Chapter 7: (Eye Contact…) – 2

The midday games of omok at Tapgol Park are peculiar.

This place is a den of masters with at least 20 years of experience. 

But they only play for drinks, a way to keep the game going for a long time. 

It’s a place ruled by the laws of the strong.

I was there, engaged in a match with an old man wearing a bucket hat.

I picked up a black stone, 

and carefully placed it where three white stones were laid.

Tap!

“!”

The old man, who introduced himself as “Dr. Jang,” began to hum a tune with a smirk. 

The onlookers sighed.

“Oh dear… I quit drinking, but it looks like I’ll get a free drink.” 

“…”

-Oh no, he’s done for. 

-The young guy’s vision is too narrow…. 

-Dr. Jang’s got the luck of the drink.

I quickly re-read the board.

In games like Janggi, which take a long time, there’s always a flood of real-time advice, but in omok, advice only comes when I’m on the verge of losing. 

The advice now meant I was about to lose.

I stretched my neck, 

and examined the board.

Now I saw four black stones shyly hiding diagonally.

“Ah.” 

“Hehe, see it now? I thought you were trying to buy me a drink on purpose. I was secretly digging a pit, and my heart was racing.”

Dr. Jang shook the black stones and laughed like a mischievous child. 

The wrinkles under his hat became more pronounced.

“What will you do? Want me to give you a move back? Or will you go buy some soju from the convenience store?” 

“…”

I ran a few simulations in my head.

Even if Dr. Jang gave me a move back, 

I’d likely get caught in another skirmish.

‘…Now I see he’s cleverly hidden three-stone formations everywhere.’

He was a master.

I admitted defeat cleanly. 

I took out my wallet and prepared to head to the nearby convenience store.

“…I lost. I’ll go buy the soju as promised.” 

“Hehe! Hey, don’t bring back any of that fruity soju or whatever. Just get me one with a red cap.”

The old master showed the loser a final act of mercy.

I headed to the convenience store. 

There, I bought 20 bottles of soju, a pile of jerky, and some salty snacks. 

When I returned with the haul, the old men applauded.

“Wow! Big spender, huh?” 

“Hahaha! Thanks to Dr. Jang, we’re having a drinking party!” 

“Hey! Gather around!” 

“Pass the cups around!”

Dr. Jang held a paper cup and smirked.

I poured soju into Dr. Jang’s cup.

A moment later.

Like pigeons gathering in the park, 

The crowd of old men drained the soju.

They sang trot songs, drunk on the excitement.

Tapgol Park at midday turned into a festival.

– Long live Dr. Jang! 

– He’s the smartest among us!

Dr. Jang and I watched the scene blankly. 

After each of us drank a bottle, a tipsy feeling set in.

“…” 

“…”

Dr. Jang took off the bucket hat he’d been wearing. 

His sparse white hair was revealed. 

Then he spoke in a blunt tone.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but go back.” 

“Huh?” 

“This isn’t a place for young people to kill time. It’s where old men forget about death until they die. Staying here isn’t living.” 

“…”

“I don’t know why a young guy like you is here on a weekday afternoon. But whether you broke up with your girlfriend or got fired from your job… this isn’t the place. …Don’t end up like me.”

Dr. Jang fumbled with his phone and turned it on.

The screen showed a photo of a young girl playing the violin at a concert abroad.

The dimple in her cheek strangely resembled Dr. Jang.

“…Don’t end up like me.” 

“…”

I asked him.

“If you had money, what would you want to do?” 

“What?” 

“If you suddenly had 100 million won, what would you do?” 

“…”

Dr. Jang answered immediately.

“I don’t even need 100 million. Just 10 million… with just 10 million, I’d book a concert hall in London and go to Europe.” 

“…I see.” 

“Hehe, anyway.”

Dr. Jang placed his bucket hat on the spot where he’d been sitting.

“I’m going to take a leak. While I’m gone, think things over and go back to where you belong.” 

“Yes, I will.”

Dr. Jang staggered toward the public restroom.

In the meantime, I picked up his bucket hat. 

I took out a 10 million won check from my pocket and carefully folded it inside the hat.

I pressed the hat and the check down with a heavy stone.

Then I left the spot.

“…”

Why he was called Dr. Jang. 

Why he couldn’t meet the girl who seemed to be his granddaughter or daughter.

I was a little curious about what 10 million won meant to him.

But I didn’t want to know more.

I was getting too close to Dr. Jang.

“…”

This was enough. 

If I get too close, I won’t be able to handle it.

I am a natural disaster that rains money.

Whether it’s a VTuber who can’t sell, or an old man killing time in the park.

I scatter money and expect human change.

That is the only change left for me, Seonwoo Taek.

