So-Yeon stabbed a piece of the bright red microwaved tteokbokki with a disposable fork and pushed it between her plump lips.

Slurp.

“Wow. This is actually really good.” Her eyes went wide as she exclaimed, “Convenience store tteokbokki is good!”

She quickly followed it up with a bite of fish cake.

“Mmm!”

She even frowned as she marveled at it. Then, her puffed cheeks broke into a smile.

“It’s good! This one isn’t bad either.”

“Yeah.”

Tap.

So-Yeon patted Sang-Hyeon’s shoulder. “Hey, I’ll eat well. Thanks.”

He had dragged her into the convenience store in a daze and paid without a word.

“Ah... yeah.”

Sang-Hyeon nodded with tteokbokki still in his mouth. He just stared blankly as So-Yeon giggled and kept eating. As if settling in to eat properly, she swept her half-tied hair all the way back and retied it.

“Gotta eat quickly.”

Maybe because she was eating in a hurry, the sauce smeared around her lips. Sang-Hyeon pulled out a napkin.

He hesitated for a moment, then simply handed it to her. “Wipe your mouth.”

“Ah...” So-Yeon paused her hair-tying and glanced around. “I don’t have a free hand.”

The corner of her lips slightly raised into a playful smile tinged with faint nervousness. Their eyes met.

Gulp.

Sang-Hyeon’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He raised his hand, which had never trembled once in archery, but now it shook like crazy while holding a scrap of napkin. His eyes, which could stare at a target for minutes, now wavered. He couldn’t even look properly at her face as he wiped away clumsily without controlling his strength.

Thump?!

So-Yeon’s head got pushed back. “Hey! What are you doing, pushing my head...”

Her eyes went wide.

Sang-Hyeon supported the back of her neck. “Sorry. I’ll wipe it again.”

Holding her steady so she wouldn’t be pushed back again, he wiped her mouth once more.

For a moment, silence fell.

“Well, I’m gonna eat again anyway.”

After tying her hair, So-Yeon stared at the tteokbokki like a guilty person.

“Then I’ll wipe it again.”

After a brief pause, So-Yeon burst out laughing. “Wipe it again? Like wiping poop?”

“What... you’re eating. Don’t say stuff like that.”

“Kyaaahaha!”

Strangely enough, the stupidly childish joke hit just right.

“You said wipe it!”

“I didn’t!”

“You did! You just did!”

Even while talking about poop, they scraped the tteokbokki and fish cake clean.

***

More than half of it remained. Sang-Hyeon checked the tteokbokki brand again.

‘It’s the same one.’

It tasted completely different.

‘Are they cutting costs?’

Sang-Hyeon decided to chat with his viewers a bit since he was already at the convenience store. He unclipped the camera from his collar and turned it toward his face.

— Ohhh

— Finally back to a face-cam stream

— Nice

— Eye-cleansing time, is that it?

“I’ll just chat for a bit since I’m out here... Huh?”

Ding~

Just then, a familiar face walked in.

***

A few minutes earlier, Gi-Chan squatted in a narrow alley outside the banquet hall.

“Ah, what are they on about now? Why are they only strict with me? So what if I did that? I did enough, okay?”

To anyone else, he looked like a crazy guy muttering to himself. In reality, he was arguing with his viewers.

— Why did you announce you were going to the bathroom then? Explain

— You didn’t even go to the bathroom?!

— ??? “I’m going to the bathroom~” (silence, ignore, sadness)

The argument was about why he’d raised his hand and said he was going to the bathroom, and why he hadn’t actually gone.

“I said I was going because... It’s rude to just leave suddenly... Someone heard me. They did! And why didn’t I go? That’s because... I don’t need to anymore.”

— Don’t need to anymore. Yeah, okay.

— Then go back in, idiot

— If you feel like punching someone, where do you go instead of the bathroom?

Ding.

[ServantForeverAlone has donated 2000 won.]

[Please keep this character forever! Gi-Chan!! I was worried your persona would break at the end of Survival Craft... Thank you so much!]

— LOL

— Alright everyone~ say thank you to Gi-Chan

— For real

— A masterpiece...

— Thanks for being a loser, Gi-Chan!

“Haah... I know why you’re like this, okay?”

No streamer could truly win an argument against their viewers. Gi-Chan knew that well. Still, he made one last stand because he’d be a loser forever if he backed down here.

