Wanted

"The school store's choco bread is absolutely fire today, am I right?"

"…Why do you talk like that."

Nom nom, chomp chomp.

School store, best place ever.

Eating bread during break time — something I never could've imagined back in elementary school.

Back then, the most I could manage was a piece of candy or some gummy bears from my pocket.

A school lunch alone just can't handle the ravenous stomachs of hungry middle school girls.

The bread from the school store is our precious lifeline.

"Munchin' away, yum."

"What's going on…? Chae-won, your way of talking has gotten weird…."

"Hm? Why do you keep saying that? You want more bread?"

Si-yeon had been poking at my speech patterns from beside me all day.

The way I talk changes as I get older — isn't that just how it works?

She's being so sensitive.

She's just a little kid who doesn't know any better, so I'll be the bigger person here.

"…It's genuinely strange. Why though? I really hate to say this, but it's like my brother… The Chae-won I know had this way of talking that was a little sharp on the surface but still cute and soft underneath."

"What are you on about, when did I ever. I'm not the feminine type. Am I right?"

"You totally are."

"Not even close."

"Look at you right now — holding it with both hands, nibbling away. Completely adorable. Except for the way you're talking."

I stopped mid-bite and glared at her.

Cute this, pretty that, every single time.

I was in the middle of tearing into this thing with full charisma, and she's saying nonsense like that.

I'm gnawing at it like I haven't eaten in a day!

Completely feral!

Si-yeon is great in every way, but she can be a little cringe sometimes.

'Is she doing it more because I told her not to?'

I growled at her with all my dissatisfaction, and she must have finally admitted her wrongdoing — she picked up the bread I'd set down and held it up to my mouth.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I get it. Chae-won is cool. Not cute. Here, finish eating."

"Ya got that? Nom, I ain't never been cute a day in my life!"

"Yeah yeah, I hear you. Can you please stop talking like that? It reminds me of my stupid brother and it's really not great."

"Nom, that line— gack, ugh, nearly choked on that."

"Here. Water."

Gulp, gulp—

I drank the water Si-yeon handed me and reflected on my speech patterns.

'Is it weird? It feels the same as always to me. Nobody else has said anything.'

If there were a real problem, Mom would never have let it slide.

She might've already smacked me on the head with a spoon right at the dinner table.

Hmm, actually — wait. Come to think of it, I'd been so absorbed in gaming lately that I'd been inhaling my food at lightning speed and bolting from the table.

Of course, I couldn't exactly say I was gaming, so I'd been telling her I was studying. But still.

"What's wrong with how I talk, honestly you're the one being extra."

"…Good grief."

Why, why are you looking at me like that!

Put away that pitying look before I lose it.

"Listen. I'm going to imitate you. It's basically the same as my brother."

"Oh? Go ahead then."

Si-yeon let out a long sigh — paaah — then stared at me for a moment before opening her mouth.

"Dude, today's school lunch was absolute garbage~ just thinking about eating that is depressing as hell~ obviously the choco bread from the school store is the move, right? Am I right? School store run? Let's go?"

Good lord, what was that.

My friend had been possessed by Satan.

Si-yeon, who looks like pure innocence itself and normally speaks in this soft, composed way — hearing her talk like that was…

'Absolutely horrifying….'

"Si-yeon, your speech just now was really weird… that was genuinely bad. It doesn't suit you at all…."

"I was copying you."

"Th-that can't be right. You were seriously alarming just now."

"…That's how my brother talks. And right now, Chae-won, you smell exactly like that."

Si-yeon covered her nose with both hands and pointed a finger at me.

Shock.

Do I really talk like that?

"Th-that's a lie."

She silently nodded, and I was hit with another wave of shock.

'I'm not talking anymore…….'

I sulked and quietly finished off the rest of my choco bread.

.

.

.

I figured out the cause.

[Ugh, you useless idiots, just let me ride the bus! Can we please have an easy game for once! Our team is always the broken one, am I right?!]

Leaving Durihyeok's stream on in the background while doing my unauthorized viewer participation sessions — that was the culprit.

'Should've just watched Momoji's stream.'

But the thing is, when I snipe this guy, his reactions are absolutely priceless.

I'd deliberately held off on climbing rank just so I could keep joining his viewer participation sessions.

Maybe just one more game and then I'd move up?

After that, I'd go hang out in Momoji's room.

Offer some expert commentary.

Momoji is an angel.

I wasn't planning on waiting around forever since I wanted to get back to ranked myself. But luck was on my side again today — just like yesterday, Durihyeok was on a winning streak.

[AAAAAH, Woniwoni>.< you little—!! WHY ARE YOU HERE AGAIN!!]

I'd successfully joined his viewer participation session right before his Diamond promotion match.

'Platinum is where you belong, Hyeok.'

Chanting "Hyeok stays Plat" in my head, I played him like a fiddle.

Thwack—!

[Woniwoni>.< -I═⟩ Link·smash·Durihyeok]

His mental must have cracked — he let his guard down, and I had another perfect opening to gift him a knife to the gut.

[NOOOOO! MY DIAMOND! MY DIAMOND PROMOTION MATCH!!!]

Our team won.

Durihyeok screamed like he'd actually been stabbed.

"Heheh."

So fun.

This is why I do viewer participation.

That's what you get! Who told you to run your mouth without knowing the situation!

I was grinning and watching him throw his tantrum, about to switch over to Momoji's stream.

He dropped into his chair with a thud.

'Is it over now?'

