It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: Is this broadcaster obsessed with teasing us?』

『Ever since that incident where her battery died during camping, she seems to enjoy watching her viewers complain.

I mean, why does she always end the broadcast at the most anticipated moments? What the hell is wrong with her?』

– Maybe she didn’t want to show 20,000 viewers her boyfriend getting eliminated.

– ㄴ These obsessive fans are really annoying.

– ㄴ What did Revan ever do to deserve this?

– I wanted to watch the Round of 16 in first person, damn it…

– ㄴ I’m really curious about that counter, seriously.

– ㄴㄴ Didn’t she record it?

– ㄴㄴ She hasn’t even used GetDevouredTube yet, so what does it matter if she recorded it?

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: Quick Elimination Despite Using Bugs』

『This is pretty embarrassing, LOL』

– Getting to the Round of 16 is already a great accomplishment, isn’t it?

– ㄴ True, it’s really impressive.

– He even fought 2:1 against a pro, he did well.

– ㄴ Given how arrogant he usually acts, I thought he would win.

– ㄴㄴ Has Revan ever acted cocky though?

– ㄴㄴ There are notes about GetDevoured’s dark side coming out.

– Is it actually a bug?

– ㄴ It’s not a bug, but it’s going to be fixed soon.

– ㄴㄴ So it’s basically a bug then…

– ㄴㄴ A bad influence, through and through.

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: It’s just a casual competition, let them celebrate, LOL』

『Since when did you all become so high-and-mighty, LOL. It’s pretty disgusting to see these fans go nuts just because their favorite broadcaster lost.』

– Pagol acts like that even in the league.

– ㄴ ‘A superstar who drives both fans and haters crazy.’

– ㄴㄴ Is there even a superstar who gets knocked out in group stages?

– Is it something to brag about for a pro to beat a broadcaster and then celebrate?

– ㄴ Losing one round must have really pissed him off… really…

『Author: GetDevoured Devoured』

『Title: This is good drama』

『A delinquent who will do anything to win, and the annoying disciplinarian who always nags about not breaking rules. But since they promised to meet in the competition, the delinquent ends up using the bug he hated so much, barely securing a win. In the end, though, he has to kneel before an overwhelming opponent and suffers humiliation… Now, we’ll see the delinquent, who always used to grin, wearing a serious expression as he seeks revenge. The drama is amazing.』

– You bastard.

– ㄴ A person who attended school in Korea uses the word “teacher” even in their delusions, it’s honestly so damn funny LOLOLOL

– But why do they seem like their genders are switched?

– ㄴ For real.

– Didn’t you see GetDevoured and Revan falling?

– ㄴ Probably did.

– If only they would start broadcasting or something.

『Author: ㅇㅇ』

『Title: So is GetDevoured not doing the Rogue Revival Movement anymore?』

『Dropping the concept?』

– ㅇㅇ They are doing more Holy Knight stuff now.

– They’ve already succeeded.

– ㄴ For real, they were doing so well that they needed to be nerfed.

– Concept? LOLOLOL If that was a concept, there’s nothing in the world that isn’t.

– ㄴ Why are you so mad?

– Still, I miss the old rogue roots, it’s a bit disappointing.

* * * *

Morning.

Perhaps because I didn’t drink the night before, my head felt quite clear. I was getting used to days like this. More days of not drinking than drinking.

Still, it was rare by recent standards. I should relish the victory with a clear mind.

Right after finishing the 8th round match, I went to check out the Dark Evolution of SkullCanaryamon and found a face I couldn’t mock.

The expression was just too… pained to make fun of.

I was glad I logged on with my secondary account.

… Anyway.

Exploring the community was pretty enjoyable. I took a tour from cafes to galleries.

Maybe because a new season is starting and there are no pro leagues right now, the communities dealing with KoK were filled with posts about the competition.

Among them were, of course, numerous posts about Revan.

『Author: ㅇㅇ』

『Title: Moment of Revan’s Elimination』

『(Video)

It’s a wonder why he’s pulling a disappointed face after getting thrashed, if you wonder, upvote』

– At least he won one round~ Have a drink~

– No way he should let the Nexus fall; he has the top solo kill stats in the league.

– Wow, those shield spins are satisfying.

– ㄴ Teabagging master.

– ㄴㄴ This guy’s just a lucky wannabe, for real.

Thanks to this, I could fully watch the matches I had put off.

Honestly, it was a bit fun but… it made me ponder.

… Shouldn’t I demand the forfeit yet? I want to do it as soon as possible. With the release of The Rogue 2, it’s getting harder to wait. But seeing that expression, messing with him now might bring huge trouble. It’s tricky.

Especially since it’s right after the Dark Evolution with SkullCanaryamon. I had a gut feeling that it would end badly if I provoked him. And from experience, it’s better not to ignore this kind of feeling.

– Bzzzzzzzz

While lost in various thoughts, a familiar name appeared on the screen along with the vibration.

『Jinhee: Congratulations on making it to the semifinals!!! 😍』

『Jinhee: Our Yena is on fire, seriously.』

『Jinhee: You’re going to the semifinal match, right?』

Ah. I appreciated the congratulations… but it felt like she was questioning something very fundamental.

