Season 3: Chapter 124: The Moment of Victory (2)

Ju-Hyeok wiped his perfectly clean glasses while watching the Fake National Team. Cookie was unable to leave the capsule and was crying.

‘This…’

Ju-Hyeok had seen a similar scene before.

‘Did they make it look like Sang-Hyeon’s moment?’

However, Ju-Hyeok shook his head soon afterward. That couldn’t be the case because only he saw Sang-Hyeon back then. At most, the owner of the capsule room had heard about it, but even he hadn’t seen it firsthand.

How could it be so similar? Was it a coincidence?

‘No.’

Ju-Hyeok thought it wasn’t a coincidence either.

‘It’s inevitable.’

This was destiny. Not something manipulated, but an inevitable flow of events.

Cookie had a dream he couldn’t achieve in the past five years. He kept challenging himself toward that dream, but grew frustrated at the threshold.

Almond hadn’t held a bow in ten years. He tried rehabilitation, but faced continuous hopelessness, leading him to give up and live a different life. Then, after ten years, he started shooting a bow in virtual reality.

Cookie finally advanced to the finals again after five years.

The situations were too similar with only differences in time periods. It was the same answer to the same question.

[You win.]

[Victory.]

That was right. It was natural and inevitable that Hui-Chul would cry so sorrowfully in there.

***

After calming himself, Hui-Chul came out of the room.

Pop!

Many colleagues jumped out with paper poppers.

“Yayyyyyyyy!”

“Gook Hui-Chul! Gook Hui-Chul!”

They chanted his name while lifting the cake.

Hui-Chul, having already cried a lot in the capsule, did not cry at this scene. He just smiled brightly and enjoyed the moment.

“Oh. You didn’t have to…”

“Just blow the candles! We need to go for the win!”

His colleagues made him blow the five candles on the cake, symbolizing the past five years of effort.

Hui-Chul blew the candles, thinking not of the past five years but of the next five years.

“Whew.”

Pop.

As the flames went out, the screen darkened.

[Finals Celebration Party]

The next scene was a noisy dinner party.

“I would like to order one stir-fried Spain, please!” Latte shouted.

“Hahaha.”

Loud laughter filled the room.

“One Spain! Coming up!”

The server, also known as Malatang, was Lee Wan-Yong.

The camera turned to the sign visible outside the window.

[Hello Malatang]

It was the Malatang restaurant he ran.

— ???

— Lol, what does that even mean?

— LOL

— A guy who sold his country runs a humble Malatang restaurant…

— LMAO

The writer approached the busy Lee Wan-Yong and asked, “How many people are here right now?”

Lee Wan-Yong took out the ordered food and muttered, “Uh… the think tank team, Cookie’s colleagues… and some from the inspection unit and archery unit… almost fifty, I think.”

“What about the other players?”

“Ah, we usually split up by team since there are so many of us. There’s roughly a crew for each region.”

“Then there must be people you have never met.”

“Uh, well… we still cheer each other on online and get along well. Everyone is busy with their lives, so we don’t mind much. Hey, Moggie! One more stir-fried kidney dish!” he shouted toward the kitchen and disappeared.

The writer changed targets.

“Moggie, are you also…?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

A young man working as a kitchen assistant, Moggie, also played

Civil Empire

.

— Lol, they were all hiding their identities and were working here…

— It’s funny and sad that they’re all connected.

— Lol, he’s the guy who clung to Tres’ ankle, right?

Since they had other jobs, it was rare for them to maintain relationships purely out of camaraderie. When the team leader was a business owner, they often hired other team members as part-time workers.

“Of course, there were times when relationships soured because of this… but it mostly worked out well.

Haha

,” Malatang said awkwardly and passed by.

— True, mixing work can cause issues...

— But they have to do this…!

— Malatang…

It wasn’t guaranteed to be pleasant working with people one enjoyed gaming with, yet they had to maintain these employment relationships for realistic reasons.

“But during busy times like this, there’s nothing more reliable than comrades who’ve sweated together!”

Tap.

Malatang patted Moggie’s shoulder, looking at him as if asking for his agreement.

“Uh, well… it’s more fun and better to work at a place where the boss understands

Civil Empire

than hopping around part-time jobs.”

Sad music played.

— Why are they playing sad music? lol

— Moggie seems indifferent, hahaha

— The difference in attitude~

— This seems better, lol

— Lol what is this music? haha

Bzzzz.

The screen changed and a familiar face appeared among many at the dinner.

— Oh, Almond!

— The nut…!

— Wow, Yu Sang-Hyeon~~

— Even from this distance, his handsomeness shines, holy shittt!

— Almond is here too?

— Almond was sitting with Latte, lol

A handsome young man sat with Latte, Pang, Carrot, and Spam. It was Almond. He was staring at Cookie’s table while eating.

“Wow, Almond! You came to the party?”

“……”

He had noodles in his mouth.

“Slurrrrp…”

“I beg your pardon?”

