Season 3: Chapter 217. Fake Journey (4)
Although Sang-Hyeon didn’t show it, he actually felt quite excited.
‘Wow. A trip.’
This was his first time traveling abroad, so even coming to Osaka thrilled him. Now that he had seen enough of Osaka, he was excited about visiting a new place.
The scenery passing by the bus window on this fake trip made his heart race just like how the Fake National Team made his heart pound.
***
After about an hour and a half of travel, the bus stopped at a picturesque village.
Screech.
“Wow...”
Sang-Hyeon pressed his face against the window and marveled at the sight. A moderately wide river flowed along the village road and a white castle stood beyond that.
Snow covered the bare branches and made the view even more spectacular.
“They stopped here so we could do some sightseeing before lunch,” Ju-Hyeok explained from the front of the bus like a teacher leading a school trip.
“We’ve come a bit west of Kobe to a place called Himeji. That’s Himeji Castle over there...”
He rambled about various things as everyone got off the bus and headed to the bike rental shop.
— Wow, the scenery is amazing.
— It’s so pretty.
— But are those students biking home? Already?
— Must be a rural area.
— They’re leaving school at lunchtime? So jealous.
— It’s like a movie.
The viewers also marveled at the scenery.
‘Incredible.’
Sang-Hyeon couldn’t take his eyes off the surroundings for a second.
Honestly, they didn’t see any grand historic sites or special tourist attractions. Just the villagers living their lives looked like a scene from a movie.
Students rode their bikes home in groups, snow covered the white castle, and the stream gently flowed.
“Hahahaha.”
The laughter of the students sounded as pleasant as the stream.
Sang-Hyeon couldn’t help but imagine. What would it be like to attend school in this timeless place? Would he still be with them? What if he had ridden a bike like this? Would he have laughed like they did? Would he have walked with them, sharing a scarf like the students passing by now?
Ding!
A bicycle bell interrupted his thoughts.
“Hey, Yu Sang-Hyeon. What are you doing?”
A friend with fogged glasses and a scarf asked. It was Ju-Hyeok.
“Oh... huh?”
“Here. Take this bike.”
“Oh... okay.”
“Ride around the park near the castle, wander around, and come back later.”
“We’re not going inside the castle?”
“That’s optional. There are plenty of similar places in Kyoto, so I don’t recommend it.”
“... Have you been here before?”
“Yeah. When I was a kid. It hasn’t changed at all.”
Ju-Hyeok smiled and exhaled a white breath.
“I never thought I’d come here with you. Thanks to Monster sponsoring us, do the Monster roar once when you have time.”
“... Okay.”
The Monster roar? In this type of scenery, where could he possibly do that?
Sang-Hyeon noted it in his head anyway.
‘It’s a sponsor, so I should do it.’
— No way Ju-Hyeok asked for the roar here lol
— Embarrassing haha
— Cold-blooded manager
— Outdoor Monster roar, haha no way
Screech.
At that moment, a man who looked like he belonged on a racing bike approached Sang-Hyeon.
“Let’s go!”
It was Pang in his neon mountain gear and commander sunglasses. His appearance on a pretty town bike looked incredibly out of place.
— Haha.
— He looks like he’s going to race.
— He looks ridiculous.
Sang-Hyeon decided to join him and shouted, “Monster roar!”
“???”
The sudden dinosaur noise startled Pang.
— Haha.
— He did it right away haha.
— Concept broken by reality.
— Dinosaur killer startled.
— Haha.
Then, Sang-Hyeon started pedaling along the park path.
The other archers followed him like in the game. They naturally split into smaller groups with so many of them.
“I’m coming too!”
Someone else hurriedly followed besides Pang, Latte, Spam, and Carrot.
“Huh?”
“Do you remember me?” the man who looked like a college student with long hair asked.
Sang-Hyeon nodded confidently.
“Oh, yes. I remember!”
“Why are you suddenly being formal...?”
“...”
“I’m also an archer. Pecorino!”
— I remember Pecorino.
— Honestly, he doesn’t remember lol
— He’s switching between formal and informal speech.
— Oh, it’s been a while.
— Who?
— No way
“Oh, right. Pecorino! I remember you! I was talking to the viewers.”
“Oh, a professional streamer! I took a break from school too, but my team went back to Korea...”
“Come along then.”
“Yes!”
However, Pang intervened.
“Hey... I’m the leader. Why ask Almond for permission...?”
Pecorino smiled and replied, “You’re just a figurehead.”
“... Tsk.”
Latte shouted teasingly from behind, “Passion! Passion! Even if he’s just a figurehead in the archery squad, he’s the leader of the Choi Sa-Rang Hiking Club!”
— Haha.
— Figurehead leader haha
— He’s still the leader of the hiking club haha
— Latte is hilarious.
— Give Pang the title of leader honestly lol
Sang-Hyeon and the others pedaled around the park, enjoying the scenery. Riding their bikes and feeling the cool wind while circling Himeji Castle felt refreshing.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.”
“Let’s take a picture.”
“Sure.”
They stopped their bikes and took out their phones to capture the scenery.
Sang-Hyeon’s hand trembled, causing his photos to turn out blurry. He switched to his left hand and thought of someone.
‘What is that person doing?’
