Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 82

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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 82
29. Fan Service (2)
The neighborhood where I lived was certainly the kind of place that deserved the label “Daldongne”—a backward area.
Steep stairs far removed from convenience, low roofs, anachronistic red brick houses, and old streetlamps that flickered on and off repeatedly.
For Juhyeok, who had only ever lived in affluent districts, it was an unfamiliar environment.
“Sigh. These damned stairs feel like a trial of endurance every time I go down them.”
Juhyeok’s expression darkened considerably.
Everything else was fine, but I wished someone would do something about these stairs.
Winter was coming soon—how would anyone manage if it snowed?
At least the people living here couldn’t even dream of owning a car, and walking up seemed difficult without purchasing special equipment.
At least, that’s how it appeared to Juhyeok.
“Hey. My grandmother used to come up and down even in winter.”
Sanghyeon cut off Juhyeok’s grumbling with a sharp retort.
If his grandmother managed it, there was nothing more to say.
“Sigh. Fine, it’s my weakness then.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Sanghyeon nodded with satisfaction and passed Juhyeok to head down first, muttering “I’m hungry. Let’s hurry.”
Juhyeok chuckled and quickened his pace as well.
Creak.
A door suddenly opened from the side, striking his forehead hard.
Smack!
“Damn this neighborhood!”
Indeed… no matter how generously I tried to evaluate it, it was hard to call this a place worth living in.
You could get your forehead smashed by a neighbor’s gate while descending the stairs. Cheonggyedong truly was a backward area.
“Huh…?”
Still, if there was one good thing about Cheonggyedong, it was the wonderful neighbors.
Wasn’t Seojia one of those neighbors?
“Does it hurt a lot?”
Jia emerged wearing a thick red scarf that suited her perfectly.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
It made sense—the first thing she saw upon leaving home was Juhyeok Kim with a scowl twisted across his face.
“…Ah. J-Jia. Haha.”
Juhyeok forced his darkened expression to brighten, but to Sanghyeon, that face looked even more frightening.
“It’s fine… What can you do about it?”
“The design of this neighborhood is a bit odd.”
“Right? Haha. I’d like to tell whoever designed this city to actually live here.”
Sanghyeon chimed in at this point.
“We seem to run into each other quite often.”
“Oh, Almond. Hello.”
Almond, she called him.
I scratched my head.
“Looks like you two are going somewhere.”
“Huh?”
“Are you two heading out to have some fun together?”
“Oh. We’re not going out for fun, it’s just….”
Juhyeok interjected.
“We’re going to grab a meal. Want to come with us?”

* * *
“Here it is.”
Where Juhyeok pointed, a massive signboard blazed with garish, eye-searing primary colors spelling out “Ogang-u Kimchi Stew.”
“This place has been getting popular lately.”
“Oh really? Haha. This is actually a secret, but this place is our….”
“Hey. Let’s go in already.”
Just as Juhyeok was about to spout some nonsense to Seojia, I took the lead and headed straight into the Kimchi Stew Restaurant.
In truth, my reason for leading wasn’t solely to cut off Juhyeok’s words.
‘What is this? It feels like someone’s watching me….’
There was a bigger reason.
-That thing… hey?
-I don’t know… either.
Murmur. Murmur.
Strange whispers plagued the edges of my ears.
I’d been feeling a gaze fixed upon me since earlier.
Ever since arriving downtown, I’d felt continuously unsettled.
‘Let’s just get inside quickly.’
I thought things would improve once we entered the restaurant.
But my assumption was terribly wrong.
“Welcome! Our ten-thousand-year tradition….”

