A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 93

“Ah, yes. If Rene doesn’t feel uncomfortable, then it’s fine. Please go change in the women’s changing room over there. Oh, and since today’s purpose is exercise, you’ll need to take off your hat and sunglasses….”

The word “no” surfaced to the tip of my tongue.

The look of surprise on her face when she saw my eyes.

The way she stepped back to maintain distance when I approached.

The way she turned her head to avoid eye contact.

It was clear even without looking.

But by now, refusing was impossible. Running away was also not an option.

In the end, it was I who accepted the proposal, and they all made an effort to accommodate me as much as possible.

I wasn’t here for personal reasons. I came here officially.

Acting freely based on my feelings there was impossible, and at that moment, the trust they had in me would plummet.

Reluctantly.

As much as I hated it, I had to show myself to them.

“…Yes.”

I grabbed my trembling arms and took a step forward.

The changing room was divided into individual stalls, just as I had heard before.

Given that many streamers and YouTubers came here, it was apparently designed that way from the beginning.

Anyway, I entered one of those stalls and changed into the clothes I had prepared for today.

And… finally.

I took off my hat and sunglasses, stuffing them into the locker.

At that moment, the mirror above the locker reflected my figure.

Just that made negative emotions surge, causing my heart to race.

My previously trembling arms now openly shook.

Obtuse thoughts crossed my mind; I felt like tears were about to spill.

“Haah….”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.

I didn’t do anything wrong. Iya said so. I am in the right.

Right. It’s fine. Bora told me. I’m not weird. Don’t be scared.

“Hah….”

Taking deep breaths, I steadied my wildly beating heart. I controlled my emotions.

And then, I quietly opened my eyes.

Of course, the negative feelings still surged, and my arms continued to tremble.

But fortunately, it seemed tears wouldn’t fall.

When I opened the changing room door and stepped outside, I was warmly greeted by Harum’s surprised expression.

…It was as expected.

I disliked that look.

It felt like it denied my very existence. It felt like mockery.

What did I do wrong…?

“Is that really you, Rene?”

If I’m here, who else would it be?

“Wow….”

Please don’t react like that upon seeing me.

Do you know how much that could hurt someone?

Thoughts like that flitted through my mind, but my mouth remained closed.

And then Harum said, “L-Let’s hurry and get ready for shooting, everyone!”

She turned her gaze to me and said that.

Things hadn’t changed at all, and all I wanted was to go home quickly.

★

You can become like this too.

The abbreviated term ‘You Can Be Like This’ is content where Harum introduces exercises suitable for guests.

In simpler terms, it meant that guests learned exercises from Harum.

Naturally, it was expected that the footage of the guests exercising would be captured.

After hearing that story, I presented Harum with just one condition.

“Please ensure my appearance isn’t shown in the video.”

Of course, I knew it was an unreasonable request.

This whole situation began because of my own mistakes.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t concede on this point, and thankfully, the Health Project team agreed to my selfish request.

“As mentioned earlier at Miscode, this time we will film ‘You Can Be Like This’ a bit differently.”

So, originally, ‘You Can Be Like This’ was filmed and edited before uploading it to OnTube, but this time, it was changed to a streaming format.

When the video shot today is uploaded to OnTube, it will go under another project of the Health Project called ‘Just 15 Minutes!’

In the end, all my portions would be edited out, and my voice recorded separately.

To be honest, when I first heard this, I thought, “Isn’t this a bit too inconsiderate…?”

But the response I received was to not worry about it, as it was just an apology for the overwhelming number of emails sent regarding my concerns.

In any case, the conclusion is that today, in both the stream and the later edited video, I wouldn’t be appearing.

[Rene]

[Filming with the OnTube channel called Health Project]

[Talk | 0 viewers | 00:00:00]

And before the filming started.

I began the broadcast with my phone.

It wasn’t about whether the Health Project allowed it or not.

In exchange for sharing the donations received today, it was decided that the broadcast would be held on my channel.

─What the?
─Are you filming ‘You Can Be Like This’?
─I came for my sex ㅋㅋ [Message deleted.]
─Today is Streamer Rene, huh? ㅎㅎ;

As soon as I started the broadcast, Rebongi flooded in.

What should I say…?

Looking at their chats, my anxious heart felt a tinge of relief.

“Have you started the broadcast, Rene?”

“…Yes.”

“Oh, then please connect!”

