“Ah, Sorry. Were You Finished Talking?”
At Kim Tae-hyun’s words, Bae Jang-wook realized something.
Tae-hyun hadn’t been putting on airs on purpose—he genuinely hadn’t cared about a single thing Bae Jang-wook had just said.
No, how can someone not care about what I just said?!
Bae Jang-wook was dumbfounded.
What he had just listed off were exactly the kinds of things ordinary players should care about.
- How prestigious MBS was, and how profitable an exclusive contract with them could be.
- Which famous players were already signed exclusively with MBS.
He had even brought up Tae-hyun’s quest and showered him with praise.
And yet Tae-hyun still looked utterly uninterested.
What the hell is this guy?
Bae Jang-wook felt his thoughts knotting into a mess.
“Hmm. Hmm. I suppose none of that really interests you?”
“Ah. Right. It just wasn’t really the kind of thing I care about...”
“?!”
Bae Jang-wook blinked.
“S-some of the players signed with us make ten million, even twenty million won a month.”
“Really? Good for them.”
He said it the way someone might look at gold and see a rock.
Bae Jang-wook felt more and more stifled.
Originally, when he’d come to meet Tae-hyun, his plan had been to lay out one tempting offer after another and lock him into an exclusive contract.
But now that he was actually sitting here with him, he had no idea what angle would work.
“A-among the players who appear on our broadcasts, there’s also that ranker, Lee Se-yeon...”
At that, Tae-hyun flinched.
Until now he hadn’t reacted to anything, but the moment he did, Bae Jang-wook’s eyes lit up.
Well, well?
So he didn’t care about money, and he didn’t care about famous broadcasters—but he did care about top ranker Lee Se-yeon?
He’s a gamer after all!
Whatever else might be true, no gamer could be indifferent to Lee Se-yeon.
At least, that was what Bae Jang-wook thought.
Finally, I found a lead!
“Haha. So you’re interested in Lee Se-yeon?”
“If you play Fantasy Online, there’s no way you wouldn’t know that name.”
“Exactly! Some people even call her the best in the world.”
“...”
Tae-hyun nodded with a complicated expression.
Then he picked up a macaron and ate it.
It was part of the dessert spread Bae Jang-wook had ordered when he came in.
“This is good. Mind if I order more?”
“Of course, go ahead. The macarons here have a good reputation, you know? They’re popular even inside the station. A bit pricey, sure, but nothing serious!”
Bae Jang-wook said it in a tone that clearly meant, Look how well I’m treating you.
But Tae-hyun barely seemed to notice.
“I can see that. Looking at the price, yeah, it really is nothing.”
“?!”
Flustered, Bae Jang-wook cleared his throat.
Then he dragged the conversation back to the main point.
“S-so. If you’re interested in Lee Se-yeon, I could arrange an opportunity for you to meet—”
Tae-hyun flinched again.
Watching the reaction, Bae Jang-wook clenched a fist internally.
“No, that’s fine.”
“Pardon? Ah, there’s no need to be shy. I don’t mean meeting her privately—just on a broadcast...”
“I said no, didn’t I? If meeting her is mandatory, then I won’t sign the contract.”
“?!?!”
Bae Jang-wook was confused all over again.
So he wasn’t interested in Lee Se-yeon?
What exactly... is this guy?
Whether Bae Jang-wook was bewildered or not, Tae-hyun simply shook his head.
It was a good thing he had run into Lee Se-yeon in-game last time.
Who would’ve guessed she was holding that much of a grudge?
Lee Se-yeon had pretty good instincts too, so there was no need to meet her in person and take an unnecessary risk.
Misunderstanding piled on misunderstanding.
And so, with both of them misreading the other completely, the conversation in the café went on.
“...So, those are our terms. What do you think?”
Whatever Bae Jang-wook’s tangled thoughts might have been, MBS’s offer itself was excellent.
The station would take footage of Tae-hyun’s gameplay and broadcast it with hosts and panelists commenting over it as they watched.
