“Today, we must say goodbye here. Once again… thank you, a very sincere thanks!”
The joint broadcast that my dongsaeng and I kicked off with a bang seemed to have caught quite the buzz.
Five hours into the broadcast.
The number of viewers reached my dongsaeng’s all-time high.
A whopping 2,000 people.
Usually, only about 500 people watched the broadcast, but this time, a significant number more tuned in.
According to my dongsaeng, it was thanks to the video of me annihilating users with a crowbar that was shared everywhere.
How trivial he must have thought I was, explaining everything in detail as if I knew nothing about broadcasting.
If we’re talking about seniority, I’m your senior, you little shit.
Anyway, on top of that, a lot of donations followed, including missions.
[“MarryMeOurHamSha” donated 10,000 won!]
[HamSha-oppa! You’re so cute! Bald heads are totally my style! Please marry me! (waggling)]
Most of the donations were uniquely crazy like that.
For those unfamiliar with streaming, the word “HamSha” was a combination of my nickname “Sha” and hamster.[1]
Whether it was “SolidRock” or “Hamjij.”[2]
They were definitely not the nicknames that anyone with their head screwed on right would easily give.
Anyway, a donation that came right before the broadcast ended.
Jinhyuk kept bowing his head after seeing the donation, and soon after, he glared at me and said,
“Hyung, at least react to it. Like you said, they donated as much as 10,000 won.”
“Jinhyuk.”
“Huh?”
“You still have a long way to go.”
Back in my day, there was an easy way to handle viewers like these.
Fluttering your tail like Jinhyuk was one method, but handling these malicious types was my specialty.
How could I know so well?
Quite simple.
Among the streamers I was close with, there was one who wasn’t quite at this level but had a fandom called “Psych Ward.”
I took a deep breath and then, grinding my teeth, said coolly,
“Thanks for the 10,000 won donation. If you call me that crap again, I’ll rip that flapping thing off, you son of a bitch.”
It was a sudden outpouring of profanity.
Jinhyuk was flustered by my unexpected action, but as I expected, the reaction was explosive.
– Industry award ㅗㅜㅑ
– Look how it sticks to the mouth.
-Hyung, rip mine too!
– Today’s brother collaboration is legendary ㅋㅋ
The comments came as expected.
[“NationalCapsaicinAssociation” donated 10,000 won!]
[Finally… he has come, a worthy opponent.]
[“Korean Scholars Association” donated 10,000 won!]
[Hey! It was said to honor thy father and mother, those balls of yours also came from your parents. Kids these days, tsk tsk.]
Various villains went berserk, and the donations kept coming endlessly.
Jinhyuk looked at the chatroom, which was no different from a riot, with his mouth wide open.
Then he soon looked at me and said,
“Hyung.”
Why were you looking at me so seriously?
I frowned at the sparkle in my dongsaeng’s eyes.
“It’s because you keep pampering them that these bastards thought they could take advantage of you. Got it?”
“But they’re viewers of my broadcast!”
“Dongsaeng.”
I slowly put my hand on Jinhyuk’s shoulder and whispered in his ear after turning off the mic function.
“Get the concept right.”
“Huh?”
“You want to succeed and earn money through broadcasting, right? If you want to earn, you gotta do it right.”
“Hyung, did you use broadcasting to pay for my hospital bills back then?”
Jinhyuk, flustered by my smooth handling, asked cautiously.
I just patted his back hard and then smiled as I answered,
“Hyung was a villain too.”
“Villain? Ah.”
Finally, Jinhyuk seemed to understand, nodding his head.
He probably thought I used to mix in among those viewers in the chat.
Well, a villain was a villain.
The worst in gaming history, at that.
The insults from these villains soiling Jinhyuk’s chatroom were actually too cute for me.
I’ve heard worse, even death threats against my family.
Those couldn’t scratch me easily.
[“BromanceIsGood” donated 10,000 won!]
[If the brothers kiss on the lips intensely 3 times, I’ll donate 50,000 won]
…Except for these bastards.
Dirty sons of bitches.
***
The total donation amount was 1.92 million won.[3]
My discharge day joint broadcast with Jinhyuk, excluding his birthday, ended with the best performance.
As soon as the broadcast ended and I came out of the capsule, Jinhyuk was waiting for me, holding a cup of ice water in his hand, not knowing when he came out.
“Hyung! You worked hard. Here’s a cool glass of water from your dongsaeng.”
“Ah, sure. As I said earlier, make sure the money is calculated correctly.”
“Why like that between blood-related brothers?”
“Because we’re blood-related, we need to be clearer about money matters, dongsaeng.”
I gulped down the water Jinhyuk handed me and took a deep breath.
It had been a while since I had used a capsule, and I was thirsty
Jinhyuk quickly took the empty cup to the sink and then brought his smartphone.
“Hyung, this is really amazing. Let’s keep going like this. At this rate, we’ll hit a conglomerate soon.”
“Conglomerate? Whose dog’s name is that?”
“Seriously, look at this. We’ve caught the rising trend perfectly!”
Seeing my dongsaeng cling to me and whine when I was already tired made my stress soar.
It seemed like the time had come to teach this innocently naïve lamb the immutable truths of the world.
I casually draped my arm over Jinhyuk’s shoulder and said,
“Hey, dongsaeng.”
“Yes, hyung?”
“You know, I’ve had people around me who claimed they could catch the waves, right? Do you know what happened to all of them?”
Things like Bitcoin, stocks, you know.
“What happened?”
“Every single one of them got fucked.”
“Ah…”
“So, let’s not talk about catching waves again. Before getting fucked, got it?”
