No Gains or Losses Needed to Become Close

"Whoops. My hand slipped?"

"Alright, if you're just here for the files, you can leave now. I don't have them anymore."

Crack—

"You goddamn son of a bitch!!!!"

A man's furious roar echoed through the room alongside the sound of something being smashed to pieces. He sat in front of his desk, and the keyboard on it lay in a pitiful state, as if it had been begging for mercy. Unable to contain his rage, the man had destroyed it. Nothing had changed, but the innocent keyboard had become the scapegoat for his fury.

"Haa... haa..."

Still seething, the man began breathing heavily. He'd already smashed everything around him that could be broken, leaving nothing else to vent on. The monitor was still intact, but he knew better than to touch that. So he had no choice but to sit there fuming.

"No... why the hell...!"

His hands sliced through the air. There was nothing left to destroy, but he couldn't just sit still and calm down. To anyone else, he would've looked like a raging lunatic, but since he was alone, it didn't matter.

"Haa... calm down... just calm down..."

After about five minutes of venting, the man suddenly covered his face with both hands. He took a moment to steady his breathing, then sat back in front of the computer and reached for the keyboard—

"Ah, shit."

He stopped midway and smacked his own forehead instead.

"Juwon, you crazy bastard. Why the hell is a broke loser like you doing this... damn it. Guess I'll have to use my phone."

Scolding himself for his inability to control his temper, he picked up his phone and opened the streaming app. No need to search—the broadcast he was looking for was sitting right at the top of the live rankings.

[Seongna]

He entered the stream and immediately went to the donation section, typing out a message.

"Seongna, you son of a bitch. You really think things are gonna go your way? You absolute bastard..."

Once the donation processed, he logged out of the viewer account and switched to another one, re-entering Seongna's stream to donate again.

- Oh

- That's actually pretty reasonable

- Seongna, why are you even covering for Yeoru? You're the victim here

Seeing the chat flow back in the direction he wanted, the man decided to deliver the finishing blow.

Even files deleted from the recycle bin weren't completely unrecoverable.

- No, why would Seongna bother covering for Yeoru?

- At this point I'm starting to wonder if she actually got something

- If she has the files and is hiding them, what's that about??

- Damn it, you attention-whoring bastard, just release them already. This is getting ridiculous

"Come on, Seongna. Hurry up and release the files before I drag you down with her."

The chat had completely collapsed into chaos. With most viewers being newcomers drawn in by the drama, any hope of normal moderation was gone. Even veteran corporate streamers would be getting headaches from this, let alone some fresh-faced rookie. She was probably pretending to be calm on the outside while panicking inside.

'Ah, what should I do? Ugh...'

She was probably scared out of her mind. Don't worry, Seongna. If you cooperate nicely, I won't let anything happen to you. Though that cocky attitude of yours is annoying, my real target is Yeonhee anyway. If you just behave and listen, I might even show some mercy—

["What the hell are you saying, you moron."]

...What?

The man doubted his own ears. Moron? Me? Was that directed at me?

Of course, it wasn't aimed at Kim Juwon specifically. Seongna didn't even know who he was—she'd just voiced her honest reaction to the nonsense donation.

"This son of a bitch... I was going to let it slide, but...!"

Kim Juwon's face flushed red in an instant. His breathing grew ragged, and his entire body began trembling like a leaf. Hands shaking, he picked up his phone again, opened the donation window, and started typing.

"Shit... you can go to hell with Yeoru. I'll make sure you're both dragged down together..."

Tap tap...

"Ah, damn it, phones are so fucking inconvenient!"

As he painstakingly typed out the message one character at a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, another voice reached his ears.

["How pathetic."]

Seongna's voice dripped with genuine contempt.

["Everyone, I get that you're curious about what's real in this situation, whether the files actually exist, what kind of relationship Seongna and Yeoru have, and all that."]

She let out a laugh, as if the whole thing was so absurd it was funny.

"Shit...!"

Tap tap tap...

Too worked up to donate properly, Kim Juwon kept making typos. But Seongna continued—

["I just thought you should know exactly what kind of idiot you've all been dancing to."]

Using her signature trolling technique—derailing the conversation—she began.

["Alright, everyone, calm down and take a seat. This big sister here's got a juicy story for you."]

- ?

- ?

- ?

["The title is... hmm, let's go with 'The Midsummer Night's Dream of a Trolling Bastard and a Femme Fatale.'"]

