Chapter 12 : This constellation is free (1)

WooSeok awoke to a pile of brand-new equipment, courtesy of Yena.

How she managed to gather all this in such a short time was beyond him, but he wasn’t complaining.

Each item came with a handwritten note detailing its use and precautions. Yena had also asked him to call her before starting his stream.

*

He couldn’t even count how many exclamation points she’d put after that request.

Not that he had anyone else to call, being a complete novice.

“This connects here…huh, didn’t know the capsule had this port.”

Simply playing the game hadn’t required this much setup, but streaming was a different beast. After fiddling with the devices for a while, he finally received the platform’s approval message.

Registering had been a breeze.

He’d even checked for any pre-existing IDs, but it seemed he hadn’t made one in this world; the “account not found” message confirmed it.

He logged into the capsule and started his stream as soon as he received the message.

The title: Untitled. He hadn’t even set up the video feed yet.

“Yena asked me to call her first…”

*

He invited Yena to his waiting room. She appeared instantly, as if she’d been waiting.

Did she take a break from her own streaming just for him?

“Been well?”

“Thanks to you. Did you get home alright?”

“I’m live, by the way!”

Yena frantically waved her hand, sharing her chat.

Ah, so she’d been streaming all along and just hopped over.

[– WooSeok! You doing okay?]

[– Missed you missed you missed you]

[– Why no streams? Did you abandon us? Why no streams? Did you abandon us?]

[– Daddy, it’s cold here…Daddy, where are you?]

The moment the chat window opened, messages flooded the screen.

Warm greetings, every one of them.

Or were they?

“Thanks, everyone. I’m just about to start, so any advice? Anything I should know?”

[WhereYouWannaKnow donated 100 Candies!]

[– I do want to know something!]

“Sure, ask away. Just not *that* place.”

[WhereYouWannaKnow donated 100 Candies!]

[– What happened with you and Yena two days ago? It’s the 300th repost already]

“Nothing much happened, really…Why are you blushing?”

Yena, remembering her embarrassing moment, ducked her head, speechless.

The viewers seized the opportunity.

[– No no no no no no]

[– Die die die die die]

[– …]

[– Daddy, I’m so cold, where am I? Daddy, did you abandon me?]

[– Lock]

The chat was refreshing at an overwhelming speed.

A streamer’s perceived virtue seemed to be universally important. He remembered a female streamer getting canceled for taking a Christmas break.

[– Explain yourself or face the consequences. I’ve never been this serious.]

[– Just refunded all my Candies]

[– Die die die die]

“No, it’s…Dammit!! I got dumped, okay?! Happy now?!”

His outburst put a stop to the viewers’ rampage.

They’d heard what they wanted.

[– Satisfied]

[– Yena Punch! Yena Punch!]

[– Knew we could trust you!]

[WooSeokPleaseCallMe donated 10,000 Candies!]

[– WooSeok…why haven’t you called yet? xxx-xxx-xxxx]

A sudden 1 million won donation popped up. He’d never call that number, though. He wasn’t about to sell his soul for money like Bitna.

“Uh, this is Yena’s room, you know…?”

“Wow~ Thanks for the 1 million won!!”

[WooSeokPleaseCallMe donated 100 Candies!]

[– Oh.]

“Nothing much happened, really. Honestly, I started this stream because I wasn’t sure what to do and wanted some suggestions.”

He was thinking of game streaming.

Not with Bitna’s cutesy act, but through genuine interaction with his viewers, experiencing the world anew.

To do that, he’d eventually have to let go of his apprehension.

Though getting *too* close might be troublesome.

[– Just seeing your face is enough]

[– Do whatever you want, WooSeok]

He’d missed this. The bustle, the space where he could be seen, where he could express himself.

Yena clapped, taking control of the situation. He had to learn from her, a successful streamer.

“Wait a sec! You know why I called you all here?”

“No, why?”

“Look closely, okay?”

Yena pointed at something in the air and clicked a button.

A cheerful chime followed by an alert sound rang out.

“Ta-da! I’m WooSeok’s first subscriber~! See? Founding Member badge!”

[– ?]

[– WooSeok’s streaming?]

[– Did she just skip the line?]

“WooSeok, trust me?”

Yena, grinning at the hate comments, turned serious and gripped his shoulders. It was the most serious he’d ever seen her, so different from the tissue-eating girl from yesterday. He couldn’t help but nod.

“Alright, I’ll stream you over to WooSeok’s channel. Do your best! Nine Founding Member badges left!”

Founding Member badges, given only to the first ten subscribers of a new streamer. Their value increased with the streamer’s popularity.

“WooSeok’s going to be number one anyway. See? They’re not even chatting now.”

As if on cue, the chat went silent. The constant barrage of messages stopped completely, even as the viewer count continued to rise.

“Now’s our chance to block those annoying trolls…”

Enjoying her position of power, Yena hummed. No hate comments were visible, though he could sense the trolls lurking.

He didn’t understand their obsession with the Founding Member badges, nor why they were taking it so seriously.

“Wow, they still aren’t chatting. Seriously dedicated…Now!”

*

As Yena’s stream ended, viewers flooded into his channel. Tens of thousands, just like that, for a day-one streamer?

“WooSeok, turn on the capsule’s auto-camera. It’ll record in 360, and viewers can choose their angle.”

He couldn’t let Yena’s efforts go to waste. They might love him regardless, but he had his pride.

“Oh, right.”

The constant alert sounds made it hard to hear. With his stream title and channel revealed, even more viewers poured in, overwhelming him.

