Chapter 369
“This isn’t right.”
“Why is she here?”
“Wait a second, what is the streamer saying?”
“Could she be someone who looks similar?”
The expressions of the people standing in line visibly soured in real time.
The face of the actress who had become famous in Korea thanks to her Shorts was unmistakable, even from a distance.
And since that Short had been picked up by the algorithm again after explaining Seojun’s booth and had appeared in his viewers’ feeds—
Unless they were among the challengers currently undergoing a dopamine detox and not using their phones at all, every single one of them would burn away even the last remnants of their hopeful fantasies.
This made one thing clear. Seojun was not kind.
If anything, he was vicious.
“Boss… Is he out of his mind? No, how did he even recruit her?”
“Isn’t the person beside her Yasuo? The one from the history books?”
There were four examiners in total.
The person presumed to be Yamada Rize,
Yamada Yasuo,
and two editors.
“Then, where did all the staff prepared at the Point go?”
“Don’t chicken out.”
“No, but…”
That was when it happened.
Of all the people who had come to TrStar, most of those who came to Seojun’s booth had one earbud plugged into one ear.
They were watching Seojun’s broadcast.
Since Seojun had yet to appear,
and since one of those earbuds was still in their ears, Seojun’s voice burrowed into them.
[Yamada Rize is here, you say? You think it’s an illusion? Do you really think it’s an illusion? Pfft.]
“That ‘pfft’ at the end just now wasn’t real laughter. He did that on purpose.”
“No, is the boss in his right mind?”
“Where is there a streamer who brings an actress to a place like this and makes her work?”
“Let’s protest right away. Everyone in the front and back of the line?”
By several definitions, this was a record-breaker.
A streamer working an actress to the bone, and an actress appearing merely as a guest at such a streamer’s festival.
Of course, Yamada Rize really was perfectly suited to the role.
One only had to look at the faces of the people standing in line as they soured in real time.
Seojun had committed a truly vicious act.
So what had he offered in return?
The people in line frantically typed such questions into the chat.
[Hahaha! I told her I’d appear on a new season of Rize’s program if one was produced later. I’d even go all the way to Japan.]
“You demon.”
“He sold himself just to bring in the examiners?”
“But what about Yasuo? He can’t be a pushover either, can he? He’s definitely above the average person.”
Seojun answered their questions with astonishing precision.
Not, of course, to offend them, but to tease them.
He had simply agreed to appear on Yamada Rize’s program out of gratitude.
[Yasuo is the companion product. He willingly came for his older sister. Everyone, give him a round of applause.]
-??? They’re siblings?
-Sibling product lmaoooo
-No, but isn’t this too much?
-Rize is seriously overkill
-Ah, I was going to challenge it tomorrow. Should I just give up?
-Give it one try
[That’s right. Give it a try.]
“Why does it feel like the boss is putting a k at the end of his sentences?”
“He’s always like that. What can we do?”
“Don’t you want to see us, boss?”
“Open the screen already!”
The people standing in line each reacted in their own way.
And they did so in the same manner of speech that TrSoo used when typing in chat.
TrStar was a space where people could be a little freer.
It was still reality, but there was no need to behave as though it were reality.
“Let’s just try it!”
“No matter how good Yamada Rize is, that was when she was given infinite time!”
“That’s right!”
The Yamada Rize they had seen in the videos was by no means an easy opponent.
But wasn’t that a broadcast?
A broadcast that had been fully prepared in advance, recorded, edited, and then shown to the public.
It wasn’t as if she had verified everything in real time every moment, the way Seojun did.
On the other hand, the first examiners didn’t have the condition that they had to succeed within three attempts, unlike Seojun.
Still, Seojun wasn’t human, while Yamada Rize was.
“There’s no need to be scared!”
“We’re going to meet the boss! And from right in front of him!”
“Woooooo!”
The TrSoo rapidly grew closer and united against the great evil known as Seojun.
Since they were all TrSoo who had always been victimized by Seojun, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship.
And then—
“Come on in. It’s time.”
“Yes!”
“Boss, get ready!”
The first round began on schedule.
Those who had come to buy merchandise, passing viewers, and Seojun himself all watched with interest.
The result was—
“The boss released an invasive species into the domestic ecosystem! Aaaagh!”
Just as expected.
* * *
-When are you coming out?
The cameraman handed Seojun a Post-it note and asked him while he was in the waiting room.
An hour had passed since TrStar opened.
Even so, Seojun continued to communicate with the viewers while keeping the camera beside him turned off.
There weren’t many complaints about this.
Seojun had already announced that the latter half of the event was when he would show his face at the venue.
He had told the people attending TrStar to turn off their broadcasts and enjoy themselves, and that only those with nothing else to do should stay.
More importantly, the footage currently being shown was entertaining enough.
Seojun was currently streaming through the camera filming the booths.
“Not sure.”
The cameraman nodded.
So what was Seojun doing while watching the booths?
“Ah, you’re saying people are gathering there?”
He was exploring the festival together with the TrSoo.
With the TrSoo who hadn’t come to TrStar.
“Hmm, it looks like there are a lot of new releases, too. And closed betas.”
-For real lmao
-Why didn’t the boss take a sponsorship from a game company?
-He told you. He didn’t take one because he wouldn’t be able to slack off like he is now.
-The boss never said that, you bastard lmaoooo
Why hadn’t he taken a sponsorship from a game company?
Because he could experience everything even without one.
Of course, not today.
Today was the first day, so he was observing.
“But it’s shocking that no one has passed yet.”
