“Haa….”
I let out a long sigh, feeling a bit suffocated.
Even after saying everything I wanted to in the broadcast, I still wasn’t at ease.
It was something that had built up in my throat, something I had to say, but looking back now, I can’t help but think I was too emotional about it.
Isn’t it true that after a fight with a close friend or partner, while you might feel relieved in the moment after saying everything, it leaves an uncomfortable feeling afterward?
Right now, I was exactly in that situation. The type to regret things after acting on emotions.
I realized I had responded too emotionally. No matter how angry I was, I should have just said what was necessary. Instead, I let myself get all worked up.
In the end, it just exposed my weaknesses to my enemies. It’s no different from advertising that I’m vulnerable to such attacks.
“Mun Ah, it’s not your fault! It’s those bad people who are in the wrong!”
“Hmm….”
That was Riri’s attempt to comfort me. She had been staying at my place for a while now, under the pretense of cheering me up.
It’s true that those bad people are in the wrong… but these days, there are so many who harm others without a second thought and take pleasure in it.
Especially online, where you encounter such people more frequently. I guess it’s because there aren’t any physical boundaries. There’s no way I can go to every single one of them to scold or punish them for their actions.
In the end, I have no choice but to avoid them. It’s like dodging a pile of poop, not out of fear, but because it’s disgusting. No matter what I do, those who dislike me will continue to dislike me. I don’t need to deal with each and every one of them. I’m not some saint.
I can just stick with the people who like me and live peacefully. Reflecting on my actions in the broadcast today… it indeed wasn’t appropriate.
In that crowd, there were probably many people cheering and supporting me. But instead of paying attention to those voices, I let the words of those who disliked me get under my skin and blew up.
“They say one negative comment stands out more than ten positive ones, and here I am, living proof of that.”
“Yeah, yeah! I bet all broadcasters feel that way! It’s not just you, Mun Ah!”
Riri has been enthusiastically backing me up since earlier, and with every word, she was nodding in agreement, showing her spirited support, but honestly, it wasn’t much help at all.
“It didn’t help at all.”
“…But Dahee, aren’t you going home?”
“Huh? Oh! I’m going to sleep at Mun Ah’s house again today! It’s super comfy here!”
Riri said with a grin. Turns out she slept like a log last night. Guess “comfy” was no empty compliment.
As she giggled, she started rolling her eyes around, sneaking glances like a cat ready to pounce.
“Um… I’m not bothering you, am I?”
“Not really. It’s fine if you stay longer.”
I’m not heartless enough to kick out a friend who came to comfort me, after all.
It had only been three days since I arrived, and with Riri blabbering nonsense to liven up the mood, I couldn’t help but feel a bit better.
Not to mention the recent drama I’d been tangled in. The issue was that I’d dated a woman.
Now, it had officially come out of my mouth, so to speak.
There was no way Riri, who was so interested in me she’d come over to my house, didn’t know about it.
Yet, she casually visited the house of a friend presumed to be a lesbian. All under the pretense of being concerned about my well-being.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have some prejudice. From a guy’s perspective, it’s like finding out that your close friend had a boyfriend back in high school.
In my case, there’s a twist of gender and timelines involved, but to everyone else, I must look like a full-on homosexual.
Still, Riri didn’t hesitate. She was throwing statements around like, “Lesbians? Mun Ah, how have you seen me until now?” Even though I had no comeback to that.
“I put some pudding in the fridge, so get it out and enjoy. It’s chewy and delicious.”
“Wow, pudding! That sounds tasty!”
So, I was just grateful. Grateful for this friend who saw me without prejudice.
Watching Riri dash off to grab a spoon and munch on pudding, I found a strange peace in my heart.
“But what about your broadcast?”
“Umm, hehehe… Is it okay if I stream from here? I kinda want a few more days off, but people are really on my case.”
“Doesn’t matter to me.”
At this point, I wasn’t even using my broadcasting equipment anyway. It’s better for Riri to use it than let dust accumulate on it.
