Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 72
***
– I admired her skill.
– I wondered how long she had been in Another World.
– I asked her not to feel burdened about the sponsorship.
A short conversation period of about 20 minutes.
During that time, the conversation between Eunha and Serin didn’t hold much significance.
Just small talk to break the ice.
To Serin, it felt like just that much.
It was clear to Serin that the woman named Joan of Arc treated herself with unusual caution, suggesting some ulterior motive, yet the other party didn’t seem inclined to reveal her true intentions.
Having sponsored 2 million won, Serin had expected some different demands or sensitive questions in response.
Unexpectedly, the approach was overly passive.
If that was the case, then why had she made such a large sponsorship? Serin couldn’t understand Eunha’s behavior.
Perhaps it was because it was their first encounter, she thought.
Gradually, Serin began to doubt the sincerity behind that 2 million won as a purely kind gesture.
‘Clearly…she doesn’t seem like a person with bad intentions.’
As she scanned her form slowly, she could see the way Eunha paused, caught in Serin’s gaze.
The faintly flushed expression on the woman’s face seemed strange, but more than that, Serin’s focus was drawn to her equipment.
At first glance, it was evident that the items she possessed were anything but ordinary. The subtle black armor, along with the longsword she wore at her waist, was remarkable from its scabbard to its exterior.
Each piece seemed like it could be at least a legendary item, if not more.
‘Is she just wealthy?’
Looking at it, Serin slowly got up.
“Then if you have time next time, let’s talk again.”
About 20 minutes had already passed.
At this point, she believed she had shown enough courtesy regarding the sponsorship. If she sought more from here, she even considered cutting off the relationship entirely.
Though the other party hadn’t directly demanded anything in exchange for money, this one-on-one conversation felt honestly burdensome.
“Oh, ah… Yes! Thank you for making time today, Lin!”
However, the other party hurriedly responded to her words and got up as if it were completely fine to end the meeting this way.
Or rather, it seemed like she was disappointed by the idea of ending the meeting, but did not express more than that.
“Yes. Then.”
***
“…”
As she saw Lin disappear amidst the glow, Eunha stared blankly at her hands.
How foolish she was.
Had she truly struggled so much in dealing with others?
Thoughts like that came to her mind unconsciously.
She had called someone over but couldn’t even string together proper words, as if forgetting why she had called Lin in the first place, behaving awkwardly in the process.
In the end, her first meeting with Lin ended so fruitlessly.
Even now, she couldn’t quite grasp her own attitude.
“Stupid…”
She couldn’t even bring herself to speak properly in front of Lin.
Her true feelings and proper conversation never materialized.
It felt like she had forced a conversation by bringing up meaningless topics.
Seeing herself today, Eunha thought she couldn’t argue if Lin found her strange. Her previous attitude had been so odd that she even began to dislike herself.
However, the very act of facing Lin made Eunha’s heart race strangely, and she felt a heat rising within, making it difficult to behave as she usually would.
Though she was aware Lin was a woman from the broadcasts, that didn’t mean the character in the game was her true self.
Yet, she found it more challenging to interact with Lin than with anyone else. An unusual sense of embarrassment had arisen, rendering her unable to speak properly.
Had this ever happened before?
No, even after thinking for a moment, she couldn’t recall such a memory.
Her initial thoughts about establishing a goal before meeting Lin.
‘Becoming friends as people.’
What she had thought was easy turned out to be exceedingly difficult.
And when that precondition collapsed, everything else crumbled like a sandcastle, turning her mind blank.
Thus, she awkwardly started a conversation with Lin.
“…”
She wanted to get closer, but how could she even begin to do so?
Eunha had never seriously considered this throughout her life.
It was always the other party who initiated the conversation, who took the first action, who made an effort to approach her.
And this tendency intensified after she became a pro.
With evaluations of herself soaring day by day, everything seemed to flow positively even when she remained passive.
Simple actions devoid of great significance were romanticized and spread across various communities.
When she said words anyone could utter, others responded with unreasonable intensity, expressing their gratitude.
Yes, even just today, she had merely logged into Another World, yet numerous pros and users had worriedly whispered to her about her well-being.
She never had any strong feelings of dislike towards anyone. Yet, she had never felt particularly fond of anyone either, not committing to giving too deep of feelings.
Born into a privileged family, she had so smoothly adjusted to everything given to her, leading a life free of any significant noise.
Living a life where she was upheld by someone nearly every day.
