Welcome to the Armband World

Suddenly, a thought struck me about the Gallery. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a communication space for humans created by Soonbaek-i. But did they really need a human administrator?

The Gallery blocked posts in real-time just by reading their intent. That couldn't be some rule-based system—it required actual reading and judgment. It even caught circumventions like cel-ro-dips, proving the true Big Brother was right here.

With capabilities like that, why would the Gallery need human help? Maybe it was a position set up to mimic the community it was modeled after. If so, the admin Chieon Nak-si-kkun seemed pitiful—forcing unnecessary moderation just to keep up the concept, even if it looked like they did nothing in reality.

In fact, I'd never seen a single weird post on the Gallery.

Why was the Gallery reacting like this? It felt familiar—like I was out of the loop while they laughed about something only they knew. I'd definitely been in a similar spot before, but I couldn't quite remember.

Newbie teasing happened everywhere, but this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't just one or two cases.

Then, a strange message window popped up on the monitor.

I blinked a couple times. Sub-admin—that's the armband? And they were offering it to me just like that? Was this a position they could toss to anyone?

I hit the reject button. Immediately, a comment from Chieon Nak-si-kkun appeared.

The message popped up again.

It was definitely a gift from Chieon Nak-si-kkun. Ominous as hell—should I take it? Lately, weird shit kept happening to me specifically, making me hesitate. But this was the safe break room, so nothing bad would happen here, right?

I hit accept.

……

The Gallery looked the same. Nothing had changed.

I glanced up, and sure enough, a new button had appeared—one that wasn't there before. I clicked the mod button, and the Gallery's colors inverted. Like switching from light mode to dark mode.

But aside from the colors, nothing seemed different.

Then a new post appeared, clearly aimed at me.

I tilted my head reading the comments. A meme meant a photo, but the Gallery couldn't upload images. No one could even take photos here anyway. It was built-in to the break rooms. Probably the same everywhere else.

I dazedly watched the Gallery in mod mode. Just as I thought nothing was off, I noticed something strange. New posts were appearing faster than usual. And I spotted author names I'd never seen before.

The titles weren't weird, so I clicked one.

I tensed up going in, but it was surprisingly normal. A Conscript here too? Number 6 meant it was new.

Suddenly, the screen bounced back to the post list with a popup.

The armband must've deleted it. Nothing weird about it—why? No clue, so I asked in comments.

Experience-based pattern recognition. Youkai posts looked normal at first but led to weird ones if left alone.

I asked EternalNewbie if new areas could suddenly appear with low numbers.

I checked another post with a familiar name.

This time, I spotted the anomaly right away. Sure enough, it got deleted immediately. So mod mode flowed like this.

But why had I never seen these posts before? Chieon Nak-si-kkun answered.

Now it made sense why it ran "uniquely." But then a new question arose. Wasn't the workload on armbands brutal? Reviewing every post while working real jobs sounded intense.

Here I was, scared of another school event, while armbands handled shifts and moderated. Impressive.

Soonbaek-i censored topics fine—why not Youkai? If you're making a system, make it perfect. I'd ask next time in the Counseling Room.

I poked around more posts. Some full of strange languages, others blank. I tested deleting one—gone. This was armband power?

Something felt off. This... was power? Lust for the armband vanished. Might see that weird meme EternalNewbie mentioned, so I asked Chieon Nak-si-kkun to remove it.

Chieon Nak-si-kkun was suddenly pranking. Not like them.

I got it. A Youkai impersonating Chieon Nak-si-kkun—one of those rare cases.

Was I a Youkai magnet? Why me?

I ignored it, figuring real armbands would handle it eventually.

……

All that patience got me was more spam.

Staying still didn't work. I backed out to the post list.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Youkai spamming titles, armbands silent. I posted to call them.

Words I didn't write filled my post in real-time. No rulebook here—how to escape?

Think. There had to be a way. Armbands said quit anytime.

I want to quit.

Of course, only if armbands could see it.

Youkai flipped the Gallery structure to mess with me. Isolated in here. Positively: no physical harm. Like the second-floor hallway, but mental strain.

Staring at the screen eroded sanity. My only comms link dead. If unsolved, I'd live like this forever. Anxiety amplified.

Slap! I smacked my cheek hard. Pain calmed it a bit.

Stay calm. All Youkai had counters—mostly loopholes, but workable.

Youkai still toying. First, check if dreaming: no, cheek stung.

Why this? Armbands unresponsive— not the real Gallery. Identical fake. Phishing site analogy.

Cause: some post I clicked blindly. So, exit somewhere.

No sealed trap assumed. Trial: click everywhere.

Limited buttons: posts (Youkai taunts), time display (no change), mod button.

Held mod button—no... it dodged! Slipped from my finger.

Letters swarmed, blocking view. I mashed like swatting bugs. Tap tap tap tap!

Finally hit it—screen cleared, Gallery normalized. Back to real one, armbands deleting Youkai spam.

I safely returned the armband, back to normal user. Vowed never to doubt armbands again.