The Crutch Isn't Comfortable, But It's Useful
Exhausted, but today was still rewarding.
Bae Deuro, who was born into a family without anything to envy and attended a prestigious university, headed straight home after classes ended.
“Deuro-ya, aren't you going to the meeting today? I heard the design department has lots of pretty girls.”
“Ah, I'm eating dinner with the family. Maybe next time.”
“Why is that pretty-faced guy so pathetic? If I were Deuro, I'd really go meet all the girls.”
“Bae Deuro, that guy's from a Christian family. He just plays healthy.”
“Hey, those kinds of guys get seduced first by the church aunties. Didn't you know?”
“What?”
Good grades, good looks.
He lives a wholesome life to the point of being called a model of a righteous man.
He knows his family is well-off, so he grew up receiving more than others.
He didn't show off how great he was.
That's why his childhood friends and even new acquaintances didn't hide their attraction to him.
He was named after his baptismal name because of his devout upbringing, but if his lack of real faith was a flaw, so be it.
Still, Bae Deuro never doubted that he was always on the side of good.
He had learned the universal good and lived by it.
How could living only nicely and dutifully be fun?
It wasn't.
Since he was inherently good and just, he could be even more merciless toward evil.
That's why Bae Deuro spewed equally vicious words at those who posted toxic comments online.
In game chats where direct insults didn't trigger proper punishment, or in game communities.
For people who deliberately rubbed others the wrong way, they deserved treatment that matched their behavior.
He wasn't trying to become some cyber vigilante, nor was he driven by some sense of duty.
Bae Deuro knew it was unfair to insult them back.
But in real life, he couldn't say those words directly, and he still felt that liberating feeling.
And the internet world was full of people who deserved to hear those words.
Smart enough to use a wide variety of vocabulary to poke at their nerves.
And by taking on just a little hassle, he could investigate their past actions and find every single thing to trip them up on.
So many toxic users he had erased.
Of course, in the process, Bae Deuro used VPN software to hide his IP and registered an account with an unknown person's resident registration number.
Just in case.
They might sulk because they felt the injustice, according to logic and justification.
“Deuro-ya. This thing came for you. What is it? Suddenly a summons?”
“What?”
Yet it seemed that method didn't work.
When he arrived home, his mother was handing him a piece of paper.
Someone had sued him, so he needed to go to the police station to be investigated.
“Were you fighting with someone online?”
The mother, who surely couldn't have a son like that, asked out of concern.
Bae Deuro answered with a confident smile.
“Well, we did argue a bit, but game chats are like that. We just exchanged a few bad words. You don't have to worry.”
“You didn't say anything lewd like that, did you?”
“Aigoo, I don't say double insults. I just win on logic, so the other side gets angry and charges in.”
“Yeah, but since a summons came, you have to go for the investigation. Your dad will come later, so go together.”
“Ah, I'm fine. I'll go alone.”
He pretended to calm his mother down, but in his head, he was full of questions about who had sued him.
Anyway, since they exchanged insults, it was mutual.
The level of curses was always higher from the other side.
Bae Deuro's words were usually what people called a fact barrage.
He also had grounds, and he had even gotten the support of other community users on his back.
He had just been poking at people who deserved the insults in the first place.
How could those kinds of people have the gall to file a lawsuit?
“Um, first I should try to trace the IP...”
More than anything, it was unbelievable that someone had sued him after he had routed the IP under someone else's name.
How did they know to file the complaint?
Even if he had eavesdropped on all kinds of internet information, he was still just a freshman who had just entered university.
He had never filed a complaint before, so now he was worried.
Finally, after visiting the police station alone, Bae Deuro learned what charges he had been sued for.
“Bae Deuro? You use the ID 'Doremejeirabel'? You have been continuously insulting someone who uses the ID 'Noel...'?”
It wasn't just anyone. It was a complaint for insulting a disabled girl.
The moment he heard that, Bae Deuro felt rising injustice, frustration, and anger.
There was nothing proven in the live broadcast explanation.
Other guys were insulting that disabled girl the same way, but why only him?
Even if he felt a little sorry for the disabled girl, didn't that mean the hacker shouldn't use hacks?
