Season 3: Chapter 138: Departure (3)
"Damn it... It's not because of the pressure difference. It just doesn't open, right!?" the thoroughly annoyed Chi-Seung snapped at Water Dumpling.
"No, it's true."
Another think tank member sitting next to her, Sharp Sphere, tried hard not to laugh and turned his head toward the aisle. He hadn't expected the lie to be taken this seriously. Strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely a lie.
"It's because of the pressure difference."
It was true that airplane windows couldn't be opened due to the pressure difference.
"Didn't you say it would open after we take off? Then, why doesn't it open now?"
"Maybe the pressure difference is worse today~ Bad luck~"
“Pfft.”
Sharp Sphere, with his face buried in the aisle, almost choked from laughter. Luckily, there were no in-flight meals on the flight to Japan.
"We'll both be embarrassed if you ask the flight attendant about this, you know."
"Go ahead. Be my guest."
Thinking this was TV gold, the Fake National Team production crew subtly zoomed in with their cameras from across the aisle.
"Hah."
Chi-Seung, genuinely annoyed, raised his hand as a flight attendant walked by.
"Um, excuse me..."
Despite his initial bravado, his voice sounded timid as he asked, "The window..."
The flight attendant, still smiling brightly, nodded.
"Yes, is there something wrong with the window?"
"Does the window not open because of... the pressure difference?!"
"?"
The flight attendant tilted her head in slight confusion before responding with a wide smile like a grade school science teacher.
"Yes, sir. It is because of the pressure difference. Would you like a glass of sparkling water if you're feeling uncomfortable? Would that be alright?"
"Ah... no, thank you. I'm fine. Thanks."
"Alright, have a pleasant flight."
Water Dumpling, who had been holding her breath, tried to contain her laughter as the flight attendant clicked away. To Chi-Seung, it looked like she was mad. Ｒ𝘼₦óВΕŚ
"... Sorry, I doubted you."
"Pff... Pff..."
Unable to hold it any longer, Water Dumpling burst into laughter.
"Pfft hahaha! Puhaha!"
She would have laughed much louder if they weren’t on a plane.
"Stop fooling around. You'll make him cry. Tsk tsk," Pang scolded them from behind and clicked his tongue.
Chi-Seung still felt puzzled.
Pang shook his head.
"Sigh."
The sigh could’ve been out of sympathy for Chi-Seung or frustration. Pang leaned back in his seat.
He glanced at Sang-Hyeon and asked casually, "Did you have a nightmare or something?"
"?"
When Sang-Hyeon looked at him questioningly, Pang pointed to his own eyes and dragged his finger down.
"I think I might have dreamed... about something."
Sang-Hyeon couldn’t remember. He didn’t know why he had been crying either. He tilted his head and took a guess.
"... Maybe it’s because of the pressure difference?"
"Sigh, you too with the pressure difference?"
Pang sighed again, turned toward the aisle, and closed his eyes.
"We're landing soon."
"Not even five minutes of sleep wasted~"
***
A short while later, the plane arrived in Japan and descended.
Everyone felt fortunate that the national team members filled the entire row, especially as Chi-Seung made a fuss when the plane's wheels touched the ground.
Thump!
"Uwaaahhh?!"
Chi-Seung instinctively grabbed Water Dumpling's arm and shut his eyes tightly.
Rumble, rumble.
The plane ran along the runway, eventually slowing down to a pace slower than a car. It slowly maneuvered to the platform.
Ding.
As the seatbelt sign turned off, the players stood up one by one and grabbed their luggage. There was no chaotic rush to disembark since the national team occupied the entire row.
"Even though it's a budget airline, it's nice to have the whole row to ourselves," Pang exclaimed and stretched.
"Alright, let's go! Nippon! Itadakimasu~~!"
Sang-Hyeon knew very little Japanese, but he knew that this wasn't a greeting for meeting people.
'Isn't that something you say before eating?'
He figured it roughly meant that they would conquer Japan.
Seeing no reaction from Sang-Hyeon, Pang kept shouting awkward Japanese phrases to elicit a response.
"A very difficult day! Ikimasu!"
Sang-Hyeon didn't feel like responding and remained silent.
"Almond-sama! Honto ni kochimanamudesu~"
Despite Pang's continued pestering, Sang-Hyeon's archery-trained indifference made it pointless. It was like trying to entertain a sage with a clown's antics.
"Oh... enduring well? Changkupi obyakubai..."
Despite trying to embarrass Sang-Hyeon five hundred more times, Sang-Hyeon maintained the same expression as he walked to the immigration checkpoint.
"Okay, I give up."
Pang raised both arms, worried that he would actually get flagged at immigration.
"No worries about your mental toughness. Yeah, this was all a test. Soldier, you passed."
Even to this, Sang-Hyeon remained silent and just passed through the checkpoint.
"Wow..."
Pang truly gave up and shook his head, finally making Sang-Hyeon chuckle.
"Huh? Did you just laugh?!"
It was at that moment when they entered the immigration hall.
"Almond-sama!"
‘Is he still not giving up?’ Sang-Hyeon momentarily thought Pang was at it again.
"Ah-mond!"
"Waaahhh!"
However, the sounds came from inside the immigration hall.
'What the heck?'
Having not expected the cheers at the departure gate, he felt even more surprised to receive such a warm welcome in a foreign land like Japan.
"Almond!!!"
"Oppa!"
Fans waved signs and welcomed him in clumsy Korean.
"Wow. Almond's popularity is crazy."
