Cheat day

Originally Precious (1)

While I was going through CF model contracts and meetings, I inadvertently took a three-day break from broadcasting.

There were many posts on the community and my YouTube channel asking when I would be back on air.

Although Sunday is a scheduled break day, taking four consecutive days off felt burdensome, so I went to the studio.

“Ah, can you hear me?”

└Banha

└Ahhh

└DrlsNkk

└Wow, you’re still alive

“I was basically a corpse. Just being alive is a feat. How have you all been?”

└What were you doing that you couldn’t even go live?

└You need to deliver this week’s white rice debate!

└My small and precious side dish shop has gotten way too big…

└It wasn’t small.

└What are we doing today?

“I had a lot going on. I can’t go into detail, but most of it was related to CFs. Yes, I have a photoshoot next month, and I was so nervous that I had diarrhea for two days. Even now, my stomach doesn’t feel great. What do I do? I don’t even take selfies!”

└Eww

└Is this the first thing you talk about when you come back?

└It’s understandable to be nervous. Until the year before last, you had no connections to that sort of thing.

└Hahaha, since you don’t take selfies, you’ll have to leave it to the professionals.

└Try looking at magazines to study poses.

└Otherwise, this guy might actually mess it up more if he tries hard. Just do what they tell you.

└Can you elaborate a bit on what it’s about?

└Seriously, what happened all of a sudden?

└As an ambassador, what are you getting?

“Is it okay to say?”

Mugunji told me via KakaoTalk that other people’s news had already been published in articles.

“Oh, since you said it’s been published, I can talk about it. Lacoste is preparing a big campaign this year. They want to respect individuality while also being a connection between individuals, so they’re gathering quite a diverse range of people from different countries and professions. For example, in China, there’s the pianist Gao Wang, in the U.S. there’s the artist Fernando Gonzales, and in Italy, there’s the conductor Arturo Toscanini, among others.”

I couldn’t remember all of them, so I looked up the article.

“In Poland, it’s poet Wisława Szymborska. In the UK, it’s magician Derren Brown, and as you can see, they have gathered a lot of incredibly diverse people.”

└Why are you included in this?

└Hahahahahaha

└I’ve heard of all those names at least once, right?

└At this point, shouldn’t Baek Dobin, Choi Seong-sin, Ko Su-yeol, and Jang Mi-rae be involved too? Hahaha, why is the group leader here? Hahaha

└Baek Dobin doesn’t do that sort of thing. Choi Seong-sin is already a Dior ambassador, and Ko Su-yeol might not fit the image? Jang Mi-rae has collaborated with Versace too.

└The diversity of professions might be a reason too. There’s Toscanini as a conductor and Gao Wang as a pianist.

└Didn’t Baek Dobin also beat Toscanini at last year’s orchestra competition?

└So does that mean you have to do everything just because Lacoste wants it? There must be reasons for everyone involved.

└They probably passed on the artist part since Gonzales is there. Honestly, in terms of reputation, Ko Su-yeol or Demian Carter are higher, but it must be hard to meet all the conditions.

└So among YouTubers, is it just the group leader?

└That’s not the case. There’s a fashion YouTuber from Mexico too.

└There are YouTubers with more subscribers than the group leader, but it seems to be about image?

└Hahaha, I really don’t get it. Is the kind-hearted image from doing mukbangs invincible?

“Right. You all must be curious too, right? I was curious and asked, why me? There are so many amazing people, why specifically me? And they said that the image Lacoste is pursuing is just that.”

I sighed as if I had no choice.

└??

└Is he bragging right now?

└This is ridiculous, hahaha

“They said it like that, so what can I do? I have to do it. They said I’m just the right fit.”

└So what did you get from it?!

└How much are you getting?

“I didn’t get paid for being an ambassador. I get paid for the CF and photoshoot, but there wasn’t anything specific in the ambassador contract. So, what’s the point? On the day I signed the contract, they told me to take whatever I wanted from the direct mall.”

└That’s insane!

└Whoa

└Is this what a successful life looks like?

└You really seem like a celebrity now, hahaha

└Aren’t you doing “Be Happy” anymore?

└So what are we doing today on the show?

“I’m still continuing it. I have something prepared for next week, so I’d appreciate it if you all could check it out. You asked what we’re doing today, and we’re just going to hang out like this. I didn’t have time to prepare anything.”

└Then let’s go check out some comments.

└Let’s do a real-time giveaway, let’s go!

└Make sure to check my comment too.

I regularly check what kind of comments the viewers are leaving, but I thought it would be fun to look at them together.

I accessed the Nam Sadangpa fan cafe and opened any post.

[This is really the last time]
I tried for the 7th grade exam for four years, but it seemed impossible, so I entered a private company. Then during COVID, it went under, and I became unemployed.

After that, I’ve been saving money while doing deliveries, but after an accident, I’m now trying to start a business. I heard that tanghulu is doing well, so I pulled together all the money I could find.

Nothing in my life has ever gone well, but this is really the last chance.

└Are your parents doing well?

└Are you seriously making jokes here?

└Yeah, they’re doing fine.

└Right. Your parents think you’re the most precious thing in the world. I once had bad thoughts too, but I endured it thinking about my parents. It’s good to think desperately, but I hope you don’t consider this your last chance, regardless of success or failure.

