Chapter 19
1.
‘Let's get something to drink.’
Since I was still a tiny streamer, it would take a while for viewers to trickle in anyway. And it was morning, too.
While I waited, I took out the last energy drink and poured it into a glass full of ice.
Glug—
As the sweet caffeine seeped into my body, the corners of my mouth curled up.
“Ah, I really need to order more….”
There weren't any energy drinks left in the fridge now. I figured I could order more and get by on those and tteokbokki for the rest of the month.
└[Maintain and Adjust Appearance · Weight Optimization] [◉]
Normally, I would've worried about putting on weight, but I had this cheat, didn't I? So I could eat as much as I wanted without a problem.
Glug—
I sipped my energy drink as I sat down. I put on my headset and was smiling as I looked at the screen when…
-Where'd Mom go… Where'd Mom go… Where'd Mom go…
-I'm so cold… I'm so cold… I'm so cold… I'm so cold…
-This tiny-ass streamer is crazy. She didn't even put on music before leaving
-Even big streamers play waiting-room music, but this tiny streamer just left without any music or background? She just left the avatar standing there? lol… The world sure has changed lol
“Uh…?”
The chat was flying by at a crazy speed. Maybe it was because I didn't have a moderator at all. The screen was instantly buried in spam and insults.
“W-what…? Wh-why is it moving so fast?”
The moment I checked the viewer count without thinking, my whole body froze.
「1,544 viewers……」
“Eek!?”
The number was almost the same as the number of viewers I'd abandoned yesterday. And considering it was morning and I hadn't been streaming for very long…
‘It's going to go even higher from here?’
I stared blankly at the monitor.
-Oh, she moved her avatar just now.
-Why aren't you saying hi? Why aren't you saying hi? Why aren't you saying hi?
-You're flustered, huh lol?
-Look at her face lol She's scared lol
“Eep….”
The viewers must've been watching my stream the whole time, because they reacted immediately.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
I bit my lip and tapped the desk a few times with my fingers. How could I get these people to leave me alone?
‘Let's try what I did yesterday first….’
「The stream has ended.」
「The stream has started.」
-Ah, she's doing this shit again
-Shit;; Stream-ending dodge!!! Take cover!!!
-Cut it out, you fucking bitch!!!
「The stream has ended.」
[The stream has started.」
-We're never~~ leaving
-We're absolutely not doing what you want, yeah
-All right, let's see this through to the end lol
-Haven't felt my blood boil like this in a while lol
I kept turning the stream on, off, and back on again at intervals of about thirty seconds, but the viewers just wouldn't go down.
「1,643 viewers……」
If anything, maybe word had spread somewhere, because there were even more viewers now.
“Ah….”
I slowly lowered my hand from the mouse.
Only then did I realize.
None of this was accomplishing anything. No, the harder I tried to drive them away, the worse things got.
The viewer count kept climbing, and the mood got even more hostile. If it had felt like WWE a moment ago, should I call this UFC now?
How could I fix this mess? As I sipped my energy drink and thought, a brilliant idea came to me.
‘This might work….’
I immediately put every modern convenience and cutting-edge technology to work writing a script. Once I'd made something that seemed pretty convincing…
Gulp—
I swallowed dryly and turned on the mic.
“H-hello… e-everyone… g-good morning….”
-She finally turned on the fucking mic
-Good morning? Good morning? Good morning? Good morning?
-It's a bad morning because of you???
-It's still nighttime, though?
“H-how was your day, everyone…? I-I had some tteokbokki before turning on the stream….”
I kept talking as calmly as if nothing had happened. My voice was a little shaky, of course, but that should be fine.
-God, fucking power struggle
-Power struggle mode on
-This bitch acts all scared but she's constantly trying to one-up us
“A-a power struggle? I-I haven't done anything like that. Y-you're the ones who started a whole power struggle with me….”
I was looking at the chat when I saw something unfair, so I had to clear things up.
-???
-Look, you're still trying to one-up us right now
-What did we do?
“I-I asked you to leave… but y-you stayed in the stream no matter what… How is that not a power struggle…?”
-;;
-Is she crazy…?
-Unbelievable~~~~~~~~
💸 [Nickname: Anonymous] donated
🪙 10,000G!
💬 So why did you keep turning the stream off and on, pissing us off? ㅇㅅㅇ;;
“Gasp…! T-ten thousand won… Th-thank youuu…!”
I jumped up from my chair and bowed over and over.
-Does this stream not have a donation reaction?
-She's overreacting way too much over just 10,000 won lol…
-For real lol
-This stream has generous reactions, yeah;;
“I-I don't have a donation reaction yet… And you say it's just 10,000 won…? ‘BulletMomma,’ y-you're watching for free… so d-don't you think you're in no position to say that?”
-Whoa;;
-Are we already at stage three?
-Vicious mode—
-For real lol These free-viewing bitches are crazy???
“And do you know h-how hard it is to earn 10,000 won…? I-I got paid 130,000 won for an overnight loading shift… and I-I was bedridden for days afterward… Ugh….”
I shuddered. I'd actually tried construction work, too, but loading and unloading was no job for a human being.
-You worked an overnight loading shift? A woman?
-She worked hard to survive lol
-I bet all you did was scan barcodes and move boxes. Quit whining lol
-I was fucking jealous when I saw that, damn…
I tilted my head.
“I-I didn't, though? I… climbed inside a container truck and… loaded it….”
-For real???
-Don't they usually not make women do that?
-What, was this a guy using a female avatar???
