Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 583

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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 3 Episode 53
19. The Perfect Partner (3)
“…Alright! Everyone, grab the posters! Create advertisements for the screens! Hurry! Even something simple—just use Almond’s face and make it!”
The advertising team was bewildered by the sudden, barking command.
“But… are we allowed to produce that? The contract is different…”
“The contract! Ah…! The contract!?”
Department Manager Jeong fumbled for a moment before exclaiming.
“It’s almost done! Almost!”
Almost?
The employees tilted their heads in confusion.
No, a contract is either finalized or it isn’t—what does “almost” mean?
“So! You all get almost everything done too! The moment I sign that contract, we launch it immediately!”
Since the contract was almost finalized, they should almost finish their work too—it was oddly balanced logic that somehow made sense.
“Wow. The god of logic.”
“The logic of gods.”
“That’s… fair.”
The employees found themselves nodding without thinking.
There was a reason Department Manager Jeong was rushing like this. The Almond Challenge boom could end at any moment.
At worst, it could cool down as soon as tomorrow or the day after.
So he wanted to launch immediately the moment the contract was signed, even if that meant tomorrow.
“But you’re sure it’s really almost done, right?”
Meanwhile, the designers had a different perspective. They’d worked hard on it, and if it became useless, their morale would plummet. So they had to keep asking if it was really happening.
The manager waved his head and hands frantically for emphasis.
“Yeah! That’s right! It’ll work~~! I just need to consult with the manager and he said he’d sign! I have a good feeling about this, you know. Trust me! Unless some conflict breaks out between me and the manager, it’ll happen!”
“It’ll… happen?”
“It will happen! Unless some conflict breaks out between me and the manager, it will! It shall come to pass!”

