The sudden age controversy surrounding Kayak.
The top output of the Abyss gallery, a named user and well-known female streamer, turned out to be just over twenty years old (according to the gallery’s expression).
Back when she was actively participating in the gallery, she founded the gallery and did non-cam, non-mic broadcasts with the 30th group. This was about 3-4 years ago.
The fact that Kayak was still just a high school student at that time caused quite a stir.
However, initially, this wasn’t a big deal right after Riri’s statement revealed Kayak’s age.
After all, age is a trivial detail. It wasn’t like Kayak’s face was revealed, or her boyfriend situation was disclosed, nor was she exposed for past school violence.
“She’s younger than expected. Everyone thought she’d at least be around her mid-twenties,” was the kind of reaction that circulated, but that was all. It wouldn’t be impossible for Kayak to be twenty-one. After all, those lurking in the gallery were probably community veterans since their school days. Just because Kayak was present doesn’t mean she was an exception.
However, Kayak’s case was somewhat rare—being both a female gallery member and a middle school student.
The bait seemed to conclude as she earned the title of “female high school student” as an addition.
That was until the post came out.
“What’s this from three years ago when Kayak was twenty-one? Didn’t a notice for the server closure come out then with a photo of her drinking soju?”
A small spark. But that spark didn’t take long to burst into a huge flame.
The reason was simple. There had always been people in the Abyss gallery who secretly disliked Kayak, waiting for their chance.
Those who came in recently tended to be more vocal in this regard. They hadn’t suffered through tough times with Kayak, but rather had jumped on the bandwagon after Abyss became a popular game.
Just like “the fool creates the critic,” this was also a rejection stemming from the backlash. Nostalgic reminiscences from old users frequently posted in the gallery contrasted sharply with the sudden idolization happening.
Before Kayak showed up, if anyone mentioned a broadcaster, they were told to leave, but now it was a completely different story.
The fact that those who liked Kayak included long-time gallery managers like Gonick and Padak added fuel to the fire. The majority of the gallery’s transient users claimed there must be some kind of connection between Kayak and them.
“Did she even give her body to Joodak or Padak? LOL”
“Just posting soju photos since middle school, that’s enough of a clue.”
“There’s probably a boyfriend wearing Under Armour and fluorescent pants.”
“Back in school, I’m pretty sure I’m on the same level as Su-jin, the one who used to throw eraser bits at me. My gut’s telling me so.”
“Starting from my high school days when I began drinking, all the shameful rumors about delinquency, bullies, and my innocent status started swirling around the gallery.”
“At this point, people even rushed over from the next house to join the parade slandering Kayak. It turned out to be some toxic fandoms thinking their favorite streamer was being pushed out by Kayak’s radical success.”
“Honestly, it was chaos on the brink of a breakdown.”
“Ex-editor Yusia stepped down from their position to focus on Kayak’s VTubing, and that’s why they called.”
– “…Yusia here. What’s up?”
“Boss, we have a situation!”
Perhaps Yusia called a bit earlier than usual regarding work, as Kayak’s voice was slightly groggy.
A twinge of guilt hit Yusia for potentially waking Kayak from sleep. But wasn’t it necessary to inform them about the current mess?
Yusia, excited yet trying her best to stay calm, summarized the report on the situation.
– ….
“What do we do, Boss? It’s complete chaos right now.”
However, despite her frantic tone, a calm voice came from the phone.
– “Hmmm… It’s not a big deal.”
“What?”
– “I didn’t livestream drinking soju since I’m a minor, it was just a snapshot. I was so sad at the time that I just pretended to drink to get some attention.”
– “Besides, if you give it a reason, that’s enough. Other controversies… shall we even call them that… just let them be. They aren’t worth clarifying.”
“So you had it all planned out, Boss….”
The serene voice came through amidst rustling sounds. Listening to Kayak, Yusia felt a bit like she was making a fuss unnecessarily.
“Now that you mention it…”
Yusia suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Here was Kayak, the very person in the spotlight, unfazed, while she, the editor, felt swayed by public sentiment.
“Boss, you’re really only twenty-one, right?”
– “…Yeah.”
Yusia was twenty-five, four years older than Kayak. Another editor, Kim Jae-jun, was thirty-three. He was of the same zodiac age as Kayak.
Despite their youth, Yusia thought Kayak was incredibly mature.
Unbeknownst to her, Kayak was awkwardly smiling in response to the age question.
*
“What a show…”
While having breakfast, she casually glanced at the community online.
The seriousness of the situation Yusia had informed her about was starting to sink in. Had a group intent on slandering her really formed? The level of attacks was no joke.
