Chapter 78: Turning Point (2)

The situation escalated much faster than I had anticipated.

Had I made too many enemies along the way?

It didn’t take long for the ignited controversy to spread like wildfire.

The suspicions raised in several communities, combined with my sudden cessation of broadcasts, spread at an alarming rate.

Coincidentally, Sung-jae was dispatched to VR Star, so we immediately went into a countermeasure meeting.

A confession of truth was one thing, and broadcasting was another.

“Alright. Where should we start?”

“First of all, it’s true that I am Shia.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Sung-jae nodded lightly while sipping his coffee.

Why was his reaction so dry to such a shocking revelation?

But I soon realized the reason.

“Dong-su had mentioned it to me in passing.”

“That I am Shia?”

“He didn’t say it outright, but he hinted that you had a shocking past. So, it wasn’t particularly surprising. It also explained your physical abilities… well, something like that.”

Is he just an optimistic person?

Sung-jae said this with a slight smile and then got straight to the point.

“As you know, we currently have two choices. One is to vehemently deny it, and the other is to coolly acknowledge it.”

“The first option is practically meaningless, isn’t it?”

“Well, since the game company of has closed, there’s no tangible evidence of Shia. If you want to deny it, you certainly could.”

Though there’s strong circumstantial evidence, without solid proof, suspicions remain mere suspicions.

That was exactly the point Sung-jae was making.

had disappeared along with its company when the service ended.

No one would be able to prove that I was Shia.

But that wasn’t the way I wanted it.

Having confessed to Dong-su and others, why should I be ashamed in front of the viewers?

Of course, many viewers would leave.

Even among the Evil Gang, who showed high loyalty to me, some would leave, and my average viewership of tens of thousands would significantly drop.

I was slightly afraid of that.

“You seem somewhat reluctant?”

“…I don’t want to lie to the viewers again.”

Not only had I hidden it until now, but should I deceive them once more?

I didn’t want to go that far.

Sung-jae nodded slightly at my words and began to speak as if he had been waiting.

“After Chan-sik ended the broadcast earlier, the controversy erupted, right? I had a hunch that this would happen then. So, I started thinking about what I could do from that moment.”

He said this, then took a sip of his lukewarm coffee and continued while looking at me.

“You’ve introduced yourself to Reporter Im, right?”

“You mean Reporter Im from eSports Today?”

“He once wrote an article about Shia a long time ago. It was an article that solidified his position.”

I had looked it up separately since it was an article about me.

While other reporters were criticizing me harshly, Reporter Im showed effort in finding the reasons for my betrayal.

As my betrayal turned South Korea upside down, he consistently posted articles for a month, getting closer to Shia.

Even though he didn’t have enough information about me, his articles boasted considerable quality.

Moreover, since it was a time when interest in me was high, Reporter Im, who mainly covered me, solidified his position quite well.

He had a good relationship with Sung-jae and had built a rather positive relationship with me.

Now, Sung-jae seemed to be planning to create a situation through such a person.

“Hmm, Reporter Im would probably show a lot of interest in this situation. Shia was part of his identity, after all.”

“Ah…”

“He contacted me earlier, as usual, requesting an interview. If it feels burdensome, you don’t have to comply.”

This was the first crisis since I started broadcasting.

A very fatal crisis.

It was a crisis triggered by my own choice, but it was a mountain I had to overcome someday.

I nodded slowly and replied.

“I should meet with Reporter Im.”

“I’ll arrange a meeting as soon as we get to Seoul. How about tomorrow morning?”

“The sooner the article goes up, the better. Can you do that?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Sure.”

Sung-jae entered various things into the tablet PC he was holding and then let out a light sigh.

Then he looked at me and said.

“Chan-sik.”

“…Yes.”

“There’s no need to feel so down. I actually find this quite exhilarating.”

Suddenly?

“Our company has the worst traitor in South Korea… Of course, betrayal is one of the unforgivable acts. Especially the raid you participated in… it was connected to the nation’s pride.”

He wasn’t wrong at all.

Although Dong-su and the other streamers from Chicken Box embraced me warmly, there was no guarantee that the viewers would be the same.

What he was saying now was very realistic.

However, Sung-jae continued with a sly smile.

“But this situation is a bit different. is a game that has essentially faded into memory. Games from the past tend to be somewhat romanticized. The villains from those games are no exception.”

was already buried deep in people’s minds.

As Sung-jae said, many currently active streamers succeeded by leveraging the ‘villain’ image they accumulated back then.

Of course, none were quite at my level.

“Chan-sik, you were at the top of . At a very young age, too. In a game like with no pay-to-win elements, your achievements would have been admirable to everyone.”

Why was he bringing this up?

While I was quietly listening, Sung-jae spoke in a slightly more excited voice.

“A person who suddenly betrayed after excelling in many raids that elevated South Korea’s prestige! That’s why people criticized you, isn’t it?”

“That’s… right.”

“But what if there was a story behind that betrayal? How would people react then?”

It seemed Dong-su had shared a few more stories.

However, it wasn’t that Dong-su intentionally leaked secrets.

On the contrary, he aimed to smooth over the situation using Sung-jae and Chicken Box’s influence.

The outline was clear enough just by listening to the story.

Sung-jae, who passionately explained to me, concluded while looking at me.

“A streamer with a story, a multi-faceted character. That in itself is a highly marketable asset. In that sense, I want to see this controversy as an opportunity, not a crisis.”

I thought I was somewhat crazy, but it seemed there were crazier people than me in the world.

