The next morning.

"Ugh ugh ah!"

Sang-Hyeon woke up from a nightmare and quickly looked at his phone.

"… Huh."

He realized it had only been a nightmare of his archery coach punishing him and making him do a handstand hike for not concentrating in the last game.

'Coach... it's not that kind of focus…'

Sang-Hyeon was quite bothered that he didn't initially know about the focus trait.

"Seems like your sleep has been restless lately?"

Ju-Hyeok stood near the door with a stunned face. He probably ran over after hearing the scream.

"Oh…"

Sang-Hyeon awkwardly laughed it off because he was too embarrassed to talk about the dream.

"I thought some maniac had broken in."

"… That wouldn't happen. No one would be crazy enough to climb up here."

Ju-Hyeok laughed, agreeing with his valid point.

"What if we move? It'd become easier for crazy fans to break in."

"Hmm…"

No one knew whether fanatic fans of Almond actually existed or not, but the two of them began frivolously debating about this topic.

Sang-Hyeon fully woke up after the debate. He slowly got up and headed to the living room.

A suit hung on a wall hanger in one corner.

'… Right.'

Today was the award ceremony.

Thump. Thump.

His heart felt strange. Why was he nervous about the Treevy awards ceremony? Lately, he felt that his heart rate was quite irregular.

"There's no schedule until this evening, so let's take a good rest."

Ju-Hyeok told him to relax as he noticed how Sang-Hyeon gazed at the suit.

"Ah… Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. Chi-Seung said Mr. Cookie suggested some rest first."

"Chi-Seung?"

"Kim Chi-Seung. Kimchi Warrior."

"… Ah."

"Did you forget already, huh?"

"It's too early in the morning," Sang-Hyeon answered nonchalantly as if it wasn't a big deal and opened his closet to prepare for his rare morning routine.

He was about to go jogging to calm his mind.

Zzzzzip.

He quickly changed clothes, zipped his jumper up to his chin, and left through the front door.

"I'll go get some air for a bit."

"A bit? It’s freezing out there. Look at the weather right now."

Despite Ju-Hyeok's sharp remark, Sang-Hyeon hurriedly left.

Thump!

The entrance door closed shut because of the strong wind.

"…"

Ju-Hyeok was left alone in the house.

'Is that guy made of steel?'

He stared at the closed front door for a while before focusing back on cooking.

Chiiiiii…

The fried tofu gave off a savory smell, but it didn't seem perfectly done to Ju-Hyeok.

'Mom's tofu is much better.'

He originally didn't know how to make this dish and tried to remember how his mother used to make it.

Thump.

He placed the cooked tofu on a plate. Then, he poured a sauce made with soy sauce, chili, and garlic over it.

After placing it on the table, Ju-Hyeok returned to the pot steaming a barley herring. He heard this dish should be steamed instead of grilled, unlike normal herring.

"This should be steamed and served with green tea mixed with rice. That would be perfect," a voice on the phone informed him.

Ju-Hyeok was a bit worried. The person who sent this didn't seem to know much about cooking.

"

Ahaha.

Of course, I just heard that from Punk’s headquarters. They said to explain it like this when gifting it to VIPs. Damn~ I've never received one…"

Although Ju-Hyeok couldn't see his eyes through the phone, it seemed that person’s eyes were fixed on this dish and he seemed to be drooling just from hearing his voice.

'Punk gives all this to celebrate the New Year? Wow.'

Correct. The person who sent this dish as a gift was Director Oh. He was in charge of Almond and was their partner at the large gaming platform Punk. He also oversaw Miho and Bubblegum and was the one who created Balloon Stars for the

LIL

competition.

He was quite a benefactor to Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok. He contacted them out of the blue after sending them a gift.

Of course, they also discussed upcoming details about advertising plans and content related to

Civil Empire

over the phone.

"Actually, since Almond’s participation, the sales for

Civil Empire

hhaveincreased quite a bit.

Haha.

"

Punk saw an increase in

Civil Empire

purchases and seemed interested in trying something with the national competition as well.

