<p>I fled to room 4. Room 1 was a true paradise for social butterflies. Audio overlapped like crazy, creating nonstop noise. I watched alone in room 4 and, once the game ended, considered whether to head up to room 1 and join in. Everyone was screaming, yet they still played with full focus. I watched just as intently, taking mental notes. But not a single person was playing Ena. I was genuinely curious.</p>
“Why isn’t anyone picking Ena?”
Then a Koja-nim spoke up. It was a voice I’d never heard before.
“Ena has too many drawbacks, so nobody plays it. It’s fine in solo queue, but in team games you get sniped instantly.”
“Why?”
“Well… team games use voice chat, right?”
“Ah… I see?”
What’s wrong with voice chat? I really didn’t know, but asking felt awkward, so I stayed quiet and shyly typed instead.
Difficult. I still didn’t understand what they meant. I played well last round, though…?
“Hmm…”
I thought hard about it. Honestly, there wasn’t a problem. The problem was that there wasn’t one. I had done well. Really well. My teammates had praised me nonstop. But they said it was bad for team games? Where exactly?
“It’s good if you’re skilled, but Ena is hard to play well. You can get sniped from anywhere, and since it’s a team game, callouts are constant. They can even judge your cannon position. That’s why it’s avoided in team games. Plus, if you pick Ena, your main force loses the power struggle, so it’s tough. Even if you pepper them with shells, a single heal ends it.”
“Oh… I see!”
That voice again. The same Koja voice from earlier. I checked the room list. Room 4. Just me and MasterM. Huh? MasterM? I thought the nickname belonged to a guy, so I hadn’t spoken to them. But it was a girl. Wait a second? MasterM? I pulled up the tier list the organizers had given us. No way…! A-tier. That couldn’t be right. How could a girl be A-tier? It wasn’t sexism, but how was a girl A-tier? Even the supposedly skilled Moddeok was only C-tier. What made this person A-tier? Why was a girl good at FPS? Did her ex-boyfriend teach her? Ugh… To be good at FPS as a girl, your ex had to be an FPS player… I wasn’t a sexist, but back in school, every delinquent girl who liked FPS was like that. I began making reasonable suspicions. Secretly… I checked MasterM’s YouTube on my phone. No way…! This was insane. How was this even possible? CS, Global Offensive, Tarkov, Rust, PUBG? Look at that lineup. It was ridiculous. The channel description read: “A gamer girl who loves FPS.” Wow… really… wow… “I can’t believe it.”
The words slipped out loud.
“Huh? What is it?”
“Ah, nothing. Just talking to myself! Talking to myself.”
That was close. Luckily, I smoothed it over.
“MasterM-nim.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Do you like FPS?”
“Uh… why so suddenly?”
“Who taught you?”
“I just played.”
“…”
Was her room also full of noobs? If so, there was nothing I could do. Digging further would just be rude. There was such a thing as streamer etiquette. I shouldn’t pry anymore. Seon-a… you know this…!
“Then please teach me too!”
“Suddenly? Why?”
“MasterM-nim, I thought your nickname belonged to a guy, so I didn’t talk to you. But you’re a girl.”
“Guy? Girl? What does that mean?”
She seemed confused. Did she not know streamer slang? Honestly, I didn’t know the origin either. I just used whatever the viewers used. More importantly, I wanted to protect her, but I couldn’t. Her room must be in chaos right now. Social butterfly, huh? What should I do? Hmm…
“It’s streamer slang… it just means guy or girl.”
“Oh… ah!”
“My room is full of noobs, so I have a guy allergy. That’s why girls are important.”
“Huh? Eh? Are you allowed to say that?”
“Of course! There’s nothing to be ashamed of!!”
The viewers were lying again. The moment they actually met a guy, they’d lock donations and stop chatting… yet they lied so boldly.
“Uh… I don’t know.”
MasterM suddenly drew a line.
“It’s fine! So, MasterM-nim, please teach me later!! I want to improve.”
“Uh… if we end up on the same team?”
“Oh!! Then I’ll pick you. I’m F-tier, after all.”
“Uh… huh? Picking me would be a disaster. I’m low-tier…”
“Low-tier? You’re lying again, right? All the A-tiers say they’re low-tier… then who’s high-tier? If everyone’s low-tier?”
I felt genuinely hurt. Then who exactly were the high-tiers? This was too much. Did they have to lie this much just to run away from me?
“Uh… I don’t know about that. I’m definitely low-tier.”
“Hmm…”
Honestly, I knew how to separate personal feelings from business. Of course I’d pick the skilled players. I’d said I’d pick them if they didn’t praise me before, but I never actually planned to. I’d pick the good ones and aim for the win. That was only natural. But hearing this made me really upset. Did they have to go this far to avoid me? Huh? Huh!! Was I getting angry?
“Hmm…”
“I’m a little disappointed… since you’re a marksman type… This game needs a good tank.”
“Hmm…”
“So team composition really matters. It’s turn-based anyway since it’s a team game. A good healer helps too…”
She kept rambling. None of that mattered. I was going to write down everyone who hurt my feelings. And the next time we met, I’d definitely get revenge…!
“I’ll get revenge.”
“Huh?”
“Definitely…!”
“No, that’s… I’m sorry. Still, we…”
“Just you wait.”
