Chapter 124: I Cup Woman, Part 1

July.

The peak of summer’s heat and humidity.

“Turn on the AC!”

“I’m dying of heat!”

“Kill the humidity!”

The three Igloo residents were struggling to endure this difficult time, giggling amongst themselves.

Of course, their greatest source of strength to withstand the heat was their affection for each other.

“What are you drinking, Unnie?”

“Strawberry smoothie. This place uses a lot of strawberries, so it tastes like real fruit.”

“Hmm, it does taste like strawberries.”

“Here.”

“You like this kind of thing, Unnie.”

When they had something tasty, they would share it with each other, using the same straw after tasting it with their lips.

With pecks being commonplace, they didn’t mind indirect kisses. Inside the air-conditioned studio, Hayoon and Choi Arin shared each other’s warmth.

“I’ll continue working on this.”

“Yeah, I’ll focus on rigging the new outfit.”

They could be even more physically affectionate if they wanted to…

But Choi Arin vaguely remembered asking for a French kiss while drunk.

And Hayoon remembered the feel of her real kiss with Hong Seo-hyun…

So, they couldn’t easily take the next step.

This level of intimacy was just right.

“I’m going to check on Seo-hyun Unnie’s stream setup.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

After spending some quality time with Choi Arin, Hayoon would use the excuse of checking Hong Seo-hyun’s streaming setup to visit the soundproof booth next door.

And once inside…

“How’s the stream going?”

“Oh, Mom’s here. One sec.”

Hong Seo-hyun, streaming as Scarlet, quickly muted her microphone and looked at Hayoon with loving eyes. Then…

Smooch.

They shared a quick kiss.

Then, they separated as if nothing had happened, and Hong Seo-hyun unmuted her microphone.

“I was working next door and decided to visit.”

–What are you working on?
–Turn on your stream, Haru, you
.
–Boss, is our doctor working on another project?

The viewers’ reactions were chaotic.

Scarlet’s viewers, mostly younger and accustomed to a gentler stream atmosphere, were generally friendly towards Hayoon.

However, those who also watched Haru’s streams started spewing insults.

It was a natural reaction.

Hayoon hadn’t streamed much lately.

“Ah, haven’t I streamed for almost ten days?”

–It’s been two weeks, you
.
–Do we have to talk to you here?

“Ahaha…”

Despite being outnumbered, Haru’s viewers, though fewer in number, made their presence known in Scarlet’s chat, which had thousands of viewers.

However…

“I’ll make an announcement about my stream later.”

–Turn on your stream!
–Haaaaa!

Though she didn’t stream often, she uploaded illustrations to Patreon more frequently.

And the quality was good.

Confident that her loyal viewers wouldn’t leave, she didn’t worry about them today. What was important was…

“Scarlet is getting a new outfit in early August. Please look forward to it. She’ll be back with a pretty new outfit soon.”

“Uh, can you reveal that already?”

“Of course. It’s already 70% done, so I might be able to reveal it as early as the end of July. Please look forward to it.”

“Ooh, she said so, everyone.”

It was time to support Hong Seo-hyun, Scarlet, BGG Company’s main source of income, and give her viewers something to look forward to.

Hayoon’s viewers were a loyal bunch, but Hong Seo-hyun, with her larger audience, had more casual viewers who required regular content.

Hayoon, as the CEO, announced that something big was coming, giving the viewers a reason to tune in next week, next month.

“Okay, I’ll go back to work.”

–Turn on your stream.
–Your job is streaming, Haru. Please.

“Bye.”

Hayoon greeted her viewers, gave Hong Seo-hyun a peck on the cheek, and returned to the studio.

This was her new routine.

***

Hayoon’s projects were consistently successful.

The original songs and swapped covers by Scarlet and Lucy released earlier this year…

–Hayooooon! What do I do! I think I’m actually going to succeed as a singer!

Were a huge success.

Hong Seo-hyun’s “Red Sky” was considered a niche song, popular within the fandom, but…

Seo Ji-woo’s “Blue Ocean,” with its refreshing love song vibe, was still charting in the top 100 indie songs.

It had already generated a considerable amount of income.

Seo Ji-woo was surprised every payday, asking if the money was really hers.

“There’s still a long way to go. Don’t get so excited over a few hundred thousand won.”

–R-Really? I have to earn more to truly succeed as a singer?

“Of course.”

The difference between Seo Ji-woo and Hong Seo-hyun’s success was subtle.

Initially, “Red Sky” ranked higher than “Blue Ocean” on the indie charts due to the fandom’s support, but perhaps due to the prejudice against Vtubers, it didn’t attract new listeners.

In contrast, Utaites faced less resistance than Vtubers…

“Red Sky’s performance was a bit disappointing, but it would be perfect if Ji-woo debuted and sang a duet with Seo-hyun Unnie. If they combine forces, they could reach the top 100, not just on the indie charts, but on the main charts.”

–A-Are we doing a duet too?

“Of course, their contrasting voices would be perfect for a love song duet. They could even top the charts.”

–Hehe…

Hayoon calmly praised Seo Ji-woo while coldly analyzing the reasons for “Red Sky”’s underperformance.

It was purely a matter of timing.

Scarlet’s popularity wasn’t high enough yet, and the perception of Vtubers was still negative. The domestic market was small, and it couldn’t attract new listeners.

“Red Sky” failed simply because of its release timing.

‘Maybe it could have a resurgence later on.’

The song itself wasn’t bad, so a breakthrough could lead to a resurgence. For instance, the music video for “Red Sky” uploaded to Scarlet’s YouTube channel had higher views than usual, as it was viewed by a Vtuber-friendly audience.

A comeback could definitely be successful.

Convinced of this, she was satisfied with the partial success.

–Haa, that was fun, Hayoon. Time flies when I’m talking to you.

“Me too, Ji-woo. Take care of your throat, stay healthy, and let’s debut in December.”

–Okay!

After ending the call with Seo Ji-woo, Hayoon checked Baek-seol’s ASMR channel’s growth.

“Hmm…”

It was exceeding her expectations.

“Why are the views so high…?”

She had provided a lot of illustrations to enhance the immersion, but even considering that, the channel was growing steadily.

Several videos had over 100,000 views, and most videos surpassed 10,000 views within a week of uploading.

“They say sexual desire is one of the most primal urges…”

A woman with a pleasant voice, paired with beautiful illustrations and ASMR, was a recipe for success. Baek-seol’s ASMR scripts were well-written too.

With proper nurturing, Shiro Yuki had the potential to become an even bigger cash cow than Scarlet or Lucy.

“Her Utaite channel also has around 10,000 views, which is enough for promotion. It’s not a big deal since she only uploads every two weeks.”

Even her Utaite channel was doing well, so there was nothing to worry about.

The only problem was Jo A-yeong’s Vivian…

“Sigh, this is…”

She lacked any distinct appeal besides her chest, and she was having a streak of bad luck.

She was taking vocal lessons and her singing had improved, but she wasn’t getting any algorithmic favor.

Most of her cover songs had around 5,000 views.

It was a disappointing result.

“What should I do…”

As Hayoon pondered solutions, August arrived.

–Hello, this is 3M Studio.

“Hello, Mr. Park. What’s up?”

–We did a test shoot at our studio recently…

“Yes?”

–The… model with the large chest… her model…

“Yes?”

–Her model’s breasts are… smaller than in real life, so when she puts her hands on her chest, they float… what should we do?

“Ah…”

–Ahaha…

An unexpected problem arose.

She hadn’t expected to encounter a 3D model with breasts too large.