Chapter 34: Save Me

As I mentioned before, it’s incredibly difficult for a rookie singer to break into the domestic real-time music charts.

Especially without viral marketing or chart manipulation.

“…That’s seriously impressive.”

If I remembered correctly, the song from the album cover I worked on last time had also made it onto the real-time charts.

Thinking about it, Rage’s musical talent was truly something else.

I decided to reach out again.

[Me: (screenshot of the music chart)]

[Me: Congratulations.]

[Me: I didn’t catch this before, but you made it onto the real-time charts. Props to you! 👏👏]

The reply came almost immediately.

[Rage: Haha, it’s nothing.]

[Rage: My goal is Billboard #1.]

[Me: That’s a bit of a stretch, lol.]

Even though Rage had incredible musical talent, there was still the undeniable reality of certain industry barriers.

Breaking into the Billboard charts was a whole different challenge.

‘Well, still… dreaming big is a good thing.’

With that thought, I gave a lighthearted response and continued browsing the internet.

I still had about 30 minutes before my stream started.

Click.

As I scrolled through different pages, a thought suddenly came to mind.

I realized I was curious about Heart Memorial, the game I had worked on.

I had taken the commission without really looking into what kind of game it was.

‘Might be fun to try it out on stream.’

I didn’t usually play these types of games on my broadcast, but since I had worked closely with the game’s representative, there shouldn’t be any issues.

If anything, they’d probably be happy about it.

With that in mind, I started my stream right away.

[The broadcast has started!]

With the notification announcing the start of the stream, viewers began to trickle in.

[Hahaha]

[+HurryAndLeave: Haha, hey there.]

[You started the stream pretty early today, lolol.]

[Why’d you take another two-day break, geez.]

[You streamed for ages last time—cut them some slack, lol.]

[Pepe: Yeah, they did spend forever on that illustration.]

Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered mentioning that I would stream the next day before ending the last broadcast.

Guess I forgot about that.

“Ah, sorry, everyone. I didn’t mention that I’d be taking a two-day break.”

[+HurryAndLeave: Boo, you trash.]

[How about streaming longer today to make up for it?]

[Lol, yeah, a longer stream would be nice.]

[Pepe: Taking two whole days off is pushing it…]

[Wasn’t the whole point of short streams because of low stamina?]

The reason I didn’t stream for long was due to my stamina, so doing a longer stream today would be tough.

I could push myself for a longer session if I wanted to, but that would just be borrowing time from future streams.

“I could go for a longer stream today, but if I do, I’ll probably end up taking another two days off.”

[+HurryAndLeave: Oh.]

[Nooooooo!]

[Please, just go to the gym already!]

[Is it really that hard to work out? Seriously?]

[We’re begging you—can’t you do something about it…?]

No matter how much the viewers begged, what wasn’t possible simply wasn’t possible.

I had no intention of pushing myself to the point where my health would suffer.

“You’ve got to balance real life and streaming. The moment one side tips too much, you end up losing both.”

With that, I naturally navigated to the download page for the game.

[Huh?]

[Oh, are we playing this today?]

[+HurryAndLeave: Whoa, you’re actually doing this?]

[Is this because you did the illustration for them?]

[Pepe: Isn’t this a sponsored stream?]

[Yeah, this has to be a paid promotion.]

It seemed like the viewers had completely misunderstood, so I corrected them.

“…Come on, I’m nowhere near big enough to get sponsorships. I’m just playing because it looks fun.”

[+HurryAndLeave: Oh.]

[Yeah, fair enough, lol.]

[If you want sponsorships, you’d need at least double your current viewers.]

[Realistically, no one’s paying for ads at this size.]

[Pepe: nods solemnly]

I had only started the stream because the game seemed interesting and I thought it’d be fun to play with the viewers, yet they were already throwing around words like “sponsorship.”

It was kind of absurd.

At the same time, it made me wonder—was my stream actually growing that much?

“Alright, let’s get started for real.”

I went to the game’s official website and began downloading it.

It was originally a mobile game, but since a lot of people played mobile games on their computers nowadays, there was a separate PC version available.

[+HurryAndLeave: By the way, the official website looks pretty nice, lol.]

[Wait, is this a Korean company? Why does it feel so… Chinese?]

[Weeb mobile games not having a Chinese vibe would actually be weirder.]

[Pepe: Too bad the character Yotte drew isn’t in the game yet. Sigh.]

[Yeah, would’ve been fun to play as that character.]

I had to admit—I was a little disappointed about that too.

If the character I designed had already been released, this would have been even more fun.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I finished downloading the game—

Vrrrm —— and launched it right away.

