Ju-Hyeok unknowingly sat down in front of the computer. Was it because there was a

Civil Empire

match today? No. There was still plenty of time before the match.

Moreover, Almond’s stream of the match wouldn’t be interactive. Ju-Hyeok didn’t need to manage the chat or set up early.

He sat down early because he was waiting for this:

[Fake National Team Ep 4. Moment of Victory]

[Premiering in 1 hour!]

The Fake National Team episode was coming out today.

‘At some point, this became more important than anything else….’

As the manager, watching the Fake National Team series became much more important for Ju-Hyeok than the

Civil Empire

matches.

‘There will be more sponsors after the next broadcast.’

He had transferred the sponsors from the national competition to the Fake National Team content. Only the production team posed an issue in this process.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

‘If we have to split the advertising revenue with the production team, we will get a lot less than now…’

Since the ads came in through the content,

Civil Empire

Korea naturally deserved a share as the content creator. They were paying Director Jang and his team to make the content.

Ju-Hyeok didn’t know how

Civil Empire

Korea would decide to split the revenue.

“This advertisement revenue will go entirely to the national competition team, so we won’t take any.”

They decided to allocate all the ad revenue to the national competition team.

“We should actually be sponsoring them… but we haven’t been able to help much. We can’t take a share of the sponsorship.”

From their perspective, they conceded because helping the national competition team was a priority. Everyone involved in this national competition shared a single goal.

‘To help the national competition team.’

Their main goal was to ensure that players continued their activities and that such content could be produced in the future. If this system worked, they would receive even more advertisements. To make that happen, this decision was crucial.

[Fake National Team Ep 4. Moment of Victory]

[Premiering now!]

From now on, other advertisers would be watching the ad effectiveness of this video.

‘It needs to be well represented here…’

Ju-Hyeok swallowed nervously. He had no idea how the video turned out.

‘It might not be included yet.’

Due to time constraints, the ads likely weren’t added yet.

As the video started, Ju-Hyeok realized that his worries were unfounded.

‘Huh?’

A banner appeared at the start.

[The video includes paid promotion ads]

The sponsor of this banner was clear.

‘They included it.’

The sponsor was Monster.

— ???

— Oh.

— What’s this?

— Is this the ad?

— Congrats!

— Congrats~~!

Next, a text appeared.

[The national competition players are supported by Monster.]

— Lol.

— Is this the one in reels?

— Feels reassuring to have Monster backing them.

— Monster?

— Woah!

Ju-Hyeok felt satisfied with how the sponsor was added to the video. He smiled without realizing it.

***

[Korea vs. Spain 2nd Match D-day]

[Think Tank Base]

The video began on the day Korea and Spain played against each other for the second time. All the think tank members gathered to watch the match.

"Huh? Why are they deploying siege towers? Didn’t they see the conversion missionaries?"

"Oh no. This is bad… they’ll be too weak against a conversion strategy…"

"Only melee units? What on earth are they thinking??"

They couldn’t grasp Cookie’s intention at all and simply thought the siege towers would get captured.

— Didn’t they already know?

— Lol, didn’t they practice this strategy before?

— I thought they pulled out a spontaneously practiced strategy. Turns out it wasn’t even that.

— ???

The viewers assumed that at least the strategy team would know Cookie’s strategy. They couldn’t imagine that Cookie had improvised a strategy on the spot.

“What, what is this!? Is this a Trojan horse?!”

“WTF…!”

Only when the Joseon flag rose in the middle of the enemy camp did everyone in the think tank realize Cookie’s plan.

Thunk──!

When Malatang and his troops charged out, everyone in the think tank jumped.

“Woahhhhhhh!”

— What a crazy Joseon comeback lol

— The rogue bandits survived!

— Wow, selling out the country right now!

— lol, this is crazy.

When the Joseon soldiers opened the castle gates, the think tank members felt ecstatic.

“ARHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

Chi-Seung started screaming and jumping around first.

Following him, all the members yelled wildly like primitive people while dancing and singing.

