A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 104

Harum was quite confident about this video.

‘You can be like this too’ was a project that started from Harum’s desire to take care of the health of female streamers and YouTubers.

And because it featured workouts suitable for women, the viewers of ‘You can be like this too’ were quite diverse.

The first group, of course, were the subscribers of the Health Project.

They liked the channel itself, and even if non-workout related videos from the Health Project trainers were uploaded, they would still watch them.

The second group consisted of people who simply loved exercising.

These viewers tuned into the show to gain workout knowledge because they were genuinely into fitness.

Even if the workout was tailored for women, there was still something to learn inside.

The third group was ordinary women.

As workouts suited for women were introduced, most Internet broadcasters tended to be quite weak in terms of fitness due to their profession.

Therefore, ‘You can be like this too’ provided videos that were perfect for regular women who wanted to learn simple exercises.

The fourth group was fans of streamers or YouTubers who appeared as guests.

Watching a video featuring someone they liked was, without a doubt, a given.

Even if they weren’t core fans, if their favorite streamer appeared in a video on another channel, they would often click on it just for that reason.

And finally, the fifth group was just men.

Even if they weren’t subscribers of the Health Project.

Even if they didn’t like working out.

Even if they weren’t fans of whatever streamer or YouTuber they usually followed.

There were quite a number of men watching simply because it was a video of a woman exercising.

It wasn’t strange.

Right now, there were many female viewers of that kind in videos with Harum and the male trainer, Hyunho, known as the dual mountains of the Health Project.

After all, the act of exercising for self-care is inherently attractive.

Especially when the subject is the opposite sex, it was even more understandable.

Thus, Harum was all the more confident about this upcoming ‘You can be like this too’ video.

There was a streamer whose reasons for wanting to hide herself made no sense at all.

Rene had suddenly given permission to use a video filmed last time for ‘You can be like this too.’

Normally, that video would have been edited according to Rene’s wishes and placed in the ‘Just 15 minutes!’ category.

That fact was extremely regrettable for Harum and the Health Project staff, but it was beyond their control.

After all, you couldn’t upload a video without the subject’s permission.

However, Rene changed her mind and granted permission, meaning the only thing left was to fully utilize this material.

There would be some annoying tasks like additional filming and post-recording, but no one among the Health Project staff felt discontent.

It was obvious that this video would be a huge hit.

Going by Harum’s instinct, it was bound to achieve the highest views among the ‘You can be like this too’ videos.

Because Rene exercising was undoubtedly appealing.

Her toned body, sculpted by past workouts, had no excess fat whatsoever.

Her limbs stretched out as if saying it was natural no matter what action she performed.

On top of that, the feminine charm that couldn’t be hidden even when wearing sports underwear!

Of course, it was a huge bummer that she had to edit her face and hair based on Rene’s wishes, meaning they couldn’t showcase her looks entirely, but even so, the charm Rene showed in the finished edit was more than enough.

“Editing, done…!”

“What’s the highest view count for ‘You can be like this too’?”

“The basic workout episode with Serim was… 4.1 million views.”

“And what’s our subscriber count now?”

“1.01 million.”

“Views could reach 5 million, and subscribers might go up to 1.1 million, no, maybe 1.15 million….”

The Health Project was already experiencing a significant growth trend, with subscriber numbers climbing at an astonishing rate.

And Harum believed that uploading this video would elevate that trend even further.

Of course, the video felt more like ‘I can already do this’ rather than ‘You can be like this too,’ but that freshness was also nice.

After all, the editing of this video was completed, and to cover any possible issues, they all watched it together again, but there were no problems at all.

Even with the face and hair obscured, it was a perfect video where Rene’s charm still shined through.

“Okay, let’s send the video to Rene first! The next task will be after that!”

“Yes!”

If there were any parts in this video that Rene didn’t like, they had to fix them.

But they all thought that wouldn’t happen at all.

So much so, that this video was flawless.

[Inquisition Officer: Please edit everything again.]

[HP – Harum: Huh???]

“…Why on earth?!”

Before Rene’s response came, Harum was puzzled.

★

The first emotion I felt when I appeared in the video was ‘Editing went well.’

My face was perfectly masked by a black circle like a mask, with a small question mark drawn in the center.

And my hair was dyed pitch black. As if it had always been that color.

According to the description in the email, completely removing hair was impossible, and dying it black was the best option.

But even that was good enough for me.

I didn’t mind if people couldn’t see my silvery-white hair; I just didn’t want it to be visible.

If people looked at me and thought I looked ordinary, it could bring me unexpected joy.

[Rene, would you try moving like this?]

[Yes….]

[Press your back against this, and like this.]

[Yes….]

[Now bend like this.]

[Yes….]

[…Then can you please lift this one last time?]

[Yes….]

I encountered no issues while receiving some tests.

If things could just continue this way, it would be fantastic.

[Then, let’s start with one of the most basic movements, the Hundred position. Raise your legs up like this… head up too, while looking at your toes. And exhale while bringing your arms high above your thighs, lowering them so they don’t touch your body… You repeat this 100 times for the Hundred position.]

Once Harum’s demonstration in the video concluded, the camera turned to me.

My attempt to follow Harum was… so perfect that I couldn’t find a single difference.

That’s why I received praise.

It made me feel good.

[Next, let’s try the Swan position. This position is named after its resemblance to a swan and is used to strengthen the lower body, including the waist. It is popular among women due to its considerable effects on enhancing the backside.]

“…Huh?”

And then I discovered the biggest problem with this video.

[Inquisition Officer: Please edit everything again.]

[HP – Harum: Huh???]

[HP – Harum: Can you explain to me why?]

[Inquisition Officer: …It seems difficult.]

[HP – Harum: We need to know the reason to edit it again ㅠㅠ.]

[Inquisition Officer: Do I have to say it?]

[HP – Harum: Yes…!]

[Inquisition Officer: I’m embarrassed.]

“…Huh?”

Harum couldn’t understand that Rene’s message.

What could possibly be embarrassing about that?

Previously, Harum had heard from Rene that she disliked her appearance being known.

She hadn’t told the exact reason, but Harum assumed it was because of embarrassment.

With looks like hers, it was only natural to draw attention.

If Rene had a shy personality, it was somewhat understandable that she would find that aspect embarrassing.

However, Harum thought that these problems were resolved by hiding her face and dyeing her hair a different color… Now, to ask for edits because she felt embarrassed seemed nonsensical.

It felt like something was off.

‘So, it means she changed her mind after watching the video, but why on earth…?’

“Ah.”

A fleeting thought crossed Harum’s mind.

But she tried to dismiss it, telling herself it couldn’t be the case—that it made no sense.

However, there was no other reason that came to mind.

“Ugh, no way… but Rene is an adult, after all.”

[HP – Harum: By any chance, Rene, can we have a quick phone call?]

[Inquisition Officer: Yes.]

Then, after calling Rene, Harum sent the other staff members away, so they could talk privately.

[So, um, it’s absolutely not okay.]

“Excuse me, Rene, this might be a bit intrusive, but can I ask you one question…?”

Harum’s guess turned into a certainty.

[Yes?]

“Are you… um, do you happen to have no dating experience at all?”

[Uh, well, is this… the important topic right now…?]

‘Bingo.’

It was confirmed quite clearly.