‘From that perspective, supporting streamers emotionally keeps a good distance. Maybe I’ll pick someone to keep supporting in the next round.’

As I thought that.

My phone rang.

Trrr!

“?”

It was Live Future.

I answered the call.

“Hello?”

– Hello. This is the Live Future operations team manager. We’re currently investigating any inconveniences our VIP members might have. Do you have any complaints or requests while using our site?

After the 1 billion won donation incident.

The media had been attacking them as a “reckless platform sucking up money,” so their tone was extremely cautious.

‘When I donated 100 million in other rounds, I don’t think they were attacked this much. I guess when it’s 10 times the amount, the attacks get fiercer.’

Because of that, they drastically lowered the daily donation limit to 2.5 million won.

Even so, 

They didn’t want to lose a customer like me.

“No inconveniences.”

– Ah, haha… I see. Have you had any difficulties using the site’s features or encountered any system issues?

“No.”

– I, I see….

“?”

It seemed like they had something they really wanted to ask but were beating around the bush.

“Is there a problem?”

– Well… it’s not a problem, but since becoming a VIP member, you haven’t used the ‘1:1 chat feature’ even once. We wanted to check if there were any issues preventing you from using it….

“Ah.”

The moment I heard the manager’s words, 

The green button glowing in my mind came to mind.

That Kim Aeri netorare button?

“I just haven’t used it.”

– I, I see…. Understood.

The manager cautiously asked.

– …Do you have any creators you prefer or are interested in?

Really.

It was an insidiously probing question.

‘This must be the real point.’

A survey of Big Man’s preferences.

It sounded like they were offering to connect me with any female streamer I liked. 

They probably wanted to actively exploit a madman who threw 1 billion won at a VTuber.

‘This round, I just want to observe Aki-chan.’

I answered vaguely.

“…Not sure. Not yet.”

– Understood. Thank you for your response.

*

Aurora Prism Entertainment held a meeting.

Today’s topic was also Big Man.

CEO Baek Soo-cheol held a plaque of appreciation and shouted.

“Why! Why does Big Man keep rejecting invitations or offers and just say ‘act naturally’—?!” 

“Who would’ve thought the CEO would call him Big Man….” 

“Who else but him saved our company?!” 

“That’s true….” 

“If only we could use the 1:1 chat to find out what he wants. He keeps his mouth shut, hates overreacting to 2.5 million won donations… he’s like a storm, it’s scary.” 

“…”

Present at the meeting were PR team leader Jo Eunbi and ABCD member Kim Aeri. 

They discussed the ‘1:1 chat’ feature relayed by Live Future.

Kim Aeri recalled what had happened over the weekend.

‘I got scolded by Big Man and my heart sank.’

After receiving Big Man’s money, 

Berry started singing a song of gratitude for several minutes. 

But what came back was a cold remark.

– Just act naturally.

There was clear emotion in it.

Disappointment, for example….

With that one remark, 

All the members who had their streams on froze.

I can’t forget that chilling atmosphere.

Aki, who had been the first to treat Big Man as just another fan. 

If it weren’t for her words, there would’ve been a broadcast accident.

– He seems to dislike us being too self-conscious. Let’s just keep going naturally.

“…”

I was scared, but.

When we continued the stream naturally, Big Man fell silent again.

‘We decided among ourselves to treat him normally, but how are we supposed to treat someone like that normally….’

The members’ average concurrent viewers didn’t exceed 100. 

Big Man was the only one donating in the first place.

The only one we had to be careful around was Big Man.

PR team leader Jo Eunbi spoke to the CEO.

“It might be blunt, but if we could use the 1:1 chat to figure out his preferences, it’d be easier to respond.” 

“Should we reach out first?” 

“He never presses it himself, so what can we do?” 

“Hmm… What if we accidentally upset him? Honestly, our revenue model is entirely dependent on Big Man. Isn’t it better to just keep streaming naturally as he wants?” 

“…”

That was also what Jo Eunbi was worried about.

Big Man never initiated the 1:1 chat himself. Clearly, he disliked having direct influence over the creators.

If we tried to express gratitude, 

We might end up upsetting him instead.

It would be putting the cart before the horse.

Jo Eunbi and the CEO sighed.

“Sigh….” 

“Haah….”

After a moment of silence, 

The CEO wistfully brushed his hand over the plaque of appreciation.

“I want to tell him our company is doing well thanks to him… but we have to be careful even about that. The irony is unreal. Even if we post it on SNS, we don’t know if he’s seen it or not.”

Kim Aeri flinched at those words.

“!”

The emotions were mixed, but the core was simple.

Naturally.

Deliver company news.

To Big Man through the stream.

‘Express gratitude in the way he wants, naturally….’

Kim Aeri spoke up.

“…I think there’s a way.” 

“?” 

“?”