I Became a Malicious Streamer

A man approached me while holding a phone holder in one hand.

I could see the glimmering desire in his eyes that he couldn’t hide.

Desire for sex towards a beautiful woman and greed for money.

I don’t see anything wrong with that.

It’s only natural.

But there’s no such thing as a free lunch; right now, Ji-yeon is with me, and there are too many people around.

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit busy.”

“Ah, over there!”

At that moment, I caught a lucky student who handed over a prize, then I grabbed Ji-yeon and slipped away from the crowd.

When I tried to leave, the throng parted like the Red Sea.

Miracles, they say. The queue of people split in half.

I thought I would never witness such a scene in my life again.

I felt like I was being treated like a worn-out soldier at the end of my service.

Truly, life is about living long enough to see these things.

“What’s up, is he hunting? Well, with a girl that pretty.”

“He’s not exactly ugly either.”

“But isn’t he a broadcaster? I think I’ve seen him on YouTube.”

Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, I arrived at the bench.

After unloading the prize and Ji-yeon, I took a moment to recall the previous memory.

A YouTuber? From the quick glance, it seemed he was live streaming.

Something was flashing quickly on his phone screen.

“Ugh, it seems like whenever I go out with my sister, weird stuff happens. Like that one time at the clothing store.”

“Eun-ha?”

“Yeah, that person. But today it’s someone broadcasting. They probably came to film my sister.”

I wonder. Maybe he just stopped by to check out the festival.

In the meantime, he probably thought he could casually chat with a woman shooting off guns, right?

“That person is quite famous. A street broadcaster. Didn’t they also do a national adventure?”

“Really?”

I recalled the man’s appearance once more.

Street broadcasting, huh.

I had never really thought about it before, but now that broadcasting has become my life, my perspective naturally narrowed.

For me, broadcasting was always something I did indoors or at least in front of my computer.

If I could point the camera outside, my scope would significantly expand.

Ideas poured in.

I remembered the last time I went out for a midnight stroll.

I bumped into a cat and felt a bit down. Then I ended up doing a cringy broadcast.

Midnight is a lonely time.

Even I, someone who usually revels in solitude, felt a hint of loneliness.

Even the most solitary person would end up talking a lot without realizing it, caught up in the atmosphere.

Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to turn on the broadcast while walking.

It would allow viewers to enjoy the night air while showcasing the dim surroundings.

At night, I wouldn’t even need to force myself to chatter.

Everyone would just get a bit sentimental anyway.

This is actually a pretty good idea!

Just as I was nodding my head in agreement, I saw someone waving and running towards me from a distance.

“Hey, hey! Please listen to me!”

It was that broadcaster from earlier.

He wedged his phone and a long selfie stick between his armpits and waved at me.

“Uh…”

Ji-yeon made an annoyed sound.

Apparently, he didn’t expect him to be so persistent.

I felt the same, but my interest was piqued.

What in the world did he want to say to chase me down like this?

The out-of-breath man turned red as our eyes met and stumbled through his words.

“Uh, um. It’s… erm…”

“Go ahead.”

I crossed my arms and stared at him with a piercing gaze, signaling for him to speak comfortably.

I wasn’t heartless; he only needed to talk, so waiting a bit was no problem.

“Could we have a brief conversation? If you’re busy, even just for a moment.”

“Hmm.”

I sneaked a glance at the phone screen, reflecting the man’s nervous footing.

The speed of the chats flying up was unusual.

Looks like my recent performance garnered some good feedback.

Smiling with satisfaction over my still-alive skills, Ji-yeon approached from behind.

“Absolutely no filming!”

“Uh… Ji-yeon?”

“Never! No face or body shots, no way!”

“Yes, got it.”

I was bewildered, and the man wide-eyed, seemed to nod as if he got it.

What did he understand? I’m the one making the decisions here.

Ji-yeon wasn’t my guardian, after all.

“Would it be possible just for your voice? It won’t take long.”

He earnestly pleaded.

Was it really worth going through all this?

I didn’t fully grasp my own market value.

Broadcasting and YouTube had been growing decently, but that was all about luck and timing.

And having a good editor like Si-young made a difference too.

In any case, on a broadcasting level, the man might have thought I was good enough for YouTube.

