Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 36

Chapter 1: Awakening

“……”

This is a strange ceiling. Where exactly am I?

I’ve been lying here for about 10 minutes, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

Honestly, I couldn’t even be bothered to remember where I was or what I was doing before I lost consciousness.

No matter how much I try to dress it up as habit, the reality is that it’s extreme laziness.

“Are you awake?”

“Uh… uh.”

If someone saw me, they’d mistake me for a zombie, as a weird, grotesque sound that could be a groan or an answer escaped my lips.

As I rolled my eyes to the side, a familiar woman’s figure came into view.

“Ah…”

Right, I had a drink at my sister’s house.

I had apologized about something with Pae-Pae and we chatted about various things.

And then…

‘The film cut off.’

I remember having a drink while enjoying the night sky from the veranda, but after that, it’s all a blur.

Dah-Young felt a strange irritation at the memories that just wouldn’t surface, but decided not to dwell on it too deeply.

Well, I probably just got tipsy and collapsed, right?

Though it was baseless confidence, I thought I wasn’t the type to get completely wasted. I still feel that way.

“Come on, it’s tough, but you need to get up.”

“Are we having porridge again?”

“Yeah, I ordered it.”

Seems like she has a bit of a delivery obsession. Well, considering how tired she must be after the drinks she had yesterday, it makes sense.

By the time I finished washing up, the table was already set, and feeling a bit awkward, I sat down. As I swallowed the porridge, I began to regain some of my consciousness and memory.

‘There must’ve been something that happened.’

Whether it was porridge or the mental garbage bin of unremembered memories going down my throat, I couldn’t quite tell.

If it were simply a matter of forgetting, I wouldn’t feel like this. There’s something hazy lingering…

‘Oh well, I guess there’s nothing to be done.’

If I can’t remember, I should seek out some backup nearby.

Watching Se-Hee quietly eating porridge in front of me, I stared for a moment before saying something.

“Sis.”

“Yeah?”

“Um….”

While secretly admiring the beauty of Se-Hee’s round, sparkling eyes that looked like they had jewels in them, I mustered the courage to ask.

“Did I mess up anything yesterday?”

A slight tension gripped me, and the edges of my eyes felt shaky. I steadied my awkward feelings and awaited her response.

“Messed up? Well…”

She said, smiling brightly as if nothing was wrong.

“I don’t remember either. I guess we might have overdone it.”

“But you said you’re strong with alcohol.”

“True, but we downed four bottles of liquor, Dah-Young.”

Even the most seasoned drinker would be finished with that amount.

Se-Hee waved her hand dismissively as if it didn’t matter to her.

With such support from others, the remnants of memories that seemed to hint something had happened began to diminish.

‘Well, it probably wasn’t anything major.’

It’s not like I drank and got into trouble with a guy, so maybe I’m overthinking this.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been a bit on edge lately, especially after that nuclear controversy.

After finishing breakfast, I quickly got ready to head back.

“Sorry, sis. I didn’t mean to be a bother.”

“Don’t worry about it, just call me anytime if you’re struggling. Be careful going back.”

“Pae-Pae, take care. See you on the broadcast later.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Pae-Pae waved goodbye as they headed back into the bag.

The tone still felt a bit off, but compared to before, it was a major improvement, so I just ignored it. Dah-Young would find a way to correct it herself.

Once Dah-Young and Pae-Pae left, a loneliness settled into Se-Hee as she looked around.

Ah, the atmosphere was now full of frost in a place that just moments ago had been filled with warmth from people.

Just a few hours ago, Dah-Young and Pae-Pae had heated up the room.

“Not bad.”

Maybe it’s good to build new connections, just like Dah-Young had said.

This is also a proper way to seek attention, isn’t it?

By the way…

“Should I have just pretended I didn’t know?”

I purposely feigned ignorance about the question Dah-Young had asked regarding whether anything embarrassing happened while drinking yesterday.

There was also the concern that it might create awkwardness as the topic was quite sensitive.

Se-Hee also wasn’t sure how to take a stance on her new body.

Being trapped in a situation where her mind felt like a man, but her body didn’t cooperate, a sudden confession would surely be bewildering.

Finally, a deep sigh escaped her, and her shoulders relaxed.

‘What should I do…?’

I guess I need to edit some videos. I told Dah-Young I’d ask her, but at least I should try to do the first one myself.

I wasn’t in the mood to connect to virtual reality, so I just turned on the computer.

I wasn’t sure if it was the hangover, but I decided to use it as an excuse in my mind…

“Such solitude…”

There was an inexplicable bitterness that made my mouth feel sour.

In many ways… it was a morning where I craved a cigarette.

* * *

“Haah…”

I tossed my bag far away and slumped down into my gaming chair, feeling a different kind of frustration.

Returning home with a lingering sense of discomfort gnawing at my mind, my expression went sour.

My sister said nothing went wrong, so it should’ve been fine to just move on. So why is there an alarm ringing in my head?

It’s an incredibly embarrassing sentiment to admit, but yeah, it felt like I had just gone to the bathroom and didn’t clean up.

By the way, I’ve never actually left without cleaning up in my life, so let’s not get any misconceptions there.

“Ha!”

Pae-Pae flew over, flapping her wings in the opposite direction wildly.

Her antics, making it seem like I should look even more dizzy, felt incredibly annoying.

