A Blessing in Disguise
A Blessing in Disguise
The people in the waiting room all looked up at me at once.
It's understandable, I guess, since the girl who showed up after two weeks looked like a beggar.
"I'm sorry I'm late!"
The first to react was Lee Suyeon.
She was fixing her makeup in front of the mirror and looked at me.
"Oh my, Wolha, you're alive?"
Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes weren't smiling at all.
After all the money I poured into her...
...Of course, Suyeon probably has no idea that person was me.
My brief immersion in a sense of betrayal was cut short as Arin suddenly approached me.
Her face, seen after two weeks, was brimming with confidence, unlike before.
"Oh my, Wolha? You look so haggard?"
She said, looking me up and down with feigned pity.
"Was it really tough in the hospital for two weeks?
That's really too bad.
Oh, by the way, did you know?"
The corners of her mouth lifted, just like Suyeon's.
"Keunson Gom oppa gave me the Chairman badge again in my room.
I guess he got really pissed because you didn't go live for so long.
You can understand that, right?"
Then she patted my shoulder.
I could see Suyeon, who had turned her back and was sitting, suppressing a laugh in the mirror.
I turned my eyes and stared piercingly at Arin.
...So you want to play, huh?
"Of course. It's all my fault, right?
But... I wonder how long that will last?"
"What?"
Arin's forehead furrowed.
"That person, he seems like the type to get bored quickly.
That's why he left you, unnie, and came to me from the very first broadcast, right?
Be careful this time too."
Arin's face instantly flushed bright red.
"You, you...!"
Just as Arin was about to explode, Park Haneul, who had been watching the situation from afar, approached with a smile.
"Wolha-ssi, long time no see? Come outside for a moment."
***
The moment we stepped into the hallway, Park Haneul's smile vanished.
"Do you think I should say I'm glad you came, even if it's late?"
He frowned and lowered his voice.
"How do you plan to clean up the mess of going MIA for the past two weeks?"
"...I'm sorry."
I bowed my head and strained my eyes.
They stung a little.
"My wound got infected..."
Park Haneul paused for a moment, but then shook his head and snapped back harshly.
"What kind of nonsense is that, Wolha-ssi?
You were shaking your body and dancing like that right before your break.
What? Your wound got infected?
Are you telling me to believe that now?"
Sharp bastard.
"Whatever. If you keep acting like this, I'll sue you for penalty fees and damages."
As expected, that excuse didn't work.
While my eyes welled up with tears and I looked at the floor, I analyzed the situation in my head.
...This guy, he never said he'd cut me.
That must mean I'm still profitable, right?
I just glanced up slightly to sneak a peek at Park Haneul's face.
Even while frowning deeply, the corner of his mouth was twitching slightly.
He thinks he's got my weakness now.
Not gonna happen.
I neatly dropped the act.
Leaning my back against the wall, I spoke with an expressionless face.
"Is that so? Then I'll just quit."
"...What?"
"I'll pay the penalty fee and terminate the contract.
I'll even spit back all the advance payment you gave me.
That should do it, right?"
Park Haneul's expression hardened stiffly.
"Mo, money! Do you have the money?"
"I met a good person while I was in the hospital."
I continued, peeling my back off the wall.
"If the CEO keeps this up... it might be better for me to just go under that person."
Park Haneul snorted.
"Ha! You think there's some gullible whale who'd save a bitch with 300 million won in debt?"
But despite his confident words, his face remained stiff.
"Who is it? Let's at least hear the name."
Who should I say?
...Let's go with this person.
"A-grade Hunter Park Su-hyeon-ssi."
Finally, the smile vanished from Park Haneul's face.
"If you really can't believe it, why don't you call him right now?
Ah, but he has a bit of a fiery temper and dislikes rudeness."
A name I'd glimpsed in a featured post on the dungeon gallery.
He was a famous person even ordinary people knew, not just for his combat prowess as a hunter but also for his business acumen.
I pretended to take out my phone.
"Wai, wait! Wolha-ssi!"
Park Haneul urgently grabbed my arm.
"You should listen to people until they finish speaking."
He took the bait.
"Now we can finally have a proper conversation.
My condition for continuing to broadcast is simple."
Leaning against the wall again, I leisurely examined my nails.
"Don't ever threaten me with that damn penalty fee again."
"..."
"And the contract... no, let's talk about this again after today's broadcast."
Grrind.
