NOVEL WEB chapter 146 - Stratagem
In fact, the words I said weren’t the result of deep thinking.
It was more like an instinctive remark.
If I hadn’t said it, I could already imagine how Mangming (망밍) would be very upset.
Of course, there was a possibility that Mangming said it as a joke.
But, based purely on my intuition, it seemed much more likely that it wasn’t a joke.
‘Or maybe he’s just being dramatic.’
For me, collabing with Mangming wasn’t a bad thing either.
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Oh, what’s this]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Collab sounds fun as hell, lol]
[DaMa, finally seeing the light about collabs..]
[DaMa’s not going to be able to stop now]
[How much did yesterday’s donation earn for him to be this enthusiastic about arranging collabs]
[This is Kang Hu-min:DaMa needs to make money too]
[This is Kang Hu-min:He’s got a little sister to take care of]
[That’s true]
[Do a collab with Pine, do a collab with Pine, do a collab with Pine]
Temporary ban issued!
[What’s this Pine thing]
Anyway, seeing that some people in the chat were misunderstanding, I decided to clarify things.
“I’m only going to do collabs with people I’m close to. I don’t want to make things awkward collabing with strangers.”
I’m the type of person who thrives when I’m with people I know.
But collabing with a stranger?
That would lead to an awkward atmosphere, and there’s a high chance that the broadcast would end up being boring.
Having done streams for a while now, I could make that judgment.
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:This is the right call, lol]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:It’s better than having an awkward collab and ruining the vibe]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:That’s a bigger nuisance]
[But, I kinda wanna see that awkward vibe, lol]
[This is Kang Hu-min:But doesn’t Pine count as a close friend? Am I mistaken?]
[Pine? What do you mean by close, you dumbass]
[Humin is so crazy]
[Chat’s killing me, lol]
[But, yeah, that’s a valid point]
Normally, I’d ban someone from the chat for swearing at other viewers, but I wasn’t banning ‘강후민입니다’ for this.
The reason was simple.
Hoomin was provoking people too much.
‘If he keeps provoking, there’s nothing I can do.’
If he at least tried to control himself, that’d be one thing, but he seemed to enjoy this kind of reaction, so I didn’t ban viewers like him.
I guess the moderator thought the same and didn’t ban him either.
‘It’s a kind of WWE situation.’
‘This is Kang Hu-min’ provokes the chat, and other viewers swear at him, keeping the chat active and creating broadcast dynamics.
But thinking about it, it made Hoomin seem like some kind of martyr.
That was definitely not the case.
I continued chatting with Mangming.
“What are we going to do when we meet? That’s the most important thing. We can’t just sit there and play Rije (레오레) the whole time.”
Uh… I guess you’re right…?
It seemed like he had planned to just play Rije when we met.
I couldn’t believe it.
Rije could be played offline too, so why would we need to meet to do that?
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Look at the way you’re talking]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Seems like you’re planning to just play Rije when you meet up]
[Ugh, a lazy bastard consumed by laziness, tsk tsk]
[How lazy do you have to be? lol]
[Don’t propose a collab and then say you’re just going to do that]
[Seriously, what the hell? lol]
[This is Kang Hu-min:That’s a disaster lol]
[But it is really disastrous]
[Ah, Mangming]
Well, I didn’t really feel bad toward Mangming.
He was just that kind of person.
I had to accept it.
But still.
“Then think about what we’ll do next time. I’m going to go do solo rank now.”
Oh, okay.
After that, I ended the Discord call.
I figured Mangming would think about it on his own.
“Okay, time to do some solo rank with my alt.”
There was still time left.
Today, I had to do solo rank with my alt account.
“Ugh… This is really a big problem. What should I plan for the collab?”
It was a huge problem.
I had jokingly suggested doing a collab, but I never thought it would actually come to this.
“Sigh…”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[This is hilarious, Mangming, lol]
[Mangming, don’t be too down, this is your chance to score points with DaMa]
[DaMa is for Mangming, DaMa is for Mangming, DaMa is for Mangming]
[Don’t be upset, okay..]
[Just leave it to Harin, you’re done for]
Looking at the chat, even though people were joking, they were still making some harsh comments.
‘…My mind is really complicated right now.’
I, too, knew.
Jiwoo definitely wasn’t all that interested in me romantically.
I knew this from spending time with him, and I was more accurate about it than anyone else.
But, if I play my cards right, there might be a chance.
It’s just a collab, but if I handle it well, it might lead to something.
“Cough cough. Guys, so, give me some good ideas.”
Of course, with my limited brain, I couldn’t come up with a good idea myself.
I had to gather ideas from the viewers and borrow the best one.
[You should be doing this yourself, lol]
[This guy is just taking advantage]
[Mangming OUT, Mangming OUT, Mangming OUT]
[Mangming should leave, yeah]
[What a joke, lol]
[What good ideas?]
[I’ve got a good idea from a game, wanna hear it?]
Temporary ban issued!
[Oh, lol]
But still, the chat was full of nonsense.
I knew this was the kind of broadcast it was, but it was still disheartening that they reacted like this, even when something important was being discussed.
‘Where did things go wrong, seriously.’
While I was thinking about this,
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Okay, the sister’s here]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Say hi]
[Oh, Cthulhu is here]
[DaMa, shut off the broadcast]
[Mangming, why are you here? Mangming, why are you here?]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:No more viewers]
[Well, why is he here?]
I saw a familiar nickname in the chat.
Without thinking, I asked.
He was someone who often visited DaMa’s broadcast.
“Cthulhu, do you have any good ideas?”
I asked as politely as I could.
Then, shortly after.
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu:Do you think I have any?]
The hopeless reply came.
So, a few days passed.
Before I knew it, Yeram (이예람) was starting to cut back on hanging out with her friends.
It wasn’t because she was looking at me, but probably because she was starting to run out of energy.
When I saw that her clothes were wrinkled from being squished, it looked like she had probably just woken up at school.
“Sigh…”
Today, as usual, Yeram was lying in her room, squirming.
It was only natural.
The entrance exam was over, so what else was there to do?
She could just stay home and relax.
With that thought, I began to get dressed.
‘I guess we’re going to Busan again.’
I had decided to go to Busan.
I had asked Mangming to plan the collab earlier.
‘…I didn’t think it would be set in Busan though.’
I had expected to meet in Seoul, but now the meeting place was Busan.
What kind of fun content could he have prepared to call me to Busan?
I thought about it as I quickly said goodbye to Yeram.
“Well then, I’m heading out.”
“Oh, the collab today? Have a good time. If something weird happens, call me.”
“Why would I call you? You’re useless.”
“I’m not.”
After bidding farewell, I quickly headed to Seoul Station.
I was meeting Mangming there.
After taking a taxi, I finally arrived.
“There he is.”
I spotted Mangming talking to himself with a camera.
It looked like he had been streaming alone before I arrived.
“Sigh…”
I yawned and quickly approached Mangming.
“Whaaa!”
I startled him from behind.
“Ahhh…!!!”
And Mangming fell straight to the ground.
I was so surprised.
I didn’t think he’d be this startled.
“Hey, hey, get up.”
I thought it was odd, but as I kept trying to wake him up,
“Whaaa!”
“Ahhh... Wow, you scared me.”
Now, Mangming startled me back.
“Ahem, well then, let’s head out.”
It was time to leave for Busan.