Chapter 26 Joint Broadcast 5
After ending the stream, Dojun immediately checked the day’s performance stats.
[Peak concurrent viewers: 5,247]
[Total donations: 1,324,000 won]
Compared to the 30,000 viewers during the Lost Land stream, it was a modest result.
‘Aside from Lost Land, my name recognition is still low.’
Those 5,000 viewers hadn’t come purely for Phantom. They were there thanks to Virtue King’s influence. In reality, Dojun’s own viewer count was still under a thousand.
‘And once Lost Land ends, that number could drop even more.’
Right now, he was the hot new talent, drawing buzz. But in every field, nine out of ten rising stars fade just as quickly. For a rookie to achieve long-term success, three things were essential—besides talent:
Consistency. Luck. And connections.
Honestly, connections probably accounted for half of it.
Streaming was a job that thrived on attention. Until you established a solid foundation, you had to keep the momentum going—stay visible and stay talked about.
That’s why Dojun had done something uncharacteristic.
The idol group Miracle Idol’s member “Airi.”
He’d recognized her voice almost immediately.
She was a former coworker from a part-time job—real name Yoo I-yeon.
Now, she was a rising star in the streaming world and a beloved idol.
‘Maybe I didn’t need to drop her real name…’
Even just subtly hinting at their past would’ve drawn attention from her fanbase. But dropping her real name created a stronger hook.
He’d already gained traction from the joint stream with Virtue King, but Dojun needed a bigger push.
Still, he’d only revealed “Yeon,” which wasn’t enough to connect directly to Yoo I-yeon. Most wouldn’t be able to make the leap.
‘Let’s turn Miracle Idol’s fans into my fans.’
From one angle, it looked like he was using her to boost himself. And honestly, he was.
Virtue King and Airi had likely picked up on it.
‘As long as I don’t abuse that connection, it’s fine.’
It was clear the next stream would draw a larger crowd—fans of Virtue King, Miracle Idol, and Lost Land.
As long as Dojun delivered, those audiences would spread Phantom’s name like wildfire.
‘Until I’m fully established, I can’t afford to get complacent.’
Looking over his performance report, Dojun braced himself again, sharpening his focus.
Meanwhile, Airi was still live—busy explaining herself.
Guess the new guy always ends up carrying the team!
Airi-chan, your real name is Yeon~?
┗ So cute
┗┗ Even her name is pretty…
┗┗┗ I’m falling even deeper ♥♥♥
Wait, what’s going on? How do they know each other??
[‘Yeon’s Ex-Boyfriend Phantom’ has donated 10,000 won]
[Was he your ex or something??]
“No! He’s not my ex! I told you—I used to work part-time before I became a streamer, remember? I think he’s the younger coworker from back then… But how did he recognize me just from my voice?”
Even with such a similar voice, most people would’ve at least hesitated or tried to confirm.
But Dojun had called her name with complete certainty.
‘It really is Dojun…?’
The “younger coworker who used to clean up broken dishes” could only have been Kim Dojun.
They were the only two who’d worked at that place.
“I was already 20 then! And he’s two years younger! He was a minor!!”
He’s almost an adult now… that gives us hope
fr lol
Got it, Yeon~ you’re too cute~
Most fans didn’t actually believe there was anything between them.
They knew how serious Airi was about streaming.
Out of all four Miracle Idol members, Airi was the most dedicated. She streamed relentlessly and rarely took breaks.
Still, there were always a few who stirred up trouble. So Yoo I-yeon had to put her foot down clearly.
“Look, I’ll set up a collab stream with him soon, okay? So don’t go spamming personal questions in Phantom’s chat. We were just coworkers. That’s all. Sure, he’s kind of handsome, but seriously, just a younger acquaintance. End of story!”
Hmm… handsome, you say?
That kinda ruins your credibility lol
Okay, we’ll let it slide this once
While Airi struggled to explain herself, Virtue King—still hanging around on D-Stock—chimed in.
“Well, that might be your take… but I’ve seen you in real life, Airi. You’re seriously gorgeous. So even if you didn’t like Phantom, what if he had a big ol’ crush on you, huh?”
He was asking as a curious fan, not to stir up drama.
But Airi just scoffed.
“Him? Not a chance.”
Back when they worked together, Airi had been asked out by customers multiple times a week.
But Dojun? He was on another level.
While Airi might get hit on two or three times a week, Dojun got approached two or three times a day—often by women as beautiful as Airi herself.
And yet, Dojun had turned down every single one of them.
He was solely focused on making money.
‘He had family issues too… just like me.’
Airi’s own circumstances had been better, but only slightly.
She’d felt a sense of kinship with Dojun—two people hustling through hardship.
Romance was never even on the table.
And it still wasn’t.
‘I get why he mentioned me today.’
The Dojun she knew never acted rudely or caused trouble for others.
Even if it seemed casual, today’s name-drop had been a calculated move.
To anyone else, she’d have cut ties immediately.
But for Dojun, she was willing to leave the door open.
‘I’ll help you this time, Dojun.’