The seriousness was palpable. Was there a collective force trying to undermine me? The firepower was no joke.
“Did they spin the wheel of misfortune?”
Whenever a post criticizing Kayak came up, it would immediately receive a generous amount of upvotes. It would end up on the popular posts, seen by a multitude of people.
I guess I could take solace in the fact that downvotes were about the same as upvotes. Fortunately, it seemed there were still decent folks in the community fighting for me. How long that would last, though, was anyone’s guess.
Whether the content in the post was true or not, just the suspicion itself was a loss for a streamer. It meant damage to my image. We could consider it a very successful attempt to tarnish my reputation.
However, separate from that, my heart was at ease. Essentially, I hadn’t done anything wrong. If I thought positively about it, this was bound to happen eventually. Even if it wasn’t this incident, I was aware I had grown far too quickly.
I knew all too well that hostility, jealousy, and spite would pour down on those who are doing well. I had experienced it during my awkward days when I aimlessly spent my time on the internet.
Given that experience, I figured there were hardly any people who genuinely harbored anger towards me now. Most just needed something to tear apart. They wanted to hate someone. They were simply venting meaningless emotions.
In fact, if I really thought about it, this sort of thing had always happened. The internet world, unlike reality, often disregarded defined boundaries and general moral laws, making such incidents quite frequent.
This time, the target just happened to be me. It wasn’t anything special.
“If you’re going to change things, why not fix this problem too….”
I murmured in dissatisfaction. Changing me into a woman, looking like Camilla? Sure, that was nice.
But if you had the energy to make even an ID for me, couldn’t you have anticipated this and set my age accordingly?
If I were just twenty-three like Riri, or even generously twenty-four, how great would that have been? I wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of hassle.
Being younger. My concern wasn’t about rejuvenation, but that this issue had erupted now was what bothered me more.
Still, Abyss had become a top-tier game. I guess I had to put up with this level of trouble.
With that mindset, I turned on the stream.
*
Kayak’s broadcast went live while rumors about her were swirling heavily.
[Kayak's Stream]
[Our Mija was a victim of school bullying and now she drinks and manipulates public opinion? LOL]
[Wait, she’s streaming?]
It was an unexpected timing for everyone. The wrap-up of the company dinner stream had already concluded. People thought Kayak wouldn’t start her stream until this wildfire calmed down a bit.
It was a situation that had come to a complete halt. People thought that Kayak would turn on her broadcast when the fire died down a bit, as she was the only one not streaming.
Little did they know, the broadcast would suddenly turn on like this. The troublemakers, busy spamming the gallery, excitedly bolted over to Kayak’s stream to create chaos.
[Hellohellohellohello]
[Is this the stream of Kayak, who enjoyed drinking and partying with the OGs since the Mi-ja days?]
[Is it true that you were a school bully?]
[So many troublemakers showed up;; Why not just take a break and start later?]
[Just the ^chopstick^ viral queen Kayak has arrived haha]
[Promote her stream in the gallery to blow up faster~]
[So, what’s your cup size? What’s your cup size? What’s your cup size? What’s your cup size? What’s your cup size?]
[Manager!!! Ban these guys right now!!!]
<ㅇㅇ donated 1000 won!>
-Sexsexbo-digit
<ㅇㅇ donated 1000 won!>
-If you turn on the cam now and show us your naked body, we’ll forgive you.
Chaos reigned supreme. Insults, sexual harassment, and chats solely intended to provoke someone started flooding in.
The viewer count skyrocketed, and the chat began moving at a pace that was hard to keep up with. Meanwhile, some viewers, appearing to be Kayak’s fans, desperately sought the manager, but no action was taken against the troublemakers.
Whether the manager had stepped away or was intentionally ignoring it, the viewers had no clue.
Just as the troublemakers were having a field day completely taking over the broadcast, the number of viewers had more than doubled.
Kayak finally spoke up.
“Wow, so many of you are here. What could you all possibly want to gather like this for? Ah, you want me to clarify things? Clarification…”
Hehe.
A soft chuckle echoed through the mic and was transmitted on the broadcast.
[What?]
[I can’t help but just laugh, haha]
[She’s completely lost it, haha good luck]
[Clarification clarification clarification clarification clarification]
[Is it true? Is it really true? Do you admit to the allegations? Is it true?]
“No, it’s funny. Asking me to clarify… Clarification. Clarify?”
In an instant, with a rustling sound, Kayak’s voice rose.
It was different from the slightly languid and weary voice she had used before.
It was very low and serious. Yet, it also sounded like she was immensely annoyed.
“Why should I?”
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