Chapter 78….
Orc Madam, Ms. Oh Mi-ae’s Bar.
At “Orc Barrel! Orc Barrel!” Lee Ji-han arrived and set down Daesik, who had been slung over his shoulder.
Thud!
“Oh my! Daesik! Oh dear, you rascal. Running away from home and coming back looking all scruffy like this!”
Then that sexy(?) Orc Madam, Ms. Oh Mi-ae, casually picked Daesik up with ease.
As if it were nothing—just like handling a cat.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[What the heck lmao]
[LOL so it really was a cat hahahaha]
[Ji-han’s face right now = my face]
[LOL and Mari looks super dazed too]
How should one even describe this bizarre situation?
Anyway, Oh Mi-ae transferred Ji-han his reward—2,500 credits—and said:
“HAN. Thanks, so have a drink before you go. I’ll give the little miss next to you one too. Take a breather together. You worked hard.”
Then she smoothly shoved Daesik back into his cage.
“Thanks, noona! I’ll drink it well!”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
[LOL yeah she’s definitely a noona]
[At her level, calling her noona fits]
[If you call her ajumma she’ll probably squash you like Daesik lol]
[Ah, but Mi-ae noona kinda looks pretty though]
[Strong woman vibes… distorted desires unlocked…]
[LOL but she’s Madam! Madam!]
Leaving behind the noisy chat, Ji-han accepted two bottles of Punk-a-Cola and shared them with Mari.
“Th-thank you! My little brother!”
Mari tried her best to keep the roleplay going, pulling out the term “my little brother.”
Her face was bright red.
[LOL she’s so damn cute]
[Who is she who is she]
[Ji-han! Be careful with female streamers with pretty voices!]
[The turrets are coming! The Mail Brigade is coming! Shut down your inbox!!]
[But the Mail Brigade is probably also watching Ji-han going ‘who is she??’ LOL]
[Oh right, he’s Aquarium-Head lol. Keeps his face hidden. Drink up.]
She really was pretty cute.
Anyway, setting that aside, the two sat facing each other and took a moment to rest.
“Whew, so. Thanks, little brother. So, what do you do, really? What’s your identity?”
“My identity? I’m just….”
[No! Ji-han!]
[It’s roleplay! She’s asking about HAN!]
Then Ji-han chuckled.
The flames inside HAN’s fishbowl head flickered orange.
“Fixer.”
He dropped the word, summarizing his identity in one phrase.
[Wow, that’s badass]
[LOL now that’s it]
[Straight Pulp Fiction vibes hahaha]
[This is noir. This is punk.]
[LOL finding punk vibes in Punk-suli itself]
[Punk = just rescued Oh Mi-ae’s cat, O Daesik]
[But that cat was actually a genetically modified black panther, so yeah punk checks out]
[O Daesik facts (GMO roided black panther)]
[For real LOL okay yeah that’s punk]
“Ah… a fixer.”
Mari averted her gaze, her face still burning red.
‘God, why does that stupid fishbowl head… actually look kind of cool? Ugh! Ugh! Kim Mari, get it together! You’re an idol! You’re a pro!’
Inside her mind, a full-scale war had broken out—
A war among the very cells that made up Mari.
Mari’s brain, the control room.
At the central command tower, Rational Mari grabbed the mic in panic.
On the big screen: a close-up of “Fishbowl Head (HAN).”
Warning lights flashed: “Heart rate skyrocketing,” “Facial flush levels critical.”
“Attention all Maris! Attention all Maris! Unknown external stimulus weakening control of ‘Pro Streamer + Idol Mari!’ Repeat: This is NOT a drill! This is a real emergency!”
Emotional Mari, in pink overalls, blushed.
“But what do I do… he said Fixer… That’s so cool….”
Why was her heart pounding for some fishbowl-headed stranger?!
Around her, other emotional Maris stamped their feet, shouting:
“He’s driving us crazy! He’s driving us crazy!”
“Calm down! CALM DOWN!”
Rational cells slammed the emergency button.
“No choice! Pride Mari! Deploy the ‘Mental Victory Barrier’ immediately! He’s just a fishbowl! A! Fish! Bowl! Head!”
Pride Mari, wearing glasses, yanked down a massive lever.
“Activating!”
At once, the “Just a weird little brother” barrier and the “I’m a professional streamer” barrier deployed at full power.
But in a shadowy corner, Anxious Mari muttered:
“We’re saying it’s just roleplay banter… but what if she actually falls for him? What about the manager? What about the fans?”
It was just anxiety. It had to be.
Yet deep in Mari’s mind, cracks began to form—on the sealed stone imprisoning Hopeless Romantic Mari.
In the middle of this inner war, Real Mari fiddled with her Punk-a-Cola can.
“…Cool. Yeah.”
That single line had taken every Mari inside her head to pull off.
[LOL Mari’s totally smitten]
[Hahahaha I’m dying]
[Why was she staring blankly just now?]
[Her replies did feel kinda delayed lol]
[Aquarium Guy! Who ARE you really!!]
[He’s killing it, Aquarium Guy’s killing it hahaha]
[Wait, why’s her face going darker red?]
