You're the One at Fault

I propped my chin in my hand and sank into thought for a moment.

Judge who's right and wrong.

I had devoted most of my life to exactly that.

Making sure no one was left feeling wronged. Always defending the single, solitary truth.

I wasn't a lawyer right now—this was more like shady underground advocacy—but the cases I had to handle were just stories from inside a game anyway.

And the most important thing hung in the balance: whether the stream thrived or died.

Pro league broadcasts were entertaining, but on days without matches the content drought set in hard. LOK disputes, though? Those cropped up every single day. If the people involved would just tip me off on stream, it would complete an endless virtuous cycle of get-rekt infinite power free-rice happiness-spiral...

More than anything, after doing the commentary broadcast this time, I'd realized kibitzing on games wasn't that big a deal. My actual mechanical skill was garbage, but nobody was asking me to play, right?

Not bad at all.

"Thank you for the donation!! That must have been so frustrating. Please send the video to my business email. I'll take a look."

"...My rank isn't important. Right now we should prioritize the viewer's sense of injustice!"

Shit... the mood was turning weird.

It wasn't a wrong take. Giving advice implied you had the credentials to back it up. Same as an eight-year-old telling an eighty-year-old, "That's not how you live life," and getting absolutely wrecked for it.

I shut my mouth for a moment and thought it over.

My LOK account hadn't even been assigned a rank yet. So-called unranked. I hadn't bothered queuing because I knew I'd get stomped and I didn't want the stress. And if that fact got out?

lololololol unranked unranked god-tier noob

Okay. Decision made. Even if I was going to talk about it, now was the absolute worst timing. I wouldn't be able to hide it forever, so the smart move was to make this content a success first, swing public opinion in my favor, and then casually drop it later.

"I'll look at the video first and tell you later."

"Think whatever you want. And a judge doesn't need to personally commit theft before they can rule on a thief, right?"

"Ah, you sent it. Playing the video now."

I opened the video file the donor had sent and put it up on stream.

The tipster's nickname was Benzopyrene.

"Ahem. Just like you shouldn't judge people by their looks, you don't judge them by their nickname alone."

"When determining right and wrong, no subjectivity is allowed to mix in."

I hit play. The character belonging to viewer Benzopyrene began to move. He had selected the One-Armed Gunslinger, a damage dealer. And the utility character synced up with him was... Forest Kid.

So the user who had picked Forest Kid was probably the toxic player Benzopyrene had reported.

The detailed explanation the tipster had written in the email went like this:

He mainly played damage dealers. As long as the utility character backed him up reasonably well, games always went smoothly. But in this match the utility player assisting him refused to listen and acted on their own, turning a favorable situation weird.

He pointed out the mistakes, they didn't even pretend to hear him, and that made him furious. The gap kept widening until the team lost. After the game, when he called out the problems, the Forest Kid user unloaded a torrent of curses at him.

"Hmm..."

I paused the video for a moment.

Even at a glance the explanation was drowning in Benzopyrene's subjectivity. He had already written it under the assumption that Forest Kid was entirely at fault. Ideally you'd hear both sides for a multi-angle approach, but...

I invited Benzopyrene into a 1:1 chat and messaged him.

Nothing I could do. The video was objective evidence, so it should be fine. And since there would be a lot to discuss, inviting him to voice chat was the better way to start.

I sent him a voice chat invite link. I got his prior consent that his voice would be broadcast on stream, and a moment later Benzopyrene entered the voice room.

"Hello~"

"Yeah, hello."

A thinner voice than expected. Separate from that, it was overflowing with confidence.

"Alright then, could you tell me one more time which part felt so unfair? I'll take careful note."

"Yes. If you watch the video you'll see—this was a game we could have won very cleanly."

"Both the composition and my individual skill were better than the enemy damage dealer."

"But the Forest Kid user didn't listen to a single thing I said."

"What kind of requests did you pass on?"

"It was the timing for them to gank through the rubble piles on the enemy side, so I told him to back off. Instead he walked straight toward the direction I'd told him not to approach."

"So you got ambushed?"

"Yes. Just as expected the enemies appeared and we got properly jumped—formation fell apart. Luckily nobody died, but we started by giving up the advantageous high ground."

"Hmm..."

