Chapter 46 of The Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1

16. Turning Adversity into Advantage (4)

This was something he had kept secret even from his former teammates with whom he used to practice archery.

It wasn't something he would casually talk about.

However, someone like Han Tae-ho wouldn't be one to blab.

He had staked his reputation on Sanghyun's words.

His own story.

‘They’ll probably like it.’

It was the kind of content that adults would appreciate.

No, it was a story that most people would sympathize with.

That's why he had kept it hidden.

But Sanghyun opened his mouth.

* * *

‘He used to do archery…?’

Oh Siljang couldn't hide his surprise as he repeated Sanghyun's words to himself.

His large eyes soon turned to Han Tae-ho.

‘This is…’

What kind of games do middle-aged men who lead successful lives play?

They generally prefer static sports.

And they like hobbies that are a bit grand, something not everyone can easily follow.

They don't want to get involved with just anyone.

‘This is impressive.’

Games like billiards or Go are not considered, as anyone can easily play them.

So, most of them play golf, a sport that requires a significant amount of money and time to play.

However, even golf has become quite popular lately, and it seems like everyone is playing it.

Therefore, some upper-class individuals with unique tastes look elsewhere.

One of those is ‘archery.’

Han Tae-ho had recently shifted his interest from golf to archery.

‘He hit the mark.’

From Oh Siljang's perspective, Han Tae-ho seemed to like Sanghyun. No, he might have already surpassed the level of liking and was considering making another appointment.

“Archery… I didn’t expect that.”

Han Tae-ho answered without much visible emotion, but Oh Siljang could see through it.

He was already showing a great deal of interest.

“Why did you quit?”

“I had to quit due to an injury.”

Sanghyun's words reminded Han Tae-ho of the oddity he had noticed in Sanghyun's right hand when they shook.

“Oh… Was that your right hand? I felt it tremble a bit when we shook hands.”

“Yes.”

“That’s too bad. What happened?”

“It happened on my way back from winning a gold medal at the national championships.”

“…Really?”

‘That’s a world champion level, isn’t it?’ Han Tae-ho looked at Oh Siljang, who nodded enthusiastically.

“Indeed. Sanghyun, that’s really unfortunate. How old were you then?”

“I was 19.”

“19? In years?”

“No, 17 in years.”

Han Tae-ho and Oh Siljang looked at each other in surprise.

‘Is this a record?’

Even a layman would recognize this as an incredible record.

“I didn’t give up right away. I held on secretly until I was 22.”

“Ah…”

He dragged it out for three years without giving up. At this point, both Oh Siljang and Han Tae-ho's expressions turned somber.

“I couldn’t overcome it. So, with the help of my coach, I got a job, and that’s how I ended up at Aseong Industries. It wasn’t because of my skills.”

“…”

“Naturally, there were issues with being in a place that didn’t suit me. Around that time, I became interested in virtual reality games. There, I could—”

“Your right hand works properly there!”

Han Tae-ho couldn’t help but interrupt Sanghyun, too engrossed in the story.

Sanghyun nodded.

“Yes… There, I could shoot properly. I was captivated by it. Since I needed to earn money, I thought about becoming a streamer.”

“No, but why did you start playing games only then?”

“Before that, I didn’t really think about it. I was focused on my job. My grandmother was still alive, so I didn’t have the luxury to dwell on my past in archery. Even if I had known my right hand would work properly in virtual reality, I probably wouldn’t have cared much about it back then.”

“Indeed…”

If this had been a job interview, it would have been a pass.

Sanghyun felt that way.

Han Tae-ho’s expression made it seem like he had become Sanghyun himself.

“Life doesn’t go as planned.”

Clack.

Han Tae-ho poured a drink into Sanghyun’s glass and said,

“It’s a bit of a cliché, but that’s what makes it interesting. If everything went as you wished, you might end up in a worse place. I was a pathetic guy who just wanted to be a freeloader. If I had achieved that, I would have been a fool.”

Han Tae-ho looked up for a moment, recalling his youth.

“Fortunately, the world didn’t let me stay that way. A man has responsibilities when he wants to have a family. Thanks to that, I like my life now. Freeloaders can’t even eat sushi at Touji.”

Ha ha ha. He laughed more, took a bite of sushi, and savored it.

“You’ll do well, too.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Sanghyun politely raised his glass and drank.

“Originally, the more you carry, the stronger you become. It’s not that you get stronger by carrying; you become strong at the moment you carry. It’s amazing how it works.”

“Right, right. Sanghyun, you’ll definitely do well. You started a new game, right? Ah! That’s right. But—”

Oh Siljang suddenly stopped, as if he had just thought of something.

‘This was the time to bring it up…’

The topic Sanghyun wanted to discuss paused. He had planned to talk about Battle Ledge when asked if the new game was going well.

But what Oh Siljang brought up was even more precious.

“Do you know what this is?”

“…?”

On the pad he pulled out, there was a graph. It was a steep upward curve, making one think, ‘I wish my stocks looked like this.’

“Kingdom sales.”

“!”

“Look at these reviews.”

Oh Siljang scrolled down to show the purchase reviews.

- Bought it after watching Almond’s stream~

- Watched Almond’s stream. This game is really well-made.

- The knight ending with Emilia was touching. But I came to buy it to choose Rosalita.

- Can a first-time player do as well as Almond? If not, I’ll ask for a refund~~

- Wow, cheaper than I thought? It’s of super high quality. But please add more bow types.

- A game that lets you feel the romance of a medieval mercenary. However, only if you can do as well as Almond.

