Season 3: Chapter 55: Tryout Openings (1)
Yes, it was a contract between Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok alone. They had to carry it out themselves. Others had no room to interfere.
If the two of them knew that they worked best together, they didn’t need to fear or consider anything else. That was all there was to it. Just that made them the best partners.
Ju-Hyeok felt his eyes well up. Nothing in particular had happened. The thoughts in his head just cleared up.
Exchanging a few words with this guy made him feel much freer than before as if all the shackles confining him came off.
Ju-Hyeok bowed his head to hide his expression.
Fortunately, Sang-Hyeon was gulping down his beer and not looking his way.
Thud.
Sang-Hyeon put down his beer glass and extended his hand.
"Anyway, please take care of me in the future too."
"Sure."
Ju-Hyeok composed his expression and shook his hand. The two exchanged a handshake as if signing a contract again.
Smiling, Ju-Hyeok suddenly became curious and asked, "But what's your dating app rating?"
"..."
This guy talked about not living life according to a dating app rating, but wasn’t he perfect himself?! The question arose.
"Ahem. I don't do that."
He said he didn’t use anything like that.
"No, you’ve never tried it?"
"Never. I've only heard about them through ads."
"... Really?"
"Two more beers please!"
***
G-Star finally ended for Almond after he signed an exclusive contract with Hitman. He had no more G-Star related tasks.
G-Star finally ended for Ju-Hyeok as well, but something new was starting within him. After the rain, the ground hardened and seeds he hadn't known sprouted within him.
He didn’t know what this was exactly, but he thought he would name this plant Hope once it grew.
"Uh. That video should be up by today…"
After this strange thing started growing inside him, he could focus much better on work.
"I'll talk to the manager. Keep making videos. Ji-Ah is managing everything well. We’ll need a flood of videos."
Nothing distracted him anymore. Not thoughts about his father, his previous job, or his colleagues. He focused only on moving forward toward that light he would someday reach.
"Ah. Manager Jeong. How have you been? Our deliberations took a while. We have decided to sign the contract today."
Ju-Hyeok promptly proceeded with the exclusive model contract for Hitman. It was early in the morning, but he couldn't wait any longer.
At some point, Sang-Hyeon sat down across the table from him.
"Yes. Yes. I will proceed right away. Just look at your phone."
Manager Jeong sounded quite excited. Even over the phone, Ju-Hyeok could feel his enthusiasm.
"Here."
Ju-Hyeok tossed the phone to Sang-Hyeon.
"Okay."
Sang-Hyeon also nodded and reviewed the contents of the contract again. Of course, he was just rolling his eyeballs and had no talent for reading attentively.
Ju-Hyeok would review it for him.
"Yes. I'm reviewing it now and we will sign," Ju-Hyeok nodded as he spoke.
Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok both signed it. Manager Jeong also stamped his seal on it. Although they did everything remotely, it appeared simultaneously on everyone's screens.
"Yes~ It’s the same account number. We are very grateful."
Ding.
The company deposited the contract money into their bank account at an incredible speed. Both of them counted the amount with their fingers and nodded.
"That's right."
A smile naturally formed at the amount.
"It came in. Thank you... Yes?"
Ju-Hyeok was about to hang up the call when Manager Jeong urgently mentioned something.
"Ah. The advertisement shoot?"
Ju-Hyeok picked up the pen again.
"You can send the draft, but... isn’t this on a larger scale?"
The scale didn't really matter to Sang-Hyeon, who was just the ad model. However, the Hitman company felt like they were in the same boat now.
Ju-Hyeok also felt concerned.
"Ah. Did we get an investment? You are very competent, sir. I understand, but what about the agency if it's this kind of advertisement...?"
Apparently, the company had recently received a large investment. Maybe someone saw the potential in the Hitman game?
"No, starting next month you're Deputy Director Jeong, right? Haha. Congratulations."
