Chapter 16

Please read the author’s note. Thank you.

The current number of viewers is about 1,300.

It started at close to 1,000, but instead of decreasing as time passed, the number of viewers had only increased.

“Would you like to go see it together?”

-Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes

-If you put it that way, how can we not go?

-We need to at least hear the voice of the person who stole our Noona’s heart.

“Oh… stealing a heart… oh dear…”

Chocoa was good at running the stream.

Although her viewer count was always low, she maintained a steady conversation with both new and longtime viewers like me, thanks to her calm atmosphere.

But 1,300 viewers? That’s a bit much.

Even now, as I try to read the chat, more messages flood in before I can finish reading one.

If all these people hosted Chocoa’s stream, I could clearly imagine Chocoa making a troubled face.

… I’m a little curious…

“…!”

I forcibly shook off the bad thought that crossed my mind and addressed the viewers with only five minutes left.

I told them that if they plan to watch Chocoa’s stream together, they shouldn’t make her uncomfortable.

I warned that if they insulted Chocoa or disrupted her stream just because they didn’t like me, I’d get really angry.

“Phew… alright, I’m turning off the stream now, so only come over if you’re interested. Tomorrow, I might start a bit late, even if I do turn it on.”

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Don’t gooo

-‘Time has, stopped.’

“Stop saying weird things.”

I waved slightly toward the camera and ended the stream.

“………”

As the house suddenly became quiet, I took off my headset.

The moment I removed it, I heard a familiar notification sound.

Turning off the computer, I checked Twitch on my phone.

“I wonder… what is it…?”

Unfortunately, today’s stream screen was black, possibly because she wasn’t planning to turn on her camera, but from her tone, I could already guess her expression.

I smiled unconsciously as I started preparing dinner.

I didn’t eat ramen often, as I’d told my younger sister countless times.

I only made ramen when I was really busy or had nothing else to eat.

Now, I was simply preparing a small cup of ramen for a quick meal, boiling water.

ㅇㅇㄴ!ㅇㅇㄴ!ㅇㅇㄴ!

***
??? POV

“Uuugh…”

On a day when I still had a few weeks left to get stronger as a college student, I naturally woke up around 11 a.m.

As always, I stretched once, then snuggled back under the cozy blankets.

“…….”

Like any modern person, I turned on my phone to check what was happening in the world.

Luckily, since I used my phone last night, the brightness was already set to the lowest, so there was no harsh glare.

There wasn’t anything particularly interesting, but I didn’t have much to do even if I got up.

-You brat! You need to eat! Wake up!

“Yes…”

Rustle—rustle—

As I threw off the blankets and placed my feet on the floor, I felt the warmth of the boiler-heated floor.

I decided to leave the blanket as it was and opened the door to step out.

“Yawn~… Where’s dad…?”

“He went to work, hurry and eat.”

“Yes…”

I didn’t have any other family.

It was just me, my mom, and my dad.

A simple family structure, but I can confidently say that we lived quite happily.

Being an only child, there were times I felt lonely, but because I was the only child, I received a lot of love from my family.

Perhaps because of that, I could tell that I looked decent.

At 166 cm, I was fairly tall, and aside from my sharp eyes, I thought I was quite pretty.

“Nom…”

I’d never had a boyfriend.

Thanks to my looks, I’d received plenty of confessions throughout middle and high school.

There was a classmate who approached, saying they’d liked me for a long time, and a delinquent with bleached blond hair who boasted about himself before confessing to me.

But I hated it.

It felt like they all only confessed because of my face.

I rejected all the confessions and attended a nearby college.

Even in college, seniors hit on me, and younger students drunkenly confessed, but I never felt anything for anyone.

After some time in college, perhaps due to my sharp eyes, I earned a strange nickname: The Ice Witch.

It was childish, but I didn’t mind it because it reduced the number of people who approached me.

As I passed through my second year, I started feeling a bit bored.

I had fewer people to contact, and no one approached me.

However, changing my personality didn’t feel right, as it was just who I was.