“So, uh… this is actually my first time playing a mobile game like this. I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I’d appreciate some guidance.”

I usually wasn’t the type to take backseat gaming from chat, but for a game I had no experience with, it was better to get some help.

After all, I had no clue how to play.

[+HurryAndLeave: Lolol, say no more.]

[I’ll coach you like a pro, lol.]

[Been playing weeb games for 11 years—don’t worry, I got this.]

[A 11-year veteran of weeb games sounds kinda terrifying.]

[Let’s gooo!]

[Pepe: Well, at least the artwork in the game looks nice so far.]

After glancing at chat, I started up the game.

[Loading…]

The setting seemed to be futuristic.

More specifically, it had a cyberpunk vibe.

“Oh, this kind of aesthetic. I have played a few games like this before.”

Since I was a fan of games in general, I’d had my fair share of cyberpunk experiences.

There was even a cyberpunk game I had pre-ordered and played extensively.

[+HurryAndLeave: Oh, that game, lol.]

[Yeah, that one was a total JOAT (jack of all trades) mess at launch.]

[It’s actually amazing now, though.]

[Would’ve been nice if it was fun from the start, smh.]

[Pepe: Seriously, why do devs release games half-baked and then fix them later? Just get it right the first time…]

“The more I hear, the more curious I am about this game’s story.”

Just as I was saying that.

[Loading complete!]

A moment later, a message popped up on the screen.

—Hello, Captain!

“…Huh?”

A large male character appeared on-screen.

Wearing nothing but a strategically placed cloth, he struck a seductive pose and addressed me as Captain.

[Ohhh.]

[Wow, that physique.]

[Now this is what I’m talking about, lol.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Damn.]

[Absolute peak male form. This is it.]

[I wanna suck on his baby pouch.]

ᄂ [User has been temporarily banned.]

[Pepe: Why is chat moving at the speed of light right now, lol.]

My brain froze for a moment.

I definitely hadn’t expected a character like this to show up.

At the very least, I thought he’d be wearing proper clothes.

“I’ll just… keep playing.”

Avoiding eye contact with the illustration, I kept my gaze low and focused only on reading the text, rushing through the dialogue.

I really didn’t want to stare at that character for longer than necessary.

—Captain, Talon is chasing us! Please, take them down!

“…Why are you asking me? Handle it yourselves.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

I couldn’t help it.

Normally, I tried to keep my reactions polite, but it was hard to be positive when I was being addressed by a barely dressed man covering only the absolute essentials.

[Lolololol.]

[They’re asking for help because they can’t do it alone.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Damn, you really hate this, lol.]

[Honestly, I’d probably feel the same way.]

[Pepe: This is killing me, lol.]

[Alright, time to fight~!]

I continued speed-reading through the text until —— Captain, now it’s time for a real fight! Let me show you how it’s done!

“…What do you mean, show me? Don’t show me anything.”

I felt like I was about to start swearing.

Forcing myself to look up slightly, I kept my eyes on the gameplay.

We take turns attacking!

That means team composition and positioning are everything!

Where you place us and when you switch us out can completely change the outcome of the battle, so keep that in mind!

“Oh, so it’s a turn-based game.”

That was a relief.

If this had been a Souls-like game where I had to personally slash at enemies, I would’ve been in serious trouble.

But since I actually liked turn-based games, I found myself gradually getting into it.

“So if I place the flamethrower unit here and the healer behind them…”

Captain, we’ve completely wiped out the enemy!

[Whoa.]

[You’re really good at this.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Wait, I have nothing to backseat… what the hell, lol.]

[Come on, at least pretend to struggle so we can give advice.]

[Why are you so good at everything, lolol.]

[Pepe: Is there any game you’re actually bad at…?]

The game was surprisingly fun.

I liked how the outcome changed depending on character placement.

Sure, it wasn’t a revolutionary mechanic, but it was still well-executed.

I was genuinely enjoying myself—until…

—Captain!!!

A new character suddenly appeared.

A male character.

Wearing a bunny costume.

Vrrrm.

Without hesitation, I force-closed the game.

“That’s it for today’s stream.”

[?]

[+HurryAndLeave: Huh? Just like that?]

[Wait, why?]

[You were just getting into it!]

[Oh.]

[Just a little more, just a little more, just a little more, just a little more, just a little more]

No amount of pleading was going to change my mind.

“…I’ve already been streaming for over three hours, and honestly? I can’t keep going after seeing that character.”

With that, I ended the stream immediately.

[The broadcast has ended!]

…The game was fun, sure.

But one thing was certain—I wasn’t playing this on stream again.