Protagonist (1)
“Haaah….”
Thick cigarette smoke hazed the room.
Flutter— flutter—
The documents the FD had handed over whipped and danced in the draft.
“Looks like I’ll have to revise the plan.”
Hisssss.
Choi Jae-woo stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray and rose. He lifted his phone and dialed.
“Hey, it’s me. Set up a meeting with Gil Ara.”
“Yes, sunbae. I’ll coordinate and get back to you.”
“Yeah.”
Click—
The night Ara returned from the orphanage.
Right after she had seen her new nickname—Light-Year.
“I came, I saw, I bought!”
Ara sat at her computer desk and pulled a long box from the shopping bag.
“I really am lucky…….”
She set the freshly extracted box gently on the desk.
Rrrrip…….
Then carefully peeled off the seal sticker.
“Unboxing.”
Her voice carried weight.
Snap—
The box opened with crisp precision.
“Khuh!”
Light spilled through the crack and stabbed her eyes. At last the beautiful form inside revealed itself.
“Ahhh…. It’s luminous….”
This was the treasure she had spotted while ducking into the electronics wing of the Chungju New Continent Department Store to buy Ye-in a phone.
L Company’s limited-edition full-metal gaming keyboard—Legend Series V.7.
Ara lifted it out with careful hands. The heavy, cold weight seduced her palms.
“This is why you do good deeds….”
A keyboard already discontinued, rarer than stars in the sky, had been gathering dust in a forgotten corner of that department store. The price, of course, defied imagination—but for Ara that was no obstacle.
“Black keys with yellow accents….”
Click—
The typing sound delivered overwhelming ear-gasm. The key pressure was perfect.
“Now that you and I have met, we’re invincible.”
Soulmates, maybe. The synergy felt like Guan Yu astride Red Hare, swinging the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. An irresistible urge welled up.
There is a saying that the moment you boot the game, Dolga is already waiting to greet you. I happen to love that saying.
.
.
.
-^o^
“Aaaaaaaaargh.”
Chat restricted due to accumulated reports.
[Restricted chat.]
[Restricted chat.]
[Restricted chat.]
Every curse in the book poured forth, yet before absolute authority they were utterly powerless.
“You fucking badger bastard.”
[Restricted chat.]
Countless attempts at swearing were blocked every single time.
Ara stared blankly at the grayed-out screen.
Hoooo—
She let out a long breath.
“Calm down, Ara. It’s just a game. Only a game. Don’t get angry…….”
Chat was already suspended; she had no strength left to resist.
And then—
“As expected……. Limited-edition full-metal Legend Series…….”
The treasure she had found had withstood her furious assault without flinching. That was the number-one contributor to her recovery.
But the deepest wound always comes from the knife in the back.
“You, you, you…!!!”
Snap—
Something inside her head severed.
And a short while later…….
When Ara’s reason returned, it was already too late.
H-huh!!
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The most feminine scream she had ever uttered since her rebirth tore out of her for the first time.
She tried to straighten the keyboard bent at a perfect ninety degrees, but it was far too late.
Sob—
She collapsed onto the floor and clutched the now-straightened keyboard to her chest.
“Maybe I should just quit gaming. Do I really have no talent…?”
For the first time in her life, existential doubt crept in.
“No. That can’t be.”
Self-question, self-answer.
!
Lightning struck inside Ara’s mind.
“That’s right. It was never the Rift!!”
Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner?
The proud top lane. The place thronged by those who, like Vikings, regard death on the battlefield as the highest honor. Had she not clung to stubborn pride and self-righteousness, enchanted by that manly image?
Somehow her vision felt clearer.
“That’s right. I’m no Viking. I’m different from them. I’m a citizen of the Republic of Korea.”
Sadly, Korea remained a nation still technically at war. She would meet that need(?).
“With the mindset of preparing in advance…….”
The reasoning was absurd, but anyway Ara opened the internet.
Clackclackclack—
After finishing her search she entered the homepage. Characters gripping guns filled the screen.
“This is my new battlefield from now on…….”
Zero Ground. Commonly known as Zeg.
A battle-royale FPS.
She delivered her farewell declaration to Dolga through the Rift chat linked to her phone.
“Let’s go. To the place thick with iron, gunpowder, and the reek of metal.”
And so, while Ara—who had been solo-stomped by a badger in the Rift—was busy claiming mental victory, her phone buzzed.
Bzzzt—
“Hm?”
A text from an unknown number. Yet Ara instantly knew who it was.
She smirked.
“Cute.”
Ara saved the number and replied at once.
“Hmm. Unnie.”
It had felt awkward at first, but hearing it enough times made it okay. Especially when a pretty, adorable little sister said it.
“Mm. What if I try it? U-u-unnie…?”
Ugh— chew;
The very title that had rolled off her tongue so easily while chatting with Ye-in on the bench earlier now felt unbearably cringey. Probably the difference between addressing someone else and referring to herself.
“Aigoo— why is living as a woman this hard….”
She still had a long way to go.
“Still, I should try. Unnie, huh….”
Who around her could she call unnie?
“Mm…. Would it be okay?”
One person suddenly came to mind.
“Might as well try once.”
It wasn’t like the word would wear out.
Ara tapped her phone a few times, then set it down.
“Time to sleep.”
