The Day of the Tournament.
The schedule was relatively relaxed. The participants only needed to arrive by 5 PM, and—considering it took just about 30 minutes to get from Yena’s house to the arena—they were in no rush.
So, despite her protests… Ahri ended up picking Yena up early at 3 PM purely out of concern.
While she didn’t agree with Jinhee’s opinion that Yena could disappear anytime without warning—Ahri did believe Yena was someone who could shut herself in her room without notice.
She couldn’t help but prepare for the worst-case scenario.
After all, she didn’t want people badmouthing her friend, no matter the circumstances.
『???Who are you』
『Outdoor broadcast?』
『PorkPork, did you finally become a stalker fan』
『Now that all the hiding bastards are gone, you’re finally here, teacherㅠㅠ』
『Skip the tournament and go camping』
『? Who is that』
『Huh, is this a SterPork collab?』
『If it’s a collab, at least notify us, you brat』
『Show us Teacher』
『 ❗ ❗ ❗ Give us GetDevoured ❗ ❗ ❗ Give us GetDevoured ❗ ❗ ❗ Give us GetDevoured ❗ ❗ ❗ Give us GetDevoured ❗ ❗ ❗ Give us GetDevoured ❗ ❗ ❗』
Of course, turning on the broadcast… she couldn’t deny that personal feelings got involved a bit.
“Ah. Ah. Hello, everyone! Nice to see you! I’m StarPork. I’m here to give GetDevoured a ride to the tournament, so I thought I’d turn on the broadcast for a bit. I mean, if I leave you all alone, the comment section will probably hit 2,000 comments…”
Ahri trailed off for a bit and glanced at Yena, who was sitting slouched in the passenger seat.
With her messy hair and bare face, Yena looked unkempt. Didn’t the studio offer to do her makeup? Still, one would expect her to at least wear basic makeup.
‘Yeah. If I had a face like that even without makeup, I wouldn’t bother either. I don’t even feel jealous.’
Her natural look gave off a relatable vibe—like a girlfriend lazily waking up on a weekend morning. Knowing the nature of her viewers, Ahri thought they might actually appreciate it.
Thanks to this, Ahri felt confident enough to start and continue the broadcast. Just showing Yena like this could likely pacify her agitated fans.
Of course—
“Now then—our dear GetDevoured, why don’t you explain why you haven’t turned on the broadcast until now?”
Ahri intended to press her. As one of the viewers herself, she had quite a few complaints.
Some might say it would be better just to visit frequently like this. But Ahri felt there was a significant gap between ‘Lee Yena’ and ‘GetDevoured.’
She liked Lee Yena, but she couldn’t substitute GetDevoured’s broadcasts. No one could replace those broadcasts. Not even Yena herself in real life could replace them.
That’s why she empathized deeply with the viewers crying out for the broadcasts.
“… The official broadcasting times were cooler and… um. I wanted to focus on the competition. It felt more respectful. I think the viewers would have wanted that too.”
“What viewers want right now is to see your face. Can I film you?”
For some reason, whenever Ahri talked to Yena, she found herself representing the viewers.
“… Yeah, it’s fine. But it might be a bit boring. Don’t you think filming the scenery outside would be better? Everyone already knows my face.”
Of course, his response was muttered nonsense with a somewhat fatigued expression.
Ahri found it curious that it seemed genuinely sincere. Why was that? Compared to Yena, she herself was significantly—no, almost embarrassingly—less popular, yet she knew that the viewers’ satisfaction multiplied whenever she showed her face on the screen.
However, just because it seemed sincere didn’t mean she had to oblige.
“Everyone knows what Seoul looks like.”
Ahri firmly rejected, saying, “Wow, the street trees are so pretty. Missing this would be such a loss. It’s incomparable to a human face.”
With that, she quickly turned the camera away.
“Alright, ta-da! Here we have GetDevoured, everyone! Wow, every time I see her—did you guys know? GetDevoured’s mobile broadcasts are completely unedited and unset. Even now, we only slightly adjusted the white balance. Her beauty is insane. You have to see it offline. Please show lots of support!”
-○○ has donated 1,000 won!-
【Bright Pock】
-Ark x GetDevoured has donated 1,000 won!-
【Lately, Ark’s restraint has been weak, so StarPork is doing great work】
-○○ has donated 1,000 won!-
【I was feeling down, but got healed in just 3 seconds…】
『Wow』
『Oh my』
『Look at that messy hair』
『Is she just going out for a stroll in the neighborhood…』
『Effortlessly beautiful』
『How can she be so pretty even like that…』
『That annoyed expression LOL Pretty, cute, does it all ㅠㅠㅠㅠ』
『What kind of craziness is planned for today, teacher?』
『So damn pretty』
Satisfied with the comments flooding the chat, Ahri switched the phone camera to selfie mode and handed it over to Yena.
“I’m going to drive now, so GetDevoured, interact with the viewers as you film yourself. Talk about your thoughts on the last match, your aspirations for the upcoming ones, your pledge if you win—all that stuff. Ah… just try turning the camera away. Today, as a representative of the viewers, I won’t just sit and take it.”
