Season 2: Chapter 153: Banquet Hall (1)
They left the photo zone and headed toward the event hall where they encountered a flood of people running in their direction, all of whom were staff members.
'What's going on?'
Everyone seemed to be hurriedly preparing for something.
"Ah. Yes, yes."
GreenTea seemed to be receiving some instructions through his in-ear monitor.
'Is there some event happening?'
Regardless, Sang-Hyeon entered the banquet hall filled with streamers.
"Phew. Finally, we can relax," Ji-Ah let out a deep sigh of relief and slouched after all the tension and standing straight for a while.
"Let's sit down for a while."
Ju-Hyeok also loosened his tie and shook his head in disbelief.
"Where is our table…? Ugh."
It seemed Ju-Hyeok was also stressed out from the barrage of cameras. The only one who seemed unfazed was Sang-Hyeon, who was accustomed to such events.
"I'll ask a staff member for our table."
He walked further into the hall to find a guide.
"Excuse me, I heard there are assigned seats... Where are they?"
"Oh, the staff responsible for guiding people... seems to have stepped out momentarily. I'll guide you. You're Almond's party, right?"
The trio followed the staff member, passing by a sea of tuxedos and colorful dresses. They received glances and whispers.
"Oh, that's Almond."
"Wow, the cheers for him were no joke earlier."
"He looks tough in person..."
"Is that the manager or bodyguard? He's huge."
"The manager looks like a gangster..."
Their discomfort probably stemmed from the fact that these guests weren't just fans or viewers, but fellow streamers.
Sang-Hyeon felt a bit out of place as if he dropped into a new scene where he didn’t know anyone.
Looking back, Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah seemed to feel the same. Especially Ji-Ah, who looked almost pale.
'Are we being left out?'
Since they were newcomers, Almond's team lacked connections with the other editors and streamers.
"Wow! Look! Did you see?"
A familiar, slender silhouette and lively voice reached Sang-Hyeon's ears.
"Ah! No! That was screen peeking!"
"Right! Wasn't that screen peeking? How else would you guess perfectly?"
In front of them stood a bald man and a chubby gentleman.
"Aren't you the ones who were betting on who would show up? And now that I guessed right, you call it screen peeking?"
Sang-Hyeon couldn't help but smile as he joined the conversation.
"Who's screen peeking?"
Upon his interruption, Miho finally turned around after arguing fervently. Her black hair flowed beautifully. It was the first time Sang-Hyeon saw her with black hair.
"Whoa, oppa! When did you get here?"
Miho seemed surprised to see Sang-Hyeon in the hall. She had been too caught up in the argument to notice his approach.
"Your hair looks good."
"Oh, ah~! The hair? I tried black this time."
She struck a pose as a professional model and smoothly flipped her hair.
"How about it? Better than pink, right?"
Her hair was black, but her face had turned pink from embarrassment despite her appearance.
Suddenly, Bubblegum's head popped in.
"Hahaha! Wow, Almond! You’ve grown a lot."
'My height hasn't changed.'
Sang-Hyeon realized that Bubblegum was patting Ju-Hyeok on the shoulder.
"Me, me..."
Ju-Hyeok scratched his head in confusion.
"Ah, is this the manager? Hahaha!"
"Hahaha! Bro, what are you doing!"
It seemed like Bubblegum was deliberately joking around to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Miho found his antics particularly hilarious and laughed out loud in a good mood.
Ju-Hyeok took this opportunity to introduce himself, which was probably set up by Bubblegum.
"Hello. I'm Almond's manager, Kim Ju-Hyeok. This is our head editor, Seo Ji-Ah."
"Ah~! This person!!!"
Bubblegum's mouth opened wide in recognition.
"I enjoy your videos! If you ever want to switch to editing for me, feel free to..."
Bubblegum joked and gestured toward his editor, who was standing behind him. The editor, seemingly quite close to Bubblegum, kicked him hard in the rear.
Thwack!
Miho laughed again, and the woman who kicked Bubblegum stepped forward to introduce herself.
"Hello. I've heard a lot about you."
The woman in her forties was taller than Bubblegum, but shorter than Miho. She extended her hand.
"I'm the chief editor for my husband. I'm Lee Soo-Young."
"!?"
Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah were surprised, but Sang-Hyeon already knew. He shook her hand, acknowledging her.
"Ah... I've seen you briefly on the stream. I didn't expect to meet you in person..."
Sang-Hyeon was a regular viewer and fan of Bubblegum's streams. His eyes sparkled three times more than when he locked eyes with Miho.
However, Sang-Hyeon wasn't the only one with sparkling eyes…
"Hello, I'm Seo Ji-Ah!"
"Hi. I've watched a lot of your videos, Ji-Ah."
"Th-thank you. I was wondering..."
Soo-Young gave her a look that said she was open to any questions.
"W-were you... did you start as an editor and ended up getting married...?"
Ji-Ah’s question was quite unexpected.
'Out of the blue? I thought she'd ask about video editing tools...'
Sang-Hyeon stepped in to clarify the situation.
"You weren't editing your husband's channel from the start, right?"
Soo-Young smiled and nodded.
"That's right. You really watch the streams. You know well. I originally worked in a different media field. My husband called me in because his views weren't doing well..."
Bubblegum decided to switch editors to his wife, knowing she understood his style best.
Ji-Ah asked another question and continuously nodded as she listened, intrigued by the experience of them working together as a couple.