[LOL guys she’s an idol! Remember she’s an idol!!]
[Protect Mari! Protect her at all costs!]
[Mail Brigade! Permission to deploy granted!]
[Hey hey hey! Remember the opponent is Aquarium Guy!]
[So who IS he anyway]
[Seriously, who the hell is he]
Unaware of the teasing, Mari’s viewers kept spamming jokes as usual.
“So anyway, little brother. I’ll keep taking on requests. But shouldn’t you be making money too?”
After some hesitation, Mari casually threw it out—
Like she wanted to guide HAN a little.
You’re the little brother, I’m the noona. That kind of stance.
‘If we earn money together, it’ll probably be fun, right? I don’t know about his sense for content, but his physical skills are definitely good….’
Her ears burned red, betraying her true feelings.
[No! Protect Mari! Who is this Aquarium Head guy!!]
[Mail Brigade standing by. Just give us the coordinates, commander.]
[Calm down! We don’t even know who Aquarium Head is yet!]
“Shall we, noona?”
Fwooosh!
Mari’s face went double-red.
[Inside that fishbowl, there’s definitely a handsome face… I can feel it…]
[Ugh! The jealousy! Hold back, Inferiority Dragon, not yet!!]
[Lower the scope! Let Mari date in peace!!!]
[No! Raising the scope, sniping Aquarium Head first. Clack. Clack.]
[LOL this is a total warzone]
[Conclusion: So who IS Aquarium Head anyway?!]
Mari glanced at the rowdy chat.
Still, since the guy was an Object Head—a fishbowl head at that—maybe this was as far as it’d go.
Normally, whenever she collabed or joined big servers, viewer reactions swung wildly between heaven and hell.
That’s why she thought hanging around together was just a burden.
But if the other person wasn’t even human?
If he had no face at all—just an object for a head?
Maybe… maybe this Punk-suli could be the place where her long loneliness and isolation finally eased.
“Alright then, this noona will show you the ropes! Just follow me!”
She lifted her can, quietly hoping.
Clink.
The two cans of Punk-a-Cola met with a soft ring, and fizzy laughter spilled quietly with the bubbles.
* * *
“So, since starting, what kind of requests have you been taking, little brother?”
“You’re worried about me, noona?”
“N-no! Worried my butt! I was just curious, that’s all!”
[LOOOOOOL]
[Thank you, Tae-hyuk!]
[Learned this from Golden Tae-hyuk (actually didn’t learn a thing)]
[LOL she’s doing better than Golden Tae-hyuk ever did]
[Next time you go to Rhythm Poten, give Tae-hyuk some lessons, Ji-han]
[Nah, the truth is Aquarium Head’s face is just devastating]
[Face (fishbowl edition)]
[LOL what if Mari actually realizes it’s Ji-han?]
[Doesn’t seem like it? LOL she’s just actually swooning]
[Eh, it’s just roleplay banter.]
The two continued taking requests, gathering credits.
Talking and sharing info as they went.
“Mostly physical jobs? Those are easier. Stuff like making tonics doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Ah! Y-yeah, I get what you mean. I think there are specialists for that kind of thing.”
They exchanged information about Punk-suli.
“I heard tonic-makers are even forming their own factions?”
“Really? Noona, how do you know so much?”
“Noona’s always had lots of connections! Haha! Ask me anything! I’ll carry you on info, little brother!”
Mari puffed out her chest proudly.
Maybe it was because of her short gnome stature—it actually looked pretty cute.
“In a place like Punk-suli, is forming a faction the norm?” Ji-han tilted his head.
“Oh? Ah. In big places like Punk-suli, that’s usually the goal. Form a faction, grow it, and make it the biggest power in the city—or the server.”
Mari answered sincerely, almost breaking roleplay.
“That’s why everyone’s grinding requests, making tonics, crafting weapons… to build up their factions, right?”
Ji-han nodded, as if he understood.
“So noona’s making a faction too?”
“Of course! Little brother, you’ll join noona’s faction, right?”
[LOL already scouting members]
[But you can’t make a faction at this pace, gotta grind higher lol]
[Probably have to break into the mid-layers at least]
[Has anyone even reached mid-layers yet?]
[Big donation streamers will probably blast through quickly]
Donations.
In Punk-suli, donations are system-linked.
Viewers donate, points pile up, and those points can be invested and converted into credits.
[Checked other streams—yeah, some people are already pushing mid-layers with cash]
[Shouldn’t we be donating to Ji-han too?]
[LOL Ji-han, just wait! Noona will take you up to mid-layers!]
[?? Wait, is there actually a girl in this chat?]
[LOL she literally said noona (oops)]
[LOLLLLL]
While they joked and took on more requests—
– The very first clan of Punk-suli, “Ego,” has been founded! [19:08]
– Clan Master: KaiserKim [19:08]
“Huh?”
“So that’s how it works?”
[Already on day one?]
[Who is this guy??]
[LOL I think I know who it is]
[He must’ve gotten a mountain of donations; damn…]
The global announcement rang out across Punk-suli.
The first faction had been born.
