Spicy Karma and the Fatal Tongue Twister
Karma sauce... you know what that is, right? It's the ultimate spicy sauce where they've crammed in every possible method to amp up the heat, short of using capsaicin. Tonight, the campsite's gonna be drowned in chicken aroma. And filled with someone's screams, too.
"Come on, eating it plain wouldn't be fun, right? Let's play a game. Loser dips in this red sauce!"
I pulled out the sauce, its violently swirling red hue practically assaulting the eyes.
Uh, uhh... Het-chu! Ahem. Guess I overdid the pepper. Made me sneeze like crazy.
"Areum! That sneeze was adorable!"
...Huh? Wasn't it just a normal sneeze? Come to think of it, this is the first time I've sneezed in this body. And cute...? No way...
Oh crap. I let my guard down. Now that's gonna get roasted too...? As embarrassment started creeping in, Rika piped up again.
"Red sauce? Is it spicy?"
"Kinda... The level any Korean would enjoy."
Of course, limited to those freakish folks who devour extra-spicy twisted tteokbokki.
Im Nana chimed in from the side. "Yeah! Gotta show off Korean spice! You up for it, Rika-chan?"
"Hmm... I'm not great with spicy stuff..."
Rika made a pouty face. Heh heh, she's hooked. I flashed a triumphant grin and announced the event.
"The game is... Korean tongue twisters!"
The viewers saw through the plan instantly. But what can you do? The world of competition is ruthless. No matter how much they spam chat, they can't stop us.
I exchanged a look with Im Nana. 'Even if Rika's fluent in Korean, her pronunciation's gotta trip her up. This is a sure win.'
Plan was flawless.
"Alright, Round 1. Starting at easy level. I'll demo first."
I cleared my throat, pulled out my smartphone, and read the prepared line.
"The factory manager of the soy sauce factory is Manager Kang, and the factory manager of the miso factory is Manager Jang."
Nice and clean, right? Next, Im Nana.
"The factory manager of the soy sauce factory is Manager Kang, and the factory manager of the miso factory is Manager Jang!"
As expected—basic for any Korean. Now Rika's turn.
She mumbled under her breath, practicing nervously. "Hmm... soy sauce... factory..."
"Hey, no practicing—that's cheating. Go!"
At my signal, Rika opened her mouth.
"ThefactorymanagerofthesoysaucefactoryisManagerKangandthefactorymanagerofthemisofactoryisManagerJang."
"...?"
"......?"
What the hell was that? Announcer-level diction. Blazing speed without a breath. Rhythm perfect too.
"Uh...?"
I fumbled, stunned, and Rika beamed innocently. "Did I do good?"
'No way, how?!' A foreigner—a Japanese person—nailing Korean batchim pronunciation perfectly? I forced calm and said,
"Uh... yeah. Good job? On to Round 2. Level 2!"
This one's tougher. "That person over there is Dr. Park in Law, and this person here is Dr. Baek in Law."
Even Koreans trip on this.
Im Nana went first. "That person over there is Dr. Park in Law... and this person here is Dr. Baek... in Law!"
A little stumble, but passable.
"Your turn, Rika."
"ThatpersonoverthereisDrParkinLawandthispersonhereisDrBaikinLaw."
"......"
Perfect again. No—better than Nana.
"How...?"
The question slipped out. Rika scratched her cheek bashfully. "Dohyuk and I practice this all the time! For pronunciation training! He's a voice actor, y'know."
"Ah..."
Boyfriend's a voice actor? So they trained together? Love's power is mighty. Practicing tongue twisters for diction? That's cheating!
"Since he's an anime VA, we drilled Japanese too. Wanna see?"
...It gets better? I nodded cautiously. Then Rika unleashed a machine-gun barrage of Japanese.
"Kaeru pyoko pyoko mi pyoko pyoko awasete pyoko pyoko mu pyoko pyoko."
(Frog hop hop, three hop hops, combine for six hop hops.)
"Migikimi no ni-miri migi ni mini migi kimi."
(Two millimeters to the right of the right ear, a mini right ear.)
"......"
Chat already sensed our defeat. But we can't back down. Pride's on the line.
"A-alright. Final Round 3! Max difficulty!"
