I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 23

“...”

Kim Jeong-Hyeon did not answer. In fact, Cha Jin-Hyeok did not expect one from him.

‘His stubborn personality seems to remain unchanged, whether it is in the past or now.’

Although it was frustrating, it was good news that he was still predictable. To Jin-Hyeok, it was like meeting the Kim Jeong-Hyeon he'd always known.

‘Well… It’s probably because of his clumsy sense of justice.’

Jin-Hyeok could vaguely picture the situation. He was probably lured into joining the party by the ‘high-paying part-time’ aspect of the job. He was a pretty intimidating guy just by his presence, so he had to have been a good hire for the dyed-haired boys. He was a quirky guy, so if the party wanted to, they could blame him for any problems.

‘And he has already signed the contract, so I doubt he can run away from them.’

“Well, what can I do? I guess it’s good either way.”

There was no fear in Jeong-Hyeon’s eyes. To be able to maintain that kind of composure after being stabbed in the eye just moments before was something he had never seen before. It did not matter how good one’s physical attributes were, if one could not overcome that kind of fear and pain, one could not become a Ranker.

In that sense, Jeong-Hyeon was a customized talent with both tremendous physical and mental strength.

“You must have been in a big hurry for money. Tell me what that is,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I… have no reason to tell you.”

“I guess you are not in such a big hurry after all.”

Jin-Hyeok walked over to the counter, borrowed a ballpoint pen, and scribbled a number on a napkin.

“If you ever want to make money the legal, normal way. Just call me.”

“...”

“Oh, I am a streamer, and I am just offering this because I think we could create some interesting content together.”

The choice was up to Jeong-Hyeon.

Jin-Hyeok sat back down at his table.

“Now let’s eat the pudding.”

“Oppa, how can you eat the pudding in a situation like this?”

“If you’re not gonna eat it, I will.”

“Don’t you dare!”

When he tried to take her pudding, she guarded it with her life.

“I knew this was going to happen.”

Munch. Munch. Munch.

The pudding that Yellow Boy bought for him was delicious.

After all, everything tastes better when someone else pays for it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

A week had passed since Jin-Hyeok had met with Jeong-Hyeon, and Jeong-Hyeon eventually reached out to Jin-Hyeok.

“I… I would like… for us to work together,” Jeong-Hyeon said.

“If you want to work with me, you need to talk faster than that.”

“I… I will try my best.”

‘Wow. That is a lot of progress.’

Jin-Hyeok remembered how Jeong-Hyeon used to talk. It used to be, “This… is an… individual’s right… and freedom… that should be… respected. I… do not want you to… infringe on my rights, my friend,” and it drove Jin-Hyeok. Jin-Hyeok thought he was going to die of frustration. It was a good thing that Jeong-Hyeon was going to try his best.

Finally, the contract with Jeong-Hyeon was a success.

“First, I am giving you twenty million won in advance.”

Jin-Hyeok put the amount he just told Jeong-Hyeon into Jeong-Hyeon's account.

“Thank… you. How… can I… repay this… favor?”

“Didn’t I just tell you to speak faster?”

“How… can I repay this favor?”

Jin-Hyeok had heard that Jeong-Hyeon's mother needed about twenty million won for her treatment. If it was just a physical injury, Jin-Sol would have been able to treat her, but her illness was much more complicated than that.

“You will be paid for appearing in my content, and if you do not like it after a few times, you can find another path in your career.”

“Why… are you this nice… to me? Why are you giving me… such a great offer?”

“I don’t think it’s that great of an offer.”

If he could get Jeong-Hyeon for a mere twenty million won upfront, it was a great business. At least Jin-Hyeok thought so.

“But, I am going to get as much as I can from you, so I need you to make sure you try your best when creating content.”

“I promise… I will.”

Jin-Hyeok did not write any contract. It was not like Jeong-Hyeon was going to run off with the twenty million won, and even if he did, Jin-Hyeok would easily catch him and kick his ass.

Without even a working conference room in his name, Jin-Hyeok gathered the people who were going to work with him—Mok Jae-Hyeon, Cha Jin-Sol, and the Seo sisters. The Seo sisters had become more active after Playing with Jin-Hyeok last time. They said they had been Playing separately for the past week, but they did not feel as much joy as when they Played with him.

