Chapter 11: Late-Night Stream: Boundaries and Temptations

What’s going on with this cold reaction?

The chat window had completely frozen.

No messages were coming through.

I glanced to the side and looked at Sarah.

She was staring blankly, her mouth slightly agape.

It felt as though time had stopped.

[No way, right?]

[??]

[Is this real?]

[Are you telling me there’s a man out there with a face like that?]

[Is he even human??]

[What the hell, this is creepy…]

[Even though I’m watching it, I can’t believe it.]

Finally, messages started trickling in after some time.

Everyone was showering my appearance with praise.

Is this really how I look to the viewers?

Honestly, I’m not that good-looking.

It was fascinating to me.

[Wow! This is insane lololololol]

[His face is like a stun grenade omg lol]

[What the heck, he’s not just good-looking; this is on a whole other level lolol]

[Seriously, now I feel scammed for thinking those other guys were handsome.]

[His looks have redefined the standard of beauty.]

“Everyone, your compliments are too much. You’re going to make me get haters at this rate. Haha.”

“Uh, Yuseong.”

“Yes?”

Sarah snapped back to reality.

She leaned in close, staring at me intently.

Isn’t she a little too close?

What’s going on all of a sudden?

Is she planning to kiss me or something?

“I love you. Let’s live together starting today.”

“Uh, no. Please leave!”

[Shin Yuseong’s face reveal]

(Mask off—Shin Yuseong.Clip)

[This is crazy!!!]

[Is this the same person?? His face is out of this world.]

[Forget human; he looks like an alien.]

[I was watching a drama, but the male lead now looks plain in comparison lol.]

[“Your Shackle”? Yeah, I thought of that too lolol.]

[Man, poor Lee Seolhyun lol.]

[This is perfection. Watching this live was the best decision of my life.]

“Hey, Kim, why aren’t you driving? Don’t you hear the honking?”

“Oh! Sorry, Vice President.”

You really can’t get too familiar with people.

The moment you ease up on them, they start slacking off and doing things they wouldn’t normally dare to do.

Apparently, Kim was just sitting there, looking at their phone while waiting for the light.

This hadn’t happened in the past year.

I’d need to give them a good scolding.

“What were you looking at on your phone?”

“Excuse me?”

“I asked what was so important that you were checking your phone while driving?”

“I… I’m sorry. I was just briefly checking Twika TV…”

“Twika TV? Are you kidding me right now?”

They were watching Twika TV. Unbelievable.

I was so stunned I couldn’t even speak for a moment.

All this time, I’d tried to be friendly, eating meals together and chatting casually like siblings.

Clearly, they had forgotten their place.

No scolding would fix this.

I couldn’t work with someone who couldn’t distinguish between personal and professional boundaries.

“I’m really sorry. It’s just… the male streamer I’ve been following revealed his face, and I got too curious to resist.”

“Face reveal? Who?”

Was there even a male streamer worth noting who would do a face reveal?

If you combed through the lower-tier streamers, there might be some, but I doubted Kim would lose their mind over someone like that.

Oh, no. My curiosity was getting the better of me again.

“Who is it?”

“Pardon?”

“Who’s the male streamer who did the face reveal?”

“It’s… Shin Yuseong. He’s a new gaming streamer who started a few days ago. Do you know him?”

“What?!”

Shin Yuseong hadn’t even started streaming yet—what was she talking about?

My notifications hadn’t gone off.

Did I miss it because of work?

I quickly pulled out my phone and opened Twika TV.

“Wow.”

“Excuse me? What did you just say…?”

“I said, Shin Yuseong’s face reveal is top-tier.”

How could I hold back? He must’ve made a guest appearance on someone else’s stream.

Thank goodness.

Sarah was notorious for not leaving replays on her YouTube channel.

I almost missed witnessing this rare moment.

But… is this really Yuseong?

The man who had been my dream ideal for years—no, someone beyond even that was smiling bashfully at me from the phone screen.

