I considered myself to be quick-witted.
I had reached Challenger rank in Leore, a game where judgment is key.
There were other reasons for my confidence, but in general, I believed my decision-making was fast.
And now...
“I’ll be back soon.”
I was heading to the hospital nearby, as fast as I could.
Of course, I was going to one with an emergency room.
If there wasn’t any bleeding, I’d have gone to a regular clinic, but right now, there was blood coming from my head.
I hopped into a taxi and arrived at the emergency room.
Sure, I could have called 119, but I wasn’t in that much pain.
Thud-.
I pushed open the emergency room door and rushed in.
I needed treatment for my head.
How long had it been, I wondered.
“Ouch…”
My head was wrapped in bandages.
The reason was simple.
The injury to my head had been severe.
“I’m sure I didn’t have this injury yesterday… It feels like I hit my head while sleeping.”
“Ugh, be more careful when you sleep.”
“How am I supposed to be careful while sleeping?”
“I don’t know, just be careful.”
I was really frustrated.
It wasn’t like I wanted to get hurt.
But anyway...
‘I should be more careful from now on.’
Maybe it was because I got hurt so badly, but now I moved carefully even when walking around my house.
It was harder to make careless steps than before.
Tapping-.
Even though I wanted to rest a bit, the pillow and blanket soaked with blood were in the process of being washed.
Besides, I wasn’t supposed to lie down right after a surgery.
It was a really awkward situation.
As I thought about what to do next, an idea popped into my head.
“Hm…”
It was a good thought.
Since my head was injured anyway, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go somewhere nice to relax.
But there was one problem.
I couldn’t bring Ye-ram with me.
She was working a part-time job.
She’d only been working there for about two days, so asking for leave to go on a trip seemed a bit much.
That made the decision easy.
‘I guess I’ll go alone.’
So, I decided to go by myself.
Four days passed since I went to the emergency room.
I hadn’t streamed during that time.
Of course, I had left a notice.
[ I’ve injured my head and need to rest for a bit. ]
The viewers who followed my stream regularly would understand this notice.
I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, either.
With that thought in mind, I unpacked.
“Ah, the air is nice.”
I was in a pension in Gangwon-do.
It was a bit pricey, but with my head injured, it seemed better to go somewhere with good air and rest.
So, I rented the pension by myself.
‘The streaming equipment is in good condition.’
I rented it for four days in total.
I needed quite a bit of equipment to stream.
“Phew…”
I sat in a chair outside for a moment, enjoying the fresh air.
Bringing in all the luggage had been exhausting.
‘...I should eat first.’
It took me some time to get here, and I figured it would be best to eat since I was hungry.
Clink-.
After lighting a fire, just like I’d learned online, I placed the meat on top.
I set up the camera in the corner and started the stream.
I had planned to rest alone on the first day, but since I wasn’t streaming, I was feeling really bored.
[ The stream has started! ]
After seeing the familiar notification, I checked the stream just to be sure.
I wanted to make sure everything was working fine, just in case something went wrong with the broadcast.
“Hm, looks good.”
I checked and everything was fine.
I had worried that the Wi-Fi might not work in the countryside, but it seemed that worry had been unnecessary.
Feeling relieved, I greeted the viewers.
“Hi, everyone.”
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Finally streaming, damn]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Stream more often]
[How’s your head?]
[Is it okay?]
[It doesn’t look good at all ㅋㅋ]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: How’s your head?]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Was that why you took a break?]
[By the way, where is this?]
[Are you doing an evening stream?]
The chat had the familiar atmosphere.
But it felt a bit warmer than usual, maybe because I had posted the notice about my injury.
“Well, to talk about my head first… It’s, uh, cut. Quite badly.”
[????]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Wasn’t it fine before...?]
[Didn’t your sister treat it for you?]
[For real, wasn’t it treated?]
[What happened?]
[Is it okay?]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Show us the back of your head]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Let’s check your condition]
Since the viewers seemed curious about the condition of my head, I approached the camera and showed the back of my head.
The injury was clearly visible.
“It doesn’t hurt much now, but the doctor told me to be careful, so I rented this pension to rest for a bit.”
In the past, I would have felt it was a waste to spend money on things like this, but after streaming for a while, I realized that it wasn’t such a bad idea to take a break at a place like this.
Streaming regularly is important, but if I don’t take care of my health, I won’t be able to stream at all.
Shhh-.
As I spoke, I started grilling the meat again.
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Wow, that looks so good]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: What grade is that?]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: It must be the best, looks amazing]
[But are you alone in this big pension?]
[You should call some people over]
[It might be boring alone…]
“Call people over? Hmm… It sounds good, but I don’t think they’ll come.”
They weren’t people who liked going out.
Since it was far from Seoul, it wasn’t the kind of place people would just visit casually.
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Eh, if DaMa calls, they’ll come ㅇㅇ]
[For real, if it’s DaMa, they’ll come right away ㅋㅋ]
[Fact) DaMa won’t go that far]
[No, that’s exactly right]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Where are you?]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Maybe they’ll come if we check the distance]
Looking at the chat, I started wondering if they’d actually come if I contacted them.
I wasn’t sure they would.
Still, I thought it would be fun and picked up my phone.
“I guess I’ll reach out to some close friends. If they come, great, if not, no big deal.”
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Yeah, sounds good]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: But seriously, I think they’ll all come]
[Let me know where it is ㅈㅂ]
[With the forest, isn’t this near Brazil?]
[Amazon ㄷㄷㄷ]
I checked the people in my contact list.
Since I didn’t have many close friends, choosing who to contact wasn’t hard.
Rrrrr-.
The phone rang and then—
“Hello?”
A familiar voice answered the phone.
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: What’s going on ㅋㅋ]
[Mangming, hey]
[As expected, first up is Mangming ㅋㅋ]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Mangming will definitely come]
[Let’s see~~~]
As the viewers had guessed, I thought Mangming would be the first to come.
We had a bond built over time, after all.
Though it was a bit far, it wasn’t as far as Busan, so I figured it was possible.
“Hey, I’m streaming right now.”
Wait a minute.
I heard some clattering noises in the background, then—
Ahem, why did you suddenly call?
Mangming spoke in a calm voice.
“Well, I was wondering if you could come to Gangwon-do today?”
...Gangwon-do, suddenly?
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[What’s the deal, tell us first, crazy guy ㅋㅋ]
[So funny, shit ㅋㅋ]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Calling someone to Gangwon-do out of the blue, why would they come]
[Hwanhee: What’s up, just came in?]
[Mangming is being caught]
[Temporary exit!]
Mangming paused for a moment as if thinking, then—
I don’t think I can make it today. I have things to do.
“Ah... I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll contact you another time.”
Mm.
Beep.
The call ended.
“Hm, I thought Mangming would definitely come, but... not today.”
I felt a little disappointed.
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Not coming? ㅋㅋ]
[Thought they’d definitely come]
[Guess we won’t invite Mangming again next time ㅇㅇ Didn’t come even though we called]
[Twispookjjikmareupne: Maybe they had their reasons]
[ㄲㅂ]
[Let’s call someone else]
[Mangming, full now? Not coming?]
As I thought about it, I figured I’d contact someone else.
I was going to call Harin right away, but—
“I’ll call this person.”
Someone suddenly popped into my mind, and I contacted them right away.
Rrrrr-.
Hello?
A very pleasant voice came through the phone.