Episode 8.
For a moment, Si-woo couldn’t understand what Do-cheol was saying.
It is none other than SH Group.
And the word annexation.
Why did that pop out?
SH Group was a mega-corporation in South Korea.
Ranked first in the Korean business world based on total capital.
It was a truly giant company that boasted an overwhelming number one ranking in all areas of corporate evaluation, including market capitalization.
Economy, society, politics, and culture of South Korea.
The SH Group exerts enormous influence in almost every field.
Did you get a merger offer from SH Group?
So, you got an offer to do a joint broadcast with Kang Do-cheol’s channel and the Mu-gong-gak channel?
“Why on earth at SH Group?”
This is something I just can’t understand.
-Because of the new industry.
“A new industry?”
The industries that SH Group is involved in are endless.
Heavy industry, construction, trade, transportation, finance, etc.
Living up to its reputation as the number one company in Korea, it has expanded its reach into almost every industry.
-Hunter Industries.
And it was extending its reach to the hunter industry as well.
An industry that deals with magic stones and monster byproducts.
If we were to define the hunter industry simply, we could say this, but in reality, it was not something to be thought of so simply.
A mysterious power called magic.
A new substance that has never existed on Earth, called Monster Byproduct.
The civilization of Earth has undergone a catastrophic change.
It is possible to make objects fly into the sky with a force that cannot be explained by science.
You can build buildings using monster byproducts that are harder than diamond.
Construction, trade, transportation, etc.
It has brought about innovation in every field created by mankind.
The 5th industry that changed the Earth’s paradigm.
Whoever controls the hunter industry controls the global economy.
Although it may be an exaggeration, the hunter industry has had such a huge impact on all industries that it is worthy of such a saying.
Of course, SH Group could not just sit back and do nothing.
A huge amount of money was invested into the hunter industry.
But the results were not very good.
There were several reasons, but the biggest reason was the failure to recruit skilled hunters.
The lower-ranking hunters could do anything with money.
However, it was impossible to recruit S-class hunters.
It was largely due to YouTube.
Because skilled hunters have no reason to go under someone else.
Even if you move freely and do whatever you want, you are guaranteed enormous wealth and great fame.
In the end, SH Group was unable to retain skilled hunters.
And that meant I couldn’t clear higher level dungeons.
The hunters who couldn’t be held were no different from one of their competitors.
The hunter industry ultimately comes down to skill.
It was not capital, but real power that cut off the heads of monsters.
SH Group has not been able to stand out in the hunter industry.
Rather than rising to prominence, it repeatedly declines.
Now, they are even considering withdrawing from the hunter industry.
-You may be aware that SH Group has recently entered the hunter industry again.
But recently, SH Group has jumped into the hunter industry again.
-As part of that, you are merging with my channel.
After saying those words, Do-cheol did not open his mouth any further.
Siwoo didn’t show any particular reaction.
That’s understandable, because it was an obvious lie.
Because it was obvious that he was hiding something.
Siwoo also knew that SH Group had entered the hunter industry again.
They were also making more aggressive investments than before.
That’s why it wasn’t all that strange that SH Group made a merger offer to the Hunter-related channels.
But that didn’t mean it was Do-cheol’s channel.
Do-cheol’s channel, the Mugong Channel, has only 210,000 subscribers.
Of course, 210,000 subscribers is not a small number.
But the number wasn’t that large.
To begin with, the total number of employees under the SH Group is almost 300,000.
It’s a number that can be surpassed even if only employees subscribe.
What’s so regrettable about SH Group making the merger proposal first?
And yet, the merger proposal came.
“You want me to film that merger?”
-I’ll give you 500.
Siwoo hesitated for a moment.
They give you 5 million won for one shoot?
“What are you hiding?”
-There’s nothing to hide.
Me, right.
Even if you do something stupid, it’s still stupid when you do it in moderation.
Siwoo laughed inwardly.
I could be sure because I knew Kang Do-cheol better than anyone else.
Kang Do-cheol wasn’t the type of person to throw 500 for no reason.
There is something to hide, to the point where you can say it is a must.
-Isn’t this a situation where you need money?
But 5 million won was really a lot of money.
Not only the cost of Seo-ah’s medicine, but also her living expenses.
Siwoo could also go to the hospital and receive treatment right away.
To some it may be nothing but pennies, but to Siwoo 500 was a huge sum of money.
-Should I do it or not?
Siwoo couldn’t answer Docheol’s question hastily.
The worries continue and continue.
“I told you then.”
But the worry didn’t last as long as I thought.
“I will never work with a piece of trash like you again.”
Stop.
