From Rain to Downpour

From a young age, the only thing I was good at was games.

My English and math scores always scraped the bottom.

They said rain fell on my test papers—that’s why my school nickname was “Jangma.”

But no matter how I think about it, it was probably just because my real name is Sonagi.

Still, I was pretty decent at Korean.

After school ended, I would head straight to the PC bang and stay glued to the seat.

I wasn’t good at sports either, and I hated going outside, so naturally I only made friends in games.

I used to upload dungeon clear videos for RPG games every now and then.

Then a guild member suggested I start streaming.

I turned it down, saying I wasn’t good with words and it wouldn’t work out.

Two years passed like that, and I found myself in the college entrance exam hall.

I had zero expectations, but that day my luck must have been insane—most of my guesses were right.

Thanks to that, I got into a university I could never have dreamed of with my usual grades.

My thrilled parents even set me up with a studio apartment right away.

But one year into college, I realized it was completely wrong for me.

In the end, I took a leave for military service and fled the school.

I got discharged at twenty-two, drifting along.

I didn’t want to return to university, and part-time jobs sounded even worse.

The only thing I wanted to do right away was play games.

As my bank balance dwindled, even my hobby started to fade, and anxiety crept in.

Suddenly remembering the guild member’s suggestion, I started streaming half as a gamble.

I bought the cheapest mic online and moved the family computer to my studio.

My streamer name was my nickname: “Jangma.”

I began with dungeon guide streams like before.

Thanks to the people who used to watch my guides, I gathered about a hundred viewers in a month.

Playing games was fun, but there was still no income.

On top of that, since I played silently, viewers started dropping less than two months in.

To make matters worse, an announcement came that the game I loved was shutting down its servers.

I couldn’t express how sad I was that a game I’d played since middle school was disappearing.

On the final server day, I bought soju, got drunk, and played.

I barely remember how I kept the stream going that day.

I just recall chugging bottles of soju while begging the game not to leave, crying and causing a scene.

The next afternoon, I finally opened my eyes after the chaos.

Feeling like I’d created massive black history, I couldn’t bring myself to turn on my phone.

Only at night did I reluctantly check it.

There were tons of messages from a guild member I hadn’t heard from in months.

They were urging me to check my YouTube channel immediately.

I worried the channel had been reported and blown up.

Anxiously, I rushed to open it.

And I witnessed something unbelievable.

Fifty thousand.

Just overnight, subscribers had jumped by fifty thousand.

Every refresh added ten more.

At first I thought the channel was hacked.

But thanks to a link from the guild member, I learned the reason.

One viewer had recorded my stream that day and posted it on social media titled “Gaming World’s Ex-Boyfriend.”

In the video, drunk me was saying all sorts of things to the game—don’t go, how can you abandon me, have you forgotten our memories.

Overnight, the clip exploded in views, naturally funneling people to my channel.

The once-empty comment section filled with people calling it cute.

Even though it was boring guide content, comments praised my voice.

An indelible black history had turned into an opportunity.

After the “ex-boyfriend” incident, live viewers reached a thousand.

People occasionally donated and cheered me on.

A month later, I gratefully became a streamer with a hundred thousand subscribers.

#Stage 1

“How’s this? Sound level okay?”

[▶ Jangha~]

[▶ Your voice is perfect! Love it]

[▶ Today another Battle Playground?]

“Ah, yeah, I’ll play Battle Playground today too…”

[▶ Yep, 5 losses in a row~]

[▶ Battle newbie hi^^]

“I’m aiming for top ten! For real.”

I don’t turn on cam, but I upgraded to a decent mic.

No more dungeon guides—now I play whatever’s trending.

Lately, the shooting game “Battle Playground” is super popular, so I’ve been on it for days.

Viewer influx is good, and I can crack jokes, but the problem is my skill.

I prided myself on being good at games, but that only applied to RPGs with dungeons and monsters.

I’ve recently realized I’m seriously terrible at shooting games that require careful aiming.

