'I just set up the stream and picked a stage name... why am I so wiped out...?'
Jun-su Kim let out a deep sigh, thinking this was utterly ridiculous.
But it seemed the viewers misunderstood.
💬 Starless Chat— ViewerJun-su's sniffing Pretty Boy's room scent right now?— ViewerNah~ no way~ If it was that, he'd have done it all while setting up the gear earlier.— Viewerlmao Jun-su, what's Pretty Boy's room smell like? Nah, what's his natural scent?
The Starless fans were spamming the chat like this.
Jun-su Kim could only shake his head in disbelief as he watched.
Just a bit ago, during the mukbang when Ha-rang Lee shared his story, they'd all been tearing up together, vowing to watch their words and reflect...
Of course, Starless was a collective of all sorts of personalities, so people varied—but it still amazed him how quickly they flipped.
No matter how much Ha-rang himself said it was fine and lighthearted memes were okay...
"It's not like that. You're making me out to be a pervert."
These mischievous bastards.
He tried to brush it off with a click of his tongue, but the Starless fans weren't letting it go easily.
— ViewerPretty Boy, what's your scent? Feels like it'd be something sweet, but what's it really like?— ViewerI bet it's citrusy.— ViewerIt's not bad, right? lol
No matter how advanced tech got, the internet couldn't transmit taste or smell, so they were prying for impressions from Jun-su Kim, the one actually seeing Pretty Boy Ha-rang Lee in person.
As he hesitated, glancing at Ha-rang for cues on what to say,
"I don't smell! Come on, does it make sense for someone in service jobs to smell? And I love showering, so I wash every day? I even lotion up religiously to keep my skin from drying out. Don't slander me."
Ha-rang jumped in first, as if he wouldn't tolerate such slander.
Hearing that, Jun-su thought dumbly, Oh, so that's body lotion. Thought it was shampoo.
— ViewerWhat body lotion? Buying that and sniffing it wouldn't be Pretty Boy's scent tho.— ViewerGenius?— ViewerBrand? Product name?
"Dunno, just grabbed it from Daiso."
— ViewerRunning to Daiso now.
Watching Ha-rang innocently answer every question from the Starless fans, Jun-su smacked his forehead.
His ability to catch the fast-scrolling chat was impressive.
But he needed to learn to ignore some stuff. Reacting to every weird one was bad for the stream.
To Ha-rang, who reeked of rookie streamer vibes, Jun-su offered some advice.
"And when you get excited, you slip into casual speech... That's good for your character. Why not just go casual with Starless fans? Switching between casual for stream and polite for real life like an on-off switch will make it easier."
Separating work from personal life was tough for internet streamers.
Over time, your private life vanished, and everything became content.
Having a conscious mental switch helped.
"Oh... really?"
Truth be told, his excited casual slips were a holdover from his Ugly Ha-rang days.
Since he was living as Heavenly Ha-rang now, he'd planned to fix it—but Jun-su suggested a different approach.
Thinking it over, it didn't sound bad.
Erasing every last trace of his past life felt a bit lonely anyway.
"Got it. Casual for streams, then."
"Yeah, Starless will love it. Think of it as building your character."
"Character..."
Glancing at chat, the Starless fans were already on board.
Ha-rang nodded and, following Jun-su's lead, started the Pretty Boy channel stream.
Viewers poured in like they'd been waiting.
"Whoa, whoaaa?"
Ha-rang was stunned by the explosive growth.
From his late-night research, the video creator market was a bloodbath beyond red ocean.
New channels often stayed at zero viewers for ages since influx was rare.
Without something special, that was normal—leading many to quit in tears.
Overseas was no different; that girl pretending to be a guy got caught doing otokonoko streams for that edge.
You needed uniqueness to stand out.
In that sense, Ha-rang was primed from the start.
Not a 'fake' but a 'real' pretty boy.
Plus, he was riding the Black Star big corp trickle-down right now.
Many in Pretty Boy's channel were casuals who'd dip soon, but even a fraction staying was huge.
Having real-time loyal viewers during your broadcast was a miracle.
Any newbie streamer knowing Ha-rang's situation would envy-tear up.
Ha-rang was launching in an embarrassingly plush environment.
He knew it and was grateful.
But it wasn't one-sided; Jun-su hit his personal peak viewership today too.
