Chapter 66

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 66

Chapter Title: I Know What You Did Last Summer...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

1

It hadn't even been long since the broadcast started, but the viewer count had already surpassed 2,000. I could definitely feel that my league had risen.

The sudden boost in scale came from the collab stream with Chef Kang Taeyeon and the The Legendary Arena trial broadcast.

Both streams had generated massive buzz on the community forums, naturally drawing in crowds of viewers.

'But the trial was the big one.'

Originally, only cooking streams drew big crowds. But after the trial broadcast, people started showing interest in my gaming streams too.

'My play clips spread through the communities.'

On top of that, Max—quick on the uptake—had swiftly edited the trial stream and uploaded it to his own channel. And it exploded.

'Luck's been on my side all around.'

Looking back now, my streamer career had been incredibly fortunate. Who could've guessed I'd meet Elena while trying to snipe my sister?

I'd thought I was the unluckiest guy alive when I got dragged into that other world, but life really is unpredictable.

'But now I have to put those kinds of streams on hold for a while.'

I hadn't asked for this much attention, but I still felt a twinge of guilt. These people had come to see me, after all.

'Gotta be as nice as possible today.'

"Fuck."

The moment I glanced at the chat, any guilt evaporated. Grimacing, I scrolled slowly from the top.

'Clash from all the new inflows.'

My audience had split into two camps: cooking fans and gaming supporters.

Cooking had dominated before, but with gaming interest surging lately, the balance was evening out.

The suppressed gamers were venting now, and this chat was the result.

Faction wars and newbie rejection in a channel not even a month old. It was ridiculous how the early viewers were acting territorial over a few weeks' head start.

"Anyone fighting from now on gets banned immediately."

I had to nip it in the bud to keep the stream going.

Thankfully, the viewers backed off on their own. They knew my ban speed all too well.

"Never thought my first words on stream would be a ban warning... Anyway, hello everyone. It's Carrier."

I turned on the camera and bowed my head.

Reading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the chat, cold sweat trickled down my back. I had no intention of paddling when the water came in—I was planning to abandon ship instead.

"Today's stream will be short. I'm here to make an announcement about streaming."

The viewers' guesses were veering off wildly. If I let it go, the misunderstanding could snowball.

"What I have to say today is an announcement about my streaming schedule."

So I spoke up.

"Due to personal circumstances, I won't be able to keep streaming for a while."

The chat flooded with question marks. They clearly hadn't seen it coming.

"I wasn't streaming super often to begin with, but I still did one or two a week, right? Even that's gonna be tough now, so I'm telling you all."

"Like I said, personal circumstances, so I can't go into more detail."

No info at all, and the viewers vented their frustration.

'Am I being too harsh?'

I could've just ghosted without a word. But turning on the stream for this felt like basic courtesy.

I didn't want to leave them hanging indefinitely either. I knew how maddening endless waiting could be.

Still, just saying "hiatus for personal reasons" with no explanation might frustrate them more.

"I can't say much easily, but here's one thing: this decision is for my own personal challenge."

"Also, it's to satisfy some personal curiosity. That's all I'll say."

The viewers seemed confused. My words were too vague, naturally.

"Ah."

I'd completely forgotten. I'd made that promise, hadn't I?

"Gotta do that. Absolutely. But where's the cleanest fandom? Gotta know to do it..."

The viewers couldn't answer easily either. Makes sense—no such thing as a clean fandom in this world.

"Here's what we'll do."

I clapped my hands and said,

"Talk it over among yourselves until I finish everything and come back. I'll just hear the conclusion later."

"How'll I pick then?"

I shrugged and continued,

"Who knows? I'll think about it when the time comes. Nothing set in stone right now."

"Hey now, no funny business. I plan to collab. Just timing's tricky, so postponing."

"Pheasant or chicken? Spare my sis those hurtful words. Sure, she's worse at games and cooking than me! But still, cut it out!"

"Ahem. Both of us ditching streams would be weird, huh. Got it. I'll ask sis. But if she says no, nothing I can do."

I casually ignored my sister's chat.

"Alright, I've said everything I came to say, so I'm off. Thanks for coming to my stream. Hope to see you next time. Thank you."

I stood from the chair and bowed deeply.

The viewers begged, but I ended the stream without hesitation.

The split second before logging out of VR, a notification popped up. I could meet her outside anyway—what was the point of coming here?

"Why'd you come in?"

I asked the moment sis portaled in. She quietly sat across from me and spoke.

"Just... wanted to talk."

"...For real?"

"Yeah."

I scratched my cheek absentmindedly. It didn't make sense, but I didn't pry.

"If it's about the bet... we can call it off."

After a brief silence, sis cautiously opened up.

"What're you talking about?"

"Just... feels like I pushed you into this and ruined your good thing. It's been on my mind."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"That bugged you too?"

"......Yeah."

"Don't worry. Not because of you. I was already thinking about entering Grand Chef."

"Still feels like I forced you into it..."

"No way. I'm doing this because I want to. So don't stress."

"Got it..."

Sis gets so soft when it involves me. Can't be helped since I up and vanished.

'She's improving bit by bit, though.'

I'll keep watching for now.

"Let's go grab lunch. Anything you want?"

"Party noodles?"

"Noodles sound good."

Right before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠logout, another notification. Messenger open: message from Yura.

"......What the hell?"

The content was off-putting. Sis noticed my frown and came over.

"What's up?"

"Look at this."

I shared the message with her.

"I know what you did last summer...?"

Yura, what the heck does this mean?