Season 2: Chapter 48. Schrdingers Almond (1)
‘So they make a decision right away.’
As the directors turned around to decide the final winner, Almond observed the back of their heads and thought about who would win. Usually, in such a situation, one would have a hunch about who would win. However, he had no clue this time.
Almond scratched his head.
‘Other teams were too strong this time...’
The directors clearly pointed out his team's weaknesses during the feedback session. Balloon Star’s photoshoot concept was somewhat weaker than teams like ForeverAlone’s or GreenTeaBagging. At least the directors gave extra points to Bubblegum, who turned out to be the volleyball.
Other teams also had similar comedic concepts. GreenTeaBagging had GreenTea and Pickle fighting in the ring like a martial arts battle. They named themselves 'Eunpyeong Region Water Fist.' Honestly, Pickle could make people laugh just by looking at him.
Almond found himself in a somewhat unfair situation. He had an endlessly disadvantageous face in terms of making people laugh.
‘ForeverAlone’s concept was interesting.’
Not just GreenTeaBagging, but ForeverAlone’s team was quite amusing too.
ForeverAlone’s team concept was all the team members hitting him with water, symbolizing him taking on everyone's burdens. They even expressed ForeverAlone's pure image with a cross and bandages that covered his eyes.
GreenTeaBagging and SoloIsBack, these two teams seemed likely to win. Surprisingly, Red Carpets failed at leveraging their unique team atmosphere.
"Ah, we're going to lose, unnie..."
"Urgh..."
Lemon and BlackTea also seemed to sense that they fell behind.
Meanwhile, other team members buzzed about who would win and discussed others’ weaknesses.
After a while, one of the directors came out and announced, "Anyway, only one team will be selected for merchandise. We'll announce just one team and end it."
They weren’t going to rank the other teams and would simply announce one.
"Wow... That's bold. Like Tako's head," ForeverAlone made an insulting comment and rubbed his hands together.
"The team chosen for the physical merchandise is..."
Drumroll...
Staff members in the back started making drumming sounds with their knees and hands.
***
Ju-Hyeok overslept that day. He eventually got up around noon and rubbed his back.
"Ugh."
It seemed like he slept badly. Or rather, he drank pretty heavily the night before.
“I shouldn't work after drinking."
Almond’s stream ended early yesterday and he couldn’t refuse an important dinner appointment afterward. Surprisingly, he had dinner with the CEO of Divers. Despite the CEO's wealth, they had a simple dinner with grilled intestines and soju.
“He’s still the same.”
Ju-Hyeok bitterly smiled and recalled his childhood when he met the CEO who was a friend of his father. Those were different times back then, the days when CEO Park was a young man full of dreams. His love for grilled intestines hadn't changed since then. He remained the same even when his position, attitude, and dignity all changed.
"I’m still the same. Sigh," Ju-Hyeok deeply exhaled and stood up.
He couldn't quite tell what was different from his childhood. Change meant improvement. Was he improving? He wasn't sure.
His greatest achievement was just running away from home at thirty. If he had something to be proud of, it was his diligence and sincerity.
"What’s the point of working after drinking so much?"
This was actually one of Ju-Hyeok's drinking habits. It started during his studies abroad. As an international student, completing the same assignments at the same time as others was impossible.
Naturally, he had to invest more time in assignments. However, he couldn't miss out on social gatherings either.
His father always told him that there was no point in studying abroad if he missed out on parties and Western culture. The parties there weren’t just for fun. They were also social events to network and meet people.
Ju-Hyeok couldn’t give up on socializing or his assignments, so he came home after the parties and worked on the assignments. He worked even on days when he drank so much that he threw up.
This habit continued even in Ah-Sung, making him infamous for always coming to work on the day of company dinners.
"Well... it's better than causing trouble. At least, it's completely sorted now."
Ju-Hyeok smiled while looking at his monitor and scrolling down. He had analyzed all the games yesterday. The purpose of this analysis was, of course, to decide what games Almond would play next.
He made a list before, but re-examined everything thoroughly again. He sought to select a game that best utilized the bow and eventually succeeded in choosing just one game out of all of them.
‘This game is different from the ones he’s played before.’
Ju-Hyeok primarily picked this game because of what was colloquially known as nationalistic pride. Although he hardly had any sense of patriotism, he occasionally couldn't help but smile at videos showcasing South Korea's incredible technology and content, which astonished the world and trounced Japan.
That wasn't all. Surprisingly, such videos sometimes appeared on Sang-Hyeon’s YouTube recommendations. It was something that worked.
Chuckle.
Ju-Hyeok smiled while imagining the comments from his viewers, but he soon felt bitter.
"Ugh, my stomach hurts."
He felt hungover and headed to the kitchen to settle his stomach.
"Did I even go grocery shopping?"
His memory was foggy, but the refrigerator was stocked with ingredients for soft tofu stew when he opened it. Ju-Hyeok often ate this dish for hangover relief.
"I don’t remember at all."
He scratched his head, wondering if he forgot to shop for groceries, and checked the expiration dates. The products were definitely all fresh.
"Well, I guess I did go shopping."
He stopped thinking about it because his stomach was empty and aching.
He quickly took out a pot and turned on the stove.
***
Swish.
Sang-Hyeon's capsule smoothly opened. He looked refreshed walking out of the capsule. As he opened the door, the smell and warmth of the stew filled the air.
"How did it go?" Ju-Hyeok asked as he slurped the soft tofu stew.
Instead of answering, Sang-Hyeon quickly sat at the table and grabbed a spoon.
"Oh, you did make it."
