Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 796

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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 266
87. Spring (4)
I wanted to call Sanghyeon over today to boast about merchandise sales, of course.
But that wasn’t the main course.
After all, once the series went to five games, anyone could predict that merchandise sales would hit their peak.
The main course was Asung’s sponsor proposal. That was something he couldn’t have imagined.
“So, and there’s one really huge piece of news—”
“—Wait, could it be.”
“Huh?”
Juhyeok tilted his head with a twitching face.
Like a puppy caught mid-pee.
“What, what is it!”
Juhyeok shouted as if demanding I speak faster.
“No, why are you—”
“What is it!”
“If our company is also handling management for the national team competition…”
Why was he suddenly bringing that up?
Right when I was about to announce this bombshell news.
But if he had observed me properly, he would have noticed that my eyes had been fixed on the other players’ merchandise sales this whole time.
The other players’ merchandise sales were practically charity work.
The national team competition’s team logo merchandise was selling far better.
“…What if we also supported Pangeo hyung and other streamers who are interested?”
“Huh?”
Juhyeok instantly forgot all about Asung and couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Help out the other players?”
From Juhyeok’s perspective, me bringing up supporting other players was unfamiliar.
“Well, not so much help as… I mean… let’s try investing. There are no streamers, right? Would Bontovi work?”
“That’s what I’m saying. The merchandise profits we earned… the national team players contributed to that too. So let’s distribute it a bit more fairly.”
“No, I’m saying let’s invest based on that.”
“That’s distribution, man.”
“It’s investment. Do you call it distributing to other companies when you buy stocks with your salary?”
“So you call it investing when you give company stock to employees?”
A pointless argument with no ground given.
“Then you must be distributing to land when you buy a house?”
“You probably call it ‘investing’ when you buy gifts for your girlfriend too!?”
“….”
If this turned into a word fight with Juhyeok, my defeat was certain.
I huffed and rolled my eyes trying to find an even better example.
But there wasn’t one.
“Puhaha!”
Juhyeok burst into triumphant laughter, driving the final nail into the coffin.
“Good. Let’s distribute some of those players who’ve worked at our company to the ones heading into streaming.”
Sanghyeon says nothing.
It seems acknowledging defeat is still a habit he hasn’t broken.
“Do as you see fit.”

* * *
Juhyeok had met Sanghyeon’s archery club friends before.
At that gathering, he’d also heard stories about Sang-hyun Yu from his childhood.
From what he heard, Sanghyeon was an even colder person back then than during his Aseong days.
The adjectives that constantly followed him were things like ‘tactless,’ ‘frigid,’ ‘irritating,’ and ‘arrogant.’
In particular, girls especially had a tendency to speak ill of him.
“His image was really bad among the girls, seriously. Sanghyeon oppa.”
Dongsu corrected this, saying it was actually the opposite—he was popular with the girls.
“What can you do? When things don’t go your way, people just curse you out.”
“Is it like when boys bully the girls they like?”
“Well, something like that, yeah?”
He added that if you’re truly indifferent, you don’t even get cursed at—he himself had never been cursed at by women.
Everyone had no choice but to accept his logic.
“That’s true. Dongsu really doesn’t get cursed at by anyone.”
“Yeah. Actually, I don’t even know who they are….”
Dongsu, as a result, couldn’t even break even and had to spend several minutes reminiscing about his dark school days.
“Anyway, Sanghyeon oppa was really hard to approach before we got close. That’s why Soyeon unnie seemed so impressive to me, you know?”
“She’s always been bold.”
The coldness of young Sanghyeon back then wasn’t just internal—it armored his entire being.
Anyone who carelessly reached out a bare hand would risk frostbite.
After entering his twenties, the external armor had disappeared, but there was still a massive block of ice within him.
Whenever you dug deep into him, you’d occasionally touch something cold.
Juhyeok had felt it many times.
Aseong had only thawed his outer shell, but seemed to have frozen the ice inside even more solid.
And now, approaching his thirties, Sanghyeon was no longer an Aseong man—he was a streamer.
He had proposed supporting his teammates on the national team who couldn’t bask in the spotlight.
The solid block of ice within him was slowly beginning to thaw.
Just as no iceberg can withstand the relentless sun, Sang-hyun Yu too was being worn away by time.
Whether this was erosion or careful sculpting, he couldn’t say.
Juhyeok thought this as he cracked open the hotel room window slightly.
Perhaps spring really was coming.
For us.
“…Ah. I forgot to mention something.”
They’d only discussed the support policies, and in the end, he’d forgotten to bring up the matter concerning Aseong.
“They’ll reach out again anyway, so let’s talk about it then.”

