Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Huh? She Applied for Manager?
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I couldn't just jump into ad broadcasts whenever I wanted. We had to sign proper contracts and align the schedules.
In the meantime, I'd found a new manager and editor.
The editor came through Danbi's connections. She was supposed to be skilled and good-natured.
Of course, I interviewed her myself. And I was pretty satisfied. She was a female editor, and just like Danbi said, she seemed really nice.
'Her skills? We'll see over time.'
After that, I got to work finding a new manager.
More precisely, I turned it into content.
[Holding Auditions to Find a Manager!]
I didn't think managers were that big a deal. I could handle so much myself. So as long as they just did what I told them, it was fine.
That's why I made the hiring process into content.
'Gotta say, even I'm impressed with this idea.'
It was like killing two birds with one stone—broadcasting and manager hunting at the same time.
But I regretted it pretty quickly.
'No way... 300 applicants?!'
I'd underestimated my own pull. Turns out, way more people wanted to work with me than I thought. In the end, 300 people applied for the auditions.
'Sigh... How am I gonna sift through all these...'
Obviously, I couldn't audition everyone. I'd be at it all day and still not finish.
So I had no choice but to get help from the newbie editor and Danbi. I gave them authority for the first-round resume screening.
Or more like, dumped the work on them.
Couldn't be helped. I had my own stuff to do.
Luckily, they got right to it without complaint. A few days later, they handed me a shortlist of 30 candidates.
Of course, 30 was still a lot for me.
We even had to borrow An Young Sister's studio because we ran out of space. Thank goodness she lent it willingly.
Not that it came free, though.
'A one-time sex summon voucher...'
On top of that, we decided to do the interviews as a joint broadcast.
Anyway, that's how I ended up doing audition broadcasts at An Young Sister's place.
The auditions themselves weren't hard. I just had to play judge and pick a manager.
The problem was making it entertaining.
If the applicants were streamers, it'd be fine. But they were civilians. Squeezing fun out of them was tough.
So An Young Sister and I had to resort to some ass-clown antics(?). Thank God she was there—at least it wasn't just me suffering.
"Next contestant, come on in."
"Jae-ho, you kinda grade guys harsh, don't you?"
"Nah, that's prejudice. My editor's a guy, isn't he?"
"But the new one's a girl."
"Ahem, on the flip side, you're harsh on girls, Sister. I saw it."
"Huh, when?"
"Just now? You grilled her pretty sharp."
"Th-that was a misunderstanding."
That little exchange was on purpose. We were basically doing a comedy duo bit to liven things up.
-lololololololol
-An Young jealous is lowkey cute
-fr lmao
-Keeps giving guys high scores lololol
Anyway, so far it was pretty standard.
Too standard, really—lacking the punch for real fun.
No surprise the viewer count was hovering in the low 20,000s. Decent numbers, but something felt off.
That's when a wild-card applicant showed up.
"H-hello! Your eternal right-hand man, Haedal, reporting for duty!"
"Huh?"
"Isn't that Haedal the streamer?"
Out of nowhere, Haedal had applied for the manager audition.
It wasn't like there were zero streamers among the applicants. Some had ditched broadcasting to chase this gig.
But Haedal? This was pure variety show bait.
'Danbi's got good instincts.'
Haedal probably applied as a joke. He'd been play-acting as my manager before anyway, so this was a perfect chance. That's what I figured.
Of course, he never expected to pass the resume round.
But Danbi went and approved him anyway. That's how he made it here.
'Might as well roll with it.'
A variety stunt like this was great for shaking up the vibe.
I looked at Haedal in the interview chair and spoke up.
"Your name's Park Bong-dal, right?"
"Y-yes? Uh, y-yeah, it is."
"Nickname's Haedal?"
"Y-yeah."
"Hm. But zero manager experience?"
"Th-that's true, but my passion's unmatched by—"
"Talk about passion all you want, but you put down a pretty steep hoped-for salary."
"Ah, well, you see..."
"Ten million a month?"
