Chapter 12: Curiosity, Consequences, and Control

After turning off the broadcast, I collapsed onto the bed. “Phew…”

Broadcasting is harder than I thought.

Of course, I’m not saying it’s as tough as other jobs, but it’s definitely more tiring than just ringing the bell alone.

As I thought about it, I fidgeted with the DC app.

I didn’t press it, just held it down, released it, held it again, and let go.

It’s been a while since I checked the Bell Gallery or the Broadcaster Gallery. I kind of want to see how people are reacting.

Honestly, I’m getting used to the harassment.

It’s not like it doesn’t bother me, but I can let it pass with a heavy heart.

Gradually, my curiosity is overtaking my fear…

So, in the end, I made up my mind and opened the DC app.

Broadcaster Gallery
oo (118.181) “Sued for Obscene Phone Calls, Non-Virgin Pretty Girl.txt”
Views: 9,883 Likes: 143 Dislikes: 21

Summary:

1. Ugh, I really don’t want to say this.
2. (I’ll say it for 30,000 won)
3. Got sued for making obscene calls.
4. I’m broke, send money.

ᄋᄋ(114.111): I didn’t know women could get sued for obscene calls. Haha, what a filthy b****.

ᄂᄋᄋ(133.23): Honestly, considering the chats so far, it’s surprising she hasn’t gotten sued earlier.

ᄂᄋᄋ(233.333): Yeah, she’s been walking a fine line. I know because I got a 100-year ban for swearing. She recently crossed the line once.

ᄂᄋᄋ(115.342): Man…

ᄂᄋᄋ(117.111): If it’s a woman, the chances of getting indicted for sound recording go up. Maybe someone caught her doing it.

ᄂᄋᄋ(223.222): Does a woman even exist in the Grandmaster rank though?

ᄂᄋᄋ(111.212): She could’ve been sued elsewhere.

oo (110.111) “Non-virgin Cute Girl… Face Reveal.jpg”
Views: 20,304 Likes: 543 Dislikes: 10
(Picture of her smiling and making a peace sign with both hands)

ᄂᄋᄋ(111.151): Wow, haha

ᄂᄋᄋ(110.131): Damn.

ᄂᄋᄋ(114.111): This is it, haha.

ᄂᄋᄋ(11.10): She really looks slutty.

ᄂᄋᄋ(232.333): She’s cute, but at the same time… Hmm…

ᄂᄋᄋ(113.123): There’s a reason she’s called the non-virgin cute girl.

ᄋᄋ(232.171): She’s wearing a mask, how can you tell if she’s pretty, you idiots?

ᄂᄋᄋ(143.173): Last time, she only showed her lower face, you idiot newbie.

ᄋᄋ(234.121): Is her hair dyed though?

ᄂᄋᄋ(118.111): Dyed hair smells like a non-virgin.

ᄂᄋᄋ(233.323): Exactly, who’d think she’s a virgin?

ᄂᄋᄋ(111.100): Isn’t she mixed race? If you look closely, her eyes are gray.

ᄂᄋᄋ(113.100): Probably just contacts.

oo (114.144) “Non-virgin Cute Girl… Arm Reveal.jpg”
Views: 14,825 Likes: 398 Dislikes: 9
(A gif of her showing her right forearm)

ᄂᄋᄋ(119.111): Wow… Damn… Whoa…The ultimate non-virgin.

ᄂᄋᄋ(148.104): Wow, her skin is so pale.

ᄂᄋᄋ(113.100): Her skin is whiter than the wallpaper.

ᄂᄋᄋ(135.511): So, does she have a tattoo on her left arm or not?

ᄂᄋᄋ(11.10): Only her current and ex-boyfriends would know that.

ᄂᄋᄋ(145.134): I bet every guy in the country knows, haha.

ᄂᄋᄋ(115.133): But honestly, don’t you think it’s more likely to be self-harm scars than a tattoo?

ᄂᄋᄋ(100.111): She really does seem like a true mental case.

ᄂᄋᄋ(111.323): Mental health issues and sluts go hand in hand… It’s turning me on, I’m gonna go take care of business.

“Sigh…”

I scrolled through a few posts and threw my phone aside.

Of course, I tossed it onto the mattress.