* * *
Creak.
The moment the door opened, the employees shouted loudly as they’d been instructed.
“Welcome! Ten thousand years of tradition! The taste of hell! Ogang-u Kimchi Stew!!!”
Ten thousand years of tradition, they said.
Having to spout this absolutely ridiculous phrase every single time was yet another hardship of this job.
Dong-san Oh, the CEO of this chain restaurant, always thought to himself, ‘Just make it a thousand years or so.’
I always found the concept far too extreme, but since the CEO had just come by and made his demands clear, I had no choice but to maintain the concept exactly as ordered.
「You do it exactly the same way. Ten thousand years. Not a thousand, not a hundred. Ten thousand! And the taste of hell! Got it?」
With such explicit orders, what chain restaurant manager would dare defy them?
「I just secured an advertisement with a really hot influencer this time. Profits are going to skyrocket. That’s what I think! Don’t worry! Just follow my lead! Understood?!」
Ah. Yes, yes. He did say they were hot.
Looking at the photo, I couldn’t even tell who they were. Though they do have a handsome face.
Sigh… Right. Business is doing well, that’s a fact. Let’s just shut up and follow along exactly.
Creak.
The door opens again.
See? Business is doing great, I’m telling you?
“Welcome! Ten thousand years of tradition…”
Huh?
The manager, mid-greeting, tilted his head in confusion.
“The taste of hell! Ogang-u Kimchi Stew!!!”
The loud shouts of the other staff members filled that awkward pause.
But the strange question that had popped into my head wouldn’t go away.
‘Where have I seen this guy before?’
The slightly shorter man among the three who just came in.
Haven’t I seen him somewhere? His face felt so familiar. Uncomfortably familiar.
“Kyaaaah!”
But before that question could be answered, a scream rang out. Manager Dong-san Oh’s head snapped around.
Did someone spill the kimchi stew?
“Alm… Almond!”
Almond? What would that be doing here?
This is a kimchi stew restaurant.
“What’s wrong!”
The manager shouted sharply, but the female employee’s eyes remained fixed on the group that had just entered, so I didn’t even turn around.
Tap. Tap.
Unable to stand it any longer, Dong-san Oh went over and tapped her shoulder.
“What is it?”
“That… that person is Almond.”
“…A person?”
“Oh, no! Streamer Almond! You don’t know?”
A streamer?
I’m forty years old, for crying out loud.
“How would I know about streamers….”
Ah.
Only then did Dong-san Oh realize why the female employee had spoken to him as though it were obvious that he’d know about the streamer Almond.
Of course he should have known.
Of course you should know! Dong-san Oh! You absolute fool!
“Ah! That advertisement…!”
Hadn’t the franchise representative been bragging to him about placing an ad with this person just ten minutes before opening?
Going on about how hard they were all working!
‘But what exactly is Almond that warrants all this boasting?’
Dong-san Oh whispered his question to the female employee.
‘Among people who like games, he’s pretty hot. Pretty hot! Honestly, at that level, it’s better than those broadcast station ads that are all going under these days.’
‘Oh, really? The world sure has changed.’
‘Right? And besides….’
‘?’
‘He’s handsome!?’
Kyahahaha!
She burst into laughter right against his ear, causing Dong-san Oh to furrow his brow deeply.
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
“Never mind. If you know so much about him, you handle the serving. I’ll take care of the service.”
“Yes! Um… but can I get an autograph?”
“…Do whatever you want.”
“Yes! Thank you! Thank you!”

