Chapter 12: I Must Win (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 12: I Must Win (1)
“Lee Seung-ho!”
A voice called out my name.
Turning my head, I saw Shin A-young sprinting toward the main gate. I wondered why she was in such a rush; I was actually worried she might trip and fall.
“Sorry, am I late?”
— “Ugh... that jerk kept me for so long.”
It seemed like something had happened at her club. Even without reading her thoughts, the situation was written all over her face.
“Hi, A-young~”
Lee Sol, who was standing next to me, offered a wave.
“Oh?”
Shin A-young’s eyes widened slightly.
“Sol, you’re here too? Are you coming with us?”
“Yeah, I thought playing games for a change sounded nice.”
To be honest, Lee Sol joining us was a surprise to me as well. I had only asked her to be polite, never dreaming she’d actually accept.
“You’re not... bothered by it?” Shin A-young asked, her expression one of pure disbelief.
Tell me about it. I was curious too.
“...What exactly do you think of me?” Lee Sol’s mouth twisted into a pout. “You don’t think I’m the literal definition of lazy, do you?”
She grumbled, clearly displeased with the implication.
However...
— “Wait, isn’t she?”
‘Wait, isn’t she?’
My internal thought overlapped perfectly with Shin A-young’s. It seemed we were on the exact same page.
“...Shall we head out?” I said, taking the first step.
There was no point in lingering at the gate. People’s eyes were already drifting toward us; these two were far too good at attracting attention. If we were going to move, it was better to do it quickly.
— “I didn’t expect Sol to come, but... well, the more the merrier, I guess.”
Shin A-young coolly accepted Lee Sol’s presence. That was a relief. Since she had joined so suddenly, I’d been a bit worried. I figured it would be fine since I could read A-young’s inner thoughts, but people’s feelings can be fickle.
*
Hmm, not bad.
Shin A-young looked at her reflection in the mirror at the PC café entrance and felt satisfied. A hat pulled down low and a mask covering the lower half of her face—with this, no one would recognize her.
She wasn't the only one hiding.
“Sol, do you want to borrow a hat?” Shin A-young adjusted her mask and asked Lee Sol.
“I’m fine with the hat, but do you have an extra mask?”
“Wait a sec... Ah, I have one left.”
Luckily, there was exactly one left in her bag. She was glad she’d packed a spare. Seeing this, Lee Seung-ho wore a slightly dazed expression.
“...Is that really necessary?”
“More people try to talk to us than you’d think,” A-young replied.
This was especially true in places like PC cafés, where the ratio of men was much higher. People would constantly try to strike up conversations, making it impossible to focus on the game. Not only Shin A-young, but Lee Sol, being a model, had plenty of experience with this. It was much more comfortable to just cover their faces.
“...I see,” Lee Seung-ho murmured in slight admiration.
The corners of A-young's mouth quirked up. She felt a sudden urge to tease him. With a subtle smile, she nudged him, closing the distance between them and standing closer than usual.
“Is it finally sinking in who you’re hanging out with?”
“Whatever.”
Lee Seung-ho let out a short laugh and walked into the PC café first.
...That wasn't the reaction she expected. He seemed genuinely unfazed.
That actually stings a bit.
“I’m going to go top up my time.”
Lee Seung-ho turned on a computer and headed toward the kiosk. While he was away, Shin A-young started browsing the food menu. With practiced movements, she ordered her usual—an iced tea. Except today, she ordered three.
“Here—”
Shin A-young placed two iced teas delivered by the part-timer on Lee Seung-ho’s desk.
“What’s this?” He gave her a questioning look.
“My treat. One is for Sol.”
“So sudden?”
It wasn't sudden. She was buying it because she was grateful for his call earlier. If not for that, she might have had a much harder time getting away from her club. Since it would be awkward to leave Lee Sol out, she just bought them all together.
Shin A-young didn't voice any of that, though.
“If you don’t want it, fine.”
“I never said I didn't want it.” Lee Seung-ho quickly grabbed the iced tea. “Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Me too~”
Shin A-young logged in and peeked her head out from behind Lee Seung-ho’s back. Lee Seung-ho was in the middle seat, with Lee Sol on the other side of him.
“Sol, have you ever played LoL?”
“A little, a long time ago? I think I quit after playing one ranked game.”
“Then we don’t need to go through the tutorial.”
That was good news. They didn't have to waste time on the basics.
“Since there are three of us, should we do a Normal Game?”
At Shin A-young’s question, Lee Seung-ho replied, “Yeah, let’s do a Normal. You’re going Mid, right?”
“Yep.”
She had played Bot lane last time, but she was originally a Mid laner. She had played poorly during their last session, but today she intended to show her true skills. She had even watched an Arin lecture video on NewTube before coming out.
“Then I’ll take Sol and go to the Bot lane.”
Lee Seung-ho took Lee Sol down to the bottom lane. It was a practical decision. Since Lee Sol was a beginner, putting her in the Support role was the best choice among the available options.
About three minutes after the game started, the laning phase felt exceptionally smooth. Perhaps the mental imaging from the videos had helped.
“...Nice, that damage trade was insane.”
She didn't get a kill, but the opponent’s health was already low enough to be in kill range. The opponent had no choice but to reluctantly head back to the fountain. That alone was a win.
“The Mid gap is already showing...!”
Shin A-young, feeling triumphant, looked over at Lee Seung-ho.
“Want to see this?”
“Ah, the skill missed.”
“Ugh, that’s not good. Just back off a bit and poke.”
“Okay.”
Perhaps because he was so focused, he didn't give her much of a reaction.
“......”
He was busy. She couldn't keep worrying about that side. Shin A-young turned her gaze back to her own screen. Click, click, click. She continued the laning phase, tapping her keyboard.
