Season 4: Chapter 11: Epilogue (2)
Sang-Hyeon opened the door to the headquarters.
‘It’s been a while.’
He half-expected a welcoming cheer or congratulatory entrance, some kind of raucous shouting.
‘Huh?’
Surprisingly, the place was quiet. He had expected at least a boisterous atmosphere, but that wasn’t even the case.
"What the?"
Feeling awkward for no reason, Sang-Hyeon mumbled to himself as he took off his shoes and stepped inside.
"Am I the first one here?"
It wasn’t until he looked at the number of shoes by the door that he realized he was the first to arrive.
‘No way.’
This was honestly baffling considering he had shown up quite late. He sat on the sofa to rest for a bit. Soon enough, others began to arrive.
Beep beep beep.
The passcode to unlock the door echoed as Pang walked in.
“Whew. I’m late, right? I mean, everyone kept asking for pictures, so I... Wait, huh?”
Pang already started rattling off excuses the moment he walked in. He began scratching his head when he saw only Sang-Hyeon.
“What the? No one else is here?”
After that, Ba-Reum and Do-Joon also arrived. The same scenario repeated like clockwork.
“People kept asking for pictures...”
“No seriously, they said I had to take one with this guy... Wait, what?”
Everyone had been delayed because of photo requests.
“Puhaha.”
Pang and Sang-Hyeon burst out laughing at the ridiculous pattern.
“Wow. Celebs, huh? Huh?”
Pang pretended as if he’d been there since exactly twelve o’clock, acting all senior-like.
“You two, pretending like you don’t get along but posing for photos together... What is this, fake dating?”
“Ah, ah geez! What are you talking about, old man?!” Ba-Reum yelled and dashed upstairs.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“Didn’t you say we’re having a barbecue party today?”
“Ah, going to the roof?”
“Yeah. Everyone who’s not here yet is out grocery shopping. We need to set up.”
‘Wait, it wasn’t delivery?’
Sang-Hyeon had completely missed the memo.
‘No, they did say that.’
He scrolled through the group chat. Sure enough, the barbecue party announcement even mentioned premium Korean beef.
‘Damn.’
He kind of regretted not telling Ju-Hyeok about the menu after all. Food always tasted better after one of Ju-Hyeok’s over-the-top reactions.
‘Should I message him now?’
He debated it for a second.
Beep beep beep.
The rest of the members arrived almost at the same time.
“Woooooo!”
“I’m hereeeee!”
Malatang, Moggie, Hui-Chul, Latte, Spam, and a whole bunch of people came piling in.
“I had to swing by and pick up the people without cars and shop for groceries. Guess what...” Hui-Chul dropped a full shopping bag inside.
Sang-Hyeon and Pang already had a good idea of what would come next.
“Everyone kept asking for photos, so grocery shopping took forever!”
“Puhaha!” everyone laughed.
Hui-Chul blinked at them in confusion.
“No, I’m serious!”
That only made everyone laugh more.
“Sheesh. No one believes me. Guys, back me up here!”
“It’s true!”
“It’s true, Almond! We’re popular too!”
“Alright, alright~ We believe you.”
Pang waved it off and told them to get the groceries sorted.
“Put those away. Some of you go upstairs and help Ba-Reum.”
“I’ll go.”
Almond headed to the rooftop to help prep the barbecue.
“No, really... I’m telling the truth,” Hui-Chul mumbled to himself as he put the groceries away.
Soon, the last group arrived. This think tank trio consisted of Chi-Seung, Water Dumpling, and SharpSphere.
As soon as Chi-Seung walked in, he went off, “Wowww! Everyone recognizes me now! What is going on!? People kept asking me to ask them out!”
***
When Sang-Hyeon reached the rooftop, the open sky greeted him. The spring weather felt pleasantly warm and not too cold.
“Here to help?”
Ba-Reum glanced at him while hauling a bag of charcoal.
“Ah, yeah.”
“You can light this.”
Clatter.
The charcoal tumbled onto the grill. Ba-Reum explained how to light it and began chatting.
“You must’ve had a rough time, huh?”
FWOOOSH!
The fire burst as the torch lit the charcoal starter beneath the logs.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re famous. People must’ve been swarming you.”
“Ah, that...”
Sang-Hyeon scratched his head.
“It’s been a while, so I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Right.” Ba-Reum handed him the torch and mumbled, “Well, I guess with that face... It’s always like that, huh?”
