I Became a Malicious Streamer

The wedding was approaching fast.

The biggest reaction to the marriage of Papi Joah and Tex came from the members of Jacky’s team, who had fought together in the EOW streamer tournament.

The remaining Discord channel buzzed with notifications non-stop for a while.

Most of them were inquiries about the wedding and congratulations, along with a curiosity about the behind-the-scenes stories, just like I had.

Back when Tex started dating Papi Joah, reactions like “that Tex thief” were all over the place, but this time, it was only pure congratulations for the marriage.

Unlike dating, marriage had a certain nobility to it. Now that Tex would be starting a family and taking on the role of the head of that family, he definitely deserved respect.

Perhaps he could even be seen as a patriot. In these times of frequent gender conflicts and the rise of non-marital advocates, getting married wasn’t an easy task.

Whether they would have kids or not was still up in the air, but naturally, they might end up with kids even if there weren’t any plans in place. At least the couples I had seen so far had turned out that way. By the time I met them again, they were all cradling their adorable children who looked just like them.

Now that the limits had been lifted due to the marriage, I thought Tex and Papi Joah would likely be the same.

It was Sunday morning. Normally, I would wake up lazily around breakfast or lunch time, but today, my house was quite busy.

It was because the ceremony was scheduled for the afternoon. Familiar faces were roaming around my home, which had started being used as a base.

“Was the ceremony at 2 PM?”

“Yes, but it seems a bit tight if we want to have lunch too. We should leave before 1 PM.”

This was a conversation between Si-young and Ryuah. Both of them were planning to attend Tex and Papi Joah’s wedding with me.

It seemed Si-young maintained contact with Papi Joah even after their initial acquaintance. From what Papi Joah told me, she had been coming over to learn cooking from time to time. Apparently, that day’s fish cake soup was quite impressive.

Ryuah, being a member of Jacky’s team, was of course attending. Both of them were on the bride’s side for the wedding.

I also decided to attend as a member of the bride’s side. Technically, I could have joined the groom’s side, but somehow, it turned into a situation where all the male team members were on the groom’s side, and the women were on the bride’s side.

Before heading to the venue, the three of us naturally gathered at my place to go together.

“You’re so pretty…!”

Ryuah was currently taking charge of my makeup. Various makeup products were dancing across my face, and Ryuah was mumbling to herself, looking like a master creating a masterpiece.

After I mentioned I didn’t know how to do makeup, Ryuah stubbornly insisted on doing it for me. Even though I said it was okay, she clung to me, begging to help, leading to this situation. Honestly, we could have just met at the venue, but I was starting to wonder if we’d set up this meeting just for this.

Even after a considerable amount of time since I’d taken on this body, I still didn’t know how to do my own makeup. Usually, I either went out without anything on my face or let Ji-yeon do it for me.

That made sense because I hadn’t really felt the need for it. Of course, I would look prettier after a successful makeup job, but what did it matter if I was prettier? It’s not like I was trying to lure someone. Besides, I was already attracting attention just wandering around with my bare face. That seemed to fall into the realm of personal satisfaction.

I was confident that as long as my appearance didn’t cause disgust in others, I could live happily. Although I was quite satisfied with reaping benefits with such a pretty face now.

My beauty regimen consisted mainly of washing my face and applying a hydrating cream, and I was just as amazed that this beauty was maintained by so little effort.

“Is there a problem?”

Si-young approached Ryuah, who was pouring her heart into my face. Ryuah squinted her eyes, solemnly whispering something serious.

“Ji-eun is just too pretty…”

“?”

Isn’t being pretty a good thing? I tilted my head, puzzled.

Ryuah continued, “What if Ji-eun is prettier than the bride, Papi Joah? Should I not put on makeup? But it seems such a waste to let this face go out without any makeup…”

…Did I hear that correctly? I was momentarily dumbfounded by the absurdity of it all.

Even Si-young nodded in agreement, as if to affirm Ryuah’s concerns. “That is a considerable matter indeed…”

“Right? I’m not the only one thinking this, am I?”

Why is the embarrassment always mine to bear in these situations? I fiddled with my fingers and said, “Let’s just go and stop this nonsense.”

BONG!

“Is the groom confident he’ll make the bride happy?”

“Yes!”

“That sounds a bit too weak! Are you really confident?”

“YEEES!”

Laughter filled the ceremony hall.

“The groom looks spirited!”

“Indeed. He’s tall and handsome.”

“A true match made in heaven.”

I could hear kind elders commenting with smiles. Surely, Tex and Papi Joah radiated with a glow that proved they were the stars of the event.

