The Thin Line Between Advice and Meddling

What's the difference between advice and meddling? If someone asked for the common ground, the answer would be fairly simple. It's the act of subtly pointing someone who's lost and searching for an answer toward the right path. So again—what's the difference between advice and meddling? Well, there could be any number of reasons. For instance, does the person giving it have sufficient knowledge or authority in the field? Are they actually steering things in the right direction? Or does the recipient even need help in the first place? Everyone would have their own answer. After all, even the line between meddling and advice varies from person to person. In the end, the most basic conclusion is that it all depends on how the recipient feels. In that sense, what Seongna was doing to Yeoru right now was clearly closer to meddling…

"Uh, well… yeees…!"

Why couldn't she even muster a single word of protest? Comparing a veteran corporate streamer who had already built a solid foundation with a newbie still trying to make a name for herself, it was obvious which one held the overwhelming advantage in broadcast presence. And yet here she was, being dragged along in a flustered mess. Seongna showing up in person was unexpected, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sure, but stopping this incredibly annoying behavior should have been simple. All Yeoru had to do was voice her discomfort. Once she did, her hardcore viewers would tear into Seongna on their own, and the moral high ground would be entirely on Yeoru's side. Yeah, that was all it would take.

Why was everyone reacting so positively? Yeoru herself didn't understand it—or rather, she refused to understand it—but this situation was actually turning out to be pretty entertaining from a broadcast perspective. A seemingly innocent, airheaded streamer putting on a pure act, a raid party that looked like it had been assembled through connections rather than skill, and now a proven expert dropping blunt, no-nonsense advice without hesitation. It was a rare change of pace in Yeoru's usually one-note streams. Of course, nobody could have predicted that the "expert" in question was an infamous lunatic.

"Ah, um… Roni, I think we should focus on surviving this pattern."

["Yeeep… sorryyy…"]

In Yeoru's streams, where she normally never voiced any complaints about her raid members, Seongna's actions felt like a cool, refreshing glass of soda. The donations kept coming.

"Aah…! Ah, okay! I burned it!"

Viewer Count: 42,581

Seongna hadn't intended it, and Yeoru certainly hadn't allowed it, but thanks to her participation the viewer count had already broken past forty thousand. It was the result of several factors—the overall increase in viewers during prime time, Naise Squad temporarily pausing their own attempts, and more. Yeoru had become the biggest beneficiary without lifting a finger, though the situation left her feeling rather uneasy since it wasn't something she'd wanted.

"Then just don't meddle— I mean, uh… there were so many donations during the first clear that I had to raise the minimum."

From Yeoru's perspective, fellow streamers were nothing more than competitors. If they could be used, use them; if they got in the way, crush them. In that light, Seongna's current behavior made no sense at all. Even if she'd heard it was break time, wasn't this exactly when she should be resting? Had she even cleared it with Naise Squad? Was it really okay to spread raid strategies like this? And most importantly—why was she helping her in the first place? Since the first clear was already theirs, helping didn't pose any threat, right? If Minji had heard these thoughts, she would've just shrugged and said, "Then just tell me to stop if you hate it." In truth, Minji wasn't doing this out of any genuine desire to help—she was simply satisfying her own whims.

Still, it wasn't a loss. Whether for the raid or the stream, Seongna's support was clearly helpful. So why did it feel so unpleasant? It wasn't just personal taste. Why? She and Seongna weren't exactly close, but they weren't enemies either. She'd only been wary and wanted to keep an eye on her, and she hadn't even acted on that yet. They were basically strangers. So why did this bother her so much?

Ah, I see.

"Why did it suddenly jump to three digits?!"

It was just because the meddling was annoying.

"Yeoru, you have a rather interesting habit."

"The habit of not listening to people. I clearly told you not to save the gauge…"

"Ah, right…! There's just so much to keep track of… Wait, why did it jump to four digits again?!"

She'd only come here after hearing about the break, hoping to find some fun she hadn't felt in a while after spotting Yeoru still attempting the raid. The result? Meddling with Yeoru hadn't been nearly as satisfying as expected.

"Hmm, is Yeoru always like this?"

Just like clapping requires two hands, meddling only becomes fun when the recipient reacts properly.

"How should I put it… I've never seen someone who doesn't get angry even after hearing my advice like this."

Yeoru's voice had risen a few times, but overall she maintained a consistent response to Minji's meddling—treating the advice seriously, diligently applying the feedback, and producing positive results. If Minji had genuinely wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yeoru and her raid party to succeed, she would have been perfectly satisfied. But that wasn't why she was doing this, so the current situation was deeply unsatisfying. In other words, no matter how much she dressed it up as "for Yeoru's sake" or "just advice," it was really just a malicious desire to see the other person get angry.

"Ugh."

This wasn't the reaction she'd expected at all. She was supposed to get mad, snap, and yell at her to stop. Even Suha, one of the few people Minji acknowledged as a saint, had eventually lost her temper and shouted. So why wasn't this girl doing the same?

Just as Minji's enthusiasm was starting to cool from the lack of expected entertainment, a new donation caught her eye.

An angel? Her? Suha, maybe, but this was ridiculous. Who was Yeoru? Wasn't she the vicious woman who used and exploited other female streamers for success, then discarded them without a second thought? That was what Minji had always believed. But now that she thought about it, all her preconceptions about Yeoru had been based purely on rumors. Maybe reality was different?

Yeah… there was that saying about hearing both sides of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠story. Even if it wasn't fun, seeing how seriously Yeoru was listening to her advice made her seem like not such a bad person after all. Out of nowhere, Minji's opinion of Yeoru began shifting back toward neutral from the negatives.

Well, whatever.

"Let's get out of here. Staying any longer would just be overkill."

Her interest had faded, so Minji decided to stop the meddling. It wasn't that fun, and Yeoru didn't seem like such a terrible person after all. She was even starting to feel a bit guilty.

So, what should she do with the rest of her time? Just as she was wondering that—

"Oh?"

Handing her another excuse on a silver platter? She really did pick good viewers.

"I was just wondering what to do. I'll put you guys in time-out for ten minutes. Read the rules and donate if you want."

With that, Minji pulled up a notepad, typed out a single line—"Be right back"—and left it on screen.

"Agh, I'm hungry. Gonna go buy some snacks."

With those words, she disappeared somewhere.

And just like that, the viewers were left abandoned. Well, they were used to this kind of situation, so it wasn't particularly surprising.

["Um, Seongna? What should we do here?"]

["Uh, Seongna…?"]

["W-what do we do if she suddenly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disappears like this…?!"]

For those experiencing Seongna for the first time, this must have been quite the novel experience. A streamer who would abandon her own broadcast just because she felt like having a snack was probably one of a kind.

["Well, there's nothing we can do, right? Seongna doesn't have any obligation to help us. I think it's already enough that she helped us this far…"]

["…Huh?"]

Ah, that… I really don't want to…