Academy League Summer Season (2)
There were three people in the capsule room.
Me, sitting silently in the chair with my legs crossed; Seona, who had blurted out her crude thoughts, now kneeling with her head bowed; and Hayoung, watching the scene with anxious eyes.
"So you thought I was screwing Hayoung in the dead of night and barged in?"
"C-Coach... it was just a little misunderstanding. Think of it as a cute joke from a hormonal teenage girl and forgive me just this once..."
Seona clasped her hands together, flashing a smile and a slight wink, trying to lighten the mood.
I let out a heavy sigh and stared at her. She seemed somewhat relaxed, either thinking it was just a light joke or figuring I wouldn't punish her too harshly since it stemmed from a simple misunderstanding.
Of course, I had no intention of chewing her out big time, but seeing her like that made me inexplicably irritated, and I suddenly wanted to mess with her a bit.
"Misunderstandings happen to everyone."
"As expected from Coach! Such a magnanimous—"
"But I like turning misunderstandings about me into the truth."
"...?"
I stood up from my seat and took a few slow steps forward.
"You said earlier you barged in thinking I was screwing one of my players at night. That misunderstanding pissed me off, so I want to make it true for you."
After a brief moment of confusion, Seona finally grasped what I meant and jumped back in shock.
By then, I was already right in front of her nose.
"Eeeek! G-Get away from me! You beast! Pervert! Sexual harasser! Rapist!"
"Wasn't what you did to me sexual harassment?"
"Th-That was...!"
"So now I want to sexually harass you a little."
Our foreheads were practically touching.
Seona wrapped her arms around her chest and shoulders, pressing herself as far against the wall as possible until there was nowhere left to retreat. She let out a squeak, squeezed her eyes shut, and yelled.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I spoke out of turn with my nonsense! Forgive me just once! I swear I won't do it again!"
Finally hearing what I wanted to hear, I stopped pressing closer and straightened up.
"You're only apologizing now that things got this bad? Looks like you're the type who needs a crisis to say sorry."
Seona opened her eyes, her face flushed beet red, and shrieked.
"Y-You scared me! Why'd you have to frighten me like that? I really thought you were gonna assault me!"
"Is your head full of nothing but dirty thoughts? With Hayoung right here, you think I'd actually do that?"
"Tch... You mess with someone just for a little prank and scare them half to death..."
"Don't you know the frog dies from the stone thrown in jest? Don't you have anything to say to Hayoung, who got dragged into your misunderstanding too?"
Seona finally realized with an "ah," then timidly approached Hayoung and extended her hand.
"Um... s-sorry... for the misunderstanding..."
"Pfft. Honestly, I was annoyed at first, but seeing you freak out like that made me feel better. It's fine."
"...You really forgive me?"
Having barged in so boldly only to get her comeuppance, Seona pouted as she watched me and Hayoung snickering at her.
"Anyway, what were you two really doing here this late?"
"Giving Hayoung some special training."
"Special training? What kind?"
"Every time we do practice games or scrims, her reactions are always slow, and her movements lag. So to fix that weak point, I've been asking Coach for help lately."
"Oh, nice! No wonder Hayoung's been playing better lately—there's the secret! Coach, can you give me special training too?"
Seona's eyes sparkled as she asked. My response?
"I'm tired."
"Come on, if a player wants extra training, the coach has to help! Like how to rack up more kills in lane!"
"You need a different kind of training, Seona."
"Really? What?"
"Nintendo Switch brain training every day."
"...Huh? Brain training every day? Wait, that..."
Seona paused, rummaging through her thoughts, then her face crumpled.
"Wh-What?! Are you calling me stupid right now?! That's why you want me to train my brain?!"
"Maybe if you stopped getting ganked so easily. Your physicals are great, but you play without using your head."
"Tch... tch... Fine! I don't need it! I don't need special training! I'll train on my own!"
Seona bit her lip, trembling with anger, declared her independence, and stormed out.
"Wasn't that teasing her a bit too much?"
"Her problem isn't racking up kills in lane. With her physicals, she could do that in her sleep. Seona's issue is overconfidence. She needs to reflect on her weaknesses herself. She'll probably throw a tantrum because I called her dumb and won't admit it, but once the game starts, she'll die the same way again."
"Then that's even worse, isn't it?"
"If I keep pointing out 'this is your weakness' and try to teach her, she'll tune me out. She's the type who has to come crawling back on her own, admit what she sucks at, and ask for help before it'll stick."
"Hmm... You think it'll really play out like that?"
It sure would. I'd seen plenty of players like her in my pro days.
After that, nothing much changed with the team. Except maybe Seona occasionally shooting me dirty looks.
On the flip side, Hayoung's skills were improving by leaps and bounds day by day. Physical stats can't skyrocket in a short time, but since all our girls had been amateurs before, and Hayoung's starting point was especially low, the gains felt huge by comparison.
"Whoa, Hayoung, you in good form lately? Your movements seem way faster than before."
"Really? You think so too, Unnie? Hehehe, good... I was kinda worried inside."
At Yuna's honest praise, Hayoung beamed and glanced at me, bowing her head slightly in thanks.
She probably felt her improvement herself, and now that the team noticed too, she had to be thrilled.
All that grueling training where I'd yelled at her nonstop, worked her to exhaustion, and made her puke—it was paying off.
Meanwhile, Seona was still struggling.
"Why didn't you back off here and kept fighting? You had to calculate the enemy's skill cooldowns. Look—your movement doesn't account for their skills at all."
"Yuna and Hayoung had been MIA from the enemy support for over ten seconds by then. If you never saw their support, shouldn't you assume they're coming your way?"
"But check your position. You're past the center line. If you'd stayed at least at the halfway mark, you could've survived."
"Physicals aside, you gotta check enemy items. Their Spell Immunity Amulet popped—charging in solo? Your ult goes to waste, and now you can't dodge the next gank."
A barrage of feedback that made my ears bleed.
But it wasn't just hindsight—these were breakdowns of exactly why that play was wrong and what she should've done instead. Seona had no comeback.
She just bit her lip and took it all.
To fix thoughtless plays, you need intense one-on-one care, but Seona's pride kept her from accepting it yet. No wonder her play wasn't improving.
That relentless chewing-out became a daily routine, turning into days. One day during a meeting room session analyzing matches for the Academy League regular season...
Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and in walked a girl with wavy brown hair cascading to her chest.
"Coach..."
"What's up, Seona."
"Can you... give me some special training?"
"Teach you how to rack up kills? Told you that won't help you."
"No. How to... watch the map in lane..."
Hearing the words I'd been waiting for, I hid a faint smile, turned my chair, and faced her.
"What changed your mind all of a sudden?"
"I fought with Unnie Yuna earlier."
"Over what?"
"She kept yelling at me to stop playing brainlessly... I snapped back, and we fought... Sniff... Eunjae and Sera took her side. They said I die too much..."
"......"
"It hurts my pride too much. I can't take it anymore. I'll listen to everything you say, Coach—just help me die less and watch the map? I admit... my brain freezes in games..."
Seona, finally breaking her stubbornness.
Thanks to that, her special training could finally get on track.