Season 2: Chapter 6. True Nature (3)
PD Jang had a puzzled expression.
"What? This isn't Kingdom Age."
Almond was playing a completely different game.
***
After the shoot ended, Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon faced their biggest concern.
'What game should we play next?'
This seemingly casual concern about the next game was surprisingly a significant issue that would determine their futures.
Ju-Hyeok thought, 'It would be great to continue with LIL since it's so popular, but...'
If they continued with LIL, their immediate popularity would surely rise. However, Almond wouldn't establish himself as a comprehensive game streamer.
If Almond didn't become a streamer who played various games, his status as a streamer would become unstable due to a game's fluctuating popularity.
No matter how well LIL was doing now, who knew what would happen? No one remembered games from ten years ago and who thought such games would exist now?
'Even if we play LIL, we need to try a different mode.'
LIL had several modes. The main ones used for tournaments were escort mode and survival mode.
Survival mode wasn't much different from a battle royale. If they continued with LIL, Almond would likely have to play escort mode.
'But we can't continue with that right now.'
They would inevitably play escort mode later, but it was tricky right now. Almond’s image would solidify as an LIL streamer.
Before that, they needed a light game for a change followed by a big game.
'For the list, we have...'
These were the games Ju-Hyeok considered:
[Joseon Assassin]
[Run Guys]
[Mana Sword Online]
Joseon Assassin was a story game, Run Guys was a casual game, and Mana Sword Online was an RPG. Except for Joseon Assassin, Almond hadn't tried the other genres.
'The first game shouldn't be too big.’
Run Guys seemed too casual. An RPG also risked having in-game purchases that could lead to greater losses. Plus, Almond could potentially not find a class to play.
Ju-Hyeok kept thinking about why not to choose each game.
"Ah, it's so complicated."
He ruffled his hair and decided to take a break.
[Inbox]
Ju-Hyeok went to check his emails. He searched for an advertisement in his inbox and filtered out spam emails from the search results. Several advertisement proposal emails from the past week appeared.
He sighed after quickly scrolling through them.
"This is life."
"What are you doing?" Sang-Hyeon had been checking information on his phone and asked in disbelief.
"Hmm. What game should you play?"
Ju-Hyeok began typing on his keyboard as if nothing happened.
Tap— tap— tap— tap.
Meaningless characters filled the search bar.
"What are you doing?" Sang-Hyeon asked again, genuinely puzzled.
"When did you get behind me? Geez."
"I came to show you this."
Sang-Hyeon showed him his phone screen, which displayed Javer's trending searches.
15th place: Almond
Although he only did a live broadcast, Almond was ranked around fifteenth for both men and women in their twenties.
"Wow, impressive." Ju-Hyeok applauded his achievement, but paused and tried to look away.
'Huh?'
It felt like he just saw something unusual.
'Wait...'
11th place: Kingdom Age
Kingdom was in the search rankings.
"... Did a drama called Kingdom Age just get released?" Ju-Hyeok joked and clicked on the search term.
[The talk of Evening Wide’s live broadcast is Almond's first game?]
[Almond's solid fandom in Kingdom Age. A recommendation for those who want to experience the real Middle Ages]
[From archer to soaring hero in Kingdom Age, Almond]
It trended in the search rankings because it was Almond's first game.
'No way, it was still a live broadcast...'
Ju-Hyeok found it hard to believe.
Almond had to be incredibly famous for his first game to rank this high, but Almond wasn't that famous.
Then, Ju-Hyeok noticed a phrase.
[Punk end-of-year sale up to 100% off!]
Punk was having an end-of-the-year sale. Giving a 100% discount could seem odd to those unfamiliar with game sales. Games that reached the end of their lifespan were often discounted before the release of the next series.
Ju-Hyeok finally understood having looked into it.
"Oh!"
One of the typical games nearing the end of its life cycle, Kingdom Age was prominently displayed on the main screen.