“Earlier, I felt so cool when I talked with Almond. I greeted him like, ‘Wassup~.’ You all saw it.”

— This guy...

— “Wassup~” my ass

— Cool? You cold?

— Didn’t you just say hello? Honestly asking

— Does being cool mean different?

“You buzzkills, get out.”

— LOL

— Hahahaha

— Not a cool guy

— He’s only strong against his viewers

— If you say you’re going to the bathroom and don’t come back this long, that means you're pooping

Ding.

[Poopsit has donated 1000 won.]

[Why can’t he say anything over there but only talks shit to us? He’s like a loser who gets beat up at school then flips the dinner table at home~]

— Cheap donation, but hard-hitting

— Insane value for 1000 won

— Ouch...

“Get out. Seriously.”

— Jung Gi-Chan flips the dinner table!

— LOL

— He really got banned!

— LMAO

— He’s so triggered LOOL

“I’ll show you. What a real cool guy looks like.”

With that reckless declaration, Gi-Chan headed straight to the convenience store.

— Why there?

— Huh?

— You’re supposed to go back to the hall LOL

— What are you doing?!

“I mean, you have to prepare. Prepare. Tsk. Haven’t you even had a drink?”

Gi-Chan scolded his viewers instead and walked into the convenience store. He grabbed several hangover drinks, paid, and headed for a table to drink them.

“Huh?”

“Oh. ForeverAlone.”

“Ah, A-Almond... W-What are you doing here?”

“Ah...”

ForeverAlone suddenly ran into Almond.

Almond felt awkward running into him like this too. What would ForeverAlone think, seeing him eat tteokbokki?

Sang-Hyeon pointed awkwardly at the tteokbokki and fish cake. “Y-you... want some?”

More than half of it was still there, steam still rising.

Gulp.

Gi-Chan was hungry. He hadn’t really eaten earlier.

— Gasp

— Solo collab opportunity!

— Luck stat is insane

— What is this???

— Huh?

— Why tteokbokki here?

***

It went without saying that collaborating with a much bigger streamer massively boosted channel growth. Almond himself had benefited enormously from collaborating with Acorn Jelly, who had a far bigger channel at the time. Later, a collaboration with an undisputed big-league streamer like Bubblegum became the true catalyst.

Collabs were unavoidable in the streaming world. At some point, they became a kind of cheat code to use at least once. As with all things, it had its downsides too.

— Every collab just tanks the stream

— Sigh...

— Can’t watch this, I’m out

— I’ll just listen

Collabs were pure poison for streamers with poor social skills. How someone acted alone on stream and how they acted with others would inevitably be different. Viewers would leave if the gap felt too wide.

Jung Gi-Chan, ForeverAlone, was exactly that kind of streamer. Collabs had always been poison for him. Some hardcore fans even claimed that ForeverAlone’s collabs were the real extra-spicy content. Just like fermented skate, not everyone enjoyed it.

The more ForeverAlone collaborated, the less room he had to grow. His niche fanbase only hardened. The one exception, the only truly successful collab he’d ever had,

was Cheese Village. Maybe this was only natural.

‘Almond bro is here?!’

Of course, he wanted to be in the same shot as Sang-Hyeon. Almond had been his one successful partner.

The person in question, Sang-Hyeon, had no idea. He didn’t even realize that Gi-Chan had been hovering around him.

‘Earlier, there were too many people. Even if we talked, it wouldn’t matter...’

Gi-Chan saw this as the perfect opportunity. As awkward and cowardly as he was, he managed to step forward.

“Y-y-yeah, I’ll eat it!”

“I already ate some of this. You okay with that?”

“O-of course! I actually prefer that!”

Sang-Hyeon could only remain silent.

No matter how timid, one had to step forward when a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came along.

— No, you idiot, don’t say “I prefer that”

— Isn’t that weird as hell?

— Gi-Chan’s eyes totally glazed over at the solo collab chance

— “I prefer that” what the hell

— In this industry, that’s a reward though?

“Uh...” Sang-Hyeon felt like something was off, but made room beside him anyway.

Gi-Chan was now also on Sang-Hyeon’s camera. With the convenience store as their backdrop, the two started eating tteokbokki and fish cake together. While everyone else enjoyed the party in the banquet hall, this bizarre scene would surely spread through the community.

[What is this Almond-ForeverAlone convenience store collab?]

