Cheat day

After the Rain (3)

After the party, I returned to the hotel.

I planned to stay in Busan until today and head back to Seoul tomorrow to rest.

After dinner, the fatigue from the past 17 days hit me all at once.

After a bath, I lay down on the bed, feeling drowsy as the air conditioning blew over me.

“By the way, when Sang-cheol called earlier, he said something strange,” I mentioned.

I had shared the news about Season 2 of Baekban Dara at dinner, but I hadn’t mentioned another piece of news yet.

“Something strange?”

“He said WTV is hosting a Korean cuisine competition and my name is on the list of judge candidates. Doesn’t that sound odd?”

Despite gaining considerable recognition from shows like Baekban Talk, Baekban Dara, and Baek Seung-yong’s Lunch Box, being a judge in a cooking competition felt out of place.

I had worked in the food industry, but I knew I lacked the expertise for that kind of role. If anyone, Joo Ji-seung would be more suitable.

“It’s probably because of Hong Sung-il,” she replied.

“Wasn’t that because of the previous situation regarding the time slot for Baekban Dara? I thought they were setting it to Saturday at 10 PM,” I said.

“There’s no need for CEO Hong Sung-il to get involved with Baekban Dara. Although I was pushed aside, I still fulfilled my role, and with PD Park Sang-cheol and the entire team from Baek Seung-yong’s Lunch Box involved, securing a prime time slot shouldn’t have been too difficult.”

Thinking it over, that made sense.

“Then…”

“I told WTV to solidify your position. I don’t know how the competition will be conducted, but usually, these shows run for about 10 to 12 weeks, which means you’re likely to have a regular appearance for 2 to 3 months.”

The same goes for Baekban Dara, so now we’ll have two regular programs on WTV, one of the four major broadcasting networks in the country.

“It feels like things are getting bigger and bigger,” I said.

I had felt it since the lunch box event, but the returns on my work seemed to be growing increasingly significant.

Now, I occasionally ran into people on the street who recognized me, and there were genuinely people asking for autographs or photos that I had once joked about.

With requests for advertising, appearances, and lectures pouring in, it was all quite overwhelming.

“We need to manage ourselves thoroughly during times like this,” Mukun-ji advised.

“For example?” I asked.

“Well, you don’t drink, so you don’t have to worry about drunk driving.”

Nodding, I noticed Mukun-ji staring at me intently before tilting her head in confusion.

“I don’t think there will be any problems,” she said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I just don’t see you as someone who would bully others or commit a crime.”

“That’s true.”

“However, there’s one thing you should be cautious about.”

“What is it?”

“Be careful with business expansions or new ventures.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Among the YouTubers who have settled down, there are those who expand their businesses or invest in entirely new ventures.

With their recognition as a foundation, the chances of success are relatively high, and factors like increasing retained earnings, taxes, or personal ambitions drive them to start new projects.

However, there is no guarantee that these ventures will succeed.

While there are cases of cooking YouTubers who have successfully opened restaurants, there are also many who have failed.

At first, the recognition might generate interest, but ultimately, if they fail to satisfy customers with taste, service, pricing, and accessibility, repeat visits won’t happen.

Additionally, operational issues like store rent and labor costs can arise.

In other words, a YouTuber’s new business should be viewed as a way to reduce marketing costs, while operations are a separate issue altogether.

“I want to scale up the lunch boxes I used to make at some point,” I said.

Mukun-ji nodded.

“But having experienced it, I have a rough idea of what is needed to operate a store.”

“If you know what you’re lacking, you can definitely fill those gaps.”

“Right. Oh.”

Mukun-ji blinked.

“My house. I need to find a place to live.”

“Let’s take our time to look around the day after tomorrow.”

“Hmm. I think it might take a while. I want to see other places too.”

“Other places, you say?”

“There are so many options now; I think Yongsan would be nice.”

“Sure.”

“And if I think about traveling to the provinces, Sadang or Seocho might also be good, but Seocho is too expensive.”

“All three places won’t be easy on the wallet.”

“That’s true. Still, there should be some affordable options in the mix.”

“How about the place that Baek Woo-jin suggested before?”

“Hmm, that’s a bit of a stretch. No matter how close I am with Woo-jin, renting a place worth over a hundred million won is a burden in many ways. That could affect the show as well.”

“Do you like the location?”

“I’m not particularly fond of it either. I think the places we talked about earlier would be better.”

“Since you have a clear purpose, it’s best to explore those three options. I doubt the budget will be tight.”

“…Ah.”

Thinking about it, my financial situation has changed from a month ago to now.

There are so many supporters of Walking to the Sky that the video views alone have tripled my earnings for July compared to a typical month.

Not only has the super chat during donations reached record levels, but I also received a generous encouragement fund from WH.

Just roughly calculating, my earnings from July 1st to today exceed 200 million won.

If I manage to finalize a few of the advertising proposals I’ve received, that could add an extra 100 to 200 million won, and I’ll also get my jeonse deposit back in August.

If I combine that with the existing money, I’m looking at about 900 million won.

“I think I can buy an apartment.”

Just last year, I couldn’t even think about a house, let alone a car, but I can truly feel the changes over this time.

My own home.

I can’t believe it.

Mukun-ji smiled.

“They say the real estate market is still uncertain, so it’s wise to approach buying and selling carefully. How about staying in a rental for the time being?”

With all the reports of jeonse fraud, even I, who know little about real estate, feel scared.

I’ve heard that there are also cases of fraud related to monthly rentals these days.

“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll take my time and do thorough research first.”

