Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: Manager's Call
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Si-woo and Ye-ryeong had left, and quite some time had passed.
Unhyang had no doubt that the two would return. She already believed it before, but after learning Soo-hyuk's true identity, she didn't harbor even the slightest suspicion.
A considerable amount of time had opened up. During that period, neither Si-woo nor Unhyang had been slacking off.
Especially Unhyang—she had to briefly return to her main job during that time.
"Hello?"
-…….
There was no response on the other end of Unhyang's call.
The person who had answered was John Tail, team leader of Baehae Entertainment's streamer division. He wasn't treated particularly well, but he was still Unhyang's direct superior.
"Team leader?"
-H-Hello? T-Team leader?
She could feel the intense frustration from the stammering voice, laced with disbelief.
It was only natural for him to be angry. No matter how shameless she was, even Unhyang had nothing to say this time.
She and Soo-hyuk had gone completely radio silent from the company for over ten days.
-Do you really want to get fired? You at least have to pick up your calls!
"Haven't I been fired yet?"
-Why? Should I fire you?
"No, that's not it."
Unlike streamers who were closer to business partners by contract, Unhyang was an actual Baehae employee. Ghosting the company for this long would have gotten anyone else fired ages ago.
Yet she was still hanging on, which meant John Tail must have been pulling strings from above.
After that, John Tail's nagging continued for a while. It was all standard stuff, but Unhyang listened silently without rebutting.
After all, going no-contact even once was a hundred times her fault.
-Cheongryang filled me in on the rough details. Still, the company was turned upside down.
John Tail's voice, which had been venting anger for a while, calmed down a bit.
No, it wasn't calm.
The real headache was just beginning.
-What the hell is going on?
The news that Soo-hyuk had started fighting Blue Zone had reached even Baehae.
It hadn't been officially reported in articles yet. Blue Zone didn't want the events at Blue House to leak, so they were blocking any major coverage.
But if Baehae knew, then guilds with decent intelligence networks likely already understood the relationship between Soo-hyuk and Blue Zone.
-And is that true? That Kim Si-woo and Kim Ye-ryeong returned to Blue Eyes...?
"Yes. They're with me right now."
-T-Together?
John Tail, who had expected a simple yes or no, sounded genuinely shocked.
Figuring one answer wouldn't suffice, Unhyang repeated herself.
"Yes. Ye-ryeong went out with Soo-hyuk for some business, and Si-woo is outside. Want to talk to him?"
-N-No, a call isn't necessary. B-But you're absolutely sure?
"Yes. They've been with me the whole time."
-Living to see dead people come back to life...
John Tail's reaction was the typical one most people would have.
And mixed in were the very reactions that Soo-hyuk and the others had been most worried about.
-Then, is that true too?
"......What?"
-That Blue Eyes guild members betrayed them, and Lee Soo-hyuk died.
"......"
-Hwang Kyu-seong joining forces with the demonkin is already public knowledge. And with Kim Si-woo and Kim Ye-ryeong alive... maybe it really...
"Team leader."
Was it because of Unhyang's subtly irritated tone? John Tail's words cut off midway.
Unhyang opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. Fair enough— it was natural to think that way.
Kim Il-su had set it up that way. He'd orchestrated the board to make people think exactly that.
More than anything.
'Do I even have the right to get mad?'
She owed John Tail, after all. Instead of snapping, Unhyang changed the subject.
"No. More importantly, team leader, it looks like the next stream will take some time."
-Lee Soo-hyuk's streams aren't on a fixed schedule anyway, so it's fine. Viewers want it, of course.
John Tail sounded regretful about that part.
Soo-hyuk's streams had skyrocketed in popularity after the great war.
They now rivaled top major streamers, and he was known as Baehae's flagship streamer.
But when the tide comes in, row hard—sudden viewer spikes could vanish just as quickly.
-Well, can't be helped. If that's the streamer's will. Some viewers will drop off.
"No need to worry about that."
-Why?
John Tail sounded baffled, and rightly so. As a manager, viewer retention was the top concern.
Bringing back departed viewers was far harder than gaining new ones.
"Team leader."
Unhyang knew that much, of course. But she was confident anyway.
"How many viewers do you think a real Lee Soo-hyuk stream would pull in?"
"Cough."
Ye-ryeong coughed, covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve.
"Ugh. Filthy bastard. What's so great about learning this crap?"
As if she'd wandered into a dump, she fanned her face with her hand.
Hidden weapons posed no real threat, but the poisons used by Dang Paegun were not to be underestimated.
Even Ye-ryeong had to stay vigilant against the toxic mist and deadly fumes he'd spread around. The areas they'd passed through demanded constant attention.
Neglect blocking the poison even slightly, and she'd fall into fatal poisoning.
Wriggle-.
At that moment, Dang Paegun, sprawled on the ground, twitched.
