Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Jinseong's Charity Broadcast
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Jin-seong's mornings were always methodical.
He rose at 5 a.m., neatly folded the blankets strewn across his bed, slipped into simple workout clothes, and breathed in the crisp dawn air.
Streamers who broadcast from home often ended up as total shut-ins. That was why they were called homebodies or hermits, right?
"Huuk... Huuk!"
The cold air rushed into his mouth and filled his lungs, leaving him feeling invigorated.
Of course, even while exercising, the streamer Jin-seong was live on air.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Run another 1km! — Viewer Shit; what kind of bastard pants after just 500m? — Viewer As expected from the epitome of a slacker... — Viewer Jerking off to porn in his room all day, no wonder his stamina's trash. Right? — Viewer Not even uphill, downhill jog and he's struggling? — Viewer Screw it. Let's do a cross-country from Seoul to Jeju. — Viewer The ocean? — Viewer He'll swim, figure it out himself. The chat window scrolled upward by the second.
It flew by so fast that it was impossible to read with the naked eye.
"Come on, brothers! You're not the ones running, so why all the griping? Just showing you my jogging is top-tier content, isn't it?"
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Right. — Viewer Loving these chill healing streams lately. — Viewer Damn! Works out, earns Bubble Gifts, stays healthy—total one-shot three birds? — Viewer Wish I could free-load like that with streams. — Viewer That's free-loading? — Viewer Then what is? No content, so he wakes us at dawn with alarms? — Viewer Starcraft University disbanded, nothing to do, so he started this. Obvious, we've watched for years. For a split second, Jin-seong hid a guilty expression.
It was true.
The Starcraft University crew he ran, JNU, had graduated—disbanded.
Viewers grew bored of the same game daily. Having made his decisive patriotic choice, and with the old saying "leave on a high note" after his tournament win, he spectacularly blew up JNU.
There was a reason.
His wedding with Ppijak-i was coming up soon.
In these tough times when saving a penny was hard, marriage required a fortune. Honeymoon, trousseau, dowry—the detailed budget items were endlessly complicated.
Starcraft University was a crew of dozens of streamers, and as a family man now, it was practically impossible to devote himself to it. That was why he pushed through the disbandment.
Quickly rounding a corner, Jin-seong spotted a massive hill ahead and paused. No way he could climb that. From the start line maybe, but he'd been running for over 40 minutes already.
"Brothers, can't I just go around it?"
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Nope, no way. — Viewer Look at him trying to slack off. — Viewer Got no conscience? — Viewer Me! — Viewer Lock! There were cheers urging him on, too.
🎁 Bubble Gift Alert 🎁 Mantoosa gifted 1,004 Bubble Gifts! Hallelujah gifted 5,000 Bubble Gifts! KissBaldingJinseong gifted 750 Bubble Gifts! Chikko gifted 1,500 Bubble Gifts! "Aigoo, thank you, brothers!"
In the middle of a busy path, Jin-seong bowed deeply to his viewers. Countless eyes stared, but he didn't care. If you couldn't handle this embarrassment, you were disqualified as a streamer.
Bickering with viewers, he painfully climbed the hill. A familiar sign came into view—the iconic snack bar beloved by Koreans nationwide.
Kimbap Empire.
In the past, kimbap rolls cost under 1,500 won, a cheap meal for many. Now, they were 3,000 won each.
Water prices had skyrocketed.
"Brothers, can I grab just one kimbap and some tteokbokki? Damn, I'm starving to death..."
Suddenly, the chat flooded with question marks.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer ? — Viewer ? — Viewer ? Viewers watching the workout stream were baffled by the sudden mukbang pivot. Then why stream at dawn in workout gear for jogging?
Still, grateful just for the stream, they tearfully permitted it.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Fine. Eat up and puke for that fresh glow. — Viewer LOL check that puke talk. — Viewer We're all streaming to eat anyway. Plus, once Jin-seong marries, he'll be tormented all night... — Viewer Why tormented at night? — Viewer That's for adults to know. — Viewer ? — Viewer What else? Pound pound pound! — Viewer Eating rice cakes at night? Why? — Viewer He really was a kid, huh? He sat by the window, shoved the menu in front of the camera. Prices had definitely risen.
"Brothers, for our small business owners, let's order big today. Snack bars are disappearing these days."
Calling the owner in a booming voice.
"Boss! One round of everything on the menu here."
"...Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Bring one of each from the menu. Gonna eat and die today."
"Got it!"
The quiet shop buzzed.
