Chapter 11: Caught in the Crosshairs

As I opened my eyes, it was just past noon.

Lately, I’ve been going out a lot, and it seems like my stamina has really taken a hit.

My only advantage as a jobless person was my surprisingly good biological rhythm.

“Ugh…”

Stretching, I glanced at my phone.

Suddenly, I noticed a message on KakaoTalk from an unfamiliar name.

The name was Yoo Ji-eun.

“Uh!?”

I jumped in surprise and quickly checked the message.

8:34 AM [What are you doing?]

8:50 AM [Is this Moon Hyun?]

8:56 AM [No reply, huh… ᄒ.ᄒ]

It had already been over four hours.

The tone of the messages seemed a bit impatient.

She sent a smiling emoticon, but it didn’t look cheerful at all.

Is this a disaster waiting to happen?

Did she already file a complaint against me?

Cold sweat began to trickle down my back.

I hurriedly typed with trembling hands.

12:36 PM Ah, I’m sorry for being lateᅭᅲ

12:36 I’m really sorry

12:36 What do you need?

12:38 [Yes]

12:38 What do you need?? I can do anything

If I could somehow score points with her, that would be a welcome outcome.

12:39 [I]

12:39 Yes!

12:40 [The reason we’re contacting you is]

12:40 [Because we’re checking if you’re up to no good]

12:40 [Like probation]

12:41 Yes, yes!

12:41 [But I can’t know your every move, can I?]

12:42 That’s true…

12:42 [So]

12:42 [I’ll be calling you every night]

12:43 Huh?

12:43 [Every night, I want you to tell me about your daily routine]

What the hell?

Why go this far…?

I hesitated to ask, but ultimately decided to go for it and typed.

12:45 Um… Is it really necessary to go this far?

12:45 [ᄒᄒ?]

At that moment, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.

12:46 Yep, I understand. I’ll call you.

12:47 [Okay^^]

12:48 [Oh, and I have one last request. Is that okay?]

12:49 Yes, of course!

12:49 [I]

12:49 Yes, yes!

12:50 [Send me a selfie]

“Why…?”

What is this…?

Why does she want my selfie?

Could it be…

For blackmail?

Is she planning to get revenge because of my harsh words?

In an instant, I imagined a post on DC.

ᄋᄋ(117.118): Got the selfie <<<<

Views: 3334 | Likes: 323 | Dislikes: 64

Do as you please ᄋ0

And the endless stream of sexual harassment and mocking comments.

A sense of vigilance began to rise within me.

Of course, she’s probably an ordinary person who doesn’t know about DC.

But other than that, it’s generally best not to send selfies to anyone.

So, while trying to hide my unease, I inquired about her intentions.

12:54 Yes, I can send it, of course.

12:54 But can I ask why you need it? ᄒᄒ…

12:55 [If you send it, the chance of getting sued goes down]

…??

12:55 Huh?

12:55 [ᄒ.ᄒ]

12:55 Just to clarify, you won’t use it for anything bad, right?

A few minutes passed, and a reply came.

12:58 Yes, I promise!

12:58 Please wait a moment ᄒᄒᄒ

I felt something was off.

But since she’s a girl, it should be fine.

After all, if it lowers the chance of a lawsuit, that would be fantastic for me.

I also wanted to try taking a selfie.

Honestly, not taking a picture of this face would be a waste.

I had taken pictures of my body, but my face was even prettier than my body.

Since my room was clean, I didn’t even need to find a different location to take the picture.

As I switched the camera to the front, my face was reflected large on the screen.

I turned my face left and right, up and down, checking it out.

Hmm.

Definitely.

It’s pretty.

I might not sound convincing saying this, but she is an incredible beauty.

Just seeing her is enough to make your endorphins rush.

Her vibe is different from Yoo Ji-eun’s and the exact opposite of Song Chae-hyun’s.

If Song Chae-hyun is the type of beauty that looks healthy, I’m the complete opposite.

With a pale face, ash-gray hair that’s less pale than my face, tightly shut lips, and slightly shadowed dark circles, I seem to appeal to the notion that I have some backstory.

I tried smiling with that face, laughed a bit, and played around with my cheeks before I snapped back to reality and got ready to take a photo.

I wanted to do it as modestly as possible.

No need to do anything weird and get misunderstood again.

But as I was about to just take the picture, it felt empty.

If I just take it as is, it might look thoughtless, right?

I hadn’t even put on any makeup.

Honestly, I might still look decent since the base is pretty.

So, I propped my phone up with my left hand and, feeling a bit empty, made a peace sign with my right hand.

Click—

Then, I entered the gallery.

…

Hmm.

It came out exactly as I looked.

That means I looked pretty.

Although my lips were tightly shut in a tense expression from being a bit nervous, the peace sign next to it softened that.

