<So that’s what happened.>
<Initially, ‘Codex,’ the developer of <Gaia Online>, didn’t want Apocalypse Dragon to be raided. They wanted Apocalypse Dragon to remain a legend.>
Participating as a guest on Dong-su hyung’s broadcast, Lee Nak-joon continued speaking while looking slightly awkwardly at the camera.
Their conversation was, of course, related to me.
To be precise, it was about the <Apocalypse Dragon> raid.
Words started to flow from the mouth of Lee Nak-joon, a former developer of <Gaia Online>, who appeared as a guest.
As Lee Nak-joon appeared, the number of viewers logging in began to increase.
Was all of this originally planned by Dong-su hyung? If he had gone so far as to invite Lee Nak-joon directly, it was likely that he had more preparations in place.
For now, I just watched the broadcast quietly.
<The guild that seemed most likely to challenge Apocalypse Dragon was the one led by Dong-su, as it included the unofficial top-ranked player, Shia. As you all know, Apocalypse Dragon was almost on the verge of death. If we hadn’t recruited Shia, Apocalypse Dragon would have been cleared.>The game company <Codex> wanted their ultimate boss monster, which they had created last, to remain unraided, and to achieve that, they recruited me.
That was the whole story of the <Apocalypse Dragon> incident as revealed by Lee Nak-joon.
<Codex is a company formed by talents from various countries, united to create Gaia Online. That’s why we were greedy.>
<Greedy, you say?>
<We wanted the childish title of the first game that no one had conquered.>
It might have simply been a reason for self-satisfaction.
However, they had the money to enjoy their self-satisfaction, while I, on the other hand, had urgent circumstances.
Our mutual interests aligned perfectly, and that was why the deal was made.
Therefore, I did not want to blame the game company.
In the end, I had achieved what I wanted through that deal.
Dong-su hyung slowly nodded in agreement with Lee Nak-joon’s words.
Then, with a frown, he said,
<In the end, it was about selling out your teammates for money?>
<……That’s…… correct.>
<Hearing it directly from someone involved, it really brings back memories.>
Dong-su hyung, clearly checking the facts for the viewers.
But I knew that his words were not simply meant to belittle me.
As always, Dong-su hyung was setting the tone for the broadcast.
This was what Dong-su hyung was very good at.
Drawing in viewers’ attention with a lot of bait in the early stages and pushing the main content to the back as much as possible.
That was why Dong-su hyung had been able to maintain his position as a top-tier streamer until now.
He was someone who instinctively knew where to make an impact.
Besides being a good person, he was also very smart and clever in broadcasting.
Dong-su hyung nodded slowly as he looked at Lee Nak-joon.
<But I heard that it wasn’t just money that the company provided.>
That was the beginning of it.
A situation where they had talked in advance.
It was easy to tell just by looking at Lee Nak-joon’s awkward acting.
Lee Nak-joon continued speaking, trying to look flustered.
<Ah, yes. I don’t know where you heard it from, but…… that is correct. Codex did provide a convenience at that time.>
<What was it?>
The most important question of this interview.
Dong-su hyung had built up to this point just to hear that one sentence.
Lee Nak-joon scratched his head and looked at Dong-su hyung.
<It’s a bit of a complicated issue to explain.>
<Please go ahead.>
<Codex is a project company created by a collaboration of large corporations from various countries. Naturally, several large Korean corporations were also involved.>
<What does that have to do with the betrayal?>
<It has a lot to do with it. You might feel pity for Shia when you hear this…… Ah, I can’t go any further. If I say more here…….>
Stopping there?
As if it was a pre-planned script, Lee Nak-joon stood up from his seat, and Dong-su hyung spoke while looking at him.
<You said you know the truth. What do you mean Shia, that damn bastard, is pitiable?>
<I have to go clean up the Dark Spirit booth…….>
Words that stirred people’s emotions.
At those words, Lee Nak-joon shook his head and sighed before responding.
<Do you really want to hear it?>
<Yes, it would make me feel a bit better.>
<Hmm, since you insist, I’ll tell you briefly. So it goes like this…….>
I quietly held my phone, holding my breath.
