Chapter 17

The gray-haired woman knew my name.

But I didn’t know her.

Could she be someone connected to me in this world?

I tried to recall my memories.

But once again, my head just tingled, and nothing came to mind.

After a few seconds of us staring at each other, the examiner stepped between us and spoke.

“You two seem to know each other?”

We both remained silent.

Then, I suddenly remembered that I had appeared on Kwaehwal Namsu’s broadcast.

‘Ah. Maybe she’s a viewer who saw the broadcast.’

Just as I was about to cautiously ask her so she wouldn’t feel awkward, she spoke first.

“Uh… Ah…! Y-you’re the one who does the broadcasts, right…? I’m a fan!”

“…Thank you.”

My guess was correct.

She only knew my name from watching the broadcast.

Hearing her words, the examiner stared at me and asked.

“Broadcast? You do broadcasts?”

“Ah, yes. Just as a hobby.”

“Really? I knew it! You didn’t seem like an ordinary person—you’re a celebrity!”

The examiner looked at me with admiration.

It felt a bit burdensome.

I’m not a celebrity, just an ordinary person…

If I were a popular male streamer, I might be treated as a semi-celebrity, but I’m a bottom-tier streamer with only three viewers.

‘Still, it’s strange. How did I meet someone who saw that video here?’

Thinking about it carefully.

It was surprising, but not impossible.

‘…Well, since so many people have seen the video, it’s not that unlikely to run into one of them like this, right?’

When I checked the video briefly this morning.

I saw that the views had reached nearly 500,000.

500,000 people is not a small number.

Especially in a small country like South Korea.

Running into one of them by chance was entirely plausible.

‘But her reaction seems a bit odd.’

I glanced at the gray-haired woman.

Did she have something she wanted to say?

She was fidgeting, biting her lip.

While keeping an eye on my reaction.

‘I get that she’s surprised to meet someone she saw in a video… But she seems more anxious than happy.’

I was curious, but I decided not to ask.

She probably had her reasons.

***

The driving test was on Course B.

I drove on the way there, and the gray-haired woman drove on the way back.

The test went smoothly.

Thanks to my experience as a driver in the previous world.

Of course, Course B being the easiest also helped.

Less than five minutes into the drive.

The examiner, who had been stiffly watching the road and me, let out a deep sigh of relief and relaxed.

“You’re really good at driving. You’re the best among all the men I’ve tested so far.”

The examiner smiled as she spoke.

She must have been nervous.

And for good reason.

Most test-takers aren’t good at driving.

Since you never know when an accident might happen, it’s natural for an examiner to always be on edge.

“Honestly, I get five times more nervous when testing men… But I can relax a bit with you, Se-hoon.”

“Yes… Thank you.”

“To be honest, men are really bad at driving. It’s funny for a male examiner like me to say this, but after doing this job, you can’t help but develop that bias. Just yesterday, a man who came for the test mixed up the brake and the accelerator.”

“……”

The examiner in the passenger seat kept rambling on.

I responded with occasional nods or awkward smiles.

I didn’t really relate.

Probably because I hadn’t fully adapted to this world yet.

‘But isn’t someone who mixes up the brake and the accelerator just an idiot, regardless of gender?’

From what I heard.

Thankfully, they failed him immediately.

That was a relief.

Giving a license to someone like that would just be creating a road killer.

“And then! The other day, another man…”

The examiner’s chatter continued until we reached the destination.

She must have had a lot to get off her chest.

***

I passed the test without any issues.

I moved to the back seat, and now the gray-haired woman was taking her driving test.

By the way, her name was Jo Soo-yeon.

I learned this from the conversation between the examiner and her.

“What do you do for work, Soo-yeon?”

“Ah. I teach kids at a school.”

“Really? You’re a teacher! It’s not easy to become a civil servant these days. You’re amazing for your age!”

“Haha… I’m not that young.”

“What subject do you teach?”

