Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Chapter 88 We're All MeTube Stars (11)

A month had passed since the concert ended successfully.

Popularity was a frightening thing. After the video Dohyeok had filmed of Wooju singing at the orphanage became a huge hit, Wooju began his career as a singer in earnest.

(All right, today we have a very bright new face joining us for our trending interview. Even his name is unusual. Please welcome Wooju!)

(Hello. I'm rookie singer Wooju.)

(With a name like Wooju, the scale is already enormous. Is there a special meaning behind your name?)

(Yes. Someday, through music, I hope to give people emotions as broad and deep as the universe...)

“Come on, it's his first variety show. He should've gone with a more distinctive concept. What's that? I really should've handled all the details for him.”

“What would you handle? He sings quiet songs, so that suits him perfectly.”

“No, but still, you know? Rather than disappearing without anyone noticing, he could at least dye his hair rainbow colors or, huh? Wear something all sparkly!”

“You trying to turn him into Yongman?”

“Hey, isn't that a little harsh!”

“What's wrong with me!”

Both Yongman and Dohyeok protested with aggrieved expressions.

“I don't know about Dohyeok, but Yongman, you really shouldn't complain while dressed like that.”

“They told me this was the latest fashion in Busan!”

It had been fashionable once. Back when people collected acorns to decorate their mini-homepages.

“If you stand like that, those of us who are short can't see from behind you! Sit down already!”

“Huh? Okay...”

While I was wondering where I should even begin explaining the truth, Sani's scolding brought order to the room.

Since this was Wooju's first appearance on a variety show, the audience from the previous concert had naturally gathered together again without anyone needing to say anything. And now we were watching a real celebrity on an old cathode-ray television.

“His new song is already fifth on this week's popularity chart.”

“Should I hold onto the autograph I got back then a little longer and sell it later?”

“Sell it? Keep it as a family heirloom.”

“I should've asked him for one more back then.”

This wasn't making a fuss over just one autograph.

They said a celebrity's autograph became more valuable the closer it was to their debut, especially if it included a special message.

Of course, I'd gotten one too.

With a somewhat burdensome message.

On top of that, I had an entire stack of paper where he'd awkwardly practiced his signature, saying he hadn't come up with one yet.

While I was wondering whether there might be some clever way to sell those practice sheets, the host on the variety show asked an unexpected question.

(Your first debut was rather difficult, wasn't it? Was there anything in particular that helped you overcome it?)

(There was a MeTube channel I watched often when things were really hard. It was just a channel where someone read books in an old café, but I think I found a lot of comfort there.)

“Huh? Isn't that Dangsan TV?”

“I think so.”

It really was.

The phone screen Wooju showed to the camera had been blurred with a mosaic effect, but a video uploaded to my channel was unmistakably playing.

And a few minutes later,

-Ding. Ding.

『@Pamela-re8 subscribed to the Dangsan TV channel.

@Naengchae-26u subscribed to the Dangsan TV channel.

@BrokenCat subscribed to the Dangsan TV channel.

@hunmin-2kq subscribed to the Dangsan TV channel.

...』

Thanks to Wooju's promotional effect, Dangsan TV experienced yet another explosive surge in growth.

And only then did I understand the meaningful words Wooju had written on the autograph he'd given me.

『Wooju 2025-08-04

-To the benefactor whose kindness I must repay for the rest of my life-』

He'd written, “for the rest of my life.”

I could only assume that was how long he intended to keep promoting my MeTube channel.

I began to think that having a popular singer as an acquaintance might actually be rather burdensome.

“At this rate, I might even end up getting a Gold Icon.”

And not long afterward, a suspicious comment appeared on my channel.

SaniTV: Wooju came to my channel too. (Dislikes: 328)

┗ CharacterAssassin: lololol You trying to bait people like this? Why the hell would Wooju go on a channel with twenty subscribers lolololol

┗ antja78: 100 percent just someone imitating his voice

┗ WoojuFanClubGalaxy: I emailed Wooju's agency, so when the lawsuit arrives, just accept that you had it coming.

...

It looked like Sani might have to delete his channel one more time...

___________

The next morning arrived.

-Beeeeep. Beedle-deedle.

“Is anyone there?”

The doorbell attached to the front gate rang with a crackling noise.

Who was it this early in the morning?

“One moment!”

I threw on some slippers and went outside, where a familiar middle-aged man greeted me with a broad smile.

It was the owner of the company I'd hired to handle the interior work on the newly constructed building.

“Oh! The landlord's here! I was going to call, but since I was right next door anyway, I just came straight over.”

“Hello. Is it finished?”

“Yes, it's finally done. Come with me!”

It seemed the long construction process on the new building had finally come to an end.

Lia and I followed the interior company owner into the building.

“You said before that you wanted to use one office early, so you've already seen that room, right?”

“Yes. You did a very thorough job, so we've been using it well.”

“Oh, I'm really grateful to hear you say that. You wouldn't believe how troublesome it was for us when the schedule got tangled up, haha.”

“I'm sorry. It was our first time dealing with something like this too.”

“Oh, what does the landlord have to apologize for? It's not as though you didn't pay us. Thanks to you, we were able to cover a lot of labor costs during the slow season. If anything, we're grateful.”

The situation had been like this.

