SWNOVELS Chapter 18: Turning Point (2)
Chapter 18: Turning Point (2)
Ju-Hyeok dropped off Sang-Hyeon at home after they left Acorn Jelly’s studio.
“Thanks, get home safe.”
Thud—?
Sang-Hyeon closed the passenger door and walked up the stairs to his house when Ju-Hyeok shouted from the car.
“Hey, don’t feel rushed. You have talent, so everything will work out.”
Ju-Hyeok must’ve noticed Sang-Hyeon’s dilemma of whether to focus on YouTube or Treevy.
Sang-Hyeon blankly stared at him. Many people had helped and he made sure to remember their faces.
His grandmother raised him alone, his coach got him a job, Acorn Jelly offered to stream together, and Na-Yeon generously explained everything.
The rich elite stared at him and gave him a thumbs up.
Sang-Hyeon made sure to never forget.
“Alright, thanks.”
Vroom…?
Sang-Hyeon walked up the stairs after watching the car’s red tail light disappear.
He could see with every breath that the days would grow colder. His grandmother usually warned him to be careful of the slippery roads around this time of the year.
Sang-Hyeon no longer worried about that. Those worries had disappeared and left behind a gaping hole.
“Hey Grandma, I earned 2.7 million won today. Ju-Hyeok said he won’t take any.”
Sang-Hyeon whispered to himself while looking at the stairs he'd been climbing since childhood.
“Money is money, but this is actually kind of fun. I’m going to keep doing it for now.”
His foggy breath that rose from the monologue represented his determination.
“Even my right arm was completely fine in the game! It was really cool. You would’ve been shocked too if you saw…”
He made a firm fist with his right hand, but it still violently shook.
The accident continued to haunt him. Not only Sang-Hyeon, but his grandma as well. He recalled the creases on her face when she saw his arm. His right arm haunted them more than a nightmare. It caused his grandmother the most pain.
However, he needed this arm and kept this daily trauma by his side. It followed him like a constant shadow and he had a habit of hiding his right hand deep inside his pocket.
“But a lot of people have helped me, Grandma.”
He looked up. Stars filled the dark sky, or so he thought. The old street lamps blocked them out for the time being.
“It feels like you’re helping me through these people. I don’t know how to repay them.”
The stars began to appear in Seoul’s foggy sky. The ones that briefly shone now faded and ran down Sang-Hyeon's chin.
“I’m going to start working really hard now. A little too late, right?”
His grandma used to say that the stars would respond if you looked up.
[So you’re not going to do anything because it’s too late? You should work harder if you know that.]
His grandmother often told him this whenever he lamented that it was too late to start something new.
“Yes, yes. I’m going to do it. It’s just… it sucks you’re not here to see it.”
***
The next day arrived.
Sang-Hyeon didn’t stream in the mornings. He got up like usual and showered.
Sshhh—?
He organized his thoughts from yesterday.
‘Editor… YouTube…’
He normally remembered important things that happened each day by memorizing keywords.
‘YouTube makes more money, but the editor has to be good. Streamers earn using two methods…’
Squeak—?
Sang-Hyeon wiped his mirror and blankly stared at his reflection.
"I think I’m best suited for being like a celebrity."
Even hearing the word felt foreign. The idea of being a celebrity seemed like wearing a suit that didn’t fit him.
However, Na-Yeon and Acorn Jelly suggested it’d be good for him. Ju-Hyeok also told him on the car ride.
[I think they’re right as well. I don’t think you can stream like Acorn Jelly. More like Horn Ramen. A Horn Ramen who’s insanely good at games.]
Sang-Hyeon's instincts told him the same. He wouldn’t be exactly like Horn Ramen, who excelled at talking and not very much at gaming. Sang-Hyeon would be the complete opposite. He excelled at games, but not talking.
They had to consider the business model for being an internet celebrity that slightly differed from Horn Ramen.
‘Ads or sponsors…’
Ju-Hyeok thought Sang-Hyeon perfectly suited both. They even got ahead of themselves and envisioned him being a commercial model.
“He sure thinks on a larger scale.”
Sang-Hyeon smirked and began researching on his computer.
“Let’s find an editor first.”
Setting their delusions aside, they needed to figure out their YouTube model first. Only the most popular streamers made enough from live streams. They had to make a YouTube channel.
He planned to use his free time to research YouTube and find an editor. Ju-Hyeok would probably research too, but Sang-Hyeon couldn’t just sit around while his unpaid manager did all the work.
Click—?
He looked through the trending videos in the game category and paid special attention to montage videos like his that showcased player skills.
“Hmm.”
One stood out among the rest.
[Kingdom Age, the Classy Archer! Montage]
A montage of an archer in Kingdom Age?already reached over 110,000 views. Sang-Hyeon found the perfect video.