Of course, if there were certain quests Tae-hyun didn’t want revealed, those could remain private.
Revenue would be split according to ratings, and if he became especially popular, there could be advertising deals on top of that...
It was nothing like the slave contracts rumored to be circulating at fledgling stations. It was the sort of contract you’d expect from an established broadcaster with real standing.
“It all looks good, but there’s one thing...”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I’m not really interested in an exclusive contract.”
“...!”
Bae Jang-wook’s eyes widened.
An exclusive contract.
It meant Tae-hyun’s quests and gameplay would only ever be shown on MBS.
To Bae Jang-wook, that part was essential.
Talented players were exactly the people other stations would want to steal away.
And without exclusivity, there was no real way to stand apart.
“Wait—have you already received offers from another network?”
“No, not that. It’s just... kind of a family motto thing.”
“Excuse me?”
Growing up, Tae-hyun had received all sorts of education from his father, Kim Tae-san.
One part of that had been life lessons you could actually use in the real world.
- Even if you cut ties with someone forever, never cosign anything for them!
- Nothing in this world is free. If some bastard starts telling you a deal sounds good only for you, punch him first!
- If you’re depressed, eat meat!
- Doesn’t matter what it is—don’t let anyone put a leash on you. It’ll just turn into a pain later!
His upbringing was a chaotic blend of every kind of advice imaginable.
Even aside from Kim Tae-san’s influence, Tae-hyun simply didn’t see why he needed to sign an exclusive deal.
It wasn’t that he had plans to go elsewhere—but why decide right now that he had to stick with MBS?
It wasn’t even clear what kind of place MBS really was yet.
Hearing that, Bae Jang-wook found himself speechless.
Because, honestly, it made sense.
Ugh... none of the bait is working, so I can’t do a damn thing...
Bae Jang-wook clicked his tongue inwardly.
This was usually where his real skill came in.
Of course players preferred open contracts over exclusive ones.
If another station offered them a better deal later, why shouldn’t they go?
Convincing players like that with strong terms—that was Bae Jang-wook’s specialty.
It wasn’t deception, either.
If he lured players in by lying to them, there was no way he’d have built a good reputation.
His talent lay in figuring out what players liked, what they wanted, and then putting that in front of them to close the deal.
A genuine win-win arrangement.
The problem was, he had no idea what Tae-hyun wanted.
Does he just not have any greed?
“Well, if you absolutely need an exclusive contract, then I guess that can’t be helped. I’m sure the station has its reasons.”
Tae-hyun gave a shrug and started to rise from his seat.
Smack!
In a panic, Bae Jang-wook tried to grab his arm.
But he caught nothing but air and stumbled.
Tae-hyun had slipped his hand away as casually as if it were nothing.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, n-no, that... I’m sorry. I was just in a rush. More importantly, the exclusive contract—we can drop it! We’ll do an open contract instead!”
“That’s okay with you?”
Tae-hyun looked puzzled.
He had assumed exclusivity was something the station absolutely needed.
Bae Jang-wook nodded.
Better this than losing him!
Letting another station snatch away the Katerand Island quest footage would be far worse than settling for this.
And Bae Jang-wook still hadn’t forgotten the bidding war on the auction site.
The moment he let go, someone else might swoop in and take Tae-hyun immediately.
“T-that said, if you did sign exclusively, I could use my authority to increase the base payment and—”
“No thanks. I don’t really need that.”
“...I see.”
Bae Jang-wook nodded gloomily.
Once they had wrapped up the contract discussion, Bae Jang-wook finally turned to Tae-hyun with a question.
Come to think of it, I never actually asked about the game itself.
“Mr. Tae-hyun, what class and level are you?”
“Huh? Do I have to say?”
At Tae-hyun’s reaction, Bae Jang-wook hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, no, not at all. I was just asking out of curiosity.”
“It’s not exactly a secret, but it’s not something I particularly want to announce either... My class is called Avatar of Archisus, and my level is...”
