Chapter 72. Fan Meeting... No, It's a Job Interview...
Chapter 72. Fan Meeting... No, It's a Job Interview...
Once word spread that we were establishing a foundation and looking to hire staff, emails came flying in from all over.
My eyes were about to fall out from going through the sheer number of them.
And it wasn't even me—it was my employee doing the checking...
[ Hero's Foot Wiper : Boss, please save me... my eyes are burning ]
"Hang in there a little longer... we're hiring more staff soon, right?"
I sounded exactly like a hopelessly irresponsible small-business owner.
I casually glossed over the message from an employee pouring out how tough things were.
"Anyway, why do you think Mother called us here?"
"No idea... maybe the Hanul Guild's thinking about sponsoring something too?"
Laila and I had come to my family home at my mother's summons.
─ Knock knock...
I knew the door code, but I still thought it was only polite to knock.
The door soon opened, and my mother appeared.
"Mother~ we're here!"
"Is our daughter here? Come on in."
My father was already waiting in the living room, and as my mother brought us coffee, she got straight to the point.
"From what I'm hearing, it sounds like you two are doing something good this time."
"Well, of course."
"You're getting a lot of contact from other companies, aren't you?"
"That's kind of the problem... at a glance, it looks like they're just trying to get in with us..."
Isn't service supposed to come from the heart, done with genuine sincerity?
But contrary to my thoughts, my mother shook her head.
"Son, corporations are fundamentally profit-seeking groups. To them, charitable service is just a form of marketing."
"...?"
"Consider it a good thing, pure and simple. Just focus on the fact that they're offering their support."
Hmm, so that was it.
Basically, they said they'd provide support, so it was fine for me to use it however I wanted once we accepted it.
"Ahem..."
My mother cleared her throat, drawing our attention.
It seemed like the truly important talk was about to begin.
"You two are planning to attend the gathering hosted by the World Hunter Association this time, aren't you?"
"Huh? There was something like that?"
"...Didn't you receive an invitation?"
No matter how hard I thought about it, I had no memory of receiving an invitation.
Beside me, Laila let out a sigh as well.
"Hero, I told you there was mail on the first floor and asked you to bring it up."
"Ah, sorry... it slipped my mind."
"Honestly, I figured that's what would happen, so I brought it myself."
Laila looked at my mother and chuckled.
My mother also looked at Laila and chuckled.
"Daughter, it's been over a week since you took him home, so returns aren't allowed, you know?"
"I'll be keeping him for life."
They were laughing happily together, just like a real mother and daughter.
'Returns, she said...'
"Anyway, so you're going to the World Hunter Association?"
"I expect we'll go. I met the Association President once before in the United States, and he seemed like a very good-natured person."
It was decided.
We would all go together to the World Hunter Association.
---
"Hero... no, should I be calling you Boss now?"
Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun, sitting across from me, smiled.
"Well, use whatever you're comfortable with. How's the work going?"
"Excellent. There's no one breathing down my neck from above, and regarding budget execution, I can pay what's due and handle everything transparently."
He let out a small grumble.
He mentioned that in the past, while doing this kind of work, he'd been stuck handling dirty jobs like tax evasion.
"By the way, Hero, are you really fine with selecting employees from among your own broadcast viewers?"
"Yes, I'm fine with it."
"Heh, I figured as much. I've already done the basic initial sort of the documents. What remains now is for the 'Boss' to conduct the interviews himself."
I really made the right choice hiring this man.
He's incredibly capable.
"Though the situation is rather amusing."
"Pardon?"
"It's an interview, but in a way, isn't it also a fan meeting?"
"Oh!?"
Should I just go ahead and turn this into a fan meeting while we're at it?
[ World's Strongest Hero : Fan Meeting Notice ]
[Why a fan meeting all of a sudden?]
[Charity work > sudden school bullying controversy > staff recruitment > fan meeting???]
[Who's the person next to you?]
"Ah, this is the lawyer who helped with the recent case. I liked him, so I hired him as legal director."
[Whoa Director Whoa]
[Seriously this guy is impossible to predict]
[Picking up people like he's scooping up strays lololol]
[Is he a stray? lololol]
"Just... accept that it happened."
[Accept that it happened...]
[Ah, yes...]
"Actually, those who passed the document screening will have been contacted already."
[Thanks lol]
[Wtf why did I get rejected?]
[Even Hero rejects people lololol]
"But since the people I'm interviewing are all my viewers anyway, I'm thinking of just doing a fan meeting all at once."
The location was the hotel hall where the lawyers had gathered last time.