“...?”
She probably didn’t mean it that way. He figured she was talking about his fame as a streamer.
“This situation will probably go on for a while.” Sang-Hyeon offered a bit of senior advice. “You’ll run into some unexpected stuff.”
More viewers had binge-watched their channel after the national team’s victory than those who followed them during the tournament. The final Fake National Team episode that had just been uploaded was still trending. Way more people would recognize them going forward, and the number would only grow.
“We’re also booked to appear on a bunch of shows.”
Their streaming careers were officially kicking into gear. Even those unfamiliar with Civil Empire would start recognizing them.
“Ugh... yeah, you’re right.”
Ba-Reum looked at the sky, her nerves clearly showing.
“I suck at stuff like that.”
She certainly looked the type. To Sang-Hyeon, she gave off major blacksmith-NPC-in-an-RPG vibes.
“Hey, Miss Ba-Reum. Quit chatting up that overly handsome guy and help me carry these chairs!” Do-Joon yelled from the back of the roof. He pulled out folding chairs from under a tarp.
“Seriously?”
Ba-Reum barely bit her tongue to stifle a curse, brushed off her hands, and stood up.
“Keep the flame going.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Sang-Hyeon straightened his posture like she’d just ordered him to take it seriously. Even though better posture didn’t actually make the fire stronger.
FWOOOOSH!
‘Man, it’s harder to get this fire going than I thought.’
Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.
***
Around ten minutes later...
“Oh!”
The fire finally caught. The charcoal turned crimson and glowed white-hot. Sang-Hyeon quickly grabbed something like a fan and waved wildly. In the meantime, Ba-Reum and Do-Joon finished setting up the tables and chairs.
Right then, the others arrived on the rooftop carrying food. The atmosphere grew lively and cheerful as everyone sat and settled in. Pang arrived last, lugging two large iceboxes.
“Why did you bring so much alcohol?”
Everyone assumed the boxes were full of drinks, but Pang grinned and shook his head.
“Only one is alcohol.”
Then, what was the rest?
Thunk.
Pang opened the lid with a flourish.
“Jackpot!”
It was a huge fish. Sang-Hyeon couldn’t tell what kind it was, but it seemed special from all the excited chatter.
“It’s a blackthroat seaperch.”
The older guys like Malatang and Cookie clapped and cheered.
“Black... throat?”
The younger folks like Chi-Seung tilted their heads.
“Even the fish world is competitive. Why can’t they name the big fish yellowthroat?!”
“Hey! This is blackthroat seaperch! You don’t know this? This stuff is expensive!”
Ssssss.
With that, Pang placed the fish onto the barbecue grill. An unbelievably savory aroma began wafting up.
“Ooooooh.”
“Wooooow.”
The fish, scored with three slits across its skin, slowly cooked as everyone gathered around to snap pictures. Sang-Hyeon decided to send one to Ju-Hyeok.
[Sang-Hyeon: (photo)]
[Sang-Hyeon: Thought it’d be delivery, but turns out it’s a barbecue party.]
The reply came instantly.
[Ju-Hyeok: Holy crap]
[Ju-Hyeok: Are you seriously grilling a fish?]
[Ju-Hyeok: Wait, is that a blackthroat seaperch?]
How did that guy know?
[Sang-Hyeon: Yeah, Pang says it is lol]
[Ju-Hyeok: That’s insane. It’s the GOAT of grilled fish. You’re eating that whole? Fishermen are on a different level...]
After that, Ju-Hyeok went on and on about the savory skin and flavor.
“Everyone, get a bowl of rice first!”
Water Dumpling brought out a tray of small rice bowls and handed them around.
“Nice, nice. Fish with rice. Then, we can throw some beef on after.”
“Mmm, a true gourmet.”
Pang expertly sliced the seaperch into bite-sized pieces for easy sharing.
‘Wow...’
Just like Ju-Hyeok said, the skin glistened from the rendered fat. It looked impossibly delicious. Even the slightly charred blackened bits hinted at a smoky flavor, making Sang-Hyeon gulp involuntarily.
“Alright! Starting with the Finals MVP!”
Pang took the biggest piece and placed it over Sang-Hyeon’s rice. A luxurious smokiness from the grill wafted up. Sang-Hyeon bowed in thanks and took a bite of the fish and rice together.
“!”
Crunch.
