Chapter 23: With the help of alcohol

– Living without an umbrella~ I got completely drenched.

As always, Kim Teacher’s songs are a masterpiece whenever I listen to them.

Somehow, the way they resonate deeply tugs at my heart, making me crave soju.

Ah, I can’t resist anymore.

*Swoosh-*

Carefully, ensuring not to spill a single precious drop,

and slowly, so as not to get drunk too fast,

I pour the drink gently into my glass.

*Ahh— this is life. This is bliss.*

Just savoring the taste of this soju feels like a reward for all I’ve been through.

Drinking at leisure, one sip at a time, I find myself unconsciously humming along.

*”When I open my eyes~ the world exists; if I close them, it’s gone~”*

How long did I hum that tune?

The screen in front of me started flickering.

One corner of the screen twitched, and black text began pouring out.

The viewers were here.

Lonely and craving human warmth, I had stumbled upon a brilliant solution.

If the cause of my solitude was drinking alone, then having someone to share my current state and feelings with would be the answer.

The viewers would fulfill that role perfectly.

After all, they were practically my friends.

Yes, I have internet friends!

How wonderful that I can connect with my friends through the screen like this.

What a world we live in!

**[Gather, warriors of 3 a.m.]**

**[The victors who waited for a surprise stream ᅲᅲ]**

**[What’s happening at this hour?]**

**[Finally streaming now, you little…]**

**[What’s this song, though?]**

**[What’s the theme this time, with this kind of music?]**

**[Molu has good taste, huh. Recognizing this legendary song.]**

**[Didn’t Molu claim to be in her early 20s? Why is she listening to something that 40-50-year-olds would?]**

**[I’m… 23 this year, but… people my age still listen… to Forest 장훈…]**

**[-Boomer-]**

**[Our goddess is listening to a song by our goddess?]**

**[Wait… there are two goddesses?]**

Despite the late hour, a decent number of viewers joined.

Friends who rush over even at this time just because I called—what a blessing.

Their barrage of chats quickly filled the once-silent room with a bustling energy.

Suddenly, my loneliness dissipated, leaving only the tipsy warmth of alcohol behind.

I felt a wave of gratitude.

What should I say?

I started contemplating.

“Did I go live because I was lonely?”

“Because I needed a drinking buddy?”

“Or maybe I was just bored and wanted to hang out?”

…

“Hello, um… I went live because I missed you.”

Wait, no, that’s not it.

Even as I said it, I realized what a slip it was.

Blurting it out without thinking—thanks, alcohol.

And sure enough, the viewers’ reactions were explosive.

**[Excuse me?]**

**[Molu, now you’re taming us simps, huh? ㅋㅋ]**

**[If you keep doing this, I can’t hold back.]**
…

**[This time… I swear it’s real… this time… I swear it’s real… this time it’s real… this time… I swear it’s real…]**

**[You sly little… fox…]**

**[You like us too, don’t you? You like us too, don’t you? You like us too, don’t you?…]**

**[Wow, look at them spamming just because it’s late.]**

**[Manager! Wake up and deal with these people!]**

The chat scrolled rapidly, messages pouring in one after another.

Among them were the inevitable spammers, running wild in the early morning hours.

Not used to streaming at this time, I hadn’t anticipated this.

Frowning slightly, I reached for the mouse that was sitting a little far away.

But just as I was about to intervene—

**[Message deleted.]**

**[Manager is on it ᄃ]**

[Message deleted.]

The chat was quickly organized, as if the chaos had never happened.

The manager had appeared.

It was late—did they even sleep?

Having a manager around definitely made things easier for me, so I wasn’t complaining.

**<DenseStickyThickYas donated 1,000 KRW!>**

– Teacher, what kind of stream is it today?

“Thank you for the 1,000 KRW donation, DenseStickyThickYas. Today… there’s no set plan. I just started impulsively.”

**[She just reads it as is ㅋㅋ]**

**[Fearless alpha woman, Molu;]**

**[Are you going to play *EoW*?]**

“*EoW*. Hmm…”

I moved the cursor to hover over *EoW* for a moment before moving it away.

“I don’t feel like it right now. I’ll do it another time.”

The problem wasn’t that I had been drinking.

It wasn’t my first time gaming after drinking, after all.

I just… wasn’t in the mood for it.

Maybe it was because I’d been playing *EoW* nonstop.

Hearing I wouldn’t play *EoW*, the viewers started enthusiastically recommending other games.

**[How about this new roguelike?]**

**[Rhythm game?]**

**[It’s late, so maybe a horror game?]**

**[It’s not even summer; why horror games? ㅋㅋ;]**

**[This one’s a masterpiece—just give it a quick try.]**

From familiar titles to games I’d never heard of, all sorts of suggestions poured in.

But I dismissed them all with reasonable excuses.

“Roguelikes… Long playtimes don’t appeal to me. Rhythm games? Not interested. Horror games, maybe in summer.”