Feeling satisfied, I returned to KakaoTalk.

1:10 PM I took it!

1:11 PM I sent the photo.

1:13 PM [Hmm… something… ᄒᄒ…]

1:13 PM Yes?

I felt a bit anxious.

The reaction was ambiguous.

Was I just imagining that I looked pretty?

I felt a bit deflated.

1:13 PM [No, you didn’t]

1:14 PM [Good job]

1:14 PM Do you need anything else?

1:14 PM [No, take a break~]

1:15 PM Yes

1:15 PM Thank you.

1:16 PM Thank you!

1:16 PM Have a good day today!

1:17 PM [Thank you @.@]

This emoji is so cute.

I chuckled softly and closed my phone.

…

But am I really that ugly?

I don’t think so.

I looked over my selfie carefully, but not knowing, I soon closed it and tossed my phone onto the mattress.

By the way, how old do you think Yoo Ji-eun is?

She seems older than me.

Of course, I can’t ask that.

Anyway, now that I’ve finished chatting with the person I’m putting my life on the line with…

…

I need to make money.

Rent, possible fines, and food costs, which have decreased in quantity but increased significantly in quality and price.

There’s still a long way to go…

I sighed and turned on my computer.

I felt a bit giddy.

I don’t know when this started, but ever since last time, I’ve been feeling a flutter whenever I start my stream.

…

Not today, though.

“Please give me money.”

?

??

?

Now it’s extortion… Amazing! A beautiful girl who isn’t a virgin!

First, I’ll ban her.

From today onward, I’ve decided to speak formally.

I don’t know how long I’ll keep it up, but wouldn’t using honorifics increase the chances of getting money?

“Please give me money. I really, really need it. My life is ruined.”

I spoke with a voice tinged with irritation.

What a legend.

Why the sudden formal speech?

“Why is your life ruined?”

“Hah…”

That question made me sigh.

Should I just be honest?

“I can’t say.”

But if I did, wouldn’t my image, which is already at rock bottom, plummet even further?

I know very well that there are deeper bottoms than rock bottom.

Spaghetti123 has donated 3,000 won.

To be honest, I need 30,000 won.

Wow.

“Really? Thank you for the 3,000 won…”

I rolled my eyes for a moment, contemplating.

The scales started to tip little by little.

“You really have to give it to me.”

Spaghetti123 has donated 1,000 won.

Ugh.

I could just ban her.

“Phew…”

Well, I’m not going to meet anyone in real life anyway, and I’m not planning on socializing.

Sure.

No one I know is watching.

Let’s just be honest.

I took a deep breath.

“I’ve been sued for posting adult content.”

At that moment, the chat exploded.

Wow, haha.

Really?

Hahaha, legendary!

No way, the world’s first streamer sued for obscene conduct!

It’s legendary that these guys aren’t even questioning it, haha.

Hahaha.

Hahaha.

As soon as I said that, a huge trumpet sound rang out, and a pop-up appeared.

Spaghetti123 has donated 30,000 won.

Hahaha, legendary!

“!!!”

An amount that made my eyes sparkle.

“Thank you, Spaghetti123, for the 30,000 won!”

I kept bowing my head.

30,000 won!

That’s three hours of minimum wage!

With a genuinely happy heart, I kept bowing my head.

If I keep receiving 30,000 won like this, how long will it take to gather some money?

I started counting on my fingers.

Let’s see, 1, 2, 3…

About 15 or 16 times…

I could gather around 500,000 won.

500,000 won is the lowest fine in the previous cases, I think.

Seeing that immediately sank my mood.

I leaned back in my chair, collapsing as if lying down.

“Ha… My life is really ruined. I have no money…”

I truly have mood swings.

Ah, haha.

[User 32340 has donated 1,000 won.]

[You need to do something cute to get more.]

“Will you really give it to me? Thank you for the 1,000 won.”

I bowed my head as I spoke.

But what’s considered cute?

Aegyo?

Aegyo really seems impossible.

“What’s something cute? No aegyo, though.”

Showing my face…

Face reveal…

Face…

“1.”

Actually, it’s okay. Revealing my face isn’t going to cost me anything.

But the most important thing is…

“How much?”

I have to put a price on everything.

I need to earn money.

?

??

Collection girl.

“How much will you give me if I turn on the cam?”

GigiGeek has donated 1,000 won.

Do I even have a cam?

“Thank you for the 1,000 won. I have a phone. I can probably display it below. I’ll get it if I can later.”

[Spaghetti123 has donated 10,000 won.]

[If you turn on the cam, I’ll give you 50,000 won.]

R-Really!? Thank you for the 10,000 won!

My voice cracked at that astronomical amount.

That’s one-tenth of the minimum fine…!

“Okay, wait a moment.”

I hurriedly went to grab my phone and came back.

Oh, I need a mask and hoodie too.

