[TS] Malicious Sniper

As the full-blown couple announcement took place, the broadcast went bang!

After that, I often contacted Curry to discuss detailed schedules.

But it wasn’t just any ordinary couple announcement; it was following the public broadcast couple announcement format.

I thought it would take a long time to prepare for the collab stream, but surprisingly, the schedule was set faster than expected.

“So, Curry is coming to our house tomorrow.”

“Huff… So, does that mean I’m on vacation while you’re having your couple stream with her?”

While having a meal and bringing up the upcoming collab stream, Ji-hye showed her disappointment outright.

Didn’t everyone working want a vacation? I briefly thought that but quickly dismissed it.

It seemed she’d thought she had to take a vacation since I had mentioned on the broadcast that I couldn’t just leave the housekeeper as is.

Sadly, I had no intention of sending Ji-hye outside, and this part had already been well negotiated with Curry.

“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I’ve already talked to Curry about it.”

“Really?”

“And Ji-hye, you need to work hard managing the chat room while we’re having the couple stream.”

“Hehe… sounds good.”

It was a blatant command to work, yet Ji-hye looked even happier than when I brought up vacation plans.

It would genuinely be tough managing the chat room during the couple stream, and there were bound to be hurtful comments hidden here and there.

I was worried, but we also had experienced broadcast managers, and Curry‘s manager was around, so it should be fine.

Finishing our meal, I started thorough preparations for the cohabitation starting the next day.

“Please arrange them over here.”

I set up the furniture ordered for the room Curry would use during the couple stream.

I also bought a large quantity of snacks that Curry often eats during broadcasts and filled the shelves.

Since the couple stream was started at my unilateral demand, I paid attention to every detail to make things as comfortable as possible.

After investing time, care, and effort into decorating Curry‘s room, I looked for Ji-hye.

As I opened the door, Ji-hye seemed to have been waiting, moving with a cheerful step to lead me to the kitchen.

Since the day the couple stream was confirmed, I had been learning to cook from Ji-hye, and obviously, the reason I was learning to cook was only one.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay, unnie?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just touched it lightly.”

“You have to be careful when handling the pan!”

I washed the burn on my hand with cold water to cool it down.

I had never cooked before, nor had I thought I would, but since we were creating couple stream content, it would feel incomplete or disappointing if I didn’t cook.

If I only intended to create the atmosphere of a couple stream, I wouldn’t have even brought it up.

The dishes I learned to make from Ji-hye were mostly Korean food, and among them, only foods that Curry liked.

Especially, since Curry loved spicy pork, I practiced multiple times to get the hang of it.

With Ji-hye‘s help, I practiced cooking for a while and was able to make food that was somewhat acceptable.

The visual aspect was taken care of, and now all that was left was the taste of the food, and Ji-hye tried the properly cooked spicy pork first.

“How does it taste?”

“Munch munch… hmmm…”

Unsure of how to evaluate the taste, Ji-hye chewed several times and flashed a bright smile.

“Unnie, you should try it too!”

“…It doesn’t taste good, does it?”

It was clear she wanted me to try it just to tease me.

Of course, Ji-hye wasn’t the type to do that, but my distrust in my cooking skills outweighed my faith in Ji-hye.

Just the weight of the spicy pork I had ruined must have reached about 1 kg at least.

So, I picked up a piece of beautifully colored spicy pork with my chopsticks and placed it in my mouth.

Munch munch—

As I carefully began to chew the meat, I was momentarily astounded.

It was so delicious it was hard to believe I had made it.

With my dull taste buds, it had been difficult to eat, and yet this was my cooking.

Feeling the fulfillment of my efforts, I turned to Ji-hye.

Ji-hye was looking at me with a gaze that seemed to demand something.

After savoring the taste as much as possible, I was able to figure out what kind of answer Ji-hye was wanting.

“Is it… a bit salty?”

“You didn’t adjust the seasoning right earlier.”

“…Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“If I tell you everything, you won’t improve!”

I shut my mouth at her unusually assertive attitude.

I simply continued practicing cooking as Ji-hye instructed, and gradually, I began to gain confidence in my cooking.

*

“Hah… slurp.”

“Boss, why do you keep sighing like that?”

The manager driving asked with a faint smile.

It was obvious what he was trying to do, and I didn’t have to respond, but Curry opened her mouth quietly while scrunching her face.

“If you were in my shoes, would you really not sigh?”

“I’d probably be so happy I’d just laugh out loud.”

Hearing such words while smiling made my frustration rise, but I held it in.

Getting angry would only give that insufferable manager joy.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Hahhh….”

So, we finally got here.

As Curry thought this, she opened the car door, carrying her luggage.

“Our Boss, fighting!!!”

“Get lost quickly!”

Glaring at the manager, who shouted an embarrassing cheer from behind, Curry proceeded forward.

Since entering the neighborhood, I noticed there were really a lot of high-rise buildings around.

Barcode’s house was located a bit away from these tall buildings on the outskirts, but just because it was on the outskirts, it couldn’t be dismissed.

“How much is a country house…”

With a country house like this, wouldn’t the rent easily exceed 1 billion won?

I had known for years that Barcode was wealthy due to her large donations over the years, but the thought that she might be even wealthier than I imagined made Curry swallow the saliva pooling in her mouth.

For some reason, she felt nervous, and with heavy steps, Curry stopped in front of the doorbell.

Thinking that Nayun Queen was behind this door made her really not want to press it, but she convinced herself that the person she was meeting was not Nayun Queen, but the streamer Barcode, and pressed the doorbell.

