Season 2: Chapter 92. A New and Familiar Encounter (5)

It happened around the time Almond's fan meeting would take place. Was it Ji-Ah's fervent wish that made it happen?

#Trending Video 1st place

One of her videos claimed the top spot in the gaming category. The video that proudly reached the number one spot featured Whiskey as the shadow warrior. This video had been popular since the beginning.

Following closely in third place was Whiskey's “I trusted you!” while Almond's display of physical prowess settled for fourth place.

Japan-related content suddenly dominated the local gaming category rankings.

— Why are there so many Japanese things on the local YouTube?

└ Hey, respect Whiskey-sama. Watch your language.

— Reverse Hallyu is insane LOL. While some viewers expressed resentment toward Japan, most seemed to like the character Whiskey.

No wonder the rankings were so high.

Some even commented on the situation like this:

— This “Why” War

└ LOL, “Why” indeed

└ “This Japanese guy is for real,” right?

└ Crazy LOL.

└ This Japanese guy is for real! It's like a blockbuster romantic comedy.

└ The title for a blockbuster romance drama in Tokyo this summer.

They played on the word “Why,” a homophone for Japan in Korean, and made puns out of it.

— Today, we’ll call it the “This Why War!”

└ This Why War LOL

└ The sound of it is crazy LOL

The term “This Why War,” would be used repeatedly in the future.

***

“This Why War, huh.”

Ju-Hyeok chuckled while having lunch. He and Sang-Hyeon ate lunch together after a long time.

"The title, ‘This Japanese guy is for real,’ is even funnier."

They typically ate breakfast, but usually skipped lunch due to their lifestyle patterns. However, they needed to be active today and planned on eating a hearty meal.

"The ranking is high, so all sorts of comments are coming out."

"Yeah."

Sang-Hyeon looked at his phone screen while eating, which was now a familiar sight. It had become part of his routine to check the views on his videos and the community reactions to the previous day’s stream every morning.

"It’s no joke this time. The feeling is really good. It’s going to be chaos if we go to the national team competition."

They discussed the current situation of Almond's channel. All the uploaded videos had ranked significantly. Three short videos captured the top spots in the trending list. The new video concept they adopted proved successful.

"It looks like Japan will have a tough time for a while," Ju-Hyeok murmured while reading the video titles and chuckling.

Ji-Ah was aware of this concept’s success and would continue to produce such videos. It looked like Japan would have to bear the brunt of the suffering in the titles every time.

"Anyway, Whiskey has done a great job. Both in and out of the game. It’s a triple hit and one video is in first place."

"That’s true," Sang-Hyeon mumbled and nodded.

Sang-Hyeon had encountered the Japanese archer, Whiskey, by chance. He recalled trying to avoid Whiskey as much as possible because it felt burdensome.

'It could’ve been a big problem.'

It would’ve been a disaster if Sang-Hyeon kept avoiding him.

Whiskey was not only instrumental in showcasing Almond's gameplay, but was also the top contributor to making all the videos a hit.

'I should probably send him a thank you message or something...'

As Sang-Hyeon pondered over this, something suddenly occurred to him.

"Oh right, I’m starting the stream."

Yes, he had planned to do an outdoor stream today. This was also part of the event for the fan meeting. In a way, it was a kind of warm-up for the fan meeting.

Sang-Hyeon picked up the filming equipment that looked like a simple selfie stick.

Ju-Hyeok panicked at this, "What? Right now?!"

"We have to start now. I promised to film the process of going to the fan meeting and getting ready."

"But let me at least change my clothes..."

Shuffle

.

Ju-Hyeok quickly went into his room to change his clothes and came back out.

***

As soon as Ju-Hyeok came out, he realized that Sang-Hyeon was already streaming.

"

Ah

, yes. This is my place. I'm just wearing my casual clothes. You think it suits me? Thank you for the 100,000 won donation, Mr. Lookism."

It seemed someone had donated 100,000 won as soon as the stream started.

"Oh, look. There's the manager."

Swiff.

With a swift motion, Sang-Hyeon turned the camera to capture Ju-Hyeok.

The viewers, experiencing Ju-Hyeok's direct introduction on camera for the first time, expressed their fascination.