“…Ethics.”

“Ethics! No wonder! You have such a kind face!”

The examiner was still talkative.

She must have let go of her tension a while ago.

Of course, it might be because Soo-yeon is a woman and drives skillfully.

‘But seriously, how does she not run out of things to say…?’

The examiner’s chatter only ended when we returned to the test center.

I thought my ears were going to fall off.

The results were, of course, a pass.

Soo-yeon, who took the test with me, probably passed too.

With the test over, I was about to head home.

“Excuse me…”

Soo-yeon called out to me, her voice trembling.

Her face was full of tension.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Ah. I’m not trying to get your number or anything, so don’t worry! I know my place and won’t cross any lines!”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

I wasn’t particularly wary of her…

She seemed to be caught up in her own delusions.

Soo-yeon spoke again in a hushed voice.

“…Can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Uh… You didn’t quit broadcasting, did you…?”

“Huh?”

Is she also someone who follows my broadcasts?

That thought crossed my mind.

There’s no way she’d ask that otherwise.

She must have thought I quit since she couldn’t find anything for two days.

I decided to answer.

“No, I didn’t quit.”

“Really?”

Soo-yeon’s face lit up.

She had looked lifeless since we first met, but now she seemed more human.

“Th-then, when are you going to stream again?”

“Starting tomorrow.”

“That’s a relief… You went on a break without any notice yesterday and the day before, so I thought you quit…”

Soo-yeon quickly covered her mouth.

Then, after checking my reaction, she suddenly started running away at full speed.

“Pl-please stream tomorrow!”

With those words.

***

The next afternoon.

I ended my break and started streaming.

【Yoho】─Huh! You’re finally back! I believed you’d come back, Room Master ㅜㅜ

Yoho joined right as I started.

It gave me chills.

Is she always on standby or something?

…Well, that’s not possible.

She must have just been checking her phone when the notification came.

Ten minutes after Yoho joined.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Kye Tae-soon is back!!! You bastard, if you’re going on a break, at least give us a notice!!!

Guburi joined, and then.

【Handsome Licker】─[Lick emoji]

Handsome Licker joined too.

With that, all the regular viewers were here.

‘Handsome John wasn’t a regular viewer, but it seemed like he’d keep coming.’

I briefly explained to the viewers why I had taken a break.

Then I fell into a brief silence.

Staring intently at the viewer list.

‘……No matter how I think about it, it makes sense.’

From last night until this morning.

I kept thinking about Jo Soo-yeon.

She knew I had taken a break.

At first, I thought it was just a guess.

But Soo-yeon…

「You went on a break without any notice yesterday and the day before, so I thought you quit…」

She clearly said that.

It wasn’t a guess.

She knew exactly that I had taken a two-day break.

‘How would a YouTube viewer know how many days I took a break? That doesn’t make sense.’

If it were just a guess.

She would have asked something like, “Did you take a break yesterday and the day before?”

So what we can deduce here is that Soo-yeon didn’t find out about me through YouTube.

Then how did Soo-yeon know about me?

The conclusion was easy to reach with a little thought.

‘What I’m thinking now is even more improbable, but… There’s no other answer.’

Soo-yeon acted like she had slipped up and revealed something, showing a suspicious reaction before running away.

She seemed afraid of her identity being exposed.

Why? The reason is simple.

Because it’s embarrassing.

She’s an ethics teacher in real life, but she does things online that go against ethics.

At this point, it’s not hard to guess who Soo-yeon is.

She’s not a YouTube viewer, but she knows about my broadcasts.

She does embarrassing things online.

And such people are all gathered here in one place.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Why are you suddenly silent again, you bastard!

【Yoho】─Room Master. Are you worried about something? Is it because of that male supremacy group? Should I take care of it for you?

【Handsome Licker】─Lol. Male supremacy group. Pfft.

It’s clear.

Among these three viewers of my stream, there’s an ethics teacher.

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