Taming the LoL Addict

Getting Extreme Taste didn't exactly overhaul my life.

Among the basic necessities — food, clothing, and shelter — it just raised the quality of the food part a notch.

When I tried to think of ways to put this sense of taste to use, the first idea that popped up was entering a cooking competition and acing the ingredient-identification test by tasting the dishes. It was the kind of plot device cooking webtoons always leaned on, so it came to mind right away.

The problem was that I wasn't a chef.

Looking purely at the ability itself, it did seem like the perfect setup for becoming one. Taste stat SSS, plus the Flavor Shift trait. Even so, I just couldn't picture a future where I was a cook.

I've already got plenty of money anyway…

There was no need to grind myself into some career. More than anything, when you were already good-looking and loaded, there was zero reason to chase fame. Having money ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while nobody knew you had money — that was the life everyone dreamed of. No point manufacturing a chance to get famous.

"Might as well just freeload."

Besides, I was still in the middle of the Balance Game. Living a normal life with a normal job could wait until all of that was over. Right now, once a week, every scrap of my attention needed to go into the Balance Game.

A leisurely Monday morning.

Unlike students or office workers, my weekdays had no schedule beyond heading to the gym at eleven — which made them the most relaxed days of my life.

KokoaTalk-!

A beautiful notification sound that layered happiness on top of leisure. I'd muted every chat room except Ajeong's and the boss's, so this had to be Ajeong. No way the boss would message me first thing on a weekday morning.

KokoaTalk-!

Another chime, as if telling me to check it already. I shook the water from my damp hair and walked over to the bed where my phone was.

KokoaTalk-!

A cheerfully insistent little ping. I hurried to unlock the phone and check the messages.

"Ah."

The back-to-back KokoaTalks weren't from Ajeong — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they were from Hayun. Yesterday she'd clung to me begging to hang out longer, and instead of sending her off I'd asked for her number, so I'd had no choice but to hand mine over. We'd gotten close enough that not having each other's contacts already felt ridiculous, so I'd given it to her freely — I just hadn't expected her to message the very next day. And with something this meaningless, no less.

I fired off a short reply and immediately checked Ajeong's KokoaTalk. Hayun had been the one spamming notifications, but that didn't mean Ajeong hadn't messaged.

It was Monday, so I figured it was some newly discovered chest workout and tapped the link to play the video. I'd assumed it was a training clip, of course — but what loaded was a LoL video.

What Ajeong wanted to try was a new bot-lane duo: a champion that created bushes paired with an assassin who rode those bushes around. Neither was a standard bot pick, but their skill synergy made them worth a shot if they existed at the same time. Still, at the end of the day it was a troll pick. I could already hear the flaming we'd get for running it in ranked.

Wait. Hold on.

I'd started seriously considering it without even realizing, and the situation itself was weird.

Naturally I was the one making the bushes while Ajeong rode them and attacked. Setting aside the in-game stuff — which wasn't trivial — there was a more fundamental problem. Calling us gym partners didn't really fit anymore. We were spending more time together on the Rift than anywhere else.

Talking Ajeong out of full LoL-demon mode was a lost cause.

Monday evening.

Lately my weekdays consisted of exactly two activities. The one that ate up the most time was, of course, rolling around in bed. It looked like pure laziness from the outside, but it was important work — staying on top of current trends to prepare for the next Balance Game.

"Oh… Karina, no contest."

A Balance Game poll up on the community boards. The vote was running 82 to 18 in Lee Jaeyoung's favor, but my pick was different. With money already covered, a one-off experience meeting a thriving celebrity was more appealing.

Lee Jaeyoung's kind of a celebrity too, though…

Thinking about it that way, the second option had its charms — but pretty still won.

That was the first activity: the so-called "info-gathering roll-around," prepping for the Balance Game. The second thing that took up nearly as much time was every single moment I spent with Ajeong. Including our post-workout chats at the gym every day, we clocked over three hours together. And it didn't stop there — after Ajeong got off work, we hopped on voice chat from our own places for Rift dates. Being weekdays, we couldn't game for hours on end, but a solid two-hour floor was always guaranteed. High floor, reliable activity.

"Woohyun, you've got talent for Ivern."

"Was it fun?"

"Yeah! What should we try next?"

Ajeong's position was ADC and mine was support. Even though I could play every champion at diamond level now, I didn't bother switching roles.

Out of consideration for Ajeong?

