Chapter 15
“Uh… Huh…? Com… Computer…?”
Click-click—
I moved the mouse and pressed the keyboard, but nothing worked. The computer made no sound, as if its life had ended, and the monitor was completely black.
Click—
Whirrrrr—
I pressed the power button, and thankfully, a blue light came on as the computer rebooted. Praising the computer that had returned from the dead, I looked at the monitor, now glowing brightly again.
Clicking the mouse, I entered Twitch and saw that the broadcast was still running. The chat was moving quickly, even though slow chat mode was on.
– What’s going on??
– Phew, I thought it crashed.
– ???
– Your expression is crazy right now.
“Expression…?”
Looking at the small screen on the monitor, I saw a woman with wide red eyes and a slightly open mouth, perfectly expressing ‘I’m surprised.’
I hurriedly wiped the expression from my face and tried to analyze the cause.
“Hmm… Why did it shut off…?”
– Maybe it was a bug or something?
“A bug…? Could a Twitch server bug make my computer shut off?”
– Haha, looks like a bug with the filter, LOL.
“………….”
I thought everything would be solved by turning on the webcam.
Aroalo— “I’ve banned that rude friend. Could it be an issue with your computer specs…?”
“Ban… Computer specs? I’m not really sure…? I just brought the one from home…”
With the help of viewers, I checked the specific specs of my computer.
– …Wow…
– How about donating it to a museum?
Aroalo— “…Your talent is overwhelming…”
“Uh… Is it really that bad…?”
– A 3-digit graphics card with an i5… hmm… let’s let it go.
“What? No way. I can’t afford that yet, computers and electronics are crazy expensive.”
– But seriously, this is the first time I’ve seen a computer crash from overload.
It was the computer I had used since childhood. Although I hadn’t done much with it, I had been fascinated by the way so many things could come out of that small box for a long time.
“So… If I run the game and the webcam at the same time… does it shut off…?”
– Dunno.
– It seems like it.
– Hahahahahaha, that’s hilarious.
“Then… I originally planned to just play games today, so… I’ll turn off the webcam…”
As soon as I turned off the webcam, the broadcast screen went black again.
– No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!
– Stop!
Aroalo donated 10,000 won!
– “Teacher, you can always play games. Please turn the webcam back on…”
“Wha…!”
A loud noise echoed painfully through my headset, making me quickly take it off and look at the screen.
“……Ten… thousand won…?”
I had earned 10,000 won in less than 30 minutes since the stream started.
“Just… wait a moment…!”
I hurriedly turned the webcam back on.
The broadcast screen, which had been completely black, now showed me, wide-eyed and staring at the screen, and the chat quickly started scrolling again.
– Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god! Aroalo is a god!
– Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess! Baraa is a goddess!
“Tha… Thank you for the 10,000 won…!”
After that, dozens of donations came in one after another, and my mental stamina was reaching its limit.
“Th… Thank you so much… A… Yeah… Cheongryeon-nim… Thank you for the 1,000 won…”
– Is she broken?
– Haha, getting scolded with money, LOL.
– She’s seriously cute.
The minority opinion asking to watch the game was quickly drowned out by the majority asking to keep the webcam on.
“Still, isn’t watching a game more fun than just looking at me…? There’s not much to enjoy by just looking at me… I’m not even good at talking…”
– Just staying still is healing.
– You’d probably earn a ton just by sitting still with the stream on.
– This is true healing… If you want to do a healing stream, at least be at this level…
– Seriously, that’s harsh.
“Um… Please don’t fight… Haah… So what should I do next?”
– QnA?
– Can you sing?
– QnA seems good.
– What’s that supposed to mean?
– Ah, I love this boom.
“Hmm… What’s that…?”
After listening to the viewers’ explanations, I thought about it for quite a while. If they asked about my identity, I wouldn’t know what to say.
“……I’ll only answer what I can.”
– Noted.
– Who suggested this! Show yourself!
– It was me!
– Well done!
I opened a notepad and quickly picked out some questions I could answer from the fast-moving chat and donations, filling the notepad as I went.
“Phew… I’ll stop taking questions here… Thank you so much to everyone who asked questions and donated…”
With my eagle-typing style, I somehow managed to jot down dozens of questions and began answering them one by one.
