Season 3: Chapter 218. Fake Journey (5)

Meanwhile, in PD Jang's office...

Ji-Ah initially thought everyone was an editor, but that wasn’t entirely the case.

They divided the labor with some workers responsible for gathering community information used for editing. Ju-Hyeok handled that task alongside his other responsibilities for Almond’s channel, but it was actually a job for which someone could be hired.

Click.

The person gathered various community data on a monitor and discussed with PD Jang what to scrap.

Ji-Ah observed over their shoulder to learn the process.

The community responded to the Fake Journey episode currently airing.

[Pang looks great in hiking gear, lol]

[Watching Fake Journey makes me want to go there.]

[Is that a regional advertisement? Never heard of it, but now I want to go.]

Overall, the reactions were positive.

According to PD Jang, most team members were still relatively unknown. Getting this level of reaction live meant the edited version would be much better. Ji-Ah agreed.

The employee scrapped a few highly recommended posts.

[Scene of Almond Riding a Bike]

The first post had a screenshot of Almond and separately captured the scene.

— Wow.

— This instantly looks like a Japanese romance movie.

— Just jeans and a long padding coat, but why does it look like a movie? Damn.

└ Yeah, if I wore that, the director would tell me to get out of the shot, lol

└ Hahaha, for real

— Almond looks really happy... he’s smiling a lot

└ Yeah, I heard in a vlog that it’s his first overseas trip.

└ He said he couldn't travel much because of his career. I feel for him.

— His smile is art.

└ For real.

└ That’s the genuine smile of someone having a great time.

— It’s hilarious that Korean bicycle racer Pang is right behind him, lol

└ Hahaha, true

└ Magic that makes even Japan look like Korea, lol

The next popular post mentioned Pang.

[Met Pang on the Road]

The post featured a picture of middle-aged men hiking up Bukhansan Mountain.

[They’re complaining about the rising price of ginseng chicken soup lately.]

— Hahaha, this is hilarious.

— This is ridiculous, lol

— Korean Suicide Squad, damn

— Each one looks like a legend from the subway, damn

└ Hahaha, true

└ If they pile up more legends, they might become avatars someday, lol

└ Crazy, lol

└ The weapon sanctioned by the sacred place: Danso

— In Gotham Seoul, there were 9 warriors...

└ Are there 9 of them because of lines 1 through 9? Lol

└ Damn, hahaha

└ Crazy, lol

└ What about Bundang Line? Feeling left out, huh?

Many posts about Pang kept appearing. From high school history teachers to men cycling along the riverside to men gathered in makgeolli bars, everyone started calling them Pang.

— How many Pangs are there?

— When did Pang learn the clone technique? lol

— ??? I am the swarm.

Besides these, posts like

[Beef Dinner Picture]

and

[All Riding Bikes Together]

showed the Korean team members having fun and gained unexpected attention.

The general reaction was:

— It’s peaceful and pleasant to watch.

— This scene came from a live broadcast, damn

— This will be epic when edited for the Fake National Team.

— Riding bikes in a line looks beautiful, such scenery.

This trip was healing not only for the players, but also for the viewers.

‘Ju-Hyeok has done it again...’

Ji-Ah couldn’t help but admire Ju-Hyeok’s planning skills while watching.

Although freelance cameramen and writers on-site captured these scenes, it all started with Ju-Hyeok asking the sponsor for a trip to lift the players’ spirits. Then, he added the objective of finding a capsule room to complete the trip content. The result was perfect.

Scenes ideal for Monster drink ads kept appearing. The attention was high and the capsule room problem seemed resolved.

“Wow, this looks great. I’m pleased.”

PD Jang felt satisfied with the outcome. He headed to the editing team to start placing the ads.

“Let’s put the Monster ad here. Yeah, right here. The Monster roar... that goes here?”

***

The owner, Satou, noticed an unusual booking at a regular capsule room in the city.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Oh, Korean tourists are coming today. They booked in advance.”

“... Capsule rooms for twenty to thirty people? Aren’t Korean capsule rooms better?”

“Maybe Japanese food is better?”

Tourists sometimes visited capsule rooms for fun, but it was the first time seeing a booking like this.

“Worried about no-shows?”

“Kind of.”

While a large booking was good for business, Satou knew tourists often canceled at the last minute. The thought of such a large no-show felt daunting.

“But it’s slow these days, so I accepted the booking.”

“Alright... you did well.”

Satou nodded reluctantly. He couldn’t blame the manager since the tourists hadn’t canceled yet.

Fortunately, the tourists showed up on time.

Ding.

The group that entered was clearly the ones who booked the place.

‘They’re here.’

They looked like typical Korean tourists. Even for a capsule room visit, they fully dressed up like models. The burly men carried strange document bags with some bundled up in monochrome padding. One even wore colorful scarves and hiking gear suitable for Mount Everest.

‘Hm?’

Something felt odd.

‘... Why are they all mixed together?’

Typically, a group would share a common trait. This group looked like a mixed bag of everything. Individually, they obviously looked like tourists. Collectively, they looked odd.

