Season 2: Chapter 98. My Job (4)
What should he choose and how should he live?
'Now...'
Sang-Hyeon was known for his decisiveness, but he couldn't decide yet in this situation. He turned toward Kimchi Warrior and the other teammates sitting in front of him.
'They came at this time, so it must be urgent.'
They were in a desperate situation and even waited outside in the cold this late. They didn’t have the most tact, but their sincerity and passion for the game were evident.
It would be better for them if he made a decision right now, but...
"... Please give me a day."
Sang-Hyeon naturally wanted to postpone the decision.
"Okay," Kimchi Warrior nodded and stood up. "You must be tired. You should get your rest. Thank you for your time. A day is a bit short, so we can wait two days."
Kimchi Warrior emphasized their earnestness once again before departing.
***
Kimchi Warrior seemed quite composed as they left the cafe, but he heavily sighed once they were out of sight, "Haaa."
"What's wrong?" Water Dumpling looked puzzled from beside him.
"Something... Didn't you see his eyes? It's like he's not going to do it."
"... Eh. How can you be sure?"
"Just think about it logically. From his perspective, his health is at stake. What significance does the damn Civil Empire national competition have for him?"
"What are you talking about!? The national competition is super important!" Water Dumpling shouted with an innocent face.
Kimchi Warrior shook his head in disbelief.
"Anyway, we've agreed to wait for two days. Let's just wait a bit."
***
Sang-Hyeon finally arrived back home late at night.
"What were you guys talking about?" Ju-Hyeok had waited for him while watching TV.
"They said the national competition is quite tough and wanted me to think it over properly. They can't afford for me to drop out halfway."
"... What? That's it?" Ju-Hyeok seemed surprised and didn’t expect it to be such a conversation. "Are you still going to do it?" he asked Sang-Hyeon with a slightly worried look.
In his heart, he wanted to tell Sang-Hyeon not to bother with it. Knowing Sang-Hyeon though, that guy could make a contrary decision just for the sake of it.
Ju-Hyeok remained cautious and respected his boundaries. After all, it was Sang-Hyeon's decision to make.
"... I said I would give them an answer after a day. No, two days."
Ju-Hyeok felt a bit relieved. He had two days to persuade him.
"I'm going to shower first."
"Okay."
***
Ssshhh.
Sang-Hyeon stood under the hot shower and became lost in thought.
'... I've become much softer.'
He casually observed his body. It definitely looked different from his intense athlete days. Even though he kept up with jogging for simple cardio, he hadn't done any weight training to build muscles for a while now. His muscles had almost all disappeared. Only traces and marks of it from the past remained.
'Just like back then.'
Creak.
Sang-Hyeon turned off the shower.
'I should save some hot water.'
The house was quite old, so it would be problematic for Ju-Hyeok if he used up all the pre-heated hot water.
However, Ju-Hyeok had already gone to bed when he came out of the bathroom.
'This guy. Looks like he didn't shower.'
Sang-Hyeon recalled Ju-Hyeok's disheveled-looking hair and quickly dried himself with a towel. Then, he sat at the computer that Ju-Hyeok usually used.
As if under a spell, he played an old video.
“Wowwww!!”
“Another hit! The lens just shattered!! He’s currently the youngest, the youngest...”
Sang-Hyeon repeatedly watched the video. By now, he had almost memorized how the audience moved in the footage. The climax was when they interviewed a 17-year-old Sang-Hyeon.
"I will win the Olympics."
Ping.
The video ended. In the black screen's reflection, Sang-Hyeon stared blankly into space.
"..."
For a long time, he locked eyes with his reflection in that black void.
Both of them simultaneously said, "I still don't know. Let's just sleep."
***
The next day, Ju-Hyeok always cooked soft tofu stew for breakfast after drinking. Sometimes, he would add dried pollack, which paired surprisingly well on days like this.
"Wow."
Sang-Hyeon gulped as he faced the steaming stew. No matter how much he liked almonds, he couldn't resist this hot broth after a slight hangover.
He suddenly realized something strange as he alternated between eating the white rice and oily red soft tofu stew.
'Why isn't he saying anything?'
Ju-Hyeok would normally have something to say, but he kept silent like a robot that only cooked soft tofu stew and merely served the dish without a word.
'What should I say to make this stubborn guy not do it?'
In fact, Ju-Hyeok was observing Sang-Hyeon and trying to figure out how to make him give up on the national competition.
'... He’ll definitely do it if I tell him not to, but being too direct would make it obvious.'
He struggled with getting Sang-Hyeon to give up the competition and couldn't easily start the conversation.
Then, their eyes met.
"By the way─"
"Speaking of yesterday─"
They both started speaking simultaneously.
"...?"
"?"
Sang-Hyeon spoke first after a brief pause, "Speaking of yesterday, you met people from Ah-Sung, right?"
He actually wanted to talk to Ju-Hyeok about this yesterday, but Kimchi Warrior's arrival prevented it. He decided to bring it up now.
"Ah..." Ju-Hyeok was taken aback for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I met them."
Sang-Hyeon pondered what to say and just kept it short, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
It was a casual way to start the conversation.
"Yeah, especially my old team members. I think..."
"Think what?"
"I don't remember them too well. I only remember Mr. Lee."
