I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 207

Song Ha-Young’s information was hard to believe.

“Wait, Kang Eun-Woo is livestreaming nowadays?”

‘Why would he do that? He has a natural talent for acting, doesn’t he? He should know that.’

Jin-Hyeok had thought Eun-Woo would be Playing as an idol of sorts, Awakening to a Job with that kind of vibe. However, Eun-Woo had become a Streamer for some reason.

“But he is a complete Hakko.”

“He is?” Jin-Hyeok had grown enough to know what Hakko meant. “That doesn’t make sense...”

“Why not?”

“Haven’t you seen his face?”

“He hasn’t revealed his face yet. He just has messy hair and a full-grown beard, and he wears glasses and a mask. So, people do not really know what he looks like.”

The more Jin-Hyeok heard about him, the more absurd it seemed.

“Why hasn’t he revealed his face?” he asked.

‘If he is not going to use that face properly, he might as well give it to me.’

It seemed like Eun-Woo had no idea how much of an asset his appearance was. He was frustratingly clueless.

“It’s because he’s number two,” Ha-Young said with a frown. “He’s doing it to imitate someone.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think?”

Jin-Hyeok looked at Ha-Young for a while then realized. “Wait, me?”

‘Why the hell would he imitate me?’

***

Jin-Hyeok felt that Ha-Young had become significantly more cooperative.

‘In the past, she would have said something like “Hey I’m the leader of the Black Rose Alliance. Stop sending me on these unimportant errands.” But now, she is surprisingly cooperative.’

Ha-Young found Eun-Woo’s address in less than a day. “Here is it.”

“That was easy.”

“He’s a Streamer. Tracing the livestream location was easy.” Ha-Young shook her head disapprovingly. “He is trying to imitate you, but it’s so clumsy.”

Jin-Hyeok confusedly tilted his head. Ha-Young appeared to be irked for some reason. People around him seemed to get upset over strange things these days.

[#Imitators are the worst. #If he is going to copy, at least do it well.]

Ha-Young was genuinely annoyed.

‘Why is he imitating Jin-Hyeok?’ she thought.

Whether they imitated him well or poorly did not matter; she just disliked the idea of someone copying Kim Chul-Soo. Lately, many Chul-Soo imitators had popped up, and Ha-young despised them all. Incidentally, she was Chul-Soo Land member number ninety-nine, a fact she kept secret from Jin-Hyeok.

‘Why the hell is he number two? How could such a pathetic imitation claim to be number two, while I am ninety-nine?

This was completely wrong, and it bothered her the most. She asked Jin-Hyeok, “Why do you need his address? Are you going to punish him?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Well, he is an imitator.”

Jin-Hyeok flinched.

‘Why would I want to hurt someone just because they are imitating me?’

The Guardian Tree and now Ha-Young, everyone seemed to be getting more violent.

‘Technically, I also imitated the concept of Mystery Box.’

Jin-Hyeok had no right to claim originality, and he did not want to either. Anyone could do such performances, and he had never thought of himself as an exception.

“Then why?” she asked.

“Just want to meet him.”

“Why?” Ha-Young’s voice sharpened.

‘Does he know that Eun-Woo is number two? This better not be a fan meeting,’ Ha-Young thought.

“I just want to give him a piece of my mind,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

Ha-Young smiled broadly. “Give him a good scare for me.”

-“Smash his head! Hahahaha!”

The Guardian Tree also chimed in.

***

‘Wait, Sareoga Mart Dungeon?’

Jin-Hyeok was dumbfounded. Eun-Woo, who struggled with Broadcaster’s Barrier, was imitating Jin-Hyeok and clearing the Sareoga Mart Dungeon all by himself even though the Streamer Job was not fit for soloing Dungeons.

‘Wow...’

Seeing Eun-Woo was almost like watching a right-handed person use his left hand, a basketball player playing soccer, or a wrestler swimming. It looked just so out of place and awkward.

‘And what is this?’

[#Lack of self-esteem. #I am nothing. #Dust in the universe.]

Jin-Hyeok approached Eun-Woo, who had heavily disguised himself with a wig, sunglasses, and a mask. He probably could not afford the Deceiver's Mask.

“Yo, what are you doing here?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Y-You are...?!” Eun-Woo seemed to have recognized Jin-Hyeok. He stiffened, then suddenly turned and dashed away.

‘Why is he running away?’

This was getting more perplexing by the second. Eun-Woo’s escape route seemed poorly planned. His heading that way would only result in him getting beaten up by the Fist Monkeys.

‘Sigh!’

Jin-Hyeok decided to help him out, foreseeing that Eun-Woo could end up like the Guardian Tree had said, with his head smashed.

‘He doesn’t lack the skill to use Broadcaster's Barrier; he just doesn’t have the Skill at all!’

Broadcaster’s Barrier was like a special privilege given to an Initial Awakener with the Streamer Job. Eun-Woo was not an Initial Awakener, so he did not have the Skill.

“Yo, let’s talk for a minute.”

***

Eun-Woo could not meet Jin-Hyeok’s eyes, and his hands were trembling.

‘This doesn’t suit him,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, Eun-Woo was a confident person, and Jin-Hyeok had received a lot of help from him. Eun-Woo had taught Jin-Hyeok how to resist powerful seductions and not fall for the temptations of Succubi.

