Finally Looking This Way?
Finally looking this way, huh?
"Finally looking this way, huh?"
That line definitely came from one of those romance comedies with a scheming female lead.
But the person saying the exact same thing right in front of me was a guy.
Weird. Maybe the gender-bend happened because he's sitting in front of me instead of beside me?
Ah, one thing was exactly the same, though.
That unnecessarily sly expression.
Ughhh.
I glanced at his name tag and answered as politely as I could.
He wasn't the flighty, player type like Jeong Ha-rin or Yoo Ye-eun.
If I had to describe him, he'd be the class clown who keeps the mood lively—one of those guys every class seems to have.
"Han Noah, you play League?"
"Huh? Out of nowhere?"
"Hurry up, hurry up. Answering a question with another question is bad manners, dude."
"...Yeah, I do."
"Stage one cleared. Then what's your rank?"
"Emerald... wait, no—Plat 2."
Emerald tier hadn't even been added until I was past twenty.
"One more left. What's your main lane?"
"Anything except jungle."
"You little—let's goooo!!!"
Seong-tae suddenly grabbed my hand and raised his voice.
I never expected the third person to hold my hand after regressing would be another dude.
Holding hands with Mom and Yuri had felt nice, but this weirdly annoying feeling... what the hell was it?
"Ugh, you're loud. Just get to the point. What do you want?"
"After school, can you come to the PC bang with us? Please! We're supposed to have a scrim against Class 3, but we're short a player."
Ah, so he was asking me to fill in an empty spot.
This was one of those classic Korean school-life events I could never experience back in the States.
To be honest, I did want to go at least once to get to know my classmates' faces...
"Sorry. I've already got plans after school."
I'd promised Yuri we'd watch TV together under the same blanket, after all.
No matter what, breaking a prior engagement felt wrong.
"You got cram school or something?"
"It's not that..."
"Girlfriend?"
"Hmm~ not exactly."
It felt a little awkward to call her my girlfriend.
We weren't officially dating yet.
Yeah. Not yet.
"Then why not?! Are you worried it'll be awkward with the guys? Don't sweat it, I'll take full responsibility and make sure you get along. Please!"
Seong-tae was practically clinging to me now.
People might get the wrong idea if they saw this. I really wished he'd stop.
Maybe I should ask Yuri for a little understanding...?
In the end, I had to physically peel him off me and calm him down.
The guy was surprisingly strong; it took real effort.
"Fine. But only two games. I have to head home before dinner."
"Hell yeah! That's plenty. Thanks, Noah! I'll buy you something from the school store later!"
Seong-tae beamed and bounced back to his group of friends.
At the same time, my desk partner Han Ara walked into the classroom and sat down.
"You look like you're in a good mood, Noah?"
"Well... I don't exactly hate living a life that has events like this."
"As class president, I'm glad to see you're adjusting so well~"
"Yeah. It'd be nice if everyone in class was this friendly."
I straightened my chair and pulled out the textbook we'd need for afternoon class.
Fifth period was officially listed as "Foreign Language" but everyone just called it self-study time.
That meant I could spend the whole hour convincing Yuri, which I welcomed.
The moment I turned on my phone, the secret reason I immediately lowered the brightness to minimum was the selfie Yuri sent—fresh out of the shower with nothing but a towel wrapped around her.
That angry emoticon looked exactly like Clear Yuri's expression.
A pouting Clear Yuri would be incredibly cute too.
If I hugged her, she'd probably melt into smiles again in no time.
Ugh... just imagining it makes me feel like my nose is about to bleed.
Still, smiling Yuri was way better to look at than sulking Yuri.
I had no choice. I should tell Seong-tae I couldn't make it and wait for another chance.
Was this the same girl who'd been throwing a tantrum just seconds ago?
Maybe it was some high-level psychological warfare.
But Clear Yuri was basically a bright, innocent puppy—she probably couldn't set up a trap that complicated.
So the original personality who'd been watching from inside had stepped in.
Now that I thought about it, the original Yuri said she liked playing on the computer, so she might actually understand me wanting to play games.
Did that mean Yuri wasn't just someone who only watched Montube—she actually enjoyed gaming too?
