Season 3: Chapter 267. Spring (5)
Pang, Kang Uh-Jin, his real name meant to live strongly and kindly. His Japanese mother was well-versed in Kanji, but his father insisted on a Korean name.
Initially, Pang was a sharp young man. Not quite strong or kind, but he had a good head for studying. He entered a good university and a slightly better company than most, yet always felt a strange emptiness inside him like someone who lost their memory. A blank space existed as if something had been erased.
One day, Uh-Jin tried the game Civil Empire for the first time. He became fascinated as if hypnotized by the game. The empty space in his heart slowly filled up. Due to having a Korean father, he was captivated by the ability to play as Joseon.
From the beginning, he was always interested in the national competition. Naturally, he climbed the ranks. There, he met Hui-Chul and also Wan-Yong, a friend with a name his mother would likely appreciate. At the time, they were all young, passionate, and bright like the spring outside the window.
Memories of those days remained as beautiful as a cheap cherry blossom filter in his mind. Sometimes, he questioned if such filters were meant for first love memories, but he never found the answer. He liked his friends and wanted to pour everything into this game.
However, the reality was harsh. His father, who built ships at a shipyard during his youth, died of lung cancer. The government offered compensation, stating it was cancer from industrial dust. It wasn't even enough to secure a rental deposit. Meanwhile, the government took inheritance tax without exception.
His mother remained alone in Korea in a foreign land and refused to return to Japan. She said all her memories with his father were here. After his father's death, Pang’s legs wobbled on the subway ride back to work. It felt as if a pillar of his world had vanished, yet the subway kept moving and life continued.
The world spun on and the company that compensated them still built ships. Patriotic videos about the resurgence of the shipbuilding industry frequently appeared on YouTube.
Uh-Jin didn't like those videos. He was neither a filial son nor a patriot. Even as he rose from a new employee to a manager at a large company, he never stopped playing the game. From a mere archer, he became the leader of an archery unit and Hui-Chul became the commander. Wan-Yong also became adept with the sword.
Gradually, the older members got married, had children, and left the game. This left the three of them as the team's elders. Joseon achieved little beyond their first tournament appearance and only qualified once throughout those years.
As other countries received sponsorships and turned professional, creating leagues and pro leagues beyond the national competition, Civil Empire was thoroughly ignored in Korea.
Thoroughly ignored was incorrect. Being ignored implied intentional disregard, but that wasn't the case. Like dust that piled too high, it vanished with a slight breeze. No one wished for Civil Empire to disappear. It simply eroded naturally in indifference. The only way to gain attention was to achieve results in the national competition.
This was the sole path to revival and also merely Hui-Chul's belief. The hopeless, unfilial friends believed in Hui-Chul's words without question. Whether Hui-Chul was right or not remained unconfirmed for a long time. They had never achieved significant results.
[Ah, another failure this year.]
[It's a money issue. Look at the capital difference.]
[Where is the Joseon that made it to the tournament once?]
[Can a cafe owner's capital compete with professionally trained players?]
[I thought Cookie was a genius...]
When the national competition started, the Embul community echoed with laments every year. Hui-Chul's words always marked the end of that lament.
"Time to prepare for next year."
Tap.
With a gentle pat on the shoulder and a smile, Hui-Chul's face grew more haggard each year. The next year's preparation eventually became the present and the aging Hui-Chul kept preparing for another year. Hui-Chul's face paled over time, not just from age but from illness as well.
"... What? What's the matter?"
For the first time, Uh-Jin wanted to quit the game but he couldn't because Hui-Chul hadn’t quit yet. Despite everything, Hui-Chul carried on so Uh-Jin gritted his teeth. His legs wobbled again but he didn't falter this time. They kept going regardless.
"Time to prepare for next year."
When Uh-Jin heard those words again, he finally exploded and asked how long next year would be. Anger boiled inside him, knowing there would probably not be a next year for him. He wanted to quit everything. He believed Hui-Chul was just escaping to an uncertain next year.
Nevertheless, Hui-Chul continued and the next year became the present again. And today...
Buzz.
Uh-Jin rubbed his sleepy eyes and checked a message.
[Notice: Sponsor Briefing Session]
[Hello, national competition players.
This is Manager Kim Ju-Hyeok.
There have been many developments and our team has gained significant attention. We cautiously believe we have gathered the resources needed to form a pro team next year...]
The text trembled. The letters seemed to shake and hot tears fell instead. Uh-Jin realized immediately upon receiving the message.
