Season 2: Chapter 47. The Swimming Pool Party (2)
If someone asked the filming crew who they expected to film the most today, ninety-five out of a hundred would say:
"Miho."
"Of course, Miho."
"Hmm. Miho."
Then the other five would say, "I'm for Almond! I'm a fan!"
These individual fans looked forward to Almond.
Therefore, objectively speaking, it was inevitable to have high expectations for Miho in terms of filming. Like everyone had high expectations for Almond during the tournament, expectations naturally shifted to Miho during the shoot.
"Wow... did Miho really turn on her halo passive?"
"She's amazing."
"Even a goddess would be mesmerized."
Miho appeared with her fluttering blue hair and unmistakably demonstrated that such expectations from the filming team were not in vain. It wasn't just because of her outward beauty. The way she walked and her posture while standing and waiting was completely that of a model.
"Put anything next to her and it’ll become an advertisement."
"Miho could even revive our director's failed air freshener car business."
Her aura made anything she wore or held instantly seem like an advertisement.
However, Almond was not to be outdone.
"Wow, how about Almond's blonde hair."
"So cool."
"Wow... he’s so cute."
He didn’t exude a professional vibe or feel like anything could instantly become an advertisement. He was an utter amateur at photoshoots, but he had a freshness that could only come from being unpolished like the scent of spring flowers just starting to bloom. That fresh fragrance wrapped around Almond. Even when he was just listening to the director with a bit of tension, his clumsy appearance seemed refreshing like the protagonist of a high school movie.
"Almond's proportions are insane."
"What's with those shoulders."
"He's not that tall. I thought he was taller."
Among these chatting fairies, a slightly bigger fairy flew in and shouted.
"What are you doing!? To your positions!"
"Ah, right. Yes, sir!"
The pool party photoshoot began.
***
Splash. Splash.
All the Balloon Stars members earnestly played beach volleyball. In this case, the volleyball was Bubblegum. They initially passed to each other quite well, bouncing him around a few times.
"Oh no! Hey, Almond! Go easy!" Takoyaki cried out after falling down.
He was on Miho's team and struggled more.
"Why, why are you so serious, bro?"
StrawberryShooter was on Almond's team and tried to calm him down in a panic.
They didn't know Almond was playing hard because he thought the director would appreciate it.
Even amid this, Miho didn't lose the concept and laughed after passing the ball.
"Ahaha! Oh, oppa, go easy! Haha!"
She made remarks as if to calm Almond down. Her voice wouldn’t be part of the shoot anyway. However, Almond didn’t hear her and continued with fierce spikes.
Boom!
Bang!
***
"Wow... what is that?"
BlackTea took a break from the shoot and looked at the other side in shock.
"Wow... really. Look at Almond's abs..."
"No, not that. Why is he so good at volleyball?"
The other streamers gathered around, amazed by the sound that sounded almost like a gunshot as Bubblegum shot through the air.
"Is that... Gum?"
SweetRadish came out wearing a tube. He was doing a cosplay of 'The Pool Party Explosion Madness' skin from one of his games since his champion also had a pool party skin.
"Pfft! Hey, what's that?"
"Wow, SweetRadish. Your fashion is killer! Isn't that a Thom Browne swimsuit!?"
BlackTea and Lemon commented on his attire.
"It's supposed to be the concept," SweetRadish proudly replied, but avoided eye contact and lowered his goggles.
Even the logo of a luxury brand sparkled on those goggles.
"Dressing in luxury doesn't work if it doesn't suit you."
"Exactly, it’s almost like a developing country's fashion."
BlackTea giggled and alternated glances between Almond and SweetRaddish.
"No. This is the concept, you know? Noona?"
SweetRadish kept repeating the same words, but neither BlackTea nor Lemon were listening.
"I actually prefer Almond’s outfit."
"Oh yeah, me too."
SweetRadish glanced at Almond and retorted in disbelief, "What? He’s hardly wearing anything!?"
Again, they ignored him.
SweetRadish gave up, put on his goggles, and disappeared from view after diving underwater.
BlackTea, however, didn’t notice that either. She just turned to Lemon with a determined look.
"Lemon, let's do this properly. The photobook is mine!"
"Yeah, let’s do it!"
The two became motivated to win the photobook and returned to their respective shooting areas.
***
The general director gathered everyone after all the shoots finished. The crowd was quite big and consisted of teams that advanced to the tournament finals.
"Everyone, great job."
The director clapped and everyone followed suit with applause and cheering.
"These days, things have improved and the shooting ended quickly. In the past, such high-quality shoots would have involved booking locations, chartering jets, and much more."
When the director reminisced, someone on the staff gently elbowed him.
"Ah, right. Ahem. Now, let's view and evaluate the shots you all worked hard on. Remember, these scenes will also be used as content in the video."
It seemed this evaluation would also be streamed.
"The shooting directors here will give their comments."
The director returned to his seat.
A woman then jumped in from behind and added, "Oh! Everyone! The team selected as the best will get to publish a physical photobook! You all know that, right?"
"Yes~" the streamers answered in unison like students at a camp.
"Feel free to sit anywhere on the beach to watch!"
The large shells on the beach were actually sofas.
Almond settled on a green-hued shell.
"Oh, hey."
A familiar voice came from the side.
"Nice to see you again."
"Oh hey, Gi-Chan."
It was ForeverAlone. This was their first meeting since they had drinks together at the after-party gathering, but he couldn’t see Almond.
"Oh, your eyes..."
