[TS] Malicious Sniper

Karé stared intently at the barcode that had unhesitantly seated itself beside her.

In response to her gaze, which seemed to question if there was a problem, Karé muttered under her breath, barely audible.

“Um, sitting across from you would definitely be more visually appealing for the broadcast…”

“Hmm… Do you think the viewers really want that?”

Barcode leaned ever so slightly towards her and whispered.

In that instant, a subtle wave of perfume wafted through the air, and taken aback by the fragrance, Karé exhaled sharply.

The scent enveloped her, urging her to maintain her composure without losing herself to its allure, considering the woman beside her possessed an undeniable beauty that no man could resist.

However, knowing that her identity was ‘Nayun Queen’ allowed her to hold on to her sanity by a thread.

“Shall we eat then?”

Barcode seemed to lose interest in teasing her and leaned back again.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Karé quickly shifted her gaze to the food laid out on the table.

She couldn’t help but be internally impressed by the dishes before her.

Not only was Barcode wealthy and extremely attractive, but she was also skilled in cooking?

Of course, she hadn’t tasted anything yet, but the smell alone made her mouth water.

This must be delicious.

It couldn’t be anything less.

With confidence, Karé began her meal.

Her hands moved frantically.

She didn’t think it was the “ultimate” taste, but the familiar yet comforting flavors kept her engaged, allowing dish after dish to vanish.

“If you’re running low on rice, just let me know. I’ll give you more.”

“…Ahem. Hmm.”

Karé found herself flustered at Barcode‘s voice cutting through her meal focus and coughed awkwardly.

She felt embarrassed asking for more in this situation, especially since it was being broadcasted live.

“…Just one more bowl.”

Given she had skipped breakfast and was savoring a home-cooked meal after a long time, Karé ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation.

Perhaps the sight of her begrudgingly asking for another bowl was adorable; Barcode smiled sweetly as she filled the empty bowl with rice.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you…”

With no reason to feel embarrassed anymore, Karé thought to just enjoy her meal freely, and the storm of her eating continued.

Barcode merely observed her indulgence with a satisfied smile.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes… but did you really cook this, Barcode?”

“If I don’t do it, who will?”

Barcode‘s question shifted Karé‘s gaze towards Ji-hye, who was standing nearby.

“Are you interested in our housekeeper?”

“No, that’s not why I was looking.”

“Just kidding. You think I wouldn’t pick up on that?”

“…I’m glad you were just kidding.”

Though she had filled herself up with delicious food and felt good, Barcode had a knack for dropping jokes that could sink one’s spirits.

“Well then, let’s wrap up our first wedding live stream here.”

Standing up, Barcode glanced at the camera.

The chat room on the laptop beside them was rapidly scrolling upwards.

From a distance, Karé couldn’t clearly see what they were chatting about, but it was abundantly clear that viewers were disappointed about the situation.

But Barcode didn’t care about the viewers’ disappointment and simply logged off.

If it were her, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to end the stream under those circumstances.

Admiring her for this strong decision, Karé couldn’t help but feel a profound respect.

“Are you doing a personal broadcast today?”

“Yeah. I can’t really afford to take a break from solo queue.”

“Solo queue is more important than the wedding?”

“No more jokes.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

“…”

Out of words, Karé hurriedly walked away.

Passing by Barcode, she returned to her room and exhaled the breath she had been holding.

Thump thump—

Why is my heart racing so much?

What’s so special about having dinner alone with Barcode?

More than anything, she was currently Barcode, yet deep down, she was Nayun Queen.

Thinking of Barcode as Nayun Queen caused the racing of her heart to quickly cool down.

Regaining her calmness to the point where she no longer felt her heart racing, Karé began preparing to start the broadcast.

Earlier, while unpacking, she hadn’t noticed the two separate computers: one for broadcasting and one for gaming.

Turning on the computer, Karé checked their specs and gasped.

“She said she didn’t have enough time to set things up, yet…”

Though it wasn’t the highest spec available, it was more than good enough to be deemed excellent.

Was there a different timeline for obtaining decent computers compared to preparing?

How much did those two computers cost combined anyway?

After checking both computers for issues, Karé installed the broadcasting software.

It was clear that this was a new computer; aside from the basic programs, there was nothing else installed.

Of course, it might have been fresh out of a reset, but given Barcode’s nature, it probably wasn’t the case.

“Ahh…”

After safely completing the broadcasting preparations, Karé took a deep breath and started the broadcast.

*

Having successfully wrapped up the cooking broadcast for Karé, I headed upstairs.

During the wedding cohabitation period, it had been agreed that we would stream individually but had collaboration streams at least every other day, so I didn’t plan to stream anymore today.

I sat at the computer for a while, waiting for Karé’s stream to start.

After waiting about 10 minutes, I received an alert that her stream had gone live.

Entering her stream, I logged into League of Legends with the Nayun Queen account.

As always, the familiar opening song played, and once it ended, the broadcast screen switched over.

“Ahh, can everyone hear me well?”

[Is Barcode next to you? Is Barcode next to you? Is Barcode next to you?]

