Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: An Offer and a Grudge
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If Lee Shin had revealed his identity and operated under his real name, the current contract terms would have been ridiculously cheap.
Back then, Lee Shin was the most famous player in all of Avala Online.
That was the case even with his media activity being practically zero, which showed just how much buzz he generated, regardless of his popularity among the rankers.
But for someone like him to start broadcasting?
The industry's highest signing bonus would have been overwhelmingly shattered.
But the Lee Shin of now wasn't the legendary plunderer from Season 1; he was just an upper-mid-tier player whose few videos had gone viral.
Of course, this was still a remarkable achievement in a short time, but such players were not exactly rare.
So, even a standard industry contract would have been a good deal. He couldn't quite understand why they were trying to 'court' him like this.
Since he didn't understand, various doubts and speculations naturally arose.
“To be honest, I thought you might be trying to trick me into a fraudulent contract, all dressed up to look good on the surface.”
“What are you—! We're not that kind of broadcasting station!”
“That's what scammers say, too.”
In fact, experienced con artists often appeared to be better people than normal individuals.
That was because they had clear intentions from the start, deliberately showing only kind words and good deeds.
Lee Shin knew this from ample experience.
“Pardon?”
“Just talking to myself. Don't mind me.”
“Ah, yes...”
‘What was that?’
Park Pyeong-sik was momentarily flustered, but he soon came to his own misunderstanding.
He assumed that when Lee Shin said he had "ample experience," he meant he had been the victim, not the perpetrator.
This assumption had some basis.
‘…He must have been burned before.’
In reality, although things had improved compared to the past, this industry was still rife with malicious scammers.
Especially when dealing with someone like Arthur—a newcomer, young, and with little real-world experience—it wouldn't be strange for someone to try and rip him off with an outrageous contract.
‘I need to be careful.’
If the other party was wary of the contract itself due to such experiences, the conversation ahead was likely to become difficult.
Park Pyeong-sik chose his words carefully so as not to upset Lee Shin.
“First, to be perfectly clear, we are absolutely not that type of company.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I can confidently say we are very user-friendly. If you're still uneasy, you're welcome to visit our station and see for yourself.”
“Visit the station in person?”
“Yes. You'll likely see many familiar faces, so you can come by anytime.”
Lee Shin shook his head.
“No, that's alright. If you're willing to say that much, I'll trust you.”
“Yes.”
“Then can I consider this contract an investment in my future?”
“That's right. And there's another reason. In fact, this is the main point for now...”
“???”
Lee Shin looked up.
There was more to talk about?
“Go on.”
“Ah, yes. We're actually planning to launch a new program.”
“How is that the main point?”
“Because if we sign a contract, we're thinking of building that program around you, Arthur.”
“Ah...”
Lee Shin nodded.
It was true; there wasn't much else he could have thought of.
His interest piqued, Lee Shin continued with his questions.
“What kind of program is it?”
“We haven't decided that yet.”
“You haven't decided?”
“Yes. We were hoping to work on it together from the planning stage. It would be problematic for you if we came up with something completely different from the channel you're currently running.”
“Oh...”
Park Pyeong-sik answered without hesitation, as if he'd been waiting for the question.
Lee Shin looked at him with a newfound sense of surprise.
‘More than I thought...’
He had wondered if it was an impulsive offer based on potential alone...
The coexistence of a broadcasting contract and a personal channel.
And respecting the user's opinion on the program's direction.
Contrary to his expectations, it was clear they had given it a lot of thought.
Park Pyeong-sik's words were now resolving the very points Lee Shin had been skeptical about before the meeting, which was extremely important to him.
The game was a sanctuary for Lee Shin.
It was also where he felt most alive.
It had to be a space of freedom, and Park Pyeong-sik's words were essentially a guarantee of that.
So, while Lee Shin nodded in satisfaction, a question suddenly occurred to him.
‘But is that really okay?’
He must have seen the videos I posted on YouTube.
No, he definitely said he saw them...
‘But he's saying he'll do whatever I suggest?’
What kind of result does he think will come of that?
To put it bluntly, if I proposed player-hunting content just like I've been doing, could they handle the public backlash?
“Ah, that doesn't matter.”
“It would be bad for your image.”
“It's just a concept, so what does it matter? Besides, it's a pre-recorded broadcast, so if we think it's too excessive, we can just edit it out before it airs.”
On top of that, Park Pyeong-sik didn't really care about image.
Their existing fanbase was so loyal that they could absorb a certain amount of damage.
So, what they desperately needed was buzz to attract new viewers.
Even if it meant sacrificing some of their image.
“As long as there's no friction with our affiliated users, it's fine.”
Park Pyeong-sik had already guessed what had happened between Lee Shin and Arin.
But he didn't bother to mention it.
The atmosphere was good, and he didn't want to create an awkward mood by bringing up something that was already in the past.
Of course, if he knew what disaster had befallen the Five Star Guild because of Lee Shin, he would never have acted this way...
Unfortunately, Park Pyeong-sik didn't know.
“That's all I have to say... What do you think?”
“It's good.”
“...!!”
At Lee Shin's response, Park Pyeong-sik clenched his fists tightly under the table.
But Lee Shin wasn't finished.
“But I can't sign the contract.”
“Whaaat!?!?”
Lee Shin's way of toying with people!
Indeed, Park Pyeong-sik fell into a small panic.
‘The mood was so good...?’
‘Does he have a connection with another broadcasting station after all?!’
‘No, then why didn't he say so from the beginning...’
