Season 3.
In an era overflowing with players who had a passion for the game, there was hardly any penalty for swearing or trolling, and somehow the balance was maintained—a romantic age.
A stark contrast to the present, where even a single curse word results in immediate sanctions.
The circumstances in which insults were thrown were purely critiques of skill, not mindless accusations or blame, though the expressions might have been a bit rough around the edges.
Players either worked harder on their games after receiving criticism or fell to the wayside and became trolls, making this a pure meritocracy where everything was determined by skill.
It was a time when even a watchman caught some hackers, yet control over users was not so strict.
But then a breaking point happened.
The account theft incident, dubbed the proxy chaos.
It began covertly among challenger users with real skill and gradually escalated.
Professional companies even emerged, and the shock was immense when it was exposed that both ordinary users and current pros had raised their tiers through proxy players.
Now, I was entangled in such a significant event.
ㅇㅇ: What’s the current gossip in the gallery? Did Mollu receive a proxy?
ㄴㅇㅇ: Stop with the nonsense; read some articles.
ㄴㅇㅇ: If you don’t read more than three lines…
<Are you sure they were a proxy? What do you have as evidence?>
These guys are just hating on someone successful for no reason, right?
ㅇㅇ: Well. It’s because you’re doing well.
ㅇㅇ: How can anyone dislike Mollu? How can you not like that figure?
ㄴㅇㅇ: For real, if they’re not a hater, they must have other issues, lol.
ㅇㅇ: I’m an 18-year-old high school girl, and all my classmates love Mollu, just saying…
<Fact. There’s no proof of them being a proxy; rather, there are suspicious circumstances.>
When Su Ah first streamed, she mentioned having a challenger main account, but said there was some reason she couldn’t disclose it.
Later, when she started her own stream, she claimed it was just a joke and that it was all lies.
But what caused the uproar in this competition? It was simply a balance breakdown. Mollu was dominating solo, carrying the game and doing a one-man show, and it became just not fun.
ㅇㅇ: It’s obvious they’re writing this because their player didn’t win, lol.
ㅇㅇ: It’s a real mess!
ㅇㅇ: Fact. The total number of viewers yesterday reached about 100,000; it’s not an exaggeration to say it was the most successful official Twitch broadcast ever.
ㅇㅇ: Ah, success and fun are separate things~
ㅇㅇ: It does seem suspicious, lol. If it’s suspicious, turn on the camera so we can see Mollu’s face.
ㄴㅇㅇ: It might ruin the fantasy if she turns it on; it might be better this way.
ㄴㅇㅇ: To be honest, with that figure, even if she’s average-looking, she’d still be pretty. I’ve seen her lower face a few times, and I’d bet she looks nice.
<Random picture of Na Hoon-a>
A true superstar drives both fans and haters crazy.
A person everyone likes isn’t a superstar; they’re just a star. For those who don’t like her to exist makes those who do love her like crazy.
ㅇㅇ: Once again, Tez-hyung has won once…
ㅇㅇ: Truly a wise saying.
ㅇㅇ: Superstar Mollu, wow.
ㅇㅇ: If she just turned on the stream, it would all be resolved, but she won’t.
ㅇㅇ: If you don’t want to disappear, turn on the stream, Mollu! I know you’re watching!
Feeling a little embarrassed, I left that post and started reading other articles.
Fortunately, it was good that people weren’t reacting strongly.
The logic of those claiming I was a proxy had no evidence, and although there were enough suspicious circumstances to make me a target, the public opinion seemed surprisingly favorable.
Usually, when something like this happens, they’re publicly executed like a witch hunt, that’s the rule of life.
It seemed the tournament rules forced them to turn on the cameras.
Most of the posts by the gallery’s onlookers were about my figure.
The relief I felt also disappeared, and I found myself grumbling again.
“No, they hardly talk about game skills and only about my chest…”
I pulled my chin down and directed my gaze toward my belly while lying down.
