Project Shining Star (2)

To the viewers watching the audition via stream and the spectators crowding the in-game tournament channel, Lee Ha-young seemed like just the "least bad" out of the ten participants—not anything special.

But to me, she was a player who had a solid grasp on the flow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of play.

Others might not have seen it, but I did.

The fact that even in moments when she failed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to save an ally, her skill judgments were spot-on.

Every time Lee Ha-young raised her hand to heal, her target was always the one who needed it most in that situation.

Her reactions were slow, so she often failed saves by a beat against enemy attacks, and people mocked her for it every time—but I saw it differently.

'If I grind her hard and raise her right, she'll pull off tons of super saves.'

Even in terms of looks, which The Shine's chairman and Manager Kim valued so highly, she was passable enough to greenlight.

A bit plain, but with a pretty base face—she'd look way better dolled up.

Of course, plenty of prettier girls auditioned, but they weren't even pro material, so no need to consider them.

After jotting down scores and evaluations for Lee Ha-young, I watched several more participants, but none matched her level.

Two hours later, I stretched with a groan. Even though I'd only watched one game to the end, focusing on players' movements across a dozen matches had tired me out more than expected.

"Manager, mind if I take a quick break?"

"Do whatever's comfortable. I'll have them run some ads. Ten minutes enough?"

"Plenty. Thanks."

I stepped out of the game for a drink, then returned to people-watch in a quiet corner of the in-game lobby where participants and spectators clustered.

Some chatted endlessly with friends who'd joined them; others bantered with the growing crowd.

As I observed, someone snuck up behind me.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Wah!"

"Gah! You scared me!"

I whipped around, heart pounding from the jump scare.

Behind me stood a pink-haired girl with long locks, grinning ear to ear.

Kim Eunjae, the trainee from The Shine who'd said she wanted to try out for Shining Star.

"You're the guy from the interview, right? Fancy seein' you again!"

She clearly had no idea I was Shining Star's coach.

I calmed my racing heart with a deep breath before replying.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. A normal hello would've worked just fine..."

"Huh? Did I scare ya? Sorry! Everyone else says it's cute when I do it..."

Innocent or just wired weird? Hard to tell.

"You here for the audition too, Miss Eunjae?"

I played dumb.

"Yup!"

She nodded, still beaming brightly.

"Must be tense, but you look like you're having fun. Never lose that smile."

"Nah, not really?"

"Huh?"

"I'm super not in a good mood right now!"

"...?"

Her words and face didn't match—what now?

"But why keep smiling like that...?"

"The chairman said idols don't show angry faces in public!"

"... This is a pro gamer audition, not idols."

"Still gotta show my face to people! Can't let 'em see I'm pissed!"

"What got you so down?"

"The audition."

"Pardon?"

"Ugh, I was basically already on the team, but then the manager shows up like, 'Eunjae, you gotta audition too!' Know how much I practiced, cutting sleep? Manager's too much—feels like he hates me."

... That was my suggestion, actually.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Better not admit it—I'd catch hell.

"Worried about flunking?"

"Nah?"

"But you said you were in a bad mood..."

"I'd pass without auditioning, but manager doesn't trust me and makes me do it anyway! Heard it's the new coach's idea—don't care who he is, I wanna bash his smokes in!"

Bash his smokes?

Her rapid-fire rant left me dizzy, like my brain was getting sucked away.

Kim Eunjae suddenly gasped, finger to her lips.

"Oops! Sisters said don't say stuff like that around people! Keep the smoke-bashing quiet, pleeease! Promise? Break it and I'll bash yours! Hehe, kidding—you know that, right?"

Caught in her whirlwind logic—keeping smoke-bashing secret or else smoke-bashing—I just nodded blankly.

What the hell is this girl?

I was dying to know her deal.

Her current stats were lower than Lee Ha-young's. I'd need to see her play myself to judge properly, but they were underwhelming.

"Two minutes till break ends! Team 25 and 26 participants, get ready!"

A staffer handling in-game announcements shouted, and Kim Eunjae's head snapped around.

"Eek! I'm Team 26! Gotta go—keep that promise! Bye!"

She bolted into the crowd after her piece.

What a headache-inducing girl, I thought, heading back to the judges' room.

"I'm back, Manager. Let's start."

"Got it. Alright then..."

Manager Kim Ki-hyeon announced the resumption, and players began picking champions. With time before comps locked in, we chatted idly.

"Ran into Kim Eunjae outside just now."

"Oh? What'd she say?"

"Wanted to bash some smokes."

"...Pardon?"

I recounted the convo. Kim Ki-hyeon clutched his head with a sigh.

"Haa... Told her not to spout weird stuff in public... Sorry, Coach. She doesn't mean harm—her head's just... unique."

"She's quirky, sure. But I've seen worse; no biggie."

