“I heard you watched my first broadcast. There aren’t many who have been watching since then.”
“Yes.”
“You’re also a manager, so you must be quite busy with editing too, haha…”
“It’s fine.”
I thought I was not good at speaking.
What is the ability to speak well?
It’s having eloquence, a sense of humor, and leading conversations with wit.
Sometimes, there are people who just start talking without me even realizing it, people who make me want to converse.
They’re exactly the type of people.
I wasn’t born with that ability.
And I thought I never would be.
But, I never thought I would have to lead the conversation like this.
“Ahem, um… Si-young?”
“Yes.”
“Could you say something?”
The gaze that was piercingly focused on me felt burdensome.
Stop staring, it’s like I’m going to be drilled through.
The woman who had approached me was, as expected, the editor.
Surprisingly, she was a woman, unexpectedly tall,
and unexpectedly… quiet.
Very much so.
Han Si-young, twenty-six years old, younger than my original age but older than Ji-eun.
Since the initial self-introduction, she had been in that state.
Just staring at me blankly.
After that, it became quite difficult to hear Si-young’s voice.
Whether she was originally the quiet type, she only answered the questions asked and didn’t initiate any conversation.
Even her responses were all short.
While answering my questions, her gaze remained on me.
Well, when a person is speaking, they should look the other person in the eye.
That’s the proper etiquette.
But if it’s excessive, that becomes poison too.
Hey, my coffee is getting cold.
Could you stop staring at me and have a cup of coffee instead?
Under the unspoken pressure that seemed to urge me to keep talking, I squeezed out every question I could think of.
“So, what made you apply to be an editor?”
Si-young’s eyes delicately curved.
Differing from her initial expressionless demeanor, she seemed to be feeling very good.
“I wanted to see your work first.”
That was the first long response.
Realizing the vague nature of her answer, I continued speaking.
“Uh, so you mean you want to see my videos first, right? While making them yourself.”
“Yes, I don’t like relying on others.”
“My broadcasts, yes.”
It felt somewhat misaligned.
But I guess it was alright if I understood it vaguely.
It meant she wanted to see my broadcasts first and make videos herself.
Since she didn’t like relying on others, it seemed she had her own philosophy regarding editing.
That’s not bad.
But it feels like we should have more of a conversation.
As I mentioned before, I value a person’s character when it comes to sharing a business relationship.
So I wanted to meet in person and judge what kind of person she is through conversation.
But she just wouldn’t open her mouth.
“Your editing skills are quite impressive; when did you start editing?”
“I did it on and off since I was a student, then started properly once I became an adult.”
Maybe it was because we had been facing each other for a little while, but her answers became longer than before.
That’s a good sign.
Yeah, we could have a cup of coffee too.
“Are you currently doing any other work? Or just focusing on editing?”
I briefly worried that I might be probing too deeply, but I had no other choice.
What can I do if she doesn’t say anything?
Fortunately, Si-young did not show any signs of displeasure.
In fact, she seemed a bit happy…?
That must be my delusion.
“I don’t have any other work and have just been handling a few editing tasks at home.”
“Ah, so you are a professional editor. Is there a specific reason you chose to become an editor?”
“I don’t like going outside. I don’t really like people either.”
“Ah.”
What do I do? I feel like I stepped on a landmine.
I shouldn’t have asked something so deep.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up…”
“No, it’s fine. It was nice to go outside for the first time in a while. I enjoyed the fresh air—.”
She was probably saying that to make me feel better.
At times like this, I should try to establish common ground and draw out her true feelings.
“I also actually don’t like going outside much. Next time, let’s communicate through text or Discord instead of meeting like this—.”
“No.”
“Yes?”
“I think coming out like this occasionally is nice. And when editing videos, there are times when we need to have meetings.”
“Couldn’t we just do it over a call? There’s no need to meet in person.”
“It’s more comfortable to do it face-to-face when there’s something to convey.”
Suddenly, Si-young became very talkative.
It seems she has a firm opinion on her work.
Meeting occasionally for meetings isn’t difficult, and if she’s been doing that from the start, then I guess I should adapt.
“Then let’s agree to meet occasionally and talk… but since it’s still the early stages, I don’t expect much in terms of profit. Plus, it’s not guaranteed that subscribers will increase significantly.”
