It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

As always, the latest plan was not meticulously crafted.

Recently, a sudden longing for the forest had become frequent. The subtle scent of grass, the air, the sunlight filtering through the leaves, and even the slightly damp feel of the branches and leaves were all missed.

When I plunged myself into nature alone and sat quietly for hours, my mind felt completely at ease.

Up until early last year, this had been a fairly common occurrence for me. Although this was the first time I packed proper camping gear.

Unlike the subtle sense of disconnection I felt in the city regardless of where I went, I had developed this habit thanks to nature remaining unchanged.

There weren’t two suns, the moon wasn’t blue, and goblins didn’t appear instead of deer… So, fortunately, nature stayed the same.

Judging by my whimsical imaginings, it seemed my mind had already started to feel a bit at ease. It had been about three weeks since that broadcast.

While I spent time emerging from a small fortress and burying myself in nature, time had flown by, but quite a lot had happened during that period.

I had received a call from my sister confirming the list of people to sue. Not just 10 people, but she said there were around 200 more who needed to be sued… her tone was slightly formal, which made my heart flutter a bit.

Feeling presumptuous.

Aside from saying “thank you”, I couldn’t give a proper response. I still didn’t know what to say.

From J. Dox, I had received an email promising good news soon. I wasn’t sure what the good news might be, but hoped it wasn’t regarding my concept skin.

… Even in hindsight, I couldn’t remember why I agreed.

At that moment, all I could think was that it was the last chance to request a relatively natural health check-up.

Though it didn’t seem that natural…it was still a better option than any other that came to mind, like saying ‘The wisdom of the East sees through you and says your bronchial tubes are bad, so quit smoking and get checked immediately.’

Thinking about it, the odd contract terms seemed like the better choice…so I concluded. After all, it’s all relative.

Though it’s said to be one-sided remembrance of friendship, talking about the wisdom of the East to a friend would have been hard to bear. Still, if no ideas had come to mind, I probably would have said something like that.

There was clearly a problem. In my past life… he communicated mostly through chat, struggling to speak more than a word or two…so I thought it was an English issue.

Chatting was fluent with a translator, but speech was halting. On the European server back then, there were quite a few people like that. His voice always hoarse, I thought it was just his natural voice. Maybe he had been sick sometime back.

Before we became close, there was no reason to be concerned, and afterward, there was no reason to probe into old wounds. Just thinking of him as someone like that, there was no more concern. After all, our friendship was inside KoK.

But seeing him so talkative here and now.. it seemed he was still alright. Later, if it was his lungs, throat, or mouth, something would likely be a problem.

Without knowing the cause or being sure the same thing would happen—thinking about it, I couldn’t just remain still. I couldn’t possibly. Frequent check-ups might catch something early, no matter the cause.

At least, talking about swan songs wouldn’t lead to disappearing…

-Swoooosh

Outside the tent, the sound of the pouring rain grew louder. I regretted not digging the drainage channel a little deeper. Regret over things I could’ve done earlier always came late.

Would searching “required drainage depth and width based on rainfall” on the internet yield any results?

I fiddled with my phone for a moment, then put it back in my pocket. Ever since that broadcast, I had been quite averse to going online.

It was one thing to find a post mentioning my ID while browsing communities, and quite another to see my face or body zoomed in on various posts. More specifically, the shame and pain that I felt were entirely different.

As a result, I had been unintentionally undergoing an internet detox period. The mental bombardment from unexpected places was too much to bear.

Even a post titled “Today’s Lunch Recommendations” could contain my photo, completely out of context…

But, I couldn’t avoid it forever. A couple of days ago, I mustered up all my courage and briefly peeked beyond the veil.

I didn’t dare look at the posts that undoubtedly detailed my retribution plainly… I barely managed to check the “GetDevoured” entry on the wiki.

Here’s what I found out – now, Faraday was on the verge of being metaphorically burned at the stake, with me at the forefront as the leading martyr.

It was said that if rogues were not buffed, Faraday would receive a bomb they couldn’t handle and end the broadcast… or something like that.

… Didn’t I go that far, though?

But to be honest, after realizing J. Dox’s true identity, I was too distracted to focus on the broadcast… So whatever misunderstandings arose, it was hard to deny they were ultimately my fault.

If I had to say, at that moment, I really did think, “This could be a fitting final broadcast for the Rogue Revival Movement”, to some extent.

As a result, I hadn’t broadcasted for three weeks straight, and so I really had no excuse. Still, I never made such a grand decision. It was just… many thoughts piled up, and I couldn’t bring myself to press the broadcast button.

Now, knowing that a massive revolutionary army originating from me was about to set fire to Faraday… hmm.

I wanted to mutter, “It’s a bit unfair”, as a habit… but I held back.

Suddenly, I had a vivid vision of the chat messages pouring in like a waterfall in my mind – for some reason, about 30% of them were fire emojis.

Maybe it was because I often hid the chat window and roughly imagined what it looked like that my imagination had improved solely for envisioning the chat.

-Hiss…

Maybe because I was alone in the forest. Maybe because the sound of rain somehow tugged at my emotions. Or maybe simply because quite a bit of time had passed.

… I missed my viewers. Just a bit. Admitting that was a bit embarrassing, but yes.

