Chapter 36: Facing the Consequences

“Ah? My belly button? I can show that much! My belly button is pretty, hehe…”

Then, I heard Yoo Ji-eun’s cold voice.

Song Chae-hyun was in the call room but stayed silent.

That made it even scarier.

The faint clicks of the mouse brought up my videos again.

Memories surfaced, of streaming until the loneliness faded and I nearly passed out from exhaustion.

They were all in clear 1080p resolution.

“But, do you really not want to see my belly button, everyone? It’s not something just anyone can see. Are you sure? Are you okay with missing this chance?”

“I’m curious, though. You’re all virgins, right? Heh… What? No, I didn’t mean to tease you… sniff. Oh, sorry, sniff.”

“Teaching me a lesson? You want to? You don’t even know where I live. Come on over then, who knows if I’ll let you? Anyway, I bet even scrawny guys or fatties like you wouldn’t be able to beat me… heh.”

Did I say things like that?

Ugh, alcohol is truly my enemy—

“Moon I-hyun.”

“Ugh…”

Just a few minutes ago, I’d shakily reached out to the group chat with Song Chae-hyun and Yoo Ji-eun. As soon as I sent a message, they both read it immediately, and then I got a call in the group chat.

I hesitated over whether to pick up, but having sent a message only seconds earlier, it was too late to pretend I hadn’t seen it.

“Hello…”

I answered with a trembling voice.

“Moon I-hyun.”

“Moon I-hyun.”

The cold voices of both women.

“S-sorry…”

With that frightening tone, I apologized right away.

“You’re such a sensitive person, so why do you behave in such a reckless manner? Honestly…”

Yoo Ji-eun spoke and then let out an exasperated sigh.

“I was genuinely worried. Really… Why didn’t you answer until the next day? I almost went looking for you.”

“I’m sorry…”

Knowing how much they both worried about me, all I could do was apologize.

Then, Song Chae-hyun’s voice turned even colder.

“And Moon I-hyun, where did you drink? You told me you were at home.”

“… Ah…”

Did she realize I’d lied?

I was screwed.

And not just because of the stream.

Now, Chae-hyun found out I drank.

“Who did you drink with, Moon I-hyun?”

Song Chae-hyun’s voice dropped to a lower tone.

…

I was totally doomed this time…

Following Yoo Ji-eun’s instructions, I’d lied to Chae-hyun, saying I was at home.

For now, she didn’t know I’d been drinking with Ji-eun. Maybe if I claimed I drank alone, I could get in a little less trouble. That way, it’d only be one lie…

“… By… by myself…”

“I drank with her. The two of us.”

“Huh?”

“…What?”

“Are you kidding me? Why did you give alcohol to a minor? Until she was that drunk, too. Are you out of your mind?”

What?

A mocking scoff escaped Yoo Ji-eun’s lips.

Uh-oh.

The situation was taking a turn for the worse.

“A minor… but do you even have any right to say that?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“S-stop it…”

Ah, I recognize this atmosphere.

The feeling of adults arguing with each other, leaving me out.

Mom and Dad.

Unpleasant memories started to surface.

“Who’s the one who keeps making advances toward a minor—”

“What… what did you say!? I-hyun, you know that’s not true, right!?”

“S-stop…”

My hands were trembling slightly.

I was breathing more shallowly with each breath.

“I-hyun?”

“I-hyun?”

Noticing my reaction, their attention shifted to me.

“Stop fighting…!”

I must have sounded like I was about to cry.

“Huh? Wait, are you crying? I’m sorry…! Please, don’t cry, okay?”

“… I’m sorry too, I-hyun.”

They both apologized to me.

Flustered by my own tears, I tried to steady my voice to show them I was okay now.

After Yoo Ji-eun comforted me for a while, she said she had something to take care of and left.

Now, only Song Chae-hyun and I remained in the call room.

…I really wanted to escape quickly.

“Um, uh… I should be going now—”

“I get it. I was the same way when I was younger. It felt cool, like I was different from everyone else.”

“Yes…”

“So let’s make a deal. I won’t scold you for drinking. But, you have to tell me whenever you drink.”

“Yes, I understand…”

“And…”

Song Chae-hyun added, her voice colder.

“Make sure to tell me who you’re drinking with. And don’t ever drink with a guy. Never. It really looks like it’d be a disaster.”

“Yes…”

She seemed pretty upset about me acting irresponsibly and lying to her.

How should I make it up to her…

Then, an idea came to me.

When she watched that video earlier, it seemed like she enjoyed my reactions quite a bit. She even kept asking Yoo Ji-eun to replay it with an annoyed tone.

“Sigh, honestly, I wish we lived next door—”

“Um, unnie.”

“Hm?”

I switched to a video call, ignoring her question, and positioned my phone directly in front of me.

“Just once… Watch this, please.”

I raised my hands in a “V” behind my head, and then said,

“Behold… the cute bunny girl…”

It was beyond embarrassing to do while sober.

Song Chae-hyun was silent for a while.

Did it work?

Nervous, I swallowed hard.

Finally, she broke the silence, sounding slightly exasperated.

“… You’re only showing this to me, right…!”

“Yes, yes!”

Relieved that her mood seemed to lighten, I nodded happily.

