Chapter 36 : Hostess

News that Barcode started streaming again after a week drew in a huge number of viewers instantly.

Less than 10 minutes after the stream started, the number of viewers exceeded 5000. Despite being an unannounced stream, it showed how many people were worried about Barcode.

Given it was the first stream in a while, it was normal to expect some bad viewers to spam the chat.

[? Why is the chat so quiet]

But the chat was unusually silent for a room with thousands of participants.

Even the viewer who asked why the chat was quiet didn’t send another message.

Maybe viewers were not sending messages out of concern for Barcode.

But for even the notorious spammers to be silent was indeed strange.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

I had subtly expected a huge reaction and a frenzy in the chat.

Knowing that many ‘troublesome’ viewers had joined after the collab with Curry, also known as a haven for bad viewers.

Even those troublesome viewers were not sending messages, making me feel worried rather than curious.

Could my aesthetic sense be different from that of others?

Having not formed many human relationships in my life, it was possible.

The silence must mean that my real-life appearance is worse than I thought. Otherwise, a chatroom full of trolls wouldn’t be this quiet.

As that thought crossed my mind, I hastily spoke up.

“Uh… since it seems like it’s not great, I’ll just go back to the usual hand cam…”

[?]

[?]

[?]

[Is this a joke?]

[So what’s the goddess’s name?]

[I thought I entered the wrong stream and didn’t chat]

[The Barcode I knew was a shut-in who didn’t look this good]

[Why is a beautiful goddess on Barcode’s stream?]

[She should be designated a national treasure]

[I’ve fallen for you. But I don’t want to confess]

[If I succeed, I’ll get teased like Curry LOL]

[Getting teased by someone like this is a reward;;]

[Please step on me, goddess]

[You looked scary in the photos with dark circles]

[Now that I see, your dark circles are almost gone?]

[No wonder you’re so pretty]

I thought the lack of reaction meant a bad one.

But as soon as I mentioned switching to the hand cam, the chat exploded with messages.

Almost all of them were compliments about my appearance, which made it even more suspicious.

Were they lying to comfort me because of the recent incident?

Everyone has different standards of beauty, so how could there not be a single “not great” comment? Doubt bred more doubt, and the silence of the chatroom was the basis for my suspicions.

It felt like nine people pretending to be ‘ordinary’ in a solo-ranked game targeting Curry.

The excessive compliments felt staged, like actors performing.

I would rather snipe than be the star of a Truman Show-like prank on my life.

“Even if you tell pleasant lies, I won’t fall for them. If you’re going to comfort me, compliment my gameplay instead. It’s easier for me that way.”

I thought I had uncovered their act.

Proud and confident, I said this, but then…

[?]

[?]

[She’s deceiving us again]

[Overstepped]

[She really overstepped this time LOL]

[Deception goddess]

[True identity revealed LOL]

[The liar here is you, Barcode]

[Did you really think all the viewers here are actors?]

[LOL No way]

[That’s overconfidence]

[Aren’t you mentally unstable because of ‘that’ incident?]

[Hey]

[Mentioning ‘that’ incident is a ban]

[Mention it and get banned in real life LOL]

The viewers’ reactions were completely different from my expectations.

Realizing that the viewers’ reactions were genuine, I trembled.

What I thought was a reasonable and logical deduction turned out to be my paranoia.

I understood the situation in my head, but my heart didn’t accept it. Or rather, it refused to.

Was my appearance so beautiful that people would call me a ‘goddess’ or suggest I should be a national treasure? It was hard to believe, so I looked at myself in the streaming camera again.

Thanks to a week of consistent exercise and plenty of sleep, the dark circles that once seemed like smeared makeup had almost disappeared.

Now, they were barely noticeable. Apart from that, my skin seemed a bit better, but that was all.

“Ah, did you catch that lie?”

Even though it was hard to believe, I wrapped it up as if it were a lie.

Without some kind of excuse, I felt I wouldn’t be able to stream properly out of embarrassment.

[Why does your voice sound awkward?]

[Did you actually believe that?]

[No way LOL]

[Where is a woman who looks like that and thinks she’s ugly? LOL]

[Not even in anime does that character exist]

[Awesome]

[Is this also acting?]

[Acting genius]

[A veteran actor and a beautiful goddess]

[A veteran… actor… goddess…? My head hurts…]

[Such a hybrid actually exists]

Realizing it would only hurt me to continue on this topic, I decided to ignore it and quickly logged into LoL.

[Why LoL on such a memorable first facecam stream?]

[No]

[Explanations]

[No]

[Instead of launching LoL, explain LOL]

[Explanations]

[Putting LoL on a perfect facecam stream is crazy]

[Explain]

[Explanation]

[But are donations not open? I want to set some challenges]

“Donations?”

Seizing upon the topic that could change the atmosphere, I read the chat.

Now that I thought about it, I had previously said I wouldn’t open donations because I had enough money.

I thought I had mentioned something like that before.

“Do you all want to donate?”

[Yes]

[Open donations, please!]

[You don’t need to open the alerts, just the donations…]

[While you’re at it, set up a roulette too]

[1% chance for cosplay]

[Missions and roulettes… it’s all too much]

[Open donations and I’ll show you the power of capitalism LOL]

There was no reason to go back on my word and open donations.

But seeing how much the viewers wanted it, I wondered if I should.

