–Living without an umbrella~ I’m soaking wet
Indeed, Teacher Kim’s songs are a masterpiece no matter how many times you listen to them.
There’s something that resonates deeply in my heart,
A song that makes me crave soju.
Ah, I can’t take it anymore.
Slurp—
Carefully, so as not to waste the precious drink,
Taking it slow because drinking too quickly makes me drunk,
I sip gently from my glass.
Wow—this is life, and this is sex.
With just this taste of alcohol, I feel like I’m being rewarded for living up until now.
As I enjoy one drink after another, I unconsciously hum along to the song.
“Only when I open my eyes~ there’s a world— if I close my eyes, it’s fine~~”
I wonder how long I’ve been humming the song.
The screen in front of me starts to shimmer.
One corner of the screen twitches, spewing out black texts.
They are the viewers.
Lonely and longing for human warmth, I came up with a brilliant solution.
If drinking alone is the cause of my loneliness, then all I need is someone to share my state and feelings with.
The viewers would perfectly play that role.
After all, viewers are just like friends to me.
I have internet friends!!
It felt great to be able to meet friends like this across the screen.
The world has indeed gotten better.
[Warriors gathered at 3 a.m.]
[Victors who waited for Mollu’s broadcast until dawn ㅠㅠ]
[What is going on at this hour?]
[Are you finally broadcasting, you piece of shit!]
[What song is this?]
[What’s today’s concept with this song?]
[Mollu knows how to sing, haha, listening to this banger.]
[Wasn’t Mollu supposed to be in her early twenties? Why does she sing songs that 40-50 year-olds would listen to?]
[I’m 23 this year, and my peers listen to a lot of music from that age too.]
[-Nah-]
[Does the gallery owner listen to their song?]
[Huh… two gallery owners?]
Despite the late hour, quite a few people came in.
It was impressive that friends would rush over to sing at this late hour.
Just the flood of chat messages made the previously silent room come alive.
Before long, my loneliness faded, leaving only a light buzz from the alcohol,
Making me feel thankful once more.
What should I say?
Did I start the broadcast because I was lonely?
Do I need a drinking buddy?
Am I bored and asking to play with me?
Um…
“Hello. I, um… started the broadcast because I missed you.”
Oh no, that wasn’t it.
Even while saying it, I realized it was a stupid statement.
It was a word that slipped out unconsciously without passing through my brain due to the alcohol.
As expected, the viewers reacted very warmly.
[What?]
[Mollu is now even training Yuksu, haha.]
[I can’t take it anymore if you keep this up.]
[This time… I’m serious this time… I’m saying it seriously this time… I’m serious this time… I’m serious this time… I’m serious this time… I’m serious this time… I’m serious this time… I’m serious this time…]
[You little… you sly fox…]
[You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you? You like us, don’t you?]
[Wow, look at how they’re spamming because it’s early morning.]
[Manager! Wake up and get these guys!]
In an instant, the messages started pouring in.
Among them, there were lots of spams from those rambunctious due to the late hour.
I had never done a broadcast at this hour so it was an unexpected situation.
As I squinted and reached for the mouse that was placed far away,
[Deleted message.]
[Manager has appeared, wow.]
[Deleted message.]
The chat was being quickly organized as if nothing had happened.
It seems the manager has arrived.
I wondered if they were actually sleeping at this late hour.
Having the manager around certainly made me feel more comfortable.
<<Nongmiljilchukjindeogyasnim donated 1000 won!>
-Teacher, what’s today’s broadcast about?
"Thank you Nongmiljilchukjindeogyasnim for the 1000 won donation. Today… there’s nothing special planned. I just started it on a whim."
[You just read that out loud, haha.]
[No brakes on the Bunny Girl Mollu!]
[Are you not playing Eo War?]
"Eo War, um…"
I moved the mouse, hovering over Eo War for a moment before eventually moving it away.
"I'm not feeling it right now. I will play it next time."
Drinking wasn’t the issue.
I’ve played games after drinking many times.
It’s just that, at this moment, I didn’t feel like it.
Could it be that I’ve been focusing solely on Eo War for too long?
The viewers, ecstatic about hearing I wouldn’t be playing Eo War, began recommending various games.
[How about this new roguelike?]
[Rhythm game, maybe?]
[It’s midnight, how about a horror game?]
[It’s not even summer, horror games are a bit haha.]
[This is a masterpiece; let’s give it a shot.]
From games I had at least heard of to names I had never heard before.
Many different suggestions were listed, but I rejected them all for reasonable reasons.
"Roguelikes… the playtime is too long for me. I’m not feeling the rhythm game either. I’ll save horror games for summer."
As I repeatedly turned them down, the viewers, who were excitedly recommending ideas, seemed to hesitate a bit.
Amidst that, some chatted about how hard a woman's heart is, or if I didn’t like them, I should just choose for myself.
