Chapter 27 - Chapter 27

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 27

Chapter Title: The Movie Soft Deal

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Normally, when game companies select streamers for advertising, they base it on YouTube metrics.

The reason is the massive difference in audience size between Travel and YouTube viewers.

A streamer with 5,000 live viewers but a million YouTube views versus one with 10,000 live viewers but only 100,000 YouTube views.

Which one is better for promotion? It was obvious as day.

Of course, there were exceptions.

If the audience was highly loyal, had a large follower count leading to high Travel replay views and purchasing power, they could command a high fee even with low YouTube subscribers.

Of course...

'Neither applies to me.'

YouTube subscribers?

He didn't even have a channel yet.

No, he didn't even have an account.

And his audience? It'd only been three days.

'I think I heard they were planning a big ad push for the new game's launch.'

That didn't apply either.

"What do you think, Seo-jun? Will you accept our proposal?"

"Thank you for the generous offer. Honestly, I'd love to sign right now, but..."

"But?"

"It's a bit surprising and raises some questions. Why such favorable terms for me?"

Ten million won.

Not a huge amount.

By major streamer standards, anyway.

For Seo-jun right now, even a million would be great.

Just getting an ad deal was something to be grateful for.

"Haha, Seo-jun, you're quite cautious."

"Just curious."

Was there such a thing as a favor without strings attached?

Seo-jun smiled leisurely, but he was ready to walk if needed.

He'd cooperate, though.

Kim Yoon-chan might not have noticed, but Eve Paymo seemed to read his vibe.

"Hmm, looks like I need to convince you."

Eve Paymo chuckled heartily.

His slightly wrinkled blue eyes crinkled pleasantly.

"Simply put, it's an investment. Kim Yoon-chan here and I have watched every bit of your gameplay without missing a thing."

Kim Yoon-chan nodded beside him.

"We believe you'll achieve tremendous growth ahead. So, we want to build a relationship with you on the company level early on. The teaser video can be delayed a bit without major issues. By beta testing, you'll have grown even more. It's a win-win."

Straightforward.

Now it made sense.

This was buttering him up.

Getting on his good side early.

And a gift, too.

"Exactly. We're the only ones who know. Other companies don't."

Kim Yoon-chan chimed in from the side.

"I'm the president—what's the harm?"

Eve Paymo grinned shamelessly.

And Seo-jun was shocked.

The president?

Kim Yoon-chan reached over, spun the contract, and began explaining the clauses to Seo-jun.

Everything matched what they'd said.

As the explanation wrapped up, Eve Paymo said to Seo-jun,

"Seo-jun, you can advertise Assassin's Dawn - Shadows in the City, but may I recommend another game?"

"What is it?"

"For the Jianghu."

For the Jianghu.

A wuxia action game set in a fictional continent by Movie Soft.

"With your skills, you'd put on an incredible show there. I want to see it."

Eve Paymo was already prioritizing Seo-jun's gameplay over company promo.

"I'll give it serious thought. By the way, Mr. President, where are you from?"

"Ah, I'm French."

"Really? Your Korean is excellent."

"I studied here briefly."

"I see. Is honesty a French virtue?"

"No, I just thought it'd work better with you."

Damn, straightforward.

Fitting for a president—good judge of character.

Seo-jun smiled, picked up the contract, and stood.

"Thank you."

"We're the thankful ones."

"What if someone else collects all the Fragments of Order before the week is up?"

Seo-jun suddenly thought of Lee Dong-soo.

"Hmm. Unlikely, but there's one promising player. Luckily, they don't stream, so we'll just ask them not to go public."

Neither knew they were talking about the same person.

Nor that Seo-jun cooperating made asking Lee Dong-soo unnecessary.

Since Lee Dong-soo was only playing Assassin's Dawn because of Seo-jun.

"Got it. Looking forward to working together."

Eve Paymo shook Seo-jun's hand with a grin.

"We at Movie Soft look forward to the synergy we'll create with you."

As requested, Seo-jun skipped hunting the Ruler and instead enjoyed various activities in Assassin's Dawn - Shadows in the City.

He still ignored missions and quests, doing whatever he pleased.

With no sign of him going after the Ruler, some streamers thought:

If I dig up Fragment of Order info first, jackpot!

That idea spread, creating a minor trend of challenging the Ruler.

Han Ji-min's employer, a YouTube editor boss, thought the same.

The problem was.

"That bitch."

