Ninima’s broadcast was one of the best in her streaming career, to the point where it couldn’t even be compared to previous streams.
Viewership numbers far exceeded the usual, and Twitch viewers, who seemed suspiciously wealthy, clamored in the chat, saying they wanted to donate money even though donations had been disabled.
Ninima, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to expand her niche broadcast, raised her energy level to the maximum, but she was stopped when Baraa ended up crying while eating.
“See, I told you…”
“Sniff… I… I just ate it because… someone told me to… What was I supposed to do…”
Baraa sniffled, licking a Coolpis bottle like a cat to suppress the burning pain on her tongue.
Everyone who saw this thought it was adorable.
“Ughhhh…”
Still writhing her tongue to alleviate the lingering pain, I noticed Ninima looking at me with a strange expression.
“Are you all okay…? After eating something that spicy…”
“…It was level 2. The mild flavor.”
For some reason, I could roughly guess the tone of the chat, so I stayed a little behind and followed Chocoa.
Her slightly taller frame naturally caught the sunlight, and her brown hair, tinged with hints of red, shimmered faintly.
The small smiles she gave when the camera was pointed at her and her simple gestures raised my heartbeat just a little.
Su-yeon, completely unaware that her girlish expression was being streamed, picked up a drink at a café and headed to the next location.
“…This feels a bit like going out to eat, then going to karaoke as the second stop.”
“Is this a work dinner? I wouldn’t know, I’ve never done that!”
“It’s not quite like that… But if Ninima were to work in an office…”
I imagined Ninima reporting to her boss in her trademark, quirky manner and was grateful she was a streamer instead.
-“Johnny, I love!!! You!!!!!!!!!!!”
-“That street food stall! The!!! Spot!!!”
-“She’s gone↗↗↗↗↗↗”
In the heart of Seoul, even in broad daylight, karaoke rooms were bustling with people.
“Wow…”
“Do you come to places like this often?”
“Ah… No? Not since high school…”
I recalled being occasionally dragged here by friends or my younger sister, only to sit quietly in a corner without singing anything properly.
-“What are you doing singing the national anthem in a karaoke room, you crazy woman!”
-“It’s the only song I know, what do you expect?!”
-“Sigh… No way, Min-young. Grab her. We’re singing the top 20 hits today before we leave.”
“Who wants to go first?”
-“Awkward mustard…”
Although Ninima grabbed the mic tightly and shouted, no one answered.
She glanced at the two of us sitting quietly and felt slightly awkward, deciding to change the subdued atmosphere by singing loud and exciting songs.
“Wow~~”
When the song ended, small claps were followed by Baraa’s tambourine shaking in sync with Chocoa’s applause.
“…Baraa! I am not your department head!! You’re next!”
-“LOL”
-“That tambourine screams ‘department head favorite’ LOL”
-“Social life pro, newbie at streaming…”
“Me…?”
“Yeah! Go ahead and sing anything! Even if you can’t sing, your voice and face will make up for it!”
Ninima handed me the mic, and I awkwardly took it.
Chocoa, perhaps intending to help me, grabbed another mic that was left nearby.
Silently, I chose a song sung by the person I admired the most.
When the familiar intro started, Ga-young unnie and I opened our mouths simultaneously.
“Lately I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep—–
After having a simple dinner in the evening, the three finally moved to their last destination.
-“I’m so happy today.”
-“Agreed… To think I could see Baraa and Chocoa for over 8 hours…”
-“Why is Ninima being ignored ㅡㅡ”
-“The host streams for over 6 hours every day lol”
-“So, where are we now?”
The screen turned black, citing personal information, and for a few minutes, Ninima’s broadcast shut off.
It soon restarted.
-“??”
-“What’s this? Is Twitch sick?”
“Tada!”
Cheers erupted as Ninima sat down in a chair, a creak accompanying her movements, and powered on her computer.
“Wow… There’s so much stuff here…”
“Right?? It took me years to put all this together~! This is the setup of a four-year veteran streamer!”
Ye-eun proudly introduced her equipment, though her streaming lingo made it a bit funny.
“Soon enough, you’ll definitely have better gear than me! I’m sure you will!”
“Uh… thank you…”
“Then I’m turning on the stream, so bring a chair and sit down! Yo!”
As Chocoa and I dragged chairs over and sat down, Ninima had already moved the stream to her computer.
The large room, containing only a bed and streaming equipment, felt surprisingly cozy with two chairs added in.
“So, nice to meet you all! The last thing we’ll do today is a drinking game without alcohol!!”
