Debut and Return (1)
"Whoa."
The exterior alone had already been something else, but opening this door made it even more staggering.
"This is hardly anything to be shocked by," Song Hochang said, watching Park Jimin gape around the room like a dazed tourist.
This can't be real.
Jimin had thought the P1 Academy dorms were already excellent. The first-team quarters, though, were on another plane entirely — spacious, immaculate, and so well-appointed he almost wondered whether he was even allowed to use any of it.
"Why is there only one bed, though?" Jimin asked.
"Because it's a single room."
"What?"
"You're full of surprises today."
"…"
I'm supposed to use this alone?
Was a room this large really meant for one person?
"Unpack what you need and let's head back to the building."
"Yes. Thank you. You must be busy, Hyung, and still you helped me."
"Nah. Keep giving me things to do so I can keep ditching work."
"Huh?"
"I'm kidding. Come on, hurry up."
"…"
Jimin nodded and followed Hochang out.
I still can't believe it.
Being called up to the first team had been shocking enough on its own — a moment as dramatic as Jang Yaohwan's recruitment offer, as dramatic as winning the Challengers, maybe even more. And yet this team called P1 refused to let his racing heart settle for even a second.
Jimin smiled, a little foolishly.
He had met CEO Oliver and put his stamp on the contract. He was no longer Academy — he was a proper professional gamer. That feeling alone was good, but the practical side of it made him even happier.
"It goes into effect with next month's paycheck, and everything gets squared before the year turns, so don't worry."
"Yes."
As a first-team pro he would receive the minimum salary — and it was still more than three times what he had made in Academy. They weren't pro-rating half a season, either; the raise applied to the whole year. "Minimum salary" or not, the number had more than tripled, and by Jimin's standards it felt far too large for a nineteen-year-old to be earning.
"What took you so long?"
"Huh?"
They arrived at the first-team practice room — and Kang Jun was already there.
Something awkward sat on the kid's face. When the news had broken he had shrugged it off with a whatever-of-course kind of attitude, but looking at him now, he seemed plenty tense himself.
"Jimin, your seat's over here."
"Oh. Yes."
His assigned station in the practice room. The facilities here were outstanding, of course — a place he had never been allowed to enter even while coming and going from the P1 building.
"What, you made it?"
"Huh?"
Jimin looked up.
"Hyung — ah, no, Coach."
"Just call me Hyung."
It was Jang Yaohwan, head coach of P1.
"Alright, you're both here, so it's time for introductions."
"What?"
"…"
Yaohwan abruptly started calling the other players over.
"Hmm."
"Ahem."
The restroom of the P1 building. Only Jimin and Kang Jun were inside.
"Man, I thought I was going to die of awkwardness."
"Yeah…"
Jimin nodded. Yaohwan had herded them into a room and introduced the players one by one.
Blur — Shim Changmin.
Oz — Jo Minhyeok.
Luca — Kim Junyoung.
Spoon — Baek Seunghyeon.
Durandal — Park Sangjin.
They were first-team members, so it had been exciting in theory, but the atmosphere had been so stiff that Jimin felt as if he had never really managed a proper greeting.
"Sigh. Well, I guess we just practice hard for now."
"Still, we should try to get a little closer with them."
Jimin scratched his head. After that strange little initiation, they returned to their seats — and the awkwardness was still sitting there, thick as ever.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
Someone had spoken to him.
"Just wait a bit. The coach will be looking for you again soon."
"Ah… yes."
Jimin managed to meet her eyes and nod. The people Yaohwan had introduced earlier hadn't been players alone.
"If you have any questions, just ask."
"Yes, thank you."
She smiled with her eyes as she passed — Lee Jia, P1's manager.
She's really pretty.
Even back in Academy she had drawn glances in the cafeteria. None of the second-team players had ever worked up the nerve to ask the coaches or staff who she was, so she had simply been known as the pretty noona. It turned out she worked closely with the first team. The manager position hadn't existed until this year — which meant they would keep running into her, wouldn't they?
"Hmm."
Ah!
Someone sat down in the seat next to Jimin. Oz — Jo Minhyeok, P1's jungler. As it happened, that put him right beside Jimin.
