Chapter 97

### Chapter 97: Conditions

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"Please let me out here."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, I want to walk a bit by myself."

The place where I got out of Secretary Kim's car was a sidewalk a little away from home. It was about a ten-minute walk from here. I decided to get out because I needed some time to sort out my thoughts.

"Alright, I'll be nearby, so call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

After walking a little, I realized I had forgotten something very important.

'There are... so many people.'

Thinking about it, it made sense.

This is Seoul, and more specifically, Jongno. It would be stranger if there were no people. People everywhere, here and there. Crowds brush past me. The only fortunate thing is that I no longer get panic attacks just from being in a crowd, which is a significant improvement from my time in the dorm.

"Oh..."

"Hey, look over there."

"Huh."

"Is that a celebrity?"

"Is he a foreigner? Oh, is he a foreign movie actor or something?"

I could feel people's gazes, but I was somewhat used to it, so I continued walking. At first, my steps were light, but they grew heavier as I got closer to home. Then, a thought struck me.

'...Did I cause a major accident?'

I stopped in my tracks without realizing it. When I left the filming site, my mind was a mess, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt I had made a huge mistake.

'That... wasn't right, was it?'

No matter how I thought about it, leaving the filming and running away like that was absurd, even to me.

'What should I do? Should I go back and finish filming and then come back?'

But even if I finished filming, whether it would be usable was another issue, so it would be pointless.

'Why did I do that?'

Reflecting on it, there were many better ways than running away. For example, if I had finished filming the commercial and then formally terminated the contract, there would have been no problem, right?

'No, the problems started the moment I decided to terminate the contract. What should I do?'

I was too impulsive, and I regretted my unreasonable actions.

"What should I do..."

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. The gravity of what I had done was starting to weigh on me.

"Oh."

Lost in thought, I found myself in front of my house. I tried to calm my anxious heart as I got into the elevator and arrived home, where my mother greeted me.

"You're home early today?"

The moment I saw her face, I felt a lump in my throat.

"Ah, well..."

In the end, I told my mother a rough version of what happened today.

"So... you just ran away from there? And came home like this? Why did you do that?"

"It's just... something happened."

My mother's face turned pale.

Oh, of all the excuses, I chose "just"...

Of course, there were many reasons, like the team's atmosphere and the mood on set, but it was hard to express them in words.

"Sigh..."

And then came a sigh.

"I always knew you'd cause trouble one day, Yeonseok."

"…What should I do?"

"Even if there are no legal issues, you shouldn't do things that will make others resent you. Moral and legal responsibilities are different. If you wanted to terminate the contract with the team, you should have called me earlier. What were you thinking, just running away like that?"

She was right.

"Mom, I'll be in the living room, reflecting. I know I'll get a scolding when you come back."

"…Okay."

My mother quickly got ready and left the house, as if to resolve the mess I had created. I paced around the house, feeling like I was standing in for a punishment, but she didn't return even after a few hours.

'What's going on? Is something wrong?'

I thought about calling her to ask, but I was worried that I might interfere with something. I was in a situation where I couldn't do anything.

'...I'm really an idiot.'

The more I thought about it, the more I blamed myself.

Stupid, foolish, reckless, clumsy, sea cucumber.

No matter how much I was scolded, it wouldn't be enough for my foolishness.

Just as I was blaming myself for my foolishness, I heard the doorbell.

"Mom's back?!"

I rushed to the door, but to my disappointment, it wasn't my mother.

"Hey, Yujin. You're here?"

It was my father. I realized it was already time for him to come home.

"Ah, yeah."

"Did you wait for me? Go to the living room first. I'll take a shower."

I wasn't really waiting for him, but the situation felt awkward.

"…Okay."

Since I had things to discuss with my father, it wasn't bad, but the gravity of the situation was clear.

As he passed the bathroom, my father said,

"By the way, Mom called and said everything's fine with your issue, so don't worry too much. She met an old classmate and is just hanging out at a cafe."

"…Really?"

I didn't expect it, but it seemed my mother had somehow resolved the issue.

'…I should have gotten a call.'

I was a bit resentful of my mother, but maybe she intentionally didn't call to let me suffer a bit.

'…I'm going to get a huge scolding when Mom comes back.'

