episode_0007

“I feel sorry for something.”

“What? What is it?”

“Well, a man coming into a big house where a woman lives alone.”

“It’s okay. It happens often.”

“Really…?”

After work, feeling a bit guilty, I entered Suhyun’s house.

It was quite a spacious house for a single person’s place. With two rooms, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was really a place for one person.

The cleanliness seemed impeccable, with simple wallpaper patterns that looked fresh, and the floor shining as if it had just been polished, reflecting the LED lighting.

The kitchen was well-equipped for cooking, with a sink, induction stove, and a separate area for cutting ingredients.

“This is my room.”

“Oh…”

A distinctively different atmosphere from the rest of the house. It was a soundproof booth, slightly warmer inside, with a different texture on the floor. There was a queen-sized bed in one corner, facing a wall adorned with a computer, microphone, and what seemed to be broadcasting equipment.

“This is…”

“Oh, it’s a chroma key, a backdrop curtain.”

“I see.”

Hanging on a pole were green drapes neatly rolled up. In the middle of the fabric, there was a string to pull them down. I secretly wanted to pull it, but refrained.

“Oh, are you hungry? What would you like for dinner? I’m thinking of ordering delivery.”

“Hmm… What’s good?”

“The lunch boxes here are good, and also… Oh, sushi is delicious too.”

“Then let’s go with sushi…”

For some reason, whenever I visited someone else’s house, I couldn’t eat properly. I could eat well at restaurants, but it was strange.

At least sushi was served in manageable pieces.

“It will take about an hour.”

“Oh… Okay.”

That would be quite late…

“I’ll take care of the bill. Since you came all this way…”

“Thank you. So, what should I do then?”

“Do you happen to be good at PC games?”

“Well… I used to play a lot in the past…”

Until I got married, it seemed like all I did after coming back from school was play games. Even on weekends, if I didn’t meet Nayoung, I spent all my time gaming.

Since Yuhee came into the picture, my routine became work->home->work->home, cutting out more than half of my daily life. Of course, I have no regrets as it’s all for Yuhee…

“It’s alright. I’ll guide you. Why don’t you have a seat here for now?”

I sat on a visibly comfortable chair. It was so soft that my body naturally leaned back.

“Oops.”

“Haha. Everyone who sits here for the first time does that.”

“Haha…”

It’s embarrassing to act like this at my age.

“Ahem. Is this the game?”

Clearing my throat to change the subject, I pointed to something that looked like a game icon on the desktop.

“Oh, yes. Do you know about it?”

“I’ve heard of it but… I’ve never tried it.”

I recognized it from watching XTube frequently. A game where characters use skills and destroy turrets. I used to play such games in the past. It’s a pity that the service has ended now…

The difference between that game and this one is the ability to freely change perspectives and that all characters are human, hence realistic skills dominate.

“The character your boss will be playing is this one.”

“Oh, this one.”

Hitman.

Probably a recent character release. Wearing a suit, hiding a knife inside, able to throw knives or poison enemies.

“You seem familiar with it?”

“It appears often in the videos I watch.”

“Oh, then would you like to try a round first?”

“Well, sure…”

The controls were the same as back when I used to play, so it was relatively easy to adapt. The perspective was the same, and the map was almost identical.

However…

“It feels unnecessarily clumsy now…”

People naturally get knocked down when their stamina runs out, so I had to drink water in between and meticulously align my skills to avoid dying instantly, which seemed pointless.

“Wow~ You’re surprisingly good!”

“Well… it’s nothing special.”

The controls felt familiar, but I still stumbled. Plus, my opponent was an AI bot.

Leaving that aside, why suddenly make me play a game?

“Suhyun, why are you making me play games?”

“Oh, that’s… The theme for this broadcast is ‘Can ordinary middle-aged men play games?’”

“I see…”

In other words, whether people behind the times can play games well… It’s a bit disappointing to be seen as a middle-aged man. Well, that’s true, but…

Even in my age group, there are many streamers who play games, and some of them are high-ranked. Well, this concept fits me being an ordinary middle-aged man, but…

Still, I don’t like being in front of people…

“Haha, are you feeling embarrassed?”

“Oh, no! Honestly, standing in front of people is embarrassing… But since I decided to help, I’ll give it a try.”

“Thank you!”

“….”

She holds my hand again. Her skin is soft, and I almost absentmindedly caressed it. This isn’t right. It could turn from teasing to harassment.