Even in a slightly sprawled position, the two peaks made their presence felt.
Every time I turned my body, they shifted about.
Despite my restless heart, it didn’t seem like there was a serious problem.
There was no evidence that I had acted as a proxy, and I had just been through an account examination by the watchman during the tournament.
Plus, most of the people who supported me.
I figured I could take a legal break while my computer was being repaired and wait for this situation to die down.
I could just stay idle until the heat of the tournament cooled off, and what a leisurely life it would be.
Let others enjoy the trickle-down effect or whatever.
Excessive attention was just tiring.
Still, I picked up my phone again and pondered something.
Shouldn’t I at least leave a message for those who consistently watch my streams?
For instance, an announcement.
When I searched for an editor last time, I received many similar comments.
It would be good to occasionally leave updates or plans about streams, as people mentioned.
Of course, I had previously set expectations that my streaming cycle would be irregular from the start, and I intentionally avoided setting specific times to create a surprise-like feeling when I showed up unexpectedly.
…Part of it was that I didn’t like the idea of streaming at a set time either.
Creating a routine was genuinely difficult.
Anyway, I received such emails, and considering my viewers had noticeably increased lately.
I began to look for various things behind the small phone screen to write the announcement.
“Is this it? No, then maybe this?”
There were differences between the desktop and mobile versions of Switch.
Somehow I succeeded in logging in to my account, but even wide awake, I couldn’t find the channel feed that streamers used to leave updates on.
Stuck for ten minutes, unable to move on, I thought of a simple solution.
Why not just get some expert help?
I dialed my reliable editor—Si-young, who was suspiciously skilled in IT technology and competent.
Would she pick up the phone?
Last I heard, her biorhythms seemed irregular. I wondered if I would disturb her sleep, or if she was out somewhere and couldn’t answer…
During that brief moment while the phone rang, all my countless thoughts faded away as Si-young picked up right away.
“Yes, CEO.”
Her tone was extremely formal and mechanical, yet it somehow felt infused with a strange warmth.
Was she… happy about a call?
Maybe she had a tendency to feel lonely, Si-young.
“You can just call me Ji-eun comfortably.”
“Yes, then… Ahem, Ji-eun. What’s up?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. I was trying to write an announcement—”
After affirming my position as a partner again, I explained the current situation.
I accessed my Switch via my phone, but I couldn’t find the channel feed to leave a message.
Si-young simply resolved my confusion.
“The channel feed disappeared a week ago; they might have removed it during a UI overhaul of Switch.”
“Oh.”
As I breathed out that response, Si-young suggested alternatives.
“Um… The Switch community is quite inconvenient, or how about Stargram? It seems like no one isn’t using it these days.”
“That’s a bit…”
“Such a shame. If you just added one or two pictures and wrote something, people would’ve liked it.”
It felt too much like being a celebrity for one thing, and secondly, I disliked the idea that my means of communication would solely be about me posting words or photos.
I wanted a space where we could all gather and chat together, like a gallery.
“But the gallery is a no-go. There have been too many controversies, and the perception of it being an underground space might give new people, or those who will join in the future, a sense of aversion.”
I see. Si-young seemed to understand my broadcasts much better than I expected and had a far-reaching vision.
As soon as I conveyed my thoughts, she quickly found a solution.
“Then it would be better to set up a café.”
“A café?”
“Yes, I’ll set one up, so for now, please write an announcement in the Switch community. Also mention that you’ll be opening a café.”
While doing that, she naturally provided a link.
The Switch community link.
When did she even set that up?
After hanging up, I accessed the community and started to write the announcement.
…What should I say? I got stuck right from the first line.
I should have some experience writing this kind of thing.
Just summarizing the key points should suffice.
Within three lines.
It’s not like I’m writing a self-introduction, so there’s no need to go all out.
– Announcement
This is Mollu.
There will be no broadcasts for 2 to 3 days.
I’m opening a café, so I hope to see many visitors.
