Chapter 44

In order to unravel the circumstances that led to this situation, we must trace back to yesterday.

Today is New Year’s Day, and yesterday was the New Year’s holiday.

What happened?

Yeah, Seol Yun and I drank alcohol with Dad.

A bit too much.

Reflecting on it, the extent of the binge drinking was undeniable.

Back to today.

Although I felt a little off due to the hangover, I didn’t think much could go wrong, so I declared my intention to reach Challenger King.

I spent nearly ten hours gaming in that state.

I was feeling a bit tired halfway through and drank an energy drink.

But the real culprit was caffeine shock!

The arrhythmia was resolved promptly after I received a sedative injection at the hospital.

No abnormalities were found in the blood tests.

It was conclusively a common case of caffeine shock.

‘All from just one can!’

Stop it, your liver is already at its limit.

If you’re tired, just lie down and get some rest.

I caused this tragedy by disregarding my body’s cries and continuing to fill an already almost-full bucket with more water.

‘Ah, this is embarrassing.’

There isn’t a single person who’s been transported by ambulance that walks so calmly out of the hospital—it was truly a wise moment for me.

‘This isn’t the end.’

Just before turning off the mic, I vividly recall gasping in agony.

In front of 90,000 people, I sounded disgraceful.

‘Survival report… broadcast…’

Still, I figured I owed it to everyone to let them know whether I was dead or alive, so I turned the broadcast back on.

“Oh, I’m alive and well.”

Then the broadcast ended.

I didn’t have the courage to read the live chat.

*

The gallery isn’t simply a place where demons gather.

It is a place inhabited by socially awkward individuals who struggle to converse but yearn for human connection. They feel lonely and thus seek others online, though some truly do need psychiatric treatment and yet refuse it.

Nonetheless, they’re a minority.

What I want to convey is that even these people have their boundaries that they try to maintain.

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: Was the streamer really taken to the hospital???]

[Does anyone know what happened?]

–[The mic just went off, what do we do?]

–[Please be safe.]

–[It’s truly alarming; isn’t this ruining his image?]

└[No ominous talk.]

[Writer: Sol Unspecified Gender] [Title: I’ll definitely bring him back.]

[Call both 112 and 119.]

–[One call is enough; don’t waste administrative resources.]

└[What if it’s a joke and someone dismisses it?]

└[Are you going to be responsible for Sol Unspecified Gender? You idiot.]

└[You seem too excited. Firemen and police will handle it, calm down.]

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: Has Sol Unspecified Gender been unwell?]

[Why did he suddenly have a seizure?]

–[Seizure? Is that appropriate to say to someone who’s sick?]

└[No, seizure doesn’t mean getting angry—it means a sudden onset of illness symptoms…]

└[People’s vocabulary these days is awful.]

└[Always mentioning the “seizure button,” now they don’t even know what a seizure is.]

└[Read some books, stop watching only YouTube.]

General concern for Sol Unspecified Gender spread among everyone.

Since 90,000 people had been watching the broadcast, the conversation carried on for a long time.

Finally, the survival report was shared via a reopened broadcast.

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: That survival report was under five seconds.]

[Last time it was seven, this time five, next time three?]

–[Haha!]

–[Perfect gallery response.]

–[The purpose, to notify that he’s alive, was achieved. What’s the problem?]

└[Are you and Sol both Type T?]

└[Is Sol like me? Cool.]

└[Both Type T and cool, right?]

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: Finally, I can sleep now.]

[Why did this happen in the dead of night?

Woke up without sleep until dawn.

Still, I’m planning to sleep for at least two hours.]

–[Anyway, it’s a holiday.]

└[I have to work tomorrow. Damn it.]

└[It is today already.]

└[Two hours of sleep is good.]

└[Haha!]

└[Who works on a holiday???]

└[I don’t want to believe that.]

└[So, now I can sleep for one hour and fifty-five minutes.]

└[Turn off the gallery, and get some sleep!]

└[I, the unemployed, am adding another win for today!]

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: Was it a failed attempt to reach Challenger King?]

[He would’ve succeeded if he hadn’t collapsed. It’s a shame.]

–[After putting everything into defeating Victory, Sol Unspecified Gender was carried off to the hospital like magic.]

└[Damn! How strong are you, Victory?]

–[But seriously, what caused his collapse? Were stress and overexcitement to blame?]