Even the manager handling the contract had been rapidly promoted.
"So... with such a large advertisement, which ad agency did you go with? It won't be easy to make... Ah. Great Planning. Great Planning is good. You're going with a big one. Really, congratulations."
After some idle chatter, Ju-Hyeok hung up the phone.
Thud.
"What? Did the ad change? It was just supposed to be shooting inside the game."
"Yeah. It changed. We're shooting on a set now."
"Oh..."
"We get an hourly rate anyway. It doesn't matter much. Actually, we'll earn more now."
"Right."
Things were going smoothly.
'The only catch is…'
However, not everything was smooth and sleek.
Tap. Tap.
Ju-Hyeok's pen marked a word.
‘Great Planning...'
The company they were planning the advertisement with. It was also an affiliate of Ah-Sung, so Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon had connections there.
'That guy is there.'
He had heard from Ji-Ah that her ex-boyfriend worked there. Well, it was a top-tier ad agency in the country. There was no need to get upset over personal matters.
'I guess I'm easy-going.'
Ju-Hyeok suddenly recalled a past girlfriend who was now in the USA. Their relationship had cooled off when she moved there. They had even talked about marriage before, but now they were complete strangers.
The nature of human relationships was fascinating. Something that seemed endlessly good could crumble away just like that. And yet, some seemingly precarious things continued.
The fact that he had become close partners with Yu Sang-Hyeon, whom he initially thought was a unique character, struck him as a curious and somewhat bitter phenomenon.
"I'm turning on the stream," Sang-Hyeon said while passing by behind him.
"Ah. Yeah. Go ahead."
Ju-Hyeok also naturally turned on the laptop to manage the chat.
Sang-Hyeon wasn’t in the capsule yet, but sat at the desk.
Tatatat.
Their keyboards clacked in the deep winter sunlight. Even if everything changed later, this moment would be eternal. That alone would be enough to warm the upcoming winters.
Ju-Hyeok thought so.
***
"Done! Done! Go! Launch it now!" Manager Jeong ran through the booth while shouting.
"Yes!"
The staff unfolded the posters outside and started changing all the advertisements on the screens. The new ads featured Almond's face with the large words, "Almond Challenge."
Additionally, flags placed near the booth read, "Extremely Spicy! The Almond Challenge!"
They included all the marketing points the manager had envisioned.
"Ah. Perfect timing."
"Indeed."
"Is it opening soon?"
"Yes, people will flock over."
"Good. We've really stirred things up."
As the manager said, people would swarm in once G-Star started today. They would come in waves. Indeed, that saying would be embodied in reality.
The staff went out and began to row in these waves.
"Ah! Ah, ah! Ah-ah~ Almond Challenge~!"
"It's spicy. Really spicy~ But deliciously spicy. Tears~ Snot~ It all comes out~"
Given that popularity and interest came so quickly and intensely these days, it was uncertain if as many people would come as yesterday.
"Oh. Is that it?"
"The Almond Challenge?"
"Wow. They're really stirring it up."
The phrase "Almond Challenge" once again ignited the gamers’ desire to take on any challenges. The booth still didn’t award any actual challenge points, but it simply sparked a desire to challenge their skills.
Of course, some people came knowing nothing and asked this, "There aren’t any points? Then what do we get?!"
The company promoted it so actively, yet didn’t give out any challenge points.
"Ah~ Customer~ it's written here~"
The employee pointed to a corner at the bottom of the poster. It read in tiny letters, “No challenge points available due to running out.”
"While you may not earn any challenge points, we are certain that something more precious will remain in your hearts! Your feelings!"
The employee waved cheerfully with both hands.
"… Ah, yes."
In this way, they continued to do business successfully without giving out any challenge points.
***
The Hitman booth reached the peak of its popularity.
Ding.
[Almond has started streaming!]
[G-Star Aftermath and Major Announcements]
Almond's stream suddenly turned on without any prior notice.
