Chapter 84
CHAPTER 84
Chapter 84
The screen changes.
A slow sword unfolds.
Yet it feels fast.
Simple.
It was only simple.
It looked blockable.
But it couldn’t be blocked.
If you tried to dodge, your balance would collapse.
The video immersed the viewers through the perspective of a third-person view.
And right before the attack landed, subtitles predicting the fall of the Three Emperors appeared.
And then it happened exactly as shown.
The streamers kept analyzing and sharing how he managed to do it with such a slow sword, but there were probably only a handful of people who truly understood.
After clashing several times, the moment they came to their senses, Seojun’s sword had already quietly slit the neck.
Slice.
[Defeat.]
Watching the absurd display of skill, the chat leisurely flowed by.
—That slow sword style is seriously terrifying.
—Gaslight beam swordsmanship lol.
—Seeing it neatly edited makes it even crazier
—Insane!
—No points deducted even when he gets hit.He just tanks everything with that dull meat-body
—If I were standing there, I’d probably piss myself. “How are you doing this?” I’m already kinda terrified just watching
—Ugh!
Watching him take down several opponents, the viewers went wild.
Partly because there wasn’t enough time to include every single fight.
—Defeat! At this hour too—
The End.
Seojun left one final comment.
—Everyone, I think the Demonic Cult will take priority in this war.
The premiere ended, and the video was properly uploaded.
Not even a second after upload, it had already hit thirty thousand views.
Han Jimin must have stayed up watching too, because a message arrived.
[Han Jimin: The first premiere was a success!]
[Han Jimin: I hope the algorithm really picks it up!]
[Jin Seojun: Hopefully. Thanks for your hard work.]
[Han Jimin: Looks like Jeonyeong fell asleep]
If she were awake, Mi Jeonyeong would have already been spamming messages as usual, so they easily figured out she was sleeping.
[Jin Seojun: She stayed up all night yesterday and barely rested. She edited again today too, so she must’ve been exhausted.]
[Han Jimin: As expected of Director Makdeok]
[Jin Seojun: Who else is as non-interfering as me? Haha.]
Seojun didn’t even review the edits.
He had decided to leave the channel to them, and they knew more about it than he did anyway.
Sure, editors could easily sabotage things if they held grudges, but why would they do that when they were benefiting from it too?
As expected—
If you want people to take ownership, just let them become the owners!
[Han Jimin: That’s true. But maybe you should at least check things a little.]
[Han Jimin: If we ever leave and you hire different editors later, there’ll be a lot you’ll need to confirm yourself.]
That was true.
Even if he had handed off the burden of managing the channel, Seojun knew it wasn’t good to remain completely ignorant about it.
[Jin Seojun: If I end up taking a leave of absence, I’ll think about it.]
[Han Jimin: Ah. So you really are busy.]
Afterward, Han Jimin sent more messages in their private chat.
[Han Jimin: If it were me, I’d cling to your leg even if you tried to kick me out.]
[Han Jimin: Accidents can happen, after all.]
[Han Jimin: More importantly, I’m worried about Jeonyeong. Maybe because it’s her final year, but she’s been looking really determined lately.]
Both Seojun and Han Jimin knew about Mi Jeonyeong’s circumstances.
How she kept repeating entrance exams while living alone, wasting away in the corner of her room doing nothing, until she met Seojun and finally found something she could do.
It was an embarrassing story to tell others, and Jeonyeong herself never wanted to reveal it.
But on the very first day, she drank alcohol for the first time, failed to judge her own limit, and got drunk.
‘Did she say she felt relieved?’
Mi Jeonyeong was definitely managing things on her own, but to them she somehow felt like a younger sibling they had to look after.
‘She’ll probably do fine on her own.’
And Seojun wasn’t the type to overly take care of younger siblings.
Unless they asked for help.
The next day, coincidentally—
Seojun said to Taewoo,
“Let’s eat at my parents’ place today.”
Seojun’s parents lived next door, and the two of them often went over there to eat together.
“Suddenly? And it’s already dinner time. If we go now, won’t they be unprepared?”
“Nah, Mom said we should eat together after such a long time.”
“Really? Then we should go. But why all of a sudden?”
“What kind of reason would there be? Maybe they bought meat or something.”
After shrugging, Seojun opened the front door and headed next door.
Watching Seojun leave, Taewoo felt a strange sense of discomfort and tilted his head, but soon followed him out.
Later, Taewoo would realize that his instincts had been desperately screaming warnings at him.
Though by then, it was already too late.
It all started during dinner, with that damn friend of his and the conversation with his father.
“Hey, why’d you suddenly come over during dinner? You’re making me nervous.”
Food caught in Taewoo’s throat.
Seojun had clearly said his mom invited them, so why was Hajun saying that?
Right.
Maybe his aunt invited them without telling his uncle.
Of course, the truth was immediately revealed when Seoyeon joined the conversation.
“Yeah, I’m curious too. Why all of a sudden?”
You said Auntie invited us!
“Well, actually…”
Taewoo snapped his head toward Seojun with a gaze demanding explanation, but Seojun didn’t even blink as he spoke.
“Mom, Dad. I’m thinking of taking a leave of absence.”
After saying that, Seojun calmly picked up his chopsticks again as though nothing had happened.
Taewoo nearly choked again and glared at Seojun even harder.
This bastard is still eating right now?
Taewoo screamed internally.
‘Why are you bringing me here just to say this now?!’
No matter how carefree Seojun looked, Taewoo knew he was always thinking ahead.
Which meant bringing him here today had absolutely been intentional.
Was he supposed to back him up? Or become the sacrificial offering?
