Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 585

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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 55
20. The Preliminaries Begin (1)
That’s right.
After all, this contract was between Sanghyeon and me alone, and it was something we had to carry through together.
Where was there any room for others’ judgments to interfere with that contract?
If we both knew that our synergy was the best,
then everything else was irrelevant. There was nothing to fear.
That was all it took.
With just that, we were the perfect partners.
Juhyeok felt his eyes growing hot.
Nothing particularly happened. My thoughts had simply become organized.
I had merely exchanged a few words with this guy.
Yet I felt myself becoming far more liberated than before. It was as if I’d shed every constraining shackle that had bound me.
Juhyeok lowered his head, worried his expression might be noticed.
Fortunately, Sanghyeon was gulping down his beer and wasn’t looking his way.
Clink.
He set down his beer glass and extended his hand.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you. Going forward, too.”
“Yeah.”
Juhyeok composed himself and clasped his hand.
Like they were signing a contract anew, the two shook hands.
While grinning, Juhyeok suddenly became curious about something and asked.
“By the way, what’s your rating on the dating app?”
“….”
This guy had gone on and on about how living according to dating app ratings wasn’t great, yet he himself had a perfect score?! That’s what made me wonder.
“Ahem. I don’t do that.”
He said he didn’t do that.
“What? You haven’t even tested it?”
“Haven’t tested it. I’ve just heard about it, because of the ads.”
“…Really?”
“Two more beers over here, please!”

* * *
From that day forward, Almond’s GiStar came to an end.
With the exclusive contract signed with Hitman, I no longer had any GiStar-related work to handle.
In a sense, Juhyeok’s GiStar had also concluded.
Yet something new was beginning to sprout within him.
After the rain, the earth hardened, and seeds I never knew existed began to germinate within it.
I couldn’t understand what this was myself.
But if this plant grew to full maturity, I decided I would call it hope.
“Yeah. That video should go up sometime today…”
After this strange thing began growing inside me, I found myself able to concentrate far better on my work.
“I’ll go meet with the assistant editor and film the video. Jia, you’re managing your time well. We need to keep pushing out content.”
There were no distracting thoughts.
No thoughts of my father, no thoughts of my previous workplace or colleagues.
I focused solely on moving forward.
Toward that light I would one day reach.
“Ah. Department Manager Jeong. How have you been? We took our time deliberating, so I apologize for the late contact. We’ve decided to proceed with the contract today.”
Now I was moving forward with the contract for Hitman’s exclusive model. Though it was early morning, I couldn’t afford to delay any longer.
Sanghyeon had somehow taken a seat across from me at the table.
“Yes. Yes. We’ll proceed right away. Just open the app.”
Department Manager Jeong sounded absolutely thrilled. Even through the phone, Juhyeok could sense how enthusiastic he was.
“Here.”
I tossed the app function over to Sanghyeon.
“Okie.”
Sanghyeon bowed his head and reviewed the contract contents again.
Of course, he was just rolling his eyes over it.
He had no talent whatsoever for reading things carefully.
He simply knew that if he did this, I would review it.
“Yes. I’m reviewing it now and will sign.”
I nodded and spoke into the receiver. Sanghyeon signed, and I signed as well.
Then Department Manager Jeong’s seal was stamped.
Though remote, it appeared on everyone’s screen simultaneously.
“Yes~ the account number matches. Oh, don’t mention it. We’re the grateful ones.”
Ding.
The advance payment shot into the account at incredible speed. We both counted the amount on our fingers and nodded.
“That’s right.”
Grin.
It was an amount that naturally brought a smile to one’s face.
“It’s been received. Thank you so much…… Yes?”
I was about to end the call when Department Manager Jeong urgently said something.
“Ah. A commercial shoot?”
Juhyeok picked up his pen again.
“I can work with a design proposal, but… doesn’t this seem like we’re scaling up quite a bit?”
Whether the scale was large or small didn’t really matter to Sanghyeon, who was the advertising model.
But now the Hitman crew were essentially fellow passengers on the same ship, no longer strangers.
So Juhyeok felt concerned too.
“Ah. Investment came through? The CEO’s quite capable. Got it. But with an ad like this, the agency would be…”
Apparently a major investment had come in from somewhere. Was it because they saw the potential in the Hitman game?
“Wait, you’re saying Department Manager Jeong is becoming a director starting next month? Ha ha. Congratulations.”
Even Department Manager Jeong, who had handled the contract, got a rapid promotion.
“So… with such a large-scale ad, which ad planning agency are you using? The production won’t be easy… Ah. Choi-gang Planning. Choi-gang Planning is good. You’re working with a big company. Really, congratulations.”
After some miscellaneous talk, Juhyeok hung up the phone.
Thud.
“What? The ad changed? I thought we were just filming gameplay.”
“Yeah. It changed. Now we’re shooting with a full set.”
“Oh…”
“We have hourly rates anyway. Doesn’t matter much to us. Actually, we’re getting paid more.”
“Right.”
This must be what they meant by things flowing smoothly.
‘If there’s something bothering me, it’s this.’
Even amid all this, not everything was perfectly polished.
Tap. Tap.
Juhyeok’s pen tapped out a single character as he was taking notes.
‘Choi-gang Planning…”
The company planning this advertisement with us.
Since it was also a subsidiary of Asung, it was a place connected to both Juhyeok and Sanghyeon.
‘That bastard works there.’
I had heard it from Jia. Her ex-boyfriend works at this place.
Well, since this was Korea’s top-tier advertising agency anyway, there was no need to feel bitter about such personal matters.
‘I’m easygoing, aren’t I.’
Juhyeok suddenly recalled an ex-lover from long ago.
She’s in America now. The relationship grew distant when she moved there.
Before that, we even talked about marriage.
Somehow, she became a complete stranger.
Human relationships were fascinating.
They seem like they’ll always be good, then they crumble.
Some relationships seem precarious yet continue to hold on.
That I’ve become this way with Sang-hyun Yu, whom I initially thought was an odd character, was also
a strange and bittersweet phenomenon when I look back on it.
“I’m turning on the stream.”
Sanghyeon passed by behind me, speaking as he went.
“Ah. Yeah. Got it.”
Juhyeok naturally opened his laptop for chat management as well.
Sanghyeon sat at the desk instead of in the capsule.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Deep winter sunlight streamed down over the sound of the two of us typing on our keyboards.
Even if everything changed later, the memory of this moment alone would be eternal.
That alone would be warm enough to carry me through the winters to come.
That’s what Juhyeok thought.