"Huh?"
A question mark appeared on Ju-Hyeok's face.
"Did you buy all this?"
"Yeah, you usually make this stew the day after drinking."
Ju-Hyeok felt somehow outwitted, sensing that Sang-Hyeon had used him to make the stew because he wanted to eat it.
However, Ju-Hyeok could get used to seeing Sang-Hyeon eat real food. That was a positive, so he moved on.
"I made enough for two, just in case."
Thud.
Ju-Hyeok smiled as he served Sang-Hyeon some rice.
"So, how did it go with the photoshoot? Did you make it?"
"Yeah, our team's merchandise is coming out. We got first place," Sang-Hyeon excitedly said.
It was unclear if he was excited about the merchandise or the yolk on the soft tofu stew.
"Oh, really?"
Ju-Hyeok smiled.
"You must’ve had fun?"
He was happy to see Sang-Hyeon brightly smiling.
"Hmm, it was decent."
The hot stew muffled Sang-Hyeon’s pronunciation, but the message came across clearly.
Sang-Hyeon finished his bite and added on, "The technology in This World is no joke these days."
He talked for a while about the pool party set as well.
'It seems he had fun.'
Even though Sang-Hyeon said it was just decent, Ju-Hyeok could feel that he had fun during the photoshoot.
After a while, Ju-Hyeok decided to change the topic.
"By the way... check this out."
He showed Sang-Hyeon his phone screen with YouTube on it.
"This is what Ji-Ah hastily edited and uploaded as a short yesterday because it was trending at the top."
"Oh..."
"It's getting a lot of views."
[Zombie School: The Nut... First Death?]
The short video was ideal for gauging audience reactions.
[Views: 370,000]
In just a few hours, it already reached 370,000 views.
Sang-Hyeon appreciated Ji-Ah's knack for engaging with fans. The video showed his reaction attempt as he shot a returning arrow to kill himself and ducked just before it hit. Then, the stream abruptly turned off.
— Is he dead? He has to start over from the beginning??
— Information: Almond didn't know that dying meant starting over.
— He’s dead now. Time for the second attempt.
In simpler terms, a second attempt meant a second round. Zombie School was a typical roguelike game that required players to start over from the beginning when they died.
"Everyone thinks I died...?"
Sang-Hyeon scratched his head. He hadn't expected everyone to think he really died.
— That day was legendary, LOL! It lasted like three hours, right? LOL!
└ Instead of playing Kingdom, he’s just stuck in the Kingdom...
— It would be awesome if he starts from the infirmary this time.
└ Why can’t he just reset back to the gym and shoot Baek Joon-Soo with an arrow? LOL!
└ Or go straight to the construction site for defense.
└ The producers are weeping, LOL!
Now, the comments strategized about what he should do in the second round.
"Wow, everyone thinks I’m dead?"
"There are still a few who think you're alive."
Ju-Hyeok showed him the comments. Only a few people theorized that Almond hadn’t died yet.
— Almond isn't actually dead yet in Zombie School, right? He shut off the game at the end.
└ Yeah, right. There are also UFOs in the sky.
└ LOL!
└ Yeah, Tupac is also alive.
However, no one believed that theory. Users compared it to American conspiracies claiming Tupac was still alive or that John F. Kennedy never died.
└ The Almond fan club has lost their minds for real, LOL!
└ They are suffering from cognitive dissonance, idiots!
└ This comment is to provoke the haters.
└ LOL, Almond delusion.
Those who believed in this theory were called delusional or accused of cognitive dissonance. Some even suggested that it was made to attract haters.
The majority were certain of Almond's death. Users chatted and fought in the comment sections.
— Almond fans, LOL! Bragging about winning on the first try but ended up dying, right?!
└ Instead of beating Zombie School, he should've beaten your brined brain, LOL!
└ Stop being ridiculous, Almond fans, LOL!
└ Almond’s dogs shouldn’t be barking anymore
└ Ugh, these haters -_- They don’t even know if Almond is actually dead.
└ Only Almond fans don't know he's dead, LOL!
└ I can’t believe his fans are all dogs! LOL!
Apparently, Almond's fans had been very vocal that he would complete the game on the first attempt. The more praise there was, the stronger the backlash.
People who wanted to knock others down would always exist and they would pounce at the slightest chance. That was happening right now.
— Almond just threw away your expectations for a million won donation, LOL!
— Almond abandoned his loyal dogs...
Almond appeared to have died while doing a million won reaction on his stream.
— The dogs were just abandoned by their master.
└ They're just attacking because he's good-looking, idiot, LOL!
└ Bark! Bark!
└ Almond is my master...? I actually like that...
The haters vigorously attacked Almond’s fans. Such fights were common in reality. It wasn’t worth getting emotionally invested in. They were just like animals that seemed to be fighting while playing. These people appeared to be fighting, but were actually just playing around.
However...
"Ahem. These guys need to learn a lesson here."
Sang-Hyeon didn't like what he was seeing.
"Oh, so confident. Think you can survive?" Ju-Hyeok asked and clapped at his confidence.
"Huh? What do you mean? I’m still alive."
Sang-Hyeon looked puzzled.
"Yeah. You're alive, but what about the arrow flying toward you?"
"What are you talking about...?"
"You turned off the stream the moment the arrow was about to hit you. What about that? It's still coming at you."
"..."
Sang-Hyeon became momentarily speechless. It seemed he hadn't thought that far.
"I’ll just dodge it. Whatever."
Shortly afterward, Sang-Hyeon entered the capsule.
[Almond's stream has started!]
Almond began streaming.