Whatever it was, this really was a hellish excuse for a friend.
Seojun’s mother, Seoyeon, set her chopsticks down on the table with a sharp sound.
The atmosphere turned strange.
Hajun and Taewoo both flinched beside her.
Only the man responsible remained calm.
Seoyeon spoke.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m thinking of finishing just this semester and taking a break from university.”
“What for?”
“Oh. To play games.”
No.
How could you possibly say it like that?
“Games? …So basically.”
“Yes.”
“Not traveling, not part-time work, not employment, not studying, not building hobbies—just playing games?”
“Games are a hobby too.”
Please, Seojun. My friend.
Why are you provoking her?
“Mom, I’m making money too.”
“What money?”
“The streaming’s doing pretty well.”
“That thing Taewoo does?”
“Yes. Didn’t I tell you before?”
“I just thought you were helping Taewoo out while he played games.”
Ma’am. No, you didn’t.
This bastard suddenly said he thought he’d do better than Shin Hayeon and just started streaming.
“Well, things turned out better than expected, so I want to work hard at it.”
“Oh, so that’s what it was. I thought you just wanted to loaf around without thinking.”
“Would I really do that, Mother?”
Taewoo recalled Seojun’s attitude during broadcasts.
The way he talked and dealt with viewers.
His friend definitely wanted to loaf around without thinking.
Still, Taewoo couldn’t say anything.
He was just thankful Seoyeon hadn’t gotten angry.
If things escalated, the flames would obviously spread to him too.
As the accomplice who had led her son down the wrong path.
Even though Seojun had chosen all this himself and Taewoo wasn’t even one gram responsible, what mattered was that Seoyeon didn’t know that.
“How long?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re still going to graduate, right?”
“Probably.”
“Fine. Then one last thing…”
“…You’re sure doing that much gaming is safe?”
“It’s safe.”
“That’s a relief. It’d be ridiculous for me to keep ordering around a grown son. Do whatever you want.”
Taewoo and Hajun exchanged glances.
Thank goodness that ended well.
Surprisingly, Seojun was stubborn. Once he decided something, he rarely backed down.
And Seoyeon also wasn’t the type to strongly oppose things, but this time Seojun’s explanation had been unbelievably awful.
What kind of parent hears, “I’m taking a leave of absence to play games,” and responds with, “Oh really? So you’re gaming now?”
If he had at least said he wanted to rest while gaming, maybe that’d be different.
After that, Seojun’s father quickly finished eating and went back into his room.
His mother went to clean the kitchen.
Once only the two of them remained nearby, Seojun quietly spoke.
“That’s disappointing.”
“What is?”
“I was planning to throw you at Mom and run away if she got angry.”
This bastard?
“Thanks for the meal.”
“Yeah.”
“Why does Uncle cook?”
“Because it’s food my wife made for me.”
“No, I mean why wou—”
“Quiet. Don’t come here anymore.”
Leaving their pointless conversation behind, Seojun slipped on his slippers.
“Oppa, move a little. I’m going out.”
His younger sister.
Jin Sohee approached.
“You going to school?”
A high school senior preparing for college entrance exams.
Right before the CSAT.
“You can wear gym clothes to school now?”
“Even if I do, they won’t catch me.”
Invincible.
At least within Korean society, students right before the CSAT were invincible.
“Anyway, is your stream doing well?”
“Ha. My only regret is not secretly streaming during my rebellious phase because of you. Seriously, once the CSAT ends, I’m definitely doing it.”
“I clearly said you’d be fine.”
“You never did. You said I’d get wrecked too?”
“That was a joke.”
Seojun snorted.
“That’s true though. In the end, Mom stopped me. If Dad had been a little more interested, he would’ve convinced Mom for me. Dad loves computers way too much. But hey, Oppa.”
“What?”
“You’re pretty good at games. I’d probably be good too if I played, right? Genetics and all? Like… talent?”
Wouldn’t it be stranger if she remembered her previous life?
“I’m from the orthodox faction.”
“Uh-huh. You mean fanatics.”
Sohee giggled.
“Ah, I saw that on the stream. Anyway, I’m orthodox faction.”
“You’re joining because of the outfit? The Demonic Cult’s better. Their uniforms are good, and they’re more popular.”
Suddenly, the sound of Taewoo choking came from behind them.
“Oh, so that game’s called For the Chivalry. Anyway, I’m orthodox faction even without knowing that.”
“Because my grades got screwed.”
So that was the reason behind the faction choice.
Everything suddenly made sense.
His younger sister normally didn’t even use curse words, so if she was saying her grades were “screwed,” things must’ve been pretty serious. Better not push further.
“Hey, Sohee. The CSAT’s right around the corner. Should a future fighter of the orthodox faction really be watching streams?”
And Taewoo had absolutely no sense for family atmosphere.
Maybe because the biggest he’d had during exam season was whether to shade answer choice number three or four.
Seojun shook his head while Sohee scoffed.
“Please. It’s not like I actually watched the stream. Why would I watch your broadcasts in the first place?”
“Then?”
“I was scrolling and suddenly it popped up. Your latest video. That’s the only reason I watched it, so stop acting like you invaded my account.”
“Why would it even show up for you?”
“How would I know? Oh, right. Oppa, your video’s on Trending.”
“Really?”
Seojun answered like he genuinely hadn’t expected it.
“Oh, that’s huge.”
“Hey, hey. Look at this.”
Then she showed him.
The video, which hadn’t even been up for a full day yet, had already reached—
[The Number One Warrior in the Game.]
[Gaming Trending Videos #3]
Over 300,000 views.
Understanding what that meant, Taewoo immediately turned on his phone to check.