Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 584

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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 54
19. The Perfect Partner (4)
Driving back toward Seoul.
Juhyeok, who had been staring blankly at the navigation, suddenly realizes something and asks toward the rearview mirror.
“Oh. But what about the car? Are we taking the subway again from Asung Station?”
If we were going to drink, it made sense to leave the car behind.
“Asung Station?”
Sanghyeon in the rearview mirror tilts his head in confusion.
“Yeah. You said let’s get chicken and beer.”
“Do you think that’s the only chicken place around?”
“Huh…?”
Weren’t we going there? We had fan meetings and company dinners there and everything.
“I’ll just park where I usually do. I found a place nearby.”
“You found a place?”
Even back when I was a new employee, whenever someone asked me to find a good restaurant on a business trip, I was always the one with the worst taste—that was Sang-hyun Yu.
Back then, the manager had confidently declared that I wouldn’t have to pick restaurants until I became a department manager.
“It’s not going to be bad, is it?”
So it was natural for Juhyeok to worry like this.
But Sanghyeon just chuckled softly without giving a proper answer.

* * *
After that, nothing much happened in the car.
Sanghyeon still seemed tired and dozed off, while Juhyeok simply turned up the music and focused on driving.
Before long, we arrived at the neighborhood.
Now all that was left was to park in front of the house. Well, in front of the house, but in reality, I had to climb a hellish flight of stairs to get there.
This mountainside neighborhood didn’t allow driving all the way to the front of the house.
Instead, I had to park in the public parking lot that I paid for every month.
“We’re here.”
Juhyeok opens the door and gets out with a grunt.
“Ugh. Cars keep getting bigger, but why don’t they expand these parking spaces?”
Slam.
Juhyeok closes the door and complains.
Somehow the cars are from 2030 but the parking spaces are from the 90s.
“Let’s go right now.”
Sanghyeon, having emerged at some point, is already heading toward the chicken restaurant.
“Huh? Hey. What about the luggage?”
“I’ll just move it tomorrow.”
“Ah… shouldn’t we move it first?”
“Let’s hurry. They’re closing soon.”
“Ugh… fine! Let’s go!”
Even Juhyeok, who despised procrastination, couldn’t bring himself to haul this suitcase up those hellish stairs today.
The luggage was the sort that could sit untouched for a week without any issue, so I decided to leave it behind.

* * *
A long exhale.
Walking along a path where white breath misted in the cold air.
Sanghyeon thrust both hands deep into the thick pockets of his coat and lowered his head.
Though I tried to hide it, my mind was racing desperately.
‘What should I say so his pride doesn’t take a hit?’
I needed to keep telling Juhyeok that we should stay together.
Depending on how he accepted this, nothing might get resolved at all.
It could even get worse instead.
He hates pity as much as he hates enmity.
The moment this proposal is taken as pity, it’s over.
Maybe it would be better to just pretend I know nothing and walk past.
‘Hmm… is that so?’
Pretend to know nothing and just walk past?
I hadn’t failed to consider this option, but my heart wasn’t in it.
I had to resolve something before leaving.
‘So what am I going to say?’
That I think you do good work? The moment those words leave my mouth, Juhyeok could interpret them however he wants anyway.
‘This is difficult.’
Attempting something I rarely did, my head was pounding.
Just then, we were already in front of the chicken restaurant.
It was an old, shabby-looking establishment.
Juhyeok, who had been surveying the area around the chicken shop, asked back.
“Hey. Are the ratings good here? I’m picky about chicken. I’m a chicconnoisseur, you know.”
A chicconnoisseur? Please. When it comes to chicken, he devours it like a vacuum cleaner.
I swallowed those thoughts and scratched my chin.
“Uh… ratings?”
Were the ratings good? I honestly hadn’t thought about it.
Since I’d been coming here since childhood, there was no need to check such things.
“I don’t know about ratings. I used to come here a lot when I was younger. It’s a good place.”
“But why am I coming here for the first time…?”
Right. Why have I never come here with Juhyeok?
I searched for a reason I hadn’t consciously considered until now.
“…It’s probably because I used to come here often with my grandmother. The owner looks for her whenever he sees me.”
“Ah…”
Because there were too many connections to my grandmother in this place, I had actually been avoiding it.
And it wasn’t just my grandmother.
‘When I was younger, I used to come here often with Soyeon.’
There were days when Soyeon would join me, and we’d both get to enjoy the chicken my grandmother bought for us.
Back then, I’d complain to my grandmother about how wasteful it was to buy chicken for Soyeon too.
Every time, she’d scold me harshly, saying how could I live with such a petty heart, unwilling to share even this with a friend.
The truth was, my complaints stemmed from embarrassment that we couldn’t share something fancier together.
“Anyway, let’s head in.”
Since it had been a while, my heart raced a little as I stepped inside.
As a child, I loved the atmosphere here. Everyone seemed to be having fun, and on days when people played soccer, the place was absolutely lively.
“Oh…? S-Sanghyeon? It really is you!!”
The moment I entered, the owner of the chicken shop recognized me from the kitchen.
“My goodness. Hey, hey. It’s been so hard to see your face. I saw you on the news, didn’t I? You’re doing so well~ You even made the news. My daughter likes you too, doesn’t she?”
The chicken shop owner’s daughter was a bit older than me.
The owner didn’t say anything more after that.
“…Haha. Thank you so much.”
“Goodness. Anyway, sit down quickly. Fried chicken?”
“Yes. And two glasses of draft beer, please.”
“Sure thing.”
It felt good to see them again after so long.
I found myself wondering why I hadn’t come sooner.
‘Ah.’
In that moment, I realized how to explain things to Juhyeok.