└[Surely not!]

└[Is Sol Unspecified Gender really a frail beauty?]

As the atmosphere eased, people started discussing the event retrospectively.

It was truly a baffling incident. The unforgettable sound of gasping heard by 90,000 people wasn’t something that would be easily forgotten.

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: That expensive mic does work well.]

[It was just like being there: oauthyah. A cut above the rest.]

–[Are you referring to the groans made at the end of Sol’s broadcast?]

└[There isn’t even a single word about that in the text.]

└[Absolutely not talking about that streamer, but someone misunderstood.]

└[Ah, my mistake, sorry.]

–[What vile comments.]

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: I’ve recorded the audio.]

[Voice comment:

Fun sound.]

–[Thank you.]

–[Are you insane? You’re mocking someone who went to the ER?]

–[I’ve captured all these and reported them to the agency.]

└[Is Sol part of an agency?]

–[Take down the post.]

–[Delete the post.]

–[Delete it, you damn fool.]

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: If this was a first-place attempt turned into being carried off by paramedics, it’s rather funny.]

[And first place to start laughing at this!]

–[What if someone actually got hurt typing that?]

└[Cocksucker]

–[Victory would call for at least 10 consecutive losses.]

└[No possibility of cumming.]

–[Doctors must’ve laughed.]

└[What is this fool not seeing?]

└[Still, Sol Unspecified Gender is the SSS rank top-tier cute girl in the region.]

└[Who said that?]

–[I’m the writer, this is about the Brazilian porn I watch.]

–[It’s not about that person.]

[Writer: Anonymous] [Title: In two weeks, we’ll have a collective meeting at the police station.]

[You crazy bastards!]

–[Just looking at the gallery, human disgust sets in.]

└[Who labeled this person as a gallery lord and will yell at them?]

–[Please, sister Sol, file a lawsuit to serve justice.]

–[I’ll be fine as long as it’s not me.~]

Hmm, looking at it again, it seems this is a place where demons gather.

They don’t just cross the line—they obliterate it.

An incident seen by 900 people might fade, but one witnessed by 90,000 becomes unforgettable.

*

Even in defeat, it was a fun game.

The thrill of competition, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Thinking about the next game in anticipation, Victory Jeon Wooseung turned on Sol Unspecified Gender’s stream.

–”Hmm? Uh… Hmm… Haah…”

A sudden gasp.

It’s highly disconcerting.

–”Uh, one-one-nine… Is someone there at one-one-nine?”

Perhaps concerned about revealing his address, the mic turned off.

No response from the streamer after that.

Only the worried audience lingered, filling the empty chat with echoes of their concern.

‘Why?’

The shock of seeing a friend who was just playing a game with him suddenly collapse.

A kind of puzzle piece clicked into place.

The mystery that had lingered until now.

Why did that guy, who loved gaming so much, just disappear for three years?

Could it be due to illness?

Were you in the hospital?

Have you been unwell all this time?

To the point that you couldn’t even play one game you loved?

Nothing is known about Sol Unspecified Gender.

At most, there’s a friend added on Teamfight Arena and Biscord, but both hold no meaning.

The only lead might be Wild.

Did he find out anything while co-streaming?

–”No, I have no idea. Know nothing.”

A call placed immediately, but Wild also knew nothing about Sol Unspecified Gender.

It’s inevitable.

It almost seems like wanting someone’s number implies wanting to meet them in real life.

Like wanting a relationship beyond just being friends.

To befriend me, you shouldn’t fall for me.

Even if you do, you shouldn’t confess.

That’s why I drove a stake through it with this kid.

There’s nothing I can ask.

‘Is this why?’

Victory Jeon Wooseung thought.

Could the casual warning he threw out earlier be a way of avoiding inquiries into himself?

Like where he was for three years or his current health status?

Were they merely smoke screens to avoid prying questions?

Common clichés floated to mind.

Incurable. Death sentence.

Stories that stir the hearts of many.

But to some people, a certain reality.

Not touching, not poignant, but painful, hellish.

Are you in that situation now?

In the depths of hell?

That’s why you couldn’t tell anyone, right?

Because no one could do anything anyway?

He clenched his fists tightly.

For some reason, he felt unusually powerless today.

“…”

He, too, could do nothing but lie awake all night, worried about his friend.

Victory finally found some peace at 4 AM, after Sol sent the brief survival report.

---