First Love (2)
“Ah······”
The enemy team’s Jinx, her passive Get Excited! fully stacked, was mercilessly tearing through the allied champions.
“What a shame.”
Park Jimin let out a sigh that seemed to sink into the floor. No matter how many times he experienced it, the moment of defeat never got any easier.
If I’d just gotten one more core item, I could’ve carried that.
On Akali, Jimin had been playing for the late game against the enemy top laner’s Renekton, but the opposing team had grown and protected their ADC far too well.
MackerelStew donated 1,000 won.
“Was just one of those off games. You need those too. Fighting!”
“Thank you for the 1,000-won donation. Yeah, I’ll win the next one.”
On days when the chat wasn’t particularly aggressive, it felt as if the chat window and he had become one body.
“······”
Heh.
Tournaments he wasn’t sure about, but streaming seemed to suit him pretty well, Jimin thought.
“You’re watching me instead of going to Worlds right now—thank you for that.”
On StreamerTV there was an official Summoners of Legends World Championship channel. Some streamers pulled tens of thousands of viewers the moment they started casting. Even so, he was grateful for the regulars who still came to his room.
“Ah······”
Jimin had roughly looked up how the tournament worked. Sixteen teams in the Swiss stage. Twelve of those spots were already locked in; the Play-In stage currently underway was deciding the remaining four.
Guess not every match is popular.
Sangcheol had insisted that once Worlds started, Koreans watched foreign teams a lot too—but apparently not yet.
WhiteFlowerRiot donated 1,000 won.
“Streamer solo queue is more fun than Worlds.”
“Thank you for the 1,000-won donation. Heh, thanks.”
Jimin smiled awkwardly.
Huh?
His smartphone buzzed.
“······”
A text from Eunhae, the girl he’d run into today. He’d half-expected it, but she really had messaged first.
He was going to end the stream soon anyway.
“Jimin, here.”
“Oh!”
The door opened and his mom brought in a plate of grapes.
“······”
Rattle.
The door closed. Of course Jimin’s hands never reached for the grapes.
What’s so funny?
He was glad she seemed happy, but he had no idea what part of this was entertaining.
Still······
It was strange. Back in school, Eunhae had felt like someone completely out of reach. And now she was texting him first, reacting so warmly.
In Jimin’s memory, Eunhae had always been laughing happily with someone.
“Huh?”
She’d been laughing, then suddenly dropped something so negative. Lying on his bed texting, Jimin sat up properly.
“······”
Jimin had no idea what to say next.
“Ah.”
It was just text, no face, but Eunhae suddenly seemed down. Jimin racked his brain for something kind to say.
“······”
She was talking about him like he was someone special. He’d never imagined Eunhae had this side to her.
Is something going on?
He couldn’t help worrying. The Eunhae who had always smiled so brightly and kindly at school, saying things this gloomy.
“Haa.”
Jimin lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“······”
The girl who had appeared out of nowhere.
Probably.
It was embarrassing to admit, but even though they hadn’t exactly been close, looking back, she was the one the words “first love” fit best. If someone asked him who it was, he could answer—provided the secret was safe.
“Ah, right.”
Jimin sat up.
What do I do?
The fact that he’d received a pro offer. How was he supposed to tell Dahye nuna and his mom?
“······”
He hadn’t even decided yet whether to take that gentlemanly hyung Jang Yaohwan’s hand.
“I’m telling you it’s insane! Yesterday the NA Celtics top laner full-on carried on Garen!”
“Oh really?”
“Dude was incredible.”
Yoon Sangcheol was talking excitedly. Go Yuseok and Jeon Jaeyeong, on the other hand, looked like they couldn’t care less.
“Jimin, you’re challenger, so you know how crazy that is, right?”
“Uh······ I’ve run into some really good Garen players before.”
“Dude, solo queue and pro are different.”
Jimin had failed to meet Sangcheol’s expectations.
“Challenger and Diamond are pretty different, right?”
“Huh?”
Lee Jonghyun asked Jimin. Until Jimin had appeared, he’d been treated as the absolute god among their friends.
“Must be a huge gap.”
“Completely different game.”
The friends made a fuss.
“It is different. Lately I can’t even keep up with my teammates’ movements sometimes.”
“Ah······”
Jonghyun nodded, looking impressed.
He really is something else.
