You Were Always Good At It
I was completely exhausted after a broadcast that had run much longer than usual. I didn't usually stream for very long, so it was true that my stamina was weaker than other streamers'.
Man... this is when you need sugar.
I'd played too many games and my brain felt fried from overusing it. On top of that, I'd been constantly watching my teammates' reactions and squeezing in commentary between plays.
Whenever we did a collab broadcast, my mind always ended up this scattered. The room was stiflingly hot, so I dashed out to the living room and yanked open the freezer.
I pulled out an ice cream bar, tore off the wrapper, and shoved the whole thing into my mouth.
“Mmm~!”
So good.
The cool, sweet chestnut flavor felt like it was sweeping all my stress away in one rush. My frozen brain slowly started turning again.
I licked at the ice cream that was already starting to melt in the warm weather. As I went to toss the silver wrapper into the trash, a memory from our last date suddenly popped into my head.
...We ate one of these together at that ice cream shop back then, too.
It hadn't been that long ago, but for some reason it felt like it happened ages ago. Why was that?
The time I spent apart from him always felt so long.
Was it because I missed him that much?
“...Maybe I should call him.”
Just thinking about it made me want to hear his voice, no matter what.
The best thing would probably be going straight to his house. But I couldn't do that.
It was only a five-minute walk since we lived in the same building, but showing up because I suddenly wanted to see him would be way too much of a bother.
No matter how you looked at it, my stream always ended at night. Calling this late might be imposing, too.
Of course, he probably wasn't asleep at this hour.
I hesitated for a moment, but desire won out over fear. I grabbed my phone.
First, I'd casually text to see if he was even awake.
I headed back to my room with my phone and the ice cream, then flopped down on the bed. I didn't have to wait long for his reply.
Just as I thought, it wasn't his usual bedtime yet. I cheered internally and started typing rapidly with my thumbs.
Good grief, this guy.
What other reason would I have for calling at this hour?
I could never tell if he was sharp or completely clueless.
Even typing it in chat made me feel embarrassed. I really should be getting used to this kind of thing by now.
Maybe my answer had pleased him. He said he'd call right away and actually did it immediately.
Wait! Who just calls like that with no warning?
You have to give a girl time to prepare herself!
“Hoo...”
I placed a hand over my chest to calm my wildly beating heart, then swallowed the ice cream still in my mouth and picked up the call.
“Hello…? Oppa…?”
“Uh… Yuna.”
Neither of us had much experience talking on the phone privately. And this was the first time we'd ever called without any particular reason.
It would have been strange if things didn't feel a little awkward. But it was the kind of awkwardness I didn't mind at all—in fact, I quite liked it.
“What were you doing? I didn't wake you up, did I?”
His voice sounded a bit husky, which made me worry. I'd feel terrible if I'd actually interrupted his sleep.
“No. I just turned off your stream a little while ago.”
“I figured. Did you enjoy it today?”
Come to think of it, he was just another viewer. Hearing his honest feedback in person might be better than reading it in chat.
“Yeah, it was fun. It was the last one, and there weren't any sluggish games today.”
That was definitely true. Haju had been overwhelmingly good today, so the games had flowed smoothly and satisfyingly.
“Right? And our team's gotten a lot better, haven't they? At first it was honestly a disaster.”
“I agree. The first time I joined your collab, I thought I was going to die from frustration.”
“Just hearing you say that makes me dizzy again. Seriously.”
He laughed as he spoke, like the memory had come back to him. Thinking about that first collab day made my head spin, too.
Since I'd never played much with low-tier players, their plays had been almost impossible for me to understand. But they weren't doing it on purpose, so it felt wrong to say anything.
“Still, we're meshing pretty well now. Haju gives good shotcalling.”
“He does. If we keep playing this well, we might actually have a shot at winning.”
Honestly, I'd thought winning would be too much to hope for at first. I'd felt that way many times, but after watching today's games, everyone really wasn't bad at all.