Having briefly passed out, he struggled to lift his head.
"Urgh... ughhh......"
"Awake already? I figured poison wouldn't take you down."
Having handled poisons for so long, Dang Paegun had remarkable resistance.
Ye-ryeong leaned down, bringing her face close to his. She gazed into his eyes with a smiling face.
"Well, even if it looked deadly, I'd have saved you somehow."
"You... bitch!"
Dang Paegun's eyes shook as he lunged with spasming hands.
Strangely, his hands wouldn't move. Glancing sideways, he saw daggers pinning both hands and feet to the ground.
"Uncomfortable? Bear with it. You'll feel better soon."
"What... do you want?"
"What else? Don't play dumb. But I'm not asking you."
Ye-ryeong whipped her head away. At the gesture dismissing him entirely, Dang Paegun's face drained of color.
The antidote for Hyo-min was his last lifeline. If even she abandoned that, he truly had no path to survival.
"L-Look here, Dark Queen!"
"Don't you know I hate that name?"
"Th-Then, Ye-ryeong!"
"Who gave you permission for informal speech? Tch. And you're so old."
At the utterly off-base remark, Dang Paegun was speechless. Ye-ryeong was just spewing whatever came to mind.
And she knew it. Bursting into laughter at her own words, she cackled.
"Ah, feels good."
Stretching her tired back, she looked up at the sky.
It was hazy from the toxic mist, but sunlight filtered through. Nearby, she sensed murmuring presences waiting for the mist to clear.
"Can you imagine how we've been living all this time?"
Still grinning as if it were hilarious, Ye-ryeong looked down at him.
But her eyes weren't smiling. The mismatch filled Dang Paegun with unprecedented fear.
'I touched the wrong one.'
He suddenly realized how long twenty years truly was.
In the murim world, she was called the Dark Queen. That name had long overshadowed him.
Poisons, hidden weapons, intelligence, schemes, and tricks.
There were many shadow powers in this world. Among them, Dang Paegun was called the Poison King as the pinnacle of poison.
But in murim, she was the Dark Queen.
Queen of all shadows. Her name was vast and vivid enough to eclipse even the Poison King.
Deep down, he'd known for a long time.
That he was no match for her.
He'd just gradually forgotten over those twenty years.
"Clan head!"
"Are you alright?!"
As time passed and the poison slowly lifted, Sacheon Tang Clan warriors approached the two.
Even with their arrival, Dang Paegun's gaze searched for someone else. He knew even all of them together couldn't touch Ye-ryeong.
The one he sought—the only one who might challenge her—was just one person.
Finally, amid the Tang Clan warriors, Uncheon-geuk came into view.
"C-Castle Lord!"
Dang Paegun shouted desperately.
"Kill this wretch now! Right now!"
Ye-ryeong's gaze turned to Uncheon-geuk. Soo-hyuk was nowhere in sight.
'Trouble just arrived.'
He surely hadn't lost. Clouds still lingered intact overhead.
But Uncheon-geuk looked far too unscathed.
After battling twenty high-rankers, he'd fought Dang Paegun too. No visible wounds, but the poison permeated his body in places.
Even for Ye-ryeong, facing Uncheon-geuk in this state wasn't ideal.
"What are you doing, Castle Lord? Help me already!"
"Hmm. What do you think?"
Uncheon-geuk shrugged from afar, their eyes meeting.
His apparent lack of intent to help made Dang Paegun's pupils tremble violently.
"Castle Lorrrd-!"
"Where'd everyone else go that you're begging me? There were plenty of others."
Suddenly, memories of past mind games with Uncheon-geuk flashed in Dang Paegun's mind.
Their relationship wasn't good.
Uncheon-geuk distrusted and looked down on the poison-using Dang Paegun. Resenting that, Dang Paegun had played excessive pranks on him.
But to abandon him in this situation?
"Oh, are they all dead?"
Uncheon-geuk sneered, scanning the surroundings.
Corpses littered the area, melted beyond recognition. Some had liquified entirely—not just from the toxic mist.
"You killed a few yourself."
"......!"
"That's why I despise poison users. Even handled by humans, does poison distinguish friend from foe?"
The words declared he was never on your side from the start.
Uncheon-geuk said with a sly smile.
"Still, I'll help you with one thing."
With that, he pulled something from his bosom.
The transparent vial spun through the air, landing in Ye-ryeong's hand.
Dang Paegun's face twisted savagely upon seeing it. He started to speak but clamped his mouth shut.
Shaking his head at Uncheon-geuk.
As if it were an item never to be named aloud.
He wanted to charge at Uncheon-geuk, but his limbs were pinned.
Examining the vial, Ye-ryeong's face lit with realization.
And sure enough, Uncheon-geuk grinned and asked.
"Isn't that what you were looking for?"