Bowling Night with Rivals
"Hey, hello! Long time no see!"
"Yeah, hi. But didn't we just see each other last time?"
"We couldn't even properly talk back then. Honestly, I was half out of my mind at that point."
Yeah, fair enough. I get it.
We arrived at the meeting spot and immediately ran into Steak and Slicer. Steak greeted us warmly the moment he saw us, and both of them looked a far cry from the dazed states they'd been in before.
"Everyone was pretty out of it back then, for sure."
"It wasn't just me, though. Even Seon-il was half-gone."
Proud... yeah, he was, huh.
Anyway, Slicer was still giving me this super awkward look, but before we could even exchange proper greetings, Arang latched right onto him.
"Hello!"
Oh my god. Arang using polite speech. She switched to casual with Hanseo right away, though.
"I'm Kang Arang! I'm a huge fan!"
"Uh, uh... th-thanks?"
I already knew Arang was a fan of Slicer, but I had no idea it was this level. Good call bringing her along, seeing how excited she is.
"Can you sign this for me?"
Arang whipped out a T-shirt she'd brought herself, complete with a pen, and demanded an autograph from Slicer. He was a top-tier pro and Starforce's top laner, so he had plenty of fans, but a high school girl fan charging in so boldly like this? Probably a first for him.
Slicer looked awkward, but his face said he wasn't hating it as he signed for her. Watching that somehow pissed me off.
Anyway, where's Bang Chang-sik? As I glanced around, Yuseung timed it perfectly and asked Steak.
"Where's Chang-sik hyung?"
"He said he's coming soon."
He wasn't here yet, huh.
"Six people is a bit much, though. I was thinking it'd just be the three of us chilling casually."
"Sorry for crashing. That cool?"
"Wasn't trying to hint at anything."
"What's the big deal? The more the merrier."
Yeah, easy for you to say, Steak—you're the ultimate social butterfly. Honestly, I thought six was a crowd too. Plus, rolling deep like this draws eyes.
"Arang and I just kinda tagged along, so don't worry about us. We'll hang back quietly."
"Nah, that'd kill the vibe."
"You're going to a bowling alley or karaoke anyway, right? I'm not big on that stuff."
"Huh? Then what do you do for fun?"
"LoE."
"Whoa...."
What? My hobby is League of Eternity, my specialty is League of Eternity, and my job is League of Eternity. Nothing weird about that.
"Guess I gotta treat you guys proper today."
That just seemed to fire Steak up even more.
As we chatted, the last person finally showed: Bang Chang-sik. Former Starforce trainee, current streamer, and the exact guy I'd met at the gym....
"Ah, hyung. You made it?"
"Yeah, hi! Am I the last one?"
"Nah, not really late. You know her, right? Dice, Seo Yeonwoo."
"Ah... uh, yeah. I do."
"Hi. I'm Seo Yeonwoo."
"...Hi. Bang Chang-sik."
Without anyone saying a word, we exchanged glances and greeted each other like it was our first meeting. Nothing major happened at the gym, but his attitude back then had been a little off.
Since he clearly didn't want to bring it up either, the odds of it being a problem were low.
With greetings done, we headed straight to the bowling alley. I figured we'd just use it normally, but Steak had rented out the entire place.
"You usually rent out whole alleys for this?"
"With our salaries, why skimp on this?"
Yeah, 'cause you're with Starforce. My old salary back on Tundra wasn't far off from his, but now? No comparison. Arang chimed in right away.
"I'm on minimum wage."
"Uh, sorry...?"
"No need to apologize."
Hey, Arang, you're casual with Steak too, huh. Good thing he's not the type to care, but she can't pull that with everyone. I'll remind her later.
Anyway, the six of us started bowling. With that many, someone suggested 3v3 teams naturally.
"I've never bowled before, though."
"Me neither!"
The guys all had experience, but Arang and I were newbies. We ended up on separate teams. Mine, drawn by lots: Bang Chang-sik and Slicer. Awkward as hell.
Arang, teamed with Steak and Yuseung, seemed to be having a blast with bowling for the first time. The ball's heavy, but she's doing surprisingly well.
"Pudge, zero again."
"Arang, you're at one point."
"There's a huge difference between one and zero."
This kid. It lit a fire under my competitive side, but honestly, the only way to win here was to bus. Thankfully, Slicer was living up to his size—strikes every time.
"That's how it's done!"
"Whoa, Slicer, nice!"
Cheering him on made Slicer suddenly go all shy. Guess he has no resistance to girls, even without Arang.
As Bang Chang-sik went for his turn, Slicer spoke up to me.
"Um... Yeonwoo?"
"Drop the 'ssi,' we're same age. Casual's fine."
"Oh, r-really? Sorry about last time."
"The, uh... bumping thing."
I was about to say it was fine when I remembered him spilling on stream how I'd screamed like a girl.
"...Not that. The stream thing."
"That wasn't on purpose—I panicked."
"Sigh."
Whatever, can't do much about it now. No point making a fuss. It was my fault for letting out that embarrassing shriek in the first place.
"I'll let it slide this once."
"Thanks...."
Bang Chang-sik's turn ended, and it was mine again. This time, I struck a proper pose and rolled carefully.
"Where'd you get that pose from?"
"TV."
I half-answered Yuseung's jab from the side and released. Shoot!
Roll, roll.
"Damn, you got zero talent for this."
