019. Abyss Cooking Stream
019. Abyss Cooking Stream
I tore my gaze away from the broadcast camera I'd bought over the weekend.
Then I checked the chat on my smartphone.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─You were hiding on a brand new platform, you bastard~ Did you think I wouldn't find you!
【Min-ji】─Hello!!!
【Qkrnfl892】─hihi
【Looking for Gye Se-hun】─Staying up for three days searching was worth it lol
Four new viewers had come in.
Right away, I spotted a couple whose nicknames alone were anything but normal.
Se-hun Pursuit Team.
Looking for Gye Se-hun.
It was those two.
‘They positively reeked of hardcore stalker.’
Could they be from the Male Supremacy Group?
The suspicion bloomed naturally.
And for good reason.
The idea of suffering for three days just to find one male cam streamer was behavior beyond the comprehension of any ordinary, sensible person.
This called for a little ideological screening.
"Welcome, everyone. Did all of you find me through Cheerful Namsu's Neotube video?"
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Yep, saw the Neotube and hunted like crazy!
【Min-ji】─I saw you on the live broadcast~
【Qkrnfl892】─Saw the live broadcast too lol
【Looking for Gye Se-hun】─Yes lol
The chat was mostly well-behaved.
But appearances could be deceiving.
They could be hiding their true intentions.
I decided to use the cooking time to slowly suss out who these new arrivals really were.
I'd been interacting with them for about five minutes when I made my move.
"By the way, did any of you serve in the military?"
I casually steered the topic toward military service.
For starters, I needed to distinguish whether my viewers were male or female.
【Reformed Guburi】─I'm a Special-Class Warrior, fyi.
【Yoho】─I'm in my second year of reserve duty.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Yep, served lol
【Min-ji】─Honorably discharged as a sergeant~
【Qkrnfl892】─Active duty NCO.
【Looking for Gye Se-hun】─Served. lol
Since all of them claimed to have completed their service, the conditions for verification were perfect.
"Oh yeah? All Army?"
When I asked, every single viewer answered affirmatively.
Every last one of them claimed to be an Army veteran.
"All Army, huh. Then I bet you know what comes next."
No veteran could have possibly not known.
The phrase that always followed this word.
"Oath of Service."
I said it while fixing my eyes on the chat window.
Someone might hesitate, trying to type late to avoid suspicion.
【Reformed Guburi】─Our resolve!
【Yoho】─Our resolve.
【Hottie Licker】─or r
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Our resolve!!
【Min-ji】─Our resolve!
【Qkrnfl892】─Our resolve.
【Looking for Gye Se-hun】─???
Fortunately, everyone typed at the same time.
And one person got caught.
"You son of a bitch. Busted."
『"Looking for Gye Se-hun" has been banned.』
I banned them immediately.
Where did she get off pretending she had served?
Of course, I couldn't determine someone's biological sex with this alone.
It was possible a woman who hadn't served was just pretending to be a veteran.
And even if they really were a man,
they might not belong to the Male Supremacy Group.
Not every man was a member of that organization.
Even without certainty, the reason I banned them without a second thought was simple.
They were suspicious.
That was it.
Whatever their real identity was,
the moment they lied, they were out.
【Reformed Guburi】─??? lol wtf was that
【Yoho】─The host seems genuinely interested in the military. Like when you knew about Special-Class Warrior before.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Caught pretending to be a vet and banned lol
【Min-ji】─Is this a room where people who haven't served get banned? damn
【Qkrnfl892】─Phew. Glad I joined the army.
"No. I just banned them because they seemed like a Male Supremacy Group member. Maybe they weren't, but if they didn't want to be misunderstood, they shouldn't have lied."
【Reformed Guburi】─lol but if that person really is from the Male Supremacy Group, won't they coordinate and swarm this place soon?
"If that happens, you and Yoho can use your own judgment and ban them. I'll delegate manager permissions to you."
I handed out manager authority to the existing trio.
Cooking meant I couldn't keep my eyes glued to the chat forever.
