Season 4: Chapter 63. Almond Soup (3)
“Crap while clapping. That’s how you become famous.”
With that line, a video began playing. It obviously took place at their office, but felt strangely unfamiliar because it was filmed late at night after everyone had left.
‘What the heck is this?’
‘What kind of video is this?’
‘Are they... pooping? They’re clapping at least...’
Confusion filled the room as everyone glanced around. Only the Kim duo stood stiffly at attention, unable to move a muscle.
‘Is this really a public execution?’
‘W-When did he even record that?’
They had no idea and never imagined the CEO would be monitoring the office security cams. Worse, they didn’t even know a camera had been installed at that angle. The footage had already been edited too. When did he have time to do all this?
‘He... stayed up all night?’
‘He pulled an all-nighter?’
Then, it hit the Kim duo why the CEO’s eyes radiated madness. He had stayed up all night preparing this, trying to claw out a path forward while the company crumbled around him.
All they did was whine at their screens and wave their fists in frustration. They blamed the devs, complained about Almond, and despaired over Bubblegum.
‘Pathetic.’
They could feel the judgment from their colleagues. They could practically hear the whispers behind their backs.
“Wait, were they just drinking beer?”
“While we were all in emergency meetings?”
“Must be nice, having such a chill job.”
They lowered their heads instinctively. Not only had they botched the ad campaign, but they hadn’t even been able to help recover from it. They hadn’t meant to. They just wanted to do well.
‘Dammit.’
Manager Kim gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
Just then, the CEO said, “If this works out... this video will be our salvation.”
Manager Kim looked up in surprise. ‘What?’
“The video is entertaining. Employees are genuinely immersed in the game while cheering, suffering, and screaming. What gamers wouldn’t like a dev team like that?”
‘Wait, really?’
Gulp.
The Kim duo swallowed hard. They thought they looked pathetic flailing around, but the CEO said it felt real because it was. That was who they truly were. People who wanted to do well, but sometimes messed up. People who made weird games and couldn’t always get things right.
“Manager Kim and Assistant Manager Kim from the marketing team.”
“Yes?”
“Sir?”
“Do I have your permission to upload this video?”
Their eyes trembled, but the answer was obvious. If they could clean up the crap they had already spread, they would gladly clap while dumping more.
“O-Of course!”
“If it’ll help, by all means!”
Clap.
The CEO clapped and declared, “Good. The name of this operation is: Innocent if Famous, Guilty if Unpopular.”
Well, they somewhat understood what he meant. Still, it sounded ominous.
“If this video goes viral, you're innocent! If it doesn’t, you’re guilty!” He pointed directly at the Kim duo. “Why are you surprised?! Huh?! You thought I’d just let your garbage ad contract slide?!”
An endless barrage of scolding came at them throughout the meeting.
‘Figures.’
‘We fell for it again...’
Once again, the CEO had duped the Kim duo.
***
Unlike Sang-Hyeon, who only briefly checked YouTube in the morning, Bubblegum spent all day monitoring the platform and community reactions.
‘Dammit...’
He felt anxious as a naturally risk-averse person. Of course, the Ghostwo Busters’ disastrous ad campaign ate at him. Almond just clocked out and went to sleep after chaotically beating the game. At the very least, Bubblegum had thought that Almond would come back the next day to smooth things over.
[Bubblegum: Hey... Almond. Wanna give it another shot?]
[Bubblegum: The game... kinda ended way too abruptly...]
[Bubblegum: Almond?]
The messages still appeared unread.
Bubblegum sighed. “Ugh...”
Sang-Hyeon had drained himself and was probably deep asleep. Only Bubblegum was still panicking, especially because his videos were now blowing up too in the wake of Almond’s clone video trending at number one.
[Bubblegum Becomes a God]
[Trending Video #8]
[The Video Where He Gets Kicked for Being Ugly]
[Trending Video #7]
The videos did well, but they were all about bugs in the game. Bubblegum understood how the Ghostwo Busters CEO felt. This wasn’t advertising. The comments clearly showed that.
— Trash god-tier game LOL
— So this was supposed to be an ad... for a newly launched game?
— The game's rating is gonna tank, 100%
No one took the game seriously. The top comment on the video of Bubblegum becoming a god mostly consisted of insults.
— God of bugs~
└ LMAOOO
└ Wind God hahaha
└ Sounds like a curse
Viewers just made memes out of them. One had to row when the tide came in, but this was lava to Bubblegum instead of water.
— The game is a disaster, a failed ad LOL
└ For real lol
└ Might still be worth trying at least once?
└ You try it then lol
— I’m dying LOLLLLL
— Wait, this is the same game where Almond went viral with that birth rate joke??
└ LOL yeah
└ Seems like it
The more he read, the more anxious Bubblegum felt.
“Ah...”
That wasn’t the end of his problems.
Zzzzzzt.
