Chapter 91: Professor, the Progress is Too Fast (3)

“Hyung, where are we going today?”

I was currently in Hee-chul hyung’s luxury sports car.

Though I had ridden in Dong-su hyung’s fancy car a few times, this was my first time in a car like this.

As I looked at the quickly passing scenery, I couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of admiration.

The sense of speed and stability.

I never imagined these two could coexist, but Hee-chul hyung’s car showcased them perfectly.

Would I be able to indulge in such luxury if I made a lot of money too?

“How long do you think you’ll be free today?”

Hee-chul hyung asked me while driving.

“The mission I was supposed to do today got pushed to the weekend, so I plan to just stream for a short time.”

“About two hours. I’d like you to come with me somewhere.”

“If that’s the case, you don’t have to pay me.”

“Oh, come on, it’s your free time too. Besides, it’s kind of an official matter.”

An official matter?

Hee-chul hyung was a celebrity that everyone in Korea knew.

If it was an official matter for someone like him…

Hmm.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

I couldn’t easily imagine it.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Ah, here.”

We arrived at a café in Seorae Village, Seoul.

As soon as I got out of the car, Hee-chul hyung, wearing sunglasses, put his hand on my shoulder and said,

“Just stay by my side today. Someone who is very interested in you will show up soon. Just handle it appropriately.”

An unpredictable task.

However, soon Hee-chul hyung and I entered the café, and inside we met a woman who had been waiting for us.

“What brings you here? You’re early.”

“I can arrive early sometimes.”

“Yeah, how have you been?”

“Just the same as always.”

Both of them were wearing sunglasses even indoors.

However, they looked at each other and slightly furrowed their brows.

“Why are you wearing sunglasses? You don’t usually wear them.”

“Just showing off my celebrity status a bit.”

At that moment, she took off her sunglasses, and I blinked at the somewhat strange scene.

She looked familiar.

“Ah!”

“Wow, you really brought Shia?”

“Of course. You said you wanted to meet her.”

“That’s true. Ah, excuse my manners. Hello? I’m Kim Sae-yeon.”

Kim Sae-yeon.

If I recall correctly, she was Hee-chul hyung’s junior in his agency, and about seven years ago, she debuted as the leader of a girl group that practically dominated Korea.

I had heard that she enjoyed playing games…

Ah, right.

She was also known as an avid player when was launched.

Even though I had no personal connection with her, she was so famous that I remembered her.

Recently, she had been singing solo drama OSTs that became hits in succession, and she even charted all the tracks in her solo album, making her a top-tier celebrity.

To the extent that I listened to more than three of her songs every day while I was in the military.

Meeting such a person in real life felt surreal.

Seeing her in person, she was even more beautiful than on screen.

A celebrity is a celebrity for a reason.

Moreover.

“I’ve known you since . I was very interested back then. Hehe, I never imagined I’d meet you like this.”

“Ah… yes.”

“I really enjoy your streams!”

Seeing such a celebrity fussing over me felt even more surreal.

I awkwardly smiled and glanced at Hee-chul hyung.

I couldn’t easily guess why he had brought me here.

Why bring me to a meeting between the two of them?

“Chan-sik is a really close dongsaeng of mine. He’s going to be a regular on the program I’m appearing on.”

“You’re talking about the show with PD Kim, right?”

“Yeah, we haven’t had the meeting yet, but it’s almost confirmed. Right, Chan-sik?”

“Ah, yes.”

I had heard that Sung-jae was already in active discussions with the broadcasting station.

Besides, I had no reason to refuse.

A meeting with the broadcasting station was already scheduled, so it was almost confirmed.

But why bring it up now?

“Sae-yeon, I think you’d be great for the show too. You love games, don’t you?”

Ah, so that’s why.

I understood with just one sentence.

He brought me here to secure Sae-yeon’s appearance on the show.

I fetched the prepared drinks and subtly asked Hee-chul hyung.

“Hyung, isn’t it the PD’s job to cast the participants?”

Hee-chul hyung looked at me as if wondering what I was talking about and answered,

“This program is a bit unique. I’m personally gathering the members.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the concept of the program.”

Honestly, I hadn’t been fully informed about the program yet.

But Hee-chul hyung quickly looked at Sae-yeon and said,

“You know how variety shows using virtual reality are all the rage? This is a chance for us to legally have fun.”

“Geez, how can you be so consistent?”

“It’ll be a pretty daring show. I guarantee it. You’ll probably play games with Chan-sik often.”

A virtual reality variety show.

I would need to hear more details, but I had heard that it was a plot being slightly used on national broadcasts recently.

Of course, as Sae-yeon said, it seemed like Hee-chul hyung was working hard to have fun while broadcasting.

Sae-yeon nodded while drinking her coffee and then looked at me and said,

“Shia, if you do me one favor, I’ll consider it positively.”

“Me? What kind of favor?”

“It’s not a difficult one.”

What kind of favor could it be?

I looked at Sae-yeon with wide eyes, and she continued with a gentle smile.

“So, here’s the thing…”

Her request, which lasted about three minutes, made me nod my head without realizing it.

It wasn’t a difficult favor.

“Of course, I can do that.”

### 6.

Kim Sae-yeon’s participation in the program was successfully secured, and I received a decent allowance and a miraculous outcome from Hee-chul hyung.

A joint broadcast with Kim Sae-yeon, a top-tier celebrity in Korea.

It was an achievement that could be said to be the first for a Twipod streamer.

That evening, an article about Kim Sae-yeon’s participation in the program was published, and it heated up the internet communities.

Why?

Because Kim Sae-yeon mentioned my name in an interview.