"Hahaha! Honey, you used to complain about seeing my face all the time while working!"
Silence followed his jest.
"Wha-What? Oh, my back is stretching! It’s stretching!"
Bubblegum was promptly dragged to a corner by Soo-Young. Takoyaki and Miho remained.
“Ahem.”
To break the awkward atmosphere, Takoyaki spoke up first.
"Just so you know, in case you were wondering, my editor isn't here. They weren’t shortlisted."
He mimed smoking a cigarette, wondering why he was posing while saying this.
"Ah..."
"I'm kind of jealous of Gum, you know? His channel wasn't doing well until his wife took over, and boom! It didn’t exactly skyrocket, but there was a significant upward trend."
"Oh..."
‘It turned out well in the end,’ Sang-Hyeon thought to himself and felt relieved.
"Ji-Ah, if you're not satisfied with your pay, come over to me since Gum doesn't need you."
It turned out Takoyaki was also eyeing Ji-Ah.
"Ah, oppa. Ji-Ah looks uncomfortable."
"I don't plan to be a comfortable man, Miho."
"What…?"
“Pfft!” Ji-Ah couldn't help but laugh at Takoyaki's joke.
"Why are you laughing, Seo Ji-Ah!"
Takoyaki seized the moment and wriggled his eyebrows.
"Are you wavering? Come over to me! I'll show you what a duel is..."
Ji-Ah was laughing so hard she almost choked.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!"
A sound that was indistinguishable from a scream erupted.
Kwoong!
A heavy booming sound followed.
'What was that? A real scream?'
Sang-Hyeon briefly wondered, but that wasn't the case of course. This wasn't a game world where people screamed like that.
"Waaaaahhhhh!"
It wasn't a scream, but a cheer coming from outside the door.
"What's happening?"
"Someone must have arrived."
"Look! The screen!"
Swish!
Screens dropped all around the banquet hall. They were prepared for use during the award ceremony.
"What's this?"
"Wow, is this some kind of performance?"
As with most award ceremonies, the actual awards were given out last and several events would take place first. Perhaps it was a concert by famous singers or a comedy show.
The current situation seemed more like the former.
Thump! Thump!
The deep bass came again. This time, it clearly sounded like a bass guitar.
Thump! Thump!
With the bass guitar setting the rhythm, the lights in the banquet hall began to dim in sequence. Soon, the hall was shrouded in darkness with the screens showing nothing but black.
Then…
Thump. Thump. Thump...
The bass gradually built up a melody and the center of the screen began to light up.
"What's this? Is it outside?"
"What? It's showing the red carpet?"
The screen displayed the red carpet. Three black vans arrived where the red carpet started. As the side doors of the vans opened simultaneously, the screen brightened significantly.
Fizz!
Outside, something resembling fireworks was set off.
After the blinding lights passed, two female silhouettes appeared with microphones. They wore stage outfits with fluttering short skirts and tight pants. The streamers reacted with cheers.
"Wow!"
"Looks like it's a performance! An invited performance!"
"Should we go out?!"
It seemed to be a performance with invited singers, a surprise event.
"Are we watching from here?"
"Well..."
The streamers in the banquet hall were unsure of what to do and discussed among themselves. The music was still laying down a basic bass line.
The first two women's silhouettes simply danced to the rhythm, but even their figures looked extraordinary.
"Here comes more."
Piano and high-hat melodies were added, enriching the dance. It wasn’t just simple up-and-down rhythms, but also hand movements. Then, two more women emerged from the vans. Now there were four.
As these four appeared, all the instruments aligned and produced a perfect accompaniment that hinted at the song's identity.
"Oh! This song is!!"
At this moment, Takoyaki made a gesture as if his eyes were rolling back and exclaimed, "It's Patisserie!!!"
Surprisingly, he was seemingly a fan and the first to shout this in the vast banquet hall.
'Patisserie?'
The name didn’t sound unfamiliar to Sang-Hyeon. Were they a well-known girl group…?
"Patisserie! It's Patisserie!!!"
Screams and cheers engulfed the award ceremony, and the music accompaniment was completed.
The four silhouettes started walking down the red carpet while dancing.
"Wow, what's this!? Dancing while walking...?"
"That's not their original choreography."
"Insane. This is awesome..."
Naturally, a girl group's dance choreography wouldn't be designed for walking. Thus, they choreographed a new dance specifically for this event.
All the instruments were now playing the melody, but the last piece was still missing the most important instrument.
Just then, the door of the center van opened. A spotlight shone brightest there with all cameras focusing closely.
Someone's silhouette was inside the van, but she didn't step out. Only her lips were visible on camera. Her glittering lips approached the microphone. As if to kiss it, they moved slightly.
"I'm thinking of you..."
Her clear, high voice effortlessly surfed over the accompaniment, gently making its way forward. The vocals had finally arrived.
Instantly, everyone uttered the same thing in awe.
"Wow..."
She stepped out of the van and continued singing. Now, her face was clearly visible. Bright amber lenses covered her eyes as she stared straight into the camera. She looked indescribably glamorous and buoyantly lively.
That was when everyone reacted.
"Is she here?"
"Did Patisserie and CutiePie come together?!"
"All the rumors of discord were lies!"
"Patisserie in full formation?!"
Sang-Hyeon knew the name CutiePie.
'That person...'
That person was the streamer who won the grand prize at last year's Treevy Awards.