… And, indeed. While protesting against Faraday up to a demonstration level was understandable, turning into a revolutionary army was a bit, a bit too much.

Meanwhile, the sound of the rain was quite pleasing. The sound of raindrops hitting the leaves, the ground, the puddles. And…

Hmm.

Should I turn on the broadcast for a moment?

* * * *

『I’ll board a plane if the Teacher doesn’t come today for real』

『Reasons why protests should have been held in front of the headquarters』

『Review of Faraday Korea branch visit』

『Boycott is the only solution for these guys』

『Gathered more reactions from R*ddit』

“Wow, Yankee bro, you’re relentless! LOLOLOL”

It had been 23 days since GetDevoured’s disappearance.

It had been 10 days since her fans started flaming communities outside of her fan club.

And, it had been 7 days since even overseas communities like R*ddit had become abuzz with discussions on boycotting ATM and Paraday’s ‘brainless management’, leading to an uncontrollable inferno blazing.

『CravingWarmAmericano is now live!』

『The Rogue 4D』

It was a sudden broadcast.

Even though she hadn’t streamed for even a single second during that period, she was undoubtedly at the heart of global KoK community discussions. During the 23 days she abstained from broadcasting, her follower count had increased by more than 20%.

The fact that she hadn’t given any prior notice was of no consequence.

From the moment the notification popped up, people poured in. The chat rooms became so flooded with messages that latecomers were practically dealing with lag.

– The Rogue? The Rogue? The Rogue? The Rogue? The Rogue? The Rogue?

– Did KoK shut down? Did KoK shut down? Did KoK shut down? Did KoK shut down? Did KoK shut down?

– ATM, you’re so 『expletive』 screwed!

– ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM!

– 🔥Explain your disappearance🔥Explain your disappearance🔥Explain your disappearance🔥Explain your disappearance🔥Explain your disappearance🔥Explain your disappearance🔥

– Thank you for coming backㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM!

– 💣DROP THE BOMB💣 ON PARADAY💥 💣DROP THE BOMB💣 ON PARADAY💥 💣DROP THE BOMB💣 ON PARADAY💥

Fighting through the crowd and barely making it into the broadcast, viewers were greeted by a blank screen instead of the usual campfire waiting screen.

And then, after a few seconds.

《Ah. Can you hear me?》

With that familiar greeting, the screen filled with Lee Yena’s face.

It was what they call an ‘extreme close-up.’ Something brown and fabric-like appeared to be in the background, but it wasn’t clear, as her face dominated the screen.

It was even from a low-angle shot looking up at her face.

Yet, there was not a hint of embarrassment in her appearance. Her finely arranged facial features filled the screen with a kind of flawless and almost surreal beauty.

Despite the lack of lighting and the subtle shadows on her face, her skin was glowing white to an almost pale extent. Her eyes, drowsily drooping, blinked slowly, ever so slowly.

《Can you see me? It’s inconvenient without a computer.》

That seemed to bring everyone back to reality. The speed of the chat tripled instantly, overwhelming the screen with heart emojis and exclamations in various languages.

Even the incendiary group planning to disrupt the broadcast had to give up their small-scale trolling plans in the face of such overwhelming support.

《Chat… please keep the chatting reasonable. It’s hard to see because I’m on mobile.》

Struggling to see, Lee Yena squinted as she pulled her phone closer. Yet the changing angle and distance evoked an image reminiscent of a slightly pouty girlfriend during a video call.

– 『Username』 has donated 10,000 won! –

【This is insane. Seriously, shut down the fool’s face-to-face fan meeting business】

Of course, the chat became even more frenzied.

-ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!-

【Did you really quit KoK, teacherㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I miss the Rogue】

『Is this really important right now? Is this really important? Is this really important?』

『Get a clue, idiot』

『WOW she is the three-headed Cerberus 🐶🐶🐶』

『Wow』

『Quit this damn job and become a camgirl, please』

『Translate please 😭』

『Let’s quickly queue while the Rogue is still alive』

『Wow, three heads』

The message was temporarily blocked and deleted.

Perhaps realizing that it was impossible to calm the torrent-like chat, long, slender fingers approached and the screen briefly paused.

One second, which seemed like eternity, passed. The camera refocused, showing the inside of the small tent. The face that had been visible just moments ago was nowhere to be found.

『Ah』

『Oh no, please』

『PLEASE TURN THE CAMERA』

『Sir, there’s a serious issue. A robber is holding a knife to my neck and won’t remove it until you turn the camera back』

『Aaaaaah』

『Please』

『??tent?』

『No way, she really went camping』

Despite the flood of requests and laments…

Accompanied by the sound of rustling, the phone was extended outside through a hole in the tent.

The screen moved as if being exiled from the tent in real-time.

《KoK… well, let’s prioritize the important things first, and if there’s time left, we can talk about it. Since today’s broadcast will be short, there isn’t much time.》

-Swoooosh

And then, amidst the pouring rain, her voice heralding a short broadcast could be heard.

《The sound of nature’s rain, isn’t it romantic?》

The camera showed the pouring rain and swaying trees.

-Hhheh

《The sound of rain in the forest is a bit different from in the city… I turned on the broadcast because I wanted to listen together. If you listen carefully, the sounds are quite varied.》

The screen remained static for a considerable length of time.