Running Away Is Shameful, But Help Is...

Chat flooded the screen in a relentless cascade.

The broadcast filled with nothing but a close-up of my face.

Comments I had no earthly way of responding to.

My face burned red.

"E-everyone, can we stop for a second?"

As every kind of simping comment got dumped into the chat—

A status window announcing the end of the mission.

The moment it appeared, I killed the chat under a wave of uncontrollable embarrassment and said,

"Th-that's all for today's stream!"

…Once again, a silent chat window and a quiet computer screen.

I finally caught my breath and looked back at the status window that had floated up a moment ago.

"What the hell is Gap Moe? Status window."

The instant the words left my mouth, a blue window appeared.

And when I touched a finger to Gap Moe—

BAM!

"Don't give me crap like this!"

……My life.

My mind went blank.

I couldn't believe what I was looking at, so I tapped into the next post.

"…Is this for real?"

I lay on the mattress in the corner of my room, staring at my phone.

I'd gone into the Riohi gallery and the girl-streamer gallery looking for the post that my first viewer, Indie Streamer Explorer, was supposed to have written—

But no matter how far I scrolled, there was no sign of anything he'd posted.

All I saw were posts about my gameplay and my face.

"I pulled aggro without even meaning to…"

Was that a good thing?

At least a few more people might show up for the next stream.

The thought that flashed through my head made self-loathing erupt.

"…Aaaagh shut up, I'm not a streamer, I'm a man. I'm a construction worker."

I set the phone down and sat up.

Complicated thoughts could wait until after I ate.

I hadn't had a proper meal since yesterday, after all.

But all that was inside were half a bottle of water, some gochujang, and a few pieces of danmuji pickles I couldn't even remember how I'd gotten.

"Maybe some spicy pork."

I flopped back onto the mattress and opened the delivery app.

Spicy pork stir-fry: 12,000 won. Delivery fee: 3,500 won.

Minimum order: 17,000 won.

Current balance: 73,180 won.

"Ah. I genuinely want to cry."

My entire fortune after buying the computer.

I didn't even have next month's rent left.

And going back to the construction site wasn't an option either—just hauling a computer tower over here with this body had nearly killed me.

One day on a job site and I'd be carried out on a stretcher for sure.

If I'd just had the forty thousand won from that earlier mission, I wouldn't be fretting like this.

And then, that moment—

"……Ten thousand?"

I rubbed my eyes, sure I'd misread the number.

But the zeros were still four of them.

"Are you insane? I just did one stream—how am I supposed to get ten thousand people?!"

The status window, as if it couldn't hear my protests at all, floated up the next line.

"Fuck, no, not that!"

Kidney stones.

The condition I'd gotten at twenty from working nonstop without drinking a single proper sip of water.

And it had hurt so bad—so, so bad—I'd nearly died.

That was the first time I'd ever been given narcotic painkillers.

"That one—I have to dodge that one no matter what… Still, I've got roughly enough time."

I didn't have to go live right this second.

One stream yesterday had already gotten me thirty-eight followers, so if I streamed consistently, maybe it would work out somehow.

The problem was surviving until then.

Seventy thousand won left in the account.

Streams might keep going, but next month's rent wouldn't wait.

"So in the end I have to find a job."

Having reached that conclusion, I immediately opened a part-time job app.

"Sort by distance, hourly wage minimum or above…"

Every single one had awkward conditions.

Weekend-only work meant too few hours.

Working afternoons or nights was hard too.

To hit ten thousand followers, I had to stream during peak viewing hours.

At the very least, I needed to keep nights through early morning free for broadcasting.

"Isn't there anything…"

I kept scrolling, and then one listing caught my eye.

"Not bad?"

The wage was almost one and a half times minimum wage.

And it wasn't far from home.

More than anything, a PC Room was a place I was pretty familiar with.

I immediately texted the number on the listing.

After sending that, I went back to browsing listings—and a reply came.

Tomorrow?

A little rushed, but no reason I couldn't go.

I finished answering politely and lay back down.

"Didn't think it'd get sorted this fast. Is it because I'm a woman?"

I'd figured job hunting would take at least a week.

Being able to apply for women-preferred part-time work was a bigger advantage than I'd expected.

"Alright, tomorrow's problems are for tomorrow. For now, food… I'll hold out."

With only seventy thousand won in the account, I wasn't even hungry.

…Yeah, right.

I just clutched my empty stomach and tried to sleep on the mattress.

"Aigoo! Kids these days have zero sense."

In a PC Room on the basement floor of a building at the OO-dong intersection, a woman was single-handedly working through a flood of orders at the counter.

Her name was Moon Si-yeon.

In her early thirties, she'd quit her corporate job, maxed out her savings and severance, and launched a PC Room business as a young entrepreneur.

Business was good.

There happened to be a boys' middle school and a boys' high school nearby, so demand for gaming was high—and she'd outfitted her machines with far better specs than the surrounding PC Rooms, so of course people came in droves.

But there was one thing she'd overlooked: the more people poured in, the higher the demand for food orders climbed.

She'd scrambled to hire part-timers several times, but no one lasted long.

Right.

At least a text would have been something.

This time they'd gone completely dark and no-showed without a word.

So Moon Si-yeon had decided that this time, she would hire carefully.

A female part-timer she could deal with comfortably, being a woman herself.

And if possible, someone diligent enough to stick around long-term.

In that sense, the text from the new applicant who'd just contacted her was a perfect score.

How polite and well-mannered was that text?

Name, age, where she lived, and even her aspirations going forward.

If there were a short-form self-introduction contest, this text would take first place and then some.

"Still, no harm in deciding after seeing her face in person."

Last time the texts had been perfect too, and in reality it'd been a walking specimen of Gen Z.

Moon Si-yeon expertly checked on the four packs of ramyeon boiling at once and looked forward to tomorrow's interview—

hoping the new part-timer would be the one to save her.