The Start of Competition (1)
"Hey, Mom."
"How is it?"
"It's really nice here," Park Jimin said with a smile.
A late-night call. He had practiced smiling several times before dialing, afraid he might worry her or say the wrong thing.
"Do you have your own room?"
"It's a double, but since it's vacation season I'm using it alone."
November—the month when players and coaches took their rest. Even pros whose careers were short and every day felt urgent, even the second- and third-stringers, mostly went home. Jimin was different. He had just taken his first step as a professional player.
"It doesn't even take ten minutes to get from the dorm to the practice room. And the food's really good."
"That's a relief."
A sigh of relief came through the phone.
"…"
Well, it's still a little…
As an academy player his practice room was in a different building, but meals were still in the P1 headquarters cafeteria. Right now it was mostly just P1 staff, which made him feel awkward.
"I'll call often."
"Okay. Call right away if anything comes up."
"Got it."
The line went dead. The room he had to himself fell quiet.
"…"
He rolled open the window and looked outside. A pitch-black night, as if the whole world had fallen asleep.
"Hoo."
He flopped down. A double room all to himself. He still wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. And it was strangely surprising that his first day away from Mom didn't feel lonely.
"…"
He smirked, remembering his friends' reactions. Now that he was a P1 player, should he have said something cooler? Looking back, his announcement had been a little shy.
"…"
He slightly regretted not telling Jonghyun to stay healthy too. And he had wanted to thank all four of them properly… Now that he was a pro gamer, he vowed to fix that shy personality of his.
"Ahem."
Jimin arrived at the practice room and sat at his assigned seat. They had told him to contact them immediately if even the smallest thing was wrong. The academy practice room was in a different building from HQ, but the facilities were excellent. He was satisfied.
It's quiet.
The awkward gap between the end of one season and the start of the next. Jimin, who had arrived at this in-between timing, had the wide practice room all to himself.
"…Oh, right."
He remembered what he was supposed to do. He wrote something on a sticky note and stuck it up.
"…"
Even as a Challenger, Jimin's SOL career was still short. White Tiger—Song Hochang—had given him homework.
"Nice."
Jimin stuck the sticky note with the homework list in a clearly visible spot near the monitor.
Homework
— Create 3 accounts at Challenger 1,400+ LP
— Play at least 3 games with every champion in solo queue
— Play 20 games each on the current top-tier top laners before the next patch
"Hmm."
Jimin nodded. He didn't really understand why it had to be Challenger 1,400 or more, or why every champion needed exactly three games, but he was going to do it anyway. Being able to act without overthinking every direction was a real blessing.
Click-clack-clack.
"…"
Jimin diligently worked through the homework in solo queue. He ran games on his main for hours, then switched to smurfs. Trying out a wide range of champions besides the high-tier ones felt better on the smurfs, he decided.
"…"
He snickered. If this had been a stream it would've been hilarious. A smurf solo queue. The chat reactions, the chaos of the game—viewers would have loved it. They enjoyed watching a dumpster-fire chat just as much as watching him play well.
"Hoo."
Shaco, played after skimming the wiki. He had somehow won, but the first thought that hit him was that the champion just didn't suit him.
The door slid open.
Huh?
Someone walked into the practice room.
"…"
A guy with wireless earbuds. Looked about Jimin's age.
Where have I seen him…? He felt familiar, but the memory wouldn't surface. He hated this feeling…
"Oh?"
"Huh?"
The second Jimin had his eureka moment, the other guy looked at him too. Maybe the earbuds didn't have noise-canceling?
Rapid!
Jimin remembered. P1's Rapid. He had seen him in Jongno, and people said he was seriously good.
Back then… The Lee Eunhae incident in Jongno had shoved the memory a little to the side, that was all.
"…"
"…"
Jimin gave an awkward smile. The other guy tipped his head in reply.
Awkward. Better just practice, Jimin thought.
Wait, though? While queuing he sneaked another look at Rapid. Everyone was supposed to be on vacation—why was he here?
Click.
"Uuuugh."
Jimin shut down the computer. No matter how carefully he tried to sit while gaming, his body still ached.
"…"
But still. He had played for a really long time. The homework was no joke, so it couldn't be helped—but it was already past dawn.
Click.
"…"
The guy he had been wondering when would leave finally turned his computer off too.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
And then he spoke to him.
"…"
Jimin sat there awkwardly for a second, then stood up.
The practice room lights went out. The door locked. With only two people in the big building it felt a little eerie.
"Hoo."
"…"
Jimin endured the awkwardness, then opened his mouth.
"Um—"
"Park Jimin."
"Huh?"
The other guy spoke first.
"I saw you on YouTube."