Even so, somehow, she felt strangely left out. Because those two were a Bot lane duo, she felt a bit isolated as the Mid laner.
“Let’s whittle down their health with some trades. Try to engage once.”
“Okay, going in now.”
The two of them were constantly talking, while she was focusing on her lane in silence. It felt a bit... off.
No. She was getting worked up over something so trivial.
“...Ahem.”
Shin A-young lightly cleared her throat to change the mood. Forget it. Stop thinking useless thoughts...
“Shin A-young. Can you roam now?”
She flinched. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I can. Can you wait just a second?”
The sudden call took her by surprise. Shin A-young pushed her lane first and arrived at the Bot lane before her opponent.
“I’m coming in now!”
The enemy Bot duo, who hadn't expected her appearance, tried to retreat too late.
— An enemy has been slain.
With Lee Seung-ho’s coordination, they cleanly took down the opponents. She happily secured two kills for herself.
“Oh...! A-young, what was that?!”
“Nice roaming,” Seung-ho offered a calm word of praise.
“Hey, hey! Stop taking the CS!”
“Oops. Sorry.”
Meanwhile, he got fiercely angry when Lee Sol touched the minions. He was completely immersed in the game.
“Can Mid join us now?”
“It’s a bit tough right at this moment.”
After that, Lee Seung-ho continued to call her name.
“......”
Was it a coincidence? She wondered if it was, but somehow it didn't feel like one. The way he kept talking to her even in situations where it wasn't strictly necessary—it felt like he was intentionally making an effort to include her.
‘Did it show that I felt left out?’
No, that couldn't be it. She wondered if her feeling of isolation had shown on her face, but his eyes were still glued to the monitor. He wouldn't have had time to check her expression.
“......”
Regardless, he was uncannily quick-witted. He was always like that. He acted in a way that felt like he was intentionally avoiding things she found uncomfortable. He wasn't overly pushy. He didn't blindly agree with everything she said. He was just like a simple friend.
Maybe that was why she felt more comfortable around him than anyone else.
While she was lost in those thoughts, over 30 minutes had passed.
“The lead isn't that big, so we need to do well in the Baron teamfight.”
The game had reached the late stage. The possibility of the game being flipped in a single teamfight still existed.
At that moment...
“Ah.”
With a short cry, Lee Sol’s character turned to ash and vanished. She had gone in too deep while trying to secure vision and died without being able to do anything.
“Huh?”
Shin A-young, who had followed her, sensed something was wrong. But since she was already sucked in, her death was also a foregone conclusion.
“...It’s over.”
Just as Lee Seung-ho said, no one was left alive. The enemy team marched straight down Mid. The end came in an instant; the Nexus’s health vanished rapidly.
— Defeat.
The screen turned red. A brief silence weighed heavily on the air.
“Um...” Lee Sol’s eyes darted around as she gauged their reactions. “...Sorry,” she said softly.
Lee Sol looked completely dejected and shrunken.
“No, it happens,” A-young comforted her. It was only the first game, after all. Besides, she herself hadn't been able to focus properly toward the middle.
She said it was fine, but honestly, there was a problem. Lee Sol wasn't just bad; she was absolutely terrible. The only reason they had dragged the game to the mid-point was because the Mid and ADC were relatively better than their opponents. At this rate, a losing streak like last time was inevitable.
“......”
“......”
Quick glances were exchanged between Shin A-young and Lee Seung-ho. No words were spoken, but they felt their thoughts were in sync. They needed a plan.
“Should we swap positions? I’ll go ADC,” Shin A-young decided. She would take care of Lee Sol herself. She thought it would be better if Seung-ho played Jungle.
“Then I’ll go Jungle... and Lee Sol, you...” Lee Seung-ho picked a character for her. “Do you know how to play this?”
“...A cat?”
A magical cat appeared on the screen.
Yuuming.
The character that would seal Lee Sol’s mouse. Since it was a character with a mechanic of attaching to teammates, it actually suited her personality quite well.
And so, the next game began.
Slurp! Slurp!
Auto-attack, W, E, Q, then a bite of ramen. Lee Sol faithfully executed Yuuming’s combos.
‘We have to win...!’
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
With Lee Sol on her back, Shin A-young gritted her teeth and clicked her mouse. Added to that was Lee Seung-ho’s strategy of constantly ganking the Bot lane.
Did it work? The game tilted in their favor.
“Got him!”
At the 30-minute mark, a well-fed Shin A-young took down the enemy ADC and Support. At that moment, the path to victory opened up. The teamfight victory in front of the enemy base was enough to end the game immediately.
“Quick, the Nexuuuus!”
They pushed straight through Mid and destroyed the Nexus.
— Victory!
“Phew...!”
“We won...!”
It was only one game, but they were exhausted. Shin A-young and Lee Seung-ho slumped back into their chairs, their strength spent.
“...Oh.” Lee Sol marveled slightly at the victory text on the screen. “This game is fun.”
It was the moment an Iron-tier Yuuming specialist appeared in the world of LoL.
*
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
It was a bit urgent. I hurried to find the restroom, having been so focused that I hadn't even realized I needed to go.
“Phew...”
What a relief. I washed my hands thoroughly and took a quick look at the display case to see if there was anything to eat. Just as I was about to head back to my seat...
Ding-dong~
“Man, why a PC café all of a sudden?”
The bell rang, and some familiar faces I’d seen somewhere before started walking through the entrance.
“All the girls left. What’s the point of staying at the karaoke with just guys?”
“I guess you’re right...”
“Can’t be helped. Let’s just go play some ranked games at the PC café.”
Looking at their uniforms, they were students from our school. They looked familiar.
“......”
“......”
As I passed by, my eyes met with one of them for a split second.
...Ah. I remember now.
Isn't that guy Shin A-young’s drama club senior?