Chapter 1: An Uncomfortable Reunion.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1: An Uncomfortable Reunion.
“Hey, Taemin. Can’t you just go to the club with me one more time? Just for one night.”
“No.”
Seo Yoonje, a classmate from my year.
The guy never seemed to get tired of it. Today, like clockwork, he was trying to convince me to go clubbing again.
“Ah, seriously... It's just too much hassle to go alone. It's so much easier when a guy like you is there, you know?”
He’d begged me to go with him just once last time, and I caved. I shouldn't have.
As someone who prefers the quiet of my room and my wireless earbuds, the deafening music was torture, and the cigarette smoke permeating the entire club was just plain disgusting.
“Ugh. I hate clubs, and you can hit on girls by yourself. If you have to, just go with someone else, okay? How many times are you going to say the same thing?”
I felt like a broken record.
“Damn it... There's no one else in our year who's as good-looking as you. That's why I'm begging you like this, Taemin. Huh?”
He seemed to be under the serious delusion that I'd be swayed if he just kept complimenting my looks.
I decided a more drastic measure was needed, so I told him a truth that was about fifty percent lie.
“Hey. I've got to focus on my own love life, you know?”
Yoonje's eyes went wide at my words.
“Ah, what? You've got your eye on someone? Wow. Fuck. Why didn't you say anything? Is she at our school? Don't tell me she's in our major?”
“You don't need to know. Hey, I have an elective, so I'm heading out.”
After brushing him off with a vague lie, I tapped his shoulder a couple of times, grabbed my tray, and headed for the tray return.
For a good-looking guy who enjoys chasing women, his face must be a huge blessing.
But for someone like me, who has little interest in them, could anything be more of a pain?
“Hello~”
“Oh? Taemin oppa, hello~”
As I walked down the hall and stood in front of the elevator, two underclassmen, probably from my major, greeted me.
“Yeah, hey.”
I gave a slight nod, returning their greeting half-heartedly, and immediately pulled out my phone in case they tried to start a conversation.
Don't talk to me. Don't talk to me. Don't talk to me. Don't talk to me.
I have absolutely no interest in getting friendly with you.
Once I was out of the building, I rushed to the bus stop.
There was a good reason I was in such a hurry.
Seriously, Luka-tan... Why are you streaming at such a weird time?
[First daytime stream in a while. Looking for people to join~]
I cursed the heavens after seeing Luka's stream title.
And it was a viewer participation stream... A participation stream...
I applied every single time Luka hosted a viewer participation stream, but I'd never once been picked.
It didn't matter if it was a game with 100 slots or a simple duo match; I was never chosen.
I'd even considered changing my username, but I just couldn't.
[Lucario]
My Twitch username.
A few months ago, Luka had read my donation and complimented my name, so I couldn't bring myself to abandon this seemingly cursed username.
[Ooh~ Lucario-nim~ That's a pretty cool name. Ah, is that the name of that monster? Anyway, thanks for the 1,000 won donation~]
Of course, she didn't actually answer my question and just moved on, but just hearing her say my name was cool was enough. The thought that she might one day remember, 'Ah, right, there was a subscriber with that name~' made my heart swell.
I got off the bus and sprinted to my apartment, quickly punching in the passcode.
-Beep beep beep be-be-beep-
Damn it... I messed up trying to go too fast.
I calmly entered the code again, kicked off the shoes I'd already half-slipped out of, and slammed the power button on my computer.
Tossing my bag aside and shrugging off my jacket, I grabbed my phone and unlocked the screen.
“Ah... please... just let this match last a little longer...”
The game was already nearing its climax.
The outcome of the match would be decided by the next team fight.
[Aah... Please...! Please...! Someone save Luka-tan...! Aaaargh!]
The sound of Luka's frantic keyboard clatter was like ASMR to my ears.
The enemy team was targeting Luka, the ranged damage dealer.
They were skills she could have easily dodged with a little more game sense, but her abysmal skills wouldn't allow it.
Luka, claiming she was stuck, died on the spot.
Having lost their damage dealer, the rest of the viewers on her team panicked and were picked off one by one by the enemy.
The result was, naturally, a defeat.
[Ah... I'm so sorry... We could have won if I'd just reacted better.]
Luka apologized sincerely, but the chat's reaction was surprisingly mild compared to her own.
