Chapter 72: “Just as I say”

A Non-Apology Apology Broadcast

It was a broadcast quite different from the typical apology streams often seen in the personal broadcasting industry.

The intended goal had been sufficiently achieved.

I had said everything I wanted to, and I successfully turned the tide of public opinion, which had leaned toward unreasonable criticism.

Even so, there were still a few posts out there insulting me.

Occasionally, someone would show up on the stream and drop an angry 1,000-won donation.

However, these were all dying embers.

Having lost their initial momentum, they would likely die down entirely soon enough, as if nothing had happened in the first place.

Therefore, I didn’t pay much attention and continued streaming as usual.

Whenever such malicious donations or comments popped up, the viewers would step in to counter them, and I would handle the offenders by banning them after receiving reports once the stream ended.

There were no significant issues.

The only side effect, perhaps, was the new meme that had taken root in my channel.

[Iljin Behavior ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Iljin Kayak]

[The Silent Ruler of the Classroom]

[Popular Kayak]

[Teacher, you were a social butterfly…]

“Why does everyone keep calling me an iljin?

I’m not an iljin, seriously!”

At the moment, I was hosting a stream where I read out comments from my school record book.

I ensured not to reveal any personal details while reading the teachers’ comments year by year.

However, the viewers kept insisting I was an iljin.

This phrase had been consistently thrown around since the last broadcast.

It didn’t feel like they were being entirely serious, but hearing iljin repeated so often did feel a bit unjust.

I wasn’t the type to bully others—if anything, I was the one who got bullied.

**”5th grade: Maintains good peer relationships and demonstrates strong leadership skills.

Capable of leading others, but occasional clashes occur due to immature handling of conflicts.”**

“What part of this makes me an iljin?”

[Clashes with friends ㄷㄷ]

[Leadership ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Kayak truly was extraordinary from the beginning.]

[How exactly did you lead your friends, Kayak?]

**[Kayak’s team is Kayak’s team.

They won because they had an exceptional leader: Kayak.]**

However, as the comments reached high school, I found myself at a loss for words.

**“Clearly expresses opinions.

Distinguishes between likes and dislikes but displays a lack of adherence to rules and discipline.

Additionally, habits such as tardiness and absences are frequent, and enthusiasm for school life and academics appears lacking.”**

Honestly, this was my first time reading my own school record.

After all, how often does someone have the chance to read their own record in life?

I certainly didn’t expect my homeroom teacher to have planted such a landmine.

Seeing this evaluation brought back memories.

It was during my second year of high school, a time when I was going through the throes of teenage rebellion.

“Uh, well… this is, you see…”

[It’s packed like a heaping bowl of rice ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]

[This hurts more than a 1,000-won punch…]

**[16 unexcused absences and 13 instances of tardiness?

What kind of life were you living, teacher…]**

[Iljin Kayak.]

**[Oh ㄷㄷ school?

What school?

Obviously, Kayak was busy playing Abyss at home.]**

[Building a gallery, gaming—clearly a busy life.]

[It’s impossible to stop Kayak once they’re captivated by the charm of games.]

**[Huh?

Weren’t you a diligent student up until middle school?]**

[Took the streamer path starting from middle school.]

[The importance of early education ㄷㄷ.]

[Bleached hair, sleeping in the back row—seeing her school record, the picture is clear.]

[These kinds of people are surprisingly kind.]

[They’re the kind who are nice as long as you don’t mess with them, hahaha.]

In fact, I had been playing Abyss since my twenties, and during my student days, I was just sleeping all the time.

But after becoming a streamer and being younger, I had an excuse for neglecting school life because I was too immersed in Abyss.

“It was a time when I was lost, yes… I skipped school a lot back then and just played Abyss nonstop. No excuses. But! I really just slept at school. I didn’t bully anyone or anything like that.”

<NijigeoniJeilApa donated 1000 KRW!>

• Did your desk partner ever tell you the lunch menu of the day?

“Yes, there were one or two friends in the class who memorized the menu by day. Thanks to them, I only ate lunch when the good menus came up… But why is that considered iljin behavior? I didn’t tell them to memorize it. They just did it themselves and would tell everyone in the class.”

Before I knew it, I had become the villain who forced my classmates to memorize the lunch menu.

I had been an angel senior who never made my juniors memorize anything, not even the class rankings.