The video showed Almond playing the game. Being a partner streamer, Punk could freely use Almond’s videos.
'So that's why Almond was trending in the search rankings?'
The ripple effect from Evening Wide and Punk's free distribution drew attention to Almond.
In essence, Almond started trending because of Kingdom Age.
'Well, that's right. Evening Wide’s live broadcast doesn't get that much attention... It's only after the edited version comes out.'
Ju-Hyeok finally understood the situation.
"Wow, what luck."
"Right? It seems like Manager Oh included us."
Sang-Hyeon chuckled and took back his phone. Ju-Hyeok stopped him as he was about to return to the sofa.
"Wait, does the free distribution mean they're releasing the next series?"
"?"
Sang-Hyeon seemed puzzled and didn’t consider that.
"I'll look it up. Wait... What?!"
News from an unexpected source startled Ju-Hyeok. The email appeared on his other monitor.
[Hello, we are Red Hat, the producers of Kingdom Age...]
"Impossible."
The game developers directly reached out for an advertisement. It came from an overseas developer at that.
'Why didn't they go through Punk?'
Normally, these games would request advertising from Punk. Punk would then distribute the game to partner streamers. That was why people became partner streamers.
Why did they send it directly? The situation became clear after reading the email.
They weren't looking to advertise Kingdom Age, but a new game they had produced that wasn't being distributed by Punk.
[Our new game, Zombie School, involved the entire team from WePlug. It was primarily designed for the Korean market. However, due to distribution margins, we decided to launch exclusively on High Games platform...]
This was tricky. They weren't just avoiding distribution through Punk. They planned to distribute the game exclusively on a competing platform.
[We are well aware that you are a partner streamer with Punk. However, we would be honored if Almond, who greatly impacted Kingdom Age's sales, would play our company's new game...]
Ju-Hyeok sighed heavily as he scrolled down.
"Seriously... why not just go with Punk? How much more money do they want to make...?"
Kingdom Age's developer, Red Hat, could be considered small. WePlug, who collaborated with them on this game, certainly was not. In the domestic gaming industry, it was one of the few companies listed on the U.S. stock exchange.
"Why did you do that?"
When Sang-Hyeon asked, Ju-Hyeok explained the situation.
"Oh..."
Sang-Hyeon also nodded in agreement. It seemed he was also somewhat concerned.
"What's the problem with that?"
"...?"
Indeed, Ju-Hyeok's assumption was entirely off. Sang-Hyeon didn't understand the issue at all.
"What's the problem? Well..."
Ju-Hyeok briefly recalled the department head’s kind face. Wouldn’t he feel somewhat betrayed?
"There wasn't anything against playing other platform games. We didn't cheap out on Punk either. Even with Lazy Soldier, we worked really hard."
"... That's true."
Ju-Hyeok was at a loss for words.
'What's up with this guy? How does he know all the clauses? Is he really obsessed with money?'
He jokingly called Sang-Hyeon a money-grubber, but Sang-Hyeon wasn't particularly interested in money compared to someone like Ju-Hyeok.
Sang-Hyeon just seemed very keen on advertising this game.
"Let's just do it. The game feels right."
"Mmm..."
Ju-Hyeok pondered for a moment and made a proposal.
"How about playing Kingdom Age once more?"
"..."
Sang-Hyeon showed no change in expression as if he didn't hear the suggestion.
"If we play Kingdom Age, both the game company and Punk would benefit... Hey, are you listening?"
"Hmm... This looks fun."
Sang-Hyeon suddenly treated Ju-Hyeok like he was invisible and scrolled with his mouse.
[Zombie School]
The new game seemed very appealing.
'It's definitely fresh.'
Zombie School was about a zombie outbreak in a school, a survival scenario. While this was a common theme in subculture, it was the first of its kind in a virtual reality game.
Moreover, the game featured an open world according to the company. That was undeniably enticing.
'There's a horror element to it, so the immersion would be great. And...'
