Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Folded
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Victory had always been wildly popular.
Popular enough that there were even people who knew of him without knowing the name of the game he played—Teamfight Arena.
And then he put on that insane performance.
Gathering countless viewers, he dodged every single skill while proving it was possible for a human to do so without hacks.
And to top it all off, he dropped that bombshell: "Jeon Jeonseol is the only one I've ever acknowledged as better than me at this game."
The whole world was dying to know more about Jeon Jeonseol, the star of the story.
It wasn't just curiosity—they were going mad with it.
📰 Breaking News [Author: Anonymous] [Title: Just what kind of monster is this Jeon Jeonseol girl anyway?] — Anonymous Victory's been talking about her like he already knew her forever. Where the hell was she hiding until now? — Anonymous ↳ Reply Victory vs. Jeon Jeonseol for real? My heart's swelling up. ↳ Reply -No way- ↳ Reply Isn't "-No way-" turning into a boomer meme now? ↳ Reply But it fits the situation so perfectly lol — Anonymous What does it feel like to be acknowledged by the top of the world? — Anonymous ↳ Reply Fuck, I wanna join a team now. ↳ Reply Lol yeah, good luck. You'll never escape Bronze hell. 💬 Comments 📰 Breaking News [Author: WatchOverJeonWooSeungBro] [Title: Caught Jeon Woo-seung smiling at the mention of Jeon Jeonseol—GIFs incoming] (Jeon Woo-seung smiling GIF 1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Seeing hyung smile like that is driving me insane, heart pounding and all, but then realizing that smile's for someone else not me makes me wanna lose my mind, chest hurts, feels like I'm about to burst into tears for real.
— Anonymous [Quality post] — Anonymous Crazy bastard — Anonymous Gaygay (gay gay)... — Anonymous This dude's actually gay? Ffs — Anonymous Jeon Woo-seung is too cute ㅠㅠㅠ — Anonymous Ugh, got owned by that gender again ↳ Reply Did that gender own you? ↳ Reply Feels like the gays got me, fuck — Anonymous Please say you're a girl. My lunch is coming back up. — Anonymous Urk bleh urk bleh urk bleh urk bleh urk bleh urk bleh — Anonymous But damn, Jeon Woo-seung is ridiculously handsome lol. Life's balance patch when? No fix for OP chars? ↳ Reply He looked a bit nerdy at debut. ↳ Reply He's been taking good care of himself since blowing up. ↳ Reply Nah, he just grew up lol. He's 5cm taller than debut! ↳ Reply Woo-seung, I love you! Marry me! ↳ Reply If you're a girl, put (Girl) next to your comment. If gay, put (Gay). ↳ Reply Woo-seung, I love you! Marry me! (Gay) ↳ Reply Oh wow lmao — Anonymous Ascend has its own board, why keep worshipping in Team Arena gall? ↳ Reply Get out to your main base pls 📰 Breaking News [Author: Anonymous] [Title: Just lip service to bury the friend controversy, right?] If she was really better than Victory, why isn't she pro?
> 100% chance Victory just said that to shield himself.
— Anonymous Is this Victory himself? He said it, and you're calling it 100% lip service lol ↳ Reply For real, deflection tactic? — Anonymous Not everyone good at it goes pro. ↳ Reply True, but if you're better than Victory, you have to go pro. ↳ Reply You mocking the world's #1 pro gamer? ↳ Reply Rumor has it his salary's 10 billion this year. ↳ Reply Jeon Jeonseol could be a chaebol heir who thinks 10 billion is pocket change. ↳ Reply Pro-level game skill and Challenger-level trust fund? ↳ Reply Say she's also a total looker, social butterfly, alpha female lol ↳ Reply Balance patches are brutal... World has OP chars and total trash ones. ↳ Reply Maybe Jeon Jeonseol really has it all... ↳ Reply If she's a dead account main who's never lost rank, upvote lol ↳ Reply Me first 📰 Breaking News [Author: Anonymous] [Title: Jeon Jeonseol, start streaming already] Let's see that "better than me" play Victory acknowledged. — Anonymous Stream! Stream! — Anonymous So Jeon Jeonseol's debuting pro for real? ↳ Reply Victory smiled and said it'd be fun to face her in pro soon. ↳ Reply He said it'd be fun, not that it's planned. ↳ Reply Pls face off!!! — Anonymous But seriously, who the hell is this girl and what does she do??? At this point, something's gotta leak. — Anonymous How does she even know Victory? What game did they play together? As mentioned before, January was the off-season with no pro tournaments.