* * *
Thunk.
Two large glasses of draft beer arrived at the table.
Juhyeok adjusted his glasses briefly and examined the beer.
Old-fashioned places like this rarely served truly delicious beer.
‘I hope it doesn’t taste watered down.’
Juhyeok took a sip with a somewhat skeptical expression.
His eyes widened.
“Oh…!”
It was delicious.
“…W-well, it’s pretty good.”
“Right? Anyway, thanks for pulling off that contract.”
Sanghyeon said, raising his beer glass.
“Ah, yeah. But it wasn’t something I did alone. Haha!”
With the alcohol warming him up, Juhyeok felt his mood lift and clinked glasses.
Clink.
The two of them began gulping down their beers.
“Ahhh~”
“Mmm. This is nice.”
Next, fried chicken arrived in a basket lined with foil paper.
It was prepared in the old-fashioned way—fried whole.
The owner, an aunt, glanced at their empty glasses and asked.
“You two look thirsty. Want more beer~? Looks like you’re celebrating something good~”
“Ah, yes. Could we get one more glass each, please!”
Juhyeok spoke politely, and the aunt owner burst into delighted laughter.
“What a handsome and spirited young man! He’d be absolutely perfect for my daughter. How old are you? Are you the same age as Sanghyeon?”
Sanghyeon shook his head and answered.
“Three years older.”
“What? That’s the same age as my daughter! A match made in heaven!”
Suddenly thrust into a matchmaking situation, Juhyeok panicked and rolled his eyes.
“Ah…haha! You’re too kind!”
Meanwhile, the aunt had already disappeared into the kitchen.
“Don’t worry about it. That’s just her habit.”
“Ah, I… right.”
“Yeah.”
Sanghyeon pointed at the chicken.
“Let’s just eat this.”
The two tore off drumsticks and took bites.
The crispy, golden coating was laden with umami that melted across the tongue.
The moment one let their guard down, the succulent chicken meat burst with juices, flooding the palate.
“Sigh.”
Releasing white steam from the heat, Juhyeok quickly takes another bite.
Crunch.
The first contact is crispy, but soon it becomes chewy and stretchy before finally yielding tender, succulent meat—this beautiful cinematic sequence unfolds once more.
Crunch!
Without a word, Juhyeok bites again and again until he’s devoured the entire leg.
‘What is this? It’s delicious?’
Whether from rolling around at G-Star or whatever, it was damn delicious.
Looking ahead, I see Sanghyeon smiling with pride.
How is it? My chicken restaurant?
That’s the feeling behind the question.
Feeling oddly defeated, Juhyeok frowned and asked.
“How have I never come here until now…”
It’s a place I used to go with Grandmother, so if it’s inconvenient, I’ll never come again. A complaint about why he’s showing me such a place now.
At that, Sanghyeon chuckled.
“Sometimes being too familiar actually makes it uncomfortable.”
“…That’s true. But why did you come today?”
“I thought, what’s the point of that? Keeping distance because we’re close. When it’s this delicious.”
“Yeah. When it’s this delicious.”
With those words, Juhyeok tears off another piece.
“So. You’re the same way.”
“…?”
Juhyeok, who was eating chicken, suddenly blinks.
“Instead of keeping distance because we’re close, I think it’s right that I keep going with you.”
“!”
Juhyeok is startled by the sudden topic change.
“Then we should go together. Were you trying to betray me?”
He throws out a joke while trying to play ignorant, but it’s no use.
“What kind of idiot thinks they’ll stay together just because they’re close?”
Sanghyeon continues to press the matter.
“Sometimes being close is exactly why you can’t go together.”
Juhyeok’s face flushes red.
Hearing it this far, I understand.
He knew all along.
He knew that I knew.
He answers with a serious expression.
