Is That Your Boyfriend?
Lee Chaewon had no idea, but the conversation that had leaked on Momozi's stream two days earlier had set not only the broadcast itself but the entire community ablaze.
Five days had passed since Dual King Chaechae's stream went dark.
On day three, she'd made a brief appearance through a call that leaked onto Momozi's broadcast.
Gone was the cheeky little troublemaker who always brazenly teased her viewers — she had broken down and sobbed her heart out.
In the immediate aftermath of the stream accident, the reactions had mostly been about how cute or funny it was.
But as time wore on — through the night, into the next day, and through another dawn — public opinion branched off in a different direction entirely.
She quit streaming? Bullshit.
You don't even need to play Dead Zone, right?
What other new streamer hits a thousand viewers with no cam? You're just gonna let that talent rot?
You absolute bastards. Go catch the actual intentional trolls instead of permanently banning a streamer whose entire screen was clearly visible.
When Momozi asked if she had any other IDs, she said that was the only one.
How much heartbreak does it take to just straight-up quit streaming on the spot.
Looking at how she cleaned house in Challenger 1v1s, she was on track to be the first female Challenger. Zero sense of judgment though~
A rookie streamer who'd been showing insane growth. A promising talent, erased. And the sharp-edged comments aimed at Dead Zone's decision that made it happen began to pile up, one by one.
After leaving Lee Chaewon free to play her games, Kim Naneun headed into her room for the stream.
Thank goodness.
Chaewon looked far more okay than she'd feared, which was a relief — but she still couldn't bring herself to ask if Chaewon had any thoughts about streaming again.
Even if she was taking a break for now… if the viewers welcomed her back warmly enough, maybe she'd return someday.
Sure, there would be people casting suspicious glances at the banned Chaewon. But far more of the chat was asking after her well-being.
The vast majority desperately wanted her back.
Kim Naneun herself rated that talent — the one that drove Chaewon's viewers wild — extremely highly. In fact, the real purpose behind today's invitation had been to persuade her to start streaming again.
That had been the plan, at least.
She's way too young…
She hadn't known Chaewon was fourteen. Of course, if Chaewon herself wanted it, Naneun would push for her wholeheartedly. But she couldn't actively encourage a current middle schooler — a first-year, no less — to throw herself into the brutal world of streaming.
Still.
At least showing that she's doing okay would be good.
There was a reason Kim Naneun had started her stream early today.
Even if Chaewon wasn't streaming right now — better to at least say hello than vanish without a word. It might help if she ever came back.
That had been the calculation.
And how would she pull it off?
If she just asked Chaewon outright to come on stream and greet people, she might refuse. So the plan was to naturally shove her into it: "Oh my! Chaechae! I told you to keep it down! You were so loud the sound got picked up on stream. People got startled, so come over and prove you're real, would you?"
Since her face wouldn't even be on camera, something like that would be easy enough.
Good thing I'm a no-cam streamer.
If she were a cam streamer, the viewers would've been screaming for her to show Chaewon on screen.
Just a simple "Chaechae's doing well!" — a little wellness check — would be enough.
…
…
…
Shouldn't there be some noise by now?
Having played with her before, Naneun knew Lee Chaewon was never the quiet type when gaming. She'd let out little gasps of admiration, her expressions were so rich they made anyone watching feel warm and fuzzy — and when she lost a close match, she'd hop around adorably in frustration.
And then, the second you called her cute for it, she'd start growling.
How does a human this lovable even exist.
She'd been genuinely shocked when they met at the bus stop, too.
She hated using the phrase "like a doll" because it was so overused — but in that moment, nothing else came to mind.
The girl who'd appeared with twin tails swaying gently was unmistakably young, yet boasted a slender face and striking features. No way… is that Chaechae? she'd wondered — but the way the girl was looking around made her call out the name immediately.
And when she properly saw her face, she thought her heart might stop.
A celebrity…?
A child actress? An idol trainee? Something like that.
Her skin was porcelain-pale, and startled rabbit-like eyes blinked wide open. And those eyelashes — so long…
"Hup! Snap out of it, girl!"
Anyway — it was a dangerously captivating face, the kind that could steal your soul.
If I were a guy, I'd have confessed on the spot…. Or would I? Maybe I'd have been too intimidated to even talk to her.
It would definitely take serious courage.
Anyway.
Back to the present.
Why is it actually so quiet??
Kim Naneun had deliberately left her door cracked open just a bit. It was a soundproof door, so everyday muttering wouldn't get through — but a sudden high-pitched gasp of excitement should have punched right through into the room.
And yet nearly forty minutes had passed, and it was still silent.
Creak—
"Everyone, I'm a little thirsty, so I'm gonna go grab some water real quick."
In the end, she decided to check for herself.
First: mic OFF.
"Chaewon~ You gaming?"
Lee Chaewon, sitting in the living room, whipped her head toward the sound.
Their eyes met — Chaewon with her mouth clamped shut in absolute determination not to make a single sound.
She's so cute aaaaa I want to run over right now and squish her cheeks like mochi dough, knead them over and over…
Hoooooo.
She exhaled deeply and held it in.
"Just came out to grab water. You can talk, it's fine. I turned the mic off."
"…Really?"
"Hahahaha, aren't you being a little too obedient? Your mouth's gonna get lockjaw. Look at that face."
"……I promised I would, since you let me play games."
"You don't have to force yourself to be that quiet. There's basic soundproofing."
"Oh… really?"
"Yep."
"Th-then can I turn the sound up a bit? I wanna hear the hit sounds."
