[TS] Malicious Sniper

The results of Team ‘Curry Breaker”s first scrim were an overwhelming victory.

Of course, the highlight of the win was Barcode’s Talon.

There wasn’t a single team member or person who could deny that fact.

Even those who were busy trash-talking Barcode.

Even the viewers who kept deflecting with phrases like ‘lucky’ and ‘fluke’.

No one could deny that Barcode’s Talon perfectly carried the first scrim.

Well, maybe some were still trying to deny it.

But even so, the chat filled with denial didn’t catch my eye.

Huh? What do I mean by that?

I shifted my gaze to the chat room.

Ding ding ding!

[Windstorm Talon can’t stop this! Windstorm Talon can’t stop this! Windstorm Talon can’t stop this!]

[Huh? What’s that about Barcode’s lady? Ha ha! Huh? What’s that about Barcode’s lady? Ha ha! Huh? What’s that about Barcode’s lady? Ha ha!]

Woohoo!

[Who am I? ‘Barcode’ viewer! Who am I? ‘Barcode’ viewer! Who am I? ‘Barcode’ viewer!]

Muya~ Ho~ Muya~ Ho~ Muya~ Ho~

[That’s how excited they are~ That’s how excited they are~ That’s how excited they are~]

[Yo, haters, just zip it! Ha ha! Yo, haters, just zip it!]

How consistent can things be?

Snicker.

Looking at the chaotic chat room, I couldn’t help but smile.

If the chat earlier was filled with malice, the current one was brimming with madness.

[Huh?]

[Did I just not hear that right?]

[Did Barcode’s lady just laugh…?]

[That’s the first time I’ve heard her genuinely laugh.]

[Hehe…]

[That’s kinda cute, huh? Ha ha!]

[Weren’t you going for a sexy concept? 5252]

[Maybe, just maybe, she’s a bit cute? wwwwww]

[Ugh, no way!]

[Please, head back to the ward, you patients!]

It was hilarious how one laugh made everyone stop spamming all at once.

Though it wasn’t intentional, I somehow managed to calm the chaos in the chat room and rejoined the Discord call.

“So, there’s nothing to feedback?”

“Well, if I had to give feedback, it’d be that Latte’s mastery of tank champions isn’t great.”

“Ugh… Damn Goliath, why did you balance it like this…”

“Well, other than that, our teamwork is perfect, and the main shotcaller should definitely be Barcode…”

“Me?”

I had been listening to Jericho and Latte talk for a while, and finally interrupted.

Usually, the jungle is the main shotcaller, and the support does the sub-calling or briefing.

Of course, that’s not always the case, but Jericho and Antenna were both excellent League of Legends players.

With those two present, I couldn’t help but wonder why they wanted me to take the main shotcaller role.

“Well, if Barcode is struggling, you don’t have to take it, but… there’s one guy who doesn’t follow my orders.”

“Who’s the dude who doesn’t follow Rico’s orders?”

“That dude is you, you little bastard.”

“Haha! I got caught on that one!”

Ding!

After teasing Jericho, Coldog quickly exited the call.

“When I give orders, Coldog absolutely refuses to follow them, but for some reason, he listens to Barcode’s orders. What gives?”

“Hmm…”

I was left with no choice but to consider Jericho’s suggestion.

The reason I actively called shots this game was to shut up these fools, but I had never actually been a proper shotcaller.

Could I, who had been stuck in solo queue, really make the right calls?

After a moment’s contemplation, I reached a reasonable conclusion in my head and slowly opened my mouth.

“Well, I think I’m not ready to be the main shotcaller yet.”

“True, there’s still plenty of time, so we don’t need to decide now.”

Jericho readily accepted my response.

There was no reason to decide on a main shotcaller so soon since we still had plenty of time left.

The purpose of this collab was simple testing, and with the scrim results out, the collab was practically over.

That’s why Antenna logged off early, and Coldog felt free to roast Jericho before leaving; the collab was finished.

“Thanks for today.”

“You too, Barcode.”

“Come on! Who says that these days? You can’t tell I’m not a ‘yang’ type.”

“…Thanks for today, Barcode.”

The sharp jab from Jericho made Latte quickly change his words.

I stifled a laugh at their sitcom-like exchange and exited the call.

“Alright, I’ll wrap up today’s broadcast here?”

[Already? Already? Already?]

[ㅠㅠㅠ Don’t go!]

[Are you waiting to see me die?]

[Bye bye~]

[Bye bye~]

[Bye bye sounds good!]

[Laughing my ass off!]

[No way…!]

[Isn’t it a crime to only stream for two hours in a day, even if it’s a collab?]

[The real crime is you sitting in your room all day long watching internet streams, don’t you think?]

[Why are you hitting me for no reason?]

[Massive damage, you little bastard.]

Leaving behind the disappointed viewers, I clicked the end broadcast button.

I wore a smile until the end, but my expression turned serious as I recalled the earlier chat room.

If I were still Son Minwoo, a man instead of a woman, I might have let this incident slide.

