Summary: SKT T1 has clawed their way to respectability in 2012, but they're painfully aware they're not elite. As OGN Spring 2013 looms on the horizon, the organization makes a bold decision: create a second team built around untested rookies. It's a gamble that could revitalize the brand or become an embarrassing footnote.
Kim "KkOma" Jeong-gyun, a recently retired SKT T1 jungler with more strategic insight than mechanical skill, accepts the role of assistant coach for this experimental roster. He's given one mandate: find raw talents that can be molded into champions.
After searching through many different players, Kkoma starts to give up, he receives helping hand in the form of Bengi, new jungler who took his place. Bengi’s help brings him to Korean solo queue ladder, where two names dominate the highest reaches: "GoJeonPa" and "SunnySide". Their mechanics are breathtaking, their synergy uncanny, and their climb seemingly unstoppable.
KkOma watches their replays for three days straight. He sees the truth that others missed: their abilities have nothing to do with their species. Sang-hyeok's foxlike instincts don't grant him precognition, his predictions come from pure obsessive pattern recognition and thousands of hours of practice. Su-hyeon's dragon heritage doesn't give her supernatural reflexes, her jungle plays are the product of intense focus and selfless game sense.
They're not succeeding because they're mythicals. They're succeeding despite being mythicals, having to prove themselves twice as hard for half the recognition.
small update on the faker fic: I has been put the Faker fic under a slow-update tag (both AO3 and Tumblr) due to me being really busy with school work, job hunting, and preparing for graduation. Hopefully I will go back to weekly updates when everything settles down. T T
April 6th, 2013
(Narrated by The Author)
taglist: @nothankyew , @cokokiss, @poetsinnyc
“I think I’m gonna throw up.” Gwang-jin said grimly at the back of the van on their way to LoL Park for their debut match against CJ Entus Blaze. When the draw was announced, Gwang-jin ironically fainted into Su-hyeon’s arms while the rest of the team looked at their coaches who looked dumbfounded as their players.
“ew- I will skin you alive if you get your breakfast on my new sneakers again.” Su-hyeon sneered at the pale wolf boy from the other side of the back seat.
“Why are you being mean to me?! Aren't you supposed to show compassion to your hurting teammates?!” The wolf boy glanced at the yong girl who was already looking at him with utter disgust.
“Because you ruined my other pain after eating too much sugar!” She reminded him of the incident that occurred last week during a team grocery shopping trip in the neighborhood market place. During that trip they made two big mistakes, first- Kkoma left his kids by themselves, second- let piglet have money.
After getting themselves cold teas and candy while Kkoma shopped for meat, Gwang-jin got challenged by a five year old in a candy eating competition and embarrassingly lost against the said five year old and proceeded to throw his guts out…on Suhyeon’s new pair of sneakers her mom got her as a gift for her first win as professional gamer. Su-hyeon silently stared at her now vomit-covered sneakers before trying to jump at Gwang-jin- who yelled in a really high pitched voice and hid behind the five year old who also yelled out once he saw Su-hyeon’s dragon features amplified by her anger.
Lucky for him and kid Sang-hyeok quickly wrapped his arms around her waist while Eon-young and Jeong-hyeon held her arms back as Gwang-jin quickly started begging for her forgiveness. Once Kkoma finally returned with meat and few premade noodles and saw all his kids sitting on the curfew with Su-hyeon wearing cheap slippers with her vomit-covered sneakers in a plastic bag while glaring at Gwang-jin who flinched whenever she glanced at him.
Of course Kkoma gave Gwang-jin a good lecture on being responsible and acting mature while still having fun. He also had a talk with Su-hyeon who finally let all her emotions out since she didn’t want to have an emotional breakdown in public. The situation was resolved by the time they reached home and started making dinner but Su-hyeon continued to use the situation to tease and bait Gwang-jin who fell into her trap every time just like right now. Especially right now as the nervousness and anxiety are high due to the fact that they are heading to their debut match. The higher ups prepared the team for today for weeks but going to imaginary scenarios and actually moments are two vastly different.
The seating arrangement was simple, Coach Choi in the driver seat with Manager Candice (a lovely secretary bird hybrid named Mun Kyungnam) in the passenger seat. Eon-young, Jeong-hyeon and Kkoma in the middle row with all three of them on their phone with Eon-young and Jeong-hyeon talking about the new girl generation album to keep their minds off the match, and Kkoma looking over his notes for the fifth time. Lastly the rookie line sat at the back with Sang-hyeok sitting between Gwang-jin and Su-hyeong to keep them from fighting each other. The poor Gumiho boy sighed every few seconds as Su-hyeon and Gwang-jin glared at each other. Kkoma finally closed his phone and looked back at his three rookies with the look of an exhausted single father of five with a job that heavily underpays him.
“Suhyeon-ah, if you wanna kill him please kill him when we have replacement for him”
“HYUNG?! What the hell?! Why are you taking her side?”
“I’m not taking sides, I’m just tired of you two arguing when we have something more important to worry about, you know- like winning our match?”
The silence finally fell in the van as Su-hyeon and Gwang-jin glanced at each other and softly whispered “trues? At least until we were done with our debut match”
“yeah” before shaking each other's hand, making Kkoma smile in satisfaction as he turned back and reopened his phone.
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Finally the team arrived at the LoL Park, with the heavy weight of reality seeming to finally settle down on them. Once the van was turned off, everyone simply sat in the comforting silence before they stepped out and to the lion’s den. Kkoma didn’t know how long they silently sat there collecting their nerves or sending a silent prayer but it was long enough that manager Candice clapped her hands loudly, breaking everyone out of their silence.
“Alright boys and girl, let’s show what SKT T1 #2 made of!” She said with a wide smile and bright eyes as she looked back at the players and Kkoma. “Cmon! Let’s head in before the best corner gets claimed by other” she chipped with a wide grin, knowing well every room and corner had been pre-assigned to teams a week ago. But her grin and her effort to ease the tension seemed to work as everyone collectively took a deep breath before unbuckling their seatbelts and slowly got out of the van. Everyone did a light stretch before they collected their bags and placed their name tags around their necks.
“So…nervous?” Su-hyeon asked casually as she gently knocked her shoulder against Sang-hyeok as rest of SKT T1 #2 slowly moved to the double glass door. The Guhimo boy gave her a half smile as he shrugged his shoulders and knocked her shoulder back, tails flickering with controlled energy.
“No, because I have the best jungler in the world by my side” he answered with honesty and confidence so clear in his voice that made Su-hyeon smile and loosen the tension in her shoulder as she placed her hands in her jacket pocket and took a deep breath. The studio was sensory overload as people with different features running around, yelling orders and busy with preparation for the next match.
Finally SKT T1 #2, their coaches and manager found their room and started their pre-match routine. Eon-young doing breathing exercises in the corner, Jeong-hyeon reading his notes on meta changes, Gwang-jin doing jumping-jackets to burn his nervous energy, Su-hyeon doing wrist exercise with Sang-hyeok.
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After a half hour of waiting, one of the staff members finally called for them to get into a position. Kkoma could read the tension in every one of their postures. Gwang-jin was bouncing his leg at a frequency that might register on seismic equipment. Jeong-hyeon had cleaned his glasses three times in the last five minutes. Eon-young was rotating through his music playlist without actually listening to any song for more than thirty seconds. Su-hyeon was unusually still, her tail wrapped tightly around her waist and her horns catching the studio lights as she stared at her hands. Sang-hyeok sat beside her, close enough that their shoulders were almost touching, his tails curled around his chair legs like a vine and his ears flat against his head.
They were about to face CJ Entus Blaze in their debut match, CJ Entus Blaze. One of the most established teams in Korea, a roster filled with veterans who had been dominating the scene while Kkoma’s kids are still in high school (expected Jeong-hyeon). Players like Ambition and Flame who had achievements and reputations that made SKT T1 #2 look like exactly what they were- five rookies who’d “barely” earned their spot. The pressure was suffocating and everyone knew it.
“Alright, listen up.” Kkoma forced his voice to stay steady and confident, channeling every coaching instinct he’d developed over the past year. “I know you’re all nervous. That’s normal. Blaze is an incredible team with veteran players. But you know what? They’re also going into this match blind. They don’t know how you play, they don’t know what you’re capable of.”
“Then let’s prove them wrong.” Kkoma looked each of his kids in the eye. “You didn’t get here by accident, you earned this spot through hard work and talent. Trust yourselves- trust each other and play your game, not theirs.”
“What if we embarrass ourselves?” Su-hyeon spoke softly from her corner, her voice was smaller than Kkoma had ever heard it and broke his stern face a little when he looked at her. Her usual easy confidence and fire were gone, replaced with doubt and nervousness that reminded Kkoma that she is fifteen years old. “What if we get stomped and everyone laughs at us?”
Sang-hyeok leaned over and gently bumped her shoulder with his. “Then we learn from it and come back stronger.”
“But what if-”
“Su-hyeon.” Sang-hyeok’s voice was quiet but firm. “Remember what you told me when we qualified? We’re in this together. Team.”
Something slowly shifted in her expression, fear slowly giving way to determination- the kind that was born from stubborn and fierce confidence as she nodded her head. “Team,” she echoed.
“Besides,” Jeong-hyeon added, looking up from his notes, “I’ve been analyzing Blaze’s recent games. They have patterns…exploitable ones.”
“You found weaknesses?” Eon-young stopped fiddling with his music player and leaned forward with interest.
“Everyone has weaknesses, especially veterans.” Jeong-hyeon said as he pushed his glasses up. “Helios tends to over-prioritize bot side after first back. If Su-hyeon can predict that and invade the top side…”
“I can absolutely do that,” Su-hyeon said, her confidence slowly turning back as she straightened her back and took a deep breath, a small smirk on her lips. “Especially if Sang-hyeok has priority in mid.”
“I’ll get priority,” Sang-hyeok said with quiet certainty.
Kkoma watched his kids shift from paralyzed fear to active planning, and felt pride swell in his chest. This was what made his kids special- they didn’t let fear control them, they transformed it into focus and determination.
“Ten minutes until the stage.” a production assistant called out as everyone looked at each other with curt nods.
“Right.” Coach Choi finally said as he clapped his hands together and looked each one of the players in the eyes, noting that their anxiety had completely melted away. “Final checks. Peripherals, settings, mental preparation and remember- they might be veterans, but you’re hungrier and more ambitious than them. Show them what the next generation can do.”
The walk from the warmup area to the main stage felt surreal. The audience’s cheers washed over them as they filed onto the stage, and Kkoma caught glimpses of signs in the crowd- most for CJ Entus Blaze, but a few for SKT T1 #2. Small pockets of support from people who believed in the underdog story. All the players' family members were seated in the front row and Kkoma instantly saw Su-hyeon’s mom and Sang-hyeok’s dad, grandmother. Miss Choi had made a sign with “FIGHTING KINGMAKER” written in bold and big letters alongside with a drawing of a dragon circling into an infinity symbol. Sang-hyeok’s dad and grandmother have also made a similar sign with “FIGHTING FAKER” and a cute drawing of a smiling fox.
Across the stage, CJ Entus Blaze looked completely composed, every inch of professional gamers who won lET world championship. Confident in a way that only came from experience and a well managed ego. Their coach was giving them calm instructions, and they nodded like this was just another match. Meanwhile, Su-hyeon’s tail twitched nervously every few seconds, Sang-hyeok’s ears were flat enough to disappear into his hair, Gwang-jin chewing on his lips and his tail wiping around, Jeong-hyeon kept a neutral face as he stared at the crowd and Eon-young waved at few fans who knew him from his Xenics Storm days.
The referee signaled that it’s time and everyone bowed to the crowd before they took their seats. They loaded into the game as they put on their headsets and prepared to play. The draft phase for Game 1 was a masterclass in experience versus innovation. Blaze picked a standard and proven composition: Rumble, Nasus, Kha'Zix, Varus, Lulu. KkOma and his team had prepared something different, a comp that relied heavily on mid-jungle synergy and early aggression: Jayce, Jarven, Nidalee, Caitlyn, Fiddlesticks.
“This is going to work,” Jeong-hyeon said into his mic during the final seconds of the draft. “Trust the plan.”
The game began.
For the first four minutes, KkOma held his breath in the coach’s booth. Su-hyeon’s early jungle pathing was flawless, but so was Helios’s. Sang-hyeok was farming cleanly in mid, but Ambition wasn’t giving up any advantages. Both teams were feeling each other out, testing boundaries, looking for mistakes. Then, at 4:45, Su-hyeon finally made her move, she’d been tracking Helios perfectly up until then, and just as Jeong-hyeon had predicted, he was moving toward bot side. Su-hyeon invaded his top side jungle, stole his wolves and then, in a move that made Kkoma’s heart stop for half of second, she used her E-Q combo to move directly into mid lane and flash-dove Ambition under his tower using her Passive-W combo to slow him down.
It should have failed- It was too aggressive, too risky. Ambition was a veteran player who’d survived thousands of ganks but Sang-hyeok was already moving as Nidalee in her cougar form. His timing was perfect, his damage was precise, and together they secured first blood for Sang-hyeok while Su-hyeon tanked exactly three tower shots before escaping with a sliver of health using her E-Q combo once more and W to buffer as she recalled to their base. The studio erupted into shocked and excited cheers.
“FIRST BLOOD TO SKT T1 #2!” The casters’ excitement was palpable over the cheers of the crowd. “What an aggressive play from their jungler Kingmaker! And Faker with the perfect follow-up!”
From there, the game snowballed. Su-hyeon didn’t give Helios a moment to breathe, constantly invading, constantly pressuring, creating opportunities that her team capitalized on. They were communicating well, staying focused despite the pressure. But Blaze wasn't a top team for nothing. They adapted quickly, warding deeper and respecting Su-hyeon's presence. At twelve minutes, they caught her out in their jungle, and despite a valiant outplay attempt, she went down.
"My bad," Su-hyeon said immediately. "Got greedy."
"It's fine," Jeong-hyeon replied. "We got the dragon off your pressure. Worth."
The game became a back-and-forth affair. Blaze would make a play, SKT would respond back. They'd take a turret, SKT secure an objective. Ambition tried to roam bot, but Sang-hyeok matched him instantly, turning the 3v3 into a 3v4 in their favor. In twenty minutes, they were ahead by four thousand gold. In twenty seven minutes, they’d taken three towers and a baron. At thirty five minutes, they won a teamfight so decisively that Blaze couldn’t recover.
Game 1 ended at 35:42 with SKT T1 #2 exploding Blaze’s Nexus. The studio went wild. KkOma’s team stood from their seats, looking at each other with expressions of shocked disbelief. They’d just beaten CJ Entus Blaze. They’d just won their debut game at the Spring Championship. Su-hyeon was shaking, her hands trembling as she removed her headset. Sang-hyeok was staring at his screen like he couldn’t quite process what had happened, Gwang-jin had his head in his hands, Jeong-hyeon was frantically taking notes, and Eon-young just looked stunned.
“Game 2,” KkOma called out as he stepped out of the coach’s booth, pulling them back to focus as they glanced at their coach who looked like a man finally given permission to breathe. “Don’t celebrate yet. Blaze will adjust. They’ll come back harder.”
“Can we do that again?” Su-hyeon asked, her voice still shaky and eyes flickering due to adrenaline rush.
“Yes,” KkOma said with absolute certainty as he held her face in his hands as her eyes finally went back to normal, their teal blue colour returning. “You can.”
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Game 2 was different. Blaze came out swinging, clearly determined not to be embarrassed again. They banned Su-hyeon's most aggressive junglers: Elise, Nasus were banned and they picked Jarvan for Helios, Kha'Zix for their top, Diana for mid and Varus, Lulu for bot once more. In response to their comp, SKT T1 picked a safer composition with Kenne, Lee, Karthus, and Caitlyn, Fiddlesticks once more. They were gonna play with controlled precision, only fight when you know you can kill the enemy and make minimal mistakes.
For fifteen minutes, the game was even. Back and forth, neither team is willing to give ground. Kkoma could see his players starting to doubt, starting to worry that Game 1 had been a fluke and then Jeong-hyeon made a call.
“Dragon bait at fifteen,” he said calmly into comms. “They’ll check it. Su-hyeon, can you steal?”
“I can steal anything, I can steal it with my eyes closed” Su-hyeon replied with a sharp tongue click, and everyone heard that her confidence has returned fully. It was an insane plan, dragon at fifteen minutes?. An even gold state simply added more risk onto it. Using it as bait for team wipe was borderline suicidal but they executed it perfectly. Everyone was going crazy as the tug of war went on.
At twenty-three minutes, the game hung in the balance. Both teams were even in gold once more, even in objectives. One teamfight could decide everything and that happened at Baron. Blaze started the Baron, and Kkoma saw the call happen in real-time through the team comms. Su-hyeon pinged frantically. "They're rushing it! We need to contest!" she said through the teamcomm, already rotating to the pit.
"It's risky," Jeong-hyeon warned. "We don't have vision."
"We don't have a choice," Sang-hyeok said quietly. "If they get Baron, we lose. We have to fight now."
They moved as one unit, converging on the Baron pit. Su-hyeon went in first, because of course she did. She landed a perfect ward-hop kick that knocked Helios out of the pit and beautiful chaos erupted. Eon-young’s Kennen flashed in with his ultimate, stunning rest of the Blaze players. Sang-hyeok had held his ‘Requiem’ for exactly this moment as he hit his ultimate, draining half of the Blaze’s players life as Gwang-jin’s Caitlyn started going off as he kitted side to side. Su-hyeon used her ultimate to kick Ambition into the wall, securing the kill as Jeong-hyeon killed Lulu.
"BARON!" Su-hyeon screamed through comms. "GET BARON!"
They secured it with seconds to spare as Helios ulti onto Su-hyeon and tried to steal but she smitted it just in time before she ward-hopped out his Cataclysm. Kkoma felt something loosen in his chest. ‘This was possible. They could actually do this.’ he thought to himself as coach Choi and manager Candice hugged each other, yelling a string of words that Kkoma chose not to try and understand.
“BEAUTIFUL TEAM PLAY! BEAUTIFUL BARON STEAL BY KINGMAKER!” The caster’s voice cracked with excitement. “This rookie jungler is making a statement today!”
The Baron buff turned the game. SKT pushed hard, taking towers and pressuring lanes. Blaze tried to mount a defense, but they were fighting against momentum and a team that suddenly believed they could win with it all and clean.The final teamfight happened at thirty minutes in Blaze’s base. Sang-hyeok's Karthus poke was relentless, keeping Blaze pinned under their inhibitor turret until he died. When Flame tried to make a hero play, teleporting to flank, Eon-young matched him instantly, and the resulting 1v1 went in their favor. At thirty-three minutes, the enemy Nexus exploded.
Victory.
2-0.
Clean sweep.
The studio went absolutely insane. Kkoma’s team erupted from their seats, and this time there was no way of containing the celebration. Su-hyeon practically tackled Sang-hyeok with a hug that nearly sent them both sprawling on the ground, Gwang-jin was screaming something incoherent, Jeong-hyeon was laughing in disbelief, Eon-young had his hands over his face. They’d done it, five rookies had just swept one of Korea’s most established teams in their debut match. Kkoma felt tears prickling at his eyes and didn’t even try to hide them. This was what he’d dreamed of when he’d scouted them. This was what he’d believed they could become.
