Chapter 11: I Was Powerless

People say that the YouTube algorithm is incomprehensible, but it’s surprisingly simple.

It recommends new videos based on country, gender, age, and the type of videos you watch frequently.

The criteria for recommending a video are determined by a combination of various factors such as the video’s thumbnail, title, description, tags, comments, etc.

It picks out words that people might like, frequently searched tags, and genres that have been played a lot to make videos.

Then anyone can easily be chosen by the YouTube algorithm.

‘And to maintain this, watch time and video upload frequency are important.’

The longer people watch videos and the more consistent the video upload schedule is, the more the algorithm shows the videos to more people.

Since it’s judged as a reliable channel and video, it now shows it not only to people who watch related videos but also occasionally to people who are not related to the field.

The YouTube algorithm is the same as the advertising business.

Just as it’s natural to give preferential treatment to those who work steadily and generate good profits, it gives preferential treatment to channels that consistently produce videos with good reactions.

Only then can YouTube obtain stable and huge advertising profits.

‘The average watch time is around 7 minutes… That’s not bad.’

The only thing left is the video schedule.

I just need to keep uploading videos consistently.

“Then shall I get back to work?”

That was not a problem for me.

Just as I was about to start working again after cooling my head for a while watching YouTube, a message notification rang.

A message from Osorin.

To summarize the long message that was written to fit the maximum number of characters in the message, it was like this.

1. It’s Osorin.

2. Thank you so much for the video.

3. You, let’s be friends.

4. (Discord address)

[Me]: Hello [Osorin]: Hello!

[Osorin] : Thank you so much for the video!

[Osorin] : Really, thank you so much!

The chat is coming up fast.

[Me] : I’m glad you liked it

[Osorin]: The quality is insane

[Osorin]: It was a video of my broadcast, but it was so fun as if I was watching it for the first time!

[Osorin] : Really, thank you again!

She seemed to still be excited about the broadcast.

Well, it’s natural since she suddenly had a surge of viewers on a broadcast that had around 100 average viewers, and experienced a chat that moved faster than she could read.

She told me that when she checked the records at the studio later, the peak number of viewers exceeded 1,000.

[Osorin] : The average number of viewers went down to around 500 though

[Osorin]: But this is still a huge growth

[Osorin] : It’s really thanks to Dancing Raccoon…

[Me] : You can just call me Raccoon

[Osorin] : Okay!

[Osorin] : (Thumbs up emoticon)

She seemed to be a very cheerful person in real life, just like on her broadcasts.

Even just through chat, her energy could be felt.

[Osorin] : By the way, are you perhaps someone who works as an editor?

[Me] : I did study editing a bit

[Me]: I don’t work as an editor

[Me] : I’m thinking of it as practice

I used to work as an editor before, but not now.

Moreover, I didn’t make the video for money, so I can’t say it’s my job.

I was told that if there was any profit, I could have it all, but I haven’t reached the conditions for monetization yet.

[Osorin]: This quality is for practice…

[Osorin] : Ah, perhaps your major is in this field

[Me]: That’s a secret

[Osorin] : Ah, sorry!

[Osorin]: I didn’t mean to pry 

[Osorin] : ;-; (Teary-eyed emoticon)

[Me]: It’s okay

[Me] : I don’t really care about that kind of thing

I said that because I had never attended college, but I chuckled as I saw her misunderstanding my words.

Then, Osorin and I continued to have a trivial conversation.

Most of it was her complaining and me listening, but the conversation continued for over 30 minutes.

Then, she asked.

[Osorin] : Is it possible to talk on the phone?

[Osorin] : I think we’ll be talking often, and it’s more comfortable to talk on the phone than chatting

A call?

I hesitated for a moment because I hadn’t thought about it.

If I was her editor, it would be natural to talk on the phone to communicate, but there was no need for that now.

However, even though I’m used to it, my fingers are still short, so it’s a bit uncomfortable to type.

‘Will my hand get strained if I communicate by chatting while editing?’

I used to sit in front of the computer for a long time to work, so I had a lot of pain in my fingers and wrists.

It’s unlikely that chatting will put a strain on my wrist, but I thought it would be better to prepare even a little.

[Me] : Okay

[Me] : But I don’t have a microphone right now

[Me] : I’ll let you know when I set up a microphone later

Of course, there was a microphone for recording in this room, but I can’t use it as I please.

I should either get permission from Mister first or buy a cheap microphone.

[Osorin]: Ah, okay!

[Osorin] : Then let me know later!

[Osorin] : We’ll have to talk by chat for a while

Mister’s personality is such that he would probably say, “Why are you asking for permission for something like that?” and tell me to just use it.

Even if I buy a new microphone, with today’s rocket delivery, it will arrive the next day, so the day when we talk on the phone won’t be far.

‘I wonder if she’ll be surprised when she hears my voice?’

