Season 3: Chapter 213. Treading Lightly (3)

Ju-Hyeok was left dumbfounded after reading the community posts.

“I wanted us to become a topic of interest, but...”

While they would benefit from the increased attention of the Korea vs. Japan match...

“I didn’t want it to become a disaster.”

Too much of anything could be detrimental. Excessive interest could literally burn everything down.

Bzzz.

Just then, Ju-Hyeok's phone rang. It was the factory manager.

“Hello.”

“Yes, this is Doil Factory. Did you call?”

“Oh, yes. I was wondering about the quantity.”

Ju-Hyeok immediately placed an additional order with the factory when the Korea vs. Japan match had been confirmed. The production line had already been set up, making additional orders possible. Of course, there were limits to this.

“Oh, then please produce up to the maximum.”

“What? Maximum capacity?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, have you hit the jackpot? You were trembling with fear and asking if you could cancel just the other day.”

“Haha...”

“Due to certain circumstances, additional orders might not meet the deadline. We need to prioritize some items over others.”

It seemed uncertain whether all items could be produced on time.

“Oh, then... prioritize the Almond suits.”

The Almond suits had been inspired by the meme of, “Mom, I want to grow up and be Almond!”

These crazy concept outfits could be transferred from

This World

to reality. Due to the volume, they would be the most profitable. However...

“The Almond suits... Really, these?”

From the factory manager’s perspective, whether people would actually buy these was questionable. After all, wearing the suit meant literally becoming a giant Almond. It didn't seem practical or realistic at all.

“Got it. You know what’s best.”

Regardless, they didn’t have time to argue about orders.

“Yes, please start right away.”

“Yes!”

After ordering a sufficient quantity of goods, Ju-Hyeok looked at the community with determined eyes.

‘Why row only when the tide comes? You have to row even when the flames are rising.’

He intended to turn the current firestorm into profit. Perhaps the real flames were burning in his heart.

***

While Korea and Japan highly anticipated the match, overseas communities outside East Asia were not as invested in the Korea vs. Japan issue. They knew about the colonial history, but it didn’t deeply resonate with them. This mirrored how Koreans understood the India-UK relationship in theory, but not the intensity of the issue.

Nevertheless, growing talk about Almond continued overseas.

[I thought Kenin was the best, but I didn't expect such a massive skill gap]

[Joseon's archery skills we didn't know about.jpg]

[Is it true that Kenin couldn't even put up a fight? I can't believe it.]

Almond had utterly destroyed Kenin, who was considered the top archer.

[What level is Almond’s skill???]

Naturally, they wanted to know Almond’s level of skill.

— He schooled the current No. 1, so isn’t he the best?

└ One win doesn't mean much

└ But it was a massive gap

└ It was three times though???

└ Did you see him use that special bow? He’s like a sniper from a special unit

└ We’ll have to see next year too

Although Almond overwhelmingly dominated with his archery in the game, Kenin's achievements over such a long time couldn't just be overturned.

However, everyone had to acknowledge Almond as a formidable player.

[There's something mysterious about martial arts from the Far East.]

[He's a former Korean archery athlete. No wonder he's No. 1]

[Korean archery + Korean game = GOAT]

Interest in him grew, with some attributing his skills to East Asian martial arts and others noting that Koreans inherently excelled at games and archery.

[What on earth is chikicha?]

Now, users even asked about what chikicha meant.

Mentions of Almond increased domestically for slightly different reasons.

[Top Post: Living in Japan, suddenly seeing Almond as a trending search term, thought it was a huge sale.

Turns out it was Yu Sang-Hyeon, LOL.]

— LOL

— Hahaha

— So scary

Almond became a trending search term on Yahoo Japan obviously because of his interview. The Japanese searched for Almond to find out who he was and vent their anger.

[Top Post: Japanese reactions are insane LOL]

Someone posted pictures of Japanese reactions, which became a hot topic.

— So are you tall?

— In the Netherlands, you'd be considered Japanese

— Americans can’t tell the difference anyway. South Korea, North Korea, Japan, China.

— Koreans always have an inferiority complex.

— Let’s boycott K-pop.

— Ridiculous. It’s not a mistake. It feels like malice.

— Koreans might not be short, but something else is small!

Many expressed raw anger and criticism.

— They can’t argue back, so they’re just hating, LOL

— The Japanese are really annoyed hahaha

└ True! They’re seriously triggered

— He honestly didn’t know, so it hit really hard LOL

└ In a universe of 10,000 ways to strike, our universe struck the hardest

└ True 222

└ Agreed

The many angry people also bombarded Almond's Runestagram account. He had experienced this before during the conflict with Spain.

[+999]

His DM notifications became filled to the brim.

Sang-Hyeon understood the messages without even looking at them.

“They're probably saying the same things again.”

Resting on the sofa at the dorm, he put his phone back in his pocket and answered Pang’s question about how he was doing.

“It's intense. Really intense.”

“When you become well-known, these things happen.”

“No, I mean you, man!”

“...?”

Pang thought it was insane that Sang-Hyeon could give such interviews despite facing immense backlash. It wasn’t about being right or wrong. It was just impressive.

“Take care of yourself.”

As an older brother figure, he genuinely worried for Sang-Hyeon. Sometimes, truly crazy people existed out there.

“...”

Sang-Hyeon went silent for a moment before cautiously asking Pang, “Should I issue a clarification? I didn’t mean to insult all Japanese people.”

“How would you even clarify that?”

***

Meanwhile, Ju-Hyeok began to worry after placing the factory orders.

“... Wow, it’s staying heated longer than I expected.”

Koreans took it lightly and Japan mostly saw it as a misunderstanding without any malice toward Almond.