"Ah, Mr. Lee... that’s your old team for sure. Are the members still the same?"
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, they are. Stubborn guys."
Sang-Hyeon threw out a question as they reminisced about the old times, "But... you haven’t talked to them in a while. Why did you suddenly mention being a manager that day?"
He wanted to ask Ju-Hyeok this the previous night.
"Ah. Um. When I thought about it..." Ju-Hyeok relaxed a bit after the previous chat and simply answered, "This is my job now."
He didn’t add any other reasons.
"... That’s it?"
"Yeah, that's all. When I reflected, I realized I've been doing this job very earnestly. Once I realized that, the urge to hide it just disappeared."
"I see."
Sang-Hyeon nodded and seemingly understood something himself.
'It makes sense.'
Ju-Hyeok believed that a job wasn’t just a means to earn money, but was also connected to one's identity. Hiding that would mean distorting himself.
Sang-Hyeon resonated with that. Weren't the turning points of his life defined by what he did as a promising archer and an employee at Ah-Sung?
'And now...'
Sang-Hyeon also recognized his current profession and identity. He was no longer the promising archer or troublesome parachute employee at Ah-Sung. He was a streamer.
"Wow. I've made up my mind."
His sudden declaration caught Ju-Hyeok off guard.
"What? What have you decided? Don't tell me..."
"Finish your meal. I have something to check."
Sang-Hyeon ignored Ju-Hyeok, cleared his empty plate, and headed to the computer.
'I want to see it one more time.'
Click.
He played a certain video. It wasn't the one of him winning the archery nationals, but the [Finals of the In-House Tournament: Raina’s Hard Carry!].
He wanted to watch the game from the tournament when he played with Bubblegum, Tako, and the others. This was the decisive match that led to their victory.
Almond played as Raina and showcased a legendary performance in that game. Right from the start, he achieved a double-kill against the opposing mid-laner SweetRadish and their supporter Daechu. The chat and the viewers erupted in cheers.
— The thrill of the blind pick is killer.
— Almond! Take responsibility for Raina! Almond! Take responsibility for Raina!
— They say Raina offered her lips to Almond in gratitude...
— What's at 1:33?
It wasn't just the viewers who felt excited. The video also captured the thrill of the commentators.
“This! This proves that player Almond's VNS stats are not exaggerated! Level 1 is the real test of physical skills!”
“What's the point of having a well-laid out plan!? Who could have expected this level of play!?”
Sang-Hyeon could still feel the same thrill from that moment.
Then, another super play followed.
“Wow! A dive kill! This has turned the game around!”
“SweetRadish! Your plans are crumbling!”
Cheers erupted from the stands.
“Woaaaah...!”
The energy felt so palpable that one could almost touch it. Sang-Hyeon's heart raced along. He was mesmerized and played another video.
[Finals of the Tournament: The Debut of Flashy Blade!]
The video had quite a normal title compared to the rest, but it contained otherworldly gameplay.
“No, a level 1 solo kill! This is a major accident!”
“Almond is shouting! Just bring the black bean noodles! I've already chopped up SweetRadish!!”
The video showed his level one solo kill of SweetRadish. Then, it showed when he was roaming at level six. Almond picked up his losing team and shook them all awake for a legendary comeback.
“That was an incredible spinning strike combo with psychological warfare!!! So much has happened in an instant!”
“What, what's this!? What's happening!? He suddenly flashed. Fwaaah! And then! The opponent is dead!?”
“This is truly breathless damage dealing! After entering, he shot out his blade energy! Then, a spinning strike! Spinning strike! Spinning strike! Blink! All the clones blew up with his skill and he blinked again! That blade energy made me completely breathless...”
The commentators and fans were all screaming.
Sang-Hyeon relived those emotions and thought, 'This is my profession.'
Being a streamer was this kind of job. Entertaining the viewers, making them cheer, and sometimes even cry. This job required him to live up to their expectations. Doing so gave the viewers a break from reality and a moment of joy. In return, he received their love.
— I’m so looking forward to Almond in the national competition
— Please let the national competition give birth to another legend!
— National pride is really sweet these days
— I’m looking forward to our favorite Almond shooting arrows at barbarians~~
— Barkeeper! A tavern is opening at the end of the year!? Almond is in the national competition, you say!?
Without a word, Sang-Hyeon naturally picked up his phone.
[Kimchi Warrior]
"Ah, yes. It's Almond."
Sang-Hyeon had completely made up his mind. Concerns about his arm's lifespan and what there was to gain, he pushed all of that away.
Humans were all slowly dying anyway. If one was scared of their life being cut short, how could they live at all? Maybe life wasn’t about how one lived, but how one chose to die.
Sang-Hyeon chose to go out his way.
"It seems doable. I'll give it a try. Until the end."
Cheering erupted from the other end of the phone from the national team. It also came from the video he was still watching.
“Wowwwww!”
“Flashy Blade! Flashy Blade! Double kill! Triple kill! Quadraaaa!!”
Sang-Hyeon’s heart pounded with excitement, but only for a moment.
"?"
Bzzzz.
Sang-Hyeon was getting another call on his phone at the same time.
"Wait a moment, please."
His face suddenly turned pale as if he had seen a ghost when he saw the caller ID.
[Doctor Song Ha-Na]