Physical Game Defiance and the Neighbor's Shock
"Physical game time! ── Going against the trend whoa ── 135690 hours watched and still can't clear it ── Why'd you pick your own penalty game?"
"Penalty? This? Why?" He stretched casually, moving the mouse like he was warming up. Click! The crab girl hopped up and landed with a thud. The controls still felt awkward in his hands. But he had no doubts about pulling it off.
"Honestly, I admit I suck at puzzle games. But this is different, right? I'll show you my physical skills are fine."
He flicked the mouse with flashy flair. Whoosh whoosh! The crab girl swung the sledgehammer like it was alive.
"Feels like I could clear it in about three hours? Let's really go for broke today."
Next episode: Ttaemin's Death [1/1]
With a cool declaration, he set off down the path. Click! Thud! He accidentally shoved the rock right in front of him, jumping even further back than the start.
"No way! That was just me loosening up! I'm really going now! Here we go!"
He inched forward carefully, slowly getting the hang of the controls. But the viewers didn't want this timid progress.
Instead, their jabs felt like they were scraping at his nerves even more gently.
"Fine! You want me to do it?!"
The hammer swung in a much bigger arc this time. Click! Thud.
"Oh, sometimes you gotta go back to the beginning and rethink things, right?"
"This is insane!"
The chat flooded with "primordial village" spam, like they'd been lying in wait just to troll him. But I was a pro streamer. It took more than that to rile me up.
…
"Shut up! Everyone shut the hell up!!"
"If you're bored, get out!!"
"Urk…."
He clutched his head. He'd made it pretty far, only to reset to the start again. The chat and donations double-teaming him had his head spinning.
"Stop! Just stop!"
The donation waterfall made his head reel. The money should've felt good, but he was too pissed. This was the real trolling—not the earlier stuff. In his already frustrating situation, it was like dropping Mentos into Coke.
But it wasn't all bad.
'Chat flow's faster than usual.' Even without focusing on interaction in a standard game stream, the chat was flying. Mostly trolls, sure. But this energy at nearly midnight was rare. It even boosted his own tension.
"So!!"
Thud!
"Eup."
He hadn't installed the soundproof booth yet, so he had to be careful.
'Who's living upstairs…? Nah, gender doesn't matter. It's still a nuisance.'
"Uh…. I'll be more careful, guys. Try to ease up on the trolling too."
The flow stuttered a bit, but he couldn't complain.
The viewers caught on and toned it down themselves. Jingle!
Not everyone, though. But the break helped him stay calm.
"Ugh, gotta look into soundproof booths…. But if I install one, can I still yell?"
He wiggled the controls while asking the chat.
"Nah, total noob here. Don't know any."
"No way. What're you saying to someone whose face you don't even know? No one knows about soundproof booths?"
Great at trolling and self-deprecating gags. Anyway, it blocked voices even if not shotguns.
"Pausing the game real quick."
Best to check on impulse. He searched "soundproof booth."
"Huh? Pretty cheap? Under 100,000 won."
"Really? Still, cheap one's probably fine…."
10,000 won plus info! Evil nickname, generous donation.
More tips flooded in: Decent ones start at 200k─ Need installer adds 40-50k─ Used max 100k─ etc.
100k? Jaw-dropping price jump.
"Hmm…. That's gonna hurt a bit…."
Saving, no waste—both on point. But more importantly, his place.
'Already no room to lie down. Booth here? Ridiculous.' He'd die cramped. Or live in the booth. Lousy setup. Better move…
"Nah, not the time. Back to Sora game. Just don't yell and it's fine."
No jumpscares anyway. He could handle the trolling.
"Alright, resuming. Chat as usual."
Viewers hesitated at first, but loosened up with his fails. Like dancing behind the teacher's back, trolling without alerting upstairs. He didn't bite.
"Up. Eup."
Suppressing yells, enduring the chat battle.
They amped up using his grunts. Still, time passed, night deepened. He pushed during lulls and finally reached the end!
…No such thing.
Damn tough. "Ah…. Way too hard. Even my physicals can't do this?"
"No, not running. Didn't say I'd clear it? Just messing around. Sora's outdated anyway. Kenwang wouldn't even hype now?"
No real disappointment. They said he fought well.
…Or postpone. Soundproof after moving someplace nice with big bucks. By then, they'd forget Sora kenwang.
"Sky's brightening, so stream end here?"
"No sleep stream. You say end even on short ones. Not falling for it."
No clear sucked, but solid stream. Final waves, chat froze clean.
Post-end, PC off─
'…Check the cafe?'
Maybe post-stream reviews. Half-excited, he logged in. 30 members. Decent for day one. Posts?
'Five…. Including mine.'
No reviews yet.
'Expected.' No rush. Time game.
'Sleep first.'
Exhaustion hit hard. Time to crash. Blackout curtains for day-sleeper life, prep to lie down…
Knock knock!
Half-down, he sat up. Who? No delivery.
Cracked door. Woman there. Hourglass figure, long legs in tailored suit. Loaded vibe. Arms crossed, pissed stance.
Obvious: noise complaint.
"Hey. What're you doing making that racket at dawn?"
"Uh, sorry."
"Eh."
Her scolding halted. She looked up at him. He looked down.
Startled from dark room?
"Ah, uh, that is, uh, um…."
Stumbling woman. Shaky eyes, ponytail lagging.
How mad to be speechless….
But careful words. Avoid "that chick was rude" later.
"Upstairs neighbor?"
"Y-, yes, yes, yess…."
"Sorry. Forgot and yelled…. Didn't sleep?"
"W-well, yeah, but, no, that's fine…. Yes…."
No! Can't let slide. Sleep disruption near sin. Tie off firm!
"Um… what do you do at night…?"
"Ah, yes. Personal streams. I'll be quiet! Soundproof soon!"
"Ah, no, that's…. Yes, thank youuu…."
Mosquito whisper, bowed head. Firm words eased her worries!
Suit woman, venom gone, softly closed door.
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'Wh-, what…? What? What the hell!?')
Min Ji-won, here for noise complaint.
'A guy!? Totally didn't expect!'
Heart pounding wild. Ribs vibrating.
'Broad shoulders…. Tall…. Deep voice….'
"Ah!"
Sudden thought, pulled phone. Checked face on dark screen.
'No boogers, no messy hair…. Fine? Didn't look weird?'
Suppressing anxiety, recalled exchange.
Cool apology. Plus fixes. No power play. Rage melted.
'Should've said nothing…?'
Then daily meets─ Slap!
'What crazy thought!'
Not love at first sight.
'Wait. What time?'
Phone out, gasped. Barely make appointment if leave now.
Rushed to meetup. Chat replayed in head.
'Streams at dawn. Worth checking….'
…Lee Tae-min snagged unexpected new viewer.
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