The Villain is Too Good at Broadcasting

After ending the broadcast, I headed to the booth set up by Twipod.

There, I saw Dong-su hyung and a few other streamers having a lively conversation.

As always, Dong-su hyung was skillfully leading the atmosphere among many streamers.

There were quite a few streamers I didn’t recognize at the gathering.

Considering the number of Twipod streamers, it wasn’t surprising.

I quietly entered the booth and listened to Dong-su hyung’s conversation.

“Hey, thanks to Shia, I managed to draw a lot of attention to my broadcast. Most of the first server titles I got were because of Shia.”

“Yeah, Shia was really good back then.”

“Exactly.”

Sae-rin noona said as she took a sip from a bottle of beer on the table.

Most of the active streamers in the crew that Dong-su hyung had created were people who played <Gaia Online>.

Had they all been watching my broadcast together?

The conversation had long turned to my story.

Dong-su hyung chuckled at Sae-rin noona’s words and said,

“He must have had his reasons.”

“……He wasn’t a really bad guy. Honestly, weren’t his actions kind of cute?”

“Yeah, they were. Hey, Sae-rin, what would you do if you met Shia again?”

Now that was a curious question.

Sae-rin noona grasped the neck of the beer bottle tightly and said,

“I’d like to give him a good whack on the head with this bottle.”

I hoped he wouldn’t die from that.

……Ahem.

“Dong-su hyung.”

I called out to Dong-su hyung as I listened to the conversation, and he soon waved at me with a smile.

“You’re here? We were just talking about you.”

“About me?”

“Yeah. By the way, have you had lunch?”

“No.”

I hadn’t had lunch because I was wandering around the booth. Besides, it was still a bit early for lunch.

When I shook my head, Dong-su hyung got up from his seat and spoke to the fellow streamers.

“I’m going to grab a bite to eat with Chan-sik.”

“What are you going to eat?”

“I’m thinking of having a hearty bowl of pork soup. We’re in Busan, right?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Me too.”

Since others opted out, it worked out well.

The conversation I was about to have with Dong-su hyung was going to be very private.

Dong-su hyung took me out of the booth, and we soon headed to a pork soup restaurant in front of the event venue.

I followed behind Dong-su hyung, keeping silent for a moment.

I couldn’t figure out where to start.

“The weather is amazing today. Ah, this would be the perfect day to have a drink by the beach, don’t you think?”

“Hyung, you did that just yesterday.”

“How often do we come to Busan in a year? We should enjoy it while we can.”

For streamers, this event might feel like a vacation.

A chance to chat with streamers they rarely meet and enjoy the sea.

It was also a good opportunity to strengthen friendships and take a break.

Dong-su hyung walked lightly into the pork soup restaurant.

After ordering two bowls of pork soup, he naturally ordered some soju as well.

Watching him, I said,

“Drinking soju during the day is a bit much, isn’t it?”

Dong-su hyung responded while munching on cucumber peppers dipped in soybean paste that were already set on our table.

“I’m not broadcasting today anyway.”

“……I see.”

“And suddenly, I just crave soju. If I crave it, I should drink it, right?”

Craving soju during the day, huh.

Even though Dong-su hyung liked alcohol, he hadn’t been one to drink like this.

His demeanor had changed a bit since we left the Twipod booth.

Soon, soju was brought to our table, and as soon as it arrived, Dong-su hyung opened the bottle and poured me a glass.

“Pour me a glass too.”

“Oh, yes.”

I poured soju into Dong-su hyung’s glass, and we lightly clinked our glasses.

The sharp taste of soju flowed down my throat.

“Ahh.”

“Wow.”

It was funny to be drinking in the middle of a broadcast, but this was a conversation we needed to have.

Dong-su hyung downed his glass and then said to me,

“I’ve seen Shia a lot. The Shia who came out of that game, he had the same vibe as the real Shia. Even his combat habits were similar.”

Dong-su hyung chuckled as he downed another glass of soju.

Then, in a slightly subdued voice, he said,

“Seeing that image again on your broadcast brought back some memories. Made me nostalgic.”

