Translator: SourKimchi
-SsomyeonMaster : no exceptions for real, damn
-dwm9911 : so even Akasha-nim has to wait in line
-MinuTan : this is why i can't quit this stream lol
While Ji-hun's chat buzzed with excitement, the mood in Akasha's chat was anything but pleasant.
-ChocoStrawberry : what did he just say?
-MintCider : he just told Akasha-nim to wait in line, right?
-Lemonade : is he out of his mind? seriously?
-RoseBlade : who does he think he is? this is absurd
-GracefulAgainToday : he's probably a fraud anyway, just ignore him
Akasha glanced at her chat and let out a small smirk.
"Come on, let's drop it already."
She said it lightly, but she wasn't feeling great about it.
Normally, after a guy pulled something like that, he'd send her a private whisper or DM on the side.
Saying that since he had a Concept to keep up on air for now, they could meet privately later.
But Park Ji-hun had drawn the line in a voice that was utterly indifferent.
Even tacking on that no one was an exception.
‘So it's not just a Concept he puts on for show.’
Akasha pushed it out of her mind and calmly readjusted her grip on the mouse.
The early part of the tournament went smoothly.
BattleAround was a game where players dropped onto a sprawling map, scavenged for weapons and gear, and survived to the end.
Her landing spot wasn't bad either, and she kitted out with guns and armor fast.
The team's mood was livelier than she'd expected, too.
Woo-sik kept things buzzing with that distinctive voice of his, and the other Streamers cracked jokes and laughed along.
The problem was that today, of all days, Akasha's attention kept drifting elsewhere.
Every time Park Ji-hun popped up on screen, her eyes lingered a beat longer than they should have.
She got greedy over angles she'd normally have let go, rushing in first and blowing her kill timing more than once.
One round, she even got cut down first by an enemy, just like that.
"Huh? Looks like things aren't going your way today, Akasha-nim."
When a teammate asked with a laugh, Akasha answered with a sheepish look.
"Yeah, I know. I just can't focus today."
-PeachFairy : that was so close just now
-MintCider : guess it's not really her day today
-RoseBlade : is something stressing her out maybe?
-GracefulAgainToday : is it because of that fraud earlier?
-Erai : nah, no way
Akasha looked at the chat for a moment, then quietly turned her gaze away.
It really was nothing.
All that had happened was she'd privately asked him for a Spirit Reading and gotten brushed off.
And yet that moment kept replaying in her head.
‘......Couldn't he have at least said he'd do it later, just to be polite?’
It irritated her that it bothered her this much.
Things didn't get much better after that.
Akasha rushed more than usual and pushed a little harder than she should have.
Each time, her judgment was off by half a beat.
In the final round, she overreached on something she'd normally have dodged with ease, and got taken out for nothing.
The last round of BattleAround wrapped up around nine in the evening.
Inside the Discord, everyone laughed and chattered, the conversation flowing easily.
"Wow, that was fun today."
"Let's do it again sometime."
"Want to play another game as an afterparty?"
"Let's just hang out and chat for a bit."
That was when Park Ji-hun spoke up first.
"I'll be heading off first."
His tone was utterly flat.
He didn't seem the least bit interested in an afterparty.
"You're leaving already?"
"You can't just bail on us first, PerpetualJobSeeker-nim."
But Park Ji-hun wouldn't budge.
"Sorry. I've got something to take care of."
And just like that, Park Ji-hun left the Discord.
Akasha frowned and muttered to herself.
‘What a jerk.’
Even though he'd left the Discord, strangely, it bothered her even more.
***
Park Ji-hun had left the Discord, but the room's chatty mood didn't change much.
If anything, the topic drifted naturally toward PerpetualJobSeeker.
"PerpetualJobSeeker-nim's way more ordinary than I expected, honestly?"
"Right? He felt totally different from how he is on stream."
"He was kind of a goofball while we were gaming, even."
"I figured a real Shaman would be some cranky, scary guy."