Something felt off.

"And after that?"

"I said the enemy looked like they were going to fake hitting an epic monster and set an ambush. So I told him not to check. But again he ignored me and walked in."

"Was there an ambush?"

"There wasn't. But there were a lot of circumstances that made it highly likely."

"Ahem... I'll check the video first."

I resumed the paused video.

First disputed scene.

Benzopyrene and the Forest Kid user facing off against two enemy players. Benzopyrene's play definitely overflowed with confidence. Even while clearing minions he steadily poured damage into the enemy characters. His range control was perfect—he was dishing out more hits than he was taking.

For sure... but so far the Forest Kid user hadn't done anything particularly eye-catching either. If anything, he also looked like he was contributing to the advantageous situation by excellently applying buffs to Benzopyrene.

"Oh."

Then a noisy sound cut through as danger signals flooded the map. Benzopyrene was spamming danger pings on Forest Kid's location.

Runner. The position that secured the small epic monsters spawning among the ruin rubble, grew, then joined various lanes to create fight angles.

Benzopyrene urgently signaled as if the enemy Runner would appear any second. But Forest Kid instead moved toward the path the Runner could take. Right then the enemy Runner revealed himself from between the rubble piles.

Looking startled, the Forest Kid character burned every skill he had and barely escaped the crisis. At the same time, however, the enemy damage dealer and utility character used the Runner's support to push the lane down hard.

Having already fled and watching from a distance, Benzopyrene dropped a chat full of regret.

Judging purely from the facts confirmed through the video, Forest Kid's fault was large. But Forest Kid's rank was the same as Benzopyrene's... so why make such a dangerous play?

I carefully examined the given clues—nearby teammates' positions, exchanged chats, everything. And the moment I checked both players' item windows, I started to get a sense of it.

"Benzopyrene... ah, is it okay if I call you by your game nickname? It's just that the name is pretty intense..."

"Yes, I don't mind."

"Do you remember this moment?"

"Just thinking about it makes me so frustrated."

"At this point, why were you so certain the enemy Runner would come?"

"Because it was just that timing. Take one epic, walk straight down, and it's right on our lane."

"But they also might not have come, right?"

"But they did come."

"True, they did come in the end. That part of your prediction was correct."

"Exactly."

"But that's hindsight."

I stopped the video.

"The part Benzopyrene just described exists in the realm of possibility until the moment it actually happens."

"If we only talk possibilities, there's also the possibility that all five enemy players suddenly quit the game."

"...What?"

"That was an example of a possibility."

"The conclusion is that the existence of a possibility and the idea that you must move on the premise of that possibility are different issues."

"As someone who received a donation I don't really want to kibitz at Benzopyrene, but it felt like a pretty self-centered way of thinking."

Benzopyrene didn't answer and fell silent.

"Let's look at the next scene."

Second dispute scene.

The enemy team cleared the signal devices Forest Kid had placed around an epic monster, wiping vision. Benzopyrene said an ambush was suspected and ordered him not to approach. Sound judgment. But Forest Kid walked right up near the suspected ambush spot and used the Fairy Launch skill to secure vision.

Nobody was there. Right after, the allied Runner leisurely took the epic monster. This also featured adventurous play from Forest Kid, but it didn't lead to fatal damage. If anything, it was a scene where they secured an advantage.

"If there had been an ambush, you would have died."

The silent Benzopyrene opened his mouth.

"I checked with Fairy Launch though?"

"The enemy could have been hiding outside the skill range."

"Then you can't do anything."

"You move when it's completely safe."

"How do you confirm it's completely safe?"

"Anyway it was dangerous at that moment."

And from this point the chat relay between Benzopyrene and Forest Kid began. Benzopyrene typed chats pointing out mistakes, and Forest Kid answered briefly that he understood. Still didn't look like a full fight yet.

I continued watching the third scene.

Mid-game. In a situation where allies had a numerical advantage, they surrounded two enemy players. Forest Kid and the other teammates were looking for a fight angle when Benzopyrene urgently spammed retreat signals.

Forest Kid and the teammates ignored him and engaged. The fight was a complete allied victory. The setup was so advantageous they could win even without the damage dealer. The enemy support never arrived because the distance was too far.