Siwoo just hung up the call.
* * *
I hung up the phone and immediately blocked the number.
500 was honestly a lot of money.
It was a considerable amount of money, especially for one shoot.
“I will not.”
But Si-woo had no intention of working with Kang-do-cheol.
Kang Do-cheol is a murderer who tried to kill a person.
A crazy psychopath who doesn’t hesitate to throw people as bait.
There must have been some strange plot behind it.
Maybe he would commit murder disguised as a dungeon accident.
“I’d rather starve to death than work with that bastard again.”
Siwoo shook off his thoughts like that.
“But I need to find a job again….”
Siwoo checked his remaining account balance by manipulating his smartphone.
[Account Balance] – 34,720￦
34 thousand won.
They say there is no debt to repay, but in reality there is only no debt.
I didn’t have money to live on today, let alone tomorrow.
And 500 would be a lot of room to spare.
Without even realizing it, a little regret came over Siwoo.
“Hey, no.”
But even so, that wasn’t it.
Siwoo tried to swallow his regret and entered the job posting website.
And then, while I was looking at job postings related to video editing.
“No?”
A thought flashed through my head.
“Do I really need to find a job?”
It didn’t mean that I was just going to play and eat.
I was wondering if I really needed to get a job as an editor.
“I can just raid the dungeon myself.”
Why can’t Siwoo do it himself?
I don’t know about running my own YouTube channel.
But can’t you just go into the dungeon and hunt the monsters?
YouTube video revenue was enormous.
That doesn’t mean that there was little profit to be made from monster corpse byproducts.
Even if you clear just one E-rank dungeon, you’ll earn at least several hundred thousand won.
On the rare day when a magic stone appears, you can earn tens of millions of won.
That’s why even an E-rank dungeon wasn’t something that could be easily seen.
If it were easy, everyone would have cleared the dungeon.
Basically, it was something that required awakening and risking one’s life.
And Siwoo is an awakened person who doesn’t even have an F rank and has no individuality.
During that time, this was not the case for Siwoo at all.
【GodTube】
But not now, right?
The channels that Siwoo is currently subscribed to are Zhuge Liang and Hercules.
It was a personality of S+ and SS ranks.
This was a level of individuality that even world-class S-class hunters did not possess.
“I do need to level up my proficiency though….”
If you can raise this skill.
If only it could be so, Siwoo too… .
Right then.
“Bachelor Siwoo.”
Siwoo suddenly woke up from his thoughts at the sound of someone calling him.
The place I turned my head to look at.
The landlady of the monthly rental house was approaching Si-woo.
“Are you going to work?”
“Ah, that… yes.”
Siwoo nodded, trying to make up his mind.
“What about you, ma’am? Are you going to the market?”
“Oh, that’s what I mean… .”
The woman hesitated at Siwoo’s question.
For a moment, it felt strange that he was avoiding Siwoo’s gaze.
“Actually, I was planning on going to see Mr. Siwoo.”
“Me?”
“Well… I tried not to say things like this… but it’s because of the overdue rent.”
“ah.”
A three-room apartment for 50 a month.
In fact, there was almost 3 months’ worth of backlog.
Even the deposit is completely gone.
If it were any other place, he would have been kicked out immediately, but the landlady, who knew Siwoo’s circumstances, was very considerate.
Even when the rent was overdue, they often turned a blind eye to it.
Electricity, gas, and water bills.
There were many cases where I gave in without knowing it.
“My daughter is now in her third year of high school. She spends a lot of money here and there….”
I understand completely.
No, I couldn’t understand it, I was just grateful for it.
Siwoo was lost in thought for a moment.
There was no way to get the money right away, though….
“I will definitely give you what you owe within a month.”
Still, it seemed like it would be somewhat possible in about a month.
The individuality gained from none other than GodTube.
That’s what I was imagining just a moment ago.
Increase your character’s proficiency to clear dungeons.
It seemed like a month would be enough time to prepare.
Because Siwoo had a near-perfect strategy in his head.
If I win Hercules’ personal PT event, I might be able to shorten the period, but it was impossible to know if I would win.
“I’m sorry. I know how difficult things must be.”
“Is there anything you would be sorry about, ma’am? I am more sorry. No, I am grateful.”
“If you still feel like you can’t get it, don’t suffer alone and tell me. People are more important than money.”
It’s a word that’s really hard to hear these days.
That’s why it’s really hard to say those words.
Siwoo bowed his head with deep gratitude.
“No, I will definitely get it to you within a month. Thank you for your consideration.”
After I parted ways with the landlady like that.
“Whew! There’s no time for this.”
Siwoo went back into the house.
