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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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7:00 AM.
Mr. C, a salaryman on his morning commute, was browsing OceaniaTV.
His commute to Seoul took an hour and twenty minutes by bus.
Sleeping was uncomfortable, and staring blankly out the window was boring.
He scrolled through the list of streams, but his finger abruptly stopped.
A thumbnail of a woman in tight leggings and a loose t-shirt caught his eye.
<[Live] [Solitary Trainer] Morning Routine>
Intrigued, he tapped the thumbnail.
After a short ad, the stream loaded and revealed a woman performing squats.
There was a strange juxtaposition of subtle sex appeal and wholesome exercise.
The chat was already active, viewers vying for the streamer’s attention, but she remained unmoved.
She just kept squatting.
At first, Mr. C was captivated by her physique, but then he noticed the weight on the barbell.
‘How much does that weigh?’
Similar questions popped up in the chat, but the woman remained silent.
She simply continued her reps, the heavy barbell groaning under the strain.
The lack of audio commentary or interaction might have driven viewers away, but the sheer spectacle of her workout kept Mr. C glued to the screen.
Oblivious to the chat’s growing astonishment, she continued her routine.
Squats, leg curls, leg presses, and finally, a run on the treadmill.
After about an hour, she finally looked at the camera and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel.
Her hair was tied back in a slightly curled ponytail, accentuating her strong, athletic figure.
Without uttering a single word, she had managed to make a lasting impression.
She glanced at the chat with an indifferent expression and finally spoke.
“Like and subscribe. This has been Solitary Trainer.”
The stream ended.
A flood of question marks filled the chat, and Mr. C felt the same confusion.
‘What did I just watch?’
He wondered.
The confusion quickly turned to intrigue.
It was strangely captivating.
That was the general consensus among those who had stumbled upon the Solitary Trainer’s stream.
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After confirming the stream had ended, I approached Ga-ram.
“Good job.”
“I was so nervous! I couldn’t even lift as much as usual… This isn’t good…”
That was lifting less than usual?
Insane.
“You’ll get used to the camera. It’s not like you have to do anything special.”
“I hope so. I’m not sure if I’m doing this right.”
“The response was good. Around fifteen viewers, and you even got some donations.”
“Donations?”
“Yeah, around 2,000 coins.”
“2,000 coins is…”
She counted on her fingers, still unfamiliar with the platform’s currency.
“About 20,000 won after fees.”
“Wow… 20,000 won…”
She looked visibly disappointed.
Disappointed with 20,000 won for her first stream?
“Ga-ram, you earned 20,000 won just by doing your normal workout. We’ll upload the video to YouTube, and you’ll earn even more from that.”
My slightly sharper tone made her flinch.
“Sorry. I guess I got my hopes up.”
“It was your first stream. Don’t expect too much too soon.”
“I understand. I saw those other streams you showed me, the ones earning 100,000 coins per stream, and I guess I got a little carried away.”
“Those are… exceptionally popular streams. You’re just starting out. You’re a newbie. You can’t expect to squat 60kg on your first day at the gym.”
“But I squatted 60kg on my first day.”
She said and tilted her head in confusion.
I hated her sometimes.
We had done a test stream on Monday with the equipment Ho-chul had procured.
Then, on Tuesday, we launched her first official stream.
Fifteen viewers for a first stream was a good start.
There was an easier way, of course.
I could have logged into my account and donated a large sum of coins, instantly boosting her ranking and attracting attention.
But that would have made her a target.
Hana, the former top-ranked streamer, had plummeted in the rankings after I stopped donating.
She was currently hovering around tenth place.
With the undisputed champion gone, the streamers ranked second to fifth were now locked in a fierce battle for the top spot.
It might seem like a simple competition, just a matter of who could attract the most donations, but it was far more complex than that.
There were fan wars, smear campaigns, and malicious online attacks designed to break a streamer’s spirit.
I didn’t want Ga-ram to get caught up in that.
She always seemed so cheerful and optimistic during our workouts, but the incident at the Han River and our conversation at the salon had revealed a different side of her.
She was deeply insecure.
Her difficult circumstances had left her with a fragile spirit.
She was easily hurt and prone to despair.
Her refuge was exercise.
She had told me that working out helped her clear her mind.
It was her way of coping.
That’s why she needed to stay under the radar, at least for now.
She would inevitably face the darker side of internet fame eventually, but not yet.
“Oh, I haven’t checked your body composition in a while. Member-nim, let’s do an InBody scan.”
Ah, back to “member-nim”…
The results were in.
I had lost a noticeable amount of weight compared to my initial assessment, but there wasn’t much improvement since the last time.
“You’ve hit a plateau. We’ll need to change up your workout routine.”
Ga-ram seemed to sense my disappointment.
“You’re helping me with my stream, and I’m helping you with your workouts. We’re helping each other out.”
She scribbled something in her notebook.
Her cheerful tone made me smile.
“You’re right. We’re helping each other out.”
“So, we’ll keep helping each other until we both succeed, right? Pinky promise~”
She held out her pinky finger, and I linked mine with hers.
“Signed, sealed, and delivered.”
She pressed her thumb against mine, then rubbed her palms together.
“Alright, let’s increase the weight today.”
“Huh?”
“The best way to break through a plateau is to push yourself harder.”
Shit!
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