— Wow, he’s got that rimless charisma.

— So you're the one who took me down the other day!

— Wow, it's Walnut!

— Huh? Isn’t that the guy from the ads? LOL. He really was the manager. LOL.

— The manager looks so dashing.

Sang-Hyeon silently mouthed, “Say hello,” to Ju-Hyeok and instructed him like a child.

Ju-Hyeok, taken aback for a moment, adjusted his glasses and greeted the viewers.

"Hello, I'm Walnut."

— Walnut honestly LOL.

— Mom! I told you NutzPunk is real! Mom! NutzPunk is real!

— Walnut? I'm a freshman.

— Walnuts do exist! Walnuts do exist!

The chat heated up when Ju-Hyeok self-identified as Walnut. The viewers loved it when the subject of their memes played along.

However, Ju-Hyeok firmly put a stop to their antics.

"Don't spam."

The viewers enjoyed his manager-like comment.

— LOL!

— He’s the manager (literally)

— Who are you spamming in front of right now?

— Right, he was the manager. LOL.

'Phew, this is overwhelming.'

Ju-Hyeok felt pleased with the positive response, but felt queasy from the endless stream of comments. He wondered if this was what the camera jitters felt like. Maybe this was even more intense than that since numerous people were evaluating and discussing him in real-time.

'This is what he deals with every day.'

Ju-Hyeok glanced at Sang-Hyeon, who appeared completely unfazed.

Watching from the side and doing it himself felt like a world of difference. Ju-Hyeok gained a new respect for Sang-Hyeon.

Tap. Tap.

Sang-Hyeon nudged Ju-Hyeok and mouthed a question, “Why aren't you talking?”

Questions kept coming in for Ju-Hyeok.

— How long have you two been friends?

— Is Walnut also from Ah-Sung?

— Are you roommates? LOL.

"

Ah

, yes. We met at work. We're roommates. I'm freeloading, actually. This place belongs to Sang-Hyeon where he used to live with his grandmother. Yes, I also worked at Ah-Sung."

— Where's your original home?

— Both of you are Ah-Sung men?! Amazing!

— NutzPunk's cutoff line is insane...

More questions for Ju-Hyeok filled the chat.

'It's getting to be too much.'

Ju-Hyeok couldn't keep answering questions indefinitely. After all, the introduction was meant to be brief. He only briefly addressed some questions from donors before passing off the camera.

"I left my original home. Just wanted to try something new. Yes, I prepared today's fan meeting. A variety show? There have been some offers, but I think it's better to focus on the live streams for now. Back to Sang-Hyeon..."

After all, this was Sang-Hyeon's stream and Ju-Hyeok's role was just to support him.

'Phew.'

Ju-Hyeok sighed in relief and caught his breath as the camera shifted back to Sang-Hyeon.

"That was Walnut."

Sang-Hyeon called Ju-Hyeok Walnut with a deadpan expression.

— LOL! Is that official?

— Official: The manager is Walnut. No personal content.

— Proxy Walnut LOL.

Sang-Hyeon smirked at their reactions and moved on to the next part of the stream.

"Now, I really have to head out to prepare for the fan meeting. Oh, but I need to change my clothes..."

[WackJessie has donated 10,000 won!]

[Are you taking the camera along?]

"Don't be ridiculous..."

Wait. That viewer's name looked familiar. Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon exchanged glances and both thought the same thing.

'Jessie?'

Jessie, the user who had helped Almond in

Civil Empire

, shared the same nickname. However, imitating someone in a stream like this was common.

"WackJessie, thank you for the 10,000 won donation."

— Could it be the real Jessie?

— Jessie noona???

— It must be fake LOL.

No more donations came from WackJessie after that.

"Then, I'll get changed and we'll head out."

***

Most of the major tasks like moving the tables had already been completed at the chicken and beer place where the fan meeting would take place. Only minor tasks like where to hang the decorations remained.

"This seems like the right place."

"Here?"

"Yes.

Ah...

No, a little more to the left."

Almond also helped out while carrying the camera around.

— So cute LOL.

— Almond balloons, awesome.

— I want one too!

