episode_0150

Before preparing the food, Da-yeong went to freshen up a bit, catch her breath, and then entered the room with the food in hand.

“Alright, I just toasted it lightly in the air fryer, so it should be crispy.”

Handing a plate to Da-yeong, she placed a glass of milk in front of each of them.

[Wow, is this Ma Mang Toast?]

[Give me some too. Give me some. Give me some. Give me some.]

[Greedy, why is Jo-rang the only one eating? I want to eat Ma Mang’s toast too! Give me some too!]

“Hehe, doesn’t this smell amazing?”

Da-yeong said as she brought the sandwich in front of the camera. She didn’t forget to support the toast with her other hand behind it, just like beauty YouTubers do, in case the focus shifted.

And in no time, she took a bite of the food right in front of the camera.

-Crispy!

[Wow! That sound is insane. It must be delicious.]

[Seeing that makes me crave something too.]

“But it’s not really a toast if there’s lettuce inside. Isn’t it just a sandwich then?”

“Just look. Since when did we differentiate between toast and sandwich like that?”

“Is there a Ma Mang Toast raffle event for Halloween?”

“How can you deliver toast by mail?! Please make some sense with your words.”

“Haha, I also want to help out like that. But… it’s probably difficult, right?”

Each viewer felt like a friend to Da-yeong, making her want to do something for them, but it was challenging.

-Rumble

That was the sound coming from my stomach just now.

“Oh, I haven’t had dinner yet. Sorry, would you like some toast, Ajumma?”

And then I immediately put a piece of toast into my mouth.

-Crispy.

Hmm, I did it pretty well.

“If any of our viewer friends haven’t had dinner by this time, please make sure to eat something quickly. It’s better not to eat too late, but it’s okay as long as you don’t sleep within 3 hours after eating.”

It was a little past 8 o’clock, and for a late dinner, it was acceptable.

“By the way, do you have any questions about our Jo-rang? I can answer them.”

“Mom, that was supposed to be a raffle…”

“Oh, whatever. We already picked 30 people. All of them are asking about me only. How boring.”

-Ding! Is our captain really as pretty as she claims, always trying to appeal to others? I’ve never seen her face before, so I’m asking.

“Thank you for the 1,000 won!”

Ah, so those messages read by TTS are paid for. You could tell by Da-yeong’s immediate thank you.

Well, anyway. I looked at Da-yeong, seeking her approval to answer. After a moment of contemplation, she nodded quietly.

“Our Jo-rang? She’s pretty. Yeah. She’s famous in the neighborhood. Honestly, it’s pointless to say this, but our family is quite exceptional in terms of looks. Even I, when I was young…”

“Stop right there. Look, what did I say? Even if you don’t believe until the end, the truth can’t be hidden! Be grateful that you can watch the broadcast of the most beautiful high school girl in the province!”

“Ew! I can’t believe I said that with my own mouth. And of course, in the eyes of parents, their child is always beautiful.”

“Seriously, are you saying our mom is wrong?”

“If you’re going to twist it like that, fine. Our captain is pretty. Everyone, give her some love.”

“Yeah, our captain is pretty. Beautiful face, beautiful heart.”

“If that’s the case, Ma Mang is even more…”

“Ugh, enough of that. Do you have any other questions? Opportunities like this don’t come often. Do you guys?”

“Then a question. What was Ma Mang’s reaction when he found out Jo-rang was doing her first broadcast?”

“Hmm… Streaming? I thought people were just doing things like NewTube a lot these days, so I thought that’s what you were doing. I didn’t know you were interacting with multiple people in real-time and broadcasting. I mean, sure, Jo-rangie did bug me to buy the microphone and computer you see here, but I didn’t really know what you were going to do with them. Anyway, I’ve only just started my first year of high school, so while studying is important, I also thought it would be good for Jo-rangie to experience a lot of things. But watching the viewers today… Oh, was it Ttusu? Anyway, watching what the Ttusu are doing, I think we need to set some limits…”

[No, Mom, that’s not right!]

[Please, not that!]

[Please don’t take Jo-rangie away from us!]

[Jo-rangie is the only one who’s nice to us at school!]

Hmm, is it really that serious? What kind of life are these friends living? Is their internet life their whole life? I’m starting to worry a bit.

As I made a serious expression, Da-yeong quickly picked up on it and tried to explain.

“The thing is, even if they talk like this online, when they go to school, there are popular kids and even if there are real nerds, they’re not that extreme. It’s just a culture to play around like this online.”