The day Jimin had suddenly locked in top Teemo and pulled off an unexpected performance—that hadn’t even been that long ago. And yet this friend had crossed over into a whole new world Jonghyun couldn’t even imagine.
“······”
The kid still looked shy around his friends. Even so, Jonghyun thought of Jimin as someone special.
“Jimin, you don’t really do SNS?”
“Nah, why?”
“You’re kind of an influencer now. If you did SNS, girls would message you first nonstop.”
“What?”
At Yuseok’s words, Jimin’s face turned red.
“Remember Taemin in first year? He blew up with that short-form stuff and dated a ton of girls.”
“Yeah, supposedly went on dates with a different girl every week.”
“For real?”
Jimin answered dryly.
“I’m jealous. Getting a girlfriend would be so easy for you.”
“Same. I already gave up on dating while still in school.”
“Think you can get one in college?”
“Let a man dream.”
The friends snickered.
“Who’s gonna trust and actually meet some girl who just DMs you because of that?”
Jonghyun said.
“Well······”
“Easy for you to say when you’ve already got a girlfriend, you bastard.”
“What’s that got to do with anything.”
Sluuurp.
Jonghyun drained his cola with a prickly look.
“If you’re gonna meet a girlfriend, meet a proper one.”
“Oh, sudden girlfriend flex.”
While Jonghyun and Jaeyeong were talking,
“······”
Jimin looked like he was thinking something over carefully.
“Guys, actually.”
“Huh?”
All eyes locked on him.
“I ran into Lee Eunhae the other day by chance.”
“What?”
“For real?”
“Lee Eunhae?”
“······Huh?”
He’d thought they were being relatively quiet, but suddenly the guys exploded. In the burger place that was always packed at lunch because of the lunch discount, people at nearby tables glanced over.
“You met her, so then what?”
“Nothing, just.”
Jimin wore a cautious expression.
“She said we should hang out.”
“For real?”
“She’s interested, isn’t she?”
“Jimin’s been looking cooler lately.”
“Yeah, not even SOL plastic surgery.”
The friends hyped him up.
“Isn’t Eunhae the prettiest girl in school?”
“Yeah, I stare sometimes when she walks by.”
“She’s got that face guys like. Perfect.”
True to her status as a popular girl, the moment she was mentioned she instantly became the star of the boys’ conversation.
“She said to contact her first?”
“Huh? Y-yeah.”
Jimin answered Jonghyun’s question.
“······Hold on.”
Thud.
Jonghyun stood up from his seat.
“Hey, I’m eating all the fries then?”
“Go ahead.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“······”
Jonghyun got up so suddenly. Jimin watched his friend until he disappeared from view.
“When Jonghyun gets back let’s order more fries.”
“Should we?”
“Yeah.”
Jimin said with a smile.
“Hey.”
“Uhh?”
“······”
After meeting the guys during the day, Jonghyun had gone to his part-time job. During a short dinner break while working, he called Lee Eunhae.
“What, you call me out of nowhere and just say ‘hey’? That’s pretty rude, isn’t it?”
“Why’d you suddenly start contacting Park Jimin.”
“Huh? Why are we talking about Jimin. Oh right, you two are close?”
“You didn’t give a damn about him before he dropped out.”
“How would you know I didn’t care?”
“Stop beating around the bush.”
“Is it right to call me out of nowhere and pick a fight like this? We’re not on bad terms, Jonghyun.”
“······”
“Ah, I get it! Jihyun said something, huh? How badly did she talk about me?”
“Feeling guilty?”
“Ha, Jonghyun, why are you like this.”
This bitch.
Even now her voice was dripping with that coquettish charm. It was completely ingrained in her.
He’d vaguely heard the stories from his girlfriend Kim Jihyun before, but today he’d dug deeper into this girl named Lee Eunhae.
“She’s seriously scary and creepy. Ever since middle school she’d constantly sow discord between girls, and she’d flirt first with guys who already had girlfriends until they confessed to her. Then she’d always slip away clean.”
“For real?”
As a guy he hadn’t wanted to get involved in girls’ power struggles. Even with a girlfriend, unless you were some saint there were people you got along with and people you didn’t. But this Lee Eunhae girl was really······ Even Jihyun, who was known among the girls for being mature and taking good care of people, had never spoken this badly about anyone before. Jihyun had even gone to a different high school after middle school, and yet Eunhae’s viciousness had already shown itself back then.
