Division 3 Winter Season (4)
The players' drive ahead of the Peacemaker match was overflowing more than ever before.
Cha Yuna, who harbored a ton of grudges against them, went without saying, but even the usually demure Lee Ha-young and Shin Sera were throwing themselves into practice like their lives depended on it, bodies practically burning up.
The gap between the fifth match against Dolphin eSports and this sixth one against Peacemaker wasn't that long, so time was short—that played a part too.
I had my own burning desire to crush Peacemaker underfoot, and above all, having started the season with four losses, there was no way to complete the quest I'd set for myself without going undefeated from here on out.
Yeah, the quest.
There was no other way to explain this status window.
Given the similarity between the item called Passfinder and the crystal ball I'd received from that homeless man in Paris that day, it was clear this regression was due to that orb.
This status window that floated above my head—or the players'—and vanished at will was definitely its influence too...
Having given up on pondering what it was or how this had happened, I just accepted it and focused on completing the quests it gave me.
Before, I'd just thought of it as an annoying busybody nitpicker, but after it helped smoothly resolve the massive blowup between Seon-ah and Ha-young last time, I didn't hate it quite so much.
Of course, turning my bold claim of starting 0-4 and still taking first place into a quest, forcing me onto this hellish path overnight, was pretty infuriating. But what could I do? I'd been the one to say it.
Sometimes I wondered if I should've aimed lower, but the pride of a former top-tier pro gamer wouldn't settle for anything less than first.
Besides, our girls had grown so remarkably that they were more than capable of claiming the top spot.
At least this quest was clearer than the last one from my academy league days, where the mysterious item Passfinder had just dangled itself as the reward.
Complete your self-imposed secondary goal.
Objective: 1st place in Women's Division 3 regular season.
High Difficulty Reward: Players' growth speed increases. Bonds with players deepen.
Failure Penalty: All players' mental stats and teamwork plummet sharply. Risk of being unable to continue as coach.
Players' growth speed increases. No idea how it'd do that—maybe zap some flashes of inspiration into their heads or something?
Anyway, the method didn't matter; what mattered was that the girls could grow faster.
The issue was the second reward. "Bonds with players deepen"—that phrasing was awfully vague.
Like, was it gonna build some rainbow bridge between me and the girls or what...?
But before worrying about that, I had to stress over the penalty first.
Being a high-difficulty quest, the penalty was harsher too: I might not even be able to coach anymore.
It probably tied into what Manager Kim Ki-hyeon had said during the peak of Seon-ah and Ha-young's fight.
Chairman Lee Man-su had been furious enough to try firing me.
Thank goodness the manager had blocked it somehow—otherwise, I might've been unemployed on the spot.
Even if I got fired, teams from Division 1 would be desperate to sign me as a player, so finding a new squad would be a breeze. But getting booted for incompetence? That was utterly unacceptable—a total trashing of my pride as a former elite pro.
Me, with 11 domestic league wins, 3 season majors, and 3 TIC championships, sacked for lacking coaching chops?
Not even if you beat me to death.
To save the girls and myself, I had no choice but to grind them mercilessly.
Thanks to that, they were suffering through high-intensity training that left their limbs trembling—for the first time in a while.
###
After practice, during dinner time.
We were all eating together at the company cafeteria, and I was lounging on the sofa for a quick rest when Seon-ah poked her head over mine.
"Coach."
"You again, Seon-ah?"
"What, you hate it?"
"Who said that? What's up this time?"
"Mom wants to talk to you."
At that, I bolted upright. No matter the reason, you always had to be cautious on calls with players' parents. I'd heard plenty of stories from my playing days about parents storming the team over one wrong word.
Especially since this was the CEO of SA Electronics under Korea's top conglomerate SA Group—the mother of Seon-ah, who'd been a huge help resolving her fight with Ha-young. Etiquette came naturally.
"Yes, ma'am. Seon-ah's handed me the phone."
"Hello, Coach. How have you been?"
"Thanks to you, I've been coaching with peace of mind. What can I do for you?"
"Oh, nothing major. I was wondering if you had time sometime—I'd like to treat you to a meal."
"Pardon? Why treat me to dinner all of a sudden..."
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Hey, kid, read the room! I'm on an important call!
"I heard from Seon-ah. She said you went all out to fix things when she was struggling so much. And if you hadn't suggested we meet back then, I still wouldn't know what happened with her."
"You've been guiding our girl so well—I want to show my gratitude at least. If it's okay, check your schedule and let me know a good date. As a mom, I have to do something for a great coach like you."
"Ah, th... yes, thank you so much, ma'am. I'll check my dates and text you."
"Sure. Seon-ah will come too, so the three of us can have a simple meal. Check your schedule and text me later."
"Yes, ma'am. Take care."
A CEO of SA Electronics personally inviting me to dinner? It felt surreal, hard to believe. And the fact that this powerhouse was Seon-ah's mom, standing right in front of me with wide eyes? Even harder.
"What'd Mom say?"
"She wants to treat the three of us—you, me, and her—to a simple dinner... Did you tell her everything that happened after that?"
"Yeah. She said she'd meet Ha-young and her mom separately for a meal too, but I didn't expect her to invite you. Mom's so busy, she doesn't make time often. Anyway, you said yes, right?"
"Of course. She offered first—turning her down flat would be rude. You're coming too, yeah?"
Seon-ah shrugged.
"It's been ages since Mom and I went out alone together. Plus, I'm curious what she'll say to you..."
"What, you think it'll be some heavy talk? So, you'll match whatever date I pick?"
"Obviously. So, when we going?"
I pulled up the full season schedule, including our matchups, from the website link open to all participating teams.
"Only time that works is this stretch? Christmas break."
I traced my finger over the last week of December, including the 25th.
Summer season had a one-week break after Round 1 before Round 2, and every season included that mid-break.
Winter season, though, spanned Christmas and New Year's, so the last week of December around Christmas and into January's New Year period got a slightly longer rest than usual.
Between Round 1 Week 4 and Round 2 Week 1.
Our schedule showed we'd play through Round 1's eighth match, rest, then jump straight into the ninth and into Round 2.
Seon-ah's face got this subtle look at "Christmas."
Like she was hiding something...
She cleared her throat twice and nodded.
"Fine. Yeah, thinking about it, no other dates work. Hmm, Christmas... Christ... ahem, ahem! Nothing. Uh, I'll tell Mom?"
"Nah, I'll text her."
"Got it. So, 25th it is. And... C-Coach, you gotta dress sharp! Even if it's my mom, she's a company CEO! S-So dress formally that day, okay?!"
"Sheesh, worrying about everything. You think I don't know how to dress up just 'cause I go around like this? Don't sweat it."
"Good then..."
Seon-ah mumbled as she headed to the capsule room.
And with that, another day passed—match day against Peacemaker had arrived.