Season 2: Chapter 97. My Job (3)
"Come out! Ju-Hyeok! Ji-Ah!" the MC urged them.
Ju-Hyeok got up first.
"Let's go."
"... Ah, okay."
Ji-Ah seemed flustered and scared of going up on stage despite knowing she would be introduced today and even dressed up for it.
Ju-Hyeok smiled encouragingly and extended his hand.
"Hurry."
Ji-Ah cautiously took his hand and the two slowly ascended to the makeshift stage on the second floor.
The stage, though modest in appearance, was clearly visible and a step higher than the rest of the floor.
Once they walked up, Ji-Ah's face flushed with heat and her mind went blank.
‘...!’
It was her first time on any stage. She had never been called up as a staff or fan. She never had the opportunity to proudly stand in such a place.
‘There are so many of them.’
She looked at the hundred people gathered there. One hundred could seem like a small number compared to the size of the stage, but it felt like a lot to her. Even ten would have been a lot for her.
‘Too many.’
Ji-Ah wasn't used to receiving so much attention. Despite her seemingly assertive and outspoken personality, the gaze of just two or three strangers could make her jittery. Now, a hundred people were looking at her.
Her head slightly spun from the dizziness. Then...
‘Huh?’
A cheer erupted from the crowd.
"Wow...! She's beautiful!"
"Seo Ji-Ah! Seo Ji-Ah!"
"Is that lady the peanut?"
Ji-Ah's eyes, which had been fluttering from the dizziness, suddenly snapped open.
‘Are they all saying that about me?’
She couldn't believe it. All these people were admiring her.
"Ji-Ah noona! I'm dying!"
"Unnie, you're so beautiful!"
"Owowowowo!"
‘Beautiful? But I'm not that pretty...’
The corners of Ji-Ah's mouth rose. She thought of someone who just told her earlier that she looked pretty. As a natural smile formed, her pale face brightened with life. The fog in her mind began to clear and her vision widened.
The MC smoothly asked once Ji-Ah calmed down, "Wow, Ji-Ah! You're quite popular, aren't you? Are today's videos the reason for your popularity?"
"Ah... It seems so," Ji-Ah shyly trailed off.
The fans cheered even louder, encouraged by her seemingly unconfident demeanor.
"You're beautiful!!"
"Wow! The voice of a goddess!"
The men's cheers prompted the MC to laugh.
"Wow, so the lady is more popular! Why aren't you guys cheering for the manager?"
Ju-Hyeok received fewer cheers because fans had already seen him on Almond’s streams.
A spectator jokingly raised his hand and said, "He's the one who got us here!"
The chat on the screen scrolled rapidly.
— Hahaha!
— Crazy guy!
— Go on and strike him, nut!
— Can we ban him (literally)?
The MC breezed through the comment.
"Strike him!? Are you a monster!?"
— Monster!
— Haha!
— Not bad, right?
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
"Ah, so the manager has a lot of karma. I understand. It's inevitable because of his job."
The MC asked Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok about their simple journey of working with Sang-Hyeon. They answered truthfully.
The conversation turned to Ju-Hyeok and the MC asked, "Wow, leaving Ah-Sung to suddenly become a manager... It must not have been an easy decision. What do people around you say?"
It could have been a sensitive question for Ju-Hyeok, but he confidently took the microphone.
The first thing he said was, "I just met some former colleagues."
"Really!?" The MC's eyes widened. "Then they must have asked a lot!"
Ju-Hyeok slightly hesitated at this point. Those who didn't know him well wouldn’t have noticed, but Sang-Hyeon caught it while watching from the second floor.
However, Ju-Hyeok didn’t express much and eventually spoke with a smile, "Yes, they seemed surprised when I told them I was a manager. I don't remember it too well because it was all so hectic."
"That must be the case suddenly seeing you in this new role... Haha."
"Haha, right? To be honest, it's still surprising to me too."
***
Meanwhile, Sang-Hyeon hid in a dimly lit corner on the second floor while Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok took the spotlight.
He murmured in a heavy voice, "... So that’s what it was."
Sang-Hyeon finally realized it due to Ju-Hyeok's earlier hesitation.
'He didn’t say anything about it.'
Ju-Hyeok always brimmed with confidence, but it seemed even he struggled with telling their former Ah-Sung colleagues that he now worked as a manager.
'I understand.'
Sang-Hyeon thoroughly understood. He had once been reluctant to talk about living with his grandmother as a child. It wasn't that he felt ashamed of his grandmother. It was just his situation, living without parents and only with his grandmother. He found it embarrassing.
'Ju-Hyeok must feel the same.'
Even a rough guess would lead to the same conclusion.
The guy everyone considered the ace of a thriving company was now managing a troublemaker, a so-called parachute employee.
"Ah... and also," Ju-Hyeok held the microphone with more to say.
"I want to take this opportunity to say something...."
"Yes? What is it?"
"I really want to thank Sang-Hyeon for allowing me to join him on his journey as a streamer. I’ve never actually said this to him before."
Thump...
Sang-Hyeon felt his heart sink in a good way.
'He’s thankful?'
He never expected Ju-Hyeok to thank him. He always thought it was the other way around.
Sang-Hyeon inwardly believed that Ju-Hyeok only continued to work as a manager because he still couldn’t spread his wings fully.
“Ah, is that so?! I can see why you guys are so close. What are you thankful for?”
“Well, to put it simply, I’m the happiest I can be right now. I feel like I’m in the skies every day.”
“You’re that happy!? That’s a little suspicious! Hahahaha.”
The MC looked toward Ji-Ah as the crowd started laughing.