Community addicts were bored without any fresh bait.
Thanks to the timing, the fire spread like dry tinder—roaring away.
It didn't die down in a day; it kept burning.
Jeon Jeonseol's fame skyrocketed endlessly.
Starting from juicy hack drama, earning the title of "the man Victory acknowledged"—she had the entire Team Arena community hooked...
But the person herself hadn't shown her face anywhere.
📰 Breaking News [Author: Anonymous] [Title: Did Jeon Jeonseol quit the game?] Her last game was 3 days ago? — Anonymous She ran away 'cause it's too much pressure lol ↳ Reply See? Told you it was Victory's lip service. ↳ Reply Doesn't make sense to be better than Victory anyway. — Anonymous People take 3-day breaks from games all the time. Not everyone lives grinding like you losers. ↳ Reply Fr, you guys unemployed? ↳ Reply We have the noble profession of house-sitter? ↳ Reply Going from 50+ games in 3 days to suddenly nothing? Looks like she quit. ↳ Reply Queue not popping so she quit lol. Matching took over 30 mins last I saw. ↳ Reply Normal queue takes that long? ↳ Reply Top of the top ㅠㅠ ↳ Reply No one's done 50 wins 0 losses before, so you wouldn't know lol ↳ Reply It really is different fr. Even in Teamfight Arena itself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Infinity Games are total scumbags.
They know low-level normal games are a tedious grind.
Why else would they sell XP boosters that cut the games needed to max level—for cash?
You can't even buy them with in-game currency; pure paywall.
It wasn't an insane amount of money, but getting hit with the devs' blatant cash grab soured the mood.
I could've stomached that much.
The real issue was the normal queue times.
Hitting 50 wins 0 losses felt great at first, but then the account went rotten—every game meant waiting over 30 minutes.
...Should I just throw one on purpose?
No way, my pride won't allow it.
When a game finally popped after 37 minutes... and got canceled.
My patience snapped.
Fuck this! Screw this trash-ass garbage game!
After quitting Teamfight Arena, I scoured the web for something else to play.
Binged two webtoons, time flew by nicely, or played some solo feel-good games.
"Haa..."
My exhale tasted sweet.
'Cause that's really what's in my mouth.
I like booze, but hate soju's harsh smell.
Not just 'cause it's cheap.
There's a sad backstory.
Right after turning 19, I had that young guy bravado. At some trip, I didn't back down from a bomb shot penalty and downed it one-go.
Recipe: Soda, 2 soju bottles, makgeolli—mixed to about 2L.
Warning: Normies, do not one-shot.
Threw up for six hours? Or longer?
Nearly crossed to the afterlife from acute alcohol poisoning. Haven't touched soju since.
Couldn't stand the smell.
But I like other drinks in moderation.
Specifically, the buzz feels pretty good.
So what's my go-to now?
Vodka mixed with orange juice.
Screwdriver.
Call it girly all you want. Doesn't matter.
I am a girl now.
Hmph.
Sweet booze with zero alcohol stench is the best.
Booze hounds might rage.
"That's just orange juice smell, not booze!"
Whatever.
Not drinking for their approval.
As the alcohol kicks in, my body heats up bit by bit.
Central nervous system firing, blood flowing faster, whole body warming.
Common knowledge says booze dulls you, but at the right buzz, your skin gets hypersensitive instead.
Every sensation sharper than usual across my body.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
"Eek!?"
Like a kid caught red-handed doing something naughty, the sudden doorbell jolted me.
Who'd visit my place...?
Only family, right?
They know I live here.
If they buzzed from downstairs, I had time to act normal...
Beep, bleep-bleep. Ring-a-ling.
Door lock opening.
Guess the bell was just polite knock at the door.
Family has the card key and code— no reason they couldn't enter.
If it was my house, I'd never hand out keys easy!
But Dad bought it, so no choice for me!
All I could do now was pray it was Dad.
Had to be Dad.
Anyone else spells disaster.
Dad? I could cute my way out.
Not Dad?
"Hah!"
Hide the booze first!
She'll check the fridge for sure, so the closet!
If caught in closet, double the scolding—but if not, golden.
Not caught? Not a crime!
"Why's the booze bottle going in there, sis? Does the closet have a fridge function now?"
Buzzed as I was, I missed the footsteps right up to me. Totally busted.