So whenever I play shooters, viewers go from giving advice to reaching enlightenment.

Today will probably be another game full of backlash.

“Gonna grab some water~”

I left the game in queue and stepped away briefly.

Back at the computer with my cup, a 10,000 won donation popped up at the bottom.

Clearing my throat, I read the message aloud.

“Thanks to JangmaGumttakji for the 10,000 won! 50,000 if I get first? No, I swear I’m winning this time. I studied yesterday’s clips.”

As soon as I finished, chat scrolled at lightning speed.

[▶ lololol who believes that ㅠㅠ]

[▶ Jangma hyung, you said the exact same yesterday lol]

[▶ Who rage-quit yesterday?]

They only spoke truth, leaving me speechless.

I quietly smacked my lips, and chat filled with laughter.

The competitive spirit that burned when clearing dungeons as a kid was slowly reviving.

I cracked my knuckles and gripped the mouse again.

“Doing duo. Random duo.”

Solo would mean instant loss.

Better to play with a stranger for peace of mind.

Sometimes a fun teammate joins, and I upload it as content.

Chat called it bus-riding or freeloading, but I ignored them.

“Oh, match found.”

Entering the lobby, tons of characters appeared.

The one with blue ID is my partner this round.

Far away, over a default male character’s head: “IJ970728.”

I hurried over, turned on game mic, and cautiously spoke.

“Do you use mic?”

No response.

Maybe he didn’t hear—I repeated it.

Then the character glanced at me and walked far away.

Game hasn’t started, so wandering is fine, but I wanted to stick together, so I followed.

“Hello~”

The character whipped around to look at me.

Then walked forward again.

At least he heard my voice, which was a relief, but it felt like I’d be talking alone.

Chat ignited again.

[▶ Next up solo play]

[▶ That guy probably no mic]

[▶ Jangma already looks sad]

“No, maybe he’s a pro and stays quiet?”

[▶ You just proved with your own mouth you’re a newbie using mic?]

[▶ Go easy ㅋㅋㅋ Jangma might hurt]

“Hardcore mode. Hardcore.”

Not one ally among all these viewers.

Swallowing frustration, I vowed to survive to the end this time.

Finally, the game began.

We boarded the same plane, soaring across the sky.

We need to decide the drop point together.

But without a word, he marked a yellow spot on the huge map.

“Here? Sounds good. Good!”

No reply, as expected.

Still, he gave off strong pro vibes, so I trusted him.

Near the mark, I timed the jump perfectly.

Safely landing, I entered a nearby house.

In “Battle Playground,” you scavenge guns and heals across the map.

Veterans know good items at a glance, but as a newbie, I grab whatever I see.

I looted one house quickly, then joined him in a container, watching surroundings.

No enemies nearby yet, so I broke the silence.

“IJ seems quiet type.”

No answer.

“How long have you played this?”

One-sided conversation.

I glanced at chat.

[▶ What is this ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[▶ Jangma stop being clingy]

[▶ He knows you’re streaming and staying silent at least]

Viewers enjoying the situation, as usual.

I sighed softly and stepped outside.

He’d been silently farming—then I heard him jump out the window.

Mini-map showed him moving opposite direction from me.

Isn’t sticking together better?

I followed while checking chat.

Then distant gunfire rang out.

Anxious, I scanned for cover.

Crouching low, heading behind a wall—suddenly hit by bullets from who-knows-where.

Health plummeted instantly, collapsing weakly.

“Huh? Where’s that coming from?”

[▶ Aigoo, Jangma ya.]

[▶ Narrow vision lololol vision so narrow]

[▶ Jangma please look around]

As viewers said, I turned sideways.

An enemy character hid in bushes.

Too late now—nothing I could do.

Bullets pinged into the dirt around my character.

In final desperation, I spoke into game mic.

“Uh, uh uh. I’m dying. Uh, uhhhh!”

Then suddenly—BANG—a loud shot, and the gunfire stopped.