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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Foreign Viewer Surge
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[Han Ji-min]: Boss, you need to check this out.
Han Ji-min had messaged him early that morning.
"What's this?"
Seo-jun checked what she'd sent, and his thoughts grew complicated.
She'd captured a screenshot of the Itube analytics screen tracking channel viewers.
What immediately caught the eye was the steadily rising influx of viewers, even though the channel hadn't even hit a full month yet.
It was clear why people said it had been chosen by the algorithm—the growth was that pronounced.
However.
[Jin Seo-jun]: Yeah, it's definitely weird.
[Han Ji-min]: Right? What the heck is going on?
Seo-jun peered closely at the problematic image.
In the viewer breakdown table at the bottom right, the proportion of new foreign viewers was way too high.
'Not sure if this is good or bad.'
They said Itube's algorithm was something no ordinary person could comprehend.
Even veteran streamers felt the same.
"Today's unknowable Itube algorithm led me to this video."
"It's not you finding the video—it's the video finding you."
"No one searched for this video."
And so on.
All trendy phrases illustrating just how much the algorithm did whatever it wanted.
In extreme simplification, it recommended videos that people watched a lot and kept watching, but Itube's core principles weren't that straightforward.
[Lee Geon-young]: Whoa, what? Just woke up and foreigners are flooding in...
[Han Ji-min]: Hmm, Boss, we should figure out the exact cause.
[Jin Seo-jun]: If the algorithm's shifting to recommend mainly to foreign viewers, that could be a problem, right?
[Han Ji-min]: Probably. But we're not at the level where the algorithm would glitch on us, so there must be another reason.
[Lee Geon-young]: Maybe one of the viewers promoted it? You said yesterday's stream with the Training Ground brought in a ton of foreign viewers too.
"Could be."
Fortunately, it didn't seem like a major issue.
If anything, it might be an opportunity.
Seo-jun started pondering along with them.
He'd handed over the channel, but he had no intention of completely washing his hands of it.
[Han Ji-min]: Community post?
[Lee Geon-young]: Too much traffic for just a community promo. It's on par with when Alpaca collabed and we uploaded that video.
Aha.
Seo-jun thought he knew the reason.
There was only one place recently that could promote his channel like this.
He pulled up Movie Soft's official account and played the teaser video he'd checked yesterday.
"This is it."
Scrolling to the comments, there it was—a pinned comment linking straight to his video.
Seo-jun shared the discovery.
[Lee Geon-young]: No way lololol
[Lee Geon-young]: This is hyungnim class? They pinned it on the official account like that?
[Han Ji-min]: Itube's overseas market is huge, so this is nothing but good. Should we look into English subtitles?
They seemed excited.
Seo-jun just chimed in occasionally, watching them handle the channel.
They knew Itube better than he did, after all.
Then an email from Movie Soft popped up.
It was about rewriting the contract and included subtitle files for his Itube videos.
"Huh."
The funny part was Movie Soft explaining in detail why they'd upped this round's hospitality toward Seo-jun—it stemmed entirely from a misunderstanding.
"Whatever, works for me."
Unintentional or not, it was a win-win.
"They even gave the subtitle company's contact... and they're covering all costs?"
It wasn't a huge amount, but it was appreciated.
Plus, they'd bumped the ad fee by 50%.
Seo-jun shared the good news with his editors.
After chatting for a good while, Han Ji-min sent a private message with an unexpected suggestion.
[Han Ji-min]: Boss, ads are coming in soon. Don't you need a manager?
[Jin Seo-jun]: A manager?
Come to think of it, he hadn't given managers a single thought.
Tae-woo's household help—no, his various advice—had sufficed so far.
'I'll need one going forward.'
Especially for filtering ads and negotiating.
[Han Ji-min]: Yeah. I've managed before. Wallgal's handling thumbnails right now, so I want to help where I can.
[Han Ji-min]: See it as part of channel management—use me for free! I own a quarter of the channel anyway! Owner's pride!
She was an owner, sure.
But thumbnails?
A.
Seo-jun suddenly realized he'd handed full control of Itube without separately covering thumbnail costs.
Why had Lee Geon-young taken on the extra work without a peep?
Seo-jun told Han Ji-min they'd talk next time they met, then called Lee Geon-young.
"Wallgal Extortion King."
-Yeah, hyungnim.
"About the thumbnails."
-Oh, hyungnim!
"Yeah."
Lee Geon-young cut him off urgently.
Then declared energetically.
-I'll do thumbnails for free!
"Why?"
-Well, my skills are below noona's, for one. I want to contribute somehow. Plus, I enjoy making them.
"Ah."
