[TS] Malicious Sniper

The flower shop owner is the barcode.

When the viewers discovered this fact, their reactions were hotter than ever.

Especially those from the Yellow City who knew who the “flower shop owner” really was.

They were shocked by this incredible twist.

[Wow, gasp I’m so envious of curry, damn!]

[Go die! Go die! Go die!]

[You’re such a damn deceiver, you deceitful bastard!]

[My head is spinning! Seriously!]

[Not a sweet guy, but a sweet girl!]

[Wait, the big shot who donated for years is a stunning woman? What the heck!]

[Hey, writer of the Earth, where did you sell your coherence?]

[You all knew this, didn’t you? This is viewer deception, you trash! Just die!]

Looking at the tone in the flower shop owner’s donation messages, one might think, “Could it be…?”

But the viewers from the Yellow City never thought the flower shop owner was a woman.

And it’s no wonder, because female viewers in Yellow City were rarer than legendary Pokémon!

Could such a rare being casually donate tens of thousands of won?

There couldn’t be a more unrealistic story, so they naturally assumed the flower shop owner was male.

But now that the identity of the flower shop owner being the barcode has been revealed, the chat room ignited to an unmanageable level.

Chat slow mode activated.

Follow-only mode (30 days) activated.

Various chat moderation bots and auto-block for texts over a certain character count activated.

Despite employing countless chat management features,

The speed of messages didn’t slow down; if anything, it got faster!

And as I watched all this unfold, I lifted my glass.

If only I had a bit more time, I could’ve teased them more.

Unfortunately, curry was in a position where they couldn’t stay in one place for long.

“Uh, guys. I know this will sound like a lie, but I didn’t know Barcode was the flower shop owner either.”

[You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying!]

[Dirty deceiver, dirty deceiver, dirty deceiver!]

[Editing the root wiki in real time, currently dating, lol!]

[I thought you were a virgin and liked him, but now it’s a 1% chance!]

[Every time you open your mouth, lies just spill out!]

[The viewers were just convenient ATMs for you, right?]

Before I could share a drink with myself, Curry was already drunk.

Given that, they probably couldn’t think straight.

Under normal circumstances, I would have calmed the angry viewers quickly, but it seemed too tough for Curry now.

“Should I help a bit…?”

Instead of drinking alone in a seat reserved for the boss, it didn’t seem bad to enjoy this chaos while helping Curry out.

I lifted my drink up and tossed its contents into my mouth before getting up.

Counting the soju bottles on the table, it looked like around three.

About two of those were probably drunk by me, but strangely, I didn’t feel tipsy.

So, I headed down the stairs to find Curry on the first floor.

Fans were having lively drinking parties at their tables, but Curry was explaining things in a corner to the furious viewers.

Well, it was clear that nothing they said was making an impact.

I muted the stream and approached Curry.

“Hey, listen, guys…”

“Hello! To the Curry stream viewers.”

I squeezed in next to the fumbling Curry and greeted the camera.

It was practically my first outdoor broadcast, but thanks to all the previous streams, I didn’t feel shy or awkward.

Curry looked at me like, “What are you doing?”, but I ignored it and softly said into the camera.

“I’ll answer all your questions, so please calm down.”

I smiled, and the chat’s intensity began to fade.

Once I could read some of the messages building up, I glanced back at Curry.

Given the situation, it seemed difficult for them to take the lead.

“It seems like the viewers have a lot of questions about me. Should we do a private interview?”

I turned my body at an angle where my face wouldn’t be visible to the camera and stared at Curry with a mock threatening expression.

Given that the stage was already set, Curry had no choice but to follow my ideas, even without directly pressuring them.

But seeing the usually strong-willed Curry in this weakened state made me want to tease them even more; I couldn’t help it.

“Okay. I guess we’ll do that…”

“You made a good choice.”

Curry struggled to answer in a slightly trembling voice, unable to hide their shaky eyes.

Before heading upstairs, I handed off the camera to the manager, leading the way up.

Though they were trying to avoid being alone with me, it wasn’t long before we ended up alone again.

Once inside the exclusive fan meeting room for the boss, Curry and I sat back in the same seats we had before.

I positioned the camera properly and pulled out my phone to look over the incoming chat messages.

Many questions were pouring in, and I began to select appropriate ones to read aloud.

“Is Barcode really the flower shop owner? Yes, that’s correct.”

“Why did you keep it a secret during the last collab stream? There’s no reason to reveal it.”

“What’s your relationship with each other? I see it as the usual streamer-fan relationship.”

I turned my gaze to Curry, who was trying to compose themselves, and continued on with the answers.

“As for how Curry thinks of me, I’m not really sure…?”

[Curry, this is a green light!]

[Confess! Damn it, confess!]

[All the couple fans are assembled, lol!]

[You’re making your feelings obvious, lol!]

[If you don’t confess now, you’ll regret it later!]

[How much would they donate if they didn’t like him?]

[At this point, it’s true love; I acknowledge it!]

[Curry, you lucky bastard!]

[Mom! My dream is to become Curry!]

Driven solely by the desire to embarrass Curry, I let those teasing statements slip,

and soon, messages related to my target filled the chat room.

Such messages would be uncomfortable for Curry to read right now.

“…”

In reality, Curry couldn’t respond to any of the chat messages they read.

But even in this situation, Curry kept a brave face despite their mental strain.