Ring ring ring ring ring ring

"Haa..."

Ignoring the Discord notifications that had already gone off countless times, Kim Yeonhee flopped face-first onto her bed. She'd vaguely expected something like this to happen someday, but never imagined it would come in this form.

"...Kim Juwon."

A streamer with zero sense of timing had picked the perfect moment to strike. With interest in Ias skyrocketing thanks to the Bolekia first clear, every streamer was at their busiest preparing for it. Even so...

Vrrr— Vrrr—

[MCN Lawyer Kim Cheolho]

Handling it wouldn't be too difficult.

"Hello."

["Yes, Yeoru. I've pretty much finished gathering the materials. The complaint will probably take about three more days."]

"Thank you for your hard work."

["Oh, this is what I do for a living. You're the one having a harder time, Yeoru."]

"...Being a streamer comes with this kind of job too. Anyway, I'll leave it to you."

After hanging up, Yeonhee buried her face in the bed again. Three days... During that time, they'd probably tear into her all they wanted. In three days, the complaint would be filed, and Kim Juwon would be charged with defamation. Given his prior stalking conviction, the process would move quickly. The cleanest resolution would be making him personally end the controversy as part of the settlement terms.

The script could be something like "He was a one-sided admirer from the past who got jealous of her success." That should be enough. The variable was Seongna... Whether those files actually existed was questionable. If they did... she could fend off most suspicions, but the ex-boyfriend angle would still hurt.

The image of "Streamer Yeoru" was "pure," "dumb," "innocent," "kind." An ex-boyfriend scandal would be fatal. If the files really got out, her contingency plan was... hmm. That might actually work. She'd go live after starving herself for a couple days, looking haggard, shed some tears while apologizing and revealing the truth. She'd say they briefly dated before she started streaming, but broke up because their personalities didn't match, and then he became obsessed and started stalking her... It wasn't a lie, so it should be fine. The stalking could be proven, which was even better. There'd be some damage, but she could also gain sympathy votes.

For the rumor mill... she could ask Roni to spread that "Yeoru's been crying all day after I talked to her." That should be enough. No, wait—Roni might say something weird later. Better not trust that. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The expected damage would be... not being able to participate in the unprecedented large-scale Bolekia event, losing most of her loyal viewers due to the ex-boyfriend controversy, and getting cut off by streamer acquaintances she'd known...

Ring ring ring

"Haa..."

Her head hurt. Even though she'd already prepared for every scenario and even accounted for unexpected developments, her head still ached. She pressed her face deeper into the bed, burying it so hard she could barely breathe.

"Puhah... haa... haa..."

Finally unable to hold it in, Yeonhee let out a deep breath and rolled onto her back, leaning against ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bed.

"I really hate this."

Kim Juwon, who couldn't sort out his own emotions and was dragging her down into ruin. The viewers who blindly believed that idiot's words and turned on her with harsh accusations. And even herself, calmly handling the situation in a moment when crying or getting hurt would've been perfectly normal.

"Everything... I hate it."

She was sick of it. When had she started living like this? At some point, she'd become unable to see people's kindness as pure kindness. There was always some hidden motive behind it, and that motive always came with a demand for repayment. From a few casual words to exchanging friendly gifts—everything looked like a massive transaction in her eyes. Thinking that way made getting close to people incredibly simple. Fulfill what they want, and they'll help you. That was it. But sometimes... it felt a little lonely. Was there really no one in this world who would look at her and help her without any thought of gain or loss?

[Yeonhee, you're the only one for me, you know that?]

[Hey... could you appear on my stream just once? I really think you'd do well.]

She'd wondered if having a boyfriend would change things, but it hadn't. [I wish your sister was still alive instead...]

If it had been her sister, would she have lived differently?

"Unnie..."

Ring ring ring ring ring

Yeonhee's gaze shifted to the side—more precisely, to the phone she'd tossed on the bed. The vibrations had gone from annoying to unbearable. She should've put it on silent ages ago.

[Roni][+10]

When she picked up the phone and turned on the screen, it was filled with missed calls.

[Roni: Unnie! Seongna is—]

[Roni: She's streaming about the files right now. You need to check this!]