He’d know best, being more experienced.

If this were back in the day, I would’ve either just declined or jumped at the chance to broadcast, excitedly showing my face and voice.

But not anymore.

I’ve developed a sense of broadcasting myself; I had an inkling of what should be done now.

I didn’t want to refuse outright, but it was also a bit sad to just appear on air like this; what should I do?

I looked at the man and cheerfully asked, “Just your voice?”

What else could it be? It’s negotiation time, baby.

*

“So you’re sisters, huh? You’re not from Gaon University, right?”

“No, I’m just here with my dongsaeng for the festival.”

Kim Eun-ho continued the conversation while occasionally glancing at the woman walking beside him, leaving his sister behind, looking like a hawk.

The reactions in the chat exploded.

[Oh, I see ^^ There’s a lot to see at the Gaon University festival.]

[Seeing Kim Eun-ho chase is giving me stalker vibes lol.]

[Why does her voice sound so nice, is she just a regular person?]

[Can’t believe no camera? For real, she was pretty even with just a silhouette earlier.]

[Should I try to get her number?]

[Are they dating right now, though?]

[King Eun-ho lol.]

Realizing she was broadcasting, the woman laid down some conditions.

Her appearance would be strictly off-camera, only her voice would be transmitted.

Secondly… she wanted confirmation that the video would be uploaded to YouTube, along with a small payment.

Essentially, a sort of fee for appearing.

Thanks to this, I learned her name and account info.

I Ji-eun.

That was the name of the woman walking alongside me.

Just talking for a few minutes and making such demands.

And since I couldn’t film her face or body, I couldn’t even entice anyone with a thumbnail.

Whether there would be sufficient viewers was anyone’s guess.

I thought it was a bit excessive, yet I couldn’t bring myself to refuse Ji-eun’s offer.

Kim Eun-ho instinctively realized that Ji-eun’s conditions weren’t unreasonable.

And he felt it intuitively.

Accepting these terms and doing the broadcast with her was indeed the right move.

He was experiencing the correctness of that instinct in real time.

“When did you start broadcasting?”

“Well, about three years ago.”

“Did you start out doing outdoor broadcasts?”

“No, I kicked off with gaming streams, but people preferred this style. It’s more comfortable to be outside too.”

“So that’s why you mostly do outdoor streams. My sister mentioned you travel around a lot.”

“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve been to just about everywhere.”

Was she answering faithfully, perhaps trying to gauge the broadcast’s atmosphere?

Now she was initiating questions.

Every question she asked and every answer she gave felt perfect to draw responses from the viewers.

From her very tone of voice, one could tell.

Was she good at conversing?

It seemed like she understood what audiences would enjoy hearing.

“Does it go well with just a phone camera?”

“Yes, modern phone cameras are top-notch. As long as you have enough data, it won’t be an issue to broadcast. The visuals come out great too.”

“Oh, I see.”

[You seem really interested in broadcasting ㅎㅎ.]

[It’s amazing from a regular person’s viewpoint.]

[Are you sure you’re not a broadcaster? Your voice is way too nice.]

Inside, Kim Eun-ho couldn’t help but agree with the live chat.

This person was genuinely something special.

From pulling in audience reactions to having a rough grasp of YouTube’s revenue structure.

“The weather’s nice today. The breeze is refreshing.”

“Indeed, haha.”

Kim Eun-ho awkwardly replied to Ji-eun’s comment while wracking his brain.

Could she really be a broadcaster?

It’s hard to believe, but if she were a regular person, he’d want to urge her to start broadcasting immediately.

He had never seen a female broadcaster with such a striking presence in his memory.

Kim Eun-ho weighed his options.

A newcomer who just started broadcasting or an unknown no-cam broadcaster…

Feeling a headache coming on, he pushed forward with his inquiry.

“Hey, do you happen to be a broadcaster? Your earlier question about streaming on a phone really struck me, and you speak extremely well…”

She paused as if considering, taking a moment to let it linger.

Looking thoughtful yet enigmatic, she replied.

“Well…”

As she glanced over here while trailing off her sentence, Kim Eun-ho thought to himself.

Now he understood why adults warned to be cautious around women.

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