Season 3: Chapter 271. Whatever Doesn’t Kill You (1)
Of course, Sang-Hyeon's broadcast was quite popular. His channel was on the verge of entering the so-called 10 Million Club, which referred to streamers who averaged 100,000 live viewers per stream. Achieving this milestone was often seen as the starting point for becoming a major streamer. Many people already considered Almond to be in this league. However—
'What? 160,000?'
Even considering his popularity, having 160,000 viewers for a short impromptu livestream was astonishing, especially since he was casually streaming from his phone.
'Is it because of the Korea-Japan match?'
Evidently, this surge in viewership was due to the Korea-Japan match. There was a huge buildup of interest since he hadn't communicated much after the match.
'The reactions are different too.'
More notably, the reactions were different. Previously, viewers addressed him with friendly nicknames, but now they treated him like a national hero. Additionally, he noticed occasional Japanese and English comments in the chat from global viewers.
'They don't even understand what I'm saying.'
It felt surprising to have foreign viewers watch a stream where he just talked. Nonetheless, Sang-Hyeon greeted the viewers and started the broadcast.
"Hello, everyone. I found some time, so I thought I'd do a brief stream to chat."
— Thank you!!
— As soon as Almond starts streaming, the internet breaks down
— We're deeply honored, GOAT...
— World class streamer!
The viewers' exaggerated responses made Almond chuckle. They treated him almost like a demigod. If this was a game, he imagined that he would skip being a contracted hero and directly become a divine being.
"Ahem. Almond is definitely not world class."
— Hahahahaha
— Lmao
— ??? Sorry to interrupt!
— Nutty laugh!
— Third-person, lol
Ba-ba-bam!
[RubySword has donated 100,000 won!]
[Almond! It's been so long! I've been following all your matches! Haha]
"Ah, RubySword, thank you for the donation and for watching live."
RubySword, a regular supporter, once again opened the donation floodgates. He always imagined RubySword as a wealthy middle-aged man, but was surprised to meet a cheerful young lady at the fan meeting. He only accurately predicted her wealth.
— RubySword, are you in Japan too?
— I'm in Japan, haha
— Came to the stream to see Ruby
— RubySword and Almond for 190 days
— As expected, starting strong!
Donations kept pouring in perhaps due to the long hiatus.
[BigSon has donated a whopping 1,000,000 won!]
[I enjoyed the Korea-Japan match!]
— DAMN
— True Big Hand, lol
— Awesome
— BigSon is our Ah-Sung!
The donations didn't stop once they started. Countless small donations and large ones kept coming.
Ding!
Ding!
[KnifeHandle has donated 500,000 won!]
[You were amazing at the end!]
[09CaptainChorong has donated 100,000 won!]
[Bro! Congratulations on unifying the nation! Salute!]
[EggPlant has donated 320,000 won!]
[I cried watching the Korea-Japan match!]
[ShyNapoleon has donated 500,000 won!]
[How will you do against the next opponent? Haha, no pressure.]
— Wow, haha
— What's with the donation train? lol
— Morning stream and collecting money, Almond is crazy
— Korea-Japan match donation spree is insane
— Chorong, lol
— EggPlant, what's with the donation amount? Did you steal your sibling's tuition?
Even after turning off small donations, the flood of contributions made it difficult for him to interact with them.
"Um, thank you. I didn't turn on the stream for this, but... I wanted to chat..."
Although he said that, Almond's smile betrayed his enjoyment.
— Oh, that smile
— Saying that with that expression is pointless...
— Haha, it's frustrating
Eventually, the donations slowed and Almond could finally start interacting with the viewers.
"No more donations, right?"
— ???
— Collection master
— Nutty, haha
— Lmao
"Then, I should probably get back to practice..."
— Seriously? Haha
— Collected the money and leaving?
— Abandoning your team? Abandoning your team?!
— Haha, lol
— Definitely world class
"Just kidding."
— Oh my, boss! You're killing me with laughter!
— Nutty laugh!
— Haha, phew
— I was scared you were serious for a moment
[RubySword has donated 100,000 won!]
[Almond~ Almond~ Tell us about meeting Ah-Sung, haha]
"Ah, RubySword, thanks again for the donation. The story about meeting with Ah-Sung..."
He recalled that it hadn't been long since the photo of him with Ah-Sung’s successor had been uploaded. This was the first stream since then, so the viewers naturally felt curious.
"Actually, I recorded my meeting with the Ah-Sung employees as content."
They recorded a video of the Ah-Sung marketing team meeting, but it hadn't been uploaded yet.
— Really?
— What?
— Fake National Team?
"Yes, it might go up on the Fake National Team series. Or maybe not... Basically, I just stood there while Ju-Hyeok did most of the talking."
— As expected, Walnut!
— Extroverted Walnut, what performance
— We could have guessed that, lol
— Haha
[Marine has donated 10,000 won!]
[Did they make you do push-ups?]
"No, not push-ups. Just some light exercises..."
— ???
— They made you exercise?
— No way, haha
— Exercise, lol
— Did you really make them exercise?
— He's also someone's father...
