Chapter 17: [RenaPpi/Controversy] – I Had No Choice But to Acknowledge It
At this point, I had no choice but to admit it. The RenaP I'd met—the streamer now going by RenaPpi—remembered me, the guy who'd used the username Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer.
No, it was more than that. She wanted to meet me.
But why? Because of the 1.65 million won donation? Sure, that was a hefty sum, but for someone at her level now, it couldn't be that big a deal, right?
From my perspective, there were more than one or two things that didn't make sense, but setting all that aside, the issues I needed to focus on right now flashed through my mind.
Her stream... wasn't it basically abandoned at this point?
I hammered out the messages frantically.
A streamer this beloved by her fans... what the hell was she doing right now?!
But she was being utterly reckless, in a way that made her success feel undeserved.
'Ah, no... What the hell is wrong with this girl?'
I was genuinely flustered, struggling to find the right words to respond.
Meanwhile, time kept ticking, and her chat room was no doubt flooding with hooks.
Didn't she grasp how serious this was?
She spoke as if she'd overheard my private thoughts.
'No... damn it.'
My mind reeled. All I could think was that I needed to fix this mess somehow.
Why? RenaPpi was just some stranger, and if her impulsive stunt tanked her stream and her rep, it had nothing to do with me.
But for some reason... I didn't want her getting unfair flak for it. That was my honest feeling.
She'd streamed diligently for a year without a single [RenaPpi/Controversy] page on Seedling Wiki. If drama hit now—especially a guy-related scandal that'd be fatal for a female virtual streamer peddling yuksu—what then?!
And her response to my question was utterly absurd.
What?
A donation means we eat together? With me, a male viewer? She'd heard my voice on those phone dates, so she knew damn well I was a guy.
Was this chick seriously trying to spawn a [RenaPpi/Controversy] page on purpose? How lightly did she take the streaming world?!
But her attitude was more stubborn than I'd imagined.
'No, who's calling who an idiot...'
Her response embarrassed me more than expected, and I grumbled internally for no reason. It wasn't like anyone could hear me anyway—why was I justifying myself in my head?
The same person who'd just called it a "donation reward" was now begging to cover the bill herself.
I stared blankly at the chat window. No matter how many times I reread it, the whole situation felt so unrealistic that I lightly tapped my head.
'Is this... really an isekai reincarnation or something?'
After encountering one inexplicable event after another, I was starting to genuinely buy into that idea.
Anyway. To resolve this, I had to calm things down, and the fastest way was to go along with her.
If it really wasn't something she said to just anyone... maybe it wasn't that bad.
'Gulp.'
I pushed aside the slight chill and started discussing next steps.
So her pre-offline sobbing really was from seeing my donation.
'Haa...'
One thing was clear from this chat: this was the same airheaded RenaP I'd talked to before. That vaguely ditzy vibe... success or not, she was still her.
'.........'
I considered telling her to cut the nonsense and go already, but luckily, she took the initiative.
'Hoo.'
I craved a smoke—the one I'd put out—but my empty pockets killed the urge.
Come to think of it, why had I quit? Ah, right. My childhood friend and ex, Yun-ah.
'She said no marriage if I didn't quit.'
Ha. I let out a hollow laugh and chugged some cold water.
Whether I smoked or not, that marriage was never happening anyway. Why had I struggled so hard to quit back then?
Before our relationship imploded, no matter how tough things got, my motivation to never touch a cig was her—our future marriage.
Why dredge up bitter memories now? I gulped down the rest of the now-lukewarm water and saw RenaPpi go live again.
Viewers hit 48,000 right as she restarted. Classic RenaPpi—no one bailed from the brief disconnect, and the sudden drama drew nearly 10k more curious souls.
I re-entered her room. Her avatar looked flustered as she spoke.
"E-everyone! Sorry! I-It was... a cockroach suddenly showed up in my room...!"
The chat scrolled fast, but it seemed to be blowing over better than expected.
'Please, no one nitpick that word.'
The moment I thought that, several chats popped up almost simultaneously.
'...Hah.'
Couldn't gloss over 48k viewers that easily, it seemed. Embarrassing as it was to admit, she'd unconsciously said "it's you" the moment she saw me pop up.
How to salvage this? I waited for her response.
"Ah... um, w-well, you see..."
Her avatar switched to a sweating, panicked expression, then she paced side to side, cheeks flushing as she said,
"Th-truth is... I call all the bugs in my room 'you'...!"
?
"S-so... when the cockroach appeared, it was like, 'Y-you're... c-cockroaaaach~?' or something like thaaat...!"
This was... the pinnacle of virtual streaming?
Honestly, I stared at the screen thinking she was shitting from her mouth, not some backdoor deal. But surprisingly, the chat disagreed with me.
No way they actually saw it. Just bandwagoning.
Anyway, astonishingly, she managed to quiet over 40k viewers.
Probably because her usual airheaded, offbeat comments made it feel par for the course. Virtual streaming naturally involved some concept play anyway.
But if anyone pieced together that she'd sobbed over a male viewer's donation...
'Ugh.'
I didn't even want to imagine the fallout.
Then RenaPpi's avatar suddenly sprouted heart eyes.
"S-so... despite the sudden interruption, shall we get started...?"
Then, in a deeply seductive voice—like she aimed to enslave every viewer—she purred,
"So... my lovely sand grains...♡ Are you ready for today too...?"
Her expression turned subtly sultry. I knew her avatar had tons of expressions, but... damn, that was too hot!
Amid the chat's bro-yuksu overimmersion hitting peak cringe, her professionalism shone.
"How about it...? Am I pretty...? Hehe...♡"
Damn it. Her shy smile and gorgeous voice had me itching to smash my skull with my own hands and turn into yuksu.
Calling bugs "you" might actually be normal. Her voice was that captivating.
Finally, she parted her lips.
"Then... Seongchingchan Time begins...♡♡"