Season 4: Chapter 14: Victory Tour (2)
Maybe because they got a lot of usable content, the recording didn’t take as long as expected for Evening Wide. It only took about three hours.
"Is PD Jang doing well?"
One of the producers came over and asked Sang-Hyeon.
"Word got out that PD Jang directed the Fake National Team series. We were shocked when we saw his name in the final credits."
"Ah..."
Sang-Hyeon recalled where he first met PD Jang. PD Jang had originally worked as a PD for Evening Wide.
"Honestly, we wanted to mention it on air, but upper management didn’t like the idea. Please tell him I’m sorry. He might get mad, but I really respected him as a senior."
"Oh, sure. Of course."
For some reason, Sang-Hyeon felt like PD Jang would be pleased to hear that. Those guys were still stuck worrying about what the higher-ups thought. In the end, it was enough if both sides were happy.
Just then, Han Min-Gu approached Sang-Hyeon while looking at his phone.
"Hey, Sang-Hyeon. There’s no 2XL, you know."
A chill instantly ran down Sang-Hyeon’s spine.
‘Crap.’
Han Min-Gu laughed and patted him on the back.
"No, I mean—wow! You’ve gotten so much better on camera! That joke was hilarious. You did it on purpose, right? That part’s gonna make the final cut."
"Ah, yes. Of course."
As a big-name comedy panelist, Han Min-Gu had editorial power as well.
"Honestly, I was a bit worried today since most of them were first-timers. That’s why we went extra long with the intro, but you did great. Really."
He extended his hand for a handshake.
"Thank you very much."
"Come on the show again sometime."
"With what? I’ve got nothing left to win."
“Pfft.”
Kim True, who was standing nearby, chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.
"What, you think you can only appear if you win something? This isn’t a podium! You’re welcome anytime."
"Haha."
Sang-Hyeon had only ever appeared after winning tournaments, so it wasn’t strange that he thought that way.
"Oh right... What about when the archery athletes win their next gold? We could squeeze you in again."
"Oh..."
It sounded like a joke when Han Min-Gu said it, but the PD’s eyes lit up.
"Oh, that’s actually a great idea."
Wait, would that really happen? To be honest, Sang-Hyeon actually preferred just staying home and gaming, so it didn’t tempt him much. Being spoken of so positively, he just bowed politely again and again.
"Thank you so much for the kind words."
"Aw, come on. Let’s grab a drink next time."
"Absolutely!"
Han Min-Gu and Kim True even exchanged contact information. Seo-Rin, standing off to the side, looked on enviously. Perhaps her job made it difficult to exchange numbers directly. Instead, she found another solution.
"Oppa, let’s follow each other, okay?"
She followed Almond’s Runesta, took a photo with him, and posted it with the following hashtags.
#FakeNationalTeam #DreamComeTrue #Almond #Joseon
She did everything so quickly in under thirty seconds that Sang-Hyeon didn’t even realize he was tagged until the next day.
"Wow, thank you!"
After wrapping up the goodbyes post-filming, the archery squad headed back together.
"Wow... Almond, you feel different now. Like a celebrity."
"I know, right? He’s totally a superstar."
"He’s always been one, you punks. Haha."
"That idol girl felt like a personal fangirl."
The archery squad was seeing Sang-Hyeon in a new light.
"Hmph, was it that serious?"
Sang-Hyeon tried to play it cool, but everyone shook their heads.
"Nope, that’s definitely Almond."
"Ugh, I told you to stop using that annoying tone."
"This nut..."
“Pfft.”
Even Carrot chuckled quietly at that.
***
Evening Wide had fired the celebratory opening salvo for the Fake National Team’s grand tour.
[Did you catch Evening Wide live?]
[Almond’s reaction meme.jpg]
[Seo-Rin & Almond (Warning: heavy fake dating energy)]
As expected from a major channel with a broad demographic, posts popped up across all kinds of online communities having to do with K-dramas, male idols, female idols, and fishing.
— Seo-Rin lol. Was that a bit?
— That outfit was fire!
— Almond’s hair really suits him
— Miho’s got serious competition
— The archers looked so much better off the field lmao
— Spam’s physique is no joke
The edited version of the broadcast went up fast. Reactions grew even more positive after that. The real power of a major channel was in the edit.
#1 on Trending Videos
The YouTube clip exploded with views and rocketed to the top trending videos.
— So freakin funny LOL
— Back then, Almond was a nobody who got paired with an idol... Now he’s headlining alone? That’s insane
— Bro I’m emotional... He made it
Most of the feedback focused on how differently Sang-Hyeon was being treated now. In truth, this was exactly what the producers had intended from the very first intro. It seemed to work.
— Han Min-Gu bent the knee fast when national pride got involved LOL
└ "National power," lol
└ Son Heung-min, Yuna Kim, BTS, Song Kang-Ho, and now Almond. Let’s go!
— Fun fact: The only panelist who stayed consistent from the last appearance was Seo-Rin
└ No exceptions for women... Classic Great Sang-Hyeon
└ Face recognition lmao
└ Seo-Rin can’t even try harder without quitting her group, man
— Even Han Min-Gu couldn’t resist the Do You Know Club
Evening Wide was just the beginning. Major or minor, nearly every big channel was bringing on at least two Fake National Team members.
[Horn Ramen Spotlight]
[Fake National Team Interview: "This is the real deal for me."]
This time, Almond and Cookie appeared together. The show was a hit thanks to their witty banter and smooth hosting. They even exchanged numbers afterward and discussed possibly returning for more archery-related content.
If Sang-Hyeon recalled correctly, the segment title had been [Archery Breakdown]. In any case, the video also racked up views and comments.