"Shut up."
A few more tries, but even good rolls ended with zero pins down. Why does my ball always veer off? Fuming, I turned back to see Bang Chang-sik with an awkward grin.
Meanwhile, Arang on the other team knocked down three pins on her turn after Yuseung. So freaking unfair.
"Hey."
"What."
"...Nothing."
Bang Chang-sik shut up at my irritation. Guy still sucks at timing.
"Ah, that was fun!"
"Wasn't for me."
"'Cause Pudge sucked balls."
"You're getting cocky lately."
After nearly three hours of bowling, I was wiped. Thought it'd be a light game, but it drained stamina way more than expected.
Our team won, though. Unlike my total uselessness, Slicer was a strike machine—pure carry. Close game, but a win's a win.
Not that it mattered without bets on the line.
"Dinner's too early, so karaoke first, then food, then split?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
Steak laid out the plan: karaoke, then dinner. Textbook itinerary. So wholesome it was almost boring. Not like I knew any wild spots anyway.
Hell, my idea of hanging with friends was always PC bangs.
We hit a big karaoke spot nearby, greeted by a young part-timer. He looked apathetic at first, but his eyes bugged out at Steak and Slicer up front, scrambling to bow.
"W-Welcome! A-Are you Starforce by any chance...?"
"Haha, hi. I'm Steak."
"Slicer here."
Starforce fan, huh. Makes sense—over half the LoE fandom was Starforce stans.
"Got a room for six?"
"Y-Yes! Um, could you maybe sign...?"
"Of course."
Steak and Slicer handled the hyped fan like pros.
We're invisible to him, though.
"Thank you! Room's that way! Uh, the folks behind... whoa."
The part-timer finally noticed us after the autographs and freaked when our eyes met—jumped like he'd seen a ghost.
Scanning us, he looked shocked all around. Five pros and a streamer? Any LoE fan would lose it.
"A-Aren't you E Revolution's Dice...?"
"Hi."
A bit annoying that Starforce stole his attention first, but I couldn't ignore him. If it was just curiosity, it'd bug me, but his blank stare seemed genuine awe.
"Whoa...."
Still, true to being a Starforce fan, no autograph request from us. Or maybe he was too shell-shocked. Anyway, we slipped into the room while he was dazed.
"That part-timer's face was hilarious, right? Totally lost it seeing Yeonwoo hyung."
"What does my face have to do with it?"
"'Cause you're pretty."
Sneaky bastard. Didn't feel that bad, though. When Steak says it, it's obviously a joke.
"Doesn't sound like a joke."
"Arang, stop."
...When did she get that chummy with him? Teammates for five minutes and she's casual already.
"I'm a streamer too, y'know. Ignored completely."
"With Starforce guys and Yeonwoo there? Expected."
"Yeah?"
Slicer consoled Bang Chang-sik's lament while Arang and Steak bantered nonsense. Yuseung just picked songs solo. And so the six-person karaoke showdown began.
"Ah, you sang great."
Steak was right—it was a blast. These guys knew every damn pop song, pulling out hits left and right.
"You guys listen to music instead of practicing?"
"Keep saying it: you're the uncultured one."
"Wanna die?"
I only knew oldies from my kid days, so that's what I sang. Instant "uncultured" roast from Yuseung—real jerk.
Arang belted some Japanese anime tune, and everyone but me knew it. Famous one, apparently.
Fun aside, meshing with so many people wore me out. Wanna eat quick and head back to the dorm.
Dinner was Steak's pick: standard meat. With six of us, nothing beat it. No hotpot either. He treated to pricey hanwoo beef.
"You gonna grill?"
"I'm a girl."
"Crazy bastard."
Being a girl had perks like this. Let the guys grill while I just eat. And Steak's paying—no worries. Ah, hanwoo hits different.
"Yo, you grill good."
"Makes me wanna smack you."
Not like you will.
"I want yukhoe too."
"Order it, Arang."
"For real? Hanche oppa best!"
"I'm paying."
"Jicheol too, thanks~"
Damn, Arang's a little siren. How's she buddy-buddy with everyone already? Not that I'm jealous or anything... but feels like someone's stealing my precious little sis I raised.
"Is this maternal instinct?"
"You drunk?"
"Kinda wanna sip one."
Scrim tomorrow—no drinking plans. Don't even like it much. Pros have it rough with this stuff.
That's when I noticed Bang Chang-sik, quietly sipping soju alone—no one to pour for him. Felt kinda bad. We're all pros with practice or schedules tomorrow; can't drink. Arang's underage.
Thinking about it, he probably expected a guys-only thing. We crashed (though he invited without knowing), so he might feel out of place.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Casual's fine. You're older."
"R-Really?"
"Got something to say to me?"
"S-Say something?"
"Y'know, stuff."
"Oh, the stream—sorry.... I seriously didn't know."
"That's fine. Wasn't expecting a deep apology."
I just felt sorry seeing him drink alone pitifully.
"Gimme one shot too."
"You sure?"
"Scrim tomorrow, dude."
"One shot get you drunk?"
"Fine, one then."
Can't let him drink solo, right? Won't mention he could've skipped it.
"Cheers~"
"Cheers...."
I downed the soju shot without thinking, then felt something wrong—but it was already down my throat.
I lost control of my tongue.
"...But, y'know."
"Hm?"
"How's... Seo Yoo doing?"