《When the Regressed Dirty Spoon Becomes a Golden Spoon》 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 ¡ðIncreased fame ¡ðSomehow 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 ]¡¹ 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 clich¨¦d 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 ??? ? ?? 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.