Hearing that, Seo-jun felt he'd truly hired the right people.
Some folks get complacent or lazy in a good spot.
But Han Ji-min and Lee Geon-young were different.
They went above and beyond, helping with extras.
He could feel they genuinely wanted to be part of this with him.
'Lucky break.'
He'd seen they were good people before signing, but as the saying goes, you never fully know someone's heart.
Great hires.
-Plus, I'm worried you'll go bankrupt paying my salary. Heh.
"Don't worry about that."
-Just kidding. Anyway, we're the Seo-dongbu, right!
Seo-dongbu?
What was that?
"Anyway, tell me if you need thumbnail costs. No pressure."
-Yep. Take care.
"You too, Extortion King."
-Ugh, hyung, seriously...
Click.
Seo-jun hung up and searched what "Seo-dongbu" meant.
It was a neologism slapping his name onto "Labor Department"—a term for editors, thumbnail makers, etc.
Apparently, Seo-jun + Labor Department = Seo-dongbu.
"So that's what it means..."
Neologisms were tricky.
"Alright, time to head out."
Today was an extra check-up day.
"No matter how many times I see it, that movement is astonishing."
Surface's R&D Director Oh Ji-hye peered at the screen and remarked.
"Impressive, yeah."
Oh Ji-hye shot her junior researcher a side-eye.
"I told you."
"Don't look at me like that. Anyone would doubt you at first. Who'd believe you'd lend that expensive gear for free to some streamer contest?"
True enough.
Oh Ji-hye nodded.
She turned back to the screen.
"Well, with skills like that, if he has the will, he could make bank in VR no matter what. Right?"
The free loan under the streaming contest excuse was bait.
A lure to draw him back into this world.
She hadn't expected streaming to suit him so well, though.
"Totally. I've watched a few—it's fun. Like next-level skill streaming. You know his past, Director? Lee Dong-soo asked about him earlier. Shin Ha-yeon next to him seemed curious too."
"Drop it. Client info is off-limits to view or share. Try acting like you know him again, and you're done. If I hadn't stopped you, you'd have blabbed everything."
"Sorry!"
"Getting all excited over famous players."
"Haha, I'll head out then."
Sensing a lecture brewing, he bolted from the lab.
Oh Ji-hye ignored him, refocusing on the screen to run Seo-jun's next test.
Seo-jun was now facing all sorts of scenarios.
The surroundings suddenly turned into a blistering desert, then in a blink, he was buried in Arctic ice. He'd feel crushing gravity or get flung into space.
This test threw subjects into extreme conditions to measure bodily responses under stress.
Mainly for those wanting fewer VR connection limits—pros especially came here.
Surface extended session times for those who passed.
Of course, that didn't apply to Seo-jun.
'Can't be helped.'
Seo-jun floated in space, pondering.
Suddenly, the space around him collapsed inward like sinking crust, sucking toward him.
Immense pressure crushed down.
Flash—
Light blazed, freeing him from the pressure. He stood in a stark white room.
Aa. Seo-jun-ssi, the test is over. Please exit.
Done.
'Kinda anticlimactic.'
Seo-jun emerged from the capsule, opened the door, and crossed to Oh Ji-hye's room.
He stood beside her, calmly waiting as she reviewed the data.
Oh Ji-hye spoke up.
"Good news—no changes from before. If anything, it's improved. You're remarkably composed."
"After going through it once, it'd be weird if I didn't improve."
"That's just you, Seo-jun-ssi. No issues on other tests either, so monthly check-ins should suffice."
"The capsule blocks access if something's wrong and sends a message, right?"
"Yes, but come anyway."
Tch.
"Got it. Thanks."
"Can you do exactly next month, same date?"
"Yes."
"Alright. See you then."
Seo-jun said goodbye and left the lab.
Back home? What a hassle.
Damn.
'Skip today's stream? Nah.'
Slacking on streams due to laziness was tough for the diligently reborn Seo-jun.
He might consider a break if viewers were eagerly awaiting something big.
Seo-jun smiled and stepped out of the lab.
But someone was waiting at the entrance.
"Saw you this morning and now again. Meeting outside the gym feels kinda nice."
Pro gamer Lee Dong-soo.
"What're you doing here?"
"Team's regular check-up."
Ah.
This was a lab.
Not customer service or a hospital.
Still, with top facilities and techs, pros did regulars here.
Naturally, they'd group tests. Seo-jun had come when Oh Ji-hye called, so overlap wasn't odd.
"Heard from the doc you were here, so I waited for lunch. Oh, Ha-yeon noona says hi and wonders if you two met before...?"
"Nope."
"Really? Weird. She seemed thrilled."
"I said no."
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