"I'll be cheering for you."
"Thank you!"
I had seen two people before this, and now one last person was left.
"I'll take one final person."
At my words the donation alerts scrolled up like mad, and viewers who had already donated before started firing off consecutive ones as well.
―WatchingWithoutMomKnowing has donated 10,000 won!―
[Sir, please, please do me]
―WatchingWithoutMomKnowing has donated 10,000 won!―
[Please, my whole life depends on this]
―WatchingWithoutMomKnowing has donated 10,000 won!―
[I invested all of this month's allowance]
―Judging by the way they talk, that's a student?
―Baby, go buy yourself some Pikachu cutlets with that money
―What, buy me some too
―You get out of here
Something about it felt like a young student.
When I looked, inside a room a girl who looked about middle school age was under her blanket looking at her phone.
'So you're up watching the broadcast at this hour instead of sleeping?'
"WatchingWithoutMomKnowing, come on in."
A moment later.
Along with a click, a youthful voice came through.
"Hello...!"
"Good to have you. What grade are you in?"
"Y-yes! First year of middle school!"
The age of storm and stress, then.
"What's troubling you?"
"I completely bombed my math exam this time......."
"Yes."
"I don't know how I'm supposed to tell my mom......."
―That's a huge deal for a first year
―What can you do, tell the truth and take your scolding
―Come on, anyone can do badly on a test
―How badly did she bomb it to be this frantic?
When I looked into the student's future, her parents were looking at her exam results and sighing.
"Daughter......."
"Mm......."
But that sigh wasn't an angry sigh.
"She takes after you, she really is bad at math."
"Honey, say that one more time."
"It's okay, sweetheart. Let's study together with Dad. Dad was better at studying than your mom, you know."
"Don't make me laugh. You didn't study at all in middle school."
"Ahem, we agreed to keep that a secret......."
It was a family that looked warm even while squabbling, so I didn't understand why she was so frightened.
Was there some other story here?
"There's one thing I'd like to ask, is that all right?"
"Y-yes!"
"Do your parents normally get angry?"
"No... they're kind......."
"Then don't worry so much."
"But this is the first exam I've taken since starting middle school......."
"It's fine. You'll keep taking exams from now on."
You'll take them in high school and in university too, so what's the problem.
"You've got nine more years of exams ahead of you, so don't worry so much!"
"Y-yes? Nine years...!?"
"You'll be taking exams in university as well! Ah, that's right. To get into university you'll have to sit the CSAT too!"
"......."
"You're not thinking about graduate school?"
―You were worse than the exam lolololololol
―Is he treating a disease with a disease?
―You treat a weak disease with a strong disease!!!
―Is that treatment?
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Student, don't be too disappointed! Because you have many more disappointments ahead of you!]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Yooooou are seriously mean]
"Calling you Mom would be a bit odd. Student."
"Yes......."
"Let me tell you just one thing."
I let a moment pass before I spoke.
"If you do well on an exam, your parents will be happy."
"Yes."
"But if they see you suffering alone because you did badly, wouldn't that hurt them more?"
"Why...?"
"Your parents don't want you to score 100. They want you to be happy."
The reason parents want their children to get good scores on exams.
The reason is simple.
Get good grades.
Graduate from a good university.
Get a job at a good company.
Build a good family and live a happy life. That's what they wish for.
Wishing for a child's happiness is only natural for a parent, isn't it.
"So tell them honestly."
"Because I'm scared......."
"If you lie because you're scared, it starts small but keeps getting bigger."
"But still......."
"If you hide your results this time, you'll want to hide the next exam too. And when you're caught, you'll be scolded more for hiding it than for bombing the exam."
―This is right
―We all did this in school
―Lying feels easier at first, but one corner of your chest stays uncomfortable
―Getting scolded is easier on the mind, honestly
"Telling them honestly is the fastest path."
"I really won't get in trouble?"
"You won't."
They will worry, but that's because they love her.
"Let me tell you just one more thing."
"Yes."
"Show them this exam result and ask them to study with you."
"Together?"
"Yes. Your parents want to be beside you."
"Really?"
"Of course. Tell them tomorrow evening."
"Okay."
"You've got this."
"Thank you...!"
She sounded brighter than when she first came in, so she'll handle the rest just fine.
[Viewers: 2,612]
The viewers have really gone up.
"That's it for today. Thank you all for watching my broadcast."
―Yeah, yeah, if you're grateful then do me tomorrow
―Get in line
―Do me toooooo!!!!!!!!
―Nuh-uh, if it's important he'll get to it on his own
―Recommend me a dinner menu!!!!!!!!
