Chapter 48: Perception War

1.

[General] Carrier << Her cooking’s absolute trash???

Honestly, from a pro chef’s perspective, it’s not impressive lol.

The fact she’s praised for YouTuberthatYouTuber is hilarious lololol

‘Look at this jerk.’

The title was blatant.

Clearly targeting me.

The upvote-to-downvote ratio was 6:4—not bad, all things considered.

I scrolled down, curious about the comments.

– Then what about recreating Yura’s mom and grandma’s dishes???

└ (OP) You believe that lol? Obvious scripted nonsense lol

└ Yura posted on SNS that she cooked for her mom with Carrier’s recipe, and her mom said it was just like her grandma’s.

└ (OP) You actually buy that, idiot? So damn naive lol

– Regardless of recreating dishes, her cooking seemed decent?

└ (OP) Not at all lol

‘As expected.’

The comment section was a mess, as predicted.

People were tangled in heated arguments, making it chaotic.

“What’s this jerk doing?”

Noona’s sharp voice startled me. Turning, I saw her frowning at my screen.

“…You saw?”

I lowered my phone, giving an awkward smile.

“Of course I saw! Why’re you looking at that? Life’s too short to waste on garbage…”

“I was just checking if anyone was badmouthing you or Yura. I don’t usually touch this stuff.”

“Good. Haryul, stay away from communities. There’s nothing worthwhile there!”

“Coming from a community addict, that hits hard.”

Noona, fuming, clamped her mouth shut, glaring before pouting.

“…I’m trying to cut back.”

“I know. I just want you to focus on the good stuff too. And communities aren’t YouTuberallYouTuber bad, right?”

Thanks to Noona, I’d caught wind of things quickly.

She’d barely streamed lately, so her mentions had dwindled.

“Stop browsing. Let’s look up Chef Kang Tae-yeon.”

“Alright. But, Noona.”

“Yeah?”

I showed her my phone.

“Searching Kang Tae-yeon pulls up tons of community posts… What now?”

Noona opened her mouth, then closed it, speechless.

“…Let’s just search carefully.”

“Got it.”

I chuckled and dove back into searching. Teasing Noona was always fun.

—

“Chef Kang Tae-yeon’s booking is confirmed.”

I met Jung In-seon PD and Seo Na-hyun at a café again, this time near my place.

“Already?”

I’d sent the contract through a lawyer just yesterday.

We’d met only three days ago. This fast?

“We’re as shocked as you,” Jung PD said, scratching her cheek. “They set a condition, but we didn’t expect them to agree so quickly.”

“We think Chef Kang might already know you,” Seo Na-hyun added cautiously.

“Know me?”

I tilted my head. We had no connection—how would they know me?

“Your cooking streams are a big deal,” Jung PD said. “Your videos on YouTuber platforms have insane views.”

That was true. Elena’s uploads had over 10 million views, and Noona’s recent edits all hit 2 million.

Even crazier, my channel’s views were still climbing fast.

“Maybe they saw your videos. Or colleagues in the industry told them.”

“Your streams have made waves in the culinary world,” Seo added.

“I get that they might know me. But assuming that’s why they agreed feels like a stretch.”

“It’s thanks to you,” Jung PD said. “When I first contacted them, their vibe was like, ‘You’re really reaching out for YouTuberthisYouTuber? Persistent!’”

“…You’ve got it rough, PD-nim.”

“Surviving in broadcasting requires a thick skin.”

Jung PD smirked, sipping her espresso.

She’d been drinking that nonstop—her stomach okay?

“Anyway, back to it. Chef Kang was hesitant at first, but when your name came up, their attitude shifted.”

“How so?”

“Their voice brightened,” she said. “They mentioned being interested in you lately. So I said—”

“What?”

“That you’re not just a person, but a YouTuberYouTuberYouTuber.”

Her blunt words stunned me. Did I hear that right?

“…What?”

“What?”

“What?”

Jung PD tilted her head at my reaction. Seo Na-hyun looked equally baffled.

“You said that? Seriously?”

“Yeah. YouTubers are sensitive about terminology, right? Or not?”

“That’s true, but… did you YouTuberhaveYouTuber to say that right then?”

I’d sensed Jung PD was eccentric from the start, but this was next-level.

Is this what it takes to survive in broadcasting?

“Are you insane!?”

Seo Na-hyun, a beat late, shouted. Good thing the café was nearly empty.

“What if you offended Chef Kang with that?”

“Argh…”

She grabbed Jung PD’s collar, shaking her.

Jung, flopping side to side, was lucky she’d set her espresso down.

“It could’ve happened,” Jung said.

“But given your streams, it was a necessary step.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Don’t say nonsense again, or I won’t let it slide,” Seo warned.

Unfazed, Jung continued, “Your streams are in virtual reality, and you’re a YouTuber.”

“Right.”

“Virtual reality’s common now, but some still resist it—especially YouTubers.”

“I’m not exactly a typical YouTuber, though.”

“That depends on how you define it. The key is how you’re YouTuberperceivedYouTuber.”

She leaned forward.

“If someone uninterested in VR or streaming saw your show, would they see you as a YouTuber or a cooking streamer?”

“Probably a YouTuber first.”

“Exactly.”

Jung snapped her fingers.

“Someone like Chef Kang, earning three Michelin stars so young, likely has little interest in this space. They’ve dedicated their life to cooking.”

“Fair.”

“For someone like that to collab with a YouTuber in VR? That’s daunting. If they’re resistant to this world, what then?”

“So you called it out?”

Jung nodded slowly.

“Yes. It was a basic vetting step. Luckily, Chef Kang took my comment in stride.”

“Good…”

I started to nod, but something felt off.

It seemed fine on the surface, but something was amiss.

“Haryul-nim, don’t fall for it,” Seo Na-hyun said, sighing deeply.

“She had YouTubernoYouTuber such intention.”

I stopped, staring at Jung PD.

She avoided my gaze, looking down, then forced a smile.

“But Chef Kang said they’d study up on this! And the collab’s set, so all’s well, right?”

“Shall we call this request off?”

“…Sorry.”

My sharp glare prompted an immediate bow and apology.

“I don’t know if this’ll happen again, but be more careful.”

“Yes…”

Yura nearly got more unjust hate.

Anger flared, but Jung’s glum face softened it.

“If Writer-nim hadn’t spoken up, this could’ve ended warmly…”

“How could I lie to someone showing goodwill? That’s not polite.”

“Writer Seo, some truths are better left unknown. White lies, you know.”

“I wish I could go back to not knowing you, PD-nim…”

“Hey, why so serious~”

I stood, listening to their banter. Their eyes turned to me.

“We’ve talked enough. I’ll head out. Please handle everything as agreed.”

“No, YouTuberweYouTuber should be thanking you. It’s all on you now. You’ll satisfy Chef Kang, right?”

“…”

“Hello?”

“PD-nim, some truths are better left unknown.”

“What does that mean!?”

Her eyes shook wildly. I bowed and headed for the exit.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Take that.