Ranker's Return

Supplementary Story 14

Yeongchan looked jealous as he watched Hyeonu pack clothes into his suitcase.

‘I think he goes out to play once a month...’

Most of the activities were free as well. The cost was paid by the people who sought out Hyeonu. He just had to take the time to get on the plane.

Hyeonu stopped packing and turned to Yeongchan while asking, “Do you want to come with me?”

He tried to ignore it, but Yeongchan’s gaze was too hot to ignore.

“Can I even go with you? You should just go and come back.” Yeongchan sighed loudly. He was grateful for Hyeonu’s offer, but he couldn’t go.

Hyeonu also sighed when he saw Yeongchan like this. The reason why Yeongchan said he couldn’t go was too obvious. “That’s why I told you to do the streams in a free and easy manner. Why are you doing it like you are lacking something?”

Yeongchan couldn’t take a break from live streaming in order to keep his promise to the viewers.

“What’s lacking? I’m just doing this because I feel comfortable with it.” Yeongchan shrugged. Now he was nervous about taking a break from streaming. It was even more so because he knew that the viewers could lose interest at any time.

“Don’t lie. You’re not resting because of the mission. Wasn’t it that you will receive 10,000 gold coins if you stream all week?” Hyeonu snorted at Yeongchan’s answer. He didn’t like that Yeongchan lied to him even though he knew the situation clearly.

“I’ll buy you a ticket, so don’t say anything and get on. If it is because of the live stream, you can go there and turn it on. Rather, the viewers will like it more.”

“Can I stream it?” Yeongchan smiled brightly as if he had been waiting for this.

“No. Of course, you can’t do it in that place. Not everyone is as crazy about streaming as you are.” Hyeonu shook his head.

The purpose of this trip to New York was Reina’s farewell party. Nike Management and the New York Warriors had prepared it for Reina, who was retiring as a professional gamer and leaving New York. It was very rude to live stream in such a place.

“Then I’ll just have to do it before that.” Yeongchan had no intention of streaming there. He thought it was right to do it before the farewell party and had even established the concept of the live stream already.

‘The second coming of Crescent Moon.’

The farewell party would be attended by Mason and Dwayne Evans. Unlike Lee Hoon, Sunny, and Yuri, who were still professional gamers for Crescent Moon, these two people had chosen to retire and return to their original positions. As a result, they moved further away from the public eye.

Of course, Mason and Dwayne met the public from different positions. Mason was the head of Nike Management, while Dwayne was a star representing Hollywood. However, what the Arena lovers wanted to see was Dwayne and Mason from Crescent Moon.

“Yes, let’s go.” Yeongchan got off the bed and disappeared into his room.

“Sigh...” Hyeonu shook his head at Yeongchan’s back and diligently filled his empty suitcase.

***

Reina woke up early in the morning as usual and prepared to go out. She took a shower and got dressed. Once the preparations were complete, Reina moved to the garage and got into her vehicle. She departed from a quiet suburb and drove quickly into the downtown area of New York, which was filled with skyscrapers.

‘There!’

Reina stopped in front of a building that was especially large even among the skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the sky. As Reina got out of the car, a man in a suit approached and said, “I’ll do the parking for you. Reina, you just need to go up to the 10th floor.”

“Thank you.” Reina bowed to the man and headed straight inside the building.

Dding-!

Reina saw a familiar face as soon as the elevator doors opened.

“I got a message that you had arrived. You arrived earlier than I expected.” Kale was standing in front of the elevator.

Reina lowered her head and glanced at her wrist.

‘It is 11 o’clock.’

She had arrived an hour earlier than the appointment time.

“The road was less blocked than usual. Are you busy?”

If Kale were busy, she could wait. In the first place, this was the right thing to do.

Kale shook his head. “No, my only morning schedule is my meeting with you.”

This was the day that the important guest named Reina would come by. He didn’t know when his meeting with her would end, so he naturally couldn’t have made other appointments.

“You can sit here.” Kale led Reina to a table in the middle of his office. Reina sat down on the chair that Kale pointed to.

Kale turned back and sat down opposite Reina. “Should I start by saying congratulations? Your new start was very neat.”

“I don’t know yet. I think I’ll only know after a few months.”

“It is quite different from when you were a professional gamer.” Kale had a strange smile on his face. Reina’s attitude would be unimaginable not long ago. As a professional gamer, Reina had always been full of confidence and the desire to challenge things. She was far from being humble.

“At that time, I just had to do well, but... that isn’t the case any longer.” Reina sighed lightly. She couldn’t be confident about her success as a streamer. Skills were important to a streamer, but that wasn’t the only part. Other things were necessary.

“Reina, you can be confident. You deserve it.” Kale shook his head.

From his perspective, Reina was already the best streamer. She had all the conditions to attract viewers—outstanding skills, a pretty appearance, and even a unique network of contacts. The viewers had no choice but to flock to her.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Reina smiled.

