Choi Do-yun / Doyoon_JGL (1)

Having already died once and come back, Bae Do-hyun spent far less time agonizing over decisions than he used to.

Act first, then judge by the results — that principle had been burned into him so thoroughly it felt like second nature.

Which was why Choi Do-yun, whom he had only met the day before, found himself summoned by Jin Gyeo-wool before a full day had even passed.

What is this… a date? I never thought a girl would ask me out first…

Choi Do-yun's heart was already on the verge of exploding.

In his entire life, the number of times a girl had asked to see him first could be counted on one hand. And of those, this was the first time someone had called him because she actually wanted to see him.

Mom. Teachers. The class president. Every single one of them had always had a reason.

For the first time in his life, a girl wanted to meet him for no particular reason at all. And not just any girl — an insanely pretty noona.

On top of that, this noona was pretty good at Recon. They had queued a few games together yesterday, and her mechanics and map-reading skills were nowhere near embarrassing next to his own.

She still fell short of Choi Do-yun, who was knocking on Grandmaster's door, but the potential for growth was unmistakable.

She hadn't explained how her rank was so high, but he figured she was probably streaming. Plenty of people were curious about a female Recon pro gamer; almost nobody actually tried to become one.

Who would, honestly? You'd make better use of that time looking somewhere else entirely.

In a country structured so bizarrely in women's favor, why would anyone deliberately choose the hard road?

"Ah, there you are."

"Whoa—!"

While Choi Do-yun was drowning in his own thoughts, Jin Gyeo-wool arrived a little late.

"Sorry… I've never really wandered around in casual clothes before, so I had no idea what to wear. Picking an outfit took longer than I expected."

She offered a sheepish little smile by way of apology.

A thick black hoodie that would have looked perfectly natural at home, skinny jeans that paired with it flawlessly, and a pair of conspicuously cute white sneakers to finish it off.

She hadn't dressed up at all, and somehow she still glowed.

Face card never declines…

Overwhelming gratitude flooded Choi Do-yun. Of all the people who could have called him out alone on a weekend, it had to be her.

They hadn't even touched. Nothing remotely suggestive had happened. But to a seventeen-year-old boy whose body was running hot at full throttle, even Jin Gyeo-wool in her most understated clothes was pure stimulation.

"N-no, it's fine. So, uh… where should we go?"

She had clearly called him out today for a date. To prepare, Choi Do-yun had stayed up late the night before studying essential date courses.

A woman this beautiful had summoned him alone. He could not afford to look unprepared and disappoint her.

He swore to himself he would stay cool, take the lead, and show her his best side.

"Uh… how about we start over there?"

Her finger pointed roughly forty-five degrees up and to the left.

"Huh?"

At the end of her finger was a sign for a motel. Choi Do-yun froze.

A mote— a motel? Just like that? We literally just met?

What kind of aggressively forward woman was this? They had met for the first time today, and she was pointing at a motel.

No, forget that — can we even go into a motel?

Right. Minors couldn't enter motels. And yet Jin Gyeo-wool's finger kept pointing straight at it.

She was even staring at him as if to ask why he was taking so long to think about it.

In the end, Choi Do-yun couldn't contain his embarrassment and blurted out at full volume,

"W-wait a second, Noona! We're still way too young to go into a place like that!"

Jin Gyeo-wool tilted one eyebrow and shot back,

"What are you talking about? I said we should go to the PC bang."

"Ah?"

Choi Do-yun adjusted the angle of his gaze a second too late and realized she hadn't been pointing at the towering motel building at all. She had been pointing at the PC bang on the third floor of the low commercial building in front of it.

His own runaway imagination had manufactured the entire misunderstanding.

"First time I've ever heard that a high schooler is too young for a PC bang."

"Ah. Uwah. Ahahahaha! Wahahaha!"

Laughter burst out of him from pure mortification. He turned and marched toward the PC bang at the head of their little procession, already drowning in despairing regret over the pathetic display he had just put on.

