Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 165

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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 165
“Is this a dream, or am I awake……?”
The moment Joint stepped out of Kraft Headquarters, he exhaled sharply.
“I never thought I’d land a major sponsorship again in my life. After retiring from the National Team, I didn’t even dare imagine it.”
Da-hong smiled brightly and asked, “What was your sponsorship deal back then?”
“It was with an energy drink brand that the manager used to drink. To be honest, calling it a sponsorship was generous—the scale was nothing like this.”
“Hearing that makes me feel a bit sorry, actually. Since the conditions are so different now…….”
“Aw, come on! Don’t say things like that!”
Joint stopped walking and gestured exaggeratedly with both hands.
“The contract amount I signed for now is ten times what I made back then! I’m so happy right now, please don’t say such things.”
“Ha ha. I suppose you’re right.”
The conversation flowing between them was warm and idealistic.
But business involving numbers has a colder edge.
All four of them had signed individual sponsorship contracts with Kraft,
yet the sums each had contracted were strikingly different.
Joint had received the lowest contract amount among the four.
Objectively speaking, it was only natural.
Joint had won only a single match in this National Team Selection Tournament,
and hadn’t even participated in the solo bracket.
Even if it had been Grandfather Park Yong-pal from downstairs in his place, he would’ve worn the Taegeuk mark.
Yet the reason they’d gone through with the sponsorship contract regardless was
because Kraft’s purpose wasn’t limited to “skill broadcasting” alone.
[Kraft has many engaging games beyond the Survival Ground. We’d like Joint to host a broadcast introducing our games once a week.]
There was really nothing to hesitate over in accepting.
After all, he’d been doing comedy broadcasts even before entering the tournament.
Joint had accepted the proposal without reservation.
Only, with the added condition that he be called by his nickname instead of his real name going forward.
“Now that you’ve got a decent sum, do you have any plans for how to spend it?”
“Ah, well, of course…….”
Joint was about to answer without thinking when he suddenly caught himself.
A chill ran through him.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
If he was planning to wear the Taegeuk mark and just squander it here and there,
how would that be any different from Singularity?
‘I need to answer this properly. If I don’t, I’ll be done for.’
Joint cleared his throat once before responding.
“I’ll build a portfolio and allocate my assets strategically! Some in savings, some in bonds, dividend-yielding stocks……!”
“Is the contract amount really that large?”
“I! Will! Do! One! Or! Two! Of! Those! Is what I mean!”
“Ho ho. I’m just joking. Even if you spend money freely, as long as you do what you need to do, who’s going to complain? The problem with Singularity is they don’t do what they’re supposed to do.”
“Since we’re on the subject, what are you planning to do with your contract money, Da-hong?”
“Hmm. I need to pay off debt.”
“Debt? You mean you have…… quite a bit of it?”
Joint asked carefully, but Da-hong’s answer was remarkably cool.
“Yes. I need to pay off a mortgage. I took out a pretty substantial loan when I bought the building.”
“A building owner……!”
That title, equal to walking shoulder to shoulder with the Creator himself.
When Joint heard the words “building owner,” Da-hong suddenly felt unfamiliar to him somehow.
‘So Singularity really is a walking corporation. That’s the truth of it, then.’
The wealth gap he’d managed to forget about for so long was now subtly exposed.
Joint, withdrawing into himself without realizing it, now turned to ask Hyeon-bin.
“Hyeon-bin. Are you planning to pay off debt with your contract money too?”
“No, I don’t own anything like a building.”
“I see. Then what will you do with it?”
“I just take spending money. My mother handles all the earnings and does the investing for me.”
“Your mother does that kind of work?”
“Yes. She works at Silverman Sachs.”
“What?”
Joint stumbled mid-stride.

