The Coaching Session
"Ah, I've got something to tell you guys first."
Before taking on any students, there was a brief pause. Something I'd completely forgotten to mention.
"Because of work, my streams might get pretty irregular from now on."
Up until now, I'd done my best never to skip a broadcast. But with my personal schedule heating up, the odds of streaming only sporadically were looking high.
"So the reason I'm doing this coaching stream is basically me asking you guys to stick around. Please apply in droves. Well? Aren't I just the sweetest?"
"That's…"
Ugh. This is exactly why I can't stand the sharp ones. Don't just ambush me with facts like that. Cowardly.
"Ahem ahem, alrighty then~ So, anyone interested? Opportunities like this don't come around often, you know? A lecture from an actual celestial-tier ranker, you know? Dayo dayo."
Money-grubber. You go die. The chat was overflowing with every negative word imaginable.
And yet, the results told a completely different story…
……
…
.
"Pffft, why is the donation feed lagging."
Handshake requests were pouring in so fast the donation system was practically freezing up.
"Guys, are you all tsunderes or what? You say you hate it, but then this?"
"Whoever's spamming that they didn't apply… ah, here you are, right in the anonymous donations. You're just adorable~"
Why do people try so hard to hide what they really feel? Was it because they were embarrassed?
"Is this that classic little-kid urge to pick on the person you like? Hahat."
"Alright, I should get to it. But hey, you guys."
I stared at the donation list for a moment, lost in thought.
What was I supposed to do here? I'd switched to donations because too many people were applying in chat — but if this many people donated to apply, we were right back at square one.
There was only one ultimate decision left to make.
"No choice, then. I'll just take whoever donates the most… pffft."
"Whoa whoa, don't do that. I'm kidding. Heh."
Jokes ended there. I typed something into a search portal and pulled it up.
🔍 Pinball Ladder Roulette
Basically a pinball-style lottery. These days, most people on Jijijik used this for ladder draws.
"No complaints with this, right? I'll load in every ID that donated and spin it. Last one standing wins."
"Alright~ Starting now."
I hit the start button and tore open a bag of popcorn.
Clatter-rattle-rattle.
The pinballs began bouncing every which way as they dropped. I watched with genuine excitement, silently rooting for anyone to make it — and one by one, the eliminations started rolling in.
Joy and despair crossed paths between the survivors and the eliminated. The few remaining pinballs were now tap-dancing on the edge of the pit of hell.
And the winner was…!
"Bocchi's Sole wins~ Your nickname is genuinely precious. Pffft."
"Let's not use language that strong, okay? Sole, could you give me your Xcode ID?"
The moment the words left my mouth, an ID code popped up in chat.
Friend request accepted instantly. I dialed first, and the call connected almost immediately.
"Hello."
"Ah, hello…"
A guy's voice came through from the other end. Sounded pretty young, and a little timid?
I kinda want to mess with him.
"You're Bocchi's Sole, right?"
"Ah… ah, yes."
"Why so shy? Are you embarrassed by your own nickname?"
"I-I'm so sorryyyy…"
"Nooo~ I'm not asking you to apologize, I'm just curious! I don't mind at all. Heh."
"Hey, whoever just said that — don't dogpile people. That's a permanent ban, for real. Consider this your warning."
I'd never actually permanent-banned anyone before. But public shaming of a regular person? That needed to be handled seriously.
"Ahem ahem. So, you're a top-lane player, right?"
"Yes, I'm an Irelia one-trick."
"Nice. Mind if I ask about your KDA?"
"Over 547 games, average 0.78…"
"Good, good. You've already got the top-laner mindset locked in."
When I asked about his rank next, he said Bronze. A catastrophic KDA paired with an equally catastrophic tier.
It was a resume that looked completely hopeless, but…
"Excellent."
Who was I, again? Rank 9 on the Rell leaderboard at my peak (a little lower now thanks to game count), with mechanics people called better than the pros — that whole long thing.
Bocchi's Sole.
I will absolutely rehabilitate you.
Which is to say…
"I'll be your anata no sensei."
"Ah, yes… yes."
"You're ready, right? Heh."
"Yeees… hahahaha."
I declared his rehabilitation with total confidence. We jumped straight into spectate-and-feedback mode, and then…
"Uh, this isn't working?"
"Ah, I'm sorry…"
"Nooo… don't apologize, just…"
Five minutes into the game, the realization hit me.
"That's a free kill angle right now. QQQ off the minions and go in."
"Uh, how do I do that?"
"You can't see this angle? Haa……"
I… apparently had zero talent for teaching!
How do I put this.
I can do it, so why can't you?!
That was basically the loop I was stuck in right now.
Of course he couldn't do it — he wasn't me. …The problem was I had no idea how to actually teach him.
Ugh. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Before the game started, I'd planned to coach him with the same charismatic energy I used during end-of-month evaluations. Reality was not cooperating.
"Ah, I just got solokilled. S-sorry."
"Why didn't you go in when I said it was a free kill… ha."
And there went Bocchi's Sole, getting solokilled by the enemy yet again.
"Haa…"
At this point, all I could do was sigh.
"Haaaaaa… what am I supposed to do with this."
"…What do you mean he's doing great. Shut up. Shut up."
The teasing donations made my cheeks puff out for no good reason.
For human being Lee Jimin, this was a massive humiliation. The real problem was that no clear solution was presenting itself.
What do I do, what do I do — and then…
"…You wanna leave? I'm seriously so pi— ah."
I was about to snap, then stopped cold.
Wait. Should I actually try that? Given the current situation, that might genuinely be the answer.
And it wasn't completely ridiculous, either.
I mean… in manga and stuff, when the protagonist goes down, everyone around them yells "You can do it!" and then they spring right back up and beat the boss, right?
"Hoo."
Screw it. Full positivity meta. Let's go.
"Bocchi's Sole…"
I brought my lips close to the mic. And then, almost in a whisper, I continued.
"You can do this… I'm going to cheer for you from now on…"
"Ah, ah. Yeees…"