It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Chapter 24 – One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten Thousand… huh?

In my heart, I wanted to press the broadcast start button right away and start the day by talking for a few hours, but there was a lot to prepare to start the broadcast.

The biggest issue was the basic equipment, the computer. It was a computer that had to run games smoothly even though I needed to run a broadcast.

To start the broadcast with this computer, I might have to lower my standards to the point of running it smoothly. Thinking that I needed to buy a new computer first, I searched for the specs that would allow me to broadcast in high quality on the community website, and when I checked out the estimates-

The overwhelming numbers greeted me, making my head spin.

… Is this because it’s a parallel world?

Even the units themselves were different from what I had in mind. The resurgence of the Rogues’ Revival Movement can’t be halted like this.

Even though I had enough money in Lee Yena’s account to buy several computers of this quality, it was definitely not an amount to underestimate. My fingers didn’t move at all.

Maybe it’s just a habit.

Every time I use the money Yena has saved in her bank account, I feel a sense of guilt as if I were secretly spending someone else’s money, so I have been living frugally all this time.

Looking back at my expenses over the past 6 months, the only non-essential things were probably the delivery food I ordered when I couldn’t move due to my period.

However, realistically, it’s impossible to live without spending money.

As this life is approaching its 6-month mark, living while keeping Yena and me conceptually separated also has its limits.

After much contemplation, I finally made a decision.

… I will have to earn money soon to fill the account again. But for this time, I have no choice. I hope they will think of it as lending money temporarily for the revival movement..

.

.

.

Engrossed in various thoughts, I started online shopping, lightly biting my lips. Before I knew it, I was haphazardly adding all sorts of items to my cart. At first, I was comparing prices and contemplating whether I really needed these things…

But compared to the computer I had already decided to purchase, everything seemed like loose change… While there were legitimate reasons for buying each item…

Perhaps I just started to enjoy the taste of shopping. Excuses were excuses, but every time I clicked the cart button, an irresistible sensation of satisfaction rose deep within my body.

Lost in shopping without realizing how time flew by.

-Ding dong

The doorbell rang.

… There’s no one expected. Water bill is also paid on time. No deliveries expected either.

-Ding dong

The courier… will probably leave the package in front of the door. The security guard? No, I’ll call on my phone. As each possibility was erased from my mind, my heart grew more anxious, and my heartbeat quickened.

-Thump thump

Eventually, my mind faced the conclusion that it had been avoiding.

“Wait a moment!”

I rushed desperately to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. My head was clear. I had washed my face a while ago.

My clothes… Clothes?!

“I, I’ll be right out!”

I threw off my crumpled tracksuit into the laundry basket with a sense of urgency, and pulled out clothes I had put away in the corner of the closet for emergencies.

It was a neat pair of well-fitted jeans and a black blouse adorned with what seemed like unkempt frills.

… Among the clothes I could muster the resolve to wear, it was a set that combined the most pristine and visually appealing pieces.

“I’m coming!”

As I ran panting and opened the door with a creak, the face I had anticipated was right in front of me.

“Oh, u-uh, it’s you, unni? I mean…!”

Even forcing a smile, I stuttered out lines I had rehearsed in a tone of complete surprise. Was there something wrong?

Lee Yeri, who had been scrutinizing me with alert eyes that had lengthened sharply, slowly parted her lips.

“… What happened? I heard a commotion.”

“Huh?! No, I was just, uh, cleaning. So things were all over the place, and I’d be embarrassed if someone saw.”

“Um… I see. So, can your unni come in?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Come in.”

I stepped back to make space in the entrance.

Yeri, who entered my cramped three-square-meter fortress effortlessly along with clacking sound of her heels, asked in a light tone, “It’s late, but what about dinner?”

“Oh, I had breakfast earlier.”

An awkward silence followed. And then…

“… Breakfast?”

Ah.

It was only now that I realized it was already 9 p.m.

… The habit of calling the first meal eaten after waking up as breakfast, I knew someday it would be a problem. But I didn’t expect it to be today.

“You only ate breakfast and haven’t eaten anything until now?”

“Yeah.”

It was decision time. Whether I would say, “Because my daily routine is messed up, I usually sleeps at 1 p.m. and wake up at 7 p.m. The meal I have at that time (usually a piece of snack) feels like my first meal, so I call it breakfast.”