Then someone tossed out, almost offhand:
"But seriously... is he really that accurate? How does he know without even seeing the person in front of him?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I've caught a few Shorts...... it's not staged, is it?"
"I mean, supposedly he nails it all from just a few words tossed out, so yeah, that's kind of......."
"Don't tell me you hyped him up on purpose, Woo-sik?"
Woo-sik's expression hardened.
"Hyped him up? Hyped up what?"
The Discord Room went quiet for a moment.
Woo-sik gave a short laugh, then opened his mouth.
"You think this guy just has a smooth tongue? Go watch the Replays. He called a confession crashing and burning, he called the right time to cut losses, he caught somebody's whole life going sideways. He even called a guy nearly dying and got him to a hospital in time to save his life."
Woo-sik kept going.
"Once or twice, sure, I'd have chalked it up to luck or some psychology trick. But he keeps nailing it, and even I started getting chills."
"......For real?"
Akasha stared silently at her chat window.
Most of the Viewers watching her stream were reacting much the same way.
Then the chat suddenly sped up.
-EatingTangerines : huh? hold on
-VanillaAddict : PerpetualJobSeeker's Stream Title just changed? it's not a Stream End, says he's doing a Spirit Reading?
-TaeJeongTaeSeMunDanSe : whoa for real?
-PeachFairy : he didn't go rest after the tournament, he's streaming MORE?
The Discord Room stirred in an instant.
"Eh? PerpetualJobSeeker-nim is streaming more?"
"Right after the tournament ended?"
Woo-sik let out a short, dry laugh.
"......Looks like the bastard's really gonna do his Main Job too."
"Wow, I think I've gotta go watch this?"
"I'm gonna kill my stream and just lurk. I've been really curious."
Akasha sank into thought.
‘Just how good is he, anyway?’
Up until a moment ago, she'd just thought of him as some obnoxious guy.
But now that she'd heard he was doing a Spirit Reading, it nagged at her in a strange way.
Still, Akasha spoke in a flat tone, as if it were nothing.
"I'm gonna head out first."
Someone asked in a surprised voice.
"You're not curious, Akasha-nim? Whether it's real?"
Akasha gave a light laugh.
"Nope. I'm not really into that kind of thing. Good work, everyone."
With that, Akasha hit the end-broadcast button.
***
Ten p.m.
Park Ji-hun changed his Stream Title.
[Here for the Main Job]
A moment later, when Park Ji-hun showed his face, the chat shot up like crazy.
-SilentRoom : he's here
-EatingTangerines : Main Job time!
-ask2311 : i finally get my Spirit Reading!
-FactChecker : this is the guy from the Shorts, right?
-FactChecker : let's see how good his wordplay really is lol
-LegendDrumBarrel : got an Aggro troll in the mix
Park Ji-hun leaned back into his chair and skimmed the chat.
It was a far cry from how he'd been in the Discord earlier.
A Spirit Reading stream really was more comfortable for him.
He'd barely changed the Stream Title, and the Viewer count was climbing far faster than usual.
Among the familiar handles, there was an unusually large number of names he'd never seen before mixed in.
"You've all been waiting a while."
The chat sped up even more.
-VanillaAddict : ah this is it
-agei : i missed this tone of his!
-Soljji : let's go, no mercy again today, boss
Park Ji-hun checked the Reservation List, then parted his lips.
"Next up is ask2311. You're first."
-ask2311 : yep i've been waiting
"Alright, hop in the Discord."
A moment later, a man's voice came through along with the familiar connection chime.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me?"
Park Ji-hun answered.
"Yeah, loud and clear."
The man cleared his throat and spoke.
"Ah, right. So, uh, I've had something kind of weighing on me lately......."
"Changing jobs."
The man stopped talking.
"......Sorry?"
"Your current job's no good, so you want to move, but the market out there's brutal, so you're worried, right? Scared you'll jump ship and end up left high and dry."
The other end of the Discord went silent for a moment.
The man stammered.
"......Th-that's right."
The chat scrolled up fast.
-VanillaAddict : ooh here we go!
