The Weight of a Life
It was immediately after the broadcast of episode 54 ended. Park Jihun leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. The aftereffects of keeping his Shinan open for so long were crashing down on him. His eyelids felt heavy, and his temples throbbed slightly. In the past, reading for just six people would have been physically taxing, but things were different now. He could handle seven without much trouble. After rubbing his eyes, Park Jihun logged onto the Ocean homepage. He checked his donation history right away.
The first thing that caught his eye was the amount donated by Neyton. 20,000 Water Droplets. It wasn't a small sum. But beneath that, much larger numbers were displayed.
The total number of Water Droplets TheFirst had thrown was 300,000. Park Jihun stared at the screen in silence. "......Three hundred thousand." In cash, that was thirty million won. Even after the platform took its cut, it was over twenty million won. Only then did it truly sink in. "He really threw a lot." Just as he let out a dry laugh, his phone buzzed. The caller was Lee Minhyeok. As soon as Park Jihun picked up, Lee Minhyeok poured out words like a machine gun.
"JobSeeker, today's broadcast was absolutely insane, wasn't it?"
"Was it that good?"
"Yes. I just clipped a short-form video and uploaded it, and the view count is skyrocketing. Between Neyton getting picked again only to be cut by the one-week rule, and TheFirst throwing 100,000 and then 200,000 in a row, the reaction is explosive."
Park Jihun put his phone on speaker mode and checked YouTube. It was just as Lee Minhyeok had said. The short, uploaded only minutes ago, was gaining views rapidly. Comments were flooding in as well.
Park Jihun chuckled as he read the comments. 'Both of them are chaebols... maybe that's true.' Then, Lee Minhyeok said cautiously, "But JobSeeker."
"Yes?"
"I see a lot of comments asking if there are any 'Chairman benefits.' They're saying even if it's not a spiritual reading, don't you need a special reaction for the big spenders? What do you think?"
"Of course not."
"I thought you'd say that."
"A donation is just a donation. It has nothing to do with the spiritual reading. If the treatment changed because of that, there would be no point in setting the rules."
Lee Minhyeok replied immediately, "Ah, you're right. That's the biggest differentiator of your broadcast, JobSeeker. Now that I think about it, the donation atmosphere is different from other streams, too."
"How so?"
"Neyton and TheFirst are the anomalies; usually, it's just people coming to leave reviews and throwing a little bit here and there."
"Exactly."
"Still, the YouTube channel has grown significantly. The view count relative to the subscriber count is absurd right now. At this rate, we might get the Silver Button soon."
Park Jihun turned his gaze back to the monitor. The number of subscribers, the views, the real-time comments. The numbers that hadn't felt real just a few days ago were now noticeably large.
"Understood. Please keep up the good work with the long-form content."
"Yes. I'll start working on it right away."
"Good work."
"Thank you."
The call ended. Park Jihun put his phone down and stared intently at the nickname that had become the new 'Chairman.' [TheFirst]. It was a nickname he was seeing for the first time. Yet, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. A short while ago, during the broadcast, when TheFirst's donation message popped up, a scene related to him had briefly flashed before his eyes. A spacious study. An expensive-looking desk and sofa. A thick report on the desk. On one of them was Kim Taejun's name, and on the document next to it was his own name. PerpetualJobSeeker. Park Jihun. He hadn't seen TheFirst's face or name, but one thing was certain: he wasn't an ordinary viewer.
Park Jihun narrowed his eyes. "Is he from Taesung?" But that was it. He couldn't dig any deeper. Park Jihun closed the donation history window. It wouldn't change anything anyway. Whoever TheFirst was, no matter how much he donated, everyone was the same once they entered the stream. To get a reading, you had to be picked. That was all.
The next morning. As soon as Kim Taehun arrived at work, he entered his office. Looking out the window, he turned to the secretary who had followed him in and opened his mouth. "You said you had it prepared. What happened?" The secretary's expression stiffened. He bowed his head immediately. "I apologize."
"You said you'd minimize the broadcast delay and that you were prepared to click the application button the moment it appeared."
"I took those measures."
"And yet, I failed, and that bastard Kim Taejun got picked again."
The secretary bowed his head in silence. "How could this happen?"
"......I apologize."
The secretary couldn't bring himself to lift his head. Kim Taehun, looking back out the window, narrowed his brows and asked, "Secretary Han."
"Yes."
"Check how much it would cost to acquire Ocean."
The secretary paused. "Ocean...... you mean?"
"Yes."
"I will check right away."
The secretary immediately took out his tablet, checked, and said cautiously, "Acquisition itself isn't impossible. However, the share structure is complex, so it will take time."
Kim Taehun sat down and leaned back. "You're saying it can be acquired, right?"
The secretary's face stiffened. "D-Director."
"Why."
"Acquiring Ocean doesn't mean you can control Park Jihun."
Kim Taehun's eyes narrowed. The secretary continued cautiously, "On the contrary, it will create a picture of pressuring the platform, which will backfire. Park Jihun might move to another platform."
