episode_0153

One, two, three, four, two, three, one

It seems like he’s confessing while drunk

One, two, three, four, two, three, one

It seems like he’s saying he loves me

One, two, three, four, two, three-

“Heuk, heuk!”

In a small 6-square-meter room, where the summer heat couldn’t invade due to the blasting air conditioner, there was a woman sweating profusely.

“Heak! Th-this. Heuk! You want me to do this for 20 minutes? Heuk, heuk!”

Yes, that woman was none other than me.

The Zero Two dance, a punishment I had to perform. It was a simple movement where you just swayed your waist to the rhythm of the song, no need for any special technique.

Yes, after a few minutes of repeating this simple movement, we call it exercise.

“Wow… Mom, you’re really flexible. Your waist… it’s not stiff, it’s all wobbly? Moving like that.”

“Heuk, heak! You! Right now! Mom is struggling, heuk! And being punished!”

Watching Dayoung clapping and looking amused beside me somehow irritated me.

[Ah, I hate the room master.]

[Isn’t the room master too excited? But we were even more excited.]

[Wow, she’s really flexible. Seems like she moves better than most female students.]

“Of course. Mom has to move better due to the laws of physics. According to the law of inertia….”

“Again, I told you not to talk about that… get out.”

Seeing them chatting excitedly among themselves, I felt a surge of annoyance.

But what can I do?

“This is the broadcast Mom chose. Endure it with grit and determination!”

Dayoung’s words made me realize that I had chosen to participate in this broadcast, so there was no one else to blame.

[Anyway, she’s flexible. Her stamina is really impressive. It’s been almost 10 minutes since she started and she hasn’t taken a break, moving properly.]

“Ugh, really! Heuk! Heuk! This feels more brutal than military training.”

As I continued the core workout without a break for 5 minutes, memories of the military training I had done involuntarily surfaced. Particularly, the grueling exercises known as the 8th and 11th movements. The 11th movement, in particular, had a similarity to the difficulty and intensity of the core workout I was doing now. Initially, it felt embarrassing, but now those feelings had long disappeared.

[Haha, I did it as a punishment during a college MT, and it’s much harder to do it than to watch. I haven’t been to the military, so I don’t know about the military training, but how about those who have been?]

[Comparing it to the 11th movement in the military is a bit… But how does Brother Mamang know about that? Did you serve in the military?]

[Maybe he did it as a punishment like that. Anyway, still not halfway there.]

“Why did you accept it when I told you to do it for 3 minutes? Why show off?”

Yes, the initial punishment time was set at 3 minutes. However, as someone tried to perform the punishment, someone else bet a large sum of money, 100,000 won, and set a mission.

-Keep this one and if you get them all right in the next challenge, you can take it, but if you get it wrong, Zero Two for 10 minutes.

As the mission was set, the chat room erupted with excitement, and the mission amount kept increasing, eventually reaching 200,000 won.

“D-Does the money… just multiply? Where has the value of labor gone in this world…?”

I muttered in disappointment. Well, of course, it’s not something I should be saying after receiving 100 million won for a modeling job, but still…

The sanctity and nobility of labor, I’ve never worked with such principles, but still, it felt incredibly empty to see the monthly salary I earned through a month of hard work suddenly gather as just the ‘fun’ value of so many people.

“Ah, so that’s why….”

The amount in Dayoung’s bank account seemed abnormally high, but seeing it in person made it seem like I knew exactly why that figure came out.

“Mom, that mission can only be received if it’s successful. If it fails, the penalty just increases. Are you still going to do it?”

“Oh… I see. That makes sense. It felt like too much money to just receive without doing anything.”

“Well, even so, since 10% comes in as a commission even if it fails, you can think of it as earning 200,000 won for now.”

[Haha, look at how shocked Mamang is. It seems like even adults who have been in society for a long time can’t help but be hit by money.]

[It’s shocking. Sometimes when I see streamers earning money, I feel a sense of reality, but what about someone who has been receiving a salary for over 10 years every month?]

[Even though it’s ZeroTwo, moments like this pure side of Mamang are really charming, right?]

[So… you’re not going to watch ZeroTwo?]

[No, that’s not it.]

It seemed that the viewers were also the ones giving money, and as they had been exposed to this internet broadcasting culture for a long time, this situation seemed familiar to them.

“I might as well quit my job and start broadcasting….”

After muttering something like that due to a sense of reality, Dayoung shook her head and said with a voice full of emotions.

“Oh. Watching broadcasts isn’t as easy as you think. This is advice from a senior, so remember it well.”

Listening to the following explanation, it was said that there were rare people in the broadcasting industry who didn’t have incidents or accidents listed on their wiki every day, similar to the entertainment industry.

Well… there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, so if you gain something, you might lose something big.

“Anyway, let’s start with 200, and if it fails, we’ll fill in 10 minutes! Let’s try the ‘Speak at the same time game’ once again.”

And a little while later.

“Heh, heh! Oh, it’s so hard!”

