Division 3 Winter Season (1)
Seona and Hayoung's suspension was lifted that very day.
Like the ground hardening after rain, the two put their fight behind them as if it had never happened, growing even closer than before. They chattered nonstop during breaks, meals, and workouts, never apart for a second.
Excluding Kim Seon-woo, Hayoung was too kind-hearted to truly hate anyone, and Seona later explained that she'd only snapped from exhaustion after Hayoung's constant rejections—she wasn't actually mad at her.
That probably helped them reconcile so quickly.
"Tch, after fighting like that, now it looks like they're dating."
I shared Yuna's sentiment. The pair seemed extra clingy, perhaps as a rebound from not speaking for a whole month.
"Things are okay between you two back at the dorm now, right?"
They looked fine, but I asked just to be sure.
"Okay? They've got so much to talk about, they won't shut up even when we're all trying to sleep. The night they made up, Seona went to Eunjae and asked to switch rooms back—said she wanted to sleep with Hayoung."
"Yeah, yeah, I felt left out then. I could've joined the gossip too."
"Just let them be for now. Friends that close don't fight like that lightly—they must have a ton to get off their chests. Let them talk it out and clear the air."
From what I'd heard, Yuna had her own room originally, with Seona-Hayoung and Sera-Eunjae paired up. After Kim Seon-woo's visit, Hayoung had swapped with Sera.
Now that they were reconciled, they were back to their original roommate setup.
That evening, I gathered all the players in the meeting room.
To discuss the upcoming winter season.
We'd joined the Division 3 league winter season later than everyone else.
Our record was a dismal 0-4, dead last.
A couple more losses, and promotion/relegation matches would be out of reach—we couldn't even afford draws.
"Full sweep."
I said it after assembling everyone.
Win all 14 remaining games. That was pretty much our only shot at the playoffs.
"Approach every match like we need to win them all. You know our situation sucks. I'm cranking training intensity way up—no comparison to now.
It's gonna hurt, but for us to catch up and make playoffs, it's essential. Stick with it—no falling behind."
"But... even if we grind from now, can we overcome four losses?"
"We can. Four losses still leaves a playoff shot. You girls can pull it off. We're 0-4 not from skill gaps, but lack of team unity."
"Sorry..."
Seona and Hayoung bowed their heads in unison. After a month of cold war exploding into a full-on catfight, they'd dramatically reconciled thanks to Seona's mother's bold intervention. They knelt like sinners, hands clasped tightly.
"Water under the bridge—don't dwell. But you two especially, give 110% in practice. For the team and the others."
"Yes!"
"Your mains are maxed on skill specialization now, so expand your champion pools. We lost to Peacemaker in playoffs partly 'cause our safe picks were too limited.
To avoid that, champion pools are key. Yuna, Eunjae, Sera—you've been practicing alts with me, right? Coming along?"
"Yeah. But these champs are... super hard."
"Mine too. I get so confused using them, I lose track of everything."
"Really? Felt easy to me."
Yuna smirked smugly. I set her straight.
"Eunjae and Sera's practice champs are notoriously tough—even top league pros struggle with them.
But the payoff's huge, so keep at it. I'll oversee. Yuna, yours is straightforward—don't get cocky. Needs finesse too."
"Tch, never a straight compliment."
"Win the next match, and you'll get one."
"Watch me!"
I turned back to Seona and Hayoung. With their fight and mental crashes, they were behind. Time for new weapons—fast.
"Seona, Hayoung."
"Yes?"
"You're a month late, so you'll train exclusively with me for a bit. The champs I'll teach are Eternal Combat's infamous nightmares. Not easy—brace yourselves."
"Yes!"
"We'll work super hard!"
As they absorbed my words, the status window popped up, setting a second objective.
Complete the second goal you set yourself.
Goal: Women's Division 3 League Regular Season 1st Place.
Reward: Players' growth speed increases. Bonds with players deepen.
On Failure: All players' mentality and teamwork plummet. Risk of being unable to continue as coach.
...The failure penalty felt harsher this time?
I pulled everyone into custom games.
"Yuna, Eunjae, Sera—practice your new champs first. Yuna, build passive stacks with Sera as enemy. Eunjae, assist Yuna."
"Ugh... gonna get wrecked again. Sera hits extra hard—does she hate me?"
"I don't."
"Hehe, don't worry, unnie. I'll heal you up."
The trio trained separately...
The laggard fighters.
"One more time: your champs are brutally hard. Hayoung's especially. I'll drill you hard to catch up—ready?"
