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[Expose them! Let\'s go to hell~~!]

[A love triangle, what nonsense LOL, do you believe those tabloids??]

The rumors of discord and disbandment were proven to be completely unfounded. Unable to continue targeting CutiePie, they inevitably had to search for new prey.

Yes, they always looked for new prey. Only the targets ever changed.

[There’s a rumor that Almond will win the Rookie Award. Is it true?]

[Almond\'s growth is terrifying…]

It always started with testing the waters like this. Expressing blatant hatred from the start wouldn’t garner any support, so they subtly provoked jealousy.

[Wow, a Rookie Award just three months after debut? LOL]

Even though the Rookie Award hadn\'t been confirmed, they acted surprised as if he had already won it.

As expected, comments like these followed.

— Is Almond really going to win the Rookie Award? ForeverAlone deserves it. He\'s been consistent and has a solid foundation.

— Normally, the Rookie Award is given to those who debuted last year... How can it be given to someone who debuted this year?

It was always like this. When someone received the spotlight, there were always those who came out to criticize them. These critics could be fans of other streamers or even their affiliates.

They argued that Almond hadn’t shown enough to deserve the Rookie Award yet.

└ LOL CutiePie won the Grand Prize that year too LOL

└ What\'s this seniority nonsense? Almond’s viewer growth is overwhelming? His donations may lag behind female streamers, but his buzz is undeniable.

However, such reasoning was quickly refuted. After all, the Rookie Award was supposed to be for unclear rookies.

— The award is for rookies, but he’s too rookie to receive it? LOL

└ LOL, right.

└ LOL, true.

└ 222 I wanted to say that too…

Absurd comments about Almond being too much of a rookie to receive the Rookie Award popped up. The reason for such comments was simple. They were jealous. Unfortunately, these people exist on more than just the internet.

"… Him?"

"Yeah. He even brought his manager. Acting like a world star?"

"He won’t last long."

Streamers gathered at a table and quietly talked about Almond, ensuring their voices wouldn’t be picked up by any microphone.

"He acts like he’s all that because he made a flashy entrance."

"HAHAHA. Exactly."

Most of them were newcomers who had debuted recently. To some, these newcomers had achieved considerable success as rookies.

That was why Almond seemed even more detestable to them. He started streaming much later than them, but achieved greater success.

He had stolen the spotlight that should have been theirs. None of them had even been nominated for the Rookie Award.

"I can understand if it were others who have been streaming for one to two years, but being a nominee after just two or three months of streaming?"

"That\'s what I\'m saying, bro. Kids keep saying to give the Rookie Award to someone new. They don’t get it, do they?"

Their particular resentment toward Almond was because the rest of the Rookie Award nominees had been streaming for quite a long time, meaning longer than them.

"What\'s the point of talking to those guys? They\'ll understand when they try it themselves."

"Right. Those kids don’t know anything."

Sighs of agreement followed.

"Almond doesn\'t even interact with other streamers. He acts like he\'s on another level."

"Yeah. He left Asia because it was dirty, but isn’t shy about using his Asian background."

Since Sang-Hyeon hadn\'t made deliberate movements to interact with other streamers, he was disadvantaged in such talks. They would have been less likely to harbor such blatant hostility if he made even a slight acquaintance with them.

“If you act cocky like that, that’s how you fall off~”

“Yeah, look at them, only hanging out among themselves. They should be trying to mingle with the higher-ups.”

As they walked away swirling their drinks in a pseudo-moral victory, they dispersed to network and sought those who could serve as lifelines to lift them up.

***

"That\'s how it is," Ju-Hyeok said and turned off his phone screen at the bar table in the banquet hall.

"It\'s human nature to try to pull down those who are rising." He babbled on with a slightly flushed face, "But you know? It\'s also human nature to help those trying to rise!?"

Sang-Hyeon stared at him and glanced at his wine glass, trying to guess how many Ju-Hyeok had drunk.

"Unfortunately! Meeting someone who is doing better than oneself is ultimately the best form of human relationships!"

‘His drunk habits are showing again…’

Sang-Hyeon noted Ju-Hyeok\'s tendency to suddenly declare that he would work overtime at the company or he would repeat phrases from self-help books.

"To do that, you have to be free of inferiority complexes. That\'s difficult! That\'s why success is hard, right?"

Visiting a wine bar with Ju-Hyeok was like getting a free summary of Dale Carnegie\'s How to Win Friends and Influence People.

"You\'re drunk," Sang-Hyeon concluded and tapped his shoulder to suggest it was time to stop.

Ju-Hyeok, slightly roused, fell silent and seemingly returned to his senses.

"What, what... what do you mean I\'m drunk?" he protested.

Sang-Hyeon simply looked at him without a word.

Ju-Hyeok eventually confessed, "… PD Jang drinks really fast."

Sang-Hyeon changed the topic and asked, "What do you think about PD Jang\'s proposal?"

Ju-Hyeok pondered momentarily and said, "PD Jang is fundamentally a major channel PD. He has had several successful programs. However…"

"He doesn\'t get along with the higher-ups."

Ju-Hyeok was weighing their personal friendship with PD Jang and whether he truly had the power to lift them up.

"The man is… rebellious by nature. To put it more negatively, he has the artist syndrome. It\'s a rare disease among variety show PDs."

Ji-Ah had been listening and snorted in amusement with a laugh. Ju-Hyeok\'s words struck the nail on the head.

"Why is PD Jang here? Was he just invited?" Sang-Hyeon had been curious for a while now and asked.

"No, he\'s the supervising director here."

"… For this event?"

"Yeah. Somehow, it turned out that way. He actively volunteered."

PD Jang seemed to have developed an interest in the streaming market.

"That\'s typical, right? To rise from the bottom, knocking on the door of a new market is best. He seems to be planning something with streaming and virtual reality," Ju-Hyeok speculated.