"And about the national competition, it's not just because it seems to be doing well now. We've always seen it as having potential."

The national competition was especially notable in the gaming industry.

"It’s only unpopular in Korea, but it has a large fanbase internationally. In China, it's a craze. Moreover, the oldies in Korea also like it."

National battles fought with spears, swords, and bows carried enough merit as a sport even without much knowledge of the game.

"Remember the director who wanted to try traditional Korean archery? He also always watches the national competition."

Even one of Punk's directors personally watched this competition. It was the director Sang-Hyeon had previously met.

‘Director Han…’

Ju-Hyeok had also done a bit of research on him.

'He was more amazing than I thought.'

He worked at Punk’s headquarters and his influence on the company and the gaming industry ranked among the top few domestically. Such a person personally watched the national competition and even wanted to pick up traditional Korean archery as a hobby.

He seemed to have quite an attachment to Korea. Sometimes such people lived abroad for a long time, but still had a strong attachment to their homeland.

Ju-Hyeok had seen quite a few of these types of people.

"I might be able to join a bit. Anyway, that's that.

Sigh.

I couldn't try traditional archery because of the weather... Enjoy the barley herring. Let's have a drink before the new year."

Regardless, Director Oh truly thought this national competition had potential.

Ju-Hyeok agreed.

‘That’s true.’

It was content that Koreans couldn't dislike. However, always losing was its only barrier to being popular. Unpopular sports only grew popular if everything else went well. That was the reason why their country recognized archery and short-track speed skating.

Who had been interested in figure skating before Kim Yu-Na appeared? It felt bitter to admit, but that was the reality.

"Oh."

Chiiiiik...!

Steam burst out and scattered above when Ju-Hyeok opened the lid. An appetizing barley herring lay beneath. It looked like a fairy among the clouds through the gaps of steam, but it was a fish and not a fairy.

"Right. Let's try eating it to see if it's as delicious as they said," Ju-Hyeok muttered to himself like an old grandpa and carefully picked up the herring with his tongs.

He picked it up very carefully to prevent it from breaking apart. Fortunately, the herring maintained its shape as he safely transferred it onto another plate beside the tofu he prepared earlier.

Now, the meal table would be complete once he placed a bowl of white rice on the table. However...

"…?"

Ju-Hyeok became distracted for a moment when he recalled that this meal was meant for both him and Sang-Hyeon.

"Ah... darn it."

He grumbled and called Sang-Hyeon.

"Hey. Where are you? When are you coming back? Ah, it’s too cold so you're coming back now? Come quickly. I prepared the gift to eat with you, but forgot to tell you."

***

Sang-Hyeon's chopsticks moved faster than ever. He hadn't eaten this quickly ever since he started using his left hand instead of his injured arm.

'Wow.'

Today's meal exceeded his expectations.

"This is delicious, isn't it? It was from Director Oh?"

"Actually, it was from Punk but he passed it on for them. Well... yeah."

"Wow…"

It perfectly suited Sang-Hyeon's taste.

'He eats well if it’s something he likes.’

Sang-Hyeon acted like he only ate almonds, but he would eat well like this too if Ju-Hyeok made something delicious. What a curious guy.

"It's like what my grandma used to make. Of course, she never cooked anything this expensive."

Ju-Hyeok choked on his rice at the last unnecessary part.

"Hey, brat. Even if it’s not expensive, she still cooked for her grandson to eat."

"Yep."

"What do you mean yep? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yep."

Sang-Hyeon was too busy stuffing the shredded herring meat into his mouth.

'He only listens to what he wants to hear.'

Ju-Hyeok shook his head at Sang-Hyeon's selective hearing, which he was already familiar with.

Amid this, Sang-Hyeon suddenly spoke as if he remembered something.

"We should’ve invited Ji-Ah too since we're attending the award ceremony together today."

“Cough!”

Ju-Hyeok choked again.

"Ah... this, once you start coughing, it keeps happening."

"What’s wrong?"

"It's a bit weird to call someone over in the morning where two men live."

"… Is it?"

