Chapter 75: Today’s Lee Yu-jin Is a Fox (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: Today’s Lee Yu-jin Is a Fox (2)
Before the match began, a spectacular opening ceremony unfolded.
World-class musicians hyped up the crowd, and performers dressed as game champions put on a dazzling musical show.
Finally, just before the famous girl group Hesio began the finale—the Worlds theme song—the floor on both sides rose, revealing the players from both teams.
However, the atmosphere in the stadium was quite different from previous finals.
It was because of Lee Yu-jin, who was sitting in the front row of the VIP section, where the performances and the players' faces were most visible.
Whenever the ultra-large displays hanging on the walls and ceiling panned to the audience, Lee Yu-jin’s face appeared without fail.
Each time, the crowd erupted in a simultaneous roar as if by prior agreement, while Lee Yu-jin merely offered a faint, composed smile before looking away.
That elegant composure drove the audience even wilder. It made the commentators and MCs feel a sudden urge to have a microphone rocket-delivered to her.
But the protagonists of today were strictly the players of both teams.
Suppressing their desperate urge to mention Lee Yu-jin, the organizers focused entirely on the match operations and commentary.
Finally, the game began.
└ There’s nothing happening right now, so just show Lee Yu-jin’s face already!!!!
└ No, but seriously, can’t they just show Lee Yu-jin while there are no teamfights?
└ Did they really have to show someone solo-killing a Scuttle Crab? It’s not like they’re even fighting over it?
└ So what, we’re supposed to just watch them peacefully sharing minions?
└ Camera director has zero sense.
Lee Yu-jin had rarely made official appearances outside of the "Hwan’s Torch Quarter 1" box office success celebration.
She hadn't opened any SNS accounts, and her last login to her fan cafe was to post a thank-you message for the first tribute.
Fans had always received news about Lee Yu-jin indirectly.
Like the recently confirmed combat sports event match between two prideful, skinhead producers.
The League fans had already lost interest in the match itself.
Part of it was because S1 was leading 2-0 and the opposing team was getting crushed more helplessly than expected, but above all...
└ Whoa, whoa, whoa, Yu-jin was the Challenger of Challengers? Rocktten Jupiter Bell was Yu-jin? LOL
└ It makes sense, though. With an Elf’s dynamic visual acuity and reflexes, it’s totally possible.
└ Rocktten Jupiter Bell got so much hate for supposedly using scripts early on, but if it’s an Elf, I guess I can accept it;; How can a human keep up with an Elf’s athleticism?;;;
└ She really has everything. Face, physique, voice, money, and even League skills. But she’s the one woman who can’t have me, Jin-rok, the only son of the Im family for seven generations...
└ LOL reality makes so little sense I can’t help but laugh. Lee Yu-jin was Rank 1 in Solo Queue?
└ From what I see, the European players’ mental state is shattered because Lee Yu-jin came to cheer;;; They aren’t playing like their usual selves at all;;
└ I feel bad for them;;;
└ If Lee Yu-jin had come wearing an S1 uniform, they might have just cried and opened mid;;;;
└ But that Birkin bag is freaking gorgeous. I’ve never seen that design before. It’s flashy yet understated, elegant yet gentle. It’s kind of amazing.
In the end, S1 claimed the trophy with an overwhelming three-game win streak, taking the victory far too easily.
The European team, who had fought hard to reach the finals only to taste the bitterness of defeat, did not cry.
Without even looking frustrated, they simply stared blankly toward the VIP section.
Even the managers and coaches couldn't scold them. They were in the same boat.
└ The Goddess Elf is just a victory totem. She just sits there and the enemies get cut down helplessly.
└ Our allies almost got cut down too;; Our ADC couldn't get his head in the game for all three matches, missing last hits and everything;;;
The moment the S1 players lifted the trophy together in celebration, the camera panned to Lee Yu-jin’s face once more.
Though her face appeared on every giant display, Lee Yu-jin smiled gracefully and gave a slight nod.
That elegant calmness, so unlike a high school girl, drove the audience and viewers even more insane.
Because it wasn't a character from a work, but the perfect image of the actress Lee Yu-jin that everyone had imagined, their hearts raced uncontrollably.
Only after the trophy ceremony ended did the organizers finally proceed with the impromptu show they had been holding back.
“And today, on this special day where S1 has written another legend, we have a very special guest. Everyone, please give a warm welcome! It’s the actress, Lee Yu!”
Before the MC could even finish the introduction, a thunderous applause that felt like it would collapse the dome rang out.