This mixture of people stood out even more in Japanese culture, which categorized fashion into styles. However, they seemed too close to be strangers.

“Ah, we have a reservation,” someone who seemed to be the tour guide spoke and interrupted Satou’s thoughts.

“Ah, yes. Your name... Mr. Kim?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Ju-Hyeok spoke decent Japanese just like his English.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, but you didn’t specify individual seats...”

“Unassigned seats are fine.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Ju-Hyeok turned and signaled the others with an okay sign.

The tourists silently streamed in.

‘Are they nervous...?’

Usually, people would whisper and look around. These tourists simply followed and entered quietly.

Satou felt like he was being invaded despite the payment.

“Alright, please take care of them.”

“Huh? You’re leaving?”

“Yes, I’m not participating. They’ll stay as long as they want.”

“Ah, okay.”

Of course, they’d stay as long as they wanted. Satou didn’t understand why this was emphasized until later.

Ju-Hyeok left to place the second team in another capsule room and Satou returned to the counter.

Five hours passed.

“...”

Satou started to worry.

“They’re not dead, right?”

It was odd for so many people to play capsule games continuously for five hours, yet it was unlikely for all those people to have an accident.

“They’re Korean. They’re hardcore gamers.”

“... But do they play this much even on vacation?”

“Maybe they’re warming up.

Haha.

”

The manager acted overly positive about it, which was why he was hired.

Neither noticed the tourists were using the place to practice against the Japanese national team.

***

“Phew.”

Both teams settled in.

“Everyone is in!”

Ju-Hyeok clapped in front of the camera.

— Kya

— Haha, invasion success

— The planner’s form is top-notch!

— The capsule room owner’s reaction was hilarious, haha

— They were so suspicious, but it worked, congratulations~

— Haha, it must’ve looked weird.

The fake journey concluded.

“They can practice as much as they want and we’ll take them back to the hotel by bus. Ah, and...”

Although it was time to end the stream, Ju-Hyeok asked the writer not to stop the broadcast. He had been waiting for this moment.

Now, he revealed his true colors and pulled out something neatly folded from his briefcase.

— ??

— A magic show?

— What is this?

Ju-Hyeok began blowing into it vigorously. It inflated into an Almond shaped clapper balloon.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

— Haha, it’s an ad.

— The manager is just like the streamer, haha

— Crazy, I wondered what it was.

— Out of the blue, haha

“Alright, those attending the quarterfinals! I’ll be selling cheering items at the stadium entrance. Limited edition Almond signed goods are also available.”

Yes, Ju-Hyeok was introducing the goods they’d sell in the quarterfinals.

— Oh, signed?

— That’s tempting.

— I’ve seen the clapper balloons before.

— Manager selling Almond goods? Gotta buy that!

— Suddenly it’s online shopping, haha

He hurriedly dragged out a suitcase from the bus trunk and needed to introduce the items before viewers left.

“Alright, clapper balloons. They’re nice, but a bit ordinary. You want something special, right? We have upgraded items for this occasion.”

He pulled out the, “I’m Gonna Grow Up to Be Almond Suit” version three from the trunk.

“Mom, I’ll grow up to be Almond! Suit! Version three!”

— Damn!

— Crazy, how does this have three versions, haha

— He’s not Iron Man, but keeps evolving, haha

— The quality keeps improving.

Ju-Hyeok explained the changes while showcasing the suit. Then, he signaled to a staff member as planned.

— Hahaha

— Haha, in the middle of the city

— Cute, haha

— Oh, haha

The staff member transformed into a giant Almond.

“Look at this amazing presence. You can cheer for Almond while drawing all the cute attention. This incredible suit is normally around 8,000 yen! But for the quarterfinals, the boss went nuts! It’s only 5,980 yen! 5,980 yen!”

— Boss is nuts, haha.

— Boss is a nut, haha.

— Now they’re just selling it, damn.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

— Was it always home shopping?

— Haha.

— A full-body suit for 6,000 yen, that’s a deal.

— It’s turning into a live commerce, haha.

Ju-Hyeok donned an Almond hat next. This fluffy plush hat looked more like headgear than a hat.

“This is the Almond hat. It’s a steady best seller that’s usually 4,000 yen, but we’re selling it for 2,880 yen to celebrate the quarterfinals! 2,880 yen!”

— Home shopping.

— Haha.

— This guy is crazy.

— It’s getting funnier.

“Now, some might think it’s cute but not practical for meeting friends or dates. How about this? Almond cap!”

— Another product, haha.

— Is this for introverts?

— Caps, okay.

The simple black baseball cap sported a small Almond logo.

“People might think it’s a brand logo. It’s not crazy or Nutillian. This is a new product for 2,880 yen! For the quarterfinals, it’s 2,880 yen!”

— Nice.

— Haha, Nutillian, haha

— I want to be a Nutillian.

— This looks nice.

— Miho will sell it out.

Ju-Hyeok’s frantic sales efforts kept the viewers engaged and interested. Whether the items would actually sell was unknown. They only had one way to find out, which was to wait for the day of the match.

A few days later, the match between Korea and Japan approached.