Chapter 9: What’s Wrong with My Nickname?

I was a bit taken aback when they suggested meeting in person.

No one I’d done commissions for so far had ever asked to meet me.

“Suddenly?”

—If your schedule doesn’t allow it, I understand, but I have something I’d like to discuss about the album jacket.

It seems like I’ll need to do an interview for it…

Rage’s tone was exceptionally humble.

It made me curious why they were so intent on meeting me.

After all, an interview could easily be conducted online.

“But can’t we just do the interview online?”

Hmm…

Well, yes, we could, but I’ve put so much effort into this album. If I’m doing it, I’d like to do the interview properly as well.

Still, Rage’s determination was unrelenting.

They insisted on conducting the interview face-to-face.

I had no choice but to accept.

“Alright, then… Let’s meet. Where should we meet?”

Oh! In that case, where are you based? I’ll come to an area near you.

And just like that, the meeting with Rage was quickly arranged.

I went to the café Rage had suggested, ordered a coffee, and waited.

Not long after, I noticed a very hip-looking woman glancing around near the entrance.

She had the same face as the photo Rage had sent me.

“Over here.”

“Oh!”

When Rage spotted me, she cautiously approached and greeted me.

“Hello!”

“Oh, yes, hi.”

“By the way, your illustrations are incredible!”

“Well, it’s my job.”

I replied casually, and we exchanged some light small talk.

It seemed like the kind of conversation meant to ease the initial awkwardness.

“By the way, you haven’t released many songs, have you? I tried looking them all up to listen, but there weren’t that many.”

“Well, I’m the type who prefers to release songs properly when I do, so I don’t put out songs recklessly.”

“No wonder all your songs are so good.”

“Haha.”

The small talk helped ease the awkwardness a bit, and soon we moved on to the main part of the interview.

Just as I had let my instincts guide me while drawing the album jacket, I spoke freely during the interview, saying whatever came to mind.

It felt like Rage might appreciate the candidness more.

How much time had passed like that?

“Thank you for agreeing to the interview.”

“No, it’s fine… It was fun.”

“Oh, and I made a few sample CDs with the artwork you created last time. Here, please take one.”

As Rage spoke, she took a CD out of her bag and handed it to me.

The CD cover featured the illustration I had drawn.

“Oh, thank you. I hope your album does well.”

“Thanks! Well, I’ll stay at the café for a bit longer, so you can go ahead.”

“Alright, I’ll be heading off first.”

With that, I wrapped up the conversation with Rage and left the café to return home.

“Hmm… It does look pretty.”

The album jacket, crafted with my utmost care, was undeniably beautiful.

It had an elegant, distinctly East Asian charm to it.

Feeling satisfied, I decided to upload the illustration to my social media.

It was an account with 50,000 followers, so I doubted the artist would mind.

It wasn’t like I usually posted anything inappropriate anyway.

Thinking along those lines, I propped the CD up against the wall as a decorative piece.

It seemed perfect for that purpose.

“Time to start streaming.”

Lately, I’d grown quite fond of streaming.

Talking with complete strangers had turned out to be surprisingly fun, especially since I was the one leading the conversations.

Click-click.

With movements far more skilled than before, I adjusted the settings and started the stream.

[The broadcast has started!]

As the stream began, viewers started joining.

It was fascinating.

I’d heard countless stories about streams that remained stuck at zero viewers for months.

“Hello, everyone.”

As I greeted them, familiar viewers from the previous streams appeared in the chat.

[HurryAndLeave]: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[You started streaming early today, haha.]

[Pepe]: Reore? Reore?

“Reore again today? I don’t think so. I watched the replay of yesterday’s stream, and… well, I looked pretty strange.”

I hadn’t seemed odd while playing the game, but watching the replay made me realize how weird I must have appeared.

Almost like some kind of eccentric person.

Because of that, I decided to avoid streaming Reore unless I had a compelling reason.

[HurryAndLeave]: Oh no!

[HurryAndLeave]: Then is today an art stream?

[Sounds fun, haha.]

[Are you taking drawing requests?]

[Pepe]: Whoa, your stream’s really picking up viewers lately.]

[What’s going on?]

Looking at the chat, I could feel how much the audience had grown.

[Viewers: 21]

The number of viewers had skyrocketed.

Honestly, I was in disbelief.

Just a few days ago, I only had one viewer.

It seemed like someone out there was promoting me relentlessly without my knowledge.

I felt genuinely thankful as I announced today’s plan.

