Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine

━ BC Medical Center ━

Scott and Maya stared at each other like they were rare animals stuck in the same glass cage. Neither of them knew what to say, and that made the silence almost funny.

Scott blinked a few times.

"Uhm, Maya…"

That was all he managed to get out.

The elevator doors began sliding shut.

Maya panicked, darted forward, and squeezed in just in time.

Now they were both trapped in the small metal box, and the silence became unbearable.

Maya couldn't sit still.

She looked at him. Looked away. Looked again.

Blushed. Repeated.

Meanwhile, Scott just leaned in his corner with his lollipop in hand as he stared at the wall like it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

Maya nervously tucked her bangs behind her ear as her thin, tender lips curled into a sheepish smile.

"Well… this is uh… awkward…"

She bit her lower lip and snorted like a wild bull.

『Ughhh, why did I even say that?! That was so stupid and corny! I sounded like an idiot… I should've just waited for him to say something first!』

She was screaming in her mind as she held her head in her hands.

Scott finally broke his silence with a calm response.

"Yeah… sort of."

He gave her the smallest side-eye, but since Maya was so petite, he would've had to tilt his head properly to get a real look at her.

But of course, he didn't.

Maya stared down at her chunky white sneakers.

She kicked the tips of them against each other like a fidgeting child as her face heated up more and more.

She looked like an adorable little tomato.

『He's just as uncomfortable as I am—SCORE!』

She smiled to herself.

If he was awkward, then that meant he wasn't cold toward her on purpose last time. Maybe the way he'd treated her like a stranger was just for show.

『Okay, Maya, okay—you've fucking got this. He still feels something when he's around you. You're not completely out of the game, right?! RIGHT?!』

But of course, no one could answer her frantic pep talk.

So she took a deep breath and blurted—

"So, uhm, what're you doing here?"

The second the words left her mouth, she wanted to die.

『Aaaaaaahhhh! I'm so freaking dumb! He's literally in patient clothes with a cast on, what kind of question is that?! I sound like an idiot. I hate myself. (╥﹏╥)』

However, Scott didn't even flinch at her blunder.

He simply looked at her.

"Uhm, I got into a car accident last night and ended up here. It was all over the news because of Adira. I actually thought you'd know."

Maya froze for a split second before her panic burst out all at once. She hurried across the short space between her and Scott in four quick, rabbit-like steps, then looked up at him with her big purple eyes, filled with worry.

"I did know! (｡ŏ﹏ŏ)"

She came at him so suddenly that it startled Scott and made him step back a little. But Maya quickly closed the gap with two fast steps and grabbed onto his hospital wear with her small fingers, still looking up at him with those big, innocent eyes of hers.

"I promise, I really did come here because of you. When I saw the news, I cancelled everything just to make sure you were okay. Don't mind the dumb question I asked—I just… I didn't know what to say! You know how dumb I get when I'm nervous. Please… (≧◡≦)"

Her eyes were glossy now and her voice was so fragile it could shatter like glass.

She looked like she would cry if he didn't understand how much she cared.

Before Scott could say anything, Maya's grip turned into an affectionate hug. She pressed her face against his stomach as her smallish arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Uhmm…"

Scott stood frozen and eyes wide as his lollipop still hung from his lips. His hands hovered awkwardly in the air, unsure if he should push her away, pat her head, or just… stay still.

[Ding! Mission activated!]

[Spend some time with Maya Rivera!]

The notification he'd been dreading finally came to screw him over in the worst possible manner.

『I hate you so much… (╬ಠ益ಠ)』

━ ━ ━ ━

Back in the hospital room, Dr. Goode sat calmly in his chair as he jotted notes.

Emma and Nadia were still seated across from him.

His notes on Nadia barely filled a page.

As for Emma… he was already two pages of scribbles.

And that was just the summarized version.

He looked at Nadia with patient eyes.

"Nadia, what was going through your mind when you realized you had feelings for Scott?"

Nadia froze up.

"Uhm…"

She found it really hard to answer, and her expression gave everything away. She looked tense and uncomfortable, almost restless, and she couldn't bring herself to look either Emma or Goode in the eye.

"Honestly? I hated myself for it. Emma was happy with him. You're my best friend—my sister. I thought it would pass. But then he got with Gwen and… it made me think maybe my feelings weren't as impossible as I told myself."

Her hands slipped between her thighs as she nervously pressed her knees together.

At that point, it would take a miracle for her trembling eyes to leave the floor.

Goode nodded slightly. He already felt bad for her.

But Emma didn't… her face was firm like a rock.