"Ah…"
"We're the same age, right?"
"Yeah."
Surprisingly sociable? Jimin was quietly grateful the other guy had started the conversation.
"I saw you too. In Jongno."
"Jongno?"
"That SOL Asia Challengers thing last time."
"Oh, that?"
The boy nodded. Short. Thin build. But with the reputation Jimin already knew and the skill he had seen with his own eyes—it wasn't just the pretty face. The whole atmosphere didn't look weak at all.
"You were really good."
"Good my ass. We didn't even win."
"…"
Jimin had been feeling awkward a lot in a short span of time.
"What's your name?"
"What?"
The boy suddenly stopped and looked up at Jimin.
"You said you already knew me, so why don't you know my name."
"No, I just—"
"Kang Jun. Kang Jun."
"Oh, Kang Jun. Nice to meet you."
"It's a single-syllable name. Kang, then Jun."
"Right, right. Jun."
"…"
Kang Jun looked like he had something more to say, but he didn't.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
They arrived at the dorm ten minutes away. It was pretty confusing. When Jimin walked into the room, unfamiliar luggage was sitting there.
"You using this room?"
"Yeah."
"Ah—oh, okay. I was wondering why there was suddenly luggage."
Kang Jun sat on the bed like it was nothing.
"…"
"…"
Awkward. Jimin had just resolved to be a little more proactive with people, and it was already crumbling. The other guy wasn't just any eighteen-year-old peer. He was the most watched player in P1 Academy. Strictly speaking, a senior.
"Hey."
"Yeah."
"I saw your videos. You started SOL less than half a year ago?"
"Yeah."
"That's a lie, right?"
"What?"
Jimin shook his head like it was absurd.
"It's real."
"No way. Dude, when I first started I was already Master."
"Isn't that already good?"
"What's so good about being Master-stuck."
"…"
A phrase he had never heard in his life. Attaching a derogatory suffix to a Master-level rank? That was the kind of thing only the most aggressive trolls among his own viewers used to say.
"Anyway. Tomorrow, hang out with me for a bit."
"What?"
"I'm gonna check whether what you said is true or not."
"…"
Kang Jun spoke with a firm face. Jimin felt like he was about to die of exhaustion, but he nodded for now. He had no idea what "check" was supposed to mean when they were already looking at each other.
"You pick first."
"Okay."
Their computer seats weren't that far apart.
So that's what he meant.
Out of nowhere he wanted a SOL 1v1. Some weird comic line about judging whether your words were true through a duel flashed through Jimin's mind.
"Oh?"
"Whew."
Aatrox vs. Riven.
Akali vs. Sylas.
Two 1v1s in a row.
"Wow, you're really good."
"…"
Jimin's praise. Kang Jun looked completely unmoved. The result was a 1–1 draw. Jimin had won the first, lost the second.
"But both of those are top laners. Shouldn't we try ADC champs too?"
"I hit Challenger with top and mid as main roles."
"…"
Kang Jun showed off his deep SOL career. Then his face suddenly grew thoughtful.
Amazing.
Even among Challengers, Jimin had never seen a player with this kind of physicality. Every movement was just different. He could finally understand why the name Rapid was punching through the academy.
And…
This is fun.
Filled with competitive drive, Jimin was realizing that playing with someone this good was incredibly helpful.
"One more."
"Nah, I'm good."
"Huh?"
But Kang Jun wouldn't take it.
"This is crazy."
"…"
And for a while now he had been muttering to himself with a face that refused to accept it.
"Haaaaawn."
They had come during the day and now it was dawn again.
At this rate…
The homework was brutal, but it didn't look completely impossible. While working through various champions, Jimin was steadily moving toward the goal. He hoped the coaches and other academy players would come back soon so they could do team games and get lively feedback.
"Man, I'm tired."
"…"
They reached the dorm. Kang Jun looked far more exhausted than yesterday.
"If you're tired you should've gone back earlier."
"Dude, whose fault is this."
"Huh?"
Kang Jun suddenly looked at Jimin.
"What did I do?"
"You stay too long so I can't leave."
"You could've just gone first."
"I can't stand someone practicing longer than me."
"…"
Why though?
Jimin was exhausted from the homework. And because he had left such precious things behind to come here, he couldn't waste even a single minute or second. He wasn't conscious of the other person at all. So why was this guy deliberately matching him?
"Hey, but you're weird."
"What is?"
Kang Jun was talkative today. Curiosity about the other person was written all over his face.
"You're good, but you play weirdly good."
"Thanks."
"And…"
Kang Jun suddenly scratched his head.
"Hm?"
Jimin gave him a good-natured smile.
"Dunno. Forgot."
"Happens."
