289. Yoo Eunha Interview
289. Yoo Eunha Interview
***
While someone who had lost the match was going through sorrow, the victor was conversely enjoying the corresponding joy, and the fans who had cheered for the victor were not much different.
With the overwhelming match result, the atmosphere of Serin's stream, which had been broadcasting the match, was running hot as well, and even donations were going off without pause.
......
Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
As a sound loud enough to make her ears ring filled the stream screen with donation messages, Serin and Eunwoo were busy just conveying their thanks for each donation.
"Thank you so much for the 500,000 won donation. Rin's fans seem to be absolutely thrilled about today's match as well, don't they?"
While Eunwoo conveyed his thanks for the successive donations with a slightly surprised expression,
"Ilyensia, thank you so much for that huge 500,000 won donation. And to everyone who donated after that, I'm sorry, but I'll be turning off the messages and sounds while the interview is going on."
Even as Serin spoke, her mind felt a little dazed.
She hadn't underestimated the TSJ fandom, and since she had expected today's match result, she had naturally expected that donations would go off to some degree.
But. Reality far surpassed that thought.
Since it was Eunha's return match, the viewer count had also hit a staggering 170,000 viewers, and in the third game's Gauntlet Match, the moment Eunha achieved an All-Kill with overwhelming play.
The viewers' donations went off so endlessly that she couldn't even run the stream properly because she was just conveying thanks.
It was as if they wanted to express their rising joy somehow, and were displaying it through donations on my stream.
'Just how much went off today?'
Just how much had she received in donations today alone? Normally she expressed thanks for donations but didn't pay them much mind.
But now she had received so much that she found herself pointlessly curious about exactly how much it was.
Perhaps because of that, she even felt a pointless sense of guilt toward the celebrity Seo Eunwoo while doing this collaboration stream. It wasn't that she hadn't paid him proper attention, but from the middle onward, the donation messages had kept her from properly looking after him.
"I'm sorry about your first stream. Today's broadcast is really chaotic, isn't it?"
When she spoke to him with an apologetic look, he shook his head as if to say it was not at all.
"No. It's something I fully expected. But I have to say, Rin's popularity is greater than I thought, and Jeanne d'Arc's performance was even more dazzling than I expected. Since the viewers are this passionate, I'm feeling good myself."
It could have come across as pretense, but he answered in a way that felt strangely sincere, and I found myself thinking, Is this what a celebrity is?
With a personality that seemed deserving of popularity, his looks, and just a few words, she could see the kind of person he was.
......
Afterward, when Eunha appeared at ACK Park on the screen after finishing the match, the announcer conducting the interview smiled brightly and opened her lips.
—Yes. With Jeanne d'Arc's dazzling performance even in the third set's Gauntlet Match, today's match has been led to a perfect victory for TSJ. Today we have a player we're seeing after a very long time, don't we? I'll bring in Jeanne d'Arc. Hello!
When announcer Choi Hyuna finished her greeting while looking at Eunha with a bright expression, Eunha took the microphone and opened her mouth in a calm tone.
—Yes. Hello.
The greeting she gave was just that one line, but
a thunderous roar erupted from the audience seats.
Woooooo!!
Yoo Eunha is so pretty!!
You're so pretty!!
Jeanne d'Arc! Jeanne d'Arc! Jeanne d'Arc!
At that, announcer Choi Hyuna looked at Eunha with a faint smile, as if newly surprised.
—Really... even at a simple greeting from Jeanne d'Arc, an incredible cheer is coming from the audience. I think this cheer must be the hearts of the fans who have missed Jeanne d'Arc all this time. The fans really must have waited a long time to see Jeanne d'Arc. First, could you say a word to the fans?
—First of all, even though I took a break mid-season, I'm so grateful to the fans who kept cheering for me and who came out to fill the stadium like this. I think today's good result came about thanks to all of your support.
Wooooooo!!
Jeanne d'Arc!!
As cheers erupted every time she finished speaking and the screen filled with the audience, Serin was involuntarily surprised even though she was only watching through a screen.
"TSJ really does have a lot of fans, I guess. You can feel the heat in those cheers, can't you?"
"Right? And since today is Jeanne d'Arc's return match, I understand the ticketing competition was absolutely insane too."
As they exchanged words partly to belatedly look after the celebrity while watching the screen, the interview continued to heat up.
—It's always amazing to see ACK Park this full of fans, but today feels even more amazing. Even though I'm not a player, I can genuinely feel the heat, you know? I think Jeanne d'Arc might account for about 90% of the audience seats. Jeanne d'Arc! What do you think, Jeanne d'Arc?
