Ranker's Return

Chapter 937

Hyeonu wore a mask and sunglasses as he dragged his suitcase out of San Francisco International Airport’s arrival hall. Normally, he wouldn’t have worn anything, but he was worried that the ‘interim emperor’ incident that took place not long ago would draw attention.

“Kale, it’s me.” Hyeonu quickly approached the man holding the sign labeled ‘Nike’ and stopped walking.

“Let’s go quickly.” Kale stopped Hyeonu from taking off his sunglasses and immediately turned around to leave the airport.

“I roughly read the email you sent yesterday. By the way, is the content real?” Hyeonu asked as he followed Kale.

“Yes, it is real. A broadcasting company was found to film the emperor's coronation ceremony at Quency. They contacted FOX, which hosted Masked Fighting King.”

FOX had always been active when it came to broadcasts related to Hyeonu. It was the case with any broadcaster, but FOX in particular did more. This was because they already succeeded in the Masked Fighting King content once.

“Really? Then that’s why we are seeing them? It is something I don’t know about at all...”

The problem was that this was the first time Hyeonu heard about it. Hyeonu had never heard of a coronation ceremony. He was told that the schedule was tight, so he flew to the United States on the same day he was contacted.

“Can’t Quency directly monitor the movements of the NPCs?” Kale casually answered Hyeonu’s question. It wasn’t strange for game companies to know the behavior of NPCs or what the future held. Rather, it was something that should be known.

“Then it is right?”

Hyeonu felt the same way as Kale. In order to lead the game properly, it was essential to understand the movements of major NPCs. It was natural to know about big events such as the coronation ceremony of the emperor.

“Are the conditions good? This is the first time I’ve had a meeting like this,” Hyeonu asked about something else. It was a question about the meeting.

“I can’t say since other people’s contracts are confidential, but... I am certain that Mister Gang’s contract is the best,” Kale replied with a nod.

The terms of Hyeonu’s contract were amazing. Quency had partnership agreements with professional gamers and a few streamers. Every time there was a separate event like this, an additional contract was made under separate conditions. Hyeonu’s contract had the most overwhelming conditions among such contracts.

“By the way, what do you plan to do in the future?” Kale got in the car and asked Hyeonu.

“Let’s see... I should try to be as comfortable as possible, right?” Hyeonu gave a vague answer and closed his eyes.

***

Quency wasn’t far from the airport. It was a 30 minute drive down the road to get there. Upon arriving at Quency, two staff members picked up Hyeonu and Kale.

“Gang Hyeonu-nim. My name is Kim Jinyeong.”

One of the staff members stepped forward and extended his hand to Hyeonu.

“Oh, you’re the one who spoke to me. It is nice to meet you.”

Hyeonu smiled as he took Kim Jinyeong’s hand.

“Let’s go inside. We have a room ready for the meeting.”

Kim Jinyeong gestured toward the inside of the huge building. Hyeonu glanced at Kale and walked toward the inside of the building. The room that Kim Jinyeong guided him to was a type of conference room. A white screen was hung on one wall and a desk and chairs were placed in the center.

“You just have to sit down here.”

Kim Jinyeong was pointing to a seat where a black file was placed. Hyeonu sat down as guided by Kim Jinyeong. Kale sat down next to Hyeonu.

“I think you’ve heard about the purpose of today’s meeting, so I will get right to the point.”

Kim Jinyeong pulled out a black remote from his pocket and immediately started the meeting. It was because he heard from Kale in advance that Hyeonu’s schedule was very tight.

“The papers in front of Gang Hyeonu-nim contain the terms of the contract. The terms of the agreement are in accordance with the company’s bylaws. At the same time, we have consulted with Nike Management.”

Kim Jinyeong calmly started the meeting.

‘Why is it so boring?’

Hyeonu’s expression became grumpy as the meeting progressed. It was because the meeting was more boring than he thought. It was said that they had discussed it somewhat in advance, but Kale started negotiations on his own, saying that he should faithfully fulfill the role of management. It was a negotiation that could be done between Quency and Hyeonu because Hyeonu was the advantageous party.

‘Can’t we end this quickly?’

The part Kale and Kim Jinyeong had a quarrel about was naturally money. To be exact, it was the process of discussing how much profit should be given to Hyeonu through the broadcast of the interim emperor coronation ceremony.

‘I don’t really need much money...’

However, Hyeonu was reluctant for the two of them to argue. Hyeonu’s income was already enormous. Making more money here didn’t mean that Hyeonu’s income would increase significantly. It was about this much.

‘I’ll end it.’

“Let’s go with the draft. This disagreement doesn’t seem to be ending,” Hyeonu intervened in the conversation between Kale and Kim Jinyeong. Kale looked surprised by Hyeonu’s sudden words, but his expression soon returned to normal.

“If Mister Gang says so, I will follow him.”

Then he nodded right away. It was Kale’s role to follow what his client, Hyeonu, wanted.

“I understand. Then please sign it right away.”