So, I started streaming.

At first, no one came.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and still no one came to see me.

Just when I thought I should end the stream, someone visited.

Baraa, my first and longest viewer.

If it hadn’t been for him, I might have quit streaming altogether.

We exchanged awkward greetings and slowly started sharing our stories.

He was the eldest son who came to the city to earn tuition money for his sibling studying in Seoul.

A kind person, a bright person, and someone who understood me.

Even his username was similar to mine: Chocoa, Baraa.

When I asked out of curiosity, he said he just wanted something sweet that day and picked the first thing that came to mind—vanilla ice cream.

Baraa – Why are you called Chocoa?

-Oh… um… I just wanted something sweet too… chocolate ice cream.

“Thank you for the meal…”

After tidying up the dishes and the table, I headed to the bathroom.

I washed my face with cold water, and when I came out, it was already close to noon.

I could’ve started the stream now, but I felt lazy.

I’ll sleep more…

The day of a college student on break flew by quickly.

“….Daughter… shouldn’t you start your stream now…?”

“Mmm… what time is it…?”

“It’s almost 6 o’clock.”

“Oh.”

Looking at the time, it was indeed just before 6.

5:50 p.m. to be exact.

There was no time for makeup, so I quickly sat down at the computer.

My family already knew well that I streamed.

In the past, they’d sometimes barged in while I was streaming, but nowadays, they occasionally popped in unexpectedly if they were bored.

I didn’t mind too much, since it was fun sometimes, but I made sure to lock the door when I had the camera on.

There was a close call once when my parents’ faces almost got exposed.

At first, I had only used a headset for streaming, but as it became more fun and I gained more viewers, my computer setup gradually became cluttered.

Now, I have a big broadcasting microphone and two monitors.

I pressed the power button, and the expensive computer, with its bright lights, came to life.

I plugged in my familiar earbuds, asked my mom to bring me a glass of water, and put the earbuds in my ears.

“Thanks… slurp…”

I took a sip of lukewarm water and moved the mouse.

It was already a little past 6 p.m.

In a hurry, I opened Twitch and started the stream.

“I wonder… what is this…?”

Something was off.

The usual number of viewers I maintained was in the 100s, but now there were 700 people watching.

I quickly checked the chat to understand what was happening.

I worried that it might all be viewbots deployed to shut down my stream, but looking at the chat…

-Wow, this is the place, huh?

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This reaction is fun tooㅋㅋ

-Is this the stream that stole Baraa’s heart?

-Choa

“………”

Some familiar names appeared, but there were far more new people.

Considering that everyone was chatting, it didn’t seem like viewbots.

But why had 700 people suddenly gathered in this small stream?

The chat kept mentioning Baraa.

Could it be that Baraa had promoted my stream recently?

“Why… why is everyone here…?”

-She advertised your stream really hard.

-For real, she really likes it.

“Huh…? Baraa…?”

Baraa – Hello, I found your stream surprisingly fun.

“Oh… um… that’s a relief… give me a moment, okay?”

I switched to a simple broadcast screen I’d received as a gift from a viewer, and the scenery of my room was revealed, along with me, who hadn’t even bothered to put on a mask or light makeup.

-Whoaㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ

-Holy shit

-Noonaㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ!!

-Now I get why she fell for her, lol

“Um… hello, I’m Chocoa.”

I waved lightly at the camera, and the chat skyrocketed.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Baraa set you up with a weird conceptㅋㅋ What’s so great about this girl that he’s hyping her so much?ㅋㅋ

“….Tsk…”

Out of the 700 viewers, not everyone was friendly.

Click-click-click-click.

Since I didn’t have that many viewers, I never bothered assigning a moderator.

I usually just banned the few rowdy kids or trolls myself.

Watching the chat scroll by at a speed I’d never seen before, I began banning people who insulted me or Baraa.

A few minutes later, the viewer count dropped to around 500, and the chat began to slow down a bit.

Finding a moment to breathe, I asked the main question.

“Baraa… what exactly is going on?”