Chapter 6

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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In the wind where cherry blossoms danced, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Originally, one of the advantages of omakase is that the chef and the guest can have a conversation, but Chef Yoo seemed to stay longer in front of us, exchanging jokes, perhaps because of my mother.

"Maybe it's not delicious, but it would be a good title for a YouTube content. From the chef's reaction, it seems there are definitely fewer than ten people in our country who have tried it."

"Huh?"

Chef Yoo's eyes lit up when he heard my words.

He quickly alternated his gaze between my face and the high-end Sony FX9 camcorder that was diligently recording.

"Hmm..."

Chef Yoo's eyes narrowed.

"You seem to be a more serious YouTuber than I thought."

He said this and then asked,

"Do you have a channel?"

"Yes, I do. I just uploaded my first video a little while ago."

When I answered, Chef Yoo looked surprised and said,

"First video? That's unexpected. You seem to know a lot about YouTube."

"Maybe it's because I majored in media... I have a rough idea of how viewers and commenters behave."

"Hmm. I see. Are you going to post something special today, or will you continue to be active in the future?"

"Yes. Starting with Chef Yoo's food, I plan to work hard as a YouTuber!"

I declared with a smile.

"Wow... That's an honor."

Then my mother interjected,

"Oh, it's the first time I bought this camcorder today. I gave 1.5 million won without hesitation... Since he's just starting, there's no need to praise him so much."

Chef Yoo's eyes widened. He quickly looked at me.

"..."

I conveyed the following with my eyes:

'The 1.5 million won for the FX9 is a ridiculous lie, but please let it go. You know, if you're a man, you'd understand.'

"Ha ha ha."

Chef Yoo laughed again.

"I've done a lot of omakase, so I've seen many YouTubers. Some are terrible, and some are amazing. So, let me say this."

Indeed, Chef Yoo, who understood my feelings, skillfully changed the topic.

"Yes."

My mother nodded.

"Your son shows talent. It seems he will build a proper channel. That's why I said it's an honor."

"Oh..."

My mother blushed again.

No, it's my praise, so why is she blushing?

But apparently, praise for her son feels like praise for herself.

"I'm not saying this just because of Hye-min. I have a good eye in this field."

"Oh..."

My mother bowed her head, seemingly more embarrassed. My goodness, she's so easily embarrassed.

Is she really a former celebrity? It's been too long since she was in the spotlight.

As a son, it's a bittersweet scene.

"I can't do it now because I'm working, but I'll check your channel later and hit the subscribe button."

"Oh, thank you."

Great. One more subscriber.

Chef Yoo is not just a 'one subscriber'; he's an important figure.

"Okay, then, for a moment..."

While Chef Yoo went to prepare the next dish, I had a moment to spare.

"Good. Then..."

While my phone was on silent, quite a few comments had been posted on the newly uploaded video.

- Your face is so thick, X. Your old videos have already exposed your fraud.

- You probably didn't see the comments on the recent post, right? After seeing the comments, you'll be embarrassed and shut down your channel, won't you?

Sure enough, the comments on the egg custard video were as expected.

Actually, this was almost like a setup.

But...

- Let's eradicate liars and make YouTube clean!

- Liars spread quickly. Kill X.

- Can't they be arrested? We are now watching industrial waste.

The sudden surge of comments was still hard to adapt to.

But today, I already had a concept in mind.

I'll show the keyboard warrior mode comments later.

The number of subscribers had already exceeded 100.

But it seemed that more than 80 of them were more interested in 'The End of the Liar' than in Chef Yoo's new restaurant?

- But... the kitchen is different, right?

And, as I scrolled down, I started to see the type of comments I had expected.

"Hmm."

A satisfied smile formed on my lips.

- What are you talking about?

- No, the kitchen is briefly shown in the later part of the video. It doesn't look like the old restaurant.

- Oh

- Ta-da.

- ?!!

While I was exchanging comments with Chef Yoo, the commenters on my channel were also interacting.

- The kitchen isn't shown properly. Are you a part-timer? Or a secondary account of the creator?

- Can't you see the IP address of the commenter on YouTube? It seems to be the same person.

Exactly as expected, the suspicious comments came.

But the ID that raised the issue commented again.

- Are you idiots? The kitchen is shown for about 1-2 seconds. Can't you recognize it? Look at the comments from people who have been to the old restaurant.

- Well... I'll stay neutral for now. I want to see more comments from people who have been to the old restaurant.

"Good..."

I smiled and muttered, then looked at my mother and said,

"What will be the next piece of sushi? I'm already looking forward to it."

"Are you excited?"

My mother asked.

"Yes, I am."

I answered with a wider smile.

192 subscribers

"The next is tuna. Medium fatty."

Chef Yoo placed the next piece of sushi, so I put my phone down for a moment.

I hadn't participated in the ongoing comments.

'I'll just let it be for now...'

I thought and focused on the medium fatty sushi.

"Wow."

It was a beautiful piece of sushi, with a harmonious combination of white and pink flesh.

"There's a saying that to know if a soup restaurant is good, you should try the kimchi."

Chef Yoo said with a smile.

"Yes, that's true."

"There's also a saying that to know if a sushi restaurant is good, you should try the medium fatty."