[Huh? Why force someone to be popular? I’m a real nerd, you know? If you agree with me, give me a thumbs up.]

[Thumbs up]

[Thumbs up up]

[X up]

As we talked over dinner, I naturally learned how Da-yeong and these viewers were having fun. It seemed like Da-yeong enjoyed playing with these friends online every day.

So, without realizing it, I found myself making a request to the viewers, or Ttusu.

“You know, at first, I thought Jo-rangie had some issues because he kept talking to himself while looking at the computer, but it turns out he was communicating with so many people. Please continue to play well with Jo-rangie, guys.”

[Of course, Mom. If Jo-rangie listens well, you’ll come to play often, right?]

“I don’t know about often, but if Jo-rangie allows it, I’ll come to play sometimes.”

“What’s this, are you already giving a closing statement? It’s only been a little over an hour since the broadcast started.”

“It’s not over yet. There’s still a lot to do. Why are you suddenly giving a closing statement like that, Mom?”

“Huh? I don’t know what a closing statement is, but anyway, I found it fun watching you guys play around. Yeah, you seem to be enjoying it too.”

“What’s this, Bang-jang? You kept teasing us, but you were actually enjoying it. You’re a tsundere, after all!”

“You’re a tsundere, Bang-jang. It’s not something that happens overnight. But getting a clear answer from Mamang makes it feel fresh. Now it’s not just our one-sided argument, it’s officially Mamang’s tsundere.”

“I’m not a tsundere! Don’t say weird things, Mom. Huh, really!”

Da-yeong blushed and fanned herself, looking embarrassed. It was cute, but I knew she would get upset if I teased her more.

“Anyway, what’s next on the agenda?”

“Oh, next is Ideal Type World Cup!”

Saying that, Da-yeong quickly accessed a website.

On the main screen, the words “Generational Gap World Cup” were displayed.

“Well, our average viewer age in this room is teens and twenties, with some in their thirties. Our mom is also in her thirties.”

She’ll be in her forties tomorrow, though.

[Eek! How quickly did you get married!]

[Was it during your school days?]

[Isn’t that really speeding? Dad, what on earth did you do!]

“Anyway! Let’s take some time to see how much of a generational gap there is between me, a 30-something mom, and you.”

And when we clicked the screen, the so-called ideal type game, where you choose the one you’re more attracted to from both sides, appeared.

“Okay, first one! The meaning of Nolto! Nowadays, it’s famous as the name of a TV program. But Nolto? Isn’t Saturday a day for relaxing? What does ‘Relaxing Saturday’ mean?”

“Back in my mom’s days…”

Thus began ‘Latte is a Story.’ But this was just stating facts, without any personal bias.

“Oh, really? So, you used to go to school on Saturdays originally?”

“That’s right.”

The reactions in the chat room were varied. Some empathized, while others, like Dayoung, were surprised. Probably those who empathized were in their late twenties or so.

“To be honest, my mom watches a lot of Netflix and Love House. Nolto seems more shocking, right?”

And then came the gestures of answering the phone and the mobile phone antenna.

“I never used a phone with an antenna back then. I understand, but the hand gestures when answering the phone felt more realistic.”

Next, situations that clearly showed the generation gap continued. Things that reminded you of Buzz (I thought of a singer, while Dayoung thought of wireless earphones), or frequently used messengers (I couldn’t understand why people used Facebook Messenger when no one used Facebook).

After the shocking end of the World Cup, they finally reached the finals.

“When we were young, it was Girls’ Generation Yuri, but these days, another group has a member with the same name who’s famous.”

“Now there’s not even one member from Girls’ Generation left.”

“That’s the sad part that can’t be denied.”

Seeing that idols are now classified beyond the 2nd generation to the 4th generation, I really didn’t know anything about idols these days.

“But… I can’t stand tteokbokki for 14,000 won.”

As far as Jungdohyun’s childhood memories of buying cup tteokbokki for 500 won in front of the school, 14,000 won for tteokbokki was way over the line.

“So, this time, how much effort do you think my mom put into making sure the tteokbokki meal kit she’s making at her company doesn’t exceed 10,000 won?”

In the end, the unit price is determined by how the ingredients are used, so they put a lot of effort into cost reduction from the development stage.

“Anyway, like this! The winner is! The tteokbokki price has been decided!”

Saying that, Dayoung’s body curled up and then suddenly expanded, kicking the bottom of the desk with a ‘thud’ sound.

And then.

“Dayoung. The faces on the screen aren’t what’s currently being broadcast, right?”

“Huh?”

A disaster had occurred.