Season 4: Chapter 136. Don’t Play Around (1)
Ju-Hyeok stared at the glowing words on the screen, his face tight with tension.
[Now Premiering!]
[14,000 Watching Now]
Fourteen thousand wasn’t bad at all. Of course, it was a tiny fraction compared to the Fake National Team’s finale, which had drawn 630,000 live viewers.
‘But you can’t compare it to that.’
The Fake National Team series had become a cultural moment in YouTube history, born out of the massive buzz generated by the World Championship. Cheese Village was, at its core, an event to promote a platform. They weren’t in the same league.
‘The benchmark they set was 100,000 live viewers. That’s the benchmark for being a hit.’
Ju-Hyeok recalled the goals from their meetings and forced himself to focus on the video.
[36,000 Watching Now]
The number climbed sharply.
[57,000 Watching Now]
It rose by tens of thousands every few seconds.
[69,000 Watching Now]
The pace only quickened.
***
The video finally began.
[Produced by Jang Productions]
It started with a serene lake.
Chirp, chirp.
Birds sang over glittering ripples. Beyond the water, mountains could be seen on the horizon, a picture-perfect backdrop of blue and green.
Pop. Pop.
A chibi avatar with long hair and a beard walked into the frame. He naturally set himself at the lake’s edge.
The camera showed a close-up of his lips.
“Whew.” He slowly exhaled and lifted a fishing rod.
Snap.
With a broad motion, he cast his line.
Whirrrrrrr!
A wooden reel spun furiously as the line whipped out.
Plunk!
The bobber splashed into the lake. The reflection of the blue sky and drifting clouds rippled, reshaping into letters.
[Welcome to Cheese Village!]
— Oooooh
— Feels like a movie opening
— All this just for Ep 1 lol
— They spent some good money
The words shimmered and floated along the surface.
“Oh, got one.” The man tugged.
Splash!
A fish burst from the water, wide-eyed. A subtitle popped up beside it.
[Ep. 1 Get Healed!]
— LOL that fish face
— I swear I’ve seen that guy somewhere before
— The graphics are so cute!
— Guess fishing really is the endgame content
— Wait... Uncle Pang??
The premiere chat went wild. The opening had landed.
Crackle.
The screen shifted.
“Is today your first day in Cheese Village?” A cheerful voice rang out.
Another avatar entered, wearing a bright dress.
[Emmental]
Her name appeared beneath her.
Emmental was one of the village’s admins and smiled at the camera. “Oh, you don’t know anything? Don’t worry.”
Whoosh.
Her skirt fluttered as she twirled and beckoned. “Just follow me.”
She walked toward the village gates, her steps as light as a dance. The camera followed. A jaunty beat kicked in, layered with instruments until a melody carried her voice.
“In our village, you’ll seeee~” She sang while introducing the town.
— ??
— A musical??
— Wow, what is this?
— LOL
— Actually kind of healing...
— They really spent money
— This really is healing content... So good
Casual YouTube viewers, who knew nothing else, felt thrilled.
— Perfect smoke screen lol
— So this was the original concept, huh?
— Did everyone forget the teaser already? lol
Those who did know braced for the incoming whiplash.
“You don’t need to know a thing~ Just start fresh and sing~” Emmental carried on singing.
— She can really sing though
— Woooow...
— Even as an avatar, she looks gorgeous!!
Her voice and her graceful movements weren’t amateurish at all. Though she appeared to be an admin, she was also a professional musical actress turned streamer.
“Oh? And what about jobs?”
“You don’t need one at alllll~!”
Another beautiful voice chimed in from the side.
— Wow
— Even jobless folks are okay? Viewers rise up!
— Damn
— Wooooow
— Crazy
— Holy...
Everyone recognized this person just from their avatar.
[CutiePie]
CutiePie was a streamer and idol with an enormous following. She had also joined the musical intro. Against the backdrop of the beautiful Cheese Village, they danced as they introduced the town rules.
No one needed a job. The villagers didn’t need to aim for anything great. They didn’t even need a house. Only one rule existed here.
“Everyone, let’s live happily together~”
“Togetherrrr~~~”
All they had to do was be happy. As CutiePie raised her voice to hit the final high note, the intro seemed to end.
Boom!
CutiePie suddenly exploded. Literally, she blew apart, and all of her items scattered across the ground.
— ?
— ???
— Huh?
Bbam~!
[LoveYou has donated a whopping 1,000,000 won!]
[I love the song!!]
It was because of a million-won donation.
“Kyaaahhh!” Emmental shrieked and stumbled back.
The camera zoomed out and revealed the other villagers.
