Chapter 38

Unfortunately, I’m not a very talkative person.

That means I prefer being alone over being in a group. I’m not a fan of noise or commotion.

But, of course, there’s always an exception. Live streaming is one of those rare cases.

Even though I’m not great at talking, the constant stream of chat messages keeps the conversation going.

"So, please suggest topics you’d like me to draw~."

Leaning back in my chair, I lazily glanced at the monitor.

[It’s gotta be furry, idiots.]

[Please draw the streets of Amsterdam!]

[Please draw "Crawl" Miss Naruko.]

[桃源乡少女!]

[Draw Gardevoir from Pokémon, urgent!]

The suggestions ranged from quirky to downright strange. Also, it seemed I had international viewers in the mix.

“…Isn’t YouTube blocked in China?”

I didn’t know much about it, but I’d heard they had their own version of the platform.

Anyway, back to the task at hand.

Even though I had a tablet in my room, I rarely used it.

It lacked the tactile feedback I loved about traditional drawing. There’s no sense of friction, no satisfying feel against the paper.

Sure, I could draw digitally if I had to, but I always thought, “Why bother?”

I had a camera, traditional art supplies, and everything I needed for my streams. While tablets had their advantages, they didn’t suit me.

“I’ve painted with cherry blossom petals; this is nothing.”

Straightening up in my chair, I listed the suggested topics so far:

Furry

Gardevoir from Pokémon

Taoist Garden Girl

Black Abyss Cat

Great White Shark

…Wait, a shark?

I scanned the chat logs to find the source.

HSYS2 [Great White Shark]

…Why is Ha Soo-Yul here? And why would she suggest something so random?

I ignored her message and focused on the other topics.

After narrowing it down, I ended up with seven final suggestions.

"Alright, you’ve got ten minutes to vote. I’ll grab some water while you decide."

With that, I stood up and left the room.

But as soon as I stepped into the living room…

Why are they here?

Ha Soo-Yul, Choi Ye-Seo, and Hong Yea-Hwa were all sitting on the floor, watching my stream on the TV.

The trio, with their unmistakable hair colors, had turned my house into a makeshift fan club.

"When did they get here?"

"Right after you went live," my mom replied, handing me a cup of water. She must’ve prepared it ahead of time, knowing I’d need it.

"Hi, hi!"

"Good morning."

"You’re seriously streaming from your house…"

I waved at Choi Ye-Seo’s high-energy greeting and nodded at Ha Soo-Yul’s polite morning hello.

But I didn’t even acknowledge Hong Yea-Hwa’s comment.

Where else would I stream from? Should I set up a computer in the studio?

"Anyway, what brings you here so early?"

I sipped my water and waited for an answer. Mom was the one who explained.

"They said they came over to hang out since it’s the weekend. I’m happy to have more people around!"

"Right… But, Ye-Seo, don’t you have work at your agency?"

"There’s no practice today, so I thought I’d drop by and see Ha-Yoon too."

"…Soo-Yul, fine. But, Yea-Hwa, what about you?"

How did she even know where I live?

My question was answered thanks to Ye-Seo.

"She messaged me and asked for your address."

This girl is insane.

"At first, I thought it was weird, but when she said it was about art, I decided to come along."

"You could’ve just messaged me…"

When it comes to art, Hong Yea-Hwa bulldozes straight ahead. Why is she so impulsive?

Exhaustion washed over me, and I rubbed the back of my neck. Shouldn’t they be visiting Lee Do-Yoon instead?

I found it strange but didn’t say anything. They were already here, and kicking them out felt excessive.

Mom seemed to enjoy the company, and Ha-Yoon would be thrilled to have more people to play with.

"Hey, Ha-Eun. Why didn’t you include the shark?"

Suddenly, Soo-Yul tugged at my sleeve while still sitting down.

Her eyes were watery, as if my exclusion of the shark had deeply wounded her.

This scene made me feel like the villain in a morning soap opera.

"There’s no demand for a shark."

I answered honestly.

"!!!"

She looked utterly devastated. The light in her eyes seemed to fade.

"Then… what about an orca?"

Now it was Ye-Seo’s turn to cautiously suggest something.

"Orcas are in the same boat. Not much demand for them in streams."

Her head drooped like a wilting flower. What’s with these two and their marine mammal obsession?

"Oh, time’s up. I’m heading back in."

I set my cup down on the table and returned to my room.

"Alright, let’s see the results—"

[Ha-Eun, nooo!!! Please don’t go down this path!]