I was about to leave the stream thinking it was done, but Durihyeok — who'd been slumped in his chair looking utterly defeated — suddenly dropped some dramatic background music.

[You little piece of garbage.]

He lunged toward the camera like he was going to eat it, filling the entire screen with his face.

— Ugh, scared me

— Disgusting, wtf

— Back up, you idiot.

— Almost spit out my food.

"Ugh, what is he doing…."

Durihyeok pressed on, unbothered.

[Hey. Woniwoni>.<.]

I flinched.

'Huh? Me?'

There were plenty of people who'd been sniping him — why was he singling me out?

[You have no idea how desperately I wanted that Diamond promotion match. I watch NuTube tutorial videos every night before I go to sleep.]

'…You started it.'

Still, I felt a little like maybe I'd taken the joke too far.

I didn't know he was that serious about it. Sorry.

Well, it'll be hard to snipe you anymore anyway, so I'll be rooting for you. Sure.

[Sniff. Hic.]

Durihyeok bowed his head and his shoulders began to shake.

Was he actually… crying?

Guilt was welling up inside me and my hand was twitching when—

[BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!]

He burst out laughing like a madman and shot to his feet.

He wasn't crying? I felt quietly relieved, but also — why was he acting like this? I watched him like he was some exotic animal I'd never seen before.

[Woniwoni>.<. You're watching, aren't you? Think you're so great?]

This time he jabbed a finger at the camera, hunting for me.

[I hereby declare. New content title: Rabbit Hunt. I'm putting a bounty on your head.]

"…What?"

[You want my money?! Then come and take it!! Come find me! I've put everything I have on that guy's head!!]

— lmaooo

— this dude's been reading pirate manga

— oh lol what's he gonna do

— just ditch the account lol~

"Ugh, what is he doing…."

Durihyeok kept going, completely ignoring them.

[Oh wait. Due to adult circumstances. Cash transactions may be difficult. I'll be substituting with fried chicken and a keyboard.]

He paused his rampage for a moment and said that in a calm, measured tone — then his voice shot back up.

[If you encounter Woniwoni>.< as an enemy and get an Overdeath on them — or just win! That's enough. Clip it and post it on my channel and I'll give you two servings of fried chicken and a high-end keyboard from my sponsor. No limit on how many times you can claim it.]

My heart was pounding as I listened to the explanation.

"Eek…."

W-wait, what does that mean.

I'm not even a streamer — why am I getting viewer-participated against?

— is it okay to go after a regular player like this….

— they were a sniper tho lol

— chicken sounds fire tho

— isn't he gonna get in trouble with the game company for publicly encouraging targeted harassment? lol

Some viewers in the chat raised concerns, and I nodded along furiously.

'Yes, exactly! Good point!'

C-come on, say more!

[What? You're calling this targeted harassment? I don't care. I don't know anything about that. Oh, and if a streamer goes live and brings me their head, I'll donate 100,000 won.]

The minority opinion wasn't enough to stop Durihyeok with his eyes spinning like that.

[What? You think it's a smurf account and they'll just ditch it? Then ditch it. What are you scared of? Come at me on your main and try to snipe me. Oh wait, is your tier too high for that? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!]

The viewers were all laughing at his unhinged performance. But I couldn't laugh.

'This is my main account….'

I'd poured hours upon hours into this ID.

It took over a year just to earn the Weapon Master title.

I had exclusive weapons I'd saved up my precious allowance to buy.

My carefully customized character and death effects…….

'How could I just throw this away.'

I'd literally planned to snipe him just one more time today and then go hang out in Momoji's stream.

The sudden spotlight had my heart refusing to stop pounding.

Was I scared? I didn't know.

It was just — pounding.

I tried to calm down, took some deep breaths, lay down on my bed and stretched out my arms and legs.

'But like, will people actually come to snipe me?'

Durihyeok's stream had around 7,000 viewers earlier.

Out of those, how many could even be high enough tier to snipe me?

When I thought about it coldly, it probably didn't mean much.

"Mmmm,"

After deliberating, I cautiously queued up for one game.

After the wait, a match was found.

"Aw, come on."

From the lobby to the end of the game, not a single person mentioned me or played in any suspicious way.

Nobody recognized me at all.

'I got scared for nothing.'

He was probably just putting on a show for entertainment.

Hehe.

Only then did I relax and let out a relieved smile.

Right on cue, Momoji's stream went live, so I dashed over for a change of pace and settled in.

'After listening to that rough voice, coming here feels so nice.'

I'm never watching Durihyeok's stream again.

All I got out of it was a weird speech pattern and a hit to my mental health.

I resolved to live a new life and had been watching Momoji's stream for about thirty minutes.

She was in the middle of chatting with her viewers when—

Ding—

[DurianSmellHyeok. 10,000 won – (video donation)]

[Oh, a clip came in? What is this? Is this from Durihyeok?]

A very, very familiar scene began playing on Momoji's stream.

— You want my money?! Then come and take it!! Come find me! I've put everything I have on that guy's head!!

[Hahahahaha, oh that's funny. Wait — Woniwoni>.

— yeah they were

— wait what, they were sniping?

— didn't someone say they were famous?

— lolololol their eyes went full crazy mode.

"Heeek."

I was so startled I forgot to breathe.

'W-why are you showing up there?'

I'd just learned for the first time that video donations were even a thing.

But wait, surely that didn't mean…

This wasn't getting sent to every Dead Zone streamer's channel, was it…?