Chapter 118
It's been quite a while since my subscriber count surpassed one million.
I wasn't particularly moved.
Because I'd always thought it would happen someday.
In any case, my broadcast still had plenty of viewers, but I didn't feel particularly burdened.
"When there's a king on both your left and right, they call it 'king-left-king-right,' but what's funny about that is..."
There wasn't anything particularly special about the broadcast, either.
We might look at joke posts uploaded to the community.
Or talk about the anime lineup for this season.
If not that, we'd talk about games.
But even so, there were plenty of viewers.
I knew exactly what they wanted.
-Hyung. It's been quite a while since you passed one million subscribers. Aren't you going to hold an event?
"Want me to show off my dazzling Berserker controls?"
-Bring it on.
-This time, we'll show everyone that the berserk Depeche is the strongest.
-Are you ignoring the Sword Saint?
-Aww, lol. You game-addicted bastards.
-Get lost and go play your game.
"Just kidding. Picking only ten seems too few now, so I think I'll gradually increase the number."
-Ooooooooooh!!
-That's our hyung!!
-Noah Punch! Noah Punch!
-Hyung is a god!!
There were plenty of messages agreeing with me in the chat.
In any case, most of the people who came to my broadcast wanted to see their futures through me.
"Let's make it exactly twice as many."
-Ah! Hyung!
-Since we're doing this, let's be manly and make it three times as many!
-It was ten even when you had 100,000 subscribers. Now that you've passed one million, let's do 100 people!
"Honestly, 100 is too many."
Even if I spent only one minute on each person, that would be 100 minutes.
That didn't suit my preference for broadcasting without pressure.
"Instead, I'll give five people special treatment and see them secretly."
I told people their futures publicly.
But surely everyone has their own private treasure they want to keep hidden.
There were people who couldn't ask me for a reading because they were afraid of that.
I thought I'd give them a chance this time.
"Just so we're clear, don't commit a crime and then come crying, 'Hweee, hyung, how could you say something like this to me?'"
Let's block that possibility in advance.
A few people seemed dissatisfied.
-OrangeBottle: Fuck, he's being so stingy.
-Are there still people like this these days?
-What an utterly fearless bastard...
"OrangeBottle. You shouldn't flap your mouth carelessly, should you?"
There had been more than a few people who picked fights on my broadcast, relying on their anonymity.
Most of the people watching this broadcast probably knew what had happened to them.
Even so, picking a fight like that meant they were either new viewers or had absolutely no fear.
Then I ought to let them know.
I picked up my phone.
Then I immediately sent a text to Detective Kang Injeong.
[Detective. There's an illegal gambling den in Room 201 of Samil Apartments in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon. You have friends among the detectives in Daejeon, right? It's a good catch, so please tell them to get there quickly.]
He would get what he deserved for running an illegal gambling den and coming in here out of boredom to cause trouble.
-Hyung. But how are you going to choose the secret ones?
"Hmm? Should I draw among the people who've donated the most?"
[LavishFeast donated 10,000 gold!]
[Mandoli donated 20,000 gold!]
[StillLooking donated 40,000 gold!]
[King of Dobong-gu donated 70,000 gold!]
.
.
They're sending quite a lot.
It seemed some of them were still testing the waters, but there was no problem with that.
In any case, there were nine people.
Fortunately, none of them were involved in anything illegal.
"For the sake of fairness, let's use a lottery ladder."
I opened an online ladder-drawing program and entered the nine names.
When the results came out, some people groaned while others cheered.
"LavishFeast, Mandoli, Hyeongu-dong Orange Tribe, and Windblade. These five are up today. I'll set up a secret room after the broadcast, so come by."
The other four would get their chance next time.
Even if you're disappointed, hold on and try again the day after tomorrow.
It didn't look like any of them needed to see their futures immediately, anyway.
"Oh, and those who've had their fortunes told, post proof of whether I read them correctly or not."
Whatever the content, the viewers would want to know whether things had worked out for them.
Once everyone who had donated agreed, I continued the broadcast.
.
.
.
After the broadcast ended, I invited them into the secret room one at a time.
The first person to enter was LavishFeast.
When I suggested putting his video up while we did it, he hesitated for a moment before his screen appeared.
He was an ordinary-looking man in his mid-thirties.
-Uh. What I wanted to ask was...
"It's all right. You don't even need to say it."
I turned over a card.
Then I spoke.
"You're Lee Gyu-su, the owner of Woojeon Seafood Stew. It's a seafood stew restaurant that's been handed down for three generations. Lately, you've been hearing that the seafood stew doesn't taste like it used to, haven't you?"
I looked into the future of the man on the other side of the screen.
Woojeon Seafood Stew.
You might not know it from the name alone, but it was a fairly large seafood stew restaurant in Incheon.
