Jaemin wasn't someone who ate a lot of food.
Of course, she enjoyed eating delicious things and liked going out for snacks with friends after school during her student days.
And there was a time when she was a typical high school girl with separate stomachs for dinner and dessert, completely finishing the meals her mother prepared.
Still, Jaemin definitely wasn't a big eater.
Just browsing YouTube, you could find people who humbly claimed to have small appetites while cooking six packs of ramen at once or insisting that two kilograms of meat was a single serving.
Even without that level of exaggeration, Jaemin considered herself to have a small appetite.
When she ordered chicken, she'd split it into two meals, and when she ordered a pizza, she'd have two or three slices left over.
Eating that way maintained her figure—neither gaining nor losing weight.
She had some volume in her chest, but was still slender.
Noel probably wasn't much different.
Everyone's basal metabolic rate varies, but at minimum, you need to consume nutrients to survive.
But what Noel said was strange.
Planning to get through a day on just two slices of pizza?
And claiming to be full after eating just one slice?
If she'd said one slice per meal, Jaemin might have accepted that Noel simply had a small appetite.
No, even that would have been hard to understand.
But one slice for the entire day?
Even if Noel was small and skinny.
That was barely enough to sustain life.
- TearingApart: Wow, the kid surviving on one pack of ramen a day wasn't an exaggeration
- SilverPanthea: For real, I was thinking of that boarding house hero guy... eating just the noodles in the morning and rice with the broth for lunch...
- QueenLexia: Her parents raised her like this for over 10 years? That's seriously fucked up
- QueenLexia: The house doesn't even look that poor, so why?
The viewers' comments kept coming in, and they were right.
A stomach like that wasn't developed overnight.
Someone who normally eats three meals a day will lose weight if they cut down to two.
Eventually they'd adapt, but it would take a very long time.
So for Noel to say she was full after eating an amount that barely sustained life meant she'd probably eaten that little her entire life.
One meal a day. And even that was only about half of what others would consider a portion.
In Jaemin's mind, Noel had become a child who barely survived on her parents' leftovers.
No wonder she struggled so much when Jaemin carried her around.
That explained her lack of stamina.
Jaemin couldn't bring herself to eat the pizza Noel had generously offered.
She knew that even with refrigeration, cooked pizza exposed to air would spoil quickly.
Logically, she should eat it and then gift Noel a voucher for fresh food for her next meal.
But she couldn't bring herself to take what felt like survival rations from someone else.
However, when Noel emerged from the room, she looked up at Jaemin with dark-circled eyes.
One eye completely unfocused.
Her body was trembling slightly, as if just crawling out had exhausted her.
Jaemin saw expectation in those eyes.
Despite the apparent abuse from harsh parents, did she still find joy in giving to others?
Come to think of it, even when people insulted her, she never cursed back.
Few people refrain from swearing in League of Champions.
What kind of pain must she have felt when people attacked her so viciously?
Yet she came to Kanchona's studio, did what she needed to do, and left without complaint.
Even afterward, when people in the League of Champions community continued to pick on her,
instead of cursing them out, she just said she would die and disappeared.
That tore Jaemin's heart even more.
Why did someone like this have to live this way?
How could this reality exist?
Jaemin felt like crying but held back.
If she cried in front of Noel, it would only make her uncomfortable.
"I'll enjoy the pizza. You can rest in your room while I eat. Or you could start streaming—I'm sure many people will come watch if you start gaming."
"Ah, yes. I'll do that."
Fortunately, Noel didn't notice Jaemin's emotions and crawled back to her room.
Only then did Jaemin sit at the table and cover her eyes.
Even the viewers who usually enjoyed teasing her refrained from making jokes this time.
Hmm, I was worried she might be upset that I gave her leftover pizza.
Thankfully, Celesti started putting the pizza on a plate and heating it in the microwave.
If Celesti eats some, I can finish the rest before it spoils.
It would be nice if she ate half, but maybe that's too much to hope for.