The owner hustled at the sudden big spender's arrival.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Nice, doing good. This is right. — Viewer Saving small businesses is great. But I'm broke, no Bubble Gifts. — Viewer Free viewers always mash the remote hardest. — Viewer Hehe, free viewer here, but I've watched Jin-seong for over 10 years~ — Viewer True that. We're comrades in the same boat! Gazing at the horizon where the sun shyly peeked over, an idea flashed in Jin-seong's mind like a lightbulb.
On Internet Broadcasting, viewers called him president, the sun of Inbang, even god sometimes. The reason he reached this point was his loving viewers.
Many viewers meant many Bubble Gift sponsors, like Bukppudeupppu brother.
One shot: a million.
Cash equivalent: 100 million won.
"Brothers... I just got content."
💬 Live Chat — Viewer What is it? — Viewer Spill. — Viewer Up to no good again? — Viewer What crazy stunt this time? Half excitement.
Half worry.
Amid the relentless chat barrage, Jin-seong put on a serious face.
"What allowed me to climb this far? Obviously because you brothers love me. Admit it?"
Waves of agreement rippled through.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Right — Viewer Right With so many agreeing, it was easy to continue.
"So isn't it time I repay you brothers instead of taking rewards?"
💬 Live Chat — Viewer What bullshit is this? — Viewer Y-You think we watch for rewards? — Viewer Just entertain us. We need dopamine! — Viewer Ominous. Something big coming... Beaming innocently in a plain snack bar—not even his streaming room—Jin-seong dropped a bombshell. Unaware of the storm it would unleash later.
"Some brothers have money to spare, others scrape by day-to-day. I want everyone equally happy."
One day, Bukppudeupppu brother, aka Kim Do-jun brother, had said:
The reason he earned so much wasn't just to be a rich chaebol, but because he wanted to be remembered by many.
If a big spender said it, he had to follow.
Decision made.
"I'll give to viewers in tough spots. If any brothers have family hardships or real disasters, post notices on the broadcast station comments. No shame. I truly want everyone happy."
A brief silence.
Then explosive reactions.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer For real? — Viewer Me, mom's not well, still holed up. — Viewer What? Not working? — Viewer Wanna, but economy sucks. Jobs ain't easy. — Viewer Take a small company job. Factories always need people. — Viewer Eh, that's... — Viewer This guy's belly is full, huh? The entire Kimbap Empire menu arrived via the owner's hands.
Warm, hearty food.
Beyond price, the owner's generosity shone through, desperate for every customer.
The portions were massive.
"Decided. Let's start!"
An insane amount for one person, but Jin-seong stuffed it all down without leaving a crumb.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A string of hectic days.
DJ Group was finally taking shape. Once chairman, he'd probably skip most interviews.
Needed to hire for the secretary's office, and the Strategic Planning team for direct departments was crucial. Though Im Yun-ah would lead it.
As expected, she was one of the few I could trust.
"Contact from Chairman Gu Yong-nam."
"What'd he say?"
"HQ construction completes mid-June."
"Fast. Just half a year."
At my words, Im Yun-ah handed me the front-page newspaper.
"I think it's to showcase Hanmyeong Construction's solidity amid the slump. Building a massive structure tough and quick shows the world, boosting their image."
"Makes sense. Construction lives or dies by safe, on-time completion."
Gu Yong-nam had told me outright.
Wanted to prove Hanmyeong's vitality through this.
And slashed a two-year HQ build to half a year—70% faster.
Impressive guy.
No wonder big corp chairmen weren't anyone.
"And another proposal here. From streamer Jin-seong."
She passed a crisp report thick with black text.
What was this?
"Streamer Jin-seong wants to partner on a foundation."
"Foundation?"
"Yes. He's from a veteran's family. Family motto's about benefiting others, so probably charity."
"Can't do it alone, so asking for help?"
"Exactly."
"Then help. Jin-seong and I aren't strangers—join this good cause."
"You sure? Foundations have positives but negatives too. Public eyes aren't kind."
True.
Too many scammers.
Good intentions existed, but masked frauds too.
Media blasted it big once.
I signed the approval and handed it back.
"Boosting corp image is simple. As I always say: if something goes out, something comes in. If people buy DJ Group's future products, contributing some net sales back to society is right."
"Chairman..."
Pfft!
Im Yun-ah had switched to "Chairman" from "Director" unnoticed.
A bit embarrassing.
"Fund it from my personal assets. Don't touch company funds—headaches later."
"Understood. I'll tell Jin-seong."
"Yes. Afternoon meeting with Shinsung Bank president, right?"
"3:30 p.m."
"Busy. Better head early. It's the Shinsung Bank president."
Korea's Big Five banks.
Shinsung led them.
Their top guy wanted to meet me.
'Whew, haven't even started and already slammed...'
I keenly realized.
Chairman wasn't easy.