Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: How Not to Become Unemployed
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Dealing with the mess his daughter had caused was the father's job.
Jeon Dae-in, who had visited the office, called in Jeong Min-hee—the manager and nominal president—and editor Kim Young-sang to ask for their opinions.
"Now that she's declared her retirement, there are two options. Shut down the business and go through the closure process, or recruit another streamer and keep the management going. Which do you prefer?"
Editors and managers were jobs with inherently unstable employment to begin with.
The two of them must have known that from the start.
As silence hung in the air for a moment, Jeon Dae-in reflected on the past.
Back then, he had strongly hoped his reliable eldest child would take over the company.
That hadn't changed even after his son became his daughter, and he had supported her accordingly.
Sending her to a prestigious American university to major in business administration, for instance.
But he had never once doubted how that could even be possible.
He had never pondered how a child he hadn't provided for in any way could grow up so splendidly.
For him, becoming a parent was a first; he had been neglectful of family matters, yet immensely proud of his accomplished child.
Why had a man who was perfect in business been so inept at home?
He, who needed to meticulously examine every business venture to fully grasp it before feeling at ease—a perfectionist when it came to work—why had he neglected his child so utterly?
Of course, he had excuses.
His second child, whose health was frail; his wife, whose heart was breaking as she cared for the second.
And amid all that, the business that kept growing, demanding his attention everywhere.
Wasn't "no news is good news"? His eyes had simply been too busy to scrutinize his eldest, who showed no signs of trouble.
And so, he had only seen the child's flawless exterior, never peering inside.
When all circumstances changed, the child's empty core had spilled out entirely.
A child who couldn't fit in with peers at all.
A child who provoked the other kids terribly.
A child whose insides had actually rotted away.
A child who became terrified of the world after witnessing the shooting spree.
With so many sins committed, there was no reason to blame others if things went wrong.
Jeon Dae-in simply thought:
He just hoped the child wouldn't die, but would stay alive.
Just like in the old days, when he gave daily thanks that his gravely ill second child was still breathing.
Please, just don't die.
That was his prayer.
"Chairman."
"Have you decided?"
"To be honest, public opinion is overwhelmingly positive. She doesn't seem to need to retire at all."
"But if it's a burden for her, we can't force it."
"Couldn't you at least give her a chance to persuade her?"
Jeon Dae-in didn't expect anything from Seol-a.
It wasn't distrust or indifference—it stemmed from his own guilt.
"You've watched her streams sometimes, right? How did she seem? Pretty happy, wasn't she?"
She was a kid who had caused a ton of trouble in a short time.
In terms of fame alone, she had probably already surpassed her father's recognition.
The child under the gaze of countless people—did she look joyful? Sad? Suffering? Happy?
"I think Legend really enjoys streaming!"
Kim Young-sang, who had stayed silent throughout Jeong Min-hee and Jeon Dae-in's conversation, finally spoke up.
"I think she likes people!"
People don't always know themselves accurately; it's common to have a gap between how others see you and how you see yourself.
Seol-a thought she was forcing herself to stream, that it was grueling—but to others, she looked like she loved streaming and her viewers.
"Rather than closing shop or recruiting a new streamer, I want to keep going with the young lady. That would be better for the company too, of course."
It was child's play compared to the company Jeon Dae-in personally ran—this outfit managed by three people was truly on that scale, and nothing more.
But it was still someone's livelihood, someone's life.
That was why Jeon Dae-in decided to step back one pace.
Not fleeing, not dumping it on others, but giving her the chance to take responsibility for her own life.
"Got it. Give persuading her a shot."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Honestly, I admit I was a piece of trash.
Dumping the staff I worked with on my dad and ghosting them.
But everything I did kept failing, no solutions in sight, I was stupid, spineless, clumsy, trashy, and anyway, I couldn't even wrap things up properly, so Dad sorting it out cleanly would be...
I got chewed out by Dad and told to meet the staff myself and talk it over.
