"Let's Stop Talking About My Looks"
"Let's stop talking about my looks," Tae-hyun said, raising a hand to cut him off. If he didn't, the professor would probably keep going on about his appearance for the next hour.
"More importantly, why did you call me here?"
"I heard the news about you and figured it was about time I saw your face. I also wanted to ask when you plan on graduating."
"Uh... well..."
"You have absolutely no intention of graduating anytime soon, do you?"
"No, of course I do! I have to graduate! Eventually!"
"So you have no intention."
He did plan on graduating. Eventually. Just... after he won the tournament, crushed all the rankers, and thoroughly conquered, dismantled, and enjoyed every single aspect of Pan-On 2!
Professor Kim sighed and shook his head.
"And here I thought you had a genuine talent for literature..."
"If anyone else heard you say that, they'd get the completely wrong idea, you know?"
It was true that Professor Kim had once told Tae-hyun he had a talent for literature. It was just... meant in a slightly different way.
"Your family is rich? My boy, you were born with a natural talent for literature! People like you are the ones who should be doing literature!"
"..."
"I know you're incredibly busy with the tournament and everything, but once you get a breather, think about returning to school. With your capabilities, you should easily be able to balance both."
"Yes, sir. I understand."
"Oh, and Dong-hwan has been drinking and throwing tantrums lately."
"Who's that?"
"...Your classmate."
"I remember all my friends' names. Mostly because I barely have any."
"Your peer. You know, the one you grabbed by the collar and fought with..."
Ah, the guy who had picked a fight and grabbed Tae-hyun by the collar back when Tae-hyun was constantly making waves with his trash-tier character!
"Ah, him... So that was his name. I completely forgot."
Even a stray neighborhood dog would have received more interest. Professor Kim sighed at Tae-hyun's complete and utter indifference.
"But why are you telling me about him throwing a drunken fit?"
"Well, because he started drinking after watching videos of your spectacular performance in the tournament..."
"Oh, is that all?"
"Apparently, he and his friends had been preparing for this tournament too."
"Oh, really? Did they make it to the main tournament?"
"If they had, he wouldn't be drinking himself into a stupor."
He had already been thoroughly beaten and humiliated after picking a fight with Tae-hyun in the past. Now, watching that same Tae-hyun dominate the main tournament stage... Honestly, hearing the story, it was hard not to understand why the guy had turned to the bottle.
"I saw him play once back then, and honestly, he just didn't seem to have any talent for gaming—"
"Don't you dare say that to his face."
"Why would I ever be around him to say it? It's not like we'll ever cross paths again anyway."
Professor Kim stared blankly at Tae-hyun. Sensing the weight of the gaze, Tae-hyun quickly amended his words.
"I mean, it's not that I'm not returning to school! It's just that there are so many lectures, and he'll probably graduate soon, so our paths won't cross."
"Right. I certainly hope so. And Tae-hyun, make sure to contact me once the tournament is over."
I'd really rather not... Tae-hyun kept the thought to himself. Saying it out loud would only invite more nagging!
When Tae-hyun logged into the game, he immediately sensed something was off. The atmosphere around him felt distinctly different.
What is it?
"What's going on? Did something happen?"
"S-something happen? No, nothing happened at all!"
"...?"
The entire party was stealing glances at him. Even Kim Chul-soo!
The only one who remained consistent was Do Dong-su. He pointedly turned his head away when Tae-hyun arrived.
"Man, you're the only one I can count on to stay the same."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
Being treated with sudden friendliness only made Do Dong-su feel worse. He sharply slapped Tae-hyun's hand away.
Do Dong-su hadn't been able to sleep a wink since the match ended. Naturally, it was because of the public's reaction.
The response had been overwhelmingly positive! It was as if the reporters had collectively formed a Kim Tae-hyun fan club.
Do Dong-su had clutched the back of his neck in sheer frustration as he read the headlines. It didn't help that the other matches played on the opening day had been absolute mudfights.
They were boring, uninspired matches where teams used the most mundane strategies, dragging the sets all the way to game five. It was so bad the crowd had actually started booing.
