Season 2. Chapter 151: New Introduction (2)
Several videos dropped at once like bombs on Almond's YouTube channel.
[Game ends if you’re dumb~~]
This was the first uploaded video perhaps because it happened first. Despite the opponent's stream sniping and psychological warfare, the rather dumb BornToB was not shaken at all. It made for quite a sad yet funny episode.
— WTF.
— BornToB is invincible.
— Is this a strategy game???
└ A battle of who has an intelligence of 1
└ Lol!
— What a luck trash game for real, haha.
└ "Real-time Luck Trash Strategy Game"
└ Lol, Trash Strategy.
└ Lol!
BornToB didn’t even realize the opponent's simple psychological warfare and lacked gaming sense, but quickly putting out Almond was significant enough.
“Yeah~ Try psychological warfare~ The game ends if you’re dumb!”
With OrangeKing's exclamation, the video ended as BornToB won with Almond.
The short video only lasted three to four minutes, but it was still popular on YouTube. Thanks to this, the views reached 210,000 in just a few hours.
The next video was also related to BornToB.
[Hey bro. Are you crying?]
The video showed the scene when Almond and BornToB said their last goodbyes.
— BornToB's tears after losing Almond… lol
└ Come back Almond!!
— I want to see this crazy duo again!
└ 222 They have surprisingly good chemistry haha
└ Ugh, you call it good chemistry now that it's over... save your words.
└ Lol, that’s true. BornToB is cute, but makes me explode sometimes.
— It was bad. Let's never see you again.
└ That’s so mean, haha.
Subscribers celebrated BornToB's last goodbye, yet some wished for them to play again. Various reactions appeared, but the top comment was especially noticeable.
— Hello. I am BornToB. Playing with Almond this time was really fun and deeply moved my heart. I learned a lot and found a new dream. I discovered a new desire within me!
Reading this comment, people had a weird thought.
└ Is he coming out?
It wasn't that.
└ I’m going to start streaming today! I'll make it spicy, so come and watch once!
Reading the reply made it clear what he meant. Almond had inspired BornToB, who also started streaming.
└ I thought you became gay because of Almond~!
└ 2222Same! I thought he was coming out, lol.
└ 3333 Lol, the word "desire" was intense, haha.
└ ‘Coming out?’ being the first comment was too funny. All the comments are trash, haha.
└ ???: Worship me.
Most found it funny.
└ Dropping back to B rank would be hilariously funny, lol.
└ Wow, congratulations!
└ Supporting you!
└ BornToB bro… Good luck!
Plenty of encouraging comments appeared, but those trying to drag him down always existed too.
└ Attention seeker appears~
└ Who would watch something as spicy as a pork cutlet...
└ He was inspired by Almond, but why is his streaming concept similar to Bubblegum?
└ Just quietly go back, bro.
Despite his shortcomings, BornToB definitely possessed the most important quality of being a streamer. That was the ability to draw in viewers.
[Views: 190,000]
It wasn’t about the gameplay, but this video of BornToB crying and saying goodbye had reached 190,000 views in a few hours. This was encouraging.
Regardless, BornToB was attracting attention. Speaking of individuals, BornToB wasn’t the only one who featured in Almond's stream.
["Loyal Subject" Walnutty]
This video had the most views excluding the national competition videos. The scene featured Walnutty, a loyal fan who gave a bow and arrows to Almond. Almond had been fighting on horseback, lost his weapon, and ran back. At that critical moment, it brought quite a bit of attention.
— The thumbnail is a Korean general?? LOL.
└ LMAO, really
└ Did they have to go this far lol!
— He needs to die a hundred times to be a loyal subject of Almond, lol.
└ Almond carried. If it had been Bubblegum's loyal subject, he would have to die 300 times just to barely save himself.
└ Lmao
└ Lol!
A lot of comments mentioned the general in the thumbnail. Next, comments also expressed gratitude toward Walnutty.
— Walnutty, we will remember you...
