Flipping the Board
Kim Tae-jun stood in front of the bathroom mirror, neatly brushing back his wet hair. Normally, he wouldn't be showering at this hour. He would have just splashed some water on his face and grabbed a glass of alcohol. Or he would have gone to a club, or sprawled on the sofa with some random broadcast playing to kill time.
But today was different. After blow-drying his hair, he even applied toner and lotion—things he rarely used. Then he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His pale, clean face felt strangely unfamiliar.
"Whew." Exhaling a short breath, Tae-jun picked up the cologne bottle next to the sink, then set it back down.
"No, that's too much. It's not like we're meeting in person; it's just Discord," he muttered to himself.
He walked over to the dressing room. He took out a freshly ironed shirt and put it on. Sitting around in a crumpled t-shirt just didn't feel right today.
Returning to his room, he scanned his desk. He tossed a stray lighter into a drawer and threw the empty liquor bottles into the trash. Then, he placed a single glass of water right in the center of his desk.
Looking at it, a hollow chuckle escaped his lips.
"Am I losing my mind?"
But his amusement didn't last. He turned on his phone screen to re-read the message his father had sent.
It was a short sentence. His father was always like that. He only threw out the problems. Finding the right answer was always Tae-jun's responsibility.
"Sigh." He let out a sigh and walked out to the living room. His head throbbed. The whiskey bottles on the display shelf caught his eye. They were just a hand's reach away. Normally, he would have already dropped ice into a glass and poured himself a drink.
Tae-jun tore his gaze away. Not today. At least for today, he didn't want to cloud his mind.
He sat back down in his chair and checked the time. 7:50 PM. About ten minutes left.
Buzz— Just then, his phone vibrated. He checked it; it was a text message.
Tae-jun frowned. He immediately deleted the messages. He ran his tongue over his lips. His throat was incredibly parched. He picked up the water glass and took a sip, but it didn't help much.
"Make your decision by next Monday." His father's words kept ringing in his ears. What if he got it wrong this time too? He chose not to think about what would happen next. Thinking about it only made him feel more pathetic.
Tae-jun navigated to the Ocean homepage. Then he checked his balance of Water Droplets.
It was plenty. Next, he clicked on his bookmarked stream list.
The stream wasn't live yet. Ever since he had discovered this channel, he hadn't missed a single day, always tuning in right on time.
'First Novagen, then Han Yu-na.'
At first, he thought it was a coincidence. The second time, it felt unsettling. By the third time, it was too eerie to just laugh off. And now...
Tae-jun caught his breath as he stared at the still-offline screen of the Perpetual Job Seeker.
"One minute left."
Today was his turn.
Kim Tae-jun couldn't take his eyes off the screen as he hit refresh. It was still the same.
He checked the time again. 7:59 PM. Still one minute left. There was no reason to be impatient. Even as he thought that, his fingertips kept tapping the desk.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He couldn't stop even if he tried. Tae-jun bit the inside of his lip. His gaze shifted from the screen to the clock.
8:00 PM sharp.
He immediately hit refresh. It was still offline.
"What the..."
Frowning, he adjusted his posture. Normally, he wouldn't care this much about a slight delay. Broadcasts could start late, and a minute or two of delay was common.
But not today. Today, even a single minute felt agonizingly long.
Tae-jun refreshed again. Still nothing.
8:01 PM.
He picked up the water glass, then set it back down. He was thirsty, but he didn't actually feel like drinking. He was worried the stream would start the moment he stepped away.
He tapped his fingers on the desk again, his pace quickening.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.
"He's not skipping today, is he?"
The words slipped out of his mouth much harsher than intended. Just in case, Tae-jun checked his internet connection, but there was no issue.
8:03 PM.
Now, even sitting still felt uncomfortable. He started to lean back against the chair, then leaned forward again. Resting his elbows on the desk, he glared at the screen. The dark, offline screen looked exceptionally irritating.
"Sigh..."
With a short sigh, Tae-jun threw his head back, then immediately glared at the screen again. His chest felt tight.
"Make your decision by next Monday." His father's brief message flashed through his mind again. He felt ridiculous clinging so desperately to a single live stream. But ironically, he couldn't think of any other option.
8:05 PM.
Finally, Tae-jun slammed his hand on the desk.
Thud!
"Damn it, why isn't he turning it on?"
His irritated voice echoed loudly in the quiet room.
"Turn it on already!"
The moment he glared at the screen with gritted teeth, the dark display changed.
Tae-jun's eyes lit up.
"He's live."
As if he had been waiting for this exact moment, he clicked on the stream.
The moment Park Jihun started the broadcast, viewers began pouring in.
"Sorry I'm late."
After apologizing to the waiting viewers, Park Jihun immediately pulled up the reservation list. The nickname at the very top stood out.
