Chapter 119
After Suhyuk left the shop.
Swish-.
A few minutes later, the beggar who first guided him to the shop appeared in Greg’s room. In his hands were a bottle of strong, dark liquor and a cigar.
“I thought you might be running low.”
“Oh, indeed.”
Greg first lit the cigar that the beggar handed over. The thick, pungent aroma filled his mouth. Feeling the buzz in his head, he kept staring at the name of the new client.
“What’s bothering you?”
“He used an alias.”
“You mean that client earlier?”
The beggar looked puzzled. Clients using aliases were common. Among those who didn’t trust Dark Map, there were often individuals involved in illegal activities.
Especially when the information was related to major guilds, they were even more reluctant to reveal themselves.
“Does something about this bother you?”
“Clients who request such information usually fall into one of two categories. Either they hide their faces, or they’re already in our guild’s database.”
Dark Map’s information network contained data on most players. From rankers to notable players from the lower floors, they were all recorded in their database.
However.
“He’s nowhere to be found.”
His face had never been captured in Dark Map’s information network.
“Could he be a proxy?”
“A proxy…”
Greg doubted the plausible guess the beggar mentioned.
“Maybe.”
“No need to worry too much. After all, client information is a privacy matter, isn’t it?”
After a moment of silence, Greg nodded in agreement.
It was true.
Dark Map never sold client information under any circumstances. The only exception was if the client didn’t pay the full price for accurate information.
Unless something untoward happened, digging into the client’s identity was a waste of time.
“I guess you’re right.”
With the beggar’s words, Greg dropped his curiosity about the client’s identity.
‘If I don’t know him, he probably isn’t someone significant.’
*
After leaving Dark Map, Suhyuk put his mask back on. This was the second time he’d revealed his bare face. The first time was when Un Hyang had accidentally seen him.
‘It’s actually safer to go without the mask right now.’
Lee Suhyuk’s mask was too well-known. Rather than drawing unnecessary attention, it was better to act with an unknown face.
Since Suhyuk started his player activities, he had always worn a mask. Before that, he had been stuck in a player training institution, so it was unlikely even Dark Map would have information on his face.
‘It would be better if they mistake me for a proxy.’
He considered getting another mask to cover his face, but that might have the opposite effect.
Dark Map didn’t care too much about the client’s identity as long as they didn’t attract unnecessary suspicion. Trying to hide his face might just leave a suspicious impression.
It was better to be seen as an insignificant player or someone’s proxy.
‘Greg…’
Dark Map, a major information guild, had branches all over the tower. The 4th floor wasn’t particularly high. Thus, the people here weren’t expected to be overly remarkable.
He had only intended to use the vast network of Dark Map through a request.
However.
“But if it’s about that, it’s likely true.”
“Because without it, I can’t see a scenario where Lee Suhyuk fails.”
Although it was just a guess, he was grasping the truth. Of course, the truth was slightly different. The one who betrayed wasn’t the target that Blue Zone was after but their leader, Kim Ilsoo.
But even that was enough to leave an impression that Greg had a good sense. And there was one more thing.
“It certainly matters.”
“Competition.”
It seemed like he knew something he didn’t.
‘I’d also like to find out about that if possible….’
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
‘That’s probably expensive too.’
All information from Dark Map came at a price. Greg’s casually dropped hint itself seemed like it would be very costly even as a teaser. Given his current financial situation, this was his limit for now.
‘It’s all about points, seriously.’
Who would have thought he’d live a life constantly scrambling for points?
But on the other hand, it was also fortunate. Since his reincarnation, he quickly found a way to earn points. After all, with enough points, the problems could be overcome.
‘I hope I can find out.’
50,000 points.
It was by no means a small sum. But if he could find out what Blue Zone did there and whether another comrade was still alive, he’d gladly pay ten times that amount.
However, there were two concerns.
One was that the cost might be too excessive for him to gather enough points, and the second was that even Dark Map might not be able to find the information.
If they couldn’t uncover it, it was highly likely no one in the world could.
‘Let’s leave it to them for now.’
This was the best he could do at the moment. What he needed to do next was to earn the money for the information.
Tap-tap-.
Suhyuk headed straight back to the accommodation. Passing through the slum, he entered the bustling heart of the city.
He opened the door to the accommodation.
Ding-dong-.
On the first floor, several groups of guests were dining or having tea, taking a break. Among them, what caught Suhyuk’s eye was a group of people sitting by the window.
Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang. And three people sitting opposite them. Checking the time, it had been roughly three hours.
“Perfect timing.”
As usual, Un Hyang was the first to notice Suhyuk. Suhyuk waved back to her gesture. The three people, who seemed to be guests, turned their heads towards Suhyuk.
“Nice to meet you, streamer Lee Suhyuk.”
Among them. A particularly striking blue-eyed Caucasian man approached and greeted Suhyuk.
“Buzz-cut Suhyuk, I’m Bald Suhyuk.”
“…?”
Suhyuk shook the hand extended to him awkwardly, wearing a puzzled expression. The first impression of Bald Suhyuk was simple.
