Chapter 104
For a moment, Park Hyeoksu’s face turned deathly pale, flustered.
Taeu, who had just walked in, didn’t know what was going on but said he’d go order drinks first.
“Uh, uh…….”
Seojun smiled as he watched Park Hyeoksu keep repeating “uh.”
Saying he wouldn’t sign the contract was a joke. Since they kept hiding things as some kind of surprise, he was just teasing a bit in return.
“Seojun-nim, please reconsider just once! We only have three days left!”
Well, who told them to contact him so late? Probably they waited until his viewer count dropped, causing the schedule to get this tight, and on top of that, they pulled this surprise by hiding the other streamer. This was a little payback.
Their judgment was right, though. If the collab partner was Taeu, there was no real reason to refuse. Besides, he’d never done a collab before. And since they revealed they were friends at the after-party with Alpaca, a lot of people already knew.
“Please, reconsider! Did something happen? Did you two fight?”
The phrase “I shouldn’t be doing this” was written all over his face.
“It’s a joke. Nothing happened.”
Park Hyeoksu finally let out a deep sigh. Then he muttered in a small voice, and Seojun’s exceptional hearing caught it.
“I thought I’d missed the rising market…….”
Rising market? What’s this about a rising market all of a sudden?
“Hello. I’m streamer Kim Taeu. I’m really sorry for being late.”
“It’s fine.”
Taeu came back with drinks and took a seat. Unlike Seojun, who found meeting like this for work a bit unfamiliar, Taeu didn’t seem too flustered.
And then.
Taeu whispered into his ear.
“What are you doing here?”
“I got contacted too, okay?”
“Ah. So why did they schedule a meeting with both of us?”
Hmm.
This guy definitely forgot it’s a two-player co-op game. At first, he’d said he wouldn’t do it as a joke, but now he had a feeling that maybe doing it together wouldn’t be such a good idea after all…….
Just then, Taeu’s eyes widened as if belatedly remembering something he’d forgotten, and he spoke in an embarrassed tone.
“Haha. ……Just kidding.”
Who’s going to believe that?
Taeu is a streamer under an MCN. So he doesn’t have to pay much attention to sponsorship deals. The MCN handles negotiating conditions and summarizing the ad content for him. Just listen, make a decision, and do what they say—that convenience is exactly why you join an MCN.
But even so, forgetting whether a game is two-player or single-player is a bit…….
I always wonder how this guy has managed to be a streamer for seven years. Maybe being a streamer is an easy job after all?
“So, what’s the game’s story?”
Park Hyeoksu started re-explaining the basics for Taeu, who had arrived late.
And then.
“So you want the two of us to play this co-op game, right?”
“Yes. Also, there’s another team of streamers scheduled to play on the same day.”
“Hmm. No competition with that team?”
“Huh? Why would there be competition?”
“Wouldn’t it be fun to bet on who clears it first?”
“Haha…….”
“So who’s that other team? If it’s someone I know, maybe…….”
Park Hyeoksu spoke hastily.
“Well, while competition could be good for promotion from our side, wouldn’t it not be that effective?”
True. Their goal is promotion. We shouldn’t forget that. If they get too focused on clearing fast through competition, it’s hard to show all the game’s charm. Park Hyeoksu had to prevent that at all costs.
“Depending on who it is, that might be true.”
“Then why…….”
“Because it’s a fight I’d win for sure. Heh-heh. You know how good he is.”
Taeu had faith in Seojun.
Sigh.
The same sound of a sigh appeared on Park Hyeoksu’s face again. He looked worn out.
“Haha…….”
“That was a joke. Anyway, it sounds fun.”
“Well…… That’s a relief.”
Seeing him already so drained, Seojun suddenly felt a little guilty about the joke he’d pulled earlier.
“Anyway, getting back on track. The theme of our game’s first chapter is horror. Fortunately, you said you’re quite timid, right, Seojun-nim?”
“What?”
“What?”
* * *
Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
A headache throbbed in his skull. Park Hyeoksu suddenly missed his company’s CEO.
CEO. I think we’re screwed. Like, for real.
“It’s our fault.”
“…….”
“It’s our fault for writing the email in a confusing way, for not noticing the weird part and failing to confirm, and for setting such a tight schedule…….”
“Hey. It’s not like you’ve done this kind of thing before.”
At Taeu’s consolation, Park Hyeoksu sighed even deeper.
“This is your first time—you did well, considering that.”
Is that so.
“You chose him and me. That alone means you’ve done all that matters.”
Park Hyeoksu heaved another deep sigh. Doesn’t feel horror? He’s completely incapable of it?
If it were someone else, you could brush it off as bluffing, but that streamer had never once bluffed before. Looking through his broadcast history, everything he said sounded ridiculous at first, but in the end, wasn’t he the streamer who only ever spoke the truth? He didn’t seem like the type to bluff about something like this. Most of all, it was clearly his own fault for sending a poorly worded email. He should have emphasized “as a streamer” or asked differently altogether.
Hoooh.
Park Hyeoksu let out a sigh that could sink the ground, then slapped both cheeks with his palms—smack!
Anyway.
At this point, while it’s possible to back out, finding an alternative is hard. He did have a backup list of candidates, but would they accept? With three days—no, now two days and eight hours left on the schedule?
