Mesugaki and Rest
I'd never been that into rhythm games before, but after mulling over old memories, I suddenly felt this urge to give it a shot. Back in the day, when Jang-woo was playing, I'd laughed my ass off calling him a crazy bastard... and now I'm the one doing rhythm games? Is this what they call total otaku corruption?
Anyway, not sure where to start, but I headed to the machine my friend used to play the most. Sound Cyclone. It had four square keys in a square up front, two more in the back, and right at the very front, two knob-looking handles that made the whole thing look intimidating as hell.
"Oh, a new pioneer...?"
"That guy's straight out of a doujinshi."
"Couldn't agree more, comrade."
Crazy bitches. They were chattering away in some incomprehensible code, making total asses of themselves.
I pulled out my frog coin wallet from my pocket and fished out some change. My habit of immediately stashing every spare coin so I don't lose it? Probably developed just for a day like today. Amid the puny 100-won coins, I grabbed the 500-won beast strutting like the squad leader—big, bold, and grimy.
500-won coin (born 1985 / older than me / kinda dirty).
I slowly fed it into the machine.
-Ching!
'What the hell? Did this fucker just eat my coin and ignore me?'
Wondering why it wasn't working, I tapped the toe of my shoe against it, tap tap, or mashed the button by the coin slot like a maniac.
"Um... you need to put in 1,000 won for that one."
"Hm?"
I glanced over, and one of the women who'd been whispering earlier—a skeleton of a girl—was giving me advice. 1,000 won? That's steep as fuck. Sighing, I dug another 500-won coin from my frog wallet, shoved it in, and started picking a song.
"No... that's not how you do it."
"Huh?"
"That song's too hard for a newbie..."
"Spot-on entrance exam instincts."
I'd been ignoring the anchovy bitch, so I didn't notice someone approaching, but on the anchovy's other side, some pig-eyed glasses-wearing sow was peering down at me, adjusting her specs. But... why was she breathing so heavy? Something about it triggered my instincts—pure revulsion.
"You should start with an easier one, not that... no, wait, ah damn..."
"Heh, newbies gonna newbie. Let big sis teach you from the basics..."
Fuck. To my right, a stinky dog-ota pig, and to my left, what looked like a withered tree branch barely qualifying as human. My head was spinning. This was supposed to be my solo fun—why the hell were they all backseat driving? And I said it was my first time, I wanna do what I want—why are they flipping out? Are they retarded?
"Fuck off."
"Hm?"
"Oying?!"
Despite my sudden vicious bark—which they clearly heard—they just blinked like idiots, frozen in disbelief.
Starting with her breath, I couldn't even guess how long it'd been since she washed; it reeked worse than Choi Jaehee's cigarettes. No wonder I hate busybodies—they always know how to piss me off.
"You reek like shit, so fuck off over there. And I don't wanna hear your advice, so go piss somewhere else~ Got it?"
"Wh-what!?"
"I said fuck off, retard~?"
The anchovy deflated instantly, arms dangling limp as she slunk away like all energy had drained out. But the pig in front of me? Not even close. This sow was flushing redder than before, huffing like a steam engine on the verge of popping, trying to calm her excitement.
Ugh... look at that grease... squeeze her and I'd be set on oil for a year.
The pig bitch heaving weird breaths while staring down at me felt wrong. No, unsettling. Bitches like that? You don't know what depraved shit they're into—better just bail. I fled far from the creepy one.
'My 1,000 won... such a fucking waste...'
"Alright~! Time to start the game!"
Hm? That super familiar tone—I whipped my head toward the voice. White bobbed hair, yellow eyes... exotic-looking girl holding her phone, filming herself. Super short, skin-tight white shirt hugging her curves, tiny hot pants—total eye-magnet.
Another streamer like me? Felt like finding a fellow traveler, but thinking how she probably grinds hard for cash too, I didn't wanna ruin it. Stayed out of camera, backed off quietly.
'She's gotta deal with viewers like I do, right?'
Don't interfere—just keep my distance. Not many know a scrub like me anyway, and screwing someone's livelihood? Not my style.
"But seriously, what now?"
The rhythm game? Put in cash and bailed without playing. For a penny-pincher like me, wasting 1,000 won on one pig... unforgivable. One more game, then home. Arcades feel like a luxury for me anyway. A guy who almost starved yesterday splashing cash like this? Only possible 'cause I'm half-mad from the payout. What was I even thinking coming here?
'Hm? That...?'
Found my main game. Lips curling slyly, I pulled out the frog wallet.
Time for a massacre?
"And finish with this!"
-Bam!
Crazy bitches. These chicks acting like dudes? Or pretending to be guys but tacking on boing-boing tit shit? And why'd I even turn on stream when I came to enjoy the arcade solo? Am I just born for this streaming life?
Hayun's #3 Kim Hayeon donated 1,000 won!
Fuck, play something ladylike like beat-em-up instead of flaunting your body in that game?
Fuck. Total shitshow. From LolMinister to the Thumb Wisdom legion—these insane bitches make me feel a saintly urge to quit streaming for a sec.
Haa... shouldn't have started the stream... shoulda just played solo.
Grabbing attention was fine, but it drew too much—problem. Picking a flashy game was bad, and not checking chat reactions first? Huge mistake.
"Can't do LoL here anyway... how 'bout Tekken? Proper beat-em-up where you strip shirts and duke it out 1v1 like a boss?"
Good—everyone but LolMinister's cool with Tekken. And seriously, LoL at an arcade? Not a PC bang? Tekken as compromise, so I headed to the machines.
Tekken... viewers always clown me with their skill gap, but against normies, I'm top-tier. Fed 1,000 won in coins, set up my phone as cam—hands and screen, no face.
Done.
"Alright, waiting for an opponent~."
Fuck, ban LolMinister.
LolMinister's a psycho bitch.
LolMinister? Prolly a femcel.
Scanning chat while waiting, someone sat opposite. Glanced earlier—guy, I think? Gotta check this out...?
CowGirlMutt donated 1,000 won!
Win this 3-0? That's 10k. "Okay."
Don't care who—die for my cash. Kukuku...
That laugh died not even a minute in.
"Girl with this skill? Bet you're packing XY chromosomes~?"
"Apologize to those monthly-dying eggs~!"
"You into getting hit, maso? Pervert~ Retard~"
Rage boiled up from my gut.