Unlike men, some women have young voices even when they become adults, so it’s difficult to guess their age just by their voice.

Therefore, I had no intention of hiding my voice.

But you never know what will happen in life.

‘I wonder if we’ll ever meet in person?”

I don’t know if that moment will come, but if it does, I wonder if she’ll be as surprised as Mister was when I revealed my identity.

Thinking about that,

‘That would be fun.’

A mischievous smile appeared on my face.

“Sua, are you okay?”

One day, Song Jakga, who came to supervise Mister and to see me, said that to me when she saw my face.

She had a worried expression, and she held my cheeks and examined my face.

“Uh, yes? I’m fine….”

“You’re fine, but why does your face look like this. You have dark circles down to your chin!”

“Ah.”

It seems that fatigue has accumulated in my body because I’ve been editing continuously these days.

Come to think of it, I haven’t slept in bed much.

I always fell asleep while editing, and when I woke up, I was in bed.

“I was too immersed in work these days…….”

“Work? Don’t tell me you’re editing videos without even sleeping?”

I couldn’t look at Song Jakga’s face, so I looked away.

Seeing me like that, Song Jakga’s anger shifted to Mister.

“No, what were you doing while the child became so haggard!”

“I, I just let the child do what she wanted……. I even put her to bed when she fell asleep in front of the computer……. Besides, I’ve been busy going to work lately.”

“If the orphanage director sees Sua like this, he’ll faint. So everyone, get dressed right now.”

“Why clothes?”

“This child is going to become a vampire at this rate. Let’s go for a walk.”

“……Can’t we just open the window and sunbathe?”

“Sua, you just come along quietly.”

“Yes…”

At Song Jakga’s firm command, we sluggishly put on our outdoor clothes.

I was going to try something different with the new video source I found yesterday….

“Hurry up!”

Leaving my regrets behind, I obediently put on my shoes.

“Huff, puff…. Wheeze! Haah….”

I roughly inhaled the cold January air.

Every time I inhaled, I felt the sensation of the path from my airway to my lungs, and I replenished my depleted oxygen.

“I, I can’t do it anymore….”

Staggering, I barely walked to the flower bed and leaned my body against it.

The cold marble cooled my heated body pleasantly.

The two adults looked at me with absurd expressions.

“Kid…, you really have no stamina.”

“I think we need to make her exercise….”

A national park a short drive from the studio.

We started with a light walk there.

It was okay at first.

Anyone can take a light walk.

But contrary to my expectation that we would just take a light lap, the two kept walking.

By the time we had circled the park three times.

My thin legs were trembling like a newborn giraffe, screaming silently.

‘H-how could I have such little stamina……!’

I was also surprised by my stamina.

I knew I had no athletic ability, but I didn’t know I had such little stamina.

Even though girls have less muscle strength, I think my body is strange to be dying after walking just under 3 kilometers.

My body when I was a man wasn’t very strong either, but now that I’ve become such a low-stamina body, I started to miss that time.

“Ha, haha…! It’s okay! I’m just going to stay inside and edit anyway! It’s okay if I don’t have stamina!”

“It’s not okay.”

Song Jakga immediately retorted.

Song Jakga handed me a water bottle and told Mister.

“From now on, take a walk with Sua every day, or at least every other day. At this rate, she’ll need rehabilitation, not exercise.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“And make sure she eats a lot. Nutrients are important, but just make her eat a lot. I saw her eating last time, and she eats like a bird.”

“Like a bird….”

I’m trying to eat a lot, though.

I even ate four pieces of the takoyaki that Mister bought last time.

…Although it took 30 minutes.

“If, if Sua refuses to go out, take a hostage.”

“A hostage?”

“Yes?”

“No computer if you don’t exercise.”

“What?!”

At that moment, the gentle Song Jakga’s face looked like a devil.

What a terrifying thought.

Taking away the computer from someone who works and lives on the computer!

It’s tyranny!

Surely Mister will understand my feelings.

Isn’t he a PD too?

He will definitely empathize with my heart and object to this excessive measure.

I looked up at Mister, who was contemplating with such expectations.

“Hmm…. Song Jakga, that’s-“

Please!

“-a very good idea. Have you raised a child before?”

Damn it!

Song Jakga said as if it were natural.

“It works like a charm when dealing with disobedient nephews. If you don’t finish your homework, you can’t play games. It’s effective for children of this age.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Song Jakga had a talent for handling children. Do you have any other tips?”

“I have a lot, when a child doesn’t want to eat”

Whisper whisper.

The two adults talked about parenting tips, leaving me behind.

As they spoke seriously, as if secretly transmitting martial arts, I was facing another crisis following the computer ban.

‘Ugh…! Open the lid!!’

I was thirsty and wanted to drink water, but my weak grip couldn’t turn the tightly closed lid.

‘Ugh! Let me drink some water!’

I was powerless.