“My hair and eye color… This one… Hmm…”
The silver-haired woman’s eyes on the screen dimmed a bit with sadness. The viewers quickly expressed concern over the sudden change in atmosphere.
– If it’s too serious, you don’t have to answer.
Aroalo— “Is it related to why you disappeared?”
– Read the room, dude.
“Yes… I was hospitalized for a while… for a month…”
The chat quickly filled with messages of worry and comfort. I hadn’t even said much yet…
“The doctor said they didn’t know the cause… Um… When I woke up, I was like this… It’s hard to explain beyond that…”
With her frail fingers, she gently brushed through her white hair, as white as snow.
“So… next question…”
Su-yeon didn’t notice, but the chat had started to slow down. People were beginning to imagine their own interpretations, with more viewers starting to think of her as a pitiable figure.
What is this? This is more fun than I expected. Even though I was just spending time talking to people I didn’t know, the flood of attention and comfort seemed to fill a part of my heart that had been torn apart.
“Um… Why did I end the stream early last time… That’s because there was something I absolutely had to watch. Since I had been in the hospital for over a month, I couldn’t see it for a while… Haah…”
– ?? Is it like a TV show or something?
– What kind of show?
“That… is Chocoa.”
– ?
– What’s that??
– Did she mean cocoa?
No. Even if not many people were watching, I couldn’t believe so many people didn’t know. It was irritating.
Wait.
I started explaining Chocoa to the viewers.
“First of all, Chocoa is someone who streams here on Twitch! You absolutely have to watch! Her voice is so good, and just watching her is sooo healing…!”
– Wow, look at her eyes sparkle.
– Seriously, she’s a completely different person now.
– I just followed her, lol.
“Good job! Anyway, to continue the explanation! She started streaming about 7 months ago… Her birthday is July 12th! She mainly does chatting and singing streams, but she recently started playing Siege… I haven’t seen her camstream, but she’s got brown bobbed hair and sharp eyes, she’s really cool… Her height is undisclosed… But her voice is really husky, and the way she talks is super mature… She’s… just… watch her a lot…”
Wat…?
I think I know what I was about to say next. But no, that can’t be right, so I changed the word.
– Whoa, calm down.
– Do you like her too much??
– She’s been there since the beginning of her streams. She shows up as soon as the stream starts and is always present.
“…I’ll move on to the next question… Am I living in a semi-basement…? Yes… I moved to Seoul and I’m currently renting a semi-basement apartment.”
– Isn’t it tough living there?
“It was hard at first… but after a year, I’ve gotten used to it… But, um… I’m thinking about moving…”
I had actually been thinking about it quite seriously since my younger sister had mentioned it.
“I don’t have a washing machine, so I have to go to the laundromat tomorrow… Um…”
The laundry basket was already full.
“I might stream late tomorrow if I do stream…”
– Someone, please help her move.
– Nooo, my poor sister is living in poverty! TT TT TT TT TT
“Poverty…? That’s harsh… I just paid my rent with this week’s pay! The manager gave me a big bonus!”
– Is it the Starbucks café you mentioned you’re working at?
Flinch.
“Uh… How did you know…?”
– There were a bunch of photos on your Instagram?
– ???? Found it immediately.
– Wow, I’m so jealous I don’t live in Seoul. I’d love to see
you in real life.
“……….”
Aroalo— “May I come visit?”
– Wow, the light of the sun shines even on Aroalo.
– Is she finally going to step outside…!
“Hmmm… You can come as long as you’re a customer… As long as you don’t disturb my work… I don’t mind?”
– Let’s gooooooo!
– Chargeeeeeee!
“Just so you know, I work from 9 AM to 3 PM.”
9 AM to 3 PM!
***
???POV
9 AM to 3 PM…
Looking at the flustered streamer on the large screen, I tapped my fingers on the desk in a regular rhythm.
Although the other viewers were making sarcastic comments, I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I went outside. I had spent too much time as nothing but an internet ghost and a Siege ghost.
“Um… It’s almost 6 PM now… I’m going to watch Chocoa… Do you want to watch with me?”
The streamer’s eyes sparkled again as she asked.
