I'm an Adult
I'm an adult.
Back in kindergarten or elementary school I got into the occasional scrape, but ever since we got a computer I've lived a quiet, well-behaved life.
They say middle schoolers usually hit that stormy rebellious phase and start acting out, but for me it was the opposite.
The memories of my past life have long since grown hazy.
Still, I've experienced an adult's mind before, haven't I?
Yeah.
For an ordinary middle schooler, my spirit is already fully formed, isn't it?
Just look at how astonishingly mature this head of mine has become compared to elementary school.
I can say with absolute confidence that my way of thinking is closer to an adult's than a kid's.
It's nothing like the brats around me yelling, "I'm all grown up!"
Yep. Certain.
I'm different.
In that sense…
I was genuinely ready to make up cleanly and cheerfully the moment I got an apology.
Isn't this magnanimity—something no mere middle schooler could ever pull off—the true proof that I'm an adult?
Which is exactly why donations like this are pure nonsense.
Right now I am more adult than anyone else in the world.
"Ugh, that hurts. Sob sob."
I turned the stream feed off again and sobbed black tears.
I set the chat aside for a moment and queued into a game.
Naturally there was no game feed on stream.
I heard somewhere you don't negotiate with terrorists.
My demands were simple.
If they successfully flooded the chat so that only "I will never again whine that the stream is too short" was visible, I would turn the screen back on.
To make up, someone has to apologize first.
And that someone sure as hell isn't going to be me, the victim.
Obviously, perfectly reasonably, that job belongs to the viewers.
"Ah."
I almost died while zoning out for a second.
I wasn't going to cast like usual either.
Lips sealed tight, I focused on the satisfying tat-tat-tat of gunfire.
Imagining every single enemy was one of those ungrateful viewers.
"Eek."
Die!!
Those bastards weren't even satisfied with the off-stream CCTV and had crawled into Momoji's room to start drama—serious criminals.
Probably because of that, I only played a couple more games with Momoji before we parted ways.
They just couldn't admit they were wrong even if it killed them.
I thought if I gave them time they'd realize and say they were sorry…
Maybe I was wrong about that.
Getting older doesn't automatically make everyone an adult.
"Ugh—"
I clamped down on the sound that slipped out through my teeth in a tight spot.
This is sneakily hard—playing while keeping my mouth shut.
I must have gotten into the habit of muttering constantly.
I safely carried the team to victory and returned to the lobby.
Then I switched the screen back on.
Woniwoni>.< : 29 Kills 5 Deaths
The results screen came back with me.
"Shall we check again? Get ready to spam~"
I opened Notepad and typed out the exact phrase for them.
I will never again whine that the stream is too short.
"Start!"
The chat scrolled by in a rapid slurp-slurp.
If I squinted a little, the "I will never again" lines did seem a bit more visible…
"Hmm. Borderline."
Chat firepower that can't even overpower the trolls.
How am I supposed to believe they're sincere like this?
I was thinking of queuing one more game and coming back when—
"Oh! Fifty thousand won."
A huge donation!
I couldn't take it for myself right now, of course.
But getting a big donation still gets me excited.
Someday it'll be my money too.
Either way, someone just threw serious cash at me.
Money doesn't grow on trees.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head on behalf of future me.
Ahem.
Turning the screen off right after taking money feels a little wrong, doesn't it?
Ah, whatever—I'm in a good mood! One more round.
"Shall we try just one more? Ready~"
"Hmm."
The firepower looked about the same.
"Really?"
Just look at that sincerity-packed donation amount.
There's no way it's a lie.
Stop the smear campaign!
"I'll believe you."
"Hmm, feels like a lie."
"When did I ever discriminate? I just feel like I've seen that name before. There's always a reason."
Anything with "Hyeok" in the ID already rubbed me the wrong way.
"……Really? Guess I was mistaken. Sorry."
A few more donations rolled in after that, so I never found a good moment to turn the screen off.
Taking money and then doing that would be kind of… wrong. Yeah.
