WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Stream as a Hobby ◈
Chapter 3: Xtel Livestream
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Singers, idols, athletes, fashion models, and so on.
People working in what were commonly called the arts and sports usually couldn't manage their entire schedules alone.
After all, they'd devoted themselves to perfecting their skills in one particular field.
They often knew less about everyday matters than ordinary people, and they were usually too busy to deal with all the little details themselves.
The same went for me.
I had plenty of experience as a model by then, but I was still hopeless at managing my schedule, so I always needed a manager.
Or was I hopeless because I always had a manager following me around? Anyway.
When I was little, my mom had been my manager. At some point, my modeling tutor had started looking after me like a manager, too.
Then, when I signed with my previous brand, I suddenly found myself working mostly on international stages, so I hired an official manager.
“Ahyeon!”
That was Roselia, the manager waving at me right now.
She was French and in her late thirties.
She was also an interpreter who spoke French, Korean, and English.
You might wonder why someone like that was working as a manager.
Well, Roselia was a friend of my mother's.
She'd married a Korean man and moved to Korea. While she was wondering what to do for work, my mom had introduced her to the job.
So she was both my manager and my mom's friend.
“Give me your suitcase!”
“Okaaay.”
I obediently handed it over.
Some people might ask why I couldn't pull it myself instead of handing it to my manager. Did being a model make me royalty?
But Roselia was a former French Army officer who was about my height and twice my size.
According to her, watching little baby Ahyeon drag a suitcase around made her nervous, since I looked like I'd snap in half at the slightest touch. Or something like that.
“I've taken care of check-in, so you can just rest, Ahyeon.”
“Thank you.”
Anyway, the two of us were at the airport.
It was December 24, Christmas Eve.
Normally, I'd have been streaming while looking online at all the colorful lights filling the streets. How had I ended up like this?
“Haah.”
Depressing. So depressing.
If this hadn't been a party organized by Andel, I'd have ignored the invitation no matter who asked. But what choice did I have?
In this industry, the brands held the power, not the models.
If I didn't like it, I could always become a fashion designer and launch my own brand.
“It's been a while since you last went to Paris, hasn't it?”
“Yes. You must be happy, Roselia.”
“Of course.”
Unlike me, Roselia looked excited about going home after so long.
Then again, Korea was a foreign country to her. Of course she'd be happy to return to her home country for a holiday like Christmas.
At least the brand had taken care of most of the arrangements.
Just as we were being considerate of Andel because we'd soon be signing a contract, the brand was being considerate of us.
They'd booked everything, from business-class tickets for Roselia and me to a luxury hotel.
“Now this is a room.”
“Oh... It's really nice.”
We reached the hotel after a flight of over ten hours.
As we unpacked, I admired the large windows overlooking the snow-covered city at Christmas.
If not for my stream, I might have been pretty excited about this luxury hotel stay.
“Are you going to rest in the room?”
“Yes. Would you like to go sightseeing?”
“Hmm, are you sure?”
“I'm not going out anyway. Just pick me up some snacks on your way back.”
Knowing Roselia, she'd probably want me to come along, but I had no intention of going out. I sank into the bed.
If I was going to attend a party that evening and stream that night, I needed to sleep now.
Besides, I was tired from the long flight.
“I'll be back before dinner, then.”
“Okay.”
And so Roselia went out.
Alone in the soft bed, I closed my eyes.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, I heard the hotel room door opening.
“Ahyeon! Are you awake?”
Judging by the voice, it was Roselia.
I got up and glanced out of the bedroom to see her coming through with an armful of shopping bags.
“Quick, sit down! It's later than I thought!”
“Huh?”
I was still half asleep.
As I rubbed my eyes, Roselia grabbed me and pulled me over without hesitation, in that typically Western way of hers.
“Ack.”
With such a big difference in our builds, I could only let her drag me over and sit me down in front of the dressing table.
“You can't go to the party just like that, can you?”
“Can't I just go...”
“No!”
The capable, trilingual Roselia was also good at makeup.
Before the party, she skillfully applied it to my face.
Once she'd finished patting on the makeup, I put on the dress we'd prepared.
“You're the star tonight, Ahyeon!”
Just as Roselia said, I strode into the party like I was going to own the place, only to come back two hours later completely drained.
“Ahyeon, are you okay?”
“...”
Night had only just fallen.
After taking a shower, I collapsed limply onto the bed.
“I have to go again tomorrow, don't I?”
“Yes. Tomorrow's the main event.”
People filling the party hall. Foreign languages constantly ringing in my ears.
And every so often, someone from the industry would greet me. I didn't recognize their faces, but I'd heard their names.
It was a serious headache, about three times harder than an ordinary party.
And today's party had only been the tutorial. The main event was tomorrow.
How could I not sigh?
At least it was scheduled for the afternoon, so I didn't have to go to bed early tonight.
Tap, tap-tap.
Well, I'd have stayed up late even if I did have to get to bed early.
