Chapter 93 : Epilogue

It wasn’t uncommon for controversies involving streamers to arise.

Each time, most streamers either mishandled the situation or turned the crisis into an opportunity with proper responses.

But a streamer who neither made a statement nor streamed at all during a controversy was almost unheard of.

Typically, public sentiment toward a streamer who remains silent during a controversy doesn’t improve.

However, in Barcode’s case, as time passed, the controversy was increasingly seen as baseless slander,

and public sentiment actually began to improve.

Title: So, what exactly did Barcode do wrong?

Content: Damn, you’d think Barcode killed Curry’s family or something.

Title: So, Nayoung Queen = Barcode = Flower Shop President, right?

Content: Sure, sniping for years was wrong, but what about helping Barcode rise to fame and donating nearly tens of millions of won as the Flower Shop President? Does that just disappear?

Title: Amazing, K-public sentiment!

Content: When the controversy videos were flooding in, they made Barcode out to be some gaslighting witch. Now they’re doing a complete 180. Unreal LOL.

Title: Fact: People these days are such moralists.

Content: The parties involved haven’t even made statements, but people are busy debating whether it’s right or wrong. Watching this moralist nonsense makes me want to scream.

Title: Personal opinion: I want to be sniped by Barcode.

Content: Imagine someone like her obsessing over me for years? Giving me money and helping me rise to fame? I’d bow down in gratitude.

Title: Just look at this picture, and Barcode is innocent.

Content: (Picture of Barcode in a swimsuit)

Title: Forget the controversy.

Content: When’s Barcode streaming again?

Title: A streamer who takes a break during a controversy?

Content: Consistent queen… A queen who never loses her essence… Isn’t she just amazing? Start streaming already!!!

Even if time passed, the controversy would have naturally faded on its own.

But instead, a new controversy began to emerge elsewhere, quickly overshadowing the Barcode issue.

Title: Crystal internal exposé revealed.

Content: (External site link) If this is true, doesn’t it mean Crystal has serious issues?

A single post uploaded to a social media account began spreading across various communities.

The post alleged that Crystal’s CEO, Lee Seon-ah, ignored internal rotations and only gave benefits to streamers she personally favored.

If mishandled, Curry could end up falling alongside Crystal’s CEO, Lee Seon-ah.

Watching the situation unfold in real-time, I wasn’t worried about Curry at all.

-Curry hyung came to me separately and asked me to keep this a secret.

But I felt I should let Barcode know.

You’re aware that Curry and I are both affiliated with Crystal, right?

Apparently, Curry is planning to make a statement regarding Crystal’s internal rotation issues.

Based on what I heard from Ain recently, it seemed like they were preparing something on their end.

Even without Ain’s message, I didn’t think Curry would fall from grace.

Curry was a streamer who understood public sentiment better than anyone,

and he wasn’t someone who would be destroyed by something like this.

Even if this incident led to irreparable damage and Curry did fall, it wouldn’t matter.

I’d take responsibility for him.

So, I waited eagerly to see how the streamers affiliated with Crystal would respond.

A video was uploaded to the MuTube channel of streamer “Aiki,” who has 500,000 subscribers.

Originally, Aiki was a pioneer in FPS games, focusing on “Transcendence Clock” as her main content.

Though she now streams various general games, that wasn’t the point here.

Aiki’s channel, which rarely uploaded game-related videos, posted a video with a black screen and white text as the thumbnail.

Upon watching the video, it was clear that Aiki’s exposé centered around Crystal and its CEO, Lee Seon-ah.

Following this, as if coordinated, all the streamers who had been harmed by Lee Seon-ah began uploading exposé videos.

Finally, Curry’s channel also posted an exposé video,

and the resulting controversy overshadowed the previous “Barcode scandal” entirely.

With internal whistleblowers and affiliated streamers’ exposés piling up,

Crystal fell faster than ever before.

The revelation that the issue-focused MuTubers who initially targeted Barcode

were all under contract with Crystal accelerated the downfall.

Curry’s live-stream testimony about Crystal ignoring Barcode’s emails added fuel to the fire.

Crystal’s reputation had fallen to an irreparable low.

