Chapter 120: Fan service

The awards ceremony proceeded smoothly.

The awards ceremony, which was held inside a well-decorated auditorium with streamers gathered together, was started by a highly enthusiastic employee of the game company.

Even considering that he was excited that the game was a hit, the smooth and clean proceedings made me wonder if they had brought in a professional instead of an employee.

It turned out that he was an experienced person whose skills had been honed through acquaintances’ weddings and first birthday parties.

The atmosphere wasn’t bad either.

One way or another, they were all people who stood in front of others and broadcasted, so their reactions were excellent and timed appropriately.

The awards ceremony was smooth, but it wasn’t predictable either.

It started with ceremonial greetings, thanked all the streamers who participated in the challenge, and took the time to look at the clips that recorded high views.

Among them, there were a large number of faces I had never seen before, which made me think that there were really a lot of streamers.

They seemed satisfied with showing their faces among fellow streamers even in this way.

That time passed, and soon the voice calling me came.

“The main character of the final ranking 3rd place, who discovered 2 Easter eggs and 1 hidden route is… Mollru-nim! Let’s all welcome her with warm applause!”

I stood up from my seat and walked onto the stage.

The sound of applause was so loud that my ears rang, and among them, there were also shouts that couldn’t distinguish between men and women.

Pretty, cool. The best, I’m dying. Words that made my ears tingle just by listening to them.

At this rate, there was no difference between me and my fans I met at the front gate earlier.

As if proving that, the gazes towards me as I stepped forward were mostly favorable to me.

“Wow, I never imagined that announcing 3rd place first would be such a shame.
Judging by the atmosphere alone, it’s almost like you’re the main character.
Mollru-nim has discovered the developer’s blessing, the secret meeting method of the Information Guild, etc.
You mainly discovered Easter eggs that were ingenious and required creativity set by the developers.
Through that, you recorded a not-so-low ranking of 3rd place in the World 23 Challenge.
First of all, I would like to ask you to say a few words about the award.”

I received the microphone from the employee who had covered my face with gold with his eloquent words.

“Um… I’m not sure if I deserve this award.
I ended up taking 3rd place in the challenge while playing the game.
I purely played the game and was lucky enough to discover the Easter eggs.
I think it’s all because ATX, the development company, made the game so well.”

The employee who was listening to me quietly added a word.

“In a nutshell, you were lucky?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

When I said that without hesitation, a look of bewilderment briefly appeared on the employee’s face and then disappeared.

Was that too insensitive of an answer? Should I have pretended to be a little cocky?

“Even with this humble aspect! I can see why you’re so popular.
You’re really a streamer who fits the word all-rounder who lacks nothing, Mollru-nim.
Finally, I would like to ask everyone to applaud Mollru-nim once more.”

I bowed my head and came down from the stage.

When I returned to my seat, Ryu-A greeted me with a fun face.

“You’re still the same, Ji-eun.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

What, you’re bland. I sat down in my seat with a thud.

-Next, the one who recorded 2nd place in the challenge-.

Together with Ryu-A, who was holding my hand tightly next to me, I focused on the awards ceremony again.

“Keueueung…”

I stretched in the provided seat. It was more tiring than I thought.
This awards ceremony is.

To be exact, it wasn’t the awards ceremony itself, but the subsidiary things that happened because of it that drained my energy.

-Smile a little bit, your expression is too awkward right now.

Raise the corners of your mouth a little more. Relax your eyes. Okay, I’ll take a picture.

Receiving the trophy, and taking a picture while receiving it.

Having a short conversation with a company official who claims to be my fan.

-Congratulations on 3rd place, I always enjoy watching your broadcast. Ah, I’m the streamer Hye-yeon-.

-I’m a fan. Can I get an autograph? You don’t have anything like that? Then maybe a picture-.

-Teacher, aren’t you being too humble? You’re a master of gaming among masters of gaming, so why are you being so modest.

Even doing the talking for the streamers who wanted to get close to me after the awards ceremony.

Most of it was close to light greetings with words of congratulations, but as that piled up, I was out of my mind.

After finishing all that, I was sitting blankly in my seat like a robot with a dead battery.

No matter how much my personality has brightened and I go out often, seeing that I’ve been drained like this in the meantime, I guess I’m not an extroverted human after all. External activities only make me tired.

“Ji-eun, can you go to the afterparty?”

