Chapter 75 : Where can I see it ?

I turned off the stream for a moment and moved to the room where Curry was.

“I’ll be imposing on you for just an hour.”

Anticipating that this situation might happen, I had already set up two computers in Curry’s room.

If things had gone differently, one would have been used for streaming and the other for gaming.

But since this unexpected “collab” happened earlier than planned, having a separate setup turned out to be a genius move.

Of course, I had prepared a lot more things for our “virtual couple” cohabitation period.

However, it was still too early to bring those out, and I wanted to savor this moment as slowly as possible since I had no idea when it would come again.

“…I was wondering why there was an extra computer.”

Curry mumbled, staring blankly at the second PC as if they no longer had the energy to be surprised.

Once the computer finished booting, I immediately started the stream, only to realize a crucial detail—I had forgotten my webcam.

It was a minor oversight, but instead of seeing it as a mistake, I decided to turn it into an opportunity.

Scooting my chair closer to Curry, I leaned in cautiously.

“Uh, I don’t have my webcam… so can I borrow yours?”

“You can just go grab it. It’s literally upstairs.”

“Nope. For the next hour, we’re in a ‘collab.’ You can’t just leave whenever you want.”

“…I don’t recall us ever setting that rule.”

“You don’t recall banning it either, right?”

Curry let out a small sigh, barely audible, as if baffled.

Seeing that reaction, the mischievous thought lurking in the back of my mind grew even stronger.

“Curry.”

“Yeah?”

“I have about six million channel points.”

“…I must have misheard you.”

“I said I have around six million points on your channel.”

It seemed too shocking to process.

Curry stared at me with an expression that said, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

But before long, realization dawned, and their face paled.

“Wait… You already spent a million points to force this collab…”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Which means… you originally had seven million points?”

“I’m really looking forward to that Pocky game.”

Curry tried to deflect and avoid the inevitable.

But the fact remained—there weren’t many points left before the next redemption.

Acknowledging reality, Curry fell silent.

For a while, the room was filled with an awkward stillness.

Smiling leisurely, I finally broke the silence.

“Let’s start some solo queue. I need to earn more points.”

“…”

Curry hesitated, seemingly unable to press the matchmaking button.

Dragging things out wouldn’t do any good—it would only provoke the chat further.

With no other choice, I placed my hand over the mouse Curry was holding.

“What the…”

Before Curry could protest, I swiftly clicked the matchmaking button.

This was purely an act of goodwill, of course.

I was only looking out for Curry’s reputation with the viewers.

It wasn’t at all because I found it amusing. Definitely not.

[Why is he frozen lololol]

[Curry acting all high and mighty, but look at him now…]

[I swear, if a girl ever did this to me… sob]

[All you guys freaking out, it’s just jealousy]

[If you’re jealous, you lose… If you’re jealous, you lose…]

[Why is there a skill gap in my life?]

[Streamer! Open the door!]

As I enjoyed the mixed reactions of excited and envious viewers, I opened up the betting panel.

The game started, the draft phase ended, and the odds for the bet were set at 7:3.

“Streamer! Open the door!”

“Seriously, this is ridiculous.”

Curry let out a chuckle after reading one of the messages flying up in his chat.

It was just a little joke to lighten the mood, but it seemed to work better than expected, which made me feel pretty satisfied.

A new game started, another round of betting was set up, and the cycle of mindless gambling continued.

For a full hour, I tormented Curry to my heart’s content before finally returning to my room to continue my solo queue stream.

I had permission to gamble on his channel, but I couldn’t just spend the entire day doing that.

Still, I made sure to drop in every now and then to place my bets.

After streaming for eight straight hours, I wrapped up my broadcast with a hefty profit.

Three days had passed since the “virtual couple gambling” began.

It was content within content.

The “cohabitation project” had evolved into “virtual couple gambling,” and the results were nothing short of legendary.

Betting with channel points had already been an insanely popular trend when it first emerged—so much so that it was hard to find a streamer who didn’t do it.

Now, add the unique twist of a virtual couple dynamic with Barcode and Curry streaming together?

That was a cheat-code combination for success.

Both concepts had once taken the streaming world by storm, only to eventually lose steam over time.

But virtual couple gambling allowed viewers to purchase “events” with their points, letting them directly influence the stream’s direction.

This naturally increased viewer engagement and immersion.

Some viewers went on a gifting spree, throwing around subscriptions just to farm more channel points.

Others set up macros, effortlessly mining points while they sat back and relaxed.

Meanwhile, a particular streamer-related online community had become obsessed with discussing us.

It was a massive forum where multiple streamers should’ve been talked about at once.

Yet, a quick glance at the latest posts showed that every single thread was about Barcode and Curry’s virtual couple gambling.

Title: So, how many points have you guys saved up?
Post: I have 1.2 million on Curry, 400k on Barcode.

Title: By now, hasn’t Barcode already jumped on Curry?
Post: Did you see the way Barcode was looking at him yesterday? It’s obvious.

Title: Revisiting a legendary moment.avi
Post: (Clip of Curry using a cutesy speech pattern)

Title: Huh? What’s this new reward on Curry’s channel?
Post: 3 million points for an Eye-Tracking Challenge? LOL, no way I’m missing this.

Title: Why doesn’t Barcode have an Eye-Tracking Challenge reward?
Post: Looks like “The Chairman” had a heavy hand in this decision.

Title: Curry doing an Eye-Tracking Challenge while sitting next to Barcode?
Post: If someone drops 3 million points, that’s basically Curry’s funeral, right?

Title: STREAMER! OPEN THE DOOR!!!
Post: They’re literally living together, so why aren’t they streaming together more often?!