“We also did not make as much money as when we Played with you.”

After experiencing the taste of money, Ji-Soo became more agreeable.

“Never leave me,” Ji-Soo said.

“...”

“We are in this together. Forever.”

Jin-Hyeok swore he saw a little bit of madness in her eyes, but he pretended not to notice. After all, it was good for him that she was so enthusiastic about being in his content.

“The Seo sisters’ attacks are strong, but they specialize in surprise attacks, which means once their attacks are exposed, their power is halved.”

‘Wait, come to think of it, Ji-Soo stopped using honorifics when speaking to me.’

Jin-Hyeok did not find it particularly annoying, so he decided to let it go.

“Once our attack is exposed, the power is halved?” Ji-Soo said.

“You know I’m right.”

Ji-Soo pouted her lips slightly. It looked like her pride was slightly bruised by his words.

“You could have said that a good surprise attack can increase our chance of landing a critical hit on an opponent, which is basically the same thing anyway.”

“Ah, I guess you are right.”

Making eye contact with Jin-Hyeok, Ji-Soo blushed slightly.

“I’m not complaining… I’m just saying you could’ve said it in a nicer way,” Ji-Soo said.

In any case, Jeong-Hyeon’s arrival on the team was a good thing for them. Jin-Hyeok’s plan was to keep him with them until about Level 60 or 70. He had too much talent and potential to stay in the team forever. Jin-Hyeok thought it would be wise to take advantage of each other until then, and go their separate ways afterward.

Ji-Ah, who was usually quiet, spoke up, “So, where are we going?”

“Our next destination is the Bupyeong Station Dungeon.”

At Jin-Hyeok’s words, Jae-Hyeon’s eyes widened.

“That Dungeon is known to be the worst Tutorial Dungeon, isn’t it?”

He was right. The Bupyeong Station Dungeon was considered the worst Tutorial Dungeon. However, the important thing to note here was not the word ‘worst,’ but ‘Tutorial.’ Even if it was the worst one, it was still a Tutorial Dungeon.

‘And I have information about the hidden Achievement, which will make the Dungeon easier.’

It was always fun to find hidden secrets in the Dungeon. Of course, it was fun because of the amount of content that could be created with them. There was no longer a Cha Jin-Hyeok who enjoyed the hidden secret itself—or the Dungeon itself.

He kept reminding himself not to forget that.

‘Since it’s known as the worst Tutorial Dungeon ever, it’s good for the content.’

“That’s right. We are going to that Dungeon. I think we could make a pretty good Eltube video from there.”

He also realized he could get the Achievement of being the first to obtain the hidden Achievement for that Dungeon.

‘Oh, I completely forgot about that. Damn it, I almost got excited again. What the hell am I supposed to do to not get excited about this Achievement? Can I even fix this?’

Jin-Hyeok did a lot of mind control, but he honestly did not know if he could stop himself from being like this. In the end, rather than finding the means to control himself from being excited, he instead desperately tried to find a more justifiable reason for his excitement.

‘Wait. If I do this, I can make three hundred million Dias, right? Yes, That’s right. A whopping three hundred million Dias. That should be enough reason to get me excited.’

He was happy that he could finally find justification(?) for his excitement.

“We are going to leave tomorrow, so make sure you are well-rested at home.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok tried to be with his family, at least for the dinners. As he ate his parents’ home-cooked meal, he felt unnecessarily emotional again.

“I am going to buy you two a car.”

His mom and dad thought he was joking and laughed as they told him the name of a large sedan from a certain brand. They said it was the best sedan when it came to domestic brands.

‘I’m not joking, though… I am sure they will be very surprised when I bring it to them later.’

Thinking about it made him feel good.

That night, Jin-Sol came to his room.

“Oppa, is it going to take long to clear the Bupyeong Station Dungeon?”

“Hm... I dunno. It’s my first time going there. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to know because I need to tell my company how many days I am going to be away.”

‘Oh, right. I totally forgot for a moment that she was an office worker.’

However, for some reason, she kept getting more serious.

“Oppa.”

“Huh? What’s with that serious tone?”

“Do you think I should quit my job?”

“If you want to.”

“Huh?”

His answer caught her off guard, and her eyes widened.

