The Anonymous App (1)

Two full hours of running, and my shirt was soaked straight through with sweat.

...Great. I was going to catch hell for this again today, too.

The moment I opened the front door, my body instinctively shrank.

"Hey, you're dripping sweat all over the floor. Go shower first."

My older sister, Kim Chaeyeon, who'd been glued to her laptop at the dining table, stopped me dead with that imperious voice of hers.

"Would it be all right if I had some water first? I'm thirsty."

I managed a thin smile and slowly dragged a hand down the back of my neck. Rolling over like this was simply how you got through the morning without a fight.

"Your mother and I cleaned the house and made breakfast while you were out galivanting. When exactly are you going to grow up? You can't even help out, and now you track dirt in."

I had things I wanted to say, but I knew better than to argue. I just bowed my head. Here, surrender was the smarter play.

Chaeyeon tilted her chin up slightly and looked down at me. Then she tucked her bangs behind her ear and turned her attention back to her laptop.

"Jihoon, dear? I made kimchi stew, so hurry and shower before it gets cold. I've set out a change of clothes for you."

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It was Mom, greeting me with that refined voice and a gracious smile. The stiff atmosphere softened into peace in an instant. Not a single strand of her hair was out of place, and her suit hung without so much as a wrinkle.

"Hey. Your shirt's rolled up into your pants."

"Oh. Sorry."

I tugged the bunched-up hem of my T-shirt back out and straightened myself up. Then I all but fled to the bathroom.

On one side of the counter sat lemon water and a change of clothes, laid out neatly — Mom had prepared them for me. She really was something else.

I washed up and changed. My sister, enrolled in the business school of a top university. My mother, the CEO of the region's leading mid-sized furniture company. This was just how mornings went in this house.

Trying not to draw their eyes, I slipped past the two of them, picked up a tray, and headed upstairs. I left it at the door and knocked twice — and, as always, there was no answer. Back downstairs to the table.

At my place: kimchi stew and side dishes. In front of the two of them: eggs, salad, and nuts. I was quietly marveling at the contrast when Mom handed me a Post-it.

...A grocery list, filled out in meticulous detail. A mart run, then.

"Hey. Did you wash the car?"

"Yes, ma'am. Yesterday marked exactly two weeks since the last one, so I didn't forget. Got it spotless."

"You need to look after your mother. She works so hard for us. Don't make her have to think about things like that."

Instead of praise, she looked down at me as if to say: don't skip it next time, either.

"An heir and a daughter who dotes on her. You're living the good life, you know that?"

"Don't you have a big meeting coming up? I saw the news article. Fighting."

"You should rest now and then too, instead of studying yourself into the ground. You'll ruin your health."

"You really don't need to worry about me. Honestly."

Mom had another major deal on the horizon, it seemed. And how did Chaeyeon find the time to keep up with news like that, with all her studying? I matched their pace so I wouldn't finish eating before either of them. Standing out for no reason never did me any good.

Fortunately, the meal ended without incident. The dishes were mine, as always. ...I'd get to them in a bit.

The two of them got up to leave the house, and the tension in my shoulders finally began to ease.

"Hey. Don't forget to make Arin's lunch."

"Yes. I've already picked out the menu... Have a good day."

And there she went again, arms crossed like it was second nature.

...At this point I half suspect she just uses them as a shelf for her chest. But that's not my problem.

Standing up, she looked even more coldly aloof than usual.

"Jihoon, if you're tired, get plenty of rest."

"Yes, Mom."

Mom stood before the entryway mirror, double-checking her outfit and dabbing at her tint. Chaeyeon chimed in at her side.

"You look beautiful, Mom."

"Is everything all right? We've lost quite a lot of time already. Get in the car — I'll drop you near campus."

"It's fine, really. Stop fussing over me and focus on the company."

"Honestly, you... Well then, let's go."

Even my high-and-mighty sister knew when to fold, and Mom was the one opponent she never challenged. I watched the mother and daughter's backs fade out of sight in silence.

...Quiet, finally.

All that tension first thing in the morning had left me drowsy.

I was searching for someone, calling out to them desperately. I ran toward them, overjoyed. He took my hand in his, held it tight, and whispered to me tenderly. But I couldn't hear a word.

'...That dream again.'