Eunha ironically felt this was taken for granted when she met Serin.
Facing herself with complete indifference.
No matter what she said, Lin simply replied, “Is that so?” with an indifferent demeanor, leaving Eunha at a loss.
Though she began to clearly feel affection for Lin, the displayed indifference from Lin made it more challenging.
When she desperately wanted to get closer, Lin was entirely indifferent towards her.
What Eunha felt from that short 20-minute conversation wasn’t just that Lin didn’t know her.
Rather, Lin was wary of her.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed she had believed the 2 million won sponsorship had some ulterior motive behind it all.
‘That’s not it…’
She had merely admired Lin’s skills and offered sponsorship out of pure goodwill.
Yet, that sponsorship seemed to have made Lin wary of her. Lin did not treat her warmly.
The demeanor she observed in the broadcasts appeared markedly different.
In the streams, Lin had engaged joyfully with viewers, yet the moment they faced each other, her demeanor shifted to something that felt strangely lower in status for Eunha compared to the viewers.
“I don’t understand anything… How do I become friends with her?”
She wanted to stick close to her.
More than having discussions about Arena World.
At that moment, all she felt was the desire to become closer to Lin.
Was her admiration for her skill misguided? The overwhelming talent she displayed in videos, the presence she exuded that she couldn’t feel from anyone else.
For the first time, someone had piqued her interest so strongly—Lin.
The person who had wiped away the emptiness that filled her chest for weeks was undoubtedly kindred to her.
Yet, in the moment they faced each other, she felt a kind of barrier.
As if what Eunha was feeling was lost on Lin.
That was something Eunha couldn’t understand, yet she felt a profound sense of regret.
“…”
Gently placing her hand on her chest, Eunha stared blankly at the spot where Lin had just been.
Even now, she felt the fluttering sensation within her.
Why couldn’t she feel that?
Why was it that only she could sense their kinship, and why was she the only one who felt so restless right now?
Wondering how she might approach Lin without evoking rejection, how she might converse with her more warmly.
That felt like an urgent priority, leading Eunha to search for a way to close the distance between herself and Lin.
Before long, she found a common answer.
She recalled the image of Plea speaking freely with Lin on the broadcast she had watched just yesterday. While Lin seemed to maintain a distance from Gosu, she appeared relatively warm towards Plea.
“Plea… If it’s her, she’ll know how to do it.”
***
As 9 o’clock approached, Sua, who had subtly ended her time in Another World, opened her mouth brightly.
“Hello, Plea-takers~ Tonight at 9 o’clock we’ll have a collaborative stream as previously mentioned in the announcement. Just letting you all know!”
[What collaboration suddenly]
[???]
[Why are you ending Another World?]
[LOL, there are so many people who don’t know because Plea announced it late.]
[Seriously, isn’t it written in the announcement that it’s with Lin?]
[They said they’d be discussing the editing of Newtube.]
[What collaboration is that???]
[When was that announcement made?]
Though she had posted the announcement on her fan cafe, many people still didn’t know about the collaboration.
That said, since she had rushed to make the announcement today, Sua understood why the viewers were unaware.
“For those viewers who don’t know, let me explain briefly, Lin is looking for a Newtube editor and needed some help, so we are abruptly having this collaborative stream.”
It truly was a sudden collaboration.
Just yesterday, she received whispers asking for tips on selecting an editor as Lin was going to pick one soon. So, Sua had decided to share it during the broadcast.
There were plenty of things to discuss, and given that there wasn’t much time before tomorrow’s selection, it had become necessary to present it as a collaborative stream to communicate the criteria for selecting an editor and share other information regarding Newtube.
‘Really… If it were another streamer, I wouldn’t have thought twice and would have rejected immediately.’
But because it was Serin, Sua felt a strange sense of obligation to help her with everything.
Moreover, knowing that her older sister relied on her for something felt oddly gratifying.
While she seemed flawless in Another World, she displayed a bit of clumsiness in reality, making her seem more human.
Plus, it felt quite adorable that this still-new streamer was asking for help.
Ding!
An alert appeared on the voice chat program, Bardcord, notifying that Serin had logged on.
“Ahhh, how does my voice sound? Can you hear me well, Plea?”
As soon as Serin’s voice came through, Sua smiled softly and replied.
“Yeah, I can hear you well, Lin.”
Thus, initially pondering where to begin, Sua slowly chose her words.