After the call with Song Chae-hyun ended, I let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, curious about the viewers’ reactions to my ridiculous behavior, I opened the streaming forum.

I didn’t dare go into DC Inside because I was sure I’d end up crying…

The viewers there, mostly from DC, were predictably active, more so than other communities.

There were no fewer than 249 posts from yesterday and today.

Ignoring posts like “I wonder what the host will think when they wake up” and “I wish they’d always drink like that,” I went straight to the featured posts.

Compilation of Teasing Moments.mp4 [43]

“Damn it.”

I muttered a curse as I clicked in.

The video contained clips of Yoo Ji-eun consistently replaying parts where I’d teased the viewers in a provocative way.

It was honestly infuriating, especially with that obnoxious “heh” sound at the end of my words.

Somehow, this post had over 5,000 views in just six hours, possibly because it had been shared outside the forum.

The other featured posts were similar.

Host Acting Girly.gif [87]

Curious, I clicked it, only to see a clip of me playfully lifting the hem of my skirt, as if about to reveal something but then holding back.

Host Acting Innocent.mp4 [62]

In this one, I was flashing a flirtatious smile, pushing my hair behind my ear with a suggestive gesture I had no idea where I’d learned.

Cute Bunny Girl Dance.mp4 [98]

This one showed me happily dancing in place, doing the bunny pose.

This one was actually kind of cute. Harmless, even.

I was about to bookmark it when—

Wait.

“Wait, is this… Yoo Ji-eun?”

On the post, next to the username, was unmistakably Yoo Ji-eun’s nickname.

At first, I thought it was just an impersonation or a fan nickname.

Seven, eight, nine characters… It matched.

“It really is, Ji-eun unnie.”

What is she doing here?

Just as I was pondering this, a call from Song Chae-hyun came in.

Is she calling to scold me more…?

“… H-hello…”

“Hey, I-hyun.”

“Are… you calling to scold me again…?”

I asked cautiously.

“Huh? No, it’s not that. Do you have time this weekend?”

“Yes, I do… but why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to meet my younger sibling. I think it’d be good for you two to meet since you’re around the same age.”

“…Oh…”

My voice dropped a bit.

Of all her siblings, her younger one around my age… We have a bit of a tangled history.

He—or rather, that guy—was the one who showed Chae-hyun the selfie we took together, exposing that I was streaming.

Sigh… You’re in for it.

Even though he’s Chae-hyun’s younger sibling, he needs to learn his place.

“Alright.”

I took a deep breath.

I frowned slightly, practicing a stern expression.

To look intimidating, I wore a black shirt and a black skirt.

Chae-hyun’s sibling, you’re in trouble.

He might not have meant any harm, but just because it wasn’t malicious doesn’t make it innocent.

He’s going to pay for the embarrassment he caused me.

Honestly, I was a little excited too.

Everyone around me is older, so I rarely get to pull rank. The viewers don’t quite count.

Just then—

“Oh? There she is!”

In the distance, I heard Song Chae-hyun’s voice.

She’s finally here!

I turned around, trying to keep a straight face.

I stared in the direction of the voice.

But then—

Wait… what?

As they got closer, they just kept getting… bigger.

The person beside Song Chae-hyun, towering slightly over her, was a woman wearing glasses.

I had to look up at them.

No way. This can’t be.

Trying to smile, I stammered,

“Ah… um, is this… a friend of yours, unnie…? H-ha, haha… So, where’s your sibling…?”

“Huh? This is my younger sibling, Chae-rin.”

Saying this, Song Chae-hyun put an arm around the person she called Chae-rin’s shoulder. Despite her height, Chae-rin looked slightly nervous, her head slightly bowed.

…

Or… is she just looking down at me?

…

I’m in trouble.

My plan to intimidate her just crumbled. The height difference is honestly terrifying. She’s at least a head and a half taller than me.

And her build… it’s no joke.

Actually, it’s not so much her build as… the way her navy-blue school uniform seems to make certain parts of her body look quite, well, imposing.

…

Feeling a sense of inexplicable defeat, I forced a smile and asked,
“Um, how old are you…?”

I was scared to speak casually.

When I asked, Song Chae-rin replied in a small voice,
“I’m… seventeen.”

What…?

I stared at her in disbelief and asked again,
“Oh, I see… you’re the second child, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re the one who told her that I stream, right?”

Please let it be the youngest sibling. Then there might be another chance.

“… Ah, yes.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Hey. Are you kidding? Do you really want to get scolded by your sister?”

Suddenly, all the image training I had done in the past felt meaningless, and I had no choice but to just smile.

If I anger her, I might end up on the floor without a chance to fight back. The difference in our sizes is at least three tiers—what do I do…?

As I sighed gloomily, Song Chae-rin hesitantly spoke up,
“Unnie.”

“Yes…?”

“I’m a fan…”

“O-oh really? Thank you…”

I felt a bit strange.

Meeting someone who had been watching my streams brought a more complex feeling than I expected.

She knows me, but I don’t know her.

… But then, does that mean she saw what I did yesterday?

No way…

“Um, Chae-rin?”

“Yes?”

“How often do you watch my streams?”

With a gentle smile, Song Chae-rin replied,
“Every day.”

“Ah…”