Cheese Village came to an end. About a day of downtime followed.

[Break Notice...]

[No stream today...]

[Taking the day off!]

Countless streamers went on break. They were physically spent after burning themselves out completely during the finale of Cheese Village. This single day effectively became a holiday for the Cheese platform itself. Streamer Garden users felt disappointed that most streamers were offline.

[Wait, is it real that almost nobody is streaming on Cheese today? Lol]

— Can’t be helped lol that was a forced march

— If you watched that stream live, you’d understand

└ For real

— 24hr full-group livestream?? How do you even survive that?

— That’s why Black Pepper, who’s a mom irl, dipped way earlier

Viewers who recalled yesterday’s grueling run generally understood. Still, the emptiness and boredom left by Cheese Village’s end didn’t disappear. They kept talking about Cheese Village, reviving those memories and even eliciting reactions from other communities. Among them, the biggest topic was, inevitably, this breaking news.

[Breaking News: Treevy donated under the streamers’ names!]

News of Treevy donating the sponsorship revenue spread.

— Only now do I realize your greatness, Father Treevy...

— Treevy is the divine!

— Damn!

— Wow, that’s insane

— Since they’re leaving Korea anyway, they’re doing a good deed on the way out...

— This guy even leaves with style

— Donation posts always deserve an upvote

The post drew massive attention and shot straight to the trending section. Gradually, more people noticed something.

— Huh? Looks like Zelo was first in revenue. Almond was second

— Wait, that was shown?

— Yeah, look at the photo

— Holy crap...

The photo was attached to the news, and people realized the order of names wasn’t random. Almond drew the most attention.

— Almond second place???

— Almond above CutiePie, wow...

— Nut-tier power spike

— Was Almond always this big?

— No, not this big

— Almond: Hey~ Gi-Chan. It’s your bro.

— Why is it always Gi-Chan lol

— Why does Jung Gi-Chan always get hit... :(

— Surprisingly, even ForeverAlone is pretty high compared to usual

Second place was far beyond what people normally associated with Almond’s donation scale. No matter how much Almond had grown into a so-called big streamer after winning a world championship, being sandwiched between Zelo and CutiePie seemed impossible. In viewers’ minds, those two were untouchable and in a league of their own.

Almond had somehow slipped between them.

Ju-Hyeok smirked as he brushed his hair back and slipped his phone into his pocket. “Tch. Took them long enough to recognize it.”

He already knew that Almond would achieve an insane ranking. No one knew the numbers better than Almond’s manager.

“Where should I put this, Boss?” BornToB asked while holding a potted plant.

“Oh.”

They were currently at the office, where interior work was nearing completion. The furniture was in place. Only the final checks remained.

“There. Over there. Between the bookshelf by the window.”

“The corner?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it. Heave... ho!”

It was unclear why BornToB insisted on carrying something so heavy instead of dragging it. Regardless, he was a diligent worker and did what he was told without complaint.

Thump.

The pot perfectly suited its place. Stylish green leaves shimmered in the sunlight. Behind it sat a desk, its top covered in thick walnut wood, and shelves lined with books.

‘It’s really becoming a company.’

Ju-Hyeok rummaged through a box and picked something up. He placed it on the desk.

Clack.

[CEO Kim Ju-Hyeok]

It was his nameplate.

“Ha~”

Now, it finally felt like a completed office.

“Uh... C-Computer delivery.”

“Oh, yes. Come on in.”

The computers for the desks had arrived too. The space still felt empty with only BornToB present. However, Ju-Hyeok could see people sitting around, coming and going, talking, and working together. He smiled faintly and picked up his phone again to send a message.

***

[Ju-Hyeok: I’m out organizing the office. You need to log in for the afterparty today. It’s soon.]

[Ju-Hyeok: And they’re going to talk about the Platform War today. Don’t be late, make sure you’re there!]

Sang-Hyeon stared at the messages while crunching on almonds.

“Hmm... What time was it?”

It was probably in the evening. He still had plenty of time.

“Ju-Hyeok is busy today. Ji-Ah too...”

When Sang-Hyeon’s busy period ended, Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok only got busier. That was just how things worked. Especially Ji-Ah, when Sang-Hyeon streamed this long, her workload grew endlessly. After hesitating over what to do with the remaining time, Sang-Hyeon decided to deal with his karma.

[Dr. Song Ha-Na]

[Call Connected]

“Mr. Yu Sang-Hyeon!”

Shriek!

An ear-splitting shout came through the phone and distorted the audio.

“What is this twenty-four hour non-stop stream, huh!? I mean... I...!” The doctor was so incredulous she couldn’t even finish her sentence, stopping to catch her breath.

“It wasn’t twenty-four hours straight... I ate in between.”

“If you add everything together, it’s the same thing!”

“...”

That was fair. He’d been in Survival Craft even before the twenty-four hour countdown started.

“It was kind of important...”

“Honestly... Seriously...” Song Ha-Na wanted to ask if he was risking his life over games, but thinking of his profession, she stopped herself. “Book an appointment immediately. Why do you people always do this to yourselves?”

He changed direction, deciding to firmly book an appointment and get checked instead.

“Okay.”

Sang-Hyeon obediently set a date, went through various health consultations, and ended the call. Since it had been a while, they even exchanged a bit of personal small talk.

‘Have we... kind of gotten closer?’

