Streaming Life After Paying Off Debt - Chapter 68

“What, what is this…?”

In the overwhelming array of unexpected letters, I lost my mind.

– “See? I told you it looks like a reply! Hahahaha”

– “Wow~ Are they receiving 160,000 won each from those people? Sounds like Banpo JAI! Hahahaha”

– “Oh my! Is Zero Two really good at dancing?!”

– “N-What?!”

In my hazy consciousness, what made me lose my mind even more was the viewers’ reactions. However, perhaps due to the continuous shock, my mind became clearer.

“Wait a minute, it’s true that an email was sent from my mobile phone.”

It was still hard to believe, but I wasn’t foolish enough to deny the evidence that was already revealed. However, just because I acknowledged the evidence didn’t mean I admitted my guilt.

“But I’m really innocent!”

Even though all the evidence claimed my guilt, the viewers who had crossed countless lines with me would surely know my innocence.

Holding onto this belief, I continued speaking aimlessly.

“If… if I were the one who really sent the spam email, I wouldn’t show any sender details, right? Or I would have deleted all logs and shown them!”

Sometimes logically,

“I’m really unfair. There are only two contacts! How could I possibly know this many people’s phone numbers…”

Sometimes appealing to emotion,

“If you keep cornering me!! I’m going to end the broadcast, huh?! The Mommatong (baby food) you like will say goodbye now!!”

Sometimes yelling, I tried my best to assert my innocence to the viewers.

How much time had passed since then? I realized that I had emptied my repertoire after saying everything I could.

‘Would this be enough?’

Trying to persuade myself with an overworked brain, I thought,

‘After all, they’re just guys who can’t control themselves with br*asts, so they’re probably flooding the chat with “Sorry” or something, right?’

If so, I would have to act like it was unavoidable and accept it.

I faced the chat room, my heart fluttering with excitement.

– “Is this that? I drank, but I didn’t drive under the influence?”

– “I’m different from bad spam. I’ll prove I’m not bad spam.”

– “Miju, who had to send it, will probably be sadder than those who received the email. ㅠㅠ”

– “N-Writer, I completely empathize. ㅠㅠ”

However, contrary to my expectations, there was not a single word of apology in the chat room.

“This…this…!”

Despite my explanations, I was being treated as a criminal by the viewers, leaving me speechless. However, surprisingly, their antics did not end there.

– “Ah~ I can’t hear you well because I’m hungry?”

– “Suddenly craving chicken… (glancing)”

– “Someone said they had cheese balls too…”

The viewers were beyond accusations and were now straightforwardly demanding a bribe from me.

‘These bastards…?’

Having already picked at me several times, they were openly demanding chicken now, which made me want to curse.

But as a streamer who had to become a thorough subordinate in front of viewers, I had no choice but to accept their demands.

“Then, I’ll have the chicken…”

Just as I was about to accept the viewers’ legal transaction with tears in my eyes, a small voice within me shouted.

‘Are you going to run away again?’

‘But… there’s no other way, right?’

In response to my feeling of defeat, the small child in my heart firmly countered.

‘You can never overcome it by just running away.’

It was a very basic truth that everyone else could also say. I had dozens of retorts ready but ultimately decided to accept the child’s words instead of refuting.

‘That’s right. At some point, I feel like I’ve only been taking the easy path.’

From the path of struggle to the path of peace. From the path of peace to the path of surrender. I was undermining myself for a moment’s comfort.

‘Now, I must change.’

If I keep backing down, all that’s left will be a future of being left behind. This time, I decided not to run and to walk the path of struggle.

“Chicken… eating it at this hour will make me gain weight. How about holding off for a bit?”

– “????”

– “F*ck.”

The bloody battle that unfolded between me and the viewers was so brutal that it was difficult to write about. However, the important fact in this fight was just one. I never backed down.

– “Ooh, a thousand won has been donated by ㅇㅇ.”

[“Hey, eat this, you b*stard.”]

“Yes~ Thank you for the donation. I’ll raffle off the chicken after the broadcast ends!”

In the end, it was the fact that I managed to maintain a balance that could buy the chicken.

After overcoming numerous adversities, my viewers and I returned once again to the starting point of the incident. Numerous sender logs awaited us there.

“But really, what is this? I didn’t touch anything!”

– “Looks like you got hacked?”

– “Yeah, I heard there are phone hacking cases these days because of blocking foreign numbers.”

– “Sigh, I told you not to go to those weird sites!”

“What did I do? I didn’t do anything on my phone!”

All I did with my phone was post negative comments on community forums. I couldn’t understand why I was hacked when I was keeping a clean mobile phone life.

– “Think hard.”

– “Did you get caught on a p*rn site?”

– “N-What?!”

“By the way, there are cases where the site gets hacked and then spreads to phones.”

– “Is there a login using your number?”

“Number? Maybe my old FaceBook account…?”

– “Isn’t that it? Check it out.”

– “FaceBook… that sounds weird.”

– “Back in my day, it was BuddyBuddy… Mari…”

– “N-You’re an oldie…”

I accepted the viewers’ suggestions and decided to access FaceBook for the first time in ages.

However, the world of social media that I returned to after several years was filled with overgrown grass that even denied access to its owner.

– “Incorrect ID or password.”

“C’mon, d*mn it!”

After five unsuccessful attempts, an obstacle called a security code appeared. At the same time, the viewers, tired of the endless wait, were losing their senses.