I nearly tripped over my own feet.
“Wait, Silverman Sachs? You mean the largest asset management company in America?”
“Yes. My father works there as an executive. Heh.”
“You…… were born with a golden spoon, weren’t you.”
That explained it.
That unblemished brightness, that innocent cheer.
He’d never known hardship — that’s what made him this way……!
Joint’s gaze suddenly turns toward Hae-rang.
Whoosh!
Then he pulls him into a fierce embrace.
“Hae-rang! Thank goodness you’re here! Right? Yes! Absolutely!”
“I’m not sure why you’re doing this…… ”
“Just let me stay like this for a moment! Otherwise I feel like I’ll shrivel up and disappear!”
“Well, it’s fine, but…… I really need to go now.”
“Huh? We were supposed to eat together.”
“I just got a call from Choi Gang-sik.”
The mention of Choi Gang-sik’s contact snapped Joint back to attention.
The expressions of the two who’d been grinning beside us shifted as well.
“From the Manager? Then that means——!”
The winter wind cuts sharp.
Yet even that chill feels like a pleasant thrill.
The wind that had felt rough just moments ago now seemed to lift Hae-rang’s feet off the ground and carry him skyward.
The question about what to do with the money.
The three of them had each shared their thoughts,
but no one had asked Hae-rang.
They knew too well what he would do with it.
“Yes. It appears we’ve made contact with the Capsule Craftsman.”
Hae-rang crossed the crosswalk as he said those words.
Perhaps it was just my imagination.
The way he disappeared so quickly — it was as if he were using the Ground Shrinking Technique.
* * *
“Team Leader Choi Ji-man has narrowed it down to five Capsule Craftsmen in total.”
The deep dark circles beneath his eyes remained unchanged.
But Choi Gang-sik’s expression was quite bright.
It seemed the information on the craftsmen he’d checked first pleased him considerably.
At the mention of five names, Hae-rang nodded in satisfaction as well.
Given Team Leader Choi Ji-man’s nature, he would have excluded anyone mediocre.
For him to compile even this many names meant he’d put real care into the list.
“The first craftsman is Melon Musk. He came to Capsule development much later than existing manufacturers, but before long he’s producing capsules with the most cutting-edge technology integrated. Naturally, his prices are the highest.”
“How does that fit with our current budget?”
“Hmm. Honestly, we’re a bit short. Unless you land a few more advertisements.”
“At least it’s not entirely impossible. What about the next one?”
“The second craftsman is Jackson Huang. He used to work at a company making video chips, but after Capsule Games became the dominant trend, he completely switched careers to this field. In the end, it was a resounding success.”
“Is this machine expensive as well?”
“This one’s also a bit tight. But we should be able to make it work roughly. From the next ones onward, these are craftsmen we can actually afford with our current budget.”
Profiles of the remaining craftsmen appeared on Choi Gang-sik’s laptop screen.
Not as accomplished as the first two, but the third and fourth craftsmen also produced quite high-quality capsules.
“Team Leader Choi Ji-man even checked the schedules of all the craftsmen. If we propose meetings, we should be able to meet with all of them.”
“They’re all abroad, I assume?”
“Right. America, Canada — the locations vary quite a bit. Ideally I’d like to do multiple meetings in a single trip, but realistically it seems impossible.”
“Let me see the last one as well. Why did you separate this person from the others?”
Rue Hyun.
Unlike the other four, his profile was marked with a red boundary line.
“This person…… I know where he is. But he’ll be much harder to meet than the other four.”
“Why is that?”
“Fundamentally, he doesn’t meet people often. Especially gamers — he won’t even look at them, from what I hear.”
“A Capsule Craftsman who avoids gamers?”
“He’s called a Capsule Craftsman, but in reality he stopped making capsules over five years ago. There’s even doubt whether he can produce a recent version.”
Hae-rang fell silent in thought for a moment.
Then he reached his conclusion in a single breath.
“It seems he was quite skilled at making Capsules.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Team Leader Choi Ji-man wouldn’t have introduced Rue Hyun just to fill a quota. Even though he’d been away from Capsule crafting for a long time and is difficult to meet, the fact that he made it onto the list at all means this person’s abilities shine that brightly.”
“……Impressive. You caught in an instant what I’ve been wracking my brain over for the better part of an hour.”
“Heh…….”
“What’s wrong?”
“Praise during serious conversation is problematic. It breaks my concentration.”
“Damn. Do I need permission to give you a compliment?”
“Is there any additional information about Rue Hyun?”
“Yes. He’s got quite the unusual story. Listen up.”
Hae-rang listened to the account of Rue Hyun for some time.
His gaze drifted backward, into the past.
Several weapon master craftsmen he’d encountered in his previous life.
One of them overlapped in his mind with Rue Hyun.
“I’ll meet Rue Hyun first.”
“You’re deciding this fast? Rue Hyun might not even want to make Capsules.”
“No. That’s impossible.”
At that firm answer, Choi Gang-sik’s eyes went wide.
“How can you be so certain?”
“I’ll explain that later. Where is this Rue Hyun right now?”
Choi Gang-sik pointed his index finger downward.
It didn’t mean he was inside this cafe.
Hae-rang understood the meaning as if by instinct.
“……Korea, then.”
* * *
Seongsimdang Columbarium, located in Seongnam.
It was famous for excellent facilities and equally notorious for its steep prices.
The entire building’s floor was paved with premium tile as a matter of course.
The urn, crafted from the finest paulownia wood, held white porcelain hand-molded by a master craftsman, cradling the ashes within.
Before a VIP urn—priced at whatever one could demand—stood a gaunt old man with nothing left but bones.
“…….”
White nose hairs, which would have looked neater if tidied, sprouted thickly to either side,
and a faint smell of oil wafted around his frame.
With naturally fierce eyes, one might think he’d come to pick a fight with the deceased.
But the person he’d come to see was someone for whom even fierce eyes held no sting—
his grandson.
“……I’ll come again next year.”
As if erasing the long time he’d stood there,
the old man who’d maintained silence broke it with a few brief words and turned to leave.
Thump, thump.
And the man who had been waiting in the columbarium far longer than the old man had stood there
finally spoke to him.
“Are you Rue Hyun, sir?”
“……I suppose so.”
Rue Hyun.
The old man who’d come to pay respects to his grandson.
Under normal circumstances, he might not have answered and simply walked past.
But it was so unexpected that he’d replied without thinking.
Because no one else knew that Rue Hyun came to this place.
“I’ve been waiting, hoping to have a brief word with you, sir.”
“Waiting? I didn’t come here at a set time.”
“I’m aware. That’s why I’ve been standing here since opening time.”
“Opening time? Then you’ve been standing here since four in the morning?”
Hae-rang offered a warm smile instead of a reply.
Like gentle rain falling on a barren desert,
that sort of smile.
But the drought that had settled in Rue Hyun’s heart was far too vast for such meager rain to touch.
“Are you a gamer?”
“I am.”
“You seem young, but your methods are quite outdated. I didn’t come to Korea to meet anyone. And if you’re a gamer, I certainly have no desire to meet you.”
“I came to learn that you put down the Capsule because of your grandson.”
Rue Hyun’s eyes turned cold and dangerous at that.
“So you’re the type who makes a habit of digging into others’ affairs without permission? Is that it?”
“There’s nothing to dig into. You’re the greatest Capsule Craftsman in the world—of course there would be information.”
“Even if I bought you a plane ticket now, it wouldn’t help. Looks like we’re both better off going our separate ways.”
“I want to play the game your grandson played.”
“What……?”
His ears twitched with disbelief as Rue Hyun’s gaze sharpened.
“Using your machine, playing the same game your grandson did. I’ve been waiting for the chance to make that proposal.”

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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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