Chapter 12…
“Hello.”
[Lee Ji-han’s here?]
[He’s live?]
[Yo wtf, how can you just end a stream like that?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s here!]
[Finally! I’ve been waiting, Ji-han, welcome back!]
Starting with Ji-han’s casual greeting, the chat window instantly began to fill with messages at lightning speed.
Of course, not all the messages were welcoming.
Some people from forums came to stir up trouble, leaving occasional disparaging comments. But thanks to Kim Su-ho’s quick deletions and bans, the chatroom was mostly kept clean.
“The game we’re playing today is Zombres. I’d only been playing for about 30 minutes last time, but it ended in a pretty strange way, didn’t it?”
[Yeah, your nose was bleeding at the end.]
[Didn’t you say you were fine?]
[I saw on the forum—it was a capsule issue, right?]
Viewers and community members watching over him started sending worried messages.
“Thank you for the concern. Mm, I don’t really know either. Didn’t happen when I was playing that parkour game.”
Ji-han scratched the back of his head and let out a small laugh.
[Optimization issue with Zombres maybe?]
[Zombres is one of the most optimized full-dive games out there, though.]
[But yeah, Ji-han was dragging all the zombies around.]
[What if it crashes again today?]
“Ah, if that happens, I’ll just try to reconnect quickly.”
[So was it the capsule’s problem?]
[Is that why you couldn’t come back?]
[Man, people flaming you for ending the stream suddenly—health comes first, right?]
[Health first? No, obviously the stream comes firstㅋㅋㅋ]
[Well… you’re not wrong.]
A little misunderstanding had started.
Ji-han wasn’t exactly good at lying, but Su-ho had given him some advice:
—“Don’t tell people. If you say you forgot to turn the stream back on because you got distracted, they’ll think you’re irresponsible.”
—“But still, lying feels wrong.”
—“I’m not telling you to lie, just brush it off with a laugh. Don’t explain too much.”
Same difference, Ji-han thought, but since Su-ho had said it so seriously, he just followed along.
He gave a faint smile.
[Hey! Ji-han! Who told you to smile so sadly, huh?]
[Was it really a capsule issue?]
[What capsule are you using? Shouldn’t we make this public?]
[You’re not being silenced, right? It’s been plenty of time for the company to reach out.]
[If it’s hard for you, let us handle it.]
[We’ve got as much free time as Bill Gates anyway.]
[Who dares mess with the streamer a bunch of 30-year-old unemployed guys love? We won’t sit still.]
The misunderstanding was spiraling out of control.
But Ji-han only felt grateful for their concern.
“…Uh, thank you.”
[Oh no, it must be true.]
[Just tell us the model name already, damn.]
[Come on, we’re the only ones on your side here.]
Second stream.
Current viewers: 2,000.
There were some trolls mixed in, of course. But since Ji-han didn’t know how the streaming world worked, he was only thankful.
“No, no. I just didn’t have much money, so I bought a secondhand capsule.”
He couldn’t lie to people who were genuinely worried. Thinking he should set the record straight before things got worse, Ji-han spoke up.
[Secondhand?]
[Oh right, you mentioned that in your first stream.]
[Secondhand capsule? What year?]
[Wait, you’re putting on that kind of performance with a used capsule? I thought you were using some high-end pro model.]
“They told me it was a pretty good one. The sofa’s comfy, and the cooling works well.”
[What’s the model name?]
[“Pretty good” doesn’t cut it, lol.]
[Can the processing speed even handle it?]
[We’re not asking for pro-level, just something safe for your health so you can stream long-term.]
[He’s only on day 2, and people are already worrying about long-term healthㅋㅋㅋ]
[But yeah, if a streamer suddenly nosebleeds and cuts the stream, that’s shocking.]
“Anyway, you don’t really need to worry that much…”
Ddan-dara-dandan ddang!
[‘Tteunam’ has donated 100,000 won.]
—So, what’s the model name?
While chatting with viewers, a donation popped up.
[?????]
[Hot-man.]
[Tteu-man.]
[Chairman Tteunam, what brings you to such a humble place?]
“Ah, thank you for the 100,000 won, Tteunam. I don’t really know the model name, though.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Ji-han, you don’t know who that is?]
[How can someone be this pure? He’s so clean, so innocent.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ A streaming newbie shocking his viewers.]
Just like usual. But this time, the chat’s reaction was unusual.
“Who is that?”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[He’s a big spender on Pretzelㅋㅋㅋ]
[Basically one of the biggest donors across the entire platform.]
But Ji-han was always like this—completely indifferent to things he didn’t care about.
What did someone spending lots of money on the platform have to do with him?
To Ji-han, who was just beginning to enjoy streaming, big spenders were irrelevant. So he just shrugged with a confused expression.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[The chairman’s gonna leave! Grab him!]
[Su-ho, rein in your friend!]
[Wow, I’ve never seen a newbie ignore a whale beforeㅋㅋㅋ]
[He just doesn’t know yet—once he tastes money, he’ll change.]
[No, no. The Heavenly Demon doesn’t respond to such petty human money games. He is noble.]
[Heavenly Demon villain, when did you sneak in again?]
[ㅋㅋㅋ Su-ho, you didn’t explain whales to him?]
Just as the chatroom descended into chaos again—
Ddan-dara-dandan ddang!
[‘Tteunam’ has donated 10,000 won.]
—Forget the greetings. Everyone calm down. So, you really don’t know the model name?
The so-called whale tried to restore order.
“Yes, and honestly, it’s not uncomfortable. The nosebleeds were just a little concerning.”
[‘Tteunam’ has donated 10,000 won.]
—Concerning? Just concerning? That’s it?
[Uh oh, is the whale angry?]
