Streaming Together (2)

"Pfft…! For real? Ah, then I shouldn't have asked…."

"Ah… N-no…."

Cherry's laughter and teasing tone made Nam Ha-neul's face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flush bright red. Her carefully crafted excuse had come out sounding like she had to take a massive dump—pure regret washed over her, and she hung her head low.

"See~ I told you she had a good reason! Sis, no one just added you and started flaming you out of nowhere, right?"

Even so, Cherry seemed to be looking out for her, now exposed on stream. But Nam Ha-neul couldn't shake the feeling that Cherry had unnecessarily painted her as a shitter.

"Y-yeah…."

"Yeah~ Oh, but sis, did you switch mics?"

"Huh…?"

"Your voice sounds a bit different."

Did it? Nam Ha-neul muted her mic and tested with an "ahh" just to check.

It does sound different….

Her voice had become more feminine, clearer, and more transparent than before. Pondering why, she glanced at her Status Window and her eyes landed on the Charm stat.

Oh… So Charm doesn't just affect looks—it changes voice and stuff too….

"……."

Stats going up was good, but….

Why does it feel kinda shitty…!

She gripped her mouse harder than necessary.

"Anyway, shall we queue up?"

"Y-yeah…!"

Her wandering thoughts made her hesitate, but Cherry picked up on it and queued right away. As a streamer with a decent fanbase, her flow was smooth.

Alright, today… I'll carry everything…!

She felt confident. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reason?

A whopping 61 Game-Physical. Top-tier even among Golds.

Bronze games… I can win them all!

So she figured today's stream would just show her dominating.

"T-today… I'll win them all for you."

"Ooh~ What's with the confidence? You did well last time."

"R-right? I'm actually way above this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tier—"

"Until you DC'd."

"T-today… I won't…."

Cherry couldn't see, but Nam Ha-neul's lips were pursed in a massive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pout. They'd apologized and moved on, but the teasing still irked her.

Unlike pouty Nam Ha-neul, Cherry grinned at the chat.

Bringing in Haneul duo for stream was the right call. She's got talent, and the stream chemistry?

Viewers loved it, especially when Cherry roasted her and she floundered—donos rolled in.

"Oh, queue popped. Show me what you got, sis."

"Y-yeah…!"

And so that game began. The duo suffered a crushing defeat.

2 wins, 2 losses. Four ranked games down.

50% winrate. Not bad, but not great.

Why… why are we losing?

Nam Ha-neul couldn't comprehend. The Status Window said Gold-level physical!

But she overlooked one thing.

"Sis… why won't you listen to me?!"

"B-but, if I go in, I think I can win…."

"No, jungle gank was obvious—why dive?!"

Her Judgment and Comprehension were still Bronze-level. Judgment was even bottom Bronze.

Bronze/Silver/Gold got lumped as "brsilgol" for a reason—mixed bags. Plenty like Nam Ha-neul had physical but shit brainpower holding them back.

She couldn't chain wins because she'd only pumped physical.

"But… I carried two games…."

"Only 'cause enemies sucked!"

"H-hic… sob…."

Cherry was blunt by nature (and for stream), so she yelled and scolded often.

"I'll do better…."

Neither was a pro—wins weren't mandatory. But Cherry saw roasting Nam Ha-neul as stream gold, and she'd gotten hooked on the fun.

"Sis, your physical's solid? So just listen to me."

True, those two wins were pure Nam Ha-neul physical. No Bronze bot could stop her if she snowballed early.

But bad sticks more than good, right?

Her dumb calls and game sense stuck more than her carry potential. Silver now? Nah.

She clutched her head, pondering how to win.

Pump other stats? But no points….

60P now—6 stat points.

6 points change much? And if I waste on games, system scolds….

Her worries vanished as queue popped. Debating champs, she picked Osya.

"What, sis—Osya again?!"

"Uh, uh? I-I just play Osya best…."

All four games, she'd bot-duo'd as ADC. Cherry wasn't swapping lanes, stuck support anyway.

Nam Ha-neul ran long-range ADCs decently.

But still 50%….

A thought crept back: In Bronze, just do what you're good at!

Of course, I'm good at everything. Hehe.

Her strongest memory? Last Osya game—superplay worthy.

Though I DC'd after….

Still her best, right?

"Ugh… fine. I'll go Hoku Star."

Plague Pony, Hoku Star. Tanky support with gap-close dash and knock-up float.

Cherry's fave, high mastery.

"Okay…!"

"Let's win this time for real, yeah?"

"Y-yes…!!"

Nam Ha-neul felt… tamed?

Just my imagination?

"Psh~ What? Puppy my ass!"

"……."

Imagination, right?

Cold sweat beaded as game loaded in.

"Enemies~ Hiraen and Ludheim. Watch Ludheim skills, should be fine?"

White Archer, Hiraen. Piercing ult arrows, slow attack speed but multi-target potential with positioning.

Support: Ring Watcher, Ludheim. Rings slow and debuff.

"Good reflects and we flip it easy… but don't try."

Osya reflects countered perfectly—if Nam Ha-neul landed them.

But Cherry doubted she could. Nam Ha-neul? Thought otherwise.

Reflects…! Just reflect everything…!

Her physical wasn't god-tier, but her head painted pro-Osya visions. Ego inflated off a few successes!

They headed bot with clashing minds.

Screeech—Pop!

"Whoa, enemies poking hard. Play safe."

Hiraen's arrow sliced minions toward her. She dodged, but missed some.

Plus? Osya and Hoku Star were melee-range. Dashes helped, but still close-up.

Ludheim? Ranged poke paradise.

Arrow and ring barrages overwhelmed them. Then, something off in lane.

Matchup bad, sure—but Hiraen/Ludheim weren't strong. Dodge skills = fine, right?

"Why do they hit everything?!"

"H-hard to dodge…."

Enemy bot duo was cracked. Not just skills—vision, freeze, house timing pro-level.

All Bronze (minus enemy mid and Cherry), but enemy bot? Smurf city.

Answer in chat soon.

Mid-tier streamer Tseung, Cherry's platform mate. Main gig: "HunTseung"—Bronze streamers get live Rel ex-pro coaching.

"T-Tseung?!"

Tseung had clout—200k subs recently.

Cherry watched sometimes, knew HunTseung Tseung was nightmare fuel.

"Ah… tough win now."

"W-why?"

"Why? Rel ex-pro coaching live… Unless Tseung ints, we're screwed…."

Tseung was perma-Bronze himself—not skilled. But he executed orders flawlessly.

Own judgment? Trash. With "brain proxy"? Ghostly execution. HunTseung winrate ~80%.

Solo? Ints galore, Bronze stuck.

"Still, play it out. Got it?"

"……."

"Sis?"

Cherry prayed for upperbody carry, half-abandoning bot. Nam Ha-neul? Clicked mouse, focus surging.

Post-Status Window, she finished what she started. No quit.

Focus. In hyper-focus, she forgot to talk, dove at the perfect split-second opening at light speed.