Babel is Cinderella-2

Why is it that sometimes, you get a bad feeling even without knowing the full situation?

Like that feeling when you come home and your parents are sitting in the living room, saying, “Come sit down for a minute.”

Or that feeling when you’re about to confess to the girl you have a crush on, but you already know you’re screwed just by looking at her face.

It was after eating Kalguksu on a chilly day and taking a nap.

I might have heard the phone ringing, disturbing my sleep, or maybe I didn’t.

I woke up with a start from my light sleep.

I looked around the hotel room, where I hadn’t even turned off the lights, taking a moment to recognize the difference between dream and reality.

That’s when I saw my phone, face down on the bedside table, and I got that bad feeling.

And when I checked my phone, I knew it.

Missed calls: 47

Caller: Garam

Unread KakaoTalk messages: 128

Sender: Garam

The broadcast was already off, and I called her.

At that time, I thought it was just a simple money problem.

But the situation was beyond my expectations.

[The call cannot be connected, going to voicemail…]

I called three or four times, but I couldn’t get through.

Sweat trickled down my back.

I called someone else.

“Ho-cheol.”

[Boss! Are you resting well? Have you eaten?]

“Ho-cheol, sorry to bother you while you’re resting, but can you do me a favor?”

[Uh… yes. What’s going on?]

“Can you go to Garam’s gym right now?”

[Garam Fitness? Why there…? Okay, I understand. I’ll go.]

I hung up and immediately packed my bags and checked out.

The highway was deserted on a weekday night. I kept pressing on the accelerator.

Fueled by my impatience and anxiety, the car sped down the road.

At this speed, I could arrive in two hours. When I arrived, I would be able to solve most problems.

But I wished even more that nothing had happened and that it would just end as a simple misunderstanding.

-Tring

A call came in.

“Hey, Ho-cheol.”

The voice on the other end of the phone was heavy.

I could hear him swallowing and breathing, as if hesitating to say something.

“Tell me, Ho-cheol.”

[Boss, I think you should come to the hospital first.]

“Hospital? Is Garam sick?”

[Sick… well, you could say she’s sick… but she is.]

“What the hell is it? Stop beating around the bush. Is she dizzy or something?”

Idiot, how could someone who fainted from dizziness contact me?

I thought to myself as soon as I said it.

[It’s a long story. It looks like… self-harm. Anyway, when I got to the gym, it was a complete mess.]

[Dumbbells were flying around, the glass was broken, the camera was smashed… and Garam was acting strange too. Like she couldn’t breathe.]

“No, why suddenly?”

Does she have an illness she hasn’t told me about?

[I don’t know the reason either. She’s in the emergency room now. They said her life isn’t in danger.]

“Okay, just wait for me until I get there. Thanks for this. Sorry for calling you so late.”

[It’s okay. But Boss, are you really coming all the way here? I can just take care of her.]

“No, it’s right for me to go. Anyway, I’m driving, so let’s talk more when I get there.”

[Okay. I’ll send you the address.]

What could be the reason for her strange behavior?

Money? If it was a money problem, it wouldn’t have been so sudden. On the contrary, her financial situation had been gradually improving, so it made even less sense.

Family? She does have an unfortunate family history, but it’s the same as money. It doesn’t seem enough to cause such sudden strange behavior.

“Then there’s only one thing left.”

Broadcasting. I told her countless times to ignore simple trolls…

Could a malicious viewer have come in?

I went to Oceania TV and turned on the replay of the last broadcast.

Then I moved the playback bar back to about 20 minutes before the end of the broadcast.

“……..”

She was doing the same routine as usual.

Exercising and cleaning the gym.

But the chat window was different from usual.

Existing viewers and new viewers—can I even call them that?—were divided and fighting.

Unverified internet links were being spammed.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I was the cause of this situation.

Explain yourself.

Is it true that you stirred up trouble?

How greedy can you be for Chairman’s money when you’re just a nobody?

Lonely Trainer Body Cam Photo Link

The Chairman who believed this bitch is an idiot, only Hana is pitiful…

Hana, you finally did it.

I thought at most you would send Garam the messages I had sent her, but you did something beyond my imagination.

I roughly stepped on the accelerator, increasing the speed even more.

A loud noise came from the engine, and my body was thrown back.

You bitch. Just you wait.

After meeting Ho-cheol in front of the hospital, I filled out some simple personal information and went into the emergency room.

I was led by a nurse to where Garam was sleeping, breathing softly.

It’s better for her to be sleeping than to be constantly anxious.

“The patient is in a very stable condition. When she wakes up, the doctor will check on her briefly.”

The nurse said in a dry tone and went to see another patient.

I sat on the small chair next to the bed.

The chair creaked under my weight.

“……..”

The situation I’ve gathered so far is this.

I don’t know exactly what Hana said, but Garam was falsely accused—accused of speaking ill of Hana to me.

Of course, this is just a hunch. The cunning Hana never said that Garam did that. She just dropped clues that would make people think that way.

It was a very small clue, but it was delicious bait for people who live in online communities and look for gossip.

Hana briefly opened and closed her friend list while mentioning me during the broadcast.

Internet detectives captured that scene, found my friend code, and checked my recently watched broadcast list.

Since I hadn’t set my recently watched broadcast list to private, the entire list was revealed.

Wow, the Supreme Landlord who went around giving Coins to every Broadcasting Jockeys is now only watching one broadcast?

And that broadcast is the Lonely Trainer?

It wasn’t enough as evidence, but the game was already over in the internet court.

Community members and Hana’s enthusiastic fans who love to cause trouble gathered and went to Garam’s broadcast to cause a massive disturbance.

Fortunately, the Garam’s body cam link was a Shimura Auntie phishing link.

If it had been a real composite of Garam’s face, the mental shock she would have received would have been even greater.

Frankly speaking, this incident is very mild compared to the countless internet atrocities.

But it would have been difficult for Garam, who has no immunity, to endure.

I took Garam’s hand, which was lying down.

Stroking her endlessly cold hand, I regretted it over and over again.

Since it was my fault, I was going to take responsibility and resolve this situation.

“Umm….”

Was it because she felt the touch of my hand? Garam began to stir.

“Um?”

Her slowly opened eyes turned to me.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your calls. Garam… Ack!”

Before I could finish speaking, she jumped up and hugged me.

“Why… why! Why did you come now, why!!”

Like an angry lion, she pinched, scratched, and hit my back.

At the same time, she buried her face in my chest and cried.

Just as her hot tears were soaking my chest, she slowly raised her head and met my eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

I stroked her hair once and said.

Only then did she calm down a bit and move away from my embrace.

“Now that you’re awake, I’ll go get the doctor.”

I got up to call the doctor.

-Thwack

With pain like my arm was about to be torn off, my body turned.

“Don’t go. Don’t go anywhere from now on.”

Garam, who was holding my right arm, was looking at me with sunken eyes.

“Ga, Garam.”

It’s like seeing Garam at the Han River.

“Don’t go. I don’t think I can breathe without Boss. Please don’t let me out of your sight.”

With another pull on my arm, my body weakly approached her.

And then began an endlessly uncomfortable and long stare.

Garam, who stared intently at my face, opened her mouth and said, cutting off each syllable.

“Inho Boss, no, Fa…ther.”

Why is it that sometimes, you get a bad feeling even without knowing the full situation?

I had that feeling.

Ah, this is a big problem.