I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 212

Hwa Ta, or rather Incarnation of Greed, became very submissive. He said he would do anything as long as his life was spared. If he had been like this before Cha Jin-Hyeok’s regression, it would have been great, but Jin-Hyeok did not mind it happening now.

“Are you sure?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Of course.”

Jin-Hyeok first cleaned the blood around Hwa Ta and asked Cha Jin-Sol to heal him; it would be better if the Doctor Player did not look like he had just been beaten up to a pulp. His clothes also seemed quite damaged, so Jin-Hyeok bought him new clothes from the Broadcaster’s Shop and told him to wear them.

Jin-Hyeok had healed Hwa Ta and even bought new clothes for him. If this was not a sentimental vlog, Jin-Hyeok didn’t know what was.

“Kang Eun-Woo, tell that woman to come back in.” Eun-Woo came in supporting the woman, whose expression looked much more comfortable. She seemed to have developed a good impression of Eun-Woo after talking with him outside.

‘Getting people’s favor so quickly! It’s just like the Eun-Woo from before my regression.’

Jin-Hyeok realized that Eun-Woo seemed to have become more handsome in the past few days.

Hwa Ta devoted himself to treating the woman, exerting his healing skills with all his might. “I-I’ve cured her.”

Thwack!

The Incarnation of Greed burst into tears. “Why did you hit me when I did as you told?”

“I didn’t say I would not hit you.”

Thwack!

The taste of the smack was so beautiful and ecstatic that Jin-Hyeok could get addicted to it.

“Why are you doing this to me... What did I do...?” Hwa Ta asked.

“Soybean paste soup is made with chickpeas, am I right?”

“Yes, o-of course. Everything you say is right, SIr.”

“And the Earth is flat?”

“Absolutely.”

“How can the Earth be flat?”

Thwack!

It felt like decades of pent-up frustration were being released.

“I’ll ask again. The Earth is...?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Round.”

Thwack!

“I told you it’s flat.”

“You son of a bitch!” Hwa Ta couldn’t help himself.

“Hm... I guess my smacking wasn’t enough.”

Jin-Sol shook her head in disbelief. “Oppa, do you really need to do this? He doesn’t seem that evil. I do agree that your smacking was beautiful.”

“You don’t know. You will think differently if I tell you what he did to that woman earlier. He deserves every ounce of it.”

When she learned about what had happened to the woman, Jin-Sol smiled. “Hit him more. I’ll heal him.”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

After enduring several rounds of beautiful beating, Hwa Ta gave up. The physical brainwashing seemed to have worked perfectly.

Pleased, Jin-Hyeok muttered to himself, “Violence redeems all things.”

“Wait... did the Cult Leader send you?” Hwa Ta asked.

‘Huh? Why is he talking about the Cult Leader all of a sudden?’

“I... was going to keep my promise... I will reach Level 120 soon.”

‘What promise?’

***

Jin-Hyeok even thought of all the subtitles.

[I have created a beautiful melody with my graceful hammer, and a miracle happened. :)]

With tears in his eyes, Won Jong-Cheol thanked Jin-Hyeok. His wife’s stomach cancer had been in the early stages, and Jin-Hyeok humbly said that she could have been cured even without his help. Jin-Hyeok was sure that this moment would look quite beautiful in his video.

Jong-Cheol’s wife bowed to him. “Thank you so much.”

“No, I owed Jong-Cheol a lot. I am glad I could repay him.”

Jong-Cheol, who hardly ever said cheesy things to his friend, firmly grabbed Jin-Hyeok’s hand. “Really... Thank you.”

His eyes were filled with tears.

‘He loves his wife to death. He must have been incredibly worried about her. To think there would come a day when I would be holding hands with him... Life is full of surprises.’

Jin-Hyeok felt strangely ticklish in his heart. It was a sensation totally unfamiliar to him, but not necessarily bad.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life. I promise.”

“You do you, buddy. I am one hundred percent confident that she is cured, but you should still go to the hospital for a check-up.”

