Chapter 4: Pixels and Bloodlines

1.

“Great job on today’s ‘Turkey & Chicken’ collab!”

A lively voice came through the headset, followed by similar sentiments from several men and women.

Noir, forcing a smile, responded.

“You all did great too!”

Ding—

With that, she quickly left the voice chat.

The atmosphere was winding down, so there was no reason to stay. They weren’t exactly close anyway.

“Everyone saw that, right? How I took down all those turkey bastards? I’m not bad at deduction, okay?”

– Hmm, really…

– Didn’t you just randomly kill a passing chicken and get lucky???

– Even a broken clock is right once a day lol

– Isn’t it twice?

– I cut it down to once for Noir’s sake

– As expected, bashing Noir is top-tier lmao

“This is driving me nuts. The haters are at it again? I proved myself this much, so what more do I need to show? Turkeys? Caught ‘em. Deduction? Nailed it. I did it all!”

– Truly the god of normalization, Noir ㄷㄷ

– There’s gotta be someone under the desk, right???

“Under the desk? Who’d be there! Stop talking nonsense and just admit I’m smart!”

[‘Mystery’ donated 1,000 won.]

– Just checking, but this isn’t a rigged game, right? Not that I’m suspicious or anything, lol

– Gasp!

– Yo, yo, yo!

– Dude, seriously!!!

Reading the donation and chat, a wave of exhaustion hit her. She bit her lip as her head spun.

‘Good thing they can’t see my real face…’

She was grateful people watched her streams, but sometimes the donations and chats felt overwhelming.

Especially today. Yesterday was her brother’s death anniversary.

“Alright, the collab’s done, so I’ll head out now.”

– Already?

– Easy mode: ON

– You barely streamed today and you’re leaving?

– Hmm… this might stir some controversy.

“I worked hard today! Let me take it easy for one day. I’ll come back and go harder later. Alright, I’m off! Part-timers, out!”

– Part-timer

– PT

– PTPTPTPT

[Broadcast has ended.]

As the stream ended, silence filled her room, broken only by the faint hum of the cooler.

[Chat has been frozen.]

Her hand trembled as she let go of the mouse.

“Haa…”

Noir, or rather Kang Seryun, stood from her chair and trudged to the fridge.

She pulled out a half-drunk bottle of water, set it on the table, and reached into a bag nearby.

The white pill packet was clearly labeled ‘Psychiatry’ with the words ‘For relief of depression and anxiety symptoms’ printed in bold.

Her fingertips shook as she tore open the packet.

She quickly popped the pills into her mouth and washed them down with water.

“Ah…”

She was hungry but had no appetite. Her body felt heavy, like waterlogged cotton.

She shuffled to her bed, collapsed onto it, and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Cold…”

Seryun closed her eyes. As sleep crept in, her consciousness faded.

“Si…woo…”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Whoosh—

Cold water poured over my head.

My body was freezing, but my mind was still boiling.

‘What the hell happened?’

Our home, collapsed? This was far beyond what I’d imagined.

I’d thought it might just be a bit run-down.

Why had it collapsed? Was my sister okay? She wasn’t hurt, was she? Or worse, what if she was—

“Sht…”

I bit my lip hard. My nails dug into my palms, drawing blood.

I’d stayed up all night.

Even closing my eyes, the image of the ruined house haunted me, keeping sleep at bay.

Thankfully, I wasn’t tired.

My mind was still a mess.

I couldn’t keep going like this.

Morning had come, and I had a job to get to.

Leaving the cold water behind, I stepped out quietly.

I dried off with a towel and used a hairdryer on my hair.

‘It’ll be fine.’

“Be clean.”

With my incantation, the sauce stains on my clothes vanished.

Maybe because this world had so little mana, even that felt taxing.

I left the house and headed to the capsule room.

The boss was sweeping the front of the building with a big grin.

“Hayul, you’re here? I’m counting on you today.”

“Yes.”

I nodded and went straight to the kitchen.

I grabbed a cup, filled it with ice, and poured Zero Cola.

Gulp, gulp—

I downed the full cup in one go.

“Phew…”

The crisp carbonation eased my heavy heart a little.

‘Let’s do this today.’

Nothing was certain yet. There was no reason to jump to conclusions.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the anxious thoughts. Soon, customers started trickling in.

Ding—

Orders popped up on the kitchen monitor one by one.

Word must’ve spread overnight—several kimchi fried rice orders appeared.

“Haa.”

I grabbed ingredients from the fridge and started prepping.