Another doctor he used to see came to mind. He hadn’t been able to keep in touch with that one for long. In the end, it had all ended with failed rehabilitation. They hadn’t built any real rapport.

Dr. Song Ha-Na felt different, somehow more familiar. More human, maybe. Was it because she specialized in this field?

Sang-Hyeon looked down at his arm, still faintly trembling. He definitely wasn’t in great condition.

“Why do you all keep pushing yourselves like this?”

Her worried words echoed in his head.

“Why do you all keep... doing that?”

Had Choi Sa-Rang gotten herself into trouble, too? Scratching his head, Sang-Hyeon sat down on the sofa.

Plop.

It was old and deeply sank when he sat, making his back ache.

‘Maybe I can’t take this with me when I move.’

Once Ju-Hyeok finished relocating the office, they planned to look for a new place to live. This house, filled with memories of his grandmother, would be hard to leave behind. Talk of redevelopment was growing louder. It would be better to look into one of those newly built apartments in central Seoul just like his grandmother always wanted.

Sang-Hyeon lay back on the sofa and stretched. “Haaa~”

For once, he had the house to himself again. Lying on the old sofa under the pouring sunlight, reminiscing about his grandmother felt peaceful.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated from a new message.

[Joo Ok-Ji: Hello! This is Joo Ok-Ji, Cheese platform manager! I’m reaching out first regarding the lineup for the Platform War...]

***

Time passed, and the Cheese Village server entered its final countdown. The operations team walked through Cheese Village, checking each location.

“Was this the Boston Tea Party?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And this is... probably Zelu’s birth?”

“Correct.”

Cheese Village looked almost exactly as it always had. The only difference was that the entire village had become a massive exhibition hall. Giant screens had been installed throughout Cheese Village. On them, footage of past events at each location played.

Brief explanatory plaques had been placed alongside the screens. Statues had also been erected for particularly important events.

A proper exhibition hall existed too. It had been created by remodeling Almond’s Ah-Sung castle. The castle’s classic exterior remained intact while the vast interior space transformed into an exhibit. The exhibition didn’t just recount events. It also displayed the streamers’ results and data. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[Scene with the most Likes]

[Moment when chat spiked the fastest]

[Event with the biggest donation burst]

[Largest single donation in history]

[Which villager earned the most money?]

[Which villager received the most audience response?]

[Which villager had the greatest influence?]

Villager rankings were displayed as enormous three-dimensional graphs.

Cheddar took one more slow look around the exhibition hall and nodded in satisfaction. “That should do it. Prepare to open.”

“Yes!”

After the staff finished counting down, the server reopened. Countless streamers logged in immediately.

Shoo-shoo-shoo-shoong!

No one had told them to come right away. They had simply been too curious about the afterparty and awards ceremony to wait.

“Wow...”

Everyone stared in awe at the transformed Cheese Village.

Donuts wandered around the produce market, reminiscing. “Ah, here! This is where I first started the Nonghyup Union.”

At the beginning, this place had literally been a battlefield. Looking back now, it felt ridiculous.

“Hello~! Mr. Donuts! What kind of produce are you here to sell today?”

The NPCs still greeted visitors as if it were everyday life, but Donuts had nothing left to sell. He wouldn’t be living in Cheese Village anymore.

— I already miss this...

— Whoa!

— This is crazy

— This whole area was totally Donuts’s territory!

— Nice!

— “It was the Nonghyup?” I remember that!

Horn Ramen jabbed at one of Donuts’s sore spots. “Oh! This spot, this is where I got hit with the potato illusion, right? Hey, bro, remember?”

— LOL

— Potato illusion lmao

— So true

— Still did a lot of good things though...

The Nonghyup crew wandered around together, reminiscing like this. Others did the same. Most streamers went back to the places where they had first started and shared stories.

‘Wow.’

Shoong.

Almond appeared in Cheese Village a little later than the others. He, too, stared in admiration at the carefully prepared scenery.

— Nice

— Oooh

— Looooord!

— Lord Almond has arrived~

— He’s here LOL

— He’s not a lord anymore...

— The protagonist arrives!

Viewers reacted as if the main character had shown up. The other villagers warmly welcomed Almond as well.

“Oh my~ Our Lord has arrived!”

“Nice~ Come over here, Lord. No, wait, why did you do that to me, huh?”

No longer the Lord, Almond could only bow repeatedly. “I’m sorry. It was for the greater good...”

— For the greater good LMAO

— Insane

— A true dictator LOL

— Hahaha

— Forget the greater good, that head is definitely great

After taking quite a bit of flak from the Nonghyup brothers, Almond set off to find his own starting point just like the other streamers.

“Everyone, I’ll go check out where I first started too.”

He stepped forward confidently, only to realize he couldn’t remember.

‘Where was it again?’

— ?

— Why did he stop?

— Wasn’t it at Radish House?

— What is this??

— Go fishing!

In the end, he wandered around more recent places instead, savoring memories.

As if everything was now ready, Cheddar shouted, “Alright~ everyone! To Ah-Sung! Almond’s Castle, don’t get confused! Everyone to Ah-Sung! The exhibition hall! We’ll be holding the awards ceremony there~!”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

Clap clap clap!

Applause erupted as everyone moved together. Almond followed the crowd toward the castle built in his name, his Ah-Sung.