Chapter 2: It’s been a month since the broadcast-3

The viewer count didn’t stop at eight. Gradually, it climbed to 11, and before I knew it, it reached a staggering 21 viewers. As I stared at the number in disbelief, the chat began to flood with messages.

• “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
• “It’s my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault!”
• [ᄋᄋ has donated 2,000 KRW.]
• “Sorry!”

When had my chat ever been this active? This was a first in my entire streaming career!
And on top of that—a donation! My first ever donation!

“W-Wait, suddenly apologizing… What’s going on?”

Rather than feeling excited about the sudden influx of viewers, I was overwhelmed with confusion. As my brain struggled to process the situation, the viewer count increased by two more people.

Along with that came even more apologies flooding the chat.

“E-Everyone, please calm down! Could someone calmly explain what’s going on?”

If I didn’t understand the situation, I wouldn’t know how to react—whether to pacify them, dismiss them, or play it off cheerfully. All I felt was pressure mounting in my hands and feet as tension set in.

“Uh… Guys…”

• [User “Jamini Purger” has donated 3,900 KRW.]
• “I’m so sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!”

“W-Wait, 3,900 KRW? Oh, thank you! But—what’s happening?”

This sudden video donation must have something to do with the situation, right?
I cautiously opened the video linked in the donation while my chat became an unreadable blur of rapidly scrolling messages.

“Just a moment, please!”

Switching the chat to subscriber-only mode, I played the video. It was a short 30-second clip.

• “Oh, thank you, Jamini, for the 5,900 KRW donation—’Caught a Content Thief’?!”

A boyish-sounding male voice expressed gratitude for the donation. The owner of the voice was someone I recognized immediately.

A streamer known for his iconic red-haired middle-aged character.

His childish username, “Dragon,” belied his status as a streamer with an average audience of over 3,000 viewers.

Despite being in his late thirties and often referred to as an “old man,” Dragon was a significant presence in the streaming world.

Wait… wasn’t this the same “Dreja” someone mentioned earlier in my chat?

That’s him.

“What the…?”

In the video, my stream appeared as a screen within a screen. Then, a particular comment in the chat came into view.

Although hard to read in the nested stream, I instantly recognized the text:

• “This has already been done by Dreja. Aren’t you ashamed of stealing someone else’s content? ᄍᄍ”

Those words… They had stung earlier because they struck a nerve. But the streamer, Dragon, clearly had a different opinion.

• “This f**ing idiot*! How many times do I have to tell these morons not to pull this kind of crap on someone else’s stream? I can’t even show my face in public because of trash like you!”

The video was a barrage of curses I’d never even heard before. Dragon’s outburst didn’t stop there; his anger continued to boil over.

• “Story reviews aren’t even my exclusive content! These idiots act like any time someone else does a story review, it’s a crime against me! And yeah, if I say this, it’ll probably end up on the wiki as ‘Dragon: Controversies and Scandals,’ but guess what? You’re banned, loser!”

He paused to catch his breath, only to continue his tirade against the imaginary offenders.

• “Thinking about how proud that jerk must’ve felt uploading this? It makes me sick!”

“Uh… Uhh…”

I was speechless.
A complete stranger was passionately defending me. Well, not me, really—he was just angry at his own audience for their actions.

But still, I couldn’t help feeling touched.

“Well, I-I understand what’s happening now, everyone! I’ve heard your apologies, and it’s okay! I’m not mad, so you don’t have to worry anymore!”

Scratching the back of my hand awkwardly, I switched the chat back to open mode. And just as expected, the spamming resumed immediately.

“If you keep spamming, I’ll have to start banning people!”

That seemed to do the trick. The spamming stopped, but the viewer count stayed the same—or had it actually increased?

A quick glance at the count revealed… 31 viewers.

“Wha…!”

I gasped, audibly startled. This was the most viewers I’d ever had in my life!

“K-Keck!”