The handshake line was surreal. Blaze looked shell-shocked, shaking hands mechanically while trying to process their loss. When Helios shook Su-hyeon’s hand, he said something that made her eyes go wide. When Ambition faced Sang-hyeok across the handshake, there was something like respect in his expression. The post-match interview was a blur. Su-hyeon was barely coherent with excitement, talking too fast and making the translator struggle to keep up. Sang-hyeok was quieter but radiant, his usual shyness overcome by genuine happiness. They stood together at the interview desk, shoulders touching, occasionally looking at each other like they couldn’t quite believe this was real.
“How does it feel to debut with a 2-0 victory against CJ Entus Blaze?” the interviewer asked.
“Unreal,” Su-hyeon said, still slightly breathless. “I mean, we practiced hard but to actually do it? Against Blaze? It’s like a dream.”
“Faker, your performance in mid lane was exceptional! What was going through your mind during that final teamfight?”
Sang-hyeok considered the question carefully before answering. “I trusted my team. I knew if I could create an opening, they would capitalize on it. That trust is what makes us strong.”
“And the synergy between you and Kingmaker was particularly notable. How do you maintain such strong coordination?”
Su-hyeon answered before Sang-hyeok could. “We’ve been playing together since we were young, we know how each other thinks. When Sang-hyeok moves, I know where he’s going. When I make a play, he’s already there to follow up. It’s just…natural.” She ended it with a soft smile as she glanced at the crowd.
The way Sang-hyeok looked at her when she said that made Kkoma wonder if the rest of the team had noticed what he had, that Sang-hyeok’s feelings were written clearly in every glance, every small smile, every unconscious lean toward her presence. But Su-hyeon, focused entirely on the interview and the victory, remained completely oblivious. Some things, apparently, never changed.
Back in the team room, the celebration continued with less restraint. Management had sent congratulatory messages. The main SKT T1 team had reached out with praise and social media was exploding with reactions to the upset victory.
“Did you see Twitter?” Gwang-jin had his phone out, scrolling through reactions with a wide grin and ears flickering happily. “People are calling us the ‘Rookie Killers.’ That’s so cool!”
“We only killed one team,” Jeong-hyeon pointed out dryly but he was smiling as he passed the boy a cold water.
“One incredibly good team! That counts for at least three normal teams!”
Su-hyeon was sprawled across two chairs, her earlier nervousness completely gone, replaced by exhausted elation. “I can’t believe we did that. I genuinely cannot believe we just swept Blaze.”
“You were incredible,” Sang-hyeok said quietly from where he sat nearby. “That Baron steal was perfect.”
“Your teamfight sacrifice was what won it though. That was insane.”
“Calculated insanity.”
“The best kind.”
Kkoma watched them banter, watched his kids ride the high of their victory, and allowed himself a moment of pure satisfaction. They’d done more than win a match, they’d announced their presence to the world. They’d proven that SKT T1 #2 wasn’t just an experiment, they were legitimate contenders.
“Alright, settle down,” he said eventually, though he was smiling. “This was an amazing start, but it’s just the beginning. We have more matches coming up, and teams will study this. They’ll adapt.”
“Let them study,” Gwang-jin said confidently. “We’ll just get better.”
“That’s the right attitude. But for tonight, you’ve earned this celebration. We’ll review the games tomorrow and start preparing for our next match.”
“Oppa,” Su-hyeon sat up slowly, suddenly serious. “Thank you for believing in us and building this team. And fighting for us even when giving up would have been easier.”
The others murmured agreement, and Kkoma felt that tightness in his chest again. “You did the hard part. I just pointed you in the right direction.”
As the celebration continued, Kkoma pulled out his phone and found the message he’d been drafting to SKT management. He deleted everything he’d written and replaced it with something simpler: They won. 2-0. Clean sweep. I told you they were special.
The reply came quickly: We never doubted you. Congratulations, Coach.
KkOma looked at his kids once more, five teenagers who’d just beaten the odds and announced themselves as the future of Korean League of Legends. Su-hyeon was demonstrating her Baron steal for the third time, using increasingly dramatic sound effects and Sang-hyeok was watching her with that soft expression that everyone except her seemed to notice. Gwang-jin was arguing with Jeong-hyeon about some technical aspects of the game and Eon-young was quietly smiling at all of them. This was his team, his family and they were just getting started.
to be continue...
Hallo hallo everyone!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We are officially starting with Act Three/ First Arc part of the book. I deeply apologize for not updating for ages. I been really struggling with writer's block and still dealing with it so the duality of my writing might be bad/ low T T. I really appreciate that you guys been enjoying my fanfic and the world I’m trying to build and show!!! Thank you so much and see you guys in the next chapter!!!!
Hello guys! I’m so sorry for taking so long to post the chapter 13 T T i have been having some trouble with game play part of the chapter as it gonna be about their debut match, as much as it’s embarrassed to say I’m not good at explaining League strategy and my friend who good at League and helps with gameplay part have been super busy. I, myself have been also busy with school and hadn’t had time to look for another proofreader BUT my friend should be free soon and help me out!!!! I shall keep you guys updated!!! Thank you all for understanding!!!!
ALSO- here’s the final version of Choi’s character sheet with cute matching pic with Fake!!!!!
Hey,
I just wanted to check in and see if everything is all right with you ? I hope so. I still love your fanfic. My question isn't meant to be pressuring or anything.
I was just wondering why you haven't posted on here in a while.
Hope you have a great Day.
Hello!!! Sadly I got into bad case of writer’s block T T I actually just finished writing out ch13 and now just need to edited it out and have my friend proofread it for me I post it! I’m hoping I will post it by this weekend, thank you so much for checking up on me!!!!
March 25th, 2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
taglist: @nothankyew , @cokokiss, @poetsinnyc
I woke up at 5am in the morning with my phone vibrating in my pants pocket. Groaning under my breath, I clumsily pulled my phone out and turned my phone off. Letting a deep sigh out I realized I was on the beanbag in the corner (Su-hyeon’s personal study corner) with my papers neatly arranged next to me and a heavy blanket draped over me. After placing my phone on top of my papers, I rubbed the crusts in the corner of my eyes slowly away as I blinked a few times to get used to morning light pouring into the room. Once my eyes could focus on my surroundings, I looked over at the couch area and found my kids scattered around but sleeping peacefully. Eon-young was sleeping on the floor, hugging a heart shaped pillow against his chest without a blanket, Gwang-jin was sleeping curled up next to Jeong-hyeon who was wrapped a giant fuzzy blanket around himself, Sang-hyeok has turned into his fox form and was sleep on the other bean bag with one of Su-hyeon’s old hoodie on top of him. While the boys were sleeping on the floor and bean bag, Su-hyeon was peacefully sleeping on the couch with her hair in her sleep bonnet, eye mask under her eyes and horns glowing faintly.
Seeing them all sleeping peacefully and soundly after a D-day made me smile a bit as I stretched my arms and back. Five days ago we won our spot for 2013 Spring Champions in a clean 2-0 against team Incredible Miracle. The management and higher ups were absolutely pleased with our performance and results, especially with Su-hyeon’s as she was our “trump card” or “greatest mistake”. I still don’t like that people are doubting her but I've been trying to see things in a positive light. If others are still doubting her it means they won’t expect her to absolutely menace in the jungle and we will absolutely abuse their ignorance against them. Also during the qualifier match, I have found out that our quiet and sometimes snarky Sang-hyeok is absolutely adrenaline junky. I can still clearly remember the moment, after a risky double kill in the river his eyes flashed brightly and he had a full body shiver as his LeBlanc recalled to the base.
“You good Hyeokie?” Su-hyeon asked softly as she stole the enemy's top jungle and rotated to gank the top for Eon-young.
“I wanna do that again…”
“Huh?”
“I wanna kill everyone on sight”
The room fell into silence before Su-hyeon crackled with laughter as she punched her best friend’s shoulder while others chuckled at the slowly blushing midlaner.
“Look at you! So you do have appetite for souls~”
“Shut up”
“Never”
I couldn’t help myself but chuckle softly behind them as I quickly wrote down “monitor for risky aggressive plays, signs of adrenaline rush” under Sang-hyeok’s name as everyone settled back and focused on the game once more. It's a strange feeling really, seeing them actually playing against an official team and fighting for their spot in the S-tier tournament. I will be honest, I was very emotional when the Nexus exploded and the Victory screen popped up. The kids jumped up from their chairs and yelled out as they celebrated their victory. Gwang-jin was shaking Jeong-hyeon as the wolf boy teared up and the older boy patted his head softly, meanwhile Eon-young hid his face behind his hands as his shoulder trembled slightly and as for Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon. Su-hyeon was trying and failing to hide her tears as she kept repeating “we did it Sang-ah, we gonna play in the main stage” like a broken record, not long after Sang-hyeok pulled her into a tight hug. Gumiho boy rocked them side to side as he held her tightly against himself and gently whispered “yeah, we did it, together just like we promised” to her as Su-hyeon closed her eyes and balled her hands into his jersey, the bold “Faker” on his back crumpling under her grip.
I’m used to seeing them hug as Sang-hyeok uses physical touch to communicate with her and Su-hyeon is pretty physically affectionate. But there was something different about this hug, they looked like they didn’t wanna let the other go. Sang-hyeok seems to bury his face deeper into the crock of her neck and Su-hyeon seems to tighten her hold on him. The moment felt more intimate and heavy than the past interactions I saw, truthfully I felt like I was intruding on a personal moment. Lucky for me and unfortunate for them as the rest of the team dogpile on them, breaking their moment. Su-hyeon let out a surprise laugh, Sang-hyeok telling Piglet he isn’t his tissue paper.
“Cmon oppa! don’t stay there like a lonely log” Su-hyeon called out to me, effectively snapping me back into reality. Looking at my team, my deranged and feral kids, I quickly wiped my eyes and joined the group hug and squeezed them tight as possible.
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When we announced our second roster will be participating in the Spring Championship, the netizens were shell shocked by our success over Incredible Miracle and that’s what the marketing department apparently was hoping for. And when the numbers of interest in the team start coming- the good, the bad and everything between. The reaction from the marketing department was something else. They genuinely looked like kids who got what they wanted for Christmas and more as they rushed round, waving their papers around.
“Look at this! The Internet in our roster is sky rocketing!”
“Oh my god! The sponsors are gonna be pleased with this”
“We really should thank Jeong-gyun-oppa for this~ if he hasn't been so aggressive about recruiting the Yong girl, we probably won’t hit this kind of numbers” when a young intern said that with a grin on her face, everyone looked at me as I was passing by the office to get to coach Choi’s (cCarter, previously known as L.i.E.S) office and I never felt more put in a place before that. Standing up against higher ups for Su-hyeon felt like child’s play compared to having a whole department look at me like an appetizer. Before I could embrace myself by stumbling over my words I felt warm hands on my shoulders.
“Sorry guys- this guy has a meeting with me and coach Choi” a deep but friendly voice rang out as my mysterious savior started pushing me to the coaches' office. Once we were farther away from the marketing department office, I turned around and came face to face with ....a man I never met or seen before. He was tall with sharp features, he also had tall fox ears and twin tails. My confusion must have been clear as the sky in my face as the man let a light chuckle out holding his hand for a handshake.
“the name is Kang Dong-hoon, I’m a old friend of Byoung-hoon…he asked me if I wanted join him for lunch when I told him I was around the area”
“Kang Dong-hoon?... .as in the head coach Hirai of Incredible Miracle?”
“Bingo”
The man- Hirai gave me a fanged grin as I shook his hand slowly. It felt wrong to be so friendly with a coach from a team that my team absolutely crushed a day ago. But I told myself that I should get used to this kind of interaction with others if I wanted to get far as a coach in this cutthroat industry. I quickly let Hirai’s hand go and cleared my throat as coach Choi’s office door swung open and the man of the hour walked out holding his jacket with his ears flat and rubbing his neck. A habit I have learned was one of his telltale signs of stress, and honestly I understand why he has been stressed out lately. After the first complete result of my team came in, the higher ups decided to pull him out of our main team and make him our head coach and my kids had some mixed feelings about the foxman. Eon-young and Jeong-hyeon understood and accepted Choi as our head coach without trouble, Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon were a little susceptible to foxman- specially Su-hyeon who claimed that coach Choi doesn’t look like the trust-worthy type because he’s questionable taste in tie patterns. As for Gwang-jin, well let’s just say he’s getting his ego stroked by coach Choi and immediately gets it crushed by me……
“Piglet, that was a great poke onto Janna!” Coach Choi said during our first post-scrim review with the foxman. The wolf-boy smugly grinned as his tail wagged happily meanwhile Eon-young raised his brow, Jeong-hyeon rubbed his temple, Sang-hyeok quietly side-eyed the wolf-boy and Su-hyeon openly rolled her eyes.
“It may have been an excellent opportunity for kill if you hadn't died right after engaging on her…Su-hyeon and Jeong-hyeon pinged you multiple times to fall back after seeing the enemy jungle pathing down” I said rubbing the bridge my nose as I forwarded the vod to the moment the enemy jungles who was playing as Rengar jumped on Gwang-jin and insta killed him. Gwang-jin to his credit, winced as his ears flattened back and his tail stopped wagging while others tried hiding their smirks and smiles behind their drinks as coach Choi let out a deep sigh and crossed something off his paper. Later that evening, after the kids decided to grab some dessert for dinner. Coach Choi cornered me in the kitchen as I started the preparation for homemade hotpot I promised the kids. As I put on the pink apron Su-hyeon bought for me (she told me it was a joke gift and told me that I don’t have to wear but I don’t care about colour if the apron doing its job), I saw coach Choi in the corner of my eyes stop a few steps away from me. Once I tied the strings tightly at my back and pushed my sleeve back, I pulled out our biggest two pods and filled them up with water. As the uncomfortable silence continued on, the fox man cleared his throat soft before he spoke.
“Jeong-gyun-ah…don’t you think you are being a little too harsh on them? positive encouragement is best way to mold young players-“
“Hyung respectfully no, I've been living with them for a month and half at this point and I learned that Piglet needs a tough love. That boy has an ego that is the size of this whole country and if you don’t be straight with him, he will feed after a bad play.” I flatly said and glanced at the older man with a blank face as I placed the pods on the stove. He held my stare for a solid second before letting a small startled laugh as he patted me on the back, making me stare at the old man in surprise.
“You changed a lot in a short amount of time, you actually sound like a proper coach now. If you keep this up, you might take my spot as head coach” coach Choi said with a smirk as he walked over to the fridge and opened it with a thoughtful hum.
“So, what else are we using for the hotpot?”
“You are actually staying for dinner?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“What? I thought you wanted me bond with the kids” he asked with a small grin as he looked at me.
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I must have spaced out like usual as I took a deep breath when I felt myself getting shaken. Glancing to my left I saw Su-hyeon looking wide awake with a big grin on her face and kneeling next to me, her tail wagging widely and horns glowing in excitement.
“It’s time to get ready for Everland oppa!” The young Yong girl said in her song-sing voice as she tugged on my arm, making me chuckle under my breath and shake my head at her.
“I really can’t tell you anything huh?” I questioned her as I let her pull me up from the bean bag. She slowly rocked on her heels as I cracked my back, muttering about not wanting to make sleeping on a bean bag habit.
“Cmon oppa- did you really expect me to be mature about going to Everland AND going to a barbecue place?”
“Yes, because you are the most mature one in this team”
“HEY I AM MATURE!” We turned back and saw a sleepy wolf boy pouting hard at us, Su-hyeon let out a loud laugh as I simply shook my head but smiled nonetheless. Because of Gwang-jin's sudden yell, others slowly started waking up. Eon-young smacked the pouting boy with his heart shape pillow and scolded him for yelling like a child, Jeong-hyeon crawled out his blanket cocoon grumpily about tapping the wolf boy’s mouth shut, Sang-hyeok has returned to his human form and was brushing his teeth with his hair sticking out like hedgehog quills and arms slightly covered with a black patch of fur.
Soon after we all start getting ready to leave. Eon-young helped Gwang-jin to shave properly, Jeong-hyeon asked if anyone saw his glasses (he placed them on his head moments ago), Sang-hyeok shaved the fur on his arms while Su-hyeon brushed his tails and I braided her hair into twin braids. After a solid one hour we were ready to head out, everyone wearing warm but light clothing except Gwang-jin wearing his team jacket even though we told him it might get cold. Like usual he didn’t listen to us at all as he stubbornly headed out first, calling for a shotgun. Once we made sure that we turned everything off, we headed out too. As I walked out first, I saw Gwang-jin stumping around the van with his arms crossed and ears flattened against his head.
“What took you guys so long?! We're gonna have to wait around for ages if we don’t leave soon!”
“Just say that you are cold, stubborn idiot” Su-hyeon said as she threw a long scarf and portable hand warmer at him, Gwang-jin who had gotten used to her strange habit throwing things caught both the scarf and warmer with a pout on his face as he put the scarf around his neck and placed the warmer in his pocket. Once I unlocked the van, everyone quickly got in and took their seats.
“Well, ready?” I asked with a smile as I buckled my seatbelt and turned the engine on.
“YES COACH” everyone yelled as I pulled the van out of the parking lot and headed to our destination.
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(Narrated by The Author)
Later that day….
The celebration dinner after a long day at Everland was probably loud enough to disturb the neighborhood and other patrons, but Kkoma couldn't bring himself to care. Kkoma took his team to Everland like he promised and let them run wild like toddlers high on sugar. It was refreshing to see them act like normal teenagers instead of rookies that just won their spot in one of the biggest tournaments of the year. As for the dinner the management had authorized and planned it out for them, they even made a reservation at a nice restaurant, not their usual convenience store runs or Kkoma’s usual cooking experiments.
Two hours after coming back to Seoul, the team were crammed into a booth at a Korean barbecue place, the table covered with more meat than five teenagers and one coach could reasonably eat. Su-hyeon had immediately claimed the seat next to the grill, declaring herself "head grillmaster" while Sang-hyeok quietly sat beside her, automatically falling into their usual positions. Jeong-hyeon and Eon-young sat next to each other, falling into a calm conversation while Gwang-jin was busy looking at the dessert even though they hadn't even started eating.
"To qualify for play-offs!" Jeong-hyeon raised his glass of cola.
"To not embarrass ourselves!" Gwang-jin added.
"To actually get to compete!" Eon-young said.
"To finally prove we're not just some experimental second team!" Su-hyeon declared, her glass raised high enough that a bit of soda sloshed over the rim.
They clinked glasses with enough enthusiasm to nearly break them, and KkOma watched his team laugh and celebrate and realized with startling clarity that these five weird, talented, occasionally infuriating teenagers had become something special, a family. Something he never thought he would experience, even when Su-hyeon’s mom Miss Choi joked about him turning into Mother Hen when Eon-young caught a small cold and called her for advice.
"Speech time!" Su-hyeon announced suddenly, pointing at KkOma with her chopsticks. "Oppa has to give a speech!"
"I don't- "
"SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!" The chant started with Su-hyeon and was immediately picked up by the others. KkOma sighed like ever suffering father of rowdy children as he stood up despite the lack of space and cleared his throat as he held his soda can up.
"Fine, fine. You five...when we started this team, I wasn't sure it would work. Putting together three rookies and two semi professionals with no professional experience seemed insane. And in hine-sight it was insane. But you made it work- you learned, you grew, you fought for each other." He paused, looking at each one of his players with a small smile. "I'm proud of you, all of you. No matter what happens in Spring, remember that you earned this."
