There were tons of messages calling me cute in the chat.

    I mean,

    I won’t deny it.

    But hearing it out loud from over seven thousand people

    made me feel a little self-conscious.

    I am cute,

    but...

    Am I allowed to hear this?

    ...Well.

    I do admit it every time I look in the mirror.

    And in today''s world,

    looks are assets.

    But right now,

    I''m just a Parallel staff member here to do damage control.

    So I cut to the chase.

    “You all keep looking for me instead of Rain during Rain’s stream,

    so honestly, I was thinking about calling you out.”

    — GASP

    — Uh-oh, she’s onto us.

    — Shit...

    “But if you just wanted an excuse to donate to Rain,

    then, fine.

    I’ll acknowledge that.

    Do we have a Validation Committee in here?”

    Chat hesitated for a moment,

    as if waiting for someone else to take the lead.

    Then, one by one—

    — ?? (Confirmed.)

    — We admit it.

    — Acknowledged.

    — Super acknowledged.

    — Certified.

    “Okay, then.

    You admit it, right?

    So now that you''ve used me as an excuse,

    you don’t need me anymore, do you?

    I’ll be going now.”

    I left the call without a second of hesitation.

    At the same time,

    I signaled Rain to wrap things up.

    — Wha—

    — Wait, WAIT!!

    — WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!

    — She’s totally enjoying this.

    — Haa... My soft mochi employee...

    — FREE D-RAIN! FREE HER NOW!

    — Wait, she’s ACTUALLY leaving??

    — SHE''S REALLY GONE.

    The chat was exploding,

    but Rain just calmly clicked "Mission Complete."

    It was already agreed upon.

    I’d show my face today,

    but next time,

    I’d properly appear on a stream.

    And with that,

    the tower of donations that the viewers had painstakingly built up

    (mostly thanks to Chairman Puddle)

    all went straight into Rain’s pocket.

    4 million won.

    Rain sounded happier than she had in weeks.

    ["Wow, seriously.

    The moisture that Puddles have gathered for me today is delicious.

    You even came up with an excuse just to donate.

    I''ll work even harder and be even more unhinged from now on.

    Thank you! Thank you!"]

    It was only then

    that the Puddles realized the mission had ended

    and started losing their minds.

    — YOU.

    — YOU DID NOT JUST COMPLETE THAT.

    — CAN YOU HANDLE THE CONSEQUENCES?!

    — THIEF!!!

    — Someone stole my donation!! ????????????

    — Oh no... but we still have the "Refund" and "Fire" options, don''t we?

    — DON’T JOKE LIKE THAT...

    — DON’T JOKE LIKE THAT...

    — DON’T JOKE LIKE THAT...

    — DON’T JOKE LIKE THAT...

    :: Anonymous has donated 1,000 won. ::

    :: "That must be hard to digest. Why don’t you spit it back out?" ::

    ["No, no.

    Spitting out food is a bad habit.

    Bigma said so during our last collab."]

    Rain turned on her echo effect

    and started setting the mood for a 100,000-won donation reaction.

    The chat exploded.

    — YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT??

    — (Crying emote)(Glowstick emote)(Crying emote)(Glowstick emote)

    — (Flop emote) I’m not playing anymore.

    — Rock.

    — Kraaaagh ???????????? (Glowstick emote)

    — I don’t need a goddess anymore!!!

    — Is Rain really here? Puddles are leaving.

    — (Blood tears emote)(Blood tears emote)(Blood tears emote)

    — Me.

    — Oh well~ I’ll just switch my Oshi.

    — Rock.

    — Me.

    As more and more rage-filled emotes flooded the chat,

    Rain finally lowered the background music

    and dropped the bombshell.

    ["You know what?

    Next week, I''ll be streaming with D-Rain."]

    — ??

    — ???!

    — JXJXJXJX???

    — DON’T LIE TO ME.

    — **You should’ve said that earlier.

    ["That’s so I could see your true colors first.

    Just like right now."]

    Honestly,

    she could’ve revealed that I’d be joining next week sooner.

    But clearly,

    Rain had planned this all along.

    She waited until the mission was complete,

    acted like she was thrilled to get the money,

    and then dropped the announcement

    just to set the chat on fire.

    This girl.

    She spent a year getting bullied by toxic Western viewers,

    and now she had become the bully.

    ["So before I do my 1-million-won reaction,

    why don’t we review the chat logs first?

    Oh, you must be so scared.

    So nervous.

    Worried that you won’t get to see my legendary reaction.

    [CEO-nim: I’m having dinner with Rain tomorrow.]

    [CEO-nim: You know that, right?]

