Sang-Hyeon had eaten enough food and met plenty of people. It felt like he repeated stories from his archery days about thirty-one times. Thinking back, it seemed like he told these stories to every country that made it to the tournament.
Did he really? Sang-Hyeon couldn’t quite remember. He had been sipping champagne whenever he felt awkward or bored and his head started feeling fuzzy at some point.
He sat on a sofa for a moment and looked at his phone.
Bzzt.
A message came from Ju-Hyeok.
[Ju-Hyeok: How have you been?]
It had been a while since he heard from Ju-Hyeok. Sang-Hyeon, holding his dizzy head, moved his thumbs with effort and sent a reply.
[Sang-Hyeon: Good]
[Sang-Hyeon: I’m at a dinner party. Almost over]
As he stared blankly at the chandelier on the ceiling, another message from Ju-Hyeok arrived.[Ju-Hyeok: Oh. Good to hear. By the way, our merchandise is out, lol]
“...”
Sang-Hyeon wanted to point out the earlier mistake, but the mention of merchandise completely caught his attention. In the meantime, Ju-Hyeok sent another message.
[Ju-Hyeok: We got the This World merchandise first.]
[Ju-Hyeok: (link)]
The link Ju-Hyeok sent led to a This World store page. It showed almond shaped light sticks and almond shaped hats as well as other almond merchandise.
“... Oh.”
They looked quite decent. No, they were on par with the merch of other famous personalities. There was a wide variety. Some items were predictable, but he also couldn’t have imagined certain things such as a suit that turned one’s entire body into an almond or mixed nuts fireworks that exploded almonds and other nuts.
[Ju-Hyeok: The Almond merchandise wasn’t made by the Monster team but by the company itself.]
[Sang-Hyeon: You did this??]
Sang-Hyeon sent an emoji of a rabbit with a surprised expression.
Ju-Hyeok replied with an emoji of a dignified dog.
[Ju-Hyeok: It wasn’t too hard since the system is well set up.]
Ju-Hyeok had only taken over a new company recently. Even if it was This World, Sang-Hyeon felt amazed that they could produce such merchandise internally. ṞΑɴοΒΕṡ
[Ju-Hyeok: The physical merchandise will arrive soon. Maybe as early as tomorrow in Japan, lol]
[Sang-Hyeon: Tomorrow???]
Everything seemed to be moving so fast.
[Ju-Hyeok: The match is starting soon.]
[Ju-Hyeok: Party time!]
Ju-Hyeok sent an emoji of a winking dog wearing sunglasses.
[Sang-Hyeon: What’s the physical merchandise?]
[Ju-Hyeok: Cheering items]
[Ju-Hyeok: The Almond cheering items were made by us, but Monster made the national team items. There will be quite a few Monster logos on them.]
[Ju-Hyeok: (photo)]
Ju-Hyeok sent him a sample image with a white background adorned with red and green patterns. It featured a Haetae-like Monster design and matched well with the Korean team’s theme. It clearly showed off their Monster sponsorship.
[Ju-Hyeok: The personal merch for other members will take a bit longer. Honestly, we’re still assessing if it’s worth the investment.]
[Sang-Hyeon: Ah...]
Almond’s personal merch and team merch had been prepared, but personal merch for other members was still under assessment. Sang-Hyeon immediately understood what this meant.
[Sang-Hyeon: We have to win]
They had to win the upcoming Viking match. He sent an emoji of a peach making a fist and put his phone down.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting!”
The venue had become quite noisy. People stood and moved somewhere. Colorful dresses mingled and obstructed the view.
“Today! For those who have been selected as Best Dressed candidates! Please come forward! Please come slowly because the dresses are long! We have plenty of time!”
“Woohoo!”
The crowd roared with cheers as familiar faces, all dressed up, climbed onto the stage one by one.
“Lauren! Lauren! Lauren!”
Teams shouted slogans for their candidates. The cameras focused on them and even Sang-Hyeon’s personal stream camera shifted focus to that side.
— Wow
— Is this the army?
— Cool
— There are quite a few candidates.
— Introverts have fun too…
— Why can’t Almond go up there? Just dress up and go!
The Viking side also cheered loudly.
“Jessie! Jessie! Jessie!”
“Jessieeeee!”
It seemed that only Jessie represented them.
— OMG
— Not the Vikings!
— Shit
— Jessie actually went up there
— Wow, Jessie looks amazing!
Jessie was undeniably eye-catching with her flaming red hair, a yellow dress, and high heels that made her look taller.
“From each country, we recommend one person to come forward. For fairness…”
The host looked at the lineup of candidates and tilted his head.
“Ah, Korea? Did no one come from Korea?”
Sang-Hyeon was caught off guard and looked around in surprise.
— Almond, go up!
— Cross-dress right now.
— Do we have no one?
— Didn’t they prepare someone?
— Isn’t Carrot going? But her outfit seems too plain for that.
“Although we knew there wouldn’t be anyone, it’s still disappointing.”
Sang-Hyeon tried to console the viewers by offering a brief explanation.
“We prepared in a hurry, and it’s our first time in the tournament…”
— So disappointing…
— Run up there shirtless, Yu Sang-Hyeon!
— We should have worn a hanbok too
— Can anyone just go up?
— But young people don’t have hanbok these days, so how can they wear them?
Just then, the host excitedly waved.
“Ah! Here they come! Wow~! Does the protagonist appear late!?”
The camera and Sang-Hyeon’s gaze simultaneously turned to the entrance.
“!”