Once he was done with his speech, Su-hyeon was wiping at her eyes with her hoodie sleeve and Sang-hyeok patted her on the back.
"Oppa…. you can't make me cry in a barbecue restaurant. That's against the rules!"
"There are no rules against it though," Sang-hyeok said softly, with his own eyes looking a bit brighter than usual.
"Well it should be!"
The celebration continued late into the evening, filled with laughter, terrible jokes, and increasingly ridiculous predictions about their Spring matches. By the time they returned to the team house, it was past midnight and everyone was exhausted in the best possible way.
KkOma watched them scatter to their rooms, already mentally preparing for tomorrow's practice schedule. They had qualified, yes, but the real work was just beginning. The Spring Championship would be brutal, facing teams with far more experience and established reputations. But watching Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok linger in the common room, both too keyed up to sleep, he felt confident they could handle it as he headed to his own room.
Su-hyeon flopped onto the couch with a contented sigh, her tail curling around her legs. The adrenaline from the day of riding rollercoaster after rollercoaster was finally wearing off, leaving her pleasantly exhausted. Sang-hyeok settled beside her more carefully, his tails swished contentedly behind him.
"Can you believe it?" she asked, looking up at the ceiling. "We're really going to compete in the Spring Champions. Against like, actual famous teams."
"Honestly…It still doesn’t feel real yet," Sang-hyeok admitted. His voice was soft in the quiet of the late night, almost contemplative. "A year ago, we were just playing solo queue for fun."
"And now we're professionals, well sort of. We're still in school…." Su-hyeon rolled her head to look at him. "Are you nervous? About Spring?"
"Terrified," he said honestly, as he looked at the blank TV screen. "We'll be facing players who have been doing this for years. Teams with real infrastructure and coaching staff."
"We have oppa and coach Choi."
"Two coaches versus entire organizations."
"Yeah, but we have something they don't." Su-hyeon sat up properly, tucking her legs under her and wrapping her tail around her waist. "We have us. Like- actually us. We're not five random players thrown together. We actually care about each other."
Sang-hyeok's expression softened, his ears tilting forward attentively. "That's true."
"Plus, you're literally a genius at this game. Like, scary good and I'm an amazing jungler with impeccable judgment."
"Your judgment is questionable at best."
"Rude! But accurate." She grinned at him as she punched his shoulder softly as a joke. "See, this is why we work. You keep me honest."
They fell into comfortable silence, the kind that only came from years of friendship. Outside, Seoul hummed with late-night activity but inside the team house, everything felt peaceful. Suspended in this moment between achieving one dream and facing the reality of what came next.
"Su-hyeon," Sang-hyeok said quietly, breaking the silence. "Can I ask you something?"
"Always."
He hesitated, his tails going still in that way that meant he was carefully considering his words. "What do you want? From all of this, I mean. The pro gaming thing."
Su-hyeon closed her eyes and hummed softly under her breath, considering. "That's a big question for midnight."
"Sorry, I just... with Spring coming up, and everything getting more serious, I've been thinking about the future a lot."
"Me too actually." She pulled her braid over her shoulder, fidgeting with the end. "I think... I want to prove that we belong here. That we're not just lucky rookies. I want to show everyone that we can compete at the highest level and i wanna prove that I belong here as much as others"
"And after that?"
"After that?" She laughed softly. "I don't know. Keep competing? Try to win Worlds? Make my mom proud? Make my dad proud?" The mention of her father brought the usual ache, but it was gentler now, wrapped in fondness rather than sharp grief that squeezed her young heart. "He always said I could do anything I set my mind to. I think he'd be proud that I chose something this hard."
Sang-hyeok's expression had become very soft. "He would be. He'd be incredibly proud."
"What about you?" Su-hyeon asked, turning the question back on him. "What do you want?"
He was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on something she couldn't see. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I want to be good enough that you don't regret choosing to play with me instead of following your dad’s footsteps."
Su-hyeon’s eyes blinked open, completely caught off guard. "What? Sang-ah, why would I ever regret that?"
"Because you're talented enough to play with anyone and do anything you want. Any team would be lucky to have you as their jungler. But you're here, with me and I..." He trailed off, his ears flattening slightly. "I want to be worthy of that choice. Especially when your dad prepared everything for you to get into either “SKY" universities”
"Okay– first of all, that's ridiculous." Su-hyeon straightened up and fully turned to him so she could face him fully. "Second of all, I didn't choose to play with you because you are my best friends or whatever. I chose this because we promised to be together and we're good together- like our synergy is insane. As for universities, i can do that alongside gaming if i want to"
"I know, but- "
"No buts. Listen to me." She waited until he met her eyes, noting how the late-night lighting made his hair look like it was glowing and how his expression was open in a way it rarely was around others. "You're one of the best players I've ever seen. Not just mechanically, but the way you think about the game. You see things other people don't. And yeah, we have good synergy, but that's because we trust each other completely. Not because I'm doing you some favor by playing with you."
Sang-hyeok's tails had started swishing again, a gentle rhythm that suggested he was processing her words. "You really think that?"
"I know that. Everyone on the team knows that. Oppa knows that. You're the only one who seems to doubt it."
"I just don't want to let you down."
"You won't." The certainty in her voice surprised Sang-hyeok as he stared into her eyes, noticing that she has a new mole on top of her brow and there's the faintest black spot under her eyes. "Even if we lose every single game in Spring, which we won't– you wouldn't be letting me down. We're in this together, remember? Team."
"Team," he echoed, and something in his expression shifted. He looked like he wanted to say something else, something important but after a moment he just smiled softly. "Thank you. For always knowing what to say."
"I don't always know what to say. I just say things and hope they work out."
"They usually do."
Su-hyeon leaned back against the couch, suddenly aware of how close they were sitting. Close enough that she could count the individual strands of white in his ears, close enough to see the exact pattern of his tails as they swished contentedly.
"Can I tell you something?" she asked, the late hour and emotional exhaustion loosening her usual filters. "Something I haven't really told anyone else?"
"Always," he said, echoing her earlier response.
"I'm scared too. About Spring, about everything getting more serious and competitive. What if we're not good enough? What if this was just beginner's luck and we crash and burn against real teams?" She said honestly as she looked up at the wooden ceiling and fiddled with the hem of her tee shirt, one of her father’s old university tee shirts. "What if I'm not good enough?"
Sang-hyeok's response was immediate and firm as he took her hand in his hand and squeezed it softly, surprising the Yong girl. "You are good enough. More than good enough. Su-hyeon-ah, you're one of the most naturally talented players I've ever seen. Your game sense is incredible, your mechanics are clean, and you have this ability to find opportunities that shouldn't exist."
"You have to say that because you're my best friend."
"I'm saying it because it's true." He shifted slightly closer, and she could feel the warmth radiating from him. "Do you know what the other teams will see when they scout us? They'll see a jungler who can turn losing games into wins through pure creativity and aggression. They'll see someone who makes plays that look impossible until you pull them off."
".....you do know that you are actively feeding my ego, right?"
"I'm describing what I see every time we play together."
Su-hyeon felt heat creeping into her cheeks and her horns glow brightly as she looked away from the Guhimo boy who was staring at her intently. "Well, when you put it like that... I'm pretty awesome."
"You are."
"And you're pretty awesome too. Even if you don't believe it sometimes."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, closer than they usually sat, wrapped in the quiet intimacy of late-night conversations and shared vulnerability. Su-hyeon found herself studying his profile, the gentle slope of his nose, the way his ears twitched slightly when he was thinking, the barely visible freckles across his pale cheeks that you only noticed if you were really looking. He looked handsome even with his choppy haircut, she realized. Not in an obvious way, but in a gentle, understated way that grew on you over time. How had she never noticed before?
"Su-hyeon?" Sang-hyeok's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me something?"
"Depends on what it is."
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Fair. Promise me that no matter what happens in Spring, whether we win or lose, whether we're successful or not... .we'll still be friends right?"
"Of course we will. Why wouldn't we be?"
"Sometimes success changes people. Or failure does. I just..." He looked down at their joint hands, his voice going quieter. "You're my best friend. I don't want to lose that, no matter what happens with the team."
Su-hyeon's heart did something complicated in her chest. "Sang-hyeok-ah, look at me."
He did, and she was struck again by how open his expression was, how vulnerable he looked in this moment.
"You're not losing me. Not because of League, not because of success or failure, not because of anything. You're stuck with me forever, remember? We've been friends since we were kids, and we're going to be friends when we're old and grumpy- arguing about whose jungle pathing was better back in our day." She reached out and poked his shoulder for emphasis. "You're my person. That doesn't change."
His expression did something complicated – relief and happiness and something else she couldn't quite identify, all mixed together. "Your person?"
"Yeah. You know, like... my person. The one I tell everything to. The one who gets my weird 3 AM texts about jungle timers. The one who willingly listens to me ramble about weird calculus theories and be a nerd about dead people"
"You definitely need the help."
"Okay, rude, but also fair." She grinned at him. "My point is, you're my person and I'm your person. Team for life, remember?"
"Team for life," he agreed softly, and there was something in his voice that made the words sound like more than just a promise about League of Legends.
They sat together for a while longer, talking about everything and nothing, their upcoming match schedule, speculation about which teams they'd face first, memories of their journey from solo queue players to professional gamers. The conversation drifted naturally, punctuated by comfortable silences and shared laughter. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with them both.
"We should sleep," Su-hyeon said, though she made no move to get up. "Oppa’s going to have us back to practice tomorrow."
"Probably," Sang-hyeok agreed, also not moving.
"I'm serious. We need actual sleep."
"I know."
Neither of them moved for another few minutes, content to stay in this moment, this quiet space between one chapter ending and another beginning. Finally, Su-hyeon forced herself to stand up and let his hand go, stretching with a yawn that showed off her fangs and split tongue.
"Okay, for real this time. Bed. Sleep. Recovery so we can dominate Spring."
Sang-hyeok stood too, and they walked together down the hallway toward their rooms. At the split where his room was in one direction and hers in another, they paused.
"Thanks for the talk," Su-hyeon said. "I needed it. The honesty and stuff, it been a while since we had a chance to have a conversation"
"Me too." He hesitated, then added, "And Su-hyeon? About being your person?"
"Yeah?"
"You're my person too. Just... wanted to make sure you knew that."
Something warm and bright bloomed in her chest. "Of course I know that, dummy. Who else would put up with your 7 AM calculus questions?"
He laughed softly. "Good night, Susu."
"Night, Sang-ah."
She headed to her room, and it wasn't until she was lying in bed, replaying the conversation in her mind, that she realized how much weight had been behind some of his words. The way he'd said "you're my person too" - like it meant more than just friendship. The way he'd looked at her when she promised they'd always be friends like he was memorizing the moment. For a second, she wondered if maybe she does have feelings for him and the need for his attention was a sign of something. Before her mind wandered too deeply, she let out a deep sigh as she rubbed her face and closed her eyes. As she turned around to get comfortable on her bed, her phone buzzed in her sweatpants pocket. Grumbling under her breath, she pulled her phone out and flipped it open.
MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): Thank you for tonight. For everything, really. I'm glad we're doing this together.
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): me too. spring is gonna be AMAZING
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): because we're amazing
MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): Mostly because you're amazing. I'm just along for the ride.
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): STOP THAT
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): we're BOTH amazing
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): now sleep before i come over there and physically force you to rest
MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): Threatening violence. Very professional.
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): I'm a dragon and shaman. It's what we do
RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): also you love it~
There was a longer pause before his next message.
MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): I do. Good night, Su-hyeon. Sleep well.
She stared at that message for a longer moment than necessary, trying to figure out why it made her heart do that complicated thing again. But exhaustion was pulling at her, and tomorrow would bring new challenges, new practice routine and new steps toward their Spring Championship debut. So Su-hyeon flipped her phone close and set it aside on her nightstance and closed her eyes, a smile on her face. They'd qualified. They were going to compete against the best teams in Korea. And she was going to do it with her best friend by her side. The future felt bright and full of possibilities, even if she still hadn't quite figured out why Sang-hyeok kept looking at her like she was the most important person in his world and why she kept wanting him to continue to look at her and her only.
to be continue...
Hallo hallo everyone!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We are officially done with Act Two/ Characters development part of the book, for next act it will focus on how the team and kkoma gonna be navigating being young team in main stage, the pressure of being in public eyes, glimpses into Su-hyeon’s slowly growing awareness of her own feelings towards and more world building if you guys interested in! I really appreciate that you guys been enjoying my fanfic and the world I’m trying to build and show!!! Thank you so much and see you guys in the next chapter!!!!
7th June, 2008
(Narrated by The Author)
taglist: @nothankyew , @cokokiss, @poetsinnyc
The Mapo District Elementary school ground was a careful study in controlled chaos. Children with scales played alongside children with feathers, a boy with ram horns shared the swing set with a girl sporting cat ears, and the teachers maintained a watchful presence to ensure that natural instincts didn't override playground manners. Twelve year old Lee Sang-hyeok sat alone under the cherry blossom tree at the edge of the playground, his four tails swaying slowly as he focused on his math homework. His inky black hair caught the spring sunlight, making him almost luminous, which was precisely the problem. Pure-blood Gumiho were rare, pure-blood Gumiho children were rarer still and rare things, in elementary school, were either coveted or drew curiosity and Sang-hyeok had learned quickly that he was the latter.
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Sang-hyeok learned this lesson on his first day of fourth grade in elementary school last year, when he walked through the gates of Mapo Elementary with his grandmother and father’s hand gripped tightly in his small hands as every single person stopped to stare at the Lee family. Everything was new to him after his mom left and he was so terrified by everything. Glancing around, Sang-hyeok gripped his father’s hand tighter and leaned forward his grandma as they stopped at the entrance of the school. Even though he tried being excited for new school, at that moment his fear and anxiety got the better of him as he let his father’s hand go and latched onto his grandma and buried his face into her silken hanbok’s skirt. His grandma chuckled kindly as she ran her fingers through his soft ink black hair and softly cooed as she cupped his soft chubby cheeks. Bending down to his height, his grandma wrapped his small hands in hers and rubbed the back of his hands in soothing motion.
"They're just curious, my little foxfire," his grandma said gently, her white nine tails moving in a soothing slow pattern as she gently kissed his forehead and fixed his bangs. "Give them time to adjust."
He wanted to believe his grandma because she never lied to him but Sang-hyeok was nine years old and every instinct he had was screaming that being stared at meant danger. As every kid walked past the small family they stared at the young Gumiho, his tails puffed up defensively and his amber eyes flashed in warning, making him look even more otherworldly. As he glared at others with a deep frown, a girl with cat ears whispered something to her friend who had a doe ears and both giggled as they ran into the school.
Sang-hyeok's ears flattened as he glanced down at his shoes as his father kneeled down and kissed his temple before pulling his older son into a tight hug. Sang-hyeok closed his eyes and hugged his father back, his hands balling into his father’s suit jacket as he let out a soft purr when his father nuzzled his forehead against his.
"Remember what we practiced," his dad said softly, still kneeling and still hugging him closely. "Deep breaths. Count your tails if you need to. You're going to be fine."
Sang-hyeok slowly let his dad go and copied his dad as he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before counting his tails. One, two, three, all there and all accounted for and still too many to be normal. His grandma and his dad kissed his forehead before his homeroom teacher came out to pick him up, he waved back at them as he slowly walked inside the school. His grandma waved with both hands and slightly teary eyed, his father matched his wave with a proud smile.
His homeroom teacher- Miss Sang, a kind woman with rabbit ears and bright smile, introduced him to the class with much enthusiasm as they walked into the classroom. "Everyone, this is Lee Sang-hyeok! He's our new friend! Let's make him feel welcome!"
Twenty-four pairs of eyes stared at him. Some are curious, some wary and some openly fascinated by his tails and strange eye colour. Silent fall over the classroom under a boy with bear ears and sleepy eyes pointed at his tails.
"Are those real?" a boy asked and that point the dam as others leaned over their desks, eager to ask the questions eating at them.
"Do you have cool abilities!?" another chimed in.
"Can you shoot blue fire?”
“Do you steal souls for energy?”
“Do you turn into a full fox during the full moon and red moon?”
Sang-hyeok's tails went very still before puffing up as he clenched at the bottom of his uniform top and his ears pinned back against his head. He said nothing, there was nothing to say. Yes, his tails were real. No, he doesn’t have abilities or at least, not yet- he needs to have all nine tails. No he can’t shoot blue fire, Gumiho has a fox-fire that is white and baby blue- only Yongs and shamans can produce blue-fire. And no he can’t turn into a fox but how did you explain that to a classroom of six-year-olds who'd grown up on fairy tales about fox spirits stealing souls and shooting blue flames.
"Okay guys! That's enough questions," the teacher said firmly but not unkindly as she gently clapped her hands and locked down at her clipboard with a soft hum. "Okay Sang-hyeok-ah, you can sit... let's see, let’s see... oh! there's an empty seat next to Su-hyeon-ah."
She said with a smile as she pointed to a desk in the middle row. Sang-hyeok nodded his head silently as he made his way over, acutely aware of every whisper, every stare. The empty seat was next to a girl who wasn't staring at him. She was doodling in a notebook, her tail- long and serpentine with pearl-like sea glass green scales and foam coloured hair at the end was curled around the leg of her chair. She had mother-pearl coloured horns growing from her forehead and shoulder length ashen gray hair. Her horns looked small, seemingly just started to grow out. Ears pointing and half of her neck was covered with pearly green scales.Sea Yong, Sang-hyeok realized quickly as he sat down after hanging his backpack on the side of the table. Probably from an old lineage too, Yong was rare just like Gumiho, more welcomed but still equally feared by the elderly who still believed in the old tales and myths. He pulled his school supplies from his bag out as Miss Sang started handing out school work. Thanking his homeroom teacher, he picked his pencil up and tried keeping his tails tucked close to avoid taking up the dragon’s space. The girl glanced at him once and pushed her glasses up, then back to her notebook as she kept drawing straight patterns.
No staring, no whispers, no questions about whether he ate people or shot flames from his hands. Even though his grandma told him tales about Yong and Guhimo being rivals since the old days, it was the best interaction he'd had all day.
At lunch, Sang-hyeok found a quiet corner of the cafeteria as he was new to the school and still anxious about his new environment. His grandmother had packed his favorite foods, rice balls with ume filling and crushed salted seaweed, kimchi pancakes, sliced bananas and a small container of seasoned vegetables. Comfort food for an uncomfortable day. His ears swiveled constantly, tracking conversations and movements. Most of them weren’t about him anymore, which was a relief. Kids had short attention spans. Hopefully he will become yesterday’s news by the end of the school day.
“Is this seat taken?”
Sang-hyeok’s ears straightened as he slowly looked up. Standing in front of him was the girl from his class, holding a big lunch bag that looked like it was one of those bags that university professors loves with her head tilted in curiously and glasses that looked like it was little too big on her face, her horns and scales looked like they were glowing under the caffeine light.
“No,” he managed as he looked down at his lunch.
She sat down across from him without ceremony and pulled out a lunch box and an old thermos flask from her bag. “I’m Choi Su-hyeon. But everyone calls me Sunny because ‘Choi’ sounds too formal and Hyeon sounds like a boy's name.” She said flatly as she opened her lunchbox and looked at him over the rim of her glasses.
