Chapter 262. New Leap (1)
After the tournaments ended, Sang-Hyeon came out of the capsule and briefly expressed his excitement with Ju-Hyeok.
Chick.
Ju-Hyeok congratulated him while opening a can of beer, "Congrats."
"You've also worked hard."
Thud.
It wasn't the sound of clinking glass, but the dull sound of an aluminum can. That was enough.
Glug.
Sang-Hyeon took a big gulp of beer and tossed some almonds into his mouth.
“Kyah…”
Crunch.
Ju-Hyeok also did the same and tossed some almonds into his mouth.
‘These damn boring almonds.’
"Damn, when is the chicken coming?"
Ju-Hyeok had no choice but to eat these almonds because the chicken delivery was delayed to their neighborhood in the slums.
"Hey, this is all an advertisement. Say thank you and eat it."
"How is it an ad when it's just us eating? Is a camera rolling?"
Ju-Hyeok was amazed at how Sang-Hyeon was still in love with almonds. He tossed another almond into his mouth and chuckled as if he thought of something funny.
"Speaking of ads, you did a great job with Nova's advertising, LOL. Now you're a complete streamer."
"I was thinking when to say that in my head."
Sang-Hyeon smiled.
Despite the emotional weight of talking about his past, he pretended to be okay.
'I'm glad he seems fine.'
Ju-Hyeok felt rather relieved.
The past Sang-Hyeon tried to hide it, but now it was a topic for them to reminisce about as friends.
"How do you feel now that you've talked about it? A little relieved?"
Sang-Hyeon looked out of the window for a moment.
"...No."
"?"
"I'm very relieved."
The two burst into laughter and clinked their cans of beer again.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang while they were cheering. The chicken was here.
Ju-Hyeok quickly went out to pay and brought the half-cold chicken.
"The delivery driver didn’t have a very good expression again. Haha."
It was probably because the driver couldn't ride a motorcycle up the neighborhood's countless stairs, so he had to walk all the way up.
"Oh well."
It had slightly cooled, but the chicken still tasted delicious. The juicy and rich oils gushed out with a bite and tingled the brain.
"Ah, this is it."
"Whew..."
Afterward, they passionately talked about the days they worked at Ahsung Corporation. After discussing all the memories and running out of topics, they debated for a couple of hours whether Supervisor Park had gone completely bald. Finally, after concluding that only half of his hair would have disappeared, they fell asleep.
***
The next morning, Ju-Hyeok prepared a tomato stew to cure their hangover.
'Oh, we don't have any celery.'
Ju-Hyeok realized a key ingredient was missing and went to wake up Sang-Hyeon. He planned on asking Sang-Hyeon to buy it since that guy usually went out to jog in the morning, but Sang-Hyeon was still asleep.
"...What?"
Interestingly, Sang-Hyeon was smiling while sleeping. He wasn't just smiling, but even chuckling too.
It was the first time Ju-Hyeok had seen Sang-Hyeon laughing so much in his sleep.
"What kind of dream is he having?"
Ju-Hyeok decided not to wake Sang-Hyeon and went out to buy it himself.
The morning wind felt quite chilly.
'It's winter now.'
November had passed, and early December had arrived.
Climbing these stairs in this weather was the hardest part. Sometimes, it became quite slippery after snowy days.
However, Ju-Hyeok was now used to these stairs and began walking down while looking at his phone.
[The promising archer who became Almond]
Ji-Ah uploaded this video about Sang-Hyeon's past yesterday.
[Views: 829k]
Only twelve hours had passed, but the view count already reached 829k. It was increasing at a tremendous rate.
Many comments appeared under the video.
— This is so sad...
— Wow... Is this a movie?
— He must have been popular from his kindergarten days.
└ The worst mid laner on earth, Yu Sang-Hyeon.
— Almond doesn't only have a movie star looking face, but his life is also a movie.
— What is going on? Sang-Hyeon's childhood is crazy. And he's so cute!!
— OMG, I didn't know you went through all this. I won't talk shit about you even when you only advertise on your Runestagram.
— We, the KAF, will always advocate for you, Almond.
Countless comments cheered for Almond.
[National Archery Association] - Sang-Hyeon, I remember you from back then. It's a fairly famous incident among our long-term employees. Glad it worked out for you.
└ Damn, this is the real thing.
└ Why are you... nvm. You should be there.
└ Is this official?
The Archery Association's official channel also left comments.
Hyeon-Ju, who recently started lightly vlogging on YouTube, also left a comment.
[Hyeon-Ju Vlog] - Bro, you finally said it. Congratulations. Things will only get better from here on out!
└ Wow, a gold medalist!
└ Whoa, it's really Hyeon-Ju
└ You guys were colleagues?
└ I knew it! I believed in you, Hyeon-Ju! I knew you were following Almond’s Runestar for a reason!
└ Gold? Isn't that gold? Almond is diamond!
The Balloon Stars team members also each left comforting words.
[Miho] - Oppa, I can't watch this ㅠㅠ
[Passionate! EmotionalTako] - You've worked hard, Almond.
[Bubblegum] - Let's play again next time!
[StrawberryShooter] - Almond...
The Balloon Stars team members appeared to be very close, which was nice to see.
It wasn't just Ju-Hyeok who thought so. Fans thought the same.
— I think Balloon Stars will continue forever
└ I think so, too
— I knew it when Bubblegum and Almond had such great teamwork
— I hope they stay friends forever
— Almond looks really happy when he's with the Balloon members
└ Oh, I thought so too!
└ I wasn't the only one who thought so!