After that, even when he continued to raise doubts, they ignored him as if he were just mocking.
He even wrote posts saying 'I wish you were dead' to gain sympathy from others.
In Bae Deuro's mind, Noel was just a cunning hacker who had cleverly washed her hands, an evil woman who used her disability as a weapon.
That was the only way it could be. After all, he was always on the side of good.
Bae Deuro had only been angry at evil.
He had only insulted people who deserved it.
Yet that bitch had the nerve to sue him using the support of others.
“No, I don't think so. It seems there might be some misunderstanding.”
Instead of claiming that righteousness, he used the exact response method he had seen online.
After all, in front of a lawsuit, he was just a weak human being too.
“To say no, your account name matches the Doremejeirabel ID and your Instagram exactly. Instagram Bae Deuro, is this you?”
“Ah, I use Instagram. But it's not like someone uses the same ID as mine by coincidence, right? If it's Peter with a number combination, it's not such a unique ID.”
“You posted that you upgraded to Diamond tier in March last year. The game nickname you used at that time was DawnMass... You also posted a similar thing on Instagram that day. It seems like the same person.”
“...”
But denying it like that had no effect at all.
Apparently, they had brought solid evidence.
Or maybe the police had investigated him that thoroughly just to torment him.
Bae Deuro's face twisted.
“Ugh, the crutch is more uncomfortable than I thought...”
The crutch that Celesty brought him on the day she received the power of attorney from Kanchona.
It was given to him because he couldn't move around quickly, and it was supposed to be used at least for now.
It wasn't exactly comfortable.
It seemed made of light material, but to maintain its sturdiness, it was a bit heavy.
Just walking a little made his armpits, shoulders, and arms go numb.
It couldn't be supported just by the grip of his hands, because his palms hurt too much.
Still, it was definitely more stable than using a cane.
It was less tiring than using a cane leg, so it was a useful tool.
Still, at home it was easier to crawl.
Sometimes I think I'm like a beast, but since no one sees me, it doesn't matter.
And when I use the crutch at home, it makes more noise than jumping.
So I only use the crutch when going outside, and it has become my custom to lean against the front door.
Several days passed.
Thanks to the viewers, I could enjoy the game happily.
I replied to the chats they posted and shared the game data I had accumulated without reservation.
Actually, I was also using data that others had built up.
If we think in terms of coding, it was like open source.
All of us using it usefully gave a good feeling, like information worth sharing.
So there was no loss.
The pizza I ate one slice a day finally got eaten up.
The cola I had carefully portioned was all gone.
But despite running out of food, I felt happy.
Now I could eat new food.
Should I try chicken this time?
Or a hamburger?
Ah, now that I have a crutch, maybe it's okay to go out and get a hamburger.
While thinking about that happy decision, in the moment I was chatting with viewers about what to eat.
Someone rang the doorbell.
Was the downstairs neighbor aunt coming over with another side dish again?
Thinking that, I crawled toward the door with all my strength.
The doorbell rang once more.
It wasn't the downstairs neighbor aunt.
Since she knew I would take a while to come out, she waited.
“Um, no one's home? ... Ah.”
Thanks to that, when I opened the door, I met a delivery person who tilted his head and muttered before looking at me.
The delivery person stopped muttering when he saw my leg situation.
It was convenient that I didn't need to explain why I was late.
Ah, if I had been fine in the first place, I wouldn't have been late.
“I didn't order any delivery...”
“You didn't take your phone in for repair? It's registered mail. You need to sign for it.”
“Ah.”
Anyway, I thought there wouldn't be any delivery.
I had completely forgotten about my phone.
I guess I had gotten too used to there being no phone.
No matter how little I used my phone, it was still better to have one.
I received the repaired phone box, placed it on the floor, and wrote my name on the tablet the delivery person handed me.
Then the delivery person said carefully to me.
“Um, student. But someone had spray-painted on the door, right? Did you not see it?”
“Spray paint?”
After all, I had just gone outside with my crutch for the first time in a while.
I really saw that someone had spray-painted on the door.
Disabled guy, die, scammer, bastard, and all sorts of small and vicious curses.