At that moment in Cookie's house, the noisy area around the sofa became quiet. In fact, it had been quiet for a while now.
'Well, the atmosphere is really something.'
Popcorn, aka Ok Soo-Han, scratched his head awkwardly and pondered whether to say something. He decided not to because he knew it well as a former pro.
Even if it was a game that didn’t count, losing could sometimes create a serious atmosphere. Perhaps it was the way they lost that was the problem.
'We got beaten soundly, after all...'
The commentators had enthusiastically clung to the possibility of a comeback and tried to dress it up, but those who knew could see. Even Soo Han, who didn't know much about
Civil Empire
, could tell that the game was quite one-sided.
If the atmosphere turned sour after losing a scrimmage like this, how much worse would it be after losing an actual match like this? The atmosphere would be rather bleak.
Soo Han just shoved the slice of pizza he ordered into his mouth, hoping this moment would pass quickly. He was waiting for someone to break the silence.
"Um."
He didn't expect it to be that person.
"Shall we take a moment to organize things together?"
It was Choi Sa-Rang. She placed her notebook on her lap and moved her wheelchair toward the table.
"Ah. Yes, we should do that."
"Oh... Yes, yes!"
The think tank members jumped at her words like people who had just woken from a nap and moved to their seats. They probably didn’t even realize who had just spoken.
Still, it was encouraging that Sa-Rang, who just recently joined, was so proactive in the strategy meeting. Even though she was an emergency substitute, she would be the commander-in-chief if she played. She could possibly lead the think tank members.
"First, let's talk about where the snowball started."
Sa-Rang seemed to have already prepared everything she wanted to say, pointing out various points without even looking at her notebook. As she broke the ice, others started to give their opinions one by one.
With this and that being said, the area around the table gradually became lively again. Their voices grew much louder than the TV that played indifferently. RAꞐồꞖЁs
“Ah~ with this, the national team qualifiers have all come to an end.”
“Yes. Even though Korea lost the last match, they still achieved considerable results.”
“That's right! Some people are calling it a miracle rather than just an achievement!”
The think tank team spent the day engrossed in their discussion, not even noticing the end of the national team qualifiers.
As with most major tournaments, teams had been given quite some time between the end of the qualifiers and the main event.
This was fortunate for the Korean team. Even though they suffered a bitter defeat in the last game of the qualifiers, they had plenty of time to forget that memory.
Additionally, public opinion did not really blame Korea for losing against Italy. Rather, everyone treated it as if the last match hadn't happened at all, almost as if they were all crazy.
This tendency was particularly strong on LIL Pro.
Big) Uh~ slice it up again~ advancing is all that matters~~
Even though Korea lost to Italy, the mindset was that advancing to the main event made it all the same.
— LOL seriously
— Whatever, it’s all about the main event~
— Trampled Spain and France to advance to the main event, should be considered the semi-finals
└ Hahaha true
— Ah! Whatever, innkeeper! Bring me some rice wine, mixed with national pride!
└ LOL
All the comments simply enjoyed the moment.
Big) ??? Hey, Rome. Did you win?
Most of the content in these posts confidently called out Rome.
[(Photo)
So, what are you going to do? We've already felt all the national pride. What can you do now besides interviews?]
— Damn
— The picture of Chi Seung's punch is insane
— Really, what can Rome do~ we'll only meet in the finals anyway~
└ That's right, it's like we've already knocked out Rome
└ Crazy mental victory
— Kim Chi Seung's punch picture is insane
— Perfect fit
The Korean viewers had already enjoyed everything during the qualifiers and wouldn't even see Rome again. Just this fact alone made them happy. After all, Rome was one of the strongest contenders for the championship this season.
[National pride is like a drug, damn they're all crazy]
[Were they always this united?]
[Why are there no troublemakers? Isn't LIL Pro working overtime?]
Users felt unfamiliar with the united appearance of LIL Pro. Actually, it wasn't an exaggeration. For a community like LIL Pro to be united was rare. Users always lurked to oppose opinions with unreasonable arguments.
Therefore, the power of national sports proved to be quite significant.
Big) Almond = Korean Escobar
Seeing this big post mentioning Almond, one could certainly feel that power.
[Started as an archery athlete, now leading Korea to the main event ᄏᄏᄏ
Damn, just a national pride maker.]
— Crazy LOL
— What are you talking about? LOL
— Fyi: Pablo Escobar was the drug dealer who made the most money in history
└ True
└ Fyi: Pride is short for methamphetamine, a drug.
└ True
— OMG agreed
— If they go beyond the quarter-finals, they'll surpass Escobar
Winning a match for a nation was an intense thrill, likened to an evil substance like drugs. Perhaps that was why everyone came together.
If LIL Pro was already in this state, Embul's condition would be even more dramatic. The Embul community already favored the national team competition. They treated the Rome match as if it never happened from the start.
[By the way, why isn’t there a second match with Rome? Just a bye?]
[Does anyone know when the second match with Rome is?]
[When is the day we go to Osaka?]
[Has anyone booked a flight for the finals?]
