Marionette s Symphony

I was doing a mukbang stream in my dorm room, working through two giant bowls of food.

Then messages popped up, "Stop eating, or you'll make money but won't live long enough to enjoy it."

We were all just joking around.

The streamer I was matched with for a live battle suddenly said, "The doll behind you is watching. If you don't want to die, throw it away."

1

I stopped chewing, annoyed.

Before I could respond, my chat blew up.

"Who even says stuff like that? We're just messing around, dude, don't be nasty."

"That doll has been with Davina since she started streaming. It's her lucky charm! Don't talk nonsense."

"If you can't win the stream battle, just say that. No need to bring bad vibes to our stream!"

"Oh, a 'mystic' streamer, huh? Trying to steal viewers? Let's report him!"

The guy was Ethan—a young, good-looking fortune-teller I'd randomly matched with.

His boy-next-door charm had drawn in quite a few of my viewers, which, understandably, annoyed my regulars.

Curious, I checked his profile.

Ethan—Fortune-telling stream. Send a high-tier gift for a reading. Full refund if I'm wrong.

The top-tier gift on this platform costs $400 each.

So he was here to farm new followers.

I was about to end the stream and block him when he suddenly spoke up, his voice urgent. "The doll behind you is a man-eater. Get rid of it now, or it'll be too late!"

Anything with the word "man-eater" sounded terrifying.

My hand froze.

I glanced at the doll. Its round, glossy eyes stared back at me, a wide grin stretched across its face. It had delicate, almost human-like features, even carrying a hint of warmth.

Didn't look dangerous at all.

I frowned. "This doll was a gift from my best friend. Don't make stuff up—you might ruin our friendship."

Messages popped up in the chat. "LMAO, a man-eating doll? What's next, a man-eating plant?"

"No way people are actually falling for this, right?"

"Davina, just cut the stream already. Don't let him leech off your audience!"

Viewers flooded the chat, urging me to end the call. My cursor hovered over the exit button.

Then, as if a thought had just struck him, he asked, "Do you live alone? Or did your roommate give you that doll?"

I froze.

After graduation, I'd fallen into every trap possible—scammed by shady landlords, cheated by bad roommates.

Then I met my current roommate. Kind, beautiful, and generous, she took me in when I had nowhere to go.

Chat caught on to my hesitation. "Judging by Davina's face, he might be onto something."

"That's not a big deal. Her roommate's been on stream before. Guessing she has one isn't exactly impressive."

I exhaled.

Right. My roommate had appeared on my streams before.

She was a great cook, always making me food for my mukbangs.

But… I'd never mentioned that the doll was a gift from her.

A chill ran down my spine.

Ethan's expression darkened.

"Have you been having trouble sleeping lately?"

I nodded.

Insomnia had been killing me for two weeks—I couldn't fall asleep until 3 AM.

I thought it was just the stress of streaming.

"The place where that doll is sitting? It's a major energy drain. That's why you can't sleep."

Before I could react, he asked, "Does your roommate come into your room late at night? Around midnight? Stays for about half an hour?"

My eyes widened, then I nodded again.

My viewership shot past 20, 000.

Some commented, "Damn, I came here for food, not a horror movie."

"That's normal. I'm in college, my roommate checks on me too. Not a big deal."

Others said, "Does she do it every night, though?"

"If you think that's normal, I hope all your future roommates are just like that."

"Dude… her roommate sounds kinda creepy."

"A normal roommate wouldn't invade someone's space like that. Take notes, ladies."