The One Who Wants You (1)
“It’s fine, so just come tomorrow.”
“But—”
“I said it’s fine. The adults will handle it, Jimin.”
“·····”
“Yeah, you’re our teammate too. But this one’s a little different.”
Jimin called Song Hochang right away.
Today was the last day of his break.
Even so, Jimin wanted to come back a day early.
Setting aside how awkward the whole affair felt, it was clearly a major incident.
“Yes, understood.”
“Mm. Resting is part of the job, remember? Take it easy through today and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The call ended.
“·····”
Jimin at least knew there was nothing for him to do in this particular mess.
He also knew that hanging around would be completely meaningless.
Knock knock.
“Yeah?”
Someone knocked on his door at home.
“Jimin, dinner.”
“Huh? Oh—yeah.”
He’d been so wrapped up in worry that he hadn’t even noticed his mom cooking.
“I went to that new supermarket and the pork was crazy cheap.”
“Yeah?”
Jimin answered in a hollow voice as he sat down.
His mother’s table was already set.
“·····”
Thank god.
His mom didn’t know much about this side of things, so he was grateful he didn’t have to worry her while they were together. The talk was still mostly circulating through internet communities and SNS. Of course, it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Even in games, he was the type who stayed faithful to the role he was given.
For now, resting was the mission he’d been assigned—so that was what he would do.
“·····”
Clack clack.
Clackclackclack.
Jimin was back with the team.
Right now, everyone except him was in a scrim.
Not wanting to waste even a minute, he was grinding solo queue.
Baek Seunghyeon, the one who caused the incident, had gone home.
The final decision wasn’t out yet, but playing in matches anytime soon was basically impossible, and it looked like they’d already sat him down for talks and made a call of some kind.
Weird.
He’d only been gone a short while, but the team atmosphere spinning on like nothing had happened felt strangely off to Jimin.
Something that big had gone down, and the gears were still turning as if nothing had happened at all.
“Haa·····”
Even with his mind unsettled, his head and hands worked just fine on their own.
He smashed the enemy top laner, carried the game, and pocketed three honors.
“You’re gonna make the floor cave in.”
“Huh?”
Jimin turned around.
It was the manager, Lee Jiwoo.
“Have a good rest?”
Jiwoo sat in the chair behind him.
“·····Yes.”
“That’s a relief.”
She was the same age as Kim Junyoung, the team’s oldest brother, or so he’d heard. To Jimin, her way of speaking and carrying herself already felt adult.
“·····”
Jimin had heard about yesterday from Jiwoo.
For something this serious, everyone had still decided they were going to get through it.
Bear what needed bearing. Let go of what needed letting go.
“And streaming’s on hold for a while.”
“Yes, I heard from Hochang hyung—I mean, Coach.”
“Aigoo, what even is this mess.”
Jiwoo laughed like she couldn’t believe it.
Anyone could see it was completely ridiculous.
“Noona’s got a meeting, so I’m heading out?”
“Oh? Yes.”
Jiwoo waved as she left.
“·····”
They weren’t close yet, but he still felt glad this team had a manager like her.
It wasn’t about discrimination—there was just something emotional the guys alone couldn’t fill. Something steady that someone who was, or could become, a mother could give a young man.
“It’s not like I didn’t expect it, but of course things still won’t go according to plan.”
“·····”
P1’s coach’s office.
Neither Head Coach Jang Yaohwan nor Coach Song Hochang looked happy.
“When Ancho retired, I figured Korea wouldn’t have a mid who could handle Junyoung for the next few years. And that still holds.”
Yaohwan took a sip of coffee.
“We had Minhyeok on the first team, Jun on the second, finances were about to improve—I thought if we just put the right teammates around Junyoung····· and then we lucked into bringing Sangjin in, and even that absurd miracle of a kid on top of that.”
“We did.”
“After that, while Junyoung held his form, Jimin and Jun would hit their primes within a few years. I thought we could build a team no one had ever seen before—and then whatever the hell Maehwa pulled turned us into this, and now Jun is the undisputed starter with no competition····· honestly.”
Yaohwan shook his head left and right.
“·····”
Hochang thought back to the old days.
(I’m the man who’s going to make you the best team in the world.)
The day he’d met Coach Yaohwan as Got Phoenix’s top laner.
Results aside, Yaohwan had always been a man with big dreams.