“Let’s start the broadcast~”

“W-We’re starting already?”

“Yes. It’s been 30 minutes.”

“Oh… okay.”

“I’ll go change my clothes quickly.”

“Oh, sure…”

As the broadcast button was pressed on the control panel program displayed on one side of the screen, there was a moment of silence. Chat messages started flooding in on one side of the screen.

Since I couldn’t do anything, I decided to stay still for now.

After a while, I heard the sound of the booth opening, and Suhyun entered.

“…!”

Her makeup was light, but she wore bright red lipstick. She had on a corset-like leotard with a mix of black and red covering only essential parts of her upper and lower body.

She had elongated rabbit ear decorations hanging loosely on her head and fluffy round rabbit tail decorations, one looking limp, attached to her backside. Her lower half was clad in black pantyhose similar to what I’d seen at the office.

She also wore a choker-like accessory around her neck and lightweight wrist guards instead of cufflinks.

‘This is…’

She’s dressed as a bunny girl…

Pressing her hand against where blood rushed to prevent it from hardening, she hesitated. Is she going to broadcast like this? As I pondered, the camera switched to us on the cam screen.

“Manager, please wear whatever you like on the other side.”

“Oh, okay.”

He roughly put on a clown mask that stood out the most.

“Dweha~ It means hi to the OL pigs~”

Could it be… they’re really going to proceed with the broadcast like this…?

—

“Dad, you’re late today. You’re with that person I mentioned last time.”

A text came from Dad.

“Again today…?”

Lately, he had been coming home a bit later each time, and it was undoubtedly because of that woman. Even his expressions when he came home recently seemed oddly excited.

‘Could it be…’

Surely, Kang Suhyun said he was with that woman. Grateful for telling the truth, yet somewhat angry. What’s so great about that woman dressed strangely and playing music?

“Sigh…”

I hope nothing happens with that woman…

“Pranco has started broadcasting.”

An alert suddenly rang. Just in case, I followed him, and the notification came. Dad said he was with this person, but is he not taking a break?

Upon entering the broadcast, I saw chat messages streaming rapidly on the right side.

“It’s live!”

“Hehehe”

“Hello”

Soon after, Suhyun appeared on the screen.

“….!”

Dressed in a complete bunny girl outfit, her already fair skin appeared even paler after some adjustments. Additionally, her prominently voluptuous chest seemed as though it might burst if anything were squeezed between the cleavage.

To think she became famous by broadcasting in this manner. Truly shameless beyond belief. Well, everyone has their own marketing points, so it’s none of my concern.

“Oink oink~ It means ‘hello pigs~’”

“Oink”

“DH”

“DH”

“Oink”

The chat box flooded with responses to this greeting. Viewers numbered over 1000, and donations poured in every minute. She seemed to have a considerable level of recognition.

“Today, as announced before, we have a special guest. An active middle-aged man special. Are you all excited?”

“They really brought him here?”

“Oh, can’t wait!”

“Is the old man going to show his belly?”

“Haha if he does, it’ll be just like mine, enhancing the immersion.”

“Nerdy pigs getting overly immersed.”

Calling in a guest? Surely, based on the broadcast information, it stated she was a comprehensive game streamer.

Come to think of it, the title…

“Tomorrow, I’ll make the middle-aged man play the latest game.”

Utilizing the bias that older people can’t play games to break stereotypes and make money, it seems her popularity is quite justified. Behind her, a chroma key or green screen hung.

Responding to the voice accompanying viewers’ donations, the cam screen shrank, revealing the game screen.

“Let’s get started~ Ta-da~ Today’s guest. Mr. K~”

“Wow, look at that clown.”

“How old is he? In his 20s?”

“Now even rookies are being dragged in, haha.”

“He doesn’t look a day over 40.”

“Seriously, not a joke?”

….

A man completely concealing his face with a clown mask entered the frame, sitting beside Kang Suhyun, fidgeting slightly. The muscles visible under his shirt, despite being lean, bore a resemblance to a dad’s physique.

‘Wait, could it be…’

─I might come in late, so don’t bother making dinner.

Could it be that coming in late means…

In Kang Suhyun’s status message was “Pranco,” a message indicating her dad would be late. Surely, given all the conditions, Kang Suhyun must be the woman, and if so, then the person in the mask is…

“Dad…?”