Let's Stream Together (1)
After devouring her meal with gusto, Nam Ha-neul gave herself a quick rinse. She'd crashed right after her workout yesterday, after all.
If this were the old me, I wouldn't have bothered showering...But the System might complain...
In some subtle way, the System was nudging her toward a proper life. Even someone as dense as her could pick up on that much.
With that in mind, she decided to tackle more cleaning and nodded firmly. Not plopping straight into her gaming chair, no sirree. Anyone who knew her life story would be shocked at the change.
But... I already cleared all the trash. What else is there to clean...?
<-
"Huh?"
The Status Window seemed fed up and pointed out the direction. She naturally turned her head to follow the arrow.
"B-Bathroom?"
The bathroom. Hers was practically a black mold hideout. The once-white tiles were overrun with dark patches that jumped right out at her.
"Uh... um..."
Cleaning the bathroom wasn't even a concept in her head. Hell, she half-doubted if humans were supposed to clean bathrooms at all. Of course, she knew deep down it was her job...
"N-No... gross..."
Somehow, piled-up trash in the room felt different from bathroom grime. It hit more viscerally, like pure instinctive filth. And ever since her body turned female, that revulsion had only intensified. She just hadn't wanted to admit how much her instincts had shifted to match.
<<<<<<<<-
When Nam Ha-neul turned away like she hated the idea of bathroom duty, the System stretched the message to follow her. With a sigh like she was swallowing bitter herbs, she gave in. No choice—cleaning the bathroom was it.
"Alright... um..."
So she pulled out her phone and searched up how to clean a bathroom. No basic knowledge whatsoever, so she planned to learn properly.
"Bleach...? Isn't this for drinking...? Scrubber, rubber gloves..."
She jotted down what to buy on her notes app and nodded. Then she changed back into workout clothes and laced up her shoes.
Might as well knock out the run while I'm heading to the mart.
If she couldn't avoid it, might as well enjoy it. The bigger mart was a good distance away—not the corner convenience store. She could clear her mission en route. All set, she grabbed the doorknob.
A rumble stirred deep in her throat again.
...Scary.
What if someone yelled at her? What if people stared? Sure, her Charm had gone up, but folks still seemed terrifying. She hesitated forever before opening the door, breath ragged, sweat pouring.
"...No. I can do this."
Just as her vision spun and faded, she shook her head. The world snapped back into focus.
Skill...!
Presence Erasure activated!
A refreshing breeze swept over her as the skill kicked in. Her steps lightened; she flung open the door and strode out. The bright sunlight stung her eyes.
Okay... not as bad as I thought...
Out on the street, no one turned her way. Not a single glance—the skill was working perfectly. She liked blending in like an ordinary person, jogging down the main road. Her heart raced with joy, not panic.
Great...!
"Huuuuhuuuuhuuung..."
Nam Ha-neul sprawled starfish-style on the floor, bawling her eyes out.
Why? "Bathroom cleaning suuuuucks!"
It was way harder than expected. Spraying bleach, scrubbing with a brush and sponge—the mold and stains were endless, eating up hours. Wiping the toilet had her weak stomach heaving; she puked on the freshly cleaned floor and had to scrub that too. Pathetic.
And that wasn't all—she'd left the showerhead on wrong and got drenched. She vowed from now on to use the park bathroom. Hers was too precious now that she'd cleaned it.
Even with rubber gloves, her hands were pruned and swollen. Her hunched posture left her knees and back aching.
"Never again, no way, huuuwah."
Still, thanks to her Persistence, she'd finished. But her pitiful state had her whining and sobbing like a kid.
Punishment Mission Cleared!
40P acquired!
Charm +4
After a good cry, she sat up. Run done, cleaning done—stomach rumbling. She grabbed kimbap from the mart, chomped at her desk.
"Sniff... Gotta save points..."
The punishment mission came from blowing points recklessly. She wanted to dump them into gaming stats right away but held back. Probably what the System wanted.
Instead, she munched and logged into LoL. Mid-chew, sweat beaded—chat popped up.
> Connected - CherryPicker?
Sh-She's mad, right? Duh?
Her last memory with CherryPicker: ditching mid-game and ghosting messages. If roles were reversed, she'd be pissed too.