That was probably why, even without a Sold Cup title, whatever team he joined tended to outperform expectations. Sometimes his stubbornness went too far for the public or the organizations and caused friction, but still.
“People seem a little worried about the player swaps here and there.”
“I know, I know. So what. What’s the problem.”
Yaohwan sounded annoyed.
“Seunghyeon got himself kicked out over something completely insane, but since we promoted Jimin and Jun things have been going well. Changmin’s been playing like he got motivated, showing the form I hoped for, and Jimin’s adapting insanely fast. Plus, since the call-up—zero sets dropped.”
“It won’t end in a perfect streak. And later?”
“We stick to the plan.”
“·····That so.”
“What’s with you all of a sudden.”
At Hochang’s lukewarm reaction, Yaohwan sat up straighter.
“Should I go tell Changmin right now? ‘You’re never beating Jimin anyway, sorry, he adapted way too fast, right? We need to sync with Jimin so yield a bit. Your contract was only a year anyway, no big deal?’ Like that?”
“Hyung.”
“Getting a little more playtime and looking a little better is good for Changmin too. That way next year he can jump to another team with even a slightly higher salary.”
“·····”
Hochang had nothing to say.
The ruthless world of pros. He couldn’t take responsibility for a player’s entire future.
But he remembered meeting Changmin to recruit him—how the kid had said it was the happiest day of his life, beaming like a child.
And now, on the very team he’d wanted so badly, he was stuck in a competition where defeat was already decided. It felt far too cruel.
“You think it’ll crush him? Hmph. However the public consumes gamers, we have to act like pros. The competition between Changmin and Jimin hasn’t produced a single side effect yet. And even if we don’t know right now—they were born with different vessels. That’s enough.”
Yaohwan stood, brushing off his seat.
“And you’re the one who introduced Jimin. I was going to call him up fast from the start, and you didn’t oppose it either. So what’s this now.”
“That’s—true, but—”
“Making me the only bad guy? Ah, no, forget it.”
“·····”
“I’ll be the bad guy. You just take good care of the kids. That settles it.”
Thump.
Yaohwan gave his shoulder a light, encouraging pat and left the coach’s office.
“Aigoo.”
Hochang sighed.
His indecisive heart.
He hated himself for bringing things up with no real solution.
“It’s really nothing serious, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jimin grinned.
When he talked to Dahee, there were almost no moments he didn’t smile anyway.
And on top of that, she’d called because she was worried about him.
“But it must’ve been nice resting at home for the first time in a while?”
“Yeah. Mom was really happy too.”
“That’s good.”
“I want to invite her to the arena soon.”
Maybe because it was Dahee. Jimin could easily say the kind of ambition he usually couldn’t get out to other people.
“Just ask the team and they’ll take good care of her—oh right, you said last time she might feel a little pressured?”
“Yeah. And····· haha, she doesn’t know the game rules, so she might get bored.”
“Come on, watching her son focus and hearing the crowd cheer—she’d love that.”
“You think so? Haha.”
Jimin scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
“Hmm, or····· what if I take her?”
“What?”
Jimin’s voice jumped.
“I’ve been casting some P1 matches, so I’m getting attached. Let’s go watch a game. Tickets are supposedly impossible to get, but if we can snag them, that’s pure freebies for me.”
“R-really?”
“Really. Oh my god, that reaction is hilarious.”
“·····”
With her cackling laughter in his ear, Jimin was too flustered to speak.
Dahee and his mom coming to watch a match together—could anything make him happier than that?
“Oh, I’ve gotta head in now. Talk later.”
“Huh? Yeah!”
The call ended, but he could barely contain the joy.
Whoosh.
Yes!
Jimin threw a fist into empty air.
“Whoa, damn! What the hell!”
“Huh?”
“What are you doing.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“·····”
A look that said there were all kinds of weirdos in the world.
Kang Jun glanced at Jimin and walked off.
[The zero-set-loss streak ends here!]
[Bonsim Magic Force! Magical performance!]
“Haa·····”
“Good work.”
P1 coach Hochang patted the shoulder of Changmin, the top laner who’d played set one.
“·····”
[P1 had been showing strong form on every lane lately, but they couldn’t stop Marrow’s well-grown Jax.]
Clench.
Changmin squeezed his fist tight.
