Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Episode 16 The Support Characters of the Yuri Game Don’t Get Along.
‘What’s with these two? Don’t tell me they hate each other?’
Baek Daeji and Kim Jaehan were among the very few male characters appearing in 【Yuri Garden】.
Sure, there were Geum Taeyang and his gang too, but because the setting itself was a yuri game, most of the characters appearing were pretty girls.
After all, people who played yuri games wanted to see cute, beautiful girls blooming together in pure yuri romance—not sweaty dudes.
And once romance with men entered the picture, could it even still be called a yuri game?
Yet even within 【Yuri Garden】, Baek Daeji and Kim Jaehan were especially popular. They acted as support characters and helpers who gave advice to the protagonist or secretly supported her from behind.
Reliable older-brother characters who supported the protagonist—who, as a first-year, had more freedom to move around—while also being in the same grade as Geum Taeyang, the main villain and final boss of the story.
Despite their terrible personalities, they stood against Geum Taeyang, who was absurdly talented in both brains and brawn, and even when lacking power compared to him, they still stepped forward to oppose him.
That dependable image as older guys had firmly engraved itself into everyone’s minds.
Or at least, it had.
“Pig. Why are you here? I came because Taeyang was coming.”
“Ugh. Looks like you got excited thinking Yangyang would boost you. Jinhyuk, no matter how desperate you were for players, why’d you bring this guy?”
“Says the one who came here for a carry. Nobody invited you. I only needed Taeyang, so trash-tier mid laners can leave.”
“What did you say, bastard?”
“Wanna go?”
“Fine!”
‘Aaah, this is tragic.’
Was this how fans felt after being violently awakened to the gap between an idol on TV and reality?
I wasn’t even deeply obsessed with 【Yuri Garden】, yet this still felt devastating.
If a hardcore fan saw this scene, how crushed would they feel?
The two who looked so cool in the original work were now bickering childishly like this, and the collapse of that fantasy weighed on my chest like helpless exhaustion.
‘There really are things in life better left unknown.’
It was a painful lesson that realism wasn’t always a good thing.
“Haaah. They’re at it again. Jinhyuk, why did you gather those two together?”
“Sorry, Hyung. But Jaehan Hyung was the one who suggested it first, and I couldn’t exactly refuse. You know I’m weak against him.”
“How could I blame you? Even here, the evils of hierarchy reveal themselves.”
“What do you mean?”
“To put it simply, Kim Jaehan is the senior at the dojo Jinhyuk attends.”
“Jinhyuk, you go to a dojo?”
“I’ve been going since last year.”
That was new information not mentioned in the game settings.
Looks like Geum Taeyang changing also ended up changing his former underling, Go Jinhyuk.
“Let’s just grab seats already.”
“Is it really okay to leave them like that?”
“They’re always like this, so just ignore them. If we leave them alone, they’ll come eventually.”
“Ah, okay……”
Maybe this was exactly why people said you shouldn’t learn about celebrities’ private lives.
The versions of these two I saw in the game and the versions standing before me now simply didn’t match at all.
“Sorry, Taeyang Hyung.”
“What did you even do wrong? Jaehan probably forced his way in again. He shouldn’t push juniors around so much. Seriously, when’s that guy gonna grow up?”
“You’re the only one who says things like that, Taeyang Hyung. I’ll stay loyal forever.”
“Don’t cling so much.”
‘Wow… never thought I’d live to hear conversations like this.’
In the original work, Go Jinhyuk had merely been a third-rate lackey who submitted to Geum Taeyang out of fear and greed.
He followed Geum Taeyang, but never truly respected him.
He only stayed around because he was seduced by Geum Taeyang’s violence and rewards.
And when things went bad, he betrayed Geum Taeyang without hesitation.
So watching Go Jinhyuk talk so comfortably with Geum Taeyang now created severe cognitive dissonance.
“Jihyuk, what position are you best at?”
“Uh, ah… support.”
“I’m ADC, so that works out.”
“Good! Then this great being shall show you what the ultimate mid laner looks like! I’ll wipe them all out with Kakali!”
“You’re full of shit. Did you already forget getting destroyed by Nyaso last time?”
“Says the bastard who turned top lane into a highway!”
“……Guess I can only jungle.”
Surprisingly smoothly, everyone’s positions were decided quickly.
Top: Kim Jaehan.
Jungle: Geum Taeyang.
Mid: Baek Daeji.
ADC: Go Jinhyuk.
Support: Seong Jihyuk.
‘Can I really do this?’
Just playing a game together with friends for the first time already had my heart racing nervously.
And on top of that, playing LoL with the two support characters and the final boss of 【Yuri Garden】…
When I first realized this was my second life, I never imagined something like this would happen.
‘I have to do well…….’
My heart tightened anxiously.
I was already worried about making mistakes, and the thought of dragging the team down made my throat feel completely dry.
“Jihyuk, you okay?”
“Ah, ah… yeah……”
“……You don’t need to be so nervous.”
“B-But….”
“You don’t have to be so stiff. Even if you make a few mistakes, it’s not a big deal.”
“……Everyone else is good though.”
After forming the party, I realized everyone except me was Diamond rank.
Naturally, their understanding of the game and skill level were far above mine, and even if I messed up, they’d probably cover for me easily.
But ironically, that rank difference only pressured me more.
And maybe because of what I said, Jinhyuk’s expression turned strange.
“That’s a little different…… you’ll understand once you see.”
“Huh?”
Not long after the game started, I understood exactly what Jinhyuk meant.
“You fucking bastard! Why the hell is the mid Bling in top lane!? That’s already five times!”
“I pinged it, baby boy! Hyung was busy pushing tower too, so stop whining!”