─?
─What?
─Wow, what the f—

─I’ve never seen a camera on this broadcast before.
─Where’s our female genius?
─Finally showing your face, huh? ㅋㅋㅋ

“Hello, everyone! This is Harum from the Health Project! Please take care of me today!”

─Harum unnie!!!!
─Wow

─Rene is now seriously a big company…

Harum waved at the camera being shot by an employee next to me, not my phone.

I’m not sure about the specifics, but I was told that camera is connected to my phone, so any shots taken with that camera would also be broadcasted.

Of course, I wouldn’t be on screen.

Just in case, I completely covered my phone’s camera with paper.

“Today, as I mentioned before, we are filming with Harum from the Health Project….”

─So where are you, Rene?
─Come on, hurry and show your face! [Message deleted.]
─Is one of the 7 wonders of the streaming world finally getting revealed…?
─Did that mystery even exist?

“I won’t be showing my face….”

─Then how are you filming ‘You Can Be Like This’???
─?
─Everyone there saw Rene; why can’t I???

─It’s a Rene broadcast without Rene! ㅋㅋ

“I-It’s just that I really hate being on camera…”

─Translation) Just look and admire Harum unnie.

“Yes, today, please focus on Harum unnie a lot….”

─ㅋㅋㅋ what the f—

─Why so bold, huh?

─Honestly, just watching Harum unnie is enough.

─For real, the health vibes are insane…

─Just show your face already, damn it.

─This is YOUR broadcast, you crazy girl! ㅋㅋ

Fortunately, the Rebongi understood my reasoning, so no major issues arose.

“Is it okay to proceed now, Rene?”

“Yes….”

“I’m really happy to be greeting you all today! This is my first real-time streaming of ‘You Can Be Like This’. Naturally, today’s guest is Rene!”

─It’s Rene! (Face not shown)
─Never thought I’d see Harum unnie here.

─Come on, everyone, treat Rene well!

─Isn’t she a hermit at home? I bet her health is awful, ㅋㅋ

─The guest can’t be seen, unnie!

“I understand your disappointment, everyone, but this was decided from the very beginning when the topic first came up…”

“That’s right. It can’t be helped…”

“But rest assured, I’ll be keeping a close eye on Rene while she exercises, so you won’t miss anything!”

─For real, throw her around until she collaps!

─Really, are you going to do this until both collapse? (exercise, haha)

In any case, the broadcast that started went smoothly.

Harum explained what the Health Project channel was about for those who didn’t know and what content ‘You Can Be Like This’ included.

“Rene, would you like to try moving a bit?”

“Yes….”

“Please press your back against here, like this.”

“Yes….”

“Now bend over like this.”

“Yes….”

“…Then, could you please give this a try one last time?”

“Yes….”

After that, a simple assessment was done, and it was determined that I’d be doing Pilates.

─Oh

─Doing Pilates on ‘You Can Be Like This’ is a good thing.

─What do you usually do?

─Most often, it’s a treadmill or simple weights.

─I don’t think even five people have done Pilates so far…

“Wow…. You’ve hit the nail on the head. The truth is, Pilates is much harder than you’d think. It involves using all your body muscles and particularly emphasizes core muscles. If your basic fitness or strength isn’t up to par, it’ll be difficult to even follow the positions. And even if you manage to follow along, maintaining the form will be another challenge. That’s why it’s not often included in ‘You Can Be Like This’….”

…So, to summarize what I’m saying here…

“Does that mean I’m impressive…?”

“Yes. I’m not joking; you’re truly impressive. To be honest, when I first heard that Rene often stays at home, I thought we’d have to start with basic fitness, but upon meeting you, I thought we might head straight into Pilates.”

“Puhuh….”

─Your smile is really cute as hell, ㅋㅋ

─But if Harum unnie is saying such things, it must mean she takes care of herself a lot.

─How can someone smile like that?

─You’re happy just because you got praised once, huh? ㅋㅋ

─Our socially awkward hermit girl Rene can’t possibly be like that… please say it’s a lie…

“Everyone, I’m amazing, right…?”

─Yeah, you’re amazing, haha.

─Not a lie; that’s really amazing, I think, yeah.

─You’re just adorably insignificant…

─You’re the best…

─I’m about to just jump in! 〔Deleted message.〕

“Hehe….”

“Shall we begin right away?”

“…Yes.”

To be honest, I still wanted to go home quickly.

That reaction from earlier was something I couldn’t easily forget.

However.

Thanks to them, I felt a bit better, and a smile escaped my lips.