Side Story 43. [BONUS STAGE] Salome
Clack.
The stream turned on.
The camera shook slightly before it settled, revealing a woman seated in a gaming chair.
She wore a baggy hoodie and dolphin shorts, thick-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Her long pink hair and slightly tanned skin stood out.
“Saloh~”
The woman yawned lazily, scratching her stomach under the hoodie, and waved at the camera.
Messages started flooding into the chat as viewers joined after receiving the stream notification.
— Saloh~
— Hi, Salome— She’s scratching her belly again today…
— Salome, does your bellybutton smell too?
Scratching her head over the hood, Salome responded.
“Perfect and flawless Salome doesn’t smell, even if she doesn’t shower for months~ Not from the bellybutton or anywhere else~”
— That stink must be crazy;
— I can smell it through the screen
— When did you last shower? Look at all the grease on her face
— Please, just wash your face at least ㅠㅠ I’m begging you ㅠㅠ
“Salome is a succubus, so it’s fine. Succubi are spiritual beings, so we stay clean even without washing.”
— No way, you still look dirty through the screen!!!
— This… is a succubus?
— Nooo, this isn’t the succubus I fantasized about ㅠㅠ
— Plugging my nose to watch this again today
Once enough viewers had gathered, Salome pointed a long index finger at the camera and casually recited her opening line.
“Hello~ I’m your succubus queen Salome, here to steal your vitality, malice, and donations. Any toxic behavior like cursing, trolling, or not joining membership will get you instantly banned.”
— First time watching this stream—Is this her usual concept?
— Concept, you say?;
— Salome is a true succubus~ She even has a lineage~
— Not the succubus thing, more like… this sloppy vibe;;
— You think this mess is a concept?
— Don’t you see the chaos in the room behind her???
— This is all natural… the filth comes from the soul…
— Ranked #1 on Forbes for Most Wasted Looks by a Streamer
Salome nodded thoughtfully while reading the chat.
“Yeah, yeah. I told you, I really am a succubus. Can’t you tell from this beauty? And not just any succubus—I’m the legendary succubus empress!”
— Ah, so that’s your setting…
— But you’re the one breaking it though;
— Noted… succubi don’t wash and are filthy…
— Learned something new^^ Gonna help me in my next life during an isekai return loop^^
— Even office workers shower before going to work ㅠㅠ At least wash before streaming
— Sorry, but there are lots of people here because she’s dirty. Don’t force hygiene
— Real talkㅋㅋ I turn off the stream when Salome’s clean
— So many lunatics here lol
— Even the chat smells…
It was the usual chaos in the chat.
Watching the madness unfold with ease, Salome picked up a drink can she’d left nearby.
Pshhh—the can opened with a crisp, refreshing sound.
Ding!
A donation came through at the same time.
[‘BlackBox’ has donated 10,000 won!]
— What are you drinking? This is the third time I’m asking
With a refreshing puhah~, Salome downed the drink and shook the can in front of the camera.
“The Eye of Booze~”
— ;;;
— That’s crossing the line…
— I can’t believe someone actually drinks that stuff
— She looks like some foreign pink sun or whatever, and yet she drinks that?
While the viewers recoiled in disgust, Salome tilted her head and gulped the rest of the can.
“This stuff is crazy good. Too many people here don’t know real flavor.”
— Real talkㅋㅋ Eye of Booze slaps
— King tier drinkㅋㅋ
— Best combo: hot soak at the bathhouse + Eye of Booze + broth from boiled eggs
— Uh… pardon me, but what country’s rule is that?
— It exists… in 1990s South Korea…
— Salome, I get that you’re drinking but could you at least bathe before drinking!!!
Watching the chat devolve into a war between Eye of Booze lovers and haters, Salome smiled in satisfaction.
Viewers shuddered at the sight.
— This person only drinks polarizing stuff like Dejava, Morning Calm, Dr. Pepper, and mint choco;
— At this point, she’s doing it just to stir us up
— ??? Are there even people who don’t like those drinks?
