Chapter 7

Hmph. Well.

I still think it’s a waste that someone like my mom doesn’t stand in front of the camera.

‘Now that I’ve started YouTube and picked up a camera… Mom can’t keep running away like this forever.’

That’s right. There was a hidden reason behind my decision to use the massive inheritance as a catalyst for my serious YouTube launch.

“Sigh…”

I savored the scent of yuzu vinegar and let out a deep sigh.

I had already decided how to react to the abrasive sushi man while eating the mackerel sushi.

Now it was time to put it into action.

I calmly went to the Sushi Man’s channel and reopened the comment section of the relevant video.

– It seemed like someone was lying, so I went to scold them, but it turned out to be a troll. I immediately reported it to Sushi Man.

The ‘Sushi Seeker’ from earlier was showing off with a ‘I did well, didn’t I?’

And the ‘Ogu Ogu’ comments that followed.

However, as expected, there was another type of comment.

– What’s going on? What happened?

– The comments were deleted, so I don’t know what they’re talking about. Can someone explain what happened?

– Can someone give a brief summary of what happened?

I smiled with satisfaction after reading these comments.

Then, I pressed the comment button.

‘Thank goodness. I haven’t been blocked yet.’

Sushi Man could delete one of my comments, but the channel manager could also block a specific user from commenting on their channel.

However, it seems Sushi Man only deleted one of my comments.

– I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to promote anything; I just commented because I was excited. But if I caused any discomfort to Sushi Man and the subscribers, it was my fault. I was shortsighted. I apologize.

I wrote the comment, keeping in mind what should and shouldn’t be included in an apology.

However, just being aware of this doesn’t mean I would necessarily follow it to the letter.

It could also be used strategically.

I added another comment below it.

– By the way, my channel is not a sushi-specific channel. I don’t see Sushi Man as a rival.

“Sigh…”

After posting the comment, I returned to my channel and took one more action.

I changed the channel name.

‘Now, let’s wait and see the reactions…’

I waited while enjoying the sushi Chef Yoo brought.

– Ding dong. Ding dong.

Subscribers started increasing again.

Why?

The influx that occurred after people saw my reply on Sushi Man’s channel had been cut off due to the comment deletion.

But now, my comment was back on the channel, and there were even curious comments asking, ‘What’s going on?’

Those who wanted to know more had no choice but to click on my username in the comments and visit my channel.

‘A 210,000 subscriber channel is quite influential. The influx is significant.’

To the point where I muttered this, the subscribers started increasing again.

The number of subscribers increased, and at a certain point, it reached 192.

For a channel with a single one-minute video, this was a significant number.

That specific point was when Sushi Man left a direct reply on my channel.

– Hey, you. Are you trying to start something with me? What? What’s your channel name?

Indeed, a typical reaction from a YouTuber with a keyboard warrior mentality.

“Wow…”

I smiled wryly as I read the comment.

“Why did YouTube remove the messaging feature? This forces people to exchange messages through comments.”

287 subscribers.

The temporary name I gave my channel was ‘Not a Sushi Channel.’

Channel names should be chosen carefully.

Once you change them a few times, you can’t change them again for a certain period.

Channel names are initially set to the user’s name.

My YouTube channel was created a long time ago.

To avoid using my real name, I changed it to JHJ.

I changed it to the current channel name.

Of course, I will change it again once it’s finalized, so this is just temporary.

I had calculated that YouTube wouldn’t restrict changing the channel name once and changing it again.

“…”

I smiled wryly at Sushi Man’s reaction to the channel name.

It seems he took the channel name as a provocation.

Well, it wasn’t entirely unintentional.

Since he was being so petty, I thought, ‘Will this be taken as a provocation?’ and it worked.

But, did I go too far? A 200,000 subscriber YouTuber calling someone a ‘b*tch’ in the comments of another channel?

– What’s going on? You’re even using profanity.

I commented calmly. I didn’t want to fight today.

Then, a comment appeared.

– Is the channel name a provocation? You got 100 subscribers by pulling attention from other channels with a one-minute video. That’s a strange way to start on YouTube.

– Ah, I understand. I changed the channel name to clear up any misunderstandings, but it might be perceived negatively.

After posting this comment, no more comments appeared for a while.

He seemed confused because I didn’t respond to his profanity.

After a long time, a comment appeared.

– Anyway, I’ll let this slide this time, but stop posting about sushi.

The profanity subtly turned into polite language.

Though the tone was slightly softer, the content was still ridiculous.

Telling me not to post more sushi videos?

– Well, that’s difficult. I will post them.

– Huh? You said you wouldn’t?

– Hehe. I said it’s not a sushi channel, not that I can’t post sushi-related content. I’ll post the menu of Chef Yoo Min-hyuk’s new restaurant in a few days.

This was the end of the conversation.

Sushi Man didn’t leave any more comments on my channel.

It would be a blow to his reputation to say ‘No sushi videos at all!’ in the comments.

‘It’s good that YouTube removed the messaging feature.’

If messaging was possible, he would have flooded my inbox with profanity.

When I checked later, the apology comment I posted on Sushi Man’s channel had been deleted.

And this time, he had completely blocked my ability to comment on his channel.

Indeed, Sushi Man had completely erased my presence from his channel.

‘Hmph. Some people try to grow together through channel interactions, but this guy is quite territorial.’