When announcer Choi Hyuna asked playfully, Eunha raised the corners of her lips slightly and looked around the audience once.
—Well. If they're still here after the match ended... honestly, didn't all of them come to see me?
At Eunha naturally playing along with the joke, laughter settled over the announcer and the audience.
Choi Hyuna smiled brightly and opened her mouth again.
—Today, Jeanne d'Arc showed such incredible performance that she received MVP in all three games. Could you also say a word about your thoughts on the victory?
—Yes, honestly, the BS team prepared their strategies so well today that I actually think we struggled a great deal compared to the 3:0 result. I think we were able to win because things went well from the middle of each game, but thinking back on it, the content of the matches was not easy at all. The BS team played really well.
Praise for the opponent with a faint smile. As Eunha, who had led the conversation with talk of struggling, calmly said they had struggled, the announcer made a slightly surprised expression.
Normally, the player Jeanne d'Arc conducted winner interviews with confidence in herself and praise for her teammates, but now, uncharacteristically, she was focusing on praising the opposing team and opposing players.
—For Jeanne d'Arc to praise the opposing team this much. Certainly, the BS team's use of multiple players and their strategies seemed amazing today as well. Is there perhaps one player on the BS side who you felt did particularly well or left an impression?
So normally, rather than talking about the losing team, the interview should have focused on the winning team, but Hyuna found herself asking because of Eunha's uncharacteristic behavior.
A pro player being mentioned directly from Jeanne d'Arc's own mouth.
Just that alone would have a positive impact on a pro player, she knew.
She wanted to give something, however small, to the BS team who had fought hard despite losing today.
As if reading the announcer's intent, Eunha continued in a calm tone.
—I think every player played well today, but if I had to name one, Baekya? I was impressed by the way she never gave up and kept trying until the end of every match.
—Baekya, as expected... But of course, TSJ's other players also played even better to produce this good result. Could you say a word about them?
Afterward, as Eunha said various things about her teammates, Serin, who was watching the interview broadcast through the stream, also found herself inadvertently seeing a different side of Eunha.
'Is it because it's her return match? Eunha seems even happier than before.'
In interviews and private settings up until now, she didn't seem to have spoken this warmly, but today she showed consideration for the opponent as well, which was a little surprising.
"Is it because it's her first interview in a while? Jeanne d'Arc seems to be handling it really well too."
Seo Eunwoo, too, was admiring every little thing as Eunha gave the interview in a more animated manner than usual, and Serin nodded along without thinking.
Even Serin could feel from Eunha's appearance during the interview that she was in high spirits.
—An interview that truly shows consideration for the opposing team, and even praising other players. It's been a while since I've interviewed Jeanne d'Arc, but she always seems like such a wonderful and beautiful player.
—Thank you.
When Hyuna praised Eunha to the fullest, the audience responded as well, but Eunha simply let it pass with a faint smile.
—Ah, from here on I'll be asking a few questions about the match content, but before that, Jeanne d'Arc, is there anything else you'd like to say?
Choi Hyuna, who had been continuing to speak, naturally pulled out the next card.
In every interview up until now, Eunha had said there was nothing, so she had naturally been reviewing the questions about the match content.
—Yes. There is.
Then Eunha gave an answer she had not expected at all.
For a moment, the announcer hesitated and looked at her with a slightly surprised expression.
—Ah, then, Jeanne d'Arc. You can share your thoughts or anything you'd like to say.
At that, Eunha straightened her posture as if deliberately, swept her hair back once, and looked straight at the camera as if facing it directly.
"How can even a small gesture like that be so pretty?"
Seo Eunwoo, who had completely adopted the mindset of a fan while watching the stream, purely admired that small gesture of Eunha's,
"...?"
while Serin, who was watching the stream, on the other hand, felt a strange sensation for a moment, as if she had made eye contact with Eunha.
'I really do have an overactive sense of self-importance.'
Eunha had simply looked at the camera, but Serin let out a hollow laugh at the thought that their eyes had met for no reason and shook her head. At that moment.
—The fans who came to the venue today are truly people I'm grateful for, but beyond them, there are also fans who cheer for me through various media and in various other ways, aren't there? Since I'm doing this interview as a return match, I'd like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to those other fans as well.
Eunha, who had softly begun to speak, smiled brightly, uncharacteristically for her, and her obsidian-like eyes sparkled.