Boss vs Part-Timer
The situation after I'd asked Ajeong about the Balance Game.
"Can I pick which character becomes Challenger-tier?"
"Nope. It could end up being Challenger-tier Yuumi."
"Eeeek—! I'm not doing that!"
"Pfft… So you're going with the second option?"
"Mmm… yeah? Honestly, even Diamond feels like it'd put too much distance between me and you… but if I have to choose, it's the second one."
"Got it."
There were two main reasons Ajeong picked the latter.
First, exactly as I'd thought — there was a real chance the randomly assigned character would be one she absolutely hated.
Second, she didn't want the tier gap between us to get too extreme.
Considering all that, the second option looked like the better pick for me too. Just because one character hit Challenger didn't mean you could go pro, and at a civilian level, it wasn't even necessary.
About ten minutes left on the clock. No point overthinking it — I chose the latter.
Jung Woohyun: All characters become Diamond-tier.
The moment the timer hit zero.
"Woohyun, you finished eating, right?"
Ajeong was the first to react.
"Yeah. I watched some guide videos while I ate."
"Ooh~ Item enhancement successful!"
I was now far better at League than Ajeong.
"Woohyun, what are you picking?"
"Hmm…"
Ding—
The champion I'd locked in was Senna — a support who occasionally got played as an ADC too.
"Ah… then I'll take this!"
Ajeong locked Lucian.
Lore-wise, Senna and Lucian were a couple, and as a bot-lane duo they weren't half bad either. Normally a support was supposed to feed every kill to the ADC — but not this game.
Bottom-lane reverse world.
I was going to vacuum up every kill and put on the late-game carry show that was supposed to be an ADC's one claim to fame.
"Ah… so close. Still, First Blood's First Blood!"
"Woohyun… you're taking a lot of kills. I feel like you could've given me that last one…"
"Sorry~ First time on Senna. My bad."
"Hehe… it's fine!"
"Okay, gank secured too~ We're doing everything. Right?"
"Yeah…"
The enemy jungler had come bot, turning it into a three-on-two — and we'd wiped them all anyway. All three kills went to me. Still, it'd been a scramble with the jungler diving in, so Ajeong couldn't really complain.
Our top and mid were losing their lanes by a slim margin. This was exactly the late-game carry picture I'd wanted. Thanks to top and mid keeping the game balanced, the match dragged out long.
At the thirty-minute mark, my KDA and Ajeong's formed a perfect harmony.
I, the support, had vacuumed every kill, and Ajeong was sitting on the kind of KDA a support was supposed to have.
Thanks to hoarding the kills, my items came online fast on their own. With Senna's signature long range I could selfishly dish out damage and absolutely flatten the enemy team. Top and jungle wrapped themselves around me and focused purely on peeling, and with me putting out nearly all the damage, we closed out the win.
After the game, four votes landed on me in the popularity poll, and the chat lit up with reactions.
"Woohyun…"
"Yeah?"
"Senna is banned…"
"Again?"
"Was the video you watched a Senna guide?"
"Yeah."
"You shouldn't watch that stuff… You should unsubscribe and block the channel right now."
Ajeong had clearly started feeling threatened. It wasn't just one lucky game — she could tell my actual skill had gone up. Which made sense. I was a Balance-Game-certified Diamond now.
"Alright. From now on I'll play whatever you want."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. I've tried every champ I wanted, so I'm looking to mix it up."
"Hehe… My Woohyun is my soulbound item now."
"Call me an item and I'm locking Senna."
"Eek… Then helper…? Woohyun is my Rift helper!"
The word put some weird ideas in my head, but I let it slide for now.
I'd only picked Senna to check how much influence my upgraded skill actually had. I should try the other lanes later. When I queued with Ajeong I'd pretty much always be on support, but once I played solo I figured I'd hit mid or top.
Our Rift date after that didn't wrap up until eight in the evening. Ajeong won all ten of her placement matches, got placed Gold II, and only stopped once she'd climbed to Gold I.
"Hehe… We're the same tier now, right?"
"Yeah. Weird how it lined up perfectly."
"Next time let's duo climb to Plat!"
"Deal. We really went long today."
"You're coming tomorrow, right???"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Tomorrow was already Monday. If I went to the gym, I'd see Ajeong again. That used to be something I looked forward to — but after twelve straight hours of gaming together, the thought of seeing her again hit a little differently.
"Hehe… See you tomorrow, Woohyun! Today was so much fun!!"
"I had fun too. Sleep well."
"Mm! Night!"
I closed League and lay down on the bed, and Ajeong was still on my mind. Impure as it was, a tiny part of me felt a little burned out — but it didn't take long before I started looking forward to tomorrow again.
Maybe it was because the person I'd spent twelve hours with wasn't everyday Ajeong so much as League-addict-mode Ajeong.
Five days straight of gym dates with Ajeong.
On day three — Wednesday — Ajeong looked like something was bothering her.
"Ajeong, what's wrong?"
"…Woohyun's mean."
"Why?"
