#7
“Please don’t mention anything about my acquaintance on stream from now on, I’m asking you. If you really insist on doing it… I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ban those people.”
No matter where you go, there are always toxic viewers among the mostly kind ones. It was difficult to rule out the possibility that they might cause harm to Imun.
When he showed a rather solemn expression, they backed down, saying they understood. While he was watching the atmosphere quickly settle and feeling relieved, Hajun checked the viewer count and his face hardened.
Around fifteen thousand. His heart sank as he thought about how many times Imun’s account name had been exposed to these people. His concern must have shown, as viewers began to notice one by one.
– Gangha, don’t be mad ã… ã… Let’s all be more careful ã… ã… Look at how pale he’s getting ã… ã…
– Why does it matter who he games with? Why keep criticizing someone who streams well? lol
– Sorry sorry I won’t mention it again. Hyung, I’m sorry, I crossed the line ã… ã…
“It’s okay. It’s true that I said I’d do alt account content. Um… my suspension will be lifted soon, so please wait a little longer until then. Later, even if you request other games, I’ll only play Legend of Legend.”
“Well, let’s continue with the game.” Belatedly forcing an awkward smile, he glanced at the clock. He couldn’t be more thankful for already knowing Imun’s login time.
*
As soon as his streaming hours ended, he hurriedly logged into Legend of Legend. An unpleasant anxiety had been persisting since the incident occurred.
Why isn’t he logging in yet? Just as his impatience led him to start chewing his bottom lip, Imun’s nickname changed to “online” status. In his urgency, he pulled him into Disco without even saying hello.
“…Hyung? Did something happen?”
For a moment, everything went dark before his eyes. No matter what answer he gave, it seemed impossible to avoid the other’s suspicion. He mumbled whatever sentences came to mind.
“Just, um, everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. But… um, just a moment.”
Through the earphones, he could faintly hear the sound of a mouse clicking. What was the reason for his sudden silence? With a pale face, he cautiously asked again.
“What are you… doing?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a moment.”
“What is it…? Tell me.”
“It’s just… for a few weeks now… people have been continuously sending me friend requests.”
They say “what you fear comes true,” and his worries seemed to have become reality. “How did they find out…” Hajun covered his head as he heard Imun muttering.
If it was being discussed on his stream, Imun’s nickname might have been circulating among viewers much earlier. So this is how you get caught. While trying to suppress a groan as he lay face-down on his desk, Imun hesitantly spoke up.
“By any chance… have you received friend requests too? If you do… please don’t accept them.”
“Uh… okay.”
Though he tried to appear calm, a tremor was evident in his voice. As expected, he must be quite shocked. The mouse clicking sounds continued, suggesting he had received quite a number of friend requests. The tiny noise pierced his conscience sharply.
“If you go to settings, there’s a feature to decline friend requests. Check that.”
“Ah, I see.”
After delivering his prepared advice, he breathed a sigh of relief. This would block viewer friend requests for now, but the real problem was what came next.
Perhaps it had been wrong to lie in the first place. Maybe he should have drawn the line from the beginning, asking not to inquire about his occupation.
As he grew closer to Imun and shared various personal details, one in ten conversations inevitably touched on work. To maintain consistency in his casually spoken words, necessary lies had piled up one after another.
The first misbuttoned button couldn’t be undone. By the time he realized the seriousness, the misunderstanding had already deepened beyond control.
‘That â–¡â–¡ company you said you work for, they released a new game recently—is this the one you said you helped make? When will the character you’re in charge of be updated? I want to try it as soon as it comes out.’
Somehow he had become a freelance developer collaborating with a gaming company on the rise. He didn’t have the courage to reveal the truth to someone who innocently believed his groundless lies.
It doesn’t seem like I can hide it forever. Since viewers had already found out about Imun, the thought crossed his mind to actually lure him into doing a duo stream.
If he told him he was a streamer, Imun would certainly be surprised at first, but if he explained everything well, it seemed like he might understand his situation.
He giggled imagining Imun’s shocked reaction, then roughly tousled his hair. Reality wouldn’t be as smooth as his thoughts. Rather than running pointless hope circuits, he needed to make a practical plan.