“If you’re tired, I’ll take you home.”

Ryu-A is looking at me with worried eyes, and Shi-young is saying that while accepting my trophy.

Even so, how can I be the only one missing on a day like this? It’s not that serious of a state.

-Wahahahat, I’ll pay for all the alcohol and meat today.

It’s Tex, who achieved 1st place in the challenge and obtained a whopping 8 million won along with the World 23 goods.

He seemed happier to get the World’s goods than the 8 million won, but he suddenly got free money.

Tex, who was on a roll, naturally made an afterparty appointment.

I’m in 3rd place, and I also got a not-so-small amount of money, 2 million won, so I’m thinking of paying for the 2nd or 3rd round if we go.

The members are the team from the previous Aeowo streamer battle, the so-called Mollru Division. With my editor Shi-young added to the mix.

“It’s okay, I can go.”

Going to the afterparty is an easy thing to do.

There aren’t any people I’m meeting for the first time, and everyone knows my personality to some extent, so there’s not much energy to use.

It would be sad if I had to miss out on a day like this.

It helped that I had built up my stamina a bit through my usual exercise.

I pressed on my stiff eyelids and got up from my seat and headed outside.

The personnel were divided, and Ryu-A decided to accompany me.

Since there were only three of us taking Shi-young’s mid-sized car together, there would be no shortage of seats.

As the three of us moved to Shi-young’s car.

Even in that short moment, I was able to face my fans.

-Please look this way once!

-Mollru-nim, I love you!

-Congratulations on 3rd place-!

It’s not that I haven’t met people who claim to be my fans.

My PT teacher, who is in charge of my stamina, said that he’s my fan, and the many streamers I met inside just now said that they’re my fans.

But apart from them, it was the first time I had faced fans who were waiting only for me in groups like that.

It was like seeing something raw that wasn’t packaged.

Seeing that they had been holding their positions to see me, just like before, even though a lot of time had passed.

My mood… wasn’t so bad.

But considering that this isn’t my fan meeting site, but an awards ceremony site where other streamers are gathered, most of their requests couldn’t be granted.

But I can do this much, right.

After taking a deep breath for a moment, I waved my hand slightly towards the group of people who were staring at me intensely.

-Waaaaa-!

It’s just a light greeting, but the reactions are like this. It’s almost like a scene you can only see when a celebrity returns from the airport.

Still, I should say that it’s fortunate that there weren’t any enthusiastic fans who didn’t follow the instructions.

It would have been very embarrassing if they had resisted the staff’s guidance and ran towards me.

Was that why, I was subtly happy, so I approached the student in front of me.

“How old are you?”

“Yes, four? I’m 17 years old…”

Whether she didn’t think I would talk to her, her voice cracked and her face turned red.

A petite female student who looked to be the same age as Ji-yeon.

Judging by the fact that she was holding paper and a pen, it seemed like she wanted an autograph, so I just wrote Mollru in English.

“Should we take a picture too?”

“G, good!”

She had a dazed face and suddenly screamed. Then she grabbed my wrist and pulled me, holding out her cell phone, which I don’t know when she took out.

She seemed like she had a quiet personality, but after all, she’s a high school girl, so is this it? I was pushed back by her bright energy, and all I could do was draw a V with my hand.

“C, could I possibly get a hug too…?”

Her tension went up and then suddenly became quiet, and then she said that while looking at me.

The flying squirrel emoticon saying “Give me a hug-” came to my mind for a moment, and I laughed.

I thought about it for a moment, but the other person wasn’t a man, but a woman.

It’s not like she’s asking me to kiss her, so a hug isn’t a difficult thing to do.

I nodded and approached and hugged her slightly.

Not for long, just a short hug as if saying hello.

After the hug ended, the female student was making constant greetings with a face that seemed really happy. While holding my hand tightly.

“Thank you, thank you!”

“T, that’s enough, can you let go of my hand?”

“Ah, yes!”

Even while backing away at my words, she was rubbing her hands together, as if there was sweat on my hand.

-Teacher, me too! -Please shake hands, please sign!

Was it because I had set a precedent? People flocked again behind the student who had stepped back.

…I might have made a slight mistake. 

I shouldn’t have given them an excuse.

Shi-young and Ryu-A are waiting, so I decided to do a few more and cut it off sharply.

It won’t take long. This is just a simple fan service.