I also issued a warning.
I told them that just because they had manager badges didn't mean they could abuse their power.
I made a special point of drilling that into Guburi's head.
And then I went back to cooking.
***
I poured about half a bottle of cola into a large pot.
Then I dumped in a lightly seared Hanwoo sirloin.
Next, I added two spoonfuls of dark soy sauce, covered the pot, and set the induction cooktop to low heat.
【Yoho】─Gasp! What are you doing?
【Qkrnfl892】─How to ruin a sirloin lol
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─You hate beef?
"Huh? Why?"
【Min-ji】─Don't tell me you're doing this because you read somewhere that marinating meat in cola tenderizes it??
【Qkrnfl892】─Never seen that cooking method before lol
"You guys don't know anything. If you braise the already-cooked meat in this, then finish it with a drizzle of sesame oil, it's delicious."
I wasn't joking.
I knew this because I'd done it a few times with pork.
It turned out pretty damn good.
【Reformed Guburi】─Yeah, that's actually low-key decent.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Ah. Just looked it up, there is a dish called cola-braised pork.
【Yoho】─Really?
【Qkrnfl892】─damn? Looks gross though.
Unlike the other viewers, Guburi actually knew a thing or two.
They seemed to have a slight interest in cooking.
"If you search around Neotube, you'll probably find a few videos of the exact method I'm using right now."
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Wow, it's real. I looked it up and people really do cook beef this way.
【Min-ji】─I was ignorant···. Sorry.
"If you're sorry, keep your head down until the cooking is over."
【Min-ji】─Yessir!
【Reformed Guburi】─By the way, that Min-ji bastard's name looks familiar.
【Yoho】─Host, is it finished if you just boil it like that?
"That was the original plan, but··· I'm going to add a few more things. I happen to have some leftover ingredients."
I pulled the other ingredients out of the fridge.
An old tomato and a pineapple I'd bought a while ago.
Five slices of cheese.
Milk that expired tomorrow.
I chucked all of it into the pot.
Finally, I threw in three spoonfuls of gochujang and a cocktail of MSG powders, then shut the lid again.
【Reformed Guburi】─???
【Yoho】─??
【Qkrnfl892】─?
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─?
【Min-ji】─Is this an official recipe too?
The chat window was flooded with question marks.
They were probably questioning my recipe.
Honestly, even I was kind of questioning it myself.
"Hmm. Now that it's all in, I guess I did put in a bit of a random assortment······. No need to worry, though. If you mix a bunch of delicious things together, the end result is bound to be delicious. That's just science."
【Reformed Guburi】─That's insane logic.
【Yoho】─Oh! I see!
【Reformed Guburi】─The hell do you mean you see, you crazy bitch.
【Min-ji】─lol···.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Even after searching, this one doesn't show up.
【Qkrnfl892】─You think it would?
I wasn't just playing around with food.
This was just me using this chance to clear out the groceries my counterpart in this world had bought.
‘It would have been a waste to throw them away, so I might as well use everything up like this.’
Anyway, I'd added everything I needed to add.
Now, all that was left to do was watch the pot bubble and boil.
About five minutes had passed when it happened.
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
My phone went off while I was talking to the viewers.
『Nam Hyeon-ji』
─Se-hun, you up?
─Whatcha doing today?
─I'm getting ready to head down to Busan!
It was a message from Nam Hyeon-ji, Cheerful Namsu's younger sister.
It wasn't the first time she'd contacted me.
We'd been texting on and off over the weekend, too.
Her messages were a bit much, but I didn't find them particularly burdensome.
『Gye Se-hun』
─Yep
『Nam Hyeon-ji』
─You're awake. lol The weather's amazing today, isn't it?
『Gye Se-hun』
─It's raining.
Since I was in the middle of a broadcast, I kept my answers short and turned off notifications for the app.
【Reformed Guburi】─Who the hell's texting you? You bastard! Did you get a girlfriend?
【Yoho】─Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─What's with that girl. That's some scary obsessive shit···.