Choi Do-yun, this is exactly why people call you a lifelong single and write you off.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be? It's the weekend — nowhere else has seats."

It was a couple booth.

He had been to PC bangs countless times, and he had always assumed a couple booth would never have anything to do with him. And yet here he was.

How was this even possible? Sitting in a couple booth, playing games beside a woman this beautiful.

For a guy whose only asset in life had been his game skill, it felt like a sunflower had finally bloomed for the first time.

"Want something to drink? I'll buy."

"Ah. No, it's fine. I'll get it. I was the one who called you out."

And this noona was an angel on top of everything else. She was offering to buy drinks because she had invited him. She already looked like an angel, and her heart was even kinder than one. She had to know that, as a fellow student, he was broke — and she was still this generous.

At this point, Choi Do-yun decided he wouldn't even mind if the whole thing turned out to be a hidden-camera prank. Even a dream would have been fine.

Sitting in a couple booth with a peerless beauty, slurping drinks and playing League of Council together? Even if he told the story, more people would refuse to believe it than not.

The drinks arrived soon enough, and they formed a party for duo queue. All that was left was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to hit the search button — when Jin Gyeo-wool turned in her seat so she could face Choi Do-yun head-on.

"So… before we play, there's actually something I've been wanting to say."

"Kh— Y-yeah? What is it?"

Her posture looked exactly like someone about to make an important confession. Something along the lines of I like you, for example.

Choi Do-yun's heart hammered even harder. How many moments in his life had ever been this tense? Even the first time he hit Master tier hadn't gotten him this worked up.

Jin Gyeo-wool's gaze was past piercing — it was hot. Her passionate intensity poured straight into him.

She was telling him. Honestly, without words: I want you. She hadn't said it out loud, but her eyes were saying it loud and clear.

What a forceful woman. She looked gentle on the outside, but it felt like a great general was standing tall inside her.

"I need you."

"…What?"

It was real?

Choi Do-yun momentarily doubted his own ears.

Jin Gyeo-wool wanted him. She had told him she needed him.

"I said I need you."

Jin Gyeo-wool repeated it with extra force. As she spoke, her body leaned a little closer toward him.

Apparently that still wasn't enough, because she reached out with both hands, grabbed his right hand, and started pleading in earnest.

"W-wait a second! What on earth are you talking about?!"

It was far too much stimulation for Choi Do-yun. He yanked his right arm free in a panic and scrambled back until he hit the left armrest of the narrow two-person couple booth, putting as much distance between them as the seat allowed.

"Want me to say it again? I need you. Want to be on a team together?"

Honestly, it wasn't a sentence that invited misunderstanding. "Team" was a word used everywhere in the world, wasn't it?

So why did it hit a first-life, zero-experience-with-girls Choi Do-yun like a freight train?

— My dream is to start a soccer team with my wife!

Why was that ancient community meme suddenly flashing through his mind? Was that the kind of team she meant? Really?

Was she talking about spending a lifetime together and having nine kids?

"I— bathroom. I need to hit the bathroom real quick!"

Overwhelmed, Choi Do-yun chose flight. The heavy couple-booth chair refused to slide properly, and he cracked his knee on the way out, but pain like that barely registered.

By now he was certain. This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a hidden-camera prank.

His rotten older brother had clearly decided to mess with him for real.

Choi Do-yun bolted for the bathroom and, mid-sprint, punched a number into his phone.

"…What's his deal?"

After he fled to the bathroom, Jin Gyeo-wool sank into thought.

Guess he doesn't want to team up with a girl he just met…

Skill-wise there was zero issue. The problem, apparently, was that she was a girl.

I heard he wants to put together an amateur team this year and enter tournaments… maybe Choi Go-yun was lying.

Jin Gyeo-wool decided she would have words with Choi Go-yun the moment she got back to school on Monday. She had called Choi Do-yun out today assuming the conversation would go smoothly. At this rate, the whole thing was a complete bust.