“Will do.”

“If it’s not completely cured, let me know.” Jin-Hyeok glanced at Hwa Ta.

If Hwa Ta had tried his best, she should have been fully cured. If she had not been, it meant that Hwa Ta had not given his all. In that case, Jin-Hyeok would have to conduct the greatest orchestra once again.

Jin-Hyeok looked at Hwa Ta more closely.

‘Did I hit him too much?’

Hwa Ta was somewhat dazed and crying. Jin-Hyeok felt like he could edit the clip to make it look like Hwa Ta was crying out of joy for their friendship.

‘If I add some calm music, it will make a convincing video, right?’

Meanwhile, Eun-Woo was busily pressing the shutter with his cannon-sized camera.

‘Ah, right now, I’m filming in the third-person perspective, so Eun-Woo keeps getting in the frame, but it should be fine.’

He knew his editor would take care of minor things like this.

Jin-Hyeok thought he had gathered enough content for his subplot.

‘Now, shall I talk about the Cult Leader?’

Seeing Jin-Hyeok approach him, Incarnation of Greed staggered backward and fell on his knees. “The Earth is round and flat. Soybean paste soup is made with chickpeas. I am ready to obey anything, Messenger. Please, have mercy...!”

He earnestly begged on his knees.

‘He’s also calling me the Messenger. What exactly is the leader of the Truth of Violence Cult doing in Gangwon-do?’

***

The Korean Region Minor Gallery was more chaotic than ever.

[Did you see the official teaser for Chul-Soo’s new video on his Enstagram?]

└I already have my tears ready. T_T

└Honestly, if I were that successful, I don’t think I would care about my old friends.

└Whether it’s his face, personality, or ability, what doesn’t he excel at? T_T Please take me, Chul-Soo.

[But who is that person occasionally seen in the video?]

└I heard he is the new Homepage Master.

└Name: Kang Eun-Woo, Age: 23, Characteristic 1: He is handsome. Characteristic 2: He is cute. Characteristic 3 (the most important): He has insane visual chemistry with Chul-Soo.

└If both of them are in the video, I might need sunglasses to watch as they’re so dazzling.

Two main themes were trending on the Korean Region Minor Gallery. One was the narrative of Chul-Soo sincerely helping to treat an old friend’s wife. The other was the fleeting glimpses of Eun-Woo in Chul-Soo’s video, highlighting their incredible visual chemistry.

[A handsome guy next to a handsome guy. A cute guy next to a cute guy. Thank you so much for creating them, God.]

└Eun-Woo is blatantly cute. It’s super adorable how he gets embarrassed and blushes when Chul-Soo says something. T_T

└Despite that, he is diligent with the camera. Even when flustered, he works hard.

The number of Jin-Hyeok’s followers on Enstagram increased in real time. This also positively impacted the subscriber counts of Chul-Soo’s channel and KimKnowItAllTV.

Yu-Mi, who managed the Enstagram account, was very pleased. “Eun-Woo is doing a great job. Extracting dozens of A-cuts like this one. Especially this angle, it’s insane.”

She carefully examined one of the photos. It was a photo of Chul-Soo reaching out to a man lying on the ground. She assumed the man on the ground had just tripped or something. In this photo, Chul-Soo’s sharp nose and red lips stood out, evoking a dreamy atmosphere along with his gentle demeanor.

“His face makes him look so cold and intimidating...”

But his actions were kind and gentle. This gap created a dreamy and mysterious vibe that the viewers loved.

“And in the next photo....”

Somehow, the deeply moved man (Hwa Ta) was seen standing up and wiping his tears. The scene could be interpreted as a doctor being moved by Chul-Soo’s loving friendship with his old friend, shedding tears of empathy. Together with this narrative, these photos deeply touched the hearts of not only Yu-Mi but also the public. The reaction to the teaser and photos was explosive.

“And that photo where Jong-Cheol hugs Chul-Soo... Perfect angle. The fan cam angle looks so good!”