“Lee Sang-hyeok,” he said quietly, then because it felt necessary, he added “Everyone calls me… well, they used to call me Hyeokie or Sang-ya”
“Hmm…then I’ll call you Sang-ya, it has a good ring to it” She took a bite of her meat ball and Sang-hyeok caught a glimpse of twin fangs, it looked longer and sharper than his own. He hummed a soft response and went back to eating his lunch, slowly cutting his pancakes with his chopsticks. Strangely comfortable silence fell over them before Su-hyeon spoke again, “Your tails are really pretty by the way.”
Sang-hyeok blinked slowly as he looked at the strange girl in front of him who was calmly sipping from her thermos flask. Of all the things people had said about his tails today weird, scary, cool, unnatural no one had said they were pretty.
“Thank you,” he said, unsure what else to say.
“I bet they’re annoying in chairs though. Mine is.” She gestured to her tail with her chopsticks, which was indeed looking somewhat cramped curled around the chair leg. “I keep knocking things over at home. My mom says I’ll grow into my spatial awareness soon but I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“My grandma and dad say the same thing about my tails.”
“Oh that’s cool, that’s all your family members?”
“Uhm….i have a baby brother.” Sang-hyeok didn’t elaborate. The subject of his mom was still too raw, too complicated. She suddenly left three months ago. He and his dad and baby brother went to live with his grandma, his father’s mother, few elderly Gumiho who still lived in the city instead of moving to the countryside to live the rest of their long lives in peace and quiet.
Su-hyeon seemed to sense this wasn’t a topic to push. “I used to live with my eomma and appa. My eomma’s from Mongolia, she's a full-blooded Yong from a Yong clan with shaman roots. My appa human and he used to be a math professor at a big university.”
“Used to be?”
“He passed away a year ago. The glasses, lunch bag, box and thermos flask was his favorite ones to use”
“OH-h uhm, I’m so sorry for your loss!”
Despite his clearly flustered and horrified expression, Su-hyeon giggled loudly as Sang-hyeok covered his reddening face with his hands in embarrassment.
“It’s fine…appa was hurting because of his heart, eomma said that he isn’t hurting anymore and even though he isn’t physically here anymore, he will always be by my side” Su-hyeon explained calmly as if that's simple, hearing her confession or rather her explanation. Sang-hyeok slowly uncovered his face and looked at this strange girl in front of him. How can you be so calm when you talk about your late parents? Sang-hyeok himself feels like he might cry whenever his mother gets mentioned.
“You…..you’re a strange- I’m sorry if that came out wrong”
“That’s fine! I’m used to being strange. If you think about it, everyone in this room is the same age but we’re all so different and strange.” Su-hyeon’s eyes: slit-pupiled, sharp focused on him with sudden intensity. “Like you. You’re really quiet. Are you always quiet or is it a first-day thing?”
“I’m… usually quiet when it comes to new things.”
“That’s okay. I’m usually loud, so we balance out.” She said it like it was a fact as she picked her chopstick up and took a big bite from her vegetable, like she’d already decided they were going to be friends and Sang-hyeok’s input wasn’t required. He continues to stare at her as the dragon continues to eat her lunch and take a sip of tea or water from her flask. His tails did a small, uncertain wave as he also started eating his lunch again.
“Do you always do that when you’re thinking?” Su-hyeon asked softly as she nodded at his tails with her chin. “It’s like a mood indicator.”
“I don’t mean to…”
“It’s not bad! It’s just noticeable, like how my horns and scales glow when I’m feeling big emotions.” She pulled her button-up shirt collar down, where the scales on the side of her neck had a faint bioluminescence. “Seeee? I can’t control it yet. My mom says it’s a one of yong traits. Emotional regulation tied to physical manifestation.”
“My tails and eyes are the same.” Sang-hyeok said with the ghost of a smile on his face as he picked at his lunch. “I’m trying to learn to control them better. So people don’t… read me so easily.”
“Why? People should know how you’re feeling. Makes communication easier.”
“People stare.”
“Let them stare.” Su-hyeon’s tail thumped against her chair leg with emphasis as she clicked her tongue before sticking it out, showing a forked end.
“They’re just jealous they don’t have cool tails and abilities.”
Sang-hyeok’s ears twitched forward despite himself. “You think nine tails is cool?”
“Are you kidding? It’s the coolest!. You’re like… a legend. An actual living legend.” She leaned forward conspiratorially with raised eyebrows and mischievous grin. “Can you really do magic?”
“No- well not yet. Some minor things, maybe, when I’m older. My grandma and dad can do more, since they have been alive for a long time.”
“What kind of minor things?”
“Um….fox-fire, illusions, charm abilities. My dad uses illusion to hide his tails, grandma sometimes reads people’s fortunes for them using fox-fire but I can’t do any of those until I manifest all my tails.”
“Illusions.” Su-hyeon’s eyes went wide. “That’s so cool! I can create mists, blue fire and breathe underwater.”
“You can breathe underwater?”
“Yeah! I haven't tried it in anything bigger than a pool, but my mom says when I’m older we’ll go to the ocean and I can practice more.” She bounced slightly in her seat. “Do you want to come?”
Sang-hyeok can only stare at her as she stared back at him. “We just met.”
“So? I like you. You’re interesting. Plus you’re not scared of me.”
“Why would I be scared of you?”
“Because sea dragons are dangerous.” She made a mock-scary face, fangs showing and forked tongue. “We control water and storms and can sink ships and stuff.”
“You’re nine.”
“I’m a nine-year-old sea dragon. Very dangerous, very scary and very strong.” She dropped the scary face and grinned brightly. “But seriously, a lot of kids think mutations like ours are scary. The mythic ones. Not like cat ears, rabbit ears, bull horns but the old ones. The ones from stories.”
“People think I’m going to eat their souls,” Sang-hyeok muttered quietly under his breath.
“That’s so rude. I bet your soul-eating days are way behind you.”
“I’ve never eaten anyone’s soul.”
“See? Way behind you. Like, negative years behind you.” Su-hyeon finished her drink and the last piece of veggie. “But that’s what I mean. People are weird about us. So we should be friends. Safety in numbers and all that.”
“Safety in… numbers?”
“Two legendary creatures are harder to bully than one. Basic math.” She packed her things away quickly and stood up for her chair.
“Come on. Recess is starting. I want to show you a good climbing tree.”
“There’s a good climbing tree?”
“There’s an excellent climbing tree. But you have to know where it is, and also you have to not be afraid of heights.” She paused.
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never really climbed anything tall.”
“Then today’s your lucky day. Let’s go.”
She walked off, tail swishing confidently, not looking back to see if he’d follow. Sang-hyeok sat there for a moment, all three tails doing confused patterns. This girl- this loud, confident, slightly chaotic girl had just decided they were friends. Just like that. No negotiation, no careful feeling-out period, just immediate acceptance. It was the weirdest thing that had happened to him all day and It was also the best thing. He quickly packed his lunchbox and got up, running after her to catch up with her.
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“Hyeonkie~ are you daydreaming again?” A teasing voice called out and snapped Sang-hyeok out of his trance and into reality as he glanced to his side, catching his best friend dangling upside down from a branch of the tree using her legs and tail, still in her archery training gear. It had been three years since they met and became best friends, at first his grandma was weary about their friendship. Afraid of the old tales of Yong and Gumiho clashing over territories, power and wealth and driving each other into madness when they tried settling their differences. But Su-hyeok’s stubbornness won the older Gumiho over and she treats the young dragonling like her own flesh and blood.
“No…I was just thinking about how we met,” he answered honestly as he watched her pull herself up before jumping off the branch, landing on her feet with grace and ease before she dropped down next to him. They have grown a lot since they met. Sang-hyeok has four tails now, has signs of magical abilities and is a little more confident in himself and a little taller than in the past. Su-hyeon has a little longer hair, longer tail and horns but she was still confident and loud. For academic wise, they have been doing pretty good. Su-hyeon who won the country's junior mathematics championship last year and is a star archer in their school archery club. Meanwhile, Sang-hyeok is part of the computer club and has been taking taekwondo classes.
Su-hyeon hummed under her breath as she sat down next to him, pulling her finger tap off and flexing her fingers. Sang-hyeok fanned his tails out and two of them on her lap, while she does the same with her tail as they gotten used to each other's tails
“Are you still set on teaching me that game…what’s the name again?”
“I told you this morning- ugh it’s called StarCraft, I can’t believe you already forgot the name” Sang-hyeok said, closing his homework and leaned back against the tree with his hands folded on his lap, feeling the summer breeze against his ears as he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
“Look man, I've been busy with practice! You can’t blame me!” Su-hyeon whined as she leaned on his shoulder with her arms crossed over her chest and clicked her tongue and puffed out of mist. Opening his one eye, he glanced down at his best friend and carefully placed his head on top of her head.
“I’m glad that you sat down with me during the lunch”
“Even though I forgot the name of the game you are obsessed with?”
“Especially when you forget about things, so I can rub it in your face that you are slowly turning into those American Jock type- OWW!”
“That’s what you get for being mean”
The two friends glared at each other before breaking into a fit of laughter as Sang-hyeok rubbed the spot on his side where Su-hyeon poked him, Su-hyeon wiped away tears from her eyes as she laughed openly. Being full-blooded Gumiho is hard, people stare and point at you all the time, wherever you go but having intimating half Yong as your best friend has its benefits.
to be continue...
HALLO EVERYONE!!! so sorry for taking so long to update!!!! finally my break started, so until school starts again, i will try update in reasonable times! for the next chapter, i was thinking one chapter of them having some bonding time before ACT 3 start!!! so please let me know if you want that or something else. that's all for now! hope you will enjoy this chapter!!!!!!
hello everyone!!! sadly no new chapter for this week but I finally made a character sheet for Su-hyeon!!! I will make more art on her and rest of the crew from the fanfic!!! ^^
March 15th.2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
taglist: @nothankyew , @cokokiss, @poetsinnyc
I should have known something wrong would happen when Gwang-jin’s old keyboard and mouse broke because of his doom queuing all night. Since we haven’t played in tournaments yet, players currently only have daily allowance from the company. I offered to buy him a new keyboard and mouse when I get my paycheck but he went on a keyboard hunt in the second hand stores. Su-hyeon actually told him to be careful and take my offer but he’s too stubborn and stingy for his own good. Like I said, I should have known something bad or weird would happen when Gwang-jin came back from his shopping trip looking very pleased with himself. For the short amount of time I have known him, a confident Gwang-jin usually meant either he'd just destroyed someone in a solo queue or he was about to cause a problem. This time to our misfortune it was definitely the latter.
"I got a steal," Gwang-jin announces, bursting into the practice room with a shopping bag. His energy is manic even by his standards with his tail wagging like crazy, which is saying something. "An absolute robbery. I'm a genius." He declared proudly as he practically skipped over his station. Today was one of our light practice days since both Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok’s school started after winter break and needed time to do their homework before practice. So we were doing our own things, Eon-yeong playing Star Craft on his station, Jeong-hyeon doing his cross words puzzles while listening to Girl Generation on full volume, Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon doing their homework in the corner of the room with the dragon girl helping her friend with his English homework. As for me, I've been busy with paperworks and filling out documents for the Olympus Champions Spring. I had long since stopped complaining about the paper as I got used to its repetitive nature.
It's a strange feeling, we have been officially a team for a month now. The higher ups green lit our announcement after our first scrims result and introduced SKT T1 #2 to the whole world. Eon-yeong, Jeong-hyeon, Gwang-jin kept their old names as they were already well known by their names but for Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon, they changed their names . They are no longer GoJeonPa and SunnySide- two ladder monsters with hunger for something more than top spot at the ladder. Now they are Faker and Kingmaker, with the same hunger, just more hungry and more ambitious than ever. I actually asked Sang-hyeok why he chose “Faker” as his name, when I did the quiet Gumiho boy looked me straight in the eyes. His amber eyes looked like molten gold under the afternoon light “I want them remember me forever, whenever they talk about the greatest mid laner- no greatest player of League…i want them automatically say “Faker”, I want name that everyone will forever remember” he said softly, right hand gripping his mouse tightly while his left hand trembled lightly from all Zed combos he had been practicing.
“Huh…i never thought i would hear that from you, from Gwang-jin sure, even from Su-hyeon…but you? I didn’t think you had that kind of hunger in you” I said softly as I sat down next to him, his ears flattened against his head and tails fluffed up in embarrassment as he looked way “don’t get me wrong! It’s good motivation but…you never give me the impression of being someone who craves recognition” I added quickly as I patted the boy’s back and waited for his response, luckily he turned back to me before glancing down at his hands.
“I didn’t know either but when I put on the team jersey for the first time and saw my reflection, it clicked into my mind that I don’t want to be just know as Gumiho who plays league but I wanna be the greatest player who ever touched the game” he said “…do you think.. Am I being too ambitious?” he added as he glanced back at me, hands nervously fiddling with his mouse
“No, I think you have the right amount of ambition and hunger” is the only thing I would say to him. Because what else would you say to him? The boy is a true generational talent, even if people question if he is truly talented or just good because of his Gumiho heritage.
As for Su-hyeon, well my conversation with her was truly something. It happened after we submitted our details to the company for our official first team jersey.
“I already know you gonna ask about my choice of name”
“Am I that obvious huh?” I chuckled weakly as I pulled my coat closer and wrapped my arms around myself as I stood next to her on the balcony. I have learned that Su-hyeon runs hot and isn’t bothered by cold, rather cold and water calms her down and makes her relax, one of the odd but fascinating traits of a sea dragon she has. She probably has more I don’t know about, even though she has opened up to me and see me as older brother figure; I am still an assistant coach who approached her and her friend out of nowhere and offered to help them join the team (I actually shivers at the fact I basically ambushed them back then).
“You are, the way you walk changes- your shoulders tenses up and you try covering up your nervousness by straightening your back” she said, voice laced with amusement and slight grin as she leaned on the railing, keeping her eyes on the city light.
“So….Kingmaker huh? It’s quite a statement name you know”
“I need a suitable name for myself when I crush everyone’s premature expectations of me and our team”
“Huh?” I looked down at the dragon girl who was still looking at the glimmering lights of Seoul.
“Cmon now Oppa, don’t act surprised- I’m not stupid. I know the higher ups particularly signed me because I am a girl but I don’t care if they wanna use my gender as a marketing gimmick or for shock value. Nothing matters when I’m in the game, creating space for my team and getting things done because the only thing that matters to me is my control over the rife… I am the one who decides who is worthy of fighting for and who isn’t” she spoke with such clarity that made me turn to her and simply stare at her. It’s a strange feeling really, when someone younger than you speaks with so much maturity and confidence that you could ever muster up. “And I have decided that Eon-yeong, Gwang-jin and Jeong-hyeon oppa are worth fighting for”
“What about Sang-hyeok?” I couldn’t help but ask, the deep curiosity about how Su-hyeon feels about Sang-hyeok has been eating me alive since I realized his true feelings for her. It’s both admirable and painful to watch how he adores and admires her as more than just his best friend but as someone he pulls his heart out and hands it to her if she asks him for it.
“He is always worth fighting for…I know that when I first met him when we were just kids and nothing is ever gonna change that. No matter what happens in life I will always be by his side and I know he will do the same for me too” she said as she pushed herself off the railing and looked up at me, her sea-glass like eyes shining under the city light and soft illumination from her horns. “If he asks me to hand my heart out for him, I will do it in a heartbeat without hesitation” she added as she glanced over at the living room, where the boys were busy playing poker.
“Su-hyeon-ah….do you have feelings for Sang-hyeok?”
“Honestly I don’t know, I don’t get butterflies when he compliments me, I don’t get jealous when girls talk to him, I don’t care if he isn’t paying attention to me but at the same time whenever he looks at me and smiles with his whole face I want to be the only one gets to see him smile like that. Maybe I will figure it out, maybe I will never get to do it…being a teenager is hard” she said with a shrug as she started heading to the balcony door and looked at me. I was so stunned by her confession that I mumbled out that I will join her and then others after a smoke, even though I stopped smoking after coach Choi gave me an earful. Lucky for me she didn’t question me and just shrugged as she headed inside, closing the door behind herself.
Leaning on the railing I ran my fingers through my hair as I sighed deeply. I didn’t know what shocked me the most, the genuine honesty in her voice or the fact that my rookies possibly share mutual feelings for each other but can’t confess to each other. Because one of them is too scared to share his feelings and the other can’t tell if her feelings are platonic or romantic. But I could agree on one thing, being a teenager is hard.
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The sound of Piglet sitting down on his chair with a giggle and clanking sound of plastic being placed on the desk snapped me out of my haze as I looked over at the other side of the practice room. Piglet was practically buzzing in his chair and while Jeong-hyeon, Eon-yeong, Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon didn’t pay much attention to the wolf boy.
"You're a disaster waiting to happen," Eon-yeong says without looking up from his screen.
"Little harsh but fair," Jeong-hyeon added under his breath as he continued on with his cross word puzzle.
"No, listen to me hyungs!" Gwang-jin dumps the contents of the bag onto the table. A mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse clatter out, both looked like expensive brands but also looked... slightly off. "The guy at the second-hand store practically gave these away. Said he needed to 'get rid of them quickly' and 'they came from a complicated situation.' Who cares? These retail for like 500,000 won together, and I got them for 20,000!"
I glanced at the peripherals for my chair with a, some of the keyboard's keys are slightly discolored, and the mouse has what looks like scratch marks on the sides. But other than that, they looked in pretty good condition.
"Why would someone sell those so cheap?" I ask, already feeling a sense of impending doom and headache forming at my temples as the wolf spinned around in his chair and looked at me with a wide fanged grin.
"Estate sale, probably. The guy said the previous owner 'couldn't use them anymore.'" He said with a shrug as he spun back and started plugging his new equipment into his pc. "My lucky day honestly."
As Gwang-jin was busy with that, I noticed that Sang-hyeok's ears suddenly swivel toward the peripherals. His tails go very, very still- the kind of still that means his Gumiho instincts are screaming warnings.
"Gwang-jin hyung," he says quietly. "Maybe don't…"
"Don't what? Don't upgrade my setup with professional-grade equipment at 85% off?" Gwang-jin plugs in the keyboard and mouse. "Watch and learn kiddo. This is how you get ahead in the peripherals game."
The keyboard and mouse lights up fully. Normal RGB cycling with multiple modes, nothing unusual.
Except Sang-hyeok's tails are now bristled, and Su-hyeon has looked up from her homework with her slit-pupiled eyes narrowed. Her expression shifted from casual interest to sharp attention. Her horns seemed to catch the light differently, and I noticed her tail had gone very still- which is not a great sign at all. Not long after, Su-hyeon slowly gets up from her seat on the low table and walks over to the wolf boy’s station. She completely ignores Gwang-jin and leans down, sniffing near the peripherals in oddly animalistic gestures and I watched as the scales around her neck and chin flicker with low glow as her pupils contract to slits.
"Well this unfortunate turn of an event," Su-hyeon said flatly as she straightened and took her reading glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose. The way she said made all of us fully turn to her as she put her glasses back on and crossed her arms. Completely ignoring the slowly paling wolf boy next to her who was still holding his old keyboard and mouse, glancing down at his new equipment.