“And now, groom and bride must perform ten sit-ups while holding each other!”

For the record, it was Bang Hyeongjae who was officiating. That quirky human certainly had a knack for lifting the mood.

Tex was just happily laughing in response to Bang Hyeongjae’s instructions, seemingly unbothered as if he had become a military instructor. He looked genuinely happy. Papi Joah, nestled in his arms, looked the same.

In conclusion, the situation that Si-young and Ryuah had worried about didn’t come to pass.

What if someone was prettier than the bride? That was simply impossible. If such a thing happened, it would be a serious illness of obsession.

Papi Joah, already a gorgeous beauty, looked even more dazzling today after the bride’s makeup.

I didn’t come out without makeup either, but the difference in results created by professionals was on a whole different level.

That said, it wasn’t like I was completely ignored. The guys from Tex’s side were sending heated gazes my way every time I walked around with a plate in the buffet.

Thank goodness there weren’t any overly ambitious people trying to shoot their shot since the place was what it was.

As the wedding ceremony gradually came to a close, the bride and groom’s photos were shared, and finally, Tex softly kissed Papi Joah on the cheek, filling the hall with applause.

As a guest, I also enjoyed the wedding and offered my blessings. The buffet was satisfying, and above all, it was wonderful to see the bride and groom looking so happy.

“Alright, let’s take some pictures. First, family members!”

Wasn’t it said that in the end, only photos remain? When I see old memories that I occasionally forget, it’s a saying that couldn’t be more accurate.

Once the photo session for the family and relatives was done, I finally stepped in to have my picture taken.

“Hey, you two ladies standing behind the bride! Your faces look too stiff. Just a little brighter smile, please!”

“Yes, yes!”

That was Si-young and me. Neither of us was particularly known for smiling, which is why we got that comment. I thought I’d improved recently, but I guess I still seemed awkward.

Photo session done, I thought everything was over. But there was still something left.

“Alright, it’s time for the bouquet toss! Who will catch the bouquet?”

Oh right, I had totally forgotten about that. It had been so long since I last attended a wedding.

The bouquet was a symbol of abundance and fertility, or so the rumors said. It was supposed to bring fortune from the bride.

Curious to see who would catch the bouquet, Papi Joah smiled and approached me.

“Please catch the bouquet.”

“Excuse me?”

“All of this is thanks to you, Ji-eun. I’ve been thinking that I’d love for you to catch the bouquet since we decided to get married.”

With her wish to share her luck, I headed over to where I was supposed to stand to catch the bouquet with a dazed expression. It felt sudden, but hey, it wasn’t a difficult task, and I wasn’t about to let everyone wait for me.

“Okay, I’m throwing the bouquet now. One, two, three!”

It wasn’t anything grand. Papi Joah threw the bouquet over her shoulder, and I easily caught it.

After that, everything truly wrapped up. The busy Tex and Papi Joah were caught chatting with others, and I headed to where Ryuah and Si-young were, bouquet in hand.

But Si-young’s response was strange. She kept looking back and forth between the bouquet and my face, muttering quietly.

“Si-young? What’s wrong?”

“Well… there’s a superstition about wedding bouquets.”

While I was keeping my eyes on the bouquet, she very solemnly spoke about the belief that whoever catches the bride’s bouquet must get married within six months, or else they would be unable to marry for three years.

Ryuah, overhearing their conversation, chuckled to herself.

“Oh come on, do you still believe in that? It’s all just superstition.”

“Still, just in case…”

Hmm, I see. So there’s such a superstition.

If I don’t get married within six months, I can’t marry for three years…This tale, whether true or not, didn’t really matter to me.

After all, no matter how I thought about it, I didn’t expect to get married in three years. I didn’t even have a partner in sight, and the decision to marry was still up in the air.

Even if I were looking for a life partner to marry, wouldn’t it take at least three years? I had my own identity dilemmas to sort out too.

Ryuah then had what seemed like a good idea and said, “Oh! Or here’s a thought. Before the six months are up, you could just catch another bouquet from a different bride. Then catch another before the next six months pass… That way, you could keep extending the deadline!”

“That’s true, but…”

Si-young looked at Ryuah with an expression that seemed to question whether that was even feasible.

Yeah, that logic is all well and good, but would that even work in reality? You’d have to find someone getting married every six months and catch their bouquet each time? It’s not a bouquet thief convention!

It was almost like discussing rolling down a hill from a fairytale to achieve immortality within three years.

The idea sounded nice. But the catch was that we didn’t have such a hill in our reality.

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