Season 2: Chapter 139. Public Opinion (2)

Season 2: Chapter 139. Public Opinion (2)

Hui-Chul's partner excitedly asked, "That's a good thing, right?"

Finding such a promising talent was certainly a cause for celebration, yet Hui-Chul's expression remained gloomy.

"I think we can do it next year," he said.

This statement implied that they could potentially win next year's competition.

Her gaze shifted toward Hui-Chul's abdomen and she slightly started trembling. Could it be that they couldn’t even look forward to next year?

Hui-Chul clarified before any misunderstandings could grow, "Because I'm not sure if that person will continue playing next year."

"Ah, I see," his partner nodded in understanding. "That person also seemed to have health issues, right?"

"Yes," Hui-Chul confirmed, knowing his partner was aware of Almond's condition since they discussed it before.

Almond shared many similarities with Hui-Chul, except perhaps his affection for Civil Empire. Hui-Chul was a general game streamer unlikely to continue doing this next year. So what?

"Winning was never the goal," Hui-Chul's partner recalled their original objective. "Honey, don't be sad. Winning was out of the question... Making it to the main event and reaching the top eight was the goal, wasn't it?"

Hui-Chul nodded, agreeing to what was considered an impossible goal by the community. Achieving it would be a remarkable feat or at least a stepping stone to greatness.

"Yeah, I wasn't even thinking about winning, but..."

Hui-Chul couldn't shake off his disappointment.

"It seems more regrettable now that it’s within reach. If only we had known a little sooner... even if it wasn’t a year, just six months..."

Hui-Chul was aware that Almond had started streaming less than six months ago. Before that, Almond had worked in a successful corporation unrelated to this world. Hui-Chul was indulging in impossible hypotheticals due to his regret.

"Would it have been better if we hadn't known? Is that what you're thinking?" his partner inquired.

"No," Hui-Chul shook his head with a big smile. "I can't be that foolish."

His partner sat on his lap.

"Right. It's fortunate that we found him now even if we can’t win the championship. I'd be so happy just making it to the main event. I might even cry."

"Yeah, that's true," Hui-Chul agreed with a smile. However, he couldn’t fully hide the bitterness lingering at the corners of his mouth.

"Let's just focus on what we need to do right now. That person still has a lot to learn. We need to decide how to teach him. If we keep this up, we might not even make it to the main event."

"Right."

***

After achieving A+ rank, Sang-Hyeon decided to take a break.

[Kimchi Warrior: The scrimmage will start at 7 P.M. Get some rest and I'll see you then.]

Reading the message, Sang-Hyeon's eyes drifted to the clock at the top of his screen.

"At 7 P.M, that means..."

It was currently 5 P.M. He could eat dinner and get back in time. That seemed like a good plan.

[Logout]

With a soft hiss, his custom capsule opened. Sang-Hyeon sat up and looked around. The person who usually greeted him after the capsule opened wasn’t there.

"He hasn't come back yet."

Ju-Hyeok hadn’t returned from the award ceremony preparations. He was probably shopping for clothes with Ji-Ah and wouldn’t return until after dinner.

"Hmm."

Sang-Hyeon scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled.

"What to eat?"

Dinner was always prepared by Ju-Hyeok. Upon reflection, it seemed that Ju-Hyeok had been taking care of various aspects of Sang-Hyeon's life beyond his managerial duties.

Shortly afterward...

Crunch, crunch.

Predictably, Sang-Hyeon was munching on almonds he'd taken from the cupboard. He didn’t even realize when he had taken them out.

Crunch, crunch.

The savoriness spread in his mouth, improving his mood. He continued to munch on almonds with one hand while scrolling through the community on his phone with the other.

"?"

Something felt uncomfortable.

"Ah."

He tapped his head and moved toward the computer. Why bother eating almonds at the dining table? He could just sit at his computer, munch on them, and browse the community there. Sitting at the dining table had become a habit from eating with Ju-Hyeok.

Thump.

He placed a bowl of almonds on his computer desk.

[Embul]

He entered the community.

"I wonder how BornToB is doing."