[Takoyaki: Hey bro, where’s Almond headed next?]
[Miho: Oppa, is Almond going to Cheese or Paprika?]
While Almond stayed silent, the DMs kept piling up from other streamers. Everyone wanted to know where Almond would go next after his collaboration with Bubblegum ended.
[Bubblegum: I told you, I haven’t asked him yet. He’s not awake.]
[Miho: Ugh! You should’ve asked casually during the game!]
[Miho: Gosh, you’re so dumb, I wanna kick you]
[Miho: (jk~)]
‘Why is she dumping all this on me?’
Honestly, Miho didn’t need to follow Almond. As a female streamer, she’d make much better money on Paprika anyway. Game streamers like Almond and Bubblegum were the ones who had to care.
Still, she seemed eager to follow him wherever he went. Maybe transitioning into gaming long-term would be better for her career. So many tangled interests now came into play. Platform migration was no joke. Even Bubblegum’s manager panicked.
[Manager: Hey, have you decided? The pressure is insane right now.]
[Manager: I say go with Cheese.]
[Bubblegum: Why not Paprika?]
[Manager: Paprika is full of skilled gamers. And there are tons of good gamers.]
[Bubblegum: Did you not see my speedrun yesterday? That was all skills~]
[Manager: Just go to Cheese.]
The manager felt too stressed to even joke back. A moment later, Bubblegum came across a strange video.
‘Huh?’
[Mr. Almond! Please Just Die Once!]
[Premiering Now!]
That was the video’s title. The thumbnail showed the unfamiliar faces of two men.
‘What is this?’
Bubblegum could’ve never imagined such a thing. The pinned comment under the video already told him something was off.
[This is the CEO of TMC, the developers of Ghostwo Busters. I had a few drinks last night. You'll understand why once you watch this video. Anyway... we poured our blood, sweat, and tears into making Ghostwo Busters. Please remember us, GhosTubers. We’ll fix the bugs and be back.]
***
Meanwhile, Sang-Hyeon rubbed his sleepy eyes and prepared for his stream.
“Mmm... I overslept.”
After waking up from a nap, Sang-Hyeon blinked groggily. Yesterday’s stream had taken a real toll.
‘Should I skip streaming today?’
He considered it while stepping out of his room, only to be intercepted.
“Hey. H-Hey, look at this.”
“What?”
“This! GhosTubers is insane!”
“The game has always been crazy.”
“No, I mean the developers are insane!” Ju-Hyeok, clearly flustered, pointed at the monitor.
A video began playing.
‘Huh?’
Sang-Hyeon saw two familiar faces on the screen.
‘Wait... aren’t those the guys from the contract meeting?’
Surprisingly, it was Manager Kim and Assistant Manager Kim, the ones who had handled the ad contract. They looked oddly cheerful, cracking beers and settling in. The camera angle felt awkward. Was this a hidden cam or a skit? Either way, they seemed to be having a good time.
“Alright, great. Let’s begin. Let’s just watch. Hey, bring me a beer.”
“Yay~”
Then, the screen abruptly turned black and white. Their smiles froze mid-frame, and a deep documentary-style voiceover began.
“These two have committed a grave sin.”
Sang-Hyeon felt completely lost. Wasn’t this supposed to be a company promo video? The video clearly came from the company’s own channel.
“W-What sin?” Sang-Hyeon quickly took a seat next to Ju-Hyeok.
It didn’t take long to find out.
“Because they made a very foolish contract. They agreed to run the ad until the game was cleared.”
Ju-Hyeok winced while Sang-Hyeon scratched his head.
‘Why is that such a big deal?’
The video continued, showing a scene of the Kim duo talking.
“Ah, it’s about to start. How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Hmm... at least two weeks? The condition is to play until the end, after all.”
‘Two weeks?’ Sang-Hyeon’s eyes widened.
They had expected him to stream the game for at least two weeks? He finished it in about two days, roughly twelve hours total.
No wonder the company considered it a sin. The video moved on to the start of Almond and Bubblegum’s joint stream. The Kim duo laughed as they watched.
“Haha! They’re already stuck on the tutorial?”
“I told you! No point having one skilled player. Choosing Bubblegum was the best decision!”
“Right? Viewers will think they’ll make it through if they’re just a bit better than Bubblegum. People will buy the game, and the ad will run forever!”
It was a shocking conversation. They knew Bubblegum wasn’t great at games, and chose him because of that. The screen paused again, and the somber narration returned.
“The price of greed was harsh.”
Sad music began playing. The screen faded to black and white again. A title appeared over the Kim duo’s frozen expressions.
[Mr. Almond! Please just die once!]
Apparently, that was the title of the video series. As the video resumed, viewers began flooding in.
— What is this??
— Is this Ghostwo Busters again?
— Why is the series title “Almond, please die?” LOL
— Wait... is this about the contract? LOL
— Huh?