"What?" I finally asked after finding my voice and already dreading the answer. She was now fully examining the keyboard and mouse without touching them, circling Gwang-jin's desk like she was investigating a crime scene. "What’s wrong with those peripherals?"
"Those are cursed."
Everyone stops. The practice room goes silent except for the hum of computers and song blasting from Jeong-hyeon’s
"I'm sorry, what?" Jeong-hyeon finally asked as he looked at Su-hyeon who had stopped right next to him since he sits on Gwang-jin’s right.
"Cursed. Haunted. Spiritually compromised. Pick your terminology." Su-hyeon is staring at the peripherals like they personally offended her ancestors. "Sang-hyeok, you can sense it too, right?"
Sang-hyeok has been very still, his three tails doing this uncertain ripple pattern and long ears twitching every once in a while. "There's... definitely something clingy on them. I thought I was imagining it."
"You weren't imagining it. Those things are definitely cursed." Su-hyeon takes a step closer, then immediately steps back as her scales glow.
“Cursed?...as in something is actively clinging onto them” Gwang-jin weakly asked as he looked at the dragon girl next to him, his ears and tail went completely limp as Eon-yeong, Jeong-hyeon slowly got up from their individual seats and backed away from Piglet’s station. Once they were far away from the possibly cursed items, they circled around me as I continued to stare at the situation unfolding right in front of me. I had known that Su-hyeon has spiritual training from her mother since the older dragon mutant used to be shaman and passed some of her abilities to her daughter. But I didn’t realize how deep her abilities actually ran, I simply assumed she maybe could guess spiritually energy or something.
"Yes, like cursed cursed." Su-hyeon said as she slowly backed away from them now, dragging the pale wolf boy along with her, her eyes sharp and her tail barely moving. "Like, spiritually tainted. Negative energy. Probably malevolent intent. Someone definitely died using these, and they died angry."
“B-but ghosts aren’t real right?” Gwang-jin muttered softly as he looked at the silently dragon who took her hair out of the low ponytail and started braiding her hair. Just as she tired her hair, Gwang-jin’s computer flicked alive without anyone touching it and everyone besides Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok took a big step back. I can practically hear my heart hammering in my chest as I looked between the computer and Su-hyeon. I opened my mouth to ask her if we should call her mother since she is the professional in the field of spiritual handling but I couldn’t find my voice. How can I though? I’m just a twenty seven year old retired esport player turned coach, for the longest I rolled my eyes at the idea of ghosts and curses. I always thought they were just myths from old age just like how Gumio
"It's absolutely a real thing, My mom deals with this stuff all the time" Su-hyeon points at the keyboard and the mouse. "Look at the discoloration on the keys- that's not just from wear and use, that's spiritual residue. And those scratches on the mouse? Those are from someone gripping it so hard during their final moments that they scored the plastic with their fingernails."
Jeong-hyeon, who has been watching this entire exchange with his usual calm demeanor, finally speaks up. "Su-hyeon, you're the one with shamanic training. Can you...uhm un-curse them?"
"I can try, I've only done one cleansing with my mom’s help and it was on a doll, not gaming peripherals." Su-hyeon said with a deep sigh as she rubbed her temple, her tail lashing and horns, scales glowing brightly, a clear sign of her distress. "And I don’t know how angry the spirit is and how powerful it is, I'm like intermediate-level shaman and I haven’t been practicing a lot because of my busy schedule"
"Should we….should we call your mom?" I asked weakly as I rubbed my face with my hands "can you at least... neutralize them? Make them safe until we bring your mom over?"
"I-I don't know! I don’t know how long it has been cursed or how powerful the spirit is!! For all I know it could be a literal demon disguising itself as an angry spirit!!!” Su-hyeon practically yelled as she frantically gestured at the flickering pc, the scales around her neck had spread to her face and arms. Puffs of smoke came out her mouth as she panted and scratched her arms as the scales continued to grow and glow brightly.
"Su-hyeon-ah..." Sang-hyeok got up from his seat and moved to stand next to her. Without hesitation he gently placed his hands on her cheeks and made the spiraling girl look at him. "Just breathe with me, you know more about this than anyone else here, I know you are out of shape but I know you can do it. Just breathe and relax, for me please?”
She looks at him, then at the cursed peripherals, then at us before looking back at him. Her hands shook as she placed them on top of his hands and closed her eyes and started breathing along with him. As she started to calm down, the glowing scale slowly started to fade away and smoke stopped coming out of her mouth. Once she was fully calmed down she slowly opened her eyes and let Sang-hyeok step back from her, taking a one deep breath- she turned to us with glare and deep frown.
"Fine. FINE! But if this goes wrong and we all end up haunted, I'm blaming Gwang-jin."
"Seems fair," Eon-young says.
“Understandable” I muttered weakly under my breath.
“Fine by me,” Sang-hyeok added.
"I accept these terms,"Jeong-hyeon finally agreed with a nod.
"You guys are terrible teammates and friends!," Gwang-jin yelled at us and we all glared at him, making him shut his mouth and pout deeply as he crossed his arms.
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Twenty minutes later, Su-hyeon has transformed the practice room into what can only be described as a "budget exorcism setup."
She's changed into loose dark deel (Mongolian traditional clothing) and necklace with big bronze mirror, multiple beaded rosaries around her neck. The shamanic hat, mask, drum and drumstick from her room is sitting on the table, along with a variety of items she's scrounged from around the dorm: a bowl of water, incense she had in her room, and several stones that she swears are "spiritually significant."
"I'm going to need you all to stand back," she says, arranging the stones in a circle around the cursed peripherals and lighting the incense. "And be quiet. I need to concentrate."
"Uhm….hould we turn off the lights?" Jeong-hyeon asks, we had gathered in the corner of the room even though Su-hyeon said we can leave the room.
"Of course not, I need to see what I'm doing. This isn't a movie." Su-hyeon sprinkles water in a circle around the keyboard and mouse. "Okay...just heads up if you feel anything unusual, ignore it at all cost"
She closes her eyes before putting on the mask. It was carved dark wood with two holes for eyes and nothing else, next was the hat- which is honestly terrifying to look at, it had long feathers on both sides, long black tassels that fully covered her face and bronze pieces that looked like eyes. Once the hat was secured on her head, she picked up the drum and drumstick and began to chant along with the rhythm of drumming, which I think is ancient Mongolian.
We stayed quiet as we watched her, we didn’t know whether we should pray or not since she didn’t say anything. I glanced at and saw Sang-hyeok's ears swiveling, tracking every sound she makes and eyes on her as she begins moving. His tails have finally settled slightly, but he's still on high alert.
The chanting and drumming continues as Su-hyeon’s movements come frantic, as her voice- usually soft and steady slowly turns deep and echoy.
"Is it working?" Gwang-jin whispers.
"Shh!" everyone else hisses.
The temperature in the room drops noticeably.
"Is it supposed to get cold?" Jeong-hyeon asks, wrapping his arms around himself.
Su-hyeon picks up the bowl of water and pours it directly onto the keyboard.
"HEY- YOU'RE DESTROYING THEM!" Gwang-jin suddenly shots up from where he was sitting and shouted, remembering what Su-hyeon said earlier we all quickly shot up and placed our hands on his mouth, dragging him down as Su-hyeon stopped mid chant and slowly turned back to us. Honestly the sight was so scary, as silence fell on us she slowly raised the drumstick and pointed directly at Piglet.
"I'M SAVING YOUR SOUL YOU FOOL" She said but her voice didn’t sound like her, it sounded as if there’s a multitude of voices mixing into each other. I felt Piglet nod frantically and his body tremble as she turned back to chanting and drumming. The mask and tassels catch the light in an eerie way, making her look like an ancient ritual performer rather than a sixteen-year-old League of Legends player.
Sang-hyeok hasn't moved an inch. His eyes are fixed on Su-hyeon with an intensity that would be concerning if I didn't know it was just his protective instincts going into overdrive. Su-hyeon stops drumming and drops the drum and drumstick as the lights dims and temperatures drop, I swear I felt something scuttling past me as she places both hands on the peripherals and says something in a voice that eerie deeper, resonant, with an echo The lights flicker one more time, then it slowly steady and the temperature returns to normal.
Su-hyeon doesn’t move for a minute before she steps back and gently removes the mask as her body visibly starts shaking and breathing hard. "It is done"
"You sure?" Gwang-jin squeaks.
“Yes ....lucky for us, it wasn’t a demon- just an angry ghost w-with a grud…” she didn’t finish her sentence before her knees gave up on her and buckled under her weight. We all yelled out and tried longing at her but Sang-hyeok was far faster than us as he caught her before she injured herself. With Su-hyeon securely in his arms, Sang-hyeok slowly kneeled down and pushed the tassels away from her face. Her forehead was covered in sweat and she was slightly bleeding from her nose. I watched as he gently wiped away the sweat off her face with the back of his hand and wiped the small trace of the blood with his thumb.
“Sang-hyeok-ah…take her to her room, we will clean up” I finally said as I helped the boy get up with the knocked out girl in her arms and opened the door for him. Sang-hyeok wordlessly walked out of the room and I slowly closed the door. The boys got up from the ground, Eon-young carefully picked up the drum and drumstick while Jeong-hyeon picked up the mask and placed it on Su-hyeon’s station. Gwang-jin looks at the now-damp, incense-smoke-saturated keyboard and mouse. "I paid 20,000 won for these."
"And you got exactly what you paid for," Jeong-hyeon says. "A valuable life lesson about why deals that are too good to be true usually are."
"I hate it when you get wise."
"I'm always wise. You just don't usually listen."
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Later that night, once Su-hyeon woke up from her nap Piglet apologized to her for causing her such inconvenience and promised to listen to her. She just laughed at him and shook her head muttering about him breaking his promise in a week. By the time she was up, we had cleaned up her ritual supplies and ordered chicken for dinner. I found Sang-hyeok sitting in the common area with a cup of tea, while the rest decided to go on a walk and buy sodas, snakes and desserts from the 7-Eleven.
"You okay?" I asked softly as I sat next to him and watched his expression closely. "That was...tense."
"I'm fine." His tails are relaxed now, swaying gently. "Su-hyeon handled it well."
"You were worried about her."
"I'm always worried about her." He says it simply, like it's a fact of nature. "She does risky things."
"Like exorcising cursed gaming peripherals?"
"Like everything." He takes a sip of tea. "But she's capable. More capable than she gives herself credit for."
"You care about her a lot." I said matter of factly as I watched his cheeks turn pink and ears flatten against his head as he rubbed the warm ceramic cup, completely avoiding my eyes
"She's my best friend."
"Right. Best friend." I pause. "You know, if you ever wanted to tell her- "
"I can't." He cuts me off gently but firmly. "Su-hyeon has enough to deal with right now. Training, school, living away from her mother for the first time since her father’s passing. She doesn't need... complications."
"Feelings aren't complications."
"They are when they might change everything." His tails curl inward slightly as he tightens his hold on his cup. "What if I tell her and she doesn't feel the same? What if it makes things awkward? What if we can't play together anymore because of it?"
"What if she does feel the same?"
He looks at me with those amber fox eyes, ancient and young at the same time. "That would be worse."
"How?"
"Because then I'd have to tell her about... about what being romantically involved with a pure-blood Gumiho means!. About the bonding, the possessiveness, lifespan and all the complicated things that come with it. It doesn’t help that our “friendship goes against the natural order” as my grandma puts it. Don’t get me wrong- she likes Su-hyeon, adores the heck out of her but she is too traditional" He sets down his cup on the coffee table. "She scared something bad might happen to either of us if we try courting, something about old legend of Yong and Gumiho driving each other mad"
I didn't know what to say, so I just sat with him in comfortable silence while we waited for the chicken and others to come back.
After a while the door opened with squeaks and loud voices of Su-hyeon, Jeong-hyeon, Eon-young and Gwang-jin pouri into the dorm. Su-hyeon appears in the doorway first holding a big convenience store bag in each hand with a fanged grin on her face and tail wagging behind her.
“Dinner time! I’m starving and i’m joking at all” she practically kicked her chonky boots off and skipped into the kitchen, humming under her breath. The older boys followed in with two boxes of chicken and one non-alcoholic beer for me and Jeong-hyeon to share.
"Hey Sang-yah!," she called out to Sang-hyeok. "Can you get the banchans out of the fridge for me while i put things way"
"Yeah." He stands immediately. "I made you tea. It's on the counter."
"You're the best, you know that?." She sits the bags down and grabs the cup, takes a sip, and makes a happy sound that almost sounds like growl or pur?. "Perfect temperature and everything. How do you always know?"
"Lucky guess," he says with a light shrug as he walks into the kitchen, his face didn’t change much but his tails are doing that pleased swish again.
They busied themselves with Su-hyeon chattering about how she needs to call her mom tomorrow to tell her about the exorcism ("She's going to be so proud! Or worried. Probably both!"), and Sang-hyeok listening with his ears angled toward her, soaking up every word.
Eon-young appears next to me and hands me the beer, watching the two teens work. "They're idiots." he muttered under his breath as he sat down next to my left.
"They're sixteen." i sighed softly as i cracked open the beer and took a small sip before handing it to Jeong-hyeon as he sat next to my left
"Same thing." Jeong-hyeon takes a sip. "How long until she figures it out?"
"That he's in love with her?" I asked quietly as I helped Gwang-jin open the boxes and pulled the box of chopsticks from the table drawer.
"That they're clearly both in love with each other and doing the whole 'pining' thing." Gwang-jin muttered out.
"You think she likes him back?"
"I don’t know, maybe? That girl is too confusing to read " Eon-young shrugged as he turned the TV on and mindlessly switched between channels "Like i said they're both idiots."
"Still sixteen." I said with a weak grin as i took another sip from the beer and give the rest to Jeong-hyeon
"Still idiots." Jeong-hyeon affectionately said as he took a sip. "But they're our idiots."
"That's the spirit boys."
"That's resignation, but sure."
“What are you guys talking about? You guys look like uncles at the park” Su-hyeon’s voice rang out as we turned to the kitchen and watched her and Sang-hyeok bring the cups, plates and sodas. Gwang-jin whined about her calling him uncle even though he is only two years older than her, Jeong-hyeon shook his head like a tired captain that he is, Eon-young quietly giggled under his breath as he finally stopped at the drama channel. Not long after everyone sat down and started eating. Tomorrow, we'll practice harder. After all, we are preparing for our first real tournament. I’ll deal with whatever chaos these kids throw at me. But tonight, the cursed peripherals are neutralized, everyone is safe, and my team- my kids are learning how to be a team. Even if it involves impromptu exorcisms, especially if it involves impromptu exorcisms.
to be continue...
HALLO EVERYONE!!! so sorry for taking so long to update!!!! been super with school lately! but everything is slowly down so i will try update in reasonable times! for the next chapter i was thinking about doing some backstory chapter on Suhyeon and Sanghyeok friendship, let me know if you want that or something else. that's all for now! hope you will enjoy this chapter!!!!!!
hey guys the next chapters might take me while to finish and post as I have two big projects to finish and present! I also burned my fingers tips sooo see guys in hopefully in few days!!!
Chapter 9: Light, Camera and Action! Or Please Stand Still You Feral Animals!
March 10th, 2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
taglist: @nothankyew , @cokokiss
It took two weeks of nonstop scrims against other teams, practicing against our main roster for the management and support staff to pull the plug and send us to do a team photoshoot as a way to get the five feral animals- sorry, our rookies to have proper human interactions. Our rookies haven't gone feral because they are bad or can’t get along, quite the opposite actually. They have been good, more the good truthfully, all five of them finally clinked like perfect little puzzle pieces. Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok's synergy helped Joon-eon, Jeong-hyeon and Gwang-jin follow their rhyme without the trio feeling awkward or out of place. They start moving as a team, not as five separate players, which means their habits start rubbing onto each other. In a good way of course.
“You know, Kkoma..for someone who just started his coaching career, I really think you hit the jack-pot with them” Manager Park told me, as he watched my rookies swing back from 0.2k gold decrease and loss of bot lane, the boys locked-in when Su-hyeon mumbled about wanting to end the game soon so she can make kimchi pancakes from the new kimchi her mom sent us. “Yeah…i agree” I whispered under my breath with a wide grin that I couldn’t hide nowadays.
Su-hyeon, our sharp and calculating jungler who never does any flashy ganks, just cold calculated-plays. Now has fully embraced her role as “feral gremlin”, being an absolute pain to play against. She finally does flashy and risky plays because she knows she has teammates who will back her up. Same goes for Sang-hyeok too, he is still a monster in mid lane but now he plays like a commander with an army of soldiers that will perfectly follow after him into war. Gwang-jin is still our cocky ADC who is prone to trashtalking when tilted and reckless when scared to fall behind but his mechanic and game sense has gotten more polished and calculated. He actually listens to Su-hyeon and Jeong-hyeon shotcalling now and doesn’t overplay anymore. Jeong-hyeon, our strategist and reliable support has started roaming around the map without a fear of getting killed because now he has four bodyguards, who always make sure that their support is alive for every team fight. Finally Joon-eon, our unbreakable and untiltable top laner has stopped playing like he has to play the lane without any help, hug the tower all the time and be the meat shield for the team, he has grown more confident with his decision making and In trusting his fellow players in team-fights
As for the living situation, I have fully embraced our dysfunctional family dynamic. After the banana milk incident, no one dared to take each other's food without asking, especially Su-hyeon’s. She and Gwang-jin eventually made-up after he apologized properly to her with two packs of banana milk and an extra pack of chocolate milk. Honestly it’s one of the funny things to witness: Gwang-jin kneeling on the floor with three boxes of milk next to his knee, confused and amused Su-hyeon who just got done with her school work and started doing her nightly routine.
“I’m sorry about the other day, I should at least text you about taking your milk- please take these as peace offering and keep me alive in my lane” he mumbled softly, ears flat against his head and tail limp on the floor. Su-hyeon who been listening without any visual emotion on her face crouched down as she reached into one of the box, pulling one bottle from it she gently placed in front of him before flicking his forehead softly
“HEY-”
“I already forgave you, you egotistical jerk.” she said as he glared at her while rubbing his forehead “I didn’t forgive because you are my teammate or Kkoma-oppa already punished you, I forgave you because you are more than teammate now” she added as she reached into the box once more.
“You are my friend now, as long as you learn from your actions. No need for this type of apologies” she finished as she cracked open the milk bottle and took a big sip as she straightened up.
“Since you are still on the kitchen duty, please put these on my section of the refrigerator, thank you very much Gwang-jin-ah” with that she left the stunned wolf boy staring at the bottle in front of him with a small smile. After that rest came naturally, everyone started talking and expressing themselves more openly and freely, especially our stoic and awkward Sang-hyeok. With Joon-eon, Jeong-hyeon and Gwang-jin acting as his wing-mans, he has been building up the courage to tell Su-hyeon that he wants to be more than her childhood friend, best friend and teammate but there’s a big issue. The line between their friendship and relationship is so blurred it’s genuinely hard to tell the difference at this point.
"A photoshoot?" Su-hyeon's voice echoed through the practice room with the kind of disbelief usually reserved for discovering your favorite champion got nerfed, her tail wagging nervously as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Now? We have scrims scheduled with Najin Sword's B team!"
I looked down at the email from SKT's marketing department with the kind of resignation that had become familiar over the past two weeks. "Management wants promotional photos for the team announcement. It's non-negotiable."
