What’s Meant to Be Will Be
Setting aside the tension between Si-a and me, practice had gone surprisingly well.
"At this point, tomorrow should be fine."
"It was definitely worth having Hazy grind the early fights."
There had been a reason Red had told us to focus on the opening skirmishes. From what I’d gathered, the tournament awarded not only points for placement, but also one point per kill.
Since the winner was the team with the highest total after three matches, early combat skill would clearly matter quite a bit.
"Hyung, how did you even find that out? Is it okay to talk about on stream?"
"The organizers sent it out to all the team captains the day after registration closed."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It landed in my email too. That’s why I told you to practice early fights so much."
Red’s plan was to use our team’s strength to rack up kills in the opening fights, secure points that way, and then defend our standing through placement as much as possible afterward.
I was completely ignorant when it came to that sort of thing, so I decided to follow his lead exactly as he wanted.
"So, Hazy, what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"Si-a. Si-a!"
Si-a had already left the voice chat. Since practice was over, there was nothing strange about that, but compared to the usual setup, where Red and Killer Sniper would leave and Si-a would stay behind, the atmosphere definitely felt different.
And it was understandable. What was all that nonsense about a kiss at the end? Even if it had been hard enough for her to say she loved me, I’d gone and acted like I would, then said something else instead.
Our viewers had scolded me over Red’s remarks, asking how hard it could be to say I loved her once, but I ignored the chat scrolling by.
"For a fake marriage, she sure looks properly offended."
"If you don’t win tomorrow, it’s on Hazy."
"…Why is that my fault?"
"Because you couldn’t manage a single 'I love you.'"
-Mm-hm
-Red’s got a point
-No argument there
-If I were Luccia, I’d start with a full-on verbal massacre lol
-What was that kiss thing again?
I’d been too embarrassed to say I loved her, so when I suddenly thought of words starting with “s,” that was all I could come up with. That didn’t mean I’d handled it well, of course.
Still, what was I supposed to do now? Judging from Si-a’s reaction, this might take a while to smooth over.
"How am I supposed to fix it?"
"You say you love her."
"Exactly."
"You guys are just saying that because you’re fake-marriage shippers, aren’t you?"
"Tch. This is why I hate sharp little brats."
As expected, the toxic shippers were everywhere.
"Anyway, I do need to make up with her, but I’m still thinking about how."
"Just say sorry and say you love her. That’s all it takes, and you’re going around it in circles."
"You really are taking the long way."
-lol, for real
-If Si-a hears an excuse, she’ll probably hate it even more lol
-Absolutely lol
-So how are you two even going to handle married-couple fights?
After some more pointless chatter like that, the final practice session came to an end. All that was left now was to show everything we had at tomorrow’s tournament.
"Ah, I’m planning to go to Element Agency and start the stream there."
-Not bad
-That way there won’t be any cheating suspicions either
-Oh, but won’t Luccia be going to Element Agency tomorrow too?
-Luccia didn’t say anything about it
"Si-a has a cam, so there’s no real reason for her to come."
With that, I wrapped up the stream with my usual sign-off. After hitting end broadcast, what was left in me was a mix of nerves about the tournament and worry about Si-a.
What else could I do? I’d sleep on it and think later. With that thought, I cleaned up and threw myself onto the bed.
*
Some days are like that.
You wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, check the time, and realize you’re about to be late for work. That was me today.
I wasn’t late, exactly, but I’d woken up bright and early, showered, and finished getting ready for work ahead of schedule. I’d even eaten breakfast, and by some stroke of luck a seat had opened up on the subway, so I got to ride comfortably.
Right. I arrived at the office entrance like that, and things were fine.
"Si-a."
"Who are you?"
Why was Si-a here?
"Oh, so it’s the famous Hazy today? Did you come here to stream?"
"No, listen to me for a second…."
"Well, go on up. I’ve got something else to do, so I’ll be off."
Hmph!
With that, she made a point of broadcasting just how much she was still sulking, then walked past me and slipped quietly out the door.
…What was that? Why was she acting like that? I mean, sure, I knew why, but did that really mean she had to come all the way to the office today? Was there some meeting scheduled or something?
While I was thinking that over, I got into the elevator and headed up to the fourth floor. Avoiding the occupied rooms, I went into an empty one. When I switched on the light, the streaming equipment came into view.
"Good thing I came early."
I’d come with time to spare so I could get the setup sorted in advance, and it really looked like that had been the right call.
…Or was it, since I’d run into Si-a? No, maybe it was good that I’d run into her. Honestly, I didn’t know anymore.
For now, I needed to finish setting up. Once that was done, I’d start the stream and loosen up my hands a bit.
-Huh? Why are you starting stream so early today?
-Isn’t the tournament in the evening?
-Oh, cam’s on
-At last, the face of Si-a’s ideal type is revealed
"Si-a’s ideal type? With the guy who made Si-a angry standing right next to him."
