Chapter 2

Kim Jinhyuk.

He was 21 this year.

He was taking time off from school.

My dongsaeng gave me the rundown of his profile.

He was a streamer with about 500 followers on Twipod.

While listening to my dongsaeng’s nonsense, I asked:

“When did you start broadcasting?”

He glanced at me quickly and said, “Since I started my sick leave, Hyung?”

“500 followers, that’s pretty good?”

“Yes. You know, Hyung is pretty handsome, right? There are many people who would watch a broadcast silently just to look at someone’s face.”

“I know the capsules have A/C, so how did the heat still get to you?”

“Haaaa, the returned soldier no longer understands  common speech.”

After saying that, this punk started explaining how he’d started broadcasting.

It was a pretty long story, so to cut it short, here’s how it went.

There was some fighting game released about six months ago that I’d never heard about, and my dongsaeng had won the first place prize there.

It was an open world fighting game, with all sorts of people dying everywhere.

Even when <Gaia Online> had dominated the world, there were plenty of maniacs who only played fighting games.

Anyway, my dongsaeng said that he’d won the competition on his first try, and since then he’d been streaming under the username ‘Naturally Gifted.’

Well, I got the picture.

I took a sip from my iced coffee and inclined my head slightly.

“It runs in the family.”

“Huh?”

“The fact that you’re good at gaming; it runs in the family.”

“Right. Hyung said he would crush people in <Gaia Online> a long time ago. You used to tell me when I was staying in the hospital.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.”

Three years ago, when Jinhyukie was 18, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

It was stage 4 stomach cancer. The stage right by death’s door.

However, cancer was no longer a threat to human life.

No, to be more precise, to the life of a ‘human with money’.

Although the recovery rate for those who received treatment was close to 100%, we had no money.

It’s impossible to describe how desperate I was back then.

My parents died when I was 13 years old, and we had no relatives.

To be honest, I had made the decision to commit suicide.

I had a hard time getting a job, so I only played games day and night.

Then, at that time.

I somehow started making money through <Gaia Online>.

All I had at that time was one game ID.

Well, if I were to speak plainly, I was pretty well known in game.

My playstyle surpassed some of the best pro gamers, and I was able to appear on the broadcasts of famous streamers a few times. So, that’s how my relationship with Kan, the top streamer at that time, began.

Having gained that kind of popularity, I earned money by accepting various requests.

Requests such as assassinating NPCs that I would receive from the guild leaders of famous guilds.

It would be appropriate to say that I was a Dark Gamer.

That’s how I made money, and somehow I earned enough to pay for my brother’s hospital bills.

If that damned <Gaia Online> only allowed current transactions, I wonder if I would have reached that point.

…….. Anyways, it was then.

In the midst of all of that, I suddenly had the opportunity to pay off all of my dongsaeng’s hospital fees and for him to have surgery, so I took it.

Even now, I don’t regret it.

Because of the choice I made at that time, my brother was still alive, and there was a place I could call ‘home’.

“Hyung.”

“Right, where were we?”

“Are you still out of it because you’re dehydrated? President Kim Chansik, you have returned to society.”

To me, not that long ago, he was still struggling to live in that hospital.

Yes, broadcast whatever.

It was only admirable that you did it while I was gone on military duty.

I smiled while watching Jinhyukie.

“Then, can I sell this capsule?”

“……… No?”

“Hyung isn’t playing anymore. I don’t care if you’re broadcasting, but I need to get a job.”

500 viewers wasn’t a small amount, I knew that. I wasn’t a total stranger to internet broadcasting; at one point, I was close with streamers who were under large companies.

Back then, I would stream frequently, so I didn’t have any objections to my dongsaeng broadcasting.

Jinhyukie listened to me and frowned slightly. Afterwards, he looked at me and said:

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“Hyung has to play too.”

“You keep insisting on this when I already said no, you’re driving me nuts.”

“I mean, I had a bunch of requests. I told my viewers that Hyung was discharged, and I got a mission in advance for you to do a broadcast.”

Are you really insane?

I stared at Jinhyuk, gritting my teeth at what he’d suddenly said.

“I. Will. Never. Do. It.”

“What – Hyung, really, listen to what I’m saying.”

“If it’s something along the lines of playing, I will never………”

But I was abruptly cut short as Jinhyukie shoved a thin smartphone in front of my eyes.

“You want to brag about having the latest smartphone? I really envy you.”

“Look at what’s on the screen.”

I was reluctant to read the contents but I slowly looked at it.

<Mission List>

There were various missions and amounts.

Obviously, the reward for each mission would be the written amount, right?

I sighed as I looked at the endless list of missions.

“Are we broke? If it’s money…..”

Then Jinhyukie nodded confidently.

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“After paying off the loan, there wasn’t anything left over. I think it’s been about a year since you last gave me money.”

………. Was 10 billion that little money?

My  brother continued to speak while looking at me, who was left speechless.

“So, it’s like I said before.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How could I say something to a soldier? I saw how hard you worked to try to save me.”

I couldn’t say anything.

<Gaia Online>, my only source of income, was forced to shut down.

There were many reasons for this, but it meant I could no longer make money from it.

The only thing I knew was gaming.

My current status was unemployed.

This lump without a decent source of income was right.

“Hyung, you can’t even be recognised anymore. Just stream with me once, huh? I mean, it’s just an easy game. Hyung, I’m supposed to play a game after this.”

Coward.

That’s how you’re going to end this conversation?

While I was briefly considering it, Jinhyukie said the one thing he shouldn’t have.

“Wow, Hyung, are you scared you don’t know how to play anymore?

……….. Hooooo.

You’re saying something one man should never say to another.

I couldn’t stand it.

“You’re going to die.”

He was really fucking going to die.

500 thousand won – roughly $430 USD

Ten billion won – roughly 8.5 million USD

Dark gamer…. okay edgelord