LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 83
It was an ordinary holiday, just like any other.
This winter, the snow was coming down like crazy; white flakes were puff puff falling from the sky.
Seeing the snow made me suddenly nostalgic.
Back then, I couldn’t get mad just because it was snowing.
That’s because it was like garbage falling from the sky, and no matter how many times you cleaned it up, it never seemed to end.
Looking back, it was all just memories.
I was lost in thought while gazing out the window.
“Let’s go play!”
“Go play, you say?”
“Yeah! It’s Christmas Eve!”
It was Ryuah who brought it up first.
Out of the blue, she contacted me and suggested going out.
Most of our calls went like this.
Her spontaneous personality would propose something, and I would either accept or decline.
These days, I mostly just accepted.
“Should we invite Ji-yeon and Si-young too? It’s been a while since we all hung out together.”
“Hmmm, yeah. It’d be nice to have all four of us.”
Ryuah replied in a peculiar tone.
After the stalker incident, the four of us had become subtly intertwined in each other’s lives.
We had become a sort of fixed member group whenever there were events or outings.
It felt a bit burdensome knowing that I was the common interest connecting them all.
However, it also depended on whether everyone had free time.
If we didn’t have time or if we lived far apart, actually getting together would be impossible.
Ryuah was the one among us with the least amount of free time.
Wasn’t it funny how her residence was also isolated?
“…Can you come up?”
I didn’t usually notice since we met regularly, but Ryuah lived in Busan.
It felt like we saw each other all the time, even though she really came up quite a bit when she could.
“Oh, did I not mention it? I’m crashing at my sister’s house in Seoul.”
“First time I’m hearing that.”
“Well, you see.
It’s like a pure local girl’s dream of moving to Seoul. I was curious about living in Seoul anyway.”
“Oh, I see.”
Nodding quietly, Ryuah spoke to me in a meaningful tone.
It was as if she was about to share something really important.
“And being in Seoul means I can see Ji-eun more often, right?”
“That’s true.”
“You like that too, right? Right?”
Both Ryuah and Ji-yeon always seemed to seek some kind of confirmation from me.
Sometimes I wondered if I had been too expressionless around them.
“For me, it’s better that you’re in Seoul, for sure.”
“Hehe.”
“But why Christmas Eve? It’s not Christmas Day.”
Isn’t there a reason to go out on the eve?
After all, the main event is Christmas Day, and the eve feels more like a pre-party vibe.
“Oh, because I have to stream on Christmas, Ji-eun.”
“Hmm?”
Ryuah wasn’t exactly a diligent streamer.
She might have been at one point, but she had definitely changed.
She was the type to cancel streams 2–3 times a week; did she really have a reason to stream on Christmas?
As I voiced my doubt, Ryuah cryptically said she wanted to tell me something.
“Ji-eun, you don’t know?”
“What don’t I know?”
“If you don’t stream on Christmas, something happens.”
“What happens?”
Is the world going to end or something?
Curiosity got the best of me, and I asked her what the reason was.
*
[How to Tell if a Girl Streamer is Selling Broth on Christmas]
Hello, it’s your bro.
Today is Christmas. But honestly, it doesn’t mean much to me.
Whether people are singing carols outside or whether the cool kids are throwing a crazy drug party, it’s not my concern.
With 10 years of experience in streaming, if a girl I’m watching isn’t streaming on Christmas, that’s a problem.
Especially if you’re in a pseudo-romantic situation with that girl, it’s even bigger trouble.
Yeah, I mean you. You.
For those of you who are clueless and don’t even realize you’re being used, I’m here to give you the lowdown on how to tell if a girl streamer is just playing you.
You can’t just be a regular sucker with reality; don’t be a cyber sucker either.
There aren’t too many criteria, just two.
1. Filter out the girl streamers who announce a break on Christmas.
There are those girls who only cancel streams on Christmas, Children’s Day, or Halloween.
They say they’re recharging, that they’re sick at year-end, that it’s their parents’ birthday, or that a relative just passed away—excuses just keep coming.
And don’t believe it unless they provide some proof. They’re probably just off with their boyfriend.
Filtering out just the ones taking a break on Christmas can get rid of most of them.
Is that a bit paranoid? It can’t be helped.
If you have no info about streamers, it’s the safest way to watch without getting hurt and still feel a sense of pseudo-romance.
Sure, you could just stop watching the girls selling broth, but if that were an option, you wouldn’t be in this situation for this long.
Falling in love isn’t a crime.
The abundance of love is just a little much.
2. Even if they stream on Christmas, be suspicious of the girls who took a break on Christmas Eve.
You can tell if they’re dressed differently the next day.
If they appear all bundled up unlike usual? That’s a clear sign.
The biggest tell is the knees; just looking at the neck or wrists gives you a rough estimate.
These days, more and more girls are doing number 2 rather than number 1.
Many girls use Christmas Eve to meet guys and perform the tricky act of streaming on Christmas Day.
Why am I analyzing this? Because I genuinely believe that it’s basic etiquette for girls to not let their romantic encounters show while streaming.