— Just hearing the names brings my appetite back
— No mistaking it’s Salome’s stream—only the same fanatics gather here;
Ding!
Another donation came through.
[‘SpectacleGoblinExecutioner’ has donated 10,000 won!]
— Could you maybe take off your glasses just once…?
“My glasses? Why all of a sudden?”
Salome tilted her head, but the chat had already launched into another war.
— Obviously because you look way prettier without them
— Nonsense! The glasses are god-tier items that add 2% more intelligence to Salome!
— Only 2%…?
— Anyway, you look better with them. Don’t ever take them off
— Everyone knows the universal truth: taking glasses off makes you hotter!
— Glasses freaks OUT!!!
— It’s war now, you aesthetic ignoramuses!!!
After the debates over hygiene and drink preferences, now the chat was fighting over glasses on vs. off.
Salome watched quietly, then chuckled.
“Glasses? Sure, why not.”
With a playful yap! she whipped off her thick-rimmed glasses. They didn’t even have lenses to begin with—just frames.
But before the viewers could even react to her bare face, snap! she put them back on.
Salome looked at the screen and said a single word.
“‘Molecule’.”
— She’s got at least three master’s degrees!
— Salome, the intellect of the century!
— So smart, so brilliant, unbelievably sharp
— Knew it, glasses on is way better
— What are you even saying? The liquid vibe was insane—she looks way better without glasses!!
— PleaseTakeOffTheGlassesPleaseTakeOffTheGlassesPleaseTakeOffTheGlasses
Watching the viewers rip into each other, Salome grinned with satisfaction.
She was a succubus—an actual one.
Though she had ended up in a different world than where she was born, her need to feed on others’ emotions remained unchanged.
So, how could she harvest those emotions in the most efficient and effortless way?
The answer was right here: online streaming.
She could absorb a multitude of emotions just from the viewers watching her stream!
No more bothersome work like entering someone’s dreams and charming them. All she had to do was turn on the stream, and viewers from all over the country would flock to her and offer up their emotions.
This was high-tech! The cutting edge of the succubus business! Peak Earth civilization!
‘Sitting still while feasting on emotions… this is the perfect job for a succubus.’
And so, Salome’s job satisfaction reached sky-high levels—but there was one small problem.
After absorbing Raven, her favorite emotion to consume had become ‘malice.’
Of course, she could still enjoy other emotions… but they just didn’t have the same kick. It was like eating food without enough sauce.
Just like how humans here loved fiery dishes like mala hotpot, nuclear tteokbokki, and fire chicken, Salome craved intense, vicious emotions.
So, in her quest to harvest more malice on stream…
Her content gradually evolved into an evil kind of show where she deliberately introduced controversial topics to spark arguments and watched the viewers go wild.
It happened then.
Ding!
[‘BarksAtBoringStreams’ has donated 5,000 won!]
— Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!
“I’ll try to make today’s stream fun, so please translate yourself~”
Ding!
[‘BarksAtBoringStreams’ has donated 5,000 won!]
— But if I may ask, why were you late today, ma’am?
“Yaaawn, I kept trying that game I ended yesterday all the way through this morning. Finally beat the final boss and saw the ending before I slept. So I overslept and started late today.”
The chat fell silent for a moment.
— ???
— W-what now?
— What did you say?
— You beat the final boss off-stream?
— Are you out of your mind?
— What the hell is this…?
Up until now, the chat had been divided into love-it-or-hate-it camps, but this time they united in outrage against Salome. She had truly crossed the line.
While her streams were mostly talk shows, Salome was still officially a variety game streamer.
After chatting, she would always transition into gameplay. But to learn she beat the final boss she was struggling with—off-stream, alone, after ending the broadcast?
Faced with this absurd betrayal, viewers exploded in anger, and Salome eagerly drank in the surging emotions. Once she felt full enough, her eyes snapped open.
She formed a heart with her hands and shouted toward the camera.
“Charm~ Beam!”
Fwoooosh—!
A wave of pink magic (real magic) rippled across the screen.
