Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 179

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 1 Episode 179
62. The Forgotten Past (3)
Suddenly, the Director was asking Juhyeok to join the advertisement as well.
‘What is he talking about?’
My reaction was naturally one of bewilderment.
The Director launched into an explanation, explaining why he’d made such a proposal.
“In that last scene, I could see it perfectly. On the rooftop of the office building at sunset, the weary souls of office workers right before overtime. It felt far more natural to me than Sanghyeon running around like the Little Prince with a bright smile. I think it’ll resonate much better with viewers too.”
Juhyeok nodded first.
‘He’s got a point.’
He’d thought the same thing from the beginning. That the storyboard from earlier didn’t really suit Sanghyeon.
Certainly, Sanghyeon’s appearance might fit it. But fundamentally, it didn’t suit him at all.
He was someone who started life as an ordinary office worker. Just like countless Korean salarymen, nothing particularly different.
The only somewhat special thing about his background was spending his childhood preparing to be an athlete.
He’d spent a full five years at Asung.
What formed his identity as an adult was Sang-hyun Yu the salaryman at Asung Trading, Sang-hyun Yu the parachute hire, Sang-hyun Yu the deputy manager….
Those bittersweet memories were who Sang-hyun Yu was now.
Though he was a streamer now, fragments of those days were subtly embedded in his being.
That smell, which had once been like society’s disinfectant, had now become a pleasantly sweet fragrance soaked into him.
The Director’s keen sense of smell had picked up on that scent.
“And this concept fits perfectly with the current weather, and I think the product appeal will work better this way too. The target is office workers in their 30s and 40s who care about their health. Doesn’t it fit perfectly?”
“I agree. But why do I….”
“I don’t think Sanghyeon can be as natural without you as he is when you’re together. We don’t have time for acting coaching right now anyway. And you photograph well on camera, you look completely like an office worker. The composition works. The size difference between you two is appropriate too, so the skyline frames nicely in the camera….”
As Juhyeok stared blankly at the Director rattling off aesthetic commentary, two concerns struck him.
‘This guy is serious? I’m going to be in an advertisement.’
First, there was his sudden situation of becoming an advertisement model.
‘If there are suddenly two models, what about the payment?’
And with this extreme storyboard change adding one more model, how would the pay actually change?
The Director’s answer was this.
“I can handle the payment to some extent. I have considerable authority.”
“Still, adding one more person….”
“Of course I can’t give you as much as I’d like. You’re not a famous person, after all. But I will add the standard rate for a non-professional model. It should come to around 4 million won.”
Four million won for a day of shooting.
Considering Sanghyeon was getting 70 million won, it was pittance, but in absolute terms, it was a considerable sum.
‘What kind of situation is this?’
However, as a manager, he knew that assisting the star he managed in supporting roles happened all the time.
“Sounds good.”
Juhyeok stood and extended his hand for a handshake.
“We can’t just proceed verbally. Please prepare at least a basic contract.”
The Director clasped his hand.
“Understood. Seonjae! Bring me a short-term model contract!”
Everything proceeded at a breakneck pace.
The Director clearly didn’t want to miss this sunset landscape.
He rarely used CGI, preferring natural lighting and analog filming techniques instead.
“…Wow. Are you buying dinner for everyone today?”
“Why are you saying that too?”
Juhyeok shot back, exasperated that someone earning seventy million won would say such a thing.
“Me too?”
“Ah, Jia said the seniors should treat everyone.”
Puhaha.
Sanghyeon laughed delightedly at that remark.
Juhyeok’s frown deepened. He could never understand how these guys treated their seniors—they were always making a joke of it.
“Let’s just do our best.”
Sanghyeon held up his palm.
“Yeah. One take.”
“Of course.”
Their palms brushed together with a soft sound.

* * *
Against the backdrop of the setting sun, I sat perched on a bench in the garden.
I pulled out a bag of almonds from my pocket while still wearing my full suit, tie and all.
“Sigh.”
With a breath, I popped a few into my mouth, then eventually just grabbed the entire bag and poured them in.
