Season 3: Chapter 140: Vlog (2)
"Vlog over."
Clap.
After ending the Almond vs. Takoyaki broadcast with a clap, the unemployed fleet members headed to their second round.
“I’ll pay for the second round.”
Feeling sorry that they couldn’t talk properly during the stream, Sang-Hyeon offered to pay for the second round. Cheers erupted from the back.
“Yay~!”
“Wooooo!”
“Thank you!”
Even Pang joined in with the younger ones and loudly cheered.
“This is being young, rich, and handsome! This is being young, rich, and handsome! This is being young, rich, and handsome!”
With Pang’s enthusiastic support, they headed to a famous nearby izakaya.
Sang-Hyeon recalled coming here during a business trip. It offered Japan’s unique drinking culture, nomihodai, where one could enjoy unlimited refills of beer and other drinks for a specified time.
Chi-Seung asked in surprise, “Wow… it’s really unlimited? Can we really drink as much as we want? Even these?”
He pointed excitedly at the fruit cocktails.
“No, cocktails are not allowed today because of the pressure difference.”
“Hey!”
After a while, the ordered drinks and beverages arrived.
“Hey, we couldn’t even do a toast at the takoyaki place because it was too cramped. Let’s do it now.”
“You’re such an old man,” Carrot commented.
Pang didn’t mind. He enjoyed acting like an old man.
“To Korea! To the finals! Let’s go!”
Fortunately, the toast was straightforward.
Clink.
Their glasses clinked and the foam bubbled up.
“Ah~!”
“Monsters!”
The draft beer with unlimited refills was quite high quality and tasted much better than at domestic bars.
“What should we order for snacks? Huh?”
“I want the one with tuna and egg yolk…”
“Oh! I’ll have…”
“Why is the old man ordering? Almond oppa is paying.”
Sang-Hyeon couldn’t help but smile at them excitedly ordering snacks.
‘It feels like a vacation.’
It felt like a proper overseas vacation for the first time. He had always envied people who spent big money and time traveling abroad and never quite understood it, but now he vaguely started to get it.
***
“Ah, I’m so full.”
After eating their fill at the izakaya, the members patted their bellies as they left.
“Now, let’s go have some real drinks.”
Pang grinned as he pulled Chi-Seung and Sang-Hyeon along.
“But we just had unlimited drinks there?” Chi-Seung asked in disbelief at the mention of real drinks.
“Ah, beer isn’t real alcohol!”
“What is it then!?”
The quite drunk Latte echoed Pang’s words, “Let’s go have some real drinks. It’s on me!”
“Oh, then I’m in too.”
Carrot seemed reluctant, but quickly joined when she heard that Pang was paying.
“Great. Do you guys know that Japan is famous for its whiskey? I know a perfect place…!”
Pang stumbled, but continued despite his wobbly steps. It looked like he’d fall over after a single beer.
“Ah… I know a bar! Let’s go! I’m paying! Done!” He raised his index finger as a warning and said, “Just… just one drink each, okay? I’m from the unemployed… fleet…”
“You mean unemployed,” Chi-Seung commented while supporting him and everyone laughed.
“Anyway, where is it?”
“Not far… there, over there.”
Later, they would find out that Pang didn’t actually know the place. He just pointed to a random bar nearby, but this turned out well for Almond.
Sang-Hyeon saw a familiar face.
“Welcome… eh?”
The young man polishing glasses at the bar looked very familiar.
“Ah… Almond-san?!” he recognized Almond and greeted him.
‘What?’
Almond racked his brain and tried to recall.
The man quickly said, “Whiskey! Whiskey desu.”
Whiskey? Yes, Sang-Hyeon knew they served whiskey here. The young man’s face looked familiar.
“Whiskey,” the man said again while pointing to himself.
“Ah!”
Sang-Hyeon finally remembered. It was the Japanese player Whiskey, who he met in Civil Empire.
***
[Vlog ep.2: Almond vs. Whiskey]
Viewers felt puzzled by the sudden stream at night.
— ??
— What kind of bug is this?
— The title is different?
— What’s this? lol
— Drinking stream? Whiskey?
— Is it a mistake?
Some thought the stream was a mistake or a bug. After all, they found it unusual for Almond to start a second stream in one day.
“Uh… can you hear me?”
However, it was real.
Almond’s face appeared and his voice came through. The camera soon focused on his background, revealing an old-fashioned bar. Viewers quickly realized that it was a bar, meaning Almond was indeed doing a whiskey drinking stream.
— We can hear you!
— LOL
— Two episodes in one day, nice.
— At least put “fake” in front of the vlog.
— Whiskey?? Wow.
— The real fake vlog, lol.
— Amazing.
“Ah, do you guys remember this person?”
Almond moved the camera closer to someone and positioned his face beside theirs.
“Hello~!” the bartender greeted the stream in awkward Korean. To viewers, it just looked like that.
— ?
— Where is this?
— The bartender speaks Korean?
— Nice.
— This isn’t a nut… it’s Hallyu!
They thought Almond just wanted to show off the Korean wave in Japan.
“No, this is Whiskey. Don’t you remember?”
— ???
— Whiskey?
— What? Did he just ask if we know some random Japanese guy on his stream?
— Crazy, lol.
— Oh??????
— OMG.
Half the viewers knew and half didn’t.
“The Japanese player who helped us in Civil Empire when I just started playing.”
At this, Whiskey reacted from behind.
“What?!”
— LOL
— Oh, the nani guy!
— Wow, they met?
— Amazing.
— It’s the nani guy, lol.
Everyone recognized Whiskey's famous, "Nani," reaction.
— Wow, they really met.
— Nani guy, so cool!
— I love his "nani" reactions, they're so fun.
“Let me show you around this bar. This is a bar run by Mr. Whiskey.”
