Chapter 51 : Reunion (2)

I sat quietly on the bed, watching the back of my younger sister as she bustled around the small kitchen.

“Just wait a minute.”

With those words, Yoo Seoha had rushed off to the neighborhood mart and returned with her arms full of groceries.

She began cooking with swift, practiced movements.

The clinking of dishes, the rhythmic tapping of the knife,And soon, the savory smell of oil filled the air, followed by the sound of something sizzling in the pan.

The sizzle was cheerful and lively.

Yoo Seoha’s hands moved smoothly, without hesitation.

Watching her whip up a meal in the tiny kitchenette of the studio apartment felt strangely fascinating.

Come to think of it, my sister Yoo Seoha had always been good at cooking.

Unlike me, she was quite talented at managing household chores.

‘Still… I think she’s misunderstanding something.’

I had almost shed a tear—not because I was sad or upset—but because I was so relieved and moved to find that the little sister I remembered was alive and well, even in this strange new world.

But from the look of it, Seoha seemed to think I’d been through something awful—maybe that I’d been bullied or had some terrible experience.

She must’ve seen my slightly red eyes and let her imagination run wild.

To be honest, I didn’t feel the least bit sad right now.

If anything, I felt incredibly relieved and grateful.

Because my precious little sister was still here by my side.

‘Still, I do feel a little bad.’

Seeing my sister flustered and bustling around out of worry, all because of a misunderstanding, pricked at my conscience.

‘But… I can’t exactly tell her.’

There were reasons I couldn’t explain—honestly, things I just couldn’t say. 

So there was no helping it.

At times like this, it was best to simply accept a family member’s kindness without protest.

Not that I was being lazy or anything.

Before long, Yoo Seoha came over with a steaming bowl that gave off a warm, savory scent and began setting the table.

I slowly crawled out of bed and plopped down on the opposite side of the table from my sister.

“Unni, it’s hot, so let it cool a bit before you eat.”

Seoha gently placed in front of me something like beef porridge, clearly made with care.

It was full of meat and vegetables—just looking at it, I could tell it was packed with nutrition.

“I couldn’t make much since I was rushing, but it should be easy on your stomach.”

Seoha looked at me carefully.

Her eyes were still full of worry.

“You might have one of those body types that doesn’t gain weight, unni… but you still need to eat well and stay warm for your health.”

Her voice was gentle and affectionate.

I nodded silently and picked up the spoon.

A savory and mild aroma wafted from the steaming porridge.

I scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and put it in my mouth.

The warm, smooth texture slid down my throat.

It’s delicious.

As I quietly continued eating, Seoha carefully placed her hand over mine.

A small, warm touch spread across my skin.

“Unni.”

I looked up at Seoha.

“If you’re ever going through something tough, tell me everything, okay?”

“……”

“Don’t suffer alone. I’ll listen to it all. We’ll get through it together.”

The sincerity in Seoha’s voice, the warmth in her gaze.

It made me feel like I might start crying again, even though I’d finally calmed down. 

So I hurriedly focused on eating the porridge.

Maybe because the tears added a bit of seasoning, the porridge tasted a little saltier than usual.

***

“Phew… This event was seriously… a whole spectacle.”

Zeronix rolled his stiff neck and let out a long sigh.

The one-month server anniversary event.

The Aegis Golem laser-firing incident that happened there.

That had more or less been resolved, and the server was regaining its usual energy.

Of course, the community was still buzzing about Silver Silver, the golem rampage, and the newly obtained “Spatial Distortion” ability.

Frost spoke while checking the compiled event results.

“It ended kind of quickly, which is a shame, but overall it was a massive success. The unexpected outcome caused a spike in mentions across the community.”

At first, things hadn’t gone as planned, and they thought the event had flopped.

But unexpectedly, community engagement shot up.

A boss monster that looked like it would take hours of grinding to defeat.

Being obliterated in a single hit by a golem pushed to its attack limit—that was just too satisfying to watch.

People kept mentioning how it felt like a “huge release” in the community.

It helped that it was a streamer server where balance wasn’t taken too seriously.

There was also a certain thrill in watching a meticulously crafted boss go down in one shot.

It was really just a design flaw,but since the rewards were handed out generously, even Zeronix and the rest of the admin team were able to laugh it off.

Although, there were occasional rumors that CritZone had ranted about it for quite a while.

Anyway, things ended on a positive note.

“Oh, right—the finale concert tickets. The ones we gave out as special rewards. Did Silver Hair accept?”

The final day of the server’s event, and the big highlight.

Zeronix had invited Rydel and Silver Silver as special guests to a concert featuring famous streamers.

It was part fan service, part Zeronix’s calculated move to keep the buzz going to the end.

Honestly, he’d considered the possibility that Silver Silver might decline.

The person was so shrouded in mystery, their actions were impossible to predict.

Frost checked Rydel’s stream logs and replied,“Yes, confirmed. 

Rydel and Silver Hair both accepted. 

Looks like they’ll be attending together.”

“Okay. That’s great.”

Zeronix let out a relieved sigh.

Silver Silver standing on the concert stage.

That alone would be a solid headline.

It wasn’t a bad way to wrap up the server with a bang.

