Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 147

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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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Episode 147
Step, step.
Somewhere between boyhood and manhood.
A man with striking freckles and short hair walks endlessly down the path.
How long he’d been walking, he’d forgotten to keep count.
The walking path beside the dormitory provided by Singularity.
A place he could enter and leave freely, like the garden before his own house,
yet today it felt strangely unfamiliar to him.
‘Why do I want to get better at games…….’
Ma Hyeon-bin.
His time had frozen the moment he met Hae-rang.
[Why don’t we start from there? Why do you want to get better at games?]
The Attention-Seeking Heavenly Demon, Cheon Hae-rang, had asked him exactly that.
Like breathing all day long while forgetting the distinction between inhale and exhale,
he’d pursued a career in games without ever finding its fundamental purpose.
Money or honor?
Perhaps if he were more tainted by worldly concerns, but
for Ma Hyeon-bin, such things had never been his top priority.
‘I came to Singularity just to get better at games…….’
Hae-rang had asked if that was happening now.
Ma Hyeon-bin stopped walking and shook his head vigorously.
Reluctant as he was to admit it, there had been no progress since the day he joined Singularity.
If anything, his skill level had improved faster when he played games alone.
‘I have to make a choice.’
Ma Hyeon-bin had recently received a thunderbolt of a notice.
In the internal evaluation matches, he’d performed well in other games, including SERG,
but the game assigned to him was “How Our Company Works Now.”
A zombie game based on the FPS genre.
Blood and flesh flew so vividly you could see it clearly, despite not being rated for mature audiences,
a gore-heavy game.
Ma Hyeon-bin hated horror games and despised zombie content.
Not because of his age, but because of his personal temperament.
[You don’t need to be that afraid. No one expects you to perform well anyway.]
The pallid face of Kim Si-hwan, saying such things, somehow resembled a zombie.
Crack.
Ma Hyeon-bin clenched his fist.
He’d walked enough.
He’d agonized enough.
Truth be told, he was still afraid.
Because he’d always played games comfortably and safely within the circle the older members had created for him.
For Ma Hyeon-bin, Kim Si-hwan and the members around him were home, shield, and spiritual pillar.
But he’d recently come to realize that this shield wasn’t actually a good thing,
that it was actually strangling him instead.
The Attention-Seeking Heavenly Demon.
The more he spoke with Hae-rang, the more it felt like he was reclaiming something precious he’d forgotten.
“Let’s go.”
The walking, the wandering—it was over.
Ma Hyeon-bin breathed out sharply and strode toward the dormitory.
Click.
Then he stopped short.
His resolve hadn’t wavered.
Someone had simply opened the door and come out from inside first.
“Ugh! This thing’s so damn heavy!”
A woman emerged, grunting and dragging a suitcase after her.
Ma Hyeon-bin’s eyes widened when he recognized her.
“Da-hong?”
“Hyeon-bin. Why have your cheeks gotten so hollow? Did you skip meals?”
For a moment, Ma Hyeon-bin’s chest swelled with emotion.
It was something he hadn’t heard from the older members, not even after skipping meals all day.
Ma Hyeon-bin answered in a small voice.
“No. I’ve lost my appetite.”
“What? You’re old enough to chew through steel. Why do you look so lifeless? It’s unsettling.”
Da-hong scrunched up her face, then moved the suitcase again.
“Argh! The wheel must be broken. Hyeon-bin. Looks like your sister needs help. Can you carry this with me?”
“You just said I looked lifeless…….”
“Help me, and I’ll buy you that Shake-it Burger you like.”
“Are these the only two suitcases?”
“Your tactical shifts are impressively fast.”
Da-hong grinned widely and picked up the suitcase.
“One! Two!”
“Heave!”
Two suitcases loaded neatly into the trunk of the Red Sports Car.
Ye Da-hong clapped her hands together, looking relieved.
Ma Hyeon-bin asked carefully.
“But…… why do you have so much luggage? You look like someone moving houses.”
“Bingo. Your sister isn’t coming back here.”
