Chapter 74: The Hero’s Footwork (Part 4)

While President Jeong Kwangjae was in anguish, Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s madness showed no signs of stopping.

“Oh, I received a donation badge. What is this? A badge for donating a lot? But why am I not number one?”

“…I wouldn’t know.”

“Let’s see, your grandson told me something… That’s right. Here it is, the donation ranking.”

Chairman Seo Jaehoon, who quickly found Shihyun’s donation list, suddenly frowned.

“Huh?”

It was inevitable.

He wasn’t ranked first on the donation list. His account, ‘Shihyunie’sLongswordCleaningCrew,’ was ranked fourth.

“No, how can this be! Fourth place!”

It wasn’t even a close call.

[All-Time Top Donators]
[➊ qlfkarhd123 (7,654,000 won)]
[➋ BareunMinu (4,613,000 won)]
[➌ AnonymousBear (4,187,000 won)]
[➍ Shihyunie’sLongswordCleaningCrew (3,000,000 won)]

There was a difference of almost 1 million won!

This was unacceptable.

“This is unacceptable.”

There were people who donated more to ‘Shihyunie’ than the chairman of Samsung Group!

Well, technically, it was possible.

This was Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s first time donating to Shihyun. There were many people who became Shihyun’s fans before him, so they could have donated more already. Hence their higher ranking.

However.

“This must change.”

It will change.

No.

He will make it change!

No one in this world could donate more to ‘Shihyunie’ than the chairman of Samsung Group. Even if they did, he would make sure they didn’t. Seo Jaehoon’s financial power made it possible.

“How dare they donate more than me and take the top spot! My love for Shihyunie is greater, much greater!”

President Jeong Kwangjae squeezed his eyes shut at Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s outburst. Seo Jaehoon didn’t care. He immediately opened the donation window and started typing. He entered a seven-digit number and grinned.

“Take this!”

Seo Jaehoon slammed the enter key, and the donation notification popped up.

[Shihyunie’sLongswordCleaningCrew donated 4,655,000 won!]
[Number One Donator Punch!!!]

A female text-to-speech voice resonated through the chairman’s office.

President Jeong Kwangjae gritted his teeth, and at the same time, a look of bewilderment spread across Shihyun’s face on the screen.

[Uh, a donation… huh? 4 million won? First place? What is this all of a sudden…?]

[What’s going on?]

[A donation of over 4 million won just came in. Before that, there was a 3 million won donation from the same name. What is this…?]

[Huh? 4, 40 million won?!]

Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s eyes gleamed as he saw the startled Ji-eun check Shihyun’s broadcast interface. He turned to President Jeong with a beaming smile.

“See? No one can be above me. My love for Shihyunie is stronger than anyone else’s. Isn’t that right, President Jeong?”

“…I-indeed.”

“Hmm? Why do you sound like that?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Karma, this was karma.

President Jeong thought so and shuddered.

Meanwhile, the broadcast continued on the screen. Ji-eun, after checking the interface, nodded as if she understood and looked at Shihyun.

[Ah, it must be a big spender. It seems like he donated a lot to become the top donator. Let’s do a donation reaction, Shihyun. It’s a lot of money.]

[Re…action?]

[…Huh? You know, the thing you do when you get a donation.]

[…Did I do that before?]

[…How do you even stream?]

Ji-eun was dumbfounded by the absurd question. Shihyun just scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed look.

“…”

Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s face hardened.

He seemed angry.

But President Jeong Kwangjae instinctively knew. Having served Seo Jaehoon since he was vice chairman, it was only natural.

‘His eyes have gone crazy.’

Seo Jaehoon wasn’t angry or anything. He was just so moved that he was overwhelmed.

And President Jeong Kwangjae predicted Seo Jaehoon’s next move. So, he closed his eyes. He also covered his ears. He was going to pretend he didn’t hear anything.

He couldn’t bear to watch a grown man in his late 30s, the chairman of the group he served, become starry-eyed and grin at the thought of a female streamer doing a reaction she rarely did.

“Woooow!!!”

He also couldn’t bear to hear such lines.

‘This is all my karma, my fault…’

Of course, President Jeong’s actions weren’t solely due to guilt or loyalty.

He was just embarrassed to be serving such a person.

“Shihyunie is doing a reaction! R-record! Clip! I have to save this! I can’t miss this opportunity! Uh, how do I do that? President Jeong, do you know how?”

“…I-I’m sorry, Chairman. I don’t know.”

“T-then what do I do? S-secretarial office. Call the secretarial office. There are young people there, they must know.”

“Yes?”

