The Shifting Tide
The broadcast had ended, but Tae-jun couldn't bring himself to turn off the screen. The final scene from moments ago kept replaying in his mind.
Kim Tae-jun gritted his teeth and glared at the monitor. "Damn it."
Being told not to go to clubs was one thing. He could just avoid those kinds of warnings. The problem was what came after. Park Jihun hadn't said anything else. He couldn't tell if it was because it was truly nothing, or if he had seen something he couldn't mention on a public broadcast. That made it even more irritating.
"What the hell is it?"
He wanted to go find him right now and grill him. But he knew Jihun wouldn't answer. If he just charged in blindly, he might never get another reading again.
That was when it happened. *Ding.* A Discord notification popped up on the screen. The sender was Park Jihun.
[I'm starting a private stream at 11. Come in. Password: 9876.]
Tae-jun's hand froze. "…What?"
A short breath escaped him. The heat that had been churning in his head just moments ago subsided for a second. "A private stream?"
It meant it was something he couldn't talk about on a public broadcast. Tae-jun exhaled slowly. "Ha… he’s really driving me crazy."
He checked the clock. It was almost eleven.
Park Jihun stared at the monitor in silence, his eyes narrowed. A moment later, Tae-jun entered the chat.
"Get on Discord first."
Tae-jun joined the Discord immediately. A short connection sound rang out, and a brief silence fell between the two. Tae-jun spoke first.
"Tell me now. What did you see?"
At that moment, a vision flashed by. *Pop.* The sound of champagne corks popping echoed close to his ears. The clinking of glasses, excited laughter, and shouts of congratulations poured out from everywhere. He couldn't tell what the occasion was, but everyone seemed thrilled. Among them, one man stood out—a middle-aged man with glasses. His forehead was exposed, and his lips curled into a long smile every time he laughed. People were gathered around him, holding up their glasses. Tae-jun was there, too. And beside him, another man appeared. His face looked similar to Tae-jun's, yet not quite. The man held out a glass toward Tae-jun. Tae-jun hesitated for a moment before giving a sheepish smile and accepting the drink.
The scene cut abruptly. *Whoosh.* The sound of heavy rain. A deserted road. Inside a car smashed into a utility pole. Kim Tae-jun lay slumped in the driver's seat. Blood was flowing from his forehead, and an expensive bottle of liquor was rolling on the passenger seat. At first, it looked like a common drunk driving accident. But something was off. It looked as if someone had staged it. Soon, the flashing lights of a police car appeared. The accident was about to be wrapped up as a simple DUI case. That was where it ended.
Park Jihun parted his lips. "It was right after something good."
Tae-jun twitched his eyebrows. "…What?"
"It was a celebration, and everyone was excited." Park Jihun continued briefly. "The problem was what happened after. There was a drinking party involved, and it ended in an accident."
Tae-jun's face stiffened. "…Did I cause the accident?"
"I saw you getting drunk. But I didn't see you driving the car yourself."
"Then…"
"The end result was you taking the fall for it."
The other side of the Discord call went quiet. After a long silence, Tae-jun finally opened his mouth. "…What? You said I didn't drive."
Park Jihun frowned. "That's as far as I saw."
Tae-jun held his breath. "…Who did this to me?"
"Be careful right after something good happens. And watch out for drinking parties."
Tae-jun, lost in thought for a long time, bit his lip. At the end of a short silence, he said, "I got it. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."
With that, the Discord call ended. The room fell silent again. Park Jihun stared at the disconnected Discord window for a while. Someone had watched the broadcast and used it to set up a new scheme. As a result, the future that was supposed to unfold had been twisted.
Park Jihun leaned back slowly into his chair. "So, you can twist the board like this, too."
Even then, a very faint sneer crossed Park Jihun's lips. "You can twist it, but you can't hide it."
Kim Tae-jun chewed over what he had heard last night throughout his entire commute. A celebration, followed by an accident. *I end up taking the fall for it? When on earth is this supposed to happen?* His mind was a mess, but inside the elevator, Kim Tae-jun hardened his resolve. It was clear whose side he had to take today. *At the very least, this time, I'm going with my own judgment.*
He headed straight for the conference room. The air inside was already taut. Park Sangheon glanced at Tae-jun with his arms crossed. He had been stepping back until yesterday, but today, as soon as he entered the room, he spoke first.
"I trust Director Yun Jeongho, and I will give him more time."
The conference room went quiet in an instant. The finance team executive's face twisted, while Director Yun Jeongho couldn't immediately respond. Surprise flickered across his momentarily frozen expression. Park Sangheon narrowed his eyes.