"Wasn't he under an exclusive contract with Ocean?"
"It's the same even if he is. That man won't be moved by money."
"Do you have proof?"
The secretary hesitated before speaking. "I heard that Ocean already tried something similar once."
Kim Taehun paused and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I heard that when they were in the middle of contracting with Park Jihun, the CEO of Ocean requested a private spiritual reading."
"And?"
"He was rejected immediately."
Kim Taehun's gaze turned cold. The secretary added briefly, "I heard he was told to get in line."
Kim Taehun closed his mouth. The secretary bowed his head deeply as well. In an instant, the office fell silent. Kim Taehun frowned. It was something he had somewhat guessed. But hearing it from the secretary's mouth made him let out a dry laugh. Money didn't work, and power didn't work. Yet Kim Taejun had already received two readings, and if it weren't for the rules, he would have gotten another one this time. Thinking of that made his stomach churn.
"Find a way before the next broadcast."
"Yes. I will prepare it as quickly as possible."
The secretary bowed and retreated. The door closed, and Kim Taehun was left alone in the office. He turned on his computer and played the replay of Park Jihun's broadcast. Neyton. Kim Taejun. He checked the chat Kim Taejun had left for TheFirst again.
Kim Taehun bit his lip. Since they were young, Kim Taejun had always captured their father's attention first. At first, he thought it was because he was the youngest. But the words his drunken father had let slip were different.
"Taejun has an eye for the big picture."
"It's the sense a Chairman needs."
It was a remark he'd heard twenty years ago, but it still rang in his ears. 'If only my uncle had just done his job properly......' Kim Taehun turned his head. Looking out the window, he took a slow breath in and out, muttering to himself, "Today, I will definitely get picked."
At 8:00 PM, Park Jihun turned on the broadcast as usual.
PerpetualJobSeeker's broadcast has started.
The notification popped up, and the chat window began to scroll rapidly.
Park Jihun scanned the chat window. The aftershock created by Neyton and TheFirst yesterday was continuing unabated. From the start, it was incredibly chaotic.
Park Jihun smiled and replied, "I don't know. If I see it, I'll say it; if I don't, I can't."
The chat window reacted immediately.
"Today, we're going with a roulette. If you want to apply, just type [Apply]."
At that, [Apply] began to climb the chat window rapidly.
Park Jihun pressed the button, and the nicknames began to slide past rapidly. The speed gradually decreased and stopped on one square. The nickname written in that square was [Guardman].
Park Jihun glanced at the chat window and opened his mouth. "Guardman, please join the Discord."
A moment later, the Discord connection sound rang out. "Hello. I'm Guardman." It was a voice that sounded like it belonged to someone in their thirties. Tension was buried in his tone. "What are you curious about?"
Guardman couldn't answer right away. He caught his breath for a moment and opened his mouth cautiously. "That...... I have a concern regarding a friend."
That was the moment. Park Jihun's gaze turned heavy. The man on the other side of the screen wavered faintly, and short scenes began to overlap. A man clinging to him with a troubled face. Guardman at a loss for what to do. A crisp 50,000 won bill in a new envelope. The gesture of handing it over with trembling hands. Park Jihun opened his mouth.
"Did your friend ask to borrow money?"
"Yes? Ah, that's right."
Park Jihun asked while looking at the screen. "How much."
"Five million won."
"He said it was urgent because of family circumstances, right?"
Guardman swallowed and replied, "......Yes. That's what he said."
"And he didn't give you any details."
"That's right. That's why I'm even more conflicted."
Guardman sighed. "I also think it's right not to have money transactions between friends. But he's a friend I've known for a long time, and he asked so desperately."
Another scene flashed before Park Jihun's eyes. A call screen that rang several times and then cut off. A message window with no reply. And Guardman's face, staring only at his phone until late at night. Park Jihun said coldly, "If you lend it to him, you'll lose contact."
"......Yes?"
"He won't take your calls or texts."
Guardman couldn't continue. Park Jihun added briefly, "You'll suffer quite a bit."
Guardman, who had been silent for a while, asked belatedly, "Then...... it's right not to lend it, right?"
Just as Park Jihun was about to answer, the scene flashed once more. A dark room. A threatening message sent by a stranger. Trembling hands. Fingers frozen over the transfer button. A face turned deathly pale. Park Jihun's gaze sank even deeper.
"No, lend it to him."
Guardman gasped. "Yes? You said I'd suffer......"
"Lend it to him anyway."
"Why?"
Park Jihun said, "You have to save the person first."
The chat window froze for a moment.
Guardman's breathing trembled thinly. "What do you mean by that?"
Park Jihun looked straight at the other side of the screen. "Don't send it via bank transfer. If you do, you'll lose contact."
"Then how......"
"Meet him in person and give it to him."
Guardman asked cautiously, "This isn't because of family circumstances, is it?"
"No. Just keep this in mind." Park Jihun said briefly, "Don't leave your friend alone tonight."