President Jeong’s jaw dropped at the insane suggestion.

Show this to the secretarial office?

‘What is he talking about?’

Was he serious?

‘If this gets out, the group’s stock price will plummet!’

President Jeong’s face paled, and his hands trembled. He quickly stopped Chairman Seo Jinwoo from dialing the secretarial office.

“C-C-C-Chairman! I-I’ll do it!”

“Huh? Didn’t you say you didn’t know how?”

“I’ll ask my grandson. You know, right? My grandson knows about these things. He’s the one who told you about that streamer, Shi…Shihyun.”

Chairman Seo Jaehoon hardened his expression and said in a stern voice,

“It’s Shihyun. Call her Shihyun.”

‘I don’t care!’

Of course, he couldn’t voice his true feelings.

President Jeong bowed his head subserviently.

“Yes, yes… Anyway, I’ll ask my grandson, Chairman.”

“Please hurry. We can’t be late.”

Chairman Seo Jaehoon muttered in a cold voice.

“If we’re late, I’ll miss Shihyunie’s first reaction for me. That can’t happen. Since you said you could do it, President Jeong, I’m trusting you.”

Although Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s eyes were smiling, his voice was laced with a chilling undertone. It conveyed the clear message that if he missed this clip because of President Jeong, he would not be forgiven.

Considering Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s fanatical devotion, if this failed, President Jeong Kwangjae’s future might be filled with immense difficulties.

It was a ridiculous situation, but considering Chairman Seo Jaehoon’s behavior so far, it wasn’t impossible.

Realizing this, President Jeong Kwangjae’s face turned ashen.

‘Damn it!’

But what could he do?

He had already agreed.

“J-just a moment. I’m calling him now, Chairman.”

“…You can do it, right?”

“W-well… he’s not answering… Oh, oh! J-Jinyoung! It’s Grandpa! Grandpa has a question for you, about that Tricky? That streaming site…”

All President Jeong Kwangjae could do now was ask his grandson, whom he rarely called, how to save a clip, despite being over 60 years old.

“Seriously, to not even think about a reaction…”

Shihyun smiled awkwardly at Ji-eun’s scolding.

“Haha.”

“Oh, Shihyun…”

“I can forget things too.”

It’s true.

I really forgot.

It wasn’t like Shihyun didn’t watch broadcasts. She had fallen into ‘that world’ because of a broadcast, and she wanted to be a streamer. She knew about donation reactions.

She just simply forgot.

Even though she wanted to be a streamer, being good at it was a different matter. It’s okay to make mistakes.

“Isn’t it good that I’m learning and growing?”

That’s what Shihyun thought.

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s you, Shihyun. I understand.”

“Wait, that sounds weird.”

“You can do it from now on. Let’s do well in the future.”

“No, that’s weird. You sound like you’re treating me like an idiot, Ji-eun.”

“Wasn’t I?”

“…”

Shihyun puffed out her cheeks. A gesture that seemed slightly angry. Seeing that, Ji-eun burst out laughing.

Puffing out your cheeks is something that only works in cartoons and anime. It’s a rather unsightly action in real life.

But ridiculously enough, when someone as beautiful as Shihyun did it, it looked cute.

‘Lookism, it’s all about looks.’

If I did that, I’d get criticized.

Ji-eun grumbled inwardly and poked Shihyun’s cheek.

“These cheeks were made for poking!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Shihyun chuckled.

Ji-eun smacked her lips, watching Shihyun.

Well, it was somewhat true.

Ji-eun thought so.

Shihyun had a strange airheaded charm. It felt like she had been living away from modern society for years.

‘Like that kitchen knife incident before…’

She clearly knew social norms and common sense, but she often acted as if they didn’t apply to her. Or she seemed awkward about them.

‘Did she live in some remote area?’

Of course not, but Ji-eun didn’t really know.

‘I don’t know much about Shihyun’s past or personal life.’

Where she lived before, where she’s from, if her family was doing well, where she learned those crazy swordsmanship skills. Ji-eun knew almost nothing about Shihyun. She was a subtly mysterious character.

‘Well, does it matter?’

Ji-eun didn’t ask Shihyun about those things.

She didn’t want to make things awkward, and she figured Shihyun would tell her if she needed to know.

Ji-eun smacked her lips and scratched her cheek.

Shihyun cleared her throat, looking at Ji-eun.

“Anyway, we were interrupted by the donation, but…we’ll be focusing on footwork for a while.”

“…Wait, are we continuing like this?”

“Yes.”

“…You’re going to keep hitting me?”

