Chapter 37 : Misunderstanding and Suggestions

Just as I was about to wrap up the broadcast, someone touched my shoulder.

“Um, mistress?”

I couldn’t hear clearly because I was wearing earphones, but I distinctly heard someone call me ‘mistress.’ A chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively turned my head.

Kim Ji-hye, with her big , soft and bouncy thingies[Yeah,a shy and hot maid], stood there holding a plate of apples.

Seeing her, I quickly turned back and lowered the camera angle.

I also moved my resting right arm to turn off the microphone.

I responded as quickly as I could, but

the camera angle likely caught Kim Ji-hye.

I didn’t know how long she had been there or why she was in my room.

“Why did you come into my room?”

I spoke in a cold voice, thinking this was a troublesome situation. Kim Ji-hye trembled and couldn’t answer immediately. Seeing her weak demeanor, I sighed softly.

In a way, this was partly my fault.

I should have told her not to come in if there was no response when she knocked.

I should have anticipated that Kim Ji-hye might enter my room later, especially after she asked about using the refrigerator and had previously brought me sliced apples.

If it had been solely Kim Ji-hye’s fault, I would have scolded her without hesitation.

But right now, it was more important to handle the situation than to reprimand her.

“Ji-hye, how old do you think I am?”

“You look really young!”

Her cheerful response to my sudden question was a bit frustrating.

Her pure intention of offering apples was clear, so I couldn’t bring myself to scold her further.

After all, it wasn’t that big of a broadcasting accident, was it?

Sure, it might be a problem that Kim Ji-hye’s face appeared on the broadcast, but that could be dealt with later.

“I’m 25 years old.”

“Oh my! I thought you were 22!”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, so don’t bother.”

“Okay.”

“Just wait in the living room for now. Don’t go anywhere.”

Kim Ji-hye quickly placed the plate on the desk and left the room.

“Whew…”

I began to calm down with a steady breath after the unexpected interruption by Kim Ji-hye left me feeling flustered. I mentally prepared myself not to be surprised no matter the state of the chatroom and slowly shifted my gaze.

[Miss? Miss? Miss? Miss? Miss?] [Ah… Master… Ah… Master… Ah… Master…] [Explain explain explain explain explain explain] [Wealthy Miss… But doing a LoL stream…?] [Mind-blowing gap moe] [In real life, I’m a wealthy heiress; in another world, I’m a LoL challenger streamer?] [Even goddess-level beauty] [Why is this person so perfect] [Where can you find such a person, ha ha] [Another unrealistic character from the writer of Earth] [But the streamer is missing?] [Streamer Barcode, awaken! Awaken!]

Contrary to my expectations of overwhelming spam in the chat, the situation wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Though not bad didn’t mean it was a good situation either.

For a while, I pondered and pondered on how to explain the ‘controversy’ that just occurred. I knew better than anyone that even a small misstep could turn an explanation into another controversy.

Seeing streamers fall into ruin because of poorly made explanations with a blank screen was common. From an outsider’s perspective, it was hard to understand why they made such strange explanations. But being the person who had to clarify a controversy, I could see why they made the wrong decisions.

No matter how hard I tried to stay calm, my hands trembled. Maybe it was because of the tension.

Well, honestly, the only controversy was about being called ‘mistress’, and I knew such a minor issue wouldn’t ruin me.

But being cautious wouldn’t hurt.

After enough deliberation, I decided how to address it and turned on the microphone.

“Ah. Ah.”

[Mic test on]

[Quick, explain yourself]

[Ending stream without explanation would be legendary]

[If you run without explaining, you’ll lose support for sure]

[Creak, Master is back…]

After testing to see if the mic was working properly, I said the opening line I had prepared in my mind.

“Everyone, it’s a misunderstanding.”

[Mistress’ misunderstanding?]

[Controversy begins with ‘misunderstanding’]

[Is ‘misunderstanding’ truly the best explanation you can give?]

[Streamers always say it’s a misunderstanding when a controversy arises]

[Starting with misunderstanding is like a rule]

What I thought was a perfect opening line seemed to backfire.

Not wanting to be swayed by the chatroom any longer,

I removed my gaze from the chat and spoke quietly.

“The person cleaning our house didn’t know how to address me, so she called me ‘mistress’. As for why she entered the room…”

I continued speaking slowly, moving the camera.

The camera began to capture the plate of beautifully sliced apples in a checkered pattern.

After confirming the focus was on the plate, I continued speaking.

“…She came to give me apples.”

I thought it was a perfect explanation.

I glanced at the chat to see the reactions.

[A house big enough to have a maid]

[But the maid is super pretty too, what’s up with that?]

[How much practice does it take to slice apples that beautifully?]

[An S-class maid in an employer relationship with the mistress…]

[Turn on the stream with your phone and show us the house]

[You’re a genius]

[Phone stream]

I noticed the chat asking for a phone stream but ignored it.

Thinking I had explained enough, I spoke.

“I’ll end the stream here for today.”

[Where are you going without finishing the explanation!!]

[Bye bye]

[Controversy begins with ‘misunderstanding’ and ends with ‘no show’]

[You’re a terrible streamer]

[Other streamers would have been ruined by now]

[Bye bye]

[Are you really leaving like this?]

[Is it over if you just run away after causing a fire?]