I remembered that Sushi Man had also shown a tendency to argue with other food review channel owners in the comment sections.

‘There are YouTubers who band together to exercise collective power, but Sushi Man isn’t one of them.’

The path for people to enter my channel through Sushi Man’s channel was blocked, but Sushi Man’s comments on my channel remained for a long time.

‘I thought he would delete them right away, but he left them there?’

At the point when my presence was erased from Sushi Man’s channel, my channel had 194 subscribers.

“Hmm. Now it’s time to start the next content.”

Meanwhile, Chef Yoo Min-hyuk’s sushi course was nearing its conclusion.

“How was it?”

Chef Yoo Min-hyuk approached with a smile and asked.

“To be honest, we rarely go to omakase restaurants. It feels like a treat. Everything is just delicious.”

Mom said humbly.

I always found her overly humble attitude annoying.

“No, Mom.”

“Huh?”

“I’m just saying everything is delicious because I don’t know any better. That’s not really polite.”

“Oh…”

“Even if you don’t know much about sushi, you should say what you found delicious based on your own standards. That’s a genuine compliment and also helpful.”

“Right!”

Chef Yoo Min-hyuk nodded vigorously at me.

“Indeed, your son seems to know something. It’s better to share honest opinions rather than saying you don’t know.”

“Hmm…”

While Mom hesitated, Chef Yoo Min-hyuk looked at me with an expectant face.

He seemed to expect some creative comments from me.

“Well, I haven’t been to many omakase restaurants like Mom, but I’ve watched a lot of sushi YouTube videos. I’ll base my comments on that.”

“Oh, good.”

Chef Yoo Min-hyuk nodded.

“The balance between traditional and creative sushi here is excellent.”

“Hmm.”

“The tamagoyaki at the beginning used only classic ingredients like crab and shrimp, without any gimmicks. This highlights the skill in making tamagoyaki.”

“On the other hand, the sushi with yuzu vinegar is something I haven’t tried before, which adds a pleasant surprise to the course. This seems to be a strength of this restaurant.”

After I finished speaking, Chef Yoo Min-hyuk, who had been silent for a moment, spoke.

“I’m impressed. You’ve almost perfectly captured my intentions.”

He then looked at Mom again.

“Your son has a real insight.”

“Oh…”

Mom blushed when she heard the praise again.

‘Sigh…’

I sighed inwardly and said to Mom.

“Mom, don’t just react to praise. Try to share your thoughts too.”

“Yes, you’re right. I’d like to hear Chef Hye-min’s honest opinion.”

“Okay…”

Mom was silent for a moment, then nodded as if making a decision.

“I’ll share my thoughts too.”

“Oh, good!”

Chef Yoo smiled brightly.

“In fact, I’ve been to many sushi restaurants since my debut. At that time, there weren’t many sushi chefs in Korea, so Japanese chefs came. They emphasized the seasoning of sushi, saying it was the basic of basics in cooking.”

Wow. Mom’s speech suddenly sped up.

‘And her expression changed…’

“But as Hyun-jun said, the sushi was quite diverse. The rice, called ‘shari,’ had different seasonings for each sushi. People who are particular about seasoning might have some complaints.”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell.

Chef Yoo and I were speechless.

Her soft tone was like a rapid-fire machine gun.

“Oh, Mom… Look at that. You can share your thoughts well when you decide to. Very… objectively.”

“Oh, right. I definitely have that side. I didn’t fully capture the seasoning.”

Mom and I said this with a dazed expression.

We were overwhelmed by Mom’s sudden critic mode.

“Indeed. Actors are different. You were like a completely different person a moment ago. Hye-min!”

Chef Yoo gave a thumbs up after a moment.

“Oh…”

Mom, who had returned to her shy self, but my mom ‘Jang Hye-min’ had briefly but clearly shown the persona that once shook the entertainment industry.

“Oh, look at me.”

Chef Yoo, as if regaining his composure, started making sushi.

“This is a special treat for the two of you.”

He said this and leaned in, lowering his voice.

“This is a sushi I’m developing. Try it and give me your thoughts before the final menu is served.”

“Oh… Such special treatment.”

Mom said.

“No, it’s not special treatment for Hye-min. You two gave such sharp critiques, so I’m asking you to try this and give your thoughts. It’s a formal tasting request!”

“Oh.”

I perked up at his words.

“Then, not many people have tried this?”

Chef Yoo replied.

“Since I developed it… Unless someone else coincidentally developed something similar, probably not.”

“Oh!”

I was excited, and Chef Yoo showed interest.

“Why are you so excited?”

“Well, I have a channel concept in mind, and today I found a lot of content that fits it.”

“Oh… Is it a sushi or restaurant channel?”

“No.”

I shook my head with a smile.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I’ll post sushi and restaurant videos, but also other content.”

“Won’t that make the theme unclear? Mixing various content isn’t good for growing a YouTube channel.”

Indeed, Chef Yoo, being a food industry professional sensitive to YouTube, knew a lot about this.

“You’re right. So, I’ve clearly defined the theme.”

“What is it… You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“Yes. If you follow me, you’ll find out soon!”

“Oh!”

Chef Yoo didn’t ask any more questions and handed me the newly made sushi.

“Here’s the new sushi I developed. It’s a mix of foie gras and ankimo.”

“Oh…”

It was an unexpected combination for someone who knows a bit about sushi.

“Foie gras is