I Became a Malicious Streamer

The world is going crazy.

Even if it’s winter, going down to minus 20 degrees… I can’t tell if I’m living in Korea or far-off Russia.

The viewers said that even Russia isn’t this bad. But, half of what viewers say is nonsense, so I can’t ascertain the truth.

I tried to ventilate a bit by opening the window, and the wind is blowing fiercely.

The biting cold wind made me close the window and return to the room.

Yeah, on days like this, going outside is a no-go. The warm room is the best.

I was sure of that, but knowing the weather was cold, I turned the heater on and went to sleep.

Why did I catch a cold?

“Ah…”

A scratchy pain in my throat and a completely raspy voice burst out.

It’s not serious, just a simple sore throat.

Unlike when I had body aches before, there’s no headache and my body isn’t feeling weak.

Sipping ginger tea, I thought about it.

I wanted to do a broadcast today, but with my throat like this…

Is there any good method?

After a moment of contemplation, I turned on the broadcast anyway.

After all, I’ve been turning on the webcam and broadcasting lately; does it matter if there’s no mic?

Why not use body language—gestures, facial expressions—just like when traveling abroad and not being able to communicate?

People can communicate even without words, right?

That was my thought.

*

[Why is this person acting like this?]

[The Bangjang has suddenly gone insane;]

[They’ve been unusually diligent lately, now they’ve lost it.]

[If you’re sick, just say so…]

[Today’s show is just like usual, huh?]

[Why are you flailing your arms and making weird faces?]

[You seem like you’ve found your original self after a long time, it’s nice to see.]

[So cute.]

[If only they would turn on the lights a bit, it wouldn’t be so bad, but in the dark, it really looks like a crazy person.]

Today, Mollru’s broadcast was on.

How did Mollru go from a weekly broadcast break to over three times, even five times a week, breaking records?

The viewers watched her broadcast with satisfied faces, waiting for it just as usual.

However, today’s Mollru was somewhat different.

Of course, she wasn’t one to do the same show every day; she always did what she wanted to do, but today it seemed like her concept was incomprehensible.

[It feels like watching a silent movie]

Indeed, today’s broadcast was different because the mic wasn’t on.

No sound was coming through; only Mollru’s cam showed the current situation.

But that explanation was a bit hard to understand.

Mollru raised her hand and kept rubbing her throat horizontally.

[What are you saying?]

[Are you saying you’ll chop off your throat?]

[Gasp]

[Mollru the crazy psycho killer ㄷㄷ]

[I’m scared ㅠㅠ]

[I’m sorry.]

[It’s funny because you’re doing that with a serious face.]

It was an expression of a sore throat, but perhaps due to her lacking expressiveness, people couldn’t understand.

With a frustrated face, Mollru suddenly stood up.

[What are you trying to do again? lol]

[Where are you going?]

[Can’t see you.]

[To bed?]

[Gasp;]

[Is it a lying broadcast?]

[I want to lie down with you.]

She headed to the bed.

Adjusting the camera to show the bed behind her, Mollru threw off the blanket and leaned on the bed.

Then, she suddenly started choking her own neck.

Gagging and making a painful face, it was so realistic that the viewers couldn’t hide their shock.

[???]

[Self-choking]

[Is the Bangjang really not feeling well? Why is she doing that?]

[Did she drink?]

[No, no, she’s the type to immediately show it on her face when she drinks.]

[Is this body language, then?]

[Correct! Mollru choked on sweet potato while eating!]

After getting up from the bed and heading to the computer, Mollru checked the chat room and shook her head again.

As if indicating the answer was wrong, she shook her head and then pointed at her throat, doing a motion that looked like she was coughing.

[Correct! It’s COVID!]

[She said she caught a cold?]

[Is it about her throat hurting?]

Nodding vigorously—

As if agreeing, she pointed at the screen and then gave a thumbs up.

[No way, was it really body language?]

[Emergency content, this is hilarious lol.]

[Content monster;]

<"Geujeomol-Hwang" donated 30,000 won!>

-Why didn’t you just open the notepad from the start?

[Ah lol, you think the Bangjang didn’t know that?]

[That’d be boring, though.]

[She probably did it on purpose to get those YouTube views, you dumb.]

That donation could be seen as dampening the mood.

A simple solution proposal regarding Mollru’s antics—something like, “Wasn’t it like this?”

