Chapter 14 - Cooking and the First Cam Stream Mishap
“Ugh… my arm hurts…”
“Should I carry the rest?”
“It’s not that bad…”
On the way to my sister’s house, as the heavy ingredients weighed down my arm, my sister took the bag I was holding in one hand, and soon we arrived at her place.
“Hmm…”
It had been a while since I visited my sister’s house, so I wandered around the small studio apartment.
“Uh… unnie?”
“Found it.”
I discovered a pile of trash and remnants of instant noodles in her utility room.
“…..Sorry…”
“What time is it?”
“4 o’clock…?”
“I’ll clean up.”
I placed the ingredients I had brought from home on the dining table, tied my now shoulder-length hair with a new hair tie, and began cleaning.
First, I took out the small vacuum cleaner that existed in my sister’s house and plugged it in. It looked exactly the same as before, which meant she was too lazy to clean.
Vroooom—
It wasn’t night yet, but since winter days are short, I quickly vacuumed the numerous strands of hair and bits of trash scattered on the floor.
I stuffed the unbagged trash in the house into a bag, added the dust I had vacuumed, and tied it tightly.
Luckily, the dishes were already clean, but the washing machine was full.
“Uh… I was going to do it next week…”
“Do it now.”
“Sorry… I’ll change and run it.”
My sister went into the room to change, while I poured detergent into the washing machine. I think she chose a pretty good place to live.
The rent was a bit high, as expected for Seoul, but considering the amenities she was looking for, this was the best option. The security was good, and it was close to her school. Even though it was a studio apartment, it came with basic options like an air conditioner and washing machine, and the area was quiet, making it good for studying.
While I was organizing the storage, my sister, now dressed in comfortable clothes, came out and started the washing machine. Fortunately, it seemed like she hadn’t forgotten how to use it.
While we were organizing the storage and taking out the trash, my sister spoke up.
“…Unnie…”
“What?”
We were just a few steps away from her apartment, but my sister stopped on the stairs and looked at me with a worried expression.
“Unnie… can’t you move?”
“Move…?”
“Well… I just remembered the landlord said there was an empty room…”
“Here…?”
“Yeah… to be honest… I’m really worried… like, really worried…”
“About me…? I’m fine…”
My sister’s expression grew serious.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while… it’s so dark at night… and it’s a basement… it just makes me uneasy…”
“Mm…”
She wasn’t wrong. The landlord was nice, but it was dark at night, and the basement apartment was so poorly maintained that I had a hard time adjusting at first. I’ve just gotten used to it. On top of that, I’ve changed a lot, mentally and emotionally. Her anxiety and concern were probably weighing on her heavily.
“…Thanks. I’ll seriously consider it.”
“Thank you…”
“Can’t believe I’m making a high schooler worry like this…”
“I’m not a kid.”
“Right, right~ Let’s go inside. It’s still cold…”
While I prepared the batter for frying and the shrimp, I started making something for myself to eat. My sister liked seafood, but I hated it.
As always, fried rice was the best option for something simple.
Chop-chop-chop-chop—
I was slicing green onions to put in the fried rice.
“…Ow…”
“Sis?!”
A bit of blood began to drip from my finger.
“Just… wait a sec! I have a bandage in my room!!”
My sister rushed in, panicked.
“…Sigh…”
After sucking on the bleeding finger a little, I saw a small cut. It wasn’t deep, but a clear cut had been made.
“I wasn’t like this before…”
I have been cooking since I was young. Back when we had a restaurant, I used to help my mom in the kitchen. My sister and dad took care of serving and the counter.
My sister took after my dad, and his cooking skills were so bad it was beyond saving.
I’ve done this for a long time, but now, it feels different. A knife that used to feel light now felt heavy, and my hands seemed smaller.
“Are you okay…? Should I do it?”
“Don’t say stuff like that… the knife just felt a bit heavy…”
“…Be careful…”
Thankfully, there were no further accidents.
The fried rice and shrimp tempura were completed smoothly, and my sister, despite her concern, happily devoured 20 pieces of shrimp tempura.
“Come anytime!”
“It’s cold! Get inside already!”
Looking at the cute cat band-aid wrapped around my finger, I walked into the dark alley.
“…Heh…”
Time passed quickly.
“Oh… it’s here…!”