"Of course. Make yourself more comfortable."
Leaving an excited Chaewon behind, she grabbed a water bottle and headed back to her room.
And a little while later.
Telling her to play comfortably seemed to have worked.
"Sound? What are you talking about?"
The bait was starting to take.
Momozi could faintly hear the sounds herself, after all.
But…. Chaewon's voice should be coming through, and this is way too… male-sounding…
She'd been expecting the grumbling or whining of a little girl. Instead, a deep, thick male character voice kept leaking through in snatches.
And since she seemed to be maining just one character, every voice was identical.
Well, whatever. I can just explain it.
Momozi didn't take it too seriously.
She played dumb a little longer, and the chat gradually caught fire.
Okay, time to explain.
Rumors spreading outside was a danger signal. She hadn't intended to pull that much aggro, so she decided to come clean.
"Oh, the sound? Boyfriend?? Hahahahaha. What are you even saying. I'm a lifelong single, okay. Ah, I was trying to keep it secret, but I guess I have no choice. Actually, someone is over at my place. I told her to play quietly, but she must be having too much fun. I'll go get her."
"Oh come on, it's a same-gender friend. You thought it was a guy? Nope — she's gaming outside, that's why. I'll just bring her over, okay? You guys are gonna be so surprised."
Kim Naneun shot up from her seat and opened the door.
This had been the plan all along — but the fallout was hitting harder than expected, and her heart was pounding—
Never doing this again.
She wasn't even a cam streamer. She was a no-cam variety game streamer, and she still hadn't expected this kind of intense reaction.
They said they watched for the fun of the games, but that was pure bullshit.
This was literally the "streamer caught with a boyfriend" experience.
"Whew."
Good thing it was an act.
Better clear this up fast.
Making sure to turn the mic off properly this time — no mistakes like last time — she headed to the living room, where Lee Chaewon was still mashing the controller with her mouth scrunched up tight.
As expected, the culprit behind the noise was a game character.
"You cannot defeat me. Train for another hundred years!!"
"Ah, that's it."
At the sound of Kim Naneun's voice, Chaewon's head snapped around.
"Chaewooon~"
Mouth still clamped shut.
She'd been diligently trying to stay quiet this whole time.
It was so endearing Naneun almost laughed, but she put on a serious face and approached.
"Sooo. The soundproofing isn't as good as I thought. This old guy's voice got picked up on the mic, you know?"
Naneun pointed at the in-game character as she spoke, and Chaewon nodded.
Nod nod.
"Could you come over for a sec and clear things up? The viewers are suspecting Unnie of keeping a guy at her place. When really our cute little Chaechae is the one who's here."
"Clear things up?"
Lee Chaewon stared at Kim Naneun with a long, piercing look, then just rolled her eyes around.
Hmm.
Why isn't she answering…?
For a moment, a faint sense that something was off. Uneasy, she whispered an additional explanation.
"It's just, people are saying there's a guy at Unnie's house. They're coming in to tease me. They're mad that I've been pretending not to have a boyfriend this whole time. Could Chaechae just come over for a second and say it's not true? Please?"
"Mmm?"
Apparently her worry had been unfounded — once she calmly explained, Chaewon stood up, ready to go.
"Great! Go say 'Chaechae's doing well~ Don't worry~' and ease their minds a bit, okay? People miss Chaechae."
"Okay! Let's do it."
Okay?
Why does she look excited?
Is it because she gets to see the viewers again after so long?
See, I told you she has talent.
Lee Chaewon entered Kim Naneun's streaming room, looking around curiously before sliding up to the computer.
"Whoa, big monitor. Dual monitors… sick."
"Haha, if you want to stream, two is way more convenient. Want Unnie to gift you one?"
"For real?! ……Nah. It's fine. I was told I shouldn't just accept stuff like that."
"Heh heh. Okay, okay. Tell me if you need one later. Ready to turn on the mic?"
"Yeah."
After confirming Chaewon was settled on the small chair beside her, Kim Naneun turned on the mic.
The chat was burning fiercely, but it didn't matter anymore.
Right next to her was the person who would flip this entire atmosphere on its head.
"Aaaand, everyone, I'm back~ Oh come on. This is someone you guys will love too. Just say a quick hello and you can go back to gaming."
"……"
"…Chaechae?"
She stared blankly at Lee Chaewon, the unspoken question hanging in the air: Why aren't you saying anything?
But.
"……"
Chaewon clamped her mouth shut just like she had while gaming earlier.
"Uh…? Chaechae? If you go completely silent here… uh, what's going to happen to Unnieee?"
Shake shake.
She shook her head side to side.
"Huh?! Why? Whyyy. Uh, Unnie bought you delicious food and everything!"
Th-this wasn't part of the plan…?
Flustered, Kim Naneun leaned in close to persuade her — and Lee Chaewon silently mouthed something.
"What? I can't hear you. Uh…?"
Enunciating carefully with her lips.
Re… venge…?
And then — a grin.
A lovely little smile brimming with pure mischief, as if to say: You're the one who made me look like a fool first—
"You… you little de-demon…!"
Through the mic, Momozi's frantic attempts to persuade Chaechae came through loud and clear — but Chaechae's own voice never reached the viewers.
And as the rumors spread, the viewer count only kept climbing.
"Yaaaaaah! Unnie is actually fucked right nowww. I've never been through this before, I'm scaaared. I-I was doing this for youuuu."
"Heh."
Even when she grabbed Chaewon's shoulders and shook her back and forth, Lee Chaewon just kept smiling — silent as a stone.