These guys must think broadcasters are their whole lives.

F***ing jerks. They know we’re all watching.

Other broadcasters must be watching, too.

Thousands of people are watching.

But as time passes, my racing heart and ragged breathing gradually calm down. Time is the ultimate healer.

I know I shouldn’t be looking at this stuff.

But can a person’s heart really move based on rationality alone?

The curiosity toward the attention directed at me was something hard to endure at my young age.

I was lying there absent-mindedly when, suddenly, the ringtone of a call broke the silence.

It was probably a spam call.

Spam callers usually hang up quickly since they have quotas to meet.

Why is it taking so long for them to hang up?

I picked up my phone, which was lying face down, and checked the screen.

“Huh…!”

Yoo Ji-eun.

My heart sank at the sight of those three letters.

I completely forgot!

She had told me to report what I did every day!

With trembling fingers, I quickly answered the call.

“H-Hello…”

[You took a while to answer, didn’t you?]

The moment I picked up, I heard her cheerful voice. But it still didn’t sound pleasant at all.

“S-Sorry, haha… I forgot.”

[It’s fine. At least you answered. But please try to pick up a bit earlier next time, okay?]

“Yes…”

Terrifying…

There wasn’t a single harsh word, yet it was terrifying.

[So, what did you do today? You have to tell me everything.]

“Today… uh… I played Bell a bit.”

[And?]

“I had breakfast…”

[And?]

“I had lunch… then, uh…”

I streamed hard today.

But I can’t tell her about that.

“I played Bell, had dinner, and played Bell again.”

[Hmm…]

She hummed softly and went silent for a moment.

[It’s a weekday. You didn’t go to work or school?]

Oh.

“No, no… haha… I graduated high school, so I don’t go to school anymore…”

[You don’t usually work?]

“Oh… I work part-time. Today was my day off.”

[What kind of job?]

The feeling of something tightening around my neck and chest began to creep in.

Her voice was still cheerful, but it wasn’t making me feel any better.

But since I had already lied once, I had no choice but to keep going.

“Oh, uh, at a convenience store. Yeah, I work at a convenience store.”

[Hmm.]

[So, you’re saying you just played Bell and ate today, without doing anything else?]

“Yes…”

There was a brief moment of silence.

And then her voice came again.

[Do you know the streamer ‘High-School-Graduate-Unemployed-Virgin-Loser-Pretty-Girl’?]

?

?

?

“Huh?”

[Oh, maybe you didn’t hear me properly.]

Yoo Ji-eun cleared her throat for a moment before speaking again.

[Do you know the streamer ‘High-School-Graduate-Unemployed-Virgin-Loser-Pretty-Girl’?]

The way she pronounced each word so clearly made it impossible for me to escape reality or change the subject.

“Yes…”

[She’s a pretty popular streamer these days. She was streaming again today. And she looks a lot like you, Moon Hyun.]

[Quite a lot, actually.]

[Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been streaming?]

“S-Sorry…”

Crap.

For some reason, I felt like I couldn’t lie or make excuses in front of her.

Cold sweat started to drip down my back.

Once again, her voice came through.

[You lied, didn’t you?]

“Hik…”

[You know you did something wrong, right?]

“I… I did something wrong…”

Despite her gentle voice and kind tone,

It was terrifying.

Yoo Ji-eun was silent for a moment before she spoke again.

[You should be punished, right?]

“Yes…”

Please, spare me…

[First, give me the role of broadcast manager.]

A manager is someone I can assign to a viewer.

As a manager, they have the authority to kick people or set rules, basically managing the stream.

“Y-You want to see it?”

A sense of fundamental reluctance welled up.

Even though our relationship might be a bit twisted, she’s still someone I know, and the thought of her constantly watching my stream…

It’s really embarrassing…

[You might hurt someone there, you know?]

But I’m the one getting hurt by them…

As I stayed silent for a moment, Yoo Ji-eun’s voice came through again.

[You don’t like it, do you?]

Her cheerful tone was clear even through the phone.

But it was terrifying as hell.

“N-No! It’s fine, haha…”

I forced a laugh and nodded.

“Can you tell me your nickname?”

[It’s the same as my Bell name.]

“Oh, okay.”