Han Ji-min sighed deeply, sinking into her chair.

Two days had passed, and still no read receipt.

It'd been like this for a month.

She pressed her right eye gently.

"Haaa. They say money makes blood run cold—no family, no friends."

Han Ji-min wanted to chew out the friend and employer she'd dreamed and schemed with.

"Should've known when she kept nitpicking weird parts."

A year and a half ago, Han Ji-min was just learning video editing.

She stumbled on a streamer named Ha-kko, enjoyed the broadcasts, and heard they struggled with YouTube edits alone.

She offered to help grow together, sending samples, and their partnership began.

Ha-kko couldn't offer steady pay but proposed splitting YouTube revenue 50-50: tough times together, good times together.

"Shouldn't have trusted a verbal promise."

Too late for regrets.

For the first six months, Han Ji-min poured herself into edits despite hardships.

Subscribers: 217.

No revenue in sight.

Yet they bonded, enduring the rough patch.

Han Ji-min churned out daily videos sleeplessly, growing the channel.

As her skills improved, the algorithm kicked in. Around six months, they hit 30,000 subs and revenue flowed.

"Good times until then."

Her life eased; eight months passed smoothly.

Channel neared 100,000 subs.

Live streams grew thanks to YouTube.

Income rose, leading to hiring more editors—and trouble.

"People can be so petty."

Han Ji-min stared at her monitor.

A video of someone she'd watched endlessly for nearly a year and a half.

A month ago, she fought with her "friend" employer.

Reason: She took too much as an editor.

Despite building the channel single-handedly.

"Hoo. Thinks managing the channel is easy."

She closed the editing software.

Time to cut ties.

No this month's pay either.

Bitter taste.

"What? Edit it to feel like this streamer? Knows I can't at my level, damn it."

She'd trusted her as a friend.

Thought they'd grown closer than anyone through hardships.

Never expected betrayal.

Teeth chattering with rage, tears welling.

"What's left now?"

Savings piled up from barely spending due to busy editing.

And her skills?

Vision blurred.

Felt like 18 months denied.

But no slacking on work.

She logged into a freelance editor site for the first time in ages.

And spotted a post.

"..."

Ironically, the streamer from her ex-employer's videos.

Skills unmatched.

Seeking freelancers for a few edits; full-time possible if vibe matched.

"You split revenue too? Fine, let's see that contract. Try using me without one, and you're done."

Han Ji-min emailed Seo-jun first.

"Alright, everyone, see you tomorrow."

Click.

Seo-jun ended the stream and climbed out of the capsule.

After washing up, he sat at his computer and checked email.

Movie Soft's email topped the list: Teaser done, now do as you please.

Spam ads and viewer backseat-gaming filled the rest.

No editor applications.

"Tch."

Day one and two after posting the open call yielded a few videos.

None impressed Seo-jun.

Fan or not, he couldn't hire subpar skill.

"At least two videos secured for YouTube."

One a collab edit helped by Alpaca's editor Lee Soo-han; the other a first-stream edit from the job site.

He played Han Ji-min's submission.

Impression:

"Clean, no fluff. Veteran?"

A voice came from behind.

"Yeah."

Seo-jun, who'd sensed Tae-woo's approach, replied.

"Full-time with her?"

"Hmm..."

Seo-jun wanted to hand the channel fully to an editor.

More efficient.

Lee Soo-han advised fans who watched all streams were ideal.

"Talking now. Gave her a few; skills are solid."

"Nice. Snag her if you can."

If no editor, MCN next.

"Yeah. Waiting a bit more. She might accept full-time."

They stared at the monitor.

"True. Or scout yourself. From fan uploads."

Tae-woo patted Seo-jun's chair and headed to his room.

Always checking on Seo-jun post-stream.

Following advice, Seo-jun checked YouTube.

Searched:

"What to search?"

Unknown.

Musou.

Ruler.

Streamer fan edits.

Nothing.

Giving up, he searched editor submissions to see others'.

A familiar YouTube handle popped up.

[Public Toilet Brick Bandit King]

A loyal viewer who'd ignored manager requests despite watching streams.

Seo-jun checked the video.

157 views, title: '.'

Description: 'Editor application for streamer Seo-jun.'

Grabbed his attention.

"Why public? And... didn't see this in email."

He double-checked inbox and trash.

No mistake.

'Watch first.'

Much later.

After viewing, Seo-jun rested his chin, deep in thought.

"This is amazing. Why no email?"

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