And while this whole situation was unfolding,

the one responsible for it all was…

“Oh, how is that not dead?”

…completely engrossed in a survival game they had recently gotten hooked on.

After the Barcode and Crystal scandals erupted one after another, a long time passed.

Many streamers affiliated with Crystal fled to other MCNs,

leaving Crystal stripped of both its reputation and functionality as an MCN.

Now, all that was left was for Barcode to return to streaming and safely clear up the “malicious sniper” controversy.

But instead, Barcode—the center of the controversy—disappeared for over three months,

falling into obscurity in an entirely different way.

Typically, a downfall isn’t something one chooses willingly,

but in multiple senses, she truly was a remarkable woman.

Naturally, Curry’s streams were filled with endless chatter about Barcode.

Eventually, Curry decided he couldn’t just sit back and watch anymore,

so he officially clarified his relationship with Barcode on stream.

He had known that Barcode was Nayoung Queen even before their cohabitation collaboration.

Though the truth had initially unsettled him,

as time passed, they were able to return to an amicable relationship.

With that, the Barcode controversy was settled,

as the involved parties had worked things out among themselves.

And now—

{Curry’s devoted fan #1 has donated 1,000 KRW.}

-Get a grip, you idiot.

“Oh, thank you, Curry’s devoted fan #1. That woke me up.”

[If Curry is secretly longing for ‘her,’ give it a thumbs-up LOL]

[Thumbs-up]

[This guy’s caught a bad case of love-sickness]

[He should have done better in the past, LOL]

[Honestly, if I were Curry, I’d act the same way]

[How is Nayoung Queen the same person as Barcode, LOL]

Each time the chat was flooded with mentions of ‘Barcode’ and ‘Nayoung Queen,’ Curry felt dizzy.

Once, he had done a tarot reading stream.

When the tarot reader asked, “What are you thinking about right now?”

Curry had blurted out, “Barco… I mean, the banana I ate yesterday… Ah, damn.”

Since then, the meme “He’s thinking about ‘her’ whenever he spaces out” was born.

And truthfully, when Curry zoned out, it was because he was thinking about ‘her.’

But he tried his best to deny it.

“Ugh, stop teasing me already. It was just a slip-up, okay?”

Curry moved his fingers and clicked on the opposing Yune’s nickname. The name that popped up on the screen was almost too familiar to believe.
[barcode__404]

“…It’s really her.”

His lips trembled.

Just seeing that name was enough to bring a flood of tangled emotions—disbelief, anger, regret, and something else still lingering.

[IS THAT REALLY BARCODE LOL]

[BARCODE SHOWS UP WITH YUNE TO SNIPE KARE’S MASTER PROMO, THIS IS LEGENDARY]

[They said they were over each other but clearly not lmao]

[This is why I can’t quit this stream, man]

“…Why now?”

Curry muttered under his breath, but his voice went out through the mic anyway.

Thousands of viewers watching the stream exploded in reaction.

[?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?]

[He let the real feelings slip LOL]

[Curry’s totally losing it right now]

[If he wins, it’s a drama. If he loses, it’s a tragedy. Someone please edit this into a video]

He tried to pull himself together, but it was already too late. Barcode’s Yune moved with a rhythm that was all too familiar, and her playstyle stirred up old memories. Not even for a moment could he let his guard down.

She was still the same as ever.

Even the fact that he had to win this match to reach Master tier felt distant now. Only one thing mattered.

He had to defeat Yune—defeat Barcode.

Taking a deep breath, Curry spoke in a calm voice.

“Alright, Barcode. Let’s end this game between us.”

[Isn’t this literally a legendary moment?]

[This isn’t even esports anymore, it’s just pure narrative]

[Curry vs. Barcode—final showdown, let’s go]

As the game began, the chat blazed hotter than the battlefield.

And the hand Curry had on his mouse held a resolve it never had before.

[“Thought it was her? Nope, gotcha.”]

“…You’ve gotta be f**king kidding me.”

[LMAOOOOOOOOOO]

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

[Bro this guy is insane lol]

[The real kicker is Yune’s not even in their top picks list lolol]

[Wait but… what if it is Barcode?]

