To be honest, if this were an ordinary client, I might have hesitated.
After all, this was the first time I had received a direct, personal request like this.
Even so, the reason I immediately accepted the request was simple.
“Because it seemed fun.”
That single reason alone was enough. Requests kept coming in regardless, after all.
“Could you send me the single track separately? I’d like to listen to it and decide how to approach the design.”
-Sure! I’ll send it to you by email.
“Alright, take care.”
After ending the call, not long after—
Ding!
An email from Reiji arrived with the track attached.
Click.
I downloaded the track and pressed play.
Immediately, a soothing melody began to fill my ears.
At first, it felt soft and smooth, similar to Reiji’s other songs—a sound clearly crafted to appeal to the masses.
“…It’s good, but something feels a little lacking.”
The song was undoubtedly well-made, but to my ears, it felt slightly incomplete.
Since I occasionally fiddled with MIDI as a hobby, I found myself thinking the song might benefit from a few additional touches.
“Maybe it could use a richer bass line.”
Before I knew it, I had started to tweak the track Reiji had sent me.
I added some extra bass in the background and even layered in a bit of guitar.
I was unconsciously adding more instruments when.
“Oh, right. I’m supposed to be drawing.”
This was not the time for pointless tinkering.
I needed to get to work on the illustration.
The song had a basic vibe of a bittersweet love story.
Not quite a ballad, more in the realm of R&B.
So, like the previous time, I needed to create something that had a dreamy atmosphere, while also clearly expressing the emotion of love.
“So then…”
After forming a clear image of the illustration in my mind, I slowly began bringing it to life.
Scribble, scribble.
Though it’s said that drawing a single piece can take a considerable amount of time for most people, I’ve always been quick with my hands, so completing an illustration didn’t take me very long.
The quality was good.
Once I transferred the image in my head onto the tablet, I made a few adjustments.
“Hmm…”
The illustration turned out beautifully.
However, if there was one thing I wasn’t completely satisfied with, it was how it felt too saturated with emotions of love.
‘I’ll need to create another version.’
Normally, I wouldn’t go this far, but Rage’s song was so good that I felt it was worth drawing one more piece.
After finishing a slightly more upbeat version of the illustration, I combined both versions into a single file and set it up for scheduled delivery to Rage’s email.
[Your email is scheduled to be sent tomorrow.]
“Phew, all done…”
The reason I didn’t send it immediately was simple.
From past experience, I’d noticed that clients sometimes felt offended if they thought a commission had been completed too quickly.
Even if the quality was excellent, the perception of speed often made people assume the work was rushed, which occasionally led to dissatisfaction.
‘I don’t know why they feel that way, though.’
If the quality was subpar, it’d make sense, but I’ve had clients complain even when the work turned out great because it was done “too quickly.”
Rage probably wouldn’t react that way, but better safe than sorry.
“Yawn…”
Yawning, I finished up the illustration and switched gears, launching my stream right away.
Streaming had become incredibly enjoyable for me lately.
I’d even call it an irreplaceable hobby now.
Thinking that, I started the stream.
[The stream has started!]
As the notification went live, viewers began trickling in.
[Haha]
[Hello thereee~]
[+HurryAndLeave: You’re a bit late today, hmm…]
[How are you always on time? Haha, people can be late sometimes!]
[You always go live for us, wow!]
“Ah, hello, everyone.”
After greeting them, I began some small talk.
“So, what did you all do today?”
[Nothing much, just lazing at home, eating food.]
[+HurryAndLeave: Maybe let’s avoid talking about real-life stuff.]
[Why do you even care?]
[Pepe: Why are these people so uptight? Hahahahaha!]
[Of course it sucks when someone randomly asks how your day was.]
When I asked about their day, some viewers suddenly got annoyed.
I was caught off guard.
“…I think it’s fine to ask how your day was. Surely you didn’t do nothing today.”
[Oh.]
[Please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop.]
[Stop it already.]
[We’re sorry.]
[+HurryAndLeave: Please no more real-life talk plzzz.]
Looking at the chat, it was hard to tell if they were joking or genuinely upset.
These people joked around so much that it was difficult to gauge their sincerity.
Still, to be safe, it was probably better to drop the topic.
“Anyway, what would you like to watch today?”
[+HurryAndLeave: Oh!]
[+HurryAndLeave: Do we get to choose today?]
[Reore Reore Reore Reore Reore Reore Reore Reore Reore Reore!]
