Chapter 53 : Foot

Arriving near the fan meeting location, I took out my smartphone and logged into Twitch.

I joined Curry’s broadcast, and Curry was visible on the screen, actively interacting with fans at various tables.

Interrupting the stream might draw unnecessary attention, so I decided to wait a bit longer.

Since I had already informed him I’d be late, a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

I timed my entrance to respect Curry’s ongoing broadcast.

How long did I wait while watching the stream in front of the pub?

Curry, who had been moving around, finally sat down at a table to drink.

Seeing this as the perfect moment to enter, I headed inside the pub.

“Oh, Barcode?”

“Hello.”

“What brings you here…”

A man guarding the entrance recognized me.

Knowing he was Curry’s manager from the broadcasts, I silently took out my smartphone.

I showed him the invitation code Curry had sent me, and his expression turned to one of surprise.

Upon verifying my invitation code, he couldn’t say anything further.

Ignoring the bewildered manager, I walked forward confidently. Here, I wasn’t ‘Barcode’ but ‘Flower Shop Owner,’ attending Curry’s broadcast as the chairman.

Bustling- Curry’s fans, like me, were clinking glasses and chatting noisily. No one paid attention to me, who had just entered the pub.

“Um, could you wait here for a moment? I’ll go get the boss…” “Sure, I’ll wait.”

The manager, who had belatedly regained his composure, blocked my path and spoke urgently.

I had planned to go up to the second floor, but having Curry come to greet me wasn’t a bad idea either.

I was curious to see if Curry would treat me like a real “chairman.” Seeing Curry a bit tipsy on the broadcast made me wonder.

How would Curry react and what expression would he show when meeting me?

Feeling excited and expectant, I couldn’t help but smile. The manager hurried up to the second floor as I agreed to wait.

In the meantime, I stood still and looked around. Perhaps the manager’s shout had drawn attention. Most of the fans were now looking at me.

The noisy pub quickly fell silent. The fans stared at me with curious eyes.

It was natural for them to be puzzled since Barcode wasn’t on the guest list for Curry’s year-end fan meeting.

They stared at me with questioning looks. How long did I wait, drawing the attention of the fans?

I finally saw Curry appearing on the stairs connected to the second floor. Curry had once boasted on the broadcast about his strong drinking capacity.

But seeing him slightly staggering, it seemed like a bluff. I couldn’t just stand still any longer.

If Curry walked to where I was, he might trip or bump into something and get hurt.

Not wanting that to happen, I straightened my posture and walked forward confidently, just like when I entered.

I approached Curry and, after a brief pause, spoke up.

“I’m the flower shop owner.”

I emphasized that I was here not as the streamer ‘Barcode,’ but as the chairman of Curry’s broadcast, ‘Flower Shop Owner.’

Feeling that the introduction was a bit lacking, I added with a genuine smile,

“I arrived a bit late, didn’t I?”

With my introduction complete, all that remained was Curry’s reaction.

Curry’s eyes began to shake rapidly as he processed my words.

His gaze was filled with disbelief.

Whispering-

The manager standing next to him whispered something in his ear.

Curry’s face, initially filled with disbelief, turned to panic.

He might have realized that Barcode and Nayeon Queen were the same person, but he probably didn’t expect the flower shop owner to be involved too.

From Curry’s perspective, I was a person wearing the masks of Nayeon Queen, Barcode, and the flower shop owner.

How could he not panic with such a person standing right in front of him?

“Uh, Barcode? I don’t understand. Is this a prank?”

“A prank? No, it’s not.”

Curry tried to deny reality, but unfortunately, this was real.

Despite my answer, Curry continued to deny the reality before him.

I had no choice but to show him our text message history on my smartphone.

“…The flower shop owner texted me saying they’d be late.”

“Yes, that’s right. We were texting just a while ago, remember?”

I smiled, and Curry let out a hollow laugh.

“I’m suddenly sober.”

“Really? I feel like I’m getting drunk on this atmosphere.”

Curry seemed to have regained his senses, but he still appeared unsure of how to handle the situation. Standing there any longer would just make things more awkward, so I decided to help him out this time. I am such a considerate fan, after all.

“You said you would do a one-on-one fan meeting if requested, right?” “Ah, yes. It would be rude to keep the ‘Chairman’ waiting here any longer.”

Curry turned so the camera showed him. “Since the Chairman has arrived, I’ll step out for a bit. We need to give our Chairman a proper welcome, don’t we?”

Curry continued smoothly in his usual cheerful voice. Disappearing without any explanation would certainly cause a stir.

Using the excuse of ‘welcoming the Chairman,’ Curry bought some time and handed the camera over to a fellow streamer before turning back to me.

“Please follow me, Chairman.”

“It’s an honor to be escorted by you, Curry.”

I thought I heard grinding teeth, but I decided to pretend I didn’t. Feeling quite happy, I followed Curry up to the second floor.

Back when Curry was still active on Yellow City rather than Twitch, PD Kwontae Park was one of those common internet broadcasters.