“Really? So you’ll just practice at home?”
“No.”
Ye Da-hong smiled, her teeth gleaming brightly.
Ma Hyeon-bin had never seen her smile like this before.
“I’m quitting. Singularity.”
“Qu, quitting?”
“Yeah. It’s gotten so pathetic I can’t stomach it anymore. I’d lose a lot of perks, but I’m going solo anyway.”
…….
“Of course I’ll keep in touch with my Hyeon-bin! You’re my favorite junior.”
Ma Hyeon-bin’s eyes flickered restlessly.
He’d never imagined someone would voluntarily leave Singularity.
Da-hong read his shock that way.
But Ma Hyeon-bin’s surprise came from a different reason entirely.
“Let’s go now. How many Shake-it Burgers are you eating these days? What’s your record?”
Ye Da-hong opened the passenger door for him herself.
But Ma Hyeon-bin didn’t board the vehicle.
“Sister. I’m sorry, but…… could you wait thirty minutes?”
“Huh? Thirty minutes, not three?”
“Yes. I have something I need to do right now, or something bad will happen.”
“Hmm. I’d rather escape this pathetic place as soon as possible, but since it’s your request, I’ll wait. Just hurry up and handle it.”
“I will!”
Ma Hyeon-bin, who’d been shuffling around like someone who hadn’t eaten in days, suddenly sprinted off as if his feet had motors.
And a while later.
In less than half of thirty minutes, Ma Hyeon-bin emerged through the door.
“My goodness.”
As if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Ye Da-hong pushed down her sunglasses slightly.
Just as she had done moments before,
Ma Hyeon-bin also had suitcase handles in both his hands.
His face wearing a bright smile no one had ever seen before.
* * *
“That’s how it happened.”
“Heh-heh.”
Past midnight.
Four young men and women gathered in a twenty-four-hour café.
Hae-rang and Choi Gang-sik.
And Ye Da-hong and Ma Hyeon-bin.
Fortunate that the café had no customers,
or in daytime it would have been packed with spectators.
‘That’s how it happened, she says?’
Choi Gang-sik couldn’t close his gaping mouth.
The matter was far too massive to compress into those six words.
“You withdrew from Singularity? I’m hearing this correctly, aren’t I?”
“That’s right. I hesitated before actually doing it, but now I feel incredibly relieved. I wonder why I didn’t leave sooner.”
Ye Da-hong took a long sip of her Strawberry Latte after saying that.
Ma Hyeon-bin crunched away on a sandwich beside her.
“Is it really so simple? You can leave just like that, on such short notice?”
“It’s in the group rules. Singularity is an organization where it’s hard to get in, but you can leave whenever you want. You know why, don’t you?”
Choi Gang-sik nodded.
Singularity is where every gamer wants to be.
That’s why it’s difficult to join, and because people don’t leave, they’ve been forced to expel members just to manage the roster.
“I’m probably the first one, along with Hyeon-bin, to walk out of Singularity on our own terms. Those guys will scramble tonight to redraw the player roster. Haha.”
“There won’t be any particular problems? Sponsorships, advertising contracts, that sort of thing?”
“That’s a very manager-like question. Fortunately, there shouldn’t be any issues. Sponsorship contracts are finalized right before the Capsule Cup each year, so the advertising impact is assured.”
“Ah, that’s a relief then.”
“Advertisements and things like that are offers based on my personal brand, so there shouldn’t be any problems there. If they try to make it an issue that I left Singularity, I’ll just return the money—no big deal.”
“You say it so lightly, like returning pocket money from yesterday.”
Choi Gang-sik clicked his tongue.
She’d said “no big deal,” but if problems arose with advertising, she might have to return hundreds of millions of won.
The resolve of Ye Da-hong and Ma Hyeon-bin was not merely a matter of heart—it was financial.
Choi Gang-sik’s gaze shifted toward Ma Hyeon-bin.
“To be honest, I don’t really know. I just deposit money in my account, and my mother manages it for me. I only need pocket money. I’ve never spent large sums in my life.”
