Buldak Mukbang (2)
"...Let's just keep going. Aram, cut it nicely for me."
I tore open the delivery chicken packaging and set it on the desk, ready to eat. A much stronger spicy aroma than the Buldak I'd eaten before wafted up and stung my nose.
"Ugh! What the hell did they put in this chicken?!"
"Does nobody care about my health?"
"These goddamn bastards..."
Thinking I might as well get paid for eating this, I said,
"Anyone... want to set a mission?"
"A mission donation just came in. First time seeing that on my stream."
But I wasn't about to sacrifice my stomach for a measly 100,000 won. Honestly, I'd been making so much money lately that my stomach was already full.
"Sorry. I'm giving up on the mission. It's too hardcore."
"Shut up!"
Other viewers besides the mission setter started adding to the prize pool one by one.
...
Before I knew it, the prize had surpassed 2,000,000 won.
"Uh..."
It had become awkward not to do it.
"Fine, let's do this!!"
Unlike last time, I'd come fully prepared this round, so it should be okay. I'd even eaten foods that help before tackling spicy stuff.
"Still... can't you at least let me have one pack of milk?"
I deliberately read only the one or two "let's allow it" comments that popped up.
"There it is, the 'let's allow it' comment. Thank you. I'll drink."
"Then the first person who set the mission can decide. Honestly, that much is fair, right?"
"Okay, enough! I'll go heat up some instant rice."
In the end, I couldn't take the milk out of the fridge and only placed the heated instant rice on the desk.
"Alright, let's start."
I tore open the wooden chopsticks and picked up some Buldak. Bringing it close to my lips, the spicy scent stabbed my nose so hard it felt like it was drawing blood.
"Wow... seriously, why do they even make this stuff?"
"I'll respect it. Sorry."
Terrified to just swallow it whole, I stuck out my tongue and licked it. Even just licking a bit of the sauce made my mouth burn like fire. It felt like licking a sharp box cutter.
"Mmph..."
"If you don't donate within 10 seconds of seeing that tongue work, you're banned! 10, 9..."
It was a drastic measure I'd taken because lately too many people were saying nasty things without donating.
"I'll forgive you."
"I'm gonna eat it..."
I put one piece of boneless Buldak in my mouth and quickly scooped up rice with my chopsticks.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Eating it with rice made it less spicy. My strategy of using my head had worked.
The spiciness that made my strategy meaningless began to fill my mouth.
"Ah, fuck!"
"Haa... hngh..."
My mouth wouldn't close. My tongue went numb and I stuck it out like a dog, panting.
"Heh... heeh..."
My tongue was so numb I couldn't speak.
"Ugh....."
At least I'd brought the rice. If I just ate the rice, I could end the mukbang. That was another strategy I'd calculated thoroughly.
Then the chicken radish caught my eye.
"I can't drink the radish juice either, right?"
I felt like I'd drink piss at this point.
"Got it. Two bites coming up."
Second bite. The leftover sauce in my mouth and the new sauce created a synergy, triggering an immediate big reaction.
"Haa... haaa..."
"Taste... spicy. Fucking spicy. Shit, it's so fucking hot!"
"For 10,000 won I'll do it without complaining. I'd have gotten mad for 1,000 won."
I set the chopsticks down on the desk for a moment. Making a V with both hands, eyes looking up at the ceiling, I stuck out my tongue.
"Eh~"
"Don't!"
Third bite. Besides the numbness in my tongue, I couldn't feel anything. Looking at my face on the stream screen, sweat was pouring down and my lips were stained bright red with sauce.
"I-It's not that spicy. I-I can handle it."
I tried hypnotizing myself, thinking it might help a little. Of course, it had zero effect.
"It's so fucking spicy. Shit!!"
Fourth bite. Tears streamed down from the corners of my eyes.
"I'm not crying. It's just the sauce got in."
"Haa... do you like that kind of thing?"
What, what should I say to explain?
"....."
I decided to just stay quiet.
"I'm not doing it, you crazy bastard."
"All of you, fuck off."
Meanwhile, my numb tongue had returned to normal.
"Guys, let's wrap this up soon."
I crammed all the remaining rice in and finished it off. Tears flowed and it felt like my lips were tearing, but I forced myself to chew and swallow.
"..."
The Buldak mukbang was finally over.
"I ate it all..."
"Eating the rice ends it! Do you guys eat all the kimchi in the side dish container when you eat rice!?"
"Haa.... It's over, right? Mission success..."
Mission Success!!
<Buldak Mukbang Without Drinking Anything>
"Oh yeah!"
Donations poured in all at once from multiple people, and I received a total prize of 2,130,000 won.
"Thank you. Thank you!"
Feeling like I'd accomplished something, my eyes welled up a little.
"I'll be right back, gotta go to the bathroom real quick."
I washed the sauce off my face and grabbed milk from the fridge to drink. It was the sweetest milk I'd ever had in my life.
"Huaa... I'm alive."
"Yeah, it's amazing."
Me, who used to do manual labor occasionally without a proper job, made over 2 million won in just one day today...
"It's all thanks to you guys. Thank you so much. I'll keep running toward the top from now on!!"
I cleared the Buldak and prepared to end the stream.
"Then that's it for today's stream."
"Everyone needs rest sometimes. Or should I do a game stream? Pak-ssi!"
Come to think of it, I was supposed to go to the game festival tomorrow, right?
"I'm going to the game festival tomorrow. I'll post an announcement later."
After confirming the computer was off, I flopped onto the bed. Feeling something pressing on my chest, I took off my bra and threw it away.
"Haa..."
My lips stung and my stomach ached. My body felt hot like I had the flu. I'd gained a lot, but also lost just as much in spirit.
'Buldak mukbang, I really shouldn't do this again.'
The phone rang.
"It's Aram."
As soon as I answered, Aram's voice boomed through.
"Tteongi-nim, you're the best! You absolutely crushed today's stream too."
"It was just eating Buldak, though."
"No! It's more than enough to be impressive!"
"Really?"
I smiled, feeling good from the praise.
"And you know tomorrow's the game festival, right?"
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it, but also a bit scared."
"Don't worry. My secret weapon has arrived."
"Now I'm more worried."
"Check KakaoTalk."
I looked closely at the photo she sent. A black leotard and bunny ears in a box...
"That's a bunny girl outfit!"