With the sudden addition of the “Eye-Tracking Challenge” reward—something that hadn’t been in the channel store before—buzz around the topic exploded.

The challenge itself had been part of a massive streaming trend, just like virtual couples and channel point gambling.

Eye-Tracking Challenge.

The streamer wears eye-tracking gear while broadcasting and accepts video donations from viewers.

Naturally, these aren’t just any regular videos.

They’re… stimulating.

Footage specifically designed to make men or women look.

If the streamer’s gaze wanders to the “wrong place,” they lose.

And usually, failing meant facing a penalty.

Title: So, what’s the punishment for failing the Eye-Tracking Challenge?
Post: Is there a penalty, or nah?

[Comments]

111: Losing IS the penalty. No punishment could be worse.

222: Failing while sitting next to Barcode? That’s a death sentence.

333: He won’t even need a punishment. One glance and it’s over.

Countless people were eagerly waiting for tonight’s stream to start.

Title: Burning my 3 million points today.
Post: (Image of 3 million points) Think this will make tonight’s stream legendary?

[Comments]

111: Wow, this guy’s insane.

222: How the hell did you even save up that much?

333: Why are there so many hidden rich people here?

444: You’ll be remembered in history for this.

When a community user posted proof of their 3-million-point balance, the anticipation in the air was about to explode.

Rather than cooling down, the heated atmosphere only intensified.

And before long, both Barcode and Curry’s streams went live at the same time.

The community, which had been generating new posts at lightning speed, suddenly fell silent.

Curry had finished all his stream preparations.

But he just couldn’t bring himself to press the “Start Broadcast” button.

After much discussion with Barcode, the “Eye-Tracking Challenge Next to Virtual Partner” reward had been officially added to the channel store.

When Barcode first suggested it, Curry had outright refused.

But Barcode wasn’t just a virtual partner—he was a fellow streamer.

And before that, he was Curry’s Chairman.

Refusing a proposal given so politely and respectfully felt like betraying his benefactor.

So in the end, Curry had no choice but to accept the offer.

And now, he was deeply regretting it.

He should’ve just refused, betrayal be damned.

If anything, the real betrayal came from Barcode.

Wasn’t tormenting him with “Nayeon Queen” for years enough?

Why did he insist on making Curry suffer even more?

In their relationship, Curry was nothing but the underdog.

And Barcode? He was the absolute power.

So Curry’s feelings never really mattered.

“…It’s not like someone has to buy it, right?”

“People seem more interested in that Pocky Game reward anyway, so… it should be fine.”

Convincing himself that everything would be okay, Curry finally clicked the start button.

The stream went live, and alerts started going out to his followers.

Watching the viewership spike at an alarming rate, Curry couldn’t tell if he should laugh or cry.

As the background music played out and the chat slowly settled down, Curry turned on his mic.

“Aaah… guys…”

[ “YukgaejangEater” has purchased ‘Eye-Tracking Challenge Next to Virtual Partner.’ ]

“…You’ve gotta be f*cking kidding me.”

[YukgaejangEater: Curry, just give up.]

The moment he turned on his mic, a viewer immediately bought the reward.

The nightmare was no longer a hypothetical.

It was real.

For a second, Curry almost screamed.

But he barely managed to hold it in.

[Curry, see you upstairs.]

[Turn off the stream and go now, LOL.]

[Barcode’s watching this unfold in real time—insane.]

[Curry’s genuine despair is hilarious.]

[With acting skills like this, he could win a Best Actor award.]

[???: “It’s not acting, it’s real suffering, you idiots.”]

“Guys, I haven’t even finished my opening monologue yet…”

Curry desperately wanted to stall.

He did not want to go upstairs to Barcode.

But then—

[ FlowerShopOwner: Curry, please head up.]

The chat message from FlowerShopOwner put an end to his resistance.

With no other choice, Curry got up from his chair.

“Alright, guys. I’m going up.”

[ Curry, stay strong.]

[Enjoy your yukgaejang, bro.]

[Is this a festival?]

[No. It’s a funeral.]

[These people are demons, LOL.]

Deciding it was better to rip the band-aid off quickly, Curry ended the stream immediately and left his room.

He climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Standing in front of Barcode’s room—where he’d never set foot once during the entire virtual couple cohabitation—Curry swallowed nervously.

Then, he knocked.

Knock, knock, knock—

The door creaked open.

As he slowly turned the doorknob and stepped inside—

“Oh, you’re here? First, start your stream and put this on.”

“…”

Sitting down like a prisoner on death row, Curry started his stream.

Then, he put on the eye-tracking gear that Barcode handed him.

Barcode helped him configure the settings.

And soon, everything was ready.

“Let’s begin, Curry.”

“…Yes.”

Curry went into the stream settings and unlocked the video donation feature.

As if someone had been waiting for this exact moment, a video donation came in immediately.

Curry prayed it would be something he could endure.

The video started playing.

A popular female solo artist appeared on screen, singing a song.

It was one of Curry’s all-time favorite singers—something he’d mentioned countless times before.

And it was footage from her summer festival performance.

A summer festival.

Which meant… a summer outfit.

Curry’s gaze began trembling violently.

But surprisingly, he managed to keep his eyes steady.

It looked like he was going to make it through.

Until—

“Did you all have fun?!”

At the end of the performance, the singer lifted both arms high into the air.

Curry, who had been holding on by a thread, finally broke.

His gaze snapped upward.

Not to her stomach.

But a little higher.

…11 11.

The video ended.

And from beside him—

A chilling voice rang out.

“…Where do you think you’re looking?”