Do Dong-su hung his head, his expression a tangled mess of emotions.
I want to surpass Kim Tae-hyun, but I refuse to cooperate with him! Trying to achieve both of these contradictory goals at the same time was why nothing was going his way.
Meanwhile, Lee Se-yeon, Kim Chul-soo, Lee Da-bi, and even Chairman Yoo were silently pressuring Cain with their eyes.
-Ask him!
"Ugh... cough."
"Why are you making noises like you're terminally ill? Did you get cursed or something? Stay back, I don't want to catch whatever you have."
Tae-hyun waved his hand dismissively, shooing Cain away.
"Well... I have something I'm curious about..."
"?"
"...Where did you go yesterday?"
Thud!
"?!"
Everyone around glared fiercely at Cain. How could you fail to ask the one simple question we wanted!
Hey, he's terrifying! If I tick him off, I'm the only one who's going to bleed!
"I went to see my professor."
"What? Why?"
"He was nagging me about when I'm returning to school. Oh, and he also mentioned some guy from my department who entered the tournament, saw me make it to the main stage, and got so drunk he threw a massive fit."
It was completely useless information! Lee Se-yeon sighed and gave up. It was clear that waiting for Cain to ask the real question was a lost cause.
"Alright. Let's start the meeting."
Enough with the idle chatter. The tournament was what mattered right now. Whether Tae-hyun gave someone a ring, proposed, or was planning a wedding was technically important... but she didn't want to give herself a headache over it anymore.
"You all know our next opponent has been decided, right?"
Although there were still other matches left to be played, their next opponent was already locked in. It was the Chinese National Team!
Just like Tae-hyun's team, they had defeated another team that advanced from the qualifiers to secure their spot in the quarterfinals. A clash between invited teams! The footage of their opponent's previous match had already been released.
Click—
Before they could even begin the discussion, Do Dong-su stood up and walked out!
"Can I beat him up? Just one hit."
"No."
Lee Se-yeon flatly ignored Tae-hyun's earnest plea. Cain muttered under his breath.
"Knowing him, 'just one hit' definitely wouldn't end with just one..."
"We don't have time to waste starting another fight, so let's just discuss this among ourselves. The Chinese National Team is formidable. Even though they're an invited team, their teamwork is seamless, and above all, they excel at counter-strategies. If you watch their match, they completely shut down their opponents' options and secured an easy victory."
"So they're our worst possible matchup?"
"The absolute worst. Especially since Do Dong-su is highly likely to be their primary target."
Some teams relied on perfecting their own signature strategies, while others flexibly adapted their tactics to exploit their opponents' weaknesses. The Chinese National Team was the textbook definition of the latter.
It was a playstyle that won them no popularity and drew constant complaints from fans for being boring, but it was incredibly effective at grinding out consistent victories.
"To beat a team like this, we have two options. We either refine our own strategy and force our way through..."
"Do we even have a strategy? It's literally just 2-2-1."
"...Or we change our strategy entirely so they can't predict our moves."
"Hmm..."
Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. It was easy to overlook because of their overwhelming victory in the first match, but the Korean National Team was still highly unstable. Their fundamental weaknesses—like their practically non-existent teamwork—remained completely unresolved!
"What if we strike first?"
"What do you mean?"
Lee Se-yeon tilted her head in confusion. What was he talking about? Of course they would attack first in the arena—that went without saying.
"It's a five-man team, and they can't substitute anyone out once the tournament starts. So, we just need to make sure one of their players can't show up."
"...!!!"
Only then did the realization dawn on everyone in the room. When Tae-hyun said "strike first," he wasn't talking about inside the arena. He was talking about the open world!
"Isn't... isn't that going a bit too far?"
Kim Chul-soo, the team's sole voice of reason and conscience, raised his hand and spoke up hesitantly.
"Come on, it's not like we're the only ones who do this. Cain literally got ambushed on his way here."
"Right! That did happen!"
Cain recalled the memory and shouted in indignation.