    [Me: I know.]

    [CEO-nim: Have you thought about what you’ll do for the collab?]

    [Me: Not yet.]

    She used to forcefully praise me as a ''competent employee who always does what she’s told'',

    but now,

    she was treating me like a friend.

    I couldn’t help but smile.

    [CEO-nim: Then how about Battle Coliseum?]

    [CEO-nim: It’s been a while since I collabed with Rain too.]

    [CEO-nim: The three of us can just queue together.]

    [Me: Boring.]

    [CEO-nim: ??]

    [CEO-nim: What? You love playing Battle Coliseum.]

    [Me: If there’s more people, I have to actually play seriously.]

    [Me: Then I can’t mess with you.]

    [CEO-nim: Hey.]

    [CEO-nim: Can’t we just play casually?]

    [Me: If it’s just you, I can play around a bit.]

    [Me: But if Rain joins, it’s impossible.]

    [Me: Trust me.]

    [CEO-nim: ...Yeah, she does have a habit of dying in hilariously stupid ways...]

    [CEO-nim: Still, I think Battle Coliseum is the best option.]

    After working with the CEO for so long,

    I could tell what she was thinking.

    Basically,

    “You’re going to struggle with viewer interaction anyway,

    so we’ll fill the sound while you play.

    Just chime in when needed.”

    That was the plan.

    [Me: Let’s do Battle Coliseum.]

    [Me: If I talk too much, I might slip up.]

    [Me: So yeah, I think you’re right.]

    [CEO-nim: Alright, then.]

    [CEO-nim: We’ll finalize the details over dinner with Rain tomorrow.]

    [Me: Okay.]

    After sending that last message,

    I found myself fidgeting with my keyboard.

    ...Did I just type "???" instead of "???"?

    Did I really use a softer tone instead of my usual firm response?

    No way.

    Am I...

    adapting to my own cuteness?

    I’ve always kept a strict, professional image at work.

    Always wore suits.

    Always upheld company rules.

    Always spoke properly in front of the CEO.

    But now,

    I was... slipping?

    Was my small body making my brain follow suit?

    [CEO-nim: Hahahahaha.]

    [CEO-nim: Alright, see you tomorrow.]

    [CEO-nim: I’m heading to my stream now.]

    [CEO-nim: Don’t go overboard with your toxic missions.]

    [Me: LOL]

    The weird part?

    The CEO’s tone was different too.

    She usually only types one "?" when she laughs,

    but just now,

    she used four.

    Does she actually prefer "???" over "???"?

    [CEO-nim: Stop laughing and answer me.]

    [Me: No.]

    [CEO-nim: Answer.]

    [Me: No.]

    [CEO-nim: Hey.]

    [Me: Neng.]

    [CEO-nim: Took you long enough.]

    Even after deliberately messing with her,

    she wasn’t annoyed.

    “...Hmmm.”

    An idea popped into my head.

    Does being cute mean I can get away with being toxic?

    There was only one way to find out.

    I was definitely running an experiment after work.

    ***

    After 2 AM, every game turns into a madhouse.

    Of course, some players aren’t complete lunatics—

    they’re just office workers using their vacation days

    to stay up all night and enjoy games they don’t usually have time for.

    But to those people,

    past 2 AM is hell itself—

    a lawless battlefield where only the strongest survive.

    [Hello, first attempt. Hello, second attempt.

    Hello, third attempt. Hello, fourth attempt.

    Hello, fifth attempt...]

    Kim, a humble office worker,

    was suddenly hit with the realization of doom—

    His random teammate,

    “My Highest Level of Education is Chicken School Momo,”

    wasn’t just some random troll.

    She was a full-blown psychopath

    roaming the 2 AM war zone.

    Still,

    her voice was weirdly cute,

    and her diction was so clear

    that he started wondering—

    “...Is she a streamer?”

    [Hello, twenty-fifth attempt.

    Hello, twenty-sixth attempt.

    Hello, twenty-seventh attempt...]

    ...She wasn’t stopping.

    At this rate,

    she was going to keep saying “Hello”

    until the match ended.

    With a deep sigh,

    Kim rummaged through his desk drawer,

    pulled out his neglected mic,

    and finally gave in.

    "...Hello."

    Just like that—

    at attempt forty-two—

    she stopped.

    A short pause.

    Then—

    [Wow. You actually responded.

    As a token of my appreciation,

    I’ll carry this game.]

    Kim,

    who wasn’t familiar with online communities

    or the infamous Sniper King Shinotan,

    let out a small scoff.

    ‘...With two double-barrel shotguns?’