It always cut off at the same scene. I checked the time and stepped out of my room. Finished the breakfast dishes I'd put off, then started on lunch.

The moment the food hit the table, Arin came down — face buried in an oversized hoodie and mask. From the tablet clutched in her tiny hands drifted the familiar voice of a VTuber.

"Today's stream is good."

She pulled down her mask and noisily shoveled rice into her mouth. ...Fine, I'd eat too. Of everyone in this family, I was the only one Arin — resident shut-in — would so much as tolerate. And even that amounted to nothing more than sharing a lunch like this.

Today, like every day, she ate about half her portion and retreated upstairs with her tablet in hand.

Cleanup done, and with a good night's sleep behind me, I opened the app. Scrolled through Shorts for a while, then switched over to Anonymous Mode. The content restrictions lifted.

I went hunting for adult videos. Faces and backgrounds get masked by the AI Blur feature at recording time, so uploaders love it — and viewers just get to sit back and watch, raw and uncensored. Then again, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if the uploader wants, the AI Blur can be switched off, which is why I'm always seeking out the ones that go full face-reveal. I haven't tried it myself yet, but apparently the app even has a voice filter that distorts your audio when you call through it. It's packed with features like that — no wonder it's so popular.

I left a comment on some video, it escalated into a spat, the argument dragged on — and suddenly a huge chunk of the day was gone.

...Shit, the time.

Post-it in hand with Mom's grocery list, I headed out for a stroll around the neighborhood. I was about to switch back to regular mode to put on my playlist when I noticed a tab I'd never seen before, wedged in among the others.

I tapped the unfamiliar [Cheat Mode] tab. The screen went dark, then a map bloomed into view, dotted with little human-shaped markers.

Regular mode and Anonymous mode were still working fine. I even searched the web for it — nothing. Not a single mention anywhere.

...What is this?

After a moment's hesitation, I sat down on a bench and tried tapping the nearest marker.

That one's me?

Next to the activity log was a downward arrow. I pressed it.

Every comment and post I'd made minutes ago, every video I'd watched — all of it laid out in full.

...It can even see my regular-mode playlist history.

Then a popup suddenly sprang up.

Markers began flooding the map. So many that even my top-of-the-line flagship phone started to chug on loading.

One marker moving toward me matched — perfectly, exactly — the position of a woman walking by with coffee in hand.

...I'm curious. Just once. It can't hurt to look.

A video uploaded eight minutes ago?

I waited until the woman disappeared from sight, then hit play.

The dress she was wearing just now — the exact same one.

Her face was hidden behind the AI Blur, so I couldn't see it. She peeled her clothes off one piece at a time until she stood completely naked, then struck a pose, apparently showing off her figure. And god, did it show. She's pretty bold about it, honestly.

Before the shock had even worn off, several more markers were drifting my way.

...Nobody's going to know if I click. Not one soul.

A middle-aged man sprinting past with a briefcase — his feed was nothing but posts soliciting young men. A woman pushing a stroller — she'd cursed out her husband so thoroughly that she'd moved on to recruiting someone to kill him for her.

Not everyone around me had a marker, though. Apparently only users of the app were visible.

I was the only one who could see it — the real identities behind every carefully hidden anonymous life. A strange feeling settled over me.

The range was only 1km, and still... the users were everywhere.

Huh? The range reaches all the way to my house.

Two users showed up as markers. ...No. This would be spying on my own family's anonymous activity. What if something I never expected was waiting in there?

But having come this far, pretending I hadn't noticed felt worse. Better to look and regret it than to wonder forever — there was no guarantee it was anything dangerous.

Arin, as expected. Her recent history was nothing but anime edits and VTuber streams, and her past records showed the same Arin I'd always known. ...No reason to have been so tense after all.

Figuring the last marker couldn't be anything to worry about either, I tapped it.

Come to think of it, my sister would be home at this hour.

I tapped the link.

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Holy shit.

A blindfold and a mask, and a collar ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hung with little bells. Arms raised straight up at a right angle. And those massive... breasts. A clothespin clamped down on one protruding nipple.

She was kneeling — doing what, exactly? Her legs were splayed out to the side, too.

The link led to an account feed.

The post had gone up a mere three minutes ago, and already an avalanche of comments had buried it.