It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

A peaceful morning.

『Lee Yena: ◼Obituary◼ Notification. Bereaved family: J. DOX | J. DOX’s son, rogue, has passed away. The funeral hall is..(More)』

『Lee Yena: How does it look?』

『Lee Yena: It has to look similar to the real thing.』

Shihoon saw that it was from Lee Yena and wondered what was so important that she texted instead of using Discourse or Talk. Right off the bat, the message started with ‘obituary.’

Upon seeing those two words, Shihoon felt his heart sink.

Wasn’t she the person who always looked dangerously fragile? Ever since the first day they met, things had always seemed that way. Recently, she had seemed a bit, just a bit better, but still- her drinking was alarmingly heavy.

It was no wonder Shihoon’s first thought went to himself. Logically, the likelihood of receiving such a message from Yena’s number was low, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling.

His heart settled after a nauseating throb, about three seconds after he confirmed the word ‘Rogue’ while reading the text with his trembling eyes.

『Ah』

『Really』

『Hey』

『You really scared me』

『Please don’t prank like this』

『Seriously』

『Lee Yena: It’s not a prank』

『Lee Yena: It’s an example…』

There was a brief pause after that string of texts. Had she done what she came to do, or was she contemplating something? There was no way to know since SMS lacked that ‘typing’ indicator.

There should be a limit to worrying someone like this. Did she think she’d get away with such an excuse? This was infuriating.

‘There’s no reason to wait.’

Just as Shihoon was about to continue his interrogation-

『Lee Yena: Sorry for scaring you』

『Lee Yena: But it was really an example 😥』

『Lee Yena: I was just asking if it looked similar to a real obituary notice』

『Lee Yena: I’m sorry』

It was a rare and straightforward apology. How long had it been since Lee Yena apologized for anything…or had she ever? It felt like the first time.

Shihoon suddenly wondered if she realized how seriously he had taken the message upon seeing just ‘obituary.’

If that was the case, why did he feel even more upset?

『If you’re sorry, cut down on your drinking』

『You’re overworking yourself to the point that it wouldn’t be surprising if you collapsed at your age. Don’t you think that’s why I assumed it was about you?』

『Anyway, why are you making an obituary notice example in the first place?』

He poured out his critique, perhaps to hide his true feelings. Although Shihoon thought he might be overreacting, he couldn’t stop his hands from moving.

Despite knowing he would die of embarrassment if a teasing reply like “Did you worry that much about me?” came back.

Thus, he firmly vowed not to be swayed or respond strangely no matter what reply came, staring intently at his phone.

『Lee Yena: We’re inviting Faraday’s CEO for an interview and a funeral tomorrow.』

“… What?”

『Lee Yena: So,』

『Lee Yena: Can you check the interview questions for me?』

『Lee Yena: Since accidents will happen anyway, I at least want to prepare properly.』

It was a message that left him utterly clueless where to begin.

How on earth did she manage to secure an interview with Faraday’s CEO? If she expected an accident in such a high-profile interview, shouldn’t she be thinking of preventing it? And why, after inviting the CEO, was there talk of a funeral? On top of that, why was she entrusting such an important task to him?

Shihoon pushed aside the myriad complicated thoughts swirling in his head and moved his fingers to respond.

『Send them over.』

『Lee Yena: I’ll send them on Discourse.』

『Lee Yena: Thanks 🐤!』

『What’s up with that emoji?』

『Lee Yena: Doesn’t it look like a canary?』

『Lee Yena: Even after KoK failed, it’s weird to keep calling you a woodman.』

『Lee Yena: It’s better to be prepared in advance.』

『… Isn’t it a chick?』

『Lee Yena: Hmm.』

『Lee Yena: Still, calling a man a chick seems a bit…』

『Lee Yena: I will think about it.』

『Lee Yena: Your taste is peculiar…』

『I wasn’t saying to call me a chick.』

『I meant that emoji is a chick emoji.』

『Hey.』

『Respond.』

『Hey!』

* * * *

I always felt a sense of respect, or even longing, for those who meticulously and precisely planned their demanding schedules.

In all honesty, I was hardly one to meticulously plan anything. When traveling, if I managed to book transportation and accommodation in advance, that already counted as a fairly detailed plan by my standards.

However, this time, I actually drafted a somewhat detailed plan. It naturally stemmed from trying to keep up with someone who was burning with incomprehensible passion.

Thus, today’s shared broadcast schedule was quite meticulously arranged. Each segment was prepared in 10-minute intervals—a robust timeline unprecedented in my broadcasting history.

… Although I did waste the first five minutes setting up the microphone and camera.