“Wh-why? If you could just tell me what's lacking...”
“It's not because of the terms.”
“Pardon?”
“I'm still a student, so I'm a bit hesitant to get in any deeper. I think I need some time to think about it.”
“Ah...?”
Park Pyeong-sik's eyes widened.
He had met countless people and made similar offers, but this was the first time he'd ever received such a response.
‘My future career path.’
The signing bonus Park Pyeong-sik offered today was by no means a small amount.
For a young student who had just entered university, it wouldn't be strange to be immediately tempted by that sum.
But the user before him was different.
Looking back, there had been no direct mention of the amount throughout the meeting.
“......”
Only then did Park Pyeong-sik notice Lee Shin's attire and his surroundings.
He had been so captivated by his appearance that he'd overlooked it until now, but every piece of clothing Lee Shin wore was from an expensive brand.
And the cafe where they were meeting was located in a commercial district with extremely high rent.
It wasn't the highest in Korea, but it was among the top.
‘And he said his home was nearby...’
Park Pyeong-sik broke out in a cold sweat.
An incredibly wealthy kid!
He had been secretly thinking, ‘Should I raise the signing bonus?’ but now that he knew the reality, he realized that any normal amount of money would be useless.
So, he was feeling a bit dejected.
“So, could I just have your business card?”
“Huh... Yes?”
“Your business card. So I can contact you later if I change my mind.”
Lee Shin offered a sliver of hope.
He needed to think about it more, but the offer itself wasn't bad.
Thanks to that, Park Pyeong-sik regained his vigor as if nothing had happened.
He smiled and handed over his business card.
“...Ah! Yes! Of course, I can give you one!”
“Take care on your way out!”
“Haha. Yes.”
The meeting ended on a relatively amicable note.
Park Pyeong-sik saw Lee Shin off with a light heart.
He hadn't gotten the result he wanted, but since the other party had shown a favorable reaction, he felt he had achieved at least some of his goal.
‘I can keep an eye on him and try to recruit him later... Not bad.’
But this was only half-correct.
Because of something happening in a place Park Pyeong-sik knew nothing about.
***
Not long ago, Yu Han-seong, who had suffered enormous losses and a blow to his image due to Lee Shin's betrayal, could not simply let the matter go.
When he realized he had been betrayed by someone he had trusted, the memories of scrambling to please her came flooding back, and he couldn't bear it.
It was a sense of injustice that could only be resolved by paying her back several times over.
‘I will find you, no matter what.’
Yu Han-seong ground his teeth.
Consumed by vengeance, as soon as the incident was more or less under control, he gathered all the guild's executives and said.
“Let's issue a kill order.”
“Hmm...”
No one objected.
Everyone gathered here had heard what they had suffered at the hands of the player named Lee Si-eun.
This was the kind of thing one would normally commission an assassin's guild for, and it would cost a considerable amount of gold, but considering the damage to the guild's prestige, retaliation itself was absolutely necessary.
The Five Star Guild wasn't exactly a small-time operation, so they could certainly afford to spend some gold.
The problem was...
“But how do we find her?”
“......”
“She's already blocked whispers and run off...”
The fuming Yu Han-seong was at a loss for words.
The opponent who had taken everything she could and fled!
Considering that even assassin guilds required basic information to accept a commission, the situation was bleak.
“Umm......”
“......”
“...Should we send out guild members to look?”
“And where would they look? You need at least a rough search area for that to be effective. Sending them out blindly will just be a bigger loss for us.”
“Then...”
Opinions were actively exchanged.
Most were impractical, but these were all veterans of guild management since Avala Online 1, so through repeated revisions, the proposals gradually became more realistic.
As a result, it wasn't long before someone came up with a plausible idea.
“I don't think this is the first time for her.”
“Huh?”
“She killed 25 players at once? Or something like that. She didn't seem to care much about her notoriety rising, either.”
“Right? She killed almost all the soldiers by herself. ...Ah!”
Realizing what was being said, Yu Han-seong let out a gasp.
They were trembling at the massive notoriety gain from killing just a few soldiers, but she had been utterly calm.
She was even smirking.
What could this mean?
‘She's a habitual offender!’
It meant she was already used to causing chaos of this magnitude.
Which meant there was a very high probability that other victims existed... And they, too, might be hunting Lee Si-eun, filled with hatred.
‘If I can gather those people...!’
Then he might find a way forward.
His mind cleared, Yu Han-seong immediately took action.
He began a massive search for victims, using the guild bulletin board, the official Avala Online community, and even Arin's personal channel.
“Um, but.”
“Yes?”
“Aren't you going to look for that Arthur guy?”
And in the process, the topic of Arthur also came up.
To save both time and money, why not look for him at the same time?
But Yu Han-seong firmly shook his head.
“Him... we can find him later!”
Splitting the guild's resources might lead to poor results for both searches.
It was a matter of choice and focus.
The fact that he chose to hunt Si-eun, even though Arthur was the root cause of all this, showed just how much Yu Han-seong was grinding his teeth.
‘Just one... just one lead!’
Yu Han-seong waited for tips with fire in his eyes.
Would his desperate wish be answered?
Soon, an email arrived.
“Kang Woo-jin?”
Kang Woo-jin.
That was the sender's name.
‘Woo-jin.’
‘I'm sorry for making you do something so difficult.’
‘The rest... I'll take care of it.’
He was a player who, back when Lee Shin was still a beginner, had been severely burned by Lee Shin's queen bee act.