[What are these guys doing? Tteokbokki mukbang LOL]

[ForeverAlone x Almond solo collab]

Gi-Chan had actually been hungry. His tension melted away once he started eating the tteokbokki. The food went down easily.

“Almond, why were you eating here?”

The words flowed out smoothly like during his usual solo stream.

“Ah. I just suddenly felt like eating this.”

— So there’s no reason LOL

— What even is this??

— Pure unfiltered convo;

“Wow. I see.”

Even though nothing had been explained, Gi-Chan nodded as if he completely understood and kept eating.

“You hungry? Want me to buy you more?”

“N-no. There’s free food at the venue.”

“Then why are you eating here?”

— You’re the one who...

— Why are you tossing back the question you should answer?

— What the hell? LMAO

— As expected of the nutcase

— Gi-Chan is scared now

— So how’s the collab? Pretty spicy, huh?

Gi-Chan coughed like something went down the wrong pipe. “C-cough! Th-that is...”

He was about to answer, but Sang-Hyeon was no longer listening.

“Oh. You want me to ask questions? Like a guest segment?”

Sang-Hyeon chatted with the viewers for a moment.

“Mr. Gi-Chan, why is your username ForeverAlone?”

Questions started flying. The convenience store suddenly turned into a talk show set.

“Ah... th-that’s because in LIL, since mid-lane is a solo lane...”

Looking at it another way, this solo collab interview was an opportunity.

“Is that true?”

“Huh?”

“Have you never had a girlfriend?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s from LIL...” Gi-Chan rambled on, trying desperately to explain everything.

Meanwhile, Sang-Hyeon faced the camera with a serious expression and declared, “He named himself ForeverAlone because of LIL, but the truth of the matter cannot be confirmed, everyone.”

— LMAO

— Hahahaha

— How does that even make sense? lmao

— Technically not wrong, but terrifying;

— King of summaries

— Have you considered becoming a reporter, Almond?

“Next question...”

“Almond, let me eat this first before the interview... I-I think I’m gonna choke.”

“Oh, right. Then, why do you think you’re going to choke?”

Little by little, their tteokbokki container emptied.

— LOL

— Is adding a question mark all it takes to make it a question?

— What the heck is going on?!

— Pure talent!

Sang-Hyeon cleaned up the container himself.

Thunk.

In return, ForeverAlone handed him a hangover cure.

“Th-this... Have one.”

“You drink?”

ForeverAlone clenched both fists tightly. “Yes... I-I’m... t-t-today... g-gonna be one of the cool guys!”

At that moment, Sang-Hyeon felt some kind of wall.

‘Oh...’

The viewers felt it too.

— Wow...

— That’s real

— A different level of loser, honestly

— Damn... this is basically art

— Holy shit

Sang-Hyeon’s chat kept scrolling up his arm, right in front of Gi-Chan.

“N-no, why is this! I mean, why?!”

One way or another, ForeverAlone’s viewer count steadily rose.

***

The two of them returned to the venue. With hangover cures in hand, they went back to the tables and raised their glasses again. Sang-Hyeon drank freely for the first time in a while. He moved between tables to visit the Knight Order members and even the former Balloon Stars members.

Miho hadn’t even realized Almond had come back.

She kept muttering to herself, “Haah... Wh-what do I do? Because of me, Almond oppa left. He must have a first love or something... Huuuh...”

Cream Puff tried to calm her down. “No, sis. That’s some serious main character syndrome. He just stepped out, okay? You saw everything and still don’t get it? Don’t try to guess reasons. It’s just that. Just because.”

“No, I’m telling you. I saw it... His s-sad eyes... Waaah...”

Even Bubblegum seemed pretty drunk. “Wahahaha! I’m Iron Ballllll!”

Rumble! Crash!

He literally rolled across the banquet hall. Apparently, it was a reaction to a sudden huge donation.

— What the hell? LOL

— All-time legend

— This is insane!

— This is what a streamer is

— The weight of being the breadwinner...

The chaotic night finally came to an end.

The next day, after a long hiatus, a notification popped up on Almond’s channel.

Ding!

[Platform War Briefing]

Preparations for the Platform War had begun. Surprisingly, the viewers had zero interest in the Platform War itself.

— Finally

— Almond, that bastard is dead! We clipped all his drunk antics from the funeral~

— LOL here it comes

— Something big is coming...

— Funeral montage, let’s go~

Almond had gotten drunk on stream for the first time. Countless viewers, lying in wait, had clipped every single move he made.