"Woohyun, what are you picking?"

Ajeong had already locked in Aphelios. She was asking what I'd play, but of course the champion she wanted from me was already decided.

I locked in my predetermined champion with that grand line of dialogue.

"Woohyun, you're support, though…"

"Yeah."

"Azir support…?"

"Yeah. I'll shove them over with my ult — you just clean up."

"Got it…"

Support was the freest position of all — you could pick any champion you wanted.

The second the game started, I sprinted top, hit the tower three times, and got executed. Doing that let me farm gold with the support-exclusive item and buy a refillable potion right from the start. My next item would be a scaling piece that boosted potion effects, so it was the perfect investment in the future.

Right before I died, the enemy top laner had been nearby, so there was a chance the XP had gone to her. Our top seemed to think I did this all the time and was asking me about it.

I don't know either.

I'd only tried this strategy after an Ivern guide video recommended it in the sidebar. First time for me too. Hell, this was my first game ever on Azir, period. Normally I would've typed something cheerfully toxic the way the video did — funny for everyone except the person on the receiving end — but since I was playing with Ajeong, I decided to show some manners.

I don't really know, but if she did get the XP, my condolences — all neatly compressed into a single emote.

Oh, time to report that.

I wasn't actually mad, but reporting the right people handed out various rewards, so a strong sense of civic duty came naturally.

A little chaotic, but either way we started the bot lane phase ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in good spirits with a refillable potion in hand. Every chance I got, I poked the enemy ADC with Azir's long reach, and they were loving it — in the worst way.

"Ajeong, how is it? Easy to farm CS, right?"

"Yeah… ah—!"

"Sorry. But the trade was good, so it was worth it, you know?"

"Yeah…"

While harassing the enemy ADC, I'd accidentally sniped the cannon minion — the one that paid the most gold. Thankfully Ajeong had a big heart and understood the situation.

"Whoa, why aren't they backing?"

Both the enemy ADC and support were shredded from my poke, yet they were grit-teething it out and refusing to recall. Both junglers were busy farming camps and hadn't shown once all the way to level six.

"Ajeong, I'll deliver them with my ult. Take the kills."

"Okay!"

Azir's ultimate summoned soldiers that shoved enemies away. All I had to do was dash in close and push them toward Ajeong's champion.

"Ah."

Delivery only worked if you were still alive to make it. They were so low that the enemy ADC and support just died to my ult outright. Ajeong, who'd been diligently farming CS while waiting for me, didn't land a single auto and didn't even get the assists.

"Woohyun's so gooood…"

"Sorry. My item just came online, so more chances will pop up soon."

Every chance that came after that belonged to me, not Ajeong. The game ended in a surrender before the twenty-minute mark. Our final KDAs were a perfect display of ADC-and-support synergy.

…Except our KDAs looked completely swapped.

"You supported so well that I could carry."

"R-right?"

"Ajeong, wanna role-swap to support? I think being a tool suits you."

"N-no! Let's queue another game already!"

"Alright."

I queued us up fast, and the champion select screen opened again. Once more, Ajeong's pick order came before mine.

"Hmm…"

She glanced at me a little nervously, then locked in another carry-type ADC. She'd already let me have my fun for one game, so she was probably expecting me to pick a proper support this time.

Ding-!

My turn. Twenty-five seconds on the clock. I immediately hovered Azir. To fully lock a champion you had to select them and hit ready — so it wasn't confirmed yet, but my portrait would be floating there, making it clear I could pick him.

"Woohyun… you did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that last game. Aren't you bored?"

"Nah. We gotta climb tiers fast."

"We can climb slowly…"

"Yeah?"

Fair enough — I'd already played Azir once, so picking something else seemed fine. Since I could handle every champion at diamond level now, trying all the ones I hadn't touched yet didn't sound bad either. After some thought, I hovered Zyra. She was a champion that actually showed up as support pretty often.

"Woohyun…?"

Of course, she was the kind of damage-dealing support ADCs weren't exactly fond of.

"What?"

"Nothing…"

Ajeong answered in a dejected little voice. Asking me to pick someone else here would basically be forcing my choice, so she was holding it in.

She's actually adorable.

5

4

3

2

Two seconds left on champion select.

1

0

Right before Zyra auto-locked, I snagged Nami — a utility support.

"W-Woohyun!!"

Ajeong went from sulking to beaming in an instant, and it put me in a good mood too.