The Melancholy of YouTuber Miss H

"Damn it, damn it, damn it. How the hell did things get so twisted?"

Fresel grumbled in irritation as he stared at the statement Han Gaeul had posted. He was a streamer on Toychi TV. Until high school, he'd lived such a pathetic life that he was practically the poster child for losers. Becoming a streamer had changed everything. The guy who once couldn't even look a woman in the eye now found it possible once he gained fame. No matter how shitty things got, he'd remind himself, 'Who am I? The owner of a channel with two hundred thousand followers.' and laugh it off. He'd transformed so completely that the phrase "position shapes the man" might as well have been coined for him.

'Han Gaeul...!'

After succeeding as a streamer, the first thing he'd done was try to get a girlfriend. Since he didn't know any women in real life, he looked among other streamers and eventually settled on Han Gaeul. He'd fallen for her the instant he saw her. Hearing that she'd never had a boyfriend before and was still a virgin, he thought they were a perfect match. With his overwhelmingly larger viewer count, he assumed she wouldn't dare reject him. So he confessed at a streamer event.

And he got shot down hard. The contempt in her eyes was like she was looking at filth. The shock was so intense it still haunted his dreams months later. His once sky-high self-esteem crashed straight to the bottom. So he rallied his viewers and streamer acquaintances to sabotage her broadcasts. He believed that once her channel was ruined, she'd come crawling, apologize, and become his.

As planned, her viewer numbers steadily dropped. Watching it gave him a rush of pleasure he'd never experienced before. 'I ruined her broadcast. I can control her!' The realization that he could dominate a beauty he wouldn't have dared glance at in the past slowly rebuilt his shattered ego. He was sure that with just a little more effort, Han Gaeul would be his.

But that hope was short-lived. When he heard she'd quit streaming and found success as a YouTuber, his self-esteem plunged again. She had somehow become the target of both his obsession and hatred. Either she would become his, or he would make her disappear forever. Those were the only two options.

To destroy her, Fresel had been watching every single one of her videos. That's when he noticed the oddity during the arm-wrestling event and reached out to his friend Ishureka, the cyber wrecker. Together they created the video exposing the rigged arm-wrestling match. He was thrilled, certain it would deal her a devastating blow. Then, out of nowhere, her channel got hit with a deletion bomb. He never imagined the flames would reach him.

Desperate to dodge the crisis, he posted a comment on the summary of her statement while pretending to be an unrelated viewer.

The replies flooded in immediately, as if they'd been waiting.

"What do I do? What do I do?"

He immediately went to find his friend Ishureka. He'd expected the guy to be just as anxious, but instead Ishureka was grinning like everything was going perfectly.

"You dumbass. What are you so worried about? It's not like that guy's the Hulk. You really think he'll succeed?"

"But what if he does by some miracle..."

"I've already finished recruiting the real athletes. No matter how hard he tries, he won't stand a chance against actual pros."

Ishureka had already taken care of everything. Fresel felt like an idiot for worrying.

"This time I'll make sure you get to fuck that bitch, so relax. Rather than getting her channel deleted, she'll choose to spread her legs."

Seeing his friend's sleazy grin, Fresel let out a sigh of relief. He promptly uploaded a post agreeing to accept Han Gaeul's proposal.

With approval from both sides secured, the day of the competition finally arrived. It had been a full week since Han Gaeul's first event, yet the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hype hadn't cooled at all. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anything, it burned even hotter.

Ten minutes until the match began. I was killing time by browsing the community forums.

The post with the most upvotes was titled "The Reason We Should Hope Han Gaeul Loses." When I clicked it, the reason was so absurd I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Han Gaeul approached, wearing black leggings and a white tank top. She must have finished her preparations. Her outfit was similar to last time but showed even more skin and looked even thinner.

"Aren't you cold?"

"There are days when a woman wants to wear something like this even if it means freezing to death. So? How do I look?"

Her toned abs, honed by countless hours at the gym, and those sleek, beautiful legs. If she was asking for my opinion, the honest answer was that I wanted to reach out and touch her right then and there.

