Season 2: Chapter 156: Awards Ceremony (1)

Being a streamer was a lonely job. The feeling of loneliness was the same for all of them whether numerous fans surrounded them or only five viewers watched them. They lacked someone to share their professional woes with.

While office workers found meeting people at work stressful and commuting difficult, such stress supposedly made one's mind stronger in the end. If this was true, the mental health of streamers could be gradually deteriorating.

They needed to meet others who did the same work too. Thus, a few official networking events existed for them, among which this end-of-the-year award ceremony was undoubtedly the largest.

Before the awards began, they could chat while enjoying snacks and drinks.

"Hello, I... enjoy watching your stream."

"Oh! Hello. You're even prettier in person."

They could converse with people they were meeting for the first time, creating an atmosphere conducive to interactions. Moreover, with editors and managers also in attendance, it could be an opportunity for them to find a new path or job. For streamers, it was a chance to meet and greet potential talents they would want to recruit.

For these reasons, the banquet hall was often rife with controversy due to conflicting interests.

"Let's shoot over there."

Camera operators roamed the banquet hall, seeking out controversies or amusing scenes. Although they couldn't capture audio due to privacy concerns, capturing the streamers' natural everyday reactions attracted quite an audience.

— It's CutiePie

— Wow, CutiePie is so pretty

— Wow... real idols are different

— But Miho is incomparable

— Don't compare her with a model. Seriously, it pisses me off

CutiePie appeared on camera, seemingly chatting with the Patisserie members.

— The rumors of discord were BS lol

— Is this an act too?

— They seem close though;

Viewers were in doubt whether the rumors of discord surrounding Patisserie were true. The members appeared closer than anyone else on screen.

— Why is she looking so intently??

— What's going on?

— ??

CutiePie paused her conversation with the members and stared intently somewhere. The camera followed her gaze.

— ?

— Oh.

— Almond???

— You're just another girl after all...

— I wonder if she's staring because he's handsome? lol

— Starting today, I’m boycotting Patisserie

CutiePie looked at Almond for a while. It could have been someone behind him, but it was definitely him as her gaze followed where he moved.

The camera couldn't ascertain the reason for such intense staring. No one could tell.

After Almond settled down and was left alone with his team members, CutiePie left her place. After departing from her members, she walked toward Almond. Despite the considerable distance, she made a beeline for him. Surely people greeted her along the way, but she just accepted their greetings and passed by.

Then, she started conversing with Almond. Of course, the conversation couldn't be heard.

— Almond is friends with CutiePie?

— Camera, move forward!

— Almond is also world-class

— Ah-Sung style networking

— Wow~

— CutiePie, please say it's not true...

With no audio, it seemed as if Almond and CutiePie were already close, especially since CutiePie had crossed so many people to get to Almond.

— Pie, you wouldn’t...

— CutiePie... you're also a woman... damn, I loved you!

— Almond bastard. Almond bastard.

— The worst streamer Almond

— He must be short. Definitely short.

Most of CutiePie's fans appeared to be jealous, typing messages that showed envy. This possibly marked the emergence of another anti-group against Almond. On the other hand, Almond's fans seemed to welcome this meeting.

— Almond seemed somewhat alone and was worried, but they all look happy fitting in so well.

— Sang-Hyeon, ah, he knew how to meet people after all! Hahaha.

Fans thought Almond, who usually spoke a bit coolly, would not be good at meeting people. Contrary to expectations, seeing him communicate well with others was a relief.

— It's nice to see them getting along with world-class folks

— Birds of a feather flock together.

— Only good kids are around them.

The fans felt proud too because the people becoming friends with Almond were all successful.

Then, the camera turned away from Almond.

— Show us Zelo a bit.

— Zel! Zel! Zel!

— Mr. Camera, do you know about the legend of Zelo?

Viewers asked to see Zelo, who was the closest to winning this year's top prize.

— But it seems Zelo hasn't even arrived... is he even here?

— If it's that guy, he might not come even if he's awake.

— Ahaha, Zelo won’t come to such insider parties, lol.

The problem was that no matter how much they searched, Zelo was nowhere to be found. Without knowing where Zelo was, this message appeared on the live screen.

[The guest performance will start shortly. Please be mindful of the sound control.]

Now, the award ceremony was starting.

***

The first performance was not by Patissier, but by another boy group. Ji-Ah was thrilled even though Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok didn’t show any interest. However, they seemed to enjoy the performance as it went on and exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow..."

"Oh..."Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

The awards started after the first performance. It seemed the show would be interspersed with special performances.

"Did you enjoy the performance?"

After everything on stage finished, a professional host appeared instead of GreenTea and Pickle.

"Everyone, this year's end-of-the-year ceremony by Treevy is the biggest yet."

“Ohhh...”

The streamers responded with enthusiasm.

— Ah, this lol. Saw it on YouTube lol

— Wow, it's like a race lol

Pepperoni and SweetPotato surged up with considerable speed.

[Pepperoni]

[SweetPotato]

[Lemon]

[ForeverAlone]

[Almond]

At this moment, they were listed in this order. As music played, time continued to flow.

[June 2034]

From around June to July, ForeverAlone and Lemon also began gaining viewers.

[Pepperoni]

[SweetPotato]

[Lemon]

[ForeverAlone]

[Almond]

The ranking remained the same. Then, time passed again.

[August 2034]

After catching up with Pepperoni and SweetPotato last summer, Lemon surged forward. It started with her collaboration with BlackTea.

[Pepperoni]

[Lemon]

[SweetPotato]

[ForeverAlone]

[Almond]

"Wow, a reversal!"

The streamers murmured.

— SweetPotato, ah...

— That's too much lol

— So sad...

— Don't worry, Lemon won't get it either lol

— Wow, showing it like this makes it interesting lol

Then, they all continued to grow steadily.

[December 2034]

During the chaos of last year...

[Pepperoni]

[ForeverAlone]

[Lemon]

[SweetPotato]

[Almond]

ForeverAlone suddenly surged ahead.

— Wowwww

— ForeverAlone! ForeverAlone! ForeverAlone!

— Here comes a big one!

Last year's chaos could be seen as the debut of ForeverAlone, also known as Jung Gi-Chan.

Another person also came to mind when talking about being chaotic.

— But when does Almond appear lol

— The cheetah is laughing

— Still at zero

— Didn't Almond even start back then???

It was Almond, who still remained at zero. Back then, he wasn’t even a streamer yet and was still living as Assistant Lee at Ah-Sung. It was around the time when his grandmother passed away.

[January 2035]

The year passed.

[Pepperoni]

[ForeverAlone]

[Lemon]

[SweetPotato]

[Almond]

The ranking still maintained this order. ForeverAlone was making an effort, but it was still too early to surpass Pepperoni's viewers.

— Forever Alone, this one-trick pony of chaos lol

— What if Almond appears? Ah! Mon! D!

— SweetPotato really doesn't move at all lol

— SweetPotato is truly living up to his name, so frustrating

This order remained through winter and spring.

[March 2035]

Even as spring turned to summer.

[July 2035]

The ranking was the same.

Then... autumn arrived.

[September 2035]

Almond's numbers began to move.

— This winter, a nut that will strike all of humanity is coming...!

— The magic of autumn

— Here comes a big one

— "Winter is coming"