ForeverAlone couldn't see because he wrapped a blindfold over his eyes.
"Ah, I'm doing a monk concept."
"Ah ha..."
Almond understood the concept, but wondered how long he would keep his eyes covered.
"How did you recognize me?"
ForeverAlone lowered his voice, "I knew by the vibrations."
He took the Monk's battle stance and seemed quite serious about his concept.
"Expand your senses."
He even recited one of the Monk's lines.
"Ah... Okay," Almond responded and turned back to the screen.
"The first team is Red Carpets!"
Photos of BlackTea and Lemon from Red Carpets appeared on the screen.
"Wow, Lemon is cute."
"The water gun looks fun."
"Hahaha, funny."
Red Carpet's concept was a water gun fight and suited a team led by an ADC.
BlackTea shot at her teammates with a water gun and wore an angry expression while Lemon sat on top of her head and teased her.
"BlackTea's fiery temperament comes through and Lemon's expressions are excellent."
"I agree. It's a naughty face that bothers people.”
The directors joked with light laughter.
Then, the screen shifted to another team.
"Next up! GreenTeaBagging!"
GreenTeaBagging’s concept was wearing gloves and hitting each other.
"We expressed the disunity of our team's teamwork!" GreenTea proudly raised his hand and shouted.
A round of laughter echoed from the audience.
"Ahhahaha!"
"Is Pickle getting hit again?!"
"Even when Pickle was getting hit, GreenTea seemed to be in pain, lol."
During the tournament matches, there was a scene where GreenTea fiercely beat Pickle. It became a hot topic as a streaming clip and they went with that concept for the photoshoot.
Pickle's remark, 'It's not a mistake, but a devil's hand,' continued to be a legendary quote.
"Pickle, the king of punchlines..."
"Hilarious."
"Why are the gloves so cute!?"
The concept of a martial arts match in the water seemed fun and the audience reacted well. It was definitely fresher than Red Carpets' water gun fight.
"Fighting with gloves in water is interesting."
"Pickle's reaction when getting hit is really good. I want to join in too."
"Their teamwork breaking down and ruining their performance was very well represented this time."
After the directors' brief comments, the screen moved on to the next team.
"Wow~"
"Wow, seriously..."
"Amazing."
The first scene welcomed the audience with Miho's bright smile. It was Balloon Stars’ turn.
BlackTea already placed GreenTea in a headlock and ForeverAlone stood up, perhaps to feel the vibrations better.
Then, a photo featuring an incredible spike by StrawberryShooter appeared. The audience let out a sigh of relief for some reason.
"Ah, he didn’t wear anything weird thing this time..."
"I felt nervous watching the entire team."
They were relieved that StrawberryShooter wore normal clothes.
The next photo showed Almond seriously receiving the ball as water splashed around.
"Pfft, why is he so serious?!"
"What's with that face!?"
“Hahaha.”
The men laughed at his unnecessarily serious attitude and the women just gaped.
"Wow..."
Even BlackTea stopped her headlock and stared at the screen.
"That... I'll buy it if it becomes merchandise," BlackTea mumbled even though she said she would win the photoshoot.
Meanwhile, the photos continued to pass and the directors' comments followed.
"Almond and Miho's visuals are really model-like. They light up the screen."
"Definitely, this shoot showed how important models are in photography, but I wish the concept was more amusing..."
"Their visuals are truly dazzling, but I'm disappointed that it's just simple beach volleyball. It could have been more playful..."
"Eh? But where is Bubblegum?" one of the directors judging tilted his head.
"True."
All the directors nodded and looked at each other. This wasn’t good. There was barely anything taken for one member. This made it ineffective as a team photoshoot.
However...
"Ah!"
Someone suddenly raised their hand.
"Isn't that Bubblegum!?"
He pointed at the beach volleyball happily bouncing back and forth. That was Bubblegum.
"...?"
The directors, momentarily dazed, burst into laughter.
"Wait, so Bubblegum was getting hit all that time?!"
"That's ridiculous."
"Wow. Even if he is Iron Ball."
“Pfft, hahaha.”
Laughter also passed through the audience.
"Ah. This is so funny."
The directors changed their earlier comments.
"Shall we see the next one?”
Lastly, a striking concept appeared.
"Now, Team SoloIsBack."
It was ForeverAlone's team, SoloIsBack. They came out with the most shocking concept.
"What, what's that?"
"An execution?!"
The first to catch their attention was ForeverAlone solemnly hanging on a cross. It looked like he would be burned at the stake at any moment, but water was splashing below.
All the other team members joyfully threw water balloons and shot water guns at him. ForeverAlone kept making a crying expression and his teammates looked extremely delighted.
"What... what's this concept?" one puzzled director asked.
Pollock, the jungler from ForeverAlone's team, replied.
"The pure sacrifice of ForeverAlone."
"ForeverAlone carries our team. That's what we wanted to express."
Everyone laughed at Soju’s comment.
"Additionally, ForeverAlone has a bit of... a sacred image, right?"
"Right. The man who kept his purity. He is so sacred."
"Yes. We wanted to express that. The pure boy fighting against the temptations of the world!"
The directors openly roared with laughter.
After ForeverAlone’s team, the viewing of the team photos ended.
"Wow. That was a great viewing. Very creative ideas. Each team had someone who sacrificed themselves. Whether it was Bubblegum or ForeverAlone..."
The directors made their closing remarks and stood up. Now, it was time to decide which team's merchandise to make.
"We'll announce the results after a brief meeting."