Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Partnership Proposal
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10:20 PM.
I found the cafe that Jin-seong and Choi A-young ran late into the night.
I drank a cool iced peach tea.
"I met an entertainment agency president today. But he was a total scumbag."
"...?"
"They said they'd provide a studio, computer, broadcasting outfits, a manager, and even hype men, so let's split the profits 7:3."
"You get 7? The company gets 3?"
"No? The opposite. The company gets 7. I get 3. It was so obvious they were trying to screw me over that I made an excuse and bolted."
"That's insane?! What a psycho thug. 7:3? Good call running away."
Both Choi A-young, as she spoke, and Jin-seong, as he listened, were dumbfounded.
The 7:3 thug ratio left them speechless, flabbergasted beyond belief.
It was outright theft.
"Whew... But... Oppa, you know what? Listening to that agency president made me unconsciously think, 'That's a reasonable deal. Win-win for both sides,' and I almost bought into it."
"......"
"If you hadn't come over last night and warned me about shady agencies, I probably would've signed the contract on the spot."
"......"
Choi A-young recalled the advice Jin-seong had given her the night before.
[I looked into shady entertainment agencies, you know?]
[There are three main types of scum.]
[One is profit splits. Normal is 7(BJ):3(Agency), 6:4, or 5:5, but shady ones go 4:6 or even 3:7, sucking the BJ dry.]
Choi A-young placed both hands on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
Without Jin-seong's advice, she would've signed a sucker contract.
"I survived thanks to your advice, Oppa. Phew, I always feel like I'm just taking from you. Thank you so much."
"Nah, no need to thank me. Just doing what anyone would."
"To me, you're like a guardian angel, Oppa. Always helping, always protecting, always there for me."
Choi A-young was grateful. Truly thankful.
Thanks to Jin-seong, she'd won the instant lottery and covered her mom's hospital bills.
Thanks to Jin-seong, she'd escaped a kidnapping by a murderer.
Thanks to Jin-seong, she'd avoided signing with a shady agency.
"I want to help you too, Oppa. Be there for you. But instead, I'm always the one receiving."
She expressed her gratitude over and over.
The air around them grew warm. The mood, the glances, the hearts—all cozy and heartfelt.
Affection: 20
Inner Thoughts: Thank you. I'm so grateful. Oppa is a blessing to me. More than I deserve.
Inner Thoughts: I'm thankful for Jin-seong Oppa, who cherishes me, looks out for me, protects me. I'm truly fortunate.
Inner Thoughts: I want to be his puppy.
Affection.
The affection that had been rising so sluggishly had jumped up dramatically in one go.
But... puppy?
'Puppy?'
She wants to be a puppy?
What on earth did that mean?
He couldn't make sense of her inner thoughts and tilted his head.
"Anyway, didn't you say you had something important to tell me?"
"Yes, I do. I have a favor to ask and a proposal for you, Oppa."
A favor?
A proposal?
"Don't mind me asking shamelessly, but could you lend me 15 million won?"
"Got it. I'll lend it to you. Send me your account number on KakaoTalk later."
"Thank you! I'll work hard. I really will give it my all."
Choi A-young planned to use the 15 million to set up her broadcasting setup.
"And I have a proposal."
"A proposal? What's that?"
"I realized there's big synergy in doing streams and YouTube together. Editing stream clips and uploading to YouTube would be great."
Choi A-young wanted to catch both rabbits: streaming and YouTube. If she was going to do it, she wanted to do it right.
But there was a problem.
"I can't do it all alone. Even one feels overwhelming. Honestly, I'm not sure I can even manage one properly."
Choi A-young lacked confidence to do it solo.
She wanted to do it together.
But she couldn't trust just anyone.
She desperately needed someone reliable, dependable, who could help her and stick around long-term.
"Help me?"
"No, not help."
Choi A-young shook her head.
"Together."
It was a partnership proposal.
"......"
Jin-seong couldn't answer right away.
"Why? Is it a burden?"
"Not a burden exactly... It's just so sudden... And it's a field I don't know much about......"
He trailed off.
"Oppa, I'm thinking of this as a side gig. Part-time job in the morning, streaming in the afternoon. How about you do it as a side gig too?"
A side gig?
Partnering with Choi A-young as a side gig?
Jin-seong pondered, then peeked into Choi A-young's inner thoughts.
Inner Thoughts: Thanks to Oppa, I can set up for streaming. Since I've benefited from him, I want him to benefit from me too.
Inner Thoughts: I want to partner with Jin-seong Oppa. Be together. Share the profits.
Inner Thoughts: Oppa's diligent and hardworking. Steady and meticulous. Partnering with him means big gains, no losses at minimum.