He’d thought it was just the common story of a queen bee who’d overdone it and gotten cut off by the girl group—but no.
“Ha, I just don’t want you getting involved with her.”
“Yeah, I won’t.”
Somehow Jonghyun had ended up lying to his girlfriend.
“I actually wanted to make up with Jihyun too. Tell her it’s a shame we went to different schools.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. And leave Jimin alone. You’ve got plenty of guys anyway.”
“Hmm? What do you mean? I’m not even in that kind of relationship with Jimin yet?”
“Then make sure it stays that way.”
“Why do I have to make that promise? This is getting ridiculous. Oh, are you worried Jimin might like me? Jonghyun, have you been looking at me that fondly this whole time? Now I feel a little bad for Jihyun.”
“Lee Eunhae.”
“Feeling bad? You suddenly call me up after listening to your girlfriend and pick a fight—how do you think I feel being on the receiving end? Seriously.”
“······”
A girl’s voice on the verge of tears. If any sturdy grown men had been watching, they might have told him to stop bullying the girl.
“Why are you like this, Jonghyun. Jihyun and I not getting along has nothing to do with you. Cut me some slack, I’m really going through it.”
“Haa······”
“Should I go kneel in front of Jihyun? Then will you stop?”
I’m gonna lose my mind.
Jihyun’s words floated up—that talking to her made you feel like you were going insane. Even he had, for a moment, wondered if he was the one in the wrong, if he was just harassing an innocent person. Come to think of it, there were girls at school who were wary of Eunhae, but he’d never heard of her being on bad terms with any of the guys.
“You—just don’t do anything stupid.”
“Jonghyun…”
A voice that sounded like it could burst into tears any second came through the line.
“Jonghyun, can you help me carry this!”
A mature woman’s voice. Jonghyun hung up unilaterally and headed toward the woman who was struggling.
“Thanks.”
“······”
What do I do?
A 23-year-old college girl asking an 18-year-old high school guy on his dinner break to carry something for her was one thing—Jonghyun couldn’t help fretting. He wanted to say something to Jimin about Lee Eunhae······ but she hadn’t actually done anything yet. He’d just picked a fight based on his girlfriend’s words alone. At least for now, none of what Eunhae had said was wrong. If anyone asked, his behavior was pretty close to making a scene. People said he was mature for his age among their friends, but at the end of the day he was still just eighteen.
“Hoo······”
Right before going live. Jimin let out a sigh full of both excitement and tension. He always felt like this before turning on the stream and meeting over a thousand people. That faintly thrilling sensation. Because he had to put on a good show from start to finish once the broadcast began, these days he only hit the stream button after warming up his hands with various things. The first screen would of course be the solo queue queue screen.
“······”
Just before starting, he tried on a silly smile.
Girlfriend?
During the daytime talk with his friends he’d heard something that made his heart flutter. A girlfriend—maybe even he could get one. Of course he had no intention of doing SNS like his friends said, but just hearing it felt good. A lot of good things had happened since he’d dropped out. Good things were usually brought by people. Friends who clicked with him and treated him well. Viewers. Streamers he’d met through streaming. They were all such good people, and they cared about him.
And······
More than anything, the person who came to mind was Yu Dahye. Just thinking about Dahye nuna still made him embarrassed.
“Huh?”
Wait. What if he did get a girlfriend?
“No way.”
With Dahye nuna?
Just imagining it felt like committing a crime. Honestly she was so pretty that he liked her just as a nuna, but girlfriend? That didn’t make any sense. More than anything she was like a benefactor to him—how could he dare have those dirty thoughts.
And······
He was just an 18-year-old who was decent at a game. There was no way she’d like him. Last time she’d clearly said she was just being nice because she wanted to, that she didn’t meet many people so she was just hanging out with him on a whim.
“No no no.”
He shook his head hard left and right. Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered. To him she was just like an idol, plus a benefactor—someone he’d introduce as “a nuna I know.” A nuna he couldn’t and shouldn’t use the word “like” for. Just because good things had been happening lately, he was committing such blasphemy. Jimin decided to fix his mindset.
Huh?
“······”
A message from Eunhae. There was still a little time before the stream started. He decided to text for a bit.
“Huh?”
The girl who had appeared out of nowhere. She was stepping in even deeper.