Chapter 67
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67
Of course, my slight annoyance vanished almost instantly.
Winning first place was a good thing, regardless of how it happened.
As the next teams began their preliminary match, I spoke to Kang Yi-chae, who had returned to his seat.
"Kang Yi-chae, the older members are counting on you."
"Hyung, I saw you smirking earlier, you know."
Perhaps wanting to escape the "slave" status he’d been groveling in for a while, Kang Yi-chae didn't miss the chance to act a bit haughty.
However, as he watched White Cherry’s semifinal match currently in progress, he seemed to grow slightly tense.
"White Cherry sunbae-nims... they’re good."
"Really?"
"They play in the upper tiers. Especially their leader—her macro play is extraordinary."
He muttered seriously before immediately calling Seong Ji-won and Jeong Da-jun over to start whispering something.
"That won't work. I don't have enough data to read them."
"No, I just saw them playing, and Chae-ri sunbae-nim is..."
Sure, sure. Do whatever you want. I wouldn't understand even if I listened. Refined, who had been thoroughly crushed earlier, was now waving their slogans enthusiastically with a "Well, at least one of us should win" attitude.
[White Cherry~!! White Cherry advances to the finals!]
[Woooooah! That was effortless! They finished it off so easily!]
[Was White Cherry always this good at games? Why haven't they shown this skill until now? Man, I really hope they start a Nutube channel~!!]
Beside me, Ju Woo-seong quietly testified.
"It makes sense. Whenever those girls get pissed off, they play this game."
"Really? Does it relieve their stress?"
"It seemed to make them even more stressed, actually."
Ju Woo-seong clicked his tongue, remarking that they played the game whether they were happy, annoyed, angry, sad, or whether it was snowing or raining.
I could feel an unusual aura emanating from them.
I thought first place was in the bag, but the variables were bigger than expected. Once White Cherry’s match ended, Kang Yi-chae took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and nodded as if he’d made a final resolution.
"Let's go."
"Let's do this."
Flutter.
With their slogans draped over their shoulders like capes, they departed with grim determination.
"I feel proud... yet pathetic at the same time."
Kim Seong-hyeon, standing next to me, expressed the exact sentiment I was feeling.
[Most of White Cherry’s ranks are Jewel! Jewel!]
[The Dawn-Na-Ri team isn't backing down either.]
The Dawn and White Cherry faced each other and bowed politely before taking their seats.
[They certainly aren't losing in terms of manners!]
[It’s a psychological battle! A battle of nerves~!]
All the members found their spots.
Even though White Cherry was right there, Ju Woo-seong didn't seem to care and nudged me.
"I want ice cream too."
I suppose one needs this level of mental fortitude to date a top-tier star. I pointed him toward the staff member handing out ice cream. Meanwhile, the commentators were already popping popcorn, clearly excited even before the match began.
[Seong Ji-won and Kang Yi-chae have the same picks as the last preliminary match! Why the same picks?]
[It’s likely because Seong Ji-won didn't have much practice time, so he chose the champion he’s most confident with.]
[That’s a bit unfortunate. It’s like showing your hand before the game even starts...]
[Oh, oh! White Cherry here! Their picks are also a bit surprising! The Dawn-Na-Ri team’s picks are actually counter-champions! Why? Why would they do that?]
White Cherry member Han Chae-ri smirked at the commentators' remarks.
[Ah—she’s laughing! She’s laughing!]
[Is she that confident in her mechanics?!]
"Unnie, what should we do here?"
= Should we go easy on them?
"The usual."
= Kill them.
'This might get dangerous...'
The game progressed rapidly. The "I don't expect much" look on the commentators' faces had long since vanished. They were now standing up, shouting in excitement.
[Aaaah! A stun right there! They land the stun! But White Cherry’s Woo-bin shifts his angle!]
[Wow, that was so close! But he dodged it again!]
[This match is neck and neck!]
"They’re pretty good..."
Woo-bin, the White Cherry member playing bottom lane, muttered. He chose words that wouldn't cause a controversy on camera, but his tone carried a faint chill. Unaware or unbothered, the commentators were having the time of their lives.
[Forget the bottom lane! Wait, the mid lane! Mid is being pushed! We thought they had the counter-champion, but Nightmare Yeong-gun is being pushed back!]
[Waaaaah! Those skills are flashy! So flashy! He pulled the player into the turret with a grab! He pulls him in and gets the kill!]
['White Cherry Chae-ri' is absolutely unstoppable!]
[Is she backing off? No! No! She’s diving right under the enemy turret! Whoa! She’s relentless!]