―Dinner recs are a serious matter
―Do you know what time it is, what nonsense are you talking
Leaving the viewers to squabble among themselves, I pressed the [End Broadcast] button.
"Ugh, my back."
After sitting in a chair all day, my back was screaming.
Should I start by buying a good chair?
In the past I would have worried about money, but now there was no need for that.
The moment I picked up my phone and checked the banking app.
[Bank]
Deposit 17,521,423 won Jjiriri
Balance 17,853,423 won
A fortune of 17.52 million won had come in.
Before I started broadcasting, there had been 30,000 won in my account.
And I had spent all of that at the fortune-telling parlor, then scraped by on my last paycheck from the convenience store, but now there was no need for that.
"Mother......."
I knelt down and clasped my hands together.
"Thank you. Thank you so much......."
After giving my thanks for a long time, I opened my eyes and stood up, and a cool sensation swept through my whole body.
"Huh?"
The body that had been stiff a moment ago was so light I felt I could fly.
Was this Mother's power too?
Kindness that expects nothing in return is a first for me, so it feels far too strange.
Right, I can just give to others as much love as I receive from Mother.
"I'll extend Mother's love to others as well."
As if to say my thinking was correct, my body grew even lighter than before.
And as light as I felt, I was hungry.
...For today, let me take care of myself first.
I picked up my phone again, opened the delivery app, and typed 'Korean beef' into the search bar, and a nearby Korean beef specialty restaurant came up.
[1++ Grade Striploin 200g ― 109,000 won]
Normally I would have seen the price and closed it immediately, but today was different.
Korean beef costing 109,000 won.
The first Korean beef I've ordered in my life. And I added a wine pack on top of it.
A total of 120,000 won.
Maybe because it was an amount I couldn't even have imagined before.
My hand trembled as I went to press the payment button.
But today's me is different.
Considering my account balance, I can spend this much.
When I finally managed to press the order button, a notification popped up saying delivery would take an hour.
"Is this the joy of success?"
But there was no time to get sentimental.
There was one more thing I had to do before the delivery arrived.
I sat down in my computer chair, went to a shopping site, and searched for broadcasting equipment.
The microphone I was using cost 30,000 won and the webcam cost 10,000 won.
I had no lighting, and the chair was something I'd gotten from a free giveaway.
I'm a streamer with over 2,000 viewers, so broadcasting with this equipment isn't right, is it.
A professional condenser microphone, 450,000 won.
A 4K webcam, 350,000 won.
A lighting set, 200,000 won.
A mic stand, pop filter, audio interface and so on, 600,000 won all together.
A premium broadcasting chair, 1,000,000 won.
I put a total of 2.6 million won worth into my cart and went to press the payment button, then stopped for a second.
...Is this right?
It was 2.6 million won.
An amount I had never spent at once in my life.
But there was 17.73 million won in my account.
...Right, this is an investment in my work.
[Payment Complete]
[Delivery: Expected to arrive tomorrow]
Now the balance was 15.13 million won.
"They say you get loose with money once you succeed, and it's true."
And there was one last place to spend it.
The time had come to return the five million won I'd received from the orphanage as a self-reliance grant.
[Transfer Complete]
[Balance: 10,133,423 won]
With that, I felt like I'd set down a weight on my mind.
Then the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
"Yes."
When I opened the door, the delivery driver handed me a box of Korean beef.
"Enjoy your meal."
"Thank you."
I shut the door, set the box on the dining table, and opened it, and the red meat was laid out in neat rows.
"The marbling is art."
There was also a pack of wine inside, and one of these costs 11,000 won.
"...Expensive."
But on a day like this, you have to indulge.
"Mother, thank you for this meal."
I grilled the Korean beef in a frying pan, picked up a piece, and put it in my mouth, and words failed me.
"So this is Korean beef."
Is it because it's my first time eating it?
Out of nowhere I remembered a scene I had happened to see as a child while passing through a restaurant street.
An ordinary family eating out together.
...If I'd had parents, could I have enjoyed happiness like that as a child?
Chewing slowly and taking a sip of the wine as well, an astringent yet smooth flavor spread through my mouth.
I ate the last remaining piece and made a resolution.
Once a month.
No, twice a month.
"Mother, next month I'll try short ribs too."
That night.
I spent the happiest night of my life.
***
A few days later.
I was sitting in the newly bought one-million-won chair.
I had never used a chair this expensive in my life, but once I actually sat in it I understood why it costs so much.
"Wow, my back really doesn't hurt."
The new microphone and webcam were on the desk as well.
Now I looked like a real streamer to anyone.
"How is it, everyone?"
