Trying Solo Streaming (3)
Hong Su-yeon's friend request rejection spread far and wide, causing a ripple effect. It was only natural—League of Legends, or LoL, dominated the online gaming market with the highest market share, and Hong Su-yeon sat at its pinnacle. A legendary player whose fans included celebrities from every nation. For a lowly small-time streamer to reject such a player's friend request? That was legendary in its own right, for entirely different reasons.
"Aaaaaah…! N-no. Uh. N-no."
"No…! M-maybe you clicked the wrong one, r-right? No, why though… uh…."
Nam Ha-neul froze solid, unable to do anything. Even she thought it was an utterly ridiculous mistake.
"P-please send it again…? Ah, n-no, you don't have to, uh?"
The more Nam Ha-neul spoke, the more tangled it all felt. A pro player sending her a friend request was weird enough, but asking them to resend after rejecting it? Even weirder. And her sending one first? That felt off too.
"S-sorry, I mean… uh…."
Nam Ha-neul's vision spun in circles. Sure, it wasn't actually enough to ruin her, but in her panic, it felt like the end of the world.
"A-apolo…."
She was about to break into tears and beg forgiveness when—
Friend request from HEMEND has arrived.
Confirming the new friend request from Hong Su-yeon, she hit accept immediately. This time, she double- and triple-checked to avoid another accidental rejection.
"Th-thank you so much. B-but… why the friend request…."
Relief washed over her first. How many people in the world ever got a friend request from Hong Su-yeon? But as time passed, unease crept in. Rejecting her once by mistake, and she sends another?...
D-did I do something wrong? What, what is it?
She worried there might be some grudge, even though they'd never met.
Shortly after accepting, a whisper arrived. With trembling hands, Nam Ha-neul clicked the chat window.
Plop. She slumped in her chair, tension draining away. The message was just so nice. Sure, it was her first stream and she hadn't done much, so how could it be "good"? But it wasn't bad, so she was satisfied.
Of course, only Nam Ha-neul was satisfied. Most viewers were still utterly confused.
"O-okay then, time to play some games. Heh heh heh."
She had no intention of clearing up the confusion. Her mind was filled with one fantasy.
M-my skills must be pro-level if a pro's watching.
No prior streams, so Hong Su-yeon must've seen her on Tseung or Cherry's broadcast. And the only impressive part? That super play. Her lips twitched upward at the thought of recognition.
"Alright, gotta win 'em all today."
"…Why is she crying?"
On non-game days, Hong Su-yeon just lounged at home. Her skills stemmed from overwhelming talent, so she skipped practice unless team sync was needed. Her brother Hong Su-bin nagged her to stream if she was idle, but her innate laziness kept her uninterested.
Until recently, spotting someone on her brother's stream: Sky Princess Duo. Similar instincts to her own—it stuck in her mind.
I thought starting a stream would be good for her… but why cry on the first one?
It was baffling. She'd popped into the stream by chance, and there were tears. A quick check revealed…
Crying because viewers are leaving…? What the…
Emotional people were rare around her. Her family, including herself and Su-bin, were all logical types. Her team Neon? Pure thinkers, no feelers.
Seeing someone as emotional as Nam Ha-neul? Intriguing.
"Can't stop watching. Hmm."
During the self-intro, Hong Su-yeon flinched. Felt like leaving a kid by the water's edge. As the screen switched to LoL, an idea hit.
Maybe I should try streaming too.
With that light thought, she sent the friend request. She knew it'd draw eyes—and help the stream.
She rarely appeared anywhere, even public TV. A legend who shunned the spotlight. That was Hong Su-yeon.
And—
Pfft.
She burst out laughing at Nam Ha-neul trembling after accidentally rejecting her. Like a puppy peeking guiltily after mischief. Charming.
So she watched a bit more, sent another request when tears threatened again.
"Hilarious."
A few messages, then one more.
"Y-yes…?"
Nam Ha-neul, happily queuing ranked, froze again at the message. Sure, a manager was needed for proper streaming—chat moderation, advice. They could even banter on air.
But no one put the world's top pro in that role.
"N-no, why? Why me? I-I really don't know."
Viewers, overwhelmed by the chaos, started accepting it calmly. Some theorized it was Hong Su-bin on a smurf account.
Reading the chat, Nam Ha-neul dazedly delegated manager rights. Why? To her, Hong Su-yeon was an absolute disaster. Like Jesus suddenly saying, "Make me your manager."
"D-done…."
Current Viewers: 553
Word of HEMEND's arrival spread, viewers flooding in. When she officially became manager, the influx accelerated.
Gulp…
"Uh, um, uh-uh?"
Meanwhile, the client popped up: game found. She'd planned to pause and chat, but—
Accepted.
—she fat-fingered it again.
"Ah… sniff… huuuh… G-game time."
Not a bad thing, really, but tears welled up. Overwhelming events kept piling on. She wasn't usually this emotionally volatile, but suddenly, control felt impossible.
And she picked Osya. No compromising on that. Knowing Hong Su-yeon was watching crushed her with pressure—she had to perform. She slapped her cheeks.
Penta, at least two pentakills!
A goal she'd never hit before. God was watching; slacking wasn't an option.
"…I-I'm good, you know."
Tension eased, but her mouse hand shook with rage. Daring to mock her, acknowledged by Hong Su-yeon? More reason to impress.
Game started. Enemy bot duo: ADC Marionette Master, Dorzan. A summoner champ controlling wooden puppets. Support: Mist Magician, Phenom. Fog for vision block and CC—a bad matchup for Osya.
Hmm… our support's…
"Huh?"
Her support, overlooked in pick screen: Mud Saint, Orban. Not a support champ. A top-lane bully that charges in, spewing mud indiscriminately to hinder friend and foe alike. A troll pick.
Whenever Orban showed as support, it screamed troll.
"N-no, ah!!"
Forgetting she was live, Nam Ha-neul yelled. She'd suffered from Orbans before.
She simmered down and headed to lane. Dorzan's puppets had long range despite immobility. Dorzan could hang back, making approach hard for Osya—especially with Phenom's fog.
"Hmm, tough…."
No matter her physicals, early laning wouldn't shine. Plan: pull back, take CS losses, call jungler if they pushed.
But Orban flung mud, slippered the ground, and charged.
"Wh-what?"
Panicking, Nam Ha-neul couldn't think straight—but her reflexes stuck behind Orban.
Pok, pow-pow—
Dorzan and summons chipped away at Orban and Osya. As Orban finally closed in, HP at 30%.
"N-no."
Then Orban's skill detonated.