In top men's teams like BlackWings, finding sane players was harder. Her pretty face spouting crazy threw me at first, but BlackWings guys were just as bad, if not worse.

"If I deem her unfit, what's your plan?"

"No choice. Promised you full say on picks—I'm just participating. She'd be bummed since I pre-approved her blind, but no skill means no dice. My fault for hyping her; I'll smooth it over."

"Hope she's got the chops."

Personally, I was curious too.

First support? Tough position.

Her profile shocked me. First support reads the whole map—portals for backup, ganks, roams, map control. Pivotal role.

More farm than second support, but must build core items when needed, so farming prowess required.

Second support wards and scouts, dying often; first can't die much with core builds pending.

Demands every Eternal Combat skill—amateurs fare worse trying.

Let's see what she's got.

Kim Eunjae hemmed and hawed till pick time nearly ended, then selected Moon Priestess.

The in-game crowd and stream chats exploded the moment support Kim Eunjae picked Moon Priestess.

I was surprised too. Crowd and viewers saw troll pick; I knew it was strategic.

At this time, Moon Priestess was known only as a carry—and a weak one at that.

Ultra-long non-target stun was strong if landed, but too easy to dodge; "problem's the guy who gets hit."

Support picking a "bad carry" screamed troll to most.

But years later, she'd get reevaluated as support. Only I knew now.

Would Kim Eunjae troll as feared, or show future support potential? Game time.

Game start: She took Moonlight Arrow at level 1, waddling around poking.

She headed mid, firing at the enemy laner.

"Mommy!"

A massive arrow from fog spooked the enemy mid into dodging, dumping CS.

Sensible—longer range meant longer stun, and a hit meant free kill for their laner.

"Aww... missed."

"That bitch..."

Enemy mid cursed the level 1 harass.

No mid success, so top next. Her team had two, enemy offlaner one—already suffering.

As enemy offlaner reached for tower minions, her arrow whizzed by.

"Wah!"

Spooked, thinking support roam, he dumped CS and backed off.

"Hng, missed again."

"That fuck..."

Offlaner grinding teeth through early hell plus roams.

Kim Eunjae roamed non-stop (except quick line levels), sniping nerves with arrows. Poor accuracy, but fog arrows kept pulling aggro.

Level 6: Took Veil of the Moon.

"Over here. Group on me yo."

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Got ult—use it to dive bot."

"Huh? Moon Priestess ult at 6?"

Teammates incredulous.

Global stealth and speed buff. Solid but mana-hungry, short duration, no damage/utility in fights—rare level 6 pick.

Better max Q/W.

Hence carry stigma: better CS than roam stealthed.

But in my era, top gank tool—guaranteed first strike. Priceless in pro play.

Could save allies or stealth-gank warded spots.

Now? Mana sink, useless ult era.

Chats and crowd jeered.

"Support Moon Priestess wasn't enough? Ult at 6—how you gonna deal?"

"Eh... it's good tho. Stealth dive easy."

"No one... ugh, whatever. Bot dive? Own it if we flop."

Meanwhile, enemy bot: carry + support.

"No enemy line sight. Roaming again?"

"Yeah, warded—watch minimap."

"Extra ward hill ju—" "Ack!"

Enemy carry ate a forest arrow—Kim Eunjae's first hit. Never dreamed level 6 ult; caught slippin'.

Arrow lands—her four allies (sans her carry) emerge from shadows, diving.

Enemy bot panics, swept.

"That crazy Moon Priestess ulted at 6!"

"No Moon Priestess ults at 6!"

"Fucking bitch annoyed me since lane! Gonna kill her!"

Her wild play broke enemies—they fixated, mid + support hunting her relentlessly. Deaths piled.

Yet she grinned, hyping teammates: "We're gonna win, right?"

In yet another teamfight, focused again.

"Die, you bitch!"

"Waaah~"

She burst to mid combo, fountain-bound. But aggro-blinded enemies ignored her booming carry.

Late game: Constant dive threats stunted enemy carry; her pre-farm let theirs snowball.

Teamfights: She sniped from back, aggro'd—if chased, E + R escape.

Over-aggro'd enemies couldn't overcome carry gap—defeat.

"Heh, Eunjae skips dance for games?"

Manager Kim chuckled, pleased his trainee won.

"How was she, Coach Kang?"

"Yeah. Hit the first support basics solid."

No lip service. Shaky skillshots, bad wards limited vision—but pro material.

Key: Did all first support jobs. Roams, ganks, vision, aggro pull.

Mini-hexagon.

Stats below Ha-young, but gut said potential.

With guidance, stardom. Seen enough players to know.

And my instincts: She's a star. Girl?

I penned beside her profile: 7/10.

Matching Ha-young. Plus trainee status, looks—bonus points.

Team join near-certain.

She wouldn't really bash smokes, right?

This should build a decent team?

End of day one, optimistic.

No clue what insane folks awaited.