"Are you saying you're willing to accept the losses after all?"
Tae-jun didn't look away. "Yes, Executive Director."
It was short and firm. Park Sangheon watched Tae-jun for a moment before speaking slowly. "If that is Director Kim's judgment, then proceed as such." He paused for a beat and added, "However, if the results go awry, the Chairman will not let it slide this time either. This means it is your last chance. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
Kim Tae-jun chuckled. His uncle was always like that. He was always pushing him, saying this was his last chance. He didn't hesitate for a second. "Yes."
The meeting ended right there.
As people were filing out, Kim Tae-jun's uncle, Park Sangheon, quietly walked toward the emergency stairs. As he pushed the steel door and stepped inside, he felt the cold air. He immediately pulled out his phone and made a call. After a short connection sound, the other party picked up. Park Sangheon parted his lips.
"Tae-jun says he's going to back the Research Director."
A brief silence followed. At the other party's question, he spoke again. "It's actually for the best." He replied calmly. "Yes. It's research that has been stagnant for years. There's no way it'll suddenly succeed overnight."
He looked at the sign that read 'Emergency Exit' for a moment before continuing. "…Yes. I'll keep watching."
Park Sangheon hung up. He frowned, lost in thought. *It's strange. He was always an indecisive kid who would hesitate until the end and always make the wrong move.* He had thought that if he pressured him by saying it was his last chance, he would choose the safe path like he always did. But today, his nephew hadn't even blinked at those words. Looking back, it felt like his nephew's attitude and behavior toward him had changed lately.
*What happened?* He had to look into it.
As soon as Park Jihun opened his eyes, he grabbed the phone on his bedside table. Looking at the screen with a still-sleepy face, he sent a message to Usik.
He had promised to have lunch with Usik today. After sending the message, he stretched. Park Jihun went into the bathroom, washed his hair, and finished his shower. Then, he looked around the house. A cramped rooftop room, barely 5 pyeong in size. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. The only good thing was that the apartment downstairs was empty, so he could broadcast at night without much trouble. He sat at his desk, turned on the computer, and checked his settlement details.
The moment the numbers appeared on the screen, Park Jihun's gaze lingered for a long time. Even though it was his first settlement, a significant amount of donations had piled up. In particular, the number of Water Droplets poured in yesterday was much higher than he had thought. *Because the donation notifications were backed up for a while.*
He stared at the screen in silence. It didn't feel as real when they were just Water Droplets, but seeing them as numbers felt completely different. It wasn't long ago that he used to agonize over transportation costs every time he went for an interview. Now, he was earning a decent office worker's monthly salary in a single day.
*First, I should move my mother to a nice house. After that…*
He was turning those thoughts over in his head when—*Ding.* A notification sound rang out. There was an email in his unused inbox. The sender was a name he had never seen before.
"What is this?"
Feeling curious, he checked the email.
Park Jihun narrowed his eyes as he read the email. "Cloud?"
A broadcasting platform just like Ocean. In other words, a competitor. "Should I hear them out once?"
Even though Usik was broadcasting on Ocean, that wasn't a reason to stick to Ocean exclusively. Jihun was deep in thought when—*Vrrr.* His phone started ringing. Thinking it might be Usik, he checked the phone screen. It was an unknown number. He didn't know who it was, but he answered the call anyway.
"Hello."
A voice came through the receiver immediately. "Hello, this is Jung Woohyeon, the Operations Team Leader at Ocean."
"What is this about?"
"It's nothing else, but I'm contacting you because we'd like to offer 'PerpetualJobSeeker' an exceptional proposal."
When Park Jihun didn't say anything, a voice followed from the other side of the receiver, a beat late. "Did Cloud happen to contact 'PerpetualJobSeeker' as well?"
Park Jihun didn't answer. Team Leader Jung Woohyeon spoke urgently in a flustered voice. "Ah, of course, it's your freedom to sign a contract with whoever you want, but Cloud tends to be a bit aggressive with their approach. I would appreciate it if you would listen to our proposal before making any hasty decisions based only on what they say."
Park Jihun didn't say a word. Jung Woohyeon caught his breath for a moment before speaking again. "I don't know what kind of conditions they offered, but we can certainly offer you sufficiently good conditions as well. If you have the time, I'd like to meet you in person and explain."
When there was still no answer, Jung Woohyeon called out cautiously. "Um… 'PerpetualJobSeeker'?"
Only then did Park Jihun open his mouth. "Yes, then I'll listen to what you have to say."
A short sigh of relief escaped from the other side of the receiver. It was certain that Park Jihun was the one leading the board right now.