Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Enthusiastic Manager
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Thump- thump-.
Her heart pounded fiercely. It felt like someone was beating her chest with a bat.
Unhyang gazed into Soo-hyuk's eyes as he sat across from her.
'He looks exactly the same.'
She had been a huge fan of Lee Soo-hyuk in the past.
The legend of Blue Eyes. The all-time number one player.
Lee Soo-hyuk, hailed as the greatest player, had always been her idol and celebrity crush.
As such,
she remembered his mask perfectly, along with every little glimpse of skin that peeked out from beneath it.
The shape of his eyes visible through the mask's slits was different.
But the black pupils shining within and the glint in his gaze perfectly matched the Lee Soo-hyuk she knew.
'It's like the real Lee Soo-hyuk somehow ended up in someone else's body.'
Unhyang's eyes sparkled.
A moment of close observation followed.
At that instant, a voice leaked out from behind the mask.
"Do you have more greetings?"
Startled, Unhyang reflexively replied,
"Ah, no! We're done."
"We're done?"
"Ah, no, not done exactly. I mean..."
Unhyang floundered, unsure what to do next.
A question mark floated above Soo-hyuk's head.
Though his face was hidden by the mask, his expression surely conveyed something like this:
You wanted to meet first, and now you're messing around?
'Oh no, this is bad...'
John Tail's words surfaced in her suddenly blank mind.
"The first thing you give a client is trust. Trust. Got it? Never, ever show any clumsy side. Understand?"
The company's role boiled down to two main things.
Streamers' convenience. And revenue expansion.
There were miscellaneous tasks too, but those were the core duties.
And to fulfill them, the company had to earn the streamers'—their clients'—trust.
But...
'I blew it...'
The first meeting had gone off the rails.
Too nervous, her words a jumbled mess. Far from inspiring trust, she'd shown behavior that practically invited suspicion.
But then...
"Were you a fan of Lee Soo-hyuk?"
Soo-hyuk's question instantly untangled the knots in Unhyang's mind.
Lee Soo-hyuk.
His name always brought her a sense of calm.
Unhyang, who had been flustering moments ago, broke into a smile. She nodded with all her might and answered more firmly than anything else.
"Yes!"
"I'm not the real Lee Soo-hyuk, so feel free to relax. I'm probably younger than you, too, Manager."
"I'm a fan of you too! I watched your stream yesterday from when there were zero viewers!"
"From zero viewers?"
"Yes!"
Unhyang, who had been stumbling over her words just moments before, suddenly launched into an excited recap of Soo-hyuk's broadcast from the day prior.
Starting from the first One-eyed Bat hunt that everyone chalked up to coincidence, clearing the Starting Dungeon, taking down the Wolf Warrior...
All the way to tackling the Lightning Trial— she recounted it all without a single stutter.
'Was she really my first viewer?'
The first One-eyed Bat hunt, at least, was a story that hadn't circulated even on the community forums.
Stabbing a flying One-eyed Bat dead with one sword thrust. There had only been four viewers at the time, which meant she was one of them.
In that case, truly...
"That's amazing."
He meant it.
His very first viewer, right in front of him.
Her claim of being a Lee Soo-hyuk fan wasn't just lip service.
'At least she's on the side that likes me.'
From his debut stream, Soo-hyuk had discovered he had more fans than expected.
And just this morning, he'd learned that every coin has two sides.
Isaac.
That guy was the polar opposite of the Unhyang sitting before him now.
'For every person who likes me, there's someone who hates me. They just don't watch my streams.'
An irritating jerk, but he'd driven that point home crystal clear.
Soo-hyuk was grateful for it.
His mood had soured briefly, but this was a crucial fact—one he'd remember forever—imprinted in the most unforgettable way.
"Right? Isn't it amazing? I thought it was fate!"
"So that's why you came as my manager?"
"Yes! I begged the team leader. I really wanted to come."
Unhyang spoke with wide, sparkling eyes.
Her passion seemed genuine. If it was an act, she should be an actress, not a manager.
"Alright, then. Let's get to it. What are the terms?"
"Yes. To start, our standard rookie contract at Baehae..."
Unhyang trailed off, shaking her head as she opened the bag she'd brought.
"No need for explanations. Just show me the contract."
Rustle-.
Unhyang slid a crisp sheet of paper across to Soo-hyuk. Rather than the fine print, his eyes went straight to the revenue split.
"Sponsorship revenue from streaming. You can choose 8:2 or take it all yourself."
"What's the difference?"
"If you go 10:0, the ad and ancillary revenue split worsens—from 7:3 to 6:4."
Give up 20% of sponsorships for a bigger slice of ad revenue.
Or take all sponsorships and settle for less on the extras.
He had no idea how much ads would bring in, but taking 100% of sponsorships meant no downside for him.
"How do the ads work?"
"We'll handle everything on that front."