Seeing the word "files," Yeonhee frantically opened the streaming app. She switched to her secondary account meant for viewing hate comments and immediately entered Seongna's stream. Gulp. She swallowed dryly without realizing it. She'd been acting calm on the outside, but even she couldn't help feeling tense. A few words from Seongna could put a huge crack in the tower she'd spent years building.

Creak.

Even with a contingency plan in place, Yeonhee was incredibly anxious.

["Before I started streaming, I was a supporter in Senbing's guild."]

Seongna's voice flowed out. It was still a beautiful, pleasant voice—comforting to listen to, the kind that made other women feel a twinge of jealousy.

["And then I had to leave the guild due to an unfortunate incident. Yeoru took my place."]

"Ah..."

That beautiful voice turned into a dagger aimed straight at Yeoru. If Seongna herself admitted that Senbing's revelation was true, Yeonhee would have no way to respond.

"...Yeah, that makes sense."

Whether intentional or not, Seongna had every reason to hate her. She was just stating facts, so Yeonhee had no right to argue.

["That unfortunate incident was..."]

Yeoru was about to turn off Seongna's stream at this point. There was no need to keep listening, and she doubted she'd hear anything pleasant anyway. But then—

["Senbing, that femme fatale bastard, confessed to me."]

"Huh?"

The next words were so ridiculous she couldn't help but pay attention. Why would she lie like that? For what reason? She swallowed the question and kept listening.

["Can you believe that crazy bastard? Out of nowhere he asks me out, and when I reject him, he kicks me out of the guild. What a lunatic."]

["But then this guy claims he brought in Yeoru after I left. Yeoru hadn't started streaming yet either at that point."]

- Just stay quiet, this is getting fun

- Senbing's an idiot too lol

- So Senbing got rejected and then exposed her??

- He was just full of inferiority complex

["Just the main point? Sure, that's fine. Alright everyone, what you're all doing right now—"]

A screen appeared on Seongna's stream showing the donation messages that had been trying to muddy the waters.

["It's really a shame that you've all been swayed by the tantrum of some pathetic loser who got rejected."]

Evidence that all the donations trying to derail Seongna's stream had come from a single user.

- Damn, is that Senbing? lololol

- What? It was all one person?

- Kim Juwon? Who's that

- Was the guy telling her not to derail also Juwon?

Seongna never once said the user was Senbing. She simply continued speaking with nothing but [ㅇㅇ] displayed on screen.

- It's really Juwon lololol

["Even the Streamer Gallery folks... if you're going to get manipulated, at least get manipulated by a named troll like me. How could you fall for some nameless moron like that? Have you no pride?"]

Yeoru couldn't understand the situation. Why was she taking this risk to defend her? Was it because she hated Senbing more than she hated her? If so, they could just wait for mutual destruction. After all, she'd planned to deal with Senbing herself anyway.

["Oh dear, King Sejong would be crying. Were there really this many curse words in the world? By the way, all the chats from today's stream are being recorded one by one for legal action, so keep that in mind. Wink~"]

- LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO

- In-sil-j (insult) ending

- The ending is perfect too Seongna lololol

As if possessed, Yeonhee's hands moved.

[Donate]

Her hands trembled so badly she could barely type, but her desperate fingers managed to input the message she wanted.

Only after sending it did Yeoru regret her choice. What kind of answer had she wanted to hear? In this situation with the stream still running, there was only one possible response she could give.

["Hmm... that's not it."]

"...Huh?"

The answer... should have been predetermined, right?

["I mean, just because someone gives you a few gifts doesn't mean you have to return the favor. This isn't some kind of barter."]

- Is that right...?

- Yeoru's crying

- So you're gonna take the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gifts and keep your mouth shut? lol

["I mean, I'm grateful for the gifts, but we're not even that close, and I didn't ask for them either, so... you know, I don't have any obligation to do anything for her. Plus, I just didn't want to see that idiot Senbing showing off..."]

Someone once said that people don't need gains and losses to get close to each other.

["What was it... um, Yeoru? I don't know if you're watching this, but if you want to get close to me, you don't need gifts. Let's just hang out a few times. We can drag Suha along too and make it a trio. Whoa! Three saints party! All the support parties are dead!"]

- Damn it, support parties are dead without supports

- She's going DPS anyway so it's fine, right?

- Now that I think about it, everyone's raising saints lol

- Saint cartel lol

Right in front of her eyes, this person she'd never even met was saying that.

"...Yeah."

To Yeoru, this was a type of human she couldn't understand.