“My love, Cookie~! Finally~! I’ve realized it~!”

— LOL.

— LMAO.

— AHHAHAHAHAHA.

— They act more normal when they lose, lol.

— HAHAHA.

— Cookie is legendary~

— This is like a campfire, lmao.

The screen gradually darkened, making them look like natives gathered around a bonfire. Finally, the screen went completely black.

Thunk!

[Fake National Team]

[Fake Athlete]

The title appeared.

— LOL.

— They’re truly a fake national team lol.

—Today’s intro perfectly suits the title of fake national team, haha.

— Hilarious, lol.

— They’re a real fake national team~

— They are the true monsters.

Bzzzz.

The screen changed and a white background with a chair appeared.

[First Day of the Fake National Team Interview]

— Huh?

— Is this the first interview?

— On the first day??

Bzzzz.

The screen shook slightly and showed someone sitting on the chair. Although he looked disheveled, his eyes remained sharp.

— ?

— Who’s that?

— Cookie?

— It’s Cookie.

A small subtitle appeared below.

[Commander-in-Chief]

[Cookie]

[Gook Hui-Chul]

Yes, it was Cookie. The interviewer asked him a question.

[How would you feel if this team advanced to the finals?]

Large letters floated above his head.

Cookie, who usually spoke without hesitation, paused. No, it seemed he couldn’t speak easily.

“The finals…” his lips quivered and he continued with some difficulty, “For some teams, the finals are a small step they must take. For us, it’s been a towering mountain.”

He let out a small sigh that also trembled.

“Probably… it would feel amazing. I’d probably be the happiest. It has a special meaning for me.”

[It’s surprising that the finals hold a special meaning to you. Isn’t the goal to win?]

“Haha,”

Cookie chuckled.

— LOL.

— That was harsh lol

— Are you mocking him?

“The goal is indeed to win. It’s not a bluff and it’s not an unrealistic dream. But… that doesn’t necessarily mean winning this year. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be the one to win it for Korea either.”

— Wow…

— ??

— Huh?

— I’m pretty sure Almond nut meant this year.

— Oh…

[If not this year, then when…?]

Cookie tilted his head.

“Hmm… it could be next year. Or the year after. I don’t know. I might not be there by then.”

— Noooo…

— Wow...

— Why not?? Commanders can still play even when they’re older.

— Is he retiring?

— The whole thing collapses without Cookie.

“That’s why I decided to participate in this Fake National Team. I wanted to lay the groundwork for a system to run even without me.”

[Groundwork?]

“Yes. Financial stability is the biggest factor. Players shouldn’t starve because of this tournament even if they don’t make a fortune.”

[Was Almond’s recruitment considered for this?]

“Oh, no. That was because of Kim Chi-Seung’s tremendous faith in Almond. And I trusted his judgment.”

— Wow…

— Chi-Seung’s eye for talent is amazing…

— The greatest…

— Cookie-sama…

— Is Chi-Seung the same person who spun like a native earlier…?

— The intro doesn’t make me believe what he’s saying, lol.

[Why did you say you might not be around next year or the year after?]

“……”

Cookie couldn’t answer and looked down for a moment. The production team didn’t press him further.

— ???

— Wow, what’s going on??

— Where’s he going?

— Must be retiring.

They returned to the topic of the finals.

[Why do the finals have a special meaning for you?]

“I said the finals are like a tall mountain for us… but we once had a chance to climb that mountain.”

He seemed to be talking about his first experience advancing to the finals and struggled to continue.

“Advancing to the finals… for me…”

Maybe he couldn’t find a single word to describe what the finals meant to him.

— No…

— What’s going on?

— I just realized Korea has been to the finals before.

— Cookie…

— Is he thinking about the people he played with in the past?

Bzzzz.

The interview video ended there.

The next scene showed a large house. It was an uncommon detached house in Korea with a spacious yard. Many people gathered there as if there was a party.

The writer approached one of them with a question.

“Yes. I’m a first generation member of

Civil Empire

with Hui-Chul.

Haha.

