Chapter 47 : Next to the next step

Since Miley pleaded with me, I took a two-day break from streaming.

“I believe the Master’s health is the top priority. Please broadcast after you have fully recovered, Master.”

Since she made a valid point, I couldn’t refuse.

Thanks to that, I didn’t play ranked games for two days, and as a result…

I had no choice but to fall from 1st place.

My current rank is 3rd.

“1st place is Balpo-Vitamin again… and 2nd place is CVC2039? Was that the German one? I can’t remember.”

“That is correct, Master. CVC2039 is German.”

Miley reported, and I shrugged.

“Well, whatever.”

I’ll get back up there anyway.

I went to work.

As soon as I arrived, I could hear *ddubang ddubang kongkong byongbyong* sounds from everywhere. Hmm, everyone must love *ddubang*.

Seeing the employees wearing the shoes I provided and working, I felt incredibly satisfied. Is this what employee welfare is all about?

I passed by the *ddubang*-ing employees and looked for CEO Cha.

“CEO Cha.”

“Yes, Chairman!”

At my call, CEO Cha, who was far away, came *ddubang ddubang*-ing. Hmm, hmm, very nice *byongbyong kongkong*. I’m satisfied.

“I have something to discuss about the future schedule. For now, it’s confidential… let’s go to the meeting room.”

“Understood, Chairman.”

I took the *ddubang*-ing CEO Cha to the meeting room.

After entering the meeting room, as soon as Miley slammed the door shut, I looked at CEO Cha and said,

“I’m going to acquire Patchick.”

“Yes? Uh… Yes?”

CEO Cha’s eyes widened.

“We can look at the internal broadcasting metrics and revamp the system a bit. Just because? Also, I thought I needed a platform I could control.”

As if finally understanding what I meant, CEO Cha nodded. There was already a precedent.

The reason I started broadcasting on Patchick, not Twitch, the giant American internet broadcasting platform.

Twitch’s monopolistic abuse is severe.

Currently, Twitch has practically devoured the entire internet broadcasting industry. It’s only because of YouTube that they haven’t been split in half by antitrust laws.

Thanks to that, Twitch has been able to squeeze broadcasters with its overwhelming power. So, what would happen if I did the same things I did in Korea on such a platform?

Well, it probably wouldn’t end well.

“Then, when will this acquisition plan be completed, Chairman?”

“Well, I think David… CEO Kim would know. He’s in charge of that.”

“Understood. I’ll schedule a separate meeting with CEO Kim about this.”

CEO Cha jotted something down on his tablet.

“And let’s divide the broadcasting system.”

“Divide? Meaning?”

I looked back at CEO Cha.

“I’ll take full control of the basic real-time live streaming part. I’ve thought about it, and I think I’d get much better results handling this myself.”

CEO Cha froze for a moment, then took a deep breath and asked back. He didn’t look particularly surprised. Rather, it was an expression of ‘it’s finally happening’.

“Then am I in charge of planned broadcasts?”

“Including backstage support. In addition, let’s appoint a separate co-CEO for company management. You seem a bit overwhelmed with the management side.”

“Hmm.”

The business management part was also a necessary step. David had already reported that CEO Cha’s methods had limitations unless he majored in business administration.

Handing over management to a professional CEO, but overseeing planning as co-CEO. Shouldn’t that be enough?

I shrugged as if to say not to worry.

“Well, your salary won’t change from before. It might even increase a little…”

“…?”

To CEO Cha, who wondered what that meant, I winked.

“There are such things. I’ll tell you later when the opportunity arises.”

I stopped there and stood up.

Now, shall I go back to being number one?

* * *

“Hello, everyone in the Thumbs-Up Squad.”

[Seongha~]
[Seongha, Seongha~]
[Seongha~]
[Wow, so many viewers, 30,000ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[Now SeongWon has become a major streamer…]
[At this point, not a major streamer, but a dinosaur]
[Soviet Big Mecha Dinosaurㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[It was good back in our small streamer days]
[It’s still good]
[Real talk]

I finally faced my viewers properly, having taken off the yellow bear doll head. Since it was in virtual reality, there was no stuffiness or limited vision even with the doll head on, but maybe there was a psychological aspect because I felt refreshed.

A sense of liberation, perhaps?

First, I need to apologize for the two-day break.

I bowed my head slightly.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t stream for two days. I think it was because I pushed myself too hard to keep my promise. It’s truly regrettable. Still, it was a health issue, so please understand.”

[It’s okay, it’s okay]
[You should rest when you’re sick]
[Unnie, your health is more importantㅠㅠ]
[You dropped to 3rd place lol]
[Hey, be quiet]
[She’ll be back up soon]
[Spy from another stream]

“I confirmed that my rank dropped to 3rd. It’s a shame. But I don’t think it matters much. I think I can get back up there within today.”

I shrugged and showed a bear thumbs-up.

[ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[‘I’m number 1 again’ declaration]
[But actually, it’s true though]
[If she goes slowly and steadily, she can build a wall of points and make it impossible to approach lol]
[Could the 3:4:1 SeongWon not do that much?]
[Real talk lol]

I folded my arms and waved my hand leisurely.

“That was possible because I pushed myself a bit too hard, and I don’t think it’s something I should push myself that hard for. It’s bad for my health to overwork. As you know, the flu is going around these days, right? If you push yourself too hard, you might catch the flu, so please don’t overwork yourselves, Thumbs-Up Squad.”

Then, a donation alarm popped up.

[KitchenHasChicken donated 1,000 won!]
[Heung, I’ll listen to you, noona, and not push myself too hard]

The sexually suggestive comments that CEO Cha mentioned were starting to increase. In just the two days I rested, all sorts of stories were circulating on community sites.

I have no choice but to accept that.

“It’s true that I’m pretty, but sexually harassing others is a very, very bad thing. So, I’ll start today’s Purge Roulette with this Thumbs-Up Squad member.”

[Huh? No lol]
[‘It’s true that I’m pretty’]
[No, if you admit it so openly lol]
[You’re busted, dude]
[Lol]
[Purge Roulette On]
[I’ll push myself too hard lol]

I immediately started the Purge Roulette.

Luckily, it landed on Customer Service.

“Now, let’s hear your final plea. Mr. KitchenHasChicken. Make your final plea. Why did you do that?”

[KitchenHasChicken donated 1,000 won!]
[No, it’s KitchenHasChicken!!!!!]

“I’ve heard your final plea. Since you haven’t shown any sign of remorse, I will carry out the sentence as is.”

I sent KitchenHasChicken or whatever to Customer Service.

A 10-minute chat ban.

“The bad Thumbs-Up Squad member will be fixed at the Customer Service Center and reborn as a good refurbished product. Isn’t that fortunate?”

[Yes, it is]
[Real talk]
[Resolute communist noona heung]
[Lol]
[Sigh]
[More importantly, when are you doing Soul? Asking for the first time!]

“Soul is, hmm. Well.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and lightly tapped the floor of the metaverse room with my heel.

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to play other games besides Soul? Soulframe is fun, but fun exists in various forms.”

In the end, I have no choice but to switch to being a variety streamer.

If I only stream Soulframe, I’ll inevitably be labeled a Soulframe streamer.

And once that kind of perception, or frame, is put on me, it becomes even more difficult to switch later.

It means losing the opportunity to appeal to a wider audience.

“There are tons and tons of fun games in the world. But life is too short to focus only on Soulframe. That’s truly sad.”

Viewers who caught the blatant implications in my words began to chatter.

[What, are you switching to variety streaming from today?]
[Lol, you’re switching because you don’t think you can maintain 1st place]
[Hey, she’s going to ‘conquer’ other games now]
[Get rid of the spies]
[How about Black Ops? Black Ops is fun too]
[Ugh, I’m not a fan of FPS games]
[If you’re not going to do Yeodongbin, at least play a martial arts game!!!]
[Black Ops is pretty standard]

Hmm, there’s talk of various games.

I’ve already decided on the next game with TS Media, but seeing the viewers’ reactions made me more certain. It seems my thoughts are the same as everyone else’s.

Furthermore, viewers didn’t seem to have much resistance to my declaration of switching to variety streaming.

As CEO Cha had argued before, the people who have been following my broadcasts have become addicted to me as an individual and the powerful performances I show.

‘…It feels strange to express it with the word addiction.’

Let’s move on from that.

The fact that it also applies to the new people who joined during my climb to 1st place is probably because TS Media has been working hard on public opinion.

They’ve ingrained the image that streamer SeongWon isn’t just good at Soulframe, but a gaming genius.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reaction.

[Noona, my peepee hurts]
└Chat with severely sexual content will be immediately banned. 30-minute chat ban for severely sexual content.
[Wow]
[The managers are doing a good job]
[But why are there 15 managers here?]
[Looking at the number of viewers, I understand somewhat, but 15 is crazy lol]
[More importantly, it seems like she doesn’t have any kind of filter, so are all those chats caught by human moderators?]
[Grinding manpowerㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]

Stupid reactions are also popping up.

Fortunately, the hired staff were doing a good job of filtering out the strange ones. As expected, if you grind people, everything gets solved.

I scanned the chat and smiled.

“Oh, of course, I’m not running away. Still, I have to finish the season in 1st place to say I was 1st.”

[???]
[Teacher, if you keep saying crazy things;;]
[For SeongWon, that’s a matter of course]
[It’s summer now, and you’re saying you’ll finish the season in 1st place? lol]
[A true superstar is different]
[The newcomers still don’t know SeongWon lol]
[‘I’ll be number 1 forever’ declaration ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[Goddess of arrogance;;]
[She is a goddess lol]
[Real talk]

The chat exploded, but I didn’t care.

I said it because I was confident.

That day, I rose to 1st place once again.

The broadcast time was 5 hours, like before.