Most zombie-themed content guaranteed early immersion.
'I want to try it.'
Above all, Sang-Hyeon eagerly wanted to play this game.
'Thinking of mutual interests, playing Kingdom would be the right choice...'
Ju-Hyeok looked at Sang-Hyeon innocently reading the game intro and thought, 'I haven't shed my old habits yet.'
He still held on to the principles from when he worked at Ahsung. What would the superiors think, how would business partners perceive it, how would colleagues view him...
He was just a piece on a chessboard moved by superiors. Due to the interests of others, Ju-Hyeok's freedom became increasingly limited. He realized he was a pawn who could only move one step at a time.
'But now it's different.'
Now, he wasn’t a pawn. He could move beyond one square, two to three squares, and even diagonally. He wasn’t a queen either. He was never on a chessboard to begin with. He became the chess player. This time, he chose to advance.
He didn't know how many squares he'd cover, but it was a step forward.
"Okay, let's just go with that."
Whatever outcome it brought, he'd be responsible for it. It was both the destiny and joy of those who stepped out of the chessboard.
Taking responsibility for oneself meant standing independently as an individual.
"Really?"
"Yes, it seems like fun. You chose Kingdom at first and that was also a hit."
Ju-Hyeok decided to focus on the essence of being a game streamer. What about their relationship with their partners? That, too, depended on a streamer making the game fun and the viewers liking it to sustain everything.
If a seemingly fun game couldn’t be played due to their relationship with a partner, then they had misplaced their priorities.
"Just playing something fun is best for a streamer."
Streamers should simply enjoy the game. Whether it was a skill-based or comedy broadcast, that was the absolute premise.
"That's right. Sigh."
Sang-Hyeon agreed with Ju-Hyeok and brightly smiled.
"Let's send that reply."
***
Maybe because they were a foreign production company or they really liked Sang-Hyeon, the contract and transactions took place in no time. Half the promised amount had been prepaid, which totaled to a whopping twenty million won.
'... This much?'
Ju-Hyeok should've asked for more money, but he was so stunned that he couldn't speak.
Twenty million plus another twenty. It was a combined total of forty million won just for playing the game once and advertising it.
Ju-Hyeok had been too modest to ask for more.
Even Sang-Hyeon's eyes widened at the amount.
"They, they sent twenty million right away?"
"Yeah, I sent them your digital signature and it just happened. The world is scary."
"Wow."
Regardless, it was a good thing.
Sang-Hyeon quickly entered the capsule.
[That game gave me an advertisement.]
Ju-Hyeok prepared such a title.
Now, Sang-Hyeon just had to download the game and start the stream. The download wouldn’t take long on the new capsule, and he would soon be on air.
Then, a strange message came from Sang-Hyeon.
[Hey. Zombie School isn’t on the list yet.]
When streaming on Treevy, one usually needed to select which game they were playing, however, it wasn’t on the list yet because it was a new game.
[Ah. I'll just do this then.]
“Huh?”
Sang-Hyeon found a solution on his own before he could explain it to Ju-Hyeok.
Ju-Hyeok was surprised when he looked at the Treevy screen.
[Playing Kingdom Age]
This... it felt like a swarm would come from KAF.
Ding.
[Almond's stream has just started!]
Regardless, the stream started and a notification was sent out.
— Hello hello
— Oh, hello.
— Is this finally the return?
— I saw the story mode and waited days for this.
— Bro, I saw you on Evening Wide! It was awesome!
— Wow, cool lol.
— What's ‘that game?’
The viewers didn't catch on at first, but it was only a matter of time. They realized that Kingdom Age was currently being played.
— Huh? Kingdom Age?
— For real?
— Insane.
— Did Kingdom give you an ad???
— Insane, KAF finally succeeded.
— Thank you so much, bro. Finally, Kingdom...
— Rosejenitaaaaa
— Did you ditch Raina?! Did you?