I tapped away at my phone, getting ready to stream.
I had to keep my promise and go live on Christmas Eve.
“I'm going to start my stream now.”
“The one you told me about?”
“Yes.”
I'd already told Roselia.
Other people might not know, but she knew I streamed online.
As my manager, she was someone I couldn't have hidden it from even if I'd tried.
Anyway, I set my phone down with its camera facing the table so I wouldn't appear on-screen, then tapped the screen to go live.
-Daaamn
-whoa, is this actually an IRL stream?
-you're a little late... a little late...
-W A Y O T H E G O A T lol
Viewers poured in as if they'd been waiting.
Then again, what else was there to do on Christmas?
It was surprisingly common for a holiday meant for couples to be nothing more than a day off with nothing to do for someone else.
“Hello, everyone. Merry Christmas.”
-this isn't a recording, right?
-is this actually live?
-say “Cheolgu” lol
-wow, you actually went live
“What... Of course it's live. More importantly, were you all waiting? You're coming in awfully fast.”
Viewers were arriving twice as fast as usual. No, three or four times as fast.
Since I'd announced it beforehand, my regular viewers and people from online communities must have been waiting.
“Have you started?”
As I streamed in the bedroom, Roselia lingered by the doorway, apparently finding it interesting.
Roselia was an incredibly capable manager who spoke three languages and could get me looking almost salon-ready.
But those weren't her only useful qualities.
“Yes, I just started.”
“Oh... What's the camera showing?”
“It's pointing at the table, so don't worry.”
I'd stressed about eight times beforehand that she absolutely couldn't mention my name.
She was smart. Surely she wouldn't forget something I'd insisted on that strongly.
Besides, when I'd warned Roselia before starting the stream, I'd also told her she could come near me while I was live.
-?? who's that?
-it's a lady hehe
-who is it?
-sounds like a foreigner
Because it would be good for the stream.
Roselia's voice was pretty ordinary, but the important part was that it was a woman's voice.
Given the occasion, some viewers were probably trembling with worry, thinking, “Is that bastard Wayo with a guy right now?”
This would reassure them a little.
“She's a coworker. We're sharing a room.”
-your coworker knows you stream?
-you came out as a streamer? lmao
-wow, this bastard's something else lol
“She doesn't really know anything about online streaming, so it's fine.”
Roselia knew absolutely nothing about it.
Forget streaming. She was an ordinary person who was about ten thousand light-years removed from the internet itself.
Even with me streaming right here, she probably wouldn't look up Wayo.
“How interesting...”
Sure enough, she peeked in a few times before disappearing.
With her sensible sleep schedule, Roselia would probably go to bed early.
“Anyway, we're good now, right?”
-??
-?
-it's only been 20 minutes;
“There's nothing to do...”
More importantly, I'd gone live, but I had nothing to do.
After all, wasn't Wayo a variety gaming VTuber?
With a computer, I was invincible, practically Gojo Satoru. Without one, I was no different from a child left alone by the water.
-can't you do a mukbang?
-let's have a late-night snack, go go
-take us out for a walk
“Hmm. Hmm...”
Every single suggestion was impossible.
The main party was tomorrow, and they wanted me to eat a late-night snack? That was insane.
As for a walk, the streets outside were French. My viewers didn't know I was abroad, and I hadn't bothered telling them.
Of course, even if they knew I was on a business trip to France, the odds of them figuring out who I was were close to zero.
Honestly, as long as I didn't show my face, could they find me from any other hint?
That was how huge the difference between Ahyeon the model and Wayo was.
If someone posted, “Isn't Wayo a model in real life?” they'd get roasted to a crisp, with everyone going, “Wayodogs have lost it.”
Anyway, as I wondered what to do, I had a good idea.
“Oh, should I read your stories?”
If I couldn't produce any content myself, I could leave it to the viewers.
Wasn't that why we were friends?
I believed we'd built a close enough relationship to help each other out on stream and, you know, provide each other with entertainment.
-??
-there it is, Third Form: Log Toss
-what stories?
“You all have a story behind why you're watching a stream alone on Christmas Eve, right? Send them in.”
-lol
-have you lost your mind
-you fucking asshole
-Dear Streamer Wayo.
“All right, first come, first served. It's hard for me to check donations right now, so post them in the fan cafe.”
This was a luxury hotel, so the soundproofing should be good, right?
Hoping I wouldn't disturb Roselia's sleep in the next room, I continued.
“You say all that, but you've already posted them, haven't you? Let's see... I'm Park Gyeongsik, 27, from Incheon, and I've never been in a relationship...”
That night, I stayed up late reading my viewers' long, rambling stories before falling asleep.
The next day, I attended the main party.
Footnotes:
Cheolgu is a Korean livestreamer. Chat asks Wayo to say the name as a spontaneous check that the broadcast is live.
“Third Form: Log Toss” combines an anime-style attack name with Korean streaming slang about viewers “carrying logs,” meaning doing the work of keeping a stream entertaining.
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