He pondered for a moment and spoke to Pang, “Bro, I’ll go back and bring someone.”
“Huh? Who? Let’s go together!”
***
Someone slowly explored the park while the players enjoyed their bike ride. The wheelchair moved a bit further before stopping under a large tree.
She stared at the grand white castle.
‘How long has it been since I traveled?’
Despite all the money she had, Sa-Rang rarely went on trips due to her physical condition. She didn’t want to travel that badly either and had no one in particular to travel with. She used to have many companions, but never had the time.
Ironically, she finally went on a trip because of a tournament she joined at someone else’s request.
With so many people... she was still alone.
‘Even in a crowd, I’m still alone.’
She was by herself despite the crowd. It was probably because of her personality.
The bitter taste was familiar. Sometimes, new experiences were good. She decided to cautiously think of it like that.
Sa-Rang avoided making eye contact with the excited passersby and focused on the castle. She looked at the white snow on the castle’s roof, the black tiles, and the blue sky.
Screech.
Someone stopped in front of her.
“Isn’t that too slow? You might not see everything.”
“...?”
Sang-Hyeon stood there with one foot on the ground and his bike tilted.
“It’s faster than it looks.”
Sa-Rang tried to respond playfully, but it didn’t work because she felt embarrassed.
“No way. It’s slower than a bike.”
Sang-Hyeon parked his bike and dismounted.
“I’ll give you a ride. Ju-Hyeok said you should see everything.”
“I’m fine...”
Then, more people gathered.
“Let’s go! Ride!”
Pang and the other members also joined.
“I, Pang, the leader of the Choi Sa-Rang Hiking Club am here! Want a ride...”
“Here.”
Before Pang could finish, Sa-Rang quickly tapped on Sang-Hyeon.
“I’ll ride here.”
— Running away haha
— She was alone.
— Is the hiking club leader being rejected?
— Haha
— Poor Pang.
Pang fell down and mumbled, “Oh... I thought something clicked when the curve shot order was given.”
“... Did it really?” Carrot scolded him and laughed bitterly.
— The concept is so funny.
— From curve shot to marriage proposal haha
— Haha
— Almond is kind.
— He only throws straight shots haha
Sang-Hyeon helped Sa-Rang safely onto the back of his bike.
The practical bike made it easy to get on.
‘One... two...’
Sa-Rang counted how long it had been since she last rode a bike.
‘Ten years.’
It had been ten years. She hadn’t ridden since a very young age. Riding behind someone reminded her of her father.
“Let’s go.”
Whoosh—
The cold wind gently brushed her hair.
Under the castle roof, she saw more things than she could alone. Many trees, laughing students, and the clear sound of a flowing stream could be heard. She saw koi fish, ducks, and large unidentified birds. Life bloomed even in late winter.
Her wide-open eyes felt too much of the cold wind. The scenery seemed to ripple like a lake.
“It would’ve been nice to go to school here, right?” Sang-Hyeon asked in the awkward silence.
She shook off her thoughts and replied, “Yes. It would’ve been nice. If only...”
***
After finishing the bike ride, the group returned to Kobe and went to their reserved beef restaurant.
Pang joked, “Let’s eat chicken! Why beef?”
However, he fell silent after tasting the Kobe beef and focused solely on eating. Even the filming crew asked him to say a word.
Sang-Hyeon also liked the rich flavor and enjoyed the small portions of fatty beef.
Surprisingly, Barum found it too greasy and said it wasn’t to her taste. Then, she showed a warm moment by stuffing it all into her mouth when Coffee tried to take some.
“Now...”
After leaving the restaurant, the members looked tense.
“It’s time for the main event, right?”
Ju-Hyeok checked the time. It was almost time to connect with the other players in Korea.
“Let’s go.”
They headed to a nearby capsule room while maintaining their tourist act more than ever.
***
“Really? They just went on a trip?” a man asked after entering an empty capsule room.
“Yes. They went to Kobe. Many returned to Korea for work... a significant number of players did.”
“A trip? Is it a provocation?”
Ringo, Japan’s head commander, thought Korea was playing mind games. He was right in a way, but interpreted it differently.
“Maybe it’s a provocation, but could they have just gone on a trip?”
“... Just a trip before the quarterfinals? There’s a clear intention behind it.”
“...”
Who would skip practice to provoke the other team? They probably couldn’t practice and went sightseeing instead. The man thought that but didn’t say it aloud. Interrupting Ringo’s thoughts wasn’t wise.
Ringo was eccentric, but sharp. He was Japan’s head commander for a reason.
“Is Cookie on the trip?”
“No. Cookie wasn’t seen. Why?”
“I knew it... I thought it was odd that Cookie didn’t come out for the third game against Persia.”
Ringo found Cookie’s absence in the sixteenth round strange and not in a good way.
No matter how good the backup commander was, it was unheard of for another commander to handle the second and third games after winning the first. The main tournament held too much significance, especially for a team like Korea.
“Are you still saying that?”
“There’s no other explanation. Something happened.”
“... Even if something did, we have no way to know for sure.”
“We must find out whether it’ll be Cookie or Yi Sun-Shin coming out. We need to know.”
Ringo tried to deduce Korea’s next commander, but his mind was already in chaos.
‘How can there be two commanders!?’