Chapter 83: The Law of Christmas

It was a holiday like any other.

This winter, the snow had been falling heavily, with white flakes pouring from the sky.

Seeing the snow brought back old memories.

Back then, just the sight of snowfall used to make me so angry.

After all, it felt like trash was falling from the sky, and no matter how much I cleaned it up every day, it never seemed to end.

Looking back, though, it was all just memories.

I was lost in thought, gazing out the window when—

“Let’s go out!”

“Go out?”

“Yeah! It’s Christmas Eve!”

The one who had spoken first was Ryu-Ah.

Out of the blue, she called me, suggesting that we go out.

Most of my conversations with Ryu-Ah happened like this.

With her impulsive personality, she would suggest something, and I would either accept or decline.

Lately, I had been accepting most of her suggestions.

“Then should we invite Ji-Yeon and Si-Young too? It’s been a while since we all hung out together.”

“Hmm, yeah. It’d be nice for the four of us to spend time together.”

Ryu-Ah answered in a somewhat mysterious tone.

Ever since the stalker incident, the four of us had naturally become a group that often shared our daily lives.

Whenever there was an event, a trip, or even just a casual outing, we had become a fixed group that never failed to gather.

It was a bit overwhelming that the common link between us was me, but—

Still, it was only possible when everyone had free time.

If one of us was too busy or too far away, meeting up was impossible.

Among the four of us, Ryu-Ah was the one with the least free time.

Wasn’t she the only one who lived far away?

“…Can you even make it up here?”

Since we had been meeting often, I hadn’t really thought about it, but Ryu-Ah lived in Busan.

It felt like we were seeing each other way too frequently for her to just be coming up whenever she had free time.

“Oh, did I not tell you? I’m staying at my sister’s place in Seoul.”

“This is the first I’m hearing about it.”

“Well, you see—”

Ryu-Ah explained that she had moved out of her parents’ house and was now living with her sister in Seoul.

“I guess you could say I’m like an innocent country girl fulfilling her dream of moving to the big city. I was actually curious about what life in Seoul would be like.”

“I see.”

I nodded as I listened to her, when suddenly, Ryu-Ah spoke in a meaningful tone, as if she was about to share something important.

And in a hushed voice, she added—

“Plus, being in Seoul means I get to see more of you, Ji-Eun.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“You like that, don’t you?”

Ryu-Ah and Ji-Yeon always had this habit of seeking confirmation from me.

It made me wonder if I wasn’t expressive enough with my feelings.

“Yeah, I guess I do prefer it if you’re in Seoul.”

“Hehe.”

“But why Christmas Eve? Why not on Christmas Day itself?”

Did we really have to go out specifically on Christmas Eve?

If anything, the main event was on Christmas Day, and Christmas Eve was just like a prelude.

“Oh, I have to stream on Christmas, Ji-Eun.”

“Huh?”

Ryu-Ah wasn’t exactly a dedicated streamer.

Maybe she used to be, but I could confidently say she wasn’t now.

She regularly took two or three days off a week, so why would she be so determined to stream on Christmas?

I asked her, puzzled, and she replied in a cryptic tone, as if revealing some great secret—

“Ji-Eun, you don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“What happens if you don’t stream on Christmas.”

“What happens?”

Was the world going to end or something?

Genuinely curious, I asked her for an explanation.

How to Spot a Female Streamer Who Exploits Simps on Christmas

Hey, it’s me, your older brother.

So, it’s Christmas today. But honestly, Christmas doesn’t mean much to me.

Whether people are singing carols outside or the cool kids are off having wild drug-fueled s*x parties, it’s none of my business.

But as someone who’s been watching internet streams for ten years, I can tell you—it’s a big deal if a female streamer doesn’t go live on Christmas.

Especially if you’re a devoted simp who’s emotionally attached to your favorite female streamer.

Yeah, I’m talking about you.

For all you clueless suckers out there, I’m here to help you figure out if your favorite streamer is using you.

You don’t want to be a fool in real life and a fool online, do you?

There are only two rules to this.

Rule #1: Be wary of female streamers who post a break notice on Christmas.

Some streamers always seem to take a break around Christmas, Children’s Day, or Halloween.

They’ll give excuses like “I need time to recharge,” “I always get sick this time of year,” “It’s my parents’ birthday,” “A relative passed away,” or “Family suddenly came over.”

Unless it’s something really serious, don’t believe them.

And if they don’t provide proof? Definitely don’t believe them.

They’re all lying—they’re just out there having s*x with their boyfriends.

Filtering out the ones who take Christmas off already gets rid of most of them.

You think I sound paranoid?

Too bad.

If you don’t know anything about your favorite streamer’s personal life, this is the safest way to avoid getting hurt while still enjoying their content.

Of course, the real solution is to just stop watching female streamers who manipulate their audience.

But if you could do that, you wouldn’t be in this situation, would you?

It’s not a crime to be in love.

It’s just that your love is… a little misguided.

Rule #2: Even if they stream on Christmas, check if they took Christmas Eve off.

This is where you have to pay close attention to their appearance the next day.

If they suddenly show up all bundled up, it’s a dead giveaway.

The most obvious tell? Their knees.

But even just looking at their neck or wrists can give you enough clues.

These days, more streamers follow Rule #2 than Rule #1.

That’s because they know people are onto them—so now, they meet their boyfriends on Christmas Eve and stream on Christmas Day to avoid suspicion.

You might ask, “Why do you even analyze this stuff?”