I opened my mouth with mixed feelings.
“Then there’s the most important pay issue… For now, I don’t think I can offer much.”
I want to work together, but right now, I’m not financially able to afford much.
As she’s a high-level talent, I should be able to compensate her well.
As I pondered how much I should offer per month, Si-young spoke up.
“Rather than a salary, let’s share the profits I make from YouTube.”
She meant to divide up the revenue from YouTube rather than a fixed salary.
I’ve heard there are cases where contracts are made that way, but that’s usually when the channel has a certain scale.
“Isn’t that too much of a loss?”
Si-young’s suggestion was to take a portion of YouTube revenue.
But that wouldn’t generate income unless YouTube was doing well, and if it didn’t succeed, it might not even bring in pocket change.
Especially in the early stages before YouTube grows, there will likely be hardly any revenue.
Still, without a hint of hesitation, Si-young said,
“It doesn’t matter.”
Her saying that made me feel more uneasy.
What if it all fails and I end up regretting it?
If I ask her to reconsider, it would feel like I’m putting myself down, saying I’m not a good streamer.
What if she really leaves?
This woman is a talent I chose after much thought.
As if understanding my silent anxiety, Si-young continued,
“Working with you, what does profit matter?”
“And I trust my judgment. If I just handle it well, your channel will become a hit.”
Subscribers will come in quickly.
She says that with such certainty.
I never saw her that way, but how embarrassing it is for her to speak like this.
It wouldn’t be polite to refuse after this.
With gratitude, I extended my hand for a handshake.
Si-young grasped my outstretched right hand with both her hands.
Then she held on for a long, long time.
No, why is she doing this?
*
Having confirmed each other’s intentions, there was nothing left to discuss.
The revenue division was settled, and all that was left was to draft the contract.
I was a bit wary about whether Si-young would hesitate to go out again, so I thought about preparing an electronic contract, but she shook her head as if to say that wasn’t necessary.
Instead, she insisted that the contract details needed to be clear and suggested we meet in person this week to proceed.
Being thorough on this aspect likely complements my somewhat indecisive nature.
We decided to co-manage the YouTube account together.
After editing the video, I would review it, and either I or Si-young would upload it.
If the channel grows larger, we would likely hire additional editors and adopt this method.
But that is a future concern.
“Yesterday, I met with the editor, and we discussed my YouTube channel. So, here’s my YouTube channel. Everyone, let’s give a round of applause!”
[Clap, clap, clap]
[Meet? Meet? Meet? Meet?]
[I also want to edit and meet alone with Mollu.]
[I’m jealous of the editor, haha.]
[Let’s make YouTube a hit!!]
These people are something else.
Even though they’ve opened a YouTube channel, they’re saying things like this.
I might need to draw their attention once more.
“Everyone, please subscribe, and the video will be up soon, so watch it until the end.”
[Sure.]
[Post the video first and then talk.]
[What’s the benefit of subscribing?]
“Subscribing, um… once we reach 10,000 or 100,000 subscribers, wouldn’t we do a small event or something?”
The audience’s response was vigorous, but I felt indifferent.
Surely, it can’t reach 10,000 that quickly.
10,000 is not just a name for a dog.
Just as I was trying to inform the viewers about my YouTube channel and continue the broadcast,
[A moment, are you okay?]
In the chat window, a nickname different from the other viewers stood out.
It was a nickname that clearly indicated it was someone related to me.
When I said I was fine, a Discord ID came through as a private message.
Are they asking me to make a call?
I briefly asked the viewers for their understanding, turned off my microphone, and dialed the number.
A man with a businesslike demeanor opened his mouth.
“Hello, I am Kang Jin-soo, the operations manager for Switch. I’ve received your email, Mollu. According to the account check, I found no traces of other accounts, so you are eligible to participate.”
As I expected, everything was progressing well.
“However, to prevent any cheating in the competition, we will need a camera setting that shows at least the upper body. Is that possible?”
“Can I just use a hand camera?”
“No, unfortunately, due to the joint operation with Watch Love this time, we’ve become sensitive to this issue. So, we need at least the upper body visible.”
So, you mean to say I have to do a half-cam, huh?
