Gotta Drink What's Poured

While I was greeting the next-door sister, the viewers threw a full-blown tantrum of the highest order.

They couldn’t hear her voice, so of course they started wondering whether she was even really there. Turn the camera a little, they demanded. Show us behind you.

But I wasn’t that much of an idiot. All that talk was just an excuse because they wanted a look at her face.

“Aww, no way. Unni said she’s embarrassed.”

Thankfully they managed to talk themselves into acceptance and didn’t keep digging about the next-door sister. She had already left my room to head to work, after all.

If they’d kept going with their own logic and somehow convinced me, I would’ve had to introduce her to them—and then I’d have been left stammering and panicking because I couldn’t.

“I’m not saying I distrust you guys, but Unni’s still a regular person. I mean, I don’t exactly show my face on stream either, but… unlike a streamer like me, she’s embarrassed just having her voice come out. That’s why she didn’t even say hello. Ah, you probably didn’t catch that since you couldn’t hear her…”

“Anyway, that’s that. I almost got a little hurt, you know. Leaving me hanging while you all only talk about Unni. This is my stream.”

The little sulky feeling I’d been holding in suddenly slipped out. The moment the words left my mouth I got scared and carefully scanned the chat.

This time I was the one throwing a tantrum.

Had I already gotten drunk somehow? No matter how high the proof was, I couldn’t believe two sips could do this to me.

Thankfully the viewers didn’t take it too badly. Calling a chicken bone sexy was just them messing around, after all. The tension drained out of me and I ended up grinning like an idiot.

“Aww, that’s just a joke. That kind of stuff is fine. It’s just… when I’m trying to play and people start talking about some random aggro-puller or the person who used to hit me… I didn’t like that.”

“Ahaha, okay. Let’s talk about booze and chicken. Oh, speaking of chicken—this combo’s actually pretty solid. Reheating chicken twice doesn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly make it taste amazing, and honestly it’s a bit greasy. But the vodka just washes all that right off.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t have been able to drink it plain either—too strong and bitter. But this time the chicken’s so oily that it covers up how harsh the vodka is. Oh, so if I just made oily liquor, would they complement each other and go down smooth…?”

We were having such a good time chatting, and then I saw people saying it was because of the alcohol. Wondering if that was true, I brushed my fingertips along the corner of my mouth and fiddled with the water cup.

It had been so long since I’d smiled this much that the muscles in my cheeks felt weirdly twitchy. The lips under my fingertips were curved up in a thin little smile too.

Maybe the viewers were right—once the alcohol hit, the tension and wariness melted away and I just started smiling more easily.

But I’d already known about that side effect. Drinking makes you feel good, right? Sure, when you sober up the hangover makes your head pound, but that was Future Me’s problem. What mattered was that I felt good right now.

The heat that had been burning down my throat was spreading through my whole body, and that felt nice. I was a little dizzy, my body swaying gently left and right. The alcohol smell on my breath was kind of gross, but I could bury that under a chicken drumstick easily enough.

“Hmm, heh. Then should I just drink every day and stream? This feels really good.”

No reason I had to only feel this once. Right now I was in a good mood and the viewers said they liked listening to it. Wouldn’t it be fine to stream like this from now on?

If I drank any more I’d probably pass out drunk, but I just wouldn’t drink more. I hadn’t bought the vodka because it tasted good—I’d bought it to get tipsy. It only took three sips of vodka to reach this feeling. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My stomach wasn’t even full, so there was no volume limit. The price was a bit steep, but if I thought of it as doping medicine it seemed pretty reasonable.

But the viewers weren’t exactly thrilled about me doing drinking streams. Even though they said they liked how I was right now. Apparently my health mattered more.

That made my chest feel all ticklish. These people who had nothing to do with me were purely, simply worrying that I shouldn’t get hurt. Excessive consideration feels burdensome. People say kindness is free up to pork, but once it hits beef there’s an ulterior motive. That’s why even these light little worries felt precious. They didn’t have to care at all, yet they still did.

Feelings like that deserved repayment, didn’t they? And since I was their streamer, I’d repay them with more fun streams.

“You don’t have to worry about my health. I know alcohol’s bad for the liver. But I’m gonna die before my liver has a chance to go bad anyway, so… can’t I drink a little?”

“Uh…”

I’d meant it as “don’t worry.” No matter how much I drank, my body wouldn’t fall apart before I died anyway. But looking at how the viewers freaked out, I’d clearly misjudged.

Ah—alcohol clouds your judgment. And with that cloudy head I’d just gone along with the mood and said whatever, so of course this happened.

“Oh, thank you for the donation. Hmm, so if I just get a health checkup I’m allowed to drink?”

At least they weren’t saying I couldn’t drink at all. And there was a loophole, wasn’t there? “Just get a checkup” meant it didn’t matter if something was actually wrong.

Unfortunately the viewers weren’t idiots. But they still couldn’t stop me from drinking right this second. It’s not like a hand was going to reach out of the chat window and stop me.

“…I still have to drink what’s been poured, though.”

But I was blocked.

Sadly I wasn’t bold enough to ignore the words of viewers who liked me. Even with judgment clouded by alcohol, that didn’t magically make me bold enough to just down the vodka.

What could I do? Guess I’d just finish tearing into the chicken.