She let out a dismissive scoff.

"Oh please… so instead of talking to me, you ghosted us? Real mature. (ㆆ_ㆆ)"

She folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

Nadia's cheeks puffed up stubbornly.

"Better than stealing him… (￣^￣)"

Emma was mad—really mad—but she bit back her anger so hard that all she did was twitch a little. She sat up stiffly, arms crossed, wearing that same smug look she always had, like Nadia wasn't even worth her time.

"Hmph. As if you could!"

She closed her eyes and gave her breasts a big bounce by propping them up with her folded arms.

Goode sighed.

"Emma, can you tell Nadia what the ghosting felt like?"

Emma visibly resisted.

She grumbled like a kid being forced to clean her room.

"It felt like my best friend just disappeared. Like you didn't want to deal with me anymore. It hurt more than if you'd just said, 'Hey, I like Scott too.' I… I just didn't know I was that easy to abandon."

This suddenly made Emma calm down a little, and she turned away with a really sad look on her face. Even her voice lost its usual energy—it sounded flat and nothing like the sassy tone she had before.

Nadia's eyes softened.

"I… I was scared you'd hate me."

Goode's pen stopped moving.

"Wonderful from you two. So, it sounds like both of you were trying to protect your friendship… but ended up hurting each other anyway."

Emma frowned like a goblin.

"Yeah, well, mission accomplished."

Nadia huffed and looked away again.

"You're still dramatic as hell."

She crossed her arms stubbornly.

Goode pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Let's try this. If we take Scott out of the equation… what do you value about each other?"

Emma sighed.

"She's been there since we were kids. She… helped me with my porn addiction. Without her, I'd probably be a cheap hooker on the streets of Brooklyn or something. She knows all my embarrassing secrets."

Her cheeks turned red the more she spoke.

Goode turned to Nadia.

"She's basically my sister. I come from a huge family, thirty siblings, but never bonded with anyone. Emma made it easy. She's annoying, bossy, shameless, perverted… but she's the one person who'll show up at 3 a.m. if I'm stranded on the highway."

Dr. Goode listened closely to everything they both said, and he didn't even realize when a small smile slipped onto his face.

"Ahem—!"

He quickly cleared his throat and forced the smile away.

He was back to his usual stern, professional look.

"Good, good. That's the foundation. Now, here's the challenge—Mister McQueen's relationship style is… very unconventional. Emma, you already adjusted once when Gwen came into the picture."

Emma groaned and dragged her hands down her face.

"You're not seriously—"

"Let me finish."

Goode raised a hand.

"What would it take for you to trust Nadia in his dynamic, the same way you trust Gwen?"

Emma's lips stumbled.

For once, she didn't have a comeback ready.

She actually thought about it.

"Gwen never lied. She never pretended she didn't want him. Secrets are what I can't stand."

There was vulnerability in her trembling eyes.

Nadia leaned forward slightly as her voice went soft.

"Then I'll be honest from now on. No more hiding."

Goode smiled again.

This was progress. Just one more question and he could close the session on a hopeful note.

"If Nadia kept that promise… could you imagine a future where she's part of this arrangement?"

The room went quiet all of a sudden.

Goode kept his eyes on Emma, clearly waiting for her to say something.

The silence dragged on so long that even Nadia started to feel uneasy. At some point, she found herself sneaking nervous glances at Emma, her eyes full of desperate hope—as if she was silently begging Emma to give the answer everyone wanted to hear.

Emma pressed her jaw tight and inhaled.

"No."

This made the silence even louder.

━ ━ ━ ━

Scott and Maya walked side by side across the hospital's main floor as their footsteps made a light echo on the shiny tiles.

The place felt busy but not loud—parents in hospital clothes sat talking with their families, while little kids ran past with toys clutched in their hands, their socks slipping against the floor.

The faint smell of disinfectant was in the air.

Scott kept looking around quietly, taking it all in with that calm, almost distant look on his face.

Maya, however, couldn't stop staring at him.

Her heart had been hammering since the moment they met earlier, and now that she was actually walking next to him for this long… it was unbearable. She kept sneaking glances—quick, nervous little looks—and each time she either blushed, smiled without meaning to, or sometimes both at once.

Her tiny white teeth flashed out when she grinned, but she'd immediately clamp her lips shut and look away as though she'd been caught doing something illegal.

Then she did it again. And again. And again.

Until finally—when she looked up one more time and noticed just how tall he looked—Maya's brows shot up.

『Wait, wait, wait. NO WAY! Did he… grow taller since the last time we talked?! (>///<)』

She squealed internally.