“Being close is more often the reason you do go together.”
Sanghyeon nods.
“Right. Going together because you’re close, not going together because you’re close. Both exist. Do you know what that means?”
“…?”
“Being close and working together are actually two different things. If you’re good at your job, we work together. If you’re not, we don’t.”
Juhyeok paused to think before responding.
“…But other people won’t see it that way.”
Other people?
Sanghyeon had expected Juhyeok to say this.
He was the type who cared quite a bit about what others thought of him.
“Do you know what the rating is for this place?”
Sanghyeon pointed at the chicken.
“No idea.”
“3.9 stars.”
“…Really?”
This taste deserved 3.9?
“The old-fashioned whole chicken style isn’t for everyone’s taste. Plus, they don’t even run review events or anything.”
“Ah….”
Juhyeok privately suspected the latter was the real reason, watching the steam rise from the chicken.
“If you’d stayed at Asung, what do you think your rating would be? You know, like those dating apps these days where they rate people. Salary, age, looks—they judge everything.”
Juhyeok gulped down his beer.
It was an embarrassing answer to admit out loud.
“Well… probably pretty high.”
“Almost perfect, I’d say. Silver spoon, tall, decent looks, elite career path, recognized even by major corporations.”
Juhyeok scratched his head.
He didn’t know what to say in the face of this sudden barrage of compliments(?).
“But why’d you leave Asung? Why’d you throw away a perfect-score life?”
A perfect-score life?
A dating app perfect score?
Juhyeok exclaimed in disbelief.
“What does a dating app score have to do with life anyway!?”
“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying.”
Completely unexpectedly, Sanghyeon returned to his main point.
“The way strangers who have nothing to do with us see us is basically just like a dating app rating. Just surface-level stuff.”
“…!”
“Someone might see me as being swayed by personal connections, working with you because of that. But so what? The reality is different, isn’t it?”
Sanghyeon’s eyes fixed on Juhyeok with the same unwavering precision he used when aiming at a target.
As if he were about to shoot straight through the center of his heart.
“You’re an exceptional person. Everyone at Asung who’s worked with you even a little knows that. Even people who disliked you acknowledged your abilities.”
Sanghyeon’s eyes remained completely steady. No one watching could possibly think he was lying.
“No one who’s worked with you thinks you’re just a manager. In my eyes, you’re already the representative of management. You work like a representative, you think like a representative. You just lack that scrap of paper saying you founded a corporation. You’re missing only the shell—the substance is already that of a representative.”
Light becomes distorted when it passes through liquid.
Perhaps that’s why Juhyeok’s eyes wavered so greatly.
“…So. I’m already working with a major company. There’s no need to go anywhere else.”
Sanghyeon smiled sheepishly.
“Ah. I didn’t want to mention this because I was afraid you’d go somewhere better.”
Juhyeok said nothing. There was no need to.
There was no reason to cover this moment with the shell of words.
His thoughts, the essence of them, had already been conveyed to Juhyeok completely.
Just as he said.
Everyone knew. Even if that everyone was just you and me.
In this world of just you and me….
We knew.
“Still. If we went somewhere else, it wouldn’t be like this. We work too well together.”
That we two are the perfect partners.

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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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