“Ha. With Hyeon-bin, probably the biggest expense he’s ever made is buying himself a hamburger, right?”
Choi Gang-sik regarded Ma Hyeon-bin and thought to himself.
He was seriously envious.
Even conservatively, tens of billions of won must have accumulated in that account.
‘That’s why leaving Singularity isn’t a problem for him either.’
He understood why they’d decided to leave.
He understood there were no obstacles in their path.
What remained was the ‘future.’
How would they move forward from here?
The Capsule Cup, looming just ahead, was already a problem.
‘This one hasn’t shown any reaction at all.’
Choi Gang-sik watched Hae-rang, sitting there unmoved.
From the moment that bombshell announcement came—that he was leaving Singularity—until now.
Hae-rang had seemed indifferent, as if reading a newspaper article.
How to put it.
As though he’d already anticipated this would happen.
Perhaps because of that, Hae-rang’s questions were remarkably detailed.
“You must have already registered for the international tournament under Singularity’s affiliation—you’ll need to go through the procedures to change that.”
Then Da-hong shrugged one shoulder, as if it were no trouble at all.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult. I just need to change the affiliation to independent. Oh, and I should cancel the team battle entry. We’d need four people for that.”
“You’re not disappointed about not being able to compete in the team battle?”
“Not at all. If we had worthwhile teammates, maybe—but being on the same team as someone like Jo Sang-jin would only bring disgrace. Hyeon-bin was excluded from the team battles anyway, and the whole composition was hopeless.”
Then she stuck out her bright red tongue with a quick flick.
“If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve persuaded one more person to leave with us. Then we’d have exactly four.”
“Four people, then.”
“Ah, well, first we’d need Hae-rang’s agreement on this.”
Solo competition entries would be no problem.
Even if Hae-rang joined for team battles, they’d still be one person short.
Whatever she might say, she probably felt it keenly.
There was a real difference between trying and failing, and not being able to try at all.
If Singularity had operated with any sense, this situation would never have arisen.
Hae-rang sipped his Ssanghwa Tea, lost in thought for a moment.
Then his gaze turned toward Ma Hyeon-bin.
“Hyeon-bin. Do you want to compete in the Iron Fist team battle too?”
“What? Well… of course I do. Iron Fist is one of my main events. I was planning to compete in the team battle, at least until I got assigned to that weird zombie game.”
“If both of you want to compete in team battles, why not all do it together?”
“Huh?”
Two emotions appeared on Ma Hyeon-bin’s face.
Joy at being able to form a team with Hae-rang.
And the other was a question.
Team battles required four people, and one spot was still vacant.
“If someone’s missing, we just fill the spot.”
At Hae-rang’s words, both of their gazes turned in one direction.
Toward Choi Gang-sik, who was drinking an Iced Americano.
“?”
Choi Gang-sik felt their stares and opened his mouth to speak, but choked instead.
“Hack! Cough! Ugh!”
“Dear me.”
Hae-rang handed him a tissue with an indifferent gesture.
Da-hong, who had been watching the scene, asked in a dazed voice.
“Surely… you’re not…?”
“Not what?”
“You’re not thinking of registering the Manager to make up the numbers, are you?”
A faint smile crossed Hae-rang’s lips.
“Of course not. I’m well aware that the entry requirement for the Iron Fist Tournament is a Bora Squad ranking.”
“Then who exactly are you planning to bring?”
“Someone who can climb to Bora Squad within days. Preferably someone with a National Team track record.”
“Someone with that kind of experience… did you have someone like that nearby?”
Da-hong asked with widened eyes.
Hae-rang.
You don’t have many friends to begin with.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.
“Since we’re on the subject, let’s pay them a visit tomorrow. I expect they’ll give us a warm welcome.”
The next day.
As it turned out, Hae-rang’s expectations fell wide of the mark.
“Ha ha. Still half asleep, are you?”
The trio arrived without warning.
But the fourth member’s reception was not a warm one.
Instead, he simply slapped Hae-rang across the cheek.

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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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