I wasn't sure if it was because they'd improved so much compared to before, but that's how it felt.
“But Haju was seriously insane today. He hard-carried all five games.”
“He really did.”
The chat had been full of the same reactions, and I had to admit what was obvious. He'd played incredibly well today.
There were moments in the early games where the team struggled and it got shaky, but now it seemed like he was in the mindset of carrying everything himself.
“From the very first game, that dragon fight—he created the whole teamfight by himself and carried. The second game, that Baron call was absolutely brilliant too.”
“...Yeah.”
“And that last game, the griefing really snowballed everything, didn't it?”
“It did.”
“The way he calculated the enemy jungler's pathing and went for the counter-jungle was crazy. He played so well. Is this what Challenger looks like?”
I knew Haju had played amazingly. Anyone watching would have seen it.
To someone like Oppa who actually knew the game, it must have looked incredible. The world was full of only the best, after all.
But... but... why was I getting so annoyed?
Every time Oppa kept praising Haju, an unpleasant feeling boiled up from deep in my chest. It wasn't that intense—just a small, nagging irritation.
Like the frustration of a support accidentally taking a cannon minion, I guess.
“...So how did I do?”
I asked with a hint of expectation in my voice.
“You? You were always good at it.”
That was it?
He'd been so excited talking about Haju's plays, and for me it was just “You were always good at it”?
Wasn't that a bit too much?
His half-hearted answer left me feeling hurt.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“...Whose stream did you even watch?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
He sounded flustered by my out-of-nowhere question. It felt like a kid who'd brought home a perfect score only to hear their parents say, “You always do well.”
Had he really not been paying attention to my plays at all?
But you're my viewer. How can you be so indifferent toward me?
I... I played really well too. I won most of my bot lane matchups, at least.
Maybe it just wasn't flashy enough to stand out.
“Why have you been praising Haju the entire time we've been on the phone?”
This wasn't why I'd called him. Somehow, a pouty tone slipped into my voice.
The hurt in Yuna's voice finally snapped me back to reality. As a gamer, it was only natural to be impressed by Haju's performance today.
That's why I'd gotten carried away talking about it without thinking. I hadn't realized it would upset her.
“Ah... Did I get too excited and talk too much by myself?”
When I apologized, Yuna let out a small sigh.
“...Should I start hosting Haju's stream from now on?”
Hey. That's going too far!
She was basically denying all the affection I had for Uni's channel.
“No, that's not what I meant. You guys played so well that I just got excited... I'm sorry.”
But Haju really did play amazingly. Was that something to get upset about?
I genuinely couldn't understand Yuna's reaction. Even if your friend was a soccer player, you wouldn't get upset if someone praised the team's ace, right? You'd probably be happy about it.
“Whatever. It doesn't mean anything if you say that now.”
But her voice was still full of that same hurt tone. I felt a cold sweat run down my back for no reason.
Ah, this is exactly why I didn't want to call.
“Yuna. Are you upset? I'm sorry.”
“...That's not it, Oppa. Don't you know why I'm acting like this?”
I don't, that's why I'm asking.
Can't you just tell me the answer?
This isn't a quiz show.
When I stayed silent, Yuna spoke up first.
“You're a Uniz, right?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Then who played better today—me or Haju?”
There's no such thing as that.
Being a fan is one thing, and playing well is another.
That's what I wanted to say, but I kept my real thoughts buried deep.
“Obviously you.”
“Then do you get it now?”
Only then did I finally understand why she'd gotten upset.
...Come to think of it, I hadn't praised her at all.
Uni had always been good, so I hadn't felt the need to say it out loud. Plus, it would have felt awkward praising her directly.
“Alright, I'll give you another chance. How was my play today?”
What should I say?
I'd spammed tons of compliments in chat, but now that she was asking me directly, I had no idea what to do.
“You were kind of like Faker today?”
The first person who came to mind when thinking of someone good. But Faker's a mid laner, you idiot.
Watching Yuna fall completely silent at my answer, I felt like clutching my head in despair.