It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Chapter 25 – Yes. This is Yena.

Ten million won. Even after counting and recounting, the deposited amount was exactly 10,000,000 won. What kind of meal should I prepare to be able to spend this?

I don’t even know of any food expensive enough to warrant this much money. I wanted to think of it as pre-paying for a year’s… maybe two years’ worth of allowance, but I was also convinced that it couldn’t be the case.

Having spent this amount of money – naturally, I would come to check if you spent the money well and took good care of yourself by eating something healthy.

… Yes, that’s what I’ll do.

It felt like a heavy stone had settled in my chest.

“It’s already heavy enough as it is.”

It’s not that I find Lee Yeri unpleasant to look at. But for some reason, whenever I meet her, I feel infinitely smaller and find myself being overly cautious.

Such strong and hard-to-resist emotions that make me wonder if it’s not my own feelings but the remnants of Lee Yena.

Because of that, I need to mentally prepare for quite some time each time I’m about to see her. It might be better to decide on a date first.

If the date is set, she won’t come until that day. I sent a message suggesting a date as far in the future as possible, ensuring not to give the impression that I dislike seeing her, and sat in front of the computer.

The items packed eagerly in the basket suddenly seemed to emanate a frivolous desire.

… But I really need these.

I rested my chin on my hand, tapping my lips rhythmically while deep in thought. Let’s only buy what is truly necessary.

And if by chance I received a donation supporting the Rogue Revival Movement… I could even treat Lee Yeri to a meal.

In the distant future—say, in… the week after next.

* * * *

10 p.m.

In a taxi heading back to the office, Lee Yeri was trying to shut her eyes for a brief moment, attempting to rest—

Despite feeling as exhausted as if she were going to die, sleep did not come, perhaps due to her tangled thoughts and emotions.

Looking back, her younger sister had always been like that. She never talked about her difficulties or tried to depend on others. When she first started working three years ago, she even forcefully handed her a credit card.

Back when she was doing rhythmic gymnastics, it was heartbreaking to see her endure not being able to eat what she wanted at such a young age-

But after giving up gymnastics due to an injury, it was even more heartbreaking to see her struggle, avoiding her parents’ disapproving looks even at the dinner table.

Even though her older sister had set a spending limit for her, telling her to eat whatever she wanted and spend comfortably, perhaps she still felt conscious of it.

Even though she didn’t think she had a reason to feel hurt, she couldn’t help but chew over the guilt that she should have given her cash from the beginning and the regret of hoping that her sister would eventually feel comfortable.

-Riiiing.

Her lightly gripped phone vibrated once again in her hand.

The vibration felt like a reminder urging her not to dwell on unnecessary thoughts and instead to quickly catch up on pending matters, making Lee Yeri feel a surge of emotions deep within her chest.

“Ah, damn it, seriously! I said I’d write it! They don’t need to rush me, I said I’d write it early this morning…! If it was that urgent, they should have asked last year, bastards!”

Letting out her inner thoughts almost like a scream, Yeri apologized profusely to the taxi driver who was looking at her in surprise through the rearview mirror.

After taking a long deep breath to control her emotions, she convinced herself that she could now calmly handle everything and only then did she finally check her phone.

『Could we possibly have a meal next week or the week after that?』

Reading her younger sister’s cautious text message asking if she’s always busy, Yeri bit her lip and burst into tears as if giving in to the overwhelming emotions.

“No matter what, this month I must visit at least four times.”

“No, don’t use being busy as an excuse to postpone it, I will go this weekend.”

“This time, I should stay longer. I’ll even cook for you.”

* * * *

When tormented by inexplicable anxiety, there’s nothing like an urgent prescription of alcohol. With just a few cc of this magical potion, all pain disappears.

The only advantage of having one’s routine flipped upside down is that one can avoid being criticized for day drinking no matter when one decides to indulge.

-Kkaddeuk

It has not even been four hours since getting up, but the bottle of soju has been uncapped, and it’s already 11 p.m. It’s a time when drinking alone doesn’t feel strange at all.

Unfortunately, there were no shot glasses for soju at home, but there were several espresso shot glasses of various colors in similar sizes.

I wonder if Yena liked coffee. Pouring soju into the espresso glass, I downed it in one go.

Various thoughts came and went, tightening my chest and then dispersing. Pour again, down it in one go.

Is the espresso glass slightly larger than a soju glass? Or does Yena possess supernatural abilities that make her liver weaker than an average person’s?

