently, today she felt especially swayed by her emotions.
Being weak toward younger people and seeing such an expression made her unable to act confidently.
This trait needed to change; it was a big problem.
Anyway, this proposal wouldn’t cost me much.
‘We could do a broadcast, right?’
I hadn’t been able to stream immediately due to personal matters, and I thought I should at least clarify things on Baekro’s stream.
Then suddenly, they were in front of Baekro’s house.
Wow, pro streamer.
Her drive is impressive.
* * *
“Here, unni!”
“…It’s nice.”
Ren entered Seohyun’s room purely in admiration.
A soundproof booth large enough to accommodate two people caught her eye.
This was Seohyun’s home.
A house where she lived with her parents.
“I’m sorry, it’s because of my mom…”
“No, I’m thankful for your compliment.”
‘Oh, this girl should have mentioned that her friend was a celebrity!’
There had been a little happening regarding Baekro’s mom, but they managed to get through it well.
Our parents…
‘Ugh.’
Ah, this is not right.
Just thinking about it made her throat ache.
Comparing anyone with that person was an insult to humanity.
After lightly rubbing her throat, Ren sat beside her.
“So, unni, will this title be okay?”
Seohyun showed the screen to Ren, who had quickly finished setting up the stream.
[Just met Cheongha in person…!]
“I don’t mind at all. Do what you want.”
“Then I’ll go with this! Hehe…”
Thinking about it, I had never met the Switch viewers before, had I?
Having streamed only on LAS so far, I felt oddly nervous.
There would be a lot of people here.
“Hey, unni, just act like you normally do!”
Noticing Ren’s nervousness, Seohyun encouraged her from the side.
Yeah, right.
What could possibly go wrong?
The chat culture wasn’t really different; it was just that there were more viewers on the screen.
It shouldn’t matter to me, who was already streaming, unless I was a beginner.
“Then, let’s start!”
Ren calmed herself as Seohyun pressed the streaming button.
* * *
[Just met Cheongha in person…!]
How long had it been since the stream started and the opening card appeared?
The number of viewers quickly surged.
-??? What’s the title?
-That Cheongha?
-The one who lives in Japan?
-What is this, clickbait?
[Baekro is live streaming]
[Number of viewers: 3,568]
‘Wow…’
Six times.
A whopping six times her own viewership.
In less than 10 minutes, they had connected to her stream.
This is what a major corporation looks like.
The top streaming site in Korea, Switch.
And the power of Baekro, belonging to a major corporation, was tremendous.
The continuously increasing viewers finally began to slow down as they approached 4,000.
Ren took a peek to the side.
“Hello, everyone~!”
The Seohyun who had been timid was now back as the pro streamer ‘Baekro.’
[Baekro Joah has donated 1,000 won]
=So what’s today’s guest about?
“Okay, everyone, don’t be surprised!”
Baekro responded with sparkling eyes to the quickly incoming donation messages.
-Explain the no-show
-What? Did you really come to Korea?
-But why reveal that here for the first time…?
-Oh, don’t neglect the broadcast.
Apparently, some of my viewers seemed to be mixed in with them.
Well, it’s not surprising since they were all in one site.
Moreover, there had been many new viewers coming through Baekro lately, so it might be a natural reaction.
“Um, the no-show?”
I couldn’t say that I almost got killed by a stalker, so I decided to come up with a reasonable excuse.
“Well, I had a bit of a traffic accident. I was so out of it that I couldn’t post a notice. But I’m fine now.”
-Oh no…
-What happened? ㅠㅠ
-Don’t get hurt…
The audience’s worried responses came in response to my explanation.
‘Receiving comfort in real time rather than just comments…’
This was definitely something I would never have experienced during my celebrity days.
Celebrities typically don’t do live broadcasts.
The best one could do was edited videos on YouTube.
[Shubilsubal has donated 1,000 won]
So what’s the content today?
“Ah, the content for today?”
Baekro quickly accessed the internet at the question thrown by a viewer.
“Well, since we’re both here, it would be nice to do something together, right?”
At the same time, a flash game appeared on the screen.
[square X triangle]