“… here you go.”
I casually picked it up and handed it over.
Soo-ah, whose cheeks were already tinged red, received the item while staring at the ground.
Then she started mumbling.
Wondering what she was saying, I held my breath and listened carefully, barely making out her soft voice.
“I’m trash… I’m trash… I’m the world record holder for fastest elimination as a potential love interest… You’re still my number one… don’t look for me…”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“The Daeju-dan who left harassment comments… the stalker who reported locations in real-time… the pervert who sent underwear photos… the lewd woman who imagined intercourse… wow… straight to jail for 5 years without questions when sued. Totally possible, super possible…”
“You’ve completely lost it…”
Her voice was weak, and her body was trembling.
It was like watching someone turn into a zombie in a horror movie. Though maybe it was more like watching someone transform from cosplaying as a normal person into a Daeju-dan.
At least the content of her current mumblings resembled ‘that’ aspect of the Daeju-dan.
You know, how they act when leaving toxic chat messages.
“You don’t understand, Daeju-nim… I’m completely fu*ked!”
She suddenly screamed and slumped down in the corner of the stairway.
I was worried and tried to help her up, feeling uncertain, but the collapsed Soo-ah had tears welling up in her eyes.
Wait, why suddenly?
This seemed more like a situation where I should be the one collapsing, but what exactly was going on?
I was the one who was confused.
“Um, please get up…”
“Leave me here, I’m the defeated heroine… Rather than eating kimchi stew at Daeju-nim’s house… I’m a woman who belongs sitting on stairs, listening to Daeju-nim’s voice from afar… a background character, a defeated heroine, the kind who spends nights listening to Daeju-nim’s voice through the phone after their defeat…”
“…This is kind of scary.”
The Daeju-dan aura was slowly seeping into her manner of speaking.
And I could sense a dark energy too.
The energy of the dark side.
That same energy I felt when I met genuine Daeju-dan on my Tgether.
“Daeju-nim wouldn’t understand the feelings of a shut-in-loner-delusional-girl like me.”
“…? I think I actually might…”
“Ah, anyway, you don’t understand!”
While I might not understand the delusions part, I was actually the most fitting person for all the other descriptors.
Soo-ah seemed to realize this belatedly and threw out that “anyway.” Who was she to discuss being a shut-in loner in front of me? Acting like some socialite when she even works outside as a part-timer.
Still, I couldn’t understand why she was suddenly acting like this.
This was supposed to be a gender-reversed world, but she was suddenly acting like a woman out of nowhere, which was quite awkward.
Should I comfort her since she’s crying? But how do I comfort someone? In the end, unable to figure out what to do, I decided to quietly listen to what Soo-ah had to say as she sat slumped on the stairs.
“Honestly, I couldn’t help but get too invested… Think about it.”
“?”
“Daeju-nim suddenly became so popular. Doing collabs with Yeonhee, having fun in chat, honestly, I was a bit disappointed that things went so well… when you used to be just my Daeju-nim.”
“…”
What’s that supposed to mean.
The atmosphere was serious so I kept listening, but the content was nonsensical. How should I put it – it felt like hearing a Daeju-dan’s perverted inner thoughts through voice instead of chat. I looked at her with incredulous eyes, but since she was speaking while on the verge of tears, I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.
Well, I could have interrupted, but they say you shouldn’t agitate crazy people.
Let’s just listen quietly for now.
If things seem dangerous, I’ll call the police or Geum Taeyang or Se-na.
Seeing how she subdued those four high school girls last time, she could probably subdue this one too. Me? Subdue her? That’s scary.
“That’s when! I met Daeju-nim. At the convenience store where I worked. Can you believe it? This was no different from my favorite idol appearing at my workplace!”
Her words were coming out faster and faster like machine gun fire, but one thing was certain – 99% of it was nonsense.
“But I’m not an idol…”
“Idols, streamers! They’re similar enough! Does that matter?”
“They’re different.”
She shouted words that would earn her a beating from every idol fan in the world.
I made a shushing gesture with my finger since we were in an apartment stairwell, and she did nod in response. But she’d probably still shout. She definitely would.
I didn’t think these emotions would subside easily.
These emotions could only be described as madness, nothing else.
“Even that wasn’t our last meeting. I saw Daeju-nim when you went for the collab stream, when you ran into that woman from Geum Taeyang… I was always there.”
“Come to think of it…”
“Right? This must be an incredible destiny! I mean, Daeju-nim barely leaves home, being the Room-Yeopo[1] that you are! Isn’t it like fate that I saw you every time you went out?”
“I guess that’s true…”
I calmed down the excited girl again.
Thinking about it, we did meet unusually often. While I’ve been going out more frequently lately by my standards, I really didn’t go out much in the early days of streaming. Yet somehow, I remember running into her almost every time I did go out.
“Then I got fired from the convenience store, and I thought I might never see you again. That’s why I… uploaded that photo.”
“The underwear photo?”