Expecting an afternoon rush, I prepared a large batch.

Sizzle—

I lined up frying pans on the four-burner stove and began cooking.

Ding, ding—

The constant notification sounds made me move even faster.

“Hayul! I’ll handle drinks and serving, so just focus on cooking!”

“Got it.”

I answered the boss’s shout, swinging my arms back and forth.

Soon, plates of kimchi fried rice started piling up.

I topped each with a fried egg and placed them on a long shelf.

The boss eagerly grabbed them one by one.

Ding, ding—

The relentless notifications kept me busy, moving between the counter and burners. How much time had passed?

“Phew.”

After handling dozens of orders, peace finally returned to the kitchen.

“Hayul, I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect it to be this busy…”

As things calmed down, the boss approached and bowed his head. Sweat dripped down his face.

“It’s fine.”

If anything, the chaos was a relief. It helped clear my cluttered mind.

“You look tired. Sit and rest. I’ll handle the remaining serving.”

“Haha, I had it easy. I only served for a bit. If anyone should rest, it’s you, Hayul.”

“I want to do it.”

Sitting idle would only make my head hurt. Moving was better.

“Alright then. I’ll take a break. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Got it.”

I finished preparing the food and plated it. After pouring Zero Cola, I checked the seat number and headed to the hallway.

“Your order is here.”

Entering the four-person capsule room, I saw four men sitting and chatting.

“Hey, how old are you?”

As I set the tray on the table and turned to leave, one of them asked. I sighed deeply, exhaustion washing over me.

“What’s with that reaction? That’s fcking rude.”

The man’s face reddened. He stood, scowling, his fists clenched as if ready to strike.

“Sorry. Excuse me.”

I bowed slightly and turned to leave. As I did, he reached for me.

“Where do you think you’re—”

Crunch!

The moment he tried to grab my shoulder, I seized his arm and twisted it over my shoulder.

Thud—!

His balance collapsed, and he flew over my back, crashing to the floor.

“Ugh…!”

His eyes widened in shock. He stared at the ceiling, dazed. The other men nearby held their breath, eyeing me cautiously.

‘I didn’t even hit him that hard.’

I’d used magic to cushion his fall. It’d hurt, but he wouldn’t be injured.

“Don’t ever try to touch me again. Understood?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Have a nice day.”

I bowed and left the capsule room. People beyond the partition stared but looked away with a cough when I met their eyes.

Back in the kitchen, I resumed serving. The boss asked if something happened, but I played dumb.

“Uh, goodbye.”

While carrying a tray down the hallway, I ran into the group with the guy I’d thrown.

They bowed hastily and scurried out.

‘They’re not picking a fight.’

Why would they? A guy who got flipped by a girl after harassing her wouldn’t have the pride to argue.

‘Time to clean.’

After delivering the food, I grabbed a rag and headed to the four-person capsule room. The empty plates were on the table.

“They ate everything…”

I’d thought they’d leave it or make a mess out of spite, but it must’ve tasted good. I smirked, stacking the plates on the tray.

[This is straight-up unfair! Total bullsht!]

A voice suddenly rang out as I wiped the table. On the wall-mounted tablet, a silver-haired character swayed side to side, talking.

“Hm.”

A virtual YouTuber, right? Even before I went to the other world, some people streamed like this. It wasn’t mainstream, though.

‘The voice sounds familiar.’

Was it a YouTuber I’d seen in passing? I tilted my head and kept moving. As I finished cleaning and was about to reset the tablet—

[Guys, I’m so freaking upset. Comfort me…]

The familiar voice and distinctive speech froze me in place. My heart sank.

“No way…”

I kept my eyes glued to the tablet, watching the video.

‘Just a similar voice.’

At first, I denied it.

But the more I listened, the more familiar it became. My throat went dry. My heart pounded wildly. My hands trembled.

[Why am I the culprit this time?! I worked so hard for the chickens, how could you guys do this to me!]

“It’s the same…”

It was exactly like my sister’s voice and tone when she’d vent her frustrations to me.

[Don’t make weird excuses and just do the penalty already.]

[Ugh, I really don’t wanna! Fine, I’ll do it quick, so watch closely.]

My sister—no, the YouTuber called Noir—cleared her throat and spoke.

[Acting cute is annoying, right? But I’m not in a tough spot… I’m not trying to act cute, I was just born cute~ Kyaaa!!!]

At her aegyo, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“…Fck.”

Reuniting with my sister was the worst.