“Come out! You, Big Farm or Big Bam, whatever! You call this a field? Huh?!”
Someone held an NPC by the collar.
— Hahahahahahaha
— LMAOooo
— WTF lol
— So much for healing gameplay
“Gah!”
“Hey, let me go! Huh?!”
Pow! Thud!
Two random villagers rolled on the ground, fists smashing into each other’s faces.
“Haaah... haaah...”
Somewhere else, someone bent over without pause, manically plowing a field.
“Heeheehee! Jackpot!”
“Wahahaha!”
Others stole crops someone else had painstakingly grown and sprinted away.
— LMAOooooo
— This is healing~
— AHAHAHA
— My childhood dreams... gone...
— Fyi the real healers here are the thieves
— I actually expected healing this time... T_T
Ting.
The screen cut back to Emmental.
She nudged CutiePie’s dropped items aside with her foot, glanced at the camera, and quickly shouted, “C-Come visit! Cheese Village! The happiest Cheese Village in the world~~~!”
— LMAOooo
— Yeah right, who’s happy here? lol
— K-healing at its finest
— The only one happy is CutiePie, who exploded after getting a million won
— Still cute though lol
The intro hastily wrapped up and ended.
Bzzzt!
Then, the real footage began.
***
A loud, bustling chorus of voices filled the air.
“Wow. So, this is Cheese Village?”
“Oooh~”
The first residents began appearing one by one.
“Wait, did Almond die right at the start?”
“Yeah, and he died a second time when he got that million-won donation.”
“Wow... already a million?”
They chatted idly as they searched for a place to settle.
“Shouldn’t we get food first?”
“Let’s see...”
At the center of the village stood a huge information board for beginners. Almond had arrived much later, so he hadn’t seen it.
“Hmm...”
Crowds gathered around the board to read it. The camera zoomed in on one particular figure.
[Donuts]
Soon to be notorious, Donuts muttered under his breath to his viewers as he studied the instructions.
— Huh?
— Wait, is that Donuts???
— Whoa lol what’s he doing here?
— Donuts omg
YouTube viewers felt shocked by his appearance. As if anticipating the reaction, his credentials flashed on screen with a swoosh.
==== ====
Graduated from Cornell University, Economics
5.1 million subscribers, Economics YouTuber
Former stock trader, 7 years at D Securities
Mastermind behind the “Economy Psycho” scandal in L Corp’s RPG economy
==== ====
— LMAOoooo
— Economy Psycho HAHAHA
— That scandal was insane
— Can’t believe they listed it here lol
— What even is this?
— I thought this was a healing game??
— Dude is a veteran pro lol
— This feels like a survival show already
— Cheese Village... already showing its true colors
Viewers felt baffled that the so-called healing game was being edited like a strategy survival program. The surprises didn’t end there.
“Oh, isn’t that Donuts?” Someone greeted him from behind.
The screen froze again with a swoosh.
[Horn Ramen]
And this person’s profile appeared.
==== ====
3.27 million subscribers, Talk YouTuber
Experimental cook and food researcher
Author of hit comics such as Everyone’s a Newbie Except Me
First YouTuber to win the 2029 Fake Romance Awards
==== ====
— Holy crap lol
— Horn Ramen’s here too???
— Horn Ramen in Cheese Village??
— Everyone’s a Newbie Except Me bombed though
— So many YouTubers here omg
— Oooooh
— “Never read chapter 81” -Horn Ramen
Donuts and Horn Ramen were of similar age. Right away, there was a sense that they would team up.
“Ah, Horn Ramen?” Donuts warmly shook his hand.
“So many young folks around. Don’t you think it’d be good for us old-timers to stick together? Let’s give it a shot.”
“Of course. Honestly, I already have a good feeling about this.”
“Oh, really? You already know what’s best?”
— These guys ditched healing before they even started lol
— You’re supposed to heal, not scheme!
— This is literally like a survival show alliance hahaha
— This is society in a nutshell!
The two veteran YouTubers instantly bonded over their age. They held immense influence as streamers and drew every gaze their way.
“What do you think is good? Just between us.”
“Ah, well... It’s not something I can say for sure yet~”
“C’mon! Just me, just me!”
“Aish, no, no... Well...”
Horn Ramen tugged Donuts closer, pressing an ear to him.
Whisper, whisper.
Reluctantly, Donuts slipped out a word.
[Farmer]
The red subtitle burned across the screen.
— HAHAHAHA the start of it all
— So this is where it began...
— Farmer omg
— He already figured it out??
That single word caused nearly every incident in Cheese Village.