"Don't worry!"
"We can do it...!"
"Synergy, skillshots, mana management for Seona—all crucial. Basics, item builds first, then joint practice."
Three hours later.
"Hurk... blaaargh!"
"Urk... ugh... bleeech!"
Motion sickness hit hard—they vomited dramatically. Seona's was so bad, she bolted from the capsule to the bathroom, puking in reality too.
But as warned, no mercy in training. Minimal breaks only, within physical limits. I drilled them mercilessly, overseeing the others' new champ practice in between.
Back to Seona.
"Seona, what're you doing! Skill's off cooldown! Weave autos every cool—don't waste!"
"You just double-tapped skills, no auto! Skill-auto-skill-auto! Get it!? No-auto skill spam loses tons of DPS!"
"Ult there!? Save mana for escape! If you can't catch, bail—no regrets! Death loses item stacks!"
"No survival greed! Items are form! No way out? Burn 'em and suicide! Gonna feed all that gold and XP!?"
Hayoung too.
"Afterimage where!? 45 degrees forward means you can't be there! Position so you, image, enemy align straight—then skill!"
"No! Pull, don't kick! Seona's hooked and pulling—your stun overlaps, wasting CC! Silence to shut down counter, kick on stun expiry!"
"Save one image for emergencies! No path image slows dash, shortens range!"
"Not laning—who places images openly!? No advertising! Post-lane, hide images—they can't react!"
Over three hours, my nonstop yelling made their faces crumple as they gritted teeth and rolled.
Seona, post-puke, gasped and clutched my sleeve.
"It's... too dizzy... hurk... hard to follow... Coach, demo please?"
"Me too... ugh... world spinning... just once..."
Their trembling pleas moved me.
"Wish I had two bodies for live synergy demo. I'll show basics—watch close. Memorize visually. Can't keep up, speak. Seona first."
I switched to Seona's practice champ, channeling years of pro muscle memory—like old matches.
Ult dash, auto, scatter images auto, ult beside auto, hook pull auto, ult auto, images auto. All in under 3 seconds. Finished, squeezed mana to safe zone.
'Tch, rusty from no pro play? Not crisp—2 seconds back then.'
Even demonstrating, I wasn't satisfied. Solo queue vs. team scrims felt worlds apart.
"See how?"
"......"
They gawked, mouths agape. Seona, needing this in real fights, just stared blankly.
"Seona, did you see?"
"Kinda... but sequence...?"
"That's what to watch—not sightseeing! Again till you track my skill order."
I demoed repeatedly till she got it visually.
"Got it! Ult-auto-1-auto-ult-auto-2-auto-ult-auto! Right!?"
"Yes. Why delay 2?"
"1's short CD—turn it first, pull back as they flee for distance, buy time to smack!"
"Spot on. Internalize, then execute. Hands tangle at first, but drill till it clicks. Hayoung."
"Yes!"
"Synergy varies, can't show all with one body. We'll loop my last play—you practice your part."
"Got it!"
I switched to Hayoung's champ, looping my prior play for her to team with.
"No stun needed—enemy silenced by item, helpless dummy. Close gap—better accuracy up close. Now—I'm pulling? Stun center as they get sucked. Instant follow-up, locked down."
I taught silence vs. stun timing, distance travel times—everything.
"Stun, then ult. Fleeing? Pull image for silence. Sync practice now. Seona, recall my patterns. Hayoung, judge fast."
"Yes!"
"I'll check others—30 minutes, practice."
Yuseong left, and Hayoung and Seona poured everything into champ skills and synergy.
His demos were blindingly swift, precise, elegant—hard to mimic even watching. How long to approximate? Sweating buckets, they pushed nonstop.
30 minutes up, Yuseong finished with the others.
"Huff... huff... rest till Coach comes?"
"Huff... yeah... dying here... huff... lie down quick."
Hayoung flopped first; Seona followed.
Seona turned to her.
"Hayoung."
"Yeah?"
"We sidelined Yuna unnie, Eunjae, Sera's training."
"Yeah... my stubbornness tanked team vibe and record..."
"No, my fault too. Anyway, wanna repay them somehow?"
"Yeah. Failing promo 'cause of us? I'd die."
Hayoung eyed the trio guiltily.
"Seona."
"Yeah?"
"Let's win. Apologize and repay Coach and everyone. Division 2, no matter what."
Seona grinned.
"Yeah, let's crush it."
The girls clasped hands on the floor.