We'd conduct the interviews, and afterward, hold the fan meeting.
[Wouldn't it be better to just get the fan meeting over with first?]
[Yeah]
"If the interview comes after the fan meeting, how are you supposed to swallow any food?"
[I feel like it'd go down hella smooth for me!!!???]
[Lol you got rejected in the first round]
[Idiot lololol]
"Anyway, I'll see you all then."
Before ending the short stream, I said one more thing.
"If anyone causes trouble on-site, I'll crack your head open right then and there."
[...]
[Crazy bastard...]
[This guy seems like he'd actually smash it;;]
---
The interview day and the fan meeting date soon arrived simultaneously.
Laila, Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun, and I arrived at the hotel first.
The first consideration when selecting people was Laila's opinion.
"Hmm... is that the Madam's ability?"
"Well, something like that."
The title "Madam."
I didn't really like it—sounded too much like "I"—but Laila seemed to be very fond of it.
"Ha ha, then I passed based on the Madam's approval."
There were still a few hours until the fan meeting, but people were already gathering outside.
Though even a stranger could immediately spot who the interviewees were.
"I specifically announced that it's fine to dress casually..."
I'd left a notice to dress casually so they wouldn't feel unnecessarily singled out.
But apparently, that's not how they took it.
Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun, as if understanding their mindset, cracked a smile.
"No one actually comes in casual clothes just because you tell them to dress casually."
"Is that so?"
People twisted the literal meaning of my words. They truly live inconvenient lives.
'Or am I just the clueless one?'
People wear masks to some degree while navigating social life.
Was I the strange one for wandering that ecosystem barefaced, with no mask?
'I felt like a two-eyed man in a village of the one-eyed...'
"Shall we head inside now?"
I sat in the center, with Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun and Laila seated on either side.
On the table were the documents sorted in interview order.
"Then we'll begin bringing them in, in order!"
Through the hotel's courtesy, a staff member was assigned to assist with this interview.
---
This was driving me crazy.
All I was doing was talking to people.
And I just had to listen to the other person's answers.
"Ugh... this is genuinely exhausting. How many are left?"
"Hoo... still, this is the last one."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Unlike me, who was grumbling from fatigue, Laila and Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun hadn't changed color one bit.
"These are the guys who spammed malicious chat all the time... surprisingly, they all look perfectly normal."
"Ha ha..."
Surprisingly, everyone was sharply dressed and very tidy.
There were even some so pretty and handsome that the thought 'These were my viewers?' crossed my mind.
"Boss, this is personal curiosity, but... can you recognize which viewer is which?"
"No, I can't. Now that I've met them in person, I'm even more clueless..."
I had issued a firm notice from the start that under no circumstances should they put their Pajijik nickname on their resume.
"Bringing in the next interviewee!"
At the hotel staff's words, everyone straightened their posture.
This interviewee was a woman who entered hesitantly.
Even while seated, she couldn't quite meet my eyes and took several deep breaths.
'Why was she trembling so badly...? Was this her first interview?'
I figured that was possible.
Most of the people coming for the interview were in their 20s.
---
While the interviews were in full swing.
In the auditorium, viewers were making small talk with one another.
Yet without mentioning each other's nicknames, they had perfectly ordinary conversations.
"Did you see him in real life?"
"Yeah, in person his build was even bigger..."
"The camera doesn't fully capture the Saintess's real looks, right?"
It was a warm, friendly atmosphere where you'd never suspect anyone of spamming malicious chat.
Some viewers even went out of their way to talk to the ones who seemed left out.
"But isn't it funny? Picking your own viewers as employees..."
"Well, didn't some streamer turn a malicious viewer into his manager, and even hired him at his company?"
─ Buzzzzz...
She stepped aside briefly as her phone buzzed to take the call.
"Uh, yeah... Hoon, where's Mom?"
- Don't know. Anyway, since you said you're doing an interview, she suggested eating out for dinner?
"Got it."
- But man, this is funny. If I had that kind of money, I'd just live as a jobless bum forever.
"I can't just sit around the house forever either."
- I know, dude. Staying at home all day ruins your health. Want me to pick you up when you're done?
"Nah, I can just take a taxi, it's fine."
- Alright. Don't be nervous, do well on the interview.
"Yeah."
With that, she ended the call.
During the remaining time, she logged onto Pajijik and watched a live stream.
The stream she always watched had announced a break today due to the interview, so she watched a different one in that time slot.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- Whoa wtf how do you even take a hit like that? I seriously can't hold back my excitement lolololol