The door to the special room opened, and when the crowd’s cheers and overwhelming support followed, Sehee hesitated for a moment.
It wasn’t simply because she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.
After roughly estimating the crowd size, a small sigh escaped her lips.
‘Looks like most of the audience gathered here for this event… I wonder if the other side is okay.’
She was already worried that she might have caused trouble.
Of course, attending a fan meeting was a personal choice, and no one could really be blamed for it.
Still, being considerate was a natural thing, and Sehee couldn’t help but feel a little sorry—not just for other streamers but perhaps even for the STK team.
But…
‘I can’t back down here.’
These were people who had gathered just to see her.
Sehee smiled gently and raised her hand slightly, waving toward the crowd.
“Woooaaaah!”
It was like a coal-fueled steam train on the verge of going out of control.
It was nothing more than a casual gesture for the people who had come, done without much thought.
To someone unfamiliar with the situation, it might sound ridiculous that such a simple wave could excite people this much.
They might scoff, saying, “How could something like that matter?”
It’s a response rooted in a very common, straightforward way of thinking.
Something anyone could easily say.
And that would be true.
But…
“Wow!”
Next to the door, Dayoung let out an open exclamation as she filmed a vlog with her camcorder.
She was currently standing in for Ajin, who had run to the restroom after being overwhelmed by the extreme density of the crowd.
Still, even for someone like her, who was also a hero, the fanatic energy surrounding Friede was slightly overwhelming.
From ancient times, beautiful and charismatic people captivating crowds from the stage had always been a part of human history.
And who was Sehee? She was the strongest warrior, gifted with the beauty of a goddess.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t captivating.
‘She’s really coasting on her looks.’
No, this wasn’t just something that could be dismissed as looks alone.
Friede, Ji Sehee’s body, was the pinnacle of physical beauty that could be shaped under the theme of humanity.
She didn’t just possess charm; she had an irresistible, almost magnetic allure.
Without that, no matter how exceptional her gaming skills were as a female streamer, it would have been difficult to achieve this level of popularity.
In the end, it comes down to this:
‘She’s great to look at.’
No matter how many times you look, you never get tired of it.
No wonder people get hooked. Damn.
“Unnie! You’re so beautiful! Hug meee!”
“Huh?”
Hearing a familiar voice nearby, Dayoung turned her head.
Her gaze followed the crowd and stopped at a group of people wearing familiar uniforms with black backgrounds and red logos.
A professional team—there was only one that could be here at this event.
It was STK.
Among them was a girl, squealing excitedly and repeatedly shouting “Unnie,” someone Dayoung could never forget.
“Yeon-ggot?”
“What the heck?”
“Why are you here?”
“What happened to your team’s fan meeting?”
“Unnie! You’re so pretty!”
“Your bare face is insane.”
“This is like nerfing an idol cam.”
“Hey, man! Move your head a bit, would ya?”
“Even rough shots of her look like magazine spreads.”
“Friede! Please come forward a bit more!”
Before she could sort out her confusion, Yeon-ggot’s exclamation triggered even more chaos within the crowd.
It was like a nest full of baby birds, each desperate for even a moment of attention.
Dayoung took a step back.
There wasn’t anything she could do to fix this situation.
‘Even celebrity fan meetings aren’t this intense.’
She wished she could cover her ears, but unfortunately, the reality of holding a camcorder with one hand made that impossible.
The hall—well, it was a hall, right? It was packed with people.
It was a large space with a giant screen behind the platform and room for over a hundred people.
Now, it was filled wall to wall.
“Has Warfare had a venue like this before?”
Not being someone who frequently watched league broadcasts, Dayoung found herself unable to recall anything.
She stepped onto a moderately tall platform, which wasn’t too high to climb all at once.
The view before her was quite a spectacle.
She had arrived, but now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to do.
All she had in mind was sitting in a chair, signing autographs, or saying a few words of encouragement.
Maybe shaking hands, at most.
That was the image she had of fan meetings.
As she stood there, doing nothing, a staff member finally came up with a microphone in hand.
So, she was supposed to communicate with this and figure out how to proceed on her own, it seemed.
“Nuna! Over here!”
“Friede mommy! Do the mischievous act!”
“Can I take a personal photo?”
“What are you saying, man?! No private photos!”