I know that's right, but putting it into practice is way too hard.
My stomach hurts.
But running away from here any longer is impossible!
I'll grovel on my knees, beg forgiveness, then hole up in my room forever.
I'm the type who ruins everything 100% if I try anything.
A hopeless loser who can't even muster the courage to meet people without my little sister around.
What if they, furious at becoming unemployed because of me, stab me in revenge? That terrifying thought!
So I clung to Seol-yun's back like a burr and snuck into the office.
But fortunately, the two didn't look that angry.
"Hello, it's really me, Seol-a. No disguise today."
No height boosters, no fake boobs, no wig. I skipped the heavy makeup too.
This makes me look like a total kid, so maybe they'll go easy on me?
I mean, if an adult seriously yells at an elementary schooler, that's weird, right?
"Streamer, come here."
Unnie Min-hee called me over to the computer.
She's not gonna hit me, is she?
As I trembled in fear, Seol-yun stepped forward, took my hand, and led me.
"It's a poll we posted on LightIt."
[Jeonseol-a Comeback - 4,207 votes]
[She Should Quit Streaming - 11 votes]
"Th-this is my home turf. Only my fans come here, so of course the results are biased."
"This is from internet news comments."
[She hid her real face because of trauma from nearly getting shot—why retire over that? She handled it cleanly, so keep streaming - 96 recommends, 2 opposes]
[Other streamers should learn from her. So many expose their addresses and personal info without thinking—could end in disaster. World’s full of crazies, cops can’t protect everyone perfectly. Gotta protect yourself - 25 recommends, 0 opposes]
"You're only cherry-picking the nice parts, right? There must be haters too."
"There are some. But who doesn't get hate? Society isn't so harsh it can't empathize with a shooting victim's trauma."
"...It didn't actually hit me; I just nearly got shot."
"That's a relief."
"But I already did a retirement stream—how do I come back?!"
"Just do an apology stream for the retirement one."
"R-right! Even big screw-ups come back and stream! With opinion this good, no need to retire!"
"Eek?"
Seol-a's eyes welled up as Kim Young-sang suddenly shouted.
It reminded her of the shooter—the source of her trauma—who'd seemed quiet normally but snapped into action when excited.
"Ah! Sorry! My voice was too loud!"
"It still is."
Seol-yun shot him a cold glare while hugging Seol-a.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll protect you."
Ideas like little sister or big sis meant nothing.
Reality was just tough, agile, sturdy Seol-yun and squishy, frail, flat, tiny Seol-a.
He was a guy, but looked far from athletic; Seol-yun could probably take him easily.
"If you're scared of reversing the retirement, I'll tank the hate for you."
"Tank?"
Tanking meant deliberately drawing enemy attacks in a game to protect the rest of the party.
Here, manager Jeong Min-hee meant she'd take the incoming hate and backlash herself.
"Say I, the manager who didn't want to get fired, forced you to come back! We can roll with that story."
"Sorry for putting you at risk of unemployment!"
"I didn't yell that for an apology."
Min-hee earnestly persuaded Seol-a.
"How about this? If the comeback stream gets bad feedback, we quit then."
"I'll get hate just for crawling back..."
"People like you way more than you think?"
"R-really?"
Truth be told, Seol-a felt empty.
At the thought of no streaming in her future.
She had no idea how to fill those long hours ahead.
She'd said she didn't need viewers anyway, but choked up seeing the numbers drop.
Well, 50,000 to 500 was shocking, but she hadn't even suspected the low numbers—she just broke down crying, which showed how much she actually loved her viewers.
"But deceiving them was bad. If I did, I should take responsibility and retire."
"Why's retiring taking responsibility? Isn't streaming harder and more fun the real responsibility?"
"That's classic thick-skinned logic..."
"That's for actual screw-ups! People have that much understanding?"
Seol-a couldn't figure out why Min-hee was so desperate to convince her.