I have never made a girl cry.
Whether it was intentional or not, I had a history of making girls cry.
My friends teased me, asking if I made another girl cry.
They even said they had never seen someone with so little empathy as me.
Why do they cry? I hadn’t done anything that serious.
Every time a girl cried in front of me, I had such trivial questions.
Anyway, I was somewhat familiar with a girl’s tears, though it wasn’t something I experienced that often.
However, being familiar didn’t mean I knew how to handle it.
This confusion that arose when I saw a girl cry never seemed to fade no matter how many times I experienced it.
“Uuhhh, you… you bad bastard. Uuhhh.”
On the screen, Su Ah was crying pitifully, sniffing her nose. The viewers who had been busy teasing her just moments ago suddenly changed their tone.
[Oh no!]
[Can’t resist the juice, haha;]
[Molul, quickly apologize for your mistake]
[Does Molul not know?]
[The man who made Su Ah cry… who is he?]
[At this point, it’s a life achievement, right?]
[Real man trait) Harass until the girl cries]
[Representative of the male solidarity, Molul, with a resounding 1 win]
[Isn’t this a loss for Molul?]
[This was an unwinnable fight from the start]
No, it was you guys who were teasing her.
I hadn’t done anything.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at their quick change of stance.
I was only guilty of intentionally killing Su Ah in the game.
Most of the reason she cried was probably because of the mockery in the chat.
“You guys are worse. Isn’t that right? Yeah, both are equally bad.”
Su Ah, with her nose puffy, wiped her eyes with a tissue. Her red, swollen eyes looked quite pathetic.
At that moment, an effect sound rang out from the broadcast, followed by a mechanical voice.
<Su Ah's commander has donated 10,000 won!>
– If everyone is sorry for Su Ah, why don’t we shout, “Su Ah, I’m sorry?”
The donation was a way for viewers to donate a certain amount to the streamer and send a message.
If the donation sound wasn’t muted, the message would be broadcasted in a mechanical voice, and thus the donation also served as a sort of loudspeaker.
The timing of the donation was excellent.
[Ah haha, we were wrong]
[Sorry, Su Ah-]
[Sorry, Su Ah-]
[Not sorry at all-]
[So sorry~ so sorry~]
In an instant, the atmosphere changed.
There were a few strange comments in between, but for the most part, an apology atmosphere continued towards Su Ah. Watching the rising chats, Su Ah crossed her arms and gestured as if to say, “Go on, I’m enjoying this.”
Should I apologize too?
The thought didn’t last long. With everyone apologizing like this, I couldn’t hide as the direct cause of Su Ah’s tears. Even if it was an act to clear my name from the hacking accusation.
It was a whisper function that allowed me to send a message privately to a specific user.
With over 5,000 viewers, the broadcast chat would likely drown out, so I sent it via in-game chat, and the effect was certainly noticeable.
“This is insane. Are you psycho? I told you not to do that!”
Su Ah screamed, grinding her teeth upon seeing the whisper directed at me.
She seemed even angrier; was my apology a mistake?
I really can’t understand a woman’s heart.
In the chat, comments like “real man,” and “It’s sweet of him to worry about her,” were popping up. Some said I seemed a bit lacking in empathy but overall seemed to be a good person.
“…It’s fine, just don’t do that in the future. You were being a fan, right? Even so, it was too much.”
Su Ah seemed to calm down a little. She loosened her crossed arms, appearing exhausted and yelling out loudly.
It seemed that apologizing was the right choice. My father was right that most human relationships could be resolved through conversations.
While I was nodding in agreement, I heard something that I couldn’t ignore.
“And please don’t use hacks. Even if your skill is lacking, a person should play fairly in games—”
Before Su Ah finished speaking, I quickly sent a whisper.
I had forgotten the reason why I had started doing this, driven by the taste of being targeted.
Su Ah was the one who had framed me as a cheater.
Most of the people dodging me in the pick screen would also be viewers of Su Ah’s stream.
If I could clarify things during her broadcast, it would end all this.
However, after seeing my whisper, Su Ah burst into laughter as if it were ridiculous.
“Come on, don’t lie. I saw you were getting ranked this season; does your main account even reach Challenger?”
“Then show your nickname. Let’s see what rank you really are.”
I had no answer to Su Ah’s request to reveal my nickname.
My original account, the one that had barely made it to Challenger each season even with my reduced skills, came to mind.
The account that had been drenched in blood and sweat.
I had made an effort to find it, but like the contact information of my missing parents and friends, my original account was nowhere to be found, as if it had never existed.
“Why not? Why can’t you? Oh, I see. Let me guess. It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you don’t have a Challenger account, right? If you lie, you can’t use it.”
Su Ah dragged out her words like she was teasing a little kid.
She thought my words were a lie.
If I were in her position, I wouldn’t believe someone without a shred of proof either.
I had an account, but it was gone.
Even if I told the truth, it was unbelievable.
I didn’t want to explain my story in detail to others.
But I also couldn’t back down now.
I had to jump right back into the game.
Then Su Ah continued.
“Isn’t it simple? If you’re not hacking, just prove it, right? Ah, I see. Excuse me, are you listening? If you can’t show your nickname, you can certify in another way.”
What could that be? If there were such a method, I would have done it already. I wouldn’t have been going around in circles like this.
Nothing came to mind immediately.
Su Ah’s next suggestion was something I had not even thought of.
“Just start broadcasting. You can just stream and prove your skill.”
Broadcasting. That is, real-time streaming.
Using that as a tool to prove that I wasn’t hacking.
It was a method mostly used by high-skilled amateurs and streamers hosting tournaments to prove their innocence.
Though, I would also need a camera to show my hands to certify that I wasn’t using hack programs.
“This would serve as good promotion. If you really are a Challenger, you’d thrive in the broadcast. What’s up, I think I’m really a genius.”
[Come on! Start streaming!]
[If you’re not streaming, take off your high school uniform, right?]
[Pressure 500 times]
[This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity]
[Great genius Su Ah]
[Should we… stream?]
[This is clean and nice, right?]
[Suspected hacker, former Challenger master. This can’t be stopped.]
[Are you asking if you’ll stream because you’re a hacker? Haha.]
Su Ah spoke as if she was being generous. She didn’t seem to think that I wouldn’t be a hacker.
The viewers’ reactions were not much different; still, some seemed to think that I might really be a Challenger.
At this point, I had no choice but to broadcast.
It was a slightly cumbersome process, but it was the simplest and most reliable method.
It would show my gameplay most intuitively, allowing me to claim that it reflected my true skills.
Strike while the iron is hot.
With my goal set, I ended the conversation with Su Ah, turned off her broadcast, and immediately prepared to start my own.
Then I realized one detail I had overlooked.
“Do I… have broadcasting equipment?”
You can’t just stream because you want to.
*
I had already searched my small house as if chasing a rat, but of course, there was none.
Why would Ji-eun, a complete ordinary person, have equipment necessary for streaming?
Instead, Ji-eun had something else.
Something very important in my life that was as significant as broadcasting equipment.
“I guess I have no choice.”
I sighed and took it out.
The silver check card I pulled out from Ji-eun’s wallet.
It contained about 5 million won.
I verified everything through the linked internet banking account.
I hadn’t used it until now because it didn’t feel like my money, but this wasn’t the time to be picky.
I needed broadcasting equipment immediately to clear the hacking suspicions.
I could always pay back later.
Somehow… I should return it.
I thought to myself as I made the payment for the broadcasting equipment.
I will pay you back.
It was a thought that felt very much like gambling, and I couldn’t help but sigh.
