Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 135

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 135

 

Hae-rang appeared belatedly at the arrival hall of Incheon Airport.

 

Unlike Singularity, who had decided to escape quickly, Hae-rang was in no hurry.

 

So it was unexpected.

 

At the airport where he thought everyone would have left, one Singularity member remained.

 

“Ma Hyeon-bin?”

 

“Hehe.”

 

Judging by his position and gaze, he seemed to be waiting for Hae-rang.

 

It looked like he had something to say.

 

Choi Gang-sik, who had been looking back and forth between Hae-rang and Ma Hyeon-bin, was the first to step forward.

 

“We’re taking separate buses anyway, so I’ll go first. You two talk.”

 

“You’re going ahead?”

 

“I need to start adjusting to the time difference diligently from now. Yaaawn.”

 

Choi Gang-sik yawned with an exaggerated gesture.

 

He was a man who would be asked what was wrong even after getting 12 hours of sleep.

 

His yawn had the power to make further persuasion impossible.

 

“Contact me when you arrive. I’ll also send a message when I get home.”

 

“Alright. Don’t get home too late. Deal with the reporters outside moderately.”

 

Choi Gang-sik waved his hand without even turning his head.

 

Now only Hae-rang and Ma Hyeon-bin remained at the airport.

 

The moment they were left alone, an awkward silence momentarily flowed.

 

“Aren’t you, aren’t you hungry? Only Papa Touch is open at this hour. Would you like a hamburger?”

 

“I am pretty hungry too…”

 

“Sp, speak casually! I’m the younger one!”

 

“Then… should I? But didn’t you eat tons of hamburgers in America?”

 

“I never get tired of hamburgers even if I eat them every single day. Hehe.”

 

Though he was called Singularity, he was still student age.

 

At times like this, you could tell a kid was still a kid.

 

Hae-rang and Ma Hyeon-bin sat at the table after placing their order.

 

“But is this really okay? If your hyungs find out we’re eating together, they won’t just let it slide.”

 

“It’s fine. My hyungs are too busy running away right now.”

 

Hae-rang chuckled softly.

 

He also knew what was going on.

 

While they might have treated reporters like butlers or servants before, today they would feel like grim reapers.

 

“It’s delicious!”

 

When the hamburger arrived, Ma Hyeon-bin devoured it in an instant, like a crab disappearing from sight.

 

It was typical behavior for a teenager in his mid-to-late teens.

 

“Eat mine too.”

 

“Really? Why aren’t you eating it?”

 

“I’m already full without eating.”

 

“Aha! Bonus!”

 

As if that made perfect sense, Ma Hyeon-bin didn’t hesitate to pull Hae-rang’s burger in front of him.

 

Hae-rang waited until Ma Hyeon-bin finished eating all the hamburgers.

 

Despite what he said, meeting like this while avoiding Singularity’s eyes was a dangerous adventure.

 

There had to be something important he wanted to say.

 

“It can’t be because you were hungry. What’s the reason you waited for me?”

 

“Because I felt like if not now, there wouldn’t be a chance to talk.”

 

“We were in the same building for a whole week though?”

 

“But my hyungs were there then. They kept watching my every move, so now was the only opportunity. As you know, my hyungs are currently…”

 

“They don’t have the luxury to worry about what you’re doing. Too busy running away.”

 

“Hehe. That’s right.”

 

Hae-rang felt something was off.

 

It seemed excessive to say they were controlling his behavior just because he was young.

 

The Ma Hyeon-bin he actually saw wasn’t some reckless troublemaker who would make mistakes anywhere.

 

‘Should I call it overprotection? Or maybe….’

 

Hae-rang decided to wait and see what Ma Hyeon-bin would say first.

 

“Gwanjong Cheonma sir. I haven’t told the hyungs yet, but I want you to become a Singularity.”

 

“Me?”

 

Hae-rang asked back calmly.

 

There was nothing particularly surprising about it.

 

The glances that had been stealing looks at him all this time weren’t ordinary.

 

It wasn’t the hostility or jealousy that other Singularities had shown.

 

It was a gaze he had received so many times in his previous life that he could recognize it immediately.

 

It was ‘admiration.’

 

“Yes. Actually, I’ve known since we met in Survival Ground. That Gwanjong Cheonma sir’s skills are truly outstanding. I don’t lose to anyone when it comes to games, but that feeling was a first for me.”