[Heard this was a hidden gem. ^^;]

[Wow, his looks are healing my soul.]

[Is this real? Not edited?]

[Honestly, with that gameplay skill and this face, what are we supposed to do? lol.]

[What do you mean? He’s gotta rake in donations lol.]

[Ah! Just looking at him makes my heart flutter♡.]

“Thank you, everyone. We’ve hit 70,000 viewers! How high do you think this number will go? Yuseong, thank you so much!”

“I didn’t really do anything, though.”

“Drink, won’t you? You’re a better drinker than I thought. Oh, this is bad news for me.”

“Sorry?”

The drinking broadcast had begun in earnest.

On the table were soju and side dishes: clam soup and spicy chicken ribs, my favorites.

I hadn’t had dinner yet, so I was starving.

Perfect timing.

I sipped the soju and grabbed my chopsticks.

“Ah!”

“I’ll take something else, then.”

Our chopsticks had clashed over the same piece of chicken rib.

My face flushed hot.

The atmosphere was oddly charged.

I backed off and picked a different piece.

“Something else? What else could you want? Don’t tell me… me? If you wanted a bite, you should’ve just said so.”

“Haha, I’m not a cannibal, you know.”

[Whoa, what’s with this vibe?]

[Sarah, stop seducing him!]

[OMG, look at her inviting a guest and acting all flirty lol.]

[Getting him drunk? What’s she planning lolol.]

[What else? It’s in the stream title—cleaning cobwebs lol.]

[Heh, I’m so jealous…]

[I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m jealous of Sarah today.]

My face turned redder and redder.

Was I really going to survive this broadcast unscathed?

I needed to stay alert.

Sarah might be ambitious about her streams and professional, but her gaze was too… intense.

Being cautious couldn’t hurt.

[[God]RecklessOfficeWorker has donated 500,000 won.]

[Please take care of our Yuseong. I’m counting on you.]

“Oh my! The legendary top-tier donor is here! Thank you! Of course, I’ll take good care of Yuseong. Let’s make this a fun broadcast.”

[Why’s RecklessOfficeWorker here?]

[Isn’t Yuseong their new favorite?]

[Already switching sides? Lolol.]

[I’d switch too if I were them.]

RecklessOfficeWorker had just donated.

Ugh, so that’s how it feels.

Seeing someone you thought was “your” viewer pouring money into another streamer.

Now I understood why WheelNine had stormed into my stream in a rage before.

What a shame.

That was basically my money.

“Shall we play a game since we just received a big donation?”

“Games? Do you have League of Legends installed?”

“Oh, come on, Yuseong! Why would we play League during a drinking stream?”

[True League addict lol]

[Knows nothing but League, poor guy hahaha]

[Yuseong is so cute lol]

[Ah! Just looking at his face makes me happy. I’m glad I’m a woman TT]

[Let’s declare today a women’s blessing day lol]

[Just play it, please. Let us live vicariously.]

[League addict confirmed.]

Ah, she wasn’t talking about computer games.

Of course.

How would I know?

It’s not like I’ve ever had experience drinking with a woman.

She meant drinking games.

Sara pulled out two cards, one red and one blue, and presented them to me.

“Pick one.”

“Hmm, red feels ominous. I’ll go with blue.”

“Alright, now show the back of the card to the viewers before you look at it.”

Show it before checking? Alright, might as well do as she says. I held the blue card close to the stream camera.

[Wow… That’s something else.]

[Hnnnghh…]

[Me too! Me too!]

[Drooling here lol]

What kind of reaction is this? A sense of unease crept in. I quickly flipped the card to see what was written.

[“Blow on the earlobe.”]

What the hell?

This wasn’t in the script! I felt duped.

But it was already too late—expectations from the viewers were through the roof.

Fine. Let’s just get this over with.

But… who’s supposed to blow on whose earlobe? As I hesitated, Sara approached with a sly grin.

Ah, I’m the one being targeted. I guess that’s better. At least it’s less embarrassing for me.