The chat was in absolute chaos when I opened it.

What the hell happened in the last ten minutes?

"What’s going on here…?"

Turning my gaze to the poll results, I immediately understood.

1st Place: Furry (Fox)

Hmm. No wonder the chat is in uproar. If I were in their shoes, I’d probably be sobbing and kneeling too.

[WTF is wrong with you people?]

[Why are all the quiet ones suddenly here?!]

[Sibal, what’s happening???!!!!]

[The Koreans in this chat just exposed themselves lol.]

[Fucking furry fandom strikes again.]

Folding my arms, I checked the donation log. In just ten minutes, a massive number of donations had come through.

“One, ten, hundred, thousand… million…”

Who spends a million won on a single stream?

And not just one person—several people had donated a million each.

In total, eight viewers had contributed 800,000 won in just ten minutes.

The donation messages were a spectacle in themselves.

Anonymous Donor donated 1,000,000 KRW!

[I can’t hold back anymore.]

FurryFan donated 1,000,000 KRW!

[Please, fox! Fox! Fox!]

AnimalLover donated 1,000,000 KRW!

[Pls cat girl, pls cat girl!]

…

“…Well, deviant tastes are nothing new for art streams.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect this. But even I was surprised by the sheer demand.

As I hesitated, another donation came in—this time for 10,000,000 KRW.

Anonymous Donor donated 10,000,000 KRW!

[Fox! Fox! Fox! Urgent, hurry!]

"…Thank you for the ten million won. Really, um, thanks."

I had a lot to say, but I decided against it. People have their preferences, and who am I to judge?

But the rest of the chat didn’t share my sentiment.

[WTF are these lunatics doing?!]

[Why are there so many whales in this stream?]

[OMG;;; what the actual fuck.]

[Even in Korea, this is a bit much…]

"Okay, okay. Everyone calm down."

SanityPlease donated 1,000 KRW!

[Calm down? Someone just spent ten million won on a furry drawing.]

"Ahem. Well, please respect other people’s preferences."

IsThisReal donated 10,000 KRW!

[Why the fuck is it a furry?!]

"Any excessive swearing will result in a ban..."

Even I felt reluctant, but there was no turning back now. I’d already accepted the donations.

And with the poll results showing an overwhelming majority for "Furry (Fox)," I had no choice.

What a chaotic morning.

Meanwhile, the chat was roasting whoever had voted for the furry option.

Apparently, there weren’t many vocal supporters for the furry fandom.

“To think there are so many hidden furry enthusiasts… Gives me chills.”

Rubbing the goosebumps on my arms, I grabbed my pen.

"Alright, we’ll start with the top-voted option: Furry. But it will be excluded from future polls."

If I didn’t take precautions, this might end up on the 9 o’clock news.

"I never thought I’d be drawing a furry again. The last time was, what, three years ago?"

The recording of that furry sketch had gone viral, unexpectedly making it to the top of trending lists.

It ended up being one of the most-viewed videos on my YouTube channel.

Of course, the Taoist Garden sketch still held the number one spot. Its timing had been perfect, and it blew up massively.

"Normally, you’d sketch the outline before inking it, but I can jump straight to the linework."

I kept up a casual commentary while occasionally glancing at the chat.

"People often say to start with croquis or replication, but honestly, that doesn’t mean much when you’re a beginner."

I slipped in a bit of art advice, explaining as I drew.

"If it’s your first time drawing, I recommend starting with figure drawing."

Of course, everyone has their own preferences, but figure drawing is the most fundamental and effective approach.

"Using shapes to draw people is fine, but it requires a certain level of skill."

For example, with this furry piece, I was drawing a humanoid figure.

However, it’s slightly different from anthropomorphic animals. Their joints and anatomy follow unique patterns.

And foxes, with their lush tails, add another layer of complexity.

"This is where a tablet’s lasso tool would be handy, but oh well."@@novelbin@@

Since I was drawing manually, it took much longer.

If only real life had multiplying layers or shading tools. That’d make everything easier.

But then again, it might take away the tactile joy of traditional art.

"Alright. I think we’ll stop with the furry here. Time to move on to the next piece."

Stretching briefly, I addressed the chat.

"I’ll draw three more pieces before wrapping up the stream."

As soon as I said that, the once-quiet chat burst into flames again.

Anonymous Donor donated 10,000 KRW!

[Then at least do a vlog after this… Please!]

The energy surged once more with a single donation.