"Agh, Yi-chae, sorry!"
"Yeong-gun, it's okay. I'm coming to cover."
Kang Yi-chae, who had dropped his persona somewhere along the way, replied calmly while his fingers flew across the keyboard. Just then, a gank came toward Jeong Da-jun’s side.
3 versus 2. Despite seeing it, White Cherry’s Woo-bin couldn't pull out in time and tried to retreat calmly. But Seong Ji-won was faster.
[Auto-attack, skill, auto, auto, skill! It’s a move that sticks to the basics, but the raw mechanics are on another level! This is pure talent!]
[On the other hand, White Cherry is experienced. They trade and retreat skillfully. The two bottom lane players are pulling back toward their turret without even signaling each other! You can't do that without absolute trust!]
[But Jeong Da-jun! He’s rolling the snowball! He’s rolling it! It hits!]
[Kang Yi-chae! He plays the lute and fires his ultimate! Ah, it lands! Seong Ji-won dives! Double kiiiill!!]
While Kang Yi-chae returned after swinging his lute and began teleporting, he quickly bought items from the shop and checked the mini-map again.
"Dragon."
[Kang Yi-chae! So chic! He only says one word!]
[Seong Ji-won is heading there immediately!]
In the meantime, a White Cherry member was spotted taking the boss monster in the middle.
[White Cherry’s leader! Liz, the player who stood out the most in the preliminaries.]
The commentators spoke seriously. Even as the opposing players approached, Liz didn't flee and kept attacking the dragon until the end, a smirk playing on her lips. Kang Yi-chae, who had been frowning slightly, widened his eyes.
"Wait. This is...!"
[Aaaah! Is Liz going to die here?!]
[No! Noooo! With only one bar of health left, Liz uses Zolna’s Sauna Clock!!]
"What's that?"
"An invincibility item that blocks all attacks."
Kim Seong-hyeon kindly answered my question.
Liz’s character used the item and blocked every incoming attack. Seong Ji-won checked the mini-map and tried to retreat quickly, but the other White Cherry members descending from above had already surrounded them.
[Liz, who used the Sauna Clock, survives and pulls back! She’s healing up immediately! Now Chae-ri, who is incredibly fed, rushes in and knocks four people into the air! At the same time, the marksman Woo-bin uses his skill! He hits everyone!]
[What incredible coordination!]
White Cherry...
They were masters of team fighting.
Well, I suppose living together 24/7, getting cursed at together, and practicing choreography together would naturally make them tight-knit... but that coordination was insane.
[Nightmare Yeong-gun arrives late but just gets hit! It’s a 5v5 team fight! Kang Yi-chae hits four people with his ultimate! Four people! His positioning is a work of art!]
"Go, Kang Yi-chae!"
I didn't really know what was happening, but since it looked like they still had a chance to win, I clenched my fists fervently.
The moment the beautiful melody spread out and held everyone in place, Seong Ji-won immediately followed up.
However, there was one flaw: Seong Ji-won’s character was too low on health this time.
[Jeong Da-jun goes in, but wait, White Cherry’s Chae-ri hits him! Kill! She gets the kill! With just one bar of health left, Woo-bin, who was just released, fires his ultimate!! The Dawn-Na-Ri team is wiped out!]
After that, it was a massacre.
[Shut down! Double kill! Triple kill—no, PENTA-KIIILL!]
[To think we’d see a Penta-kill here! Waaaaah! Chae-ri’s movement is insane! Absolutely insane!]
[The Dawn-Na-Ri team held out so well, but the problem was that the White Cherry players were breathtakingly professional! Liz survived using her Eternal Item, and Chae-ri dodged the stun to fire her ultimate! We’ve got a legendary scene today!]
The commentators were losing their minds after witnessing a play rarely seen even in professional leagues.
Following that, the White Cherry team gave up on healing and took the dragon. By the time the Dawn-Na-Ri team respawned and rushed back, it was already over.
"Hyung, I'm sorry!"
"No, it's okay. We're still fine."
[Kang Yi-chae’s mental game is outstanding! He doesn't give up even when the end is in sight! He even supports Seong Ji-won to take down two White Cherry players!]
['The Dawn Seong Ji-won' gets a double kill!]
[Seong Ji-won! Seong Ji-won!]
Click-clack-click-clack.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Based on the sound alone, it was indistinguishable from a pro match.
[Can they turn this around? Actually, the number of destroyed turrets is about the same! Ah, but the Refined player gets picked off!]