Ah, and a bra.

I quickly searched Google for how to do it.

I connected the phone to the main unit with a jack and turned on the camera recognized in the studio.

… ELF?

“Can you see me?”

On the slightly low-quality screen, a girl wearing a black hoodie and a black mask appeared.

Oh…

Wow…

Ooooh…

Wow, it’s showing!

Feeling a bit better, I flashed two peace signs.

“Yay~”

Hahaha.

So cute!

Hahaha.

Hearing that made me feel a bit better, and I smiled.

“Hehe.”

Spaghetti123 has donated 50,000 won.

Since you did something cute, I’ll add 20,000 won.

55,000 won!

“Th-Thank you!”

I expressed my gratitude again and again.

Is it really okay to earn this much money?

How much have I made already?

A few big spenders are showering me with money.

But at that moment, I saw the chat.

“Just looking at the upper half of her face, she’s really pretty.”

“But this time, she’s wearing a bra.”

“Whoa!”

“Kekeke, oh my.”

“Wait, can you see that? How do you know?”

“Oh my~”

Her face started to heat up.

It was clear she had already noticed, which meant she must have checked from the beginning.

…

“I’m glad I didn’t forget.”

“I’m logging out.”

For now, I temporarily blocked her.

“SugarSugar has donated 5,000 won.”

“But seeing her in a mask really makes her look like a Japanese underground streamer, a mental girl.”

“Whoa.”

“Whoa.”

“Isn’t that going to get banned?”

“Did she donate 5,000 won to avoid being banned? Kekeke.”

“Um…

I guess that’s fine.”

“It’s definitely not because of the money. Probably.”

“She’s cute because she’s a mental girl. I’ll let it slide.”

I said that while flashing a wink and making a peace sign.

“Yeah, it’s a bit cute…”

“Adorable…”

“I guess I like mental girls.”

Somehow, hearing compliments made me feel proud.

Then, another donation came in.

“ThiefThief has donated 1,000 won.”

“You look like you have a lot of tattoos.”

“What?!”

“Whoa.”

“But I kind of get what you mean… Kekeke.”

“You look like you’d have a broken iPhone and be raising a cat.”

“You have a tattoo that stretches from your collarbone to your belly button and smoke e-cigarettes, kekeke.”

“You look like you’d love Monster energy drinks.”

“Wow, kekekekeke.”

“That’s a bit suggestive…”

I temporarily blocked the last guy.

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

I said that first.

How did he know?

He got everything right except for the cat.

In the past, I had tattoos there.

I liked Monster after coffee and had a broken iPhone with an e-cigarette.

How did he know for real?

The other things were just preferences, so it was interesting, but him guessing I had tattoos was a bit, no, a lot shocking.

I tried to hide my embarrassment as much as possible and said,

“W-what’s your basis for saying I have tattoos…?”

“1

It just looks like that.”

“Wait, do you actually have them?”

“Your reaction makes it look like you’re guilty, kekekeke.”

“Hmm…”

“No, I don’t have any. I’m a blank canvas. Don’t put me in a corner; I really can’t show you.”

I was scared about what these unicorns would do if I didn’t deny it.

“TrainTrackPath has donated 1,000 won.”

“Then just roll up your wrist, and I’ll believe you.”

“But my wrist isn’t exposed.”

“Honestly, you just want to see my white wrist after I roll up my hoodie, right?”

“Kekekeke.”

“Ugh…”

That’s annoying.

But whatever, it’s not a big deal…

I rolled up my right wrist of my hoodie to show them.

“Wow, your skin is really white.”

“Kekeke, I think your veins might show.”

“Now show your left wrist too.”

“What’s the point of showing just one?”

“Kekekeke.”

“No, I can’t show the left.”

“I can’t show the left one.”

“Because that’s where your tattoo is, right?”

“I trusted you, I really did.”

“Can you please stop asking too much, you fools?”

“You seem to be the biggest fool here.”

I decided to speak the truth.

But I decided to say it in a roundabout way.

“I don’t have tattoos, but I have something else instead. It’s something that shouldn’t be seen in this atmosphere, so just forget about it.”

Ah…

There’s a higher possibility of that being the case.

She’s really a mental girl.

“Ah…”

“Kekeke.”

I don’t really like getting sympathy from people I don’t know.

Receiving it from Song Chae-hyun ultimately felt dirty too.

“… Let’s stop the chit-chat here and get on with the broadcast.”

…

That sounds good.

The total money I earned from the broadcast was about 100,000 won.

I felt proud.

Of course, I received a lot of money this time because I took on a cam mission, but still, I should be able to earn a decent amount next time too.

After the broadcast ended, I received a call from Yoo Ji-eun.

“[Moon I-hyun,]”

“[Are you broadcasting?]”

“???”

“Are you home right now?”