“You piece of shit!”
‘So that’s what he meant.’
The score was 4 to 10.
Our team had already died ten times, and eight of those deaths came entirely from top and mid.
At first, after getting First Blood and grabbing three early kills, it looked like we were taking control of the game.
But then the enemy LeBling roamed from mid to top and bot, collecting kills and instantly turning the game around.
Even to my eyes, it was obvious the enemy jungle Dien and Bling were coordinating perfectly as our top and mid lanes collapsed.
Bot lane was still barely holding together through stable play, but after dying once to a jungle gank, things already felt dangerous.
Unlike our own mid and top, who were busy fighting each other, the enemy side kept coordinating around Bling and their jungle to gain numbers advantages and snowball further.
Meanwhile, Geum Taeyang—the highest-ranked player among us—still hadn’t shown signs of ganking and was continuing an incredibly tense lane phase.
‘Ah!’
The enemy ADC sidestepped Angelus’s harpoon, causing it to hit the wall and drag Angelus forward automatically.
Crowd-controlled by the enemy support, my skills and Flash were locked down, and the moment I saw the enemy jungler approaching from above, I realized it was over.
‘No!’
If I died here, bot lane would completely collapse and the enemy team would seize total control of the game.
A crushing sense of failure hit me as though my mistake had ruined everything.
Then—
As if shattering that despair apart, a spear flew through the air.
With an effect like a meteor crashing down, a champion resembling an ancient Spartan descended onto the battlefield.
“Pantheon!”
“Took long enough. I’m going in now.”
The dependable voice echoing through my headset heated my chest automatically.
With flashy movement and perfect timing, he silenced the enemy ADC, and at the exact same moment our mid ultimate spread out in a fan shape, instantly melting the enemy ADC and support.
The enemy jungler tried to join the fight, but Geum Taeyang’s Pantheon flashed out of the ultimate range, then immediately used a freshly cooled-down shield stun to silence the enemy jungler and hand a triple kill directly to our ADC.
“Taeyang Hyung, I trusted you! Seriously the best!”
“This lane should be fine now. Push a little and reset.”
“Yes sir!”
While the two laughed and chatted casually, I remained stunned by the play Geum Taeyang had just shown.
The perfect timing on the ultimate and shield stun.
The flawless Flash dodge matching the enemy jungler’s engage timing exactly before counter-stunning him.
As someone barely stuck in Silver, I couldn’t fully grasp the deeper meaning behind every move.
But there was one thing I definitely understood.
“Amazing.”
“Right? He’s seriously insane, isn’t he? Games with Taeyang Hyung always feel safe. No matter how behind we get, Hyung always carries everything.”
“……Yeah.”
At first it sounded exaggerated, but after seeing that play, I couldn’t deny it.
“You came to save me, Taeyang!”
“Shut up.”
“I trusted you, Hyungnim! Loyalty loyalty!”
“You only call me Hyungnim at times like this.”
Once Geum Taeyang’s Pantheon began actively ganking, every blocked lane got opened up like he was some kind of plumber unclogging pipes.
He completely shattered the enemy’s 1v3 setup against top lane with a flashy entrance.
Flashing straight into the enemy formation, he stunned Bling with Shield Bash, and at that exact moment Galpa’s ultimate exploded, deleting Bling instantly.
Then during the following 2v2, he dodged attacks with dazzling movement while outputting damage nonstop, eventually killing both enemy players in top lane.
“Yes, this is it! This is the true power of riding Geum Taeyang’s coattails! We are protected by the blessings of Geum Taeyang!”
“Lord Taeyang! Please come to my lane too!”
“Stop talking nonsense and just play.”
“We destroyed the tower!”
“Good job, little bro’s!”
“Push!”
Maybe this was rude to say, but—
The moment Geum Taeyang started functioning properly, the entire team’s offensive power changed drastically.
No matter where danger appeared, Geum Taeyang was there.
The enemy jungle and Bling repeatedly tried sharp ambushes targeting our flanks and backline like deadly daggers, but every single time they were blocked by Geum Taeyang’s dependable Pantheon, allowing our advance to continue nonstop.
“Got Venon!”
“Let’s finish this while the buff lasts!”
And once we secured the Venon buff, the scales of the game tilted completely.
The enemy team struggled hard, but once the balance collapsed, they could never restore it.
Eventually, after our unstoppable advance, the word “Victory” appeared on the screen.
“Amazing…….”
“See? Isn’t he incredible? Told you Taeyang Hyung’s insane.”
“……Yeah.”
He really was amazing.
I’d watched pro games before, but unlike watching matches on TV, this game felt far more vivid because I’d participated directly.
I still couldn’t believe I’d been able to play in a game like this.
And that the person sitting right beside me was him.
“Taeyang Sunbae. Is jungle your main role?”
“Taeyang Hyung can play every role. But when we play together, he usually jungles.”
“Why?”
“Well, that’s because……”
Suddenly Jinhyuk stopped talking and simply glanced toward one direction.
“You idiot. You call yourself a mid laner but can’t even pressure Bling properly? Do you know how many times I died because of you!?”
“You should’ve dodged better yourself. I pinged retreat multiple times. It’s your fault for not backing off. Meanwhile I became a punching bag because you fed kills to Bling.”
“Trash mid laner getting carried by Taeyang!”
“Says the garbage top laner who can’t even win 1v1s!”
The moment Go Jinhyuk looked at me like, “See?” I instinctively nodded in agreement.
‘There’s absolutely no way either of those two can be allowed to jungle.’
If either one became jungler, they’d definitely refuse to gank the other’s lane, and during teamfights they’d probably spend more time sabotaging each other than fighting properly.
Which meant Geum Taeyang only had one possible choice left.