— Guys, let's thank Walnutty~
└ Thank you, Walnutty~~
└ Did Walnutty's mom hand out hamburgers to everyone?
└ Lmao.
└ Burger King Whopper and Big Macs~
Opinions suggested this scene had been staged.
— Wow, the timing of throwing the bow!
— Isn't this faked?
└ Literally.
└ If you’re being serious, it can't be staged since it's a live broadcast…
└ Lol, everything is staged now.
Almond's quick decision, perfect communication with BornToB, and Walnutty's timing raised doubts. These three things perfectly aligned and made some viewers believe the video was fake.
Comments that something was staged were almost like a compliment in this industry, so the administrator didn't worry much.
Most importantly, their videos had gained higher views. The current number of views for this video was 300,000. It was the highest view count, excluding the national competition content.
The truly highest one was this one.
[The End of the British Who Disrespected a Former Korean Archery Champion]
— Why is the title like this…?
— Lol, I thought it was a movie intro channel, lol.
— What's with this thumbnail, haha? It’s like 3rd-grade movie production.
— Ji-Ah changed the title concept, lol.
— The gang who tackled a man who was a former archery special forces.
└ Lmao bring back the original.
└ Hmm. All familiar flavors.
└ This is it!
└ Archery special forces, lol.
The video's content, like the title, showed Almond disciplining British soldiers. He used the focus trait to knock them down one by one while hiding in the bushes. The content certainly matched the title except for one thing.
— ???: No, I mean, when did we disrespect you...
In fact, the British never disrespected Almond.
└ No. Go back. You got disrespected. That's what makes this funny.
└ Lmao WTF, hahaha.
└ Shut uuuuup!!! Long live Korean independence!!
└ Lmao~
Not only did Britain not disrespect Almond, but they didn't even recognize his existence. That was why this opinion existed.
— Disrespect doesn't only mean looking down or belittling someone. It literally means just ignoring and passing by too.
Just ignoring and passing by someone was also a form of disrespect. Then, their treatment had been a bit harsh.
└ Just for passing by like that, and you get beat up?
└ Lmao!
└ Charge: Just passing by // Verdict: "Death"
└ Don't even pass by, lol!
└ Did you see a handsome guy's face and not pay the viewing fee? "Death" it is.
└ I agree…
This video garnered such diverse responses and gained more popularity. While other videos' growth slowed and stopped at around 400,000, only this new concept video broke through the wall of 500,000 views as time passed and it continued to rise.
About one hour before the award ceremony broadcast, the red carpet was laid. The doors of the large vans that arrived first began opening. Today's protagonists, the streamers dressed up for the occasion, started to walk out.
#Game Category Real-time Hot Video 1st Place.
Almond's video [The End of the British Who Disrespected a Former Korean Archery Champion] took first place in the twenty-four hour view count rankings.
— Wow, first place again, congrats, congrats!
— It's like a victory already claimed~
— Why isn't this in the politics and society category?! Dislike pressed.
└ This is nuts
└ Lmao
— Wow, Almond, congrats, it's the award ceremony today!! You even got first place!
— The nationalist title's magic seems to wear off and like a ghost, Seo Ji-Ah, who parodies a movie intro channel is just…
└ Ah, nationalist titles should be saved for Korea vs Japan matches lol!
└ One vote for the editor has saved 300 Yi Sun-Shin memes by now.
***
"Did you really save three hundred Yi Sun-Shin memes?" Ju-Hyeok casually asked Jia in the car.
He wasn't driving and was also in the backseat with Ji-Ah and Almond.
"Of course not."
"Well, three hundred is too many..."
"It was five hundred."
"Ho… Hold up?"
"Ah. You’re crazy."
Ji-Ah, amused by Ju-Hyeok's playfulness, chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"Oh no. Don’t wrinkle my clothes, Miss. Haha. It's nice to see everyone getting along so well."
Thump.
The front car door closed.
A man with a jovial voice sat in the passenger seat. He was Punk's Mr. Oh.
"Miss, it's my first time meeting you. You're the editor, right?"