Unless they’re intentionally not selling broth, I think there should be respect for the broth purchasers even if there’s a little leeway.
But if they’re not streaming on Christmas and are out meeting guys, is that really respect?
Or at least they should try to avoid getting caught. If it’s that obvious just by digging a little, doesn’t that imply they’re doing it on purpose?
I’ve rambled too much, anyway. Here’s a short tip I wanted to share for Christmas.
I hope you enjoy internet streaming going forward.
See you~.
ㅇㅇ: That’s a gem
ㅇㅇ: I was a broth buyer and suddenly felt like I’ve been hit by reality ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why am I watching a girl streamer selling broth?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Seriously, I don’t get why I was watching all this time.
ㅇㅇ: I thought the 10,000-hour rule was nonsense, but now it seems credible ㅇㅇ Is there anyone who understands girl streams as well as this person?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: If you calculate it at 8 hours a day, that’s nearly 30,000 hours.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: The scary thing is that this person, who has mastered the broth-selling stream, can’t escape that lifestyle either.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Almost urban legend-level.
ㅇㅇ: Thanks to you, I just filtered out a girl streamer on my way here…
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: It’s sad for the girls who get filtered by a guy like this.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: When you think about it, it’s actually a gain.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: For real ㅋㅋ They’re viewers who don’t help the stream at all, judging by how they look.
ㅇㅇ: Stop analyzing this stuff and live your own life.
*
“Clarification? What am I clarifying?”
On Christmas Day, I found myself in a bizarre situation as I started my stream.
[Clarification]
[Clarify]
[What were you doing on Christmas Eve that you didn’t stream?]
[I got hurt, I got hurt, I got hurt, I got hurt.]
[Only I was being serious again.]
[These guys always act serious.]
[Those crazy folks who only know how to charge ahead… they shouldn’t be driving on roads…]
[I’ll just ban all the idiots ㅇㅇ.]
[More than half of them should be banned, but if that happens—]
“Christmas Eve? I just took a break. Is that why you’re freaking out right now?”
I’ve been taking breaks for a long time, so that isn’t anything new. I wasn’t someone who streamed every single day.
If a break is the issue, then it’s the timing that becomes the focal point.
“What’s wrong with taking a break on Christmas Eve?”
What’s the big deal?
December 24 and January 24 are just the same day to me.
The break I choose is my holiday.
While I was seeing the viewers freak out like they pressed some panic button, a thought flashed in my mind.
Ah, could it be what Ryuah was hinting at?
“Relax, it’s not like I met a guy. I was just hanging out with Dongsaeng, Ryuah, and our editor, the four of us.”
[Editor? Editor? Editor? Editor? Editor? Ugh…]
[The editor is a girl, a real peachy one.]
[Ugh… Ugh… phew.]
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier, teacher? ^^”
Seriously, this was such a ridiculous situation.
“Thinking back, I wonder why I’m clarifying this. Are you all my boyfriends now? Whether I meet a guy or a girl is none of your business.”
[Mollru is bi? 戈戈戈戈]
[No bias Mollru]
[True intellectual of this era;]
[If you make the first move, you have to take responsibility ㅇㅇ]
[For real ㅋㅋ are we pretending we don’t know that she prepared rich broth?]
“No, and besides, I didn’t take a break on Christmas Day, it was Christmas Eve, okay? If I were meeting someone, wouldn’t it be more common to meet on Christmas Day?”
Ryuah, who wanted to hang out on Christmas Eve to avoid the misunderstanding, now brought up this effort to dust.
I was feeling quite annoyed that all of her work seemed wasted.
[They say everyone meets on Christmas Eve these days, according to the experts.]
[That’s what they say.]
[It’s true apparently.]
“What kind of…”
It was probably obvious.
Someone must have posted some analytical piece in the community that stirred up a few viewers.
Looks like it made a deep impression on some of them.
But that’s that, and this is this.
I planned to set things straight regarding the recently loose discipline.
“That’s it for today’s stream. Thanks for coming, everyone.”
[????]
[Huh?]
[You guys made me angry! ㅅㅂ y’all.]
[I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.]
[Everyone leave if you came to just bother!!!!!!!]
[Streaming has become so comfy these days, huh?]
[For real, we need to go back to one stream a week to snap everyone back to reality.]
“Things have gotten out of hand these days, just far too brazen.”
Although I didn’t genuinely feel that way, I deliberately said it with a haughty tone.
I always believed that the relationship between a streamer and their viewers is one of equality, with no one having an absolute upper hand.
The act I put on had a big effect.
The crowd that was interrogating me vanished, replaced by a chat filled with crying emojis.
This is what you call fear politics.
“From now on, don’t do that, okay?”
At this point, they seemed to have regained some sense, so I eased up.
I spoke in a friendly tone as if I had calmed down.
Honestly, I was just annoyed, not really angry.
[^^7]
[Hehe… Mollru, the tamer of emotions.]
[A girl streamer who knows how to use both carrots and sticks… this is rare.]
“Ha.”
Yeah, that fits you all better.
I chuckled softly as I watched the viewers blabber on like usual.