As I kept rejecting their suggestions, the viewers, who had been excitedly making recommendations, began to falter.

A few complaints popped up in the chat, grumbling about how women are hard to read and that I should just pick a game myself.

Well, they weren’t wrong—I wasn’t usually this picky.

When did I become like this?

**<ICan’tResist donated 10,000 KRW!>**

– Teacher, how about this? It’s a relaxing healing game. (link)

Amid the flood of suggestions, someone made their case through a donation.

Clicking the link, I was taken to a video.

It was a YouTube clip showcasing gameplay footage.

Cars of all types roamed the roads—from small compacts to massive trailers.

At first glance, it looked like a racing game.

But the peaceful driving in the video aligned with the viewer’s claim of it being a “healing game.”

It seemed like you simply drove along the roads without a care.

The speed didn’t matter, nor did your driving skills.

The simplicity drew me in.

“Let’s go with this one.”

*The Driving.*

The title was as straightforward as the gameplay appeared.

The game downloaded quickly, thanks to its small size, and was easy to start.

You chose your vehicle and location and drove.

However, as a beginner, I couldn’t freely select the car or the driving environment yet.

These elements would unlock as I progressed.

*”When the train cuts through the darkness and crosses the Milky Way~”*

**[Teacher, it’s a car, not a train.]**

Shut up.

Just understand what I mean, even if it doesn’t make sense.

*Vroooom-*

The car started moving slowly.

Relying on the headlights shining ahead, I cautiously drove forward.

I was cruising through a nighttime cityscape in a modest mid-sized car.

Why? Because the night scenery was atmospheric and soothing.

It felt perfect for this hour.

But perhaps the choice wasn’t all that great.

*Screeech-*

The brakes screeched as the car came to a halt.

For what felt like the umpteenth time, the night roads proved to be a perilous environment.

The game was unnecessarily realistic.

The dimly lit nighttime roads were no place for a beginner.

Several times, I had nearly collided with other cars or crashed into guardrails.

**[Hey, Madam Molu! Get out of the way!]**

[Molu can’t drive well…]

[Just use a compact car; that would be better.]

[You need to turn the wheel more aggressively.]

[So slow… Watching this is making me sleepy.]

The viewers were frustrated by my lackluster driving compared to when I played *EoW*, which had been much more thrilling.

I wanted to change lanes quickly, speed up, and overtake other cars too!

But what could I do when the game wouldn’t let me?

When driving, depth perception and quick reflexes didn’t help much.

It seemed like some sort of skilled feel was needed instead, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get used to the controls.

Maybe it was because I had been drinking; my vision was a little blurry.

Realizing this wasn’t going well, I decided to take a break and stop the game for a moment.

I returned to the garage and started the setup from the beginning.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t give up on the dark night streets.

I was keeping that.

While I was looking for a solution to the problem, I suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Contrary to the viewer’s advice to drive a smaller car because driving was difficult, I chose to go bigger.

I selected a massive truck, a new vehicle I had unlocked through driving.

**[?]**

**[??]**

There were questions in the chat, but I said nothing and re-entered the game, driving the truck on the road.

Sometimes showing is faster than explaining.

I crossed the center line, completely ignoring it.

But I didn’t change lanes.

What I wanted was a truck that straddled both lanes.

Done.

The truck, half in the first lane and half in the second, drove steadily down the road.

The viewers cheered for my creative solution.

**[What is this person doing?]**

**[Lane violation ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]**

**[Definitely something only a non-normal person would think of.]**

“Driving in the center is easier. I don’t have to worry about crashing into other cars.”

I glanced at the rearview mirror to show the car that had tried to pass earlier but couldn’t.

“Look at that. The car that tried to overtake earlier can’t even catch up now.

This is the answer.

You have to break the bias that you have to stay in your lane.”

This was defensive driving.

By not worrying about other cars, I felt much more stable.

**[Teacher, do you have a license?]**

A license.

Come to think of it, I wondered if Jieun had a license.

When I checked her wallet last time, it didn’t seem like she did.

Well, if she doesn’t even own a car, why would she have a license?

But with my original driving skills and my license, it was pretty much the same.

“Yeah, I have one.”

I hesitated for a moment while thinking about Jieun’s license, which delayed my response.

The viewers laughed, clearly knowing I didn’t have one.

Let them think what they want.

With my creative driving technique, I finally had the opportunity to drink some of the remaining alcohol.

I drove with one hand while pouring a drink with the other.

This was the picture I had wanted all along.

*Schluurrrk-*

“Ah, this is much better. I should’ve done this from the start.”

**<MoluFanDonation 1,000 KRW!>**

– Teacher, what’s that you keep drinking? I can smell alcohol in your voice.

“Water. It’s just water. My throat’s a little dry.”

**[Liar]**

**[This person’s drinking while driving.]**

**[Driving under the influence without a license ᄃᄃ]**

The sharp comments from the chat made me feel strangely guilty, so I quietly kept driving the truck.