With a guilty conscience, I sat on the sofa in the living room, waiting for my father in a formal posture.

After about twenty minutes,

"Did you wait long?"

My father, smelling of men's skin care products, sat on the sofa.

"You want to form a team?"

"Um, yeah."

"Do you have a specific plan?"

"…Not really."

I had thought about it, but I hadn't decided on anything concrete. I just had a vague idea of what I needed and how much money it would cost.

"Yujin."

"Uh-huh?"

"If you had asked for a 10 billion won house, I would have bought it for you. The same goes for other things. But you said you want to form a team?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Then this is a business matter."

For some reason, my father, who was usually gentle, now seemed overwhelmingly heavy and large.

"So, this meeting can be seen as a kind of investment presentation. What reason do I have to invest in you?"

"…The potential for the future?"

"What potential?"

"…Well, I don't know?"

I hadn't expected such a Q&A session. I had thought that if I just acted cute, he might lend me the money, but now I felt ashamed of myself.

"Yujin, 10 billion won is a lot of money."

"I know that, but…"

"No, some people have lost their lives over this amount of money. You don't understand the fear of money."

I felt deflated.

I had thought too simply.

"Okay, let's say I lend you 10 billion won. How will you pay it back?"

"…Win the Red Cup?"

"Do you have a guarantee that you can do that?"

"Guarantee… no."

Of course, no team or player could guarantee winning the Red Cup.

'Even Rainbow couldn't.'

Winning once and being able to win again are very different things. While the possibility might be high, the League of Legends scene is growing and becoming more competitive every year. No player or team can confidently guarantee a Red Cup win.

"Then I can't lend you the money."

…Of course, that's how it would be.

"Can't you just lend it to me? There's that naming sponsorship thing, right?"

"What do I have to trust?"

"…Because I'm your child?"

I wanted to say something like "Because I'm your beautiful daughter?" but that was impossible.

No, it would be impossible forever.

"Um."

My father looked a bit taken aback, then tried to maintain a stern expression.

But he was still my father.

"Being your child is a big reason, but it's not enough to lend you 10 billion won."

"…I really believe in myself. Can't you help me just once?"

"No."

My father was firm.

I couldn't remember him being this firm with my brother or me before.

'…Well, my brother has never asked for a 10 billion won bag.'

Or has he?

…I don't know.

I didn't know the prices of my brother's bags, so it was natural that I didn't know.

Anyway, that wasn't the important part. As my father said, if it were a 10 billion won bag, he might have bought it for me. But I was asking for money to form a team. The reasons were completely different.

"Yujin, can you prove your worth to me?"

"Worth?"

"Yes, whatever you do. Can you pay back the money I lend you?"

"Well…"

Of course not.

Just as I was about to say that, I remembered something.

'Ah.'

There was a way I could make a lot of money in a short time.

"I can."

"…You can?"

He seemed a bit surprised by my answer.

"I'm not just going to lend you money because you insist. You need to have a solid basis—"

"One month. I'll make 1 billion won and show you. That's enough, right?"

"If you can really do it, that's enough. …Are you planning to borrow from a financial institution?"

"What do you take me for?"

My confident attitude made him shake his head.

"…Yujin. 10 billion won is a lot, but 1 billion won is also a lot. You want to make 1 billion won in a month?"

"Yep."

"…Alright. Try it. But no complaints later. Even though we didn't sign a contract, this is a kind of contract. Got it?"

"I understand."

After making this informal contract with my father, I went to my room.

'…I didn't expect it to come to this.'

I recalled the past.

When I was a prisoner, I was desperate because I couldn't become a pro and was looking for another path. Internet broadcasting was that path. Although the situation changed drastically when I became paralyzed, I still wanted to try broadcasting.

I had all the necessary equipment at home. They were things I had picked out when my mother and sister dragged me to the department store.

"Found it."

I set up the camera and microphone, did a few tests, and then logged into the RedTV website.

'I have no recognition in broadcasting. I need a surefire way to get attention.'

One month.

A very short time to make 1 billion won.

So, I planned to broadcast almost non-stop, even during my sleep.

'In this situation… it's that, right?'

There is a so-called "ultimate move" in the broadcasting content of League of Legends streamers and broadcasters.

I was about to use that ultimate move.

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### GM1) Unranked Streamer, Rank 1

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