Crunch crunch.
Munch munch.
Only then did the camera pan to Juhyeok beside me, and he was staring intently at me.
Munch munch.
Crunch crunch.
I kept eating almonds regardless.
Unable to bear it any longer, Juhyeok asked.
It was a question we’d done hundreds of times, so the line tumbled out as naturally as breathing.
“Hey. Are they really that delicious?”
“…”
I simply continued eating almonds without a word.
“…”
In the silence, the sound of me crunching almonds echoed on.
I ate almonds as naturally as breathing.
Since this was something I did every single day, the scene felt completely natural.
“Hey. Give me one.”
I ignored him and focused on eating the almonds, even loosening my tie as I tilted my head back and ate them like I was drinking.
Now he loosens his tie completely and eats with his head held high, as if drinking it down.
“Hey. Just give me one, will you?”
“….”
Juhyeok’s expression was gradually turning fierce.
“Here.”
Toss.
Sanghyeon threw the almond bag onto Juhyeok’s lap.
Then he quickly stood up, muttering “Manager Park really… ugh…” before heading back to the office.
What he’d tossed over was, of course, a completely empty bag.
Juhyeok’s face twisted skillfully in frustration.
“This son of a──”
Cue!
The Director’s okay signal rang out.
“No need for reshoots! That was great!”
The Director spoke with conviction on the first take.
Sanghyeon and Juhyeok rushed over to watch the take they’d just filmed.
‘Oh.’
‘That works.’
It had definitely gone more B-movie than the original concept, but it was far more entertaining and natural.
“Alright, next is leaning against that railing. Let’s go.”
Sanghyeon and Juhyeok quickly reviewed the storyboard they’d hastily sketched on their pads and walked toward the railing.
The cameras followed them with a rumble.
This time, Juhyeok starts by leaning against the railing and smoking a cigarette.
“…sigh.”
As expected, Sanghyeon walks over with a tired expression and stands beside him identically.
As Sanghyeon rummages inside his suit, Juhyeok pulls out a lighter.
“Got a light?”
“Nope.”
What Sanghyeon was searching for wasn’t a lighter.
It was almonds.
Crunch.
He pulls out an almond bag and immediately starts eating from it.
Juhyeok’s expression gradually darkens.
Crunch. Crunch crunch.
This might not even be acting.
“Are they… really that delicious?”
“Here.”
This time, Sanghyeon pulls out another one and hands it to Juhyeok.
“!”
Juhyeok, wondering what’s happening, cracks open an almond and pops it into his mouth.
Soon after, he’s holding the bag like Sanghyeon and eating from it. The two of them continue eating almonds in silence.
The cigarette Juhyeok had been smoking was already half-unburned, wedged into the ashtray.
“Cut!”
The Director’s expression was pleased once again.
“Wow. That’s great! Just as expected!”
In the Director’s eyes, it was a satisfactory result.
The refreshing atmosphere of a Japanese advertisement from the bubble economy era, yet an image that harmonized perfectly with the gray-toned city.
‘With some fine-tuning, this will definitely be much better.’
The Director stroked his beard and ran an editing simulation in his mind.
In his head, he could clearly envision the improved advertisement.
However, that was only in his mind.
“Let’s cut it here for now!”
The Director stood from his camera seat and called over the Staff.
“The footage looks good. Let me piece it together and take another look.”
He needed to pull the image from his mind and see it externally. Especially since this was a storyboard made on the spot. He had to compare it carefully, even if it took time.
The Staff and editing team gathered to begin a meeting with the Director.
“Please wait about an hour.”
“Ah, yes.”
There was nothing for Juhyeok and Sanghyeon to do at this moment.
They simply wandered aimlessly through the aerial garden of the Green Diamond, sightseeing.
“…Hey.”
That’s when Juhyeok nudged Sanghyeon.
“You want to eat that again?”
Crunch.
Sanghyeon had another almond in his mouth, even though they weren’t filming now.
“I… I can’t stop…”
He waved both hands as if it wasn’t his fault.
