The Impromptu Hearing

Naturally, the news that Yebin and I had been hurling curses at each other and playing the blame game reached the ears of Marty-hyung and Ggumyong-nim.

Perhaps that was why, the moment the two of them returned to the bus after retrieving the items and we respawned...

"So, our little cuties, why were you swearing at each other?"

"Didn't you guys say you just met today?"

An impromptu hearing had been called, and we were the defendants.

Since we had casually hurled profanities at each other, we couldn't exactly say, "Oh, we just met, but we clicked really well." That kind of excuse wouldn't fly.

"Well, it's not exactly our first time meeting... We, uh, know each other."

"Right...?"

"It didn't look like you just 'know each other.' Why did you pretend to be strangers?"

"Because I didn't want to acknowledge him."

"Is there really a need to act like we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know each other?"

As if responding to Ggumyong-nim's words, the viewers reacted similarly.

Amidst the nonsense about "Real Dating" or us being in a relationship, I gave a firm answer.

"Me? With her? Absolutely not. Are you crazy?"

"Exactly. I'm way out of his league."

"Out of my league? Are you out of your mind, you crazy girl?"

"I am way out of your league! What do you mean, what do I have to lose?!"

As we started bickering again, Ggumyong-nim stepped in to mediate.

"Okay, both of you calm down first. Who wants to explain what just happened?"

"I'll explain."

"Hey, you're just going to spout nonsense. I'll explain."

"What nonsense? I'm way better at explaining than you."

"It's better for me to explain than a blockhead like you."

As another fight broke out instantly, Marty-hyung began to chuckle.

"You guys are in perfect sync. How many years have you known each other?"

"I don't know."

"Do we really have to count?"

Marty-hyung didn't miss Yebin's slip of the tongue.

"Oho, so you've known each other so long that there's no need to count?"

"You... Ugh, you blockhead."

"Oh, whatever. We're already busted anyway."

Yebin spoke as if it were nothing, and looking at her, I was certain of one thing: she had absolutely no sense for streaming.

She had no idea I was trying to save her skin right now.

According to TreeWiki, Yebin's strengths were her cute voice and entertaining stream progression.

The key point here was the cute voice. That cute voice played a massive role in attracting male viewers.

And a significant portion of the male viewers who watched female streamers did so because the streamer was single.

Even before that, they watched because she didn't associate with men in the first place.

That was likely the case for the over one thousand viewers currently watching Yebin's stream.

But what if they found out Yebin had a real-life connection with a guy like me?

She would definitely lose viewers. There was no way around it.

Of course, since she was a Dullahan streamer who didn't show her face and used an avatar, the damage might be less. But there was a huge difference between glossing over it with subtle hints and outright saying, "I have a history with this guy in real life."

That was why I wanted to gloss over our real-life connection as much as possible, but Yebin had completely ruined it.

"...How long have we known each other, anyway?"

"Dunno. Definitely before elementary school."

"Kindergarten, probably?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe even before we were old enough to remember."

"Should I ask my mom?"

"Forget it. No need to get into the details."

To my reply, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yebin responded, "True."

And then...

For the sake of my pride, I tried to deflect the conversation somehow.

"Yeah, childhood besties fits perfectly."

"Hey, that term is only for guys."

"Aren't you XY?"

"Do you really want to fight me? Hey, you know it only takes me three minutes to get to your place, right?"

"I'll just lock the door~"

"I'll just ask your mom to open it."

"You're a total psycho, seriously."

Why does Yebin keep saying things she doesn't need to say?

"Anyone saying weird things is getting banned starting now."

The moment I finished saying that, Ggumyong-nim's voice rang out.

"So, tell us what happened earlier again. I get that you guys are close, but we need to figure out who was at fault first, right?"

Since Ggumyong-nim offered to judge the case herself, I tried to state my case immediately.

But the one who spoke first wasn't me; it was the cunning and wicked Yebin, who had been waiting for the perfect moment.

