Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Puffed Male's All-Nighter Relay
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Ugh...
I woke up to the burning thirst in my throat.
I shouted with my eyes still closed.
"Honey...! Give me some water...!"
Aah... my head.
It felt like my skull was splitting open from being hammered.
I felt like I would die if I didn't drink water right now.
I must have drunk a ton—my eyelids were incredibly heavy.
But...
Why isn't he coming?
Normally, he would've rushed over with honey water already mixed.
My husband had that sweet side to him.
Oh.
We fought last night.
Is he protesting because of that?
How petty.
I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids.
Harsh sunlight stabbed my eyes.
...Huh?
Where... is this?
It wasn't the familiar ceiling of our master bedroom.
I saw pure white wallpaper and unfamiliar lighting I'd never seen before.
Fragments of last night's memories flashed through my mind like a broken film reel.
Loud music...
Sweet cocktails...
And... Min-jun's face.
My eyes snapped open, and I bolted upright.
"Wh... where is this!?"
On the floor where my gaze fell, the clothes and underwear I'd worn last night were scattered haphazardly.
My heart plummeted to the floor with a thud.
With trembling hands, I slightly lifted the blanket.
Not a stitch of clothing.
A completely naked body.
Ah...
Aaah...
My mind went blank.
"This is bad..."
I could feel all the blood draining from my face.
I was up all night with wide-open eyes.
It had been hours since my wife stormed out the door.
I'd called dozens of times, but she didn't pick up.
Pacing the living room in anxiety, I eventually sat back down at the computer, where the monitor light was the only thing greeting me in the darkness.
I started venting again using the anonymous account I'd posted with earlier.
I passed the time staring wide-eyed at their comments.
I chain-smoked cigarettes.
Time indifferently ticked on.
Lolollol who told you to get married?
I'll stay up with ya... hang in there…
What NEET punk acting like staying up is special? Lol you pull all-nighters like meals lol
The sky outside was gradually brightening.
Thanks to the all-night relay, I didn't feel lonely.
Countless Stock Gallery users were staying up with me.
As the sun rose, I wrote my final post.
The next morning, Stock Gallery was hotter than ever.
Sleepy users logged in one by one.
And they all did the same thing.
Thoroughly reading the featured post.
There, the desperate all-nighter relay of one anonymous user was preserved.
His updates stopped after the last post.
The Stock Gallery users who read it through were buzzing like a festival had broken out.
One man's family drama had become the ultimate snack and plaything overnight.
The gallery was plastered with 'Puffed Bro' stories.
Stock Gallery was filled with Puffed Bro talk.
Everyone eagerly awaited his next update.
Would he choose divorce?
Or forgive his wife once more as the sweet hubby?
The Stock Gallery users swallowed hard, waiting for fresh bait.
Thus, one man's tragedy became everyone's comedy.
The sun was high in the sky.
A careful beep of the front door password echoed, and Ji-su entered with her head down.
Her eyes met Ji-hoon's, who was sitting on the living room sofa.
His under-eyes were hollow, dark circles reaching his chin.
He looked like he hadn't slept a wink all night.
Ji-su gulped dryly.
Then, Ji-hoon spoke in an emotionless voice.
"...Pulled an all-nighter, huh? Didn't answer calls. Who were you with?"
His cold tone sparked defiance in Ji-su.
She knew she was in the wrong.
But strangely, she strongly felt like she couldn't back down.
Min-jun's face from last night, courting her, flashed in her mind.
Guilt mixed with a strange sense of superiority.
'A woman like me lives with you, and you can't even understand this?'
Yeah, the alcohol hadn't fully worn off yet.
"You slept fine on your own. I was pissed because of you, drank with a friend, and crashed."
"Which friend?"
At that, Ji-su snapped irritably, as if she'd been waiting.
"What? You suspecting me now?"
Like a thief with guilty feet, Ji-su came on even stronger.
Ji-hoon didn't respond.
He just stared at her silently.
But inside, he was boiling.
A heavy silence flowed.
Unable to bear the awkwardness, Ji-su spoke first.
"I'm tired. Gonna shower and sleep more."
She'd already showered at the motel, but wanted to erase any lingering scent, so Ji-su hurried to the master bedroom.
Then, Ji-hoon's gaze fixed on her left hand.
'...No ring?'
A seed of suspicion sprouted in Ji-hoon's heart.
Ji-su entered the bedroom and quickly locked the bathroom door.
She looked in the mirror and patted her chest.
"Phew... didn't get caught, right?"
She believed her lie had worked perfectly.
Even after Ji-su disappeared into the bedroom, Ji-hoon sat frozen in place for a long time.
His mind had cooled completely.
The anxiety and anger that tormented him all night vanished, leaving only one word echoing in his brain.
'Evidence.'
He quietly turned on the computer and logged into DC Inside.
And left a final comment on his all-night relay post.
His final post was the detonator.
The dawn crew who'd relayed with him all night and the daytime crew who'd read the featured post all piled in.
The comments exploded.
Way faster than during the night.
Ji-hoon scrolled down, reading every comment one by one.
His eyes no longer wavered.
Amid the Stock Gallery users' mocking advice, he saw the path forward.
Yeah, flipping out comes later.
For now... evidence first.
From the day after her overnight stay, Ji-su was inwardly on edge.
She acted like nothing happened, but her heart was always pounding like a pebble.
A Kakaotalk notification popped up.
From the man she'd spent the night with, Min-jun.
[Got home safe? Last night was fun. ^^]
Ji-su blocked him immediately upon reading and deleted the chat.
Yeah, now if she just kept her mouth shut, it'd be fine.
No one would know.
Perfect crime.
But there was one thing Ji-su didn't know.
Maybe from being too tense.
She still hadn't noticed her left ring finger felt bare.
That her wedding ring was gone.
Perhaps from rising guilt, Ji-su suddenly started paying attention to housework.
She did the piled-up laundry, cleaned the messy living room, and even cooked dinner for Ji-hoon herself.
But Ji-hoon said nothing about that day.
In his silence, Ji-su jumped to her own conclusion.
'Ah... he's just gonna let it slide. This guy still loves me. Scared I'll leave.'
Thinking that eased her mind.
The guilt melted away like snow, and superiority reared its head again.
But Ji-su truly didn't know.
That Ji-hoon's silence wasn't forgiveness.
It was the calm before the storm.
A step back for a step forward.
Ji-hoon's trolling wasn't just low-level shitposts.
Sometimes, with meticulously crafted troll posts, he could shake the entire gallery.
Perfect trolling required intricate planning.
It was the same technique his main account, Loser Male, used to toy with Stock Gallery users.
Using stock photos from the internet to fake a happy family life and provoke their rage.
Those honed planning skills hadn't gone anywhere.
Ji-hoon silently recited his creed to himself.
'Trolling requires patience and time of suffering!'
In the past, he'd spent days planning for perfect aggro pulls.
Veteran community dwellers say it.
When everything falls into place too perfectly to be real, that's trolling.
Conversely, stories so shitty they'd get the writer flamed for "brain-dead plot?" if turned into drama—that's real life.