Building a House (1)
The chat exploded with donations the moment I decided to replace mob-killing with aegyo reactions. The Jireongi were thrilled, showering me with support I hadn't expected. Startled, I glanced at the chat window with trembling eyes.
The Jireongi were clamoring for aegyo. Honestly, I felt a little bewildered. Was my aegyo really worth that much?
"…S-someone like me doing aegyo… it'll just feel like a waste of money……."
Even as I said that, I jotted down every aegyo request the Jireongi sent into my notepad, preparing myself. It was a little embarrassing, but a promise was a promise.
'Honestly… it just feels gross.'
It wasn't the Jireongi who felt gross. If anything, I was only grateful to them. They were people who loved someone as pathetic as me, over and over again. What felt repulsive was my own aegyo. With a body covered in scars and a mind and physique that were both frail, what right did I have to act cute? Of course, streaming had made me a bit more shameless, so it wasn't completely impossible.
"Aah… th-then I'll do it."
The chat flew by as the Jireongi made a fuss. 'They really are like kids… it's cute.' Smiling faintly at their antics, I began reciting the aegyo lines they'd written.
"…Oppa, I'm hungryyy… hic! Bang, p-please buy me some soft, fluffy bread…"
With that, the aegyo ended. My heart pounded. Receiving a hundred thousand won and then half-assing it made me worry, but—
—the moment that message appeared, my worries washed away. 'Thank goodness… they liked it.' Realizing that made my face grow warm, as if someone had suddenly yanked away the iron plate I'd been wearing.
Still, it wasn't bad.
Everyone was enjoying it so much that the embarrassment felt worthwhile. It was almost like a maternal instinct flowing out, quietly satisfying me—until a young man's voice, laced with a fatherly smile, came from behind.
[I heard the aegyo well.]
"…!?"
At the same time—
"Hic…! Y-you heard it…!?"
Hot tears of shame and mortification rolled down my cheeks.
* * *
One million subscriber YouTuber Junsu was currently witnessing something quite rare.
[Th-they donated right away… u-uh… s-so, thank you…! Aegyo… eeh.]
Muttering in a slightly troubled voice, the female player in the default skin looked around. Then she whispered softly.
[…S-someone like me doing aegyo… it'll just feel like a waste of money…….]
A cute girl's voice, mixed with a hint of sobbing and trembling. 'That's the kind of voice that drives men crazy.' Junsu thought sincerely as he looked at the chat. Just as he expected, the chat was blazing.
Hundreds more messages flooded in, but Junsu only read up to there.
"Her voice is definitely pretty, but it doesn't sound like she's using push-to-talk, does it?"
Unlike the laughing viewers, Junsu felt a twinge of pity. After all, this female streamer was about to update her life's greatest black history right now.
"From what she's saying, it sounds like she's about to do aegyo… too bad, huh?"
The viewers teased Junsu by bringing up his real name, which had been exposed three years ago. Junsu sighed and explained.
"It's YouTube content."
The viewers expressed concern, but Junsu smirked and wondered if he should tell the streamer named Snake about the mic. If he revealed the mic was on, though, he'd miss out on prime content. He had no intention of uploading the video without permission anyway—he'd ask for forgiveness too. Clips could be deleted by turning the stream off and on. Junsu seriously considered it: embarrass her, or show his magnanimous side? But then—
[I'll… do the aegyo.]
"Ah, too late."
Suhyun had already started.
[…Oppa, I'm hungryyy… hic! Bang, p-please buy me some soft, fluffy bread…]
'Crazy… my ears are melting.' Both Junsu and his viewers felt their ears melting as paternal and maternal instincts were triggered. As a result, Junsu couldn't hold back from speaking to Snake. And the result of that was now—
[D-did you hear that…? Hic! R-really…? A… aaah… kueeeeng…….]
He was now facing Snake, who had become this adorable mess.
"Are you crying!?"
[Huu……]
Junsu had unintentionally made Suhyun cry. As he panicked, the chat ignited.
The chat quickly abandoned K. Even those who had defended him earlier turned their backs. The betrayal was faster than expected. 'Crazy bastards…! So any girl is fine!?' Looking at his viewers, who were clearly biased toward women, Junsu felt his insides burning.
* * *
Some unknown person had heard my aegyo. Shame, the guilt of showing something weird, and the thought of the criticism that would soon come made my head start to ache. 'What if they get mad about the aegyo? Are they from a big company? Am I marked now? Is doing aegyo not allowed on the server? No… they'll probably find it unpleasant, so I'll get kicked, right?' All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind. I felt sorry for Yeon-a's efforts to invite me. No, I might face worse harassment than being kicked. People might naturally disperse when I approach, or invite me only to ignore me completely.
"Huek… I'm sorry……."
I knew that apologizing was the fastest way to resolve things. I quickly bowed my head and apologized to the person in front of me, Mr. Hair Company. Then a genuinely flustered voice reached my ears.
[Uh…! No! No no no!!! Don't apologize! I'm really going to hell!]
"Neh…?"
[Are you okay? You seem more surprised than I thought. Aigoo, what do I do.]
He said that with a genuinely apologetic, awkward smile. Checking his nametag, I just stared at him while curled up. 'K…….'
"S-sorry, Mr. K… it must've been unpleasant to hear……."
[You know me?]
"No… sorry, I don't……."
When I answered honestly, he smiled and asked if I'd come after being invited. I nodded, and he said he understood before dropping an item for me.
[Sorry for startling you. Use that for building a house. It's not much, though.]
"W-wood set……."
Mr. K tossed me a full set of oak wood. Feeling that he was quite kind, my tension slowly eased.