Season 3: Chapter 89: Fake National Team (2)
The Fake National Team series was finally uploaded on YouTube.
[Fake National Team Ep.1 Heart of a True Competitor]
[First release in 1 hour]
Viewers couldn't help but be curious about what this was. Even from the thumbnail, it felt qualitatively different from the videos usually uploaded on Almond’s channel.
— What? What is this?
— I thought this wasn’t Almond’s channel lol
— Damn, this looks legit!
— Oh, what is this?
Viewers felt uncertain whether it would be more entertaining, but the content clearly felt like it had money invested in it. This was only natural since Civil Empire Korea supported this project with a crew and director.
Despite such investments, persuading them to upload this video on Almond’s channel required a lot of effort from Ju-Hyeok. After many complications, the Fake National Team series finally appeared on Almond’s channel.
For Almond, it was the birth of their first series with money invested in them. Therefore, it attracted a lot of attention within just an hour of the initial release waiting period.
— What? Is Ji-Ah back?
— Didn’t they say the editor was sick??
— What is this??
— Ahaha~
— First release~ Who told you!!?
-Wow, it’s been a while since Almond uploaded!
[Live Waiting Audience: 25,000]
Around ten minutes after the video went up, the waiting audience grew to a whopping 25,000 people.
[1 minute before the first release]
[Live Waiting Audience: 97,000]
By the time an hour had passed, almost 100,000 people were waiting live. Having a waiting audience akin to 100,000 live viewers was quite respectable.
A moment later, the video everyone had been waiting for finally began.
[First Release!]
***
Zzzz.
Artificial noise appeared on the screen and a man sat in front of a black background. A large text appeared in front of him.
[What is the team's goal this year?]
"The goal is to win."
It wasn’t Almond.
— ??
— Where’s Almond?
— Is that Cookie?
— Why is Cookie first…? lol
— It’s Cookie
The first person to appear was Cookie.
[Winning? Isn’t winning an impossible goal for Korea?]
A question appeared as subtitle.
“That’s why it can be a goal, no?” Cookie responded with a smile, "The goal is always to win even if the result is not a victory."
Zzzz…
The screen fuzzed with noise again as other members appeared one by one. The question remained the same. However, their answers varied.
"Ah... the goal... the preliminaries?"
Some realistically set their sights on making it to the preliminaries.
"I'll just enjoy the journey."
For others, victory was not the objective.
"Advancing to the preliminaries."
"Haha... a goal... maybe we should aim for the top eight?"
There were also those with a bit more ambition. A variety of answers swiftly passed by.
Then, the transition briefly slowed.
— Kimchi Warrior lol
— Oh, Chi-Seung
— Kimchi lol
It was when Chi-Seung appeared. He hesitated, unable to answer the question about his goal.
"Um... the goal..."
Zzzz.
He couldn’t finish his sentence and the screen moved on. The video proceeded at a perfectly normal speed just as it had when filming Cookie.
Finally, the last interviewee appeared in a chair.
— Wow
— Almond!
— So handsome
— Wow, he looks so cool just sitting there
Once again, a large text appeared just like it did for Cookie.
[What is the goal?]
Unlike Chi-Seung, Almond didn’t take long to respond.
He quickly articulated his goal, "The goal is to win."
He was the only one besides the commander who explicitly stated that the goal was to win. That was Almond.
— That’s Almond
— Like a video from the Olympics!!
— Haha the goal is just to win lol
— So decisive, crushing
— Wow~
The question was posed again.
[Winning? Isn’t winning an impossible goal for Korea?]
The camera zoomed in on Almond’s expression.
"..."
He remained expressionless and didn’t answer. However, the corners of his mouth rose very slightly. It seemed he was about to say something, but the screen went black at that moment.
Thump.
[Fake National Team]
[Fake Athlete]
The title and theme song played.
— Wow
— This is crazy
— Is this really the Almond channel I know?
