NOVEL WEB Chapter 33
Hayoon had begun her scheming.
As the sentence suggests, Hayoon had managed to convince Arin, after much coaxing, to consider creating a cosplay book.
Just imagine how tidy it would look if each heroine was handled by one person for the cosplay.
Those who love cosplay could buy the cosplay book, which might lead them to try out visual novels, and those who love visual novels would enjoy seeing the heroines cosplayed.
Good for sisters, good for brothers-in-law, Hayoon would earn money, and Arin would also benefit by receiving a nice additional incentive.
It seemed like a plan bordering on perfect…
“That, it’s a bit…”
When they talked more in detail over a communication program after returning home, Arin immediately expressed her disapproval.
“Why not? Why don’t you like it?”
“Well, these days, once your face is out there on the internet, your personal life can get exposed.”
“But it’s not like we’re putting on makeup and dancing in front of cameras. We’re just selling cosplay pictures in book form. What’s the problem?”
“Still…”
“If we only sell physical copies, except for really hardcore fans, no one would even think of scanning them and spreading them around. Besides, they’re limited to backers only, so that acts as a filter.”
Of course, Hayoon could complete the cosplay plan by hiring other cosplayers if Arin refused.
In fact, professional cosplayers might present a cleaner image than Arin, but…
“It’s hard to find someone whose tastes match perfectly.”
Negotiating schedules and wages would be a hassle, but Hayoon wanted to work on the project with Arin, someone she would see for a long time and who had cosplay as a hobby.
Isn’t there a saying that an arm bends inward?
“Of course, I’ll take care of the money as well. How does 150,000 won per picture of you in the cosplay book sound? Though, I’m not really familiar with the market rates, so I’ll need to do more research to adjust the pay.”
“No, no, money isn’t the main issue here.”
“Then what?”
Still, Arin had a strong negative feeling about the idea.
That’s because…
“What if no one buys it after all the effort? Even if my information isn’t leaked, what if people say I look ugly and the book doesn’t sell? As a woman, I have some pride…”
Arin was already into cosplay as a hobby.
Being photographed by others and having pictures in online communities was something she had somewhat grown immune to.
However, if a cosplay book made from her cosplay photos were to fail or receive bad reviews…
She felt she might never enjoy this hobby again.
Her reluctant reaction was only natural.
“So, would you do it if it made money?”
“Eh?”
Hayoon got straight to the point.
“Would you do it if it made money? If we shot it with a quality that would avoid bad reviews, would you?”
“Just making a profit and avoiding bad reviews would be enough, right?”
“We’re going to use funding from a crowdfunding site to cover production costs, confirming sales in advance before producing goods. If we don’t reach the criteria you mentioned, I’ll just hire a professional cosplayer instead.”
“Hmm…”
“All I can say now is that we’re definitely making a cosplay book, and I won’t compromise on quality to manage fan loyalty. So give me a clear answer. I’m going to invest heavily in this cosplay book, and if I’m investing money, I’d prefer to use it on someone I trust.”
“But, how do we set the benchmark?”
At this point, Arin, clearly embarrassed, deferred the decision to Hayoon.
Unlike Hayoon, Arin couldn’t boldly make such a decision.
“Perhaps money is the simplest metric.”
“Money in terms of sales or total funding amount?”
“Yeah, if you can gather around 30 million won, would you do the cosplay?”
“Thirty…?”
Arin couldn’t help but be shocked by Hayoon’s confident attitude and the large sum of 30 million won…
’30 million won isn’t some random name. It’s not an easy amount to gather. Moreover, Hayoon is coming up with ideas to make decent money, so it feels wrong to keep rejecting it outright…’
Gradually, Arin began to think,
‘If she’s going this far, shouldn’t I give her a clear answer?’
After all, this wasn’t just about an internet community interaction but a conversation with someone she knew personally. She couldn’t keep repeating “It’s a bit…” endlessly.
Reluctantly, she half-heartedly accepted Hayoon’s proposal.
“Alright, yeah. If we gather 30 million won in funding, I’ll do the cosplay.”
“Confirmed. Just wait a bit.”
After a brief statement, Hayoon ended the call.
“Eh…?”