[Schrödinger’s Barcode ]

The moment Curry cursed under his breath in pure disbelief while staring at the fake Yune’s nickname was comedic gold—a perfect blend of timing, emotion, and betrayal.

Curry himself could only let out a hollow laugh, as if he couldn’t believe he actually fell for it.

Deep down, he had hoped. As one viewer pointed out, there was still a chance that this Yune could be the real Barcode.

But then—

[Your ally is dominating!]

Thirteen minutes into the game, the enemy Yune had already been solo killed three times by the allied mid laner.

There was no way this could be Barcode.

She might’ve been a lot of things, but she wasn’t a troll, and she definitely wasn’t an abuser.

So yes—this was definitely an impersonator.

And Curry silently scolded himself for even daring to hope.

[How dare someone fake being her]

[They’re sullying Barcode’s name smh]

[Getting solo killed three times by a local LOL]

[Fun fact: the impersonator’s a local too]

[This really proves just how next-level Barcode’s Yune was]

[You can’t compare the OG Challenger to some random wannabe lmao]

Had the impersonator popped off, they might’ve earned some kind of ironic nickname—“Barcode Unlucky” or “Masked Barcode” or something like that.

But instead, ThoughtItWasHerButNope went down in viewer history as a clown-tier sniper—one who only delivered comedic relief and disappointment.

Still, Curry managed to win that fourth promo match, evening out his score to 2–2.

Just one more win now, and he’d finally escape the hellhole called Diamond.

“You all heard me, right? I told you—I don’t belong down here. Even my rookie stats are practically blood-red.”

Curry, drunk on the high of victory, was spouting nonsense again, but the viewers just let it slide. They were used to it.

Soon enough, he sank back into a dazed silence, clearly hitting his post-win cooldown.

But then—he smiled. Just a little.

Like he’d had a great idea.

“Barcode-nim. Are you watching the stream right now?”

[???]

[Is this it? A live confession??]

[What is this, a video letter??]

[Sweet Curry going wild rn]

[Something big’s coming, I can feel it]

Curry’s sudden mention of Barcode had everyone holding their breath, anticipating what he’d say next.

But no one—absolutely no one—was ready for what came next.

“You remember that time you said you’d grant me a wish? I’m cashing that in now.”

Still smiling, Curry moved his mouse and hovered the cursor over the match queue button.

“Snipe me. This time, I’ll win.”

And with that, he clicked the button.

A match was found almost immediately.

Gulp—

He swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he hit “Accept.”

He scanned the ally nicknames that popped up—

No Barcode.

Not this time.

Part of him wondered if this whole stunt had been foolish.

But still, somewhere deep inside, a small spark of hope kept burning.

Pick and ban phase began.

Just like before, the enemy team’s fifth pick hovered in silence… and then locked in Yune.

[Is it the real one this time…?]

[Yo, did Barcode actually show up?]

[If it’s another impersonator, I swear—let us kill them, no jail time]

[No way someone would snipe while pretending again… right? lol]

[Caster call ready, sir]

He’d been burned once before, so he didn’t let his hopes get too high.

But still, that little what if? crept into his heart, making it beat faster—stupidly, foolishly.

That quiet emptiness he’d felt for so long suddenly felt a little less hollow.

He prayed, just barely, that this feeling wouldn’t turn into disappointment again.

The game started.

Just like before, the first thing Curry did was check the opposing Yune’s nickname.

[NayeonQueen mk2]

“…Ah.”

[No fun]

[I’m actually gonna find this guy]

[Bro can you PLEASE stop impersonating already]

[Mod, can we PLEASE get a caster call for this fool]

[Did this ***** lose their **** or what lmao]

[Hey now]

[Why is it funnier when the censorship’s still readable]

[Because our brains auto-complete the swear words lmaooo]

Just when the whole mood of the stream was about to crash into chaos again thanks to another fake—

Ding~ ding~

The Discord ringtone echoed through the stream.

Curry looked at the caller ID.

[barcode]

The moment he saw the name, he moved like he was possessed and hit “Accept.”

“Curry-nim. You’re sure you won’t regret this?”

Her voice came through, crystal clear in his ears.

Curry smiled.

“I won’t.”