It's Mine! (1)
With a week-long break from Christmas to New Year, Winter Season Round 2 kicked off right after Round 1 ended, no extra rest in between.
So we skipped any team dinners or events and dove straight back into practice, fully focused on prepping for the second half of the season.
Luckily, our practice setup was top-notch. And the reason? We'd landed some solid scrim partners...
"Oh? It's Shining Star's coach! Hi there~"
A girl with curly hair cascading down to her shoulders waved at me from inside the in-game lobby.
It was Jeong Yujin, Peacemaker's captain and carry.
"Ah, yeah. Hi, Jeong Yujin."
"Just call me comfy-like! I'm younger anyway, right?"
"This feels more natural to me. When are your other players showing up?"
"Any minute now! I snuck in early after a smoke."
"Got it. Ours should be here soon too—"
Before I could finish, our team piled into the lobby and spotted Yujin already online.
"Hey, girls!"
Yujin waved enthusiastically at our players.
Yuna crossed her arms and shot back.
"Don't smile at me, Jeong-ie. We're gonna beat the crap outta each other in scrims soon enough."
"Hmm~ I figured you got the 'Jeong-ie' memo, but nope? Ice cold, unnie."
"Yujin-unnie, cut her some slack. That sister's just got a twisted personality—ain't no total bitch though—"
"Hey, Kim Seona! I can hear you!"
Ever since we'd beaten Peacemaker last time, they'd decided there was plenty to learn from scrimming us and started hitting us up nonstop. They'd basically become our dedicated practice foes.
Sure, they'd lost 0-2 to us, but their team synergy, macro play, and individual mechanics were solid all around. It was good for us too.
We'd been able to grind new champs and deploy them in matches so quickly thanks to the players' hard work—and Peacemaker stepping up as our sparring partners.
Peacemaker had gained a ton from practicing with us too, enough to boot the old second-place team and claim the spot for themselves.
Through all those sessions, our players and theirs had gotten pretty chummy. Weeks of staring each other down, killing and dying day in and day out—it was like that old saying about hate turning to affection. Things had warmed up nicely.
Jeong Yujin, who was 20—just a year younger than Yuna but a year older than Hayoung, Eunjae, and Seona—had taken our last win gracefully. And when we actually took down Bloody Rose, she'd cheered like it was her own team, sending the players thank-you messages and all.
Every Bloody Rose loss upped Peacemaker's shot at first place, after all.
"Whoa~ Never thought you'd actually snag Bloody Rose. Thanks to you guys, we might take first if we play our cards right. So sweet of you. Bet you're beat—want me to rub your shoulders?"
"Pfft, who said you get first? We still got a shot at it too."
Yuna, still nursing a grudge against Peacemaker, fired back.
"Starting with four losses and gunning for first? Shameless much? We'll take first, you climb to second. We beat Bloody Rose once, you beat 'em next. Then any other team falls once more, and you're second on tiebreakers. Perfect script, huh?"
"As if. Watch us. Yeah, we'll pray they lose a few more, but we'll sweep the rest for 14-4 and +28 differential. First place. Think we can't? We're doing it."
"Heh, this unnie's already trash-talking like she beat us in Round 2 when we still gotta play. Watch. We ain't losing."
While Yuna and Yujin traded subtle jabs, Peacemaker's coach Choi Minji popped into the lobby with their coach in tow.
"Coach Kang Yuseong here?"
"Yeah, I'm in."
"Sorry, but can we push scrims back ten minutes?"
"Everything okay?"
"Minji's got stomach issues—stuck in the bathroom..."
"No problem."
With the delay for their player's bathroom break, I stepped out of the capsule to kill time prepping the usual data sheets for scrim review.
But not even three minutes in, someone flung the meeting room door open.
A girl with pink-dyed long hair down to her butt. Eunjae.
These girls don't even knock anymore.
"Eunjae, what's up?"
"Hmm~ Got somethin' that don't make sense, so came to ask before scrims~"
"What?"
"Can ya pull up yesterday's scrim footage?"
She sidled up behind me. Then pressed her chest right against the back of my head, gluing herself to my chair.
Stretching her arms over my shoulders like a back hug, she grabbed my mouse and started quizzing me on stuff.
"You gotta ask in that position?"
"Yup~ Squatting next to ya'd be a pain."
My head was pinned by her chest against the back of my skull. Couldn't even turn.
Of course, the feel was perfection. Soft, squishy, springy. But what good's that? Not like I'm gonna reach back and grab 'em.
Damn it! Infuriating!
I belted the national anthem in my head, fighting to stay calm as I answered her questions.
But...
Why are these questions so basic?
Her queries on various champ animations were way too entry-level.
It was weird.
Eunjae wasn't at a level where she'd need to ask me this stuff. She was way past that.
Even if she truly didn't know, someone at her skill could figure it out with a few skill casts on her own.
These were that simple.
The one common thread? Every motion involved leaning the upper body way forward.
So whenever she went, "Dunno how to do this part~" and tilted in, her chest mashed harder against my head. Naturally.
The anthem was already on verse four. I was subtly shifting my hips to make room in my pants without getting caught, but how long could I last?
My little wiggles to create space moved my head too, which just ground it deeper into her chest.
"Ahhng...♥"
Each time, Eunjae let out these sneaky moans. Right in my ear, lips close.
Couldn't make more room down there anymore. I finally leaned forward to escape her chest trap.
"Ah..."
Eunjae sighed, a hint of regret. Her face was a little flushed.
What the hell? First Sera, then Seona, now her too? What's going on?
"Hey, Kim Eunjae. You came to mess with me, didn't you."
"Not messin'..."
"This ain't messing around? Full-grown virgin rubbing her tits on a guy's head? Where do you think you are? Even if I'm your coach, I'm a dude too!"
I flicked her forehead.
"Ow! Why'd ya hit me?!"
She clutched her reddening forehead, whining.
"Scrims are starting soon. Get back to the game. Pull this again, and you're in trouble."
"Hing..."
Eunjae grumbled as she headed back to the capsule room.
The near-kiss with Seona was Christmas vibes and a serious mood—we kinda stumbled into it. But Eunjae's thing? Hard to play along.
Especially with people around.
Sera, Seona, now Eunjae? Starting to feel like they're conspiring to troll me.
Each one's model-tier hot, guys begging for their numbers outside. And they're coming at me like this?
Too good to be true loses its shine.
Having shut down Eunjae's bold sex appeal, I was shaking off the memory of her chest when I missed her mutter as she walked away.
"Tch... He's a guy, that's why..."