[TS] Malicious Sniper

I arrived near the fan meeting location and pulled out my smartphone to log into Tichi.

I immediately entered Curry’s broadcast, and the first thing I saw on screen was Curry.

Curry was busily interacting with fans, walking around the table.

If I barged in during the live stream, I might attract unnecessary attention, so I decided to wait a little longer.

Since I had already sent a message saying I would be late, it wouldn’t matter if I delayed just a bit more.

I waited for the right moment to join the broadcast, being considerate of Curry.

How long had I been waiting while watching the stream in front of the pub?

Curry, who had been moving around, finally sat at a table and started drinking.

Thinking that this moment when Curry was taking a break was the best time to enter, I made my way inside the pub.

“Uh, Barcode?”

“Hello.”

“What brings you here…”

A man guarding the entrance of the pub recognized me.

Knowing through the broadcast that he was Curry’s manager, I quietly took out my smartphone without answering.

When I showed him the invitation code I had received from Curry, the manager looked a bit flustered.

After confirming whose invitation code it was, the manager couldn’t speak after that.

Ignoring the confused look from the manager, I confidently moved forward.

I wasn’t here as ‘Barcode,’ but as ‘Flower Shop Owner,’ participating in Curry’s broadcast as the president.

Chatter chatter-

Other fans of Curry, like me, were clinking their glasses and having a lively conversation.

As expected, no one paid attention to me as I entered the pub.

“Um, could you wait here for a moment? I’ll go get the President…”

“Sure, I’ll wait.”

The manager, finally managing to collect himself, quickly blocked my way and spoke hurriedly.

I was planning to head to the second floor first, but it wouldn’t be so bad for Curry to come out to greet me.

I was curious if Curry would treat me like the real ‘President.’

Since I saw that Curry was somewhat drunk from the stream, I wondered what kind of expression and reaction Curry would show when we met.

I smiled subconsciously, filled with excitement and anticipation.

When I said I would wait, the manager hurriedly went up to the second floor.

Meanwhile, I stood still, surveying the surroundings.

Was it because the manager had called me?

Most of the fans were fixated on me.

The noisy interior of the pub quickly fell silent.

The fans stared at me, their eyes filled with questions.

After all, ‘Barcode’ wasn’t on the streamer invitation list for this year’s end fan meeting.

It was only natural for them to look at me with doubt.

As I attracted the attention of the fans, I wondered how long I would have to wait.

Slowly, Curry’s figure appeared on the stairs leading to the second floor.

At some point, Curry had mentioned in a broadcast that her alcohol tolerance was strong.

Yet, seeing her sway slightly, it seemed that was just bravado.

I couldn’t just stand idly by, considering that Curry might stumble or bump into something and get hurt.

Not wanting that to happen, I straightened my posture and moved forward, just as I had when I entered.

When I got close to Curry, I hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

“I’m called Flower Shop Owner.”

I made it clear that I wasn’t here as the streamer ‘Barcode,’ but rather as ‘Flower Shop Owner,’ the president of Curry’s broadcast.

Thinking that ending the introduction like this felt a bit lacking, I added with a sincere smile, “I made you wait a bit, didn’t I?”

“…”

My greeting was over; now all that was left was Curry’s reaction.

Curry’s gaze began to shake rapidly as she looked at me.

Her eyes reflected disbelief.

Whisper whisper-

The manager beside her whispered in Curry’s ear.

Realizing that Barcode and Nayun Queen were the same person, but not expecting that Flower Shop Owner would also be involved, panic spread across Curry’s face.

From Curry’s perspective, I was currently someone disguised as Nayun Queen, Barcode, and Flower Shop Owner all at once.

How could she remain calm with such a person standing right in front of her?

“Uh, Barcode? I don’t understand, is this a prank?”

“A prank? Not at all.”

Curry, trying hard to deny reality, faced a disappointing truth.

Despite my answer, Curry wanted to reject the reality in front of her.

I had no choice but to pull out my smartphone and show her our message history.

“…This was the message Flower Shop Owner sent me about being late.”

“Yeah. That’s right. We were texting just moments ago, weren’t we?”

Smiling, Curry let out a sigh of relief.

“This really sobers me up.”

“Is that so? I feel like I could get drunk in this atmosphere.”

Although it seemed like she regained her composure, Curry was still clearly at a loss as to how to handle the situation.

The longer we stood there without saying anything, the weirder it would look, so I decided to help this time.

I’m really such a considerate fan, you know?

“You mentioned you’d arrange a private fan meeting, right?”

“Oh, right. It would be disrespectful to keep ‘President’ waiting here.”

Curry turned around to face the camera, ensuring her appearance would be shown.

“I’ll step away for a moment since the President has arrived. We have to treat our President well, don’t we?”

Curry continued naturally with her usual cheerful voice.

If she vanished without any progress, there would surely be rumors afterward.

Using the excuse of treating the ‘President’ well, Curry bought herself some time and turned back to hand the camera to a fellow streamer.

“Follow me, President.”

“It’s an honor to have you escort me, Curry.”

Crack-

I thought I heard something snap, but feeling very good at the moment, I decided to ignore it.

So, I followed Curry upstairs to the second floor.

*

Back when Curry was active in Yellow City and not on Tichi yet.

PD Kwon Tae Park was just another ordinary internet broadcaster.

Starting a League of Legends stream without any knowledge of broadcasting at all.

Of course, he didn’t have a good quality microphone or a decent computer.