“Just wait a moment, I’ll finish this soon.”

– “Tick tick.”

– “Because of you, my molars are all worn down.”

– “Just this one (tenth)”

– “The screen is fine, so please turn on the cam at least…”

The viewers, exhausted from the constant waiting, began regretting their suggestions. But finally, I succeeded in logging into my account after overcoming the last adversity.

“Got it!”

– “Ooh… finally…”

– “Now turn on the screen…”

– “Look how many viewers are lost because of you, haha.”

– “Normalization is Shin-Miju.”

Enjoying the responses of the cheering viewers, I sent them a white screen that was still loading.

‘Huh? Wait a minute, what did I set my profile to…?’

Suddenly gripped by an ominous thought, I hurriedly tried to stop the transmission, but the site had already finished loading.

– “What is that? Hahahaha”

– “Oh my; red pill, whoa!”

– “So the cam was all edited…”

“No, wait a minute!”

‘My Hollywood!!’

My plans shattered alongside the viewers’ commotion. Staring blankly at the chat room in disbelief, I cautiously checked the loaded profile with trembling eyes.

[Looking for new encounters. line: xxxx]

There in the profile was a woman I had never seen before boldly occupying the space.

– “Uh oh! Red pill, whoa!”

– “New encounter? (sly)”

– “This girl’s leak is quite resourceful, haha.”

As soon as my profile was disclosed, the chat room quickly descended into chaos. However, I didn’t even have the luxury to calm them down.

‘What is this?’

Who is that woman? Is it not my account but someone else’s? Did I actually have plastic surgery instead of being TS?

Even though it was clearly my account, the sight of a stranger’s photo adorned my profile filled my mind with questions.

While I was in confusion, the viewers, thinking the woman in the picture was me, began arguing among themselves.

– “But is this a blue pill or a red pill?”

– “This is a blue pill. Her face is really ugly.”

– “No, she’s definitely pretty, but… strangely disappointing.”

– “For real, up to the jawline, she was a goddess.”

At first, it was just a simple debate on “blue pill or red pill,” but as overly invested viewers appeared, the conflict intensified.

– “For f*ck’s sake, go out and see reality. Do you think women like this are common?”

– “It’s not that she’s not pretty; it just doesn’t meet expectations.”

– “Speaking truthfully) With just that face, any Virtual YouTuber you like would be wiped out, haha.”

– “The red pill is what you use when your expectations are unmet, so why all the fuss?”

As the chat became increasingly heated, I, belatedly realizing the seriousness of the situation, tried to stop the viewers, but someone beat me to speak up.

– “The expert has donated 50,000 won.”

[“That photo is C. The host is G. So that photo is not the host.”]

The viewer sent a somewhat ambiguous donation. However, surprisingly, with this donation consisting simply of letters, the viewers began to reconcile.

– “The expert is right.”

– “Her br*asts could’ve been plastic surgery, right?”

– “N-Do you think that movement could come from plastic surgery?”

– “Looking closely, her jawline does look different.”

Realizing the possibility that the photo on the profile might not be me, I revealed the truth to the viewers.

“That photo isn’t me. It’s probably a picture stored by the hacker.”

– “Phew~ The red pill has been preserved.”

– “Looking again, she looks completely different, haha.”

– “So it really was hacking then, haha.”

The viewers sighed in relief at my words.

– “If one was hacked, we should check the others as well.”

– “Let’s change the password first, okay?”

Also, some viewers showed signs of worry for me.

“Yes, I’m going to do that now.”

Following their advice, I changed my account password, marking the conclusion of the incident that had burned my broadcast today.

———

It was time for the ending broadcast again today. I was thanking the viewers.

“Thank you all for watching again today.”

– “You should fix your habit of ending broadcasts like that;;”

– “Today was fun too!”

– “But today wasn’t a sudden ending, so I like it.”

– “Mi-ba.”

Although I noted some objections regarding the broadcast ending, thanks to the generally favorable responses from the viewers, I made my final remark.

“Then, see you in the next broadcast!”

At that moment, I heard a vibrating sound.

– “Hmm~”

– “Oh my;;; At this time? Boyfriend?”

– “N-Please, incoming guys, just shut up.”

– “For real, haha, how much of a hassle would that be today?”

There was a brief flurry in the chat, but it quickly disappeared under the barrage of many viewers.

I delivered a service comment for the viewers who helped tidy things up.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend, so you don’t have to worry~”

With the word ‘boyfriend.’

– “Wow! The great Miju!”

– “The broth is bubbling…”

– “The thoughts of the viewers are wonderful.”

Leaving behind the viewers who were showering me with compliments without grasping the true meaning of my words, I ended today’s long broadcast.

“Well then, goodbye~”

– “Hmm~”

With the ringing vibration sound marking the end, my broadcast faded to black.

Looking at the turned-off screen, I let out a weary voice.

“Ugh, today was tough again.”

Every broadcast felt like walking on thin ice, leaving me fatigued. Particularly, when issues arose from unexpected places, extreme fatigue often washed over me.

“I can’t believe spam emails would make me this exhausted.”

Sighing deeply, I took out the mobile phone, the source of the day’s problems. As I pressed the lock button, the screen lit up, revealing the last text messages received.

[Could this number belong to Miju?]

[With the vibration, I guess it must be, haha. Looking forward to working with you, sis.]

“…Ah.”

The text hinted that my ordeal was far from over.