After agonizing, she decided: delete friend!
> Delete me and I'll plaster your name all over YouTube.
> Try it. See what happens.
Like it read her mind, the chat nailed her. Tears pricking, she accepted CherryPicker's party invite.
"A-Ah, can you hear me?"
"Yeah... um..."
Nam Ha-neul took a deep breath.
"I'mreallysorryIshouldn'thavedonethatIneverditchusuallytherewerecircumstancessopleaseforgivemjustthisonceplease."
Eyes squeezed shut, she machine-gun apologized. Cherry felt her brain short-circuit.
"No... it's fine. Stuff happens."
"I'msosorrypleasedon'thatemeIdidn'twantto-"
"It's FINE!"
Only after Cherry yelled did she stop. Nam Ha-neul had always apologized a ton—not for big screw-ups, but her marathon sincere rants wore people down. Her patented survival skill: Nam Ha-neul Apology Beatdown.
"The anger was a joke anyway! Happens to the best of us."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah! Ugh, seriously."
She could almost feel Cherry clutching her throbbing forehead through the mic. Not that mad, huh? Nam Ha-neul tilted her head.
"P.S., not streaming now, so relax."
"Ah, y-yeah..."
Her tension wasn't just the stream—it was talking to a girl, period. Cherry's words didn't loosen her up.
Cherry shook her head at the voice. She'd sensed loner vibes before, but this bad? Still, relief: Ha-neul's 'charm' matched her image perfectly.
"Anyway, you're sorry, right?"
"Yes..."
"Wanna stream with me?"
"St-Stream...?"
Streaming—one of the farthest things from Nam Ha-neul's life.
'Cause I've tried it before...!'
Who hadn't dreamed of it, glued to games and net in their room? She'd played with Cherry before, but just a quick collab. A formal invite? Flustering.
"Wh-Why...?"
"Viewers loved you, HaneulGodu."
"Why though..."
Couldn't fathom it. Her old streams? Rare wrong-click visitors who raged and bailed. Her genuine trash skill looked like trolling. No silver tongue either.
"Your... unique otaku-girl charm?"
"I-I'm listening."
"Sorry if that offends. Anyway, seemed decent—few games like last time?"
"Hmm..."
She felt bad-ish, but ditching one game wasn't apocalypse-level. Cherry overreacting, really. Weighing the stream request...
"I'll split the donations half-half."
"Gasp... l-let's do it."
But money? Irresistible.
Even a little would help...
Her monthly allowance was meager—barely scraped by, end of month always short. Dad set it that way to push part-time jobs, but...
Jobs scare me.
She'd pinch pennies over working.
"Great. Age?"
"Tw-Twenty-five..."
"Twenty-five? Older sis? Call you noona comfy?"
"N-Noona?"
Hit her again: dude to chick. Never dreamed of 'noona' her whole life.
"Sure..."
"Casual speech okay? I'll go Haneul-noona."
"O-Okay."
"You too. Streaming now."
"R-Right now...?"
Didn't expect instant. Do streamers just wing it? (Most planned; Cherry didn't—small-timer, hated schedules.)
"N-No wa-"
"Going live. Anngha~"
Cherry's fans: Anndus—like cherries.
"Today~ I caught the runaway deserter from last time!"
Nam Ha-neul sweated buckets hearing her. Unlike before, going live together from the jump felt like spotlights everywhere. Body itchy, she rubbed against the chair. Curious, checked Cherry's stream on phone.
40 viewers...?
Not huge, but to stream-noob her? Terrifying.
Saw herself labeled 'otaku' in chat—mood soured. She knew her own personality best.
"Hey~ no calling names. Anyway, brought her to pay for ditching—and duo queue~ Introduce yourself, explain the ditch, noona."
Her turn to speak on stream. Felt eyes locking on; tension spiked, hands slick with sweat.
"H-Hi, ev-everyone. I'm Haneul... D-Ditching, uh..."
She started mangling words hard. Already stuttery, now panic? Total mess. No excuse prepped either—had to improv.
G-Gotta say something quick. What... what do I say...!
Chaos won; she blurted the first dumb thing.
"I h-had to poop...!"
And just like that, her streaming debut impression: poop girl.