I should ask her tonight if she wants to play games together. Why the hell didn't I ask something so obvious before?
Still, the one texting me right now was Clear Yuri.
"Yuri..."
I was grateful. Just the fact that she was willing to do this for me meant everything.
After classes ended, I arrived at the PC bang in front of school.
It was a strange place that also had a VR experience booth tucked away in one corner.
I tilted my head for a second, then quickly joined Seong-tae and the rest of the class when they called me over.
We sat down in a row, turned on our computers, and launched the game one by one. I couldn't help but feel a little like a pro player.
"Yeah... the client looked like this back then. Man, what a throwback."
I never thought I'd feel nostalgic for my regression just from looking at a game screen.
Some champions still had their pre-rework, outdated models intact.
The clunky movements, the awkward hit effects by pre-regression standards.
But to me, every single one of them felt welcoming and dearly missed.
"Noah, you need time to set up?"
"Nope. Thanks for lending me the account, Seong-tae. I only ever played on the NA server."
I didn't start playing League seriously in Korea until after I came back from studying abroad.
Until then I'd been in America, so of course I'd used an overseas account. After suddenly regressing like this, there was no way I'd have a Korean one.
I'd been stuck, but thankfully Seong-tae let me borrow his sub account.
"A mercenary deserves at least this much! The only open spot is top. That cool with you?"
"Actually, that's perfect. You're jungling, right? I'll push the lane and you eat the three camps then come gank right away. Got it?"
"You look decent but you're actually a total maniac... haa."
This was basic strategy for winning.
Didn't some famous pro gamer once say it?
'If you lose, it's not your fault, everyone. It's the jungler's fault.'
Even after regressing, those words still hit me right in the soul.
The result of the game was...
Obviously our class's victory!
The average rank of the kids in Class 3 was Gold.
The highest one was Diamond, but his main was support.
...Just quit already.
Who the hell brags about being Diamond while one-tricking Yuumi?
Anyway, their level was low enough that I could stomp them without much effort, so the game ended quickly.
"Who the hell is this transfer student?! He didn't even join teamfights and just kept pushing turrets—I was so confused!"
"Still, having real-time shotcalling made it so much easier. That's Platinum for you!"
Hmm. Nice. They're recognizing me.
It really was much easier back before the skill level got homogenized across the board.
I'm grateful my forever-Plat strats actually worked on them.
"See, guys? Didn't I bring a good one? I could tell from the first look that he had serious League energy~"
Seong-tae, who'd pushed his bangs back with a headband to focus, grinned at me.
M-shaped hairline. My condolences.
Even so, I still gave him a high-five.
"Just like I said—three camps and it feels so smooth. Next game, let's go invade their jungle together."
"Watch your back after this, Noah. The Class 3 kids looked like they wanted to grab you by the collar."
"I can handle a real-life teamfight. I got some experience with that back in America."
"...I shouldn't be the one saying this, but you're not normal either. Let's just play the next game!"
And so we played another round.
We stomped them even harder than before, so they demanded a revenge match.
After three games, we still had a little time left before I was supposed to meet Yuri.
"How are we winning this fast even when I go support?"
"Because your hook accuracy is literally 100%, Noah. From our side, it's like we pulled a jackpot! So, one more game?"
"It's getting late. The Class 3 kids said they're heading out anyway, so let's just do a quick mini-mode match and call it."
"Sounds good. One win and we're out?"
"Saying that always jinxes us into a losing streak."
Anyway, the friend who'd gone to the bathroom came back.
We sat down again, happily getting ready for the last game—when suddenly...
"Sniff sniff! I smell Noah... Ah! I knew you'd be here! Noaaaah~!"
Something charged straight into my chest with reckless abandon.
A sweet citrus scent and soft golden hair.
The identity of the storm that had rushed over and wrapped me in a hug was—
"Yuri...? Why are you here?"
"Hehe, I couldn't wait any longer so I came to find you myself!"
Clear Yuri laughed brightly and buried her face in my chest again.
Right in front of Seong-tae and all the other classmates, without a hint of shame.
Uh... how the hell am I supposed to explain this?