A staff member quickly handed a microphone to Lee Yu-jin as she appeared on the large displays.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lee Yu-nim.”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you too.”
Her pronunciation and voice were clear and pleasant.
Hearing the voice of the actress Lee Yu, not a character, for the first time, the audience and viewers felt a refreshing clarity as if their ears were being purified.
‘Her diction is insane. As expected of a star actress...’
‘There was a reason she turned the world upside down as soon as she debuted...’
‘Wow, her voice matches her face. Truly.’
With the MC on the stage and Lee Yu-jin seated in the VIP section, an impromptu live talk followed.
“I heard from S1 earlier that you’ve helped them a lot with practice matches as a ringer. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then did you come today as a teacher to watch how well your students would do?”
“I wouldn't dare call myself a teacher. I just filled in as a ringer a few times.”
“Is there a particular player you’re rooting for?”
At that moment, the world stopped for a brief second.
Lee Yu-jin gave a slight smile and looked at Shin Sang-hyun with warm eyes.
“It’s Shin Sang-hyun, of course. I’ve been a long-time fan.”
Ooooooh! Waaaaah!
It was the answer everyone expected, but the crowd roared in excitement nonetheless.
The MC waited for the crowd to calm down before continuing.
“Then we can’t miss out on a talk between the two of you. Shin Sang-hyun, could you step forward for a moment?”
The moment Shin Sang-hyun took a step forward, Lee Yu-jin stood up from her seat.
Once again, the crowd erupted in excited cheers.
└ Noona, I’m literally dying right now T_T
└ Wow, look at how her eye level changes when she stands up. Just how long are her legs? Damn.
└ We are a country that possesses Lee Yu-jin. We possess her.
└ Should I be jealous of Shin Sang-hyun or Lee Yu-jin right now? I don't even know.
While the live viewers were lamenting and beating the ground for not being able to get a ticket to the finals, the MC proceeded with the talk between Lee Yu-jin and Shin Sang-hyun.
“Shin Sang-hyun, the actress Lee Yu, who is spreading K-Cultural Power across the globe, says she’s a long-time fan. How do you feel? Do you have anything to say to her?”
Shin Sang-hyun held the microphone with his usual relaxed smile.
The audience and viewers all waited in tense anticipation for what he would say.
“Rocktten Jupiter Bell-nim—no, Lee Yu-nim—from the first time I saw you in the Rift, I thought your playstyle was almost inhuman. I feel relieved that the mystery has been solved today.”
Lee Yu-jin laughed silently and thought to herself.
‘That’s a very God-like comment.’
Though she wouldn't admit it, there was a slight anxiety in her subconscious.
The fear of what would happen to her crumbling devotion if she saw even a hint of Shin being shaken by her.
It was an unavoidable momentum built up over fifteen years of living as she did now.
But that fragment of subconsciousness, which even she found hard to admit, completely vanished at this moment.
The MC also laughed pleasantly and turned to Lee Yu-jin.
“Then, shall we hear a response from the long-time fan?”
Elf language! Elf language! Elf language!
Elf language! Elf language! Elf language!
The crowd cheered from all sides as if urging her.
A mischievous and pure cry for her to say the Classical Latin lines she used in Game of Scenes.
Shin Sang-hyun grinned.
“Summoner, if possible, please say it in the Elf language.”
The crowd erupted in insane cheers again at Shin Sang-hyun’s witty reaction.
The moment Lee Yu-jin covered her mouth and giggled, the world stopped for a brief second once more.
Only Shin Sang-hyun, who remembered her ‘play that simply couldn't be praised enough,’ watched her quietly.
Lee Yu-jin stopped laughing and took the microphone with a serious expression.
It was an elegant dignity that plunged even the audience and viewers into a profound silence.
“Deus noster,
victoriam tuam gloriosam clara mente colimus.
Cladem tuam quoque,
languorem tuum pariter, sequimur.
Etiam ruinam tuam amare possumus;
hoc enim nos sumus.
Sed ruinam tuam extremam
amare posse,
id ego sola sum.”
“Ne umquam in aeternum recedas.
Mane in illo loco.
Si cecideris,
ego infra stabo
ut te suscipiam.”
└ Whoa;; Whoa;;; Her pronunciation is seriously high-class;;
└ I don't know what she’s saying, but it’s cool as hell anyway;;;
└ Yu-jin, Yu-jin T_T Are you not even planning to hide it anymore? T_T
└ So this is what they mean by a voice like a jewel. It’s the first time in my life I’ve actually heard it;; I thought it was just a cliché expression;;
└ But what did she say?