Ji-eun grimaced, but Shihyun simply nodded calmly. What, is there a problem? The nod seemed to imply that, and Ji-eun felt deflated.

“Well, what can I do? If Master wants to beat me up, this lowly disciple can only obey.”

“That’s right, Disciple.”

“…”

“Anyway, once you master footwork, we’ll move on to the next step.”

“When will I master it?”

“When I think you’ve at least learned the basics.”

When is that?

Ji-eun’s lips twitched, wanting to ask, but judging by Shihyun’s current tone, she didn’t think she would get a straight answer. As Ji-eun closed her mouth, Shihyun nodded with satisfaction and tapped the sword at her waist.

“Next, I’ll teach you how to hold a sword.”

“Posture? Like stances?”

“Posture? Movement? Stance? Well, you can call it form, stance…it’s that kind of thing. Once you learn this, you’ll have at least the basic foundations.”

“Good, good. Then, Master, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Once I learn the basics, will I be able to reach Diamond?”

Ji-eun asked playfully.

Shihyun nodded.

“Yes.”

“Yes? Really? Just with the basics?”

“By my standards? Looking at how Diamond tier players and you handle swords.”

Ji-eun’s eyes widened.

Diamond! It was within reach!

Excited, Ji-eun hurriedly asked,

“T-then I just need to learn the basics?”

“Huh? No.”

Shihyun shook her head.
“No?”

“Because I’m not planning to stop there.”

“Huh?”

Ji-eun blinked, momentarily confused. Shihyun shrugged.

“If you’re my disciple, you have to reach Master tier, at least.”

“Huh.”

“Look, Ji-eun.”

Shihyun drew her sword and wrote on the dirt floor.

Crudely written English words appeared on the ground.

[Mester]

“See? What is Master? It’s a word that means someone who has mastered something, an expert, or a virtuoso, right?”

“Uh, uh? Yeah?”

“And Arfellium Saga is a game where you compete with swordsmanship. In other words, Master tier is a place you can naturally reach if you master swordsmanship. Of course, there’s magic and other stuff, but the foundation is the sword.”

“I-is that so? But Shihyun, that…”

“And learning is something you have to see through to the end. It only ends when you’ve received all the knowledge your master has to offer.”

Shihyun said so and looked at Ji-eun with serious eyes.

“So, you have to reach Master tier, Ji-eun.”

“I-I don’t understand how you reached that conclusion, but…”

“Well, you accepted me as your master, Ji-eun. As your master, I have no choice but to teach you everything I know. And then, you’ll naturally master swordsmanship. No, if you haven’t mastered it, then you haven’t learned enough. That’s how it is.”

Ji-eun’s jaw dropped at the insane conviction in Shihyun’s words.

Although Shihyun’s logic was strange, she could roughly understand it.

The declaration that if Ji-eun learned everything she had to teach, she would reach Master tier.

It was an incredibly arrogant statement.

But Ji-eun didn’t find it arrogant at all.

For Shihyun, it was a given.

She believed it to be a matter of course.

That her disciple would naturally reach that level.

‘I-is this right…?’

Ji-eun’s eyes spun.

Things felt incredibly complicated.

‘She beat me up to teach me footwork!’

She wouldn’t actually cut me down to teach me swordsmanship, right?

‘…Right?’

Her vision darkened.

She could see the endless painful lessons ahead of her.

‘I just wanted to reach the bottom of Diamond tier!’

Because of a poor choice of master, she was now facing hellish training.

“Shihyun, I just need to reach Diamond. I don’t even dream of Master. I don’t want it. I don’t like Master tier.”

“No, you can do it, Ji-eun.”

“No, that… I can…me? No, it’s not what I want…”

“Ji-eun, fighting!”

Shihyun said so with a cheerful smile.

“…”

Ji-eun closed her mouth.

She could hear the gates of hell creaking open.

“…Shihyun.”

“You’re not going to run away after accepting me as your master, are you?”

Shihyun narrowed her eyes, and Ji-eun waved her hands frantically.

“No, o-of course not. What would I be if I did that? Master Shihyun should do as she pleases. Well, it doesn’t seem… helpful… or beneficial…for me, but it is helpful, so…I should work hard.”

Ji-eun sighed deeply.

Then, glancing at Shihyun, she said,

“But Shihyun,”

“Yes?”

Ji-eun pointed at the word written on the dirt floor.

“You misspelled Master.”

[Master]

“Ah.”

Shihyun closed her mouth.

Her face flushed slightly.

A brief side note:

Sung Shihyun’s last English score on the national mock exam before falling into ‘that world’ was a level 8 (out of 9, with 9 being the lowest).