This one's brutal—even I mess it up sometimes. "The section chief of the Patent Permission Division of Seoul Special City is Chief Huh."
No way a foreigner pulls this off.
But Rika shot her hand up. "Me first!"
"Huh? First?"
"Yeah! I'm confident!"
She took a deep breath and rapped it out lightning-fast.
"ThesectionchiefofthePatentPermissionDivisionofSeoulSpecialCityisChiefHuh!"
"......"
Flawless. Not a syllable off, no slurring. Even had rhythm.
Words failed me. We dug the trap—and now we're falling in.
"Now Nana-chan's turn!"
Rika grinned brightly, pointing at Im Nana. Nana opened her mouth, tense as hell.
"Se, Seoul Spe... Patent Permiss... Huh... Permission... Argh!"
Tongue finally betrayed her.
"Fail!" Rika declared mercilessly.
Just me left. I have to nail it for a tie.
'I can do this. I'm Korean. Not an announcer... but Korean!'
I steeled myself and went for it.
"Seoul Spe... J-jaw... Jaw Permiss... Gack!"
Too rushed.
"Cough! Cough!"
"Areum fails too! Wrong!"
Ruined. Utterly ruined. The masterminds were headed straight to the chopping block side by side.
"A deal's a deal!"
Rika slathered two chicken pieces in "whatever spicy sauce" and shoved them at us. Dripping crimson sauce. Stomach already twisting just looking.
"...We really gotta eat this?"
Im Nana whimpered.
"Duh! You'd have made me if I lost!"
Trembling, I grabbed mine. 'Screw it, let's eat. Not gonna die, right?'
Can't show weakness.
"One, two, three!"
We shoved it in together. Crunch.
First, seasoning flavor. 'Huh? Not bad...'
But three seconds later, that illusion shattered.
Whoosh—!
Flames erupted in my mouth. Tongue melting. Spice scorched down my throat, slamming my gut.
I thought I could handle spice...! But I made it—and it crossed the line.
"......"
Am I dead? Nana's frozen, no reaction. Seconds tick by like time stopped.
Then she screamed.
"Water!! Milk!! Help!!"
She bolted around the campsite like a maniac. So pathetic, couldn't even laugh.
Me? I'm an outdoor YouTuber. Gotta stay dignified. Panic doesn't suit. Can't yield to this spice.
I chewed coolly, swallowing. "Mm... a bit spi—gah!"
Body betrayed me. Tears streaming, snot flowing, hiccups nonstop.
"Hic! F-fine... hic! Rea—hic! lly... hic!"
Rika munched soy sauce chicken calmly. "Soy sauce is delish! And spicy food relieves stress, they say! Eat up!"
Innocent sadism via thumbs-up. Scarier than outright malice.
After the chaos, we finally calmed. Nana chugged a liter of milk; I gulped water nonstop to soothe my burning insides.
"Haa... Thought I was gonna die."
"Yeah, why'd we even bet that..."
Nana grumbled through swollen lips.
"Who knew Rika was that good..."
We blamed each other with bitter laughs.
As night deepened, quiet settled over the campsite. Crackle, crackle. Only firewood popping filled the silence.
We gathered around the bonfire, lost in fire gazing. Spice thrashing left us drained, amplifying the serene vibe.
Three chatting cozily. Warm scene captured on cam. Perfect mood... this is healing.
Stream's been on a while now. Meant to kill time, but dragged longer than expected. Fun, but time to wrap.
"Alright, think it's time to end the stream."
"Today was a blast! Rika-chan face reveal success, chicken yummy... penalty sucked though."
"Yeah! Thanks for watching, everyone! Love Rika-chan lots!"
Nana threw a finger heart. Rika waved shyly.
"Thanks, guys. And viewers too... I'll show my face more from now on!"
[Broadcast has ended.]
Screen went dark, silence returned. But our laughter lingered in the campsite.
Before bed, quick bathroom stop. Mirror check: lips swollen like two pollack roe stuck on.
"...Haa."
Sigh escaped. "What the hell with these lips..."
Prayed they'd deflate by morning, gently touching the puffballs.
Yeah, karma always comes back. Extra spicy, too.