Chapter 98: Blue Truth

Twenty-nine years old this year, unemployed and preparing for a job.

A man named Ahn Sangtae opened his eyes once again today.

The time was 2 p.m.

Far too late for a job seeker to be waking up, but that no longer mattered to him.

After all, it had already been four years since he had not only been job hunting but also serving as the self-appointed security guard of his own home.

In other words, he was a bum.

In the dark room, hidden behind blackout curtains, Sangtae blinked a few times to gather his senses before lazily scratching his calf and sitting in front of his computer.

The familiar whir of the old computer’s fan filled the room.

Eventually, the screen flickered to life, becoming the only light source in the dim space.

Up until two years ago, he used to occasionally go out and do part-time jobs.

But he had long given up on that.

Everything felt bothersome and dull now.

Still, even in his lethargy, there was one routine he had recently become devoted to.

Writing posts on a community forum.

More specifically, actively participating in the “Abyss Gallery” community.

That was why he had sat down at his desk immediately after waking up.

He had to check the trending posts that had been uploaded while he was sleeping, as well as read the replies to his own posts.

Even though it was the online world, he considered it part of his daily social life.

After all, he was communicating with the outside world through the internet—how could that not be considered external interaction?

If his mother ever heard him say that, she would have been devastated.

Her only son wasn’t even trying to find a job.

Instead, he was holed up in his room all day, writing nonsense on some shady forum.

Lately, Sangtae had noticed the way his mother’s gaze toward him had grown increasingly disapproving.

To avoid her as much as possible, he deliberately shifted his daily schedule.

He slept during the hours when she was awake or out working, and only got up once she had gone to bed.

It seemed his mother had also caught on to his intentions.

These days, she was avoiding him just as much, if not more.

Whenever they did run into each other, the atmosphere was painfully awkward.

‘Just let me finish this one thing. Once I’m done, I’ll start looking for a job and sending out resumes…’

Sangtae was fully aware that his current lifestyle was wrong.

But the cruel world of the internet desperately needed him right now.

He had no choice but to indulge them.

After all, if he didn’t do this noble work, who would?

‘It’s about saving a person.’

Protecting a woman.

That was the weighty mission Sangtae had taken upon himself in the community.

No one recognized his efforts.

There was no compensation or reward.

But he still had to do it.

Like the Dark Knight, he was guarding the one who shone the brightest from the deepest, darkest shadows.

Finally logged into the community, Sangtae clenched his fist with renewed resolve.

‘Watch me, Kayak. I’m protecting Abyss Gallery—and you.’

Then, he began leaving replies under every infuriating post that had been uploaded overnight.

<What the hell is wrong with the people who keep saying Kayak is pretty? ᄏᄏ>
Those freaks saying she looks like Camilla or that she’s beautiful are just f*cking disgusting. ᄏᄏ

– Kayak’sBroth1 : Nope, Kayak’s pretty even if you haven’t seen her face.

– LMAO, another Kayak simp ᄏᄏ

– When’s this fcker getting stripped of his admin badge?*

As they say, no words were needed.

Sangtae was not only a well-known power user of the gallery but also one of its recently appointed moderators due to the lack of manpower.

Without hesitation, he punished those who dared to insult Kayak—the very soul of the gallery—and handed down lenient penalties to those slandering him.

‘How could anyone possibly think Kayak isn’t beautiful?’

Sangtae firmly believed that Kayak was either the same person as Camilla or someone with comparable looks.

There were others on the gallery who, like him, believed that Kayak was indeed Camilla.

However, they only made up half of the community.

The other half insisted that there was no way and frequently disparaged those who believed Kayak was Camilla as delusional fools.

It was an attack from factions that had always harbored a dislike for Kayak.

Seizing the opportunity presented by the sudden controversy over her appearance, they jumped in and manipulated public opinion.

In addition, there were posts filled with vile harassment, severe insults, and other offensive remarks, often made using VPNs.

Whenever Sangtae spotted such comments, he hurriedly deleted them, worried that Kayak might see them.

He knew that personal preferences were inevitable.

However, there was one thing Sangtae couldn’t understand.

It wasn’t the people who genuinely disliked Kayak.

It was those who, despite claiming to be her fans, expressed doubt—those who said, “This can’t be right.”

‘Why are they questioning something so obvious?’

Sangtae couldn’t comprehend their reaction.

And yet, a part of him felt a sense of fulfillment.

As an administrator and a pioneer, he was enlightening the ignorant masses from a higher position.

Just like that, several hours passed.