[Ehh, Luka-tan. We knew you wouldn't be able to dodge that~]
[If you'd dodged that, it would mean you have a boyfriend under your desk playing for you hahaha]
[True lol]
[I love the inevitable 'Luka dies' ending]
Of course, if my computer had been on, I would've been spamming 'That's our Luka~ hahahahaha' right along with them.
[Seriously... you're all... so mean... No, I can dodge when I need to, okay? I only play like this on stream. When I play by myself, I'm good!]
When the chat continued to act unfazed, Luka's avatar made a frustrated expression.
[Gasp. Luka-tan, are you throwing on purpose?]
One viewer's playful jab was all it took for the chat to explode with messages fanning the flames of the 'Luka is intentionally throwing' theory.
Even though it wasn't her usual stream time, a whopping 800 people were watching.
[Hmph... In that case, watashi will have to prove it with my skills. Alright. Let's draw the next viewers~]
I smiled fondly, watching her smoothly continue the stream, completely unfazed by their teasing now.
Haa... Just a few months ago, she would have spent thirty minutes trying to defend herself against comments like that.
She'd shed her newbie image and become a true pro streamer.
Anyway, why haven't I heard the computer boot up?
I looked up from my phone, which I'd been staring at from my chair.
[Updating 17%]
[Do not turn off your computer.]
Argh. This fucking computer.
The expensive computer I'd splurged on always decided to pull this shit and update at the worst possible times.
Having missed my chance, I could only watch as Luka started another game with other viewers.
Of course, it wasn't that just watching the stream was boring.
It was fun watching Luka try her best, even if she wasn't very good, and it was also entertaining to see other viewers making the same kinds of jokes I would have.
This match dragged on for quite a while, and because both Luka's team and their opponents were terrible, it was actually pretty exciting.
[Wow... are these guys even human...]
[fr this is a legendary matchup]
[Luka-nim! I don't think you should be doing that right now...]
The chat was a storm of backseat gaming and criticism, but Luka was too busy frantically moving her character to notice.
During a lull in the fighting, when both sides were just farming for experience, the enemy assassin, who was almost certainly a stream sniper, killed her character in a single combo.
[You! Son of a bitch!]
Unable to contain her rage, Luka's genuine scream pierced my ears.
-Thwack-
The sound of a fist slamming against a keyboard.
[Ah... that's not fair... How did he come from there? Seriously, stop sniping... It's not fun... really...]
As soon as Luka got upset, the viewers started spamming axe emotes.
[What's that bastard's username.]
[Pink Army, let's get him~~~]
[Kill that son of a bitch!]
Since her screen was greyed out, Luka immediately checked the chat and went into damage control.
[Everyone! You know you can't go find that person's ID and harass them, right? My Pink Army can't be doing that. The only place you're allowed to be rude is in my chat~ Got it?]
There had been a few incidents where users complained about being harassed by her fans in the name of 'Luka's revenge,' so she calmly asked them to hold back their anger.
Thanks to that damn stream sniper, Luka's team naturally fell apart, and the game ended in another loss.
[Haa... Ah... that was fun... Too bad...]
Even with the sniper, there had been several moments where they could have won.
I felt bad for Luka, but I was secretly happy she'd lost.
I had thirty minutes until my group project meeting for my major.
If I got picked for the participation stream, it was just enough time for one game.
The game might run long, but if that happened, I figured I could just tell my group to start the meeting ten minutes early without me.
[What time is it, guys?]
Luka's eyes darted toward the bottom of her monitor.
[Aah... I was going to play one more game, but something came up, so I can't. I guess I'll end the stream here for today~ Lubye everyone~]
No. Luka-tan... I was logged into the game and waiting...
This can't be happening... It can't be...
I felt like my soul was leaving my body.
[Lubye lubye]
[Lubye!!]
[Why are you leaving already! Why are you leaving already! Why are you leaving already! Why are you leaving already! Why are you leaving already! Why are you leaving already! Why are you leaving already!]
[Lubye~]
[Lubye]
[When are you coming back T_T When are you coming back T_T When are you coming back T_T When are you coming back T_T]
Haa... Oh well, can't be helped.
The stream ended shortly after, and with a heavy heart, I logged into Voicecord.
Well... at least I can do the meeting from home on here instead of at school or somewhere else.
Ah... but... this group project...
Ssssp...
I scanned the names of my group members and let out a deep sigh.
[Kim Doah]
I was stuck working with the girl I'd dumped a few months ago until the end of the semester.