After a while of silence, Curry cautiously opened their mouth.

“I share the same thoughts as Barcode. I see it as a typical streamer-fan relationship.”

[???]

[This jerk can’t even catch a break!]

[Did you really cut ties with your emotions?]

[Don’t include our wishes and feelings!]

[Curry only knows the viewers; they’re clueless!]

[They’ve already been hurt; would they want a relationship? lol!]

As time went by, Curry’s expression darkened further, but I didn’t care.

From the broadcast angle, it didn’t seem too noticeable.

Even if it did, the viewers would probably think Curry’s sulking was just the alcohol.

Knowing that if Curry’s state worsened, I wouldn’t be able to tease them anymore, I decided to buy them some time to recover.

“What did you see in Curry that made you become the boss? Just the same reason as you guys: they’re witty, cheerful, and make you smile just by looking at them.”

As the teasing atmosphere thickened, I placed my arm on the table.

With my hand on my chin, I gazed at the camera.

[Whoa!]

[Hey… wow!]

[This vibe is insane!]

[I just made eye contact with Barcode!]

[This is the first time I’ve seen Barcode smile like that!]

[Seriously, at this point, you have to suspect things!]

[How can you not smile when your crush is right in front of you? lol!]

[All the delusional fantasists get lost!]

I shifted my gaze to the side, making sure viewers misunderstood this situation appropriately.

Feeling overwhelmed by the portended drunkenness and current atmosphere, Curry clutched their forehead with one hand.

Though it wasn’t visible to the camera, behind that hidden arm, Curry bit their lip.

I had watched them work hard all this time, but their mental strength was commendable.

I worried their heart might end up breaking, but seeing Curry now glare at me venomously sent a shiver down my spine.

Still, I figured I could tease them more.

“When will you do an IRL collab with Curry? Hmm… Come to think of it, isn’t what we’re doing right now an IRL collab?”

“Yes, I think so. Really.”

Now a bit sober from the alcohol, Curry answered in their usual tone.

There was clear determination in their response to not be swayed by me, but it only made it funnier.

“Upon reflection, maybe this isn’t an IRL collab. It’s technically a ‘fan meeting’ after all.”

“We’re broadcasting together in the same place, so I still think this is an IRL collab.”

“It seems like Curry dislikes me. I’m not here as the streamer Barcode but as the flower shop owner for the fan meeting…”

Sob sniffle, sad thoughts… sob sniffle…

I tried to draw out the tears before slowly continuing.

“Am I… just sniff an ATM for you, Curry? sniff sniff…”

“N-no, what I meant was! An ATM? I never thought of you as that for once!”

In Curry’s hurried words, genuine feelings came through.

Even though it was revealed that Barcode and the flower shop owner were the same person, it didn’t erase all the support they had given Curry.

Though from the perspective of viewers who didn’t know the truth, this situation seemed akin to a descent into hell.

The image of a genuinely heartfelt female boss being openly disliked by a streamer was the worst.

After realizing how bad things looked, Curry quickly began to clarify the situation, but it was already too late.

[You’re a real piece of trash!]

[No matter how much you’ve been through, this is crossing a line…!]

[You should know the difference between public and private!]

[How could you make the boss cry for real?]

[It’s so serious that the hate messages aren’t even coming in!]

[Honestly, considering everything that happened, it’s understandable to dislike you…!]

The chat room’s atmosphere had turned icy a long time ago.

It was so serious that not even hate messages were coming through.

Knowing that if things escalated any further, it would be hard to recover, I steadied myself.

“I really am sorry. I know it sounds like an excuse, but…”

“Then you’ll do an IRL collab, right?”

“Huh? Ah, I guess I have to. How could I say no to that…?”

“Hehe, that’s enough. I’ll forgive you.”

Ignoring Curry’s panic-stricken expression, I redirected my gaze to the camera.

Just moments ago, I was on the verge of tears, but the moment I saw Curry’s flustered face, I regained my smile.

“I managed to get the IRL collab you all wanted with Curry! How was my acting?”

[Wow, haha, that was a hard hit!]

[What amazing acting!]

[Seriously, we’ve all been fooled!]

[Thought Curry was going to edit the wiki in real-time!]

[That acting was a bit too real, honestly!]

[You really see an IRL collab coming from this?]

[This fan meeting is absolutely legendary!]

[Everyone who missed this stream has lost half their life!]

Having successfully secured an IRL collab from Curry, I sealed my lips with satisfaction.

Feeling like everything had gone well, I figured it would help to observe Curry’s reactions rather than just blabber on.

“Haah… you really surprised me there, Boss.”

Curry sighed in relief and cheekily replied.

With Curry’s demeanor starting to lighten again, the heavy atmosphere began to vanish.

It felt like their feelings had been squeezed out, but I was the only one who noticed.

So we lingered for a while, pretending everything was fine while chatting normally, and I enjoyed the rest of the fan meeting.

*

The long and enjoyable fan meeting finally came to an end.

As much as we enjoyed, there were so many good memories left from this meeting.

I exchanged farewells with Curry before leaving the pub.

Having drunk a bit too much, I felt a slight buzz,

but I wasn’t drunk to the point of not being able to walk.

Once outside, I hailed a passing taxi.

Content with the fulfilling day, I jumped into the taxi and headed home.

…

…

…

The black vehicle parked on the road started its engine.

The black vehicle that had just been started began to chase after the taxi that had recently left.

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