I Became a Raid Boss

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Da-eun knows she is quite famous.

Of course, it’s not to the extent of being as recognizable as the celebrities who frequently appear on TV.

Even if the times have changed and more people prefer OTT services over terrestrial broadcasts, the public awareness still leans more towards the latter.

She may not be a top-tier celebrity, but there are still people who recognize her when she walks down the street.

That was how Da-eun viewed her own recognition.

Having high recognition is a good thing.

She isn’t your average office worker…

Well, even if she were an average office worker, there wouldn’t be any reason for it to be bad to have high recognition.

As long as it isn’t in a bad way, that is.

“People say that person does such a great job.”

Or,

“Oh, isn’t that such-and-such? A trustworthy person.”

Or even,

“If it’s you, I can trust you with it.”

Who wouldn’t dislike hearing things like that?

Even office workers feel that way, let alone Da-eun, a personal streamer; her recognition was akin to a means of livelihood.

So, it’s a good thing when others recognize and like her—

But just like how toxins can be medicines if used well, high recognition can also become a poison if misused.

People often exaggerate trivial remarks or actions, create baseless rumors out of jealousy, demand money from strangers, or send photos of their body parts…

While she has grown accustomed to it now, there were times during her rookie days, when she wasn’t familiar with the internet, that such things stressed her out, even bringing her to wet her pillow.

And stalking or doxxing also falls under “the bad points of high recognition.”

Those going beyond just wanting to get close to their favorite celebs or influencers.

Having heard of cases where members of a certain idol group were tormented by obsessive fans, or where families suffered from being doxxed, Da-eun was wary of the low-quality crowd that could stick to her.

However, there was something she had underestimated.

“Hmm?”

In the shadowy night streets.

In order to fulfill the heavy mission of defeating monsters threatening humanity…

To put it simply, a man who had come out to play an augmented reality game suddenly looked up.

A voice, faintly heard.

When he first heard that voice, he thought to himself, “There’s someone making noise in the middle of the night.”

Well, it wasn’t even that late, nor that noisy, but such details didn’t register in the man’s mind.

What he truly needed—having been stood up by a friend he promised to game with—was something to chew on, not trivial observations.

So, while he initially chewed on the voice that reached him, listening closely gave him an oddly familiar feeling.

Like a memory he was on the verge of recalling, just teasing at the edges of his mind.

“…Ah!”

With his face scrunched up as much as possible, the man suddenly exclaimed.

Just like Archimedes shouting out when he discovered the principle of buoyancy ages ago.

“Is that Joanie?”

Known more widely by the name “Joanie” than her real name, she was a personal streamer and creator.

He wasn’t an overly passionate fan, but he certainly considered himself a fan, and as soon as his thoughts reached that point, her accent and speech felt even friendlier.

Of course, they didn’t have any actual relationship; it was merely a sense of internal intimacy.

To see someone he had only seen on a screen in person was surreal.

“Should I ask for a photo? Ugh… If I’d known this would happen, I should have brought a piece of paper.”

No one could predict such encounters, especially when one couldn’t see into the future.

With half excitement and half curiosity, the man slowly walked toward the figure approaching him.

“I told you to fix this.”

He grumbled while walking under a streetlamp that wasn’t turned on.

It had been broken for a while, and he vowed to submit complaints when he got back home.

Before that, he wanted to brag to his friends about meeting Joanie.

As he neared, the voices he could hear began to quiet, as if she was now aware of his approach.

“…Something feels off about this.”

It was strange for him to actually approach a woman, someone he would usually pass or pretend to look at his phone while walking by.

“Surely she wouldn’t think I’m a dangerous person?”

He hesitated for just a moment, feeling the odd impression of the situation, but soon gathered his courage.

It wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it was definitely a rare chance.

Especially for someone like him, who had no interest in fan meetings or signings.

“Hmm?”

As he approached, he noticed something he had missed earlier.

A small doll that had closely attached itself to Joanie.

Joanie, who was taller than the average woman in the Republic of Korea, the thrill of meeting a celebrity in a dark street…

With all these elements synchronizing so perfectly, he could finally see what he hadn’t before.

