Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 141

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

Episode 141
The board of directors at the Korea Capsule Association was largely composed of concurrent positions.
There were scarcely any who worked exclusively for the association itself,
each member belonged to their own game company.
It was a natural state of affairs.
The association had to prevent any single game company from gaining preferential treatment.
The ten-member executive board consisted of directors from ten different companies.
Jo Ho-jin, who had just appeared here, was one of them.
He was the headquarters director of Kraft, the company behind Survival Ground,
and the vice-chairman of the Korea Capsule Association.
His rise to vice-chairman had nothing to do with age,
nor was it because of his professional gaming career.
It was pure capitalism.
Kraft’s sponsorship contributions to the Capsule Association ranked second highest.
Which was to say,
‘He was someone whose favor could never be jeopardized.’
Choi Gang-sik recognized Jo Ho-jin and smiled broadly.
It was unmistakably the smile of a victor.
Jo Ho-jin’s displeased gaze was directed pointedly in one direction.
“V-Vice-Chairman, how did you…?”
Gu Geon-hui’s voice trembled thinly.
He hardly remembered encountering him anywhere in the association building, let alone at this General Reception Center.
He spent most of his time at the headquarters, Kraft.
“Why? Is there somewhere I’m not allowed to go?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Gu Geon-hui’s voice cracked altogether.
Though he was now a middle-aged man with a protruding belly,
the sharp, piercing gaze he’d carried since his days as a professional gamer remained utterly unchanged.
“There was quite a commotion before the door was even opened. Explain what’s happened. Did this person attempt some sort of unreasonable behavior during the registration process?”
“That is… not the case.”
“Or did he direct insulting remarks at you first?”
“That… isn’t it either.”
“Is that so?”
Jo Ho-jin fell silent in thought for a moment, then swiftly reached his conclusion.
“Then I suppose I’ll need to impose disciplinary action on you.”
“V-Vice-Chairman!”
“Don’t feel aggrieved. I heard everything from outside, after all. You mocked this person using a regulation that contains no fault whatsoever. Isn’t that spitting in your own face?”
“I was only…!”
“Ah! No, that’s right. You mocked the regulation I created, so you’ve essentially spat in my face.”
Choi Gang-sik, who had been watching the entire exchange, felt genuine admiration.
‘He’s good at this.’
The competitive spirit of a professional gamer combined with years of corporate experience created an overwhelming pressure.
Given the difference in rank between a junior manager and a vice-chairman, Gu Geon-hui must have felt suffocated.
‘I’m swallowing hard just watching from the sidelines. For him, it must be hell.’
But Choi Gang-sik had no intention of asking for mercy.
This man had insulted not just him, but Hae-rang as well.
“Yes, it’s me. Send down one staff member to exchange duties with Manager Gu Geon-hui. This fellow seems better suited for different work.”
Jo Ho-jin ended his call and patted Gu Geon-hui’s shoulder twice.
“Manager Gu’s salary doesn’t come from me or the chairman. The association runs on the small contributions of people connected to gaming. Do you understand?”
“Yes… yes. I’ll remember.”
“I’ve also heard quite a bit that you’ve been playing coins during work hours. Including this incident, there will be a disciplinary committee hearing, so be aware.”
“…”
Gu Geon-hui rose from his seat with his head hanging low.
Then he bowed to Choi Gang-sik, his voice barely audible.
“I made a mistake. I apologize.”
“Yes. I’m fine now as well.”
After Gu Geon-hui left,
Choi Gang-sik bowed to Jo Ho-jin.
“Thank you for your help, Vice-Chairman.”
“Ha! Vice-Chairman—just call me Director Jo, like last time.”
“Both options weigh on me equally, to be honest.”
“Is that so? Ha!”
Manager Jo let out a booming laugh, his affability on full display.
The sharp, commanding presence from moments before—when he’d addressed the careless staff member—had vanished without a trace.