Obviously a joke entry. I hit him with a "gotcha" grin and went in for the kill.
"Nothing to show for it and you want ten mil... Light on the conscience, huh?"
"Right? Totally shameless."
"N-no, it's just... I was kidding..."
"You think this interview's a joke?"
"Exactly!"
An Young and I piled on Haedal mercilessly. We wouldn't do this to a normal applicant. But with him, it was fine.
'Not hiring him anyway.'
The viewers loved it.
-lolololololol
-Look at Haedal squirming lololol
-He's gonna cry lololol
-fr lmao
-Don't bully Haedal too much!
I glanced at the viewer count. It had jumped by 2,000 already. No surprise— this beat boring auditions any day.
'Alright, time to wrap this up.'
I threw Haedal a curveball.
"Got any special talents?"
"Sp-special talent? Do managers need that?"
"Ahem, more skills the better, right?"
"W-well, sure..."
No choice—Haedal stood up.
And out of nowhere, he started dancing. Old-school OMB dance, past its prime.
"H-how's this? This sea otter dances too! When you're bored, Jae-ho, I can bust a move like—"
I watched, then cut in abruptly.
"Dance sucks. You're out."
An Young nodded beside me.
"Total freestyle mess. Fail from me too."
"W-wait, I got more! I sing great. Hear me out first and—"
"Danbi? Escort him out."
"On it!"
The hulking Danbi rose from the corner and started dragging Haedal away.
"J-Jae-hooo! I made it this far... just a bit more...!"
Haedal hammed it up to the end. Full marks for that.
Thanks to him, the energy was way up. An Young and I powered through the rest.
"Sorry, doesn't seem like a fit."
"Hm, I'll put you on hold."
But good results? Not really. Surprisingly few standouts.
'Am I setting the bar too high?'
Maybe. Compared to my own manager days, no one quite measured up.
That's when we hit the late rounds.
"Hello! I'm Su-a!"
My eyes went wide.
Not because of her revealing outfit. Or her huge chest.
'They are big, though.'
I knew her.
"Wait, Jae-ho, you know her?"
"Hm, do I say I do...?"
Yeah, I did.
I opened my mouth, a bit thrown.
"Aren't you Ma-sam's manager right now?"
More like his editor-slash-manager. And the one who kinda saved me from his clutches(?).
'She got hired and I got booted.'
Thanks to that, I got into streaming and made it here. Benefactor, in a twisted way.
"N-not anymore! I quit on Ma-sam."
"Ah..."
I nodded.
Ma-sam was a sinking ship these days. Smart to jump when you could.
Anyway, I straightened up and focused on her.
'Best catch so far?'
Almost no active managers applied. She was experienced—with a big name, no less.
'Survived under that picky Ma-sam, too.'
Personality probably solid. Otherwise, she'd never last.
I started with the burning question.
"I saw your old Ma-sam broadcasts—lots of flubs. How's that now?"
"Way better! Barely any mistakes anymore!"
"Hm, really?"
I peeked at chat. She was kinda famous. Plenty of viewers would know her.
-Damn! Savage lolololololol
-Hire her quick! Hire her quick! Hire her quick!
-Bigger than An Young? I'm sold
-Man, managers with big tits are the best!
Lots of nonsense, all obsessed with her chest.
But some sane takes too.
-Su-a's solid. She's been killing it as manager lately.
-fr, Su-a would be great. No more screw-ups.
I scanned like a hawk and nodded.
'She's improved a ton.'
Tempered in Ma-sam's fire. Big plus.
I kept grilling Su-a.
An Young got jealous midway, of course.
"Coming to an interview in such a low-cut top?"
"S-sorry. I wear stuff like this a lot..."
"It's fine, Su-a. I don't care about outfits."
"Whoa! Park Jae-ho! You are a guy, right?"
"Please refrain from 'you' talk, An Young."
"Wh-when did I!"
Dodged that bullet fine.
A few more questions later, I nodded.
"No boyfriend currently?"
"Nope. None."
"Hired!"