Right then, the broadcast screen showed Yamada Rize bouncing up and down in joy.
-Yamada Rize is really Yamada Rize
-Rize-san… Hontoni, you’re amazing.
-She pulled it off again
-That look appeared again lmaooo The ‘it’s here’ eyes she gets when she concentrates
“Everyone, please try a little harder. You keep getting stopped by Ms. Rize.”
Seojun attacked the TrSoo.
But only a tiny minority cursed him out; most of the reactions were positive.
Perhaps that tiny minority consisted entirely of people who had just been stopped by Rize.
‘Is this what divide and conquer looks like? The public opinion is good, though.’
It was the moment Seojun realized the British Empire’s time-honored tactic.
Time passed quickly even as he watched the event and talked only about the other booths.
Two hours had passed when a staff member entered Seojun’s waiting room.
“Streamer.”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“We’ve just run out of merchandise stock.”
It didn’t mean that all the merchandise Seojun had prepared was gone. It likely meant that they had run out of the day’s allotment.
-Wow! They prepared a ton, and it’s already gone
-There was a huge line only at the boss’s booth. I know because I walked around.
-He even caused trouble for the booths next to him lmaoooo
-I’m scared of what’s going to happen when the boss finally appears
He had prepared a fairly generous amount.
A truly generous amount, so why had they already run out?
“Hmm… So what did Team Leader Seon say?”
Seojun honestly liked the TrSoo.
He thought that, unless someone was a psychopath or something had happened to them, it was difficult to dislike people who liked them.
Naturally, Seojun was not a psychopath.
That was why he had given up all the profits from the merchandise and prepared a larger quantity at a lower price.
“They say they’re bringing the clothes they ordered just in case.”
“What?”
“They said that since you seem to have time left, you could sign them…”
“That’s a little…”
-HAHAHAHA work, boss!
-Right, just make more
-So what did those banners above the merchandise mean?
-Get to work! Lmaoooo
* * *
“Phew.”
After working through the morning, Seojun rubbed his stiff body.
“That makes ten thousand.”
-HAHAHAHA How can a person sign ten thousand autographs in two hours? Is that a lie?
-Turn on the screen, boss! Let us watch you sign.
-For real lmao
“There’s nothing I can’t do. Isn’t that right, Staff?”
Seojun looked at the cameraman, who still hadn’t managed to turn on the camera even once.
The cameraman had watched him sign from beginning to end, so he would know.
That anything was possible.
“……”
“What?”
“……”
Why did the cameraman look terrified?
Anyway—
“Let’s go have lunch now. We’ll start selling merchandise again after lunch, everyone. Naturally, those who bought some earlier won’t be able to buy more.”
Lunch was a boxed meal.
The situation made it impossible to go outside to eat.
-Everyone, eat a small lunch. If you stuff yourselves, your stomachs will hurt while you’re standing in line later.
-HAHAHAHA Is this a TrStar veteran?
-At least do an eating broadcast!
“Understood.”
Seojun asked the cameraman to set up a camera in front of the table.
“Hello.”
Some people were disappointed when Seojun’s appearance was broadcast afterward.
They were disappointed by the sight of Seojun wearing an ordinary black hoodie instead of a past-life cosplay.
“Nice to meet you. This is my private waiting room. There are guards, so only staff members can enter. Don’t ask for the exact location.”
Seojun chuckled.
The TrSoo really were consistent.
Lunch was an eel rice bowl, and after enjoying his meal, Seojun stretched his body.
“Shall we go meet everyone now?”
The morning had passed, but the first half of the part Seojun had divided up still wasn’t over.
Normally, the part that took the most time was filtering through the people.
The latter half would end quickly, since Seojun only had three attempts.
More importantly, no one had been selected yet.
‘Ms. Rize is amazing.’
The person attracting the most attention at present was, naturally, Yamada Rize.
Seojun began to move.
He left the waiting room and walked down the hall.
The building was extremely large, perfectly suited to hosting an event.
The cameraman followed Seojun as he walked along the long corridor.
It felt strange to be streaming an outdoor broadcast with a cameraman like this.
“Haha, I see some of you have already figured out where I’ll come out.”
If the festival grounds were called the main building, there were only two annexes connected to it.
The annexes were covered in glass, so anyone with a keen eye could infer the location from the scenery outside.
Seojun slowly walked toward the festival grounds, thinking that those who wanted to gather should gather.
“Everyone enjoy lunch?”
At last, when Seojun stood before the door connected to the festival grounds, he was startled.
Even though the space was cut off from the festival atmosphere, it still seeped through the air.
At the cheers coming from beyond the door, a guard smiled awkwardly. Seojun gave him a small nod in greeting.
-Boss, come out already
-Finally, let’s see that precious face in person!
-This is the right place, right? The left side, right? Guys, the left side, right?
-HAHAHAHA There are a ridiculous number of people gathered on both the left and right lmaoooo
“Well then.”
Seojun pushed down on the handle of the large door at the end of the corridor, which was slightly bigger than usual, and said—
“Hello, everyo—. Hmm…”
When he opened the door halfway, what he saw was—
People.
And more people.
Then even more people.
“……”
The cheers and applause of the densely packed crowd were enough to leave his ears ringing.
Seojun stared blankly at the festival grounds for about a second, then pulled the half-open door shut again.
“Everyone… Hmm.”
Something seemed to have gone wrong.
There were so many people that he couldn’t even see a path through them.
-HAHAHAHA Come out already, boss!
-LOL Are you scared?
-I really wanted to see you squirm
-Ah lmao You have to pay for your sins, so come out already.