"Unni! You see...! The Lumensis was mimicking this bas—I mean, Dodo, so I said the password, and it replied with the exact password! So I approached it, feeling relieved, but it turned out to be the Lumensis!"

Ah, so that's how she got caught.

"Okay, good. Next, Dodo-nim."

"The path I took got blocked right away, so I went through the back door to head somewhere else. But suddenly, this... Vini said the password. So I answered, and then she went and got caught."

"Okay."

"Ah, but there's more."

"More?"

I told the rest of the story—the part Yebin had intentionally left out.

"She asked me to save her, so I did. After that, if we had beaten the Lumensis together, we could've killed it. But Vini didn't help me, so I got caught instead. In fact, she hit me and ran away."

"Vini?"

At that "Vini?", Yebin read the room for a second before starting to make excuses.

"I was just so panicked and scared...!"

"Ah, I see~ Dodo-nim is innocent, Vini is guilty."

"Unniiiiiii...!"

"This unni is fair and just. Right, Marty~?"

"That's right~ Our Ggumyong is always fair~"

"Uggghhhh...!"

Yebin gnashed her teeth, and I naturally tried to move on to the next round.

It was a progression driven by my strong desire to avoid revealing any more of my past with Yebin.

"Let's go straight to the next round. This blockhead needs to get used to it, so let's keep the difficulty on the lowest setting."

"Hey!"

"Pfft... Let's do that~"

Marty-hyung, who was the host, immediately started the next round. Once it began, I planned to play similarly to before. Or rather, I tried to.

Until I noticed there were only two paths at the fork.

"Hmm~ In that case, how about Ggumyong-nuna and I take the right path, and you two take the left?"

"Me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and her?"

"Yeah, it looks like you two would have a lot of fun together."

"Hyung, seriously, don't joke around."

"Why? I'm not joking. You guys seem to get along great."

"Absolutely not. Never."

"Exactly, Marty-nim! How could I possibly get along with him!"

"Look at you two even now."

Marty-hyung chuckled, and Ggumyong-nuna approached him with a sly grin.

"Marty, don't you think they're the ones who are actually dating in real life? We're just roleplaying, after all."

"I'm confident we wouldn't lose when it comes to acting lovey-dovey, but I can't beat the vibe that comes from the real deal..."

"...I'm going first!"

Yebin immediately ran off toward the opposite side, and I had no choice but to follow her.

"Have fun, you two~"

"Good luck being lovey-dovey!"

"That is never going to happen!"

I replied in a voice filled with absolute certainty.

In reality, there was no time to be lovey-dovey anyway.

Why?

Because I had no idea where Yebin had gone.

Seriously, where did she go?

I decided to just leave Yebin alone and look for other items.

I actually managed to find a sword that would break after a few uses but was highly valuable and could be used as a weapon.

"My farming luck is pretty good today."

"Why would I look for her? She'll manage on her own."

Since our "first meeting" roleplay was completely ruined anyway, I decided to just go with an openly hostile dynamic. It wasn't much different from how we usually were.

But then...

"Where is this...? Where am I..."

Yebin's voice drifted over.

Hearing her ask where she was, I decided to call out the password first.

"Candy."

"Where is this...? Where am I..."

Seeing how it just kept repeating the words, it was a Lumensis.

I kited the Yebin-mimicking Lumensis that was chasing me, beating it with a broom.

Run and hit, run and hit, run and hit.

If I made even a single mistake, I would die, but if I played perfectly, I could kill it alone.

It was incredibly difficult, but as long as I stayed focused, I could manage it by myself.

Crack!

Dissolve...

Having dealt with Yebin's Lumensis, I was about to look for other items.

But then...

'Where is this...? Where am I...'

...If the Lumensis was saying that, it meant Yebin had actually said those words.

Don't tell me... is she actually lost?

Hmm.

"Everyone, is there anything more fun than finding a lost child and teasing them?"

Seeing the viewers' ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reactions, I was sure of it.

This was going to make a legendary clip.