The effect was remarkable.
My dongsaeng seemed to be in a daze for a moment after hearing my shocking words.
But maybe it’s the boon of youth, he soon looked at me with a determined expression again.
“Honestly, hyung enjoyed it too, right? Isn’t that enough? Do whatever you want, whether it’s getting a certification or working part-time. Just occasionally do broadcasts with me.”
“Do you even know how old I am this year?”
“You’re 26.”
“I didn’t go to college, don’t have any particular skills, and I even went to the military pretty late.”
This was a realistic issue.
We didn’t have parents like some people, nor did we have any strong backers.
Somehow, we were lucky enough to get a small place in the metropolitan area.
I never intended to stop whatever Jinhyuk wanted to do.
I was always grateful just for him being alive and well.
But reality was reality.
A stable income was essential, if only to cover maintenance fees and bills like internet charges.
“An uncertain income is enough with just you alone. Got it?”
Jinhyuk was right though.
Honestly, I also had too much fun earlier.
It was fun to go wild in a game I hadn’t played in a long time, and joking around with my dongsaeng’s viewers was enjoyable too.
But that was it.
Reality was too cold to harbor any dreams.
Jinhyuk bit his lip hard for a while, unable to continue after hearing my words.
I looked at him and smirked.
“Don’t be too serious. Hyung, I’m gonna take a shower……”
Ding-dong.
Right then, a classic ringtone blared from Jinhyuk’s smartphone, and he immediately picked up the call.
Given how quickly he answered, it seemed to be someone important.
“Ah, yes! Dongsu-hyung. I just finished the broadcast.”
Dongsu-hyung?
That name sounded very familiar.
But then again, how many Dongsus could there be in the world?
I was about to enter the bathroom with a towel from the drying rack when Jinhyuk and I locked eyes.
Then, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Did he catch a summer fever?
Why was he suddenly smiling like that?
“Really? I’ll ask him right now.”
Jinhyuk briefly moved the phone away from his mouth and asked me with a smile,
“Hyung, I have a really close sunbae.”
“Then make him your hyung.”
“No, it’s not like that. He says he wants to buy you a celebratory drink. How about it?”
“For me? Really?”
“I was planning to introduce him to you after your discharge anyway, but the timing just worked out. Trust me and meet him? He wants to celebrate your discharge.”
…Hmm.
The more I see your face, the less I wanted to see it.
But given how brightly he was talking on the phone, it seemed like someone with significant influence on my dongsaeng.
Maybe it was worth meeting him once.
My dongsaeng might be an adult, but it was necessary to be selective about the people he met.
After a moment of hesitation, I reluctantly nodded and replied,
“Sure.”
Hearing that, Jinhyuk immediately responded to the “hyung” on the other side of the call.
“Yes, hyung. Then, we’ll see you there. Yes.”
Jinhyuk ended the call in an instant and said to me,
“This is… an opportunity!”
But why do you sound so anxious?
***
We were at a bar in Cheolsandong, Gwangmyeong City, where we lived.
We were waiting for this “Dongsu-hyung” whom my dongsaeng was praising to the skies.
We arrived a bit earlier than the appointed time.
“The hyung we’re meeting today is really amazing. You’ll be surprised once you meet him.”
My dongsaeng said he was amazing?
There’s a 100% chance he’s a streamer.
And not just any streamer, but one from a major company, with a massive following.
I took a sip of the beer that had been served and tossed some peanuts into my mouth.
The cool, tingling sensation hit the back of my throat.
Ah, this was life.
“He said he enjoyed the broadcast we did earlier today. He seems to be very interested in you?”
“Is that person gay by any chance?”
“Of course not. He has a girlfriend.”
“Then can you shut up? You’ve mentioned that over 100 times already. It feels like it’s on infinite loop in my ears.”
It was good that he had become more active in my absence, but it’s tiring how excessively active he had become.
Starting the broadcast seemed to have enriched his audio output.
Having effectively silenced Jinhyuk, I took another sip of my beer.
Ah, I lived for this taste!
When I had drunk about half of the 500cc beer glass, Jinhyuk suddenly raised his hand high and cheerfully shouted,
“Hyung! Over here!”
“Wow, meeting again? Isn’t this the first time since the TwiPot party?”
A man approached our table, and I set down my beer glass and stood up.
Then, I couldn’t help but freeze.
“Nice to meet you, you must be Jinhyuk’s hyung? I’m Han Dongsu.”
…I had a sinking feeling.
But I greeted him with the brightest smile I could muster and shook his extended hand.
“I’m Kim Chansik, Jinhyuk’s hyung.”
“Wow, Jinhyuk is handsome, but his brother is even more so! But have we met before?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s just the atmosphere feels familiar. Haha! Just kidding, just kidding.”
Misfortune always extended its hand from where it was least expected.
I knew this person all too well.
Name: Han Dongsu.
Streamer name: Khan.
The person who had failed the world’s first raid because of me three years ago.
An incredibly dizzy reunion I had never even wanted to imagine.
[1] The word “hamster” in Korean can be “햄스터” or shortened to “햄찌” (hamjji). Chansik’s username is “Sha” / “샤.” The user called him 샤찌.
[2] Users gave Chansik the nickname 굳건좌. “굳건” means “firm” or “solid.” The suffix “좌” is like “-er” in English, as in “gamer” or “runner,” denoting someone who exemplifies a trait. So, “굳건좌” translates to “Steadfast One.” But this sounded awkward, so I chose a more “gamer-friendly” nickname.
[3] About $1,400.