Sang-Hyeon wasn’t asking if it was actually weird, but he questioned the accuracy of that statement. He didn’t think it was awkward at all to call someone over to where two men lived.

Ju-Hyeok sensed something and added, “She said she's going to upload as much footage as possible before going to the award ceremony today."

"Ah ha."

Fortunately, Sang-Hyeon didn't show any further interest. He nearly gobbled the herring down to its tail, but then paused again.

"But, our ads... they’ve all been postponed, right? Feels like we haven't done any in a while."

"Oh yeah. There's quite a bit from Punk."

“Oh…”

Director Oh crossed their minds again. Admittedly, they had been somewhat neglectful as Punk partners ever since

Zombie School

.

"I didn't know you'd accept joining the national competition and start right away, so I couldn't properly plan the timing for anything."

Ju-Hyeok had planned to slowly proceed with more ads after

Zombie School

, but Sang-Hyeon suddenly became too busy. He forgot to bring it up.

"Then, this herring... is a reminder from them?"

Sang-Hyeon suddenly distanced himself from the herring.

Ju-Hyeok shook his head.

"No. In my opinion, it's a bribe."

"… Huh?"

"Apparently, Director Han likes the national competition. And Director Oh also thinks the national competition has potential. They want to do some content or something for it. They seem to want to try something."

"Oh… that's the person who suggested doing traditional archery with me," Sang-Hyeon murmured and bit into the herring again.

Director Han got along well with him. He resumed eating the fish again with peace of mind.

The two of them briefly discussed whether Punk planned to organize something for the national competition before moving on to the award ceremony.

"But do I have anything else to win besides the Rookie Award?"

"Um… Best Couple? There’s a slight rumor that you're a candidate."

Special awards were determined during the event, but some news always leaked online. Sang-Hyeon and Miho were listed as Best Couple candidates there.

"Ah ha. Because of that photoshoot with Miho?"

"Yes. Ah, right…"

Ju-Hyeok could still remember Miho’s face when she brought the cookie set and had to be sent back. It had been hard for even Ju-Hyeok to endure.

This led Ju-Hyeok to ask, "So, Miho… how is she?"

He cautiously floated the topic.

If Sang-Hyeon had feelings for her, there was no need to beat around the bush this much.

"… How is what?"

"Like… do you two have something going on? Have you ever felt like she's making a move on you? Has she ever shown that type of interest?"

"Interest? She's just… naturally very friendly and… um… there are many women like that, right? She’s very bright… and she said she's ENFP."

'Ah.'

Ju-Hyeok immediately realized why Sang-Hyeon didn’t feel bothered by even an inch.

'This kid. Many girls only act like that toward you.'

Almost eighty percent of people with XX chromosomes showed interest in Sang-Hyeon, so he thought that was the norm for everyone else. Even when he was being bullied at the company, quite a few female employees were secretly nice to Sang-Hyeon behind the scenes.

Maybe this guy simply thought women were much kinder and more cooperative than men.

'Ugh.'

Ju-Hyeok felt relieved as his manager, but boiled with anger as a man. He swallowed his anger and wrapped up the topic.

"

Ahem.

Right. I thought there might actually be something since people keep linking you guys together."

"People call it We Got Married syndrome."

“

Ahaha.

Right. Right,” Ju-Hyeok laughed louder even though he was seething inside.

Bzzzz.

Bzzzzzzz.

A small notification sounded from his phone. A video was being uploaded onto their channel.

[Game ends if you’re dumb~~]

[Hey bro. Are you crying?]

["Loyal Subject" Walnutty]

Videos of Almond fighting the stream snipers started being uploaded on his YouTube channel. All of them had striking thumbnails.

The first video featured OrangeKing’s blissful expression as the thumbnail. The second video was BornToB crying. The third video was a bizarre mix of a general’s loyal subject from a historical drama and Walnutty crying out.

The fourth video, which was uploaded last, was the most popular.

[The End of the British Who Disrespected a Former Korean Archery Champion]

The thumbnail was a composite photo of British backstreet thugs confronting Almond.