There was nothing more to explain.

I ended the stream without hesitation, got up, and lay down on the bed for a moment.

Kim Ji-hye’s sudden intrusion had left me a bit tired, but it wasn’t time to sleep yet.

I forced my tired body up, moved my heavy steps, and left the room.

When I went downstairs, I saw Kim Ji-hye sitting at the dining table, nervously sipping water from a cup.

Entering my room without permission was annoying, but

her gentle appearance made it hard to blame her too much.

I gathered my thoughts and headed to the dining table where Kim Ji-hye was sitting.

Coming down to the first floor where the living room was, Kim Ji-hye felt her heart pounding.

When she heard the mistress’s cold voice, she thought she was losing her mind.

It felt like being a prey animal shrinking before a predator.

‘Come to think of it, was she broadcasting?’

When she entered the mistress’s room, she was definitely doing an internet broadcast. Kim Ji-hye had once self-taught video editing, thinking she could make a lot of money on Youtube.

Through that process, she naturally learned about internet broadcasting.

Although she wasn’t active on Youtube anymore due to lack of profit,

she still watched internet broadcasts, or ‘inbang’, whenever she had time.

So Kim Ji-hye realized that the mistress was doing an ‘internet broadcast’.

‘The thing that looked like a camera must have been a webcam, right?’

‘Then did I appear on the mistress’s broadcast?’

At the time, she was too flustered to grasp the situation properly.

Thinking back now, she realized how much trouble she had caused.

Interrupting a broadcast by suddenly barging in?

As her thoughts reached that point, she understood why the mistress had spoken so coldly.

“Ugh…”

The cold voice of the mistress still seemed to echo in her ears.

Kim Ji-hye shivered, feeling as if the cold voice had made the surroundings eerie.

She trembled with tension, waiting for what felt like an eternity.

Thud, thud-

She heard someone coming down the stairs.

Soon, the mistress sat across from her.

A heavy silence settled.

Kim Ji-hye waited, forgetting to breathe,

until the mistress finally spoke.

“Ji-hye, how old did you say I am?”

“What? Oh, you said you were 25…”

“And your age, Ji-hye?”

“I’m 22…”

Confirming each other’s ages, Kim Ji-hye felt too embarrassed to lift her head.

There was only a three-year difference, yet she had called her ‘mistress’ during the broadcast.

How flustered the mistress must have been.

Because of me…

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I’m such an idiot.

“You didn’t make such a big mistake, so lift your head.”

“Okay…”

Kim Ji-hye, looking like a drenched puppy, cautiously lifted her head.

Though she was told to lift her head, she couldn’t meet the mistress’s gaze and looked down.

She had acted without permission, so she couldn’t complain if she was fired from her cleaning job.

“Ji-hye, do you know what I was doing?”

“I’m not sure, but it looked like you were doing an internet broadcast. If I’m wrong, I’m sorry!”

“Hmm… So you know.”

As I came out about knowing she was broadcasting, she looked at me with her chin resting on her hand.

Her radiant red irises and brown eyes had a captivating charm that seemed to draw me in just by meeting her gaze.

She fell silent again in that state.

Kim Ji-hye held her breath, waiting for her to speak.

I didn’t want the fact that I was broadcasting to be leaked.

It would have been better if she didn’t know, but now that she knew I was doing an internet broadcast,

I had to handle it somehow.

So I pondered with my chin resting on my hand for a while.

What was the best way to handle the current situation? What was the best option?

I couldn’t remain in the same employer-cleaner relationship as before.

Kim Ji-hye visited my house four times a month.

Each time she visited, she did a thorough cleaning, and I paid her 500,000 won for each cleaning.

This was the core of the contract I had with Kim Ji-hye.

Having decided how to resolve the situation, I called out to the daydreaming Kim Ji-hye.

“Ji-hye.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s renew our contract.”

“What?”

I drafted a new contract on my smartphone for electronic signing.

Having done it once before, it didn’t take long to write the contract.

I sent the completed new contract to Kim Ji-hye’s email through the electronic contract site.

“Check your email.”

“Yes…”

Her voice lacked strength, indicating a misunderstanding.

I was far from being a harsh employer.

In fact, I tended to be more supportive and caring.

“This contract seems excessive!”

“Why? Is the salary a bit low?”

“Is the salary for a live-in maid usually this high?”

“I’m not sure since it’s my first time hiring, but it should be higher than average.”

Judging by her reaction, it wasn’t a low offer.

I could see Kim Ji-hye’s eyes trembling as she reviewed the contract.

After a while of scrutinizing the contract, Kim Ji-hye finally spoke.

“Can you give me some time? It’s just… it’s strange that you’re giving me this kind of contract.”

“Are you suspicious?”

“…Yes.”

“So, you won’t sign the contract?”

Kim Ji-hye hesitated with a worried expression.

Seeing her struggle for too long, I offered some advice to help her decide.

“If you don’t want to sign, we’ll just forget about it.”

“I, I’ll sign!”

“What will you sign?”

“The live-in maid contract… I’ll sign it.”

Perhaps my last advice was the decisive factor.

In the end, Kim Ji-hye began to fill in the blanks on the live-in maid contract.

I watched her with satisfaction and thought quietly,

‘I’ll have to train her as a manager later.’