031. Drinking Stream in a Miniature Garden
031. Drinking Stream in a Miniature Garden
Inside a narrow room where a dim light flickered.
A bespectacled woman was busily pounding away at a keyboard.
Her name was Mengyao.
An illegal immigrant from China, living in South Korea.
And currently, she was a hacker cohabiting with Dick Lover.
"Mengyao. Not done yet?"
Dick Lover asked Mengyao.
"You said ten minutes would be enough."
"Mmm... I can't dig up any info on this one at all."
"What? I even paid for your computer repair when it broke down and even fixed it for you, and you can't even do this one thing right?"
Mengyao scratched her head furiously and answered with a scowl.
"No. It's not just me. Other hackers could absolutely never trace her either."
"Jeez. Mengyao, who they used to call a genius hacker, even stooping to pathetic excuses now. Guess your skills died off a lot as you aged, huh?"
"I told you, it's not a skill issue! There's no member information at all, so how do you trace her? There's no IP either."
"No member info and no IP? Does that make any sense?"
"That's exactly why I'm in this state right now! Just what the hell is this Drift bitch?"
Mengyao was in the middle of trying to collect information on a viewer called 'Drift AI.'
At Dick Lover's request.
But no matter how hard she tried, there were no results.
In the end, Mengyao gave up and pulled her hands from the keyboard.
"...Come to think of it, I've heard something before."
Mengyao stared blankly at the monitor and spoke softly.
"Cyber Wraith..."
"Cyber Wraith? The hell is that?"
"It's a legend and an urban ghost story that's been floating around among hackers for a long time. They call a lifeform presumed to have been born in the digital world a Cyber Wraith."
"...What?"
"I've heard that Cyber Wraiths roam networks freely without any restrictions. And that they can never, ever be traced. Because those things were never human beings existing in reality in the first place."
"Bullshit."
"..."
"Isn't it just a false rumor cooked up by shitty hackers who can't admit their own lack of skill? To jerk themselves off?"
"Could be, or could not be... I don't know for sure either. Anyway..."
Mengyao got up from her seat and continued as she stretched.
"I can't trace this one. Sorry."
"Haa..."
"...Is she a bitch you absolutely have to trace? Should I put out some feelers to other hackers?"
"No, forget it. She was just running her mouth way too much in the chat, so I was only planning to send a virus or something as a warning. If it can't be done, then it can't be helped."
And so, Dick Lover failed to trace Drift AI.
***
【Drift AI】─I am elated. I celebrate finally being liberated from prison.
【Reformed Guburi】─Shut the fuck up, you bitch. I'll fucking beat you to a pulp.
【Hottie Licker】─lol Guburi, don't curse. Before I spank your butt. Lick.
【BigGirl】─Spank! lol
【Reformed Guburi】─?? BigGirl, that bastard is usually quiet but sometimes suddenly floors it out of nowhere.
【BigGirl】─You're the one who floored it. Spank!
【Drift AI】─I join in. I spank Reformed Guburi while disciplining her.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─lolol Guburi, spank!
【Reformed Guburi】─Fucking losers. 🖕🖕
It had been five minutes since the video call with Yoho started.
The viewers, perhaps bored with Yoho's story, were exchanging chats and playing among themselves.
I wasn't listening with full concentration either.
Honestly, it wasn't entertaining.
Nor was it particularly relatable.
[Ah! For the record, my middle school was co-ed! Class 1 was the boys' class, and all the other classes were entirely girls!]
"Yeah."
[Anyway, on Valentine's Day, I went to Class 1 to give chocolate to a boy I had a little bit of interest in, you see!]
"Uh."
[That boy hid in the bathroom and...]
"Ah."
Even giving half-hearted answers was starting to wear me out.
It seemed even less entertaining than Min-ji's stories.
Yet there was one reason I didn't hang up the video call.
‘...Yoho was on a legendary level.’
It was because of Yoho's face.
She was the most stunning in appearance among all the viewers I had seen so far.
Of course, she was far from my type.
Though I didn't have a clearly defined ideal type.
If I had to pick, I preferred boyish women.
Body-wise, I liked a lean, muscular build without an ounce of flab.
Anyway.
Yoho didn't exactly match the appearance I preferred.
Yet she was attractive enough to completely seize my gaze.
Enough that my tastes could change.
‘So a puppy-like face could be this captivating.’
I revised the viewer attractiveness ranking I had only been keeping in my head.
The former number one, Eight-Nine-Two, was demoted to second place.
Yoho reclaimed the top spot.
Third was the cat-like Guburi.
Fourth was the Squirtle-faced Min-ji.
Fifth was Hottie Licker.
‘Hottie's on the pretty side too, but the others were just so exceptionally stunning...’
I cut off that train of thought.
Even if it was a thought I kept only to myself.
