Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 131

“Did I just get caught by someone?”

Bbaebba blinked his eyes and looked around.

The same as always, it was Da-young’s room. The bright lights made him slightly squint, prompting him to frown. A strange feeling of discomfort was stuck in his throat, filling his heart with an odd unpleasantness. What was I doing here? Just as he tried to remember why—

“Bbaebba, what are you doing?”

Da-young hurriedly entered the room, urging him on.

“What, what do you mean, Da-young?”

“Aren’t you awake? We need to get the broadcasting ready. You’re collabing with me and unnie today.”

“Huh? Huh? Me?”

A collab with Bichisehwi and Da-young? That means—

“I’m the one broadcasting?”

“Of course you are! Who else would do it? You just signed a contract as an STK Streamer!”

Bbaebba unconsciously agreed in his heart, as if he couldn’t believe the absurdity of Da-young’s words. Yeah, that’s right. I’m definitely Bbaebba, the STK Streamer. But… how can I, as something non-human, broadcast? No matter how much he tried to recall his fragmented memories, no clear answer emerged. Instead, a splitting headache surged, and a sharp ringing in his ears tormented him.

“Ugh! My head!”

He grabbed his head, tightening his eyelids to endure the pain. Watching from the side, Da-young’s eyes widened, and she shook Bbaebba’s body urgently.

“Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong with you right before the broadcast?”

“I-I’m fine, Da-young.”

Thanks to Da-young shaking him, the pain and ringing that lingered in his head vanished as if they were a ghost. It felt surreal, like emerging from a hypnosis-induced dream; Bbaebba stared blankly into space, dazed. Something felt off—his whole body was screaming that it was strange. What exactly is strange? Bbaebba looked around. Da-young’s room was the same as always.

A computer lit up.

A virtual reality device that seemed made just for him.

Gift photos taken with Bichisehwi, the STK Gaming Team, and Da-young were hanging in the room.

Why did everything that seemed so normal feel so odd…?

Amidst a chaotic mix of fear and dizzying anticipation that felt like peeking into a taboo regarding this space, situation, and world…

“Da-young…”

“Yeah? What? Are you feeling sick again?”

“No, it’s not that… How am I broadcasting?”

Suddenly, he blurted out a primitive question in a dazed voice. Ah, what’s this? As he spoke, he felt an inexplicable chill running down his spine…

Was it because he was suddenly overwhelmed by anguish and anxiety, or did he seem extraordinarily calm? Looking at Bbaebba, who appeared dazed, Da-young sighed.

“You were all hyped about your streamer debut before. Don’t you remember? The gate opened in Seoul, and monsters came out, and we all fought together with unnie.”

“Oh, then…”

“Are you really suffering from dementia? Your identity as a Hero got revealed because of that, and now you’re broadcasting like this. You were singing about wanting to sign with STK, so what’s with the act now?”

Ah, is that so? Bbaebba scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward at Da-young’s assertion that he was asking something obvious. After hearing Da-young’s words, his fragmented memories began to gradually take shape.

Yeah, there was a commotion when a gate appeared on Gwanghwamun Street. Bichisehwi, Da-young, A-jin, and Yu-ri made a contract with the powers of the Hero that sealed the forces of this world, and we fought off the monsters after lifting the curse… It was tough back then. Later, a new Demon King even appeared. But before the united strength of the Hero party, they ultimately had to fall. It became known that we were the Heroes who saved the world, receiving all sorts of glorious spotlight.

The day a glamorous parade welcomed the new superhuman, the Hero, on Gwanghwamun Street where the gate closed was the highest of highs. Not only Bichisehwi but even the ordinary streamers, editor, and high school girls, Da-young, A-jin, and Yu-ri, instantly became famous. Countless memories surged in Bbaebba’s mind.

I was also revealed as the mascot of the Hero party.

I filmed tons of commercials and went on a world tour.

I was hailed as the Lion of Peace while bringing peace to conflict zones.

I was treated as a hero of this country for successfully unifying the North.

Now, having signed an exclusive streamer contract with STK under top-tier treatment, I was broadcasting for several days like this. Right. This did happen until now.

As everything became clear, his mind felt refreshed. The fog that had shrouded his thoughts lifted, and he even felt as though bright daylight was shining down on him. Yeah, I must have been dazed. That’s understandable. A smile crept onto his face as he chuckled to himself.