But what was more surprising was that I was persuaded by his passionate speech.

Sung-jae finished his drink and smacked his lips.

Then he said,

“Chan-sik.”

“…Yes.”

“Remember this even in the worst-case scenario. You are not alone, Chan-sik. Understood?”

…Phew.

Why did everyone seem intent on making me emotional?

I just slightly nodded at Sung-jae’s words and quietly swallowed my breath.

4.

After the urgent meeting with Sung-jae ended, Jin-hyuk was waiting for me with a distressed look on his face.

Jin-hyuk looked at me with a complex expression.

It was the look of someone with a lot to say but unsure of where to start.

That was exactly how it felt.

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you, bro.”

“Had lunch?”

“Wasn’t in the mood, so I didn’t eat.”

Jin-hyuk’s voice was quite subdued.

Since coming to Busan, it was the most downcast he had looked.

I chuckled at Jin-hyuk and scratched my head as I spoke.

“Do you want me to buy you something delicious?”

“…Hyung.”

“Hey, isn’t your broadcast being affected because of me? People might be… since you’re my brother…”

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Hmm.”

I had anticipated he would say something like that, but hearing it directly still felt bitter.

However, Jin-hyuk, contrary to his accusatory tone, was sobbing heavily.

Oh dear.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Even if you knew, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“I… not knowing… I asked you to broadcast with me…”

“Hey, I didn’t start broadcasting because of you. What are you talking about? I did it because I thought it would make good money. Don’t be mistaken, you fool.”

There was no need for Jin-hyuk to feel so guilty.

Just as I made my choice now, I had made a choice back then.

And personally, I had never once regretted that choice.

I saved Jin-hyuk.

If I had to make the same choice again, I would still act the same way.

“I never thought you made money that way…”

“How could someone like me, who only played games, make a lot of money? Back then, that was the only way, you fool. So don’t waste your emotions on past events.”

“How can I not?”

“Hey, honestly, will anything change if you keep whining like this? Aren’t you angry with me? Your brother deceived you too.”

“Would I be human if I got angry at you for that? Huh?”

“That’s admirable, my brother. At least you’re still human.”

Even though I said that, I also felt uneasy facing Jin-hyuk right now.

Though Dong-su and others had suspected, Jin-hyuk seemed genuinely clueless, judging by his reaction.

It was best to leave him alone at times like this.

There was no need for me to resolve this by talking.

Jin-hyuk was that kind of person.

He needed plenty of time to think alone.

“Jin-hyuk, I need to start the broadcast now. I have something to say before the controversy grows any bigger.”

“…Alright.”

“If it’s too hard, go back to the dorm and rest. Let’s talk after I finish the broadcast.”

“Where will you be broadcasting?”

“In the Twipod booth, where the streamer module is installed in the capsule. I’ll do it there.”

It wasn’t a problem that could be resolved immediately with Jin-hyuk.

We needed to have a deep talk later after all the events were over.

Jin-hyuk nodded obediently and spoke to me cautiously.

“Hyung, wouldn’t it be better if I joined the broadcast and explained the situation?”

“I’ll handle it for now. Let’s talk later.”

Jin-hyuk pursed his lips for a moment, then sighed and nodded.

“Then I’ll go back and rest first.”

“Okay, see you later.”

After sending Jin-hyuk off, I immediately headed to the Twipod booth at the VR Star event.

As I entered the Twipod booth, I could feel several streamers staring at me.

The atmosphere had changed noticeably from earlier.

The gazes were quite piercing, but I ignored them and walked to the capsule.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the capsule.

A soft whirring sound indicated the capsule was starting up.

I sighed and activated Twipod’s streamer mode.

[Broadcast title: None]

[Do you want to start the broadcast?]

“Yes.”

[The broadcast is starting.]

[The donation feature will be disabled.]

Since it was going to be a short announcement, I intentionally disabled the donation feature.

After setting the broadcast background to , I opened the chat window on the right side of my view.

Soon, several angry viewers entered my broadcast, as if they had been waiting.

The chat window quickly filled with messages.

– Are you really Shia?

– There’s a rumor that our villain is Shia.

– Congratulations on trending at number 1.

– Wow! Our villain is world-class, right?

– Watching the comparison video, it’s definitely Shia. You must have felt so thrilled deceiving your viewers all this time.

The number of viewers increased explosively.

In less than a minute, it had already surpassed 30,000, and the momentum showed no signs of stopping.

I sighed, looking at the chaotic chat window.

Then, I set the chat to subscriber-only mode and slowly opened my mouth.

“Sorry for ending the broadcast early earlier. Something came up.”

Even after switching to subscriber-only chat, the situation in the chat window didn’t improve much.

The Evil Gang, displaying stronger aggression than ever, pushed me relentlessly.

– Explain yourself.

– Absolutely explain yourself.

– Make an excuse or explain quickly. I need to hear your answer before deciding whether to unsubscribe.

– You’re going to deny it, right?

– Seeing your personality, you’ll probably lie through your teeth, for real.

Most people seemed to have already concluded that I was Shia.

Some seemed to be waiting for me to deny the fact quickly.

But I quietly watched the chat window.

What should I say first?

…No, the more I say, the worse it will look and the more it will sound like an excuse.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly looked straight ahead and began to speak.

“There are a lot of things I want to say, but first, I’ll tell you what you want to hear.”

The reason why viewers had rushed to my broadcast.

It was simply to confirm the truth, and I gave them the answer they wanted to hear.

“I am Shia.”