[Reporter: So, Ms. Sae-yeon, I heard you’ve decided to appear on the new program produced by the VRN channel. I heard you were hesitant at first, but what made you suddenly confirm your participation?]

[Kim Sae-yeon: I heard that streamer Shia will be appearing! I’ve always liked his streams. Oh, do you know ? Shia was so famous among the top players back then…]

Sae-yeon, who was known for being a talkative person, gave a detailed interview.

A celebrity directly mentioning a streamer’s nickname, and announcing her upcoming guest appearance.

It was only natural that my Twipod community and other internet communities were buzzing.

The title was just clickbait.ㅋㅋ Why did our Shia suddenly become a world star? Was he really that famous that even Kim Sae-yeon would mention him? Honestly, I don’t understand. Even though I’m a genuine member of the Evil Gang, isn’t this…

It seemed like it went too far, lol. Do you guys really think Shia is at the level to be mentioned alongside Kim Sae-yeon? I think ChickenBox must have called in some serious favors, haha.

A post that claims to be from a fan but is clearly written by an anti-fan.

It looked like I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as the post was flooded with red thumbs-down icons and numerous hateful comments.

-This guy’s special trait) lol He’s a lazy bum at home but is jealous because our Ak is doing so well, lol.

└ Exactly.

└ Isn’t this the basic passive skill of a troll, lol.

└ Wow, but Kim Sae-yeon must really have a kind heart. She’s going to be a guest on our Ak’s super tough broadcast.

└ When is the guest broadcast?

└ Yes, next Wednesday evening.

-Let’s finally acknowledge our Ak as a world-class streamer, lol. But how long has it been since he debuted as a streamer to make it to cable TV?

└ Some guys just have all the luck.

└ It’s just a bubble, lol. Soon it’ll burst, and he’ll be a nobody again, lol. I pray every night that his stream fails.

└ lolololololol Snake heart lolololol

It was the kind of chaos that truly befits the Evil Gang.

Thanks to Sae-yeon mentioning me in her interview, my recognition level skyrocketed, and discussions about the program I was scheduled to appear on became very active.

As a result, I found myself constantly moving from place to place while simultaneously continuing my streams.

From Twipod and MiTube ad inquiries to appearances on cable TV.

Balancing all these activities kept me so busy that Saturday, the day of my scheduled mission with Na-young, arrived before I knew it.

Next Wednesday was the joint broadcast with Sae-yeon.

Then, two days later, on Friday, the first round of the platform competition.

The following week, the first shoot for the VRN-produced program and the first ad shoot for .

It was a truly suffocating schedule.

Considering I also had to continue my daily streams, I could definitely feel the limits of my stamina.

If I hadn’t been consistently exercising since my discharge from the military, I probably would have been exhausted by now.

As soon as I woke up in the morning, I stretched while sipping on a packet of red ginseng extract.

Jin-hyuk, who had been quietly watching me, threw out a comment.

“Hyung, you should get a health check-up soon.”

“Hmm, should I? Right. Jin-hyuk, you went to the hospital this week, didn’t you?”

“Of course. Nothing major. In fact, they said my health is really good.”

“Come work out with me. Your stream hours have been pretty long lately too.”

“I’ll do it next time. You know I don’t really like physical activities.”

Even with advancements in medical technology reducing the risk of cancer, Jin-hyuk’s life had once been in danger due to cancer.

Proper health management was essential.

I really should get a health check-up soon.

There’s no problem now, but it’s always good to be prepared in advance.

“Hyung.”

“Yes?”

As I spread strawberry jam on a piece of bread and took a bite, Jin-hyuk called out to me.

“Next week, you’re doing a joint broadcast with Kim Sae-yeon at the ChickenBox studio, right?”

“And?”

“Can I come to the studio too? I’ve always been a fan of Kim Sae-yeon!”

There’s no issue with that.

Jin-hyuk is also a streamer under ChickenBox now, and Sae-yeon knew about Jin-hyuk and me.

But even if she’s okay with it, it’s a different matter.

I shook my head firmly.

“No way. Don’t even dream about it.”

“Why!”

“Maybe if you clean for a month… anyway, it’s not happening.”

“What? How is that…”

It’s my choice.

I glanced at the clock and saw it was already noon.

To prepare for the joint broadcast with Na-young scheduled for 1 PM, I needed to shower and get into the capsule quickly.

A broadcast with many missions at stake.

If I successfully completed today’s missions, I could earn enough rewards for a Hanwoo beef dinner tomorrow.

After a quick shower, I got into the capsule.

I launched and finished the setup.

By the time I was ready, it was 12:45.

I checked the broadcast list on Twipod and saw that Na-young had already started her stream.

Right, Na-young mentioned she’d start the game early to get a feel for it?

I had briefed her on the strategy beforehand, but she seemed quite nervous.

“Activate Twipod broadcast mode.”

[Program ‘Twipod Streaming’ is launching.]

[The broadcast will start in 5 seconds. 5… 4…

[The broadcast is starting.]

[Broadcast title: Day to Extort Money from the Bosses ^^7]

With the provocative title, viewers started joining quickly.

I greeted the viewers lightly and then joined Na-young’s story.

[Participating in ‘Dog Na-young’s story.]

The familiar message passed, and soon Na-young appeared.

“Na-young, how have you been?”

I greeted her casually, but her response was a bit different from usual.

“Yes.”

There was a somewhat cold feeling.

Na-young looked at me for a moment and then said softly,

“Chan-sik, you’re doing a joint broadcast with Kim Sae-yeon next week, right?”

“That’s how it turned out…”

“Lucky you.”

“…What?”

Wait a second.

“Kim Sae-yeon sings well, is beautiful, and very popular… I’m really jealous.”

Na-young?