In that world, the second match with Rome never happened. Only Korea’s confirmed advancement to the finals existed.
— Hey, is this the NutPunk world or something?
└ LIL Pro is fake madness, really
└ I heard Elantra N is Elantra Nuts here. True?
└ Crazy
— How much have you twisted the world, Almond!?
— So, when does the gate open?
Everyone lived on, remembering only the happy memories as several days passed.
Ding.
[Almond has started streaming!]
In the past few days, Sang-Hyeon conducted a few game advertisements that had piled up.
— Even if it’s an ad, I love it
— It’s so good that he streams often these days
— Please just keep doing ads every day
Although Sang-Hyeon focused on advertisements, viewers felt happy because his personal streams hadn’t been on for long lately.
Naturally, Ji-Ah's workload increased as well. When advertisements were filmed, they had to be uploaded on YouTube. Naturally, the editor had to ensure that there were no issues with the advertisements. This required more work than regular videos. Usually, the effort to upload one advertisement equaled uploading two to three regular videos.
Ji-Ah didn’t dislike it. She actually liked it. Rather than spending her time aimlessly doing nothing, she felt glad that work was coming in. If she hadn’t been working, thoughts related to that guy would constantly come to mind like when work slowed down because of the national team competition and the Fake National Team.
What tormented her more than not earning any income was that she couldn’t fully preoccupy herself with work.
[Ju-Hyeok: How about working with PD Jang instead? They need some help. You can share the pay and gain experience.]
This suggestion came from Ju-Hyeok. He seemed to be aware of Ji-Ah’s state as well, but Ji-Ah couldn’t accept it.
[Ji-Ah: No. They do well on their own. I’ll take this opportunity to rest a bit.]
PD Jang was undoubtedly skilled from Ji-Ah's perspective. Producing such documentary videos every week would be impossible without tremendous determination and sense. The difficulty was on another level compared to editing a single stream.
Therefore, working with PD Jang would certainly be an honor as a video editor. The problem was his company. Working with PD Jang ultimately meant working with his company, which practically meant re-entering a corporate organization.
Ji-Ah didn’t want to do that.
"Is it with him? The manager?"
"... But aren’t you a contract worker?"
"Ji-Ah, are you acting like this because you're leaving soon anyway?"
"Oh dear. Why does Manager Lee take such people?"
The memories of those times were dark and muddy for Ji-Ah. She tried to paint over those memories with different colors, wondering if it would look better this way or that way. However, it only grew darker the more she tried and she felt even more miserable.
Ji-Ah didn’t have the courage to jump back into such a life.
'Should I introduce Yeon-Joo instead...?'
PD Jang still needed help. It felt like a waste to leave the opportunity open.
Ji-Ah had only ever talked to one other colleague at her former company. That was Heo Yeon-Joo, her friend who had helped her with work before.
'Or should I join Yeon-Joo...?'
Ji-Ah shook her head. She probably only stuck with Yeon-Joo because they were both contract workers.
'She probably doesn’t even like me.'
Anyway, more work fortunately came in now.
Ji-Ah brushed away the old memories and focused fiercely on work again.
“Let’s do a proper job on this advertisement video!”
She raised her voice unusually and rolled up her sleeves.
Due to the last G-Star, Sang-Hyeon had contracted various advertisements. Of course, most of them were game advertisements since G-Star was a game expo. However, not all game advertisements were about turning on a stream and playing games.
Although many things happened at G-Star, Almond had a special advertisement for one game which he built the deepest connection with.
"Oh! Here! Almond! Manager! Wow—" someone repeatedly shouted greetings at them and ran up. He shook hands with Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon and asked, "Do you remember me?"
"Yes? What are you talking about, Manager Jung~"
It was Manager Jung Min-Cheol from the promotion department of
Hitman Simulator
, practically the main person behind this advertisement.
Of course, Ju-Hyeok remembered him.
Haha.
It’s such a busy world these days, isn’t it? A guy like me with a common face is quickly forgotten. I have to check every time."
It seemed to be a joke to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“Please, give that to me. I’ll guide you.”
Manager Jung led the way to the filming studio. On the way, he chatted with Ju-Hyeok about various things that would happen in the future.
One of Ju-Hyeok’s questions piqued Manager Jung’s curiosity.
"By the way, this is being filmed at Great Planning, right?"
"... Yes?"
Great Planning was well-known in the industry, but not to the general public. Only businesses that needed advertisements or celebrities who received offers knew the company.
Manager Jung felt surprised by the sudden confirmation.
"Oh, Great Planning. Yes. Have you worked with them before?"
"Ah, yes. Well, by coincidence..."
"Wow! A streamer doing Great Planning ads already? Now two!? Wow...!"
“It’s nothing.”
“It is something! Our president made a big decision for this contract. It will probably come out great.”
“Of course, they’re the top in the industry. They don’t just hire anyone there,” Ju-Hyeok spoke with a meaningful smile. However...
“Of course. Of course. Please come in.”
Manager Jung brightly guided them.
Naturally, the events that would unfold had nothing to do with Manager Jung.

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