Si-Yoon, now fully immersed in the persona of MomoBin, focused intently on the game. Remembering the strategies Si-Hyun had taught him earlier, he gave his all to take on the in-game monsters.
Suddenly, the smartphone sitting on the edge of his desk began to vibrate.
Bzzzâ Bzzzâ
Si-Yoon, eyes locked on the monitor, glanced at his phone out of the corner of his eye.
In that instant, his heart dropped.
Whatâwhatâwhy?! Why is she calling me now?!
A sudden call from his sister! The timing was impeccableâtoo impeccable. Si-Yoonâs gaze returned to the monitor, but his thoughts were in complete disarray.
I thought it was fine! I was sure I hadnât been caught!
He had deliberately left plenty of time between his call with Ji-Ah and the broadcast. Why was she calling now?
Isnât my sister supposed to be watching the stream in the living room?
This felt like the most devious sniper move everâif, of course, he werenât MomoBin himself.
Si-Yoonâs thoughts spiraled, one chaotic thread leading into another, tangling into an intricate mess.
Bzzzâ Bzzzâ
The phone continued to vibrate. On the monitor, his in-game character was taking hits, the health bar steadily depleting.
But Si-Yoon couldnât pay attention to the game anymore.
W-what do I do? What should I do?!
His frazzled mind couldnât come up with a solution. Only seconds had passed, but the viewers were already noticing something was off.
????
Whatâs the host doing??
Why did they stop all of a sudden???
MomoBin????
Whatâs going on? Is something wrong?
The stream wasnât frozen. The game hadnât crashed. It was just that Si-Yoonâs fingers had frozen, unable to move.
Unaware of what was happening, the viewers flooded the chat with question marks. Si-Yoon stared at the vibrating phone, his eyes trembling.
Bzzzâ Bzzzâ
Oh no⦠What do I do?!
The phoneâs vibration was constant, but to Si-Yoon, it felt like the desk itself was shaking as if struck by an earthquake.
Should he answer it? No, should he ignore it?
â¦It was too late to act like nothing was happening. The broadcast had already been disrupted.
What if, by some slim chance, his sister wasnât at home and was calling him from outside?
â¦Is this just wishful thinking?
Si-Yoon stared at the phone with a stiff expression.
He needed to make a decision. The phone continued to vibrate, and the viewers were getting increasingly anxious about MomoBinâs absence.
Finally, in a shaky voice, Si-Yoon spoke.
âE-everyone⦠I-Iâm getting a call, so, um, hold on a secondâ¦â
He turned off his microphone.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard and picked up his phone.
His hand trembled so much he could barely distinguish between the phoneâs vibration and his shaking arm.
Stay calm. Stay calm.
Maybe he could bluff his way through this. Maybe he was just overthinking and letting fear get the better of him.
Si-Yoon took a deep breath to steady himself.
Whoooâ
His heart was still pounding. Sweat dripped down his back, soaking his shirt.
Cursing his overactive nerves, he lifted the phone with his free hand, touched the screen, and brought it to his ear.
âHelloâ¦?â
He forced his voice to sound as natural as possible.
â¦
But no one responded.
ââ¦Sister?â
â¦
He tried calling out, but there was only silence on the other end.
Insteadâ
Knock, knock.
Someone tapped on his door.
âHik?!â
Si-Yoon flinched, turning toward the door.
The only other person at home right now was his sister. She was also the one who had called him.
This was itâthe moment of truth.
Panicked, Si-Yoon blurted out:
âUh, sis? Youâre in the living room, right? Why would you callââ
[User ã ã has donated 100,000 KRW!]
My world has fallen apart today.
????
????????
MomoBin!! React to the donation!!
MomoBin, where are you?!
Still on the call?
The sudden, massive donation appeared on the broadcast.
Si-Yoonâs gaze snapped to the monitor. For a moment, he almost turned the mic back on to thank the donor.
But then, he remembered: he was still on the phone with his sister.
Checkmate.
âI-Iâll come out to the living room. Just wait a bit, okayâ¦?â
Mmmâ¦
He ended the call and double-checked the donorâs username.
Blink, blink.
He blinked several times, but the name didnât change. Resigned, Si-Yoon turned his microphone back on.
âEveryone, um⦠So, I think my family just found out.â
?????
For real???
LOL
Who in your family?
Sudden family outing reveal LOL.
Did they catch you streaming?
âYes! Iâve been caught! Iâve been found out! Hahaha⦠Ha⦠Iâll explain everything and be right backâ¦â
LOL.
LOL LOL LOL.
Caught in 4K!
Are they watching the stream?