“Unni, it’s not that I don’t eat properly, but I tends to skip meals after having breakfast until around 9 p.m., feeling hungry at home starving.”

How can I talk so that it’s less worrisome… How can I make her not come by more often…

If I could buy hints with cash, I’d want to. Originally, in this high-level detective thriller game, you press the top right corner to watch ads and make a payment for hints…

Realizing that I was about to fall into a delusion close to reality escape, I hastily interjected before the silence became too long.

“Oh, um, it’s not morning. I misspoke. I had dinner earlier.”

Utilizing my sharp wit, I chose a third way. Surely, there wouldn’t be a sister who would insist on probing if her sister simply made a momentary slip of the tongue, right?

“What did you eat? Where?”

“There was… Pasta. At the restaurant in front of here.”

If I had said I ate at home, the fact that there were no traces could be easily questioned, right? I distinctly remember checking the sink on the way to my room.

But there were no traces of someone who ate at home. Well done, me.

“What restaurant?”

However, before I could properly praise myself for my quick situational judgment, the questions kept coming.

“Oh, yeah! There’s a, um, western restaurant nearby that’s really good. They serve an expensive pasta. Yeah. I took good care of it. Let’s go together next time.”

As expected, at the mention of going together, I relaxed my guard for a moment and smiled complacently at Lee Yeri. However, before I could even fully relax, her gaze started to cool down again.

“Yes, Yena.”

I could tell that something was amiss.

“Um, yes?”

I couldn’t figure out where I had stepped on a landmine.

“Didn’t you use the card I gave you?”

Huh? What card did I not use?

“What?”

“You haven’t been making payments recently. I told you to use the card when you eat. I don’t check the payment details, but the total amount due is 0 won.

“Oh.”

So… that happened.

I forced a smile and tried to adapt to the situation on the spot. Now, I really don’t know.

“Oh! That card? Uh… they said they only accept cash.”

I regretted saying it immediately. Is there really a pasta restaurant that only accepts cash?

I should start looking for one now. If I say I ate at a cheap kimbap specialty store in front of my house, would it just lead to more worries and nagging? Mentioning an expensive menu was a mistake.

“What? So they refused your card? Where is this place?”

As expected, Lee Yeri, who doesn’t miss any flaws and digs deep. No matter how you look at it, she seems more like a prosecutor than a lawyer by nature.

If I were the criminal, I would have confessed everything. No, even now, my daily routine is a mess, skipping meals both in the morning and evening. That chocolate pie wrapper rolling over there seems like the remains of my first meal today…

“Th-Th-There’s, there’s something, you know? H-Here, listen.”

Is it just by stumbling through my words that she’s able to see through me? Or am I the pitiful one, hastily swallowing lies?

Lee Yeri, who let out a deep sigh, started patting my shoulder gently, shaking her head apologetically.

“Sorry. I pushed too hard, right? I tend to pry too much, it must be my professional illness. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, yeah. No, I’m sorry… not.”

Somehow, I felt like I should apologize. Would even that be counterproductive?

With a bittersweet smile, Lee Yeri fidgeted with her phone and murmured, “No. It might be uncomfortable for you, Yena, as you’re all grown up now, to have a card that your sister might see the payment history of. I didn’t think it through. I’m sorry.”

*Brring*

A notification rang from my phone, placed far away.

“Since I’ve deposited it into your account, feel free to use it from now on. Even if you don’t know much else, make sure to eat well, especially your meals.”

Smiling warmly, Lee Yeri stood up from her seat, tousled my hair once as a farewell, and then headed outside.

“Yes, this is Yeri. Yes, attorney. Yes. Oh! Yes… About that… I… Until early this morning…”

Her voice, gradually fading away through the insufficiently soundproof front door crack, could still be heard. You’re really busy.

… The guilt is no joke.

Feeling like all my mental strength has been drained, I just lay there on the bed. Even though it had only been three hours since I woke up, I felt so exhausted. Around 11 in the morning.

Maybe if I fall asleep now, I can readjust my daily routine – I thought foolishly, burying myself under the covers. I didn’t even have the energy to get up. I wonder if there’s anything good on TV.

When I picked up my phone to check my favorites list-

At the top of the notification window, there was a record of a recent transfer from Lee Yeri’s account.

Huh.

“One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand… Huh?”

TL’s Corner:

The meddlesome sister came back sooner than expected.

I feel like it’s a wholesome chapter for some reason.