[Neyton]
The chat went wild.
While the viewers were debating whether Neyton was a silver spoon or a crypto millionaire, a donation alert popped up.
Neyton had finally entered. The chat immediately erupted.
Park Jihun ignored the chat and tapped his desk twice.
Tap. Tap.
"Neyton."
The chat fell quiet for a moment. Soon, a message appeared.
Park Jihun narrowed his eyes as he read the chat.
"What are you doing? Get on Discord."
A moment later, a connection chime rang through his earphones. Neyton had joined the Discord call.
"Speak."
Neyton's voice flowed through the Discord. The impatience he had shown in the chat was still there, but his tone carried a forced, defensive edge.
"My father showed me three women and told me to choose one. As a marriage partner."
The chat immediately erupted in laughter.
Ignoring the chat, Neyton continued.
"On the surface, the first one is the most respectable. It would save face, and my uncle said she's the best. But if I get involved with her, I'll basically end up as a trophy husband."
Neyton took a breath and continued.
"The second one has a temper and seems high-maintenance. It's obvious things will get exhausting if I make a wrong move. But she's flashy, so she catches my eye the most out of the three."
He paused for a moment. After a brief silence, his voice grew slightly quieter.
"The last one seems like she'd be the most comfortable to live with. She'd manage the household well and keep things peaceful. But she's so plain that I don't think she suits me."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah. Now, use your shamanic reading to figure it out. Tell me who I should choose."
The chat was still under the impression that they were talking about women.
Park Jihun stared intently at the screen, then chuckled.
"This isn't about women."
The Discord call fell dead silent. Park Jihun continued, unfazed.
"You're not asking about a marriage partner. You're asking for a way to survive."
"..."
"If you're not going to lay it all out, we're done here."
After a brief silence, Neyton let out a hollow laugh. His voice sounded a bit more drained than before.
"...You really are something. Actually, my father told me to choose one of three subsidiary companies."
The chat went into a frenzy.
Without shifting his gaze, Park Jihun asked,
"Are you looking for the one that won't fail?"
A faint sound of catching breath came through the Discord.
"Or are you looking for the one that will flip the board?"
This time, Neyton didn't argue. He chose his words carefully, then spoke cautiously.
"Just surviving isn't enough. I need to deliver results this time. Absolutely."
At that moment, a brief vision flashed before Park Jihun's eyes.
A building with a gleaming glass facade. A neat, orderly conference room. It looked impressive. But in the next instant, a crack appeared on one side of the wall. At first, it looked like a hairline fracture, but it quickly spread inward. Like an object that looked perfectly fine on the outside but was rotting from within.
Then, another scene overlapped. A spacious warehouse. A conveyor belt running rhythmically. Goods flowed without a hitch, and the numbers aligned stably. It wasn't flashy. Instead, it remained exactly the same until the end. It would be good for holding the line, but there was no wave strong enough to flip the board.
Finally, a pure white lab coat appeared. A polished presentation screen flickered, and a graph plummeted downward. A test tube shattered on the floor, and someone's face turned deathly pale. Warning alarms blared, and the air in the conference room froze.
'Are all three duds?' Just as Jihun furrowed his brow, the stalled numbers suddenly surged, and the inverted graph shot up vertically. Someone approached the screen in disbelief, and the scene instantly shifted. Flashing cameras. A torrent of applause. Cheering crowds.
As the vision faded, Park Jihun spoke without hesitation.
"Go with the flashiest one. The bio subsidiary."
The Discord call fell silent. The chat immediately erupted.
A beat late, Neyton's voice came through.
"...Why?"
"The one with the solid background is already a finished game. Even if you go in, there's no room for you."
Park Jihun scanned the chat and continued.
"The practical one is good for holding out. But you're not looking for a place to just hold out right now, are you?"
The breathing over Discord grew slightly heavier. Park Jihun tapped his desk once.
Tap.
"You need to show them something this time."
The chat quieted down for a moment.
"Then you need a home run."
After a brief silence, Neyton's voice was heard.
"...So that's why you told me to go with bio?"
"Yeah," Park Jihun replied simply. "If what you want is to flip the board, that's the one."
Neyton was silent for a while. After a long deliberation, he answered.
"...Understood."
But he quickly trailed off and added,
"Ah, I have something else to ask..."
At that moment, another vision flashed. Seeing it, Jihun interrupted.
"Hold on. I'm not done."
The Discord call fell silent. Park Jihun glared at the monitor and asked,
"You've done nothing but fail up until now, haven't you? You kept making the wrong decisions."
After a brief silence, Neyton asked in a startled voice,
"How did you..."
Park Jihun continued without wavering.
"It's not that you made the wrong choices."
Neyton asked cautiously,
"...Then?"
Park Jihun answered without hesitation.
"Someone has been making sure you fail."