Am I being too harsh?
I approached Park Haneul and gently massaged his stiff shoulder.
"Don't be so angry.
Your revenue must have dropped a lot while I was gone, right?
Let's talk again after I do a proper broadcast today."
He nodded with a fierce expression.
"...Fine.
But you must apologize properly on the broadcast.
And you must do everything I tell you to do today without any backtalk.
Understood?"
"I can do that much."
To win back public sentiment, you have to kneel to some extent.
Finally, I turned my back on Park Haneul, leaving him in the hallway, and announced.
"But I sweated a bit running here.
I need time to wash up and get ready, so please start the opening without me."
***
The hot water from the shower enveloped my entire body.
A shower after two weeks.
No, to be precise, it was a shower after two weeks in a 'woman's body'.
The stream of water flowed past my silver hair, down my smooth collarbone,
and cascaded into the deep valley of my chest.
My small hands gently massaged my slender waist and firm buttocks.
"Haa."
My mind started to turn.
The current situation is the worst.
Two weeks MIA, plummeting public sentiment, Keunson Gom gone.
But.
I turned off the faucet and looked in the mirror.
My wet hair clung to my white skin.
This is all I need.
***
Freshly washed and wearing a shower robe, I came out to the empty waiting room.
I headed straight for the shared clothing rack and found my outfit.
A white shirt with a loose fit that gives a delicate feel.
And a black mini skirt that clings tightly to my hips.
When I put on the shirt, it flowed off my shoulders like the rags I was wearing just before, revealing my collarbone precariously.
I looked in the mirror and brushed down my silver hair.
Then I applied powder and concealer to create a face so pale it looked like I might collapse any moment.
The me reflected in the mirror looked innocent yet stirred protective instincts.
I smiled slightly.
"Perfect."
From beyond the wall, I could hear Park Haneul's exaggerated voice and the sound effect of balloons popping.
I took one deep breath and headed for the studio.
***
The opening was already in full swing in the studio.
A female streamer who seemed to have been last in the previous broadcast,
was desperately shaking her body, wearing a white tank top and tacky floral harem pants.
Park Haneul, confirming my arrival, grabbed the microphone.
"Now, a special guest here!
The 'one' who bailed on the last joint broadcast and went MIA for a whole two weeks has finally arrived!"
The chat window displayed on the large screen began to be flooded insanely.
[The scammer bitch is here lol]
[Did you crawl back out because your sponsor dumped you and you ran out of money?]
[Look at that thick skin lolol]
I carefully walked out to the center of the studio.
"Wolha-ssi has returned!"
[Boo]
[Get lost!]
Park Haneul interrogated me in a cold voice.
"Wolha-ssi, please explain in detail in front of the viewers
why you were absent from the last broadcast,
and why you took a two-week break from your personal stream."
Instead of answering, I simply knelt down and sat on the floor.
The hem of my skirt rolled up, revealing my white thighs, but I paid it no mind.
"I'm really sorry..."
I lowered my eyes.
"I was in the hospital... I couldn't pay attention to the broadcast."
A tear rolled down my cheek and fell with a plop.
"You'll probably think it's all excuses, but I still wanted to apologize to everyone."
I bowed my head and touched my forehead to the floor.
"It's all my fault..."
My trembling voice broke pitifully.
[Damn, that's intense...]
[Looking at her face, she really does look sick]
[Was she really that sick?]
With my perfect patient cosplay, the chat window and the female streamers began to waver.
Park Haneul, gauging the mood, threw a sketchbook and a marker in front of me.
"Are you just going to talk? Write a letter of reflection right now!"
"Yes..."
Still kneeling, I deliberately made my hand shake as I wrote each character.
[I sincerely apologize to those who were disappointed because of me.
I will never miss a broadcast without permission again.]
When I finished reading the last character and put down the sketchbook, the public opinion in the chat was split down the middle.
[She was sick, let's forgive her]
[Idiot, that's all an act]
[Yeah, haven't you seen this kind of thing once or twice? You gullible whale?]
Still not enough.
Park Haneul, assessing the situation, raised his voice.
"Now! This isn't the end!"
Staff members wheeled in a large roulette wheel from the back of the studio.
"It's a shame you were sick, but you must receive punishment!
That's only fair, right?
Now, let's spin the roulette!"
Park Haneul spun the roulette wheel vigorously.
The place where the needle stopped was.