His guess accurately matched PD Jang\'s thoughts by almost 90%. PD Jang would have been surprised if he had heard. If Ju-Hyeok had been less intoxicated, perhaps his accuracy would have been 100%.

"But will what he\'s planning bring about any significant advantage? That\'s the problem. There aren\'t many who have transitioned from the entertainment industry to here and succeeded. Even him…"

Ju-Hyeok\'s gaze naturally shifted to CutiePie seated in the distance.

"!?"

Suddenly, Ju-Hyeok froze as CutiePie walked straight toward them while looking directly at them. He sobered up instantly from the alcohol and quietly asked Sang-Hyeon, "Hey, was my voice really loud just now?"

"No."

CutiePie was unmistakably heading their way.

Click-clack.

Now, she was right in front of them.

"Hello, nice to meet you for the first time. I\'m CutiePie. It feels awkward to say my own nickname like this."

\'Nickname? It\'s an idol name…\'

“Hahaha.”

Her face shone brightly with her distinctive laugh.

This wasn’t an illusion. Her makeup genuinely had too much shimmer…

“Ahem.”

Sang-Hyeon cleared his throat and greeted her.

"Ah, hello. I\'m Almond."

After all, this was a place where streamers naturally exchanged greetings. It wouldn\'t be strange for her to suddenly come over and say hello.

\'But to walk this distance in a straight line just to say hello?\'

It seemed like she had intentionally come over to greet them. Sang-Hyeon thought so as he looked at CutiePie.

Naturally, he expected her to bring up the reason for her visit first.

"…”

"..."

A moment of silence passed.

Ju-Hyeok intervened, "Hello, it\'s an honor to meet last year\'s grand prize winner like this. I\'m the manager and this person here is our head editor."

Ji-Ah awkwardly extended her greetings too. She was somewhat intimidated by CutiePie\'s glamorous and idol-like appearance.

"Ah."

However, CutiePie’s eyes sparkled even more toward Ji-Ah.

"This… this person is the editor!"

"?"

She seemed too pleased and Sang-Hyeon reflexively activated his defense mechanism, wondering if she had come for some kind of recruitment.

It didn’t turn out to be like that at all.

She simply said, "I owe you one from before."

Ji-Ah was puzzled.

"What… favor…?"

“Hahaha.”

CutiePie, with her distinctive laugh, grabbed Ji-Ah\'s hand.

"Because of the rumors and all sorts of nonsense being mixed up, that dog… no, that Lexca guy… no, that issue the YouTuber had uploaded a video about."

"?"

What was she talking about? The three of them looked at each other, but none of them could guess. It wasn\'t an important matter to them, so they didn\'t remember.

"It almost made it to first place in the social politics category, but Almond\'s video shot up instead!"

CutiePie was a person of grand gestures. She threw a punch into the air as if hitting something tangible while exclaiming.

"You came in and beat that guy up, right? He didn’t make it to first place! Do you know how much it weakens the impact when it doesn\'t get reported in the news or articles if it\'s not first place? Hahaha."

She laughed heartily as if the rumors weren’t about her.

"Ah… Rising to second place in the politics and society category was… strange, wasn\'t it? Because it wasn\'t first! It\'s awkward even for editors to cover, right!? Thankfully, no articles came out!"

The gist was that Almond\'s video, which had been registered in the politics and society category due to an immense conceptual push, prevented the video of rumors about her from reaching first place. Thus, they prevented the situation from escalating.

\'It just seems like a coincidence that no articles came out.\'

As Sang-Hyeon thought this, Ju-Hyeok raised a question.

"But our video dropped from the chart before theirs… The DoubleTrouble video was uploaded later. Didn\'t it reach first place afterward?"

Live charts were calculated on a twenty-four hour basis.

The peak was at the twenty-four hour mark, after which videos would drop from the chart. Given this system, Almond\'s video couldn\'t have continuously blocked DoubleTrouble\'s video.

"Ah, that! Right then, bang! Some corruption scandal broke out, right? A massive one! It was a real political and social event, so it got buried again! Hahaha."

CutiePie laughed, feeling lucky about the situation.

\'So it was because of that?\'

Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon exchanged looks, sharing the same thought and chuckling.

"I wanted to say thank you for occupying that spot in the politics and society category."

CutiePie once again grabbed their hands to express her gratitude.

Ji-Ah blushed and responded, "… It wasn\'t on purpose. Really."

"Still! Thank you! And you too, Almond! Have a great time, and please shout for me during my performance later! Hahaha."

She laughed heartily again and vanished as if she had met someone she knew.

"Oh my, Kiwi~"

"Wow! Unnie! It\'s been a million years, hasn\'t it?!"

"Did you see the performance earlier? "

As the laughter and conversation faded, Sang-Hyeon realized something.

\'Hmm?\'

He felt numerous gazes piercing through him. Some were sneakily glancing while pretending not to while others were openly staring. Some were even glaring.

The intensity of these gazes was so blatant that even Sang-Hyeon, standing far away from them, could understand their meaning.

\'What long conversation did they have with CutiePie?\'

\'Do all three of them know CutiePie?\'

\'Did CutiePie actually go to them first?\'

Despite the possibility of feeling intimidated or even angry under such scrutiny, Sang-Hyeon felt differently.

He finished his sip of wine and murmured as if for others to hear, "The award ceremony is interesting."

***

Shortly afterward, a few streamers chatted with Almond.

Then, an announcement echoed through the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the award ceremony will shortly begin after the guest performance. We kindly ask the invited guests to take their seats in the designated areas."

The screen on stage read, "Treevy Awards," and a cliché yet majestic tune played.

Streamers slowly moved to their assigned seats and settled down. The award ceremony would soon commence.