Thinking it’s only natural for others to direct malice toward me.

But not anymore.

They say a person becomes calm when they’re furious.

That’s exactly how I felt now.

I needed to figure out how to legally and neatly deal with those bastards.

Since I had been recording the chat room just in case, I had enough justification and evidence.

Should I prepare a group lawsuit? That thought crossed my mind, but then I felt like it would become a hassle.

Still, if I didn’t respond this time, such things might happen again in the future.

I swore to show what reality harassment truly was as I began preparing for the lawsuit.

Ding ding ding!

Then my smartphone rang.

There was no one to call me before or after I became a woman.

I turned my chair around and reached for my smartphone lying on the bed.

[Curryy]

“Oh.”

The name of the caller that appeared on the screen caught my attention, and I unconsciously let out a sound.

Come to think of it, we exchanged numbers just in case during the last collab.

I almost forgot.

But why was Curry calling at this time?

Solving that mystery raised another question.

I held onto that question as I answered the call.

“Hello?”

– Barcode.

Curry’s voice came through the smartphone, sounding a bit different than usual.

Was it just my imagination?

“Yes? What’s up, Curry?”

I pushed the curiosity aside and asked Curry in a calm voice.

However, there was no response, and silence followed between us.

How long did I wait in silence?

– I have something to discuss regarding Barcode’s broadcast today.

Curry finally spoke up, with a noticeably subdued tone.

*

Having safely finished today’s broadcast, Curry opened Discord for the routine meeting with the editors.

Normally, unless there’s a collab, Curry keeps Discord off, but upon seeing the flood of Discord messages popping up on the right side of the screen, Curry felt something was off.

To figure out what was happening, Curry unfolded the message list that had arrived.

Checking the messages, it appeared that numerous managers, who should have finished work by now, sent more than dozens of texts.

Did they forget that I keep Discord off while streaming?

If there’s something to inform, shouldn’t they call instead?

“Oh.”

Then it dawned on Curry that the smartphone had run out of battery and wasn’t charged back on.

Realizing that, Curry awkwardly smiled and reached for the smartphone plugged into the charger.

Pressing the power button to turn on the phone, the number of calls from managers appeared in double digits.

Not just the group chat but personal messages exceeded hundreds.

Since it seemed faster to hear what was going on directly from the individuals than reading messages, Curry left the smartphone behind and entered the call with the managers.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, CEO. Where have you been?”

“Ghosting on calls, messages, and Discord is a triple strike…”

Curry then got a detailed explanation of the situation from the two managers.

What had happened in Barcode’s room and what the chat was filled with.

“Sir, I sent you an image via personal message, so please check it out.”

The two managers sent an image file containing what the chat room looked like at that time.

Downloading the image file and checking the contents made Curry frown involuntarily.

The chat room was filled with words hard to even repeat, an utter embodiment of disgust.

The images conveyed how low human nature could go, not just one or two but over ten photos.

“…What are their ID lists?”

“I’ve organized everything in a text file along with the image file.”

“We also found out where they were located. All their IDs were suspiciously similar, though.”

Thanks to the capable two managers, Curry managed to ease some of the anger and politely asked to step out of the call for a moment.

“Hmm…”

Curry exhaled a sigh filled with rage.

If I didn’t vent out these feelings somehow, I felt like I would explode at any moment.

Curry had always been a responsible person.

So when someone related to him suffered, he couldn’t ignore it.

Especially if the person who was hurt had helped him in some way.

If the one who offered help was suffering because of a situation connected to him, Curry was never the kind of guy to turn a blind eye.

Who was the one who first suggested the collab with Barcode?

It was him.

Who benefited from the collab with Barcode?

It was him.

Of course, recalling Barcode from the collab made him shiver with memories of the bullying, but apart from that, thinking about how badly Barcode must have been hurt from the broadcast made him feel suffocated.

Was this responsibility or guilt?

No, what was important right now wasn’t that.

Having composed himself, Curry contacted Barcode using the number exchanged during the last collab.

Ding ding ding!

Ding ding ding!

Ding…

– Hello?

The ringing tone cut off midway, and Barcode’s voice came through.

It could sound like the usual tone, but Curry could sense a slight tremor in Barcode’s voice.

“Barcode.”

How much pain had Barcode endured from this incident?

Unlike himself, who had toughened up as a seasoned streamer, Barcode was still a fresh-faced streamer who had just started not long ago.

He vividly remembered when he had struggled with every vulgar chat and mean comment during his early days.

If he felt that way, how could he even begin to imagine how Barcode felt reading horrid malice wrapped up in thousands of chat messages?

– Yes? What’s going on, Curry-nim?

Seeing Barcode pretend to be fine made Curry feel even more suffocated.

The weight of guilt and responsibility pressed down on him like bricks, scrunching his face.

It was a familiar feeling he’d once experienced while streaming.

To dissipate the unpleasant and prickly mood lingering over him.

“I have something to discuss regarding Barcode’s broadcast today.”

He felt he needed to clear away the garbage that had caught his eyes to relieve his stress.

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