Tae-hyun trailed off.
He had only just barely reached level 50.
“...Let’s keep that one a secret.”
“Avatar of Archisus? Just from the name, I can’t tell what kind of class it is. It’s not a normal class, obviously. Is it a Heroic class?”
“Not a Heroic class.”
“Ah, then it must be a Rare class.”
Bae Jang-wook nodded as if that settled it.
Tae-hyun was about to explain, then gave up.
No need to go into it.
“Then what have you been doing lately, and where?”
“I’ve been clearing the Sadiq Church subjugation quest.”
“Ah, that one’s hot right now. How’s it going?”
Bae Jang-wook had been too busy with work to do more than glance at the quest’s name.
He had no idea what was actually happening inside it.
“Well... I sort of killed stuff and sort of cleared it.”
“Would it be possible to show that on air?”
“On air? I don’t think I’d mind. I can send you the footage, then.”
“Haha. Please do send us anything at all. Whether it’s suitable for broadcast or not, my team will judge that. Surprisingly often, game players think the quests they did are boring, but from the viewers’ perspective, they’re not. So just send it over first.”
“All right. I’ll do that.”
Bae Jang-wook spoke confidently, but in truth, he wasn’t expecting that much.
The Katerand Island quest had been something extraordinary.
How likely was it that one player would clear quests of that caliber one after another?
Besides, a famous quest like the Sadiq Church subjugation would’ve drawn everyone from random players to major guilds.
In that kind of situation, there was no way Tae-hyun could have stood out that much.
Which was probably why he’d said, “I sort of killed stuff and sort of cleared it.”
That was the conclusion Bae Jang-wook reached as he nodded.
Still, there might be something entertaining in there.
Finding interesting material even in ordinary places—that was the mark of a professional broadcaster.
In the end, Bae Jang-wook decided it had still been a satisfying meeting.
He was still deeply confused by Tae-hyun, but he’d gotten results of one kind or another.
Come to think of it, Kim Tae-hyun... that’s the exact same name as that Kim Tae-hyun from Fantasy Online 1.
The thought came to him suddenly, and Bae Jang-wook looked up at Tae-hyun.
In some ways, his personality even felt a little similar to the Kim Tae-hyun from the first game.
“No way...”
“...?”
“Tae-san-nim!”
When Tae-hyun logged back in, the blacksmiths were there to greet him.
“Oh. Did they catch the Sadiq Church bastards?”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t everybody else go chasing after the ones who ran?”
“Ah, that. Aside from killing a few trash mobs, apparently they didn’t get much.”
“Figures.”
“That’s not the important part right now. There was an announcement from the royal palace.”
“An announcement?”
“Yeah! They said they’d hand out rewards now that the subjugation quest is over!”
“Makes sense.”
The Sadiq Church hiding in the Valley had been smashed to pieces and had fled elsewhere, so from the royal palace’s point of view, it was more than enough to count the subjugation quest as a success.
The kingdom army and the various religious orders were already getting ready to withdraw.
“Do you know what players are saying to each other right now?”
“Hmm. Cursing me out?”
The players who had been hunting the Fire Demonic Beast certainly had reason to curse him.
He’d suddenly shown up, grabbed the best part for himself, and walked off with it.
Park Seong-chan answered with an awkward expression.
“...Well, I’m sure some people are, but... I meant they’re all talking about who’s in first place for contribution points.”
“So who do they say is number one?”
“They’re saying it’s between ranker Johansson, the Acacia Guild Master, and the Fighters Guild Master... Crawford’s a ranker too, but since he specializes in fire, they say first place is probably out of reach for him in this quest.”
“And not me? Didn’t I do a fair amount too?”
“That’s because the others didn’t see what happened inside the Valley, right? If they’re thinking killing just the Fire Demonic Beast isn’t enough to take first place in contribution points...”
“Good. Then I won’t draw any aggro.”
Tae-hyun grinned and stood up.
It was always fun to overturn other people’s expectations.