‘Let’s think positive. It could actually be a good thing.’
Yeah. The other team was definitely made up of streamers who react well to horror. Maybe having totally different reactions from each team would actually make for a better show?
Somehow rationalizing it, a spark returned to Park Hyeoksu’s eyes. He then said, “Excuse me, I need to make a quick call.”
“Sure.”
Come to think of it, he didn’t even need to decide anyway! That was why the spark had returned to his eyes.
About thirty minutes later, Park Hyeoksu finished the call and sat back down.
“Alright.”
“You’re going ahead with it as is?”
Seojun asked.
“Yes. I don’t think it’ll be bad.”
Since they couldn’t change it now, they’d just push forward. That was the team members’ decision.
Park Hyeoksu handed Seojun and Taeu the contracts with the conditions mentioned earlier.
“The conditions are streaming for at least four hours on the game’s release day, and uploading two videos to iTube within one week.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Confirmed.”
Fortunately, the meeting wrapped up well. Or, I don’t know if it really wrapped up well. The results will speak for themselves. Did we buy into a rising market, face delisting, or break past the previous high!
“Lastly, there’s something you might want to decide in advance. In co-op games, usually one person takes the support role and the other performs the main mechanics.”
Especially in two-player co-op games.
“So it’d be better to decide in advance which of you will be the support.”
While the roles can be swapped fairly between chapters, they stay fixed within a chapter. But honestly, it’s meaningless. Even if roles are divided, co-op games usually don’t mean one person has to do more work or harder tasks.
“Oh? I’ll do the mechanics. Seojun, you just play support.”
“Why? I’m better at it.”
Listening to them, Park Hyeoksu nodded in agreement. I guess there’s no one better than that streamer.
“What are you talking about……. well, you’re right. Yeah. You probably are better. But originally, the person better at support should take that role to make the game easier.”
“I don’t mind if it’s hard.”
“Well, I do mind.”
With the atmosphere seeming like a fight might break out, Park Hyeoksu corrected the misunderstanding.
“Even if it’s support, the role’s importance and difficulty aren’t lower or higher. It really doesn’t matter. So……”
Seojun spoke.
“You heard him, right? So you take support.”
“No.”
Hmm.
Are they misunderstanding something? Park Hyeoksu asked them, “But why don’t either of you want to play support?”
“Just because?”
“Because he says he wants to.”
The first answer was from Taeu, the second from Seojun.
Ah-ha. I see.
Park Hyeoksu smiled brightly.
‘Will this sponsorship go well?’
The delisting of their company’s stock hovered before his eyes. Please let it go well.
* * *
The next day.
[Generating Level 10 AI.]
Training grounds.
In the virtual world, a woman summoned a Level 10 AI. Only those who had defeated a Level 9 AI were qualified to fight a Level 10. Thus, her exceptional skill was self-evident.
However.
If you knew her identity, you’d agree that simply saying “exceptional” was far from enough to describe her.
Shin Hayeon. A pioneering pro gamer who had won the world championship three times in a row, reclaimed the throne the year before last, and narrowly took second place this year. “Pioneering pro gamer” refers to the players who had been around since the tournament was established six years ago. Those who had endured from the very beginning until now were treated as legends.
Six years is a short time if you think about it. So it might seem odd for them to be called legends just for hanging on that long. But in the early days, the number of players was really small. In other words, over the past six years, the virtual reality market had exploded from a tiny niche into a full-blown social phenomenon.
Overwhelming growth. Every year, the talent pool and rising stars increased exponentially. How many pro gamers had retired, unable to endure that new wave? That was why those who had persevered from the start were called legends.
Among them, Shin Hayeon was an icon who had conquered four of the last six tournaments. And now, she stood before a Level 10 AI.
[Jin Seojun.]
The one who had snatched the Level 10 AI spot she had guarded for years was a streamer who hadn’t even been at it that long. Shin Hayeon knew his true identity.
“Almost done? Or not?”
Tilting her head, she straightened her grip on her sword.
“I’ll remember once I face it again.”
Shin Hayeon leaned forward slowly, then suddenly lunged. The duel began.
Swords intertwined. She attempted every possible attack. Recalling how the AI had responded each time before, she gradually chipped away at its health, one point at a time from 20. In contrast, Hayeon’s health didn’t drop at all. She had long since surpassed the AI’s level.
And yet, the reason she hadn’t reclaimed the Level 10 spot.
Shin Hayeon’s sword tip stopped just in front of the AI’s neck.
[Remaining Health: 1]
“This isn’t the real thing anyway.”
Winning was meaningless. Shaking her head, she ended the match without finishing it.
“I think I’ve seen every pattern it has now. Maybe one more time just in case?”
As she was lost in thought, a message notification popped up in a corner of her vision.
[Baek Doyul: Yo.]
Baek Doyul. One of the ones who had taken the championship this year. Shin Hayeon’s brow furrowed instinctively.
[Shin Hayeon: ?]
[Baek Doyul: Some streamer just took a game title that used to be mine alone.]
[Baek Doyul: And it just so happens you might be interested, too.]
Hayeon glanced back and forth between the frozen AI before her and the message, then sent a reply.
[Shin Hayeon: Not really.]
Her focus returned to the AI. She needed to study patterns for the day she’d face the real thing.