Receiving a text message on my phone isn’t something that happens often.
There aren’t many people saved in my contacts to begin with.
So, I checked the message with a bit of tension.

[신예화: Hey]

Seeing the message startled me.
There was no reason for Sin Ye-hwa to suddenly send such a message.
I felt something was off, and just then, I realized why she sent it, connecting it to what had just happened.

“Really?”

I had hoped it wasn’t true, but...
It turned out it was.
A deep sigh escaped me.
How could the person I work part-time with also be active in the same gallery?

“Sigh…”

I couldn’t help but sigh.
I’ve always preferred online friendships over real-life ones.
This situation felt incredibly uncomfortable.

“Should I quit my part-time job?”

That thought crossed my mind.
I usually work responsibly, but I couldn’t imagine working face-to-face with someone who knows everything I’ve posted online.
The more I thought about it, the less appealing it seemed.
In hindsight, it didn’t sound like a bad idea.

‘I should call.’

I’d need to tell the café owner I wouldn’t be coming in next week, though I felt bad about it.
People like me, introverts, would understand the situation better.
Finding out that the coworker you’ve been working with happens to be active in the same online community where you share all sorts of embarrassing jokes...
It was just too much.

“Ah, this is so embarrassing.”

At least I was fortunate enough to figure it out now.
If I hadn’t noticed, the embarrassment would’ve only multiplied.
I thought about making the call, but just then—

[신예화: Let’s keep working together.]

A new message from Sin Ye-hwa came in.
She told me not to quit.
It seemed like she had been watching me in the gallery for a while and had analyzed my behavior.
Sending this message now made it clear.

[나: No.] [나: If you were in my shoes,] [나: Would you keep working? Hahaha]

I figured 환희 would understand that.
Not long after, a response came in.

[신예화: We’ve] [신예화: Known each other for years.] [신예화: It’s disappointing.]

[나: That’s online though.] [나: Meeting in real life is a bit different.]

No matter how close you are online, meeting in real life is a different matter entirely.
That’s something I’ve always thought.
But then there was a dilemma.

‘If I’m going to quit, I need to give a reason.’

Saying I had personal reasons for quitting wouldn’t be bad, but I knew the café owner would want to hear the details.
He’s the type to always accommodate his employees.

“I really can’t lie.”

I’m not good at lying. If I tried to lie, it would be too obvious.
Then I’d have to explain the situation with Sin Ye-hwa.
My mind was becoming a mess.

“Ugh.”

This was a complex issue. It might be best to sleep on it and think it through later.
After all, overthinking wouldn’t lead to a solution.

The next day, after waking up from a good sleep, my head felt much clearer.
Perhaps that’s why I was able to make a decision quickly about what had happened yesterday.

‘Let’s talk it out.’

I’m not one to enjoy carrying online connections into real life, but it felt a bit heartless to just cut ties with someone I had been getting along with for so long.
I thought about this as I prepared breakfast and headed to work.

Arriving at the café, I saw the door was already open.
We had agreed that the person who arrives first would open the door, and it seemed like Sin Ye-hwa had arrived first today.

“Phew…”

I tried to hide my nervousness as I entered the café.
I had already decided what to say in my head.

“Are you here?”
Sin Ye-hwa greeted me, but her tone was different from usual.
She was using informal speech, which felt very awkward.

“This sudden informal speech...”
“We’ve known each other for years, isn’t it fine to speak informally?”
She was right.
We’d been chatting in the Ifrit gallery for years.
It was a bit strange to keep using formal speech just because I was shy.

“Then, I guess I’ll speak informally too.”
“Sure.”

And just like that, I found myself talking informally with Sin Ye-hwa.

“By the way, I gave you so many hints, why didn’t you catch on? I almost died of frustration.”
“Wait, when did you find out I was broadcasting? How did you give hints?”

I had thought I was doing a good job of keeping my broadcasts under wraps.
But clearly, I was wrong.

“I figured it out when you started broadcasting on the second day. After work, you’d immediately start streaming, saying you were off from the café.”
“You left some gaps, though.”
“I’ve been watching you for years, you think I couldn’t predict that?”

I had thought I was hiding my secret well, but I guess not.

“Anyway, that’s not why I came here.”
“Then why are you here? You came to work, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but... It’s a little uncomfortable working with someone who knows me from the internet. Let’s not acknowledge it while at work.”
This had to be clear.
We’d talked about all sorts of things online, so now I had to set some boundaries for our work relationship.
We could remain friendly, but at work, it should just be about work.

“Isn’t that obvious? Who talks about community stuff at work?”
“I guess, but just to be sure.”
“Hmm... I’ve probably said things that could be misunderstood. I’ll admit that.”
We talked for a while longer and came to a conclusion.
At work, we’d keep it professional, and outside of work, we could continue our casual chats.

“Alright, I’m going in.”
“Okay, go ahead.”

I greeted her lightly as she worked the rest of the day at the café and then headed home.
“Things went better than expected.”

I had thought it might be awkward, but since Sin Ye-hwa wasn’t all that awkward about it, the dilemma from the night before was solved way quicker than I imagined.

‘I really worried for nothing last night.’

I hadn’t slept much thinking about how to handle the situation.
Had I known this would happen, I would’ve just slept well.
Worrying about everything doesn’t really help in life.

‘It was the same before.’

Back when I first entered university, I had high expectations.
I’d worked so hard in high school that I had an idealized view of university life.
I thought I’d get a girlfriend, make lots of friends, and engage in productive activities.
I was so hyped for the “orientation” where students from my department would gather.

Then, at that event, I awkwardly greeted people I’d never met, drank too much, and ended up puking on the table.
“Wait, wasn’t it beef jeon?”

That was a memorable moment.

‘It was probably beef jeon.’

Anyway, I ended up vomiting, feeling flustered and scared, but thankfully, people around me helped.
I realized back then that worrying about everything wasn’t good, but I had forgotten that lesson.
I thought about those memories as I sat down at my computer.

“Oops.”

I had to broadcast today.
Other streamers sometimes talk about going through slumps and wondering, "Why am I doing this?"
But I haven’t felt that way yet.
In fact, I find it more enjoyable.

‘The fun is in watching the viewer count grow.’

Watching both my viewers and donations steadily increase was exciting.
When I first started streaming, I only had about 20 viewers.
With that thought, I started my broadcast.

[Broadcast has started!]

As the notification went up, viewers started joining.

‘I should wash my face first.’

It always takes some time for viewers to join.

[듀공: I’m going to wash my face.]

I said I was going to wash my face and went to the bathroom.

“Hi, everyone.”

As I greeted my viewers, I noticed the chat was going wild.

[🗡️전지좆능한크툴루: YouTube blew up, haha] [🗡️전지좆능한크툴루: Finally, you’re blowing up] [YouTube’s blowing up like crazy, hahaha] [Congrats on hitting 10,000 subscribers] [You’ve made it, huh? Hahaha (You’re really on the rise)] [How many subs did you get for this to happen?] [강후민입니다: Haha, congratulations]

The chat had one main focus.
My YouTube channel had blown up.

“Wait, why is my YouTube channel blowing up?”

Just a few days ago, my subscribers had been growing slowly.

[🗡️전지좆능한크툴루: It’s from the Finding Cup] [🗡️전지좆능한크툴루: The win was edited like a movie, and the views exploded, hahaha] [GOAT editor, seriously amazing] [Big W] [강후민입니다: Yeah, hitting 10,000 subs is huge]

I hadn’t expected that.
It turned out the reason was something I hadn’t anticipated.