He was handsome.
Extremely so.
Although the mysterious eye color was impressive, his sharp features stood out. His nose was so high it seemed like it had been sculpted.
It was hard to believe that the clueless, goofy image from the stream was the same person standing before him.
“See, this is the reaction I’m talking about! Did you see? Huh? Huh?”
Puffing his chest with pride at Suhyuk’s reaction, Bald Suhyuk turned to his two companions.
“You guys underestimate me, but I tell you, people would be all over me anywhere else!”
“Alright, alright, just sit down and be quiet.”
“Are you advertising ‘I am Bald Suhyuk’ or something?”
The somewhat plump man and the bespectacled woman both sighed and tried to calm him down.
“How many times do I have to tell you to lower your tension when we’re outside—”
“Just leave him be. He rarely gets to reveal his face.”
The man, who seemed bewildered, and the woman, who appeared resigned, tried their best to manage Bald Suhyuk. Bald Suhyuk finally introduced the two a bit later.
“This is my manager, Netz, and my video editor, Ameri. They’ve been with me since the beginning.”
“Ah, yes. I’m Lee Suhyuk.”
“We know. Your real name is also Lee Suhyuk, right? That’s really interesting.”
After a somewhat boisterous and long handshake, the introduction ended. Suhyuk had seen Bald Suhyuk’s stream a few times before.
He thought he wouldn’t feel awkward or embarrassed, but it was quite the opposite. His face was vastly different from his stream persona, yet his personality was exactly the same.
‘Should I say it’s different or the same…?’
After the intense first impression, Suhyuk took a seat. Bald Suhyuk continued to look at him with curiosity.
“You’re wearing your mask even here, Lee Suhyuk.”
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not because of Bald Suhyuk. He usually does this.”
Cheon Ryang hastily explained. He was more polite than Suhyuk had ever seen. No matter how playful he looked, Bald Suhyuk was a major streamer representing Balhae.
“Oh, really? I almost felt hurt.”
“Bald Suhyuk, why do you hide your face? If you revealed it, you’d be hugely popular.”
Cheon Ryang asked as if he couldn’t understand at all, and Bald Suhyuk, feeling pleasantly surprised, grinned as he answered.
“That’s precisely why.”
“Pardon?”
Cheon Ryang blinked, not understanding what he meant.
“Gaining popularity with my looks is boring.”
A cheeky yet cool answer. Next, he took out a mask from his inventory, covering his handsome face as he continued.
“I’m in this for fun. Don’t you agree?”
*
After that, the group’s conversation drifted towards the content they would use for the collaboration stream.
“The most fun would be using the difference in skills.”
“Since taking the test together is impossible…”
“How about renting a virtual testing ground?”
“Ugh, that’s boring.”
“…Then what do you suggest?”
“Instead…”
The four busy discussing. The two streamers, who were left out of the conversation, caught each other’s eyes.
In that moment.
Feigning a yawn to show boredom, Bald Suhyuk gestured towards the door.
‘Let’s go out.’
Suhyuk nodded in agreement. It was better to leave this kind of content planning to the experts. If he tried to pitch in now, he’d only disrupt the meeting.
More than anything, Suhyuk also wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with Bald Suhyuk. After all, he was the first streamer Suhyuk had ever watched.
Swish-.
The two quietly slipped out. They exited the bustling downtown area and headed towards the quieter outskirts of the city.
“Why do they have to think so much about it when we can just do it?”
Shuddering at the thought, Bald Suhyuk commented as if the whole situation was tiresome.
“Don’t you think so?”
“Do you typically stream like that?”
“Like what? Oh, just doing it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s right. As long as I show people I’m having fun, they love it. Well, sometimes my manager plans the content, and I do that too.”
After exchanging a few words, Suhyuk had a clear understanding of Bald Suhyuk’s character.
He was a lazy genius.
Of course, that assessment wasn’t as a player but as a streamer. Strictly speaking, as a streamer, he certainly was a genius.
Pure and passionate. He had no awkwardness in conversations and didn’t fake anything. He was confident yet modest. He was undeniably likable.
“You know, I’ve watched your stream a few times.”
Suhyuk was surprised by the unexpected remark. It was something he had intended to say, as Bald Suhyuk’s stream was the first he had ever watched.
“Honestly, it wasn’t super fun. It’s intriguing, but since I don’t really get what’s going on with the play, you know?”
“Is that so?”
Saying it wasn’t fun felt a bit embarrassing.
However, he did say ‘a few times’, not just once.
“What’s interesting isn’t really the stream itself but your reactions.”
“My reactions?”
“Do you even know how popular you are? Or are you just taking it in stride?”
“… Excuse me?”
What was he trying to get at?
The smiling, handsome eyes appeared a bit different from the initial impression.
“It’s fascinating. How you stay so calm while thousands of viewers tune in live.”
For a moment, he had forgotten due to his childlike pure expression and tone.
“As if you’ve experienced that kind of fame before.”
Bald Suhyuk.
He was a star among streamers, boasting millions of subscribers and tens of thousands of live viewers.