Jong-Cheol was crying in that photo. His slightly balding head and wrinkled eyes added a more dramatic aspect. The man looked a bit haggard and unimpressive in the photos, but his expression was genuine.

“Eun-Woo is doing such a great job. We can’t lose to a newbie, right?” Yu-Mi excitedly shouted at Kang Chul.

“Of course not!” Editor Kang Chul also gave his best.

‘I can’t let a newbie beat me!’ Kang Chul thought.

Although the nature of the work he did for Chul Soo was slightly different from that of Eun-Woo’s, Kang Chul felt a great sense of competition with Eun-Woo. Working under the username, ChulSooIsGod, Kang Chul could feel that Eun-Woo was full of admiration for Chul-Soo, just like him. Such quality photos and fan cam videos could not be produced without admiration.

‘I will show my true ability!’

Kang Chul gave his best to prove that he was no less than Eun-Woo in every aspect except appearance.

‘I need to edit this part... cut here... do this...’

The end result was almost akin to creating a new video. Kang Chul thought he had edited too much, so he asked for confirmation from Yu-Mi, who gave him a big thumbs up.

She said, “It’s perfect! Let’s go with this. Oh, but add that part where Jin-Sol mumbles about how beautiful it is...”

“What if people criticize the video for being too manipulated?”

Yu-Mi wiggled her index finger from side to side. “Just insert a disclaimer that the video includes some dramatization for quality purposes!”

“What if Hwa Ta protests?”

“Then another beautiful melody will ring out across Gangwon-do! Thwack Thwack and More Thwack! Hehehe.”

Madness twinkled in Yu-Mi’s eyes behind her round glasses. The video released afterward was quite a surprise even for Jin-Hyeok.

***

‘Wow... the view count is rising faster than I expected.’

Jin-Hyeok had a profound realization. “So, this is why they make teasers and separate short videos.”

Thanks to the teaser on Enstagram and the short videos, his new video had surpassed one hundred million views as soon as it was uploaded.

“It was not even a major event that happened in the Server, but just a simple sentimental vlog.”

The editing made it seem like a very moving video. Once again, Jin-Hyeok was surprised at how competent Yu-Mi and Kang Chul were.

Jin-Sol, who was resting in the next room, rushed into his room. Her expression made it evident that she liked the video. “Oppa! Do you remember the scene where you helped Hwa Ta up after beating him up? This part!”

“Ah, yes.”

“They edited it to look like you were encouraging and helping up Hwa Ta after he was tired from treating your friend’s wife!”

Both Jin-Sol and Jin-Hyeok were surprised. The power of editing was more astonishing than he thought.

“It looks like you are sincerely helping him.”

Editing indeed created facets that did not exist. Additionally, Jin-Sol’s words “So beautiful” were aptly inserted in the video. It appeared as if she had been moved by Hwa Ta’s devoted healing. Thanks to that, it looked as if they had tried their best and challenged the impossible.

“They selected some of Hwa Ta’s arrogant expressions and connected them so naturally. Initially, he seemed indifferent to the healing, but the dedicated healing he performed later contrasted this, doubling the dramatic impact!” Jin-Sol said.

It seemed like the editing actually made Hwa Ta look good to the public. The scene where everything ended and Jin-Hyeok was smiling happily as if he had the world was also perfectly placed. In reality, it was a satisfied smile due to the Thwack Thwack and More Thwack!

‘But it’s really surprising. Even with the power of editing, I did not expect such simple content to get this much response.’

Indeed, there was so much in the world that Jin-Hyeok did not fully understand.

‘And why do I look so handsome?’

In some fan cam videos, he seemed even more handsome than he was in real life. It had to be the ability of Homepage Master. Jin-Hyeok’s Storyteller, editor, and Homepage Master were all working hard, so he felt like he should Play more diligently, intensely, and beautifully.

‘I need to study more.’

As a form of study, he started reading through the comments.

‘Wow...’

There were many interesting reactions.