-DinnerRamen : nailed it before the guy even said his problem
Park Ji-hun lightly tapped the desk with his fingertips.
"You don't need to worry about the job switch. A decent opportunity's coming your way soon. But that's a matter for later."
After catching his breath for a beat, Ji-hun continued.
"Right now, get over to your family home. Your father's about to collapse."
The man sucked in a breath.
"What? Out of nowhere?"
"There's a problem in his head. Evil Energy's clotted up there. If you're too late, the damage will stick."
The chat froze for a moment.
-SilentRoom : ?
-agei : what?
-VanillaAddict : is he serious?
The man's voice trembled.
"My father's...... f-fine, though."
"Call 119 on your way." [TL Note: 119 is South Korea's emergency number for ambulances and fire services.]
Park Ji-hun didn't hesitate.
"What are you doing? Run!"
The man couldn't hesitate any longer.
"Ah, yes. Yes! Thank you!"
The connection cut off immediately.
-VanillaAddict : if this is real it's straight up Spine-Chilling
-Ertel : thinking about everything he's gotten right, i can't laugh this off
-SilentRoom : you don't believe it at first but you end up believing all of it
-Tussage : whoa, if it were me i'd be sprinting out the door
Park Ji-hun set down the mouse as if nothing had happened.
After checking the second name on the Reservation List, he spoke.
"Next."
***
Even after shutting off her stream, Akasha couldn't lie down right away.
She sat at her desk, fiddling with her phone for a long while.
Then she pressed a few notes on the keyboard beside her, but her mind just wouldn't settle.
‘Why does this bother me so much?’
She could just go to sleep and be done with it.
There was no real reason to watch.
And yet her hand kept reaching for it.
In the end, Akasha let out a sigh and logged into PerpetualJobSeeker's stream on her Alt Account.
The Park Ji-hun on screen seemed like a completely different person from the one in the Discord.
His voice was cold, and there wasn't a trace of hesitation in a single word.
The chat was scrolling up like mad, and he was doing his Spirit Readings without batting an eye.
Then a message from ask2311 came up.
-ask2311 : my dad just went into surgery
-ask2311 : they said it's a good thing we caught it fast, a little later and it could've been really bad
-ask2311 : thank you so much, really
A ripple passed through Akasha's eyes.
Ji-hun's chat went into a frenzy.
-SilentRoom : whoa hold on, this is actually real?
-agei : insane
-LegendDrumBarrel : real? how the hell does he get that right
-VanillaAddict : whoa i'm signing up for a Spirit Reading too. suddenly i want one
-FrogKing : now i get why everyone lines up
-FactChecker : mor*ns, this kind of thing is the easiest to Fake, ya know? lol
-VanillaAddict : there he goes again, can we get that bastard banned!
Akasha gazed at the screen in silence.
‘A real Shaman?’
A type of man she'd never come across before, one who'd flatly told even her to wait in line, no exceptions.
But what was unfolding in front of her now was a completely different matter.
‘How does he know all that?’
Lips pressed shut, Akasha toyed with the mouse button.
To send a Donation, she'd have to log in with her verified Main Account.
But logging in on her Main Account now and firing off Water Drops bruised her pride.
After saying just moments ago that she was off to bed, now she'd line up because she wanted a Spirit Reading?
‘No way. Absolutely not.’
That was the moment.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
[Chae-rin-nim has gifted 500 Water Drops.]
[Do-yun-nim has gifted 500 Water Drops.]
[Croco-nim has gifted 500 Water Drops.]
The chat went into a frenzy all over again.
-SilentRoom : huh? look, even Streamers are lining up lmaooooo
-agei : guess everyone's itching for it
-LegendDrumBarrel : Chae-rin, Croco, even Do-yun are lining up?
-FactChecker : wow lol now he's recruiting Streamers too? must be loaded
Akasha hesitated for a moment, then logged in.
Then her finger paused once, and at last she pressed the Donation button herself.
Ding.
[Akasha-nim has gifted 500 Water Drops.]
-Akasha : ......I want a reading too.
In that instant, the chat was flooded with question marks.