— That smile at the end is so captivating, he's so handsome
— Just his face is so cool, no editing needed
— Almond really feels like the main character
— What was he about to say at the end? lol lol lol
Viewers excitedly chatted as they watched the live premiere.
[Live Viewing Audience: 134,000]
The viewing audience continued to grow.
Now it was time for the video’s main content to start.
***
The video started with an old personal residence. A place where young people seemed unlikely to live, yet it was unusually filled with young people.
"When the Roman cavalry comes in here..."
"Then we're over here."
"Watching France versus Italy, it seems they don't prefer the hammer and anvil strategy."
Big chess pieces were scattered on a large table with broad maps. The young people enthusiastically engaged in a heated discussion as if truly preparing for war.
— Oh, looks like their base lol
— A think tank??
— They muted all the strategy talk lol
— This place looks so romantic lol
Capsules were installed throughout the small rooms. The space from the basement to the third floor was entirely used by the think tank team and solely dedicated to the Civil Empire national competition.
"I'll go and come back from my part-time job."
Chi-Seung wrapped up the discussion, looked at his watch, and opened the old front door.
The cameraman and the writer rushed to ask, "Do you work part-time?"
"Yes. It's a bit difficult to have a steady job... I do several short-term jobs to make money."
— ??
— I thought his job was being the think tank leader??
— Several??
— So he can’t make money with this...
— Oh no…
Viewers had only recently become aware of Civil Empire and the concept of national competitions. They didn’t know that these individuals had other means of livelihood.
"Ah... then what about this house?"
"Ah, this was arranged by Hui-Chul... Cookie. Cookie has a successful business."
Chi-Seung smiled at the camera and gave a thumbs-up.
"Thank you, Cookie."
— lol, so likable
— Cookie’s rich
— So touching~!
— Finally realizing who Cookie is…
"Then do the other members also work part-time like this?"
"Yes. I’m younger so it’s part-time for me, but many others have proper jobs."
"People often think being a national representative is a job in itself..."
"Ah. Actually... we're not really the national team..."
Chi-Seung hesitated for a moment. He averted his gaze and murmured, "We’re the fake national team. Haha."
He laughed it off, not knowing that this phrase would become the title of the documentary series.
— Aww
— Fake national team lol lol
— Ah… why is it so sad…?
"Still, when Sang-Hyeon gave me a job commentating, I managed to reduce one part-time job. Nowadays, it’s livable... huh?"
The bus he was waiting for finally arrived.
"I’ll be going now."
Vroom.
Chi-Seung boarded the bus and waved as it passed by. By coincidence, Almond walked up as the bus left.
— Wow
— Even from a distance, that’s Almond
— People are staring lol
— What a model
— Real national team appears lol
Wrapped in a scarf and blowing white breaths, he had his hands stuffed in his pockets. It seemed he had walked quite a distance.
"Mr. Almond, Chi-Seung just left."
"Ah, did he? He's gone then."
"Are you heading to the team base?"
"Yes."
Almond nodded and retraced the path Chi-Seung where came from.
"Did you walk here?"
"Yes, it’s not too far. Sometimes I walk as a form of exercise."
"Do you often come to the team base?"
"Um... I try to come whenever I have time. I'm weak in strategy. I come to watch the strategy meetings..."
Only the commanders and the think tank team needed to be at the base, but Almond visited occasionally to fill his gaps in strategic knowledge.
— He's really working hard
— Walnut training
— Cool
— He's really serious
— It's not just for the show
The conversation with Almond continued.
"And there are quite a few young people here."
"Yes, the think tank is surprisingly made up of younger people," he said as he climbed a steep uphill slope, "So I sometimes come by and buy them food. They really appreciate it."
"Oh, you buy them food too! Do you do it often?"
"I have some leeway financially and they remind me of my juniors from my athlete days."
Almond hurried on with a laugh.
"Are you buying food now?"
"We've decided to order chicken."
"But what about Chi-Seung?"
"… He's just out of luck."