After finishing work and coming home, I found a large box and a small one waiting at my doorstep.
“Ugh… heavy…”
Cursing my lack of strength, I struggled to drag the big box and the small one into the house and checked the time.
“Hm.”
I quickly changed into more comfortable clothes and tried to peel off the tape… peel… peel…
“Why… won’t this… come off…?!”
Tick-tick-tick—
All my attempts to remove the tape were in vain. Finally, I gave up and grabbed a small knife, slicing the tape mercilessly. This time, I didn’t cut myself.
“Whew… these things…”
Inside the box were a large microphone and a small camera.
“Wow… a 300,000 won one…”
Following the tutorial I had watched on YouTube, I connected the camera and microphone to my old computer. I rearranged the tiny table, which had no space to spare, to set up the microphone. I placed the camera on top of the monitor, just like in the video, and turned on the computer.
[Did anyone really trust that guy? LOL]
Baraa said she’d prove it, then ran away immediately. LOL. Classic, right? Who the heck believed her? She said she’d set up a camera and microphone, then turned off the stream. LOL. There’s no one still waiting for her, right?
-I knew from the start it was a program.
-Lots of unfounded hate incoming~
-I knew it was a scam from the start. LOL.
[No, seriously, she’s going to stream. She’s just busy this weekend.]
She could be working part-time, or maybe the equipment hasn’t arrived yet.
-Dude, are you delusional?
-I don’t care if it’s fake. I just want to hear her voice; she should just stream.
Aroalo – I’ll. Wait. Forever.
The community was on fire. The replay had already surpassed ten thousand views, and it wasn’t just the Lesik (Legendary Six) community but several others that were buzzing with activity.
People were once again divided into two camps.
You guys seriously believe that?
She’s really coming back.
It was a blazing argument that was bound to fizzle out in a few days, but for now, it was fueled to the brim with charcoal.
[The stream is live.] – Aroalo
5:02 PM.
The notification popped up.
Baraa has started a live broadcast!
“Hmm hmm…”
I finished setting up and turned on the stream, but the screen was still black.
Wearing my headset, I checked the microphone settings and clicked the mouse.
“…Did it… work…?”
Looking at the small monitor, I saw a white-haired girl with slightly nervous red eyes.
It was me.
The camera was definitely working.
I tapped the big microphone with my finger to check if it was picking up sound.
As Baraa’s stream went live, people flooded in. The chat, which had no restrictions, was quickly filled with insults, concerns, and excitement. The black screen soon changed.
What appeared was a small window suggesting a basement apartment, a tiny bed, and a small fridge.
In the middle, a silver-haired, red-eyed beauty sat in a chair, looking into the camera.
The chat, which had been scrolling rapidly, momentarily paused.
“…Did it work…?”
The voice that enchanted people during the replay echoed, and the chat exploded once again.his
-???????
-What the heck!!!!
-Is this real? Is it CGI???
-What’s with the hair and eye color? So pretty…
“Ah… hello…?”
What? Why are there so many viewers? Why are there four digits? This is only my third stream…
-Noona~~~~
-OMG… her voice is amazing…
-You seeing this, haters? You seeing this? Haters, where you at? You seeing this?
-I’ve been a believer from the start. LOL.
My computer, as if in agony, was making noises I had never heard before.
“Uh… well… um…”
Panic.
The girl on the screen was visibly flustered, unable to proceed with the stream.
By now, the sentiment had fully shifted to “Noona is the best,” and the chat continued to scroll rapidly.
“Umm…! Ah… Aro…!”
Aroalo – What is this?
In a fluster, I spotted a familiar name and gave Aroalo mod rights. I didn’t know how to set this up, so I just handed over the manager role to the one person I knew would handle it.
Aroalo – ???
“Just… do something, please…!”
A few seconds later, the chat, which had been moving too fast to read, slowed down.
”
Did we… manage to stop it…?”
The chat now showed it was in slow mode with a 5-minute delay, and people were finally able to talk properly.
“Uh… well… hello… I’m Baraa…”
“Today, I thought I’d play some games… then log off around 6…”
-What game?
-Lesik?
-Is it really you, Baraa?
“Ah… yeah… I’ll play a few rounds and leave at 6.”
I moved the mouse to open Lesik.
Click-click.
The mouse clicked twice.
The computer turned off.