Celesti told me to go to my room and start streaming.
I guess she felt awkward having someone watch her eat.
Even though "mukbang" is a popular streaming genre, Celesti wasn't that type of streamer.
If she doesn't show herself eating to viewers, it might be several times more embarrassing to show it to someone right in front of her.
So I returned to my room out of consideration for Celesti.
Honestly, I prefer being alone rather than facing other people.
Since she wasn't like that man who was my father, my body didn't completely freeze up.
Still, since becoming this body, interacting with people has been uncomfortable.
Maybe my social skills have deteriorated after being shut in for months.
I briefly thought about improving my social skills through streaming.
But then I wondered where I'd even use those social skills.
Well, after receiving so much help today, I shouldn't think so negatively.
I should at least treat people who help me properly.
With that in mind, I launched the program Celesti had installed.
When I started League of Champions, the broadcasting program captured the game and displayed it on screen.
Is the broadcast working?
I tilted my head in confusion, then realized I didn't even know my channel name.
Wait, do I even have an account?
To create an account, I'd need to verify my identity, which requires a phone...
...So I can't do it now?
But the program is running smoothly, which means the broadcast is being transmitted.
I checked the streaming site with a puzzled look and found I was already logged in.
And there was a "Live" mark next to it.
Ah, I must have created an account on this site before.
And auto-login was enabled.
Thank you, Google auto-login!
It was good that I didn't have to bother Celesti during her meal, but something else troubled me.
The broadcast title.
No one would come to watch a stream titled "Noelyoon1492's Broadcast."
Who would be interested in a stream with just an account name?
Unless you're famous, and "Noel" is a fairly common name.
The numbers, probably from my phone, don't add any distinction either.
After browsing other streamers' titles, I decided on something simple.
"600+ Top Lane."
Most people include their rank and position in their titles.
Professional gamers just use their team name and personal name, but they're already famous.
New streamers like me need to advertise what kind of stream we're doing.
...Am I getting excited?
I'm only streaming because people told me to.
I know they just want me to check in to show I'm alive.
Deep down, I was happy they recognized what I'd built in the game, and that led to hoping more people would visit my stream.
Well, having more viewers can't hurt.
I won't make money like professional streamers.
But until I run out of money, it's enough just to have people who enjoy my gameplay.
So "600+ Top Lane, Trying Hard."
Shortly after changing the title, the viewer count showed two people watching my stream.
One is me, so...
Did someone else join already?
- Noel: Hello
Despite my greeting to my first viewer, there was no response.
Maybe they just left the stream open and went to do something else.
Well, can't be helped.
I should play a game before they leave.
That's all I have to offer anyway.
While waiting for matchmaking and during the ban/pick phase, my first viewer patiently stayed without leaving.
- Noel: Their team comp is very clear, we'll lose if we get caught
- Noel: I'll pick a strong laning champion for side lane pressure
To reward the viewer, I added explanations about my picks in the chat.
Still no response, but that's fine.
It might be cumbersome to chat if they're watching on mobile.
However, that was the extent of my interaction with the viewer.
Once the game started, I had no time to check the chat.
I needed to focus entirely on the lane, occasionally checking the status of teammates and enemies.
I also had to compare growth rates to decide on future item choices.
Since I was playing League of Champions in windowed mode, I could check my stream status in the corner of the monitor when there was no combat.
My one viewer was still there, not leaving.
No other viewers had joined yet, but I was grateful that this person stayed without even chatting, which made me enjoy the game more.
Ah, so this is what it feels like to have someone watch me play.
It makes me want to play better and show off when I do something impressive.
It gives me motivation in the game.
Meanwhile, Celesti returned to my room, having finished eating pizza.
"Oh, you're in a game. Are you streaming?"
"Yes. Someone's already watching. Ah, it shows two viewers because I'm watching too."
Celesti seemed surprised that I had a viewer from the start.
After a pause, she responded to my excited comment.
"Um... that's just a helper bot."
"..."