* * *
The moment she walked in, she suddenly let out a shriek and pointed directly at me.
“Ah… Almond! It’s Almond!”
Sanghyeon wasn’t a fool, so I understood now.
‘She recognized Almond?’
I had always thought of them as separate worlds.
The gaming community, virtual reality games, streaming—they were all different from reality.
So I had carelessly assumed the people living in those worlds were different too.
But when I thought about it, even I had never played the game once, yet I knew who Balloon Gum was.
Seojia had recognized me in the neighborhood and followed me.
There was nothing strange about someone recognizing me in the city.
“Seems like a fan.”
Seojia muttered while glancing over the female employee with a subtle gaze.
Her eyes held a faintly cold gleam.
“Not quite a fan, just someone who recognized me, I guess.”
For some reason, I answered defensively. Juhyeok just laughed at the sight of it.
“Wow. You’re getting popular.”
Just as I was about to retort something to Juhyeok.
The female employee from before approached us.
She came over and quickly pressed herself against my side, holding out the menu.
She looked like a cat, but her behavior was just like a puppy’s.
“I’m here to take your order!”
Looking at the menu, it was quite simple. I liked that.
“Three servings of the Nine Hells Kimchi Stew, please.”
“Yes! Nine thousand won! Nine Hells! Kimchi Stew! This is an expensive menu, so it comes with octopus as a special ingredient. Do you have any seafood allergies?”
Only Seojia opened her mouth to add something.
“And a bottle of soju, please.”
“Soju! Got it!”
The employee loudly called the order back to the kitchen.
And then….
“Um….”
She blushed and held something out to me.
“You’re Almond, right? Could you give me an autograph?”
Here it comes.
I nodded.
Of course I had to. She was essentially my first fan to ask for an autograph.
“Ah. Yes. Of course.”
“Yes!”
She literally bounced up and down with joy.
I wondered if an employee could really do this, but the person who appeared to be the CEO was watching with a pleased expression.
Sssssip.
I scrawled my signature carelessly, though to be honest, it wasn’t carelessness—this was the only signature I knew how to write.
“Oh! And my name too! Please write it! Juhyeon Lee!”
“Ah. Yes.”
“Oh, and write ‘I love Juhyeon Lee’ there too!”
“Ah….”
I, who had been mindlessly copying along, flinched in surprise.
“Pardon?”
I love you? Really?
“…Ah, is that not okay?”
This was awkward.
My mind was still that of an ordinary person. The words “I love you” carried considerable weight for me.
“Ah, if it’s not okay….”
The female employee’s eyes were smiling, but tears were glistening in them.
“Th, then just my name, please….”
“Yes. I understand.”
I ultimately didn’t write “I love you.”
She clutched the autograph like a precious heirloom and left.
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath only after the female employee had gone far enough away.
“What, what was that just now.”
“What else. The tragedy of being famous.”
Juhyeok chuckled.
That guy’s been laughing a lot lately.
“That’s fortunate.”
Seojia gazed toward the female employee and murmured softly.
“…What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Just glad nothing else happened.”
As if to belie those words, another shadow fell over me.
“Um, excuse me….”
This time it wasn’t an employee.
“Would it be possible for me to take just one photo with you?”
She was one of the women who had been eyeing me from outside earlier.
She had followed me all the way into the Kimchi Stew Restaurant!
“Ah… weren’t you outside from the beginning?”
“Ah….”
Whether from the cold weather or embarrassment, the woman’s face turned bright red.
“Yes…. B, but I’m going to eat here too. Don’t worry about being a bother.”
So she really did follow me in.
With an appearance that seemed to have grown up sheltered like a hothouse flower.
I couldn’t believe that a woman would be bold enough to follow me all the way here.
“I’ll take a photo for you.”
I stood up from my seat and struck a natural pose.
Seojia took the photo.
“Thank you so much! Kyaaaa!”
After checking the photo, the group returned to their seats.
I turned toward the manager and offered an apology.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“Oh… no! Please don’t say that! If anything, I should be thanking you!”
“…?”
Thanking me?
Why would the manager be grateful?
I was puzzled for a moment, but following the manager’s pleased gaze, the answer became clear.
Several more groups were entering, and they were all clearly looking at Almond as they came in.
‘I can’t possibly be this famous.’
Almond is famous, certainly, but not so much that everyone on the street recognizes him.
This is because of my face. My appearance is far more striking than I realized. Even in crowded streets with countless passersby, people recognize me immediately.
Usually, even if celebrities have fans, there’s a high chance they’ll be passed by on the street without being noticed.
But that wasn’t the case for me.
That’s why I receive this level of attention without being a major star.
“Ah, Almond? Really? Sir, we’ll have two servings of the 666 Kimchi Stew.”
“How wonderful….”
“Is that him?”
“Can’t we ask for a photo?”
“Who’s the woman next to him?”
“Who knows. His sister?”
Once I picked up on it, the words reached my ears.
Everyone was talking about Almond.
My heart began to race.
A few fans cautiously approached.
“Almond, could you take a photo with me too?”
“I’d like an autograph!”
Even the manager seemed pleased.
I had no reason to refuse.
“Of course.”
I smiled and stood up from my seat.

* * *
The rookie star Almond was just beginning to savor the taste of popularity at that very moment.
An account that had been inactive for a long time entered ‘live’ status.
[Jeon-ja-pa has started streaming!]
It was a comeback after a full three years.

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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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