It was reassuring and unsettling in equal measure.
The manager’s instinct.
This type of person becomes truly dangerous once they turn into an enemy.
“Now that the registration’s complete, shall we move somewhere more private? This isn’t the place for what we need to discuss.”
Manager Jo rose first and led the way down the corridor.
Choi Gang-sik exhaled sharply through his nose, then fell into step behind him, his strides purposeful.
* * *
“First, please allow me to apologize. I hope you’ll forgive what happened with Gu Geon-hui.”
“Really, it’s fine now. Since we’ve reassigned the staff member handling registration, this sort of thing won’t happen again.”
“Still—that a reception clerk would be scrolling through coins right in front of a visitor, responding to them like that. We’re not letting this slide.”
Jo Ho-jin, who’d been shaking his head, suddenly broke into a bright smile.
“But you know, you seem like a lucky man, Manager Choi.”
“How so?”
“The day you came to register at the association—it happened to coincide with one of my rare days in the office. What a stroke of fortune.”
“Ah, that.”
This time Choi Gang-sik smiled knowingly.
“It wasn’t luck.”
“It wasn’t…… luck?”
“You’ve got the sequence backwards. I didn’t happen to come register on the day you were here—I deliberately chose to register on a day I knew you’d be at the association.”
“How would you even know when I come in?”
“You mentioned it at the last ambassador dinner. You said you go to the association every second and fourth Monday of the month.”
Jo Ho-jin’s mouth fell open.
Remarkable.
He actually remembered such a trivial detail?
His wide eyes seemed to ask the question for him.
“That’s what a manager does. Any scrap of information that could help the gamer I’m taking care of—I have to cram it into my head.”
Jo Ho-jin chuckled and took a satisfied sip of his coffee. “Impressive. Now I see Hae-rang has sharp judgment about people, not just gaming skill.”
Jo Ho-jin chuckled and took a satisfied sip of his coffee.
So far, so good.
Time to move to the main point.
Choi Gang-sik cleared his throat delicately before opening the conversation.
“The reason I asked to meet with you today is to make a request.”
“A request? Now you’ve got me nervous before I’ve even heard it.”
“Given your position, it shouldn’t be an unreasonably difficult one. Though it might be hard depending on how you feel about it.”
At the weight of his words, Jo Ho-jin fell silent, waiting.
“As you saw at the reception center, Hae-rang is competing in the National Team Selection for Iron Fist Nine this time.”
“Yes, I saw that. He’s challenging Iron Fist Nine, then?”
“That’s right. Ideally, I’d have wanted him to enter the Survival Ground competition as well, but……”
“It’s fine. I understand the basics. The maps used in the Capsule Cup are slightly different from the current Solo Rank maps, aren’t they? Some were made specifically for tournament play.”
“You know your stuff.”
“What kind of Kraft Headquarters director would I be if I didn’t?”
Choi Gang-sik exhaled silently with relief.
‘SERG’ ambassador on the books, yet the National Team choose Iron Fist Nine instead—there was always a risk he’d ask about that contradiction.
It could easily have happened.
A man of Jo Ho-jin’s position might have overlooked such details,
but the headquarters director turned out to be more meticulous than expected.
“Since you understand the situation, I’ll get straight to it. Would you help us gain access to a high-end capsule from Kraft’s main office?”
“A capsule?”
One of Jo Ho-jin’s eyebrows arched upward.
It was a reaction he’d anticipated to some degree.
“In other words, you want Kraft’s headquarters to provide equipment so he can practice another game. Is that right?”
“I know it’s asking a lot.”
For a man of Jo Ho-jin’s rank, approving capsule use was hardly a serious matter.
There were perhaps only one or two events each month that actually required the capsules.
The rest of the time, they sat idle.
A single order from Jo Ho-jin, and they could be available tomorrow.
The problem was, as Choi Gang-sik had said, whether my heart was willing.