— Ehh

— LOL

— Eh

— Don’t talk to him when he’s eating, lol

— So cute, haha

Almond chewed and swallowed before answering properly, “It was close by. I was nearby.”

At this point, Latte interrupted tactlessly, “Hey, bro! It took thirty minutes by subway to get here. How is that close…?”

Punch.

Carrot poked Latte in the side, stopping his words. However, the damage had already been done.

— He’s so cute~~

— Was it actually far? Lol

— Hahahaha, Latte

Everyone laughed.

Bzzzz.

Time passed.

After the dinner, some people went for a second round while others went home. The archery unit went for a second round with the think tank team. Cookie and the commander OGs said they would go to another place.

“It was fun. Good luck in the next game too.”

Cookie, who hadn’t drunk a drop of alcohol due to health issues, bid them farewell. His former colleagues, on the other hand, were all drunk and staggering like zombies.

— Are those Cookie’s backup dancers?

— Who are those people? lol

— They seem weak to alcohol, haha

“I’m heading off.”

“Yes! I’ll see you next time!”

Everyone energetically bid him farewell.

“Bro, where should we go? Karaoke?”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never heard Almond sing!”

“Hey, Carrot doesn’t do karaoke. Let’s go somewhere else!”

Pang pushed Spam and Latte aside and led the way.

“Uh… uh, don’t push!”

— Does Carrot not like karaoke?

— Lol too bad.

— Please, take Almond to karaoke!

— I’ll hold my breath until Almond goes to karaoke.

“Do you not like karaoke either?” Carrot asked Almond and turned slightly toward him.

Her face was slightly red, either from the cold or from drinking.

“……?”

Her slightly flushed face tilted.

Almond hadn’t been listening and wasn’t even looking forward. He was still staring in the direction of where Cookie’s party had left. They had disappeared into the distance already.

“Almond?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about old times,” Almond mumbled after he noticed Carrot in front of him.

“Oh… you don’t like karaoke?”

“Karaoke?” Almond cringed. “No way. This is going on the show.”

“Oh. Are you embarrassed?”

“… Ahem.”

“Got it. Then…”

She smiled and suddenly ran ahead.

“Almond’s going to karaoke! I’m going too!”

“?!”

— Lol

— Self-destruct.

— Carrot must be drunk, hahaha.

— Her personality completely changed, haha.

— Carrot, lol

— Is it actually happening? Please!!

Bzzzz.

The screen changed.

Fortunately for Almond, the karaoke didn’t happen. At least it didn’t air on the broadcast.

The dinner scene ended and transitioned into a dark house.

— Where is this?

— Think tank?

— What is it?

***

Creak.

A faint light seeped in as an old door opened.

“Kim Ju-Hyeok~”

It was Sang-Hyeon.

“Oh. No one’s here. Did he go to Ji-Ah’s?” he mumbled to himself, staggering to the sofa and lying down.

“…”

He habitually turned on the TV.

Ping.

Various streaming apps and channels appeared.

He went to

[Files]

and accessed a function to play the files he had.

“Just one more drink,” Sang-Hyeon mumbled to himself and headed to the fridge.

The canned beer that was always in the fridge greeted him. He grabbed one and sat back on the sofa.

In a familiar motion, he played a file.

Pop.

Then, he opened the beer can and drank.

“...”

The video’s low quality and strange camera angle made it hard to understand.

— What’s he watching?

— A secret video?

— What’s that?

The audio quickly revealed the content.

“Today’s player is considered the most promising in Korea, right?”

“Yes. Our men’s archery has been in danger many times, but heroes have always emerged. Yu Sang-Hyeon is expected to be one of those heroes.”

— So sad…

— Wow, it’s an old video…

— I’m crying...

— The real national team days…

— Oh no…

Sang-Hyeon often watched this video after being scolded by his boss at Ah-Sung. He hadn’t watched it much since starting his streaming career. He only played it when someone else stirred up the past.

“Yu Sang-Hyeon steps onto the stage. He needs to prove the reputation that precedes him.”

Sang-Hyeon appeared in a white uniform and a scene of people cheered for him.

“His seniors and juniors from the same school, Cheonggye High, came to cheer him on. They must be proud.”

Sang-Hyeon’s favorite part of this video was undoubtedly when he hit the center consecutively, making everyone stand up. However, he stopped before reaching that scene today.

The video stopped before Sang-Hyeon even drew his bow. He rewound the video a bit.

“His seniors and juniors from Cheonggye High came to cheer him on.”

The scene showed many people cheering for him. He saw the faces of old colleagues: Cha Hyeon-Ju, Lee Dong-Soo, Oh Jong-Hyeon… and Han So-Yeon.

Viewers wouldn’t know their real names. Only Sang-Hyeon did.

“...”

He kept replaying that scene.

“His seniors and juniors from Cheonggye High came to cheer him on.”

“His seniors and juniors from Cheonggye High came to cheer──”

“His seniors and juniors from Cheonggye High──”

The screen gradually darkened and went black. The video ended there.

This was Almond’s moment of victory.