“… Why are there so many morose people around? Is this place cursed?”
From now on, she intended to focus on driving.
It was partly because she had no intention of listening to the continuous grumbling, but mostly because her claim about having a fresh license wasn’t a joke.
Nervously, Ahri shrugged her tense shoulders slightly and gently pressed on the accelerator—
-Vroom!!
Only to be met with the loud sound of revving.
“… You didn’t change the gear.”
“Eek! No, I meant to say, ta-da! Just kidding. Hehe. Alright, let’s get going! GetDevoured, don’t worry about the driving and just connect with the viewers!”
“If we make it to the venue safely, I’ll confess. I had an unusually good feeling in my dreams last night.”
Thus began the arduous journey.
……If the only strange people around you are actually strange, you should question whether you are the strange one.
That suddenly sprang to mind. Lately, it seemed like everyone around me was becoming a little… a little strange.
Suddenly they became consumed by darkness. They held strange misunderstandings. ……Or, they thought I would drop out of the competition.
……The last point, well. It might be karma, I suppose.
Nonetheless, it left me feeling wronged.
It wasn’t easy to make a definitive judgment.
Especially now, the circumstances made it hard to deeply ponder over it.
-Honk!
“……StarPork, you’re a pretty good driver. Maybe we’ll actually reach my hometown safely and I’ll be able to confess.”
“I told you not to worry! And seriously, please, let’s talk about something other than confessing- Eek!”
-Honk! Honk!
“Focus on driving. It’s scary.”
StarPork’s driving skills were, to say the least, fascinating. It was very stable and smooth, but it felt like she drove under the assumption that there were no other cars on the road. Really, it was astonishingly smooth and comfortable driving.
-Honk! Honk! Honk!
The problem was, it felt like I might peacefully meet my end.
Luckily, I had something else to focus on. If I’d been looking at the road, I probably would have screamed a few times.
Come to think of it… if I died now, would I truly die this time, or—
-『So-and-so has donated 1,000 won!』
【What do you think about the semifinals? 】
Just before my thoughts wandered into complexity, a timely donation snapped my attention away from the window towards my phone.
Looking outside wasn’t going to raise a shield. It was probably better not to look.
“Hmm… Orthodox, I think. He performed well. He handles the rogue, knight, and that character quite well. He’s ready for a duel.”
『How can an up-close cam be this pretty lololol』
『Can’t understand a word because of that face』
『Why are there so many honking noises』
『Is this a duel of priests?』
『”That character”』
『Isn’t he no longer a logger?』
『This is too much, really lololol』
『Isn’t Orthodox’s main character still the Warrior?』
And so, casually chatting with the viewers.
Of course, one frequent topic was the competition. And—
-『ReDevoured has donated 1,000 won!』
【GetDevoured, did you see Revan’s match in the Round of 16? 😭 He got eliminated and is now on break, distressed…】
Revan.
“… I couldn’t watch it live. I was too focused on my own game. I saw the highlights later… hmm.”
Normally, I would have commented more comfortably… given a variety of opinions.
But my tongue didn’t move easily this time.
The serious expression full of yearning for victory and the intense gameplay flashed before my eyes. Additionally, confusing emotions about Pagol’s unpleasant actions—and, more importantly, questioning whether it made sense for me, of all people, to criticize such behavior—lingered.
And above all, I couldn’t remember what I had said yesterday. If possible, I didn’t want to bring it up at all. However, if I avoided it too obviously… that would be awkward too. A bitter smile escaped unconsciously.
I didn’t know what to do… Ah.
Maybe I should end the broadcast.
It seemed like I had almost arrived at the venue.
I needed to look around quickly… and check if she had arrived. Thinking along those lines, now seemed like the perfect time to end the broadcast.
Before finding out more, I really didn’t want to run into her.
* * * *
Thus, CravingWarmAmericano’s broadcast abruptly ended without prior notice, and approximately 15 minutes later:
『Lee Yena: Hello, Revan』
『Lee Yena: Are you feeling any better?』
『Lee Yena: I wasn’t okay yesterday😢』
『Lee Yena: Please understand』
“… What’s this… in front of people… No, no. It’s my fault for trying to understand.”
『Lee Yena: Yes』
『Lee Yena: It’s definitely wrong』
『Lee Yena: Why did you even come?』
“… How long are you going to keep this act up?”
『Lee Yena: Act?』
『Lee Yena: That’s harsh』
“And, I told you yesterday I was coming to cheer. Don’t you remember?”
『Lee Yena: 🤐』
『Lee Yena: 👋』
“… Seriously, is she crazy? Fine, just go to the makeup room. You look pale.”
『Lee Yena: It’s not that bad.』
『Lee Yena: I still think I’m relatively fine』
『Lee Yena: If you remember after we drank previously, only I was looking ahead optimistically- Amutunu.
『Lee Yena: 』
“Go.”