Were they really going to tell that story?
No, would people understand me even if they believed that story to be true?
I wasn’t sure.
There was no need for Dong-su hyung to go this far. I was the one who felt sorry for Dong-su hyung, yet it was Dong-su hyung who felt a sense of responsibility, creating this ironic situation.
The reason for this obvious play was solely for my sake.
……I could just be abandoned.
Dong-su hyung’s script reached its climax, and at the same time, an unexpected situation occurred.
Chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi.
As a strange noise came through the screen, Dong-su hyung’s urgent voice followed.
<Oh? Oh? What’s going on! It seems like the camera is broken? Guys, I’ll fix the camera and restart the broadcast! Please wait!>
[Streamer ‘Kan’ has ended the broadcast.]
It seemed that Dong-su hyung’s plan did not end there.
2.
After Dong-su hyung’s broadcast ended due to an unavoidable accident, the internet community heated up.
Contrary to his promise, Dong-su hyung did not restart the broadcast.
He simply left a notice stating that the broadcast could not continue due to a camera issue.
It was obviously an excuse, but people’s interest wasn’t in that.
Because Dong-su hyung’s confession broadcast did not end neatly, the controversy flared up even more.
Naturally, people started presenting various possibilities.
<Title: Is it true that Shia is pitiable?>
Content: That guy named Lee Nak-joon couldn’t finish his story properly and the broadcast ended, but what’s so pitiable? He just seems like a trash who sold out his teammates for moneyㅋㅋ Don’t you think so?
-But you, posting here at this time, is also a bit pitiableㅋㅋ
-There’s no need to worry about the streamerㅋㅋ
-Shia made a ton of money from the broadcast, so he’ll just quit streaming and live comfortablyㅇㅇ
-But what else did they provide besides money? I’m really curious.
-When is Kan going to have a face-off with Shia? Didn’t both attend the VR Star event?
It seemed that Dong-su hyung intentionally wanted this situation.
The internet community was becoming a mire, with various perspectives on me.
As I sighed while looking at my phone, Dong-su hyung, who was drinking soju beside me, took my phone away and said,
“What’s the point of looking at that more?”
“……It’s bothering me.”
“Hey, Kim Chan-sik. Are you going to keep doing this in front of us? Then what about us, and what about Dong-su oppa?”
“Unnie, don’t be too harsh on Chan-sik.”
“Hey! Na-young, why are you defending that traitor? He should be pretending everything is fine and smiling if we forgave him like this!”
Right now, we were at a bar near the dorm.
We were having a get-together with the Chicken Box-affiliated streamers, including Na-young.
Jin-hyuk had gone up to Seoul earlier due to some urgent matters.
It was up to him to pull himself together. I couldn’t help him with that.
Anyway, this gathering was too generous for me.
Sae-rin noona glared at me, clenching her fist.
“Don’t be so down. I’ll say this just once. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Cheers.”
Cheers.
The atmosphere of the drinking party was ripe.
Everyone’s faces were flushed with alcohol, as they had gone overboard today.
The seat felt like a bed of thorns to me, so I wasn’t particularly drunk.
The more I drank, the more I felt my mind clearing up.
“Chan-sik.”
This time, Yoo-seon noona looked at me and spoke.
She’s usually a calm person, but she becomes even more so when she drinks.
“Yes, noona.”
“Are you really going to quit broadcasting? I hope you don’t…”
“Given the situation, thinking about continuing would be greedy. It would only cause more trouble for you and the others…”
“Hey!”
It was then.
Dong-su hyung, who was sitting right next to me, slammed his fist on the table and then poured his anger out on me.
“What did I tell you earlier? Huh? I told you to just trust me! I’m trying my damn best to help you, and that’s what you say?”
“Oppa, calm down. You might end up hitting him.”
“No, but look at the way he’s talking. How can I not be angry? Not a single person here is badmouthing you, you idiot. Even if others do, we never will. Damn it.”
Despite being quite drunk, Dong-su hyung roughly poured soju into his glass and gulped it down.