Unhyang thumped her chest confidently, as if to say trust me.
"Ads, events, even turning streams into videos. Creating every bit of added value from an asset like you—that's our company's job."
"So my role is...?"
"Just keep streaming hard. For a skill-focused streamer like you, keep tackling trials."
As his value rose, viewers piled up, fame built—then ads would roll in.
The company handled all that, maximizing profits.
"Of course, we'll promote your streams too. More viewers mean higher ad rates."
"Do you always offer terms this good?"
"You got Lightning, right? And the team leader really likes you."
In simple terms: no, they didn't.
He had no idea what they'd discussed, but
after meeting Hawk's Eye, John Tail had sweetened the deal he'd planned to offer Soo-hyuk.
"S-so... what do you think? Like it...?"
Unhyang peeked at him nervously.
Soo-hyuk spent a while reviewing the contract, then glanced at her.
"Are all Baehae managers like you?"
"Huh? Like what?"
Unhyang blinked back, as if she had no clue what he meant.
Did he know, or was he genuinely asking?
"No, nothing."
Soo-hyuk shook his head and brushed it off.
As he did, he caught Unhyang staring at him with a tense expression.
'Why be a manager?'
Soo-hyuk tilted his head.
He couldn't pin her exact rank, but beneath that clumsy exterior, Unhyang gave off the vibe of a keenly honed blade.
It was an aura she couldn't hide—like she had no intention of hiding it in the first place, making it stand out even more.
'Have player standards gotten this high lately?'
For an entertainment company manager to be this level...
'I thought everyone was around the same since I only made it to the 9th floor...'
Not knowing her full story at the company, Soo-hyuk could only assume as much.
'Gotta step it up.'
And so, a small misunderstanding took root in Soo-hyuk's mind.
"Looking forward to working with you."
The contract with Baehae was sealed.
Afterward, Soo-hyuk chatted with Unhyang for a good while.
Most of it revolved around streaming. Still new to the industry's ins and outs and revenue models, Soo-hyuk had plenty of questions.
"Revenue splits depend on the streamer's style."
"Pak Soo-hyuk? He pulls the most from edited videos."
"Ad rates vary per streamer. Based on a comprehensive score: subscribers, average viewers, fame, likability, etc."
"Announce before ending streams. Like last time—fainting for ages, waking up to find it over? Of course viewers are disappointed."
"In your broadcast settings here..."
Unhyang had seemed clumsy at first, but thankfully, she fielded Soo-hyuk's questions without missing a beat.
The industry's dynamics. Streaming pitfalls to avoid.
This meeting netted him a bunch of practical tips.
"Thanks. That helped a lot."
"You signed the contract. It's just part of being your manager."
"My manager?"
Soo-hyuk sounded puzzled, and Unhyang realized with an oh.
"Ah, didn't mention it? I'm your assigned manager."
"That a thing?"
"Yep. Hit me up anytime for broadcast questions or favors. I'll reach out if the company needs something."
No need to juggle multiple contacts? Sounded fine. Soo-hyuk nodded.
"Nice."
Soo-hyuk eyed his now-lukewarm coffee amid the conversation.
With the mask on, he couldn't eat or drink anyway.
Chat over—no point lingering.
"Then, looking forward to working with you, Manager."
"Starting your stream right now?"
"Yeah. Rested up plenty."
Meeting Unhyang had left his body itching to move. He couldn't sit still.
'Can't fall behind my own manager.'
As a streamer, Soo-hyuk aimed for skill-focused content.
Yet her skills outshone his own.
Strip away Lightning's symbolism, and she'd make the better streamer—top-tier ability paired with stunning looks that turned heads.
"Excuse me, then."
"I-I'll see you off! Today too!"
Unhyang shot to her feet with a bow.
Soo-hyuk gave her a quick nod and left the cafe.
Thud-.
"Cheongryang..."
She watched him go, then sank back into her seat.
"Sis has achieved nirvana..."
One hour earlier.
A notice went up on Soo-hyuk's channel.
One of the things Unhyang had taught him was how to post notices.
Put one up before streaming to gather viewers more easily.
The reaction was hotter than expected.
Interest peaked by Lightning, plus the giant tribe leader kill making the trial route unpredictable.
Undoubtedly, it would be a trial type no one had seen before.
How would Soo-hyuk tackle it? Or would he stop here?
Natural for viewers to be curious.
"Who knows? His value might multiply several times over in the next stream."
Thump-.
Before starting,
Soo-hyuk closed his eyes briefly, steadying his nerves.
Why was this hitting harder than the trial itself?
'I can do better than yesterday.'
Everyone's clumsy at first.
He wasn't exempt.
But this was his second time. He was confident he'd improve.
Swoosh-.
He opened his eyes again.
"...Let's go."
Soo-hyuk began his second stream—and the trial—together.
Reincarnator's Streaming