Almond was concerned about BornToB. Was it because he suddenly cried or because of them playing together for so long? It was hard to say, but BornToB was certainly on his mind. Not that he wanted to continue playing games with BornToB. He hoped BornToB wasn't receiving too much flak.

"...?"

Sang-Hyeon was taken aback by the unexpected reactions. A lot of posts praised BornToB's fast archer rush and some even adored him.

The top post on Embul was:

[SandSpoon: LOL you never tried it before and this was your first attempt??]

[BoySchool: And you, have you tried stream sniping? Is that something to brag about? Then why don't you go and try??]

[VeryVeryCastle: Enough, stop it.]

VeryVeryCastle tried to intervene, but it wasn’t effective.

[Ronaldo: Now, CheesyAttackJudge, won't you say something? Aren't you going to stream snipe? LOL What kind of logic is that?]

[CheesyAttackJudge: Let's calm down first. It's always been the case that to punish evil, one might commit a greater evil...]

[CheesyAttackJudge: But if that evil is only committed against evil, then it's okay to deeply reflect on it later, isn't it?]

[SandSpoon: Wow, that concept is amazing LOL]

[Ronaldo: Spouting nonsense LOL]

[CheesyAttackJudge: Your words are too harsh.]

Then, CheesyAttackJudge asked something to a user with an unfamiliar nickname.

[CheesyAttackJudge: But Ronaldo? Since when have you been here? It seems you didn't talk before.]

[CheesyAttackJudge: Have you been here from the start? I don't think I've seen you on Embul either.]

He noticed that Ronaldo wasn't an original member of the chatroom. Initially, it was unclear whether a user had changed their nickname, but it turned out to be a completely new person upon checking.

[VeryVeryCastle: This person joined us when we were not talking for a while.]

Ronaldo had joined them when the chatroom was deactivated after AK47's humiliating defeat.

[CheesyAttackJudge: Is that so? Wasn't this place password protected?]

[VeryVeryCastle: It doesn’t require a password. You just need to know the chatroom name to enter. We didn't set a password because that would make it too inaccessible...]

This room was basically where extremists gathered. This time, they just happened to take on the task of stream sniping Almond.

Originally, it was just a common open chatroom waiting for users to join without any passwords required. The chatroom’s name was only a bit difficult to figure out.

[CheesyAttackJudge: How did you join, Ronaldo? It wouldn't have been easy to find the chatroom’s name.]

CheesyAttackJudge kept pressing Ronaldo for an answer.

[Ronaldo: I searched for the chatroom’s name and joined.]

[CheesyAttackJudge: You have to know what it is to search for it, right?]

[Ronaldo: I have connections, of course I know.]

[CheesyAttackJudge: Connections? How do you know us?]

A long silence followed.

[VeryVeryCastle: ??]

[BoySchool: What is it? Say something.]

[SandSpoon: He's not going to say he's Almond, right? LOL]

[Ronaldo: I'm not Almond.]

[Ronaldo: But I'm someone who knows him very well.]

[Ronaldo: Actually, I've been observing this place for a while because of certain circumstances...]

Then, Ronaldo revealed his identity and caused an uproar in the chatroom.

[Ronaldo: I'm Almond’s manager you bastards.]

Almond’s manager? Not many of them understood what this meant right away.

[VeryVeryCastle: ???]

[BoySchool: ...?]

[Brr: ?]

Only two of them responded.

[CheesyAttackJudge: Ah fuck]

[SandSpoon: Ah shit...]

Snap.

Ju-Hyeok took a screenshot and left them a final message.

[Ronaldo: Alright, if everyone gets it now, disperse!]

The silence only lasted for a moment before they all quickly made a move. As if on cue, all the members fled without looking back.

[CheesyAttackJudge has left the chatroom.]

[Brr has left the chatroom.]

[BoySchool has left the chatroom.]

[SandSpoon has left the chatroom.]

[VeryVeryCastle left the chatroom.]

Only Ju-Hyeok remained, but that didn’t matter because he had already screenshotted everything.

[Almond and BornToB’s last promo match was stream sniped (with evidence)]

A new post appeared on Embul.