“Alright, let’s start the broadcast quickly. We’ll begin with a cam stream, so the lighting is good. Bbaebba, you’re ready, right?”

At Da-young’s urging, Bbaebba hurriedly flew over and sat in front of the monitor. Da-young gave him a quick look, reassured by his state, and clicked the broadcast start button.

Bright lights. The broadcasting screen displayed in a sub-monitor. And….

[Bbaebba!]


[Our porming is here too, right?]


[Hey, where’s Friede unnie?]


[Yeah, Friede isn’t here. She went to America ^^]


[Bbaebba, are you doing the patriotic conservative concept again today?]


[Our 호1감 galju Bbaebba좌 ㄷㄷㄷ]


[You’ll be going to the top골공원 soon.]

From the very beginning, viewers poured in.

Suddenly, his heart swelled with emotion, and he felt a lump in his throat. He had been broadcasting for a while, but why was he feeling this way now? No, no. If he starts crying here, he can’t be seen as a proper streamer. Bbaebba promptly unfolded the cloth lying beside him.

—Flap!

A white background adorned with palgwhae and 태극, intricately made, was the flag of the Republic of Korea. Draping the flag like a cape around his shoulders, Bbaebba shouted at the camera.

“YEAH~!”

[YEAH~]


[ㅇㅇ~]


[YEAH!]


[YEAH]


[Cursed! All of you are cursed!]

“I’m here to start the Bbaebba좌’s epic broadcast!”

Watching from the side with a look of disbelief, Da-young eventually gave a chuckle at what she saw, and Bbaebba, flapping his cape with a bit of a sway, wore a wave of happiness on his face.

Da-young… are you happy?

I am…

‘I’m happy.’

*

*

*

Though bright lights shone directly above, it oddly felt like a strange illusion that made the surroundings dry.

As he elegantly moved his fingers through the air, radiant flashes scattered sharply and magnificently into space, corresponding to his flowing melodies. Delicate beams of light that could be somewhat grotesque in their finesse connected to the head of the green frog that shifted in accordance with his movements. This was a task requiring meticulous manipulation, and he was concentrating even more than when playing a game when suddenly…

“Huh?”

“……”

Upon hearing Da-young’s gasp, his perfectly synchronized fingers suddenly froze. It wasn’t an accident. He just figured it would be safer to take a brief pause from applying treatment rather than forcing through a fractured mind. But why was she so surprised…?

Looking up and locking eyes, Da-young, feeling awkward, quickly averted her gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, sorry. I was really surprised. But look at this.”

Turning his gaze where Da-young pointed with wide eyes, he saw something lying under the table, illuminated by the focused light, a green frog, out cold and bound. It was Bbaebba.

The myriad light beams he had created were part of a procedure to alter the mind and consciousness. The magic-filled threads penetrated into the nervous system and brain to eliminate impurities in one sweep.

After assessing that he could no longer stand by, he initiated the operation in agreement with Da-young. He donned the Hero’s Equipment for the sake of swiftly neutralizing the situation to wrap things up without incident. If demons had seen him like this, they would have teased him for being just like them, but what could he do? Leaving it as is would cause a real disaster.

“Unnie… this guy is smiling?”

Anyway, returning to the topic, Bbaebba examined Bbaebba’s face. The sight of him looking incredibly happy and sporting a faint yet soft smile seemed so pure that it was hard to reconcile it with his usual demeanor. What kind of dream is he having to smile like that? What’s there to be happy about?

He thought about peering in a bit closer but quickly dismissed the idea. There was no need to voluntarily endure hardship; besides, he reached a somewhat biased conclusion that whatever he saw wouldn’t be anything good.

He shrugged and replied nonchalantly.

“Leave him. He must be having a good dream or something.”

Well, after this treatment, he’d be reborn anew, so let’s manage things well then.

Let’s not mess with Da-young anymore. Don’t scatter nonsense around like a troll.

Focusing his mind with a deep breath, he resumed the operation.

—Zing!

With a sizzling sound, the light beams picked up intensity, swirling around Bbaebba’s mind, plucking away the negative energy.

Bbaebba’s gentle smile, seen fleetingly, appeared to distort more grotesquely with time.

In Da-young’s home, in the quiet living room, only the sound of the light beams weaving through the air echoed softly.