First, he should reveal the lies. He was in the middle of biting his lips while pondering how to go about it when—
“I’m done. I’ll send you a duo invite.”
Despite receiving friend requests from numerous strangers, fortunately or unfortunately, Imun didn’t seem to take it too seriously.
Today’s not the day, I guess. He pointlessly postponed it to another time and tried to comfort his troubled feelings.
***
He followed the dust particles occasionally visible amidst the sunlight coming through the window. The birdsong from outside was particularly irritating today.
Even after fully waking up, he lay blankly on the bed before exploding with frustration.
“How was I supposed to know this would happen!”
I should have asked more questions then! The words Imun had shared when his logins became not just irregular but sparse kept circling in his mind.
‘I’m sorry. The work I’m preparing has a set D-day… it’s tight trying to match the schedule…’
His apologetic tone had revealed his awkwardness. Even though Hajun had resolved to confront Imun, he didn’t want to trouble him.
He never imagined he would regret so bitterly assuming that Imun would eventually explain in detail.
As if mocking his complacency, Imun hadn’t shown himself on either the game or Discodi for several days. This was the worst scenario he hadn’t even considered.
There were usually two reasons why a gamer suddenly stopped logging in: either they switched to another game, or something major happened in their real life that made it difficult to access games.
It would be good to know the exact reason, but there was no way to contact him outside of Legend of Legend. Yesterday, he had deliberately shut himself in his room and waited for him until three in the morning, but all he gained was physical and mental fatigue.
He couldn’t have quit, right? Imun’s statement about being busy with preparation work was the only thing he could cling to. While thumping his chest in frustration, there was a knock on the door.
“Junnie, why are you getting up so late today?”
“I’m up! I’ll get ready and come out soon.”
It seemed his grandmother was worried because he hadn’t left his room even though it was well past his usual wake-up time. He sluggishly raised his tired body while listening to her nagging through the door.
I definitely overdid it yesterday. His face reflected in his phone was as dark as a panda’s. Even though he had slept, it didn’t feel like he had rested at all.
Perhaps because he thought of Imun as soon as he opened his eyes, his energy was drained from the morning. He felt like someone who couldn’t accept being dumped by a lover and was pathetically clinging on.
On that day he had played with Imun, not knowing it would be the last time. He suddenly remembered something Imun had said in passing.
‘Please don’t wait too much.’
“Wait for what!”
After roaring loudly and punching his pillow fiercely for several minutes, a sense of calm came over him as he completely drained his energy to the point of sweating.
Why should I get angry over this? If he thought of it as not having a connection with a man whose face and full name he didn’t even know, that would be it. He opened the door with a hollow laugh.
*
Around the time he was sitting in the living room devising livestream content, a Line notification rang.
[Hajun, how have you been? TT]
[(Dancing tricolor cat emoticon)]
He was just about to take a break as his mind wasn’t working well. Snickering at the emoticon that resembled Mari so closely, he put down his pen.
While sending her a chat message, a call came in immediately. It didn’t seem like anything urgent. As he leisurely listened to her endless chattering, she suddenly became sullen.
“I’m sorry about that time.”
It seemed Mari still hadn’t forgotten about what happened a few weeks ago when she visited his home. When he casually reassured her, asking if she was still hung up on that, her voice became vibrant again as if she was relieved.
“Come visit our house sometime too. Mom really misses you.”
“Sure, later. By the way, how’s that idol you like these days?”
Nothing was better than idols for capturing her interest. As soon as he shifted the topic, Mari began talking as if she had been waiting for this.
“They finally confirmed their comeback schedule! I’m so excited!” Information he hadn’t even asked for poured out randomly—when their first stage would be, what the concept was like this time, and so on.
While responding politely and secretly yawning, he half-opened his eyes. If he didn’t cut her off appropriately, the call would go on endlessly, given how excited she was.
“Grandma’s calling me now. Let’s talk again later.”
After ending the call with a giggle, he reviewed the list he had been writing. Despite staring at his notes for hours, the results weren’t particularly good.
I want to play Legend of Legend. He was gradually hitting a limit in streaming a game that wasn’t his main focus. After rolling his pen several times, counting the days until his suspension would be lifted, he scribbled down a thought that suddenly occurred to him.
[Alt account content, should I really do it?]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
