[TS] Malicious Sniper

Time flew by quickly, and it was finally December 29th, the day of the year-end fan meeting.

After struggling for 6 hours to put on all the clothes and accessories I had bought, I made my way to the front door.

Before putting on my shoes, I double-checked to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.

I packed my Flower Shop Owner-exclusive smartphone, and there was nothing missing.

Feeling relieved, I took out the boots stored in the shoe cabinet and put them on.

Just as I was about to step outside, I heard Ji-hye’s voice from behind.

“Unnie! Fighting!”

“…Right.”

Ji-hye infused me with positive energy as I stepped out of the house.

I had no idea what I was supposed to be firing up about, though.

Haah…

Before heading to the fan meeting venue, I paused for a moment and exhaled a warm breath.

Through the scene of my white breath dispersing in the air, a red sunset was setting beyond the horizon.

I was anxious just thinking about Curry’s reaction at the fan meeting, yet here I was, feeling even more nervous.

It was amusing to see myself in such a state, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Having already committed, I thought I might as well enjoy it, so I picked up my pace.

With a lighter mindset, my steps felt unexpectedly light.

Usually, I would be aware of the surrounding gazes and on edge, but right now, I couldn’t care less.

After stepping out onto the street near my house, I hailed a taxi.

Fortunately, the hop house where Curry’s fan meeting was being held wasn’t very far from here.

After telling the driver my destination, I stared blankly at the fogged-up windows as we headed there.

I wondered how long I had been in a daze.

Before I knew it, we arrived at the destination.

Paying the fare, I got out of the taxi and headed toward the fan meeting venue.

It was my first time in this area, and with lots of foot traffic around, it was confusing.

But thankfully, I managed to reach the fan meeting venue just in time.

“Uh…”

Wait, I thought I had arrived.

“Haah… Damn.”

After letting out a sigh, I muttered a low curse.

The place I arrived at looked like another similar hop house, not the fan meeting venue.

*

Curry had been scouting hop houses here and there during the break period, searching for the perfect one to rent for the fan meeting.

It had to be neither too dark nor too bright, just an appropriately relaxed atmosphere.

Luckily, Curry was able to rent such a hop house at a price lower than average and found the location before the fan meeting day.

“I think this is good enough?”

“Let’s do one last check.”

“Haah… Our boss is so meticulous.”

Ignoring the manager’s complaints in one ear and out the other, Curry double-checked the set tables.

This fan meeting was on a scale that couldn’t even be compared to previous events, including the year-end party.

To be honest, calling it a fan meeting was an understatement; with this scale, it was basically a party.

Curry wanted to ensure that this fan meeting, which was meant to be a good experience, wouldn’t end up as a bad memory, so she meticulously inspected the tables.

After confirming everything was in order with her dedicated check, Curry started looking for the right timing to go live.

She judged that it was better to go live during the fan meeting rather than before it started, so she opened the front door of the hop house.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, Curry! I’m such a huge fan!”

“Haha… Thank you.”

Fans who had won the tickets started entering the hop house, waiting by the entrance.

After exchanging quick greetings, Curry picked up the camera nearby.

With the managers, editors, and hop house staff guiding the fans, it was the perfect timing to go live.

[Live]

[Curry is currently streaming.]

As fans settled into their seats, Curry’s stream kicked off.

She adjusted the camera angle to show only part of the hop house while waiting for viewers to gather.

[What is this? Inside a hop house?]

[Open the door, streamer! No, turn the camera!!!]

[Just let us hear your voice; I feel like I’m going nuts.]

[If only I had good luck, I would be there!]

[How are viewers in Curry’s stream so handsome and pretty? It’s absurd.]

[These chatting fools are all deceivers; ah, lol.]

Slowly, viewers began to gather, and once Curry felt enough had joined, she tilted the camera to show her face.

[Curry, come on.]

[No, show less of your face.]

[Viewers are hiding their faces; ;]

[The tension is already so high.]

[Curry, quickly hide that ugly face!]

Curry intentionally stayed silent, roaming the inner hop house while holding the camera.

She toured the inside at an angle that wouldn’t show the viewers’ faces, and the response from the viewers was intense.

This fan meeting was on a whole different level compared to the ones held last year and the year before; it was only natural for the excitement to be through the roof.

Some viewers regretted missing out on the fan meeting.

Some chatted as usual, enjoying the current atmosphere.

Others commented on how much Curry had grown to rent a place like this.

Of course, with the explosive chat activity, Curry couldn’t catch all the messages.

But she quickly spotted a suitable question among the rapidly flowing chats and naturally began to speak.

“The fans haven’t all arrived yet. A few have reached out to say they’ll be a bit late.”

[Ah, lol, calling that tardiness?]

[If someone gets lost and can’t reach the fan meeting, that’s legendary.]

[Is the chairman here? I’ve been curious about their identity.]

[Flower Shop Owner in heaven, come forth!!!]

[I heard the three greats are a military-licensed pretty boy; is that true?]

[Will Barcode not come? She usually invites streamers she gets close to.]

[Ah, does Curry even invite Barcode? Lol.]

“I’m stalling as much as I can for their sake, so just so you know. Guys, hurry up. I can’t stretch this out for much longer.”

With a sly smile, Curry carried the camera toward the first table.

This fan meeting was designed for Curry to go around each table and interact directly with fans.

Naturally, the fans attending had consented to have their faces shown during the stream.

Curry took a seat at the vacant spot at the first table and pulled out the prepared question sheet.

The questions were what the fans had written down when they signed up to sit at this table.