Well, I also wasn’t typically this picky.
When did I become like this?
<<Thiscan'tbeIgnorednim donated 10000 won!>
-Teacher, what about this? It’s a calm healing game (link).
I was in the midst of reviewing the viewers’ recommendation list.
People appealing for their pick via donations.
When I clicked on the provided link, a video popped up.
It looked like a YouTube screen showing gameplay footage.
Various types of cars were driving on the road.
From small compact cars to huge trailers.
At first glance, it looked like a racing game.
However, as promised by the viewer calling it a healing game, the gameplay footage of quietly cruising along the road unfolded.
There didn’t seem to be much to pay attention to; all I had to do was drive down the road.
No matter the speed, whether well or poorly driven, it seemed to matter little.
I was drawn to that simplicity.
"Let’s go with this."
*
The Driving.
A title as concise as the seemingly simple video.
The game, quick to install due to its small size, proceeded easily.
You select your desired vehicle and drive wherever you wish.
However, since it was the first time, I had no freedom in choosing my vehicle or driving location.
Those would be unlocked as I played the game.
“The train~ breaks through the darkness and crosses the Milky Way~”
[It’s a car, not a train, Teacher.]
Shut up.
Just accept it as it is, even if I mispronounce it.
Vroom—
The car moves slowly.
Relying on the headlights shining ahead, I advance bit by bit.
Right now, I was driving a standard mid-sized car through the night.
Why, night streets are atmospheric and nice.
It fits perfectly at this time.
But that choice wasn’t all that great, I suppose.
Screech—
With the sound of brakes, the vehicle comes to a halt.
I’ve lost count of how many times it’s happened; night streets are hazardous.
It’s a painfully realistic game.
The dim night roads aren’t suitable for beginners.
Because of that, I had almost crashed into other vehicles and guardrails several times.
[Hey, Mollu! Get out of the way!]
[Mollu can’t drive well…]
[Just switch to a compact car, that would be better.]
[You need to turn the wheel more decisively!]
[Slow… I might fall asleep watching this.]
The viewers were expressing their frustration at my lack of skill compared to the thrilling Eo War.
I also wanted to quickly change lanes, accelerate, and overtake other cars!
What can I do if it’s not going smoothly?
While driving, dynamic vision and quick reaction speeds don’t help much.
What seems to matter more is some sort of refined sense, but somehow, I couldn’t get used to the controls.
Maybe it was due to the alcohol, as my vision was a bit blurry.
Feeling that I couldn’t continue like this, I decided to pause the game for a moment.
I returned to the garage to restart the configurations from the beginning.
The dark night streets were something I couldn’t abandon no matter how I thought about it.
So I kept that aspect.
While inspecting the vehicle to solve the current issues, an ingenious idea struck me.
Unlike the viewer’s advice to drive a smaller car because driving was hard, I chose a bigger vehicle.
A massive cargo truck that had just been unlocked through my previous drive.
[?]
[??]
The chat expressed confusion, but without saying a word, I jumped back into the game and hit the road.
Sometimes, it’s faster to show than to explain a million times.
Crossing the long central line, I drove right over it.
However, I didn’t change lanes.
What I wanted was a vehicle straddling two lanes.
Done.
The cargo truck, half in the first lane and half in the second lane, confidently cruised down the road.
The viewers cheered at my solution.
[What’s this guy doing?]
[Lane invasion, haha.]
[Normal people definitely wouldn’t think of this.]
"It's easier to drive in the center. I don’t have to worry about crashing into other cars.”
I glanced at the rear-view mirror to peek at the car behind me.
“See? The car that almost crashed trying to pass earlier can’t even get near me. This is the answer. You have to break the bias that you should stick to the lanes."
What’s called defensive driving.
Not worrying about other cars made me feel much steadier.
[Teacher, do you have a license?]
A license.
Come to think of it, I wonder if Ji-eun has a license.
From what I saw when I checked her wallet last time, it seemed she didn’t have one.
Well, it makes sense; she doesn’t have a car, so how could she have a license?
But with my original driving skills and a license, it’s basically the same thing as having one.
"I… do?"
I hesitated, contemplating Ji-eun’s license before my reply was delayed.
The viewers laughed at my apparent untruthfulness.
“Think what you want.”
With the relaxation brought by my innovative driving method, I also found a chance to drink the remaining alcohol.
I drove with one hand while pouring alcohol with the other.
This was the picture I had always wanted.
Slurp—
“Ah, now it feels comfortable. I should have done this earlier.”
<<Mollu’s die-hard fan donated 1000 won!>
-Teacher, what are you eating continuously since earlier? I can smell alcohol in your voice.
"It's water, water. I’m a little thirsty."
[Liar!]
[This girl is driving while drinking!]
[No license, drunk driving, wow.]
Feeling strangely pricked by the sharp comments in the chat, I quietly drove the cargo truck.