Pang shook his head in disbelief and came up next to Sang-Hyeon.
Meanwhile, Sang-Hyeon felt bewildered.
'Why do so many people know me in Japan?'
To an outsider, it seemed like Almond was just as popular in Japan. However, Sang-Hyeon knew better. He hadn't done much to gain recognition in Japan. He had never played on Japanese servers and very few Japanese comments ever appeared on his YouTube videos.
He had some recognition in the Western world due to clearing Raina's story mode and meeting Jessie, but... Japan? Honestly, his only connection with Japan was being the subject of clickbait titles like [The World Praises, Japan is Shocked by…].
'What's going on?'
He felt even more puzzled and strangely a bit guilty. Nevertheless, he waved and greeted them. They weren't Korean fans, but actual Japanese fans. Everyone in Japan who knew Almond came out to see him.
Pang pointed somewhere as Sang-Hyeon continued contemplating.
"That's us."
A person holding a large sign enthusiastically waved in their direction.
[Welcome, Korean National Team for the Global Competition!]
***
Several buses adorned with large posters of Civil Empire had been prepared, likely provided by the game company. They were seat buses with no assigned seats, so teams ended up mixed together. It wasn't until Sang-Hyeon prepared to sit down with Pang that he realized they weren’t the only team on this bus.
"Go ahead."
"Okay."
As Sang-Hyeon took the window seat and Pang was about to sit next to him, someone swiftly took the seat instead.
"Dibs!"
A red-haired woman stole the seat and grinned mischievously.
"Sorry~ my seat."
"???"
Pang felt bewildered, but Sang-Hyeon was even more surprised.
"Jessie...?"
"Hey~! Almond! Wow! What a coincidence?! Good to see you again."
She acted surprised to see Almond even though she clearly expected him. Seeing the red-haired foreigner excitedly chattering reminded Sang-Hyeon of an old high school sitcom that was obviously staged.
"What? Who is she?"
In front of this bold and brazen red-haired foreigner, Pang could only gesture to Sang-Hyeon and asked if he knew her.
"Uh... yeah, I do."
With Sang-Hyeon's nod, Pang found another seat.
"Sigh. The life of popular people is exhausting," Pang mumbled as he sat down.
"I'm tired. That's why I chose to be an introvert. Yeah, that's it."
Jessie ignored Pang's comments and rummaged through her bag. She connected her phone to a device and tested her microphone.
"Ah. Ah. Can you hear me? Is the translation correct?"
"Oh."
"Seems like it is. Thank goodness. Anyway! What a coincidence. Hahaha."
Her voice, reconstructed by the device, sounded even more brazen.
"Jessie, did you know I was coming?"
"Of course. I watched your games. Our whole team cheered for you."
"Wow. Thanks. That makes me happy."
"I'll let the team know."
For some reason, Sang-Hyeon found himself speaking more formally. He heard Pang chuckling from behind.
"But it wasn't just our team. The fact that Korea made it to the finals is a big deal worldwide."
"Worldwide? Really?"
"Yeah. Since Spain and France were eliminated. You did great. Fist bump~"
Jessie raised her fist. Sang-Hyeon, feeling it was only natural, bumped it with his.
"Yay~ Congrats! It feels like just yesterday when you were a cute newbie~."
The bus started moving as she excitedly talked about their first meeting and shook her head.
Vroom.
On the way, Jessie and Sang-Hyeon chatted about various things, catching up and discussing the Zombie School game.
"Oh, I played it. Did you?"
"Not yet... I have a lot of games to play."
"Games to play? Oh, because you're a streamer!"
"Yeah, because I'm a streamer."
Saying he was a streamer made Sang-Hyeon feel a bit embarrassed.
"So... Jessie, you're on the Denmark team?"
"Yes, we're the Vikings."
Denmark played the Viking civilization. Norway could also pick the Vikings, but Jessie's Denmark team made it through this time.
"We came first place in our group. We might meet soon?"
The first-place teams from each group would face second-place teams. Korea was second place in their group and the Vikings were first. The chances of them meeting were high.
"We're here. See you at the announcement tomorrow."
As the bus arrived, Jessie quickly got off. She was probably referring to the bracket announcement.
"Thanks, old man in the back!"
She hadn't forgotten Pang.
"... Wow. She might as well have not said anything."
Pang started playing sad music on his phone.
"?"
"I just turned it on. Look at the writer's face next to us. They were probably going to use it anyway."
"Oh."
Sang-Hyeon hadn't realized that the Fake National Team camera was right next to him. He felt a bit embarrassed, thinking about the potentially awkward footage.
"By the way, aren't you filming a vlog or something?"
"Oh..."
Right. He had mentioned that he would film a vlog since he couldn't stream game content in Japan.
"What are you filming? Need help? We're sharing a room."
"Um..."
"What's with that um? Didn't you plan it out already?"
"..."
Pang thought for a moment before suggesting, "How about a mukbang?"
"A mukbang?"
"We need to eat anyway. Anything you wanted to try? I know Osaka well."
Sang-Hyeon wasn't particularly interested in food. Given his past circumstances, he gave up on eating indulgently a long time ago.
“You ever eat out?”
"I don't really like food."
As a result, he didn't know much about food nor did he have any particular cravings. The only special thing he used to eat was the old-fashioned fried chicken near his house...
"Um..."
He didn't know why, but an image of someone's silky hair flashed through his mind at that moment.
***
That night in Japan, a stream started on Almond's Treevy channel around dinner time.
It was titled:
[Vlog ep.1: Almond vs. Takoyaki]