He’d picked Jax in set one, a champion he was fairly confident on.
He’d wanted to show he could carry even without a solid comfort-food pick—but one tiny movement mistake snowballed hard.
“Good work out there.”
“Yeah.”
But there wouldn’t be two chances today.
Win or lose set one, he was scheduled to be subbed out.
(Whoa.)
(He’s coming out.)
Murmurs rose here and there.
[P1 player substitution!]
[Yes, Jimin is coming in.]
[Recently P1 had been playing Blur in set one and, uh—yes, hahaha, the rookie in set two, but even after a loss the player is changing.]
[Fans were very curious about this part—yes, regardless of set one’s result, Jimin will play set two.]
Jimin glanced around carefully.
No matter how he looked at it, the support seemed unhappy with last game’s play·····
Of course, through Jimin’s eyes too, Durandal’s Rakan in set one had a few unnecessary deaths.
[Set two ban-pick starts!]
[P1 is, heh, leaving open that Jax from last game?]
[Yes, then Marrow takes the Jax he’s confident on.]
[Against last game’s Jax he held up well, even secured a kill in lane and snowballed hard.]
Jax—a champion who could do everything late if he won lane.
Bonsim Magic Force’s Marrow had been famous as a Jax one-trick since the amateur days.
[A champion that can punish Jax. What’s P1’s pick?]
[Heheheh.]
[Vlad!]
P1 locked in Vladimir.
Ahri was already out, so mid Vladimir was unthinkable.
[Jimin—can he live up to the rising expectations!]
[Yes, the comps are complete.]
Vladimir–Viego–Ahri–Caitlyn–Lux
Jax–Wukong–Taliyah–Varus–Leona
[When Jimin and Rapid play, P1 often brings stylish comps.]
[But P1 has been showing truly blistering speed. Curious how this one goes.]
[Yes, Bonsim Magic Force is ahead in the series. Set two begins.]
Set two game start.
P1 fans who’d dropped the first set watched with somewhat anxious eyes.
Even with the recent controversy, there hadn’t been a single ticket cancellation for a P1 match.
But the fear that the scandal might drag down the players’ mood and hurt their form still lived in the fans.
[Oh oh!]
[That headshot damage is vicious.]
The Caitlyn–Lux duo, famous for oppressive laning.
From the start they were stomping the enemy harder than expected.
[Because Leona’s gank follow-up is so strong, Caitlyn usually can’t walk up this far—but they’re playing like the jungle doesn’t exist.]
[Ahri’s already aggressively taking vision, and Wukong’s position got spotted.]
Global gold climbing relatively quickly toward P1.
[Uh, he’s taking way too much?]
[Jimin!]
Jax had taken a massive loss in the trade.
The frozen wave made it even more painful.
[Hemoplague!]
The timing when Vlad pushed the wave top.
He boldly used his ultimate to trade with Jax.
With his health already low, Jax had to run.
Vlad’s Hemoplague hitting the minions at the same time cleaned the wave in an instant.
[Ahri’s coming up!]
[That’s a kill.]
A dive angle that looked almost too easy.
Worried Jax might just walk all the way back, Ahri used her ultimate.
[Ahri arrives with Charm!]
[Ah, he’s dead! Vlad first blood!]
[Wukong showing up now won’t matter.]
[Jimin·····]
[Vlad’s item timing is looking a little weird?]
[And Bonsim Magic Force’s bot tower keeps getting hit!]
With aggro pulled to the top side, Bonsim couldn’t push back the enemy bot wave.
[Viego!]
A mid gank from Viego using Flash.
Ahri’s Charm CC chain dropped Taliyah.
Below, P1’s bot duo slipped the gank with Lux’s beautiful root and Caitlyn’s exquisite movement.
[Jax can’t even leave the tower.]
And top, Vlad kept tormenting Jax.
He wanted to burn the enemy jungler’s time, but no one showed.
[Charm! Charm! Charm!]
Teamfight in front of Herald.
Ahri appeared and landed Charm, and enemy Leona got focused and melted.
Vlad dove into the enemy backline; Ahri and Viego charged in at the same time.
[Wooooooooah!]
[Triple kill!]
[Varus exploded! Taliyah too!]
Focused by the enemy mid and ADC, Vladimir still lived and walked away with three kills.
The growth gap with Jax had become devastatingly wide.