* * *
“Done! Done! Put it up right now! Launch it immediately!”
Department Manager Jeong ran through the booth shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Yes, sir!”
The employees unfurled posters and set them outside, then began changing all the screen advertisements.
It was an advertisement featuring Almond’s face, with massive letters spelling “Almond Challenge” scattered throughout.
Flags placed near the booth also read “Extreme Spice! Almond Challenge!”
Every marketing point the manager had envisioned was included.
“Phew. We timed it perfectly.”
“We sure did.”
“The opening’s about to start, right?”
“Yes. They’ll come flooding in.”
“Good. We really pulled out all the stops.”
The manager was right. The G-Star opening began, and people came rushing in.
People often say crowds come like waves, and this was exactly that image made real.
The employees headed outside and began rowing through that wave of people.
“Ah! Ah, ah! Ahhh~ Almond Challenge~!”
“It’s spicy. Really spicy~ But deliciously spicy. Tears~ Snot~ We’ll pull it all out~”
Popularity and attention these days came in short, intense bursts. It seemed like fewer people might come than yesterday.
“Oh. Is that the thing?”
“The Almond Challenge?”
“Yeah. They really pulled out all the stops.”
The words “Almond Challenge” reignited the gamers’ competitive spirit.
There were still no challenge points to be earned, but it stirred up their desire to test their skills.
Of course, some people came knowing nothing at all and asked like this.
“Wait, no points? Then what do we get!?”
They were promoting it so aggressively, yet there were no challenge points to earn.
“Ah~ Dear customer~ It’s written down here~”
The employee pointed to the bottom corner of the poster. In very tiny letters, it read “*Cannot be earned due to challenge point depletion.”
“You may not have earned challenge points, but we’re confident that something far more precious has remained in our hearts! In our souls! Something truly valuable~!”
The employee waved both hands cheerfully.
“…Ah, yes.”
And so they continued their thriving business without giving up a single challenge point.