-Aren't you supposed to be ugly? I heard they make you do it if you're really ugly lol
-That's it
“Huh? Y-you're asking if I went because I was ugly?”
I turned to look at the mirror beside me. No matter how I looked, I didn't seem like someone who'd be called ugly. If anything, I had the kind of face that could belong to a celebrity or model.
“Mm… I-I don't think that's it… At least, I-I think I'm really pretty….”
-Lol what is with the princess syndrome?
-Her narcissism is unreal;;
-If you think you're pretty, that means you're objectively not, yeah;;
-Come on~~ Ritham~~ I only watch you for the entertainment~~
-Ritham~ Please learn how to dress yourself~ Come on~~~ Go outside and meet a man or something…
“Ugh, you guys are seriously fucking gross….”
Even after seeing them again, I just couldn't get used to these comments. It wasn't merely that they made me feel bad; it was like my body rejected them before I could even think.
💸 [Nickname: Anonymous] donated
🪙 10,000G!
💬 No, seriously, why did you keep turning the stream off and on, damn it;; Were you fishing for donations? Damn;;
“Th-thank you so much for the 10,000-won donation…!”
I got up from my chair again and bowed repeatedly.
“Ah, I-it wasn't to fish for donations… I got sidetracked while talking and forgot… Uh, so… that's why… uh….”
I paused for a moment, then said:
“What was the reason again…?”
-????
-Huh???
-What the;;
-Do you want to fucking die?
-What was it… again…?
“I-I was joking. The reason I kept turning the stream off and on wasn't actually to make you leave…! Waaah…!”
I clapped my hands and tried to get myself hyped up.
-?
-Then what was it?
-Huh?
I glanced at the script I'd put up on my second monitor and started reading it as naturally as I could.
“That's right. You hit the heart of it exactly. Turning off the stream wasn't simply a way to make you leave. It was a sophisticated device for measuring the durability of your affection. Those of you who stayed until the end passed the emotional trial I'd designed, so you can be considered verified, genuine viewers.”
-Shit;; What's with the way she talks?
-She suddenly stopped stuttering…
-Wow, you really hit the *heart* of it…
-Those words are so profound…
-This bitch seriously used AI for this;;;
I'd done my best to polish it so it wouldn't be obvious, but the viewers immediately figured out where it came from. Maybe it was because I'd been trying to make do with the free version.
“N-now you understand, right? The f-feelings behind why I did all that…? Y-you're the chosen ones now….”
But with stuff like this, it's all about confidence.
-Wow lol
-We were chosen~
-What are we, the chosen children???
-A selection process, my ass lol What a load of nonsense
And, just as I'd expected, the viewers didn't seem too upset.
💸 [Nickname: Anonymous] donated
🪙 1,000G!
💬 So what are we doing now?
“Thanks for the 1,000-won donation. What are we doing now? W-well, that's a good question. What should we do now…?”
I zoned out for a moment, then said:
“W-we don't have anything to do. Should I end the stream?”
-?
-Don't say stupid shit
-What are you saying, Bullet-bullet…
“Tsk….”
The viewers didn't react very well, so I had no choice but to take that back.
“Since this is a tournament, it feels a bit awkward to do anything else… so I'll practice my aim and characters for a while….”
After saying that, I entered an aim-training room made by players. Then my closed-door training began.
***
“Phew….”
After taking out the aim bot in front of me, I reached for my cup. I tilted it to take a drink, but there was no energy drink inside.
“I finished it….”
My neck and shoulders felt a little stiff.
‘How many hours have I been at this…?’
I zoned out for a moment, feeling a little tired, then turned my eyes to the right. The chat came into view, and I couldn't help but jump in surprise.
-Ah, fuck, cut it out already
-I think I'm going insane… I think I'm going insane… I think I'm going insane… I think I'm going insane… I think I'm going insane… I think I'm going insane… I think I'm going insane…
-Ding ding ding~ Enemy eliminated… Ding ding ding~ Enemy eliminated… Ding ding ding~ Enemy eliminated… Ding ding ding~ Enemy eliminated…
-She's been doing this for six straight hours. What a stubborn bitch…
-Look at the chat, you fucking idiot
-Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack… Rrrk, clack…
Because the chat was a complete mess.
“Uh….”
I stared at it blankly, then said:
“H-hello…?”
-So you finally looked over here…?
-Took you long enough
-At this rate, am I going to turn into that old man?
“Oh, right. I'm streaming….”
I'd been so focused that I hadn't even noticed. Maybe my focus really had become something else since I switched into this body.
-Oh, right, she was streaming???
-Hey, you fucking bitch…
-This one's seriously nuts;;;
「845 viewers……」
When I checked the viewer count, it was down by over a thousand from this morning.
“Oh….”
Still, the number of viewers had gone down, so that was good. Very good.
“Wow, but it's already this late?”
I'm pretty sure it was around 11 a.m. when I started streaming, but now it was already 5 p.m. We had a scrim scheduled for six, so my teammates would be logging on soon.
“Uh, then… I'll stop practicing this now.”
-Phew…
-Finally, damn;;
-Thank you… Thank you… Thank you…
Just as I left the aim-training room…
[Aim Assist Level Up!]
[Aim Assist - Lv.1 → Lv.2]
“Huh…?”
The words appeared before my eyes. My pupils shook as I read them.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
Was it because of the aim practice? Or the donations or viewers? I wasn't sure. But there was one thing I knew for certain…
‘I should check how it works, right?’
「Entering the aim-training room.」
-Ah, fuuuuuuuuucking hell!!!!!!!!!!!!
-You fucking bitch!!!!!!!!!!!
-Ah…