“Yes, since this involves a lot of money, it’s best to be cautious. So, are you planning to continue staying at Cha Ji-chan’s place for now?”

“For now, that’s the plan.”

“……I understand.”

“Why?”

“It’s nothing. It’s getting late. I need to sleep early so I can catch a ride in the morning.”

Mukun-ji straightened up and lay down.

So cute.

I lay down as well.

Since gaining weight, I had been suffering from sleep apnea, which made it hard to breathe while lying flat, so I had been sleeping on my side. However, my symptoms have improved significantly recently.

Now, I can lie on my back without it affecting my breathing while I sleep.

With the improved quality of sleep, my body is recovering faster, and feeling good helps clear my mind.

Plus, my heart races with all the things happening around me.

When Cha Ji-chan suggested walking to Busan last winter, I never imagined that such things would become a reality.

I can’t help but smile.

***

The day after arriving in Seoul.

I turned on the broadcast for the first time in two days to greet everyone who had helped me.

“I can only think of saying thank you. Honestly, if it weren’t for you all, I probably would have given up along the way. We could have made even bigger donations. That’s why I registered the donors’ names under the side dish store—because it’s something we did together.”

So, what are we doing for the 1 million celebration?

Let’s take off our shirts!

It’s time to show how much weight we’ve lost!

Take off your top!

Hahaha, all you think about is stripping!

I want to see the uncle naked.

Taking off your top is the way to go.

Have you found a house yet?

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“Ah, what are you talking about taking off your shirt? This isn’t that kind of broadcast. These guys always do this whenever they get the chance.”

I can’t help but doubt whether these are the same people who moved me just three days ago.

As of yesterday, I achieved 1 million subscribers thanks to broadcasts on terrestrial TV and Walking to the Sky, among others.

And now, they’re nitpicking, trying to get me to take off my clothes.

“1 million. So what does everyone do when they hit 1 million?”

Let’s eat 100 bowls of ramen!

Eat 100 of them, LOL!

Let’s eat 100 of anything.

Does this uncle not have diabetes anymore?

I’ve been eating regular food lately, so I forgot.

Just take it off!

Yeah, it seems like that’s all there is.

“Guys! Seriously! Who in the world wants to see my body? If I get a yellow sticker, will you take responsibility?”

Oh? Are you cursing at your subscribers?

You’ve lost your initial spirit!

I’m unsubscribing!

Seriously, you just said thank you a moment ago, but now it’s all empty talk.

Is it really that hard to take off your shirt?

Hahaha, this is so funny!

Is this how it usually goes here?

Just a few days ago, it was all supportive and warm, and now it’s like this, LOL.

This is how it usually is. When you’re with someone else, they’ll support you, but when you’re alone, they’ll tease you.

The viewers are tsundere, wow.

“Let’s have a fan meeting.”

“There are plans for a fan meeting. But will people actually come?”

Positive comments flooded in.

“I need to be able to believe this. If I rent a café and no one shows up, that would be a disaster. We can’t let that happen.”

You’re quick to catch on.

You’ve got a good sense, LOL.

Let’s take pre-registrations!

Will we be able to see the PD in real life if we go to the fan meeting?

You won’t be wearing a paper bag on your head, will you?

“You have to come to see me! What are you even saying right now?”

I blocked the chat because it seemed like the mood was heading in a direction that would put pressure on Mukun-ji.

Hahaha, so are you taking off your shirt at the fan meeting?

But seriously, what do we do at the fan meeting?

It’s pretty much the same. We chat, sing a bit, greet everyone, and do some prize draws.

Sounds boring.

“Sing? More like eating together. Hmm, let’s hold off on that for now. How about some merch? Like side dish store lunch boxes or tumblers. Of course, I’ll give them away for free. Well, if you want to buy them, that’s a different story.”

As we chatted, quite a few viewers had gathered.

While not as many as during Walking to the Sky, the number of viewers was close to 20,000.

“Let me summarize: I’ll go to the gym to get my body composition checked. This week is tough for both me and Ji-chan, so it will be next week. Baekban Talk and the cooking segment with Ji-yong will also start next week.”

So what are we doing today?

Do you know about the new lunch box?

There’s a 9,900 won stir-fried pork lunch box at the convenience store!

“A new lunch box? New lunch boxes come out every month.”

As I waited for the chat to continue, it seemed that the cup ramen lunch box had released a promotional product.

I had been so busy in June and July and had avoided convenience store food, so I wasn’t aware of it.

“Eight servings?”

When I searched, I found that several YouTubers had already eaten an eight-times larger jumbo lunch box.

“Wow. This is insane. Can I get it right now?”

It’s hard to get.

Resellers have been really active since last month.

Hasn’t the trend already passed?

“I didn’t know about this. But even if I did, eating it might be a bit much. I’m worried about my blood sugar.”

Are you scared?

Hahaha, Baekban-yong has really fallen off.

How did someone who used to eat anything get to this point?

“Scared? How embarrassing. Excuse me, I could easily eat eight cups of ramen if I set my mind to it. When I picked up my chopsticks, the ramen broth would rain down. You get what I’m saying?”

That’s just bragging.

You’re still proud of your eating skills?

This uncle hasn’t come to his senses yet.

We could still go harder on him.

Hahaha, is this some kind of martial arts novel?

When he unsheathes his sword, blood rains down.

If ramen broth is raining down, that’s just disgusting.

“Ah, but I really want to try it. I’m starting my diet again today after eating regular meals. Going back to brown rice and chicken breast is so tough.”

Now that I think about it, I wonder how Cha Ji-chan, who has been obsessed with donuts, will prepare for the competition.