 

“….”

 

“G-Gwanjong Cheonma sir! Are you feeling dizzy?”

 

“I’m fine now.”

 

After regaining his momentarily confused mind, Hae-rang asked.

 

“If I were to join Singularity, would your hyungs be happy about it? When even meeting like this has to be kept secret.”

 

“I-I’ll somehow try to persuade them. As Gwanjong Cheonma sir knows, whenever the Korean National Team goes to the International Competition, they get crushed. I don’t want to feel that helplessness anymore. I also hate getting cursed at by people….”

 

Ma Hyeon-bin was already wearing an earnest expression.

 

Without even wiping the burger sauce from the corner of his mouth.

 

Looking at Ma Hyeon-bin’s sparkling eyes, it seemed like he should agree to anything.

 

However, Hae-rang’s answer was sharp as a sword.

 

“Persuasion is impossible.”

 

“G-Gwanjong Cheonma sir…!”

 

“Even if by some chance persuasion worked, I have no intention of joining.”

 

At those words, Ma Hyeon-bin’s freckles flinched.

 

“W-why? Every streamer wants to join Singularity.”

 

“On the contrary, I want to ask you. Why did you join Singularity?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Ma Hyeon-bin blinks his large eyes repeatedly.

 

Though he might not know it, it’s probably been a really long time since he received such a question.

 

“Well… I wanted to get a little better at the game… and I wanted to learn from my hyungs.”

 

A clear but cool voice flowed from Hae-rang’s mouth.

 

“Is that happening now?”

 

“!”

 

Ma Hyeon-bin’s pupils wander here and there.

 

It’s proof that he’s shaken.

 

The question Hae-rang just asked was something that shook Ma Hyeon-bin’s very foundation.

 

“…No. I’m not able to do that right now.”

 

Contrary to his expectations, his hyungs didn’t teach him the game well.

 

Ma Hyeon-bin was originally a genius, and even if they taught him, there would be no benefit for them.

 

Rather, it would only increase their own chances of being ‘expelled.’

 

Even if he conceded a hundred times that not teaching was understandable.

 

Then they should at least train hard.

 

Even though they got completely destroyed at international competitions every year, Singularity’s practice amount remained the same.

 

It seemed like they thought there was no particular need to do better here.

 

“Now that I hear what Gwanjong Cheonma said, it’s really strange. I joined Singularity because I wanted to get good at the game and enjoy it. But right now, neither is happening.”

 

“You joined the group with a purpose, but that purpose isn’t being achieved.”

 

“Yes. That’s about right.”

 

“Then is there really a need to stay in that group?”

 

At those words, the cup Ma Hyeon-bin was holding shook.

 

Like the swaying cola, Ma Hyeon-bin’s heart fluctuated back and forth.

 

“If you think you’ve lost your purpose, why do you keep staying at Singularity?”

 

“That’s…”

 

Ma Hyeon-bin couldn’t answer.

 

It wasn’t that he avoided answering.

 

He truly didn’t know.

 

He didn’t like being part of Singularity,

 

so why did he keep staying here?

 

“Then what… should I do?”

 

The situation had become strange.

 

He had been waiting to propose Singularity to Gwanjong Cheonma,

 

but now Ma Hyeon-bin was asking Hae-rang about his own future instead.

 

“I don’t know much about you. So I don’t intend to give hasty advice.”

 

“Ah… You’re right about that, Gwanjong Cheonma.”

 

“Asking yourself would be most accurate. You said you joined Singularity to get better at games, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then how about starting from there. Why do you want to get better at games?”

 

“The reason I want to… get better at games?”

 

Ma Hyeon-bin’s gaze turned toward the ceiling light.

 

He looked like he was thinking deeply about something.

 

“Think about it carefully. It’s almost time for the bus, so I need to get up first.”

 

“Ah… Yes. Thank you, Gwanjong Cheonma.”

 

Ma Hyeon-bin quickly stood up from his seat and bowed 90 degrees.

 

Hae-rang watched him quietly, then suddenly smiled warmly.

 

“Next time, call me by my name instead of my nickname. Make sure to add ‘brother’ though.”

 

* * *

 

Korea’s largest gaming portal site, ‘Shotgun’.

 

There was a category that recorded views as high as the real-time popular posts,

 

which was the ‘Hot News’ section where news from media outlets was uploaded.