"…"
Weirdly positive guy.
No way.
Kang Jun suddenly looked away. The feeling from the 1v1 earlier. The plays he had seen on YouTube and in the replays. And the path this guy was walking right now.
There's no way.
This tall, spacey-looking guy couldn't possibly be more of a genius than him.
"Jun."
"Yeah?"
Jimin spoke to him. Somehow, in a short time, they were already talking casually. Kang Jun found it strange. The hyung who used to share the room hadn't lacked talent, but something about him had looked gloomy, so Kang Jun hadn't wanted to get close.
"What's it like playing in front of a lot of people?"
"What?"
Jimin asked with an excited face.
"I mean, you're a pro player. A pro gamer."
"It's just second team, come on."
"Still."
"Dude, dude, why are you making that excited face about second-team games. Ugh."
"…"
From Jimin's perspective, Kang Jun seemed to say random things at strange points.
"I don't really think of myself as a pro until I get to the first team."
"Haha."
It didn't fully make sense. But Jimin didn't think Kang Jun seemed like a bad friend, so he just tried to understand.
"Shit, thinking about it pisses me off. Aren't they going too far? At this point they should just debut me in first team already instead of making all these signings."
"Well, that…"
From the position of someone who had just entered the academy, the fact that there were competitors for first team didn't particularly bother Jimin. Hadn't they said a year was necessary anyway? Of course Kang Jun, who had spent years in the academy, was in a different position.
"Ugh."
An ADC champion he hadn't played much—Jhin. The mechanics were unusual, so it was a bit hard. A regular auto-attack based marksman would have been better.
"You can tell you haven't played much Jhin."
Kang Jun, watching from behind, said.
"I have to play a few games on every champion."
"Ah, are you doing some Widowmaker challenge?"
"What's that?"
"Old pro gamer name. Hitting Challenger on every different champion. People don't use the term much these days."
"Ah, I see. It's not really that, though."
Jimin nodded. Maybe he would try it once when he went back to streaming?
"Hey hey hey, don't ult, just auto."
"Right, right."
Kang Jun, possessed by a teacher spirit, kept giving Jimin instructions. The moment Jimin used Jhin's ultimate Curtain Call, Kang Jun flew into a rage that was hard to understand.
"…"
Come to think of it…
Jimin remembered the old days of playing at the PC bang with his friends watching from behind.
"Yeah Mom, I won't stay out too long. Okay okay."
After dinner Jimin finished a call with his mom.
"Your mom doesn't oppose you being a pro gamer?"
"No, she just says do well."
"Really?"
Hearing the answer, Kang Jun put dessert ice cream in his mouth.
"My mom and dad hate that I'm a pro gamer. No—they just don't care at all."
"Nah, no way."
"It's true."
"…"
Jimin didn't miss the lonely expression that flickered across Kang Jun's face for a moment.
"Ugh, this is hard as hell."
"Ahem."
But work that had to be done still had to be done. After practicing late again, Jimin locked the practice room door with his roommate and left.
This is fun.
Learning by playing all kinds of champions in solo queue. It felt like tasting the game of SOL in a more diverse way. Of course with some champions he wondered whether any of this would even be useful.
"Looking at how you're working yourself to the bone, you also want to get to first team as fast as possible."
"Haha."
It wasn't exactly about first team so much as the homework plus the desire to improve even a little more—but that wasn't a lie either, so Jimin didn't contradict him.
"Ugh, just you wait. First I'll let them win one Sol'd Cup for appearances, then take a huge paycheck and leave."
"What?"
Jimin looked at Kang Jun, who was muttering to himself.
"This is a really good team. Can't you just stay? Maker retired from P1, right?"
"Stay my ass. You never know with people."
"…"
Of course Jimin had nothing to say to that.
"Hey Jimin, instead of that—"
"Huh?"
Kang Jun looked at him with a smile. After talking about SOL for the past few days they felt a lot closer.
"Let's climb to first team, tear everything up, and go to China together."
"What?"
Jimin sat up on the bed.
"Out of nowhere?"
"What do you mean out of nowhere. How many players do well in SCK and then move to China. You said it yourself—that Hades was really cool."
"I did say that, but…"
He couldn't think of a convincing reason, but Jimin simply couldn't imagine leaving P1 for China.
And why me too?
If he wanted to go, he could just go by himself, right? Of course he was a good player and pretty much the only person Jimin knew here, so he hoped he wouldn't leave.
"Go to China, make bank as a pro, and stream like crazy. You came from streaming, right? I streamed a little in middle school too."
"I want to do it in Korea, though…"
"You really don't know anything. In China pro gamers have higher status than here. If you go, women prettier and from better families than Korean celebrities will throw themselves at you wanting to marry. When you turn on stream you get millions of viewers. Completely different dimension from Korea."