Feeling my body floating rapidly, a sense of drunkenness began to spread throughout my body. Thanks to you, I’m feeling much better.

Casually humming a tune, I logged into Tw*tter to check my list of followed broadcasters.

In a parallel world, it’s natural that they wouldn’t be there, but the broadcasters I used to enjoy watching in the past were nowhere to be found.

Still, I haven’t spent the last six months in vain. I’ve curated a list of selected follows based on my own criteria for a long time.

Ark… is on a break day.

Dodat… wouldn’t this be considered an extended break?

They’ll be back soon, right?

I wrote down ’email to Dodat’ on the corner of my mind’s to-do list and scrolled down.

Ike is broadcasting right now.

But… Ah, I drank alcohol so… I feel dizzy.

Watching Gold play in this state, I might really throw up. Moreover, this person, as far as I remember, is a rogue primary. If I click on them recklessly and they’re a priest… I don’t want to risk that.

Dawang? When did I follow them?

Ah, I remember now. No, I forgot. Hmm… I remember following ‘da’ after searching for it.

I scrolled through the list of offline broadcasters and those currently live, switching back and forth meaninglessly for a while.

I squinted at a decent thumbnail of Ike’s broadcast, only to confirm that a creepy priest staff was sticking out from his hand, so I shut down the internet.

I tried to suppress the disappointment filling my chest and tilted the bottle of soju once again.

… I didn’t even finish the espresso cup. It’s not that big of a deal.

With a grumbling noise, I moved to the refrigerator, pulling out a new bottle of soju and the ice cream tub I had saved from before.

It’s not because I want to eat mint chocolate. It’s because of Lee Yena’s weak body that it can’t handle a single shot of soju.

As I poured ice cream and soju into my mouth and leaned back in my chair, I thought that maybe just being like this, blankly and absentmindedly, for a day wouldn’t be so bad.

But, there was something I had to do…

Closing her eyes, I recalled various lists I had stored in my mind.

… Something that needed to be done right away…

Oh, right. The first broadcast content.

I had promised to apologize in advance.

* * *​

Ah, Kim Jin-hee had recently been caught up in a philosophical question, wondering if it wasn’t fundamentally impossible for humans to understand others.

It was because of Lee Yena.

Known for her inherently good and bright nature, Ark was praised for being able to get along well with anyone, listening to anyone’s stories with remarkable friendliness.

One of her mottos was, “There is no one whom you cannot understand, even if they have different values from yours.”

Perhaps it was a motto she was able to uphold because of living in a greenhouse, but it was a belief she had tenaciously maintained throughout her 23 years of life.

*Buzz*

On the vibrating phone screen, the name “Lee Yena” appeared.

Lee Yena.

Without a word of thanks for the sent chicken gift card, she kept sending five consecutive joint emoji from *Stagram, for some reason.

Even contemplating whether it meant “Please inquire about chicken preferences via DM and send them.”

The next day, it was confirmed that the gift card had been used hastily. And from then on, for several weeks, she didn’t reply to messages on KakaoTalk, didn’t even donate during broadcasts, and thankfully didn’t snipe either.

『Ark-nim, I’m sorry for the late hour. I have something to discuss, could we have a brief call?』

After weeks, a chat was sent.

‘I wish she had just been known as a sniper back in the day, then I could have just thought of her as a nefarious attention seeker.’

Following the incident, Lee Yena became an uncontrollable person.

‘Although not quite an angel, he is a grateful person…’

Moreover, she is a rare, high-tier female user who can maintain her composure and continue speaking even when appearing on broadcasts.

She was excellent content material for the broadcast.

Even though it was late, for Ark, who usually streams from 7PM until dawn, it wasn’t late at all—

Feeling like she wanted to get a little closer, she replied with a cute rabbit emoji nodding with a ‘YES’ sign, and a message saying, ”

“Of course!!! Hehehe, absolutely hehehe. What’s up?”

”

And the moment the ‘1’ disappeared on the messaging app, a voice call came through.

– Dandada dang.

“Um, hello?”

『Hello, Ark-nim. Is it a good time to talk?』

“Yes, of course. What’s up?”

『I… I wanted to apologize.』

In that moment, Ark doubted his own ears.

“Oh my… No, Yena-nim, right?”

『Yes, it’s me, Yena.』

Even though she initially thought it might be someone else after hearing it properly, that distinct voice left no room for confusion.

… It felt slightly different from before, with a hint of nasal sound mixed in,

-Gulp.

There was a sound of swallowing something, along with it.

TL’s Corner:

Collab with Ark for the first broadcast