He understood her inner thoughts.
Choi A-young's reasons for proposing partnership boiled down to two.
One: Gratitude, wanting to share.
Two: It would be profitable.
"Hmm, hard to decide right now."
"Think it over slowly."
"Yeah, got it."
He'd think it over and give her an answer.
"Let's read our books."
"Sure."
They sat side by side and read.
I woke up.
"Ugh......"
I was exhausted.
"Urgh......"
Falling asleep at 1 AM and waking at 5 AM was brutal.
Yesterday, I'd met Choi A-young. Talked, read, got home late.
Tteojjiya, tteojjiya, what're you up to?
Sleeping?
Guess you are.
Any foods you like or crave?
Tell me everything you want when you wake up.
Craved foods?
She gonna buy them for me?
Good morning ^^
Craving home-cooked. Kimchi fried rice, rolled omelet, stir-fried fish cake, seasoned veggies.
Boo hoo, slept late, so tired. Wanna sleep more.
Gotta go jogging.
Next, checked Lee Myung-ho's KakaoTalk.
[Photo]
Jin-seong, thanks for the red ginseng gift. I'll enjoy it.
Got off early, slept early, feeling great.
Have a wonderful day.
Lee Myung-ho's messages exuded ease.
Enjoy the red ginseng!!
Glad you're feeling good.
Agh, I slept late, dying of exhaustion.
Hyung, have a great day lol
Finally, Hong Jae-gu's KakaoTalk.
Jin-seong, thanks for the 100,000 won loan. Cleared my overdue loan thanks to you.
Why video editing? Thinking of becoming a YouTuber?
Editing itself is easy. Not hard to learn.
But it's tedious grunt work. Eats up tons of time.
I'd lent him 100,000 won out of thanks.
No real intention of getting it back.
Considered it charity.
Thanks for the advice.
See you at the office later lol
I went jogging.
Showered in warm water.
'Ah, the fatigue's easing a bit.'
Headed to work.
Ran into Oh Mi-yeon on the way.
"Good morning? Nice day."
Jin-seong greeted her with a smile.
"Yes, good morning."
Oh Mi-yeon smiled back.
A smile reminiscent of a kind fairy.
'A mask.'
Her smile was a mask. Beneath the kind facade lurked malice.
Favorability: -21
Inner Thoughts: Shit, running into this unlucky bastard first thing in the morning.
Inner Thoughts: He's lost more weight. Looks even more handsome. Total mood-killer. Fucking annoying prick.
Inner Thoughts: You think slobs like you can get rich no matter how hard you try? Think hard work leads to success? Hell no. Impossible.
Inner Thoughts: Effort just gets you used. Give your all, end up in failure, frustration, despair.
Jin-seong read Oh Mi-yeon's inner thoughts, then checked her status.
[Depression, Despair, Frustration, Irritation, Resentment]
Kind, gentle, good, warm.
Unlike her fairy-like exterior.
Her insides were anything but normal.
Rotten, festering, ruined. Like a wilted flower.
Jin-seong asked.
"Mi-yeon, do you have any hobbies?"
"No, not really."
Inner Thoughts: None. Used to, but not anymore.
Inner Thoughts: I loved movies once......
"Jogging's become my hobby."
"Ah."
Inner Thoughts: Don't care.
Inner Thoughts: Jogging... I used to work out hard too......
"Lately, trying to get into reading too."
"I see."
Inner Thoughts: I said I don't care!!
Inner Thoughts: Reading... Used to devour romance novels......
"Planning to see a play this weekend."
"Ah, a play?"
"Yeah, first time, so I'm excited."
"Sounds fun."
Inner Thoughts: .....
Inner Thoughts: Plays... It's been two and a half years? Three?
"I've been realizing something lately."
"Realizing?"
"No matter how hard I try, my life doesn't change dramatically overnight."
Inner Thoughts: Exactly. You get it. Effort doesn't change life.
Inner Thoughts: Try or don't, same result.
Favorability: -10
Favorability rose from -21 to -10.
Jin-seong was utterly baffled.
Why? Why had favorability gone up?
"It's not like effort brings dramatic change."
But if you work hard.
If you keep at it.
"The more you effort, the more it changes bit by bit, so subtly you can't see it, slowly."
"Ah."
Inner Thoughts: No. It doesn't change.
Inner Thoughts: Bastard. Total asshole.
Favorability: -18
Dreary.
Like the sky had a hole punched in it.
Giant snowflakes poured down.
The whole world blanketed in white.
'Today.'
I sensed it instinctively.
Today was the day Oh Mi-yeon would end her own life.