CH 1.1

“Mmmm….”

The texture of the futon that covers me is so soft today, I realize as I roll over onto my side, wondering if I should stay asleep for just a little bit longer.

The birds chirping outside my window, my body feeling strangely refreshed, my eyes not feeling so heavy when I open them….

‘Oh, I’m dead….’

An intense sense of awareness. I fumble for my phone on the nightstand, but the screen won’t turn on. I hastily plug the charger into the black LCD phone and turn it on.

The phone instantly lights up and vibrates.

Ping.

[Message]

Support Manager: Ms. Yunsul, Chanel sent you a gift this time, can I send it to you via Quick today?

[Kakao Talk]

You have 999+ unread messages

[Email]

[Advertisement] Suggestion for cooperation. Girl Group Diet Supplement Request

[Subscription Request] Romance and production staff is finally out.

[SS Season New Ad Request] This is Sandra, a brand.

[Youstagram]

-Annie Please check my DM at least once…

-sinr0zrkaj is following you

-muse_my_seul is now following you.

-Yoonseul, you came to Cheongdam New York Bagel yesterday, right? I think I saw you! That’s too bad… I should have said hello!

-Illill11 is following you

-YYCSTA77 is following you

It’s not uncommon for my phone’s battery to drain quickly due to notifications.

As I’m enjoying the texture of my fluffy bed and contemplating the perfectly reasonable idea of skipping first period because I’m already late, another bright alarm pops up in front of me.

Ting-ding.

“System

“Mission: Main]

Don’t be a talking potato, be a smart potato.

Upload your scholarship photo to Youstagram this semester!

Rewards

○Increased fame

○Somehow I’m jealous of this person…. A 30%+ increase in the chance that a random social media user will follow you (randomization rate: 3-50%).

Would you like to accept?

[ Yes ] [ No ]」

This is insane. I rolled my eyes at the unbelievable combination of letters.

‘Well, whatever, I can’t let myself take a day off.’

I quickly hit the Yes button on the unsightly status window and closed it. New notifications were still flashing across the screen of the phone in my hand.

I took a deep breath, closed my phone, and ran to the bathroom. With a glimmer of hope that I might not be late.

“20 minutes to first period!”

Faster, faster, fasteer. I’ll try to get through first period with the mindset of a Korean.

* * *

I opened my eyes and found myself back in the past.

That’s the beginning of a clichéd sentence. But I don’t know how to say it. I was 25 years old, and one day in January I fell down on Riverside North Road. The reason is simple. I didn’t have enough money to buy a camera.

“Huh…?”

I had unknowingly tilted my body slightly to catch my falling mirrorless camera, and in the blink of an eye, I was plummeting downward.

“Ahhhhhh!”

In my foggy mind, I didn’t even realize I was dying, just the cold wind on my cheeks and the all-too-real thoughts of a good day’s work.

This camera is the only one I bought used. Is the warranty out? How much will it cost to fix it? I may have to buy a lens for the flooded camera, and the management fee went up this month, so I won’t have enough money to buy a lens-‘

Splash!

With a loud bang, my body was sucked into the cold water. The strap of my old mirrorless camera felt numb in my fingertips.

I’m falling into the Han River in this freezing cold just to get this………’

Yes, there was a time when the word “influencer” wasn’t even a word. In fact, there was a strong feeling that people laughed at the idea of being a ‘creator’ or ‘influencer’.

[anonymous message board].

I’m tired of being advertised on intuber these days (comment 103)

It’s called influencer, but I don’t know why…. I don’t know why I’m called an influencer, but I don’t know why I’m called an influencer.

-Who are you;; It’s like companies have lost their touch.

-She’s pretty enough, right? She has good skin and harmonizes well.

-I’m embarrassed that she’s advertising while she’s exaggerating.

˪22222 The empathy level ㅋㅋㅋ ㅋ ㅠㅠ She’s not even a celebrity.

˪999These days, the editor says he’s just a manager. LOL Some people think they’re really a celebrity.

˪PhonyYein

-Just leave her alone. She just wants attention.

-That’s true, but there are some good things about her.

-Her face isn’t even that pretty, but the luxury brands are the best.

˪Is that a personal attack?

˪It’s not that bad, don’t say any more, just walk by~.

But the world has changed so quickly. Nowadays, instead of searching the Internet before buying something, we’re more likely to check it out on social media, InTube, and Youstagram.

It’s not uncommon to buy a new product.

“Yep, hello our apple babies, today’s new ANPLE! So I tried the phone first, and it’s the most amazingly designed foldable ANPLE New X. Here’s a sneak-peek!”

Or the person using it is overwhelmingly beautiful.

“Today’s makeup look is a cool summer shade with a light pink undertone, perfect for viewing the cherry blossoms.”

(*Contains paid ads)

-This video is in partnership with the brand Henra.

Long time viewership.

“Finally my little one starts kindergarten! Thank you so much aunts and uncles. I’ll be able to afford the snacks my sprout eats.”

Now that I only buy things that these people recommend, promote, and talk about, being an influencer has become more of a profession than a job. It’s a job that everybody wants to be because it looks easy and it’s because it looks like everybody can do it.

[Korea Tourism Organization, Recruiting College Student Influencers for Korea Travel Journalists]

[KIDS INTUBERS, Hundreds of Millions of Advertising Dollars for a Single Video… Becoming Building Owners]

[Estimated Annual Salary of Top 100 Korean Influencers].

“Influencer has become the No. 1 career choice for elementary school students. According to the National Tax Service on Dec. 12, the annual income of the top 1% of influencers was 18.25 billion won….”

Yes. I’ll say it honestly. I also wanted to be an influencer. Even though I only have 513 subscribers….’

Anyway, 25-year-old Seo Yoonseul, who resisted the urge to eat a caramel macchiato and drank an Americano because she couldn’t afford 800 won, was more worried about the cost of repairing her camera than the hospital bill even at the moment of the fall.

If I get sick, I can’t go to the hospital.

She hasn’t been to the hospital since her father’s business went bankrupt.

Everything in this world has a price. Five thousand three hundred won for the doctor. Twenty thousand won for medicine. Another 20,000 won for injections. That’s more than half of my weekend job at a grocery store.

So if I drown, I won’t be able to go to the hospital.