Glancing at the top question on the sheet, Curry’s expression hardened.

Then she forced out a strained laugh and said quietly, “When will Barcode and I get married? That’s the question I received.”

[The first question is spicy, lol.]

[No way, that’s hilarious.]

[This one’s on you, Curry.]

[You should take that lightly.]

[Curry’s eyes are filled with a murderous intent.]

[Just thinking about it gave me chills.]

Curry made eye contact with each of the five fans sitting at the table.

There didn’t seem to be a single person giving an awkward response; they all appeared comfortable.

Since it wasn’t Curry’s job to guide the fans to their seats, she had no idea who had written this question.

“My answer to that question is… I think I said something similar before; would I do that with the jerk?!”

Doing a WGM (We Got Married) segment with Barcode?

Someone who had tormented me for years?

A segment called ‘We Got Married’? Really?

I could do a real-life collab, but this was crossing the line.

But wait, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

Though the more I thought about it, the more it felt Eva.

Even if we were doing a collab, wouldn’t Barcode trouble me during that segment too?

If anything, she’d probably torment me even more than usual, and this wouldn’t have a typical WGM vibe at all.

Of course, that’s what the viewers—damn, our fans—would want.

But in the back of my mind, I just wanted to expose Barcode and Nayun Queen as the same person to cut off this chaotic connection with her.

“Moving on to the next question. The next question is, ‘What color is your underwear’….”

[Lol, the classic QnA fan meeting question.]

[Revealing your underwear color in front of female fans, lol.]

[Public humiliation play, oh wow.]

[If it were me, I would’ve just declined and lived on!]

“…Today, my underwear color is gray.”

Curry eventually revealed her underwear color in front of the female fans and bowed her head.

A bowing man, Curry, didn’t mean anything weird by it.

Having been hit by a combo of a WGM question with Barcode and the underwear color question, Curry gritted her teeth.

She had somewhat recovered from the nightmare of the finals, but it felt like cracks were appearing in her mind again.

Yet, Curry was a professional streamer and quickly managed to stabilize her mental state and began to answer the next questions.

“Curry, you did a D2 diving on your last broadcast, so we are now friends, right? Can I call you ‘Ya’? Can I?”

“What do you think was the main cause of your loss in the representative selection finals? Officially, it was me getting rekt with 13 deaths. Oh, I’ll remember the questioner’s nickname.”

“I’m curious about Curry’s ideal type! Oh, it’s my first time getting a normal question.”

Finally, receiving a regular question, Curry managed to shake off her previous grim expression and seriously thought about it.

She wasn’t particularly interested in the opposite gender and was typically focused on gaming and making money, so it was quite a tricky question for her.

‘Ideal type… ideal type…’

As she thought of an ideal type, Barcode’s image naturally floated in Curry’s mind.

It wasn’t because of personal feelings; it was simply that Barcode was the only woman she had connected with recently.

At the very least, she hoped her ideal type wouldn’t be a woman who was bent on tormenting me like Barcode.

“My ideal type is pretty normal. Just someone who respects each other, is kind-hearted, has a good personality, dislikes bothering others, and is somewhat pretty—yeah, that’s my ideal type.”

[In that case, recommend someone who actually exists, haha.]

[If she’s pretty, it’s not an average ideal type!]

[Where in the world do you find someone like that, ah lol.]

[The opposite of that type of girl is near Curry.]

[‘That’ Rockton is banned from mention!]

[The woman you described does not exist in reality.]

After skipping some questions, Curry left that table.

With many tables waiting for their turn to ask questions, she couldn’t afford to stall at one place.

Avoiding tables where some fans hadn’t arrived yet, Curry moved on to the next prepared table.

While she gifted laughs to fans with various questions, the atmosphere inside the hop house grew warmer as appetizers and drinks began to arrive.

Curry, who couldn’t refuse the alcohol a fan offered her, trusted her tolerance and downed the drink.

Before she knew it, some time had passed.

Just as she began to feel a pleasant buzz,

“Boss, the Flower Shop Owner has arrived…”

“Huh? Oh right, the Flower Shop Owner said she’d be a little late.”

Curry remembered she had received a message from the Flower Shop Owner about getting lost and arriving late.

Recalling that fact, she stood up from her temporarily resting spot.

For a moment, she stumbled slightly due to the alcohol but quickly regained her balance and entrusted the camera to her manager.

‘What’s going on with her…?’

The manager’s expression seemed a bit strange, but Curry didn’t think much of it and walked toward the front.

Since this was the second floor of the hop house, she had to go down the stairs, and cautiously made her way to the first floor, looking around.

Everyone, who had obviously been partying since before she went upstairs, had strangely quieted down and were staring in one direction.

Curry naturally turned her head to where everyone was gazing.

The focal point was the entrance of the hop house, and a woman stood there, drawing all eyes to herself.

With long, dark red hair, which seemed more gloomy than bright.

Her makeup was minimal, just enough to enhance her features.

The simple makeup served only to play the minimal role of highlighting her natural beauty.

She wore a gray long knit cardigan revealing a stylish black legging and a white t-shirt that looked high-end.

It was obvious to anyone that all her attire was luxury brand, and she adorned herself with various luxurious items.

From her wristwatch to the multiple rings she wore, everything was designer.

Thud, thud—

The woman approached Curry, who was lost in thought.

Everyone held their breath, watching the scene.

Amid the heavy silence, the woman opened her mouth.

“I am the Flower Shop Owner.”

The woman, Barcode, introduced herself as the Flower Shop Owner, flashing an enchanting smile.

“I’m a little late, aren’t I?”

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