* * *
Meanwhile, somewhere in downtown Seoul, beyond blue curtain walls, lay a rather unremarkable office filled with people in white shirts.
To ward off the tedious drowsiness that follows lunch, a man with a protruding belly stood holding a mixed coffee.
“Department Manager Gu. Is that really true?”
“Huh?”
Jinho Gu from the Marketing Team.
His employee ID dangled loosely around his neck like a slack leash.
He was the very “Department Manager Gu” being questioned.
“I’m talking about that game that’s been making waves lately—the Korean-Japanese War. Is it true that Juhyeok Kim has a firm grip on the national team’s business?”
“Ah… haha.”
“So your client is becoming Manager Kim, then?”
At those words, employees peeked their faces over the partitions from various spots.
“Whoa. Really? Juhyeok?”
“Oh my. Manager, why didn’t you tell us? Is that the Juhyeok Kim?”
“Huh? That Manager Kim? The one with the big build?”
At Asung, stories about Sang-hyun Yu were already well-known.
But only a handful knew about Juhyeok Kim, who had left with him.
“Ah… haha.”
Manager Gu scratched his head.
Should I mention this or not?
‘We got rejected.’
Moreover, their proposal had been turned down by Juhyeok once.
「Right now, we’re receiving too many sponsor inquiries. Especially from large corporations with very strong images—I think it’s better to avoid those.」
「Ah… what? Oh, no. Yes?」
「Asung has quite a strong corporate image. It’s quite different from the sports-oriented feel that monsters provide. I think we need to find a different image that suits better rather than having Asung involved.」
「Ah… haha. Yes. Then… I’ll look for a more fitting image. We reached out early because we don’t have much time right now.」
「Yes. Yes. I understand. Then if you prepare and contact us again, we’ll review it.」
Manager Gu had never imagined this. Usually, anyone would jump at the chance of a sports sponsorship from Asung.
It was common practice to lock in a contract first and discuss the direction later.
It was a reckless approach unimaginable from other companies, but with Asung’s name attached, things were different.
“What…? We got rejected?”
Gu eventually brought up the matter separately with his colleague, Manager Lee.
“Damn. That bastard Juhyeok Kim….”
Tssk.
Manager Lee frowned as he lit a cigarette.
“Is he deliberately playing hard to get?”
“Well, maybe, but… didn’t you see Civil M’s support for that national competition, the Korean-Japanese War?”
“I did.”
“It’s just knowing your own worth accurately. That’s why our team is working overtime. A simple proposal wouldn’t cut it.”
“Huh? If you don’t do it, wouldn’t that be the end of it?”
“Everyone knows Sang-hyun Yu used to work at Asung.”
“…?”
Manager Lee’s eyes widened in surprise.
Now the picture finally made sense.
“Our department’s job is to improve Asung’s image. But if it becomes known that Sang-hyun Yu struggled the whole time he was at Asung…”
“Manager Yu… yeah. He didn’t adapt well. No matter how you spin it. But he’s not the type to go around playing the victim, claiming he was mistreated.”
“Exactly. That’s never happened. But Manager Yu came in through the disabled quota position. Then he couldn’t adapt and left, right? If someone enters through a disabled quota and then leaves because they can’t adapt… it’ll look like Asung made it impossible for him to succeed. It makes welfare programs look meaningless.”
“Sigh.”
Manager Lee nodded bitterly, exhaling smoke.
“Work is complicated~ When politicians stick their spoons in, they really squeeze us hard about disability welfare and all that. But they don’t care about hardworking people like us.”
“Right. That’s why they want to build up his reputation beforehand. The image is perfect. Someone who gave up his athletic career because of disability, taken in by Asung, and then given a sponsor to support his future even after leaving the company.”
“Wow~”
The executives had a clear picture in mind.
So even though the one giving money is usually in the stronger position, employees have to figure out how to hand over the money and remain in the weaker position.
It’s a laughable situation where even when offering money, if the other side refuses, you have to wonder whether to fold it into an origami crane instead.
That was the society most people lived in.
Juhyeok understood the shape of that society precisely.
The relationship between the strong and the weak. He had unraveled the complex web of countless interests tangled like threads, and recognized that he was currently in the stronger position.
Manager Lee chuckled, exhaling memories along with smoke.
“That bastard Juhyeok Kim did his work brilliantly. I thought he’d make it to executive. But then I heard he became some kind of manager. I was honestly dumbfounded—what kind of rich kid’s slumming is this….”
“Talent shows itself.”
Jinho Gu lights a cigarette.
“Department Manager Gu. You said you quit smoking?”
“Talent shows itself.”
He smirked.
With a bitter smile, he inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply.
“Manager Lee. When he first called. You know what was most difficult?”
“What?”
“I couldn’t speak formally to him.”
“Ah….”
“It just wouldn’t come out. My tongue was all twisted up. I worked under him for a while back then. Now he’s in a completely different class than me.”
“Hey. Why go that far? If he was your boss, you should still treat him like an older brother.”
“What….”
Tsk.
Jinho Gu crushed the cigarette into the ashtray and shook his head.
“I lost. In the end, he won. That’s all there is to it.”
It was a familiar tone, as if this had happened many times before.

* * *
Saturday, the day of the tournament, passed, and Sunday arrived.
By that night, many players who needed to return to work would head back to Korea.
For those feeling as though they were being dragged from a dreamlike weekend back into reality, an unexpected announcement came through.
[Notice) Sponsor Briefing Session Announcement]
This message arrived on every player’s phone.
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Hello, national team players.
This is Manager Juhyeok Kim.
Much has transpired, and our team has received considerable attention as a result.
While cautious, I believe we have gathered the necessary resources for establishing a professional team next year.
For those among you who aspire to become professional gamers or streamers and dedicate your lives to Civil Empire as content, we are hosting an informational briefing.
With the support of these sponsor companies, we plan to provide various forms of assistance, so please attend if you are interested.
==== ====
Joseon had been composed entirely of amateur players until now.
But perhaps the next chapter might be different.

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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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