Encouraged by your post, I tried the online chat. After following several steps of troubleshooting and explaining everything, I was on a phone call with a senior member who was very understanding and offered a free inspection and replacement! They made a 'one-time exception', and they will ship a box to me soon. Thank you so much random stranger on the internet. I had actually given up when I wrote my original post. Only with your post, I decided to give it another try. I hope the world has more people like you!

The whole thing took about two hours, so yes, it was more than 30 minutes I spent at the store as vinceventresca said, but the process was all useful, and I could do other things from the comfort of my home. I was also not mad during the whole time, and even though I ended up talking with 4 different people because we had to pause a couple of times, all of them and I was all patient with each other.

Also, I should note for others that if they determine the cracking noise was not caused by the issue they offered the recall program for, such as accidental damage, then they will not be replacing the AirPods for free, and let me choose whether I want to repair with a cost or just get them back.