And somehow I didn't feel as bad as before.
Why is that?
Scratch scratch.
Also, even though we were just chatting casually, the viewers had gotten a lot friendlier than earlier.
Maybe they finally realized their mistake.
"I'm not sulking. I'm completely adult, what are you talking about."
I accepted their apology in a very adult fashion.
Because I wasn't sulking.
Really.
As proof, while the screen was blacked out I deliberately only played one ranked game so I could set up a Master promotion match.
I wanted to do the promo together.
I do this much for my viewers and they're already trying to make me mad again.
But we made up, so I'll let it slide.
I wanted to queue right away, but it was late so I held myself back.
I hope tomorrow comes soon. Hehe.
The operations staff of Deadzone began a meeting regarding the nickname Woniwoni and the account holder, 39-year-old Lee Jeonghwan.
The report itself had come in two days earlier.
But matters involving streamers needed careful handling, so they had waited for the policy team's judgment.
And after that delay, the result was:
"To cut to the conclusion, we believe a temporary suspension is necessary."
The policy team leader spoke calmly after finishing the review.
Under Deadzone's terms of service, using another person's identity is a serious offense that can range from temporary to permanent ban.
Reality, however, is a little different.
Just walk into any PC bang and you'll casually see elementary school kids playing games.
From a game company's perspective, catching ordinary people borrowing a family member's or friend's account is both difficult and not particularly worth the effort.
Even when reports come in, as long as it isn't blatant, soft-touch punishments are common.
But.
"In Woniwoni's case, the voice has been exposed on stream, so we can't avoid a suspension."
One of the operations team members raised a hand.
"Well, a 39-year-old guy could just be putting on a girl's voice, right? We don't know for sure. It's not like we have a way to check."
In other words, why not just let it slide.
"We did review that possibility. We looked into it and there's no actual personal information revealed. However, the problem is…"
There was a part the company was reluctant to simply look away from.
"The voice is far too young. The estimated age range is low. Violating the Shutdown Law is a serious matter."
In short, there was a real possibility that Woniwoni was a minor.
"The moment this was brought up as a meeting agenda, the company became aware of it. If we just let it go, that's aiding and abetting. Corporate liability kicks in."
The policy team leader was firm.
The party punished under the Shutdown Law is not the player but the company.
That was why they couldn't easily look the other way.
"We'll put the account into temporary suspension and request a post-suspension explanation. As you said, it could genuinely be a 39-year-old man."
"Understood. If they fail to verify by the end of the explanation period, do we go by the book?"
"Yes. Permanent ban. Please guide them to create a new account under their own name."
"Confirmed."
Having accepted the policy team's uncompromising decision, the operations team returned to the office.
They took a short coffee break among themselves and chatted.
"Aww, that's a shame. From what I saw, she's a rare high-skill female player."
"Eh, whatever. An account ban isn't that big a deal."
"True, they can just make a new ID and keep playing."
Deadzone's age rating was 12 and up.
Even a middle schooler could play without issue.
Most of them reacted casually—just make a new account and it's fine—but one employee who had been listening quietly hummed thoughtfully.
"Hmm…"
"What's up?"
"No, if it were me and I lost the account because I couldn't verify, I think I'd be really sad."
"Huh? Why? It's not like you can't play the game."
"There's the time and memories I invested in it, you know. Honestly permanent bans hit hard. Especially if they might be a minor. I understand the rules, but… does it really need to go that far?"
"Is it that serious…? Deadzone just feels like a gun game to me so I'd be fine. Is it the rank points that hurt?"
The employee clicked their tongue at the indifferent teammates.
"I can't talk to people with zero gamer sensitivity. And she's a streamer, right? If she makes a fuss on stream it could get noisy, and it's just uncomfortable in a lot of ways."
"Hahaha, you worry too much. And for all we know it really is a super-young-looking 39-year-old guy~"
"That might actually be more entertaining."
The employee who had been shaking their head and the ones laughing and chatting finished their coffee and returned to their desks.