『Yeah, yeah, we spoke a few days ago but I didn't notice it then… he was like, what, 5'11 before? Don't tell me he had a growth spurt—?!』

Her wide eyes sparkled.

『Ohhh! That would explain why he suddenly looks even more ridiculously handsome too! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)』

The thought hit her so hard that she gasped out loud without realizing.

Scott raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hm?"

Maya turned stiff.

Panic slammed into her chest as she slapped her hands over her mouth like she'd just confessed a state secret. She could feel his gaze still on her and that only made her want to bury herself under the tile floor. When he finally turned back to the corridor ahead, she let out a shaky little exhale—like a thief who barely avoided getting caught.

But her thoughts wouldn't stop.

『If he's gotten this good-looking all while I've been gone from his life, then what the heck am I supposed to feel? Of course I'm glad he's doing well, but… do I really have to be one of those exes who stressed their boyfriends so much that he had a massive glow-up after the breakup?! Ughhh!』

She squeezed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to scream.

When she peeked at him again with those big purple eyes, her cheeks went bright red.

『He looks so fine, kyaaah—! (≧◡≦) ♡』

Scott's eyes flicked down at her again.

"You don't seem to have grown much…"

He said casually, eyes already moving back ahead.

Maya blinked, caught completely off guard.

Then she laughed nervously, rubbing the side of her arm.

"Ehehe… you don't have to be so harsh, y'know."

Puffing her cheeks like a little dumpling, she flexed her nonexistent biceps beneath her oversized sweatshirt.

"Besides! I've been on a very serious milk diet. Just you wait—give it a few years and I'll be taller and sexier than all those Argentinian supermodels!"

Scott actually chuckled at that as he shook his head.

"You've been saying that for years now. Still don't see it happening anytime soon. And honestly, with your dad not being all that tall, there's not much genetic potential to work with… and your mom—"

He stopped short when his eyes flicked toward her face.

She already had that sad, thoughtful look, the one that always made his chest tighten with guilt.

Scott sighed.

"…I'm sorry. I forgot."

Maya smiled gently.

"Don't worry about it. It's not important."

Without warning, she inched a little closer to him until her shoulder was resting against him.

They kept on walking.

The silence between them stretched, so Scott cleared his throat and forced out—

"So, uh… have you called your dad recently? I'm only asking 'cause he still calls me sometimes. He even said I should drop by the lab here in Meteor City…"

He looked at Maya and saw that same sad look on her face again, the one that always made him feel guilty.

Every time he mentioned her dad, she wore that look—like it was automatic, almost like muscle memory.

It reminded him of all those times in the past when her dad didn't show up.

Science fairs, big presentations, decathlons—no matter how well she performed, she always ended up walking on stage with the dullest expression while collecting her awards.

Back then, he had taken it upon himself to try and make her happy, to fill in the space her dad left empty.

And now, seeing that look on her again, that same old instinct inside him kicked in.

"I… I haven't…"

Maya admitted quietly.

She uneasily clasped her hands behind her back.

Her head dipped low as her chunky sneakers dragged lightly against the tiles.

"I've tried to, but… he's busy. There's some big project he's working on, so… I don't think he really wants to have anything to do with me. Ahahaha, then again, it's not really a new thing, is it…?"

She forced out another chuckle then sighed.

Scott scratched the back of his neck and quickly looked away in frustration. He'd wanted to comfort her, but the words wouldn't come. The mood between them wasn't just the same for him to comfortably do it.

Soon, they reached the hospital entrance.

The automatic doors slid open.

They stopped and turned toward each other.

Maya looked up at him with soft, expectant eyes—like she was waiting for a hug, or maybe just… anything from him. But Scott only looked back at her with no particular expression on his face.

"Uh… so I guess you should get back to your hero work and stuff, huh?"

He tried to smile, but it wouldn't work.

Being happy around her wasn't something he was sure he could get back again.

Maya noticed. She always noticed.

Her delicate fingers twisted together while her thumbs nervously twiddled.

"Look…"

Her voice was pillow-soft.

"I know I never properly apologized. About everything. Our relationship, my career… all of it. I know. But like you always said—it's better to show you're sorry than to just say it."

Her voice trembled like the fragile thing it was, but she forced a small smile anyway.

"So I promise. If you can set a date whenever you're free, I'll clear my schedule. No excuses. I'll be there… to make it up to you. However long it takes, however much it takes. Even if you can't forgive me completely, I just…"

She squeezed her voice down to a whisper.

"…I just want to see you smile at me again."

She extended her hand toward him.

"Is that a deal?"