"Great job, everyone, on today's 'Turkey & Chicken' collab!"
A lively voice came through the headset. Several men and women echoed similar sentiments. Noir forced the corners of her mouth upward as she replied.
"Great job, everyone!"
Ding-
With that, she immediately left the voice chat room. The mood was winding down anyway, so there was no reason to stick around. They weren't close friends or anything.
"You all saw it, right? Me taking out all those turkey bastards? I'm telling you, I'm not bad at deduction!"
— Chat User Hmm, is that so... — Chat User Didn't you just randomly grab and kill some passerby chicken and get caught??? — Chat User Even a broken clock is right once a day lol; — Chat User Isn't it twice? — Chat User Reduced it to once for Noir's sake — Chat User Noir haters are always on point lololol
"I'm going insane. The haters are at it again? I've proven myself this much—what more do I have to show? Turkeys? I took them out. Deduction? I nailed it. I did everything!"
— Chat User God of normalization Noir indeed ㄷㄷ — Chat User Anyone under the desk???
"Who's under the desk? No one's there! Stop with the nonsense! Just admit I'm smart!"
['Question Mark' has donated 1,000 won.] — Question Mark Just in case, you didn't ban the chat, right? Not suspecting you or anything, lol; — Chat User Gasp! — Chat User Hey hey hey! — Chat User Hey, you bastard!!!
Watching the donations and chat, a wave of exhaustion crashed over her. Her head spun, and she bit her lip hard.
'Good thing they can't see my real face...'
She was grateful for viewers who watched her streams, but sometimes the donations and chats felt overwhelming.
Especially today. Probably because it was the anniversary of her little brother's death yesterday.
"Alright, now that the collab I announced is done, I'll be signing off."
— Chat User Aw, already? — Chat User Free carry on — Chat User Short stream today, already leaving? — Chat User Hmm... this might stir some controversy?
"I worked hard today! Let me have at least one day to relax. I'll stream harder next time. Alright, that's it from me! Bye-bye~"
— Chat User Bye-bye — Chat User bb — Chat User bb bb bb bb
[The broadcast has ended.]
The moment the broadcast ended, silence filled her room. Only the faint hum of the cooler echoed.
[The chat room has been frozen.]
Her hand trembled as she let go of the mouse.
"Haa..."
Noir—no, Kang Seoyun—rose from her chair and shuffled to the fridge. She pulled out a half-empty bottle of water, set it on the table, and reached into the bag beside it.
The white medicine packet was clearly printed with "Mental Health Clinic" and "Relief for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms."
Her fingertips shook as she tore open the packet. She hastily popped the pill into her mouth and washed it down with water.
"Ah..."
Her stomach growled, but she had no appetite. Her body felt heavy, like cotton soaked in water. She dragged herself to the bed and collapsed face-down, pulling the covers over her.
"So cold..."
Seoyun closed her eyes. Exhaustion gradually pulled her consciousness away.
"Si...woo..."
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Shwaaaaa―
Cold water poured over her head.
Her body was ice-cold, but her mind was still boiling.
'What the hell happened?'
The house we'd lived in together collapsed? This was way off from what I'd imagined. I thought it was something minor at worst.
Why did the house collapse? Is Noona okay? She didn't get hurt, did she? Or could she have been there when—
"Fuck..."
I bit my lip hard. My nails dug into my palm, blood dripping down.
I'd pulled an all-nighter.
Every time I closed my eyes, the image of the collapsed house haunted me, keeping sleep at bay. The silver lining was that I didn't feel tired.
My head was still a mess.
I couldn't stay like this forever. Morning came as it always did, and I had work to get to.
Turning off the cold water, I stepped out quietly. I dried off with a towel and blow-dried my hair.
'She'll be fine.'
I repeated it to myself as I changed clothes. Same outfit as yesterday, but I wasn't in any state to care about that.
"Get clean."
With my incantation, the sauce stains on my clothes vanished completely. Maybe because this world had such thin mana? Even this much was taxing.
I left the house right away and headed to the capsule room for work. The boss was grinning as he swept the front with a broom.
"Hayul. You're here? Take care today as always."
"Yes."
I nodded and headed straight to the kitchen. I grabbed a cup, added ice, and filled it with zero cola.
Gulp gulp―
I downed the full cup in one go.
"Fuu..."
The cool carbonation eased my stuffy chest a bit.
'Let's push through today.'
Nothing was certain yet. No reason to jump to conclusions based on assumptions.
I shook my head side to side, trying to shake off the anxious thoughts. Soon, customers started trickling in.
