The time allotted before the match against Italy was not particrly short due to the schedules of other teams. Thanks to this, the national team had nearly a week to themselves.


    Hui-Chul suggested that the team members take a brief rest.


    "Let''s clear our heads for a moment. Then we can prepare again."


    After saying this, he headed to the quietest cafe he owned.


    The rest time wasn''t anything special for Hui-Chul. He simply gazed at the sea beyond the window, listening to the sound of the crashing white waves. He breathed in the clean air as deeply as he could, exhaling as if to purify all the impurities in his body. When the waves rolled in, he exhaledpletely and emptied his lungs. As the water receded, he inhaled and filled his lungs again.


    <em>"Whew..."</em>


    As his mind cleared, he would brew a cup of coffee and look up articles rted to <em>Civil Empire</em>.


    This was the best vacation for Hui-Chul.


    <em>[Civil Empire, leading nationalpetitions, shows signs of chart reversal]</em><em>[Exploring the Victory Strategy of Civil Empire, Korea]</em>


    <em>[Civil Empire Korea 2 Wins "Likely to Advance to Main Event"]</em>


    Originally, one had to visit foreign sites to read Civil Empire articles. However, domestic gaming portals started covering <em>Civil Empire</em> extensively now.


    "It''s interesting to see how long thingsst," Hui-Chul made a self-deprecating joke and smirked wryly.


    Pro gamers or enthusiasts of less popr games always dreamt of their game bing well-known and bustling with activity. Being a bit more honest about their desires, they also dreamed of gaining fame and receiving more recognition from people.


    Of course, Hui-Chul had detached from such desires by now. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to lead the team, consistently participate in tournaments, and progress during this period.


    "Sales have increased by 12%..."


    Hui-Chul clicked on the first article and checked the graph. The article stated that sales in Korea had begun to rise. Twelve percent wasn''t a huge number, but any increase in sales was significant for a game that had been out for quite some time.


    "Just two wins and already this much."


    Korea only had two victories so far. They still had four more games to y in the group league. Technically, they hadn''t even won half their games yet. Despite this, the online impact of <em>Civil Empire</em> had surged significantly.


    Even the Korean branch of <em>Civil Empire</em> seemed to be fully aware of this. They were hosting events for new users and returning yers, which they had never done before. As the saying went, there was a right time for everything. It seemed to apply to video games as well.


    After a dismal performance by the Korean team in the LIL World Cup, Korea began to shine again in the nationalpetitions.


    "Almond joined."


    Most importantly, everything began to change when they recruited the streamer Almond. He not only attracted people''s attention as a popr mid-tier streamer, but also performed better than other yers in the game. ?


    As a popr streamer actively excelling, his visibility became tremendous. One simply had to look at the current situation on the Embulmunity.


    <em>[Are the admins not expanding the servers?]</em>


    <em>[Lol, traffic crashed again today??]</em>


    <em>[It''s not even a Korea game today, wow]</em>


    <em>[You can really feel the increase in traffic. txt]</em>


    The number of posts increased and one could easily see the forum was lively. Despite the typically aggressive nature of online forums, these posts had be popr topics.


    <em>1. It''s not hugely popr, but here''s why I''m truly grateful even for this level of poprity</em>


    <em>— Read the post and literally cried</em>


    <em>— Strange. The inte... can it be this warm?</em>


    <em>— I hope it bes even more popr in the future.</em>


    <em>— Came here for Miho Battle, Lewd Battle as a neer to LIL Pro, but ended up crying, big upvote lol</em>


    <em>└ Cried while beingforted from below</em>


    <em>└ For real…</em>


    <em>└ There may be no people in Civil Empire, but there is emotion…</em>


    <em>└ Lol, crazy lololol</em>


    <em>└ Now I realize, dear CivFather...!</em>


    As evidenced by the atmosphere of the Embulmunity, all the trending posts were positive.


    <em>2. Almond''sst arrow toss followed by shooting.gif</em>


    <em>3. Almond << When he first came, I had no idea it would turn out like this lol</em>


    <em>4. What happens if we win up to the match against Italy…</em>


    Beyond the poprity of <em>Civil Empire</em>, Almond''s poprity was skyrocketing. The subscribers to his YouTube channel, which had been sluggishpared to his views, now started jumping towards one million.


    <em>[Almond]</em>


    <em>[Subscribers: 938,000]</em>


    The proportion of overseas viewers had increased tremendously. If the games continued or if they won against Italy, he would soon hit one million subscribers. Given the trajectory, reaching one million could happen very quickly.


    "The influence of one person is this significant."


    Hui-Chul smiled bitterly. Already at two wins, he felt overwhelmed with mixed feelings.


    "I wonder if the other guys can also seed..."


    Riding on this momentum, he hoped his teammates who shared his hardships and passion would receive their due rewards. They hadn''t entered thepetition expecting any rewards, but Hui-Chul always felt concerned about them. Not all yers were as financiallyfortable as Hui-Chul. Most people were swept away by the storms of time without ever getting a chance to devote themselves to what they loved. Many of them were his teammates.


    "This batch, at least..."


    Hui-Chul didn''t want his teammates to part with <em>Civil Empire</em> in such a way again. He would be more at ease if they left the game because they were tired of it, grew disgusted with it, or lost interest in it.


    That was what they said in the past.


    "It''s past the age to y games."


    "I''ve lost interest now."


    Everyone had usible stories when they left, but Hui-Chul could tell by their expressions alone having spent time with them. Those were all lies.