Thanks to Ye-in, her mood had completely recovered.
Though she had never intended it, Ara already possessed a fair amount of recognition in Japan. Limited to a certain demographic, yes—but when that demographic was baseball, and considering Japan’s population, the number was by no means small.
And so on.
The aftershocks of the first pitch had crossed Korea’s borders and become an international issue.
And here was another aftershock of that first pitch.
Choi Jae-woo, PD of Invincible Baseball, had come to YW.
“Ara-ssi, have you been well? I saw the donation to the orphanage. Truly impressive.”
“Thank you, PD-nim.”
Choi Jae-woo greeted her warmly.
“I was told you don’t have any particular schedule coming up. Is that still the case?”
“Yes.”
Ara had yet to choose her next project.
“Understood.”
Having received confirmation, Choi Jae-woo explained why he had come today.
“First of all, the concept I explained last time has been heavily revised.”
“Pardon?”
He handed a file folder to Ara and to Jeong Yeo-un, who sat beside her.
“You remember the original concept—celebrity baseball team versus the legends?”
“Yes.”
“We’re hitting major snags in casting. Baseball needs quite a few people, so coordinating celebrity schedules has proven difficult.”
“So what happened?”
Jeong Yeo-un asked.
“The existing terms remain completely the same. This time we intend to put Ara-ssi front and center as the protagonist.”
Protagonist, huh.
“And the changes?”
“We’re switching teams. Not the celebrity baseball team.”
“Then?”
“If you’ve watched our program you’ll know—the team name is the Invincible Baseball Team. We plan to cast Ara-ssi as a mercenary for them.”
Ara’s affiliation had shifted from the celebrity baseball team to the Invincible Baseball Team.
“And the opponents will be professional baseball players.”
“What??”
“Pardon?”
Jeong Yeo-un and Ara both startled at once.
“The season is in full swing right now!! And how are you going to face active pros? Even if the roster is built from legends, they’re retired—they’ll never be a match!”
Jeong Yeo-un fired questions like a machine gun.
“Besides, Ara isn’t a player—she’s a celebrity and a civilian. This is impossible. She’ll only be humiliated.”
Ara silently agreed.
He’s right. How do you beat people who’ve spent their whole lives as athletes……? Active pros, no less?
“I understand what you’re saying.”
“Then how do you plan to do it?”
“We’ve brought in second-team players.”
“Ah……?”
“Second-team players are usually either not quite ready for the first team yet, or recovering from injury.”
“Right……?”
“We judged their strength would be sufficient.”
Is that so? I really don’t get it.
Ara understood nothing.
“Understood. You’ll handle it as you see fit, PD-nim.”
“Yes. We intend to make this an absolute success. Therefore, Ara-ssi.”
“Yes, PD-nim.”
“This is sudden, but joint training starts next week. The schedule’s tight. Please make sure to attend. Of course, this is under the premise of filming.”
In other words, filming was simply beginning.
“Understood.”
“I’ll send the detailed schedule by end of day. Thank you.”
Choi Jae-woo finished speaking and left YW.
Left behind were Ara and Jeong Yeo-un.
“Ara.”
“Yes, Representative.”
“Fighting.”
“?”
Jeong Yeo-un suddenly cheering her on.
“Uh, well, thank you?”
“No, seriously hang in there. You’ve got to snag that ten million won. Honestly I don’t think you’ll beat active players, but—”
Ten million won? Ah!
An additional ten million won upon victory. It had clearly been in the contract terms.
“You’ll probably have to work hard. Those second-team guys will be dripping with venom.”
“Pardon?”
“Those people are desperate to claw their way into the first team. Plus it’s a perfect chance to build name recognition. They’ll go all out.”
“I see…….”
She hadn’t considered that at all.
“And a legend team, huh……. Hang in there.”
“Why that?”
“Why? If you half-ass it they definitely won’t look kindly on it. Not that I’m saying you would half-ass it—but you’ll have to work even harder.”
“Ah, I understand what you mean. Don’t worry.”
The legend-team players.
People who once lived through eras when each of them was the protagonist, carrying glittering careers. They had shone for long years in the active ranks and were spoken of as legends; they would possess their own pride and philosophy without question.
That was what Jeong Yeo-un was saying.
“I’ll do my best.”
Jeong Yeo-un fretted over Ara, yet Ara herself felt fine.
Professional pride is a good thing. I have no intention of half-assing it either.
She might use the cheat skill called Special Privilege, but Ara had always given her all. When she learned her lines were self-written she had been the type to read the script dozens or hundreds of times. Lately she had been working out steadily as well.
What was there to fear?
When it comes to effort, I won’t lose either.
“Good. Glad you’re full of confidence. Hang in there. Call if anything comes up.”
“Yes.”
.
.
.
Back home, Ara lingered in front of her computer for a while.
“Finished!”
What she had been doing all this time was Zero Ground.
“As the saying goes, games are coordinate first, raise later.”
Ara held a strange philosophy. For reference, she also owned every skin for the characters she liked to play in the Rift.
“Mm! I like it.”
Ara gazed in admiration at the character she had customized herself. On the screen stood a woman who looked truly similar to Ara, gun in hand.
“It cost a bit, but! With the mindset that I’m personally going to war!!”
To Ara, games were the same as war.
“Farewell, Rift. Welcome, Zeg!”
