It was the kind of day a murderous child would burn in hell.
Meaning, of course, it was a beautiful day, with birds chirping and flowers in full bloom.
On such a day, there was nothing better than starting with a warm cup of coffee.
Though my home once boasted a capsule coffee machine, not a trace of its existence could be found now.
Well… given that the machine alone cost 500,000 won, it seemed Yoo Seo-ha’s income couldn’t quite stretch to afford it.
“Number 21! Your order is ready.”
“Thank you.”
For this reason, I stopped by a nearby cafe.
When I was working, I practically lived on coffee, but perhaps becoming a jobless wanderer had changed things?
It felt like an awfully long time since I’d last had a cup.
Sip.
True to my past self, who insisted on hot Americanos even in sweltering heat exceeding 37 degrees Celsius, today’s coffee was also freshly brewed black coffee.
Having experienced a body change that made my tongue much more sensitive to heat, I took a cautious sip, careful not to surprise it.
“…Cough.”
‘What? Why is it so awful?’
‘Had the barista changed? It wasn’t like this when I used to stop by.’
The scent lingering at my nose was undoubtedly the faint aroma of espresso I remembered, yet my tongue tingled with an unpleasant bitterness.
Not from heat, but from bitterness.
Sip, I tried again.
Perhaps I had misjudged it.
Yet my tongue still vehemently rejected this acrid Americano.
I was someone who, by nature, neither attempted nor understood the act of adding syrup or sugar to coffee.
However, having gone out of my way to buy this coffee with my limited funds, it felt wasteful to simply discard it.
For now, I decided to hastily add some syrup.
After squeezing in a generous amount of syrup, I stirred it vigorously with a flat, red straw.
Another sip.
“……”
‘It’s the same?’
The coffee remained so bitter that enjoying its aroma was impossible.
It tasted identical to before, making it hard to believe any syrup had been added.
Glancing discreetly at the part-timer, I decided to add more syrup.
Since one pump hadn’t made a difference, this time I went for a more generous three.
“Oh…”
Only after a total of four pumps did a sweet taste finally emerge from the coffee.
I curled my lips into a satisfied smile.
‘Adding syrup isn’t so bad, surprisingly.’
‘I’ve been prejudiced all this time.’
Feeling a gaze on me, I looked around to find the part-timer who had served my coffee watching me, stifling a laugh.
My body gave an involuntary shiver.
‘Did I use too much syrup on my own?’
Though I didn’t sense any displeasure, I felt self-conscious enough to sheepishly slip out of the cafe.
****
“I wondered if I’d get a bit of ‘doping power’ today.” (TL Note: 도핑 빨 (doping ppal) refers to a boost in performance, often from stimulants, here used humorously.)
Harnessing the power of nicotine and caffeine, my concentration would increase by 1.2 times its usual level.
This could potentially give wings to my already steadily climbing rank score.
Over the past few days, whenever I wasn’t coaching the boss, I focused on finger rehabilitation.
This meant I’d been glued to Triarkia all day long.
Perhaps it was because I’d grown a little more accustomed to pressing hotkeys with my thumb and pinky finger?
My score had begun to reach an unimaginable realm.
2,700 points.
28 wins, 3 losses.
In any other game, such a win rate would raise suspicions of abuse, but in Triarkia, it was actually rare for top-tier players *not* to achieve this kind of win rate.
It wasn’t called a skill-based game for nothing.
Of course, this was the first time I’d achieved such a high win rate with my own hands.
Although the number of matches was relatively low for someone who had been playing for just under a week, due to my playstyle focusing on late-game operations, Triarkia inherently had significant score fluctuations with each match.
Thanks to this, after a total of 31 games, my name proudly appeared within the top 100 rankings.
With my score reaching this level, I had even encountered active professional gamers once or twice.
The three losses on my record had only occurred after I had entered the ranked tier.
After all, I had maintained an undefeated streak up to 2600 points.
“It’s definitely an empty house right now.” (TL Note: 빈집 (binjip) literally ’empty house,’ referring to a situation where top players are absent from the ranked ladder, making it easier for others to climb.)
Perhaps because the pro league was in full swing, most active pros weren’t queuing for games.
Even if they had dropped out, they would likely be taking a break to recover from the fatigue of practice.
It was a relief not to encounter many active pros.
Though I had grown much more accustomed over the past few days…
My hand movements were still not entirely free, meaning I couldn’t display my peak condition.
Competing against a pro gamer was a rare opportunity.
With my current hand condition, a loss would inevitably leave me with deep regrets.
For this reason, upon arriving home, I logged into Triarkia.
Under the guise of rehabilitation, I immersed myself fully in the game, and achieved 2,750 points by securing three additional wins.
Upon entering the top 30, I encountered a formidable wall.
Climbing further from here would not be easy.