“Yuseong, even your neckline is so attractive!”

[Oh, the pure beauty of a guy’s neckline lol]

[Blow on his neck too lol]

[Today is truly a visual feast. Thank you.]

Sara leaned in, her lips nearing my ear.

Her breath tickled my earlobe, sending shivers down my spine.

Just do it already! This is so embarrassing! As if savoring my reaction, Sara let out a giggle before softly blowing on my earlobe.

“Out!”

I couldn’t take it anymore. This was sheer torture.

[The sound of him gasping is too much lol]

[Where’s my wet wipes…]

[That scrunched-up face is a whole vibe right now lol]

It was mortifying, but Sara seemed thoroughly entertained.

“Okay, that was just a demo round. Now let’s play for real—rock-paper-scissors!”

Finally, a normal game.

I’d been wondering when things would settle down.

I focused, studying Sara’s hand, and at the last moment, threw out a winning move.

“Wow, I won!”

“Ah, so close! I lost. Guess I’ll take the punishment this time.”

Sara picked another card and showed its back to the viewers.

Moments later, the new punishment was revealed.

[“Lick the pinky toe.”]

What the…? At this point, rock-paper-scissors felt meaningless.

Was this even a drinking stream anymore?

I thought the 19+ rating was just because of alcohol, but clearly, I was mistaken.

“Alright, let’s do this. Yuseong, take off your sock and put your foot on the table.”

“Wait, isn’t the person performing the punishment supposed to be the one suffering?”

“Why? Do you want to lick my toe?”

“No, that’s not it… It just feels like you’re making up the rules as you go.”

“Bingo! It’s my stream, my rules!”

What a joke.

But honestly, this scenario was better than the alternative.

Sara was attractive enough, and it wasn’t like this was unbearable.

Still, sticking out my tongue in front of so many viewers…

Reluctantly, I took off my sock and placed my foot on the table.

Crap. What if my feet smell?

This was embarrassing on a whole other level.

Sara leaned in, her pink tongue nearing my pinky toe, and I felt the soft, wet touch.

[His toe wiggling is so cute lol]

[He looks embarrassed lol]

[This stream is legendary!]

[Sarah is living her best life lol]

“That crazy woman!”

“Excuse me? Is something wrong, sir?”

“N-no. Just keep driving.”

What the hell am I even watching?

I paid good money and trusted her to handle this properly.

How long am I supposed to endure this nonsense?

My stomach churned, my throat felt tight, and I unconsciously bit down on my thumbnail.

[[GodlySalaryman has donated 500,000 won.]]

“That was fun to watch! You both seem tipsy. Maybe it’s time to wrap up the stream?”

“Thank you for the 500,000 won! What a successful stream tonight. We hit 100,000 viewers and raked in so many donations—probably over 10 million won!”

[Wow, Moonhwa is sweating lol.]

[Don’t tell them to stop the stream, man!]

[This is peak content lol.]

“Ending the stream? No way! We’re going for the full two hours as planned. Let’s keep the hype going!”

And true to her word, Sara kept the stream lively for the remaining time.

She balanced outrageous antics with heartfelt moments, allowing me to share more about myself as a streamer.

The highest viewer count peaked at 150,000, a resounding success for a visual radio-style stream.

“Great job today, Yuseong.”

As we stood by the entrance, Sara extended her hand for a parting handshake.

She offered to drive me home, but I declined, unwilling to reveal that I lived in a cramped exam studio.

I opted for a taxi instead.

“Thank you for everything. I learned a lot, and it was fun.”

“Sorry if I was too mischievous. That’s just how internet streams work—if it’s not provocative, it’s hard to survive.”

“I understand. Have a good night.”

As I opened the door to leave, Sara suddenly called out.

“Wait, Yuseong!”

I stopped and turned around, checking my belongings.

I hadn’t forgotten anything.

Sara hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers before meeting my gaze.

“If you promise to keep it a secret…”

“Yes?”

“…how about spending the night with me?”