Ji-Ah nodded toward Mr. Oh's chubby face reflected in the rearview mirror.
"Yes."
"All handsome and beautiful people here. Let's sweep up the awards."
Director Oh's words signaled the driver beside him to start the car and the luxurious black van smoothly departed.
"Thank you for lending us the car," Ju-Hyeok expressed his gratitude again.
"What, no big deal. Anyway, I also go with a management car, so just use corporate money to ride in a nice car comfortably."
Ju-Hyeok had casually brought up the award ceremony when they finally contacted each other after a while. They all had to dress up to go, but their car was small so they needed to rent a bigger taxi or something.
Director Oh brushed it off as if it was nothing. It was a big help for Sang-Hyeon's group.
"Anyway, the Bubblegum’s side all have vans. They use those collectively."
"Ah... Is that given by Balloon Entertainment?"
"That's right."
This was a different story from Punk's partner management. They could be seen as an entertainment company that managed celebrities in such a manner.
Ju-Hyeok, also interested in this field, paid attention to their conversation. They talked about entertainment for a while.
Meanwhile, Ji-Ah seemed a bit nervous and only stared straight ahead.
Sang-Hyeon leaned against the window and enjoyed the streetlight views.
"The award ceremony..."
Sang-Hyeon's first award ceremony was a community sports competition he had participated in during middle school. The result was, of course, a gold medal. Winning a gold medal at his first competition was bewildering and boosted his confidence.
Perhaps because of that, he immediately dropped to silver and bronze medals in the next competition. He complained so much then that his grandmother scolded him a lot and his coach too.
‘I wonder if he’s doing well.’
When he played in the LIL tournament, he often thought of his coach during the national archery competition.
‘The end wasn't so good.’
"We're almost there!"
A cheerful shout came from the passenger seat.
It was a bit later than planned after checking the time, but this didn't affect their participation in the event.
"Haha! We're perfectly late like the main characters. The main characters!"
Director Oh tried to cover their late excuses like this.
"Everyone, fix your attire. Take your time getting out. Just walk straight to that place that looks like the entrance of a Roman temple."
Ziiing.
The van's rear door slid open. At that moment, cameras and people's eyes simultaneously turned their way.
“Who is it?”
“A van? A big streamer?”
“An invited celebrity? The silhouette seems…”
The voices murmured and couldn’t be seen behind the darkly tinted windows.
Sang-Hyeon took a moment to breathe deeply. He had to get off first.
"I'll go first."
After briefly straightening his black suit, he stepped out of the car.
Thump.
The moment his black shoes touched the red carpet…
"Who is it?"
"I can't see."
"Camera, zoom in please..."
The people murmured. The distance was too far for a clear view.
Ziiing.
The broadcast camera approached and scanned up from his feet to his waist, then his shoulders, and finally his face entered the frame.
"!"
"...!?"
"Guh…!"
A moment of silence passed.
"It's Almond! Almond!"
As if this statement was a signal, a scream almost indistinguishable from a cheer rang out.
"Wowowoowww!!"
All the murmuring voices instantly turned into cheers.
"Oppaaaaaaaa!!!"
"Wowowooww!!!"
"Wow, it's really Almond!"
"This is crazy. Crazy!"
Bang! Flash!
Flashes from the cameras lit up everywhere.
Sang-Hyeon momentarily stood there admiring the twinkling red carpet.
"This is..."
A scene from a stream seen through other eyes or a camera... Glamorous dresses, red carpets, and tuxedos...
‘This is that award ceremony…’
It wasn't a grand movie festival or the Grammy Awards, but it was something everyone longed for in some form. Something that couldn't be precisely defined, but everyone sought its mirage.
He was now stepping into that mirage.
"Almond!"
"Almond!! Please look here!!"
"Me, me, hold my hand! Woahhhh!"
Flash!
Bang!
The camera flashes created a misty haze. Numerous fans waved at him.
"... Let’s keep going."
He walked onto the red carpet.
"Yes."
"Sure."
Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok followed him.