The Meeting

'Come watch just once!' Unable to refuse Jiyeon's insistence to stick around until the end, Han Seol gave in. After getting the streaming schedule, she logged into the platform site Jiyeon had told her about right on time.

Titles and thumbnails bursting with personality caught her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye. Gonna Game King Even If I Die Today! The one front and center was Jiyeon's stream. Han Seol tilted her head at "Game King," but clicked the thumbnail anyway.

A lively voice rang out. It was nothing like Jiyeon's usual tone—so different, she could almost mistake it for someone else. Come to think of it, Jiyeon had mentioned using a special streaming voice. So that's what it sounds like, Han Seol thought, quietly impressed. The pitch was higher, undeniably cute.

She flinched a bit seeing Jiyeon's avatar clutching her head in frustration right away, but the chat scrolling furiously beside the screen pulled her right in.

Jiyeon's avatar yanking at her hair, the chat exploding even faster.

What is this... To Han Seol, it looked like utter chaos. A streamer raging at the game, viewers egging her on even more.

As time passed, the energy ramped up, donations pouring in alongside trash talk—and cheers. It was dizzyingly hectic, no doubt.

...But fun.

Before she knew it, Han Seol was hooked, watching for a full six hours. Glancing at the clock, she was stunned. Already this late?

At first, it had been confusing, incomprehensible. But she'd seen it: the teasing and bickering, the donations and cheers, the group celebrations when they finally cleared the game. Watching it all, her eyes sparkled. Something stirred deep inside.

Looks so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fun.

Ding! Lost in the afterglow, a voice request from Jiyeon popped up.

"Yeah, unnie."

"Saw the stream today?"

"Yeah."

"Kinda embarrassing, hehe... What'd you think?"

"Uh, it was super fun!"

"Really? Phew..."

Han Seol peppered her with questions—why she started streaming, if it was fun, how it felt when viewers teased her—clearing up every curiosity. Jiyeon was flustered by the two-hour Q&A but answered earnestly, one by one.

Finally, sensing it was the last question, Han Seol ventured cautiously.

"...Me too."

"Huh?"

"Could I... do it too?"

Her voice trembled with uncertainty, yet brimmed with barely concealed hope. Jiyeon pondered, then let out a soft chuckle.

"...For you, Seol? Might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be tough."

"Yeah... probably."

Han Seol accepted it almost reflexively. Right, no way I could do that. She'd cut off all her relationships, isolated herself from society—a hopeless shut-in. Meeting a great unnie like Jiyeon was pure luck. She'd achieved nothing on her own. So of course Jiyeon was right.

"Yeah... Sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"It'll be hard. The internet's full of all kinds of people. You can bond fast since you never meet IRL, but that doesn't make 'em good bonds."

"..."

Jiyeon's words rang true. Everyone Han Seol had met online besides her was weird.

"You might end up a loner before you even make connections."

"A loner?"

"Yeah, loner. In streaming lingo, we call 'em hakko—unpopular streamers."

"...Hakko."

"Yep, hakko. Harsh term, but everyone goes through it. I was hakko once too."

"You too, unnie?"

"Obviously! It sucked... I almost quit. Indifference hits harder than you think."

Han Seol got it. She hadn't streamed, but she'd been worn down by apathy and loneliness already. So she asked: How'd you endure?How'd you become this unnie? Maybe she'd find answers to her own struggles.

Jiyeon paused at the question, reminiscing about those tough-yet-happy days.

"I had a fan."

"A fan?"

"Yeah, a fan. Someone who worried about me, checked in, showed up every stream—just for me."

That past hell had forged Jiyeon. So she told Han Seol straight from the heart.

"Seol, you asked if you could stream? Same answer: it'll be hard. But you can do it."

"..."

"You can. Even if you don't succeed, even if you meet weirdos. If you work hard and show your real self to viewers, someday... you'll get one too."

Your own fan.

That was the spark. Han Seol started streaming. Got a part-time job, commissioned an avatar, bought all the gear. She wanted to change. To connect with someone. Her cold, empty room was too vast for one person. And if she got her own person, like Jiyeon said...

Han Seol placed her hand on the mouse.

Start Stream.

On the monitor, a silver-haired girl in twin-tails appeared. Blue ribbon, crisp white blouse—the cute girl took her shaky first step.

The trembling debut stream flopped spectacularly. Her voice and avatar were cute enough, but excessive nerves made her stutter, boring viewers fast. The sluggish pace even drove some to spam curses in chat before dipping out.

Still, Han Seol kept at it. Day after day, week after week. Tough like unnie said, but Jiyeon's blissful voice echoed: I had a fan.

She didn't want to quit. She'd run from everything so far. None of it her fault, but she craved change.

About a month in.

Timidly blaming jungle, the chat lit up for the first time in ages.

Her heart raced. Han Seol's mouse hand shook. First chat in a week. Must make this fun, she thought desperately. From then on, she pushed herself to keep talking.

Mostly jungle rants. Truth was, jungle was that bad. Zero grasp of the role. Her own skill was Diamond-tier—way above average—so the gaps screamed.

Maybe that's why. One snarky line, and Han Seol forgot all about impressing—fired up MS Paint.

Nearly 30 minutes dissecting jungle play—the viewer kept countering.

Then it hit her. Oh no, what am I doing...I swore to look good, when did I start this...'

Emotional arguments—the one thing she hated IRL, vowed never to do on stream. And here she was, doing it herself.

Trembling, she checked the viewer list.

Gone, of course...

The one she'd been debating? Vanished. A month wasn't nothing. She'd streamed diligently, studied hard. But no one watching was like yelling at a wall.

No wonder she felt so down. Han Seol sighed deeply, head drooping.

"Haa... Yeah, what was I thinking with streaming..."

A sound she'd never heard. No donations before.

She panicked at the sudden donations.

......

Then terror set in.