The viewers got a rough idea of what the fan meeting would be like. The almond-shaped balloons caught everyone’s attention.

"

Ah

, yes. The balloons are cute, right? It was the planner's idea."

Sang-Hyeon focused more on streaming and promoting the event rather than participating in the setup.

"By the way, it was Director Jang from

Evening Wide

who introduced me to the planner."

— Broadcast connections!

— A major channel PD? Wow.

— Is this what it means to be world class?! This is world class!?

Almond conducted interviews with Ji-Ah, Ju-Hyeok, and the venue owner from time to time.

"

Ah

, yes. Sang-Hyeon has been coming here since he was a salaryman. The atmosphere here is more suitable for gossiping with colleagues than for company dinners..."

— LOL.

— Is it that boss from All Lined Up? LOL.

— LOL.

— Suddenly exposed.

Sang-Hyeon quickly turned the camera away.

"Yes, well... that's what this place was. Thanks to the owner for giving us a good deal on the reservation today. We can buy more chicken for everyone."

— Guys~ Let's thank the owner. Right!

— Thank you~~~

— I can't go :(

Now, they had finished the preparations and only thirty minutes remained until the fan meeting. It was almost time to welcome the fans.

Sang-Hyeon took a seat at the signing table and continued the stream.

"If you come, you can get an autograph here before taking your assigned seat."

As the fan meeting approached, more donations came in regarding the event.

[NaniSama has donated 10,000 won!]

[Did the dartboard area turn into an archery range? Haha, awesome.]

A keen observer noticed that the dartboard area in the chicken and beer place had been transformed into a mini archery range.

"

Ah

, yes. Thank you for the 10,000 won donation. Yes, we've placed archery targets in the dartboard area. There are bows too. Dong-Soo, a fellow archer from my club, helped us with this. He runs big archery cafes like Balistar in Ilsan and Gapyeong. Please visit a lot."

— Another ad LOL.

— I got fooled! This is an ad!

— It's not Barista. It's Balistar LOL.

[RubySword has donated 100,000 won!]

[Could you teach me how to shoot, Almond? I'd be thrilled ??]

"Thank you for the huge 100,000 won donation, RubySword. Of course, I'll teach you."

— Is RubySword coming?

— I bet Ruby is a gold spoon and super pretty

— I'm so jealous

— Is Ruby going to be on stream??

— Ruby is actually buff. Ruby is going to burst Almond’s heart using force.

Various viewers speculated about RubySword, a fan who consistently donated and watched Almond’s streams almost every day. Sang-Hyeon also grew curious about RubySword's identity.

Then, the next donation came from someone they hadn't seen in a while whose real identity also remained a mystery.

[Jensen has donated 5,000 won!]

[Wow, hyung! I'm currently first in line! I'm so nervous! Jensen─!]

— Wasn't he the villain in Battle Large? LOL.

— Seriously, is that guy really him??

— The villain is first in line LOL.

— His sniping skill is top-notch LOL.

— Jensen LOL.

It could be someone impersonating him, but no one had any reason to impersonate Jensen. Also, this could simply be verified by stepping outside.

"

Ah...

Is it really Jensen? You came really early. Did you come in a power suit...?"

— What a contrast with RubySword LOL.

— Power suit LOL.

— Almond is about to get hit LOL.

People thought Sang-Hyeon looked displeased at Jensen's arrival, but that wasn't the case. He actually felt glad to have another fan come through.

'They’re already lined up?'

His expression was more due to the nerves than displeasure. Even under extreme pressure, he always shot perfect arrows without showing any nervousness. However, the mere thought of fans waiting outside made his heart race uncontrollably.

'Why am I like this?'

Sang-Hyeon couldn't understand his own reaction. Knowing that fans were already outside waiting for him made his heart beat incessantly. He momentarily stood up from the signing table.

'Maybe I should take a look.'

He wasn't supposed to look in advance, but curiosity and concern got the better of him as he moved toward the entrance.

'I can't see anything.'

The lower part of the door was made of opaque glass, making it hard to see outside. He slightly opened the door to peek outside.

Creak.

"...!"

Sang-Hyeon’s eyes widened in shock.