* * *
The house was quiet.
The breakfast Siwoo was eating was covered with something to prevent dust from accumulating.
The call was short, but maybe it was because I spoke with the landlady.
It seemed that Seo-ah had covered it up because it took longer than expected to come back.
Seo-ah was nowhere to be seen, perhaps resting in her room.
“Should I take some medicine and rest?”
Siwoo opened the refrigerator door and took out Seoah’s bottle of medicine.
And then I checked how many pills were left in the bottle.
I wondered if it had to be this way, but I had no choice.
Because Seo-ah skipped taking her medicine more than once to save money.
Well, is it a big deal if I skipped a few times?
You might ask, but that was the illness that Seo-ah was suffering from.
Blood disease.
It was literally a disease that killed the blood.
If you skip taking your medication for even one day, the blood begins to die in your blood vessels.
This medicine only slows the worsening of the condition.
It was fundamentally incurable.
To begin with, blood clots were an incurable disease.
Siwoo opened the bottle and checked the number of pills inside.
“doesn’t exist…?”
But it wasn’t there.
There was not a single pill left in the bottle.
Was today’s the last one?
Siwoo looked back at the date calmly.
And I was able to confirm that the last medication was a whole week ago, not today.
Seo-ah hasn’t been able to take her medicine for a week.
The very day that Siwoo first encountered GodTube.
From that day on, Seo-ah was unable to take her medicine.
I was so absorbed in that damn Godtube that I didn’t even think about it.
Somehow, Seo-ah’s face seemed paler than usual.
For some reason, Seo-ah seemed more lethargic than usual.
The door to the West is tightly closed.
Siwoo quickly walked up to Seoah’s room.
And just as I was about to turn the doorknob.
-Black…!
Seo-ah’s moans could be heard from inside the room.
Siwoo’s body suddenly froze.
Once again, into Siwoo’s ears.
As if something big would happen if I cried out loud.
I could hear Seo-ah sobbing quietly.
It must be enduring pain.
I’m afraid it might leak out of the room.
So that Siwoo might hear about it.
Seo-ah was enduring the pain.
The pain of the blood clot was truly indescribable.
The doctor said it felt like the pain was like someone was scraping all the capillaries all over my body with sandpaper.
If Siwoo hadn’t been there, I would have cried out loud.
But last week.
Siwoo just stayed at home.
While Siwoo was engrossed in Godtube and giggling to himself, Seoah was silently enduring it.
I wanted to argue. I wanted to talk.
Why didn’t you tell me you were out of medicine?
But Siwoo couldn’t do that.
The cost of medicine is outrageous.
And there is no such thing.
Seo-ah is not stupid.
He knew the harshness of reality as well as Siwoo.
In that reality, I knew how much of a burden my existence was.
Even if Siwoo never said that, Seo-ah herself thought so.
The thought that if only he had confidence, Siwoo wouldn’t have to live in this reality.
The idea that his own existence was a stumbling block to Siwoo.
The thought that I would rather not have confidence.
The feelings of someone who receives unconditional help.
Family could never be the reason.
There is nothing more miserable than holding back your beloved family.
Siwoo is like that.
I stood still in front of Seo-ah’s room.
A month.
You have up to a month to prepare.
There was no such leeway in the first place.
That was something only those who had the means could do.
It is a luxury and an indulgence that only those who have it can enjoy.
Siwoo’s reality is that it’s hard to survive even today.
Human lives, time, and preparation for the future.
Without money, you can’t do anything.
A month is the time that Siwoo needs.
You need money to buy that time.
“……”
Siwoo checked the contact information on his smartphone.
* * *
A cafe nearby.
“He hung up on me as if he was never going to see me again.”
A familiar voice was heard from Siwoo’s forward vision.
The owner of the no-attack channel, Kang Do-cheol.
Until recently, he was Siwoo’s boss and absolute leader, but not anymore.
Siwoo answered with an indifferent look.
“If you don’t like it that much, then don’t come out. Why did you come out?”
Do-cheol sat down with a laugh.
“If you called me like this, does that mean you have the intention to do it?”
“okay.”
Siwoo nodded.
Now it feels weird to pretend it never happened.
“But there is a condition.”
In response to Si-woo’s words, Do-cheol gestured as if to tell him to speak.
“Five thousand.”
“…..?”
Do-cheol’s head tilted slightly to the left.
His eyes briefly blanked out, as if he thought he had misheard.
Si-woo opened his mouth again as if to confirm the kill to Do-cheol.
“The condition is that I will give you 5,000, not 500.”
Subscribed to the Transcendent’s channel
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fantasy,