At this point, it was Arin’s turn to be flustered.
“Does Hayoon really think 30 million won is something easily achievable?”
When Hayoon said it so confidently, it felt like it might actually happen.
“No, huh?”
She was sure of one thing.
She had bitten off more than she could chew.
—
Immediately after her call with Arin,
Hayoon finished setting up the live streaming equipment and turned it on.
Today’s broadcast title was:
[LIVE] Announcement regarding face reveal (102)
This was it.
Every female streamer who doesn’t show their face can use this trick at least once: the face reveal teaser.
“Is this a face reveal stream?”
“Are you planning to show your face?”
“Hello.”
“h2”
This was one of the tricks Hayoon had learned while studying online broadcasting communities, and it worked. For the first time, the number of viewers surpassed three digits.
“What is this?”
Even the chat manager seemed confused by Hayoon’s aggressive title and the influx of unfamiliar usernames.
In this chaotic atmosphere, Hayoon started.
“I don’t actually plan to reveal my face during this stream.”
“What’s this then?”
“Why are you teasing?”
“Still?”
She began enticing with a carefully cultivated allure.
The true identity of the cosplay artist and illustrator ‘Haru,’ whose story had once briefly circulated within the girl war community—maybe already forgotten, no photos remaining, just faint admiration lingered—was about to be revealed subtly and would help draw donations.
Of course, it wasn’t wise to push too hard right away.
There was still a few weeks before the demo would be ready, and internet hype rarely lasts long, so patience was key.
“I thought about maybe doing a lookbook.”
First, gently teasing with something like a lookbook.
Unlike regular photo albums, cosplay books tend to provoke polarizing reactions.
Hayoon’s audience seemed like they would consume it with no complaints, but it was still necessary to build up some immunity beforehand.
“Lookbook?”
“You’re confident?”
“Seriously, a high schooler barely out of her teens selling lookbooks?”
“Isn’t being a high schooler supposed to be an advantage?”
“Deleted Chat”
“Can’t you draw yuri instead?”
As the viewers started showing interest and pretending to understand,
Of course, there were some yelling for yuri drawings,
But you guys normally get plenty of yuri drawings.
Today’s not the day yet.
“So, would you buy a lookbook?”
“??”
“Should we buy it?”
“How about yuri drawings?”
“Why not just do a face reveal?”
“No, I need to make money. If I sell it in the form of a lookbook and don’t release it online, isn’t that better for you too? It makes it rare.”
“But isn’t rarity only relevant if you become famous first?”
“For someone who barely cracked the top 100 viewers with a face reveal teasers, selling a lookbook feels a bit off.”
“Did we ever feel a lack of donations?”
Because, in the existing viewers’ opinions, a lookbook from Haru had almost no value.
Haroon had been drawing cute illustrations for them regularly to such an extent that their appetite was satiated, leading to minimal interest in the main Haru herself.
“Alright, if you don’t want it, let’s just go back to the usual cute illustrations…”
“Kyaa, that’s right.”
“Let’s stick to what we usually do.”
Though it annoyed her a bit seeing the chat reactions…
[Donation of 100,000 won]
“Kyaa, thank you for the donation!”
Anyway, she planted the seed once.
Now Hayoon was determined to steadily push, aiming to make everyone so interested in the lookbook and eventually the cosplay book that they’d have no choice but to be involved.
—
The illustrator and streamer ‘Haru’ with 1,200 followers on the streaming platform.
Having 1,200 followers means at least three times that number of people know Haru.
That’s around 3,600 people.
And one of those 3,600 people, Haru’s chat manager and also a major viewer named ‘MomusMammaTongJuice’, or Usogeon,
“Yeah, yeah, just trying cosplay, seems like she’s done cosplay before.”
“No, why is she teasing the face reveal for weeks…”
Watching Haru use face reveal teasers to gain traction made him wonder if this was really the same person who got banned for drawing yuri at one point.
“Just what is she so confident about? And who are those people in chat reminiscing about something?”
Still, Usogeon, being human, found himself curious when he saw Haru act so confidently.
So out of curiosity, he started looking into Haru’s cosplay…
“Eh?”
He found paradise.