"Ah!"

'I should write this down. It would be good to use as a comment.'

Now, I only held chopsticks in my hands, but I wasn't worried.

The sound was being recorded well by the Sony FX9.

During the video editing process, I could use this content either as the chef's voice or as subtitles.

After eating a couple more pieces of sushi, I opened my phone.

'Huh?'

A short while ago, the number of subscribers was increasing rapidly, but the trend had slowed down.

It was 108 a while ago, and now it's 113.

'Strange. It increased by 30 in 10 minutes earlier, but now it's only increased by 5 in 5 minutes.'

I started to read the comments from where I had stopped to analyze the reason.

- I've been to Chef Yoo's restaurant. The kitchen layout wasn't like that.

Sure enough, another commenter reacted to the part of the video where the kitchen was shown.

- You did a good job staying neutral.

- Anyway, it's a problem because of the sudden surge of comments.

Such comments were posted.

But why did the trend of increasing subscribers suddenly slow down?

- The one who called you a liar, say something.

- What? It was real? But if it's real, isn't it rude? To a sushi chef? Did you promote your channel while making a sushi channel?

Ha.

I frowned and checked the ID of the last commenter.

One of the main people who initially accused me of being a liar based on the plate photo.

But now, since his claim was refuted, he's trying to find fault with something else.

'Sushi Man' is the name of the sushi review channel I commented on earlier.

"Hehe. I posted the video because you asked for proof. I'm not making a sushi channel."

I muttered.

- Did you promote your channel on someone else's channel? To a rival channel?

- What rival channel? A channel with only a one-minute video is not a rival to Sushi Man.

Under these comments, the ID that raised the issue commented again.

- I reported it to Sushi Man.

This person is quite persistent. Did he hit the subscribe button?

The ID was 'SushiFan'.

At first glance, it felt like a sushi channel die-hard fan, but he seemed to be a rather petty person.

'What if...'

I had a sudden thought and went back to Sushi Man's channel.

The thought turned out to be true.

The comment I posted earlier, "I'm going to Chef Yoo's new restaurant today," was deleted.

And a new comment by the channel owner was pinned at the top.

- Some clueless person promoted their channel on mine while making their own. At least have some manners. If you don't, you'll remain a nobody. I deleted the comment.

"Ugh..."

A prickly person. He must have reacted immediately after receiving the report from 'SushiFan'.

This level of response speed suggests that 'SushiFan' is a regular viewer of the channel.

The channel not only has a subscribe button but also a 'join' button.

This means that in addition to subscriptions, the channel collects membership fees for channel support.

If you pay the membership fee, you have a strong influence.

Anyway, Sushi Man is a YouTuber who often engages in banter with viewers in the comment section.

If he encounters a conceptless act at a restaurant, he might post a review of his confrontation with the owner or chef.

With 210,000 subscribers, it's a considerable number for a themed restaurant review channel.

The market size of food review channels is different from that of food vlog channels.

At this level, in the food review YouTube community, he can show off his power to some extent based on the number of subscribers.

And while showing off his power, he often posts mocking comments to the effect of "losers are losing their cool at me."

As a result, the channel is clearly divided between those who like it and those who don't.

But thanks to these fights with subscribers, he has successfully gained more fame.

And as a result, many so-called 'followers' or 'fanatics' who post loyal comments like "Don't let the angry losers take your time~" have emerged.

'SushiFan' seems to be one of those followers.

"Phew..."

It's a frustrating situation.

I just searched for Chef Yoo on YouTube to see who he was, and I left a comment on a video announcing the opening of his new restaurant out of excitement.

And when they said it was a lie and asked for proof, I posted a verification video.

But now, it seems I've been portrayed as someone who made a sushi channel and used a popular channel rudely to promote it?

The sudden decrease in new subscribers is because the comment was deleted.

"Okay, the next is mackerel! It's marinated in yuzu vinegar."

I had to savor Chef Yoo's sushi again and calm my mind.

Indeed.

To do YouTube, making good content is important.

But interacting with viewers through comments is also incredibly important.

Comments need a good concept, and that concept needs to be consistently maintained.

Keyboard warrioring? It's good, but it doesn't fit my YouTube channel's theme.

Sushi Man is a restaurant reviewer, so his prickly personality fits well, but my channel's concept is different.

"Oh, it's delicious..."

Just as the fishy smell of the mackerel was about to rise, the aroma of yuzu vinegar enveloped my nose.

"The tension is amazing."

When I said this, Chef Yoo tilted his head.

"Tension?"

"Yes. In music, they first create dissonance and then play a harmonious note. That's how they create tension and resolution."

"Ah."

Chef Yoo seemed to understand and exclaimed.

"This mackerel sushi also creates tension with a slight fishy taste and then resolves it with the yuzu vinegar. It's better to present a flavor that can be refined by the aroma rather than a strong aroma from the beginning."

Chef Yoo looked at my mother after hearing my explanation.

"Your son is really something else. His way of speaking..."

"Oh, he's being a bit noisy today. Maybe because he took out the camera."

My mother modestly replied.

No, you can be modest about yourself, but why react like this to my praise?

"He takes after you. He becomes lively in front of the camera."

I pouted at my mother.

"Oh, he's just being...