Ranking my viewers by appearance made me feel a little sorry toward them.
‘...I should just say they were all pretty.’
In any case, every single one of them genuinely had looks that could land them a celebrity career.
That wasn't a subjective judgment.
Objectively speaking, it was true.
My eye for these things was not that poor.
‘The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why girls like them were watching a male cam streamer.’
Were they what you would call Alpha Females?
Even if the male sex ratio was catastrophic.
These were people who could easily date plenty of men.
‘Well... I figured it was because there was something seriously defective about their personalities...? Just looking at their chats, there were barely any normal people.’
With those thoughts, I let my gaze drop slightly.
Yoho's voluptuous chest came into view.
[Boss. Are you listening to my story?]
"Huh? Oh... I'm listening, so keep going."
[So, like I was saying. I did manage to deliver the chocolate somehow, but, you see. The next day, I found the chocolate I had given him at the dumpster...]
My gaze remained fixed on her chest.
‘The more I looked, the more devastatingly attractive that figure was. I could not see her lower body, so I was not certain, but her upper body really was...’
All I could say was that it was incredible.
Yoho's chest was large, way too large.
As if someone had stuffed basketballs in there.
This wasn't just huge; it was colossal.
‘Normally, proportions that extreme came off as grotesque, but strangely, hers did not look unsightly at all.’
I supposed looks really did matter.
Because her beauty was outstanding, even her overwhelmingly large chest became a strength rather than a flaw.
[Boss? Are you really listening?]
"...Huh? Ah, uh, I told you I'm listening? You said you picked the chocolate back up from the dumpster and ate it, right?"
[What? Why would I pick it up and eat it? Boss, you weren't listening, were you?]
"Sorry... No, I'm not sorry, you fucker. Your story is boring, so my concentration drifts. It's not my fault; it's your fault, this is."
[That does sound like a valid point. Then I'll tell it in an entertaining way this time. Listen carefully now.]
"..."
[I'll start from the dumpster part. At that time, after I retrieved the chocolate from the dumpster, I went to find that boy. And then I took that chocolate and smeared it on his face...]
The whole time Yoho unpacked her bundle of stories.
I only stared at her chest.
I couldn't help it.
It was male instinct.
***
Yoho's story came to an end.
Simultaneously, I deleted the story she had told from my memory.
It was a waste of brain capacity.
【Min-ji】─Aren't you going to give Yoho a chat mute?
【Reformed Guburi】─For real, are you playing favorites? It was boring as hell, so why are you letting her off? Hand down a heavy punishment, quick!
【BigGirl】─Giving Yoho a chat mute too would seem fair.
【Yoho】─Why though.
【Hottie Licker】─'wHy tHoUgH' lol lol
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Bring on the judgment gogo
"It wasn't worth giving a mute. It was at least more decent than the stories the others tell."
【Yoho】─Hehe
Actually, it had been the least entertaining one.
Still, I decided to let it slide.
The story was boring, but her face was entertaining.
【Reformed Guburi】─Fuck! Don't play favorites!
【Drift AI】─I analyze. I judge that Yoho's story was a story of thrilling interest.
【Reformed Guburi】─? Did you even listen? Can you summarize?
【Drift AI】─I speak. I state that while Yoho's story was thrilling, I discarded the data as it held no value worth storing.
Drift took my side.
I had thought she was a malicious troll, but she seemed like a surprisingly decent viewer.
She had also become much more docile compared to the beginning.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─lol That bastard is consistent with the concept.
【Dick Lover】─Drift. Are you a Cyber Wraith?
【Drift AI】─I fall silent.
【Hottie Licker】─But the more you look at her, Drift is kinda secretly cute lol Lick.
【Yoho】─Her concept is cute.
【Reformed Guburi】─Did you all take drugs collectively or something. Cute my ass. She just seems like a fucking loser dweeb.
"Anyway, that's it for the stream today. I drank way too much makgeolli and I'm tired, so I'm ending it here."
【Reformed Guburi】─Huh? All of a sudden?
【Hottie Licker】─What the? Isn't it usually just getting started now?
【Drift AI】─I object. I earnestly request that you stream more.
"Oh right. And next week, I'm thinking of trying an abandoned house exploration, what do you think? Of course, until then, I'll only be doing mountain hiking streams."
【Reformed Guburi】─Are you not reading our chat? Abandoned house my ass, fuck. Just do today's stream longer!
【Dick Lover】─Let's go just a bit more. I'm bored.
【Yoho】─Can't you just do one more hour?
【Min-ji】─Just 30 minutes, please. T_T
"Then it's decided. Abandoned house exploration next week."
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Who's Se-hun talking to?
【Hottie Licker】─Doesn't seem like it's us, at least.
【BigGirl】─Don't go...
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! I just went to the convenience store and restocked on booze! Looks like Yoho's story is already done now! Perfect freakin timing!