Up close…
Jimin had been a little surprised earlier, but the man looked more like a soccer player or baseball player than a pro gamer. Most gamers ran on the thin side; Oz's muscle was clearly well developed.
Kind of…
It was a ridiculous thought, but champions like Lee Sin or Vayne came to mind.
"Alright, alright — sit down and listen up."
In the practice room with every player gathered, Yaohwan and Hochang addressed them.
"Most of you haven't been together long, and Jimin and Jun only got here today, but the schedule is packed so we don't have a choice. As you were told, we have a scrim with Extreme East Prince starting today."
"…"
Jimin swallowed and listened with eyes more steeled than before.
"How did that moment feel to you?"
"I think just shoving the side would have been better?"
"Hmm."
"…"
Jimin listened as mid laner Kim Junyoung and coach Hochang talked through the scrim they had just finished.
Incredible.
Even in Academy, Jimin had watched a lot of P1's games. He had no intention of singling anyone out for praise in front of his seniors, but the player he had always considered the most skilled was this mid laner, Kim Junyoung. Seeing him in person, though, what impressed Jimin most wasn't the carry he had just put up — it was how calmly he sat through feedback afterward. Even after Yaohwan had already run team-wide notes at the end of the first and second games, Junyoung was still seeking out individual coaching on his own.
Is that what it takes to be good?
Jimin had always thought of himself as hardworking, but he wasn't the type to go out of his way and ask other people what they thought.
"Alright — this time Jimin in top, and Jun on ADC."
"Yes."
The appointed time had come. Scrims against Extreme East Prince. The first two games had run with the spring starting five; for the third and fourth they would swap in Jimin and Rapid.
"Hoo…"
Jimin couldn't hide how nervous he felt. From where the coach and head coach sat, his station was in plain view. It was a little like solving a problem in front of a teacher back in school — only a million times more tense.
"…"
Can everyone hear that?
Jimin flinched at Park Sangjin's giggling commentary.
"A stare-down, huh? They're putting in their call-up top too."
"Nothing to say to that."
"Shame."
Coach and head coach talking. Hochang looked disappointed that Extreme East Prince's top laner wasn't their spring starter but a freshly called-up player.
"It's fine. Right now matching our chemistry is what matters."
Ever the optimist — the smile was already back on his face.
"No concept changes. We go as planned," Yaohwan said in a serious tone. A scrim was a scrim. In practice you set the plan first and run it clean, or things got messy.
"…"
Suddenly the voices in his ear felt familiar and close.
Right.
Once he stepped into a match, these people were his new teammates. Of course, there would also be days when Seunghyeon took the ADC seat instead of Kang Jun.
Champions filled in one by one. Because it was practice, Jimin's pick had already been decided. Today's scrim concept was a composition with strong early-game tempo — and the champion given to Jimin was Naru.
Jimin flustered watching Kang Jun talk so sharply to a hyung four years older than him. An invisible tension hung in the air — nothing like the early awkwardness of Academy. As a first-team player, Jimin's first game began.
Maybe six minutes into the game, Luca's LeBlanc and Oz's Lee Sin took down the enemy mid laner Orianna.
And bot lane, Rapid's Ashe and Durandal's Lulu took down the enemy support Janna.
"…"
Jimin ran his lane while watching the kill feed flash past in a blur. His opposing top was Gangplank — the player, Pigeon, Kim Bisang, a call-up from the second team. Setting aside Jimin, who had been a creature from another dimension in the Challengers League, Pigeon was still a promising young top laner.
Of course, whenever they had met in matches, Jimin had always crushed Pigeon flat.
Heading back to top lane, Jimin thought about it. Academy had put up good results too — but this first team was genuinely strong. They were stomping another first-team squad like this. Not even ten minutes in, and they were dominating every lane.
A smile tugged at his mouth. The tension was draining away, replaced by something closer to joy. In the end these were people gathered because they were absurdly good at Sol — so maybe Sol was how you talked to them?
Of course, Jimin also had something to look forward to.
Tomorrow evening.
He had already received the streaming schedule sheet from the manager.