* * *
Just as the Hitman booth was reaching its peak popularity.
Ding.
[Almond has started streaming!]
[Gstar Aftermath and Major Announcement]
Almond’s broadcast suddenly went live without any prior notice.
[Current viewers: 18,000]
Nearly twenty thousand people flooded in the moment the stream started.
“Hey~”
He greeted them not from inside the capsule, but with his bedroom as the background.
A communication broadcast after quite some time.
-Oh yeah
-Wow, it’s been forever since a communication stream
-This angle is rare lol
Major announcement ㄷㄷ
-Major announcement? Are you enlisting again?
The viewers greeted him warmly. Of course, donations followed.
[Rubisword donated 10,000 won.]
[Almond! Gstar’s over?]
“Ah. Rubisword, thank you for the 10,000 won donation. Yes, the Gstar schedule is finished. Now I’m back home.”
Ding.
Rubisword seemed excited since the communication broadcast had been so long in coming.
[Rubisword donated 20,000 won.]
[There were so many shots of Almond at Gstar!]
Another donation.
“My face?”
[Rubisword donated 30,000 won.]
[Check Tseugae!]
“Check? I apologize. I’ll take a look.”
-lol this is hilarious
-Is the next one 40,000 won? haha
-His instincts are insane lol
-Donation baiting lol
Trivia Streamer Board.
Shortened to Tseugae.
A space where each streamer can use as their own personal bulletin board with their fans.
“Tseugae. Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I checked. This looks like….”
Upon entering, I quickly found what appeared to be a post uploaded by Rubisword.
It was from the G-Star venue, and countless Almonds were floating about.
Haha, seriously lol
“and almond dystopia lol”
“A”pocalypse lol
-Did the human world end after all?
-The age of humanity has come to an end. Now it’s the era of nuts
-So the nuts won in the end.
It had only been a few hours since I signed the exclusive contract.
The speed was incredible.
[Gaji-bokkeun donated 5,000 won.]
[It’s illegal to use my sibling’s face without permission. Is this really okay?]
-Can’t use your sibling’s face but uses the money, this bastard…
-Lol legal expert
-Not a bundle of eggplants so downvote~
-Yeah, isn’t that too much??
“Ah, since I became an exclusive model for Hitman, there’s no issue with my likeness rights.”
-Wait!?
-For real??
-Wow, that’s huge
-Wow
I can’t translate this line as it doesn’t contain meaningful Korean words. “ㅊㅊㅊ” appears to be repeated consonants without vowels, which doesn’t form valid Korean text.
[Rubisword donated 100,000 won.]
[Congrats on becoming a model! But what’s the major announcement?]
“Ah, thank you, Rubisword. The major announcement….”
I had written “major announcement” in the title but wasn’t actually mentioning it at all.
I totally forgot about that lol
-Did Hodu write the title instead?
Lol nut shake, how are they gonna do the broadcast without Ruby lol
[Current viewers: 47,000]
Somehow, nearly 50,000 people were watching this casual chat broadcast.
Did my weight class increase after G-Star? Or was it just the bait of the major announcement?
There was no way to know.
Either way, I had to make the major announcement.
“I didn’t forget—I was just waiting for the right timing.”
*Ahem.*
I cleared my throat a few times for no particular reason, then pulled something out from under the desk.
-??
-What is it?
-?
At the end of a parade of question marks, the item that appeared was Reina’s bow—Damian.
“My Damian is so radiant that I urgently wanted to introduce her through this major announcement.”
A bow suffused with a subtle blue glow. Indeed, her radiant beauty was unmistakable.
Damn it, haha
-The Dehaepdeul are dying ooooh
-Dehaep… caw!
-“Caw” got played
Is this real? lol
-Next time say ‘platoon announcement’…
The viewer count seemed to plummet in an instant.
“…I’m joking.”
Almond chuckled and lowered the bow again.
“Actually, this isn’t the major announcement.”
-Are you enlisting again?
-Did you become a World Cup national representative because of your ball possession rate comment?!
-Oh please don’t say you’re dating Miho. I really can’t handle that!
All sorts of speculation poured in.
Almond stopped the buildup and displayed something on the screen.
[Civil Empire National Tournament Broadcast Plan]
“Tadaa. Major announcement~”
Boom, that’s hilarious lol
I can’t provide a meaningful translation for this text as it appears to be corrupted or contains garbled characters that don’t form coherent Korean words.
-This guy’s showing off
-Ah the nationals!
-Will the broadcast be different?
“The Civil Empire national tournament preliminaries will be starting soon. From then on, the broadcast structure will inevitably change somewhat.”

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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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