Amused, Almond turned the camera to give a tour of the bar. The bar had a vintage mahogany interior. Whiskey, dressed in a suit, looked quite fitting behind the bar. He waved his hand to explain something.
“Ah… I’m not the owner…”
He seemed to be saying that he wasn’t the owner.
“Oh, really? Then…”
“Oto-san… ah, my dad.”
“Ah…!”
It turned out that Whiskey’s father ran the bar.
— Of course, he’s passing it down in Japan.
— So romantic.
— Wow, that’s amazing.
— That’s why his name is Whiskey, lol.
— Born with a silver shot glass, haha.
Almond whispered after introducing Whiskey to the viewers, “Guys, this was a coincidence. Pang brought us here saying he knew this bar.”
— Why is he whispering? lol
— Really???
— Almond finds everything amazing.
— Isn't this a Civil Empire connection? Makes no sense otherwise, lol.
— Maybe Pang already knew Whiskey?
Could Pang have known Whiskey? Both of them did play Civil Empire.
“Uh… wh-where are we?”
Pang glanced around as if he just came to his senses.
“What do you mean? You brought us to this bar.”
Pang looked around in a daze. Then, he shook his head after reading the bar’s name.
“Huh? I… I don’t know this place. Where are we?”
“…?”
— LOL, it wasn't true at all.
— Pure 100% luck.
— Almond’s luck is insane.
— Just a roll of the dice, lol.
“Do you remember saying you’d pay for everyone?”
“W-what? Wh-what are you talking about? That wasn’t me. It was the devil… the devil inside me…”
Unbelievable. He was trying to back out of paying for the third round.
— No way, haha.
— Almond must have a high tolerance for alcohol. Everyone else is a mess.
— Where did Pang take them?
— Almond is such a devil, trying to pin this on someone else.
“No, really. You said it.”
— LOL, no way.
— How can the unemployed fleet buy drinks, haha
— Seriously?
“It’s true…”
Seeing Almond’s frustrated expression, the viewers laughed heartily.
“Ahem. Let’s drink the whiskey.”
Almond turned to the menu. Honestly, he had no idea what to order and had never ordered such high-end drinks before…
Just then, a crystal glass filled with amber liquid appeared before him.
“Service desu,” Whiskey said it was on the house.
— Wow.
— Is this an ad?
— Life of a popular guy…
— Wait, is Whiskey a girl?
— “A gentleman from that table” where did that go?
Sang-Hyeon received the drink with both hands, bowing in thanks.
“Wow… thank you.”
Whiskey also gave a drink to the other members, who happily accepted. Chi-Seung, tasting whiskey for the first time, made a puzzled face at the unusual flavor. Pang enthusiastically gave a thumbs up.
‘Me too…’
Sang-Hyeon took a sip.
‘Oh.’
He recalled whiskey tasting like medicine before, but this one had an excellent flavor and aroma even though it was neat.
‘Did he give us something really expensive?’
Sang-Hyeon started to worry about accepting it so casually.
“… It tastes great. Does anyone know how much this costs?”
— ??
— How can we know just by looking? lol
— You have to taste it to know, lol
“I’m worried it might be too expensive… he just gave it to us…”
— LOL, he’s scared, haha, cute.
— Surely it’s not that expensive.
— If he gave it to you, just enjoy it.
It would be rude to refuse a gift, especially one given so generously. It was better to show appreciation and enjoy it.
[Maddori has donated 10,000 won.]
[Just give him a thumbs up!]
“Ah, thank you Maddori. Should I?”
Sang-Hyeon kept giving Whiskey a thumbs up while sipping the whiskey.
— Thumbs up, haha.
— This is hilarious.
— Thumbs up for every sip? That’s great value!
— Whiskey’s regretting it, lol.
[99 has donated 10,000 won.]
[Maybe stop with the thumbs up?]
— Thumbs up, lol.
— LOL, stop!
— Haha, crazy.
“Thumbs up… ah, should I stop? I’ll just drink. It’s a bit quiet here.”
Due to the bar's ambiance, Almond spoke quietly throughout the stream. The viewers felt like they were sharing a quiet drink with him at the bar.
— Oppa! Is this what they call a virtual date? (heart)
— I’m a guy, but my heart is pounding lol
— Bro, I… never mind!
— Crazy people, haha.
— No way, haha.
— The atmosphere is nice.
— Good job Pang for bringing him here.
***
The next day, Sang-Hyeon woke up in the morning to find someone hanging over him like a bat.
‘Hmm?’
The person held something that looked like Thor’s hammer and smirked before tapping him on the head with it.
Ding──!
“Ugh…”
Sang-Hyeon grimaced at the hangover and clutched his head.
Pang had also woken up and said, “Was it a dream? How can I still taste the alcohol?”
“What time is it?”
“Today… Ah, ten o’clock.”
“Let’s get up then.”
“Yeah, let’s get up.”
“Are we getting up?”
“Yeah, get up.”
“...”
“...”
They still lay in bed.
“Let’s get up on three.”
After counting to about thirty, Sang-Hyeon finally got up. He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face with cold water to wake himself up.
‘We’re supposed to meet by ten.’
Today was the day of the draw. They had to go to the stadium and meet players from other countries.
‘It’s really starting now.’
Clap.
He lightly slapped his cheeks in the mirror. Thinking about going to the stadium made the reality of the World Championship Finals sink in.
“Hey, Sang-Hyeon. Wear this. I forgot to give it to you yesterday.”
Especially when he put on the uniform provided by the game company.
“… They gave us these?”
“Of course. They make sure everything is in order. It’s an official tournament.”
Pang chuckled and went to shower.
Sang-Hyeon looked at himself in the mirror.
[KOREA]
His eyes lingered on the large letters on his back.