Chapter 92 – A Natural Star (2)
Almond didn’t interact much with his viewers during his streams. Previously he had the opportunity to do so with his interview on Fantasia’s channel. Other than that he primarily responded to their questions in the middle of games.
Viewers who liked Almond for his skills and personality found it disappointing. However they finally received some good news.
[Almond has begun mobile streaming!]
Mobile streaming meant an outdoor stream and not a gameplay session.
— Woah he’s really doing it?
— But why mobile?
— Is he doing a mukbang? What’s the menu?
— Why can’t I see anything?
All the viewers watching his gameplay came back and mingled in the chatroom. However they couldn’t see anything yet. The screen appeared black and they could barely hear a voice.
“Yeah I think it’s working.”
The dry voice came from a girl.
— ??? A girl?
— What the?
— What’s with the girl boss? Do you want to see me go crazy!?
— You’re insane! ^
— Who is it!?
— Anyways who is it?
— Did he accidentally turn it on?
— What if we hear some moaning?!
“But… why can’t I see anything?”
“Hey Ji-Ah. Move your finger.”
“Ah.”
Swiff.
Finally the light shone towards the camera and Ji-Ah could be seen sitting closest. Sang-Hyeon had asked for Ji-Ah’s help since it was his first time streaming outdoors.
— ???
— So pretty!
— So cute!
— Who is that? She’s so pretty.
— Oh!
— Who’s that?! She looks like IU!
— What did you do with Almond!?
— Mom! I don’t need Almond anymore!!! Mom! I don’t need Almond anymore!!!
Ji-Ah’s eyes widened as she read the chat. She threw the phone to Ju-Hyeok and turned all red.
“H-Here you go. It’s on right?”
“Yeah but… aren’t you going to hold the phone?”
“Ah.”
Seo Ji-Ah felt so embarrassed that she forgot she was supposed to be recording.
“It’s not much work. Just put the phone beside you on the tripod. You won’t even appear on the screen.”
‘I’ve already appeared once.’
Ji-Ah nodded with a pout and fixed the phone onto the tripod.
Finally Almond’s face appeared. Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah sat across from Almond and left him alone.
— Oppa!
— Bro!
— AlHa! AlHa!
— AlHa…
— Woah he’s really doing a mukbang! Thank you so much!
The chat quickly rose when Sang-Hyeon appeared.
[Current Viewers: 6700]
A lot of viewers came considering the stream was just eating kimchi stew. Even Almond who was already used to streaming slightly hesitated.
‘This is more embarrassing than I thought.’
He began turning red. Even though he was a streamer shouting “Hi Treevy!” in public was a little…
Thankfully this restaurant sponsored him. He would’ve thought twice about it in a regular restaurant.
Gulp.
Sang-Hyeon no Almond had no choice. He was a streamer!
“Hi Treevy!”
— LOL
— AlHa!
— AlHaha!
— Oppa you’re embarrassed right?
— Who’s the girl from earlier?
— Hihi!
The viewers felt happy to hear his greeting.
“I came here to eat kimchi stew.”
Ji-Ah naturally showed the store’s logo as he said that.
— LOL
— 10000 years old? What a name!
— I’ve seen a lot of those around.
— I think the store’s name hit inflation.
— Inflation LOL
— 60 years? We’re 10000 years!
— It’s kimchi stew from the prehistoric ages!
“Yes one recently opened near our house. This is an ad though.”
The viewers responded to his remark with question marks.
— ????
— ??
— Huh?
[Simpson has donated 1000 won!]
[Wait you tricked us! This was an ad!]
Did they not like it? Sang-Hyeon felt confused but that didn’t matter since ads were inevitable.
“Yes it’s an ad. An offer came in and I hesitated but I just accepted because of the mukbang timing and everything.”
— Hahahaha
— What a weird way to accept.
— This guy’s hungry for money…
— Capitalism at its finest!
— LOL
— He’s so cool about it. Haha
— The man who accepts an ad because he needs to do a mukbang!
[DiedBecauseBored has donated 3000 won.]
[Ah I just said yes because I’m hungry.]
“I didn’t accept because I’m hungry… This place is actually good.”
Sang-Hyeon didn’t understand the joke and seriously replied. The viewers enjoyed his reaction.
— LOL
— He’s joking.
— You don’t know what his username means?
— For real.
[RubySword has donated 10000 won!]
[Wow! World class! Congratulations! Thank you for the mukbang!]
[EggPlant has donated 5000 won.]
[Damn I just got here! He’s really doing a mukbang. Thank you!]
[InsaneEyes has donated 1000 won.]
[Boss! Who’s the girl from earlier?! Do you want to see me go crazy!?]
“Thank you RubySword EggPlant and… InsaneEyes. It seems like you’ve already gone crazy. The girl from earlier is our YouTube editor. She’s eating with us because she lives near us too.”
— LOL
— Hahaha
— What a strange character…
— Damn the editor?! She’s so pretty!
— She’s the editor?
— Phew!
— Just an editor right?
[InsaneEyes has donated 1000 won.]