"You look great. Can I take some photos later?"

"That's easy enough. If you win properly today, I'll do whatever you want."

I had no idea what she thought I wanted, but the offer showed just how desperate she was right now. Unlike the previous event, this one had a five-million-won prize and she'd rented a proper venue right in the middle of Hongdae. It came with a stage, waiting rooms, basic facilities, and even a massive electronic display board. The rental cost alone was huge. When you factored in all the other expenses and risks, failing this competition would mean losing everything.

I started getting ready. Even though it was technically a personal broadcast, a huge audience would be watching, so I put on the mask I'd prepared to hide my face.

"What's that?"

"I told you. I'm covering my face."

"I heard that part, but there are plenty of nice masks or even proper face coverings. Why are you wearing something that looks so suspicious?!"

The mask I'd chosen was the one from that famous movie about the American captain. I'd considered wearing the full spandex suit too, but that seemed like overkill, so I'd settled for just the mask.

"Please call me Captain Korea."

"Ugh, I can't with you. Hyunjin, aren't you nervous?"

"It's my first time appearing as the main attraction on a broadcast, so yeah, I'm a little nervous."

Even during my days as a hero, I'd stood in front of crowds a few times. I'd handled it well each time, but being the center of attention was always nerve-wracking.

"Not that! I mean aren't you nervous about whether you can actually win the arm-wrestling?!"

Her shout carried a storm of complicated emotions. Looking closer, I could see her hands were trembling slightly. I knew I couldn't possibly lose, but she was desperately trying to hide her fear that losing might cost her everything. This was basically a fight to the death. Since dying one way or another amounted to the same thing, she'd gone all-in. Normally she would never have taken such a reckless gamble. She'd only done it because she believed the other side would never agree to the match unless she threatened them with the channel deletion bomb.

As the competition drew closer, an enormous weight seemed to press down on her. Before long, it wasn't just her hands. Her entire body was shaking.

Before offering any words of comfort, I gently pulled her into my arms. I half-expected her to push me away and ask what the hell I was doing, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she stayed surprisingly still. When I stroked her hair, she actually pressed closer. Her hands cautiously wrapped around my waist. Through the thin fabric that barely counted as clothing, I could feel her body heat. The trembling that had wracked her slowly faded until she was calm.

"Miss Han Gaeul, it's five minutes until showtime. Please get ready."

At the staff member's voice, she jumped in surprise and quickly stepped back.

"Ah, um... thank you for comforting me. I'll be cheering for you from the side!"

The way she hurried off while covering her flushed cheeks was oddly cute.

The competition finally began, and Han Gaeul's YouTube livestream went live. The last event had only drawn one or two hundred viewers at most. This time, over a thousand people were already waiting the moment the stream started. All the communities had been properly baited, and viewers were pouring in from everywhere. The number kept climbing as time passed.

While Han Gaeul handled the opening, I sat in the waiting room and watched her through the YouTube stream. Since I didn't want to reveal my identity, I hadn't done any self-introductions or explanations. There was only one thing I needed to do today: win every arm-wrestling match.

"Shall we go out?"

My turn came soon enough. I sat down at the prepared table. My first opponent was a man in his forties who ran a gym.

"Heh heh, you opened an event like this with those skinny little arms?"

It looked more like he'd shown up for a bodybuilding contest than an arm-wrestling match. He struck poses while talking, making sure to show off the shirt with his gym's name on it for the broadcast. After looking at my arms, he must have decided victory would be easy, because his eyes wandered over Han Gaeul's body instead of focusing on me. The sight seriously pissed me off.

"All right, are you both ready? Staaart!"

Thud!

The moment Han Gaeul gave the signal, I slammed the man's arm down without hesitation. The gym owner looked completely stunned, blinking rapidly as if he couldn't believe he'd lost in an instant. His dumbfounded expression was broadcast live on YouTube for everyone to see.

"Next."

I called out confidently, as if nothing had happened.