Still, it seemed manageable if I hurried a bit… My past self, quite aware of my tendency to lag, had wisely included notions like “10-minute loss for any reason” or “5-minute delay due to odd donations” within the schedule.

Why? They say the first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one.

Amid the chaos caused by my sister, I still managed to get my tasks done.

Pushing aside the urge to give myself some praise, I hurriedly began the session.

“Alright. The camera is over here. Please introduce yourself with your name and tier.”

“Hello! I am J. Dox, the lead developer and current CEO of Faraday Games. … Tier? By the highest score standard, I’m a Master. But since I haven’t been playing lately, I don’t think I qualify as a Master anymore.”

『Is she freaking crazy?』

『GetDevoured, where have I seen this perspective before and why is it reversed?』

『The translation tool sucks』

『Why ask the CEO about their tier, you lunatic…』

『Wait, is that the actual CEO?』

『A CEO with a Master rank ㄷㄷㄷ This company must be serious about the game』

There was a slight delay before the automatic translation program displayed the CEO’s dialogue on-screen. The quality seemed decent, but such issues still arose. This might be a good time to interact with the viewers.

-ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!-

【Oh… Even a world-renowned company’s CEO is a Master? Then what am I, a gold-tiered unemployed person…?】

-ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!-

【Who invites a CEO to a game funeral broadcast, you lunatic…】

-ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!-

【Isn’t it more of a problem that the CEO actually came?】

-ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!-

【So, whose funeral is it exactly?】

It felt a bit excessive.

Usually, I left viewers to chat among themselves or treated it like a radio show, but today, things felt different. I needed to talk to the CEO and also engage with the viewers in a meaningful way.

With everyone shouting their own thoughts like this, it would be hard to keep the broadcast on track. Donations, I realized, were more disruptive than I’d thought.

“Um… I’m sorry, but I’m going to turn off the donations. Just raise the price… No, suddenly raising the price would be a bit much. It feels like charging 300,000 won for a beach motel room during peak season… Yeah.”

『Motel?』

『How do you know motel prices, sir?』

『Can’t you guys just stop? Have you never traveled before?』

『Do these guys ever think about anything other than sex?』

『Unicorn: I’ll die…』

『How’s the lawsuit coming along?』

『Even suing 10,000 people wouldn’t be enough, damn it』

『So what even is this content?』

『We should just appoint a manager and ban 10 people per second』

Ah, a manager. I had almost forgotten about that.

“Yes. I was planning to announce this too. Since we have guests, I’ll keep it brief. We’ve decided to appoint our highest-tier applicant, our assault commander, as the administrative manager. I’ve sent the Canary manual via Discourse, so please follow it. If you need more hands, appoint managers in the order provided in the list. The list is sorted by those who helped during the protest.”

-Click

I sent the prepared files and… appointed. With a few mouse clicks, ‘ReformedDojil’ was set as the manager. It made me wonder why I delayed it for so long.

I granted almost all permissions except stopping the broadcast. I wondered if it would be okay but thought, well, they’ll handle it well. Even if they weren’t good initially, they’d improve with time. If you trust someone, you have to trust them wholeheartedly.

I felt somewhat guilty that I couldn’t dedicate much time to this first official manager appointment. Maybe later, I could find some way… to repay them.

“Alright. Everyone, please give a round of applause.”

-Clap clap

『Slap slap』

『『Manager』 will work hard ^^7』

『Haha, this jerk is really dead』

This message has been temporarily blocked and deleted

『Honestly, let’s overlook the compliments; how can you resist highlighting that agomamma barrel?』

This message has been permanently blocked and deleted

『No way! Why entrust this to him?』

『『Manager』 Any excessive sexual comments will result in a permanent ban.』

『Hey, ReformedDojil, ban me too』

『Giving authority to that jerk ReformedDojil, he’s lost his mind』

『Doesn’t GetDevoured’s name imply wanting to be devoured?』

This message has been permanently blocked and deleted

… He was doing well.

As if he had been waiting… I should have appointed them earlier. I was genuinely impressed by their quick handling. Suppressing the urge to admire his work for long, I began the main proceedings.

“So, many of you are asking… whose funeral this is. Well… that’s exactly what we’re here to decide. See, the frame is empty right now. By the end of this broadcast, we’ll decide what to put in there. There’s a printer in the studio as well.”

-Click

I clicked the mouse, displaying the prepared images on the screen. Sequentially appeared portraits of rogues, a massive broadsword, Knights of Knights’ icon, Faraday Games’ logo, and then…

“Wait a second. Isn’t this my photo? Why is this here?”

“…In case you are found to have been involved in the current state of KoK, you must take responsibility. No exceptions. Look, even my photo is here.”

“No-”

“Then… let’s start with the interview first.”