That thought vanished as soon as I saw dangerous words like ‘Nyangche’ and ‘cosplay’ in the chat.

No matter how high the price, I never wanted to do a Nyangche mission.

I wasn’t short on money, and streaming was fun enough without needing to do Nyangche.

“Thinking about it, it’s better not to accept donations. If you want to donate, why not give to another streamer or a charity?”

[No]

[I’ll lie down until you open donations]

[Zzz…]

[Wake me up when Barcode cosplays as Ara]

[That’s what it says?]

I thought it was a constructive suggestion, but apparently not.

Seeing viewers lying down in protest made it clear.

“Sigh…”

A sigh escaped me.

I turned away from the chatroom and navigated to YouTube.

Hoping that the viewers lying down would fall asleep forever, I played “Rain Sounds for Sleep ASMR.”

[They’re lying down, not sleeping]

[Feeling sleepy though…]

[Host! Turn off the rain sounds!!]

[Feeling sad all of a sudden]

[Lying down again!!!]

[Feeling dizzy…]

[This is copyrighted]

[It’s copyrighted, turn it off quickly]

“It’s copyrighted?”

Seeing that chat, I hurriedly closed the video.

I didn’t know playing such ASMR YouTube videos during streams could be copyrighted.

Since I decided to keep streaming, I figured I should study these rules later.

With that thought, I returned my gaze to the chatroom.

[LOL got tricked]

[This is too cute…]

[I want to kiss you LOL]

[Did you really fall for that LOL]

[Where’s the assertive Barcode we knew…]

“…Was that a lie?”

I recalled my frantic attempt to close the video earlier, not realizing it was a joke.

Feeling the embarrassment rising from deep within, I wished for a hole to crawl into.

Of course, there was no such hole for me.

“Please don’t lie to me anymore.”

[Why would I]

[Maybe if you open donations]

[If you don’t want to be teased, open donations!!]

[Do you think asking nicely will work ?]

[Absolutely not]

[Even when you ask in a commanding tone, it’s cute…] – [Message has been blocked.]

[Blocked]

[Dictator mode on]

Seeing the “cute” comment, I instinctively blocked the viewer who sent it.

It gave me chills, and I never wanted to experience that again.

“Don’t call me cute. It makes me uncomfortable.”

I warned the viewers, but…

…the viewers were like rebellious frogs.

They did the opposite of what I asked.

“I’ll open donations later. Please stop.”

[Stop?]

[Why would I ?]

“…Please stop.”

[If you insist]

[Info: You can set ‘banned words’ in Twitch chat management]

[Get rid of the traitor!!]

[That’s a lie]

[Quick, scroll the chat up!]

[Hang the traitor]

Seeing the chat about banning the word “cute,” I went into the chat management settings.

It didn’t take long to find the “banned words” setting.

“Thank you for the good information, kear1234. I’ll remember you as a ‘loyal subject’.”

[Oh no, the country is ruined because of one traitor]

[Traitor, you really have no sense]

[Are you seriously that clueless?]

[Feels so good~]

[So satisfying]

[Ah LOL this is what Barcode’s viewers are like]

Thanks to one loyal viewer, I regained my peace of mind and canceled the queue.

If a match didn’t start within 10 minutes, it was usually a matchmaking bug.

After re-queuing, I continued the stream, interacting with the viewers.

Having cleaned the entire house without leaving a speck of dust, Kim Ji-hye opened the refrigerator.

Since she had permission from the homeowner to use the fridge, there was no problem.

Kim Ji-hye took out an ion drink and a cold apple she had previously placed in the fridge and closed the door.

Last week, when she peeled an apple for the lady of the house, the reaction was positive, so she decided to do it again.

‘How should I peel it this time…’

Last time, she made it into a rabbit shape, so this time she thought of making it into a checkerboard pattern.

Proud of her dexterity, Kim Ji-hye began peeling the apple with concentration.

After about 10 minutes, she put down the knife and looked at her creation.

It was so pretty that she could take a picture and boast about it on social media.

Carefully cutting the apple into pieces, she transferred them onto a plate.

Holding the plate with the apple, Kim Ji-hye went upstairs and slowly reached out.

Knock, knock, knock-

Kim Ji-hye knocked and waited for the lady of the house to come out, but she didn’t.

Thinking she might not have heard the knock, she knocked again.

Still, the lady didn’t appear.

She was definitely there in the morning.

No one had seen her leave, so she must be in the room.

Could something have happened?

What if she had fallen and lost consciousness…!

“Excuse me…”

Kim Ji-hye grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and cautiously entered the room.

The lady’s room, which Kim Ji-hye entered for the first time, was much larger than expected.

It seemed even bigger than the house where her entire family lived.

Inside, she saw the lady sitting at a desk with several computers set up.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed the lady was wearing earphones, and it became clear why she hadn’t responded to the knocks.

Kim Ji-hye walked over to the lady and opened her mouth to speak.

Then she realized she had never addressed the lady with a specific title and hesitated.

What should she call the lady who was engrossed in something?

The answer was already decided.

“Um, mistress?”

Kim Ji-hye cautiously tapped the lady’s shoulder with her finger and spoke.

The lady turned to look at her, then quickly turned back and hurriedly lowered something that looked like a camera.

“Why did you come into my room?”

The lady’s voice was as cold as ice.

Kim Ji-hye instinctively sensed that something was wrong.