“Do I have to greet every single one?”

“Nah, forget it. It’s tens of thousands! Whoa~ Still going up.”

The numbers kept climbing. His anxiety grew with them.

[– Hi WooSeok]

[– This stream feels different]

[– A familiar scent from a stranger]

[– Who’s that girl? Get lost]

[– 22]

[– 33]

“Hey! You came from my stream, didn’t you?”

Could he do this?

Were they worth it?

He didn’t want to disappoint them.

“WooSeok, it’s fine.”

“Yena…”

“They’ll love you no matter what you do.”

She was his guiding star, then and now.

With thousands watching, he felt himself trembling. Yena was his rock.

“Yena, I also…”

[Stop! donated 100 Candies!]

[– Stop the virtual marriage!!!]

The mood shattered. Flustered, Yena announced she’d switch to spectator mode and vanished.

[– Thank you, Stop!]

[– We were almost doomed…]

He smiled at their unwavering support and began his stream in earnest.

He had plenty of time, after all.

“Let’s start with introductions. I’m WooSeok, and I’ll mostly be streaming games. Can we drop the formalities?”

[– Of course!]

[– A man being friendly to me? I’m already gone]

[– WooSeok, call me]

[– Will there be lots of events?]

“So, no more formalities then? Oh, and about that question, thanks. By ‘events,’ do you mean like roulette?”

[– Yes]

[– Ready to buy, no matter the cost]

[– I’ve been preparing to watch WooSeok’s stream since I was in my mom’s belly]

[– Causing trouble at home so I can donate to WooSeok]

[– What’s the connection?]

[– Dunno. My mom always cries when she sees me]

[– What a jerk…]

“Anyway, about the roulette…what should the prizes be?”

[– Viewer participation!]

[– Participation! Participation!]

[– We want to see your face!]

The chat was surprisingly clean so far. He glanced at Yena; no problems there, it seemed.

Meeting them directly felt a bit much, though. Most would be shut-ins, and after yesterday’s chef incident, he couldn’t predict how they’d react.

“Um…is that a good idea?”

[– Limit it to once per day]

[– Make the probability super low]

[– Gradually add more items]

He felt himself being swayed, but with overwhelming support, he created the roulette. He wanted to grant their wishes, especially on his first stream.

“Let’s set the limit to once per person per day, 1 Candy per spin. 100 won, right?”

[– He’s a god!]

[– I’m already wet]

[– Wet where?]

[– My mom’s eyes when she saw me taking money from her purse]

[– Another jerk…]

“0.0001% chance for a personal meeting, 1% for viewer participation. The rest is…Bang.”

With such low odds, no one would win, right? They weren’t serious about this, right? Right?

[WooSeokLoyalist donated 100 Candies!]

[– 1% is pretty good]

[– Get him out of here]

[– Stop trolling]

[– Facts]

“Don’t worry. The participation event will involve games that can be played with hundreds of people. As for the 0.01%…let’s play a two-player game.”

[– Any plans for collabs?]

[– The gallery’s going crazy]

“Gallery?”

[– There’s a WooSeok gallery]

[– Tons of collab requests, check the top posts]

[– We made it while waiting for your stream]

A gallery. As if he was famous. In his other life’s memory, galleries were often toxic places.

[– If you haven’t decided on a game, how about a gallery tour?]

[– Let’s do some grave robbing, lol]

“Should we?”

He opened a browser window and navigated to the WooSeok gallery. Aware that he was watching live, they kept refreshing with new posts.

A streamer getting a gallery before even starting?

“All these people are watching right now?”

[– Yep]

[– Viewers from overseas too]

[– Auto-translation’s working, so no worries]

“Okay. I’ll randomly click on posts and play the games suggested. No 19+ stuff, though.”

As if waiting for his cue, provocative posts started appearing. He needed a manager. He’d been so focused on the stream itself that he’d forgotten.

[– That sounds fun]

[– Lots of games with skimpy outfits]

“I’ll skip any I don’t like.”

[– We’re being nice because it’s early days]

[– You wanna end up like Yena?]

He really needed to hire a manager. Even with Yena’s team helping, the sheer number of viewers was too much.

“I’ll click in ten minutes. I’ll browse the top posts until then.”

[WooSeokTheFaithful donated 100 Candies!]

[– Lawsuit content today?]

“I’ll let this one slide. But don’t push it.”

Being from a gender-reversed world, he wasn’t too fazed, but some comments were…unpleasant. A lot of them, actually. It had started clean, but the sheer volume brought out the worst.

He scrolled, dodging the offensive posts and steering the conversation elsewhere.

[< Holding my breath until WooSeok arrives. Hooop! >]

“This is the top post. Still breathing?”

The timestamp matched the moment he’d appeared on Yena’s stream. Clicking on it revealed an image of an archaeologist and a mummy, followed by all sorts of jokes.

[– He’s smiling, you know?]

[– “That’s what it says here, Doctor.”]

“If you’re still alive, I’ll give you a participation pass. Still there?”

Countless fakes immediately claimed to be the original poster. He should have known better.

“Okay, moving on.”

[– Why not me?]

[– Master! It’s really me!]

[– Wah, baby mummy here. Waiting for WooSeok]

The first post had been wholesome, giving him a false sense of security. The viewers seemed to be on the same page.

But the second post was where things took a turn.

[< WooSeok oppa’s boob parfait~! Hehe loop-dee-doo!! >]

“Who wrote this?”