Though there was only an 80-point difference between me and the current rank 1 player at 2,830 points, a staggering 27 players were densely positioned in between.
Each of them was an active pro, renowned for their skill.
Or a few former pros seizing the ’empty house’ opportunity to climb the ranks.
Therefore, I stopped searching for a match.
Now, recovering from a single loss would require at least three wins, so I needed to allow myself time to regain focus between games.
Besides, being in such a high tier also meant matches were hard to find.
Thus, at a time closer to evening than lunch.
After finally having a late meal, and spending a considerable time analyzing replays of pro league matches, my phone began to vibrate.
Bzzzzzt—.
Bzzzzzt—.
‘Is it the boss?’
There was no real need to check.
After all, the boss was the only one who would call me.
Sure enough, the name displayed on my phone was ‘Boss (Kang Nari ★Friend★)’.
Now that I thought about it, this might be the momentous first contact with the first friend I’d ever made in my life.
Feeling a wave of shyness, I suppressed it and answered the call.
–”Yes, Boss.”
–”Seo-haaaa!!! I’m screwed!!!” (TL Note: 좆 됐어 (jot dwaesseo) is a strong expletive meaning ‘I’m screwed’ or ‘I’m fucked’.)
–”Pardon?”
My first contact with a friend was turning out to be the worst.
–”What’s wrong? S-should I call the police?”
–”No! It’s not that… Ugh! I didn’t expect to come out like this…!!”
‘Coming out.’
‘Could it be what I’m thinking?’
‘Perhaps the boss didn’t actually see me as a friend, but rather as a romantic interest…’
‘And ultimately, unable to overcome the voice of the heinous psycho lesbian lurking within, she was about to make a shocking confession—’
–”Seo-ha. Actually… there’s a secret I haven’t told you yet?…”
–”I’m ready. Come out whenever you are.”
My heart began to flutter at this, my first-ever confession.
Regardless of whether I harbored such feelings for the boss, it was only natural for a person unaccustomed to being loved to feel this way.
But could there be such a tragedy?
It was an unfortunate matter for the boss, but I intended to refuse.
My first romance was destined to unfold on a spring day with cherry blossoms in full bloom.
After spending several awkward days, blushing and conscious of each other, I would receive a clumsy, all-night-long-written love letter and a confession imbued with pure sincerity, ‘I’ve liked you since way back when!’ To this, I would employ a ‘push-and-pull’ strategy, responding with ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t accept it,’ followed by ‘Because I was planning to confess to you first.’ This would draw tears of emotion from her, and then I would seal our relationship with a kiss.
‘A loser’s delusion? Yes, I’m a loser, and yes, it’s a delusion, so the criticism loses its bite.’
For the aforementioned reasons, I simply had no choice but to reject this confession.
‘I’m sorry, Boss. I can’t see you in that way.’
–”It’s a relief to hear you say that. Actually, I stream. I’m a streamer on Soft.”
–”…Aha! Yes. Yes, yes. Of course, I totally expected that. Just a moment ago, I was thinking that the secret you were about to reveal might be that you stream.”
–”Oh? Really? Did I make it that obvious…?”
–”Well, Boss, you’re just so talented. Haha.”
Since I hadn’t vocalized my thoughts, it was as if nothing had happened.
‘I’m not embarrassed. I’m not embarrassed.’
Even my famed resilience was struggling to bring me back to my senses, muttering, ‘This is a bit much…’, but as no one could observe my thoughts, I presumed I was fine.
–”Tha—… No, my stream is about to totally crash and burn right now?! My viewers suspect you’re a man…!”
–”Me?”
–”Exactly!! No matter how many times I tell them you’re a woman, they won’t believe me…”
–”Oh, um. Are you okay? Aren’t streamers vulnerable to such controversies?”
–”So, about that, could I ask you for one truly, truly, truly unreasonable favor?… I’ll agree to anything you ask for later…!”
I had a good guess what she was going to ask.
It was probably to prove that I was female.
Honestly, it wasn’t even that unreasonable a request.
Proving that I was biologically female was as simple as turning on my phone’s speaker.
–”It’s fine. You can put me on speakerphone.”
–”Wow! Thank you so much!! I’ll buy you something delicious later!! Everyone, just a moment! I got permission!”
A brief rustling sound could be heard.
The wait was not long.
–”Okay! Could you just say a few words…?”
–”Uh… Can you hear me now? Ah, hello. I’m Yoo Seo-ha, the boss’s friend.”
–”Oh. Is it okay to reveal your name?”
–”Oh. Is it not okay?”
–”It’s up to you… Hmm, it doesn’t really matter much.”
I doubted anyone could identify me with just my name.
Especially since I was always cooped up indoors.
–”No, dammit, it’s not a voice changer! And she’s not a part-timer!!”
–”But I *am* a part-timer, aren’t I?”