Ding dong—

The bell rang once, and she could hear hurried footsteps from behind the door.

-I’m coming right now!

It wasn’t Barcode’s voice but that of another woman, and the door opened.

A woman with light brown bobbed hair bowed as soon as she saw Curry.

“Welcome. You must be Curry, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“They’ve been waiting for you inside, so please come in! I’ll guide you.”

It was surely the housekeeper Barcode had mentioned beforehand.

I thought she would obviously be an older woman since she’s a housekeeper, but she wasn’t.

Following the housekeeper into the house, Curry looked around curiously.

From the outside, it looked really spacious, but once she stepped in, the area was way beyond her imagination.

The living room had various workout equipment, and strangely enough, there wasn’t a TV installed.

“You can go in here.”

“Understood.”

Passing by the housekeeper, Curry grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open.

The scene inside the room began to come into view, and the first thing that caught her eye was Barcode sitting at the table sipping tea.

The seat opposite Barcode was empty, and moving to that vacant seat, Curry shifted her gaze directly forward.

The unwavering red eyes were staring directly at her, and feeling their gaze was so burdensome that she fiddled nervously with the teacup in front of her.

“Why are you so frozen?”

“N-No, I’m not.”

How do you maintain your composure in this atmosphere?

Barcode, having perhaps sensed Curry’s inner thoughts, gently smiled as she poured tea and quietly said, “Actually, this room doesn’t usually have this atmosphere. I decorated it a bit for your visit. What do you think?”

“You decorated it for my visit?”

Hearing Barcode’s casual remark made Curry glance around.

The elegant furniture looked like it would surely come with a hefty price tag.

Are these new just because I’m coming?

How much money must be overflowing for her to indulge in such extravagance?

I’ve never thought anyone could outspend me anywhere.

Standing there, Curry faced a huge wall for the first time.

“Shall I show you to your room, Curry? I didn’t have much time to decorate, so it’s not too fancy.”

“Ah, yes. Please do.”

Barcode stood up and left the room.

The room they arrived at next was nothing short of fantastic.

Was this truly the result of not having enough time to decorate? It was hard to believe.

“How is it?”

“It’s excessively good.”

Barcode’s humble attitude was very clear, but in the end, it meant that she prepared all this for Curry, and that thought brought a smile to her face.

She was completely tense just moments ago, but now, she felt utterly relaxed.

“Have you eaten, Curry?”

“Not yet. Besides, didn’t you say to not eat?”

“Hehe, then after you settle in, I’ll treat you to a meal. Oh, I’ll turn on the broadcast in advance since it’s officially ‘couple stream’ content.”

As Barcode mentioned turning on the broadcast, she left the room.

Although this part had not been previously discussed, Curry didn’t bother to question it.

As Barcode said, turning on a daily outdoor broadcast for their couple stream content was not strange.

So, Curry quietly stayed behind in the room and began unpacking her belongings.

*

After asking Ji-hye to hold the camera, I completed the preparations to start the outdoor broadcast.

At the time the couple stream was confirmed, I had wondered whether I needed to film everyday life even with an outdoor broadcast, but since I decided to do it, I thought I might as well do it right, and chose cooking for the first outdoor broadcast theme.

“I’m going to start the broadcast now.”

I signaled to Ji-hye, and the broadcast went live.

The broadcast title was set as ‘Couple Cohabitation Day 1, Treating Curry to a Meal.’

It didn’t seem like a particularly captivating title, but I couldn’t think of anything more straightforward, so I proceeded as is.

[What is this?]
[Is Barcode streaming at this hour?]
[Was today the start of the couple stream?]
[What’s with the outdoor broadcast right after entering?]
[Waking up early and getting to watch Barcode’s stream is nice.]
[The early bird catches the worm and so on.]
[It’s afternoon, so waking up early is nonsense lol.]

The sudden outdoor broadcast without any notice confused the viewers.

In such cases, streamers usually explain the situation or provide a suitable opening to clarify things, but since I had already started cooking, the viewers’ messages didn’t come through.

“Everyone, Barcode is cooking food to treat Curry…”

To prevent the chaos in the chat room from escalating, Ji-hye carefully explained the situation.

[Who is that?]
[What was that voice just now?]
[Is that a new girl?]
[Is she Barcode’s sister?]

Seeing the viewers confused about the unfamiliar voice, Ji-hye hurriedly continued speaking.

“I’m the housekeeper working under Barcode.”

[Oh, I remember who she is.]
[There’s a housekeeper too?]
[How rich is she, actually?]
[Isn’t that the cute housekeeper from before?]

Having explained the situation, Ji-hye decided it was no longer necessary to speak and focused the camera on Barcode.

As the viewers’ interest quickly shifted back to Barcode, who was immersed in cooking, Ji-hye felt anxious for a moment.

However, having successfully navigated the situation, she observed Barcode’s cooking process.

The Korean dishes prepared with care were turning out to be successful, and it was almost time for Curry to come out, so Ji-hye fixed the camera and moved to Curry‘s room.

“Curry, it’s about time to come out for dinner!*”

“I’m coming out now!”

Quickly responding to Ji-hye’s call, Curry opened the door and stepped out.

Her face displayed a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

“Perfect timing, huh?”

“The housekeeper called for me.”

“Is that so? It’s almost done, so please take a seat.”

Following Barcode’s words, Curry sat down, and once Barcode finished setting the table, she took a seat next to Curry, not across from her.

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