He saw a woman wearing a hanbok with a long voluminous black skirt. The black base, delicately embroidered with restrained yet colorful designs, shimmered like a lacquered jewel box crafted over months by an artisan. Above it was a bright pearl-colored jeogori adorned with sparkling patterns.
It was so short that it left the viewers wanting more. Why was beauty fleeting and why did flowers wither so quickly?
However, any sense of regret quickly disappeared after following the delicate neckline wrapped by this jeogori.
Her braided black hair was not too traditional nor did it clash excessively with her outfit. She embraced the essence of this crafted piece with a neat, splendid style.
She raised her head as she ascended the stairs and her graceful features exuded elegance. Her long, dark eyelashes naturally curved upwards, revealing the true jewels that the numerous ornaments tried to imitate.
She locked eyes with Sang-Hyeon.
‘Choi Sa-Rang…?’
Sang-Hyeon recognized her the moment their eyes met, but he couldn’t believe his eyes at the same time.
Was it because she looked so beautiful today that it felt unusual? No, it wasn’t that. It was something much more physical.
‘Why is she standing?’
He couldn’t understand how Choi Sa-Rang was standing and walking up the stairs. The Choi Sa-Rang he knew always sat in a wheelchair.
— Wow
— Amazing
— Who is that person???
— Unbelievable
— Korea is resurrected!
Her appearance caused the chat to scroll wildly. And then─
“Oooooh…”
“Wow.”
“… Huh?”
Exclamations of admiration could be heard wherever she passed.
From behind, Pang grabbed Sang-Hyeon's shoulder tightly.
“Hey… did that person just look at me?”
— ??
— Seriously, man...
— People always repeat the same mistakes...
— He’s joking, guys~
— :(
— Maybe she really looked at Pang!
At that moment, the think tank members following Choi Sa-Rang joined the rest of the Korean team.
“Wow, you guys were here.”
Chi-Seung waved as he approached.
“Did you see? That’s the Great Commander Yi Sun-Shin.”
“Wha… what!?”
Pang, not knowing this, jumped in shock.
“No, where did Cookie find such a valuable person!?”
“… Weren’t you calling her a has-been earlier?”
“When did I!? What!?”
Pang had already erased that memory.
“I’ve decided not to listen to Cookie’s orders anymore after she looked at me—”
“Ah, Almond bro, by the way, do you know that person? She asked if you were here.”
“What?”
Pang stopped talking and turned toward Almond dumbfoundedly.
— LOL
— I knew it
— Whoever said she looked at Pang, come out. You’re the worst.
— Hahaha
— The whole world is full of nuts...
“Bro, do you know who she is?”
“Ah…”
Sang-Hyeon found himself in a dilemma and didn’t know what to say. Since she specifically asked about him, it wouldn't matter if they knew each other.
“Yes, I know her. I just didn’t know she was that person.”
“What!?”
Then, the other think tank members bombarded him with questions.
“How do you know her?”
“Where did you meet her?”
“She looks super rich!?”
However, his answer instantly settled their questions.
“We went to the same rehabilitation hospital. She recognized me from my stream and said hi.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why she looked over. Aha. I thought...”
Meanwhile, Pang suddenly shut his mouth after talking excitedly.
“… Hospital?”
Everyone glared at Pang as if he was trash.
“No, I mean, my mouth just started moving on its own before I could process the word hospital…”
Pang had to make excuses for a while.
— Pang, man
— Just stop hanging out with Almond...
— I honestly feel bad for him...
— He feels the wealth gap every day
***
The candidates for Best Dressed, including the representative from Korea, stood on the stage.
“Everyone! Please vote for the most… beautiful!”
Ding!
Each person received a message on their phone and people started voting after a brief moment of consideration.
“Your votes combined with the special judges’ scores will determine the winner!”
Everyone glanced back and forth between their phones and the stage.
Sang-Hyeon and the members gathered around him also started voting.
“Who are we voting for?”
“Oh, we’re going for the person from Japan wearing a kimono.”
“Oh, right.”
Since they couldn’t vote for their own country’s person, they had to strategically vote to eliminate a rival like the Vikings.
— LOL, strategic voting
— Korean style voting
— Best Dressed… right?
— LOL
— But the Japanese candidate is also very popular
It was slightly funny that they weren’t voting for the best dressed, but rather to avoid the worst scenario. They had no choice since Korea was the weakest.
“Huh… do we have a chance?”
“Very high,” Cookie suddenly appeared and spoke.
“Huh, Hui-Chul bro?”
“Chi-Seung, don’t worry. I think we’ll probably win. Just think about what map to choose.”
“Huh? How can you be so sure?”
Sang-Hyeon felt puzzled too. Could the commander predict even the Best Dressed?
“Unless it’s a very close rival... we have a strong chance. People will hesitate a bit and then choose us.” Hui-Chul grinned and added his reasoning, “Because we’re ranked last.”
— LOL
— Ouch
— This is how it turns out?!
— Wow
— Honestly, it’s no joke
— He’s a genius
— Cookie is on fire!
— Don’t say it so confidently
At that moment, Sang-Hyeon thought Cookie was joking. Maybe the others thought so too. However, Cookie’s words soon came true.
“Wow! It’s an overwhelming score difference!”
1. Great Commander Yi Sun-Shin: 227
2. wackjassey: 113
3. veryモチ: 87
“From the Korean team! It’s the Great Commander Yi Sun-Shin!”
The Japanese host hesitated over the nickname.
— LOL
— PTSD
— The nickname is too much
— Hahaha
— A perfect counter to the Japanese
“Uh… She has been chosen as the Best Dressed!”
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