Kim Jinyeong also had a bewildered expression. He didn’t know that Hyeonu would intervene like this. However, it wasn’t a bad thing for himself and Quency, so he just nodded.

“By the way, when will the coronation ceremony be held? I don’t know...” Hyeonu asked about what he had been feeling curious about.

A coronation ceremony that even the party involved didn’t know about—he was curious about its identity.

‘He doesn’t know the date of the coronation ceremony?’ Kim Jinyeong’s eyes widened when he heard Hyeonu’s words. It was because it was such an unexpected question.

“Ah... Didn’t you hear about it? The NPCs would’ve explained it... Didn’t they say it in your last connection?”

“I briefly logged in after we talked on the phone yesterday. We didn’t speak much.”

“Then you might not have heard about it. At that time, the preparations weren’t complete. Maybe when you log in again, the emperor’s coronation ceremony will be held immediately.”

Hyeonu felt like he knew something now. He might not have known about it because there were so many things going on previously.

“Then are you doing all the preparations for the broadcast here?” Hyeonu asked another question.

“Yes, we will implement the broadcasting equipment on our side and we plan to broadcast it without editing as much as possible.”

The Quency company also thought of the coronation of the emperor as a big event. It was natural since it was an opportunity for promotion without spending much money.

“I understand. However, I hope that the broadcast will end without being too long. It is because I’m thinking of streaming.”

Hyeonu also intended to use the broadcast as a means of publicity. That day’s live stream was more important than ever.

“I understand. We will end the broadcast as soon as the emperor’s coronation ceremony is over. Additionally, at the end of the program, I’ll write in captions that the later story will be shown through Alley Leader’s live stream. Are you satisfied with that?”

Kim Jinyeong added a little gift to Hyeonu’s words. It was a reward for ending the sluggish negotiations.

“Thank you for the favor.” Hyeonu smiled and nodded. This was enough. No, it was undeserved. It was publicity that was better than any other publicity.

‘There will also be articles.’

It didn’t end with just captions. All types of articles would spread on the Internet. People who saw the article would come to the live stream. This was huge publicity.

“Then can I say something as well?” Kim Jinyeong had a serious expression as he asked the smiling Hyeonu.

“Yes, say it.”

“I would appreciate it if you could take the position of emperor a bit seriously.”

Hyeonu immediately understood what Kim Jinyeong was saying. It was to not get drunk on power and cause an accident.

‘I can’t play around even if I want to.’

Wouldn’t someone come back if he caused trouble? Then he would be badly beaten by that person. He couldn’t put himself into such an obvious hell.

“I was already thinking like that. I don’t want to cause a big accident in the emperor’s position. I value the game called Arena as well.”

Hyeonu and Kim Jinyeong got up from their seats and shook hands one last time.

***

After the meeting with Quency, Hyeonu and Kale flew back to New York where Nike Management was located.

“What would you like to do with your future schedule? Would you like to go back to your accommodation and rest first?” Kale looked at the dim sky and asked Hyeonu.

“No, I’m going to Nike. How can I go to the hotel when others are waiting for me?”

Hyeonu chose to meet other people rather than rest. It was a natural choice. He had seen messages from a few people on his smartphone the moment he got off the plane. It was a message that they were now at Nike Management. He thought he would be very uncomfortable if he went to the hotel alone after receiving such a message.

“I understand. Let’s go right away.”

Kale and Hyeonu took the prepared vehicle to Nike Management. They arrived at Nike Management and went into the building. Then he was able to meet familiar faces.

“Hey, you came.”

“Did you finish the meeting well?”

It started with Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu.

“I have been waiting, Mister Gang.”

Jamie Moore was also waiting for Hyeonu.

“It has been a while.”

Reina was also waiting for Hyeonu.

“Yes, I finished it well. It was about this and that regarding the broadcast. In fact, I didn’t take it seriously. It is because no matter what happens, there is no loss for me.”

Hyeonu honestly shared a review of the meeting. Those gathered found that Hyeonu was more relaxed than expected and burst out laughing. The people gathered here were those who had a meeting with Quency at least once. Jamie Moore was the management’s CEO, Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu were partners in leading a large guild called New World, and Reina had one experience when she became a professional gamer.

“Yes, do as you please. What is there to be aware of?”

Kim Seokjung was happy with Hyeonu’s attitude. Knowing things in moderation. Not having excessive greed. This was one of the charms that made Hyeonu shine.

“Then shall we have an afterparty right away? I’ve prepared everything,” Gang Junggu stood up from his seat and spoke. He was ready to leave immediately.

“Yes, let’s go. I don’t think there is anything more to say here.”

Hyeonu nodded. In any case, there was no need to have a conversation here. Additionally, he was slowly becoming hungry.

“Right, I have a request for you Kale. You must listen to it.” Just then, Hyeonu turned toward Kale.

“Huh? You have a favor to ask?” Kale asked back with a startled expression.

“I need administrators to help me. I need quite a lot of them,” Hyeonu replied with a weak smile.