Speaking of which, I turned on my computer and opened the broadcast settings screen. A hint for Riri to go ahead and tweak whatever she felt necessary.
Song had the settings screen up, signaling for Riri to change anything she wanted.
“Nyum, but is Mun Ah not broadcasting? Is it because of me that she can’t start?”
“No, I’m fine for now.”
Having just poured her emotions out on the broadcast, she felt embarrassed and couldn’t muster the courage to face the viewers again. Her heart was in a whirl, so taking a little break didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“Yeah, yeah, take a rest. What a torture this is, thanks to those bad humans.”
“Uh-huh.”
It shouldn’t be a big problem if the break lasts a bit longer.
*
The police officer, having a peaceful day like any other, looked at the man sitting in front of him.
“…You said you came to confess?”
Out of nowhere, the man showed up at the station, claiming he wanted to confess. His under-eyes were dark, and his bloodshot eyes suggested he hadn’t slept for a while.
Even inside the precinct, he looked extremely anxious. He kept glancing around and muttering softly to himself, biting his nails. The man clearly seemed troubled.
“If I stay here… they won’t bother me, right? They won’t bother me. Yes, it’s a police station. There are police here….”
“Excuse me, Teacher? Teacher?”
The man only reacted when the officer raised his voice and tapped the desk in front of him, flinching at the sound.
“Wahhh!”
“Oh dear, did I scare you? So, you want to confess?”
“Yes, yes! How, uh, what do I do? How can I confess?”
The trembling man clung onto the officer and eagerly listened to the confession procedure.
“First, please tell me your name… and what are you confessing for?”
“I-I’m Jong Wook… I wrote some stuff online, and it was, uh, a bit bad.”
Half-listening to his rambling, the officer was filling out the incident report when he suddenly said in a questioning tone.
“Mr. Jong Wook… Hmm? You’ve already filed a stalking report? Someone’s been following you and bothering you—”
Suddenly, Jong Wook shot up from his seat, waving his hands wildly.
Jong Wook waved his hands frantically.
“Oh, oh no! No! It’s not stalking! I, I misinterpreted everything!”
“Hey, calm down a bit. If you’re being threatened or something, I can help you.”
“No! No! Oh, I’m so sorry for shouting. The truth is, I have a mental illness. I guess I got confused. It feels like someone’s chasing me, like someone’s following me. I must’ve forgotten to take my medication, hehe…”
“Ah, yes…”
For a brief moment, I thought this might be something he was saying due to being threatened, but I decided to ignore it. The officer didn’t have enough professional dedication to care.
“Well, if that’s how he feels…”
Thus, he wrote up a report as Jong Wook instructed.
“The streamer Kayak, right? You’re saying this person has been maliciously slandering and exposing her past?”
“Yes, yes! I wrote something online. Because of me, others have been badmouthing her too! Such terrible people!”
Honestly, I didn’t want to deal with someone who seemed to have serious mental issues anymore.
“So… you should return home today. I’ll contact you later—”
“Oh, going home? You want me to go home? Why?”
Did he think he was about to be arrested or something? The officer looked at Jong Wook with disbelief.
“Well, we have procedures to follow. You haven’t committed a serious crime that requires immediate arrest, and writing something online is hardly more than a ticket. In this case, you can just stay home and we’ll handle it.”
“Oh, no, I can’t go home… At home, at home…”
But it seemed he was trembling with fear, asking the officer again.
“Can’t I stay in the detention center? I’m a horrible criminal! I’m, I’m a bad guy. I have to go to prison!”
“You can’t just waltz into a detention center. I’m telling you to go home!”
Seriously, this guy is mentally unstable—
The officer muttered tiredly as he guided Jong Wook out of the station, shaking off his desperate grasp on the officer’s sleeve.
And then, the news reached Kayak, who was enjoying her break.
“…The police station? The criminal, yes? They turned themselves in?”
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