Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Actually, I like you. For real.
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"Ah, you want to know which girl I'm into? Hmm... That's a secret, obviously."
It was the kind of chat message I could've easily ignored. Normally, I would've just skipped right over it.
But things were different now.
And sure enough, the viewers started reacting just like I'd expected.
Live Chat -A secret? -No way? -Who is it! -Spill it! -Hurry up! -I'm in a rush! -I'm gonna blow! I knew it would play out like this. One little comment from me, and the chat exploded in an instant.
Meanwhile, Dokgo Hwayeon was looking at me with a puzzled expression. She'd noticed me reading a chat I didn't have to. A pro streamer like her could spot that kind of thing right away.
But she didn't butt in. She just watched me with that pretty face of hers, clearly intrigued.
"Come on, how am I supposed to tell you that?"
Live Chat -Heyni? -An Young? -Maybe Rena? -Rena's a hard no -Doonggni? -No way it's Dokgo Hwayeon? Soon enough, every female streamer I knew had their name tossed out there.
I let them stew, watching the chat. The key was to drag it out until the viewers were on the verge of rioting.
Live Chat -Sizzling... -Come on! When are you gonna tell us! -What dentist do you go to? My teeth are grinding down I figured the viewers had marinated long enough. With a reluctant look, I glanced over at Dokgo Hwayeon.
A quick peek.
"Haa, fine?"
That was it. I didn't say another word.
But the stream already had over 40,000 viewers, pushing toward 50,000.
And naturally, there were plenty of sharp-eyed ones among them.
Live Chat -No way, Dokgo Hwayeon? -For real? -Insane. -Why her though? -Hell yeah! -Dokgo Hwayeon's face is turning red lololol And Dokgo Hwayeon was no exception.
"Me?"
She forgot our agreement to use polite speech in front of the camera. A casual "me" slipped out by mistake.
Of course, that only fanned the flames in chat even higher.
Live Chat -Did she just say "me"? -O_O -Already dropping formal speech? -So sweet -Drama episode 2 starting! She'd even thrown more fuel on the fire herself. Perfect for me.
'That's right!'
Yeah.
I'd planned to run some sweet couple content with Dokgo Hwayeon today. It was similar to what I'd done with Heyni last time.
But there was one key difference.
With Heyni on our second sweet collab stream, we'd rehearsed it all beforehand. We even had a script.
This time? Nothing. I went in completely raw.
It was the only way to throw a pro streamer like Dokgo Hwayeon off her game.
And just as I'd hoped, she was flustered as hell. You could tell from that accidental slip into casual speech.
'No wonder viewers always expect me to pick up girls.'
At this rate, I wouldn't even argue if they called me a romance specialist streamer. I'd sworn off it just minutes ago, and here I was diving right back in. I had to be crazy to keep pulling this on stream.
'Just this one last time.'
Today would be the final one. No more sweet content after this—I'd take a break.
'Yeah, sure.'
I could always play it off if needed. If things got dicey, I'd say we'd planned it when the mic was off earlier.
Anyway, watching flustered Dokgo Hwayeon felt pretty great. Her expression was adorable, and I couldn't help but grin.
Live Chat -Look at Jae-ho's face staring at Dokgo Hwayeon lmao -Kyaaaaaaa -Don't they look great together? -Fr they do lololol -Date! Date! Date! -Wait! We haven't heard from the boss yet! I sidled up closer to the flustered Dokgo Hwayeon.
Then, with an embarrassed look, I spoke up.
"Ahem. So, what's your answer?"
"Huh?"
"You... got it, right? That I like you."
"Th-that? W-w-wait a sec."
Her face flushed bright red in an instant. I'd never seen her this thrown off before.
"What? You don't like me?"
"N-no, it's not that..."
"Then... you like me?"
"I-I..."
The sunset glow was hitting her red cheeks just right, making her look even more flushed.
"Not gonna answer?"
"N-no... The stream's still on. How am I supposed to say it here..."
"I already did."
"Y-you just did it with your eyes!"
I grinned at her response.
Then, looking her straight in the eye, I said it.
"Actually, I like you. For real."
"Y-you're insane?!"
"Nah, I'm not."
"Wh-what do I do..."
Dokgo Hwayeon was completely broken. Her face beet red, repeating the same thing over and over. Totally not like her usual self.
'Still cute, though.'
Everyone watching was probably loving this. Dopamine-dripping content like this was rare on stream.
I snuck a peek at the viewer count.
'Holy shit.'
📊 Viewer Count 80,186 The number had doubled before I knew it. I'd never seen viewers spike this fast.