It was a famous restaurant with annual sales exceeding several billion won.
But it would collapse.
Because the taste of the seafood stew would gradually become strange.
And before long, a seafood stew franchise would open near his restaurant.
There was no reason for customers to remain at a restaurant that had lost its taste and reputation.
They would go to the new restaurant, and eventually, the thirty-year-old establishment would close its doors.
-Yes. Recently, some customers have started saying that our seafood stew tastes a little strange.
"The reason is simple. You have a woman named Jang Gyeong-ji working under you, right? She's the one sabotaging you.
She was a kitchen worker who had been employed at Woojeon Seafood Stew for thirty years.
Lee Gyu-su and his mother thought of her as family.
-What? Th-that can't be. Why would Sister Gyeong-ji...?
"She took money from another company."
-.......
"She's been gradually changing the seasoning that goes into the spicy fish stew. She's driving customers away and, eventually, shaking the restaurant's reputation to its core."
And not long afterward, that woman would quit and open a new restaurant in another area.
When he heard the news, Lee Gyu-su would visit her after his restaurant went under and scream his grievances at her, but she would respond shamelessly, as if to say, 'So what do you want me to do?'
-If she was going to quit, she should have just quit... Why...!!
"About three years ago, didn't Haeyoung Food make you an offer? They wanted to franchise your restaurant."
-That's true, but...
"And you turned them down, saying that franchising would make it difficult to maintain the taste."
From the company's perspective, that must have wounded its pride.
And to completely crush Woojeon Seafood Stew, they had recruited that woman and made her do this.
-Those fucking bastards...!!
He began to huff angrily before speaking.
-Jang Gyeong-ji... Is that woman really the culprit?
"Yes. There are times when you leave the restaurant to take your mother to the hospital, right? Pretend to leave, then sneak back into the kitchen. That woman will pour a strange sauce into the seasoning you made. She'll start with a little, then gradually increase the amount to change the taste."
That was what would change the flavor.
"It's not too late yet. The restaurant's reputation hasn't fallen as far as they want it to."
-Really?
He could still recover.
But surely some customers would already have left...
"Why don't you hold some kind of event?"
-What kind of event should I hold...?
"Hmm? Wouldn't you know that better than I do?"
-Hmm... How about creating a new menu item? The braised monkfish my grandmother used to make...
The future changed.
Into a future where disappointed customers returned, praised the food, and left satisfied.
Into a future where he was happy to have preserved the restaurant his grandmother and mother had passed down.
"That sounds good."
-All right...!! In any case, hyung! Thank you so much! Come visit our restaurant sometime!! I'll give you a proper meal!
"Sure. Take care. Oh, and sue that woman named Jang Gyeong-ji for interference with business and leaking confidential information."
-Of course I will!!
That was the end of LavishFeast.
Next was Hyeongu-dong Orange Tribe.
I sent him a message, and a little while later...
A new person entered the secret room.
When I made the same proposal as I had to LavishFeast, he readily brought his face onscreen.
He was an elderly man in his late sixties.
-Hyung. How are you?
It felt a little strange to hear an elderly man call me hyung, but this was a broadcast.
"All right. Let's begin."
After performing the routine of turning over a card, I spoke.
"You're Kim Ho-myeong from Mangwol-dong. Your friend said something like this, didn't he? Since you're going to die anyway, why not distribute some of your inheritance to your children? Instead of hoarding it like a miser, live a life of sharing?"
He was rich.
Of course, he was far below the wealthy people I knew.
Even so, he owned several buildings in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
-Huh. As expected, those eyes of yours can't be fooled. Yes, that's right. My friend said that while we were playing golf.
I looked into his future.
This wasn't a good future.
"I'll be blunt. Even if your children inherit your fortune, they'll blow it all."
His eldest son.
As soon as he inherited one building, he would recklessly pour everything into a business and lose it all.
His second son.
Likewise, after inheriting one building, he would abuse his tenants and be sued by several of them.
His third child, a daughter.
She would receive a building, sell it immediately, spend the money on designer goods and gambling, frequent host bars, and end up divorcing her husband.
They lived ordinary lives now, before receiving their inheritance, but they would change once that enormous wealth fell into their hands.
-Good heavens...
"Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter. But there's one thing I want to tell you."
-What is it?
"Be careful with the inheritance. And you still have plenty of life left, don't you? Keep hold of it until you die."
-You mean I don't need to give it to them now...?
"That's right. And hire a lawyer. If you develop dementia or delirium and have to be hospitalized, arrange for your assets to be returned to society."
-Are you saying my children will try to send me to a mental hospital?
"No, it's just that I saw a drama with a plot similar to your situation..."
-...You startled me! I didn't raise them to be that kind of trash!
"Seeing how wildly they act once they get money, I don't think you've succeeded..."
He said nothing more.