[Water Splash + 1 glass of Kkanari]
...Kkanari?
***
"I'll splash it!"
Arin raised her hand high.
"Yes, Arin-ssi, come out here!"
Arin, overjoyed, struggled to carry over a large basin filled with ice water.
"No other meaning."
At least change your expression when you say that.
"Yes, unnie."
Before I could even finish speaking, she poured the ice water over me without a shred of mercy.
"Ugh...!"
The ice water cascaded down like a waterfall, soaking my white shirt thoroughly.
The wet shirt became transparent,
revealing the white skin beneath and the black underwear I'd hastily put on in the waiting room, visible in a precarious tease.
[Wakya-pya]
[I can see it, I can see it]
[Heheung]
[I think we can forgive her for this much hehehe]
But Arin wasn't satisfied with that.
"Oh my, Wolha. Your underwear is completely visible?
...It's black~
Who were you planning to show it to, coming dressed up so deliberately?"
This isn't mine.
I snorted inwardly but didn't retort outwardly at all.
I just swept back my wet hair.
A drop of water trailed down my jawline.
[Lololol vicious, so vicious]
[Arin's grudge runs deep]
[Keunson Gom came back to her room too, and she's being so petty lolol]
[But even in this situation, Wolha's composure is insane]
[For real, her visuals are top-tier]
My lack of reaction only made Arin's expression stiffen.
But Park Haneul ignored it and clapped.
"Alright, thank you, Arin-ssi.
Next, the Kkanari!"
Next, a staff member placed a glass filled with Kkanari fish sauce emitting a horrific smell right in front of my eyes.
Thanks to the disgusting smell, my expression momentarily crumbled.
It felt like my stomach was twisting.
[Ah, her face instantly contorted lolol]
[Screenshot complete]
[This much is needed for it to be a punishment]
[Still, it's a bit pitiful]
With a trembling hand, I picked up the glass.
...Compared to slicing open monster bellies, rolling around covered in blood.
This shit is nothing.
I closed my eyes tightly and downed the glass in one go.
"Ugh...!"
A salty, burning taste and a disgusting fishy smell went down my throat.
I felt like vomiting but gritted my teeth and forced myself to swallow.
[One-shot, damn]
[Wolha was a teter girl]
[Hey, honestly, there's no girl as pretty as you, I forgive you]
Finally, the mood in the chat window turned.
Good.
Now the real thing begins.
***
---
[Internet Broadcast Gallery]
Title: Wolha back at work at Haneul Company
Currently kneeling and making a formal apology
ㅇㅇ: Seeing her after a long time, she's even prettier
ㅇㅇ: Kkanari one-shot damn
ㅇㅇ: Her face turned so pale
ㅇㅇ: That wet shirt though, wow... fucking hot.
ㅇㅇ: Arin making that underwear joke while being petty is kinda lame lol
ㅇㅇ: But her body being all visible because it's wet is kinda good hehe
ㅇㅇ: For real, her physique is cheat-level.
---
***
I tried to hold it in, but coughs kept bursting out.
My stomach was still rejecting the Kkanari.
"Cough, hack...!"
At that moment.
A spectacular heart effect cascaded down like a waterfall on the large screen.
[Jjoinamed gifted 50,000 Balloons!]
[Jjoinamed: Wolha-nim, you're having a hard time. Stop drinking that Kkanari and cover yourself with a towel.]
The chat window, which had been rising like crazy, stopped dead for a moment.
50,000.
5 million won.
I reflexively lifted my face.
A teardrop was caught on my long eyelashes reflected in the camera lens.
[Ooooooh!]
[Wow, insane, 5 million won in one shot!]
[Who is that???]
[She's crying lolol]
[Fucking beautiful]
5 million won minus 20% commission, and then Park Haneul's cut from that...
...No, let's not calculate now.
I bowed my head deeply towards the camera.
My hair flowed down again.
"Really... thank you!"
At that moment, perhaps the dam broke.
[ㅇㅇ gifted 300 Balloons!]
[Sex gifted 1,000 Balloons!]
[NoruYacayo gifted 500 Balloons!]
A shower of small-time balloons began to pour in.
My ranking, which had hit rock bottom from going MIA, began to shoot straight up, powered by that firepower.
Watching that spectacle, Arin's expression twisted viciously.
***
At the same time, Keunson Gom, who was watching Gom TV, paused his finger over the mouse.