Chapter 163: Concert ends, daily life continues, Part 5

Hayoon wasn’t a fan of horror games.

In fact, she disliked any open-world game with a creepy atmosphere.

For example, in the popular assassination franchise, she hated the tense background music that played when guards chased her after an assassination.

And jump scares? The thought of someone suddenly grabbing her shoulder from behind made her shudder.

She was easily frightened.

If she disliked jump scares in action RPGs and open-world games, why would she willingly play a horror game?

It was unthinkable.

If Hong Seo-hyun hadn’t requested it, Hayoon’s game library would never have been tainted by the horror genre.

“Haa…”

Hayoon’s complaining was just a way of coping with the inevitable.

She had already resigned herself to playing the game and was simply trying to dispel her fear.

“This is crazy.”

Tap, tap.

Hayoon nervously drummed her fingernails on the mouse, lips pursed, before pushing it away and clenching and unclenching her fists.

Her face was tense, and she felt cornered.

She simply didn’t want to play a horror game.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be playing this
…”

Frustrated, she grabbed the remote from her desk and turned on the air conditioner.

She didn’t have her own soundproof booth, so she was borrowing Baek-seol’s, who usually streamed during the day.

“Uh… hello, everyone.”

– Not feeling very “hello.”

– Ah, yes, streaming only when there’s a collab.

– When will you do a solo stream? This is infuriating.

– I’ll love you even if you’re a terrible streamer.

Slightly overwhelmed by the chaotic welcome from her viewers, Hayoon somehow managed to fill an hour with Just Chatting before joining the BGG Company Discord call.

She entered Room 3, Hong Seo-hyun’s favorite, chosen simply because she liked the number 3.

“You’re here! You’re here, you’re here!”

Hong Seo-hyun greeted her with her usual energetic, streamer voice.

It was a sweet, elegant voice that would charm any man, but Hayoon’s expression remained grim.

“Why the long face, Haru? Your expression is so… off. Is there a problem with your face tracking?”

“Unnie…”

Unfortunately, thanks to the virtual avatar sharing feature, Hayoon’s expression was visible to both Hong Seo-hyun and Scarlet’s viewers.

– Wow, that’s the most defeated I’ve ever seen the CEO.

– Her expressions are so realistic.

– I didn’t know virtual avatars could make those faces.

This naturally led to the viewers teasing Hayoon, making her the target of their jokes.

Hong Seo-hyun, a seasoned streamer who frequently collaborated with other Vtubers and had honed her skills, wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared? Is your face tracking malfunctioning? That’s the only explanation for that expression.”

“Well… I can be scared, can’t I? If I’m scared, I’m scared…”

Hong Seo-hyun expertly chose words that were difficult to refute.

Hayoon could only concede with an embarrassed expression.

“Heeheehee.”

On Scarlet’s stream, Haru’s avatar blushed, reflecting Hayoon’s embarrassment. Hong Seo-hyun was delighted.

Even though she aimed for a family-friendly stream, she was still an experienced streamer.

Teasing her collaborator was second nature.

“Okay, okay. I’m just going to get roasted if we keep this up. Let’s just start the horror game.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. I feel like you’re going to keep teasing me, so I want to finish the game quickly and escape.”

“Really? Do you think you can escape? We’re playing until the end, right?”

“I looked it up. It takes about six hours if we’re fast. Stop talking and let’s start. I want to get this over with.”

“Heeheehee.”

Hong Seo-hyun smiled mischievously, noticing Hayoon’s unusual nervousness.

She enjoyed this rare opportunity to have the usually composed Hayoon on the back foot.

– Heeheehee, she’s so scared.

– I heard this game isn’t that scary. Is she a scaredy-cat?

The viewers, witnessing this unfamiliar side of Hayoon, expressed their surprise.

“Come on, join the game. I created a room and sent you an invite.”

“Okay, okay.”

Hayoon accepted the invitation and the game began.

Hong Seo-hyun had chosen a two-player interactive movie where each player experienced the story from a different perspective.

The gameplay mostly involved button prompts, so it wasn’t difficult, but as an “interactive movie,” it boasted high-quality graphics and sound.

As a result…

“
…”

“Haru?”

“I’m… sorry.”

The eerie background music and the game’s logo appearing on screen were enough to make Hayoon curse under her breath.

– Wow, such language…

– So Vtubers curse too.

Scarlet’s viewers were surprised to hear Hayoon swear.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Ow, my ears…”

In the next scene, Hayoon screamed as cockroaches and rats scurried out of a pot.

“Haru, please, tone it down a bit…”

“Aaaaaah!”

Another scream followed, triggered by a jump scare featuring a disfigured figure.

It might have been a bit excessive, but Hong Seo-hyun had given her permission to scream freely, so Hayoon let loose.

“Um, everyone, I apologize in advance. Haru is more of a scaredy-cat…”

“Aaaaaah!”

“…than I thought. Yes… sorry…”

Hong Seo-hyun apologized to the viewers and proceeded with her part of the game.

– I can’t hear anything…

– CEO, do you sell hearing aids?

– My ears are ringing. Hahahaha.

That day, Hayoon completely lost her voice.

Hong Seo-hyun and the 1,000 viewers complained of tinnitus.

Despite Hayoon’s struggles, they finished the game in five hours, slightly faster than the estimated six.

Playing simultaneously, with each player covering a portion of the game, naturally sped things up.

“Okay, bye! I’m off!”

– Please leave…

– My ears are still ringing…

“I’ll tell Haru off later, so don’t be too mad at her. My ears hurt too.”

– We shouldn’t have played that game…

“Anyway, that’s all for today. I’m out.”

Hong Seo-hyun bid farewell to her viewers, many of whom were complaining of hearing loss, and left the sound booth.

“Huh?”

She had expected Hayoon to end her stream as well, but she was nowhere to be seen. Hong Seo-hyun looked around.

Everything seemed normal, except for the air conditioner running in Jo A-yeong’s booth, where she was doing her evening stream.

Then…

“Is she in here?”

Hong Seo-hyun went to Hayoon’s workspace.

There, she found Hayoon curled up on the makeshift bed, wrapped tightly in a blanket, eyes closed.

Hong Seo-hyun quietly watched her for a moment before climbing onto the bed.

“Aren’t you going home?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sleeping here tonight.”

Hayoon snapped, her tone unusually sharp. It was unlike her.

“Wow, someone’s grumpy. What’s wrong?”

Hong Seo-hyun, trying to act like the older one, asked what was going on.

“…Scared.”

“Huh?”

Hayoon mumbled before finally yelling.

“I’m scared, okay? I’m too scared to go home! It’s late!”

“Pfft.”

“Hey!”

Hong Seo-hyun couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected answer. Hayoon glared at her.

“Aww, were you scared, little Haru?”

“
… Stop it.”

Hong Seo-hyun spoke to her as if she were a child. This was exactly the dynamic she had been hoping for.

Hong Seo-hyun slid down behind Hayoon, wrapping her arms around her under the blanket.

“If you’re scared, why don’t you sleep with unnie tonight?”

They were both adults now. Spending the night together wasn’t a big deal.