“Memories……?”

“Honestly, you know why I could rise to the top, right? It was all thanks to <Gaia Online>.”

Dong-su hyung nodded slightly as he fiddled with his soju glass.

There was a time when Dong-su hyung, like many others, didn’t have many viewers.

As he said, it was <Gaia Online> that put him where he was now.

He had cleared many dungeons as the first Korean streamer and achieved many feats through the guild he created.

He had never lost a war against famous overseas guilds and even conquered kingdoms as a player.

I felt a bit nostalgic remembering those times.

“There were many titles. First to clear world bosses, dragon slayer, things like that. Thanks to that, a lot of viewers started coming in, and my broadcast took off.”

“To be precise, it was because of your great commentary and personality. How many viewers would there be just for skill alone?”

“Are you trying to butter me up even here? You’re doing better than me now. You have more average viewers; I should be trying to get on your good side.”

“Oh, come on.”

We exchanged a few more lighthearted jokes while drinking more soju.

Soon, our pork soup arrived, and as we sipped the hot soup, we continued our conversation.

Dong-su hyung reminisced about the old days with a bright smile.

I listened and smiled along with him. Though, unlike Dong-su hyung, I wasn’t reminiscing.

A bit of regret floated in my mind instead.

What if I hadn’t betrayed Dong-su hyung and the guild members back then, and tried a little harder?

I’ve heard that the most pointless thoughts are the “what ifs.”

But I couldn’t help the regret that surfaced in my mind.

“Chan-sik.”

We were already on our second bottle of soju.

Dong-su hyung took another refreshing shot and looked at me.

His cheeks were slightly flushed, not typical for him, indicating he was starting to get drunk.

“I’ve always wondered. Why did Shia betray us and delete his account……. He did a lot of bad things on the surface, but to us in the guild, he was a good guy. Just a bit rough around the edges.”

“……Hmm.”

“Who would have thought he’d betray us? I was so angry and felt so betrayed at first…… sigh. After about a year, it all seemed meaningless.”

Hearing my story from someone else was always uncomfortable.

Especially stories from when I was <Shia>.

Moreover, the person recounting the story was one of those I had betrayed, making it naturally uncomfortable.

But I had to overcome this.

And I needed to be honest with Dong-su hyung about the facts.

I bit my lip slightly and carefully opened my mouth.

“Hyung, actually, I…”

Before I could say anything, Dong-su hyung continued talking.

“I’ve thought a lot about why Shia disappeared suddenly. Shia always carried out requests whenever he didn’t have plans with us. He said he needed the money urgently. Why did such a young guy need so much money?”

He downed a few more drinks, then smiled gently.

“After <Gaia Online> shut down, I kept looking for any trace of Shia, but I couldn’t find anything. So, I gave up and focused solely on broadcasting. Then I met your brother Jin-hyuk by chance.”

The timing to tell the truth was stolen.

So, I decided to listen to him for a while, looking for an opportunity.

Dong-su hyung was now looking me straight in the eyes, smiling.

Then, with a somewhat bitter and weak voice, he said,

“After we got closer, I had a drink with Jin-hyuk and heard about you.”

Why was he suddenly bringing up Jin-hyuk?

After thinking for a moment, I came to a shocking conclusion.

The stories hyung had been telling so far.

It seemed like he was reminiscing about memories, but that wasn’t it.

Dong-su hyung had been pouring out his feelings to me all this time.

“Chan-sik.”

“…Yes.”

“Was it tough for you?”

Why did those words choke me up so much?

I bowed my head for a moment, placing my hands on my thighs.

I bit my lip, trying hard to control my breathing.

Dong-su hyung’s words, mixed with a hint of drunkenness, landed on me.

“My story isn’t even that sad, why are you so scared? Is someone going to eat you?”

“Hyung, can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure.”

“Since when did you know?”

A question with many implications.

Dong-su hyung pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded and answered.

“Since the first time you came to my house for a joint broadcast?”

I didn’t know.