“Who even are you to say that?!”
“What are your three sizes?!”
“Nuna, what’s your name?”
First, she needed to calm this crowd down.
At this rate, we wouldn’t even be able to start.
Feeling the firm grip of the microphone in my hand, I took a deep breath and shouted a single word.
“Shh!”
I raised a finger to my lips, signaling for silence as I looked toward the crowd.
Gradually, the feverish energy began to settle, and I could feel the weight of all those focused gazes pressing down on me.
As the murmuring died down, an inexplicable sense of satisfaction welled up inside me.
Taking that as my cue, I spoke again.
“Hello, this is Friede.”
For such a large-scale fan meeting, my greeting was rather short.
But it seemed effective—everyone’s attention was now completely locked onto my lips.
Even more intensely than before.
“I didn’t expect so many of you to come. I’m sure you didn’t end up at the wrong fan meeting by accident. Thank you again for all your support.”
For an event without a host, this was a decent start.
I had probably passed the bare minimum.
“Honestly, this is my first fan meeting, so I wasn’t sure what to do. If I had known so many of you would be here, I would have put more thought into it.”
Preparing to move on to the next part, I decided to be upfront about what I had planned.
“I was originally just going to sign autographs… but seeing how much you all love me, I feel a little guilty.”
“Anything is fine!”
“Signatures, handshakes, photos—just do everything!”
“What are you saying?! Stay within the lines!”
“Sing a song, nuna!”
“Hug me!”
The crowd, which I had barely calmed down, erupted like a flood once again.
If the chat from my livestream were brought to life, it would look exactly like this.
They must have seen this as some kind of reward for being fans of Friede, which only made them even more excited.
“Alright, calm down, calm down.”
Thankfully, speaking through a microphone made it easy to get my point across.
Maybe it was because I was talking to them in person rather than through a screen.
Unlike the internet, meeting people face-to-face seemed to turn even the most chaotic fans into obedient lambs.
But I couldn’t just let this event drag on endlessly without any structure.
***
‘Now that I think about it…’
A particular request from earlier lingered in my ears.
“Hug me.”
That… might actually work.
Turning toward the source of the voice, I spoke up.
“If you’re okay with it, come forward one at a time. I’ll give you a hug.”
A gentle touch of comfort and encouragement.
A faint scent of peaches drifting by.
A light pat, firm enough to be reassuring.
Soothing words spoken in a graceful voice.
And the sight of her face as the embrace ended.
Only a second of contact, but to him, it felt like an unforgettable dream.
“So, your name is…?”
“Ah, B-Ba… Park Suchan!”
“Oh, Park Suchan, I see.”
Of course, offering hugs didn’t mean I was giving deep, intimate embraces.
It was a respectful, slightly distanced hug, with a simple pat on the shoulder.
The kind of gesture a mother or older sister might give to a younger family member.
“Thank you for coming. You worked hard today.”
That alone was enough to make them overflow with joy.
No, more than just most of them—probably every single one.
I wasn’t exactly an expert on these kinds of events, but I was pretty sure even celebrities didn’t go this far with fan service.
From that perspective, even a simple hug at a fan meeting was an enormous gift.
“I don’t think I’ll ever shower again… Thank you so much, nuna.”
“…….”
Well, at least it was effective.
If only they didn’t say things like that at the end.
Watching Fan A shuffle away like a penguin, I sighed internally before turning to the next person in line—
And my eyes widened in surprise.
“Eunha?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m here.”
‘Didn’t you have your team’s fan meeting?’
She must have read my thoughts from my expression.
Following her gaze, I spotted several STK players further back in line.
And now that I looked more closely, I noticed other streamers mixed in as well.
Gunder, Haldir, and Bisu were all there.
They all had their own events, yet they’d come here instead. ‘Was that really okay?’
“Unnie, make it a real one.”
Eunha spread her arms wide, leaning forward.
I decided to take it in stride.
The best recordings always came from moments like these, when unexpected guests livened up the scene.
This would definitely make for great vlog content.
Out of curiosity, I glanced over to see what Dayoung and Ajin were doing—
And what I saw was…
“Huh?”
Dayoung and Ajin, gripping their lips in frustration, trembling.
The way Dayoung was holding the camcorder looked dangerously unsteady…
Well, as long as they were still filming, it should be fine.