— Hui-Chul spoke so well.
└ You could tell he was educated.
└ He really seems like someone who reads a lot
└ No wonder he succeeded in business too, lol
— Warlord Gook Hui-Chul.
└ It’s hilarious how he goes off the rails when talking about war history.
└ He literally burned himself out over war strategy. The warlord title fits.
After appearing on the channel, Cookie picked up a new nickname: Warlord. He actually liked it quite a bit. Above all, he loved that he could go in-depth about strategy there.
— Wow, hearing Cookie talk strategy is insane, lol
└ Things I thought were mistakes in the tournament now seem crazy
— The host is a medieval game maniac, so he keeps up well.
— Hui-Chul said the Anto match was the hardest, but it looked easy since they dominated in the finals.
└ The results and process are different things.
└ Anyone who knew what to look for could tell it was shaky.
— Horn Ramen show is killing it.
Horn Ramen and Cookie had great chemistry since Horn Ramen was originally known for medieval and Three Kingdoms-style strategy games.
— Almond entered monk mode, lol
— Strategy talk? I’m out.
— Where’s the smart grown up now?
Of course, Sang-Hyeon didn’t have much to say during that segment. He insisted that in itself was content. Meanwhile, many comments showed concern for Cookie’s health.
— Cookie... Is he getting treatment?
— I hope he's recovering.
— Wishing all the best for Cookie.
Doing a broadcast that involved Cookie talking strategy for nearly four hours wasn’t exactly easy. However, if Sang-Hyeon had to pick the hardest show of them all, it would be:
[Knowing Sis]
[Korean Legolas, Cosmic Pretty Boy, Savior of Joseon: Almond Appears!]
The show was high-energy and packed with panelists, but Sang-Hyeon appeared alone. Every single question and topic was his responsibility.
— He dared to enter the sauna room with that face? You’re dead, Yu Sang-Hyeon, lol.
└ WTF, lol.
└ Terrifying, lmao.
└ Ackkk, this is gold.
The show featured female comedians chatting while cracking eggs in a sauna. Except, instead of eggs, a bowl of almonds had been prepared just for that day. Filming took a whopping seven hours. Out of that, about an hour and forty minutes were spent just talking about Sang-Hyeon’s face.
— These unnies describe his face like poets, lol.
└ In the Joseon era, they'd pass the national civil exams.
— At least a court poet.
— LMAO.
— Now I get why they only invited Almond. Legendary pick.
└ Someone else would’ve gotten roasted.
└ No kidding, lol
— They’re runaway trains, these unnies, lmao
At least partway through, Lil Grass happened to swing by, and the focus shifted briefly.
— Lil Grass again with the weird butt dance, lol
— Ugh, that’s overwhelming.
— Almond’s face tho, lmao
— Ackkk, I love seeing Almond suffer, lol
Even Lil Grass ended up freestyling a rap about Almond and dancing around him, so the exhaustion was real.
Still, Sang-Hyeon just laughed it off. ‘Well, at least she didn’t ask me to dance with her...’
If there was one thing he couldn’t do, it was dancing. All the effort seemed to pay off.
[Please Let No One Miss This: Almond Becomes a Sheep on Ran’s Story Mode]
[Baa~ Is Almond really a sheep now?"]
[Sheepmond (Lil) Grass Gets Devoured]
The Sheepmond meme, Almond in a sheep headband, was cut into shorts by the production team and posted everywhere. Each clip reached nearly two million views. It was a massive hit, especially the one where Lil Grass wildly twerked while Almond sat silently chewing. It made it look like he was eating her green hair and became a fan favorite.
— He kept nibbling! Adorable, lol
— (Making money is hard...) lol
— LMAO Lil Grass’s hair won’t stop flying everywhere.
— His expression was pure isolated misery, hahaha
And just like that, the tour that Ju-Hyeok assigned was completed one by one. A month passed in the blink of an eye. Not long ago, Sang-Hyeon had worried about not being able to do capsule gaming content. Now, he’d been broadcasting more than ever.
"Phew."
He flopped onto his sofa after wrapping his final scheduled appearance.
"It’s finally over."
"Nice work."
"Yeah... You too. But did you think about what game we’re playing next? Weren’t you looking into Legend’s Tale?"
It was finally time to choose what game to play next. They could finally return to doing capsule gaming, so they had to choose wisely.
"Ah, Legend's Tale... They said no broadcasting yet. It’s still in closed beta—actually more like alpha. Seems like there are still a lot of issues."
The first choice had been Legend's Tale, a so-called LIL RPG. Sang-Hyeon especially wanted to try it because of his arm’s condition, but the game wasn’t suitable for live streaming yet.
"So, since Almond is a game streamer..."
"Yeah."
"Then, shouldn’t your first comeback stream be one of the many game ads we got offered? It makes sense, right?"
A sponsored stream on day one?
"That doesn’t make sense. That’s nonsense."
Almond waved dramatically and shook his head.
"No, seriously, this offer is actually pretty good. Look at this. The maximum payout is around..."
Almond fixed his eyes on the number. A moment later, he closed his eyes and nodded.
"Heh. Who cares if it’s an ad? As long as it’s fun."
"Right?"
A few days later, Almond’s followers received a new notification.
[Game Comeback! Ghostwo Busters]
Ghostwo Busters, the ad game Ju-Hyeok had picked, was a two-player exorcism game. Of course, it would be a dual sponsorship.
"This will be a good enough title."
Click-clack.
Ju-Hyeok updated the stream title.
[Game Legends Return! Ghostwo Busters (feat. Bubblegum)]