”

“Did you gather today to celebrate if they make it to the finals?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What if they fail?”

“Then we’ll all run away. Hui-Chul is in the capsule, so he won’t know. We’ll just have a drink together.”

— LOL.

— They’re the true commanders, lol.

— Oh, they’re OG members.

— Why are you guys running away? lol.

— What a plan, haha

“Do you really need to run away?”

“Hui-Chul would… feel ashamed to see us if he fails to advance. He would hate to suddenly see us after a failure.”

“Are these members of the first and last Korean team to advance to the finals?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The man scratched his head shyly.

“We were lucky back then.”

— The true OGs.

— The legends~

— 2002 National Team, damn~

— “The Real National Team”

— Wow!

The writer asked another member, “What do you think is the reason for not advancing to the finals all this time?”

— Damn.

— Woah, woah.

— Tough question.

The man briefly thought and answered, “Expectations.”

“Expectations?”

“We had expectations back then. More specifically, hope.”

“Why was there hope back then?”

— LOL.

— Even though Korea was terrible, why was there hope?

— What’s wrong with the question? lol

— HAHAHAHAHA.

“You know, Koreans are good at games. We just thought we’d do well. We were fools.”

Sad music played.

— The question was tough, but the answer was crazier, lol.

— Lol.

— Simple answer.

— They didn’t know that before then…

“But… having that hope was better. We realized over the years. Oh, we’re falling behind. Then, everyone gradually left.”

“So Cookie is the only one left?”

“Yes.”

“Why… did Cookie stay?”

The man scratched his chin and answered, “He said he had too much fun with us. And he wanted to recreate those times.”

— This is so sad…

— Cookie….

— Once you play Civil Empire properly, it’s actually really fun.

— Sigh..

— Fake National Team doesn’t play sad music during sad moments, lol.

Bzzzz.

The scene changed.

“We won! We won!”

“Woahhhhhhhhh!”

Korea had secured their spot in the finals. Everyone gathered at Cookie’s house and jumped around in joy, but they soon had to restrain themselves.

“Hey, hey! Quiet down. Hui-Chul will notice.”

“Oh, right! Quick, let’s get ready.”

Hui-Chul’s partner came out of the kitchen with a cake. The others started decorating near the room that Hui-Chul would soon come out of. They inflated balloons with a helium machine and hung shiny decorations from the ceiling.

— They waited until Korea secured their spot before decorating, lol.

— Commanders are quick~

— This is a military operation!

— Capsule landing operation lol.

— They’re decorating now?

— If they didn’t make it, would they throw all this away?

The writer curiously asked, “You prepared all this? What would you have done if they didn’t make it?”

“Oh, these have been hidden in their storage for about three years. Every time we planned to use them, we couldn’t.”

The sad music played.

— LOL.

— Wow...

— LMAO.

— They’ve been hiding it all along… lol.

— Cookie….

Almost everything was ready. Hui-Chul’s partner waved from the room with the capsule.

“Come in quickly! He said he’d come out immediately if they win!”

They quickly lit the candles on the cake, wore party hats, and armed themselves with party poppers as they entered Hui-Chul’s room.

“Can we come in too?”

“Yes, yes.”

The cameraman and writer followed. The more the merrier for a celebration.

They finished the interviews and waited for Hui-Chul to come out.

“……”

“?”

However, Hui-Chul didn’t come out. He didn’t come out even after a long time.

“Um… hold on guys.”

His partner approached the capsule that was now transparent. That meant he wasn’t in the game.

She didn’t know whether or not to knock on the capsule.

“Honey, why aren’t you coming ou—”

The moment she saw Hui-Chul inside the glass, she stopped calling him.

The camera, which followed her thoughtlessly, captured Hui-Chul’s face.

— Wow

— ?

— ??

Hui-Chul had finished the interview with a bright smile, but he was crying inside the capsule. He was crying so hard that he didn’t even notice what was happening outside.

This was Hui-Chul’s true moment of victory.

— Cookie…

— I’m crying...

— He held it back during the interview……

— Um, where’s the sad music?