[Bring Barcode over, bring Barcode over, bring Barcode over.]

[So you two are really getting together, right?]

[How is cohabitation supposed to be a wedding, oh haha.]

[Info: Ground-based wedding is originally based on cohabitation.]

The familiar voice of Karé echoed in my ears as the chat room flooded with messages related to me.

Since Karé was living with me in my house, it wasn’t an unexpected reaction, but it felt a bit awkward having only my name come up in her broadcast.

Of course, seeing Karé flustered was enjoyable, though.

“The Barcode you all want is not here. It’s Karé‘s fun ‘solo queue broadcast* time now.”

[I’m losing my mind, I feel like I’m going crazy, I’m losing my mind, I feel like I’m going crazy.]

[Barcode where’d she go…? I’m cold…Barcode where’d she go…? I’m cold…]

[Hey, Karé, act a bit more refined.]

[Why’s Karé on the Barcode channel?]

[Lol, at this point, Karé is basically all Barcode’s.]

[I hope those over-involved fans just leave.]

[The wedding content is good, but it’s ruining the immersion thanks to overly invested idiots.]

Just as the chatroom was about to explode into chaos, messages that could stir up trouble were quickly deleted.

It was a swift action, and noticing the quick response from Karé‘s managers, she spoke softly.

“Everyone, getting too involved is fine, but please don’t show it in the chat. Don’t provoke any disputes either; trust me, you won’t be able to whine and complain later.”

Like a perfectly coordinated dance, Karé and her managers moved together seamlessly.

As the chatroom’s focus shifted away from the wedding and Barcode, Karé logged into League of Legends.

“As I mentioned earlier, today’s broadcast will be strictly solo queue. Oh, let me note that down.”

A white text appeared in the left corner reading, “Today’s broadcast will only be solo queue. Please refrain from mentioning wedding related topics.”

Having neatly summarized everything related to the wedding, Karé covered the screen and started matching.

With my sniper account already logged in, I timed it perfectly to match as soon as Karé‘s status changed to “in game.”

Feeling one account alone wouldn’t do, I also activated Nayun Gongdu, and Nayun Princess.

With all three accounts in queue, the black screen of the broadcast lifted, revealing the ban/pick screen.

As the ban/pick proceeded, it became clear that neither Nayun Gongdu nor Nayun Princess were in the same match as Karé.

Without hesitation, I dodged those two accounts and set my sights on the remaining Nayun Queen account’s ban/pick screen.

Both the bans and picks were identical to those shown in Karé‘s stream, and I was certain I had succeeded in sniping her.

After a long time, I picked Yone once again.

[Yone? Yone? Yone? Yone?]

[No way, right? Haha.]

[What if the one you’re living with snipes you? Haha.]

[No way… no way… no way…]

[Hey, Kim, don’t ruin the mood and just stick to the bricks.]

“Could it be ‘that’ person? Sure, the chairman isn’t completely innocent, but… no way, that doesn’t make sense.”

While Karé rejected the viewers’ assumptions, her eyes flickered as if something was stirring her suspicion.

Quieting down, she watched the game commence, and as the loading screen appeared, my username popped up on her broadcast.

“…”

[Ah.]

[There’s some shade.]

[Nayun Queen, you jerk.]

[So this isn’t Barcode.]

[Well, the chairman isn’t as wicked as that jerk anyway.]

[Would someone who’s weddinging really snipe? Common sense says no. Haha.]

When Nayun Queen appeared, the chatroom’s atmosphere returned to relative calmness.

Normally, this would be the perfect moment for Karé to say something to Nayun Queen, but now she only stared blankly at the name under Yone.

As the game started, I turned off Karé‘s stream and focused on my game.

A few days after the preseason had ended and the new season began, everyone who wanted to climb had risen already.

Now, the brackets just consisted of locals, and these locals could do nothing against my Yone.

[Executing sprees.]

I effortlessly took down opponents, scoring kill after kill as I sailed through the match.

Even if other lanes fed their kills away, they couldn’t refuse the bus ride anymore.

Crushing the balance of the game with absolute skill, I focused solely on hunting Karé.

While I had no idea how she reacted because I turned off the stream, she would surely enjoy it.

But I didn’t snipe just to see Karé’s reaction, though that was tempting enough.

I wanted to see her expression when, immediately after being tortured by Nayun Queen’s sniping, a treat would be offered her.

I had some recognition that this was wrong, yet I simply couldn’t resist.

[Victory!]

Having swiftly claimed victory, I removed my earphones and got up from my seat.

I headed downstairs and pulled out an apple from the fridge.

Grabbing a kitchen knife, I sliced the apple into bite-sized pieces and placed them on a plate.

With the plate of apple slices in hand, I entered the room where Karé was streaming.

Karé was visible, her expression a bit stiff as she continued her broadcast, and I placed the plate on the desk with a smile.

“Karé, have some fruit.”

“…”

At my voice, Karé slowly turned her head toward me.

Seeing the complex emotions swirl on her face made my heart surge with a mix of guilt and electric joy.

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