Without any knowledge about broadcasting, he started the LoL stream. He didn’t have a high-quality microphone or a good computer.

Whenever he ran both LoL and the broadcasting program, it always lagged, and sometimes the computer would suddenly shut off.

Despite such dire conditions, PD Kwontae Park never missed a broadcast. Though the situation was bleak, he kept a bright atmosphere during his streams.

Even if his speech was clumsy and his sense of humor wasn’t outstanding, PD Kwontae Park was growing not just as a game streamer but as a personality himself.

However, the growth of a broadcast without income was clear. Park Kwontae as a person had certainly grown, but his surroundings had not improved.

He was considering giving up on broadcasting. Then, the flower shop owner, the future chairman, came to Park Kwontae’s broadcast.

The flower shop owner always supported Park Kwontae through donation messages.

Especially on the days when he was repeatedly sniped by Nayeon Queen, the donations were even larger.

Before he knew it, the flower shop owner’s donations and encouraging messages had become a pillar that allowed Park Kwontae to continue broadcasting.

As he continued to broadcast without giving up, the long-stagnant growth of his stream began to spike.

A video titled ‘An Unknown PD Caught by a Malicious Sniper’ gained popularity, increasing the stream’s audience.

Had he given up due to hardships back then, Park Kwontae would never have seen that light.

To Park Kwontae, the flower shop owner was a benefactor and a precious fan. The broadcast eventually stabilized, and the decline of Yellow City began.

Many major PDs started moving to Twitch, and PD Park Kwontae decided to follow them.

To shake off the struggles of the past, he changed his nickname to Curry, the food he often ate.

When Curry left Yellow City, he had no particular regrets. One concern remained: whether the flower shop owner would follow him.

Fortunately, the flower shop owner settled on Twitch with him.

With a series of hot clips on Twitch, Curry’s success continued. He eventually became one of the two top streamers representing ‘LoL Streaming’ on Twitch.

And now.

The flower shop owner, who had never attended a fan meeting before, was sitting across from him.

“The atmosphere here is nice.”

The flower shop owner, or rather Barcode, spoke softly.

Even though it wasn’t an enclosed space, Barcode’s voice seemed to echo in his ears.

After placing the order, Curry remained silent for a while.

Barcode maintained a relaxed smile, patiently waiting for Curry to break the silence.

Curry felt dizzy looking at Barcode, but he reminded himself to stay calm.

Nayeon Queen and Barcode were the same person.

Barcode and the flower shop owner were the same person.

…Ultimately, Nayeon Queen and the flower shop owner were the same person.

The malicious sniper who had tormented him for years.

The chairman who had been his hope for years.

Things that could never coexist were now coexisting right in front of him.

What should he say in this situation?

Feeling an inexplicable nausea, he wanted to vomit, but he bit his lip and swallowed it back down.

After overcoming the initial shock and calming down a bit, Curry slowly spoke.

“What do you want from me? What do you want that made you do this…”

What do you want from me?

Why did you toy with me using three different faces?

No matter what answer she gives,

Will I be able to understand her answer?

No, I won’t.

I will never understand her for the rest of my life.

Tap, tap-

Barcode didn’t answer Curry’s heartfelt question immediately.

She tapped her fingers on the table, then stopped and wiped the smile off her face.

She placed her arms on the table and rested her chin on her hand, staring at Curry.

Gulp-

In the tense silence, Curry swallowed.

Barcode’s tightly closed mouth finally opened.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Curry.”

“…What.”

After what felt like an eternity, Barcode’s answer was an evasion.

After deceiving and mocking him for so long, she now pretended not to know?

“This is my first fan meeting, and I don’t like this stiff atmosphere.”

“Ha, haha…”

Seeing Barcode’s genuinely confused expression, Curry let out a hollow laugh.

He felt like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web.

A butterfly with no future but to become the predator’s prey.

No matter what he said, Barcode wouldn’t listen.

If she hadn’t planned to deny everything, she wouldn’t have attended the fan meeting in the first place.

I didn’t know what she wanted from me. “I must’ve said something strange because I was drunk.”

I decided to play along with her amusement. Did she like my reaction? “I was worried you might be sick, Curry.”

“Oh, even if I’m sick, I have to attend the fan meeting with the chairman.”

I felt a slight relief, and Curry regained his usual pace. On the surface, he was engaging in a relaxed conversation with Barcode, but inside, he was falling apart.

“But I never imagined Barcode was the flower shop owner.” “You never thought of it? I even donated 100,000 won after our collaboration stream.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I remember the flower shop owner donated too.” “It was just for fun, but I ended up getting jealous of myself, so I decided not to do it again.”

Seeing her genuinely amused, Curry felt like he was going insane. He wanted to demand a list of accounts registered under her name immediately.

However, there were too many people around, and he felt that such a crude method wouldn’t sever this tenacious relationship.

Curry decided to endure this moment for the future. By playing along with her incomprehensible joke.

One day, he would surely break this complicated and entangled relationship. Firmly determined, Curry shared a drink with her.