“Could it be a guy?”

That was the first thought that popped into his mind.

“Could it be a boyfriend?”

This thought followed closely behind.

Seeing how they were stuck together gave off a vibe of being close siblings, but who knows.

…Wait, siblings?

“…!”

The man, who had been mumbling along the stream of consciousness, jolted as if struck by lightning.

Now that he thought about it, didn’t a cousin appear on her stream not too long ago?

Though she didn’t talk much and the broadcast didn’t last long…

Viewers who watched that day were captivated by her calm voice and the way she interacted playfully with Da-eun, contrasting with her petite frame and assertive speech.

And she topped it off with the moment shown in the latter half of the stream.

Her dozing off hunched over in a chair.

Though her face was obscured by a mask, that very point sparked the viewers’ imaginations.

The “cousin assisting her older sister’s explanations” turned into the “little, sickly, and endearing little sister who helps her older sister.”

Honestly, it would have been better if they had never known from the start.

Viewers, left wanting after such a short appearance, clamored for more.

From petty questions about her current situation to requests to make frequent appearances, even pleading for her to reveal herself without the disguise.

But their words echoed the same every time.

Those who raised their voices were all silenced by Joanie brandishing a sword.

Having seen their heads displayed in the town square, those who had harbored interest in the cousin gradually avoided mentioning her, discovering that Joanie’s cousin was being forgotten in people’s minds…

—which is a lie.

While it may have appeared so on the surface, beneath the radar where the country’s gaze does not reach, people were still buzzing around with other expressions regarding her cousin.

Of course, due to the lack of kindling, things had cooled off compared to before.

“Could it be…?”

That would be a huge leap.

Yet, even as he thought that, the man compared the memory of his cousin to the small figure next to Joanie.

And he reached a conclusion.

“I think it might be true?”

There was no concrete evidence or data to compare so meticulously.

But the man came to the conclusion that the small child in front of him was the same girl who had appeared on the broadcast.

Essentially, it was not deductive reasoning but rather a hopeful desire.

As he made this deduction, the two figures gradually drew closer.

“This is it!”

Surely, no one else had seen the cousin rumored to be a mere story.

All his mind could think about was how much attention he would get in sharing his experience of meeting them.

He wasn’t even considering that the other was an ordinary person.

With light footsteps…

TAP

TROT

A light footstep and a somewhat heavier one.

A face shielded by sunglasses entered his gaze, accustomed to the dark.

It was completely dark, yet here was someone wearing sunglasses.

It was evident she intended to hide her face, but upon seeing her chin, the man was confident it was Joanie.

“Uh—”

He mustered the courage to speak.

He wanted to confirm whether it was indeed Joanie, telling her he watched her streams regularly.

But his lips seemed unwilling to part.

Given that he had never had any connections with women before, making casual conversation with a famous person was easier said than done.

While he stood awkwardly frozen, the duo coming toward him subtly dodged him.

Though the sunglasses meant they couldn’t see, he felt a hint of watchfulness in their movements.

The woman seemed to take protective actions towards the child and hurried past him.

As the two brushed by and took a few steps away, the man jolted back to reality.

“Even just a photo…!”

He hurriedly turned off the game he was playing and frantically activated the camera.

It was an action that wouldn’t be surprising if met with condemnation, let alone the law’s heavy hand.

Just as he zoomed in with his camera and was about to press the shutter…

“…”

The girl, who was hugged so tightly by the woman, turned her head.

“…!”

Purple eyes sparkled dimly under the vague moonlight.

No, it wasn’t just darkness; under bright light, it surely would appear—

“Ah…!”

Before the man could collect his thoughts, the girl turned her head away again.

For a moment, he lamented the disappearing gaze.

“…Let’s hurry up.”

He stared blankly at the backs of the two rushing away.

They faded more quickly than before, and it probably wasn’t just wishful thinking.

Glancing back…

He watched as their figures grew smaller until they finally vanished from sight.

He lowered his gaze.

As he lightly tapped his phone, which had gone into power-saving mode, the screen gleamed brightly.

Brighter than the faint moonlight.

“Wow, this is amazing…”

There captured in the image was the pink eye he had seen.