How did I end up being treated like this?

Of course, it was just a playful back-and-forth, almost joking.

On the flip side, it felt like half of it was sincere, but compared to the crisis during my earlier broadcasts, this was definitely better.

Back in the day, when my chest was often a topic of conversation, the broadcast was mostly about that.

It started and ended with my chest, really.

Occasionally, people would comment on how good my voice was.

I didn’t particularly feel bad, but I didn’t feel great either. I just didn’t know how to react.

Since the recent clarification broadcast, though, those types of comments (or what the community would call “broth-scented” comments) have decreased.

It seemed like the influx of new viewers after that day’s broadcast had caused a shift in the atmosphere, and personally, I liked the current vibe much more.

It felt like I had gone from being a female streamer known for my big chest, great voice, and gaming skills to one known for being a secretly rebellious iljin with a big chest.

Some might wonder what the difference is, but the main shift in the stream’s content from being about my chest to being about gaming was quite encouraging.

At least I could feel the subtle difference in the chat, which I monitored all day long.

With this, I felt that the controversy wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

A crisis is an opportunity—what once flared up in the community turned into a new turning point for my broadcasts.

After wrapping up the school record reading content, I chatted with the viewers for a moment.

“It feels a bit sad to end the stream, but should I play a game of Abyss? By the way, I’ve been working on a new build…”

<Tranchae donated 1000 KRW!>

• Have you heard that the teacher is holding a meeting with the students?

“A meeting? Has it already come to that time?”

Unexpectedly, this was an interesting piece of news.

An Abyss user meeting.

Held 1-2 times a year, when there are major patches or important announcements, this is a communication time with the users.

This is a must-watch event for serious Abyss users, where the future direction of the game is discussed, or new heroes are introduced.

The meeting was scheduled for 5 PM on Saturday.

Streamers who focus on Abyss as their main content usually start their streams early to watch the meeting together with their viewers.

Kayak was no different.

Abyss meant Kayak, and Kayak meant Abyss. While she was a familiar name to long-time users, even new users had mostly come to know her name.

This was thanks to the recent events, including a tournament.

Whether they liked it or not, her name had spread widely among both personal broadcasters and Abyss users, and as a result, over 10,000 viewers were waiting in Kayak’s stream for the meeting.

[Is this the waiting room for the meeting?]

[As expected of a famous place, so many people…]

[Why are there so many people, hahaha.]

[My little Kayak… has become so huge now.]

[Watching the meeting with the teacher? Can’t miss this.]

[From reading patch notes to now even attending user meetings.]

[I’m curious to hear what the top-tier users will say.]

[This used to be a small-time content.]

[Back in the days of “bad game,” if we hit the management’s head, the teacher would be furious.]

[In the days without a mic, I would curse in the chat during ranked matches and get banned.]

[Haha, such nostalgia.]

“Ah, can you hear me? Ladies and gentlemen here to watch the user meeting, please take your seats. The meeting will begin shortly.”

For users, the user meeting was always something to look forward to.

What kind of change would there be this time?

Would there be a big patch, or perhaps a patch that would get bashed throughout the season?

It was like a lottery with both losing and winning tickets, making users feel nervous but excited at the same time.

Those feelings were reflected in the chat, and even Kayak, the streamer, seemed to be feeling a mix of emotions.

“Wow, now when they say there’s a meeting, tens of thousands of people watch… It used to be a big deal if we had a thousand viewers.”

[Ah, ahhh…]

[Tears, sob sob.]

[Back in the day when Kayak was hustling around.]

[It’s a miracle the game didn’t fail, haha.]

[I’m glad it worked out.]

[Do you have any expectations for this meeting?]

“Me? Not really. I don’t think Camila needs a buff. I’m worried that if too many people start using her, other characters will get nerfed instead. A new skin would be nice though… Camila is a pretty fundamental hero, but she has way fewer skins than other characters.”

While these conversations were happening, the meeting finally began.

• “… So the ranked system will be revamped like this. Next, we have a new skin announcement. A new mythic-level skin will be released. The design team worked really hard on this, so it’s very beautiful. Let me introduce: Frost Queen Camila!”

“Hyiiieeeek…!”

A gasp of disbelief, followed by the sound of a desk being slammed.

For a while, all you could hear on Kayak’s stream were those sounds.