[Let’s do an art stream for a change!]
[Turn on your cam! Cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on!]
[Pepe: Today’s stream is three hours long, folks.]
[Pepe: We can do it all!]
The chat was a flurry of suggestions.
Some wanted to play Reore, others asked for an art stream, and a few even suggested replaying the FPS game I played with Glim last time.
Some chat messages even asked me to turn on the camera.
“Please don’t ask me to turn on my cam. I keep it off so I can stream comfortably. If I turn it on, I won’t be able to have as much fun.”
It’s important to shut down those kinds of messages quickly.
If you let them slide, the demands will only keep coming.
[+HurryAndLeave: Why are people even asking for the cam?]
[What, do they think turning on a cam is a joke?]
[Is a cam some kind of toy to you?]
[Pepe: Cam talk… ugh.]
[But hey, are you good-looking? Like, objectively, what do you think?]
They were asking if I thought I was good-looking.
“…I don’t think I’m unattractive, objectively speaking.”
Beauty standards vary from person to person, but if we’re talking about general norms, I wouldn’t say I’m ugly.
[+HurryAndLeave: Oh, that confidence tho, haha!]
[This is real confidence.]
[Will you ever reveal your cam later?]
—Temporarily removed from chat!
[Why do people keep going on about cams?]
[Pepe: Seriously, just stop already.]
“Maybe I’ll turn the cam on in, like, five years? By then, we’d probably be pretty close, right?”
Honestly, if that much time passed, I’d consider revealing my face.
It sounded like it’d be fun to do it then.
“Anyway, let’s vote on what we’ll do today. Please cast your votes!”
[+HurryAndLeave: If you’re Korean, please vote for the art stream.]
[Let’s go Reore, let’s go Reore, let’s go Reore, let’s go Reore!]
[These Reore fans, lol.]
[Pepe: Art stream, let’s gooo.]
[FPS is fun too, though…]
And so, the voting began.
[Author: HurryAndLeave]
[Title: Oops, Stream’s ON]
[Content: Let’s gooo!]
L: Viral moment incoming lol.
N: At this point, even comments saying “Stop going viral” are the most viral. Haha.
N: Fact: It’s actually true, though.
L: Let’s dive right in, lol.
N: This is gonna be crazy fun.
[Author: HurryAndLeave]
[Title: Today, they started drama the moment the stream began, lol.]
[Content: (CLIP) “Ugh, ten years of this, seriously, lol.”]
L: Starting drama right from the get-go, hahahaha.
N: But maybe they don’t even realize they’re causing drama.
L: Hearing them say that in that voice kinda hits differently. Is it just me?
N: Calm down, geez.
L: Why are there so many posts about this stream? They only get like 100 average viewers.
N: FYI, a few days ago, they only had 20 viewers on average.
N: People are posting now so later they can say, “I knew them first…” when they blow up.
[Author: HurryAndLeave]
[Title: Everyone, get in the stream and vote already, please.]
[Content: (Link) Please join the stream and vote for the art stream! A person’s life depends on it!]
L: Yeah, no way, lol.
N: Lol, this guy’s requests are an instant no for me. Nope.
L: Fine, I went in, voted for Reore immediately, and came back. Haha.
N: Please, just stop, HurryAndLeave.
The chaos in the forums reflected the intensity of the voting.
Everyone was caught up in the moment, from pleading for votes to outright trolling.
N: But seriously, no joke, Reore won.
N: Hey, HurryAndLeave, you piece of sh—
N: What are you even gonna do? Haha. Other than sitting in your room watching a Reore stream, what else can you do? Hahahahahaha.
[Author: Pepe]
[Title: Miraculous Voting Rate on Today’s Stream, lololololololololol]
[Content: (CLIP) Their reaction is absolutely hilarious, lololol.]
L: The stream only had 120 viewers, but 300 people voted? LOL.
N: Classic Russian-style voting.
L: Definitely shady. Thumbs up if you agree! Haha.
N: Big thumbs up.
N: The voting system must’ve been completely wrecked.
L (HurryAndLeave): Ugh…
N: Did someone threaten you to post the link on the gallery? Haha.
[Title: Breaking News—Reore Wins After All]
[Content: (CLIP) Reore wins by an overwhelming margin, lmao.]
L: I want to die.
N: Nah, you gotta stay alive to watch Reore. No dying for you.
N: Haha.
L: That smug user… I swear, they’re the worst.
N: Hang in there…