Chapter 36: One Hand Stirs Chaos, the Other Reaches Out
1.
While Haryul was gleefully enjoying Legends of Battle, the community erupted into chaos.
【Virtual Streamer Gallery】
[General] ???: Cooking stream’s back on
But only when I feel like it lolol What’s this chick doing???
– Streaming’s so easy these days~
– Knew she’d flip-flop like a dog when she couldn’t hit Challenger~~~~~~~~
└ She climbed to Master 100LP undefeated, though????
└ (Commenter) You’re a Carrier stan, huh?
└ Stating facts, and wtf’s a Carrier stan?
└ (Commenter) What else? It’s a slur for your YouTuber fandom lol
The biggest buzz came when she announced resuming cooking streams.
Carrier’s cooking streams were the hottest topic in streaming right now.
They were the first to replicate taste in virtual reality.
No wonder Elena’s YouTuber video racked up over 5 million views.
Far from cooling off, the hype was only growing.
[Streamer Elena’s video hits 5M views, opening new horizons for VR taste replication!]
[‘Tasting’ in VR… Elena’s video sparks buzz, spotlighting tech advancements!]
As public interest exploded, the media jumped in.
Yet the person at the center of it all was calm, like the eye of a storm.
Or rather, she smashed her own ship when the tide came in, opting for gaming streams instead.
“It’d cut production costs if we could replicate that. Planning and directing would be way freer too.”
“We tried with experts at the director’s order… but it’s tougher than expected.”
“What? A lone streamer pulled it off, and we can’t? Is our station that incompetent?”
“It’s not just us—everyone else failed too.”
Broadcasting stations tried to harness the ‘Flavor Link’ system for taste replication, but all attempts flopped.
“Did you contact the company that made Flavor Link? They’d know something.”
“Of course. But even they don’t know how it works.”
The PD let out a hollow laugh.
“That makes no sense. They made it and don’t know?”
“Yup. Apparently, their company’s in chaos over it.”
“Unbelievable. Did you reach out to the streamer who pulled off the taste thing?”
“Tried. No response. She’s blocked donations, so…”
“She blocked donations? What a weird one…”
With the public and media fixated, her resuming cooking streams was bound to cause a massive stir.
But the Virtual Streamer Gallery focused on something else.
[General] Collab with the owner of the ‘cleanest fandom’???
Got it? Now tear each other apart.
– If you’re a trembling Loa fan, upvote lol
└ Upvote lol
– Just when I was bored, you guys are toast lol
– Time to dig~~~~
– Situation assessed~ We’ve got the best detectives~~~!
They zeroed in on her plan to collab with the YouTuber of the ‘cleanest fandom.’
[General] Carrier’s intentions are so obvious lol
She’s clearly making us point guns at each other to shield that Yura chick lol Anyone dumb enough to fall for this????
– Next up, Loa fan~~~~
└ (OP) Anyone can see she’s baiting conflict, idiot.
└ (Commenter) So? Scared? Guess you’re guilty with all that toxicity lol
└ (OP) Yo mama lol
└ (Commenter) Showing your true colors already lol
Most viewers saw through Haryul’s plan.
It was blatant—stoking conflict to divert attention.
[General] Fact: The ones going wild in the gallery are that fandom…
The ones who think they’re clean don’t lose it, but those guys are the ones trashing Carrier lol
– Gasp!
– Dark truth…!
– If you’re clean, just cooperate with the investigation??? What’s the problem???
But knowing her intent, they had no choice but to join in.
Backing out would be admitting their fandom was dirty.
[General] These guys don’t deserve it, upvote if you agree lolol
Loa fans, talking to you, you jerks lol Your fandom’s clean? Then sewage is clean water lolol
– For real lol
– Even Loa begs them to stop, but they keep bullying with their clout ㅇㅇㅇㅇ,
└ The YouTuber’s nice, but why are the fans like that…
The situation turned into a free-for-all, with everyone tearing into each other.