So,
"Got a collab stream tonight—wanna join? If my crewmate okays it."
Might as well go all-in.
Streamers craved big corp spillover; he'd deliver.
"Huh? You sure?"
Ha-rang was thrilled but worried.
Crashing a planned collab?
It could backfire, and Ha-rang wasn't clueless.
His life had honed his social radar sharper than most.
Pushing too hard might spark contrarian backlash from Starless.
Big corp backing and collab on debut day? Smacked of agency VTuber favoritism.
Could breed jealousy from have-nots.
"Consider it atonement for spitting soybean stew everywhere earlier."
Jun-su had the tact for it too.
He gave a reason Starless would buy.
— ViewerYeah, that's fair.— ViewerKing receive.— ViewerShould be fun. If Yura Yura's cool, it'll be worth watching.
Starless immediately agreed.
Since he'd caused that mess, collab payback was fair.
Especially with sympathy for Ha-rang's story brewing—they were clamoring to spoil him more.
Atmosphere was good; now just needed Yura Yura's okay, the original collab partner.
Little time left before heading to Black Star crew's studio.
Jun-su quickly messaged Yu-ra Kang.
"Yu-ra, sorry, but for tonight's collab—"
[Huh? Special guest?]
She sounded surprised over the phone after his quick rundown.
[No issue, but... Ha-rang? The one from last night's punishment collab?]
"Yes. Okay to invite him?"
Jun-su asked cautiously.
For a total newbie—though he'd shown promise today—still a rookie.
Licking boots worked in games, not streaming.
Rookies were competitors; a screw-up could tank the stream.
Unplanned guests might irk her.
If so, he'd prioritize the prior commitment and reschedule Ha-rang.
But Yu-ra accepted readily.
[Sure.]
She sounded eager, making his worries feel silly.
There was a reason: she'd learned of Ha-rang and grown curious.
Perfect timing to test her androphobia on him.
Stalking his PC bang part-time gig felt off.
She'd shelved the interest—till this golden opportunity.
"Then, to the studio? Depending on the stream, might crash there—cool?"
Whatever her motive, with her OK, no hesitation.
Jun-su prepared to head to the crew's shared studio.
Ha-rang, packing a bag just in case, asked,
"What's the studio like? Sleep area?"
"Rented an office, modded it into edit bay/collab space. Crew hideout, basically."
Not a full MCN corp, but Black Star crew had grown from casual hangs.
The studio handled schedules, including sleepover space for all-nighters.
"For homework... uh, ads. We batch-film those sometimes."
"Ah."
As they chatted idly en route, Yu-ra Kang—who'd been waiting at the studio—got shocking news from Starless.
— StarlessAlready got a wiki page on Ggulra Wiki?
Ha-rang had hit the net historians' Green Wiki.
They documented everything, but no dedicated page without fame.
Like Joseon scribes skipping random peasants.
Yu-ra was speechless that Ha-rang's deeds were already chronicled.
Damn, mine took a year...
Some got pages in two days.
Starless did it while watching Jun-su—talk about streamer favoritism.
Debuting via big corp stream.
Shoving aside envy, she checked the wiki to scout her soon-to-arrive guest.
"Channel's Pretty Boy? Ah... roulette pick? Should've named him better."
— StarlessOriginal pick was Male Cam Room. Pretty Boy's decent.— StarlessFr, compared to other candidates, Pretty Boy fits his vibe.
Starless fans—watching the stream or migrating over—protested like it was the best option.
Yu-ra pointed at a wiki entry like, Then what's this?
"His dream... octopus-tentacle dating reeking of dude? What?"
— StarlessYou don't know? That's...— StarlessA story you can't hear without tears.
"Historians aren't trolling—he really said that? Hmm..."
She needed context.
Reading Ha-rang's wiki backstory felt like peering into her own past.
Kinship, maybe.
She'd been bullied for her chest too.
She had allies; Ha-rang had enemies of both genders.
Pity, empathy welled up—for someone she'd yet to meet properly. Felt oddly familiar.
Tonight's collab... gotta look out for him.
Her initial jealousy morphed to maternal instinct.
"Hello. Streamer Pretty... Boy Ha-rang Lee."
The moment Ha-rang arrived with Jun-su, Yu-ra thought,
...A guy?
Her eyes and brain clashed in cognitive dissonance, short-circuiting her mind.
Intense—way more than on video.