–”Hey!! Saying that now will only cause misunderstandings!! No, everyone, it’s not like that!! She’s incredibly good at Triarkia, so I personally asked her for coaching, that’s what I meant!!”
–”Booooss. If you pay extra, I can make it sound even more convincing.”
–”Seo-ha, please stop joking, I’m going to dieeee!!!”
Screams erupted from the other end of the phone.
I chuckled, listening to the boss’s desperate cries.
This, however, was not to put her in a difficult position, but rather to shift the current atmosphere from ‘clarification due to controversy’ to ‘just another WWE match’.
As someone who occasionally watched Triarkia pro gamer streams, I knew this.
Viewers would likely take this approach more lightly.
–”I don’t have a boyfriend! I said I don’t!!”
–”Indeed. With that skill level, where would you find time for a boyfriend? You should be practicing more.”
–”…I went up to 1,600 points today.”
–”I’m at 2,750 points.”
–”What?! Isn’t that semi-pro level??”
–”You’ll probably find me in the rankings. I think I’m 27th right now.”
–”Crazy.”
A skilled individual capable of coaching a streamer named Kang Nari.
It added credibility to my existence.
By now, I doubted anyone genuinely suspected I was just a part-timer.
–”Ah!! Why is the mood like this now? A streamer is supposed to talk, not stay silent?! You usually beat me up like a dog if the audio drops even a little!!”
–”What are they saying now?”
–”They’re telling me to shut up and let them hear more of your voice… Hey!! I told you not to call me a chain-smoking ajumma (TL Note: 아줌마 (ajumma) is a Korean term for a middle-aged woman, sometimes used with a slight negative connotation if used by younger people or in a derogatory way.)!! Come here. You’re banned.”
–”Oh dear.”
–”Damn it! Aren’t you going to protect a civilian?! Her voice is cute, but… ‘Oh yeah,’ my foot! If anyone says anything weird to Seo-ha, you’ll get an instant ban, so watch yourselves.”
After hearing that, I didn’t particularly want to check what kind of reactions were directed at me.
‘A man’s gaze seeing me as a romantic interest? The mere thought is horrifying…’
It was enough if the controversy surrounding the boss had simply been put to rest.
–”Now that I think about it, was the reason you always had lessons late at night because of your streaming?”
–”That’s right. I usually ended my stream around 10 PM, so I couldn’t help it.”
–”Ah, I see… So that’s why you were always so tired.”
–”And I got so much grief for that, too. Ugh!!”
–”Then, why don’t we just do the lessons during your stream? I know you’re a streamer now, anyway.”
–”Huh?”
No wonder her concentration seemed to wane day by day; there was a hidden story behind it.
Sleeping late every night, managing the store, streaming, and even practicing.
It was enough to exhaust anyone.
–”Are you really okay with that? I didn’t say anything because I thought you might feel burdened by being on stream.”
–”It doesn’t really matter to me.”
If I were doing it merely out of goodwill, it would be one thing, but this was clearly a paid job.
In that case, adjusting to the employer’s circumstances was perfectly acceptable.
And having my voice broadcast didn’t really cause any harm.
Moreover, it wasn’t easy for me to monitor games until late into the night either.
It could easily disrupt my daily routine.
There was no reason not to choose a solution that would alleviate discomfort for both of us.
Bzzzt, a text message arrived.
The sender was the boss.
[Are you really okay with it? If you do that for me, I’d be happy…]
I tried to tap out a reply on the keyboard but gave up.
My hand movements weren’t yet skilled enough to type quickly on a phone keyboard while simultaneously on a call.
–”I’m really fine, though.”
–”If you ever don’t like it, you have to tell me, okay?”
–”Yes, yes.”
Bzzzt.
Another message arrived.
[Instead of an appearance fee, I’ll give you 1.5 times the base rate for late-night hours. Will that work?]
Oh.
She immediately normalized something that had been slightly bothering me.
With this, my hourly wage was confirmed at 30,000 won.
‘This is seriously amazing.’
–”That’s excellent. So, when should we start?”
–”I don’t care when, as long as I’m streaming. If I have a schedule later, I’ll tell you in advance.”
–”Since things are like this, why don’t we start now?”
–”Uh… okay. Just open Discord like usual, right?”
–”Yep. I’ll just teach as I always do.”
–”No, everyone, aren’t you getting too excited?! What do you mean, ‘saving the mood’?! You know Seo-ha is a civilian, right?”
–”…I’m hanging up. Come into Discord.”
Hmm.
Up until now, as an employee, I had carefully chosen my words when pointing out mistakes, but if the boss was a streamer, wouldn’t it be okay to be a bit more ‘spicy’?
In fact, such behavior might even add more entertainment to the stream.
If the reaction wasn’t great, I could always just go back to how I usually did things tomorrow.
‘Today, I think I’ll wield the club a bit.’
My lips curled into a smile, driven by anticipation.