- Bought it after watching Almond’s medieval war scene. It’s really well-made. Of course, the fact that it’s so difficult that most people can’t even feel the war is really frustrating.

…Most of them were about Almond.

It seemed like they were edited to show only those comments.

“Now we have a strong say in this developer.”

Han Tae-ho, who saw the graph, was also surprised.

“No, did you know about this, Oh Siljang? It’s impressive. For a distributor, whether the promotion works or not is very important…”

“Of course, the graph might be a bit exaggerated. The previous sales were so low. But looking at the timing of the increase and the reviews, the cause is clear.”

Han Tae-ho’s gaze turned to Sanghyun.

The cause was undoubtedly Almond.

Almond, the partner streamer of Punk.

“You’re amazing.”

“Thank you.”

“No, really. With this, what I said earlier isn’t just talk. You will succeed.”

Ha ha…

Sanghyun awkwardly smiled.

‘Is it really that effective?’

He didn’t even know about such data.

It was surprising. The sales had increased so much.

Oh Siljang continued.

“Clearly, you have star potential.”

“Indeed. There’s a distinct charm in the person.”

They now talked about the graph without mentioning Sanghyun.

“I was going to report this tomorrow, but I decided to tell Sanghyun today as well.”

“Good job.”

“Oh… But Sanghyun, you’re not playing this game anymore.”

“Eh? Is that so? Well… You can’t keep playing a package game.”

Han Tae-ho’s gaze returned to Sanghyun.

“What’s your next game?”

It was the moment he had been waiting for.

Sanghyun calmly and clearly answered.

“Battle Ledge.”

“Oh. My son plays that a lot. It’s mainly for people in their 20s and 30s, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is it going well?”

“That’s…”

The door was open, and now he just needed to shoot.

“There were some issues.”

* * *

The next day.

As soon as he arrived at work, Kim Gi-yeol was called.

‘Damn. What is it?’

Given the recent events that had been bothering him, he had a bad feeling from the moment he was called.

“Manager, did you call me?”

Moreover, he was called to the manager’s office.

The section chief was also there.

“Sit down.”

The manager’s voice already gave it away.

‘Ah. I’m done for.’

It was clear that the thing Kim Gi-yeol had done before had surfaced.

‘I deleted all the community posts. Did it leak out?’

Still, it was fortunate that it was the manager who found out. The manager would try to cover it up.

Users would soon forget about it.

It would just be a scolding and be over with.

It was a bad situation, but it was different from direct disciplinary action.

“Do you know where I went this morning?”

“?”

Kim Gi-yeol was momentarily stunned by the question.

‘Where did he go…?’

The only people who could call the manager were those above him.

‘He didn’t receive a report… He received an order.’

Kim Gi-yeol thought the manager had found out from one of his subordinates. That was the usual route.

But the manager pointed up with his finger.

It meant the order came from above, not from a report below.

“From the executive office.”

“!”

“The executive heard something strange.”

The section chief just bowed his head with a grim expression, and Kim Gi-yeol’s body trembled.

He had no time to think about where to look.

Cold sweat dripped down his face.

“Almond. Do you know who that is?”

Straight to the point.

No one answered.

“Almond. Do you know who that is? If I have to ask again, you’re all done for.”

Thud.

His heart sank. It was rare for the manager to use such harsh words.

Crunch.

The section chief, sitting next to him, stepped on Kim Gi-yeol’s foot with his hard shoe. The scream of pain was his answer.

“…Yes. I know who it is.”

“Hmm. You know?”

The manager glared at Kim Gi-yeol, his eyes cold enough to bury someone.

“I won’t make a fuss. I’m going to leave anyway.”

“!?”

Kim Gi-yeol’s eyes widened.

“Why are you surprised? Why should I get angry at someone who’s going to leave? I only get angry at those who can be fixed.”

“B, but… This, this isn’t—”

Bang!

The manager slammed the table, cutting off the words.

“Do you know where the executive received the call from?”

“…”

“You don’t know? That’s why you think this isn’t a big deal?”

The manager showed his flexible pad.

[Punk Partner Streamers]

At the top, it read, and below, a list of partner streamers’ profiles was displayed.

“Did you not even look up this basic information before trying to cover up your mistake?”

“…!”

In the list of partner streamers, a familiar name appeared.

[Almond / Yu Sanghyun]

How could this be…

Kim Gi-yeol clamped his mouth shut.

‘He only had a few thousand viewers…’

He couldn’t have imagined that someone with such a small audience could be a partner of Punk.

“Even if you make a great game, if Punk doesn’t include it in their events, what happens? And you messed with a Punk partner? Without any reason?!”

“…”

“This guy increased the sales of the Kingdom Age game by five times. So, it’s natural that the executive got a call, right?”

“…”

“Now, what are you going to do?”

Kim Gi-yeol couldn’t say a word.

Thud.

The manager folded the flexible pad.

“Covering up small things is common in company organizations. But I always say, you can commit a crime, but to be a criminal, you have to be really good. Much smarter than the average person.”

“…”

“From what I see, you two aren’t that kind of people. Just live honestly. Don’t make things complicated. Got it?”

“M, Manager. I—”

“No, I don’t want to hear more. Write a report and prepare for the disciplinary committee. I’ll assign the Almond case to another team.”

The manager’s gaze returned to his monitor.

“What are you doing? Not leaving? Call security?”

“…I’ll leave.”

After the two idiots left, the manager clicked his tongue and made a call.

“Hey. Team 2. Is Almond’s suspension lifted? Oh. Good. I’m going to set up an ad with Punk and Almond. Prepare for it. Yes. I expect it. You need to remove all the drama.”