And just like that, the enraged viewers instantly calmed down.
— Ahh~
— Why were we even fighting?
— I don’t understand what you mean, madam. We’ve never fought.
— Justice, peace, love…
— Charity, hope, Salome…
— Happy happy~py
— Who cares about preferences? Let’s all enjoy what we enjoy
— Love you, Salome noona!
— As long as we have your stream, we’re happy!
Seeing the now peaceful chat, Salome nodded with satisfaction.
She was full from harvesting negative emotions, and the viewers were happy again after shedding them—wasn’t this a win-win? (At least, according to Salome.)
With the stream now calm, she began to wrap up the chatting segment.
Ding!
[‘LoverOfCoupleStreams’ has donated 5,000 won!]
— By the way, did you hear the news, host?
“Hm? What news? I didn’t hear anything.”
[‘LoverOfCoupleStreams’ has donated 5,000 won!]
— Apparently RetroAddict is doing an Outstream today? You seriously didn’t know?
“What?!”
Salome, who had been lounging comfortably, shot to her feet.
Outstream. The shortened form of ‘outdoor streaming.’
In other words, the popular streamer next door—retro game specialist ‘RetroAddict’—was going live offline today…!
Panicked, Salome rushed to RetroAddict’s channel and checked the community post.
Then she screamed.
“Holy shit, it’s real! How could I, his official stalker, not know this?!”
— Um… I don’t think you can add the word ‘official’ to stalker, ma’am
— More importantly, if you’re his official stalker, how did you miss RetroAddict’s schedule?
— Because… she was a car…
— “She was a car.”
— Didn’t she publicly confess to RetroAddict last time and get rejected?
— Is she sulking and avoiding updates since then?
“No, I didn’t get rejected! RetroAddict just said he was really busy and needed time to think! He said we should stay friends for now!”
— ??? Isn’t that… literally a rejection?
— This girl lolol The denial is real lolol
— Damn, even after getting turned down multiple times, she never gives up. Respect the persistence
— RetroAddict is amazing too. Salome’s super pretty, but he shut her down without hesitation.
— Is being pretty the issue? Look at that mess of a room behind her… could you handle that?
— Unnie, I totally could!!! Dump that retro game nerd and come to me!!! I’ll make you happy!!!
“Hold on, everyone! I’m gonna wash up real quick and get ready to head out!”
Leaving the stream running, Salome actually darted off to the bathroom at full speed.
Viewers stared at the now-hostless screen in confusion.
— Huh? Is she seriously trying to crash RetroAddict’s Outstream?
— Isn’t this kind of… invasive?
— Uh… it’s way past invasive. Haven’t you seen how she clings to RetroAddict?
— Love makes you blind, after all
— In a weird way, this is peak Salome lol
— But seriously, how many days has it been since she last washed?
Time passed with the camera pointed at an empty room.
Normally, viewership would drop off at this point, but instead, the live viewer count kept climbing.
News had spread—Salome had declared she’d crash RetroAddict’s stream, and the infamously unwashed, unkempt Salome was actually getting cleaned up and dressed for once.
After quite a while—
“Ta-daa—!”
Salome reappeared on screen, completely transformed.
The sloppy mess from earlier was gone. She was freshly showered, well-dressed, and absolutely radiant.
Her long pink hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, and instead of the worn-out hoodie and dolphin shorts, she wore a stunning tailored suit.
“Last time I wore a skirt and did sexy makeup, and it totally overwhelmed him. So today, I went full formal. What do you think? Do I look okay?”
— Is this… full-makeup Salome?
— Then what the hell was that pig we’ve been watching all this time…?
— Forbes, you weren’t wrong ㅠㅠ
— RetroAddict, thank you… thanks to you, Salome is finally living like a human being…
While the chat was awash in emotion, Salome switched the stream to her phone camera.
She flashed a mischievous smile at the screen.
“Alright, time for our own little outdoor adventure!”
Then she pointed straight at the camera with her index finger, as if issuing a declaration of war.
“RetroAddict, you’re mine!”
–TL Notes–
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