The world also knew that the two of them were friends, and Eun-Woo had mentioned Jin-Hyeok several times on his Enstagram account, which was also a huge help. Eun-Woo was a superstar on a universal scale, and his words could sway public opinion.

‘I was always the one receiving help.’

As a Player affiliated with the NIS, Jin-Hyeok had to be mindful of public opinion, whether he liked it or not. When public opinion about his party worsened due to various mistakes, just a few words from Eun-Woo could turn it around. Eun-Woo had hundreds of millions of fans on the Earth Server alone. Even politicians, Jin-Hyeok’s superiors, and Maria from the NIS had to be wary of Eun-Woo. He was a strong supporter of Jin-Hyeok, but in this life, he was rather pitiful.

“Why are you livestreaming?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I-I am sorry. I didn’t mean to imitate you...” Eun-Woo looked like he was about to cry, tears welling up in his eyes. Anyone would think Jin-Hyeok was bullying him.

‘This won’t do. He helped me before my regression, so I should help him now.’

“You need to quit being a Streamer,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...Pardon me?”

“I know this may come as a shock to you now.”

Jin-Hyeok felt a sense of pride. Before his regression, he would have resorted to violence, but now he knew how to resolve things through conversation. He felt like he had truly become an ordinary person. Being a sensitive and emotional Eltuber who made sentimental vlogs, Jin-Hyeok decided to change Eun-Woo’s mind with kinder and warmer words.

“I don’t know why you chose to be a Streamer, but this is not the right fit for you.”

Players usually hated changing their Jobs. It involved starting from scratch in terms of Level, and there was no guarantee of getting their desired Job. People tended to make the mistake of gravitating toward what they were familiar with. Jin-Hyeok had done the same. He had reached for a sword instead of a hammer, despite having held the hammer form of the Rule Breaker.

“B-But... I...” Eun-Woo was always stubborn.

‘Ah, should I just hit him?’

Since Jin-Hyeok had a lot of experience where violence solved everything, he found himself wanting to resort to it too easily. Going the long way around when an easier path existed was frustrating.

“I... just want to be like you, Mr. Chul-Soo...”

Jin-Hyeok had no idea why Eun-Woo had a crying expression. He had not even hit Eun-Woo.

‘Should I just hit him? Then, he would have a reason to be this upset.’

“Y-You are my idol, Mr. Chul-Soo.”

“...”

‘What is he even talking about?’

“S-So, I wanted to be like... you... even if it’s hard.”

“I recently had a good experience and gained some enlightenment related to this.” Jin-Hyeok felt this enlightenment should be shared. Rather, he wanted to brag about it. “I always thought wielding a sword was my greatest talent. But it wasn’t. So, I recently changed my main weapon. It was really tough, and it hurt my pride too.”

“...” Eun-Woo started taking notes.

Jin-Hyeok found this a bit embarrassing yet fulfilling, like becoming a notable figure. It especially felt gratifying because the one listening to him was Eun-Woo.

“But changing paths opened my eyes to many things. I learned that clinging to the sword was the wrong path. I felt like I grew a lot.”

“En...lightenment... Got it.” Eun-Woo diligently noted down everything.

“You can do it too. Changing paths is not as hard as you think. There is a lot to gain from it.”

“...”

Then, a good idea struck Jin-Hyeok.

‘Now that I think about it, Streamers were always desperate to have Eun-Woo as a guest in their livestreams.’

Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, whenever Eun-Woo appeared on a Streamer’s livestream, the Streamer’s subscriber count would explode. However, Eun-Woo’s high appearance fee and an exclusive contract with another Streamer, Marshmallow from the Arvis Server, made that difficult.

‘What if I secure him for myself? It would be a jackpot.’

Jin-Hyeok’s perspective had broadened since he had filmed the sentimental vlog. His old way was more in line with that of a skilled Swordsman who livstreamed, rather than that of a true Streamer.

‘That was a narrow-minded approach.’

To grow his channel, Jin-Hyeok needed content that could appeal to various generations and species. In that sense, bringing Eun-Woo on board was a great strategy.

“You don’t have to livestream by yourself. If you really want to livestream, you can just appear on mine,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Tears welled up in Eun-Woo’s eyes again.

Jin-Hyeok wondered if the man did not like the offer. He even thought of forcing Eun-Woo to sign a contract if Eun-Woo hated it.

“You mean... I can be on your livestream?” Eun-Woo asked.

“Yes.”

“Can someone as pathetic as me really appear on your show?”

“Of course.”

Suddenly, mana swirled around Eun-Woo. A significant change seemed to be happening.

‘A sudden Job change? I just had a couple of words with him, and he’s changing Jobs?’

Eun-Woo’s talent was truly top-notch.

“I... changed my Job.”

Jin-Hyeok could see that too. It seemed like Eun-Woo had undergone Irregular Awakening as he started his new Job at Level 50.

[LV50/Kang Eun-Woo/Homepage Master/Skills/Low Self-Esteem But Still Number Two]

‘Homepage Master? Not “Everyone’s Idol”? Is this like the initial phase of becoming “Everyone’s Idol”? And what about those rainbow colors? That’s new.’