"Just for the broadcast. For fun."
Sang-Hyeon sounded like he was probably joking.
"I need to get breakfast. I have practice matches after."
His short stream was already ending.
— Hey!
— A chat stream that was 80% donation, lol
— Practice can't be helped...
— He eats so much money, then eats more!
— Let's beat China too!
— How much donations for another stream? Just tell us!
***
The players' schedules tightened and all external activities ceased as they focused on practice. A palpable tension that hadn't been there before could be felt, especially among the Chinese players. Korea and China stayed in the same hotel, often running into each other.
Previously, some Chinese players who spoke a bit of Korean would chat and exchange polite nods. At the buffet, they'd help each other with food and some Korean players even went out for drinks with the Chinese. They hadn't expected to face each other, so their attitudes changed completely after the announcement.
"Man, it's tense. So tense."
Pang shook his head as he scooped some scrambled eggs and mackerel onto his plate.
The Chinese players, who used to greet them warmly, now completely ignored them as if the Joseon team didn't exist. Some Korean players sitting near the Chinese had to check if they were invisible. The atmosphere felt so uncomfortable that some Koreans lost their appetites, but Sang-Hyeon continued to shovel food into his mouth without a care.
"Just eat. We need to eat to fight."
He acted like he was back at the athlete's village, consuming vast amounts of food to replenish his energy. After a few practice matches, he'd be exhausted anyway.
"You're really... Your mental strength is incredible," Pang muttered as he drank miso soup straight from the bowl.
Despite his comment, Pang also ate quite well. Next to him, Carrot looked pale and had no appetite. Maybe it was because her brain needed to function properly for the game.
Sang-Hyeon whispered to Pang, “What's with her?”
“She got close to a Chinese girl, but now she's being ignored...”
Carrot, who usually wasn't easily shaken, seemed down. All the Korean players had been staying at the hotel for almost a month, so a lot happened. Carrot had become friendly with one of the Chinese players.
"Carrot, that's just how they are," Sang-Hyeon said as he stuffed some stir-fried nuts into his mouth.
"Really?"
"Yeah. They think of this as part of the competition. It's not that she dislikes you."
"How do you know?"
"My seniors told me."
"Oh... seniors..."
Carrot still looked skeptical.
"I'm talking about my seniors who went to the Olympics."
"Got it."
Maybe it wasn't about trust. Carrot still couldn't eat much, so Sang-Hyeon got up and went somewhere. Then he returned with a plate of carbs.
"At least eat this."
He offered the plate to Carrot.
"If you eat some carbs, you'll at least be able to practice."
"...?"
Carrot felt surprised by Sang-Hyeon's gesture and stared at him.
'You need carbs to think.'
Sometimes, not knowing what was in Sang-Hyeon's head was for the best.
"Th-Thanks."
Carrot smiled slightly and began eating from the plate.
"Jeez."
Pang chuckled helplessly.
"Looks really do matter~"
Carrot's eyes flashed and she stabbed Pang's thigh with her fork.
"Ouch... I-I was going to eat protein too!"
As time passed, the day before the match arrived. While exercising in the hotel gym, Sang-Hyeon’s teammates approached him.
"They released the match predictions. Did you see?"
"Really?"
Match predictions always appeared on the Civil Empire site the day before a match. The Joseon team usually didn't pay much attention to them. Pang, doing squats next to Sang-Hyeon, explained why.
"Ugh... Why bother looking? If it's not 100 to 0, we'll be lucky!"
Everyone always underestimated the Korean team due to their low power ranking, being an all-amateur team, and having a small player pool. They always seemed to be at a disadvantage.
"But we beat Japan and made it to the semifinals. Won't it be different?"
They hoped for a more favorable evaluation after defeating Japan and reaching the semifinals. However—
[China: 93%]
[Joseon: 7%]
The results were harshly predictable. The experts' column read:
[Although Joseon indeed defeated Japan, China's training environment is far superior. First and foremost, their scrim partner Mongolia can do everything Joseon can. Being able to scrim with Mongolia is a huge advantage.
While Joseon's performance this year has surprised everyone, China has been even more dominant. They have not lost a single match in this national competition.
China remains undefeated with superior team conditions, environment, and everything else. Choosing Joseon would be an emotional decision. It's the underdog fallacy. Unfortunately, it seems this is the end of Joseon's underdog story.
China's pro player pool is large enough to conduct internal scrims. The fact that they scrim with Mongolia is just the smallest reason I favor China's victory.]
Meanwhile, Hui-Chul sipped his coffee in the hotel room while reading the column and smirked bitterly.
"Undefeated, huh..."
Reading the column made it sink in even more. Joseon was up against a team that hadn't lost a single match in the national competition.
Finally, the match day arrived.
[National Competition Semifinals: Joseon vs. China]
As always, another Fake National Team episode was uploaded to Almond's channel before the match. A waiting room for the live broadcast was also created.
— Finally
— The Fake National Team is here
— Passion! Paaassion! Paaassion!
— Wow
— Exciting
— Did Almond make the Ah-Sung employees do duck walks?