The sun was already beginning to set.

After fending off a series of raids from other communities, Sangtae wiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Suddenly:

<Kabangk-On, you crazy f*ckerㅋㅋㅋㅋ>

<Kayak turned on her stream ㄷㄷ>

<What’s going on?>

<Stop fighting and just watch the stream, lol>

Kayak’s stream was on.

“Camilla-yakheyo is streaming!”

It was an unannounced broadcast with no title, turned on at an unexpected time.

Although it wasn’t her usual streaming hour, viewers quickly flooded in.

– Viewers: 11,200.

It was an unusual number.

Even during the height of Kayak’s performances in tournaments, her viewership had never been this high.

But this wasn’t a good sign.

It meant that people from various communities had heard the news and were invading her stream.

[Hello hello hello hello hello hello]

[Did you go watch the game in person on your day off?]

[Do it]

[What’s your relationship with Lee Junhyuk?]

[Is it true that you’re going pro?]

[0]

[(Dancing dinosaur emote)(Dancing dinosaur emote)]

[Stop manipulating public opinion on forums, you fcking btch]

[Name]

[Do you really look like Camilla?]

[Do you cosplay as Camilla on a regular basis?]

[0]

[0]

[(ASCII art of Camilla giving a thumbs-up)]

[Teacher, get rid of all these people]

[Cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on, cam on]

[Asking a no-cam streamer to show their face is too much, gallery folks ㅠㅠ]

[Thumbs-up-milla approves~]

[Those murder gallery bastards are here again to harass peopleㅋㅋ]

[You need to enable follower-only and subscriber-only chat]

[0000]

[0220]

The regular viewers of Kayak’s stream fiercely resisted.

However, their usual tactics of spamming random consonants to drown out malicious messages were ineffective.

The opposing side’s firepower was just as strong.

As a result, the chat turned into complete chaos.

It was a scene rarely seen in Kayak’s stream, which was normally well-moderated despite its relatively large viewership.

The chat was moving so fast that it was difficult to read, and most of the visible messages were mocking Kayak.

It was a collective monologue.

There was no meaning behind the messages.

They were simply having fun, like children throwing stones at a frog for amusement.

What was puzzling was the lack of moderation.

Neither the resident moderators nor Kayak herself responded.

The screen remained black, and there was no indication that anyone was paying attention, regardless of how fast the chat scrolled.

The raiders, as usual, weren’t putting much thought into their actions.

They simply followed the mob mentality, mindlessly joining in and throwing stones.

Since Kayak showed no reaction, they became even more emboldened.

It seemed like more people were pouring in from other communities, as the viewer count kept climbing.

They also used donations to taunt her.

<ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 KRW!>
– Is it true you look like sht?*

<ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 KRW!>
– So you didn’t even attend the match and just played with a pro from your room, but now you’re being misunderstood? Poor Kayak, lol.

<ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 KRW!>
– Just quit streaming.

Then, it happened.

For the first time, there was a sound on the stream.

A faint rustling noise.

The sound of fabric brushing against something.

It was the sound of someone moving near the microphone.

The streamer had returned.

Both factions reacted intensely.

The raiders threw stones even more viciously.

Meanwhile, her fans, fearing she might be hurt, frantically flooded the chat with messages of support.

As the chat surged at a speed that was impossible to read, the viewer count surpassed 15,000.

And then, the broadcast screen changed.

It flashed, as if moving from a dark place into a bright one.

A blurry figure came into focus.

It wasn’t the usual game screen or desktop background.

The viewers, initially confused, soon realized they were seeing a live feed from her webcam.

It was the same camera Kayak occasionally used for hand-cam segments.

The screen displayed the inside of a room.

An empty computer chair.

A single-sized bed placed behind it.

Curtains with cute patterns.

Clean wallpaper…

The already fast-moving chat accelerated even further.

There was a temporary freeze due to the flood of messages, causing the chat to lag before bursting out all at once.

And then, it happened.

As the raiders eagerly anticipated a face reveal, convinced they were about to see her face for the first time—

There was a rustling sound.

A figure suddenly popped up.

A woman, crawling out from under the desk, groaning softly as she struggled to get up.

She slid into the chair and sat down.

A woman with snow-white hair and blue eyes.

Everyone froze.

She furrowed her brows and leaned closer to the camera.

“Is it working..? Can you see me now?”

She waved her hand back and forth, checking if the camera was functioning properly.

For a brief moment, the chat lost its momentum.

Then, it exploded, faster and more chaotic than before.

The woman in front of the camera resembled Camilla.