“But it can turn into backlash anytime.”

The blame could always suddenly fall on Almond. Public opinion was unpredictable.

Amid this, Ju-Hyeok saw a post.

[Top Post: Honestly, the real reason it blew up isn’t Almond’s fault but the provocative wording of the Japanese media]

Ju-Hyeok had been hoping for this kind of statement.

“Exactly. How is this Almond's fault?”

The post suggested that the Japanese media had deliberately written provocative articles for views.

[Look at this. Almond emphasized twice before the quarterfinals, “It’s true. They’re really short.”

What strategy does Korea have? Almond expressed confidence by saying, “Island factions are shorter,” referring to headshots.

Surely, Almond didn’t say all this. It’s just provocative media wording. Anyway, that’s all.]

— LOL

— No way he said all that.

— This is wild

— Fact: He actually said every one of those things LOL

— True. “They’re really short” <<< he said that for real

— “They’re really short” comment is legendary

└ The Japanese are going to lose it

└ LOL

Ju-Hyeok was at a loss for words after seeing this. Of course, he should’ve known better. He felt foolish for having such expectations and looked at other posts.

[Top Post: Came from the future. I’ll tell you the MVP of the Korea vs. Japan match.]

[The MVP of the yet-to-start match has already been declared. It’s none other than...

Almond.

He used the Peninsula faction that instantly kills anyone under 173 cm to carry the game.

I saw it myself.]

— LOL

— Instant kill move?

— Faction: Almond becomes a god

— Peninsula lmao

— I’d be dead too

“Hahaha.”

Even Ju-Hyeok couldn't help but laugh at the absurd post.

“

Hah.

This should die down soon.”

Fortunately, they still had a lot of time before the match against Japan. He believed it would calm down by then until he saw an unbelievable notification on his Runestagram account.

[Almond is live now!]

“!?”

***

— ???

— Wow

— Wait, a Runestagram live?

— Why not on Treevy? LOL

— Must be because of that Japanese thing

— Did he feel threatened?!

People flocked in out of curiosity since it was almost unprecedented for Sang-Hyeon to go live on Runestagram.

[Current Viewers: 7,000]

There wasn’t an enormous number like on Treevy, but it kept growing as Japanese viewers with ill intentions poured in.

[Current Viewers: 21,000]

The viewer count finally surpassed 20,000.

— Is that Pang next to you?

— LOL

— Japanese viewers are flooding in!

— Why are you so handsome...?

— Wow

— I’m Japanese. I’m a fan! You’re handsome!

Surprisingly, some Japanese viewers seemed to be genuine fans.

“Hm. Hm.”

Sang-Hyeon cleared his throat.

“Hello.”

He began speaking and greetings filled the chat.

“I’m not using Treevy but streaming here because... do you see this DM window?”

— ?

— ???

— How can we see that?

“Here. Here.”

Sang-Hyeon pointed to one side of his phone.

— No, lol

— This isn’t Treevy

— This is real life, Sang-Hyeon...

— He’s nuts

“Oh, you can’t see it. There are 99999 DMs.”

— 999 is the max limit

— How can you just say anything

— 99,999 messages?!?

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“How do you know if you can’t see it?”

— ??

— ?

— ???

— Impeccable logic

— Actually, it’s visible

“You can see it? Great.”

— ...?

— Crazy

— I’m dizzy

— Nuts guy gets tricked again

— Reminds me of the Zombie School bathroom incident

— LOL

“Oh, I know you can’t see it...

Ahem

.”

Sang-Hyeon’s face turned slightly red as he turned his head. Still, he had something to say and looked back at the screen.

“So, about these DMs... they’re all insults. I haven’t checked though.”

— ????

— LOL

— How do you know they’re insults then..?

— Is it in Japanese??

“You may not know, but you gain the ability to know without checking once you have over 100,000 followers on Runestagram. They’re all insults.”

— :(

— Oh, lol. Insults galore.

— Alpha male problems

He brought his phone closer and tried to clarify, “Let me explain. Everyone, I didn’t intend to insult Japanese people.”

— Damn

— Sudden apology

— It’s too late. I bet three ninjas are already on their way

— Cool

— Shouldn’t you apologize from a distance?

— Desperate to survive

— Why so close to the camera??

“I wasn’t saying Japanese people are short. They just happened to be short, making headshots easier. It just happened to be Japanese people.”

The live chat seemed to freeze. Everyone stopped typing momentarily.

— ???

— ?

— Is he crazy

— This is an apology... right?

— He came to pour gasoline

— “I didn’t hit you. Your face hit my fist.”

— LOL

It seemed his words conveyed a different meaning than he intended.

“Anyway, I didn’t mean to insult Japanese people... Oh? What? Oh, lunch? Okay.”

Pang’s voice could be heard as he called Sang-Hyeon for lunch.

“Uh, I’ll end the stream here. I need to go eat.”

— ???

— Huh?

— No way

— If it’s lunch, it’s understandable

— LOL

— Koreans live for rice

— “How can you eat after eating almonds??” LOL

— Former athlete, so meal times are strict, LOL

Ping.

[Stream ended]

The stream ended like that. Of course, this live broadcast quickly spread to different communities.

[Breaking News: Almond did a live apology on Runestagram]

[Summary: He wasn’t saying Japanese people are short. They just happened to be short and Japanese.]

— “They just happened to be short and Japanese” LMAO

└ He didn’t exactly say that lol

└ That’s the funniest part. Short and Japanese

└ LOL

└ Spat out what I was eating

— This is crazy

— True troublemaker

— This guy has a natural talent

— “When Yu Sang-Hyeon was born, Japanese people cried loudly.”

— This is K-pop

Despite his intentions, the incident ended up escalating further.