―Now you finally look like a streamer
―To think Jinwoo has grown this much
―Our Jinwoo coin has skyrocketed!!!!!
―Honestly, the early members deserve preferential treatment
"Ahaha. That's why I gave priority to those who've been watching my broadcast since the early days. Feel free to apply for a consultation any time."
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Who was it that said raising a child is pointless?]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Do you see this? This is our Jinwoo]
"All right, then I'm going to go watch Lee Taekwon's match."
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[We can't watch it together?]
"It would violate copyright. I'll start the consultations once it's over."
With those words I turned to look at the screen.
[ULC Light Heavyweight Championship Bout]
[Champion Lee Taekwon vs Challenger Kang Minhyeok]
The match broadcast was playing on my monitor, and there was fried chicken on the dining table.
The first combo set I've ordered in my life.
Nothing less than a set with cheese balls and 1.5 liters of cola.
Tearing into a drumstick as I watched the monitor, Jamsil Indoor Stadium came onto the screen.
An arena packed with over ten thousand spectators.
"At last, today is the championship bout!"
"Indeed. It's a contest between light heavyweight champion Lee Taekwon and the undefeated rookie Kang Minhyeok!"
"Lee Taekwon has held the champion's seat for a year, and I'm truly curious what the result will be today."
Along with the commentators' voices, the screen caught the spectator seats.
Countless spectators were cheering in the stands, and when the camera stopped on one spot, a woman in her late fifties neatly dressed in hanbok came into view.
Lee Taekwon's mother.
'So she really did come.'
His mother had her hands clasped together in prayer.
"We can see Lee Taekwon's mother in the stands."
"Ah, isn't this her first time coming to watch a match? Lee Taekwon mentioned it in an interview once. That his mother was against martial arts his whole life."
"Correct. I hear today is her first time coming!"
When the screen returned to the cage, the challenger entered first.
Kang Minhyeok.
A rookie with a record of twelve wins and no losses.
Then the champion's entrance music rang out and Lee Taekwon appeared wearing his robe.
Walking toward the cage, Lee Taekwon stopped for a moment and looked at his mother in the stands.
And his mother nodded.
That scene I had seen in the future.
The match that followed ended, naturally, with Lee Taekwon winning and successfully defending his championship.
Even I, who already knew the result, rose from my seat and cheered at the sight.
"Incredible......."
Seeing it directly really is different.
"Lee Taekwon is bowing deeply to his mother."
"To the mother who was against it all his life... truly a moving scene."
Then the MC handed Lee Taekwon a microphone.
"Lee Taekwon! Congratulations on defending your title. Please, say a few words!"
Lee Taekwon took the microphone.
"My mother, who was against martial arts her whole life, came to watch a match today for the first time."
His ragged breathing came through the microphone exactly as it was.
"Mother, I hope I'm a son you can be proud of."
He paused for a moment and looked at his mother in the stands.
"Am I a son you're proud of, as I am now?"
The camera switched and his mother came into view, and she nodded.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Applause burst out from the stands, and Lee Taekwon's mother was shedding tears.
Then Lee Taekwon spoke again.
"And there's one more person I'd like to thank."
"Who might that be?"
At the MC's question, Lee Taekwon answered.
"A little while ago I received a consultation from a shaman who's the real deal."
...Don't tell me?
"He told me. That after the match my mother would be applauding and crying. And that those would be tears she shed because she was proud of me."
When Lee Taekwon looked at his mother in the stands, she was still applauding.
"Kim Jinwoo, who broadcasts on Jjiriri, thank you. Thanks to you I was able to win today's match."
The instant his words ended, my alerts started going off like mad.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
[Kim Jinwoo Channel ― 5,000 new followers]
[Kim Jinwoo Channel ― 12,000 new followers]
[Kim Jinwoo Channel ― 19,000 new followers]
[Kim Jinwoo Channel ― 28,000 new followers]
The numbers climbed like mad, and new viewers were flowing in live.
―Is this the broadcast Lee Taekwon was talking about?
―This is the place, right?
―You're supposed to be the real deal?
―When do you read fortunes?
Chat and followers rising like mad.
I took a moment to breathe deeply.
"Good to see you, everyone. Consultations are run by lottery and the application fee is 10,000 won."
―TheSoupIsSaltyMyDear has donated 10,000 won!―
[Me! Please see me!]
―HowManySilverTeeth has donated 10,000 won!―
[I live for today alone]
―YerimCheckThatGun has donated 10,000 won!―
[Me? Me? Me, you say?]
The moment countless donations came scrolling up.
―FiveOlderSisters has donated 10,000 won!―
[Save me]
A nickname I couldn't help but be drawn to came into view.