“That guy... Is he really thanking me?” Sang-Hyeon joked and felt his eyes almost tearing up.
***
The official activities began after Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok’s introductions ended.
Sang-Hyeon couldn't grab any chicken or beer during the fan meeting. He had to teach his fans how to shoot, ran around raising a glass with everyone, and constantly took group photos. He had no time to even sit down.
RubySword turned out to be the best shooter among the fans. She even won the first-place prize and proved to be the number one fan once again.
Unsurprisingly, the Kingdom fanboy with a large figure ordered the most chicken and beer. He inhaled the chicken as if it were soup.
The most memorable scene as he ate was when he yelled, “Chi-King~ You can’t beat me!” Fans took the most photos and videos of this scene. The chat also went wild at the sight of him.
— This guy is actually crazy
— He should just be a streamer
— Kingdom... what kind of game are you...?
— Chi-King? LOL
The time went by quickly and the clock already struck 1 A.M.
“It was so fun!”
“Let’s do this again! Please!”
“Yes~! See you next time!”
The fan meeting finally ended.
— Bye Treevy!
— The fan meeting was so fun
— That was so fun!
The fan meeting was chaotic, but everyone had a great time. The emptiness felt loud after everyone left.
***
“Phew~ That was rough!”
Ju-Hyeok, Sang-Hyeon, and Ji-Ah didn't have much left to do since the staff and party planners took care of almost everything.
Ju-Hyeok stepped outside for a brief smoke when they nearly finished cleaning up.
After slightly hesitating, Sang-Hyeon also followed him out and felt the urge to speak to him separately.
However, they encountered three individuals shivering and puffing in the cold after they stepped outside.
"...?"
The fan meeting had ended and Sang-Hyeon didn't expect anyone to be waiting for him.
"... Almond! Almond!" one of them managed to speak with frozen lips.
Even Ju-Hyeok, who had been smoking, looked surprised.
"The fan meeting's over... I'm sorry you waited so long─"
Before Ju-Hyeok could finish, one of them frantically rubbed their mouth to warm it up and revealed his identity.
"I'm Kimchi Warrior! Sorry for coming so suddenly! Can we talk somewhere inside? Just for a moment!?"
The group turned out to be the team from Civil Empire competing in the national competition.
"Ah... Yes, of course."
Although Sang-Hyeon felt taken aback, he agreed since they waited so long in the cold.
***
Sang-Hyeon took them to a nearby twenty-four hour cafe. Ju-Hyeok and Ji-Ah already went home due to their exhaustion from the day.
"Thank you for your time. I'm Kimchi Warrior. This is SharpSphere, and this is Water Dumpling."
The way they comfortably introduced themselves by their usernames showed how much they had prepared together for the Civil Empire national competition.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Sang-Hyeon greeted them back and sat down. "What brings you here after waiting so long?"
Kimchi Warrior rubbed his frozen cheeks and quickly responded, "Well... there's something I failed to explain properly. Our guild leader... or if it's easier to understand, our team leader told me I absolutely had to talk to you today. We're pressed for time with our team composition...."
Sang-Hyeon recalled them saying the national competition was just over a month away. It sounded urgent, but why didn’t they just send a message?
"You've already expressed your willingness to participate in the national competition, right?"
"Yes."
"But I was too hasty in proceeding and failed to mention something."
"?"
"Cookie hyung... I mean, our guild leader, he saw a video about your health. Nothing was specifically mentioned, but it was something about difficulties with long-term capsule use..."
"Yes, that's correct."
Indeed, the three exchanged glances and continued the conversation.
"The preparation for the national competition is really tough. Especially for you Almond since you also have to reach S+ rank. If things don't go smoothly, you might need to play more than ten hours a day."
Ten hours a day was almost an unprecedented playtime for Almond.
"Let me explain the schedule briefly."
The woman beside him turned on the schedule board and explained everything from how the national competition was prepared, how many people were involved, and so on...
'This is no joke.'
Sang-Hyeon recalled his days preparing for the Olympics. Their schedule was as intense as athletes. Although it was only for a month, that one month almost felt like living an athlete's life.
Sang-Hyeon had been through rigorous times in athlete villages and at Ah-Sung, so he had the resilience and discipline. However, it was different in the capsule where he had clear physical limits.
'Can I really do this?' he wondered if he should refuse. 'Ah. So that's why they came here.'
Sang-Hyeon faintly realized why they came so urgently. They thought he could possibly refuse after hearing the conditions and came to persuade him. They couldn't afford for him to suddenly drop out.
'But...'
Unfortunately, accepting wasn't easy for Sang-Hyeon after hearing all this.
“Eventually, it’ll naturally get worse even if you stay still. Using the capsule will accelerate the deterioration.”
The doctor's words came back to him.
“No matter how well the new capsule supports you, you're still using your arm's lifespan to play. After all, every limb is being expended. The choice is yours, Sang-Hyeon.”
He had to choose whether he wanted to use his arm comfortably for fifty years or dedicate the next ten years to the capsule and spend the remaining forty years as a cripple. It was his choice to make.
'Did she choose the latter?'
He thought of Choi Sa-Rang's condition. She was already unable to walk. Considering her fame as a legendary gamer, she probably chose the latter and resigned to live the rest of her life as a cripple.
Why did she make that choice at such a young age? Was she happy with it as the daughter of a family that lacked nothing?
Well, Sang-Hyeon now stood at the same crossroads.
'Ten years.'
That was how long he could use the capsule in exchange for forty years of his arm's health. Coincidentally, it had also been ten years since Sang-Hyeon injured his arm.
'What should I choose?'
Sang-Hyeon exchanged glances with the national team.