I Became a Malicious Streamer

It’s a typical meal time, or rather, calling it typical may be a bit misleading.

Since Ryuah came into my house, there’s never been a meal where we didn’t chat endlessly. Even trivial topics were turned into grand stories as we munched away.

But now, what can I say? It’s eerily quiet in stark contrast. The only sound is the occasional clatter of utensils hitting bowls, and aside from that, we aren’t saying a word to each other.

I feel like I’m gonna choke. I should have just made an excuse to avoid this—said I wasn’t feeling well or that I wasn’t hungry or something.

Choosing to sit here makes it seem like I’m aware of the tension, and that’s just backfired on me.

This is the exact moment when the phrase “sitting on a thorn” comes to mind. I have no appetite, but getting up would be rude since Ryuah made the meal for me. So, I force down a mouthful. The sensation of food sliding down my throat is downright uncomfortable.

With my head buried in my bowl, I sneakily glanced at Ryuah’s expression. To my surprise, she didn’t seem too bothered.

Seeing her reaction made me think…? I was prepared to face her scorn, but she didn’t appear to be in that mood.

Can this really be?

I felt relieved by her lack of negative response, though curiosity bubbled within me.

What’s the current situation? I’m innocent here. I just had a curiosity about the frequent posts being broadcasted online. It had nothing to do with the explicit content.

Yes, it’s akin to the exploratory spirit that adventurers have towards the unknown.

But for Ryuah, it was undoubtedly a different story. I needed to step back and think from her perspective and not just mine.

I dreamed of independence and moved to Seoul. At first, it was great, but loneliness grew the more I lived alone. I asked a friend to stay with me, only to find out she’s a crazy psycho lesbian reading adult stories featuring us…

It’s like a teenage boy caught watching adult films by his mom.

But the film happens to be incest-themed. And that teenage boy… is me.

Should I just die?

Using a metaphor to think about it really hit home. Of course, I’m not a teenage boy with raging hormones, and Ryuah is not my mom, but still, the essence is quite similar.

What would a mother feel like watching her son consume adult material starring him? I can’t even dare to imagine.

I might be seen as a monster?

I can’t endure this! There’s no way I can bear the weight of her disdain.

I would rather run away than to receive that contemptuous gaze from Ryuah. Let’s escape to a place where no one knows us. We can set sail to some new land and embark on a fresh start. Somewhere there’s got to be a paradise just for me. I heard America isn’t bad; should I immigrate there? A new life starting in an unknown land has its own romantic notion –

“Ji-eun.”

“Uh, wh-what?”

Caught off guard by her sudden call, my voice came out all squeaky. Coming back to reality, I looked up to see Ryuah inexplicably blushing and staring at me.

Since being called, we hadn’t met each other’s eyes, so I shivered a bit under her gaze.

“Um, so…”

She stammered, blushing and struggling with her words.

See, even if she looks fine on the surface, the earlier event affected her.

What’s she going to say? Am I going to get scolded for watching that, or will she make an assertive proclamation of how she can’t live with someone like me?

The possibility of our friendship ending altogether loomed too. Considering Ryuah’s now awkward attitude, this is totally plausible.

I awaited her words with a quiver of fear, my ears poised to accept whatever she might say.

Finding her courage, she finally spoke, “That thing… where did you see it?”

“That thing?”

“Y’know, that thing…?”

Shifting her gaze away, Ryuah pressed on, “That thing you were watching earlier…”

What in the world is she talking about?

My mind raced with what to say, yet nothing came out.

Why is Ryuah even bringing this up? What could her intentions be?

Is this a plot to completely annihilate my social status? Is she wanting to witness my ugly side with her own eyes?

Unless…

My thoughts took a dark turn, wondering if Ryuah might actually share my… preferences.

That’s absurd, though— the chances are incredibly slim.

As I pondered, Ryuah waved her hands in panic.

“I-I’m sorry! That was rude of me. Given the content, it must be burdensome…”

No need to apologize when you’re mentioning something you were involved in. Since I was a part of it too, aren’t we just co-authors? I could stake my claim for half the credit.

But aside from that, how did Ryuah even get into my room to snoop on my computer? She must have seen quite a bit to understand the content…

Well, if I think about it, not impossible, considering it starts with descriptions that are hard to miss.

“…Why do you want to see it?”

“Huh? Um, that’s…”

If she wishes to see it, that’s no problem at all.

It wasn’t even written by me— I just had to swallow a bit of embarrassment and shame.

But it intrigued me more than anything else. Why does Ryuah want to read it?

“Is it curiosity about the unknown? Something like that… Hehe…”

Ryuah scratched her neck awkwardly. Looking at that bright smile, I felt an unexpected pang of disappointment.

Yeah, that’s not it. Somehow, I was left deflated. I must’ve unconsciously hoped for something.

Hoped for what?

What was I expecting? As I wrestled with my own thoughts, Ryuah added, “Are you going to show it to me?”

“…I’ll send you the link after we eat. Just go check it out.”

Ryuah appeared shy about it but curiously satisfied. A piece featuring her— and she isn’t even put off by it? Plus, it centers around the mess we got ourselves into.

“Ji-eun, did you read it all?”

“Cough, cough.”

“Are you okay?!”

I nearly choked. Ryuah looked at me with concern, rubbing my back.

“Um, are you curious about that…?”

“Yup… to be honest, I am curious…”

She played with the ends of her hair, asking me yet again. Just how far did she plan on making me blush?

“I didn’t finish it. I was just surprised.”

Ryuah evidently has a unique personality, but I found it oddly comforting too.

It felt better for us to talk bluntly rather than allow awkwardness to arise. It seems she’s not too put off either, so I can just roll with it.

Even if it’s not typical to ask each other if we’ve read the adult story we both featured in, perhaps that’s just an American mindset.

A world without prejudice, where minorities are respected. Let’s build it together…

“Did you not get to see it properly because of me?”

To tell the truth, I suppose that’s true. If she hadn’t interrupted, I probably would’ve read it all the way through.

But after being caught off guard, my mind got too jumbled, leaving me unable to enjoy the story fully.

Yet saying that outright would be a bit awkward, so I just shook my head.

“It’s not like that…”

“Then that means you were caught off guard by me, right?”

“No!”

“Then let’s…”

Ryuah smiled meaningfully.

“Watch it together?”

“Wh-what…?”

“Since neither of us got to read it properly, it’ll feel like a live reading session where we take turns with the lines…”

Is she really suggesting a late-night adult story reading party?

I’m starting to genuinely question Ryuah’s mental state. Could she have been drinking something other than water?

“Hehe, just kidding! You looked really shocked! That’s the first time I’ve seen you with such a serious face.”

Even I find it embarrassing to watch something like that together—.

I felt an indescribable rush of emotions seeing Ryuah tease me like that. But at its core, it was a simple feeling.

Ah, yes. This… this is just frustrating.

Over the past few days, Ryuah has been on a roll with her teasing.

Starting from small things, it kept escalating, and whenever she’d prank me, I’d just shiver and swallow my frustration.

I needed to reverse our roles. At this rate, I’d just be Ryuah’s plaything. She might enjoy it, but I certainly wouldn’t. Always losing isn’t my style.

Driven by stubbornness, I leaned closer to Ryuah, who had been giggling.

“Let’s watch it together.”

“Uh…?”

“I said let’s watch that.”

Ryuah, cocking her head in confusion, noticed my serious demeanor, and her expression gradually hardened.

“Hey, don’t joke around. Do you think I would fall for that? You wouldn’t actually go there…”

“It’s not a joke.”

As Ryuah seemed to fade back nervously, she mumbled, “Are you serious?”

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