【Min-ji】─Who is it~? lol
【Hottie Licker】─Lick.
"What are you all so curious about now? You know Hyeon-su's sister, the one from the Collaboration Stream last time? It's her."
I revealed it casually.
There was no real reason to hide it.
【Reformed Guburi】─What? You two dating?
【Yoho】─Are you in a relationship with that person?
I was getting weirdly misunderstood.
Relationship my ass.
Nam Hyeon-ji and I had absolutely nothing going on.
Not only was there zero romantic tension, but calling her a "girl-friend" was a stretch.
She was just an acquaintance I happened to meet.
That was literally the extent of our relationship.
"Dating? What dating? She messaged me, so I replied. I can't just ignore her."
I told the truth as it was.
But the viewers didn't buy it easily.
【Reformed Guburi】─Your reply speed on that app was anything but normal. Speak the truth, Gye Bastard-hun!
【Yoho】─But don't you have some interest in her? You replied back extremely quickly.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─Tbh, he's probably a little interested yeah. Whatever else you say about Nam Hyeon-ji, her face is top-tier.
【Min-ji】─Maybe I should give Hyeon-ji a warning lol
【Qkrnfl892】─We demand the truth from Gye Se-hun!
【Hottie Licker】─Demand The Truth lol Lick.
I had no idea why the chat was on fire.
They were massively overreacting just because I texted a woman.
More importantly, the chat was getting a little loose.
Now that the numbers were growing, it felt like I was losing control of things.
I needed to crack down on discipline.
"No, you crazy bitches. If I had a girlfriend, I'd just say I had one. Why would I hide it? Shit, I'm not running this stream to suck money out of you, so why the hell would I lie?"
I meant every word I said.
I had no plans for a secret relationship.
Currently, I had zero intention of dating anyone, but if I ever did end up with a girlfriend, I wouldn't hide it.
Even so, it wouldn't be a problem.
Because my stream wasn't like those other male cam shows, the ones that milk donations by fostering pseudo-romantic feelings.
‘I did not have to walk on eggshells around the viewers. If some of them got disappointed and left, that was simply how it was.’
I wouldn't cling to them. I'd send them off with well wishes.
The people who'd leave over something like that?
I hoped they'd find a male streamer who actually catered to their tastes.
‘I doubted absolutely everyone would ditch me and the count would drop to zero.’
Anyway, once I said my piece, the chat calmed down a bit.
A few of them seemed to accept it.
【Reformed Guburi】─That so?
【Qkrnfl892】─Heugh.
【Yoho】─Well, you wouldn't lie, host. I'll believe you!
【Min-ji】─lol You do have the kind of face that couldn't tell a lie.
"···How could anyone go through life without lying? I'm just saying I wouldn't lie about something like this. Anyway, if I get one, I'll tell you. So stop doubting me."
【Yoho】─Yes, sir! Still, I'm a little against public relationships···.
【Reformed Guburi】─Yoho. Shut your mouth before I break your fingers.
【Se-hun Pursuit Team】─A male cam who openly reveals his love life lol
【Qkrnfl892】─But they all say that and then secretly meet girls behind the scenes.
『"Qkrnfl892" has been Chat Restricted. Time remaining: 00:30:00』
One of the managers slapped them with a mute.
I didn't know who did it, but nicely done.
Though the punishment might have been a bit excessive.
【Min-ji】─Oh? Se-hun! The pot's bubbling!
"Huh? Already?"
At Min-ji's message, I shifted my gaze to the pot.
It had come to a rolling boil without me noticing.
I lost track of time while chatting.
"Well then, shall we take a look?"
And so, I lifted the lid of the pot.
And came face to face with the abyss.
***
Around the time Gye Se-hun finished his cooking.
Posts went up on two different communities.
[Author: yeah]
─Found Gye Se-hun's stream lol
One was the Internet Broadcast Streamer Gallery.
The 'Streamer Gallery' for short.
[Author: Anonymous 712]
─Guys, I found Gye Se-hun's stream!
The other was the Male Supremacy Group.