Because I believe that if a female streamer is intentionally building a parasocial relationship with her viewers, the least she can do is maintain a certain level of professionalism.

If a streamer clearly avoids catering to simps, then whatever—let her do what she wants.

But if she keeps baiting her audience while secretly dating someone, that’s just disrespectful.

And if she’s going to do that, at least don’t make it so obvious.

It takes barely any effort to figure this stuff out—so if it’s that easy, doesn’t it feel like they’re rubbing it in your face?

Anyway, I just wanted to share some tips I’ve gathered over the years.

Hope you enjoy your internet streaming experience.

See ya~.

ᄋᄋ: A masterpiece.

ᄋᄋ: I used to be a hardcore viewer, but after reading this, I suddenly had a reality check. LOL. Why do people even watch female streamers who farm donations?

ᄂᄋᄋ: I don’t get it. Why was I even watching all this time?

oo: I used to think the “10,000-hour rule” was nonsense, but now it suddenly feels credible. Is there anyone who understands the donation-farming industry of internet streaming better than this guy?

ᄂᄋᄋ: Even if you calculate just 8 hours of watching per day, that’s almost 30,000 hours. This person is on another level.

ᄂᄋᄋ: The scary thing is that even after reaching this level of enlightenment, this person still hasn’t escaped the life of a dedicated viewer.

ᄂᄋᄋ: This is almost like an urban legend.

ᄋᄋ: Thanks to you, I just avoided another female streamer trying to milk donations. Appreciate it…

roo: I kinda feel bad for the female streamers who get filtered out by someone like this.

ᄂᄋᄋ: If you think about it, it’s actually a win for them.

ᄂᄋᄋ: LOL, they were probably a useless viewer who didn’t contribute anything to the stream anyway.

ᄋᄋ: Stop analyzing this nonsense and go live your life, man.

“Explain myself? Explain what?”

On Christmas Day, I turned on my stream and was met with a bizarre situation.

[Explain yourself]
[Explain]
[EXPLAIN]
[What were you doing on Christmas Eve that you didn’t stream?]
[I’m hurt, I’m hurt, I’m hurt, I’m hurt]
[Was I the only one who was serious again?]
[These guys are always ‘serious’]
[These reckless idiots only know how to charge forward… they shouldn’t even be allowed to drive on the roads…]
[Just ban all the crazy ones LOL]
[You’d have to ban more than half of them if you do that]

“Christmas Eve? I just took a break. Is that seriously what this is about?”

It’s not like skipping a stream is unusual for me. I’m not the type of streamer who goes live every single day.

So it’s not the fact that I didn’t stream—it’s when I didn’t stream that’s the issue?

“What’s the problem with taking a break on Christmas Eve?”

I mean, what does it even matter? December 24th, January 24th—it’s all the same to me.

The days I take off are my holidays, period.

As I watched my chat explode like someone had hit a nerve, a thought flashed through my mind.

Oh, wait… is this what Ryu-ah was talking about?

“I didn’t meet up with a guy, so calm down. I hung out with my little brother, Ryu-ah, and my editor—just the four of us.”

[Editor? Editor? Editor? Editor? Editor? Ugh…]
[Editor is a girl. She’s a hardcore ‘Girls Only’ type.]
[Ugh… Ugh… Sigh]
[If that was the case, you should have told us earlier, teacher ^^]
[Are you guys stupid? Why would she have to explain her personal life to you?]

Honestly, this was just ridiculous.

“Now that I think about it, why am I even explaining myself? Are you guys my boyfriends? Seriously, whether I meet a guy or a girl, why does it matter to you?”

[‘She’s actually bisexual’ theory confirmed LOL]
[The true intellectual of our time]
[If you make a move, you need to take responsibility LOL]
[She brewed up the parasocial feelings herself and now she’s acting like she doesn’t know]

“Besides, I took the day off on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day. If I was meeting someone, wouldn’t it make more sense to meet on Christmas Day?”

Ryu-ah had insisted on hanging out on Christmas Eve just to avoid misunderstandings.

But her efforts had gone completely to waste.

[Actually, these days, people meet up on Christmas Eve more often, according to experts.]
[That’s what they say.]
[Yep, that’s the truth.]

“What kind of nonsense—”

I already knew.

Some random post must’ve popped up in a community somewhere, analyzing the habits of female streamers.

And clearly, some of my viewers had taken it way too seriously.

But that was their problem, not mine.

I decided it was time to re-establish some discipline around here.

“That’s it for today’s stream. Thanks for watching, everyone.”

[????]
[Huh?]
[Are you guys serious? You made her mad, idiots.]
[I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.]
[All the newbies, get out!!!!]
[Oh, you guys have had it way too easy lately, huh?]
[Maybe we need to go back to her streaming once a week so you learn your lesson.]

“Yeah, you guys are getting a little too bold these days.”

I didn’t actually think that, but I played up the arrogance on purpose.

In reality, I always saw the relationship between a streamer and their viewers as an equal one—nobody is above the other.

But acting this way had the desired effect.

The ones who had been interrogating me had vanished, replaced by chat messages filled with crying emotes.

Is this what they call ruling by fear?

“Don’t do this again, okay?”

Now that they seemed to have learned their lesson, I softened my tone.

Not that I was ever really mad—I was just mildly annoyed.

[^^7]
[Heuuung… Our goddess knows how to train her audience well]
[A female streamer who knows how to use both the carrot and the stick… Truly rare]

“Heh.”

Yeah, this is more like it.

Watching my chat return to its usual mess of nonsense, I let out a quiet laugh.