As I fell silent, just staring at the floor, Dong-su hyung handed me a glass of soju.

“Thanks for having the courage, Chan-sik. I figured it might be tough for you, so I brought it up first.”

Damn it.

I shouldn’t cry.

—

**2.**

“Ugh, the smell of alcohol.”

“Did you two start drinking in the middle of the day?”

“Even if it’s typical of Dong-su oppa, Chan-sik, why did you drink so much?”

“I really didn’t drink that much.”

“Hey, don’t scold our Chan-sik!”

After lunch, when we returned to Twipod’s booth, Sae-rin noona and Yoo-seon noona greeted us.

We must have gone through about six bottles of soju between the two of us.

While Dong-su hyung was visibly drunk, I was perfectly sober.

I couldn’t afford to get drunk in this situation.

I helped Dong-su hyung lie down on the sofa, sighed, and took a seat.

I looked back and forth between Yoo-seon noona and Sae-rin noona.

They, too, were victims of that incident.

It’s only polite to tell them before revealing it to the viewers. After all, I did deceive them too.

“Uh, noonas?”

Thankfully, there was no one else in the booth except for them.

Everyone else seemed to be out for lunch or playing games.

At my words, they both looked up from their phones simultaneously.

“What is it?”

“Uh…”

Just as it had been difficult to bring it up in front of Dong-su hyung, it was the same here.

However, as I gathered the courage to speak, Dong-su hyung, who was lying on the sofa, spoke up.

“Chan-sik, they know too.”

“…What?”

“I told them last time, remember? Before you met them, I talked to them.”

That was when Dong-su hyung had taken me to Chicken Box’s office, right?

While I was talking with Sung-jae, it seemed hyung had spoken to the noonas separately.

Sae-rin noona then gave me a hearty slap on the back and said,

“What, you finally told us? I thought you’d take it to your grave.”

My back stung.

Her comment about hitting with a beer bottle came to mind suddenly.

But Sae-rin noona just smiled and said,

“You must have had your reasons. Didn’t you?”

“Noona.”

“Yoo-seon unnie, say something too.”

“Sniff.”

“Why are you crying?”

“Chan-sik, you must have had such a hard time at that young age. You didn’t even take breaks while playing to make money… That’s why, right?”

Watching them bicker, I smiled bitterly.

Such good people, and I had been deceiving them to live well on my own.

Without knowing they were already aware of everything.

…This just made me feel even more apologetic, leaving me speechless.

After teasing Yoo-seon noona a bit more, Sae-rin noona glanced at me and said,

“I’m more curious about something else. Who were the people that commissioned you to betray us back then?”

As I was about to answer that question, Dong-su hyung spoke up again.

“It was <Gaia Online>’s developers.”

“Hyung?”

“They’re gone now… I was curious, so I asked. It was that Lee Nak-jun guy, right? He told me. Chan-sik, just stay put. I’ll take care of it.”

“…That doesn’t change the fact that I betrayed you for money.”

“Your disappearance coincided with Jin-hyuk’s surgery.”

Dong-su hyung got up from the sofa and came closer to me.

The strong smell of alcohol hit me.

“Chan-sik.”

But Dong-su hyung’s eyes were still clear.

“They promised to move up Jin-hyuk’s surgery date. Now that we know, who would blame you? We know Jin-hyuk, we’re not strangers to him….”

Hearing that, I clenched my fists tightly.

These people were too good for me.

If I had known, I would have told them sooner.

Pointless regrets brushed past my lips.

Just as I was struggling to hold back tears and looking at them,

“Hyung!”

Jin-hyuk rushed into the booth, showing me his phone.

“Is this true?”

“What is it?”

“Look.”

On Jin-hyuk’s phone were articles with sensational headlines.

-Streamer Sha. His true identity is none other than <Gaia Online>’s worst villain, <Shia>?

-Comparison video of <Streamer Sha> and <Shia>

-Controversy spreading across various communities….

The situation was escalating faster than I had anticipated.

Seeing the articles, I let out a heavy sigh.

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