“It’s certainly a difficult favor to ask. Kraft’s ambassador wanting to borrow a machine to practice another game.”
A high-end capsule cost well over five hundred million won.
It was far beyond the unit price that any capsule room operating in the vicinity could handle.
Hae-rang’s acquaintances who were streamers amounted to just Joint and Da-hong.
And even Joint’s studio only had regular capsules.
With the tournament right in front of us, there was no machine to perform at full capacity.
“Director Jo. I cannot forget the expression on Hae-rang’s face. The pure, radiant smile he wore while training on a good capsule in America.”
“Hmm.”
“If someone has the skill but cannot demonstrate their full ability because of the machine’s performance, how unjust would that be? Please, just let him use the machine for one month.”
Jo Ho-jin crossed his arms, lost in thought.
A fierce battle was unfolding between his past as a pro gamer and his present role as Kraft’s headquarters director.
“I understand the feelings of both Hae-rang and Choi Gang-sik. I too once had regrets about not being able to afford a better capsule. I’d gladly lend you any equipment I possess, but a capsule is a legitimate corporate asset. That’s beyond the scope of my position as director. Honestly, I’m not sure if I can persuade them.”
By this point, it should have counted as half a victory.
At least he’d made clear his willingness.
But Choi Gang-sik wanted a hundred percent.
“At the ambassador dinner, didn’t you ask Hae-rang something? Whether he’d consider joining Singularity?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
I thought that by calling Hae-rang aside and asking him that specifically, it must have been because you weren’t truly satisfied with Singularity’s direction.”
“You’re reading too much into it.”
“After eating manager’s bread for over a decade, I’ve grown quite adept at reading people’s hearts. Hae-rang won’t join Singularity. He’ll either fight alone or alongside those who follow him.”
Jo Ho-jin uncrossed his arms and leaned forward.
It was a clear sign of interest.
“Building his own independent force… is that what you’re saying?”
“Right now it may be nothing more than ambition, but the future is unknowable, isn’t it?”
“It’s not mere ambition. He’s already proven his skill.”
Choi Gang-sik was conducting a persuasion.
Not to Jo Ho-jin as Kraft’s headquarters director,
but to Jo Ho-jin, the former pro gamer.
Korean gamers, once from a gaming powerhouse, now suffered consecutive defeats whenever they went overseas.
And Singularity was neglecting practice, chasing only popularity and money.
Clearly, Jo Ho-jin would be dissatisfied with Singularity’s trajectory.
“Don’t expect too much. However…”
Choi Gang-sik’s gambit had worked perfectly.
Jo Ho-jin had finally opened the door to his heart wide.
“I like the ambition of both of you. I’ll do my best to persuade them.”
* * *
Swoosh!
Hae-rang opened the glass door, having finished his game.
The tips of his hair were slightly damp.
Evidence that he’d used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art quite extensively.
An empty space with no one around.
Only the machine where Hae-rang had trained continued to emit a lustrous glow.
At the bottom of the machine was engraved the words “High-End Capsule”.
“Phew.”
Hae-rang wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face radiant with satisfaction.
The exact expression Choi Gang-sik said he’d witnessed in America was now recreated in this place.
And then,
Zip.
Hae-rang pulled down the zipper of his suit.
The heat generated by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art dispersed through the empty space.
Damp hair and a smile brimming with contentment.
The kind of scene visible only when using a good machine.
Yet among these sights was something unfamiliar.
“It’s nice being so comfortable.”
The design of the suit Hae-rang wore.
A suit with the elasticity characteristic of sportswear revealed Hae-rang’s toned physique elegantly.
White fabric with blue and red stitching that evoked the image of a national flag.
And what stood out most among these details was,
Glimmer.
Gleaming patches adorned his chest and forearms.
Etched into them in elegant script was the word “Kraft”.
A tier of recognition above mere ambassador status.
It was the official sponsorship mark of Kraft.

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