She had the power now.
And she believed, without a doubt, that Dojun was destined to succeed.
‘But when the time comes, you’ll owe me one.’
As a gleam flickered in her eyes, Virtue King shivered slightly.
Airi always wore a sweet smile on stream—but deep down, she was a snake with a hundred heads.
She was not someone to underestimate.
The next day.
For a high school senior, life after college entrance exams was absolute freedom.
Until winter break officially began, students just showed up until lunch and went home.
As soon as the morning classes ended, Dojun rushed to leave.
The reason was simple:
‘Lost Land server maintenance is over.’
All he could think about now was streaming.
But just as he was about to head out, someone called from behind.
“Kim Dojun! Huff… huff…”
Lee Junseong came running, panting heavily.
“What now? I’m in a hurry. I’ve got a stream.”
“Look at you—full-fledged streamer now. I just wanted to give you a quick heads-up.”
His tone was more serious than usual.
When Junseong spoke like this, it was usually solid advice.
So Dojun paused his rush and sat with him on the bleachers by the field.
“What is it?”
“It’s about yesterday’s collab.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
Dojun asked, but Junseong shook his head.
“Not wrong, exactly. Just a quick tip. I checked some of the community posts. You might see some ripple effects.”
Junseong was talking about fandom politics.
Regardless of Dojun’s performance, he had just shared the stage with two top-tier streamers—Virtue King and Airi.
“You really stood out yesterday. So yeah, you’ll definitely get a boost from the exposure.”
“That was the plan.”
Dojun already expected it.
“The influx will be huge. But you’re not firmly established yet. Some of those new viewers might try to control your stream.”
It was a common pitfall for newcomers.
After a high-profile collab, some rookies quickly burned out—unable to handle pressure from fans of bigger creators.
They’d start changing their stream style to avoid backlash, and end up losing themselves.
“The trick is to deflect and focus on your own thing. Don’t get pulled off course.”
At the end of the day, Junseong was just worried about him.
He then gave Dojun more detailed advice about dealing with fandom culture and awkward situations.
“Keep it in mind for today’s stream, okay?”
“I will. Thanks, Junseong.”
“I’ve got a family event today, so I’m off. I’ll tune in if I get the chance!”
Junseong quickly ran off toward a waiting car.
‘Thanks, Junseong.’
Even with a packed schedule, he’d taken the time to check in.
Dojun felt a warm gratitude settle in his chest.
Back home, he ate a quick lunch, then climbed into the capsule.
‘Let’s do this, Kim Dojun.’
For all the people rooting for him—for his family—he whispered a fighting spirit to himself as the stream began early.
[Phantom’s Game Stream Has Begun]
【Phantom’s Game Channel】
▶▶ The Man Who Got a Shoutout from the Lost Land Dev Team ◀◀
<Current Viewers: 5,321>
As the game launched, the audience poured in.
Over 5,000 people tuned in the moment he went live.
Last time, he’d started with just 1,000.
‘That’s an increase of 4,000 overnight.’
Before starting the broadcast feed, Dojun glanced at the chat.
Finally, we’re getting to the Lost Land mid-game arc!!
Been waiting for this forever!
Yesterday’s collab was amazing too, lol
Is this the guy who streamed with Virtue King and Airi?
┗ Yep.
┗┗ What’s his relationship with Airi??
┗┗┗ Whoa, his viewer numbers are nuts!
┗┗┗┗ This is almost on par with my boy Virtue King’s stream openers!
Clearly, most were here for the midgame transition from Behera Castle to Alteon.
Some international viewers were even popping in—proof of Lost Land’s global reach.
‘Looks like the Virtue King and Airi fans really showed up too.’
Dojun took a deep breath, remembering Junseong’s advice.
Then he switched on the broadcast feed.
“Hey everyone. It’s Phantom—the guy who got a shoutout from Lost Land’s developers.”
Legend 😂
Phantom!! Phantom!! Phantom!!
Phantom is the future!!
The man who even scares the AI
I heard the dev team hasn’t gone home in three days lol
So what’s your relationship with Airi-chan?
Being recognized by the game devs had definitely made an impact.
Lost Land was trending at #1 on SwitchTV.
Phantom was also the #1 rising streamer.
“I think I shocked the AI too much last time. I’d better go easy today, or the devs are gonna blacklist me.”
[##LostLand Dev Team## has donated 100,000 won]
[Please go easy on us… We haven’t been home in 4 days…]
“Thanks for the donation! Wait—are you really from the Lost Land dev team? Or just using the name?”
OMG! That’s the real deal!
Only devs affiliated with TL Games can use the ## tag. That’s legit.
They’re probably monitoring Phantom live just in case he breaks the game again, lol
[##LostLand Dev Team## has donated 100,000 won]
[This is Park Chang-sik, assistant manager on the dev team. We’re here to deliver the promised reward we mentioned in the notice.]
“Oh wow, it really is the dev team!? And a reward!?”
With a surprise appearance from the actual developers, the chat exploded with excitement.
The stream had only just begun, but the heat was already rising.