Ding-
Orders popped up one by one on the kitchen monitor. Had word spread overnight? Several kimchi fried rice orders appeared.
"Fuu."
I pulled ingredients from the fridge and started prepping. Thinking ahead to the afternoon rush, I prepared in bulk.
Sizzle―
I lined up frying pans on the four-burner stove and got cooking.
Ding ding-
The nonstop alerts made me hustle even more.
"Hayul! I'll handle drinks and serving, so you focus on the food!"
"Got it."
I swung my arms back and forth as I replied to the boss's shout. Soon, the kimchi fried rice plates were ready one after another.
I topped them with fried eggs and set them on the long shelf. The boss snatched them up as if waiting.
Ding ding-
Endless alerts rang out. I darted between the counter and stove, finishing dishes. How much time passed?
"Fuu."
Only after handling dozens of orders did peace return to the kitchen.
"Hayul, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect it to get this busy..."
With some breathing room, the boss approached and bowed his head. Sweat trickled down his face.
"It's fine."
In fact, it was a relief to be busy. It cleared my cluttered mind a bit.
"You look tired. Sit and rest. I'll handle the remaining serving."
"Haha. I had it easy, just serving a bit. If anyone's resting, it should be you."
"I want to do it."
Sitting idle would just give me a headache. Better to keep moving.
"Alright then. I'll rest. Call if you need anything later."
"Got it."
I finished prepping the food, plated it, poured zero cola, checked the table number, and headed down the hall.
"Here's your order."
Entering the four-person capsule room, I saw four men sitting and chatting.
"Noona. How old are you?"
I set the tray on the table and turned to leave when one asked. I let out a deep sigh. Exhaustion hit hard.
"What? Why the attitude? Pisses me off."
The man's face flushed red. He scowled and stood, clenching his fists like he might swing any second.
"Sorry about that."
I bowed slightly and turned away. As I headed out, he reached for my arm.
"Where do you think you're—"
Crunch!
The moment he grabbed for my shoulder, I seized his arm and yanked. I spun, flipping it over my shoulder.
Thud!
The man lost balance and flew over my back, slamming into the floor.
"Hngh...!"
His eyes bulged. He stared blankly at the ceiling. The others nearby held their breath, watching me.
'I didn't even throw him that hard.'
I'd used magic to cushion the impact before he hit. It'd hurt, but no serious injury.
"Don't ever touch me like that again. Got it?"
"Y-Yes."
"Have a good day."
I bowed and left the room. People beyond the partition stared. They averted their eyes and coughed awkwardly when our gazes met.
I returned to the kitchen and resumed serving. Midway, the boss asked what happened, but I played dumb.
"Ah, goodbye."
Carrying a tray down the hall, I ran into the group, including the guy I'd thrown. They bowed hastily and rushed out.
'Not pressing charges, huh.'
Of course. A guy harassing a girl and getting thrown—hard to complain without losing face.
'Gotta clean up.'
I dropped off food and grabbed a rag, heading back to the four-person room. Empty bowls on the table.
"They ate it all..."
I figured they'd leave it half-eaten out of spite or smash it. Guess it was tasty. I chuckled and stacked the empties on the tray.
🔥 Stream Replay [No, this is straight-up rigged! Hater central!]
As I wiped the table, a sudden voice rang out. A silver-haired character on the wall tablet bounced side to side, talking.
"Hmm."
Virtual YouTuber, right? Even before coming to this world, I'd seen people streaming like this. Not mainstream, but around.
'But that voice sounds familiar.'
One I'd glimpsed before? I tilted my head and kept cleaning. As I finished and went to reset the tablet—
— Noir Guys. I'm so, so wronged. Comfort me...
The familiar tone and speech pattern froze me in place. My heart sank.
"...No way."
I stared at the tablet, watching the video continue.
'Just a similar voice.'
I denied it at first.
But the more I listened, the more familiar it was. My throat went dry. My heart pounded wildly. My hands shook.
— Noir Ah, why was I the killer this round! How hard I worked for those chickens—how could you do this to me!
"It's identical..."
It was exactly Noona's voice and manner when she'd vent her grievances to me.
— Viewer Yeah. Quit whining and do your penalty already. — Viewer Ugh, I hate this! Fine, quick then. Watch close.
Noona—or rather, the Virtual YouTuber Noir—cleared her throat and said,
— Noir Acting cute is cringy, right? But I'm in a bind... I'm~ not acting cute, I was just born this way~ Kkiiiiaaack!!!
At Noona's aegyo, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"...Fuck."
The reunion with my sister was the worst.
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