"Tch. I figured I could at least lock down one teammate before the day was over. With this vibe, though… yeah, that's not happening."

He revised his approach.

He had thought that if he showed his sincerity like a man, the other side would answer in kind with a high-five. Instead, Do-yun had gotten overwhelmed and run away.

In that case, the answer was to prove it with skill. They would play together until Do-yun was brainwashed into believing he couldn't live without Jin Gyeo-wool as his top laner.

All right, Choi Do-yun. Brace yourself.

Today was going to be a day he would never forget.

A meaningful smile tugged at Jin Gyeo-wool's lips as she pulled up an unusual champion build she had been saving for stream someday and started reading it over again.

"Ugh. I've been staring at monitors too long lately. My eyes feel like sandpaper."

Even with a younger body, you still had to take care of yourself. Jin Gyeo-wool set the mouse and keyboard aside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a moment and pulled a bottle of artificial tears from her pants pocket.

"Date? What date? This is all a hidden camera, right? Right?"

Choi Go-yun's sheer bafflement came through the receiver crystal clear. But the one who was actually baffled right now was Choi Do-yun.

"If it's not a hidden camera, then why is that noona asking me to marry her?"

She hadn't. She had asked him to be on the same team.

"Sh-she wants to start a soccer team…!"

At that point, even Choi Go-yun started to panic. He had only arranged today's meeting to hand his brother a shiny new slave, and the conversation had accelerated way past anything he had planned for.

"I ran away!"

But two lifelong singles putting their heads together were never going to produce a usable plan. Zero times zero is zero. Multiply it however you want — you still get zero.

"You're a lifelong single too, so shut your damn mouth."

Choi Do-yun hung up in a fit of irritation. As always, his older brother had never once been useful in life.

No — correction. Introducing him to Jin Gyeo-wool deserved at least some credit.

"What am I even supposed to say…"

In the comics and stuff, heroines who got rejected like this usually took a wound to the heart and became afraid to confess again.

They would carry the pain of knowing they could never be with the protagonist, thrash around in anguish, and eventually get their hearts stolen by the secondary male lead. But story-wise, a secondary male lead was only ever a secondary male lead — the heroine would suffer every kind of heartache and inevitably come back to the protagonist in the end.

There was only one way to save a heroine in crisis.

A confession packed with genuine feeling.

I'll accept your feelings. I must have been out of my mind back then. I like you too. I can't do this without you!

The reason a guy who had never dated once in his life was this fluent in pure-hearted romance narratives was probably his mother.

The hours he was allowed to game on the home computer were fixed, so he inevitably ended up in the living room playing phone games — and during those stretches, half-listening to whatever drama his mom had on was enough to absorb the whole formula. Every romance story ran on the same tired mechanism on endless repeat.

Choi Do-yun made up his mind. He would not let Jin Gyeo-wool become the heroine of that cliché plot.

He would not leave a lovely heroine alone to deny her own true feelings and twist herself into knots.

Resolve hardened, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠splashed cold water on his face and strode back to their seats with his head held high.

Through the couple-booth partition, he could see her playing Recon. Clearly she was soothing the pain of heartbreak with a game.

Choi Do-yun yanked the door open, stepped in, and perched on the armrest of the couple-booth chair.

"Oh. You're back?"

Unbelievable. She was crying.

Playing Recon while weeping from the pain of rejection.

He still didn't understand why she was playing Recon of all things, but she was crying either way.

You bastard. Choi Do-yun, you are a bastard.

Making someone this pretty cry.

Becoming a man in that moment, Choi Do-yun pulled the tearful Jin Gyeo-wool into a firm embrace.

"Noona. Let's be a team, just like you wanted. I need you too!"

Jin Gyeo-wool, who had been perfectly fine practicing in a custom game, froze in bewilderment. Somehow the situation had gone completely off the rails.