"Nah."
Jimin was firm.
I don't need any of that.
Dahye and his viewers were waiting. What did millions of viewers or gold-spoon beauties have to do with anything?
"If I can help it, I want to keep playing at P1."
"…"
Faced with Jimin's firmness, Kang Jun didn't push further.
"Ahem. Actually I was just saying. Ideally staying at P1 is better."
"Right?"
Doesn't sound like it though…
Jimin was a little suspicious.
"But you always have to leave the option of going to another team in your heart. We're contract workers. We have to get even a little higher salary."
"Ah…"
He wasn't wrong. Pros were ultimately a job that always had to wrestle with the organization over salary.
"What are you gonna do later if you get great results and they still offer low pay."
"That won't do."
Jimin agreed. Mom had told him not to be greedy about money, but he couldn't be that way. He had to make Mom comfortable, and—shallow as the thought was—if he had a ton of money, wouldn't Dahye like him even more?
"No matter how much you like P1, engrave this in your heart. Okay, repeat after me."
"Huh?"
"Ah shit, should I just go to China?"
"What?"
Kang Jun's sudden theatrical delivery made Jimin burst out laughing.
"Later when you're negotiating they might try to screw you, so you always prepare."
"…"
Of course matching him wasn't hard.
"Ah shit, should I just go to China?"
"Nice."
Jimin's delivery was even more over-the-top than Kang Jun's. They cackled. If anyone had been outside they probably would have told them to shut up.
"I hope we win."
"…"
More than standing in the superior position during salary negotiations by talking about China, Jimin got excited about the possible future of a Worlds title.
"What would it feel like to win Worlds? I really want to win it."
Like a little kid, Jimin grinned as he spoke.
"Ahem. It's not 'I hope.'"
"Huh?"
Kang Jun suddenly stood up from the bed.
"You make it happen. No matter what."
"…"
He stood up out of nowhere, looked out the window, then turned back to speak. Anyone watching might have laughed at how cringey it was, but Jimin didn't.
"Oz, you've looked so happy since earlier. Why is that?"
"Ah… haha, I'm just in a good mood."
Laughter bursting out here and there. Five people in uniform in front of hundreds. Blur, Oz, Luca, Spoon, Durandal—the first-team starters who had been named to carry P1 through 2031.
The stove league was over. SOL pros returning from vacation. And as the most popular team, P1 had brought in an SCK caster and a female announcer for a special official-channel YouTube live to mark the new start.
"Luca, as the oldest, please say a few words."
"Ahem. This is a team with an incredible history, and with such excellent members gathered this time, we will do our absolute best to live up to expectations."
"Yes, the fans gathered here must feel so reassuring."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
It felt almost like a fan meeting.
"Wow, so cool."
"I've liked Luca the most for a long time."
"Looking at Oz, he's really big. Like an athlete."
"Dude, don't talk down to them. Call them 'nim.'"
P1 Academy had the academy players watch the live on site. Secret seats in the back where fans wouldn't notice them. The sprouts were free to stare as much as they wanted.
"Tch."
"Huh?"
Jimin had been standing properly, watching the scene. But Kang Jun beside him was anything but proper.
"Jimin, let's go grab some ice cream."
"Is that okay?"
"If it's not, what, are they gonna drag us back?"
Kang Jun left his seat, and Jimin followed.
"They're just playing around. Those are all their competitors and they're calling them cool? Please."
"…"
"I can't forgive that. I'm not waiting a whole year."
"Huh?"
Kang Jun said as they walked.
"I'll snatch the seat as fast as possible."
"…"
Jimin looked at his new friend's trembling hands.
Snatch?
And before they got too far, he looked at the first-team players from a distance. P1's first team. You only became a real pro gamer once you got there.
Snatch, huh.
Jimin stopped for a moment and thought carefully. Over there, the hyung with the nickname Blur on his back was visible. The things he had left behind. Mom, who still hadn't quit the restaurant. Dahye nuna, whose place in his heart had grown so big he could barely handle it. The viewers he had promised he would return to as a first-team player.
"…"
I see.
Take the seat even one day sooner and keep the promise. If that was possible, then the word "snatch" didn't sound so bad.
"Alright, Group A versus Group B scrim."
P1 Academy Challengers team coach Kwon Ojun said.
"I wanted to face you on the first day."
"That's rough."
"What?"
At Jimin's words, Kang Jun snorted a laugh.
"…"
Jimin loosened his hands.
I finished everything.
The homework Whata had given him was all done. And now, as an academy player, real practice began. He was already ready to show them.