Round 2 (8): The Lightning Backlash
Thanks to Seona's stellar performance, we clinched the match win against Brilliant, tipping the tight balance of the Academy League in our favor.
Undefeated except for that Round 1 draw against Brilliant. Sole top spot in the Academy League. That was Shining Star's current record.
The ripple effects from our Round 2 victory over Brilliant were massive in every way.
The debut of the brand-new champion Lightning—a pick that had never appeared even once in the pro scene—and her insane hard carry.
A landmark game that established the playbook for operating Lightning, a champion whose viability even split opinions among pros.
Videos of the match circulated endlessly across Eternal Combat communities, dragging our previous strategies back into the spotlight and making our team more famous than your average Division 2 squad.
As the match blew up and our team's profile soared, the girls' looks naturally became a hot topic too. According to the marketing team, our social media follower counts were skyrocketing by the day.
Solo queue was flooded with Lightning picks every game, but its sky-high skill floor meant that if you couldn't handle it properly, it was trash-tier. Solo queue had devolved into total chaos.
And amid those players, our team—the ones who first unleashed Lightning—and Seona's name spread like a curse.
"Yes, yes, team leader. Oh, an interview request for Seona? We're still in the middle of the season, so squeezing in a deep-dive interview is kinda tricky right now. Yeah. Afternoons and evenings are scrims or practice games, and we need breaks for meals in between. Once the season wraps, we can set something up then. Yes, please pass along our apologies to the reporter."
Interview requests from game media outlets had been pouring in nonstop just days after the match.
We hadn't seen this level of buzz even back when we trolled with that Level 1 Roshefit pick. It was proof of just how huge the Lightning impact was.
And another change.
Hmm... Bloody Rose, Division 2 9th place. The Union, Division 3 6th... What to do?
I scanned the list of teams. These were the ones that had reached out to us for scrims.
Not just Academy League teams—plenty from Division 3, and even a Division 2 squad, two whole tiers above us.
Before the season started, we'd been so desperate for scrim partners we had to run bot games. Now, higher-division teams were hitting us up first.
They figured since we'd showcased some new meta, scrimming us might let them pick up useful intel.
These scrims could easily backfire—you give away info and get ditched—so picking opponents required caution.
I only knew a handful of women's Division 1 teams by name; lower tiers were a blank slate. So I quickly analyzed footage from the teams that applied. We needed to get something out of it too.
Knock knock.
As I finalized our scrim picks and schedules, someone knocked on the meeting room door.
"Come in."
"Coach, it's me."
The door opened, and Eunjae peeked her head in, gauging my mood. Looked like she had something to say.
"What's up?"
"Coach... can I go meet some friends after dinner tonight?"
"What?"
My brow furrowed at Eunjae's words.
These past few days, she'd dialed back the slacking, putting in solid practice. Staying up late on her own, dark circles forming under her eyes.
Seeing that, I'd figured she was finally getting her act together and hadn't micromanaged. But just days after loosening the reins?
"What time?"
"Uh... 8 o'clock."
"Hey, that's practice time. No scrim today is one thing, but skipping practice to hang with friends? No way."
"C'mon, just this once? Pleeease, really just once..."
I turned fully from my computer to face her, scowling deeper.
"You gonna shape up or what? It's been days since I cut you slack, and you're already pulling this? Not even a weekend—weekday evening practice. What're you even meeting them for?"
"J-just... catching up with friends I haven't seen in ages..."
"You out of your mind? Skipping evening practice to chit-chat with friends? You know how insane that sounds?"
"Coach, really just this one time!"
Even as I laid into her, Eunjae wouldn't back down. An odd unease crept in.
Come to think of it, she mentioned some important promise with a friend not long ago...
Probably a few days before the Brilliant match, during strategy meetings.
She'd shown up late that day; I'd gone looking and caught her on the phone in the hall.
And that Sunday, she'd gone out to meet friends too...
Something's off.
Eunjae might slack off, but she's not shameless or clueless about boundaries.
She knows damn well how ridiculous it is to ditch weekday practice for friends.
Yet here she was, stubbornly insisting even as her coach chewed her out.
No way she'd push this hard if it was just typical Eunjae antics—especially not now that her work ethic had improved.
"...You have to meet them?"
I shifted gears slightly. Eunjae nodded desperately.
"I'll give you 30 minutes. Back by 8:30. That enough?"
"Yessir! Thanks, Coach!"
"Late, and you're benched. No days off or outings after that. Don't be late."
"Got it!"
Eunjae bounced out with permission granted. But she didn't look all that thrilled leaving the room.
Meeting close friends worth invading weekday practice time—and her reaction was lukewarm?
A bit later, after dinner, I called out to one person lounging on the practice room sofa.
"Yuna."
"Yeah?"
"Let's talk a sec. Meeting room."
"Aw, I was resting..."
"Won't take long. C'mon."
I pulled Yuna aside alone, away from the others, and shut the meeting room door.
"What's this about?"
"Got a question. How's Eunjae been lately?"
"How's she been? What d'you mean?"
"Anything weird with her these days? Anything off from her usual—tell me whatever."
"Hmm... nothing specific... she takes calls a lot more?"
"With who?"
"Dunno. Just heads out to take them a bunch lately."
My suspicions thickened. Not just practice— even downtime in the dorm? And always outside, never on speaker inside?
Something was up.
"One favor."
"Huh? You asking me for a favor, Coach? Tickles. What?"
"She said she's meeting friends at 8. Tail her discreetly, see what she's up to. I'll cover practice time, no worries."
"You want me to stalk Eunjae?"
Yuna shot back incredulously. Fair—she even thought it was weird.
"She's been off lately. Just peek, and if it's nothing, come back. If it's bad, call me."
"Whoa... what, you some paranoid husband? If it's that serious, just tail her yourself."
"Coach tailing a teammate? If she finds out I suspected her and sent surveillance, it'll kill her trust. You can play it off as grabbing snacks during a break I gave. I've got no cover. Not sending naive Hayoung or blunt Sera. C'mon, you're the big sis—help me out."
Yuna scratched her head, clearly annoyed, then puffed her cheeks.
"Me tailing a high schooler. Fine, but you owe me protein later."
"Deal. Don't let her spot you. Please."
"Ugh..."
And at 8 p.m.—prime practice time, but using Eunjae's absence as cover—I declared a short delay and gave the others a break.
Right after Eunjae left, Yuna slipped out too, saying she'd be right back. I hoped my worries were overblown as I sorted files in the meeting room.
8:10. No word from Yuna yet.
8:20. Phone still silent. She'd call when it was time.
8:30. Eunjae's promised return time. Neither back.
8:40. Called Yuna—no answer. Same for Eunjae.
8:45. The other players started noticing their absence. Calls just piled up as missed.
And at 8:50.
My phone screen lit up with Yuna's name. Wondering what took her 20 extra minutes, I picked up.
"Hey, Yuna."
"Hello?"
"?!"
That wasn't Yuna's voice.
I pulled the phone from my cheek and double-checked the screen. Definitely her number.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Is this Kang Yuseong's phone?"
"Who the hell are you?"
My voice rose a notch.
"Are you Kang Yuseong?"
A gravelly male voice crackled through the line.
"Who the fuck are you!"