How does it feel?
What an embarrassment LOL.
LOL LOL LOL.
But who caught you?!
Turning off the mic again, Si-Yoon left the chat behind and rose from his chair. He slowly opened his door and stepped out.
He was immediately met with Si-Hyunâs gaze as she sat upright on the sofa.
â⦠â¦â
Without a word, Si-Yoon shuffled over and sat beside her, fidgeting awkwardly.
Si-Hyun stared at him intently, her gaze boring into him. Eventually, she broke the silence.
âSi-Yoon⦠youâre MomoBin, arenât you?â
He nodded.
âYouâre really MomoBin?â
ââ¦Yeah.â
Si-Yoon glanced sideways at his sister, whose wide eyes glimmered with subtle tremors of shock.
He had never seen her make this kind of face beforeânot even when she had caught him wearing a skirt for a practice class years ago.
Si-Yoon suddenly felt indignant.
Why am I the one who got caught, but sheâs the one looking like that?!
Annoyance flared up in him. Pouting, he finally spoke up.
âWhen⦠When did you figure it out?â
âJust nowâ¦â
âWas it when Ji-Ah called me?â
âYeah, thatâs right. â¦I canât believe my favorite VTuber is my younger brother.â
âWhy?!â
As Si-Hyun muttered to herself, Si-Yoon puffed his cheeks out indignantly.
Ignoring him, Si-Hyun continued talking to herself.
âI thought the voice sounded similar when you were a kid⦠but no way, I thought. No wayâ¦â
âUh, yeah.â
ââ¦Agh! Itâs all because of your cutesy voice!â
âWhat about it?!â
âYou donât normally talk like that!â
âItâs for the stream!â
The two women glared at each other, their shouting filling the room.
One was flustered from her âstreaming closetâ being exposed.
The other was embarrassed to discover her favorite streamer was her brother.
Both were equally red-faced, their cheeks burning from secondhand embarrassment. Eventually, they both buried their faces in their hands, groaning softly.
âWhy⦠Why, whyâ¦?â
âSis? Do you really hate it that much?â
âNo⦠The problem is I still love MomoBin!â
ââ¦What?â
Si-Hyun groaned, curling up and hugging her knees. Her white hair fell over her flushed face, but her glowing red ears betrayed her embarrassment.
Si-Yoon stared at her in a daze.@@novelbin@@
I imagined a hundred scenarios where I might get caught, but I never thought itâd happen like thisâ¦
He had spent countless hours wondering what would happen if his sister found out. Should he tell her before moving out? Should he just live independently instead?
None of his imaginings had prepared him for this.
âThe problem is I still love MomoBinââ¦?
He felt conflicted. It was unbearably embarrassing, but in a way, it felt like a relief.
Looking at Si-Hyun with a complicated smile, Si-Yoon waited.
Finally, Si-Hyun straightened her posture, sitting up with a resolute expression. She seemed to have made up her mind.
After hesitating briefly, she reached out her hands, her flushed cheeks making her look shy.
âGive me the merch.â
ââ¦What?â
âAll the merch I donât have. I want it.â
âHaha!â
Si-Hyunâs cute request made Si-Yoon burst out laughing. Her expression was adorably awkward, and her tone had a hint of childishness.
Grinning, Si-Yoon nodded.
âIâll give it to you after the stream!â
ââ¦Okay.â
After a brief conversation, Si-Yoon returned to his broadcast.
He paused the game and casually explained the situation to his viewers.
[User ã ã has donated 1,000 KRW!]
This is his sister. Sorry for interrupting the stream.
For the first time in her life, Si-Hyun referred to herself as âhis sister.â The viewers erupted in celebration.
The family dynamic was far more entertaining than the game itself.
Many viewers clamored for Si-Hyun to join the stream and chat, butâ
Not happening.
Si-Hyun declined.
***
Meanwhile, the news of Ji-Ahâs promotion to S-Rank wasnât just causing an uproar for Si-Hyun and Si-Yoon.
âHunter Kim Ji-Ah has achieved S-Rank!â
âWow, already? Sheâs climbing the ranks so fast!â
âI knew it back when people were calling her a rising star!â
It hadnât been long since Koreaâs only S-Rank spear user had passed away. Many had mourned the loss, feeling the void left behind.
Now, that gap had been filled seamlessly.
Although Ji-Ahâs promotion to S-Rank wasnât yet officially recognized, that detail didnât seem to matter much.
As news outlets and articles began covering Ji-Ahâs story, the atmosphere in Korea grew jubilant, almost like a nationwide celebration.
Such was the overwhelming significance of the title S-Rank.