“…Yes, since you’re not the type to come to a clothing store, I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet you anymore, so I wanted to at least show you my body… I’m sorry, that was practically a crime…”
It probably wasn’t just ‘practically’ a crime.
If someone looked into it, it would definitely violate some law. Obviously, I wouldn’t report something like that, but the screws in Soo-ah’s head that led to such a decision were clearly loose.
This time she was drooping again with tears welling up, perhaps from feeling apologetic.
At this point, I feel like I should be the one crying.
Aren’t I the victim here?
Unfortunately, having dried-up tear ducts, I couldn’t cry, so it felt like I’d somehow lost the victim position to the other party.
Soo-ah calmed her breathing and spoke.
“But then we met at the clothing store yesterday. Don’t you think this could be fate? I’m free to imagine, right?”
“Ah, yes, yes, of course…”
“And we even exchanged contact information… I thought maybe I could be a heroine candidate?”
I couldn’t understand this heroine candidate part.
My head was spinning from her speaking in real life like she was typing in chat. Even if I could hear the words, they were sentences I couldn’t comprehend. What’s this about being a heroine candidate?
“But it’s meaningless now… I’m finished…”
Soo-ah slumped back into the corner, dejected again.
Then I noticed a gaze. A woman was slightly opening her door and looking back and forth between us.
We’d caused a disturbance after all. With no choice, I pulled Soo-ah’s hand and brought her to my one-room apartment.
Naturally, being led in, Soo-ah panicked.
“Ah, right.”
The chat was in an even bigger panic.
[●??■???? Let’s lie down~]
[Says he’s bringing someone but taking forever~●??■????]
[How do you report an AFK stream?]
[Neglect play… might not be bad?]
[You’re sick, you bastard]
[Wait, can’t you hear Daeju’s voice?]
[That’s just your imagination lol]
Ah, this is bad.
What I said would be quick ended up taking way longer because of all this talking.
Feeling somewhat wronged, I glared at Soo-ah with a look that said ‘this is your fault’ as I watched the already chaotic chat. Only then did she seem to remember why she came here and my request, lowering her head deeply.
But I wasn’t in a mood to be appeased by a mere bow right now.
“Everyone, I’m really sorry for the delay. We’ll start right away.”
I jumped into the camera’s view from its blind spot where I’d been watching the chat, and gestured to Soo-ah.
Soo-ah was hesitating, but when I glared at her, she quickly followed my gesture and entered the camera frame.
[Holy shit she’s here]
[Choose: Do you want to die? Or do you want to die? Pick one]
[The person he brought is a woman? If this suddenly drifts into a different broadcast genre I’d approve]
[This makes me angry though, unsubscribing even though I wasn’t subscribed]
[A broadcast with a host who looks even more delicious than the delicious food]
Looking at the time, about 30 minutes had passed.
I hurriedly ladled some into a random bowl and handed it to Soo-ah.
Soo-ah received the bowl and stood there blankly.
[Let the criminal receive their death penalty]
[What crime has this criminal committed?]
[The crime of loving Daeju too much]
[That’s a serious offense…]
[You’re a les*bian if you don’t down it in one shot]
[What kind of idiot downs kimchi stew in one shot?!]
Soo-ah gulped.
Rather than salivating because it looked delicious, her expression showed tension from her first broadcast appearance and something that looked like determination, as if she’d resolved to do well on the broadcast.
Why?
“Right, this is a chance… to atone even a little…”
Though I didn’t know what she saw as a chance, it made me uneasy, but I decided to leave it to her for now.
At least the viewers were enjoying it.
She put down the spoon I had prepared. Then, as if really drinking a death penalty potion, she lifted the bowl with both hands.
She’s not really going to do it, right?
She lifted the bowl and really drank it.
The kimchi stew.
“Why would you go that far?”
[LOL LOL LOL she actually drank it like that?]
[Daeju, what happens if you bring in someone who should be on ‘Unbelievable Stories’?][2]
[She’s more dedicated to broadcasting than Daeju]
[But this isn’t about Daeju being casual, it’s more like she’s trying way too hard?]
“…It was delicious.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Where she put down the bowl, only the solid ingredients of the kimchi stew remained, with all the broth gone.
The way she vigorously drank it and roughly wiped her lips made me wonder if she’d actually drunk makgeolli[3], but I shouldn’t be mistaken.
This person didn’t just drink something ordinary.
By the way, I’m grateful that she actually tasted it and said it was delicious.
That part I appreciated.
“…Anyway, you admit it, right? That my cooking turned out well?”
[After watching someone drink it like that right in front of you, hard not to admit it]
[Gotta acknowledge the effort]
[Keep it up!]
[You can do it! Fighting!]
Mysterious messages of encouragement poured in for Soo-ah.
* * *
(End of Chapter)
T/N:
- Room-Yeopo: A play on “Yeopo” (a historical Chinese general known for his strength) and “room” in English, meaning a shut-in
- “Unbelievable Stories” refers to a Korean TV show that features unusual real-life stories
- Makgeolli: Korean rice wine