When I typed in her nickname, a user popped up.

I clicked the ‘Assign Manager’ button, and a sword icon appeared next to her nickname, indicating she was now a manager.

“It’s all done…”

[Thanks.]

“So… is the punishment over with this?”

[What are you talking about?]

What?

There’s more than this?

[That was just a request. The punishment starts now.]

“What kind of punishment… haha…”

[Send me a selfie.]

Once again, just like yesterday, I grabbed my phone and began turning it this way and that.

But why did she ask for such a strange request?

– You’re wearing that pajama from before, right? The white shirt.

– Yes…

– Take it as it is. Make sure to include your upper body.

– Can I ask why?

– Just take it as I asked.

– … I’ll send it to you.

Following her request, I moved the phone slightly away and took a picture.

Without bothering to check it, I sent it right away.

Lately, I’ve been taking so many selfies, I’ve grown tired of it.

11:38 PM – Sent a photo.

11:38 PM – Here, I sent it.

After some time passed without her reading it, I turned my phone over.

I started thinking about her intentions.

Why would she ask for another selfie?

One humiliation should’ve been enough…

…

Is it to use it as leverage?

Having a non-public selfie of a female streamer could be a big deal.

If she used that picture to pretend to be my girlfriend, I’d be in serious trouble.

Does she hate me that much?

I felt a little discouraged.

Oh.

Now that I think about it…

I wasn’t wearing any underwear.

With the light coming from the front instead of above, it probably won’t be noticeable.

… Probably.

It won’t show, right?

I didn’t check.

Nervously, I picked up my phone and opened our chat.

There, I saw myself in the picture, holding the phone slightly away, looking a bit nervous as I stared into the camera.

And below that, I stared at my T-shirt.

…

It’s visible.

Two faintly shaded, round bulges on my pure white shirt.

And two smaller peaks at the tips.

My face flushed with heat.

“D-Delete…”

I quickly pressed down, placing my finger over the delete button.

– Delete for me –

– Delete for everyone –

The ‘Delete for everyone’ option was greyed out.

No matter how many times I clicked, there was no response.

“T-The time…”

… The time limit for deletion had passed, the 5 minutes already gone.

“What should I… what can I do…”

I frantically tried to figure something out, exiting KakaoTalk and attempting to search on Google.

But at that moment, the number ‘1’ next to my message disappeared.

“Oh…”

11:43 PM – [Oh]

11:43 PM – [Good work, haha. You can sleep now.]

11:43 PM – Hey, um…

11:43 PM – I’m really sorry…

11:44 PM – [Huh? What for?]

I couldn’t possibly say, “I’m sorry for sending a picture with my nipples showing.”

It’d be like a guy sending another guy a picture with his nipples showing, wouldn’t it?

Just thinking about that made me feel slightly nauseous.

But if I apologized for that, wouldn’t it just make things more awkward?

Oh, but if she plans to spread it…

What am I going to do then…?

Ah, I don’t know anymore.

Ever since I became a woman, I’ve had moments where my mind feels foggy.

Maybe it’s just my mood, but it seems like my gaming skills with Bell have gotten better.

With a slight headache, I asked her again.

11:45 PM – Hey… Could you not send that picture to anyone else, please? ㅠㅠ

11:45 PM – [Huh?]

Is she playing dumb?

11:45 PM – Please, I’m begging you… ㅠㅠ

11:45 PM – [Hmm… Okay, haha. Don’t worry.]

11:46 PM – [What are you doing tomorrow?]

Tomorrow?

I…

Tomorrow, I’m supposed to meet Song Chae-hyun.

She had suggested through KakaoTalk that we meet every Saturday.

I had no choice but to reluctantly agree to her enthusiastic proposal.

11:46 PM – I’m meeting a friend.

There was a brief pause before a reply came.

11:48 PM – [A guy?]

11:48 PM – No, it’s a girl. Just an older sister I know.

11:49 PM – [Hmm… Got it.]

11:49 PM – [Make sure to tell me what you did tomorrow night too, okay?]

11:50 PM – Yeah…

As I replied, I turned off the lights and closed my eyes.

Since we’re supposed to meet tomorrow morning, I should probably get some sleep.

But something feels off.

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