I was so worked up last night that I couldn’t sleep. Hatred had piled up because of the A-tier who avoided me. How should I get revenge? I thought about it endlessly. I had to take revenge on everyone who lied, not just one person. But no such revenge existed. If I picked one A-tier, the rest would be happy. I hated that. Ugh, so if I picked someone I disliked, the other A-tiers would be happy. I didn’t want to see that. Really!! Was there any way I could get revenge…? Unfortunately, there wasn’t. How could I possibly take revenge on an A-tier with my skill? So. Then. I realized there was exactly one external way. I… I could become the ultimate anti, the super play that would drive both fans and haters crazy. If all eyes were on me. If I became the protagonist of this tournament. But that was realistically impossible. If I was moderately bad it might work, but I was completely bad, so… I’d try my best, but… Hmm… I kept thinking about revenge afterward, but found no answer.
“Kuk… I’m sorry.”
While worrying, I almost ended up late because I couldn’t sleep. Luckily, I woke up twenty minutes early, washed in a rush, and turned on the stream. That’s why I felt so dizzy right now. I didn’t know what to do. I’d started the stream, but the chat was already…
The chat was in chaos, making me dizzy. This was all because of the A-tier. My hatred kept building. Thanks to the organizer, I joined the Discord without being late. They explained the rules. Simply put, once the stream started, the caster would pick the F-tiers in order. They’d set the draft order from first pick to last, then use a snake draft to pick teammates. The F-tiers would choose their A-tier opponents. Right now I wasn’t waiting… I was explaining myself. With my mic off, I spoke to the viewers.
“So everyone… calm down… I’ll explain why I was late. I stayed up all night thinking about how to get revenge on the A-tier who ignored me yesterday. That’s why I went to bed late and… ended up late.”
“Uh… my hatred built up and I tried to get revenge, so… I’m sorry.”
I apologized sincerely. Making enemies right now would create too many. Especially the Jjang-hyung types—they were truly scary. I wanted them on my side.
“I was wrong. Please forgive me, everyone. I’ll come earlier next time.”
Technically the A-tier who caused the hatred was the problem, but now wasn’t the time to argue right and wrong. I held back the chat wave and waited for the stream to begin. Thankfully, the chat calmed down before the draft order was decided. Now they were chatting normally again.
“Who should I pick, guys?”
“Why is F total over bell?”
“That one person… is it me? Avoiding Seon-a? That’s way too obvious. Do they really think that little of me? And honestly, expecting anything from an F-tier is weird in the first place. Why expect it from me? I’m F-tier, so they should just be grateful I’m alive.” Hatred was building again. “Huu…” Still, I held it in. I’d grown. I had to show that growth. Separate personal feelings from business… aim for victory, for the championship… I dragged both hands down my face. Hold it in. Hold it in. “I’ll get revenge.”
“Underdog… rebellion. Nice.”
Underdog. Cheering for the weak team… I knew that well. I was the kind of person crazy about underdogs. The kind who loved cheering for underdogs the most. I knew it well.
“Let’s try… let’s go…”
I was going to work really hard and surprise everyone. Wow… Seon-a doing this? I’d make them do this!! Just watch. I’d make them regret provoking me!! To do that… hmm… what should I do first?
“Uh… ah!!”
I needed to recruit the strongest A-tier. That way I’d have a winning team, right? Uh… wait a second… then would I still be an underdog? Huh? Something felt off. “Eh… what?” I was confused. Uh… hmm. I didn’t know. I gave up thinking. Just don’t think. You idiot!! The more I thought, the weirder it got. “Ah, hello. Shall we do a quick interview? F-tier Seon-a-nim, are you there?” A voice suddenly cut in. I frantically turned on my mic and answered.
“Ah… hello! I’m here!”
“Yes~ We’re curious about Seon-a-nim, so we’re doing an interview. Just a moment. A very short moment. First, could you introduce yourself?”
“Ah! I’m Seonseonseona… I mainly do communication streams! Even though I’m F-tier, I’ll do my best.”
“Aha. Yes~ We watched yesterday’s scrim and noticed you kept playing only Ena. Do you plan to use Ena in the tournament as well?”
“Yes! One-trick.”
Cheers erupted.
“Oh! We’ll be looking forward to it!! We’re really here for just a short time. Seon-a-nim, any final words?”
“Uh, from what I’ve heard, I’m the worst player here. However! If someone as weak as me beats the strongest team… that’s what truly drives underdogs crazy, isn’t it? If you cheer for me… I’ll pour all that support into my cannon shells. Thank you.”
I said the script I’d prepared yesterday, tweaking it on the spot. Phew… I did okay, right? I was so nervous I didn’t even remember what I said. Anyway, I’d do my best. But the environment for doing well had already been set. I’d done the interview and the mood was good, right? No? Why did they pick me last? Hatred built up again. Everyone really was an enemy. There was no one to trust. Ugh. I was an idiot for trusting the commentators… They stabbed me in the back like this? I had no choice and picked up the A-tier scraps. Yet even in that hatred, hope grew… MasterM-nim. I thought she’d lied to me yesterday, but she hadn’t. The real scrap pick was MasterM-nim. What… really! MasterM-nim~ So you were the one telling the truth? My mood instantly improved.