First came the crispy skin, perfectly seasoned with a sharp saltiness. Then, it melted into a flood of umami-rich fat.
‘Ugh...’
Next came the soft, fluffy rice. The gentle sweetness mellowed out the salt and umami, but it didn’t end there. Another wave struck from the tender, juicy fish meat. Slightly firm, it filled his mouth with every chew, punching through with its nutty richness.
Sang-Hyeon could no longer stop eating. He could only declare, “Th-This is... INSANE!”
Steam rose from his mouth as he triumphantly shouted.
‘Seriously?’
‘Whoa...’
Everyone immediately dove into their own seaperch and rice.
“Ooohh!”
“This is nuts.”
“Whew... No wonder it’s called golden tilefish. This stuff is knocking me out!”
Everyone became so focused on the food that they didn’t even ask for drinks. The seaperch was quickly picked clean to the bones, but there was no need to worry.
“Alright, now for the meat.”
Malatang brought over a big slab of bone-in beef and laid it on the grill.
“This one will take a while. Let’s toss these on too...”
Next, he added large slices of Korean short ribs.
“It’s all Korean hanwoo beef, by the way.”
“Hanwoo beef grilled by Lee Wan-Yong? That’s criminal,” Hui-Chul joked, and everyone burst out laughing.
Ssssss...
The short ribs sizzled happily.
“Beer! Beer!”
Chi-Seung rushed around passing cans like he was on a run.
“Here, here!”
He stood up and got ready for a toast.
“You know the cheer, right?”
After quickly checking around, Chi-Seung shouted, “MONSTER! MONSTER!”
“KRAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Clink.
Beer cans collided, and gulping echoed across the rooftop.
“Kra~ The chant comes out naturally. Glad we got to shout it one last time.” Malatang turned back to focus on the meat.
“One last time?” Sang-Hyeon asked.
Malatang nodded.
“Yeah... well, now that the pro league is starting.”
“You’re not going pro?”
“Nah, I gotta keep running my malatang shop. Starting a pro career at my age... isn’t easy. But...”
Tap.
He patted Moggie’s shoulder beside him.
“Moggie’s going pro.”
“We’re all going.” Carrot gestured toward Spam and Latte.
“Us too~” Chi-Seung and the think tank team all nodded.
“Well, not together. We’ll all be on different teams as commanders.”
“Ah...”
Each team could have only one commander, so they would all split up.
“Wow. Applause!” Pang raised his voice and led everyone in a round of clapping.
Clap clap clap!
Sang-Hyeon clapped too, still feeling stunned.
‘So that’s what it means... to have a pro scene now. Everyone is splitting up...’
“Don’t overthink it. We’re just stepping aside cause it’s time.” Pang gripped Sang-Hyeon’s shoulder.
“You too? You’re not going pro?”
“Yeah. How could I?”
“But... you’re unemployed, right? What are you going to do instead of going pro?”
“Puhahahaha!” Everyone burst into laughter at that.
“My fishing channel has been doing pretty well... I’ll figure it out.”
The moment Pang said that, it felt like they could hear his mom wailing in protest in the distance.
“Alright, alright... Future talk can wait! Let’s eat some meat!”
Malatang began handing out freshly grilled pieces of meat. The perfectly seared hanwoo short ribs were golden on the outside while still pink and juicy on the inside.
“Gulp.”
Sang-Hyeon forgot all about the conversation and instinctively took a photo.
[Sang-Hyeon: (photo)]
[Sang-Hyeon: lol]
[Ju-Hyeok: HOLY]
[Ju-Hyeok: What is that? Weren’t you having delivery? This is a feast!]
[Ju-Hyeok: Damn you...]
Seeing Ju-Hyeok’s jealousy, Sang-Hyeon chuckled and shoved the meat into his mouth.
“!”
It tasted unreal. The fish was amazing, but this was on an entirely different level. Only meat could cause such a sensory explosion. Thick juices and fat burst out in rich waves.
“Wow!”
“KRAAAAAA!”
“YEAHHHHH!”
Everyone shouted praise. Some even trembled from how good it was. Honestly, Sang-Hyeon would’ve trembled just the same if not for his archery training.
“S-So good, but...” Grabbing another piece, he asked cautiously, “What about Hui-Chul? He got that checkup...”
Everyone had been quietly wondering the same thing. Suddenly, the rooftop fell silent.
Hui-Chul scratched his head and finally opened his mouth with a sheepish smile.