Chapter 75 of "The Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1"

27. Toward the Diamond (1)

At Punk Co., a drinking session began at lunchtime.

Today, an entire department decided to skip their evening work and start partying from lunch. This was proposed by the executives.

It was a truly rare reward. The biggest contributor was none other than Director Oh.

The pot-bellied Director Oh, who was now talking the loudest, said,

"How about it? Huh? The almonds I brought! Hahaha!"

Thump! Thump!

He patted his even more bloated belly and burst into his characteristic cheerful laughter.

"Come on~ take it! Take it! I'll pass it around!"

He stood up as if he were hosting a festival and started passing around the bottles.

Each person who received the drink had something to say.

"Man, Director Oh sure has good luck."

"Actually, at first, we wondered why he brought such a weird guy. He's supposed to be a Punk Partner Streamer."

"They say all the production companies are now leaning towards us? They want to line up for an almond ad."

"Having a star like that as our partner, giving free ads. Damn, Director Oh will probably get a promotion this time."

"Hee. A streamer who starts with electronic waves and immediately clashes. Well, he's already said everything."

"At first, it was really tough to recruit him."

Recruiting Almond was by no means an easy process. Everyone thought he was crazy. There were even rumors that Almond was Director Oh's hidden nephew.

But now, that evaluation has completely changed.

The star quality Almond displayed in the disassembly analysis was clear to everyone.

Almond was not just good at games.

He was a natural broadcaster.

Even while performing the difficult 'Survive!' test, Almond continued to read the chat, which is etched in the minds of all the employees.

"Reading the chat amidst all that, I thought this guy was really something. Hahaha!"

"Between us, isn't he practically already on the right track with the electronic waves? Huh? No, Almond is just starting, and he was reading the chat while doing it?!"

"When did he become 'our' Almond! Hahaha!"

The employees of Punk Co. tend to subtly keep an eye on the electronic waves.

Because he is a large streamer not affiliated with them.

So, Almond felt even more precious to them.

"Move aside, electronic waves! Almond is coming out!"

Almond might even surpass the dominance of the electronic waves.

"Ugh!"

"These people are really drunk. Huh? Hahaha."

Director Oh smiled contentedly at their appearance.

'It's worth it.'

When a gem he recognized at first glance finally shines.

At such times, his job felt more rewarding than ever.

"Ah, Director Oh. Great job...!"

One of his subordinates, already drunk, raised his glass.

"To be honest, we were skeptical... When we heard that Director Oh was going to the filming site for Almond... I thought, 'Is that his nephew? Or a son from a past relationship?'"

The whole department burst into laughter at this.

Especially Director Oh, who laughed boisterously.

"Hey! I had to be there to make sure those Fantasia guys didn't mess up. So, how's the result now?"

"Director Oh! Y... Yes, sir!"

The subordinate raised his soju glass high and shouted.

"Wow... A! A! For Almond!"

"For Almond!"

Clank!

The glasses clinked together, filled to the brim, and the midday festival atmosphere continued.

After that, it was soon 3 PM.

"Let's just run all day today! The executive said we're all off tomorrow too!"

"Huh...? Wait a minute."

The tipsy Director Oh suddenly stood up from his chair.

An unexpected early broadcast notification.

It was Almond.

"Hey, hey. I'll go out for a quick smoke?"

"Eh? No, decide where to go for the second round! Besides, why are you going alone for a smoke?!"

"Bathroom! The big one!"

"Damn! While eating!"

Director Oh only said this to his colleague and quickly went outside to join the broadcast.

'If I watch this with everyone... It might... '

Actually, since the drinking session was thanks to Almond, it would have been right to watch the broadcast together. But it was a good atmosphere, and he didn't want to dampen it.

There was a chance the viewers might not have increased significantly or might have even decreased.

It was a very low probability, but with so many variables, it wasn't impossible.

In this era, fame can be fleeting.

There was no guarantee that the success of one filming would immediately translate into viewer numbers.

Director Oh took a long drag on his cigarette.

"Phew. Let's see. Is it the star quality we saw?"

After exhaling a puff of white smoke, he waited nervously for Almond's intro song to end.

He could only see the viewer count once the broadcast properly started.

'How many? How many... '

Previously, Almond's broadcast had once been pumped up to about 4-5 thousand viewers.

Actually, that wasn't a large number, and it could burst at any time. A realistic estimate would be an average of 2-3 thousand viewers.

'Let's go over 6 thousand. 6 thousand.'

Exactly double.

If the live broadcast started with over 6 thousand viewers, it would be a number that would not be out of place for a Punk Partner.

Considering he's only been streaming for less than a month, it would be an impressive number.

'No, let's go over 7 thousand. 7 thousand... '

Director Oh pushed his luck further.

'I really want a promotion this time. Sanghyun! Please!'

At that moment, Director Oh closed his eyes tightly.

Ding!

The intro song ended, and Sanghyun's face appeared.