"But we're in the middle of perfecting our tower dive coordination!" Gwang-jin protested, spinning in his chair to face me. His hair was sticking up at odd angles from running his hands through it during our last scrim, fluffy tail fluffed up in sign of distress and there were dark circles under his eyes. "We finally got the timing right!"
"The timing can wait a few hours," I replied, though internally I agreed with him. The team had been making incredible progress, and breaking their momentum for a photoshoot felt like exactly the kind of corporate interference that drove players crazy.
Jeong-hyeon adjusted his glasses and frowned at his monitor. "How long is this going to take? I have three pages of notes on vision control patterns that I wanted to review."
"A couple of hours, probably."
"That's three potential scrims we're losing," Joon-eon said quietly from his corner. He'd been the most level-headed about practice scheduling, but even he looked frustrated.
Sang-hyeok hadn't said anything, but his three tails were drooping in a way that suggested he was just as unhappy about the interruption. He glanced at Su-hyeon, who was now sprawled dramatically across her keyboard.
"This is a tragedy," she announced to the ceiling. "We're being oppressed by capitalism and marketing."
"You don't even know what capitalism means," Gwang-jin muttered.
"I know it's preventing me from playing League, which is enough!"
I clapped my hands together, summoning what remained of my authority. "Everyone, take a break. Shower, change into something that doesn't look like you've been living in a cave for two weeks, and meet in the lobby in thirty minutes. Try to look like you're excited to be professional gamers."
"But we're not excited, oppaa" Su-hyeon said. "We're tired and cranky."
"Then fake it."
"I don't know how to fake excitement."
"Su-hyeon, you fake excitement about attending school literally every morning."
"That's different! School is actually boring. This is just poorly timed!"
Thirty minutes later, five extremely reluctant teenagers assembled in the lobby, looking various degrees of presentable. Joon-eon had somehow managed to look composed despite probably not sleeping more than four hours a night, Jeong-hyeon had cleaned his glasses and combed his hair, which was about as formal as I'd ever seen him. Gwang-jin had actually styled his hair and changed into clean clothes, though his expression and ears suggested he was mentally calculating all the practice time they were losing.
Sang-hyeok looked neat but uncomfortable in jeans and a hoodie, his black ears flicking nervously. His tails kept swishing behind him in an agitated pattern that suggested he wanted to be anywhere but here. Su-hyeon emerged last with a loose sweater with bell-bottom, her hair freshly braided with silver ornaments that caught the light. Her horns had been polished, and the scales along her jaw and neck seemed to shimmer slightly.
"Mom's influence," she explained, catching the boys’ surprised looks. "She said if we're doing photos, we should 'represent properly.' Also she threatened to show up and do my hair herself if I didn't make an effort."
"Your mom is terrifying," Gwang-jin said with feeling.
"Yeah, she is. It's great."
The SKT marketing team had set up in one of the conference rooms, complete with professional lighting, backdrops, and a photographer who looked way too cheerful for someone about to wrangle five sleep-deprived gamers.
"SKT T1 #2! Wonderful to meet you all!" The photographer, an energetic man with cat ears and an enormous camera, bounded over to greet us. "I'm Choi Min-soo, and we're going to make you all look fantastic!"
"We'd rather be practicing," Gwang-jin said flatly, earning a light shove from Jeong-hyeon.
Min-soo's enthusiasm didn't waver. "I promise to make this as quick and painless as possible. We just need some team shots, individual portraits, and maybe some action poses with the computers we've set up."
"Action poses?" Su-hyeon perked up slightly. "Like, looking cool while gaming?"
"Exactly! Show me your best 'I'm about to ace the enemy team' face!"
What followed was possibly the most awkward three hours of my coaching career. After Min-soo and his assistants got my rookies into the official team jersey and put a light makeup on them the photoshoot officially began. Turns out getting five teenagers to coordinate for a photoshoot proved harder than getting them to coordinate Baron attempts. Joon-eon stood too stiffly, looking more like he was facing a firing squad than a camera. Jeong-hyeon kept forgetting to look at the lens because he was too busy analyzing the lighting setup. Gwang-jin oscillated between looking bored and actively scowling at the camera. Sang-hyeok was clearly uncomfortable with all the attention, his ears flattening every time the flash went off. "Do I have to look directly at the camera?" he asked quietly.
"It helps, yes," Min-soo replied patiently.
"But that's... a lot of eye contact."
"You stare down opponents in game all the time," I pointed out.
"That's different! They can't see me through the screen!"
Su-hyeon, in contrast, had gone from reluctant to fully committed to making this as ridiculous as possible. Every pose became increasingly dramatic, arms crossed with her tail curled artistically, pretending to type with intense concentration while actually just mashing random keys, at one point attempting to stand on her chair until I told her to get down before she broke something.
"Su-hyeon, we need serious photos," Min-soo pleaded.
"I am being serious! This is my serious face!" She was grinning so wide her fangs were fully visible.
"That is the opposite of a serious face," Jeong-hyeon observed.
"You're just jealous because you blink every time the flash goes off."
"I do not- " Flash. Jeong-hyeon blinked. "That's a reflex!"
The team photos were somehow even worse. Getting all five of them to look at the camera, maintain reasonable expressions, and not fidget was like trying to herd cats. Tired, cranky, competitive cats who would rather be playing League of Legends.
"Okay, everyone gather around the practice setup," Min-soo directed. "Let's get some shots of you all looking like you're discussing strategy."
They arranged themselves around the computers, and I had to admit, they did look more natural. Jeong-hyeon immediately started pointing at a monitor, explaining something about jungle pathing. Su-hyeon leaned over Sang-hyeok's shoulder to see what he was looking at, her braid falling forward. Gwang-jin pulled up a replay on his screen, and Joon-eon moved closer to watch.
"Perfect! Just like that! Natural interaction!" Min-soo's camera clicked rapidly.
For about thirty seconds, they forgot they were being photographed. They were just five players discussing the game they loved, analyzing plays and debating strategies. Gwang-jin made a point about bot lane positioning, and Su-hyeon countered with an observation about jungle pressure. Sang-hyeok quietly suggested a different approach, and everyone leaned in to listen. This was why they worked as a team, I realized. Not because they always got along, or because they were always professional, but because when it came to the game, they were completely in sync.
"Alright, I think we got some great shots!" Min-soo announced cheerfully. "Just need a few individual portraits and we're done."
The individual sessions went about as expected. Joon-eon's photos looked like passport pictures. Jeong-hyeon kept trying to hold strategy notes in frame "for context." Gwang-jin managed to look intimidating, which was probably an accurate representation. Sang-hyeok's nervousness actually worked in his favor, giving him a mysterious, focused look that the camera loved.
Su-hyeon's portrait session became a negotiation.
"Can I smile with teeth?"
"Your fangs are showing."
"That's the point!"
"Maybe try a subtle smile?"
"I don't do subtle."
"I've noticed. How about we compromise?"
"Can I at least make it interesting? Like, fierce dragon energy?"
"Su-hyeon, this is for promotional materials, not a fantasy novel cover."
"Those aren't mutually exclusive!"
Eventually, Min-soo got what he needed, a shot of Su-hyeon looking normal but terrifying, her horns catching the light just right, her expression somewhere between determined and mischievous, It was very her, actually. As we finally escaped back to the practice room, the team's energy shifted immediately. The reluctant, awkward teenagers from the photoshoot disappeared, replaced by focused competitors ready to make up for lost time.
"Alright," I announced. "We've got three hours before dinner. Let's run that tower dive coordination again."
"Finally," Gwang-jin said, cracking his knuckles as he settled into his chair.
"Do you think any of those photos will be usable?" Jeong-hyeon asked, booting up his computer.
"Probably the ones where we forgot we were being photographed," Joon-eon replied.
Su-hyeon was already logging in, her earlier dramatic despair completely forgotten. "That was actually kind of fun. Weird, but fun."
"You tried to stand on a chair," Sang-hyeok reminded her.
"And it would have been a great shot if Kkoma-oppa wasn't such a killjoy."
"I'm a killjoy who prevents broken ankles and insurance claims," I corrected.
As they loaded into a custom game, banter flowing naturally between them, I made a mental note to thank the photographer for his patience. And to warn management that the next time they scheduled something during practice hours, there would be a rebellion. A small, gaming-focused rebellion, but a rebellion nonetheless. At least we'd have nice photos to show for it. Assuming any of them came out without someone blinking, scowling, or attempting architectural stunts.
February 16th, 2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
taglist: @nothankyew , @cokokiss
If there's one thing I've learned about managing professional gamers who happen to be five competitive but secretly feral teenagers, the first time all five of them start living together and their first argument involves two of them butting heads over missing banana milk- already flaming each other with intensity of CS:GO players meanwhile the rest of them just watch and see how things go. But I must back off and explain how this moment happened in the first place. It started with the parking lot of our new house at eight in the morning. I just got back from grocery shopping for the newcomers when I saw Joon-eon (Impact) trying to carry three boxes and a duffel bag without dropping anything. Truthfully I wish I had the same confidence and trust in myself as him.
"Need help?" I called out, even though I was already busy with carrying grocery bags.
"I've got it," Joon-eon replied, his voice slightly muffled by the boxes he was currently wrestling with. "Just need to... angle it differently-"
The sound of something hitting something else made us both wince.
"Okay, maybe I don't get it," he finally admitted as he slowly set the boxes down while I quickly headed inside to drop the bags off and help him out. A day after their practice with Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok. Joon-eon (Impact), Jeong-hyeon (PoohManDu) and Gwang-jin (Piglet) officially signed with SKT T1. I really thought that I could finally rest and catch up on sleep but jokes on me since now that we have a full roster, it means the real work starts. Qualifiers for OLYMPUS Champions Spring will start in 4 weeks, meaning we have a short amount of time to show why you shouldn't underestimate hungry rookies. But in order to do that we must work on our team synergy more than anything. Right now we have an incredible five players who still are treating each other like randoms they found on solo que and awkward around each other.
After I put the bags away, I started helping Joon-eon move his things into the apartment. The once empty apartment has turned into a cozy team house thanks to Su-hyeon decorating like a madman high on sugar. The living room now has multiple bean bags around an old but soft coach with colorful throw pillows and fluffy blankets laid around the coach, a low bookshelf currently filled with Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok’s manga collection. We also changed the small coffee table with a long low table with draws. Mrs. Choi and Mr. Lee filled them with medicines, heatpats, herbal drinks during their first visit as a house warming gift. After talking for a while we also brought a few plants and lamps around the room to give it more life and warmth. For the balcony, Su-hyeon gave it a complete makeover, multiple stringlights, thick rug, beanbag, the old small coffee table, wind chimes, protection talisman, heaters and flower bed for spring, summer and fall season.
As for the kitchen, it didn’t escape from Su-hyeon either, gone were the old plain kitchen, it has turned into a kitchen that looks like it pulled out a found-family themed show. Soft lighting, new set of kitchen wears, pots and pans, pastel colored plates, reasonably priced china sets, and a concerning amount of teas, Su-hyeon’s personal collection, she told us to be grateful for her sharing and I am- because I have been having the best sleeps of my life thanks to her tea. The only thing that was left unchanged was the refrigerator, she hasn’t touched it as she said “I don’t wanna change it too much for others, I want other opinions on it you know” Which so kind of her do but she did put her names on her food, especially her banana milks, just in case. (author’s voice: what is this? A foreshadowing? :O)
“Oh wow…this place is fancier then I actually thought” Joon-eon (Impact) mumbled softly as we walked into the apartment, me carrying his two boxes while he carried the rest.
“Yeah, say thanks to Su-hyeon. It was her idea to give the place more welcoming energy” I said as I placed the boxes down just as Sang-hyeok sleepy walked out of the kitchen with a plate of sliced fruits in hand, hair messy then usual and his long fluffy ears barely twitching and tails limp against his legs. Su-hyeon followed after him, drinking her morning tea with half open eyes, hair and horns still wrapped in soft sleeping silk and her tail wrapped around her waist like a heatpat. “Good morning orabeonis (formal way to say older brothers in korean), I made everyone barley tea since I didn’t know what everyone wanted” she mumbled softly with a small bow, voice still laced with sleep as she yawned- sharp fangs shining under the morning light.
“Where’s Gwang-jin and Jeong-hyeon hyung?” Sang-hyeok asked, slowly leading the sleepy dragon girl to her reading corner. “Uhm..they should be arriving soon, they live close to each other so they said they will come together” Joon-eon (Impact) answered with a soft shrug as he helped himself with a tea while I busied myself with putting the groceries away. “Oppa, did you get all the things on the list I made you?” Su-hyeon asked from her seat, sounding more awake than before “I did, Su-hyeon-ah. Thanks for making it for me” I said with a small smile, since our first meal together as a team I have started to see Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok as my younger siblings rather than players that I’m coaching. Just as Sang-hyeok got up from his seat next to Su-hyeon’s to show the apartment to Joon-eon (Impact) when the door bell rang loudly. “I will get it” Sang-hyeok said as he walked over and opened the door, revealing grinning Gwang-jin (Piglet) and deadpan Jeong-hyeon both had two suitcases and one duffle bags sling over their shoulders, “Hello my dear teammates, your carry has arrived to his kingdom” Gwang-jin (Piglet) declared loudly as he dragged his suitcases in, kicking his sneakers off as he let a low whistle out glancing around before it was cut short with Jeong-hyeon (PoohManDu) pushing him further into the living room.
“Ugh Pig- Gwang-jin! At least clear the way then look around!”
“Geez I’m sorry, I didn’t expect the dormitory to be this nice, you can’t blame me man” the wolf boy mumbled under his breath as the older boy huffed and rolled his eyes.
“Alright team, settle down in the living room” I said gesturing to the couch, which Joon-eon (Impact), Sang-hyeon and Su-hyeon were already seated with the younger two still in their pajamas. Once everyone settled on the couch and beanbags I started my small lecture that I personally prepared for them. From team schedule to house rules and finally the room arrangement.
"Room assignments" I announced, consulting my clipboard. "Joon-eon, Sang-hyeok, Gwang-jin and Jeong-hyeon in room one, Su-hyeon gets room two to herself."
"Why does she get her own room?" Gwang-jin (Piglet) immediately protested, ears twitching as he glanced at the dragon girl who was on the beanbag with sheet mask and tail wrapped around her waist. She was quietly slipping her tea as she calmly read her magazine. "That doesn’t sound fair."
"Because I'm the only girl, obviously," Su-hyeon replied casually. "My mother specifically requested it, and trust me, you don't want to argue with a sea dragon about her daughter's living arrangements."
"Sea dragon?" Jeong-hyeon (PoohManDu) asked, looking up from his suitcase that he started unpacking.
"Yup. She's very protective, but also very reasonable. Usually." Su-hyeon's grin showed off her fangs. "Besides, you wouldn't want to room with me anyway. I talk in my sleep, and sometimes I accidentally set things on fire when I'm dreaming."
"You what now?" I asked, suddenly concerned about our insurance policy.
"Only small things! And only when I'm really stressed" She waved dismissively. "It's totally under control."
Sang-hyeok was nodding like this was completely normal information. "She scorched her math textbook last month during exam season."
"It was an accident!"
"You laughed for ten minutes."
"It was also hilarious."
Ah this is my life now. Managing teenage prodigies with supernatural abilities and questionable impulse control. At least the paperwork had warned me about potential property damage. The first few hours of move-in went surprisingly smoothly. Everyone found their spaces, unpacked their essentials (which, for gamers, meant computers, peripherals, and an alarming amount of energy drinks and junk foods), and started settling into the rhythm of shared living. Joon-eon (Impact) tried claiming the cozy corner of the living room but sadly found out Su-hyeon has already claimed it for what she called her "study area," complete with textbooks and notebooks that suggested she was taking the whole "balancing school and esports" thing seriously. Jeong-hyeon (PoohManDu) set up what looked like a command center near the practice computers, with multiple notebooks and strategy guides arranged in a system that made sense only to him.
Gwang-jin (Piglet), meanwhile, had somehow already figured out the optimal setup for his gaming station and was testing his equipment with the kind of focused intensity that reminded me why we'd recruited him in the first place. For about three hours, I actually thought this might work without any major incidents. Then came the Great Banana Milk Incident. It started, as these things often do, with someone opening the refrigerator and someone was Su-hyeon, face free from sheetmask, clad in her giant fluffy robes and hair put into a massive rollers.
"Who drank my banana milk?" Su-hyeon’s voice carried from the kitchen with the kind of dangerous calm that suggested someone was about to die.
I looked up from the practice schedule I was reviewing, already feeling a headache coming on. "Are you sure you didn’t miscount it?"
“I specifically bought a six-pack yesterday, I drank one earlier and now there are only three left. And I don't miscount banana milk," she replied, her voice getting sharper. "Someone drank two of them."
From the living room, I heard Gwang-jin (Piglet) make a small sound that might have been guilt, or might have been amusement. Probably both, it’s hard to tell with that boy.
"Gwang-jin," I called out, already knowing where this was going. "Did you drink Su-hyeon’s banana milk?"
"Define 'drink,'" he called back, which was absolutely not the answer I wanted to hear.
Su-hyeon appeared in the doorway to the living room, holding an empty banana milk carton like evidence in a criminal trial and eyes practically glowing with righteous anger as she glared at the wolf boy who was currently sinking deeper into his bean bag, seemingly trying to disappear into it. "You drank my banana milk."
Gwang-jin (Piglet) looked up from his phone with the kind of innocent expression that fooled absolutely nobody, especially her. "I was thirsty?"
"It had my name on it!"
"Your handwriting is really hard to read."
"My handwriting is perfectly legible! I won a prize for having perfect handwriting. Thank you very much."
"If you say so Miss Perfect handwriting." Gwang-jin (Piglet) shrugged, turning back to his screen. "I'll buy you more tomorrow."
"That's not the point!" Su-hyeon’s voice was reaching the register and had gone all echoey as her horns had started glowing, which meant we were about to have a real problem.
"The point is that you can't just take other people's food without asking you, thieving mutt," she spat out as she pointed at the wolf boy who glanced at her with his hands raised high, phone forgotten on his lap.
"Chill out, sea snake! It's banana milk, not like your grandmother's recipe or something."
"Don't you dare bring my grandmother into this!"
I watched Sang-hyeok's ears flatten against his head and eyes glowing ever so slightly, a sure sign that he was getting uncomfortable with the rising tension but ready to jump in to help his friend. Joon-eon (Impact) was pointedly focusing on his textbooks, while Jeong-hyeon (PoohManDu) was watching the argument with the kind of analytical interest that suggested he was filing away information about team dynamics. Time to intervene before this escalated into something that would make practice impossible.
"Alright, everyone calm down," I said, standing up. "Gwang-jin, apologize for taking Su-hyeon’s banana milk without asking."
"Sorry, Su-hyeon," he said, though his tone suggested he was more sorry about getting caught than actually taking it.
"And Su-hyeon, I will make sure this doesn’t happen again”
"Maybe he should get his eyes checked again and make sure he isn’t gone more blind because I had my name on my food"
"Which Gwang-jin has demonstrated he can't read normal handwriting like a normal person," I replied dryly. "From now on, everyone gets their own shelf in the fridge. Label everything clearly and Gwang-jin, for love of all things, please ask before you take anything that doesn't belong to you."