[Are you sure she’s just an editor!? Huh!?]
— This guy’s actually insane.
— You’re crazy!
— Stop it!
— Lives up to his username.
“InsaneEyes you should go to a deserted island and cool off a bit” Sang-Hyeon replied with a smile.
Ju-Hyeok fiddled with his phone and the user was suddenly banned for a day.
— Premium ban LOL
— HahaFind the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
— Damn he got banned!
— Almond defending his editor is so sexy!!
— Almond is a pro streamer now.
Almond became quite proficient with streaming now. He only felt embarrassed for a moment. He returned to being the usual Almond as soon as the stream started.
Ju-Hyeok smiled after seeing that.
‘This is Almond.’
Sang-Hyeon always pulled through when it counted. His first mukbang and ad should’ve felt overwhelming.
Sang-Hyeon often proved himself at their previous company too. He always remained calm when all the employees and even their seniors shuddered in fear.
Ju-Hyeok knew Sang-Hyeon would become a star whether he chose to be a gamer or a celebrity. A star always got things done despite the pressure and negativity hurled at them. They shined through all of it. That’s what being a star meant.
“Here’s your nine thousand hell stew!”
The stew arrived. Lee Ju-Hyeon the server who asked for Almond’s autograph last time served them again this time as well. She usually acted bright but seemed quiet today because of the stream.
— Wow 9000 hell stew?
— What a name…
— It’s called 9000 stew because it’s 9000 won.
— That really is a hellish price…
“There are cheaper options. I think there’s a 666 stew. That one’s 6600 won but they ran out of octopus.”
Sang-Hyeon cooled his stew and explained the menu as he ate.
— Kya! A pro model!
— Boss! You’re a natural!
— 666 stew LOL
— Why is their concept hell? LOL
— What a hellish concept!
— The octopus determines whether it’s hell or not.
— Because… of its tentacles!
“The concept is hell but the taste is heavenly.”
— Kya!
— Capitalism baby!
— Is he reading off a script?
— This is capitalism!
— I thought you just signed the deal. LOL
— Are you seeing this Kim Jong Un? This is a free economy!
— Hahahaha
— It’s so funny to watch Almond like this.
Sang-Hyeon’s cold expression while saying that line made for an amusing scene. The clip became a highlight and viewers replayed it over and over.
[JiAlmond has donated 2000 won.]
[Boss show us Ji-Ah eating as too!]
— How dare you try to see her face for only 2000 won!
— You’re a funny one.
— You sound weird.
“Ah Ji-Ah doesn’t like appearing on streams. Earlier was an accident.”
Almond glanced at Ji-Ah to check if she was uncomfortable but he was surprised to see the opposite.
‘That girl… she looks proud of herself!’
Ji-Ah wore a satisfied smile but shook her head and didn’t want to be on camera anymore.
[EggPlant has donated 1000 won.]
[Octopus! Eat the octopus!]
“Ah the octopus is good.”
Sang-Hyeon began cutting the octopus with scissors after the donation. The pieces fell into the stew and splashed. It looked like he was stumbling to cut it.
Ju-Hyeok watched him in fascination.
‘Streaming sure is scary.’
Ju-Hyeok recalled when Sang-Hyeon first started working. He didn’t even cut his own meat but now he was cutting octopus. Was this another sign of a star?
“It’s chewy!” Sang-Hyeon shouted with a smile.
‘You don’t even like eating…’
Ju-Hyeok felt baffled.
“The kimchi tofu octopus and pork are all delicious.”
What would Sang-Hyeon do if he didn’t accept the ad? He already forgot about being embarrassed outdoors.
Ju-Hyeok looked away from Sang-Hyeon who seemed to be in a TV commercial. He went to check the community.
‘Are there any new highlights?’
Almond made some super plays today so shouldn’t there be some new highlights?
Ju-Hyeok thought that but…
“…?”
He found some clips from the stream that were completely different from what he expected.
‘Already?’
***
A particular post trended on Battle Large’s biggest community Battle31.
[This nut is eating octopus…]
The post showed a gif of Almond eating octopus and saying it was chewy. It didn’t have any audio.
— What the?! Almond is doing a mukbang???
— What’s going on!!
— What the? Why?!
— I can’t believe this post was literal. I thought it’d be Almond killing a bald character with some arrows.
— I thought the bald association would come out from reading the title but it’s literally an octopus.
└ The bald association comes out even if it’s an actual octopus.
— We are the bald association. Please stop this travesty.
└ LOL It’s true!
└ Hahahaha
— But why is this in Battle31? LOL
└ It’s Almond’s fan page now
└ Clap while you poop. Then you’ll be famous!
└ Almond is so cute!
└ It’s been a while since we got a skilled streamer. Let it go.
└ Let it go!
The post with Almond eating octopus became surprisingly popular.
‘So this is what they mean when people will clap at anything once you’re famous.’
Ju-Hyeok wiped his glasses and looked at the other trending posts.
[Why I’ve never liked Almond since the beginning.txt]
Was communicating with viewers also a double-edged sword? Ju-Hyeok clicked the post while thinking that.