“But, hyung…”

Frost tilted his head and asked,

“Hey, do you think Silver Hair can sing well? I know they’re great at the game, but singing is a whole different thing, right?”

Honestly, Frost was a bit worried.

As for Rydel.

They weren’t invited based on their singing ability in the first place.

Rydel was such a cheerful character that even if their singing was a little off, they could turn it into entertainment.

Since Rydel had some broadcasting experience, they would know how to read the atmosphere.

Rydel seemed to think seriously about it, but Frost judged that if Rydel could lift the mood with an energetic song, it wouldn’t be bad at all.

The concert was made for everyone to have fun.

It wasn’t a place to evaluate singing ability with a stern expression.

But Silver Hair.

Silver Hair was far from a cheerful and funny character like Rydel.

Silver Hair actually seemed a bit shy.

They didn’t have any broadcasting experience either.

If their singing ability was poor, it could turn into a total mess.

At the very least, they should have enough skill to be considered good by others.

However,After hearing Frost’s concerns, Zeronix chuckled.

“Ah, don’t worry. Silver Hair will do great. Really great…”

“Huh? How do you know? Have you heard them sing?”

Zeronix wasn’t just talking based on a feeling.

After becoming interested in Silver Hair’s gameplay, Zeronix made time to watch Rydel’s broadcasts.

To be exact, Zeronix only checked out the episodes that featured Silver Hair.

That was the only clue to understanding what kind of person Silver Hair was.

While searching, Zeronix happened to see Silver Hair’s singing stream.

“Wow.”

It was hard to believe they had never received formal singing training.

It was truly a natural talent.

Perhaps because Silver Hair didn’t know many songs, the singing stream wasn’t long, but it was enough to recognize their skill.

In fact, it was more than enough.

“Wait for it.”

Zeronix confidently tapped the keyboard and looked for Rydel’s stream replay.

“Huh?”

Zeronix’s fingers stopped.

The replay had disappeared without a trace.

He hurriedly went to Rydel’s YouTube channel, but even the edited version was gone.

It was like it had never existed, disappearing completely.

“Huh? Why… did it all disappear?”

For a moment, Zeronix was startled, but then he laughed.

After all, he was a streamer too. 

His broadcasting experience far surpassed Rydel’s.

That’s why Zeronix immediately understood Rydel’s strategy.

“Rydel is definitely a pro. A real pro.”

This wasn’t some kind of mistake or error.

“If I knew they could sing well in advance, it wouldn’t be as fun, right?”

Controlling anticipation is key in broadcasting.

While it can be moving when someone who’s already good at singing performs, if someone you’re not sure about suddenly shows unexpected skill, that can grab much more attention.

Of course, viewers who had already watched Rydel’s stream would know about Silver Hair’s singing, but the concert would mostly attract new viewers. 

Most of them wouldn’t know about it.

Of course, it would spread around through clips and community posts, but with the original video deleted, people would start doubting the whole thing.

“Still, Silver Hair is really being well taken care of. They gave up on the views and earnings, though.”

It wasn’t exactly deleted; it had been set to private, so Zeronix figured Rydel would make it public again after the concert.

Thinking of it that way, it wasn’t a huge loss, but since streamers are obsessed with views, Zeronix felt that Rydel was definitely looking out for Silver Hair.

Of course, given how much the broadcast had exploded thanks to Silver Hair, it seemed natural, but Zeronix still thought Rydel was a loyal person.

“Well, in that case, I guess I’ll just stay quiet.”

He decided there was no need to explain this to Frost in detail.

It felt like respecting Rydel as a fellow streamer.

But more than that, it seemed like it would be more fun keeping it to himself.

“Why are you like this, hyung?”

Frost asked with a confused expression.

“Ah, it’s nothing really… nothing important.”

Zeronix shrugged nonchalantly and answered with a playful smile.

Then, he looked at Frost with mischievous eyes.

“Well, if you’re curious, you can just check it out at the concert.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? You said they were good, right?”

Frost grumbled. 

His expression still carried doubt and concern—”Can they really sing well?”—since, while there was no doubt about Silver Hair’s gaming skills, singing was a completely unknown area.

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”

Zeronix smirked and playfully tapped Frost on the shoulder.

“Fine, how about we make a bet? Based on Silver Hair’s singing skills.”

“…A bet?”

“Yeah. You think they can’t sing well, right? I’m sure they’ll do great. What do you say, you in?”

“I never said they can’t sing well?!”

Frost hesitated for a moment at the sudden proposal for a bet. 

But Zeronix’s unfounded confidence only piqued his curiosity.

Does he know something I don’t?

“Or maybe you’re just guessing based on their pretty voice?”

Well, Silver Hair’s voice was nice, but that had nothing to do with their singing ability.

“Still, it’s fine. What’s the bet?”

“Hmm… the loser should buy a drink, right?”

“Deal!”

Frost accepted without hesitation. 

Honestly, if there were a lot of money on the line, he might have bet on Silver Hair being good at singing too, but a drink was no big deal. 

It was enough of a fun bet.

“Oh, and.”

Zeronix suddenly changed the subject as if he had just remembered something. 

His playful expression shifted to a more serious one.

“The last server event… not the concert, but the other one. You’ve been building it up well, right? It’s going to start soon, right?”