* * *
“Haa.”
Thump.
Back in the hotel room, I threw myself onto the bed.
“Haa… haa…”
My breathing was rough from all that unnecessary running.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart vibrated like a war drum.
Feeling my blood pressure spike, I stared blankly at the ceiling.
「If it had been our side handling this, we could have resolved it much more smoothly. No, there wouldn’t have been any room for misunderstanding in the first place.」
Something pierced deep into my chest. I understood the meaning of those words better than anyone.
The problem was that becoming an issue with negative connotations in the first place was an enormous risk.
‘It’s because of that clause.’
I suddenly sat up, rummaged through my document bag, and unfolded the advertising contract.
Rustle.
Sure enough, there it was.
[If Party B causes social controversy that negatively impacts Party A’s image in a socially acceptable manner, Party A may terminate the contract with Party B, and Party B shall compensate Party A for the breach penalty.]
It’s a clause that always comes with advertising model contracts.
A clause stating that if an advertising model causes social controversy damaging to the company’s image, they must pay the full breach penalty.
Tremble…
My hands shook.
Usually the breach penalty is double the contract amount.
If I had to pay a penalty of this size, I’d practically have to start from scratch.
“Damn it… so what then?”
I muttered irritably and rummaged through my pockets. I was trying to take out my phone.
“But it all worked out fine, right? The risk didn’t blow up. So that’s good, isn’t it?”
A question no one could answer.
Probably something I was asking myself.
The imaginary opponent in my head was answering instead.
「Our assessment was that the risk was too great compared to the returns we actually got.」
I rummaged through my pockets more irritably. No phone.
“Where is it? Did I leave it?”
Flip!
I flipped over the bedding and found it resting by the pillow.
I must have thrown it there while changing clothes and forgotten about it before heading downstairs.
I turned on my phone and saw two missed calls.
[Missed Calls ×2]
Both from the same number.
[Hitman Mincheol Jung – Department Manager]
It was Department Manager Mincheol Jung.
‘What’s going on?’
I try calling again, but they don’t pick up—probably busy.
Since I left a voicemail, they’ll call back later.
‘They’ll probably call again in a bit.’
I head straight into the community forum.
It was the place where I could see my accomplishments most vividly laid bare.
The forum was still lined with posts about Almond.
1st Place) The Identity of Those Haters Attacking Almond.avi
2nd Place) I Worship You, the NUT
3rd place) Breaking news! Even without doing Almond Hitman, he’s in 1st place lololololol
4th Place) Sang-hyun Yu <<< This bastard's basically a god, upvote if agree
.
.
.
"I made Sang-hyun Yu into a god. What's the problem? Damn these people."
Public opinion had rarely reached such extremes.
The actual benefits I'd gained were substantial too.
But then I hear that voice again.
「An exclusive model contract would be more appropriate to match the image damage risk Almond faces, wouldn't you say?」
Their argument wasn't entirely without merit.
Perhaps what Juhyeok had secured was a small victory compared to the risk. By their standards, anyway.
But Juhyeok couldn't accept it.
"An exclusive model contract!?"
What streamer in this situation would turn a crisis into an opportunity and land an exclusive model deal? Is an exclusive model contract some kind of snack?
Isn't the criticism way too harsh?
Even among celebrities, only the most famous ones get exclusive deals for hundreds of millions won. How could a mere streamer do that?
Even for game advertising, it's the reality that girl groups are the ones doing mobile game ads.
"…Are they saying that's actually possible for them?"
Now I was curious about Butterfly Entertainment's capabilities. By their own claims about their abilities, wouldn't it actually make sense for Sang-hyun Yu to go with them?
Maybe stepping back now would be the right call.
Sanghyeon would obviously want to keep going together. That much was obvious without even asking.
He thinks of me as his benefactor.
He's just being dragged along by inertia from what we've done together.
'That won't work.'
I hated that.
I stepped out into the world again because I wanted recognition, not gratitude.
Beep beep!
That's when it happened.
Someone entered the room.
Of course it was Sanghyeon.
"You awake?"
Sanghyeon asks, watching Juhyeok still lying in bed.
"Mm. Ah, uh… just now."
Juhyeok turns his head away, embarrassed at the thought that Sanghyeon might have heard him shout.
"For someone who just woke up, you've already changed clothes."
Sanghyeon points to Juhyeok's brown turtleneck sweater.
"Oh. I was thinking of going out, but I just went to the bathroom. I'm not planning to eat. My stomach feels off."
"So that's why you were lying down."
"Yeah."
Juhyeok answers without looking at Sanghyeon, rolling over to lie on his side.
"Right. The breakfast didn't taste great anyway."
"That's just how breakfast is."
After that, the two fell silent.
It wasn't as if they were the type to talk endlessly when alone together.
But the air felt different.
"What time is checkout?"
"Noon, I think. We can stay pretty late."
A brief exchange of questions and answers, but then the awkward silence returned.
'Juhyeok definitely came and went. The clothes and all…'
Sanghyeon recalled that he'd felt this air before.
'There was a similar feeling back then.'
It was during the last recording of Butterfly's Avatar.
There was a moment when he'd sensed that Juhyeok had witnessed him talking with Butterfly Entertainment.
Juhyeok's reaction had been strange that day.
But he'd been too busy preparing for G-Star to properly discuss it.
And after that passed, Juhyeok quickly returned to his normal self.
Especially at G-Star, he'd been even more energetic than usual.
So Sanghyeon had dismissed it as nothing significant and filed it away in the back of his mind.
But now, looking at this moment, it felt exactly the same.
Which meant Juhyeok had uncannily witnessed every appearance of the Butterfly Entertainment employee.
"I'll start getting ready."
Sanghyeon says, opening his suitcase.
"Traffic will be bad anyway, so we might as well leave early."
He was suggesting they leave before checkout time.
"Oh. Yeah. Let's do that."
Juhyeok nods and slowly gets up from the bed.
Sanghyeon notices Juhyeok's eyes have refocused and asks.
"Department Manager Jeong called earlier."
"Huh?"
Only then does Juhyeok whip his head around, meeting Sanghyeon's eyes.
"Me?"
"Yeah. Since you won't accept it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Whether you'll be an exclusive model. I need to discuss it with you anyway…."
"WHAT!?!?"
Whoosh!
Juhyeok suddenly rocketed off the bed, startling Sanghyeon.
"Ah, no. I said we'd discuss it and then sign a contract…."
"Not that! An exclusive model!? Really an exclusive model!?"
Juhyeok's eyes were wide as saucers.
'Wait, is this guy messing with me?'
How could it be such a coincidence? Juhyeok even wondered if Sanghyeon had noticed his situation and was lying to comfort him.
Of course, Sang-hyun Yu wasn't that kind of person.
He couldn't read the mood at all, and the idea of him lying to offer comfort was unthinkable.
Completely unimaginable.
Which meant the unimaginable was actually real.
"An exclusive… it really came through?"
"Yeah."
Juhyeok took a moment to collect himself.
"Phew…."
An exclusive model? That's good.
Now I have something to say to that arrogant punk from Nabi Entertainment.
'Is this a decision for Almond?'
Juhyeok paused to think, then raised a concern.
"Exclusivity comes with the risk of your image being tied to the brand. You know that, right?"
"Ah, our contract is different. The term is short."
"Short? How short?"
"One month."
"…One month?"
"Yeah."
One month seemed incredibly short.
Usually exclusive model contracts run for three years or more.
But this one was just a month-long contract.
So they only wanted to use it while the Almond Challenge craze was still hot.
In that case, the image damage risk dropped significantly. Almost nonexistent.
But there was a problem.
"What's the pay?"
With such a short term, wouldn't the payment be negligible?
"Here."
Flick.
Sanghyeon thrust the contract forward.
Unusually, the amount was already written in beforehand.
"…Is this a scam?"
Juhyeok asked with a hint of jest.
The sum was more than generous for the duration specified.
"It's a proposal I made intentionally. I'm grateful for it."
A contract given out of gratitude.
It was essentially the level of a major sponsorship.
"At this level, it really does seem like something done out of genuine gratitude. Of course, I should review the entire contract as a PDF file first."
"Ah. About that…."
Sanghyeon sent it to Juhyeok's phone.
Juhyeok read through the contract carefully, then nodded.
"It matches the explanation."
"Right. I think it would be good if I did it."
If Sanghyeon wanted to do it, there was no reason to hesitate.
"So, shall we sign?"
"…Yeah."
"Right. We can't process a contract like this on the same day. Let's think it over for one more day and handle it then."
"Ah. Well… that's not it."
"Then today?"
"No. Let's do the contract tomorrow. What will you do when you get home today?"
"What do you mean, what will I do? You're living with me anyway."
"Will we arrive home around evening?"
"Yeah. After we organize things and all…."
"Then let's go have a beer with me."
Juhyeok tilted his head in confusion.
"Why are you suggesting drinking all of a sudden?"
It was rare for Sanghyeon to propose drinking first.
"Just to celebrate the contract, you know. We're going, right?"
"But you said we'd do the contract tomorrow?"
"Not that—we've already landed a lot of advertisement contracts anyway. We're going, right?"
Juhyeok pondered for a moment.
The schedule after G-Star was relatively light.
"Yeah. There's no reason we can't. Let's go. I've been craving some chicken and beer lately."
Juhyeok thought of the regular pojangmacha in front of the Asung building.
But Sanghyeon had a completely different place in mind.

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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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