“You’re not going to stop me?”

“Why should I?”

Jin-Hyeok did not care what she did for a living or how she did it. He was going to make a lot of money anyway, and she could just do whatever she wanted to do.

“People told me that I’m crazy for even thinking about quitting this amazing job. They told me that I shouldn’t quit.”

[#Faint expectation #Tell me to quit #Please understand my feelings #But we are blood relatives #It’s not going to work]

Something about the last one was bugging him, but he couldn’t say anything about it. It looked like she wanted someone to tell her that it was okay for her to quit her job. Anyway, he decided what he wanted to say regardless of the Broadcaster’s Truesight.

“I’m being serious. Do what you want to do.”

“...Really? I can quit my job?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Why are you saying that?”

“There is no reason for me to not say it.”

“But it’s a great company, and maybe I will never get another job at a similar level.”

“Then don’t.”

“Then how am I supposed to make a living?”

“There are plenty of ways to make a living. The real question you need to be asking yourself is, what do you really want to do?”

“I don’t know... I’ve been thinking about it, but…”

“If you’re telling me this, doesn’t that mean that you’re leaning more toward quitting your job?”

“...Yes.”

“Then quit.”

[#My own brother? #This is the first time anyone has ever cared about me #Can I thank him a little?]

“Really? I can quit my job? Aren’t you going to nag me to think more carefully, or something?” Jin-Sol asked again.

“I’m sure you thought about this long and hard before telling me.”

“That… That’s true, but…”

After hearing his words, Jin-Sol seemed a little touched. She said something about this being the first time she had ever had someone around her who understood her feelings. Jin-Hyeok felt proud that he could act as her Oppa for a change, but he was also embarrassed because this was the first time he had done something like this.

“Just don’t ask me to lend you money,” Jin-Hyeok said.

‘I’m not going to lend you money. I am just going to give it to you.’

“Hmph!”

Jin-Sol jumped to her feet.

‘Whew. This heartwarming ambiance is finally broken. The awkwardness was killing me.’

“Oh, by the way, how did you set up your items?”

“That’s…”

It seemed like she tried her best to prepare for the worst Tutorial Dungeon. However, when he saw how she did it, he frowned.

“You call this setting up?”

“Why? Why? I thought I did a good job.”

“A good job? Are you serious right now?”

“...Don’t you think so?”

‘I guess this is a good time to teach her a lesson.’

[I am going to teach my younger sister a lesson.]

He realized this could be great content for his channel, so he started his livestream.

“I am going to ask you. Why did you put most of your resources into defensive items? It’s probably a stupid reason anyway,” Jin-Hyeok asked his sister while starting his livestream. “Why would you buy defensive items? A healer dies in one hit anyway.”

“What do you mean? Oppa, do you even read articles on the internet?”

It seemed like she was talking about various websites spreading information about how to properly train each class.

“Did those articles tell you that Priests need a lot of defensive items?”

“Yes, because Priests have very weak defensive stats.”

“You’re right. That’s the point. Why would you increase your defense when it’s already weak?”

Even though he was asking Jin-Sol, he was actually talking to the viewers. Most of the viewers who were watching this new server were old-time Players. They would be well aware that the current strategies for each class on this planet were wrong.

‘With this livestream, I think I can scratch their itch.’

At this moment, they were in the Tutorial phase, so if a Priest invested their resources into their defense, they could survive. However, later on, most of them would die in one hit from the enemy.

One hit, and they were dead.

It was not about how well they could defend themselves, but how well they could dodge enemies’ attacks, and how well they were protected by their teammates.

“My defense is weak, so I improved my defense! Is that so wrong?” Jin-Sol said in frustration.

As her Oppa, he decided to give her a lesson. He was not sure how much the viewers would like it because it was so obvious, but he still did it anyway.

“Do you think the Tutorial Field will last forever?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think there is any other place where you can experience death as freely as you can there? In the Tutorial Field, you need to take as many hits and die as many times as possible. And survive as long as you can. That’s the entire reason why there is even the Tutorial Field in the first place. To let you experience this kind of stuff. Why the hell would you increase your defense just to survive the Tutorial Field?”

Jin-Hyeok had not noticed, but the Likes were starting to increase rapidly.

He had no idea that this video would become so famous.