Then he put his arm around my neck and said,
“Just think about treating us all once this is over.”
“I’ll cover today’s bill.”
“Shut up. I’ll cover today’s bill. Why? Because I’m in a damn good mood today!”
Was it just my imagination that his words and actions didn’t seem to match?
However, Dong-su hyung continued, glaring at me.
“Today is a good day, you bastard. Do you know how much you suffered trying to fool us all this time? Right?”
“Pretending to be fooled was hard too.”
“Hehe, true.”
Yoo-seon noona and Sae-rin noona also chimed in.
Dong-su hyung wiped his mouth with his sleeve and continued.
“I’ll gather all our old guild members later, so just bow your head and apologize then. We’ve already forgiven you, but the others haven’t. You know that, right?”
“……Yes.”
“Today’s Chan-sik is so cute being all quiet. Normally, you would be arguing with me fiercely… Na-young, isn’t that right?”
“Uh, yes?”
“Wow. Na-young, you really can drink.”
“Ah, I take after my dad.”
There was one more person besides me who wasn’t drunk. That was Na-young.
I had noticed it before, but it was hard to gauge her drinking capacity.
Na-young nodded as she looked at Dong-su hyung.
“Chan-sik is kind of cute.”
Then Sae-rin noona and Yoo-seon noona started fussing with half-drunken voices.
“What’s this, what’s this, the two of them?”
“A couple streamer birth, something like that?”
“How many kids do you plan to have? Personally, I think two is perfect. One boy, one girl. Like this!”
They were crossing the line with the speed only Twipod streamers could.
We weren’t even in that kind of relationship, and making such a fuss was really inappropriate…
“I also think two is just right.”
“Oh my.”
“No way. We need to leave this place first.”
Jokes like usual were exchanged around the drinking table.
When I checked the time, it was already nearing dawn.
Even though it was an uncomfortable seat, they made an effort to create a relaxed atmosphere for me.
I was also grateful to them and tried to enjoy the gathering as much as possible.
Just as Dong-su hyung said, holding onto my phone and worrying wouldn’t change anything right now.
With the controversy spreading rapidly on the internet, what could I possibly do?
“Oh, I’m dying.”
As soon as the drinking party ended, I took Dong-su hyung back to the dorm.
There was a note left by Sharout in clumsy handwriting.
[Hey, I won’t be coming back today either. Korea is such a fun country.]
…Whether that guy was a playboy or not was none of my business.
He didn’t come back yesterday either, so I decided not to worry about it.
After laying the drunk Dong-su hyung on the bed, I stretched lightly and lay down myself.
It had been an incredibly eventful day.
A day that no one could have predicted, but lying here and thinking about it, it didn’t seem like a bad day after all.
One thing was certain, I had been able to release the emotions that had been festering inside me for a long time.
No longer did I have to worry about what would happen if my secrets were discovered.
…Yeah, this was better.
I slowly closed my eyes, thinking.
Maybe because I relaxed, I felt the effects of the alcohol suddenly hitting me all at once.
And so, a long day came to an end.
3.
A new day dawned after a day filled with countless events.
I woke up feeling a late-arriving hangover.
It was already 11 a.m.
Looking around, I was the only one in the dorm.
Usually, Dong-su hyung would still be asleep with me, but he was already gone.
…What? Did he wake up before me?
When I picked up my phone to call Dong-su hyung, I saw that I had 17 missed calls.
Most of them were from Sung-jae.
Right. We had scheduled an interview this morning.
“Hello, Sung-jae?”
I called quickly, and the call connected immediately.
A very urgent voice from Sung-jae came through the phone.
-Chan-sik? Are you just waking up?
“Uh, yes.”
-I heard from Dong-su that you drank a lot yesterday. Still, you’re waking up much later than usual.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get ready quickly…”
-No, it’s fine. But could you check the internet first?
“The internet?”
-You’re currently the number one search term on major portal sites. Check it quickly.
What?
I ended the call and immediately accessed a portal site.
And for a long time, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
“What is this…”
While I slept.
The whole world had changed.
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