[The inhibitor was destroyed earlier, so the super minions are coming in! It’s breaking! It’s breaking down!]
In the end, White Cherry pushed in aggressively, and the nexus was destroyed. Seong Ji-won tried to defend until the very end, but it wasn't enough.
[White Cherry VICTORY~~~!!!]
"Oops."
Seong Ji-won let out an awkward laugh.
The White Cherry members stood up, threw off their headphones, and cheered, hugging each other. Though they had started calmly, the match had been so intense that the thrill of victory seemed to overwhelm them.
[White Cherry takes 1st place~!! Gold medal~!!]
[The Dawn-Na-Ri team unfortunately takes 2nd place!]
[Whoa, that was so much fun! Especially that team fight in the finals—that kind of back-and-forth is rare even in pro games! It was a reversal after reversal after reversal!]
"..."
Kang Yi-chae stared blankly at the monitor before rubbing his face with his hands. I thought he was starting his persona again, but he looked genuinely sad.
Suddenly, the sincere faces he’d shown at the PC bang flashed through my mind.
'Ho-yun hyung! If we win first place, should we go eat Hanwoo?'
'I'm going to win first place in eSports this time and make you proud, hyung!'
'Hyung, why are you so bad at this...'
Let's ignore that last one. Anyway, Kang Yi-chae had been full of confidence, promising a beautiful future where they took first place.
"Is he crying?"
I frowned and nudged Kim Seong-hyeon, but he just let out a hollow laugh as if the idea was preposterous.
"He probably hasn't cried once since the day he was born."
True, there was no way Kang Yi-chae would do that.
"...Haa."
Kang Yi-chae rubbed his face a few more times with his palms and then stood up abruptly.
His face was perfectly dry, without a trace of a tear.
'Right, don't cry and embarrass yourself here...'
He patted the members of the Nightmare team on the shoulders and looked toward his opponents.
White Cherry’s leader, Liz, was walking toward Kang Yi-chae.
'Wow.'
The way she strode over made her look like a general who had just decapitated an enemy and was carrying the head in one hand. Kang Yi-chae watched her quietly before giving a deep bow.
"Thank you for the match."
The White Cherry member nodded back.
"Good work."
"...Good work."
[Ah, both sides! They’re greeting each other!]
The commentators looked a bit teary-eyed.
[Even though I won this time, I acknowledge it was a beautiful match! You can see it in those solemn expressions!]
After the commentators finished their remarks and the eSports cameras were turned off, Kang Yi-chae struggled to maintain his composure. The fans might not have heard him, but I heard him clearly.
"I have no regrets."
"Hyung, you did great."
"Yi-chae, that was fun."
Seeing Seong Ji-won smiling brightly without a hint of disappointment, Kim Seong-hyeon clicked his tongue as if fed up.
"Honestly, he might have the best mental game of all of us."
Kang Yi-chae wore a bittersweet smile. Before Liz walked away, she checked that the cameras were off, crossed her arms, and asked Kang Yi-chae.
"Do you usually play support?"
"Pardon?"
"Or another lane?"
"I play marksman too, but I’ve always liked support."
When Kang Yi-chae answered blankly, Liz nodded and gave him some serious advice.
"Maybe it's because your brain works so fast... but sometimes your macro play is too rushed. If you look back at your teammates one more time, you'll get even better results."
"..."
"Other than that... there’s nothing to fix. Thanks to you, I had fun for the first time in a while."
"...!!"
Kang Yi-chae’s eyes widened at Liz’s compliment. You could practically see "Deeply" written in his left eye and "Moved" in his right.
...No, if you're going to get advice, I'd prefer it be about idol activities, not online games.
Kang Yi-chae was burning with passion all by himself, completely ignoring my lukewarm reaction.
"I look forward to seeing you again next time."
"...I won't lose so easily next year."
Liz smiled broadly at Kang Yi-chae’s words. Then she coolly turned around and waved to the fans who were shaking their slogans.
As if he’d never been shocked, Kang Yi-chae returned with his usual sly grin.
"Well, you win some, you lose some. Ahaha, sorry~."
"Whatever."
I patted Kang Yi-chae on the shoulder.
The archery setup was already finished in another section, so it was time to head out.
[Will the participants for the next archery session please get ready.]
"Let's go, Seo Ho-yun."
"Yeah."
As I stood up with Kim Seong-hyeon, the Noeuls, who had been waiting expectantly, let out a roar of cheers. I gave them a light wave and looked calmly at the archery range.
"I'll just have to bring home the first-place trophy myself."