"Even if I'm really thirsty?"
"Especially if you're really thirsty."
He sighed dramatically, his ears going flat against his head and tail falling limp. "Fineee. But for the record, banana milk tastes way better when it's stolen."
"Bro, that's not helping your case," Jeong-hyeon said quietly, though I caught him hiding a smirk.
"I'm just being honest!"
Su-hyeon looked like she was about to explode again, so I quickly stepped in. “You know what- Gwang-jin, kitchen duty for the rest of the week. Maybe spending some time preparing food for others will give you a new perspective on food ownership."
"Aw, come on coach! I promise I will behave better"
"Non-negotiable."
He slumped in his chair with the kind of theatrical despair that only angsty teenagers could manage. "This is so unfair and cruel!. It was just banana milk!"
"Famous last words," Jeong-hyeon (PoohManDu) muttered, earning a glare from Gwang-jin (Impact) and a snort of laughter from Joon-eon (Impact) and Sang-hyeok and a tiny giggle from Su-hyeon.
As the immediate crisis passed and everyone returned to their activities, I made a mental note to stock up on banana milk. If this was the kind of conflict we were going to have, I could probably handle it. Food disputes were manageable. Personality clashes over strategy or practice time would be harder. But watching Gwang-jin (Impact) grudgingly head to the kitchen to start planning dinner, while Su-hyeon dramatically clutched her remaining banana milk, while the other three tried to pretend they hadn't been entertained by the whole thing, I realized something important. They were already acting like a family. A very dysfunctional, competitive, occasionally larcenous and feral family, but a family nonetheless. The kind of people who could argue passionately about banana milk and then sit down to practice together an hour later. Maybe this crazy experiment was going to work after all. As long as I kept the refrigerator well-stocked.
Chapter 7: The Rook, the Bishop, the Knight meets the King and Queen
February 8th, 2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
taglist: @nothankyew
There's probably a moment in every coach's career when you realize that all your careful planning, all your strategic thinking, and all your experience mean absolutely nothing compared to the unpredictable chaos of putting five teenagers in a room together for the first time. After a week of waiting and planning, the day of the full roster try out has finally arrived and I was a ball of nervous energy and sliver of dread. Right after my meeting with Impact, Piglet and PoohManDu, I told Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok the good news about us possibly having a full roster and starting training for OC Spring very soon. As expected of them, Su-hyeon was excited about the news while Sang-hyeok acted like he wasn't as excited as her but his tails betrayed him when I saw them sway just a little faster. A sign of excitement that I quickly picked up after the two of them moved into the dormitory and we started interacting more.
Speaking of the dormitory, the management team finally found an apartment that will be our boothcamp/dormitory the day after my meeting with the trio. It was an old apartment that isn’t too far away from the HQ, even though it’s an apartment it was specially built for housing idol trainees. So the rooms were pretty spacious: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two office spaces, living room, balcony and kitchen. The management after talking for a while about rooming arrangement came to the decision to give the boys the bigger bedroom, Su-hyeon gets the smaller one, the smaller one of two office spaces will be my room and the other space will be the practice room. When told about the arrangement Su-hyeon smiled happily, eyes practically sparkling “Good, if I have to deal with moody boys all day. I deserve to have my own room” she said as she skipped into her room dragging her two suitcase along, “Hey! I’m not moody!” Sang-hyeok protested from his room, he had already claimed one of the top bunk beds as his own and was now busy unpacking his suitcase. “Yes you are! Did you forget how moody you get whenever there’s no kimchi pancakes left? Yeah that’s what I thought” She yelled back as she calmly pulled a big bag of glow-in dark stars and stringlights.
While they were busy unpacking and roasting each other, I was setting up the pc in the practice room. “I take it back, they aren’t mature at all- they are just good at masking their pettiness and feralness” I mumbled to myself as I booted up the last pc without much trouble, even though I acted annoyed when I told them to stop yelling and focus on their tasks I couldn't help but smile. It’s a strange feeling to have when you see usually composed and professional teenagers act like their age, makes me feel like they finally trust me enough to be themselves and I wanna protect their trust in me with everything.
After they settled into their rooms and I finished with the rest of my tasks of the day, I ordered us fried chicken and tteokbokki from the fancy chicken place that higher ups order for us employees whenever there’s something big to celebrate. It felt appropriate to have the delicious food as our first dinner as a team. Once the food arrived, the three of us hurled around the small coffee table and I quickly laid out the food. Meanwhile Su-heyon put her favorite variety show on the TV and Sang-hyeok placed the banchan Su-hyeon’s mom had made for us. Once we got comfortable in our seats we dug into the chicken and tteokbokki, we didn’t talk but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable at all if anything it was peaceful and warm. After dinner I sent the two to their room and decided to clean everything myself when I saw they were barely fighting against their food coma while complaining about the winter homework and future school works waiting for them when school starts.
That was a week ago and things didn’t change much. If anything Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok got more feral as they got comfortable with their schedule. Especially when it comes to banana milks (this will be very important later). They were still very respectful towards me and other staff members whenever they train with our main roster but you can just tell that they are feral whenever they look at each other, doing their silent communication and tails swaying eerily in sync.
̩͙⊱༒︎ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ༒︎⊰‿̩͙
At 3:07 PM on a Friday afternoon, Piglet, Impact and PoohManDu finally arrived at our HQ, armed with their own keyboards, headphones and mouses. I led them to our second practice room where Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok were already playing a rank game as warm up. When Piglet took one look at Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok sitting close together at their practice stations and whispered, "Oh great, the lovebirds are holding hands. This is going to be professional."
The silence that followed was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Su-hyeon, to her credit, didn't rise to the bait. She simply turned in her chair, fixed Piglet with the kind of calm stare and fanged smile that probably worked on unruly spirits during her shamanic training with her mother, and said, "Hello, Gwang-jin. I'm Su-hyeon, IGN SunnySide. I look forward to working with you."
The formal politeness of her response combined with the way Sang-hyeok's four tails had gone completely still created the kind of tension that could either explode into drama or settle into grudging respect. I held my breath, wondering if my carefully constructed team was about to fall apart before we even started our first practice.
Then Impact started laughing.
Not mockingly, but with genuine amusement at the entire situation. "Piglet, you absolute disaster," he said, shaking his head. "You've been here for thirty seconds and you're already starting fights with teammates."
"I wasn't starting a fight!" Piglet protested, though his cheeks had flushed slightly. "I was just... observing."
"You were being rude," PoohManDu said firmly, stepping forward to bow properly to Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok. "I apologize for my teammate's lack of manners. I'm Lee Jeong-hyeon, and I'm honored to meet you both."
The formal introduction seemed to reset the atmosphere in the room. Sang-hyeok stood and returned the bow, his natural politeness overriding his obvious irritation and awkwardness. "Lee Sang-hyeok, IGN GoJeonPa. Thank you for coming today."
"Kim Joon-eon," Impact added, joining the circle of introductions. "And don't worry about Piglet- he's always grumpy when he's nervous."
"I'm not nervous," Piglet muttered, but he did manage a grudging bow in Su-hyeon's direction. "Chae Gwang-jin. Sorry for the... comment."
Su-hyeon smiled softly then, the first genuine expression she'd worn since the awkward exchange began. "It's fine. I know this situation is unusual. But we're all here for the same reason, to get better at League of Legends. Everything else is secondary."
"Exactly," I said, jumping in before anyone could say something else potentially inflammatory. "Let's focus on what brought us all together. PoohManDu, Impact, Piglet – you've seen replays of Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok's gameplay. Su-hyeon, Sang-hyeok – I've shown you footage of these three as well. But watching replays is different from actually playing together. So let's see how this works in practice."
The next few minutes were spent getting everyone settled at their stations and setting things up to their preference. Our second practice room had been expanded to accommodate the full five-man roster, and I'd made sure to position the computers and chairs are changed so that Su-hyeon, Sang-hyeok and Gwang-jin (Piglet) sat comfortably with their tails after Su-hyeon pointed out how the chair and position were uncomfortable for her tail.
"Alright," I announced once everyone had their headsets on and League client loaded. "We're going to run some internal scrimmages. For the first game, I want everyone to play their main champs and just focus on getting a feel for each other's styles. Don't worry about winning or losing, worry about communication and coordination."
"What's our team comp philosophy?" PoohManDu asked, already falling into his role as the strategic voice of the team. "Are we looking at meta picks, or do you two have preferences?"
This was directed at Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok, and I was pleased to see that the other three were treating them as established players rather than rookies who needed to fit into an existing system.
"I'm comfortable with most jungle champions," Su-hyeon replied. "But I tend to favor picks that can create opportunities rather than just follow up on them. I like to dictate the pace of the game."
"Aggressive jungling," Impact noted approvingly. "I can work with that. My top lane champions synergize well with early pressure."
"And mid?" Piglet asked, looking at Sang-hyeok.
"I adapt to what the team needs," Sang-hyeok said simply. "But I prefer champions with high mobility and outplay potential."
"Show-off," Piglet muttered as he cracked his knuckles before securing his headphones in his wolf ears, but there was less hostility in it than before.
The champion select phase of our first game together was... educational. I watched five young players trying to figure out each other's preferences while also trying to establish some kind of team identity and not flame each other’s playstyle. Su-hyeon locked in Lee Sin, one of her comfort pick. Sang-hyeok chose Ahri for mid, a pick that would allow him to roam and support Su-hyeon's aggressive style.
Impact went with Irelia top, PoohManDu selected Thresh support, and after some hesitation, Piglet chose Ezreal for ADC.
"Decent comp," I observed. "Lots of mobility, good engagement potential. Let's see how you execute it."
The first ten minutes of the game were... rough. Not because anyone was playing poorly individually, but because five different players were trying to impose five different ideas of how the game should flow. Su-hyeon would start a jungle route, only to have Impact assume she was coming top for a gank. Sang-hyeok would roam bot to help Piglet, but PoohManDu was already setting up for a different play.
"We're not communicating," PoohManDu said during a pause after a particularly messy team fight. "Everyone's making good individual decisions, but we're not making them together."
"It's our first game," Su-hyeon pointed out reasonably. "We don't know each other's timing yet."
"Right, but we need to establish some basic protocols," Impact added. "Like, Su-hyeon-ah when you're pathing toward my lane, can you give me a ten-second warning? I can set up my minion wave better if I know you're coming."
"Sure and Sang, when you're roaming, should I be looking to invade the enemy jungle or focus on vision control?"
"Depends on the game state," Sang-hyeok replied. "But generally, if I'm roaming bot, you can probably take their top-side jungle safely."
Slowly, over the course of three games, I watched something beautiful happen. Five individual players began to merge into something resembling a team. They started finishing each other's calls, predicting each other's movements, building on each other's strengths rather than fighting against them. Piglet, despite his initial attitude, turned out to be incredibly adaptable. Once he understood Su-hyeon's aggressive jungle style, he started playing more forward in lane, knowing she'd be there to follow up on his trades. "You know what?" he said after a particularly successful bot lane gank, "this might actually work."
Impact proved to be exactly the steady presence I'd hoped for. He absorbed pressure in the top lane while the rest of the team made plays elsewhere, and his teleport timing was almost always perfect. "Su-hyeon," he said at one point, "your counter-gank sense is incredible. How did you know they were coming top?"
"The enemy jungler's pathing was too obvious," she replied. "And their mid laner was positioning like he expected a fight. Sang noticed it too, that's why he started moving toward the river before I even called it."
That was the moment I knew we had something special. Not just because Su-hyeon had made a smart read, but because she and Sang-hyeok were already starting to extend their synergy to include their new teammates. They weren't playing as a duo with three extras, they were playing as five people who trusted each other.
PoohManDu was perhaps the biggest revelation. His game knowledge was encyclopedic, and he had a talent for reading the enemy team's intentions that complemented Su-hyeon's mechanical skills perfectly. "If you ward here," he suggested during one game, "and Sang-hyeok pushes this wave, we can catch them at their blue buff in about forty seconds."
"How can you be so sure?" Piglet asked.
"Because their jungler always does a full clear after failed ganks, their mid has to back for items, and their bot lane just used their summoner spells. They'll be grouped up at blue buff trying to reset."
He was right, of course. The resulting team fight gave us such a significant lead that the game was essentially over. As our practice session wound down and we prepared to debrief, I found myself watching the interactions between my five players with growing satisfaction. The initial awkwardness had faded, replaced by the kind of competitive camaraderie that formed the foundation of successful teams.
"So," I said as everyone removed their headsets, "how did that feel?"
"Good," Impact said immediately. "Really good, actually. We've got some timing issues to work out, but the fundamental chemistry is there."
"I agree," PoohManDu added. "Once we got comfortable with each other's communication styles, the games flowed much better."
"Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok are legit," Piglet admitted, and I could tell the admission cost him some effort. "I mean, I knew they were good from the replays, but playing with them is different. They make everyone else better."
"That's the point, wolf boy," Su-hyeon said with a smile. "League of Legends is a team game. Individual skill only matters if it helps the team succeed."
"Spoken like a true professional," Sang-hyeok added, leaning over to bump his shoulder against hers. The gesture was so natural and unconscious that I don't think he even realized he'd done it. If any of the other players noticed, they didn't comment. Which, honestly- was probably the best possible outcome.
"Alright," I said, standing up and stretching. "I think we've seen enough for today. Everyone go home, think about what we practiced, and be ready to come back tomorrow for more serious preparation, and we've got a lot of work to do."
As the players gathered their things and prepared to leave, I caught PoohManDu lingering near Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok's stations.
"Can I ask you something?" he said quietly.
"Of course," Su-hyeon replied.
"That thing you do...when reading the enemy's intentions before they act on them. Is that something you can teach, or is it just... intuition?"
Su-hyeon considered the question seriously. "It's part intuition, part training, part experience. But mostly, it's about learning to see patterns in behavior. People think they're unpredictable, but they're not especially in high-stress situations. Everyone has tells."
"Could you... would you mind showing me some of what to look for? I think it would make me better support."
The smile that crossed Su-hyeon's face was radiant. "I'd be happy to. We're teammates now and we should help each other get better."
As I watched this exchange, I realized that we crossed an important threshold today. We weren't just five individual players and plus a coach anymore, we are actually becoming a team. There would be more challenges ahead, more personality conflicts to navigate, more strategic decisions to make. But for the first time since this whole adventure began, I was genuinely confident that we could make this work. SKT T1's second roster was officially born. Now we just had to figure out how to turn five teenagers into champions.
To be continue…
Hallo hallo everyone!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We are officially done with Act One/ Introduction part of the book, for next act it will focus on how the team and kkoma navigating being team, general shenanigans, glimpses into Sang-hyeok’s feelings towards Su-hyeon and more world building if you guys interested in! I really appreciate that you guys been enjoying my fanfin and the world I’m trying build/ show!!! Also from now on, every chapter will have a tag-list so you wanna be tagged, please let me know! Thank you so much and see you guys in the next chapter!!
February 1st, 2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
There’s something that they don't tell you about building a professional esports team around two cracked teenagers. It's not just about finding three talented players and hoping they work well together with the bedrock players. It's about finding five people who complement each other's personalities, play styles, and life circumstances in ways that won't drive everyone insane during the fourteen-hour practice days.
Thanks to Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok willing to help me with scouting for the rest of the team my life as coach has been a little bit bearable, Su-hyeon- who has been helping me out creating spreadsheets for all the scouted players. Some were new ranked ladder climbers, some were veterans looking for a new team, some were one-trick ragers and the list goes on. After hours reviewing multiple gameplays, all three of us were able to settle on three players-. Which is why, six days after Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok officially joined SKT T1 and started helping me, I found myself sitting in a PC bang in Gangnam, watching three potential teammates of cracked rookies try not to kill each other over a particularly heated solo queue match.
"You could have followed up on that engage," muttered Kim Joon-eon, better known by his summoner name "Impact" At eighteen, he was two years older than our new jungle-mid duo, but he carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who'd been playing top lane since before most people knew what League of Legends was.
"I would have followed up if you'd actually committed to the fight instead of dancing around the edge like a scared rabbit hyung!" replied Chae Gwang-jin with deep frown on his face, his wolf ears and tail twitching with barley contained irritation, Chae Gwang-jin aka "Piglet" same ages as Impact and already developing a reputation as one of Korea's most mechanically gifted ADC players, though his attitude could use a lot of work.
"Both of you shut up and focus," said Lee Jeong-hyeon, whose summoner name "PoohManDu" seemed completely at odds with his serious demeanor. At nineteen, he was the oldest of the three, and it showed in the way he tried to keep his potential teammates focused on the game rather than their grievances with each other.
I'd been watching them for two hours, taking mental notes on their gameplay, their communication patterns, and most importantly, how they handled frustration. Building a team around Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok meant finding players who could adapt to their unconventional style without feeling overshadowed by their obvious synergy.
Impact was the most promising candidate. His top lane play was solid and consistent, but more importantly, he seemed to have the kind of steady personality that would anchor a team full of young talents. He didn't tilt easily, he made smart decisions under pressure, and he had a dry sense of humor that might balance out some of the more intense personalities.
Piglet was... complicated. His mechanics were undeniably impressive. I'd watched him make plays that shouldn't have been possible with his champion pool. But he also had a tendency toward arrogance that could be problematic in a team environment. Still, raw talent was hard to find, and attitude could be coached.
PoohManDu was the wild card. Supports were often the strategic minds of their teams, and he clearly had the game knowledge to fill that role. He was also older and more mature, which could be valuable when managing a roster that would average barely eighteen years old. The question was whether he could adapt to Su-hyeon's unconventional jungle pathing and timing.
"That's a game," Impact announced as their Nexus exploded. "Nice carry, Piglet."
"I do what I can," Piglet replied, but I caught the small smile and tail wagging slowly that indicated he appreciated the acknowledgement.
"Want to grab some food?" PoohManDu suggested, already starting to shut down his computer. "There's a decent chicken place down the street."
This was my cue. I'd learned that the best time to approach potential recruits was when they were relaxed and away from the intensity of gaming. Food was usually a good icebreaker. I stood up from my observation spot and walked over to their station. "Excuse me, gentlemen. Mind if I join you for that chicken?"
All three of them turned to look at me, and I could see the moment recognition dawned in their eyes. When you're a serious League player in Korea, you tend to know the faces associated with professional teams.
"You're KkOma from SKT T1," Impact said. It wasn't a question.
"I am. And you three are Impact, Piglet, and PoohManDu. I've been watching your gameplay for the past few days."
Piglet's eyes narrowed slightly. "Scouting?"
"Maybe. Depends on whether you're interested in hearing about an opportunity."
̩͙⊱༒︎ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ༒︎⊰‿̩͙
The chicken restaurant was exactly the kind of place I'd expected-cramped, loud, and served food that was probably terrible for professional athletes but absolutely delicious. We found a corner table where we could talk without being overheard, and I waited until everyone had ordered before launching into my pitch.
"SKT T1 is building a second roster," I began. "We've already signed our jungle and mid lane players- two incredibly talented rookies who play together like they share a brain. We need a top laner, ADC, and support to complete the team."
"How old are these rookies?" PoohManDu asked.
"Sixteen, both of them. High school students, but they're already playing at a professional level."
"Sixteen?" Piglet looked skeptical. "And you want to build a competitive team around high schoolers?"
"I want to build a competitive team around talent," I corrected. "Age is just a number. Skill and dedication are what matter."