'Still not hitting 100k, though.'
I could've pushed harder and broken 100k. I had the skills for it.
But that would've cracked things between me and Dokgo Hwayeon.
You gotta know when to quit a prank while it's still fun. Push too far, and it's not a prank anymore.
I made a slightly disappointed face. Then I turned to the viewers.
"Oh! Right."
"Huh?"
"This was all a hidden camera prank!"
"What?"
I quickly covered Dokgo Hwayeon's face with my hand. She was totally zoned out right now. If I let the chat see that, they wouldn't buy it.
Live Chat -??? -Wtf? -Hidden cam? -Wtf -Real? -I -Was -Tricked The viewers lost it, as expected. No helping it.
But their reactions didn't scare me anymore. If anything, they were kinda cute now.
I started explaining slowly to the viewers.
"Why would I confess for real on stream out of nowhere? We planned it together when the mic was off earlier. How about it? Everyone got fooled, right?"
I gave Dokgo Hwayeon a light nudge with my elbow. A beat later, her voice chimed in.
"Ah! Y-yeah. We scripted it beforehand. Haha. You all fell for it, huh?"
It was a bit awkward, but it worked. Classic Dokgo Hwayeon.
Live Chat -Oh... -It was scripted? -Fml -Yeah, turning off the mic was sus -Phew, thought we lost our boss -Bring back the Yeon-ho couple! -You two should do a fake marriage collab fr The chat was still chaos, but with me and Dokgo Hwayeon stepping in, it settled back to normal quick.
"Squad leader, your acting was spot on."
"Tch, r-really?"
I glanced at Dokgo Hwayeon.
Her face had a hint of annoyance. Better not tease her more.
"A-anyway, it's getting dark. Should we head back?"
"Phew, yeah, let's."
We headed back to the training grounds together. Camera still rolling, of course.
'If this goes off, I'm a dead man.'
Just a hunch. I'd have to keep the stream alive no matter what.
Back at the grounds, our squad members were streaming too.
Nothing as flashy as mine—just casual chit-chat.
"T-Tanguri, who do you think is the biggest threat in the other squads?"
"Hmm, gotta be Jae-ho, right? I've never seen talent like his before."
"Oh, really? Jae-ho's martial arts talent is something else..."
"Nah, not just that—streaming too. His broadcast skills are insane."
Tanguri's voice caught my ear right then. Praising me.
It made me a little embarrassed. Should've come back later.
'Saying that stuff right in front of me is embarrassing.'
And it wasn't just Tanguri.
"I didn't expect Jae-ho to be that good."
"Same here."
"He's great at streaming and has crazy martial talent!"
"Wouldn't a matchup between Shin-hyuk and Jae-ho be epic?"
A ton of people were talking about me. Hadn't seen that coming. Guess collabing with them left an impression.
'Kinda embarrassing.'
But no arrogance here.
I'd dropped into this world with nothing. To navigate it, I had to keep sharpening myself nonstop.
'Don't forget that. That's how I keep growing.'
I steeled my resolve once more, eyes gleaming. Had to stay true to my roots.
Dokgo Hwayeon was watching me with a weird look. Seemed like she'd cooled off about earlier.
'Love how straightforward she is.'
Probably wouldn't get chewed out. Good.
Or so I thought.
Suddenly, Dokgo Hwayeon spoke up and declared the stream over.
"Alright, that's it for today's stream. Everyone head back to your regular training spots!"
"Ah! Yes sir!"
"I'll shut it down quick! Squad leader!"
"Yep!"
The squad killed their streams on the spot. You could tell how much they feared her.
"Sh-should I... shut mine too?"
"Yes. Obviously. Jae. Ho."
"Haha... Uh... Okay."
I had no choice but to end the stream.
80,000 viewers gone, just like that.
And my life hung in the balance.
"So, wanna spend some one-on-one time with me?"
"O-one-on-one?"
"Yeah. Don't want to? I was gonna teach you some moves you're lacking in..."
"N-no, I mean... S-sure, sounds good."
"Rest of you, head out on your own. I'll do some special tutoring then catch up."
"Yes!"
"Got it!"
And so, I got dragged off by Dokgo Hwayeon for late-night martial arts training.
She didn't yell at me, though.
"Ha! Try this one too."
"Yep!"
"It... worked? Okay, this one then!"
"Yep!"
"Th-this one works too?"
It started as punishment training, but turned into real practice by the end.
I picked up a bunch of new stuff.
Not a bad time at all.
'Ahem, and I think we're closer now.'
Maybe from all the teasing. Felt more friendly than before, anyway.
'Not bad.'