[Did he feel ignored?]
[Bro, he might really leave now.]
[Ji-han, just give in once, okay?]
But Ji-han thought—what’s there to win or lose? If it doesn’t fit, he could just leave.
Through talks with Su-ho, he had decided what kind of streamer he wanted to be.
Even if he was slow.
Even if he wasn’t enough.
Even if the attention he was getting faded away.
Streaming was fun, so he wanted to go at his own pace.
So all the fuss in chat was just uncomfortable.
Su-ho seemed to notice Ji-han’s expression and was about to kick the noisy troublemakers when—
Ddan-dara-dandan ddang!
[‘Tteunam’ has donated 500,000 won.]
—I’ve seen you play. With that kind of physical and mental skill, how can you not take care of your body? What am I supposed to watch if you collapse? I just started taking interest in your streams.
The whale lost control.
But in a strangely positive way.
[There he goes again, solving everything with moneyㅋㅋㅋ]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Can’t lose a day-2 rookie streamer.]
[ㅋㅋㅋ Tteu-man’s hako-fetish flaring up againㅋㅋㅋ]
[How many small streamers has Tteunam fed?]
[“This treatment… you’re the first.” (Not the first.)]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ji-han, you’ve made it.]
Ddan-dara-dandan ddang!
[‘Tteunam’ has donated 500,000 won.]
—And since I don’t want to disrupt the stream, please contact me later. I run a small capsule shop, let’s talk.
A whale appearance, a donation spree, and even a sponsorship offer.
Enough to set the community on fire again.
“Ah, sure. But honestly, it feels a little burdensome.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Burdensomeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Whale fetishist Tteu-man, rejected by a rookie.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Chairman, just shut up and watch the stream.]
[Alright, alright, let’s start the game. What are we playing?]
“Okay then, Zombres. Let’s restart from the beginning.”
Before even starting the game, Ji-han’s stream hit over 4,000 viewers.
The campaign mode of Zombres—the story mode—actually wasn’t very long. About 30 hours total if you took your time.
But that wasn’t the main draw of the game.
Most players ignored the NPC radio calls that kicked off the campaign. So new viewers assumed that was normal.
But Ji-han—
“Are you okay, kid?”
“…Ah, mister, who are you?”
Instead of ignoring it, he actually waited for the radio and went straight to find the NPC.
[Isn’t the story mode boring?]
[I’ve never seen the Zombres story, lol.]
[Sameㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[1,500 play hours here, didn’t even know it had a story.]
[You should enjoy games properly sometimes.]
[Bro, I am enjoying it!]
Chat started negative.
“Hmm, me? Well, I’m a survivor. I was wandering around nearby.”
[Mister?]
[That face is “mister”?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Then what does that make me, a grandpa?]
[Ji-han! Don’t tease us with that face!]
[Why does he look at the kid so sweetly?]
[Wait, is he… immersed?]
[Wow, is this his first time in full-dive? I’ve never seen someone so purely immersed in a game.]
[How do I put it…]
[Feels like a movie.]
[Yeah, exactly like a movie.]
[His face is so good-looking that even a boring story feels cinematic.]
In the end, Ji-han’s handsome face completely silenced the negativity.
Su-ho would later recall this absurd scene, calling him, “You bastard, selling your face like that!”
“So, what about your parents?”
Anyway, Ji-han knelt down to meet the child NPC’s eyes.
[Is that NPC a girl? (Seriously don’t know)]
[No, a boy.]
[Pretty sure it’s a girl.]
[Wiki says it’s a girl.]
The child had an androgynous face, delicate features, bundled up in clothes and hat. Chat kept debating.
“Is it hard for you to talk about it?”
But Ji-han—someone playing a full-dive story mode for the first time—felt like this was real.
Ignoring chat, he just looked at the child with concern.
“…I got separated.”
“How?”
“I lost them in the crowd while evacuating.”
The child’s pouty cheeks, voice trembling on the verge of tears.
“You’ve endured well. Then, why don’t we look for them together?”
[Gasp.]
[Wtf.]
[Who called him Heavenly Demon? He’s a saint.]
[So holy.]
[Isn’t smiling like that cheating?]
[Ji-han oppa, smile at me like that too!]
[Wow, my heart’s racing from a guy’s voice for the first timeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[But that kid’s a pain; never listens, always does the opposite. Total brat.]
[He’ll probably refuse to come along and run into danger instead.]
[Uh, spoiler much?]
[Cut it with the backseat comments, Su-ho.]
[Aren’t you moderating?]
“Okay.”
[?]
[Wrong spoiler?]
[Lol, flexing like he knew but got it wrong.]
[Wait, why isn’t the kid crying?]
[That’s not how it’s supposed to go… huh?]
The child held back tears at Ji-han’s sincere comfort. Then dove into his chest for a hug.
“You’ve done well.”
Ji-han gently patted the child’s back.
The kid trembled, holding back sobs, but nodded firmly.
It was a beautiful scene.
But at the same time, on the Zombres anonymous forum—
[Zombres Anonymous Forum]
—NPC reacts to looks
—Video: Watch this, it’s hilarious. You know that brat NPC in story mode? The annoying one? Normally it starts with a terrible first impression. But check this out.
The video showed an incredibly handsome young man gently embracing the child with kindness.
The bratty NPC infamous for being a pain was acting like an angel in his arms.
—?????
—Wait, that kid spat on me, said I was ugly.
—What the hell is this?
—Yeah, when I met them, they just cried and ran off.
—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What kind of AI discriminates by looks?
—Okay, but he is handsome. Who is he again?
—The guy with the 3 million won reaction.
—Wow, seriously handsome.
And so, a new history of Zombres was being written—
on Lee Ji-han’s stream.