    Hui-Chul quietly closed his eyes and repeated to himself, "This is an unparalleled opportunity."


    He wasn''t just talking about the chance of Korea advancing to the main stage. This was an opportunity for his teammates who had poured their passion into this game, an opportunity for their passion and lives to be one. An opportunity to shape the team as Hui-Chul envisioned.


    Even if everything didn''t change this year, it would surely happen as the years passed.


    A message came in.


    <em>Ding.</em>


    <em>[Civil Empire Korea Marketing Director]</em>


    <em>[Hello, Cookie. We have something we want to n with the nationalpetition team...]</em>


    A direct message from the <em>Civil Empire</em> Korean wasn''t unusual for Cookie. Given his significant role in the Korean <em>Civil Empire</em> market, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say he was well-acquainted with them.


    "Hmm..."


    Nevertheless, Hui-Chul looked at the message as if it was from aplete stranger due to its content.


    <em>[... How about filming a team documentary and uploading it? We understand that you are hesitant about media exposure that might disrupt thepetition, but we are very keen on seizing this opportunity. We''ll discuss the details over the phone...]</em>


    Hui-Chul knew what a team documentary was. Although they called it a documentary, it was closer to a variety show in nature.


    "This kind of thing now? During thepetition...?"


    Cookie''s expression immediately hardened. Originally, he would never have allowed such content. It would prevent the yers from focusing entirely on thepetition.


    However, he soon sank deep into thought.


    <em>"Sigh."</em>


    His gaze turned toward the distant sea. To deeply reflect on himself, he started deeply breathing again.


    <em>Ssshhhhhhhh…</em>


    He inhaled as the waves crashed and exhaled as the water receded.


    ***


    "Now. Slowly, take a deep breath."


    <em>Ssshhh...</em>


    Under the almostpletely white ceiling and lights, a strange sound could be heard.


    "Slowly exhale. Good. You''re doing well."


    <em>Swoosh...</em>


    It sounded like Darth Vader breathing, probably because he was wearing a mask simr to a respirator.


    "Sir? The breathing has stabilized, so we''ll remove the respirator now."


    "Oh, yes."


    Ju-Hyeok''s voice could be heard.


    Struggling to turn her head, Ji-Ah caught a glimpse of the dark green hem of Ju-Hyeok''srge tidy jacket.


    <em>"Paha!"</em>


    As the doctor removed the oxygen mask, Ji-Ah exhaled the breath she had been holding.


    <em>"Haah... Haah..."</em>


    Her breathing, initially harsh, began to stabilize quickly. It was probably due to the breathing exercises with the doctor or perhaps because Ju-Hyeok was tightly holding her hand.


    "... What happened?"


    Ji-Ah''s voice struggled to emerge.


    "I heard you fainted at the bank. Don''t you remember?"


    "Bank... <em>ugh.</em>"


    Ji-Ah briefly clutched her throbbing head. Then, she remembered.


    "Now, ma’am, you fainted due to hyperventtion. For now..."


    The doctor told her to take it easy and not to strain herself. Then, he gave her some time to talk with her guardian.


    <em>Swoosh.</em>


    After the hospital''s white curtain was drawn, Ju-Hyeok approached and asked, "What happened? What''s going on?"


    "What do you mean what happened? I just overworked myself. Running down the stairs on an empty stomach and then at the bank..."


    Ji-Ah nced at the IV drip inserted into her arm.


    "I''ll be fine after this."


    "You should rest from editing for a while. I''ve reached the assistant editor. I''ll have them take over for now..."


    "No!"


    Ji-Ah suddenly screamed.


    "You scared me. What''s wrong?"


    "No... I have to keep working."


    "You''re in this state. How can you keep working?"


    She had to because she needed to pay off her debts.


    Ji-Ah bowed her head. It was hard to look Ju-Hyeok in the eyes.


    "Huh?"


    Just then, the white light of the hospital reflected off Ju-Hyeok''s sses and he noticed something.


    "What''s going on?"


    "It''s just from overworking. I told you," Ji-Ah muttered and turned her head away.


    "You should rest if it''s from overworking, but you don''t want to rest."


    "It''s not serious."


    Ji-Ah naturally did not want to talk about it. It was a shameful memory. She absolutely didn''t want to talk about how stupid she was.


    "You fainted in the middle of the bank. How is that not serious?"


    "I''mpletely fine now."


    "Just tell me."


    "What is there to tell?"


    Contrary to her brusque response, a sound echoed from deep within her.


    "──!"


    It was impossible to identify what the sound was.


    "Ji-Ah, don''t try to fool me. It won''t work."


    "I’m fooling you?"


    "Just tell me. I''ll try to solve it."


    "Leave it..."


    Ji-Ah tried to shake off his hand, but Ju-Hyeok gripped it tighter and pulled.


    "If something is bothering you and I overlook it, that would hurt me more."


    "..."


    "I can solve it. No, we can solve it together. Whatever it is."


    Ji-Ah''s eyes trembled.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "You''ll end up hating me."


    Her voice shook as she spoke.


    However, Ju-Hyeok responded without a tremor.


    "It''s okay. I''ll fall for you again soon."


    <em>Dang──!</em>


    A sound rang inside her. The unidentified noise was now arge golden bell ringing. A flower garden of multicolored lights with white silk fabric fluttering in the air and arge golden bell set above it.


    This golden world illuminated Ji-Ah’s face.


    Her mouth twitched.


    "It''s about someone I met before..."


    Ji-Ah decided to start an old story.


    "I once co-founded a corporation with that person as co-CEOs."