-lol
-Still not made up, huh?
"I ran into her at the entrance earlier, and she still wasn’t over it."
-You’re done for.
-They say if a woman really holds a grudge, frost can fall in May, Hazy….
-At this point, you have to say you love her. There’s no other way.
"Then I would’ve done it when fifty grand was on the line."
After turning on the stream and chatting for a bit, I booted up the game. I needed to warm up.
More or less, it went fine. I’d only brought my mouse pad and mouse from home, but because of that, there wasn’t much of a sense of mismatch. It felt almost the same.
While I was in the middle of practice, a message came in on Discord. When I checked who it was, it turned out to be Red.
"Oh, you’re already practicing?"
"Yeah. I was warming up and getting used to the setup."
"Nice. You’re at Element Agency now, right?"
"Yeah."
While I was talking with him, a question crossed my mind.
"Hyung, were you nervous when you played your first match as a pro?"
"Nervous? Of course. I’m human too."
"Really?"
"Why, are you nervous right now?"
"I think so. My heart feels like it’s beating a little fast."
It wasn’t just my imagination; my whole body really did feel a little tighter than usual.
Maybe because this was the first time I’d ever entered a tournament as a streamer, it was definitely harder than usual to settle my nerves.
"What, you’re worried you’ll mess up the opening fights?"
"How did you know?"
"How do you think? It’s obvious at a glance."
-lol
-Experience speaking?
-Yeah lol
-The frog remembering its tadpole days
-Pure essay material lol
Red already knew exactly what I was worried about. Then, as if it were nothing, he said, "Don’t worry. There’s nothing you can’t do."
"How can you be so sure?"
"You did fine in practice too, didn’t you? What do you think the people we were beating in practice were like?"
Even if my own tier was low, Red and Killer Sniper were near the very top, and Si-a’s rank was also high.
When I looked at it that way, everyone I’d been scrimming against up until yesterday had been stronger than me.
"You beat people who were higher tier than you."
"That’s true, I guess."
"How many people in this tournament do you think are above that tier?"
"Not many, probably."
"Then if you think of the people better than that as the ones Red and Killer Sniper will handle, the rest are yours to beat."
"…I suppose so?"
The more I listened, the more I found myself getting pulled in. Was this hypnosis? No, was this why people fell into cults?
-There it is, Red’s patented wind spirit mouth technique lol
-Seriously, the man can talk
-I still haven’t seen anyone escape after hearing this lol
-Because there aren’t any lol
"What did I say our goal was last time?"
"To win?"
"I’m telling you, you can do it! Don’t get nervous! Think of everyone as below you!"
Red’s words gave me confidence. When I thought about it, he wasn’t wrong, which probably made it even easier to believe. He said he had some business to take care of and disappeared for a while afterward.
"Let’s go, let’s go!"
-He’s a master at making legendary scenes in situations like this, isn’t he?
-lol, for real
-Big match only, big chest only
-One big match, one iconic scene
-Hey, if you try once and succeed once, that’s a hundred percent lol
I lightly slapped my cheek until it made a sharp sound.
The stinging sensation made my stray thoughts vanish all at once.
I’d practice a little more, then rest. After that, once everyone had gathered, I’d go over the game plan one last time.
That was what I decided.
-Creak.
"……"
"…Hi?"
At the sound of the door opening, I turned around and saw Si-a peeking in with only her head visible.
Her eyes were still fixed on me with that sulky look, and I had nothing to say at first except hello.
"…Hi."
"Are you streaming here today?"
Shake, shake. At my question, Si-a shook her head to say no. Her expression still hadn’t softened, so she really did seem to be holding a grudge.
"Then are you going to go home and stream?"
"……."
Nod, nod. Yeah, if not that, then no. A single word would have been enough, but she couldn’t even manage that, and I couldn’t begin to guess just how upset she was.
Still, was it really worth staying this angry over? If I said anything about that now, it would definitely make her even more upset.
I decided to apologize first.
"I’m sorry."
"…For what?"
"Everything. All of it."
For saying it seemed like I was telling her I loved her without meaning it.
For saying it as if I thought I could tell her I loved her in any situation.
For acting like I was going to say I loved her, then dodging the moment with something else instead.
All of it.
I’m sorry.
At my words, the sharpness in Si-a’s glare softened around the edges. Had my sincerity gotten through?
"If saying sorry fixed everything, why would we need police and judges?"
"…I’m sorry."
"An apology is an apology, and I want to see some sincerity."
"Sincerity? How?"
At my question, Si-a opened the door and stepped into the room. Then she took the earbud out of my ear and whispered right into it.
"If you win today, then at the very end of your victory speech, tell me you love me."
And with the ticklish breath brushing my ear, I hurriedly pulled back to the opposite side of her.
Si-a looked at me like she was delivering her final ultimatum and said, "I’ll make sure we win somehow, so be ready. Got it?"
…Yes.
---