However, contrary to the viewers’ sharp reactions, Mollru put on an expression of realization as if she genuinely did not know, and she opened the notepad.

-Oh, I had a notepad after all.

[Did she really not know?]

[The legendary airhead;]

[She’s sloppy when you see her like this.]

[Is it a serious illness?]

-No, no, just a sore throat, nothing else is wrong.

[For someone with a sore throat, you still turn on the broadcast diligently… Compared to other streamers who take breaks for anything, it’s striking.]

[Info) The Bangjang barely broadcasted once a week until a month ago.]

[It’s chilly, dry, too.]

-I might need to get a humidifier; I woke up with a sore throat.

[Humidifier needed, yes yes.]

[So what are we doing today?]

[With the throat like this, it probably won’t be possible to chit-chat.]

[No mic, hardcore game yes?]

-Why can’t we chat? I have the notepad.

As Mollru communicated with the viewers through the notepad, she seemed to have come up with an idea and started typing on the keyboard.

When Mollru banged on the keyboard a few times, a mechanical voice emerged from the broadcast.

*Hello, I am Mollru.

Text-to-speech. A voice synthesis program sometimes referred to as a “switch.”

*Let’s have a fun broadcast today too!

As Mollru typed, the electronic voice spoke, and she lip-synced in real-time.

As if she were truly speaking right now.

[Oh no, your voice sounds really bad…]

[Isn’t that a voice I’ve heard somewhere?]

[Where did Mollru’s clear, melodious voice go? Now it’s just this robotic voice.]

*Today’s a short one ^^ Since I’ve been diligent with the broadcasts lately, can I take a day off?

[No, no, no, no, no!]

[That’s not how it works, ah lol.]

[Taking a break is murder for me…]

[Taking a break is the right call.]

*Break murderer? Now that’s a bit scary.

As Mollru brought out the TTS, the broadcast drifted into laid-back chatting long ago.

The viewers, taking Mollru’s health into consideration, didn’t really push her for games.

Thus began a browsing session of the Fan Cafe, where they viewed posts accumulated over a short three days to a long week.

-Bangjang’s legendary memes collection. Can’t you stop posting these? I’m getting a bit uncomfortable. It’s a fan cafe, so I have no choice? Hmm, well…

On the page Mollru opened, there were pictures of her made-up for broadcasts while commentary in a league.

These images, curated after doing makeup that could turn heads, were all well-received, as were the comments filled with praise for her looks.

The post at the top of the recommended section on the fan cafe perfectly showcased the power of Mollru’s appearance.

Switching between the electronic voice and the notepad, Mollru continued to communicate.

-These days, it’s a meme among the MZ crowd… How do you get to Hongdae—New Jeans hype boy? So this is how kids are playing these days…

[Does the Bangjang really not know this as the representative of MZ?]

[Isn’t she the one among the ‘kids’ nowadays?]

[How old is Mollru?]

[Mollru is the same age as Ryuah, born in 00.]

[Mollru says she isn’t feeling well, is she okay?]

[Ryuah mentioned Mollru, and now she’s here.]

[Ryuah has entered the chat lol.]

Proving their close friendship, Ryuah commented on Mollru being sick.

Mollru answered not verbally but by typing up the situation.

-But how did you know I was sick? Is Ryuah streaming right now?

The viewers definitely had birdcalls for it.

Curious, Mollru clicked on Ryuah’s broadcast in the Switch followers list.

[Ad break incoming.]

[Ads are getting frequent lately, it’s really uncomfortable to watch.]

[Hate it -_-]

[If you subscribe, they won’t show up, just subscribe.]

[Wait, does the Bangjang not subscribe to Ryuah?]

[Ryuah has been subscribed for months…]

[??? : Mollru? We got close after competing in the tournament together last time; we’re the same age, met during the dinner gathering, and we keep in contact… basically best friends.]

[Ryuah, Ryuah…]

[This might spark controversy.]

[Ah lol, Mollru says she doesn’t think of Ryuah as a best friend.]

Suddenly popping up was the rumor of conflict between Mollru and Ryuah. Mollru pondered for a moment before clarifying.

-That’s not it, I’m just paying Ryuah. If you watch this ad, money goes to Ryuah. You guys don’t know this, but for streamers, each ad is an income source, you know?

[Moll talk on.]

[Though it’s a notepad, why does it feel like I can hear the tone of her voice?]

[Doesn’t subscribing cost money too…?]

Of course, not many believed her words.

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