Whenever he started both League of Legends and his broadcast program, there were always lags, and sometimes the computer would just shut down.

Yet, despite the harsh environment, PD Kwon Tae Park didn’t give up on his streams.

In desperate circumstances, he managed to maintain a brighter atmosphere during his broadcasts.

Even though his speaking skills were clumsy and his sense of humor wasn’t that great, PD Kwon Tae Park was growing under the image of ‘Kwon Tae Park’ rather than the game ‘League of Legends.’

But the growth of income-less broadcasts was quite apparent.

Kwon Tae Park was certainly growing, but his surrounding environment was not improving.

At that moment, thinking about giving up on broadcasting,

Flower Shop Owner appeared.

A person called the future President came to his stream.

Flower Shop Owner always supported Kwon Tae through donation messages.

Especially on days when he was targeted by Nayun Queen repeatedly, they made even larger donations than usual.

Over time, for Kwon Tae, Flower Shop Owner’s support messages became his pillars that allowed him to continue streaming.

Persevering, he kept broadcasting consistently, and soon the growth rate of his stream, which had been stagnant for a while, began to rise sharply.

A video titled “The Underdog PD Caught by a Malicious Targeter” became popular, leading to the growth of his streaming scale.

If he had given up on broadcasting back then, he would never have seen the light now shining down on Kwon Tae.

For Kwon Tae, Flower Shop Owner was his benefactor and a precious fan.

Broadcasting eventually entered a stable phase, and the time came when Yellow City slowly began to crumble.

Many major PDs started to migrate to Tichi, and PD Kwon Tae decided to make the move as well.

Trying to shake off the tough past, he changed his nickname to ‘Curry,’ using the food he often ate.

When Curry left Yellow City, he had no regrets at all.

One concern lingered in his mind—would Flower Shop Owner follow him?

Worrying about this was unnecessary, as Flower Shop Owner did indeed settle in Tichi.

After that, Curry continuously gained hot clips on Tichi, achieving great success.

Eventually, he became one of the representative streamers of ‘League of Legends Streaming’ on Tichi.

And now.

Flower Shop Owner, who hadn’t shown up for fan meetings until now,

was sitting right across from him.

“The atmosphere in the pub is nice.”

“…”

Flower Shop Owner, or Barcode, said softly with a gentle voice.

Though it was not a confined space, Barcode’s voice felt like it echoed in my ears.

After placing our orders, Curry maintained silence for a while.

Barcode kept a relaxed smile while patiently waiting for Curry to break the silence.

Feeling dizzy from Barcode’s composed demeanor, Curry repeated to herself to stay calm.

Nayun Queen and Barcode were the same person.

Barcode and Flower Shop Owner were the same person.

…In other words, Nayun Queen and Flower Shop Owner were also the same person.

The malicious targeter who had tormented her for years,

and the President who had been her hope for years.

Things that could never coexist were right in front of her.

What on earth was she supposed to say here?

A queasy feeling stirred within her, wanting to throw up, but Curry bit her lip and swallowed back the contents that had risen to her throat.

After overcoming the first wave of anxiety and regaining some composure, Curry slowly opened her mouth.

“What do you want from me? Why go through all this…”

What could you possibly want from me?

Have you toyed with me using three different faces?

No matter what answer she provided,

would I be able to understand it?

No, I wouldn’t.

I would never understand a person like her.

Tap tap-

Barcode didn’t immediately answer Curry’s heartfelt question.

After tapping her fingers on the table, Barcode ended up stopping and wiped the smile from her face.

She rested her hands on the table and propped her chin on them while gazing at Curry.

Swallow-

In the tension-filled silence, Curry gulped nervously.

The firmly shut mouth of Barcode finally opened.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Curry.”

“…What?”

The answer from Barcode, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, was mere avoidance.

How could she pretend not to know after deceiving and toying with her for so long?

“This is my first fan meeting, and I don’t like this stiff atmosphere?”

“Hahaha…”

Seeing Barcode’s expression that genuinely seemed clueless, Curry couldn’t help but let out a disbelief laugh.

It felt like becoming a butterfly caught in a spider’s web.

A butterfly left with only the future of becoming prey to a predator.

No matter what she said, she knew Barcode would brush it off.

If Barcode wasn’t planning to avoid the question, there would be no reason for her to be part of the fan meeting to begin with.

Whatever she wanted from me was irrelevant,

“I must have said something silly because I had a few too many drinks.”

I decided to play along with her merry-making.

Maybe my response pleased her?

“I was worried, you know? I thought Curry might be feeling unwell.”

“Well, if I were unwell, I’d still have to have a fan meeting with the President.”

Feeling a bit relieved, Curry regained her pace.

On the surface, she pretended to have a relaxed conversation with Barcode, but inside, she was crumbling.

“By the way, I never imagined Barcode would be Flower Shop Owner.”

“I never thought so either! I even donated 100,000 won after our collab!”

“Oh, now that you mention it, I remember Flower Shop Owner also donated back then.”

“What I did was just a joke. I got a bit jealous of myself and decided never to do that again.”

Barcode was laughing genuinely, and that sent Curry’s mind spiraling.

If it were up to her, she would’ve immediately demanded a list of accounts under her name here.

But there were too many people around, and she had a hunch that such an unrefined approach wouldn’t cut the tangled ties of their enmity.

Determined to endure this moment for future sake, Curry decided to go along with her ridiculous jest.

Someday, she would definitely cut off this stubborn enmity no matter what.

Covertly assuring herself of this, Curry clinked glasses with her.

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