Why?

『Thank you.』

『I will go.』

『Jinhee: That’s a relief… 😅』

『Jinhee: I suddenly felt anxious when I heard it’s an offline event from the semifinals.』

『😅』

『Why?』

『Jinhee: Just because.』

『Jinhee: I thought it would be funny if you decided not to go…?』

『😰』

『Jinhee: Anyway, glad you’re going!!』

『Jinhee: I’ll come and cheer for you.』

… That’s too much. What kind of person did she think I was? She wasn’t usually someone who slandered people like this.

No, well. I was grateful for the support. But it seemed like her perception of me…

… Thinking about it… the reactions, the community’s responses… it would be funny. If, right after, I started a broadcast somewhere in the mountains… it would definitely… yes.

But I had no intentions of doing something that would inconvenience others. This was still a tournament. I couldn’t cause trouble just for my own amusement.

In fact, it was somewhat shocking that she thought I might actually do that.

Most importantly—

I needed to tie up any loose ends. To confidently demand the penalty, I had to go as far as I could. I didn’t expect to beat professionals every step of the way.

But there was someone I wanted to win against. Even if I got eliminated, I had to give it my all for now.

Oh, by the way. It might be good to listen to others’ opinions on such a difficult decision.

I also wanted to discuss the best timing to start joking around, but aside from that, I had a lot on my mind regarding the broadcast, the tournament, and many other things.

『Jinhee.』

『Are you busy today?』

『Jinhee: Huh??』

『Jinhee: Nope, I’m free this evening.』

『Then.』

『How about a drink later?』

『I have some things I want to talk about.』

… She was taking a while to reply.

『I’ll buy.』

* * * *

The fairly bustling izakaya. Receiving guidance from an employee, Ark, Jinhee arrived at a room, pausing briefly before the door to catch her breath.

The preparations had taken a long time, and she had hurriedly rushed on the way here—but was that really the only reason? For some reason, her thoughts had become increasingly tangled.

She should have gotten used to it by now.

-Creak.

With a calming breath and still slightly pounding hearts, they opened the door—

“Wow. You’re here.”

The first words, uttered with half-closed eyes, sounded like that.

You’re here. What did that mean, did she thing she might not come?

It must have been a joke. Though always seemingly indifferent, on reflection—they often said such things with that very expression.

“Of course, I had to come when our cute Yena called! Did you wait long?”

It was better to take the initiative rather than be flustered. Jinhee believed that Yena was particularly vulnerable to sudden attacks that came close all at once. Yena’s unusual softness towards Ahri, not knowing how to deal with her unrelenting fan enthusiasm, seemed to be part of it too.

“… Should we order drinks?”

Sure enough, Yena, who had been looking up, now slightly lowered her head and cautiously handed over the menu. The trembling at the corners of her mouth, as if preparing for another opportunity, had already been neatly subdued.

‘… In this respect, she is transparent.’

In any case, it was hard to dislike her.

“Let’s do that! What would you like to drink?”

“I’m good with anything. They sell wine here too. Though, I don’t really know much about it.”

“Hmm- since it’s an izakaya, how about some sake?”

“Yes.”

There was a slight, quick nod. She seemed quite pleased. She had liked sake for a while. Knowing her penchant for clear spirits, like how she always kept soju around, Jinhee understood.

‘It’s amazing how much I’ve learned.’

For some reason, Jinhee swallowed a slightly bitter smile secretly and pressed the bell.

The conversation they meant to have—invariably something frivolous—still felt like it would be easier to begin with a bit of drinking.

.

.

.

Around 2 hours later.

As both drank more alcohol than water and were sitting hazily, their eyes slightly glazed over,

“… But honestly, I’m really curious. Why do you dislike the Warrior so much?”

Jinhee suddenly asked, and Yena let out a faint sigh in response.

“What, what? Don’t tell me your ex-boyfriend was a Warrior or something? Tell me, I’ll keep it a secret even if I have to stake my life on it.”

And so, diving into it as if she had found something worth teasing about.

“… I don’t have an ex-boyfriend. My ex-girlfriend didn’t play games. Actually, she really hated it. Looking back now, I can’t say I don’t understand why. I really was engrossed as if my life depended on it. Why was that? Ha.”

“… What?”

It turned out the one frozen was Jinhee herself.

“Ah. It’s not that I regret it. It was pretty fun in its own way… Thanks to it, erm, connections… They were sturdy. And we could have viewer participation in our Jinhee’s streams.”

As Jinhee fell silent, Yena, letting out a small laugh to herself, continued to speak quietly as if talking to herself.

“Thinking about it, I have a lot of karma. The name GetDevoured has such an ominous ring to it. Maybe it’s because I started during a particularly rough period. Hmm… What should I do? Now that it’s come to this, should I elevate my infamy even more? You know, if there’s a good ending, maybe there’s an evil ending too.”

The drunken nonsense would have been hard to understand, but—

Despite the smile, her expression seemed endlessly serious—and also a bit sad.

Jinhee could only quietly nod and look at Yena.