Impact leaned forward, interested. "What kind of players are they? Aggressive? Passive? Meta-focused?"
"Innovative," I said. "They don't just follow the established strategies- they create new ones. Su-hyeon's jungle pathing is unlike anything I've seen before and Sang-hyeok's laning phase is already approaching professional standards."
"Su-hyeon?" PoohManDu's eyebrows rose. "That's a girl's name."
"Because she's a girl," I said sharply with a raised brow."Gotta a problem with that?"
The three of them exchanged glances. This was always the moment of truth when discussing Su-hyeon with potential teammates. About half the players I'd approached had immediately dismissed the idea of playing with a female teammate, citing everything from "distraction" to "team chemistry concerns."
"No problem here," Impact said after a moment. "I've played with girls in solo queue before. If she's good, she's good."
"Same," PoohManDu agreed. "Actually, it might be nice to have some different perspectives on the team."
All eyes turned to Piglet, who was quiet for a long moment. "Is she really good enough for professional play? I don’t want to carry a dead weight" he finally said, ignoring Impact and PoohManDu who were glaring daggers at him.
"See for yourself," I said with a smirk, pulling out my tablet and queuing up one of Su-hyeon's recent solo games. "This is from last night. Watch her jungle routing and decision-making."
For the next twenty minutes, they huddled around my tablet watching replays. I'd chosen carefully- games that showcased not just Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok's individual skills, but their ability to enable their teammates and adapt to different strategies.
"Okay, that's actually impressive," Piglet admitted after watching Su-hyeon turn a losing team fight into a comeback victory. "The way she reads the enemy positioning is incredible."
"And her mid laner," Impact added, "his map awareness is insane. Look how he starts rotating toward that fight before anyone even calls for help."
"They're childhood friends that just want to build a team that doesn’t only win tournaments but also memorable," I said casually, wanting to get this particular conversation out of the way early.
The silence that followed was brief but telling.
"Damn that’s..." PoohManDu started.
"Ambitious and a little naive" I finished.
"Oh." More silence.
"Look," I said, "I know it's unusual. But I've spent time with them, I've watched them interact with our main roster, and I've seen how they handle themselves professionally. Their dream makes them stronger as players, not weaker."
"Plus," Piglet said with a lazy grin, "if they ever stumble, we can flame them to oblivion."
That broke the tension, and everyone laughed.
"Alright," PoohManDu said, "assuming we're interested- and I'm not saying we are yet, what's the timeline? When would this team start competing?"
"OC Spring qualifiers are in six weeks," I said. "Ideally, I'd like to have the full roster finalized within the next two weeks so we can get some practice time together."
"That's not much time to build team chemistry," Impact pointed out.
"No, it's not. But Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok already have years of synergy built in. The question is whether the rest of you can adapt to their style quickly enough."
"What about living arrangements?" Impact asked. "You mentioned a bootcamp dormitory."
"We're working on that, probably a house with separate rooms. The details are still being hammered out with management since we don’t have the same funding as the main roster."
Our food arrived, and the conversation shifted to more practical concerns- practice schedules, tournament expectations, salary negotiations. But I could see that all three of them were genuinely interested. The combination of opportunity and challenge was appealing to young players who wanted to prove themselves at the highest level.
"I want to meet them," Impact said finally. "Before I commit to anything, I want to see how we work together in person."
"Fair enough. Can you all come by the practice facility tomorrow afternoon? We can run some scrimmages, see how the chemistry works out."
"I'm in," Impact said immediately.
"Me too," PoohManDu agreed.
Piglet was quiet for a moment longer, then nodded. "Okay. But I'm not making any promises until I see how this works in practice."
As we finished our meal and prepared to part ways, I felt the familiar mixture of excitement and anxiety that came with major decisions. Tomorrow, for the first time, we'd have a complete five-player roster in the same room. We'd find out whether the team I'd been building in my head could actually work in reality.
"One more thing," I said as we stood to leave. "Su-hyeon is a Yong- a sea dragon variant. Sang-hyeok is a pure Gumiho. If you've never interacted with mythical variants before, just... be respectful. They're still teenagers, but they come from traditions that are much older than professional gaming."
"Got it," Impact said. "Anything else we should know?"
"Just that they're good kids," I said. "Talented, dedicated, and genuinely nice people. Give them a chance, and I think you'll like them."
As I walked back to my company issued car, I couldn't help but smile. Three days ago, I had two players and a dream. Tomorrow, I'd have five players and the beginning of what might become something special.The real test would be whether five very different personalities could come together to form a team. But for the first time since this whole adventure began, I was genuinely optimistic about our chances. Now I just had to figure out how to explain to Management that our ADC was almost as young as our rookies and had an attitude that could either drive the team to greatness or tear it apart completely. One challenge at a time, KkOma. One challenge at a time.
January 25th, 2013
(Narrated by Kim “KkOma” Jeong-gyun)
It's 6 AM and I haven't slept, this is fine, everything is fine. I'm a professional coach who definitely has everything under control and isn't currently stress-eating his fourth energy bar while reorganizing the tryout schedule for the seventh time. The SKT gaming house is quiet at this hour, most of the main team players are still asleep, and the morning light filtering through the windows makes everything look almost peaceful. Almost as if you can ignore the tangled cables, the empty coffee cups, and the faint smell of instant ramyun that permanently permeates the building. I've set up the main practice room with fifteen gaming stations, each with identical peripherals and monitors. Fair playing field, no excuses, just pure skill. As I fixed my hair for want, it felt like the tenth time my phone buzzed in my jacket pocket. Pulling it out I looked at the sender and to my relief It's Coach Choi.
Coach Choi: Reviewed all the replays. The Gumiho kid is legitimate, the dragon makes me nervous- not her skill but can she handle fifteen male competitors watching her every move?
Kkoma: She'll be fine.
Coach Choi: Your confidence is admirable or insane. Haven't decided which.
Kkoma: Why not both?
Coach Choi: See you at 9. Try not to give yourself an ulcer before then.
I spent the next three hours doing final preparations. Printing out evaluation sheets, double-checking that all the computers are working, trying to remember how to appear calm and professional when internally I'm screaming. I can feel my hands twitch ever so slightly, maybe I've had too much coffee to the point I can taste colors. By 9 AM, the other coaching staff starts arriving. Coach Choi, looking far too awake and put-together for this hour. Manager Kim, whose hawk eyes immediately start scanning the room for imperfections. Manager Park, his wolf ears standing straight and alert as he looked around with a neutral face. Finally Director Lee, carrying her trusty tablet and an expression that suggests she's already regretting this decision.
"Jeong-gyun," she says. "The candidates?"
"Should start arriving at 9:30. I scheduled GoJeonPa and SunnySide for 10 AM—I wanted them fresh, not waiting around getting nervous."
"Strategic," Coach Choi nods approvingly with a small smile. "Though if they can't handle waiting, they can't handle stage pressure."
He has a point, but I'm already emotionally invested in these kids and I will fight anyone who criticizes them, including my coaching superiors. I don't say this out loud because I value my job. The first candidates start trickling in at 9:25. They're exactly what I expected, older teenagers and young adults in their late teens to early twenties, most with some amateur tournament experience. They're nervous but trying to hide it, chatting with each other in low voices, sizing up the competition. More players filter in. I recognize some names from solo queue, others from minor tournaments. They're all good players. Safe choices. Exactly what management wanted. And then 10 AM finally arrives, the door opens. If you've never seen a four-tailed fox boy and dragon girl try to look casual while walking into a professional esports facility for the first time, you're missing out on one of life's more amusing spectacles.
Sang-hyeok had clearly spent extra time on his appearance- his choppy hair was perfectly styled, wearing a matching black tracksuit, and all four of his tails were groomed to absolute perfection. The problem was that no amount of preparation could hide the fact that he was practically vibrating with nervous energy. Su-hyeon, by contrast, was practically bounced into the room, her braided hair swinging behind her. She's wearing bell jeans and an oversized hoodie with a cartoon dragon on it, and her tail is swishing so excitedly it nearly knocks over a water bottle. Her dragon features- the elegant horns, the pale scales that caught the light around her neck.
"Breathe," she murmured to Sang-hyeok as they looked around the practice room. "You're going to hyperventilate before we even meet anyone."
"I'm fine," he replied, which would have been more convincing if his voice hadn't cracked slightly on the second word. “You are in the same boat as” he added softly while Su-hyeon huffed a small amount of mist out with a small pout. Every head in the room turns to the two teens and I can see the moment the other candidates register her presence. The confusion, the surprise, one guy actually drops his phone.
"You're late," says one of the candidates, a guy with wolf features. "Tryouts started at 9:30."
"No," I interject smoothly. "I scheduled different arrival times. Su-hyeon, Sang-hyeok, you're right on time."
"Wait, is she trying out? For what, team manager?" The dog guy asks with a frown as he crosses his arms. Watching the scene in front of me I quickly checked my sheet, the guy’s name is Han "Wolf" Jae-wan, and oh the irony.
Su-hyeon blinks, tilting her head. "Hmm? No, I'm trying out for the jungle. Why?"
"Jungle," one of the guys repeats slowly, pointing at her with raised eyebrows and frown on his face as he looks her up and down. "You."
"Yep" She's completely oblivious to the incredulous tone. "I'm SunnySide by the way. Nice to meet you!"
From where I'm standing I can see Sang-hyeok's tails tense up and his eyes narrow fractionally at the guy who is still looking at Su-hyeon with suspicion, and there's something dangerous in his look, something that reminds me that Gumihos are predators, specially the quiet ones. Before this can escalate, Coach Choi calmly claps his hands. "Alright, everyone settle down. Welcome to SKT T1 2 tryouts. I'm Coach Choi, this is Coach Kim, Manager Park, Manager Kim, and Director Lee. Today you'll be playing a series of games. We'll be evaluating mechanics, game sense, teamwork, and composure under pressure."
He proceeds to explain the format: Random team assignments, three games minimum per player, with top performers advancing to additional rounds. Standard stuff.
"One more thing," Director Lee adds, stepping forward. "We don't care about your age, gender, or species. We care about one thing only: can you win games for SKT? If you can't put your ego aside and work with whoever we pair you with, there's the door."
Her eyes land pointedly on Wolf, who has the grace to look slightly embarrassed.
"Alright," I say, pulling up the first round assignments on the big screen. "First five games. Teams are randomized. Check your names and get to your stations."
I've deliberately put Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok on different teams and groups for the first round. I need to see how they perform independently, not just as a duo. Su-hyeon is assigned to Team Blue with four players I don't expect much from, mid-tier candidates who probably won't make the cut. It's a test really, can she carry the game even when her team isn’t doing great. Sang-hyeok is on Team Red with slightly better players. As everyone settles at their stations, I notice Su-hyeon introducing herself to her teammates, who all look various shades of confused and skeptical. Sang-hyeok, meanwhile, sits down silently and starts adjusting his settings with mechanical precision.
"Think the girl will choke?" Manager Kim murmurs to Coach Choi.
"She won't," I mutter before I can stop myself. "She is better than that."
The games start. I was walking around, checking everyone' setups and settling behind Su-hyeon with the rest of the higher ups. I'm watching Su-hyeon's teammates screen primarily, and before coach Choi lets out a deep sigh and whispers "Oh no,"
"What?" I look at the game. Su-hyeon loaded in with Lee Sin. Standard comfort pick. She starts blue buff, normal clear. Everything looks fine and then at 2:47, she suddenly sprints to the enemy red buff.
"What is she doing?" manager Park leans forward. "That's suicide. The enemy jungler will be-"
Su-hyeon walks into the bush where the enemy jungler who was playing Elise, was doing his red buff. The Elise doesn't see her because Su-hyeon's timing is perfect, entering right as the ward expires. Su-hyeon Q's, connects, follows, smites the buff and walks out. The enemy Elise's health bar barely went down, but Su-hyeon just stole red buff at level 3 and walked away.
"Did she-" Director Lee stares. "Did she just-"
"Knowledge of ward timings," I say, trying and failing not to grin like an idiot. "She knew exactly when that bush would be dark." The game continues. Su-hyeon's teammates are playing... poorly, to be honest. Their top laner has died twice in four minutes, mid lane is down 20 CS, bot lane is even, at least but Su-hyeon is everywhere. One second she is in her camp, next she ganks top and secures the kill, she counter-jungles again, stealing the enemy's entire top side. She bases and sets up vision around the dragon, and when her team, despite her pinging multiple times, doesn't rotate, she starts soloing it before her teammates finally arrive to help her out.
By fifteen minutes, Su-hyeon is 3/0/4 and has a two-level lead on the enemy jungler. Her lanes are still losing, her teammates really aren't great but she's keeping them in the game through pure jungle pressure.
With a wide grin on my face I switch to Sang-hyeok's screen. He's playing LeBlanc into Orianna, and oh it's poetry. That's the only word for it, every trade is calculated,every movement has purpose. He's not flashy like Su-hyeon, there's no disrespectful invades or risky plays. He's just methodically, efficiently, destroying his opponent. At 8 minutes, he's up 25 CS and has solo killed his laner twice.
"The Gumiho is good," Manager Park admits. "Very good. Clean."
At 12 minutes, Sang-hyeok roams bottom while his opponent is still clearing mid wave. He appears in bot lane like a ghost, deletes the enemy ADC with a combo so fast I have to rewatch it, and is back in mid lane before his opponent even realizes he left.
"That roam timing," Coach Choi breathes. "He knew Orianna wouldn't follow. How did he.."
"He's tracking everything," I say. "Summoner spells, ward timings, jungle position. Look at his map awareness- he's glancing at the minimap every two seconds."
Both games are approaching the 20-minute mark now. Su-hyeon's game is still close despite her efforts. Her team keeps getting caught out, making the kind of mistakes that make me want to tear my hair out. But she hasn't given up. She's still creating plays, still finding opportunities. At 26 minutes, her team is down 5 kills and one baron. The enemy team is besieging the mid tower. It looks doomed as her teammates desperately fights back while…Su-hyeon is farming bot lane.
"What is she doing?" manager Kim mutters from my left as he leans closer. "Her team is dying and she's farming?"
The bottom tower finally falls and she starts hitting at the inhibitor.
"No way," I whisper with the widest grin on my face as I watch her continue on. "She's not"
Oh she is. While the entire enemy team is mid, Su-hyeon breaks the inhibitor and walks into their base and starts hitting the tower with help of the minions.
"A backdoor?" Director Park stands up. "That's incredibly risky"
The enemy team finally notices her, while they pull back to TP her team pushes and tries to delay their backing as much as possible. Two enemies die while the rest of the enemy players TP back to defend. Su-hyeon kills two of them. With Lee Sin. Solo. The rest of her team comes to help her finish, she finishes the nexus with 47 HP remaining as the two defenders respawns.
VICTORY.
The practice room erupts in noise. Su-hyeon's teammates are freaking out, praising her openly as the other team left speechless. The candidates watching are talking over each other. Even some of the coaching staff are reacting. While people busy with look at her play, Su-hyeon just leans back in her chair, with a small grins, and softly says, "well..that was fun"
Not long after Sang-hyeok's game ended- a clean, efficient victory where his team barely had to try because he'd created so much pressure that the enemy team couldn't function. After a few more games, Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon came first and second with the rest of the candidates barely reaching the same result as them. It was clear that my lucky stars have made a great impression on the higher ups, especially Su-hyeon as she was able to prove that she can handle the pressure and play without trouble. As the candidates started packing up, me and others headed to the meeting room with me finally walking without worry in my chest. Once everyone has been seated and I pull up all the results on the screen, Director Lee who has been quiet throughout the rest of the tryout finally clears her throat and gets up from her seat and walks up to the front of the room with her hands folded behind her back.
“Let’s not beat around the bushes, we might lose our chance if we let those two slip away. Those two were simply on a different level then rest of the candidates today or the ones we saw before” she said as she leaned on the table with her hands, looking at us with her eyes shining with genuine determination.
“I agree, those kids are truly talented players and if we can guide them into the right direction- they can reach the highest point” Manager Park agrees as the rest of the
"Actually," I said. "I believe it will in our best interest if we build around Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok, we need players that can keep up and support their gameplay while also carrying their own weight"
Director Lee, Manager Park, Manager Kim Coach Choi share a few glances with the rest of the staff as everyone starts to mumble under their breath. Even though I looked calm, I was secretly sweating as I was hoping they hadn't caught up to me making the suggestion right on the spot. After my multiple failed scouting, tryouts and my meeting with Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon, watching them play with others. I don’t want to just put three ‘okay’ players with Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon and hope they will carry everything- that will be unfair for everyone. So here I was, a twenty-seven year old simple assistant coach sweating bullets as the higher ups to think about the possibility and potential of creating around the two kids. After what felt like an eternity, Director Lee, Manager Park, Manager Kim and Coach Choi finally turned to me. Their expression was the perfect ‘corporate neutral but isn’t unkind’, I can almost hear my heartbeat increasing in my ears as I start fidgeting with a pen cap.
“If you think that’s the right call, then we shall help and support you with every necessary thing, but you must understand that since the team isn’t our main roster, the payments will be diminutive” Manager Park spoke with calm voice as he laced his fingers and placed his hands on top of Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon’s result. I couldn’t help myself as a wide grin broke through my face. I nodded my head rapidly as I quickly got up from my chair and bowed down deeply, nearly banging my forehead on the edge of the table once and starling everyone.
“Thank you so much! I promise we will not let you down!” I said as I straightened my back and looked at my superiors, Coach Choi was grinning behind his hands as he pushed his glasses up, Manager Park’s tail swinging slowly, Manager Kim giving me thumbs up and Director Lee nodded at me with a small smile. As handshakes and congratulations went around the room, I quickly excused myself and practically ran out of the meeting to the practice room. I turned the corner and caught Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok walking away. “GUYS- waitwait” I yelled out as I ran after them, to my luck Sang-hyeok looked back and stopped Su-hyeon from walking away when he saw me run.
“Oh Oppa! Are you alright? Why are you running? Did we leave something behind? I swear i double checked before leaving-”
“No no! You two are in!”
“Wait… you mean, we are actually playing under SKT T1?!”
“YES!”
Su-hyeon has gone silent for a few seconds before she lets out probably one of the loudest screeches as she starts jumping around, her horns shining brightly and her scales glowing.
“OH MY GOD!! Sang-ah we're gonna play, we're gonna go pro!” she yells happily as she wraps her arms around Sang-hyeok, she is still bouncing on the tip of her toes. Sang-hyeok, who was silent the whole time, finally let out a shaky breath and hugged Su-hyeon back tightly, tails wagging wildly. Once all three of us calmed down, we sat outside the SKT’s building, sipping on hot green tea from the venting machine. I glanced at Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok, both wearing expressions of determination mixed with barely contained excitement. Two weeks and three days ago, I'd been a nervous former jungler with no idea how to scout talent. Today, I was looking at what might be the foundation of a championship team. Tomorrow, the real work will begin.
to be continue...
hello hello everyone! hope yall having fun reading my fanfic so far!!. I haven't been able to upload new chapter for a while because of school work load, it's my last year of college so it been pretty busy, on top of that- my proof reader aka my close friend finally got some time and helped me out with mistakes. That being said, i glad to say that i already started working on the next chapter!!! i will try to be active and upload it as soon as possible. okie bye-bye!!