- Tcha!

The chat window appeared on the screen with a bright voice.

And the viewer count.

"..."

Thump!

He threw away his cigarette and quickly rushed back inside.

"Hey! Watch the live stream! The live stream!"

He shouted again to the employees who were staring blankly at his sudden yell.

"Almond's live stream! It just started!"

* * *

Swallow.

Juhyeok, who was watching the screen, swallowed hard.

"Wow... This is really fast?"

The increasing viewer count was not ordinary from the beginning.

And finally, when it broke the 8 thousand mark.

"!"

He jumped up from his seat.

Then, like a beast, he roared.

"Roar!"

It was a strange sound, but who cares. There were only Sanghyun and Juhyeok here.

Sanghyun was inside a capsule with perfect noise cancellation.

Moreover, Juhyeok didn't even realize what sound he had made.

"8 thousand at 3 PM. Crazy."

It could be that the 'journalist-type' viewers were flocking in the early stages due to yesterday's issue.

But even that is attention.

Whether they came to watch the game or to see the face of the guy who broke the record.

If this number can be maintained, Almond will have a platform to advance to a mid-level streamer.

'Good. Very good...'

Juhyeok felt good.

This was a position that new streamers could only dream of reaching.

For Juhyeok, who started as a manager, it was naturally a good moment.

However, as always, there is a worry that sneaks in at the best moments.

"Black Flame Dragon is not it. Trauma."

Sanghyun's past related to archery and his right hand.

His reaction to these two things was not ordinary. Even when they briefly argued before...

The awkward anger after the consultation with the doctor...

He seemed so unstable regarding this issue.

'It seems to be more deeply ingrained than I thought.'

The wound seemed deeper than Juhyeok had anticipated.

He couldn't even imagine what it felt like, but if he had to compare, it would be like losing a lifelong partner.

'Does he really not want it to be known?'

If it were the old Juhyeok, he would have thought that Sanghyun's past history was a 'selling point' and should be widely known.

But not now.

Sanghyun was genuinely rejecting those memories, and Juhyeok could feel that.

'If you're not ready yet...'

If Sanghyun wasn't ready, there was no need to reveal it.

Things were going so well that a selling point wasn't necessary.

It might even be harmful.

'Yeah. Everyone has memories they can't sell.'

He made a call.

To the contact person of the Fantasia channel's production team.

"Ah, yes. I'm Almond's manager, Kim Juhyeok. I'm calling about the editing."

"Huh? Why the editing?"

"Please remove the part where he shoots the bow."

"..."

"It's still fun without it."

"Is this Almond's opinion?"

"Of course. He doesn't want to upset professional players."

"Well, the opinion of the performer is the most important, but there are contract terms... We have already filmed..."

"Contract? Ah! You're right! We agreed, didn't we? We can remove the parts we want. It's not an important scene."

"Ah, I understand. I'll pass it on."

Click.

The call ended.

"Damn broadcasters..."

There was no choice during the live stream, but the edited version had over 20 times more viewers. Blocking this would be much better.

* * *

8 thousand viewers.

In front of this number, Sanghyun was just staring blankly at the chat window.

- Wow, Almond is a pro!

- Is the fake Almond disappearing now? ㅠㅠ

- Holy crap. The number of people is insane ㅋㅋㅋ

- Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It seems the effect of yesterday's broadcast is clear.

- ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

- Ahaha!

Even without mentioning the 8 thousand viewers, the viewers were already talking about it.

No matter how hard he tried to avoid mentioning the viewer count, ignoring it would be more unnatural.

It would be like passing by a massive 30-car pileup on the side road while whistling.

This was a situation where ignoring it would be more awkward.

"It's been a while. Everyone. But... an incredible number of people have come!"

Almond said with a bright expression.

- Wow, pro!

- Hi from Indonesia!

- There are even foreigners ㅋㅋㅋ

- Literally a pro ㅋㅋㅋ

- Since he beat the electronic waves, of course.

- ㅎㅇㅎㅇ

- I became a fan after watching the disassembly! Squeal!

- Newbies are flooding in;;

Many new viewers greeted Sanghyun. Even at a glance, there were many unfamiliar nicknames.

Today felt like he was in a completely different broadcast.

'This is subtly nerve-wracking.'

It was definitely his own broadcast, and a familiar environment.

But it felt like he was broadcasting from a completely different place. The chat window was so important.

'What should I say?'

Almond was at a loss for words.

Then, a familiar nickname appeared as a supporter.

Almond's mouth moved involuntarily.

"Ah. RubySword. Always thanks. Pro? I'm still an Economy."

- Economy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- Haha ㅋㅋㅋ

- That's not the class ㅋㅋㅋ

Another familiar name appeared.

"KkajiBokkum. Thanks for the support from the start. The viewers have really multiplied. Haha."

A natural laugh escaped.

It felt like a blockage was suddenly cleared. It