While the interior work was underway, an inspection company separately hired by the National Intelligence Service personally checked the plumbing, wiring, and every kind of safety facility one by one, so it took nearly four months to finish.

Of course, I'd paid extra construction costs for the delayed time, but under normal circumstances it would've been a job that took less than a month.

“This second floor has a bathroom, a bedroom, and a small living room. You asked for natural marble in both the bathroom and living room, and decorative tile flooring, so we used the thickest tiles available on the market. The built-in cabinets are from a German brand, and it took a while for them to come over by ship, but wouldn't you know it, the construction got delayed just enough for the timing to work out perfectly. What do you think?”

I'd heard that only the highest-quality materials available domestically had been used.

Even I, who knew very little about this field, couldn't find anything to criticize.

“It looks good. What do you think, Lia?”

“It's really big and white!”

“This is your room now, Lia.”

“Really?”

Strictly speaking, it was a separate building, but the first floor, second floor, and even the rooftop were all connected to the coffeehouse building, so it was practically an extension.

And on the second floor in particular, my room and Lia's room were separated only by a terrace, allowing us to move between each other's rooms whenever we wanted.

“I'm proud to hear that you like it. All right, then please sign here, and I'll be going.”

“Yes. Thank you for all your hard work.”

The interior company owner's expression looked truly relieved.

Didn't he look exactly like the members of our team on the day we finally escaped an endless streak of overtime?

After bowing several times and telling us to contact him anytime if there were problems, the interior company owner left, and we finally had time to leisurely look around the building.

“We'll go buy furniture this week.”

“Furniture?”

“You'll need a bed, and probably a desk and chair for studying too.”

“They're all in the dollhouse!”

“But you have to shrink down to use those. Let's walk around and think about anything else you might need.”

Was it because the construction had taken so long?

Even after the remodeling was finished, the feeling that the house had actually become larger only slowly sank in after we'd wandered around inside for quite a while.

Including the basement, the actual floor space was an incredible one hundred forty pyeong.

That was larger than most luxury detached homes.

And the crowning touch of this expansion was the room right beside the MeTube office.

At fifteen pyeong, it was the largest multipurpose room. I'd originally planned to use it for guests who might need to stay overnight at the coffeehouse, but once such a room existed, there were far too many guests who might use it for impure(?) purposes.

Sani went without saying, and Yongman and Dohyeok, who sometimes stayed until closing because they were busy playing games, were also high-risk individuals.

Because of that, the room had lost its intended purpose while it was still being built.

“Is this your room, Mister?”

“Yeah, but I'm still thinking about what to use it for. Have you decided everything for yours?”

“Yes! First, I'm going to move all my books.”

“Ah, you'll need a bookshelf too.”

There were already hundreds of Lia's storybooks piled beneath the counter.

Since there was nowhere separate to shelve them, we'd simply stacked them horizontally, but this seemed like a good opportunity to get her some proper bookshelves.

And right then, I also thought of a use for this room.

“Mister needs bookshelves too.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm going to put books in here.”

A whole room full of them.

___________

When we're young, we often have a few ridiculous dreams.

Not dreams like becoming president, a scientist, or a painter, but dreams that seemed extremely realistic in their own way.

Owning a stationery store, a snack shop, or an arcade were also common childhood ambitions.

They were things we could only enjoy sparingly with our limited allowance, so there was a simple hope that if we became the owner, perhaps we could enjoy them as much as we wanted.

Out of all of those, what I wanted most was to own a bookshop.

Back then, novels and comic books were treated like the root of all evil, so even if we rented them from a rental shop, we had to secretly hide them as though they were indecent contraband.

The cheap rental fee of two hundred to four hundred won per book also became a major drain on one's allowance once you actually started reading, because stories could continue for as few as five volumes or as many as nearly a hundred.

So I always wanted to own a bookshop.

Back then, when I knew nothing about the hardships of running a business, I simply envied the owner who sat around all day reading novels and comic books.

Now that I was an adult, I knew about the books that had to be purchased every month, taxes, rent, and all sorts of terrifying risks, so I wouldn't dare even consider it.

But imitating something similar was possible.

As long as I decided to do it.

And the price of fulfilling my childhood dream wasn't very high.

I already had a large room and storage area that had lost their original purposes, along with the steady monthly MeTube income from the sudden surge in subscribers thanks to Wooju.

And so, in pursuit of my dream, I'd come all the way to this comic café that had gone out of business.

“This place closed relatively recently, so the books are in good condition. It opened near the tail end of the comic café boom. What do you think?”

The dealer was right.

Just pulling a few books from the tightly packed shelves revealed that they were remarkably clean, without fading or tears.

Even the major popular titles looked practically brand new, with only the plastic wrapping removed.

I deliberated for even less time than when I'd bought the coffeehouse.

“I'll buy all of them.”

“Young man, you're decisive! This place had such a good location that monthly sales exceeded ten million won. You've hit the jackpot!”

“No. I'm only buying the books.”

“Huh? You're not taking over the store?”

For a moment, disappointment was obvious in the dealer's eyes.

“No, think carefully. The foot traffic here is...”

The long explanation that followed held no persuasive power over me, since my objective had been different from the beginning.

If the business had been doing that well, it wouldn't have been put up for sale.

And so, after the dealer exhausted himself trying to persuade me, I was able to purchase the books from him at quite a good price.