└Yeah, thank you.

└If that’s the case, what do I become?

“Trash, that’s what.”

While I was thinking a lot after reading such a serious story, I burst out laughing at the comments below.

└Hahahahahaha

└What was that saying? You only see what’s in front of you?

└That’s heartwarming.

└Yeah, no matter how hard it gets, let’s stay strong!

“But you might need to think a bit more about tanghulu,” I said.

Feeling sympathetic about the situation, I couldn’t help but intervene.

“If you just follow what seems to be doing well, it usually doesn’t end well. Even with stocks, you see them going up and then buy in, but you end up getting burned.”

I searched for “cheese ribs” in the search bar.

“This was super popular for a while and you could find it everywhere. But what about these days?”

└True, you hardly see it anymore.

└Haven’t had it in a long time.

└It might still taste good now, but it feels like it’s past its trend.

“Things like honeycomb ice cream aren’t really around these days either, right? Foods like hot dogs, castella, and bread all have trends. Of course, they’re not as prevalent as before, but they’re still surviving and being well managed. But those places truly guarantee quality, like Myungrang Hot Dog or Cheongchun Rice Hot Dog.”

I spoke calmly to ensure my point wasn’t misunderstood.

“There are foods like rose tteokbokki and mala soup that have become established, but I think you really need to consider whether tanghulu can do the same. I believe the CEO of a tanghulu franchise was called to the National Assembly last year regarding children’s health issues. Parents are quite concerned about it. If parents don’t approve, they won’t buy it, so consumption among children and teenagers will naturally be low. Also, for people over 30, tanghulu is quite burdensome. For someone like me, who has diabetes, it’s not even an option. Even for those without diabetes, it’s not a food they would frequently eat. So, it ends up being a product limited to people in their 20s whose pancreases are functioning well, and trends in that age group change extremely quickly. If the person who wrote this story prepares to start a business, another food trend will probably emerge a month later. To withstand that, they’ll need some level of expertise, but does the writer have that expertise?”

└No, they don’t.

└Wow, I knew it, but Banchanyong speaks well.

└He’s always been good at talking to make a living, haha.

└When something seems good, everyone rushes in, and it usually ends up being a really bad choice.

└Why are you being so sensible? Hahaha.

“I was thinking about making a video when tanghulu was really popular while I was doing YouTube, but by the time I thought about it, the trend had already passed on YouTube. If you really think this is your last chance, you might want to reconsider.”

I clicked on the next post.

This time, it’s about someone wanting to become a YouTuber.

[I Want to Become a YouTuber Too]
I don’t have anything particular I want to do, but I want to stream. I tried streaming, but no one came in, and it felt daunting.

“If you want to become a YouTuber, instead of just focusing on YouTube, dig deep into something you’re good at or enjoy. The fastest way is to make and upload videos related to that.”

└130k YouTuber’s YouTube lecture, wow.

└Is today’s content going to be about advice?

└Hahaha, it seems like it.

└With someone like Banchanyong, it’s worth taking advice.

“If you just vaguely say you want to be a YouTuber, there’s really no answer. You don’t have any content. The most important factor for a YouTuber is continuously putting out content. To do that, you need some level of expertise.”

└Like mukbang.

└Honestly, the side dish store hasn’t really been about mukbang for a long time.

└You’ve been consistently doing food-related content, though.

“In my case, my foundation was food, and somehow it worked out well. It feels a bit awkward to say it, but honestly, whatever I do now, my broadcasts maintain their viewership. Even without specifically talking about mukbang or cooking, people aren’t here to hear me talk about food; they’re here because they’re curious about what nonsense I might say next.”

└You have a good sense of the topic.

└Hahaha!

└I find it interesting to learn new things.

└Haha, hurry up and do the “Baekban Discussion,” please!

“There are two types of streamers: those who specialize in a specific area and those like me, where the performer is the content. Honestly speaking, it’s not easy to have people laugh and enjoy just by saying whatever comes to mind. It’s quite a blessing. I’m one of those people too.”

└You tend to show off a lot.

└Haha, the global ambassador for Lacoste, huh.

└But this is true. There are channels that just provide information, and then there are broadcasts that people watch because they like the person.

“The reason subscribers like a YouTuber isn’t solely about attractiveness. How long they’ve been able to engage with the audience is also important. The content creates that connection, and you need a certain level of expertise to begin with. Initially, it’s interesting and fun, and as time passes, viewers start to like that YouTuber. So, if you jump into YouTube thinking it looks good, it’s really reckless. Starting just because it seems appealing is not a good idea.”

└One thing I don’t get about people in business is that they throw in all their savings and even go into debt to start, which shows a lack of seriousness.

└For real. Even after working in the same industry for a few years, opening a business is a big risk, but they just dive in anyway.

└Wow, that’s a good point.

└When this guy speaks, why does it seem so sincere?

└It seems like he empathizes well because he’s lived through tough times.

“Right. I think I get a bit serious about these matters. Let’s check out the next post. What color are Dangjeo’s underwear today? …It’s navy blue. Seriously, don’t write posts like this. It feels crazy. Let’s check the next post. What’s that ring on Chanyong’s left hand?”

In that moment, my thoughts froze.