“Damn, how did I find the perfect one right away? I’m so lucky.”
He only realized the truth after those words.
“Wait! This is me?!”
The character in the video turned out to be him. Then he checked the channel’s name.
[AlmondFanSeoJiAh]
“Seo Ji-Ah?”
The name sounded familiar. Maybe because a lot of people had that name? No, Sang-Hyeon didn’t remember names for such reasons.
‘1 million won…’
The viewer who donated 1 million won.
Gulp.
Sang-Hyeon clicked on the video.
Dun…! Du dun!
The background music sounded different from the usual montages. Most used EDM in the background with screens shaking all over the place. That seemed like child’s play compared to this.
‘It’s like a movie.’
The background music felt breathtaking and fit Kingdom Age’s narrative.?The video's cold winter tone also suited a medieval soldier’s life. The cinematography came straight out of a movie and didn’t look like a video game.
Thwack!
The camera switched to thrilling angles every time an arrow pierced an enemy's head. This made every shot feel more exhilarating.
Archery superplays could easily become boring because the same action kept repeating, but the video kept cutting to different scenes.
It featured Sang-Hyeon’s plays with other clips like Burka talking, which Sang-Hyeon couldn’t hear. Charismatic shots of the horse-riding bandit boss, Casillas, also appeared.
Those bosses instantly fell from Sang-Hyeon’s arrows.
“Wow.”
Even Sang-Hyeon felt impressed with Almond’s plays while watching. The comments thought the same.
— Woah…
— Wow, what is this game? Looks fun.
— Kingdom Age? I heard it’s really hard.
— The cinematography is crazy.
— The game quality is insane.
— It looks like an HBO drama.
└ Same! I thought so too lol.
└ It’s basically a movie damn.
└ LOL
— The game even won GOTY, but I guess it’s still not that popular.
└ Kind of expected from a failed game like Kingdom Age.
└ Yeah… it didn’t do so well. It’s pretty fun though. contemporary romance
— I wanna try playing it too.
Most wanted to play the game after watching the video.
— Wait, but he’s actually good. Wtf?
— The fact is, no one except him can pull this off. Think twice before buying the game.
└ Kingdom fanboys are shocked too LOL.
└ You don’t need to warn them. They will turn off the game once Roman sees them.
The usual Kingdom Age?players also had to regain their composure.
— Wow. The actual play is crazy, but the video makes it even crazier.
— How many times are you going to say crazy?
— Holy shit. That’s all I can say.
No one could deny the video’s production level.
‘I need to contact them right away.’
Sang-Hyeon reached for his phone to contact Ju-Hyeok.
Bzzt—?
[Ju-Hyeok: Yo, I found someone amazing. (LINK)]
Ju-Hyeok had already seen the video.
[Ju-Hyeok: I’ll leave a comment to contact them.]
[Sang-Hyeon: But what are we going to do about the pay? We still don’t have any earnings…]
[Ju-Hyeok: We’ll talk it out. No one is rich from the start.]
[Sang-Hyeon: You. You’re rich from the start.]
[Ju-Hyeok: My grandpa was poor too when he was young ^^]
[Sang-Hyeon: The earnings from YouTube are usually 50/50 with the editor, right?]
[Ju-Hyeok: That’s if they do all the work. Seems like this person is capable of that.]
[Ju-Hyeok: Anyways, I’ll take care of this. You focus on playing the game. Play Kingdom Age a lot while it’s popular.]
‘Oops.’
Ju-Hyeok’s words woke him up.
‘Right, this is Ju-Hyeok’s job.’
Sang-Hyeon should concentrate on the game and streaming. He needed to pull his weight like his incredible manager.
‘Let me practice some gameplay.’
He decided to practice moving in virtual reality for Kingdom Age.?Sang-Hyeon didn’t particularly stand out in anything other than archery, so he needed to practice more.
A default training program came with the capsule. He raised it to maximum difficulty and began.
***
It took him around three hours to complete the training.
“Phew…”
He glanced at the clock when he came out of the capsule all sweaty.
‘I’m hungry.’
It was already dinner time, but he also had to stream.
‘Let’s just eat a light meal.’
Crunch, crunch—?
He stuffed a handful of almonds into his mouth and chewed. He loved the nutty aroma and crunchy texture. It only became more flavorful as he chewed.
Gulp.?
Sang-Hyeon finished his meal with a glass of milk.
“Phew.”
He patted his slightly full belly while drying his hair with a towel and went back into the capsule.
‘I’m suddenly getting nervous.’
He had grown used to streaming, but felt more nervous than usual today. Streaming together with Acorn Jelly, proving the perfect shot, trending on YouTube… All of these achievements would now show up as a number.
[Stream starting in 5 seconds]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
“!”
done.co