“Excuse me?”
This was definitely not part of the schedule I remembered.
“I was just going to tell you to rest here a bit before heading out…!”
“I wanted to mention it earlier, but… if I did, you’d probably refuse…”
Ninima clicked her mouse a few times, pulling up a screen. It was a dice game with various punishments written on it.
“……”
-You… got kidnapped.
-Wow, it’s been forever since I’ve seen Juru Marble.
-Is this the Hong Chul team without Hong Chul lolol.
True to its name as a drinking game without alcohol, many of the squares on the board that originally involved alcohol, like “take a few shots,” were scribbled out with big X marks in what seemed to be Microsoft Paint. In their place were relatively mild punishments, such as “reveal a secret.” There were also others like “sing one verse of a song,” “move back,” “start over,” “do aegyo,” and “Pocky game,” among countless others.
“Alright then…! Shall we begin?!”
Ninima handed me the mouse. Although I was slightly concerned about the time given this unexpected activity, Ga-young unnie hadn’t voiced any complaints, and it felt strange for me to leave alone. So, I took the mouse and clicked to roll the dice.
“Ugh…”
“You must be pretty tired…”
“Alright! Just~ one! Just one more turn, and then we’ll end the stream!”
By this point, I had sung two songs, done aegyo eight times, and revealed secrets up to my height, leaving me utterly exhausted as I rolled the dice for the final time.
Roll—
The dice on the large screen spun before coming to a stop.
If I could just roll a 5 or higher, I’d avoid all the weird punishments and return to the starting point.
I silently prayed for a roll of 5 or higher, staring at the screen.
-Desperate much?
“Ah.”
The number was 4. One short of the starting point.
This spot was infamous for holding the most dangerous punishments.
Written there was “Pocky Game.”
“…Alright!!! Then for the final round!”
Ninima yelled loudly to break the silence, then dashed out of the room and returned within seconds.
“The Pocky Game!!!”
“Why is this… even here…?”
“When I bought a bunch of snacks last time, I bought these too!”
I had no idea how things had come to this.
Ga-young unnie was sitting across from me, holding a thin Pocky stick in her mouth, while Ninima and thousands of viewers watched us from the sidelines.
“But why… does Chocoa have to…?”
“Do you not want to?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Ga-young unnie didn’t say anything further and simply stared at me.
‘Do I really have to bite it? Me? Should I dare??? Bite the Pocky that Chocoa is holding???’
As I wrestled with this thought for a while, I glanced back into Ga-young unnie’s eyes.
Her gaze, which seemed to quietly probe at my thoughts, did not waver and continued to lock onto mine.
“……”
The thoughts I had early in the morning hazily resurfaced—my constant reliance on someone else’s help, my pathetic avoidance under the guise of embarrassment, and my fear of rejection.
I shook my head firmly.
Ninima called out to me, perhaps interpreting my action as giving up, but her voice didn’t reach me.
All that filled my empty mind was the desire to approach her, driven by genuine affection.
“….!”
Ga-young’s pupils widened dramatically, as if she hadn’t expected me to actually go through with it.
Whether she was flustered by the suddenly shortened distance or overwhelmed by surprise, I couldn’t tell.
I tightly closed my eyes and moved my body forward with my mouth open.
The already small distance of less than 1 meter shrank to mere centimeters.
As I moved forward with my eyes shut, Ga-young caught me, preventing me from falling.
Instinctively, I clung to her in return as my body leaned over.
“…..Oh wow…”
Snap—
The sound of the Pocky breaking filled the air.
I opened my eyes slightly, peeking out from the tightly shut lids.
Though my vision was blurry from having squeezed my eyes so hard, I could clearly sense it.
The soft yet stable hands held me at my waist.
The pleasant scent coming from so close.
The already broken Pocky.
And her face, flushed bright red, holding the Pocky stick in her mouth.
It didn’t take long for both of us to realize we were in the exact same situation.
“I… I… I-I-I… I’m leaving!!!”
I bolted out of Ninima’s house, unable to wait for the elevator, and ran down the stairs.
Panting heavily, I reached the first floor and tried to catch my breath.
“Hah… hah…”
As I raised my head, I saw myself in the reflection—my face as red as if I’d been drinking, my ears flushed, my hair disheveled, and my lips constantly twitching.
No matter how much I breathed or shook my head, my flushed face wouldn’t cool down.
I sighed deeply, letting the night breeze wash over me.
The price of taking my first step forward was a wildly pounding heart.