[Current Viewers: 18,000]
Almost 20,000 people flocked to the stream as soon as he turned it on.
"Hi Treevy~"
He greeted them not from inside a capsule, but in his room as the backdrop. It was a long-awaited communication stream.
— AlHi~
— Wow, how long has it been since the last chat stream
— This angle, it's been a while lol
— Major announcement :O
— Major announcement? Are you re-enlisting?
The viewers greeted him warmly and donations also came in.
[RubySword has donated 10,000 won.]
[Almond! Is G-Star over?]
"Ah. RubySword, thank you for the 10,000 won donation. Yes, my G-Star schedule is over and now I'm back home."
Ding.
RubySword seemed excited for a long-awaited communication stream.
[RubySword has donated 20,000 won.]
[Your face was everywhere at G-Star, Almond!]
She made another donation.
"My face?"
[RubySword has donated 30,000 won.]
[Check out the Treevy board!]
"Hmm? I’ll look it up."
— lmao
— Next is 40,000 won? haha
— As expected, his donation angle is insane lol
— Baiting donations lol
The Treevy streamer board was a space where streamers could use it like a personal board with their fans.
"The Treevy board. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen it in a while. It's this one..."
He went in and quickly found a post that seemed to be made by RubySword. The scene from G-Star showed numerous images of Almond floating around.
— lmfao
— Wow, it's Almond dystopia :O
— "Ah"pocalypse lol
— Has the human world ended?
— The era of humans has come to an end. Now it's the era of nuts.
— So, the nuts have won the world after all.
They just signed the exclusive contract a few hours ago. The company worked incredibly fast.
[Eggplant has donated 5,000 won.]
[Can't even use my brother's face without permission. Is this okay?]
— Can't use his brother's face but uses his money...
— Oh, the law expert
— Not FriedEggplant so downvote~
— Isn't that too much??
"Ah, I've become an exclusive model for Hitman, so the right to my image is not an issue."
— What!?
— Really??
— Wow
— Woah
— Wow, respect
[RubySword donated 100,000 won.]
[Wow, congratulations on becoming an exclusive model! But what's the major announcement?]
"Ah. Thank you, Ruby. The major announcement..."
He had written “Major announcement” in the title, but hadn’t mentioned anything yet.
— Forgot about it lol
— Did the title write itself?
— Nutty lol If not for Ruby, how would the stream go lol
[Current Viewers: 47,000]
Suddenly, nearly 50,000 people were watching the chat stream. Was it because of the aftermath from G-Star or just the allure of a major announcement? It was unclear. Regardless, he needed to make a major announcement.
"I didn't forget. I was just waiting for the right moment. Ahem," he cleared his throat unnecessarily a few times.
Then, he pulled something out from under the desk.
— ??
— What?
— ??
The item that appeared amid a sea of question marks was Demian, Raina’s bow.
"Demian is so splendid that I had to introduce it as a major announcement."
The bow shimmered with a gentle blue light. Indeed, it boasted a splendid appearance.
— Oh come on lol
— The Demian fans are going to die
— Demian... snap!
— Getting "snapped"
— Is this real? lol
— Next time, call it a “minor announcement”
The number of viewers seemed to drop suddenly.
"... Just kidding."
Almond grinned and set the bow down again.
"Actually, this isn't the major announcement."
— Are you re-enlisting?
— Perhaps you've been selected to represent at the World Cup due to a ball possession statement?!
— Oh, please don't say you're dating Miho. I really can't handle that!
The viewers made various speculations.
Almond stopped with the suspense and displayed something on the screen.
[Civil Empire National Competition Streaming Plan]
"Ta-da. The major announcement~"
— Ta-da lol
— So cute lol
— This guy's showing off
— Ah, a national competition!
— Is the stream going to be different?
"The qualifiers for the Civil Empire national competition will soon begin. The structure of the stream might change a bit because of that."