 

On this day, there were more users than usual browsing the ‘Hot News’ section.

 

It was because the Singularities had finished their tests and returned to Korea.

 

What was the game quality of the new Assassin Series like?

 

Which Singularity recorded the highest score in this test?

 

They surely must have brought back loads of information that gamers had been anticipating.

 

Users who clicked on ‘Hot News’ with such expectations each gaped their mouths open.

 

[Total Chaos! Singularities fleeing in vans as soon as they exit the airport!]

 

[What on earth happened in America? Singularities who participated in testing maintain complete silence.]

 

[If only they had been this fast in the Capsule Cup… Singularities swiftly passing by while ignoring reporters!]

 

[Hat, mask, and even a hood… Are they suspects or Singularities!]

 

[This isn’t a prosecutor’s office appearance! They’re just going home! Various scenes from the Singularities’ arrival]

 

[‘Blade Queen’ was different. Ye Da-hong, the only one who participated in interviews.]

 

[That white hair can’t be hidden no matter how much you try to cover it… What’s the identity of this man who keeps denying he’s Kim Si-hwan?]

 

[Where did the annually bustling interviews go? Only the loud sound of fleeing engines remained!]

 

[(Photo) Kim Si-hwan passing on interviews and boarding a van]

 

[(Photo) Jo Sang-jin showing his middle finger]

 

[(Photo) Singularities’ vehicles departing one after another]

 

[(Photo) Yu Se-ah’s heel coming off while hurriedly boarding a van]

 

The community was ablaze in the opposite sense of what they had expected.

 

-Look at them running away tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk

 

-Why are they acting like that after going all the way to America?

 

-Look at Jo Sang-jin being such a jerk ㅡㅡ lecturing about rules to the camera

 

-What happened that made them act like this?

 

-Even in all this chaos, Dahong’s beauty is still shining ㅠㅠ

 

-So who came in first place?

 

-They say to ask the person involved, but who can we ask when they all ran away?

 

Meanwhile, there was one article that was rapidly climbing up the real-time popular posts.

 

[The only non-Singularity among test participants! Gwanjong Cheonma Cheon Hae-rang returns as the best tester!]

 

[Gamers invited by Gonau Soft returned to Korea early this morning. Gonau Soft, famous for the ‘Assassin Series,’ has been inviting renowned gamers to conduct difficulty tests whenever they release new games.

 

An unexpected turn occurred in the test project that had been exclusively for Singularities. Gonau Soft invited Cheon Hae-rang (nickname Gwanjong Cheonma), who is a non-Singularity. What’s even more surprising is that Hae-rang not only participated in the test but achieved first place in overall performance.

 

There are rumors that Hae-rang was elevated to the best tester and received a large bonus from Gonau Soft. Perhaps that’s why. On this day, the Singularities passed on interviews as soon as they arrived and quickly left the scene. It’s speculated that they found it difficult to speak about the humiliation they experienced in America with their own mouths.]

 

-What? What is this supposed to mean?

 

-Who is Gwanjong Cheonma? How did he get invited to Gonau Soft?

 

-Why do you think… it’s because he’s damn good at games.

 

-Please don’t just live in reality and browse the community a bit. He’s a streamer registered on ‘Untouchable.’ Gwanjong Cheonma.

 

-He beat all those renowned Singularities and reached the top?

 

-So impressive lol if they’re so impressive why do they flail around like that whenever they compete internationally?

 

-They always diss us from the West saying we’re frogs in a well ㅋㅋ but now we’re even losing inside the well

 

It was precisely these kinds of reactions they had been so afraid of that made them run away like that.

 

But their efforts came to nothing in an instant.

 

[Gwanjong Cheonma, who achieved outstanding results, announced that he will be climbing the Survival Ground ‘Conqueror’ rankings for the time being. In addition, he said he will reveal an important project on his broadcast soon. If you’re interested, make sure to watch his broadcast live.

 

GameSpot Reporter Eun Min-seop.]

 

Perhaps it was because he felt grateful for Hae-rang’s thoughtfulness all this time.

 

Thanks to Eun Min-seop’s article, interest in Hae-rang exploded on the ‘Shotgun’ forum.

 

For Hae-rang, who had returned to broadcasting after a long absence, it was truly reliable supporting fire.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————