【Plum Tree】─Oh. The stream's still going? I just got back from work. lol hi
"See you next time. Bye."
『The broadcast has ended.』
I ended the stream.
Today was another fulfilling day.
***
A week passed.
I hadn't turned on the stream during that time.
No, I couldn't.
There were two reasons why I had no choice but to take a break from streaming.
At first, I rested because of body aches.
And after that, I was a bit busy dealing with the debts my parents left behind.
For the record, I hadn't known about the existence of the debts.
Those so-called parents had taken out illegal loans here and there.
They dragged in everything, soul included.
Because of that, I was bombarded nonstop with calls from loan sharks.
I had no idea how they even got my number.
Anyway, my phone was vibrating so constantly it was a madhouse, so I ended up going directly to the office where the loan sharks were. And there, a woman spouted bullshit about how I could pay with my body, so I beat her half to death. After that, the other bitches jumped in, but I subdued them all easily.
I was used to fighting, after all.
And I was not weak and frail like the men of this world.
‘If she hadn't landed a preemptive smash on my ass, I probably would've let it slide. Probably.’
Of course, I only picked the fight after confirming they hadn't grabbed any weapons.
Back in high school.
I had once stormed a gangster establishment, and there had been a lot of them with knives, so I'd had a bit of a hard time.
Getting stabbed hurt a lot.
Anyway, after subduing all of them like that.
I deposited the money my parents owed them right there on the spot.
I also threw in a thick stack extra for their hospital bills.
Because even I thought I had beaten them a bit too severely. I had to pay them off for a settlement.
Thanks to that, things got resolved amicably with the loan sharks.
Their attitudes completely flipped the instant the deposit went through.
They were people on whom financial therapy worked wonders.
After we cleared the air, I asked them why my parents had taken out the loans.
I at least wanted to know the reason.
Because even when the me of this world had been sending them a considerable allowance, I couldn't understand why they would still go out of their way to get loans.
The reason was truly absurd.
They had just fallen into drugs and gambling, blown all their money, and reached out to loan sharks as well.
‘Those really were hopeless lives, honestly.’
Still, I supposed they had some conscience left.
Even when they had a child loaded with money, they didn't reach their hands out for more.
‘Well... if they were even human, they couldn't have asked for more. They already bled me dry as much as they could.’
Having finished my reminiscing, I got up from my seat.
The past was the past.
Things had worked out well, so I decided to forget about it.
‘I should turn on the stream soon.’
But before that, I checked my phone first.
Notifications had suddenly gone off in a row.
『010-6969-7474』
─why didn't you turn on the stream today?
─not turning it on today either?
─fuck you sex bastard! if you're taking a break, at least put up a notice!
─why aren't you streaming today -_-
─how many days has it been since you went on?
─turn on the stream you fucking bastard!
─turn the stream on.
─can't you turn on the stream?
─please turn on the stream. I beg you.
This was probably Guburi's number.
There were also quite a lot of texts from Yoho, Min-ji, and Eight-Nine-Two.
I ignored them all and checked the most recent messages.
『010-xxxx-xxxx』
─Esteemed Brother. Hello! My name is Ju Min-hee! I am sending this text to apologize for the discourtesy I committed in your presence at the office last time! I was sincerely sorry for that!
『010-xxxx-xxxx』
─Have you been well, Esteemed Brother! I am Ra Yu-hee, the one whose arm you snapped! If you save my number, then whenever you have business collecting money back, I will assist you free of charge! Please feel free to contact me! It is free for life!
『010-xxxx-xxxx』
─Hello! I am Yun Seong-ah, the one who was punched in the gut by you, Esteemed Brother, last time! If it is not too presumptuous, I am sending this text to inquire whether you might be able to hit me again when you have time! I will give you fifty thousand won per gut punch!
They all seemed to be the loan sharks.
‘Esteemed Brother, my ass...’
I didn't reply.
After blocking each number one by one.
I picked up my camera to turn on the stream.
***
『'Reformed Guburi' has entered.』
『'Yoho' has entered.』
『'Hottie Licker' has entered.』
The moment I turned on the stream, three viewers entered simultaneously.
These guys always seemed so fast whenever I saw them.
"Long time no see."
【Reformed Guburi】─You son of a bitch! Why haven't you been streaming all this time? And you ignored all my texts too. -_-
【Yoho】─I won't even hope you'll respond to messages, so please, at least put up a notice...
【Hottie Licker】─Casually dropping a 'long time no see' like it's nothing, you wanna die?
After those three entered,
『'Reverse-Rape Maniac' has entered.』
『'Min-ji' has entered.』
『'Bubblegum Collector' has entered.』
Familiar nicknames began flooding into the room.
And just like that, within a single minute, ten viewers filled up the room.
It seemed they had all been waiting for me desperately.