"Here, why did you think enemy support was coming?"

"When they move that obviously it's naturally a trap."

"Did you confirm the enemy positions?"

"I don't think I saw them exactly."

"..."

Okay. Judgment was set.

I stopped the video.

"It is a fact that Forest Kid did not follow Benzopyrene's delicate instructions."

"Right?"

Strength returned to his voice.

"But the instructions kept being wrong."

"No, I was talking about possibilities—"

"It feels less like you were communicating possibilities and more like you were demanding obedience."

"..."

"The enemy might ambush."

"They might set a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trap."

"Support might come."

"All of those are possible stories."

With the video still paused I brought up the three scenes in sequence.

"In the first scene it was certainly a situation that could have been dangerous, but it wasn't a fatal mistake."

"In the second scene you checked vision with a skill."

"In the third scene the teammates had already grasped that it was an overwhelmingly advantageous setup."

Benzopyrene spoke.

"B-but you never know, right?"

"Benzopyrene, you weren't reading the flow. You were only imagining the worst situations."

"Ha, but! Forest Kid ignored what I said!"

"Was it really ignoring?"

"What?"

"Think carefully. No—look carefully. The answer is in the video."

"I-I don't get it..."

"Forest Kid didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ignore you because he didn't like you."

I pointed at Forest Kid's item window.

"He never stopped using signal devices and skills to light up the map's vision."

"The first scene where he ignored Benzopyrene's order and approached the enemy Runner's path—at that moment a signal device was ready."

"Since Benzopyrene had no signal devices, it seems Forest Kid was trying to do vision work."

"..."

"And the second scene. Same thing. The goal was securing vision."

"Forest Kid took the risk and dove in to keep Benzopyrene and the teammates alive."

"No... then why was he so irritating..."

"Because Benzopyrene kept pushing only his own claims. Look at the chat once."

After that the rough cursing continued. Asking after his mother, checking the entire family's living status—a full-blown chaotic chat.

"Of course Forest Kid's cursing is also a fault."

"Right?"

Benzopyrene reacted immediately.

"I didn't report him for nothing—"

"But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the cursing problem and who made the wrong judgment inside the game are separate issues."

"No, he cursed at me—"

"Benzopyrene, you also cursed, and the topic of this story was who caused the team to lose."

My throat was dry... need some water.

"Ahem. Alright, delivering the verdict."

"First, Forest Kid's cursing can clearly be seen as wrong."

"However, looking at the point of this communication, I have confirmed that the cause that created the conflict inside the game lies with Benzopyrene."

"...What?"

"You treated your own delusions as established fact."

"And on the basis of that fact you forced wrong instructions onto your teammate."

"No, so I was speaking about possibilities for the sake of the team—"

"It wasn't a request. It was an order."

"If it had been a judgment for the team, you should have admitted it when your predictions missed."

"..."

"But even though every single one of your predictions was wrong, you fixated on the fact that your teammate didn't listen and showed something close to a tantrum."

I took a short breath.

"Simply put."

"The donor was the one at fault."

"I even donated and you're going to talk to me like that?"

"I'm grateful for that, but delivering a fair opinion is the proper courtesy in return."

"Can't you at least understand my side?"

"I understood it."

"What?"

"As a result of understanding it, Benzopyrene was the one at fault. My condolences."

"If you sent money just so I'd take your side, request a refund. I don't want it either."

Benzopyrene said nothing for a long while.

He had been thoroughly humiliated in front of nearly ten thousand people. I'd be embarrassed too if I were him.

"...Whatever."

"People can feel embarrassed. Don't be too hard on him."

After he left, explosive donations poured in.

"Uh uh... calm down everyone. There's too many donations!! I'm grateful but it's too much!"

Distinguishing between jokes and serious tips was going to be rough...

Still, if the reaction was this good, it wasn't bad at all, right?

Meanwhile.

In the one-room apartment of Benzopyrene, who had left the voice chat. He hadn't left Cha Jinyeong's stream, so he was still staring at the chats mocking him.

"Fuck..."

He slammed his fist down on the desk.

He had even paid money to vent his frustration and instead been made into a fool.

"Just you wait."

His fingers hammered the keyboard hard. New community post.

He typed the title.

"You fucked with the wrong person, you bitch."