"Of course, I've already warned Cain that if any woman claims to like him, it's definitely a trap, so he won't fall for it again..."
"Did you really have to phrase it like that? Huh?"
"...But my point is, these kinds of sabotage tactics aren't unheard of. Granted, I've never seen anyone actually succeed at it, but that's just because they were clumsy amateurs."
The others were utterly dumbfounded by his words. Calling players who set up those elaborate traps "clumsy amateurs"? Yet, the truly absurd thing about Tae-hyun was that when he said things like this, it didn't sound like empty boasting at all. At his level of skill, those schemes probably did look incredibly amateurish!
Unlike Kim Chul-soo, Lee Se-yeon looked deeply contemplative. It was easy to forget, but she was a player who had reached Rank 1 in Pan-On 1. She wasn't someone who insisted on playing strictly by the book of fair play. If they proceeded as they were, the odds were heavily stacked against them. They definitely needed a secret weapon. Still, this was an incredibly bold strategy!
Lee Se-yeon asked, her voice laced with concern.
"Isn't the risk too high?"
"We don't all need to go. Just me and Cain will be plenty. We can recruit the rest of our help from outside the team."
"Why am I dragged into this?!"
Cain, who had been sitting quietly only to be bundled into the plan as a package deal, cried out in protest!
"Since I can log back in immediately without any penalty even if I die once right now, it's not actually that risky. And escaping is easy."
"The fans might get angry. Remember, winning isn't everything. If we mess this up, our public image could take a massive hit even if we win."
"We just have to not get caught. Besides, I don't care about my image."
Beside him, Cain muttered.
"Well, I do."
Ignoring Cain, Tae-hyun spoke with absolute gravity and resolve.
"Listen to me. Yes, the risk is high, but this is a strategy worth trying. It's a million times better than trying to force teamwork with Do Dong-su when we clearly don't mesh. Do you have a better arena strategy than this?"
Seeing Tae-hyun, who usually couldn't care less, showing such serious dedication to the tournament made Lee Se-yeon waver for a moment.
Wait, something's off.
"You just want to go cause some chaos, don't you?"
"W-what? What kind of person do you take me for?"
"..."
"I told you, I won't let any of the blowback hit you. Cain and I will just slip in, take care of business, and slip out."
Cain muttered once more from the side.
"If you could... just... leave me out of this..."
Lee Se-yeon shook her head.
"No."
"Tsk. Fine. We won't do it then."
There was no way Tae-hyun would give up that easily. His mouth said he wouldn't do it, but his face practically screamed that he was going to do it anyway! Lee Se-yeon opened her mouth to scold him but stopped. That wasn't what she wanted to say.
"I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. I'm saying if we're going to do it, let's do it together. Our success rate will be much higher that way."
"!"
"Congratulations on making it to the quarterfinals."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"..."
Su Ning's face contorted at Jang Ssu-an's arrogant attitude. In truth, the two of them weren't close at all. To be precise, they were closer to rivals!
But while the guild members selected by the Suning Guild had been eliminated in the qualifiers, Jang Ssu-an's team had been directly invited to the main tournament and easily swept through the Round of 16... It was only natural that Su Ning felt incredibly conflicted.
"The reason I came all this way is to tell you about Kim Tae-hyun."
"I've already done plenty of research on him. I don't think I'll be needing your help."
Su Ning's face twitched, contorting even further.
Patience. Just tolerate it.
Su Ning reasoned with himself. Between this guy and that bastard Tae-hyun, who was more detestable? Without a doubt, it was Tae-hyun. In other words, if it meant making life miserable for Tae-hyun, he could tolerate someone like Jang Ssu-an! Su Ning felt like he had truly matured as a person.
"You might have... researched him... but still... there could be things you missed, right? Isn't that so?"
Although he could hear the sound of teeth grinding in frustration, Jang Ssu-an completely ignored it.
"There is nothing I've missed. And even if I did, there's no way you would be the one to find it out. Su Ning, if you have nothing else to say, I'd like you to leave. Unlike you, I actually have to prepare for the tournament, and I have a lot on my plate."