With only about 1 minute left, I continued to shake my hips, enduring the waist pain that seemed like it would break at any moment.

“Alright, last 5 seconds! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Done! Now, let’s give a round of applause to our hardworking mom! (Roughly means to quickly deposit the compensation)”

And the many donations that poured in.

“Oh, thank you for the 100,000 won. Professor of Central(mid) Physics!”

“Oh, thank you for the 50,000 won. Baby Tzuyu!”

As Dayoung reacted to the donations that continued for about 5 minutes, I sat down and tried to catch my breath.

“Ha, ha.”

Recently, when it came to exercising, I was someone who would increase the weight with dumbbells or barbells, but honestly, if you do such big movements continuously for 20 minutes without rest, even bodyweight exercises would be tough.

“Ah, it’s uncomfortable.”

“Mamang… you’re soaked in sweat. Very… soaked….”

“Oh, I didn’t know that hair sticking to sweat like that could be so sexy.”

“The microfiber material really sticks to the body when it’s wet with sweat. Oh, is that abs? Having an 11-pack abs is truly an art.”

“Member, thank you for your hard work today. Since you’ve sweated a lot, make sure to shower and get some rest.”

“So. I want to finish quickly and take a shower.”

“Yeah, that’s right! Has it been… oh no~! Over 3 hours since I started the broadcast?”

After promising to only broadcast for about two hours, Dayoung had been making an effort to stick to that promise. After all, her main job was still being a student. So, she seemed quite surprised when she saw that the broadcast had gone over by an hour.

“Everyone, well, it’s getting late. My mom needs to take a shower, and I have to go to school tomorrow, so should we end it here? Is that okay?”

[Ah, that’s a shame. Today’s broadcast was fun.]

[It hasn’t been that long, and you’re already ending it? Just a little more, please!]

[Don’t miss this. There won’t be a replay of today’s broadcast.]

[Huh? Why?]

[It’s a secretㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

“Well… it’s a shame. I’ll leave a replay. I’ll just cut out that part now.”

It seemed that after the replay service ended, they would create a separate channel on NewTube for replays.

“Anyway, thank you for today’s broadcast! It was fun. Please come back next time. Our Eungae-dan will always remember Ma Mang.”

“What? Weren’t you coming tomorrow too? You need to decide on Ma Mang’s channel name, plan the content, and give out guidelines, right?”

“Are you Ma Mang’s manager? ㅋㅋㅋ.”

“Still, if Ma Mang broadcasts, I think I’ll watch.”

“But didn’t you say you were going to do a cooking channel? What’s the reason for Ma Mang wanting to do NewTube?”

“Huh? Just… trying to live more enthusiastically? I’ve been too focused on work until now.”

“Huh? What about your dad… Papa? What is he doing? If you’re both working, and Papa is earning well now, can’t he start doing what he wants to do?”

Yes, I was that Papa…

“Well, there are some circumstances, so let’s just leave it at that.”

If I were to reveal my identity willingly, they would quickly find out about my TS syndrome, but there was no need to go around shouting about it.

Still… I thought it might be good to let the new people around me know.

“Anyway, let’s think about that slowly! Thank you all for coming to watch the broadcast today, and I’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. See you later! Rangba!”

“Jjo, Jjolba~ Is this how you do it?”

[ㅋㅋ You’re cute until the end. Oh Bangal Oh Bangjul!]

“Ah, that was fun! Enjoyed it!”

“Jolba! Maba! It means Ma Mang bye-bye.”

After waving goodbye for a while, the broadcast finally ended, and I could finally be released from the burdensome camera.

“It was still fun!”

“It was fun! Oh no! I’m doomed! What if everyone recognizes me at school tomorrow? What if they recognize me and ask for autographs? Oh, I’m going crazy.”

Dayoung, who had been blaming herself for her mistake in front of the camera, continued to worry. She seemed fine during the broadcast, but she was still concerned.

Seeing her like this, I felt relieved in a way, thinking that she was still just a kid.

I gently wrapped my arms around Dayoung’s head, comforting her.

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine. People aren’t as interested in others as you think. And you don’t know if anyone from your school even watches your broadcast.”

As I transmitted my warmth along with my comfort, Dayoung, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, whimpered.

“Still… when I ended the broadcast, there were almost 10,000 people watching, and there’s no guarantee that none of them are from our school. And even if it’s not at school, I feel like I’ll be more self-conscious when I’m out, and… my voice might give me away when I’m broadcasting, and I’m worried that people might recognize me because of that…”

“And also, the senior who lives in the apartment above us, I saw him in the elevator yesterday.”

“Yeah. What about him?”

“He watched my broadcast.”

“Ah… Well, he looks nice. But still, if he pretends to know you, treat him appropriately, and if he bothers you, tell Mom. She’ll scold him sharply.”

“Mm. Got it.”

I held Da-yeong tightly until her anxiety subsided for a moment.

And the true Da-yeong’s words fell to me.

“Uh, but Mom, you’re sweaty. Go wash up quickly.”

Only then did I realize that my body was sticky again.