Broadcast Day Jitters
Three days had passed since Starforce Gaming's MSC victory. Which meant today was the day I—and Starforce Gaming—were appearing on the official Idiot Games broadcast.
In the meantime, Proud—no, Starforce's—MSC win had naturally become a massive topic. The buzz about my return had pretty much vanished from the communities, replaced entirely by speculation about whether Starforce could pull off a Golden Road.
Even after three days, the hype showed no signs of dying down. This wasn't just any tournament win—it was clearing the first hurdle toward a Golden Road. Starforce Gaming was the only team in the world right now qualified to chase that dream, so how could it not be huge news?
Optimistic takes like "Of course Starforce can finally achieve the Golden Road this time" rubbed shoulders with colder analyses: "They only won because Lao Hu hit rock bottom, and Starforce's form wasn't even that great." Tons of chatter everywhere.
But that was that, and right now, the vibe was mostly just celebrating Starforce's win. They deserved it, after all.
The only ones in a sour mood were probably Starforce's haters.
"So you're not in a great mood right now?"
"Very."
And here's one of them. The world's biggest Starforce anti-fan.
"Didn't you declare super confidently that Starforce would win?"
"Facts and my feelings are two different things."
Seo Seohui—what was her deal, prying like this? Sure, I hadn't wanted Lao Hu to win, but if Starforce was gonna take it anyway, I'd hoped they'd have to sweat for it. That was my real wish.
It would've been hilarious if they'd gotten crushed by Horizon.
"Then you wouldn't have to see them today."
"You're just scared you'll run into him during the interview, right? That's why you're bummed?"
"Why would I be? What did I do wrong? Like I'd be scared to face Proud."
"I didn't name any names."
"...Whoever."
I wasn't singling out Proud or anything. For real.
"Pudge, if you see him, can you get his autograph for me?"
"What? No way. You think I'm nuts enough to go up to Proud and ask for his signature?"
"I didn't say Proud."
"..."
"Get me Slicer's autograph."
"Fine..."
I swear, no.
The broadcast was tonight. I'd be heading out soon with Manager Yoo to Idiot Games Korea, where I'd do my segment.
Idiot Games ran all sorts of content on their official channel. From light stuff like patch notes, new LoE merch intros, and champ reveals, to dev talks, surprise streamer cameos, and pro gamer interviews. For an official stream, it was impressively packed.
Naturally, the big hook tonight was Starforce Gaming's MSC win. Their victory interview was slotted last, and mine was right before it.
This setup made avoiding them basically impossible.
I couldn't boycott the interview either, so I just sighed deeply and waited for Manager Yoo to arrive.
"You really that against seeing Proud?"
"Last time I saw him, I was bawling my eyes out while clutching his hand. You think I wanna face him looking like this?"
"Hmm... Isn't it fine? You look pretty, Pudge."
"That's not the point."
"Unnie, you are pretty. It's unbelievable you were ever a guy. Were you scamming us or something?"
"I wish this was all a scam."
Dead serious.
"Player Yeonwoo! You ready?"
"Ah, yeah! All set!"
"Come on out then!"
It was the women's dorm, but just one hallway over—still, Manager Yoo called from outside like he didn't want to intrude. We still had over three hours till broadcast, but apparently we were leaving early.
Made sense—makeup and all that.
"Alright, I'm off."
"Have fun. And get that Slicer autograph."
"Yeah, yeah. Seohui, you need anything?"
"I'm not a Starforce fan."
"Then whose fan are you?"
"I like Mamba. Han Sam."
Mamba, Jo Hyun-seong. Han Sam Esports' current ADC. Not a surprise pick. Dude's handsome, popular with girls. And Seohui was an ex-ADC herself.
"Hyun-seong? Yeah, he's got the looks."
"You know him?"
"Uh, yeah. Mamba was on Tundra two years ago, right?"
"Do I really need to spell it out?"
"It's just... you look nothing like Dice from back then now."
Well... fair point.
Anyway, yeah—before Suhyun, aka Durumi, joined, Tundra's ADC was Mamba. When Tundra ambitiously rebuilt before that season and recruited me, they brought him along too.
But Tundra's first year with him: Spring runners-up, Summer didn't even make finals. Worlds runners-up too. Contract ended, and he bounced. Durumi came in as the new ADC.
"Why'd he leave?"
"Didn't wanna settle for runners-up?"
"...For real?"
"Yup. And after he left, Spring they lost to Tundra for 3rd, Summer runners-up to Tundra again. Worlds? Quarters, I think."
"Whoa, that's kinda cursed..."
"Cursed? Nah. Pros switch for better results all the time."
Sticking out of loyalty in a team that can't deliver wins? That's the real stupidity.
"When Unnie says it's 'cursed,' it sounds like you're lowkey shading Mamba by rattling off his post-Tundra record unprompted."
What? No way, Arang. No way, I thought, but I glanced at Seohui just in case—and shockingly, she was nodding.
I averted my eyes to the ceiling, mumbling a defense.
"He is a flirt."
"Your personality's the worst."
"Heehee."
Their teasing made my face heat up for no reason. Ah, had I killed too much time? Manager Yoo was waiting outside. Right on cue—
"Player Yeonwoo! Still in there?!"
"Manager's calling."
No more stalling. We'd already said goodbyes, so I headed out to where he was waiting. Arang's voice trailed after me.
"Get that Slicer autograph no matter what!!"
"Got it! If I get the chance!"
Please don't let there be a chance.
Thirty minutes in Manager Yoo's car, and we arrived without incident. One hour till broadcast, about two till my slot.
I'd been to the Idiot Games Korea building a few times before—as a guy, back in my player days. First time like this.
First, I followed Manager Yoo to greet the PD who knew my secret, handled the rundown, then headed to the waiting room.
Luckily, it was a private room. At least no risk of bumping into Proud till showtime.
"Figured it'd be awkward running into others, so I requested separate."
"Thanks."
Guy's thoughtful. Night and day from Tundra's Manager Lim.
Not that he was a total jerk—he apologized, after all.
Wonder what he'd think seeing me back?
From his view, I was the player who bailed on "clowning around," streamed my way to fame, and now returned. Might piss him off. Not my problem, though.
"Makeup artist's coming soon. I've got stuff to handle, so I'll step out—cool?"
"Yeah, of course. Go ahead."
Manager Yoo left, and I settled in, scrolling communities on my phone. There was a monitor for watching the stream, but it hadn't started yet.
My appearance was still under wraps. They only announced a "special pro gamer interview." Plenty guessed it was me—Dice—but with Starforce's slot right after, nobody cared much about mine.
One post even said: "Coming after Starforce? Zero attention." Brutal, but true.
Still pissed me off, so I downvoted it.
{Fr fr, pro debut? Why tf tonight right after Idiot Games broadcast ends?
Isn't it gonna be Pudge Dice jumping out instead of Dice in this interview?}
Oh, right—this was from LoStreamGal, not LoGal. Yeah, per the post, I'd already put up my stream restart notice last night.
I'd been on hiatus over two weeks for pro return prep, but once I revealed I was Dice tonight, no more secrets. Right after the broadcast ends, the team would announce our lineup too.
Time to go public: the team, my pro comeback, the stream, my illness—everything.
So I'd decided.
Tonight, post-Idiot Games broadcast, the second I got back to my dorm room, I'd go live.
The notice said: Short stream right after getting home (dorm, technically) once Idiot Games ends. Announcing that super important thing from before.
By then, everyone would already know everything anyway, so it'd basically be a Q&A.
"Knock knock~ Mind if I come in?"
I was browsing the gal, hunting for posts about me, when a knock and voice came from the door.