It would sound like empty words if it was from someone else, but the man in front of her was Kale. This was the man who first found Alley Leader. He had a discerning eye that was beyond what was considered normal.

“The matter you requested has been handled.” Kale held out a file to Reina. There was also a small USB on top of the file.

“Thank you, Kale.”

Reina put the USB in her pocket and opened the file to check the documents inside. The documents were a contract. The contract was written in two languages: Korean and English.

“Is the location right?”

“Yes, it is right. It is the contract of sale for the officetel you stayed in last winter. Perhaps it is because the price range isn’t high, but the owner hasn’t changed.”

The identity of the contract Reina received was the officetel sales agreement. It was also on the same floor as Yeongchan’s officetel.

“When can I move in?”

“It is possible right now. Once it is time to move to Korea, we can finish the preparations for moving in.”

“I truly thank you, Kale.”

She finally had a place to live. Now all she had to do was get ready to go to South Korea.

“By the way... do you intend to keep it a secret from Mister Gang?” Kale asked cautiously. This was a personal question. He knew exactly what was between Hyeonu and Reina. Thus, it was even more interesting to watch the two of them.

Reina smiled brightly and nodded. “Yes, just do it for two days. It is a secret until then.”

***

Reina’s farewell party was a gathering of around 30 people at most. It was a very small party held by a large management company. However, the names of the 30 people participating in the farewell party were too famous. Not all of the names were leaked to the press, the names that were leaked were well-known enough to suggest what the rest of the guest list was like.

Hollywood’s best action star, Dwayne Evans…

The new head of Nike Management, Mason Rockefeller…

Jin Sijong, the leader of New World, Arena’s number one guild…

And...

“Alley Leader!! Alley Leader!!!”

“Is it true that you came to New York for the farewell party?”

Hyeonu, also known as Alley Leader, was participating in the farewell party too.

“I’ll talk about the details in Argon’s live stream. Please get out of the way.” Hyeonu waved to the people occupying almost one side of the airport.

‘Sigh, it’s hard.’

After a long struggle, Hyeonu managed to leave the airport with the help of Nike Management’s staff.

“Why are you only coming out now? How long have I been waiting? Why didn’t you pick up the phone again?” Yeongchan spoke to Hyeonu with a grumpy expression. Yeongchan had come out of the airport without any incidents, so he naturally had no idea about what happened to Hyeonu.

“I almost died. I don’t know how celebrities manage to get around.” Hyeonu just shook his head at Yeongchan’s harsh words. He didn’t have the energy to bicker with Yeongchan. It was less than 10 minutes in terms of time, but he consumed too much mental energy during this period.

“That is why I told you to cover your face with something. You said it was annoying...” Yeongchan clicked his tongue. He seemed to know what had happened to Hyeonu. Yeongchan had also experienced it before. It was the fate of a celebrity.

“It takes around an hour to get to the hotel. Get some sleep. If you don’t rest now, you won’t have time later. You know that it is a tight schedule.”

“Yes. I’m going to die once it is evening.” Hyeonu’s pale face became even whiter. He had received a message from Kim Seokjung earlier shortly after getting off the plane. It was quite long, but to sum it up in one sentence, it was for them to meet at night and drink. Then a black limousine stopped in front of Hyeonu and Yeongchan. It was a vehicle prepared by the staff members of Nike Management.

Yeongchan and Hyeonu loaded their suitcases in the trunk of the limousine and got in. Hyeonu collapsed as soon as he got in the car.

Yeongchan shook his head when he saw it and spoke cautiously to the driver, “Please depart.”

The limousine exited the airport and headed to the city center.

***

‘Huh?’ Hyeonu felt strange about the overly quiet environment and opened his eyes. ‘What?’ Hyeonu blinked several times before turning his head and looking around.

‘I think I fell asleep in the car.’

He was in a small room with a luxurious interior. The center of the room had a large table and a few chairs.

“Why am I lying here?”

The place where Hyeonu was lying down, or sitting, was a rocking chair. Just then, the door opened silently, and men with cameras entered. Hyeonu looked at the camera and instinctively frowned. He still didn’t understand the situation.

Just then, a person appeared to explain the situation, “It is finally happening.”

Yeongchan approached Hyeonu with a small microphone. “Alley Leader, did you sleep well?”

“What is this?”

“I am streaming. Watch what you say.” Yeongchan raised an index finger to his mouth.

‘He is streaming? Don’t tell me...’

“Are you going to finish your homework as soon as you come here? You are a really crazy guy.” Hyeonu quickly grasped the current situation from Yeongchan’s words.

Yeongchan couldn’t turn on the stream in the evening, so he wanted to finish the streaming before that.

“Everyone, come in.” Yeongchan confirmed Hyeonu’s words by nodding before turning around and gesturing to the door. Two men appeared through the door.

“It has been a while, Mister Gang.”

“I am seeing a face that is hard to see. I feel a bit blessed today.”

The two men were his former Crescent Moon colleagues, Dwayne and Mason.