I felt a sudden prick of tears as they rolled down my cheeks. Taking a deep breath, I sipped some water, wiped my eyes with my sleeve, and steadied myself.

“Well, uh, thank you so much for watching my stream, but honestly… it’s really not that entertaining…”

• There’s a streamer who admits their own content is boring?
•  Haha, telling us to leave because the stream is bad? Lololol.

“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”

• This streamer is cute.
• Agreed.

I tried to ignore the unfamiliar yet oddly endearing comments, clearing my throat as I attempted to focus. It finally hit me—there were so many people watching my stream! My heart raced at the thought.

Determined to make a good impression, I practiced a few lines in my head, even trying to modulate my voice to sound sweeter. But the sheer effort felt ridiculous, so I gave up.

“Ahem, ahem…”

Let’s break this down logically.

This wasn’t my fault.
It wasn’t the viewers’ fault either.
No one was at fault here.

So… it wasn’t something I needed to dwell on.

Satisfied with my conclusion, I nodded firmly to myself. The chaos had delayed me, but now it was finally time to play the game I’d planned for today.

“Well, anyway, let’s move on. Something strange did happen, but today’s game is…”

Suddenly, my chat exploded again.

• It’s Dreja!
• Is it really him?
• It’s legit!
• OMG, it’s actually him!
• Dreja, say hi!

What now?

“Why is it so hard to just play a game today…” I muttered, frowning at the rapidly moving chat.

It wasn’t spam this time, but… then what?

And then it appeared—a message that made my breath catch.

• Dragon: Would you be interested in doing a collab stream with me?

A collab? With him?

I blinked in disbelief, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. The message was still there.

This couldn’t be real. A newbie like me, who had only been streaming for a month, getting a collab offer from a top-tier streamer?

There was only one thing I could say to such an absurd proposition.

“Is this… some kind of scam?”

Because, really, why would someone like him choose me for a collab?

Even after clicking his username to confirm his identity, I couldn’t shake my skepticism.

I’d been scammed too many times before—recently, even. There’s no such thing as kindness without reason, not in my life, at least.

The chat erupted with laughter, filling with “lol”s and “kek”s, but I remained resolute. I focused intently on his username.

• Dragon: Can we chat on Discord?

“Uh, yes… I can do that.”

If it really was him… why me? He could ask any streamer—countless bigger and better ones. Could his account have been hacked?

Some might call me paranoid, but I needed answers.

We exchanged Discord IDs through whispers, added each other as friends, and soon enough, a voice call was ringing.

When I answered, a familiar voice came through my headset.

• “Hello?”

“Oh, uh, hi! Hello!”

• “My voice isn’t exactly common, so this should be proof enough, right?”

It was him. Dragon. The real deal.

His tone was calm, with a hint of amusement, but his words carried a subtle jab. Was he annoyed?

Yet, there was no edge to his voice—only a soft chuckle. Still, I couldn’t ignore my earlier suspicion. Feeling guilty, I slammed my forehead against the desk in apology.

Thud!

The jolt sent the cup on my desk wobbling dangerously.

“I-I’m sorry!”

“N-No, it’s fine! That’s completely understandable,” he replied, his voice slightly flustered but ending with a laugh.

Was he… a saint?

I rubbed my throbbing forehead, glancing at the viewer count. Over 100 viewers now. His audience must have flooded into my stream.

“H-Hello, everyone…”

• “Haven’t you already greeted us once?”

“Oh, uh… r-right…”

As I froze in place, fidgeting nervously with my hands, Dragon spoke to me kindly.

• “Anyway, since I couldn’t manage my audience properly, I should be the one apologizing, not the other way around. Please, feel free to speak comfortably.”

So kind.

In my entire life, I could probably rank this level of kindness as the fifth most remarkable I’d experienced.

For reference, first place would go to my mom, second to my dad, and third and fourth to some con artists.

I rubbed my wrist and muttered in a small voice.