'He's back.'
Although the manager sent the message, a particular person seemed to have crafted the words.
"Right, time to prepare for next year."
Even this year, that person was preparing for the next. Uh-Jin's trembling voice echoed, replacing the absent voice of Hui-Chul. It didn't matter to him. Hui-Chul intended to leave something behind even if next year never came for him. For the next Pang, Cookie, or Malatang.
Behind the cheap cherry blossom filter of joyful memories... to leave another next year as a great legacy.
***
Thud.
Hui-Chul stepped out of the taxi. His face looked healthier than before. He looked around the city as the driver unloaded his luggage from the trunk.
'I'm back.'
To him, Osaka wasn't just a popular Korean tourist spot. It was where the miracle began. His gaze focused on one of the many towering buildings, the hotel where the players stayed.
He briskly walked toward it. Entering the hotel, a familiar lobby greeted him.
As he checked in, he turned on his translator and asked, "Where's the seminar room?"
Today, the manager had reserved a seminar room here. Although typically hard to book, the hotel catered to the national competition team and made it easy.
The staff pointed somewhere and kindly explained, sending him a map. He nodded and headed to his room to drop off his luggage. It was the same room he had previously.
"They should give me an upgrade if we make it to the semifinals," he joked like an old man as he opened the door.
Suddenly, loud fireworks exploded.
Pop!
"Hey there!" Pang's cheerful voice rang out.
"Hui-Chul! Revived like a champ~!"
"Woohoo!"
The national competition members crowded into the small room with a cake.
Thud!
The other room doors flung open and more players poured into the hallway.
"Woohoo! Cookie! Cookie!"
"Gook Hui-Chul! Gook Hui-Chul!"
They had gathered to celebrate his return. Startled, Hui-Chul took a step back.
"... What? How did you know?"
He intended to surprise them at the seminar.
"How do you think? We know you too well."
It seemed his old friends were hard to fool. Instead, they had surprised him.
"This guy's no strategist, getting his movements detected! Haha!" Malatang laughed heartily.
Hui-Chul laughed along, "Hahaha!"
He felt certain with that laughter that he was back where he belonged.
'We can do this.'
He truly believed that they could achieve it together. Joseon could overcome the semifinals and shine in the finals.
***
The victory over Japan wasn't just for the Joseon team, but also for the Civil Empire Korean branch. After the match, they had to handle the surge in users and temporarily expanded the servers. They also ran various events to help newcomers adapt.
As a result...
"Is this graph real?! Did you flip the graph upside down?!"
The concurrent user graph resembled a stock graph during a movie heist.
"Wooohoo!"
The employees jumped with outstretched arms.
Even executives rushed out of their offices and shouted, "Long live Korean independence!"
Of course, the executives felt the happiest as they had been on the verge of getting termination notices next month. Then, articles began flooding in.
[Unpopular game Civil Empire hits 150,000 concurrent users after the Korea-Japan match]
[Is now the time? Civil Empire's soaring stock price]
[Civil Empire sees surge in concurrent users and stock prices post Korea-Japan match]
It wasn't just a game issue anymore. Even the stock of Civil Empire's developers fluctuated. Despite having a smaller population than the US and China, Korean consumers didn't spend less on games. In online gaming, Korea ranked just below China and the US. They even surpassed Japan, which had almost triple the population. Stock movements were expected with such a significant market response.
[Even in the defeated nation of Japan, the number of concurrent users has risen... Civil Empire's vertical rise]
The match's impact wasn't just limited to Korea. The fierce competition between the two countries produced numerous highlights and media attention. Japanese users, inspired by the events, also began trying out Civil Empire.
Some felt determined to avenge their loss next year and played more diligently. Others dissatisfied with their national team joined because they believed that they could do better. As a result, the number of Japanese and Korean users surged, affecting even the US-based stock.
Even stock communities started discussing Civil Empire.
[Is Civil Empire going to Mars?]
[Time to lead the Korea-Japan meme stock]
[You morons following meme stocks lol]
[Shouldn't you buy Vietnamese stocks instead? lol]
[Let's go to Mars!]
[Is Civil Empire really happening?]
Civil Empire's stock fluctuated and created a buzz. Due to the game’s current popularity, stocks kept getting bought based on its future value. The massive potential hadn’t been seen yet. However, strange rumors began circulating in the industry.
[Breaking: Ah-Sung to establish a Civil Empire pro team???]