— LOL
— Kimchi Warrior…
— Chi-Seung must have earned some money commentating...
— Unlucky Chi-Seung
The video swiftly moved on to the next scene. Everyone at the base gathered around a large table and ate chicken.
"Yay, let’s eat well! Sang-Hyeon!"
There were a lot of kids, but a husky voice could be heard.
"You should pay up."
"Hey, hey! Why? Huh? I’ll eat instead of Chi-Seung~"
— Uncle Pang
— Is that really Pang???
— Exactly like Pang
The writer also spoke to Pang.
"Are you Mr. Pang?"
"Yes, I’m Pang."
"Do you have plans here today?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you have no shame?"
"Yes, I don’t."
Chomp, chomp.
Pang continued eating chicken, ignoring the question.
— Does he have no shame? Lol
— Laughter
— Laughing
— He outright admits he has no shame~
— Ah~ it’s your fault for being fooled~
"Do you often come to the base even though you’re a player?"
"Ah, I usually don’t come here..."
"Did you come for the chicken?"
Pang silently ate chicken again and sad music played.
— They’re editing too much lol
— Did he want to say something? lol
— What’s with the music? lol lol
After the meal, Cookie finished working and entered. Bread and Coffee followed him in. Naturally, the writer talked to them too.
At one point, the camera turned to Bread, the assistant commander.
"What’s your name?"
"Why?"
"?"
— Why are you asking her name? lol
— LOL
— What??
"Cough. Ba... Rum."
"Ah. Miss Barum. Just Barum?"
"It’s Miss. Shi! Miss. Shi!" Do-Joon interjected loudly.
"Ah... Shi Barum..."
The writer repeated her name, bewildered.
Barum averted her gaze and sad music played again.
— lol
— Shi Barum
— Really???
— Ah, this must be staged, honestly
— Wow
— Did her parents immigrate??
— They should have gone with Jo Barum lol
The video transitioned again.
[Japan vs Turkey]
[Watching and analyzing]
They watched the ongoing match between Japan and the Ottoman Empire. It was more akin to studying with everyone intensely focused and taking notes on phones or notebooks.
"Ah. They should have moved to the side."
"Is that the right position for an ambush? Oh dear... they lost after all."
"If I were poking, it would have been over in one shot."
Well... their reactions weren’t much different from how regular people watched sports games.
"Do you often give unsolicited advice?"
"It’s part of the job."
— They do this too lol
— LOL
— Just like us lol
— Can’t help giving advice lol lol
— The only difference is these guys can actually make it happen lol
[Preparing for the match against Italy]
After watching the entire game, the strategy team gathered at the table to start preparing for the match against Italy.
Everyone listened intently to each other with serious expressions.
[Strategic discussions have been muted]
Most of the conversations about crucial strategies were muted and the screen faded out.
Afterward, Sang-Hyeon and Pang were shown playing basketball casually in a nearby park. Sang-Hyeon was somewhat able to play despite his right hand not being fully functional with delicate tasks like archery.
As evidence, Pang lost by more than twenty points.
"Mr. Pang. You always lose, don’t you?"
"… Ha."
The documentary ended with sad music.
— What an ending? lol
— Is this the end?? lol
— Laughing
The video neared its end.
[Current Viewers: 153,000]
The number of viewers had reached a massive 153,000.
"… Nice!"
Ju-Hyeok clenched his fist in delight.
"It’s a complete hit, isn’t it?"
Having 153,000 viewers for a YouTube premiere was a tremendous achievement on Almond's channel.
‘This will really expand us further now.’
It felt like they had just broken through the one million subscribers threshold, opening up numerous possibilities. Ju-Hyeok thought it was definitely a good decision to bring this content to Almond’s channel.
The video's momentum continued to rise until the start of the national competition broadcast and the enthusiasm seamlessly transitioned to the live broadcast.
[National Competition: Korea vs Italy]
[Current Viewers: 224,000]
That day, Civil Empire Korea recorded its highest viewership ever.