— I'm really looking forward to the after-party stream today.
The after-party stream, Ju-Hyeok's eyes lingered on those words.
'Sang-Hyeon should do an after-party stream today.'
After big events like tournaments, streamers commonly did an after-party stream to discuss what happened and have more fun with their fans.
It would be great for Almond to host one.
'I should let him know.'
Ju-Hyeok made a note in his memo app and read another comment.
— Wow! There’s an article about Almond in Major Media! World class, Almond!
'Major media...?'
Ju-Hyeok quickened his pace.
'I have to go check it out.'
***
There were still distinctions between major and minor channels in the internet broadcasting world and media companies in the era of solo broadcasting, solo enterprises, and even solo media companies.
There was a hierarchy ranging from tabloid-level media to well-established reputable media.
The media that dug into celebrities' private lives and those that collaboratively reported on major national developments with foreign outlets couldn’t be treated the same.
Unfortunately, the former tabloid-level media usually covered streamers. If the streamers were lucky enough, they would be treated like celebrities.
Frequently, freelance reporters scattered these stories to lower-tier media. These articles usually didn't help, but only attracted weird community attention.
However, the article Ju-Hyeok read was different.
[The Archery Boy Who Stepped Up Despite Injuries]
[OneYearDaily, Reporter Lee Jeong-Soo]
OneYearDaily was one of the top media companies in the country. They had been active since the Japanese occupation era. Whether people liked or disliked the media wasn't the point. What mattered was who was covering the story.
A media outlet of this caliber featuring Sang-Hyeon's story as their main article was significant. Simply put, one could consider this as a form of social climbing.
'It's like moving from the common bourgeois class to nobility.'
Hierarchy... Ju-Hyeok also related to this.
The reason his father opposed a career related to this job was because he worried that his son's social standing would drop.
Leaving aside the earnings, the job of a streamer and being a manager for one wasn’t much different from leaving home to make money in illegal ways.
However, not all streamers were the same, and that went for managers as well.
Ju-Hyeok had to prove it. He had to climb the social ladder and prove it to society.
His eyes quickly moved as he read the OneYearDaily article.
"The content is really good."
The article content pleased Ju-Hyeok. It didn't twist the facts or sensationalize anything. It simply organized Sang-Hyeon's story as told on YouTube and re-emphasized the narrative of an archery boy who overcame despair and triumphed over life as a streamer.
'How are the comments...?'
The content was pleasing, but comments were usually problematic for such articles.
The kind of comments that usually followed articles about streamers or creators in major media were:
— Who is this, and why is he in this article?
— Who is this stranger?
— Don't post articles about streaming addicts.
— I really don't know who this is.
That was the average response.
Audiences in major media and niche cultures like streaming were too different, especially since everyone consumed different content these days.
However, this article was different.
— It's my first time hearing your name, but I wish you the best of luck! You tried to support your grandmother while overcoming your disability~~! (4091 Likes)
— I didn't know there were any streamers like him... I didn't have a good impression of streamers, but I cried a bit reading your story... You can do this! (2882 Likes)
— That autopilot taxi incident... It was crazy... A lot of celebrities died too. I'm glad you survived that accident! I hope you start treatment again too! (1022 Likes)
— Almond, haha. The name is cute just like him. He’s so handsome! Should I check out his streaming videos too? (710 Likes)
— He looks like one of those movie star celebrities. His story is also just like a movie. His archery skills are amazing... He’s... a streamer? (425 Likes)
This convinced Ju-Hyeok of Sang-Hyeon's major potential. Borrowing the words of the journalist who wrote this article:
[....Sang-Hyeon overcame his disappointments in archery, the most analog and traditional sport, with the most innovative and digital job as a streamer....]
From analog to digital, from an older generation to a newer one, Sang-Hyeon connected a bridge that brought everyone together.
He had a background everyone could relate to. The journalist picked up on that as well.
"Should I start streaming now?"
It was 1 P.M. now.
Sang-Hyeon started streaming after Ju-Hyeok woke him up.
It was an after-party stream for the tournament.
"Um, yeah. Hold on."
Ju-Hyeok checked Sang-Hyeon's This World mobile chatroom.
The fun part of this after-party stream would be when other streamers jumped in through donations or chats. To do that, Ju-Hyeok had to see which other streamers were active.
'ForeverAlone, BlackTea, and GreenTea are active...'
The other Balloon Stars team members hadn't woken up yet.
'This combination might not be bad.'
The Balloon Stars members had already appeared in Sang-Hyeon's streams. What about the streamers they fought against?
Ju-Hyeok sent a message to Ji-Ah and Yeon-Joo. He planned to subtly drop some information by entering the other streamers’ chat rooms.
— I heard Almond is doing an after-party stream right now.
— It looks like the viewer count is going to explode.
— I heard he's doing a Q&A without filtering any viewers.
They would join the chat like that too.
If there was an after-party stream, Almond would undoubtedly receive the most attention.
"Sang-Hyeon, go in after about twenty minutes."
"...Twenty minutes?"
"Wait, no. Ten minutes... five minutes!"
Ding.
A reply came from Ji-Ah and Yeon-Joo.
As expected, their reactions came quicker than expected.
"Go!"
***
Hmm hmm.
Sang-Hyeon briefly sat in front of the desk and cleared his throat. Today, he was in front of the computer with a camera and not in a capsule.
With familiar movements, he instantly turned on the stream.
Ding.
[Almond has started streaming!]
The notification popped up and viewers flooded in.
The countless number of viewers was hard to compare to before.
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