"Why'd you hit Platinum by yourself?"
"Ah."
I'd hit Platinum for the first time yesterday. Even rotating through all four positions outside my main role of support, I'd won every game.
"We said we'd duo climb to Plat together… And how did you get this good all of a sudden?"
"Sorry. Playing with you made me improve crazy fast."
"Mmph… Is that sooo~?"
A little lip service and her mood seemed to bounce right back.
"Besides, you've been to Platinum before. Let's duo climb to Diamond."
"Hah — you think we can?"
"Not confident?"
"As if! I deliberately didn't go Diamond because I was waiting to do it with you!"
"That so? Then we climb to Diamond together. Bet on who gets there first."
"Ugh… Your tier's already higher than mine!"
"True. But you said you only play that account when you're with me, right?"
"…Then you only play with me too!"
"Alright."
"Huh?"
"From now on, that's what I'll do."
"Iiiik…!"
Pah— pah—
"Mean!"
She said it, but she didn't actually look upset. We'd gotten to the point where she'd go along with just about anything I asked, so even losing a bet didn't feel like much of a loss.
Paaah—! Squeeze, paaah—!
Ajeong, who'd been smacking my thigh, had started secretly kneading it midway through.
"Are you groping me, or hitting me?"
"Eek… How'd you know?"
"You're doing it out in the open. How would I not know…"
"I thought if I hit you, you wouldn't feel it…"
She must've been thinking of the way nurses slap you before a shot in the butt. Even so, she was openly making the flesh move — there was no missing it.
"Hehe…"
Already caught, she figured it didn't matter and shifted her hands to start groping my ass. After enough repetition, this had become something we tacitly allowed. At the same time she wiggled her own hips like she wanted me to grab hers too — but I didn't touch her nearly as often as she touched me.
I could exploit the no-masturbation rule to put her under, sure, but having that happen too often would be a problem.
The happy weekdays ended and the weekend rolled back around.
Unlike most people, my rough schedules piled up on the weekends rather than the weekdays. On weekdays I just hit the gym happily with Ajeong, and after that my time was completely free. Weekends, though — Saturday meant café shifts, and Sunday meant the Balance Game.
Granted, even that was pretty loose compared to other people, but it wasn't like the mental stress was zero.
The Balance Game was obvious — you never knew what options would show up and how they'd reshape your life, so the tension and stress came with the territory. The Saturday café shift, on the other hand, had never been something I'd expected to turn out like this when I first started.
Regulars who'd become regulars because of my face. On top of that, word of mouth kept bringing in new customers, so during my shifts every table was packed and the takeout orders never stopped.
"Haa…"
"Oppa, you're already tired? Your stamina is totally trash~"
Thwack—!
"Hwing…"
Jin Hayun and I had gotten dramatically closer starting from the day we began working together. Before that we'd been close-but-distant in a weird way; once we shared a shift, that strange wall cracked. And thanks to that, Hayun's real personality had started coming out in full.
"Whoa… that customer over there's been staring at Oppa this whole time. Ah, the second I talk to you they start glaring~"
"You know that and you're clinging harder…"
"It feels like I won something. Makes me happy."
Per the Balance Game option, Jin Hayun really was peak MZ. A hybrid of MZ and hardcore otaku.
"Ehehe… Local S-rank cool-beauty hottie — GET…!"
Thwack—!
"Ugh… it went red."
Two hours into the shift and I'd already flicked her forehead about ten times.
"Great work today, kids~ Just a little more, hang in there."
"Yes." "Yup!"
Closing time — cleanup after locking up. Hayun was finishing the dishes, and the boss was tallying today's sales. Done with the floor, I stepped behind the counter figuring I'd help out and get us out of there faster.
"Boss, anything else that needs cleaning?"
"Heh… the back's all done, so just rest. Once Hayun's finished, we can head home."
"Yes."
Out of habit again, the boss's hand drifted toward my ass. I already knew she'd stop before she got there, so I stayed still to spare her the embarrassment.
Tak—
"…"
The first one to react wasn't me or the boss — it was Jin Hayun.
"…Hayun, let go of her hand. Quickly."
"Ah, I'm sorry…"
"No… Boss almost slipped up. Thanks for stopping her."
"Hayun, she would've stopped halfway anyway. Still — thank you."
"Hing…"
She'd done it for my sake, but seemed to think she'd gotten scolded, and her whole mood drooped. I'd have to thank her again on the way home later.
"Boss, you should wash your hands."
Hayun had grabbed her while still wearing rubber gloves coated in dish soap, so foam was stuck to the boss's wrist. Hayun was using the sink, so I pulled out a wet wipe and handed it over.
"Thanks… Woohyun. Boss'll break the habit fast. I'm sorry every day…"
"It's fine."
"No… Maybe because you keep saying it's fine, Boss got careless. I won't do it again… I'm really sorry."
The boss bowed at the waist and apologized properly. Seeing her so deflated — sure, there'd been times I'd wanted to see it, but having Hayun watch from the side made it feel wrong.
Tak—