[General] Freeze!!!
I’ve been through this war! We’re all gonna die!!!
– Why’s this guy crawling back???
└ (OP) ‘Cause it’s fun
└ Just a crazy dude lol
[General] Festival?
No, not a festival—a funeral.
– It’s a festival, idiot lol
– It’s both a festival and a funeral at the same place lol
└ Festival and funeral combo… kinda Gen Z???
└ Pretty hip, huh?
└ What’s hip? Another Gen Z word?
└ I made it up, hip-hop + sexy
└ You nuts???
Some tried to stay rational, but their voices were drowned out.
Or rather, they too got swept up in the madness.
Haryul’s plan worked. Flawlessly. And someone was watching it all unfold…
—
2.
Damp air pressed down on the room.
Dim sunlight filtered through a half-open window, faintly illuminating the floor.
A large capsule took up the center, leaving barely enough space for one person to lie down.
On a worn blanket spread across the floor, a woman lay curled up, her eyes swollen.
【Virtual Streamer Gallery】
She typed ‘Yura’ into the search bar.
Few posts appeared, all filled with blatant insults.
‘Nothing… even after searching hard, nothing…’
Since abruptly ending her stream, Yura had been ego-surfing nonstop.
Maybe, just maybe, one person would defend her.
Clinging to that hope, she read and reread the venomous posts.
‘I need to stop looking…’
She had a part-time job that afternoon—she had to go.
Without this month’s pay, she’d be in trouble.
Knowing that, she couldn’t move. No motivation, no desire, no strength—nothing left.
If just one comment cheered her on.
If one person reached out… she could call this a bad dream and stand again.
She felt she could… really. That’s why she searched so desperately. Like a fool.
『Search: Yura』
『No results found.』
“Nothing…”
Yura’s head dropped. Disheveled hair hid her face.
Her slumped shoulders trembled faintly.
“Hic…”
Tears fell again on cheeks already stained dry.
Soft sobs escaped between shallow breaths.
She’d cried so much, tears barely came anymore.
Hiccupping, she manipulated the screen again.
‘Maybe something new came up…’
She knew better, but her fingers moved to check the latest posts.
The gallery’s vibe had shifted drastically since she last looked.
“What’s this…?”
Before, it was all insults aimed at her. Now, they were tearing into each other.
A perfect description of pandemonium.
“Pfft…”
Seeing them fight like idiots, she couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Serves them right.’
The laughter was brief, replaced by a heavy sigh.
What had she been struggling for all this time?
The emptiness that followed hollowed out her chest.
‘Should I keep streaming…?’
Could she forget today, smile, and stream again? Did it even matter?
Her thoughts tangled. Questions kept piling up, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
She couldn’t breathe. Her head spun.
Nausea surged from her gut, and she clamped her mouth shut.
“Ugh…”
She craved her mom’s cooking.
The katsu curry her mom made whenever things got tough.
“Haa, haa…”
Her stomach felt empty, dizzying.
Ding—
A notification sounded. Yura shakily picked up her phone.
Through blurry vision, she saw a message from an unknown number.
[??? : Hello, Yura-nim. I’m Noahr, a virtual streamer. I’m reaching out in case you need help.]
Her eyes widened.
[??? : I’m not sure what words would comfort you, but I want to apologize. You did nothing wrong, yet got flamed because of us. I’m sorry.]
Biting her lip at the kind words, Yura felt tears welling up again.
[??? : I don’t know if this helps, but if you’re okay with it, we’d love to invite you to our cooking stream.]
“…Hic.”
[??? : It’s not a heavy event. Just making and eating delicious food while chatting.]
[??? : If streaming feels too much, no need to stream. I just hope we can share a warm moment.]
[??? : I’ll be waiting for your reply.]
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her lips curved into a smile. Laughter broke through the tears.
“I… found it…”
Her trembling fingers shook.
“Finally… found it…”
The one person reaching out to her had appeared.
“Now… I can stand again…”