“Ahem… It’s fine! Honestly, I felt a bit guilty too…”

• “Hey, don’t let yourself get swayed by the words of some idiot jerk. If this was part of my core content, it might be different, but story-driven streams aren’t even my main thing, are they?”

I was startled by the sudden profanity but quickly realized it wasn’t directed at me, which was a relief.

But why was Dragon being so considerate?

I pondered for a moment, but I couldn’t figure it out.

I let out a small sigh, careful not to make it audible, and moved my lips a few times.

If I left him alone, it felt like he might continue cursing for hours, so I needed to steer the conversation in another direction.

Even if the insults weren’t aimed at me, listening to them for hours could drive anyone crazy.

“So… about the collaboration. What’s that about?”

• “Oh, right. I’ve been working on a group project with some people, but one of them bailed at the last minute, saying they didn’t want to do it. So now there’s an empty spot.”

A collaboration with Dragon?

Everyone knows those are guaranteed to be amazing.

They draw great views and are an opportunity not to be missed.

Still, there were a few concerns on my mind, which I decided to address.

“But wouldn’t that… be the spot for the person who bailed? Is it okay for me to take their place?”

• “As I mentioned, they ran off, saying they ‘didn’t want to.’ If someone fills their spot, they’d probably be grateful!”

“And, um… I’m really not entertaining, I’m bad at talking, and I get nervous easily…”

• “It’s fine! Everyone else in the group is just as clumsy, so you’ll fit right in. Plus, the role is super simple.”

“Uh…”

• Isn’t Dragon lowkey roasting them?
• Hahaha, ‘didn’t want to,’ they said.

“That’s not it!”

I let out a loud squeak in response to the viewers’ teasing and then glanced at Dragon nervously before continuing.

“So, um… when is the collaboration happening?”

• “Right now. Boot up Minecraft. I’ll send you the server info, and join the designated Discord channel too!”

Right now?!

“Yes! Okay! Got it!”

A miracle had just occurred in my one-month-long streaming career.

The corners of my lips wouldn’t stop turning up into a grin.

Feeling embarrassed by how silly I looked, I used my fingers to forcibly push my smile down before checking the server details Dragon sent.

Just from the server name, I could already guess what kind of content this was.

“A roleplay…”

Would I be able to do this well?

Maybe I should practice my pronunciation?

A, E, I, O, U…

What if I made a mistake?

But why me, of all people?

Even now, thinking about it again, surely Dragon could have found another streamer to take my place.

Why me?

What did he see in me?

There had to be more to this than just apologizing for a viewer’s antics. It felt odd.

But no matter how much I dwelled on it, nothing would change.

So all I could do was focus on what I needed to do.

With a mix of worries, excitement, and anticipation, I launched Minecraft.

The memory of my early streaming days flashed in my mind, where I played Minecraft briefly for kids, cheerfully saying, “Hello, young friends!”

The embarrassment made my face burn, but it was bearable.

“Okay… um… hello there!”

I hid the game screen and joined the server. Then I entered the Discord channel listed along with it.

The others, who had joined before me, greeted me warmly.

“Oh! Hello there!”

“Who’s this?”

“Wow! A newbie! Wow! A girl!”

Overwhelmed by the flood of greetings, I couldn’t think straight, until Dragon hit my character in-game to draw my attention.

“You’re here! Alright, let’s get set up before we start recording! Liera, follow me.”

“Uh…”

Dragon’s game character led me to a small triangular area made of three blocks.

What kind of role was this?

“Please go into this hole!”

“Yes…”

“And when I give you the signal, just bark like a dog!”

“…What?”

“Go on!”

What was this? Seriously, what was this?

Confusion.

Then came a sudden wave of shame.

And amidst all these swirling emotions, the words that came out of my mouth were already decided.

“Woof…”

“Great! That was perfect. Let’s start recording!”

My role… was ‘the dog.’

Now I understood exactly why the previous participant didn’t want to do this.