Ah, speaking of…

“Pae-Pae, you didn’t drink at all yesterday, right?”

“I didn’t have a single drink. Why do you ask?”

“Then you must know. Did I by any chance act weird when I was drunk?”

Pae-Pae, who had been quietly filming a cake-eating show, must have stayed sober throughout it all.

Seeing the mix of hope and anxiety in Dah-Young’s eyes, Pae-Pae chuckled and pulled out Dah-Young’s smartphone.

Turning her back with the smartphone in hand, Pae-Pae answered disinterestedly.

“If it was something weird, then all we did was drink and chat about each other’s business, really.”

Despite her answer, there was something strange about the atmosphere that caught my attention. She kept tapping the screen for some reason.

‘Is she trying to play a game or something?’

Well, she occasionally played mobile games when bored, I suppose.

If she’d just get approval for some spending, I’d have let it slide, but right now, we needed to focus on something important.

“You’re saying I didn’t say anything weird at all, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, okay. So nothing happened? Just like I thought, even if the film cut off, I wouldn’t cause trouble.”

“……Pfft!”

Pae-Pae burst into laughter at Dah-Young’s remark.

Huh? She wouldn’t cause trouble even if the film cut off?

That was definitely something Pae-Pae would say. I could totally sympathize with the thought that Dah-Young would face a lot of schemes when she got to college.

I can’t believe I don’t even remember that we almost sliced a genocide cutter that night.

“Ha! Really? I’ve been quiet this entire time, and you’re still prattling on.”

“?!”

The irritating sound made me frown without realizing it.

What did you just say?

“Pae-Pae, didn’t I tell you yesterday? If you talk like that, I won’t bother speaking to you anymore.”

Dah-Young said, coldly cutting her off. It wasn’t just an empty threat; she questioned Pae-Pae with a chilling gaze that could freeze the room.

But does she even realize? If she puts her guard up like that and then gets hit back with the decisive blow, it gets even more painful.

“So you’re saying I should just get lost, huh?”

“You definitely said that in front of Se-Hee. You wouldn’t cause any more trouble.”

“True, but here’s the thing….”

Something sinister began to emanate from the back of Pae-Pae as she fiddled eagerly with her smartphone.

It was definitely neither a demon nor a Demon King, but rather the essence of something unclean that formed from her body.

As Pae-Pae twisted her neck with a deformed creak like a rusty hinge, she smiled wickedly…

“Can you really ignore me after hearing this?”

With a triumphant checkmate, she mercilessly tapped the button displayed on the screen.

As if Pandora’s box was opened, the smartphone unleashed…

[Before being summoned to this world… You said you were a guy, right?]

“What?!”

That was Dah-Young’s voice.

What did you just say? I don’t recall such lines being in my memory…

[If… your sister were still a guy…]

[Like I said earlier… would I be touching you?]

“Ah…”

Did I… say something like that? To my sister?

Seeing Dah-Young go blank from the shattered reality around her, Pae-Pae wore a sinister grin.

The two-day period of humiliation and torment.

“What? You said nothing happened? Even if the film cuts off, there’ll be no trouble?”

It was time to return as the proud patriotic Pae-Pae of South Korea.

“There’s nothing like that, Dah-Young’s a gay.”

With a laugh so absurd it made a clown appear gentle.

“The accident you worried about, the dark history you wanted to forget!”

Happier than ever before,

“No matter what happens!!!!”

In an even more bizarre tone,

“Absolutely!!!!”

Dancing around,

“I can’t let this slide, you gay!!!!”

The laughter filled the air like madness.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!”

In the midst of that victorious frenzy, Dah-Young could only gaze with hollow eyes drenched in despair.

“That’s….”

Is that what you’d say to a Hero, you crazy frog?

No, that’s not the main point.

Did I really say something like that?

[If… your sister were still a guy…]

[As I mentioned before… would I be touching you?]

The voice recording kept repeating.

Even if I wanted to block my ears, it seeped through, thoroughly destroying Dah-Young’s mind.

“Uwaaaah!”

Finally, unable to hold on any longer, Dah-Young’s despairing scream rang out, and…

She realized too late that a Hero couldn’t withstand a dark history.

“Come on! Just surrender already…”

As victory approached, a thrilled Pae-Pae was about to perform a celebratory dance when—

*Thunk!*

“Gaeluck?!”

Dah-Young’s hand shot out like a flash, grasping Pae-Pae’s neck.

“What the? Dah-Young’s gay. Let me go!”

As Dah-Young’s grip tightened around Pae-Pae’s neck, her eyes gleamed with a chilling light through her messy hair.

Even Pae-Pae, about to scream, suddenly found herself silenced by the dense killing intent.

“I told you, several times… I hate that way of speaking.”

“Cough! It’s not like that….”

“Then, is it? Do you think just because I wanted to hide my dark history in front of my sister, I would act like a dog under your thumb?”

Speak if you have something to say.

It shouldn’t be anything that would make us awkward.

To think that the bond between two Heroes could crumble over such trivial matters was underestimating it greatly.

“This can’t go on like this.”

“What? What can’t?”

“You’re seriously going to get it.”

With her tiny fist clenched, Dah-Young’s cold yet resolute gaze bore down upon Pae-Pae.

Pae-Pae felt something was going terribly wrong.

“Death?”

* * *