“Today, I’m planning to play a shooting game. Ideally, I’d love to do art streams every day, but, well… I have some personal circumstances.”

I would have liked to do art streams every day, but some clients explicitly requested that their commissions not be shared publicly.

Because of that, I couldn’t always draw during my streams.

Today was no exception.

[HurryAndLeave]: Wow.

[HurryAndLeave]: This should be fun, haha.

[Call of Duty? ㅋㅋ]

[What do you mean by 근옵 (근본 옵션)?]

[Pepe]: Are you doing viewer participation?

“Probably not. Maybe someday, though.”

For now, chatting with the viewers like this was enough.

It didn’t feel necessary to go as far as playing with them.

Of course, if my viewer count grew significantly, I might consider it in the future.

But that felt like a distant possibility.

With those thoughts, I quickly logged into the game.

The nickname displayed at the top caught my eye:

[BestOfTheBestJaehun]

‘I really should change that nickname.’

Changing nicknames cost money, which made it hard to justify.

After all, it wasn’t a game I played frequently.

Still, I felt a little uneasy.

What if people recognized me?

I hadn’t done anything bad under this account, but ever since seeing how Glim’s viewers wandered into my stream, I’d been more cautious.

“Alright, I’ll play a casual match first to get the hang of things. Once I’m warmed up, I’ll switch to ranked.”

With that, I officially started the gaming stream.

[Author: HurryAndLeave]

[Title: What is this? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Content: (Photo) I’m watching this small streamer, and isn’t this the same person who showed up on Glim’s stream? ㅋㅋㅋ]

L: Isn’t it the same nickname?

N: Seems like it.

L: This game allows duplicate nicknames though, so stop jumping to conclusions.

N: Yeah, stop overreacting.

[Author: Pepe]

[Title: No, you fools, it is the person from Glim’s stream.]

[Content: (Photo) (Photo) It’s clearly the same person from before. Look, even the code after the name matches.]

L: Wow, it’s actually true. LOL

L: So, BestOfTheBestJaehun, the guy who massacred Glim’s stream for the chicken giveaway, is real?

N: That title is way too long, LOL.

L: Wait, seriously? It sounds like a joke.

N: Pepe: (Link) Go check for yourself, LOL.

[Title: Just confirmed it.]

[Content: (CLIP) I went and checked, and it’s the same person, LOL.]

L: Can someone share the link?

N: Just search for “Yogurt” on Twis.

N: Or “Daeyote,” LOL.

L: Wait, so the guy who made that whole scene on Glim’s stream is actually him? LMAO.

L: This is absolutely ridiculous, ROFL.

[Author: HurryAndLeave]

[Title: Don’t spam the stream, guys.]

[Content: Please don’t spam his stream. Yogurt isn’t the type to be hurt by that, but still, no spamming.]

L: Reading this made me want to spam even harder, LOL.

N: Come on, man.

L: But honestly, when I checked out his stream last time, his mental game was solid.

N: Yeah, most small streamers get totally rattled when trolls show up, but he turned it around on them.

N: It’s just natural talent, I guess.

[Title: Who the hell is Yogurt, and why are people losing it?]

[Content: Seriously, I’ve never even heard of this guy before, but the viral buzz is insane. What kind of agency is backing him for this level of promotion?]

L: Complaining about viral marketing while contributing to it—classic.

N: What are you even saying, idiot?

N: Chill, everyone~~ No need to fight.

N: Shut up.

N: What did you just say, you [redacted]?

L: The comments are wild, LOL.

How much time had passed since I started playing the FPS game?

The viewer count at the top of the screen caught my eye.

[Viewers: 142]

I was stunned.

“…Where are all these people coming from?”

The viewer count was practically duplicating itself.

I was dumbfounded.

I wasn’t some sort of stock skyrocketing on breaking news, yet viewers kept flooding in and out.

“Well, I appreciate everyone stopping by, but please don’t stir up trouble in the chat.”

If trolling started, I’d have no choice but to start banning people.

I just hoped everyone could get along peacefully.

[What’s your relationship with Glim? What’s your relationship with Glim? What’s your relationship with Glim? What’s your relationship with Glim?]

[Stop spamming, you crazy Glim fans, LOL.]

[This is absolutely chaotic, LOL.]

[Dealing with Glim’s fanbase isn’t easy.]

[HurryAndLeave]: On behalf of the viewers, I apologize…]

But it didn’t seem like my hopes for a peaceful stream would come true.