“Can’t stop? Did that almond have some curse placed on it or something?”
“Yeah. Probably.”
He really couldn’t control himself.
Juhyeok snatched the bag of almonds from his hands.
“If you can’t eat it deliciously during the shoot, what then? This is confiscation.”
“…Wait, isn’t the shoot already over?”
“If the footage looks mediocre, we’ll shoot again. This storyboard could even be shot at night.”
He was already thinking about shooting until night.
Sanghyeon thought to himself that Juhyeok was indeed the type who worked hard at everything.
He remembered how Juhyeok made overtime the default when they worked at the Company.
Sanghyeon lowered his head in acknowledgment.
“Ha. Yeah. I should eat it deliciously then. Can’t eat it all now.”
His gaze still lingered on the bag of almonds Juhyeok had taken. As if he had regrets.
But was there no way to survive this?
Juhyeok made a suggestion.
“Hey. We have some time to spare right now, don’t we?”
“Yeah.”
“I came up with something worth doing. If we do this, I’ll even let you eat Almond.”
“…What kind of thing?”
“I opened an SNS account under your name. Runestagram. I haven’t posted anything yet.”
“Really? Do the fans know about it?”
“Yeah. I announced it earlier when you were filming.”
Juhyeok pulled out his phone and showed me the follower count.
[Followers: 3K]
Three thousand people were already following.
‘Already quite a few fans have come in.’
It had only been announced a few hours ago, yet so many people had already followed. The reality of my popularity suddenly hit me.
“But what’s the actual proposal?”
“Look at this.”
Juhyeok showed me Miho’s Runestar account.
It was a post with a short video, and the view count and comments were enormous.
“This is from the Fantasia shoot, right?”
A short version of footage from the Fantasia filming location had been posted on Runestar.
#Shoot #Fantasia #Priest
Tags like these were attached.
-Goddess Miho…
-Is she a priest? Looks like she’d be excommunicated immediately
-At least it seems like she can definitely cure impotence.
-Wow this is insane fr. Is there a photo shoot coming out?
-@kei_tpa Look at this. This is Miho lol
Oh my gosh, you’re so pretty, unnie! Your pink hair is adorable!
-Even that outfit suits her. She’s truly gorgeous…
-Is that the lipstick from that advertisement?
The comments had a completely different feel from Ollytube or Tribee. Some tagged their friends to drive traffic, and many people showed interest in Miho’s clothing and cosmetics.
“It’s way more effective than other media, right?”
“Yeah. Definitely. It’s more direct too.”
While clueless kids might see this as a communication channel, to Juhyeok and me, this was an advertising billboard.
The clothes worn in photos, the cosmetics applied, contact lenses, hair salons, even camera brands…
There were countless things that could be advertised. That was the structure of Runestar itself.
Especially for someone like Miho who had such a good sense of style, brand sponsorships seemed to pour in endlessly.
“Advertising needs to be careful, but I like how ‘direct’ it is.”
“Communication?”
“Yeah. It’s a platform where direct communication happens. That’s what SNS is.”
I understood what Juhyeok was proposing.
“You want me to film a post like Miho’s and upload it?”
“Yeah. It’s an advertisement anyway, right? If we film and upload something like this, it’ll be way more effective. Better engagement with fans too. And it’ll really bring out your character.”
“Hmm. True.”
The Almond advertisement would work better, and communicating with fans would become smoother.
Almond’s character as a streamer would shine through even more.
“But what should we film?”
The shoot was already finished, so I couldn’t upload behind-the-scenes footage like Miho did, and I couldn’t post the finished product on my personal Runstar without approval either.
I had to film something new. Something like a short vlog.
“You know, that thing you’re good at.”
Juhyeok tossed me an Almond bag and pointed upward.
“Throwing it up and catching it in your mouth.”
That day, Almond’s first post was uploaded to Runstar.
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Almond eating almonds.
#Advertisement #GreenDiamondAlmond
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Viewers who had been restless during Almond’s hiatus began flooding in.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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