“Ah, that was wonderful. I don't know the meaning, but the pronunciation was very elegant and cool. What does it mean?”
Lee Yu-jin didn't answer immediately. Holding the microphone politely with both hands, she stared intently at Shin Sang-hyun.
Her gaze was so intense it was almost overwhelming, making others feel an involuntary pang of jealousy.
“Our God, we worship your glorious victory with brilliance. We also follow your defeat and your slump alike. We are the ones who can love even your fall. But I am likely the only one who can love even your total ruin.”
└ Ah...
└ What is this... Wow...
└ Whoa...
“Don't ever retire. Stay in that spot forever. If you fall, I will stand below to catch you.”
└ Ugh, this is too powerful T_T
└ ‘I love even your fall/ruin’ (feat. Elf). He’s enduring this attack? As expected of God Sang-hyun.
The atmosphere settled into a deep stillness.
The infinite devotion contained in Lee Yu-jin’s words equally mesmerized everyone present at the scene, as well as those in front of their TVs and computers.
“That was the meaning of what I said earlier. May I say one more thing? This time in our language.”
“Please, go ahead!”
While the eyes of the world were fixed on her, Lee Yu-jin cleared her throat and spoke as she calmly looked up at Shin Sang-hyun.
“As a fan, I can worship even your defeat, your slump, your demotion, and your ruin. But I don't think I could ever love your retirement.”
Waaaaah! Waaaaah! Kyaaaaah!
A roar mixed with every emotion a human could emit—joy, explosion, anger, despair, screams, envy, jealousy, confusion, worship, and more—shook the dome once again.
Answer her, God!
O God, give us an answer!
Bless that holy believer! Hurry!
Standing unshaken amidst the thunderous urging, Shin Sang-hyun slowly opened his mouth.
“Actually, I was thinking of retiring after this contract renewal... but I think I’ll play a bit longer.”
Instead of cheers, a warm applause covered the dome.
The MC, deeply moved, asked.
“Lee Yu-nim, is there anything else you’d like to say to Shin Sang-hyun?”
“May I ask for an autograph?”
“Of course.”
Lee Yu-jin carefully moved toward the stage. Her younger brother, Lee Yu-seok, followed beside her.
The low clicking of her high heels echoed, and the audience couldn't take their eyes off her breathtaking silhouette.
Stopping near Shin Sang-hyun, Lee Yu-jin didn't approach any further but took something out of her Birkin bag.
It was Shin Sang-hyun’s uniform, neatly folded without a single wrinkle, as if it had never been worn.
While her brother Lee Yu-seok took the uniform to get the autograph on her behalf, the audience and viewers could only watch blankly.
└ The Goddess Elf’s Hermès Birkin bag... Inside it was the God’s crest...
└ But it looks like that Birkin bag was custom-made for the Goddess Elf. I wonder how much it costs...
*
I saw it. I was the only one who saw it. I was the only one who read it.
The supreme praise felt in the God’s expression.
「You’re still playing the game in a fun way.」
It felt as if his voice was playing in his eyes.
It made me even more excited to see him flustered by the Golden Throne I had forced upon him.
‘Bwahahaha! I stopped the God’s retirement! I subverted it! I’ve seated him on the Golden Throne!’
I desperately suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out.
‘Isn't this acting truly worthy of a Best Actress award? I’m kind of amazing.’
I can't let it out here. I have to hold it in.
It was the biggest NG crisis of my acting career, but I endured it desperately for the final touch of the masterpiece.
「Yu-jin, Yu-jin, you want to stop the God’s retirement, right? Shall I tell you how? Here, I’ve roughly written some lines, so do this and that...」
「You really think doing this can stop his retirement?」
「Of course. You can keep him seated as the eternal master of the Golden Throne. Just trust me!」
「Jang Ji-hye, you... don't tell me the reason you made me wear these women’s clothes was...」
「I’m only revealing it now, but everything was planned from the start. To grant your wish, Yu-jin.」
「Dammit! If you’d told me sooner, I would have cooperated even more actively!」
「I wanted to make the Peter Pan inside you feel the desperation. Because that will be the lever that keeps your acting at Gocheok Dome today from crumbling.」
「You really are PD Jang Hyun-soo’s daughter.」
「Hey!」
「Anyway, thanks. I’ll do my best to perform this impromptu acting according to your script. To stop the God’s retirement!」
「If this works well, it’ll stop him for five years.」
「Will five years be enough? He has to stay active until he’s at least fifty. We’ll think about the contract extension then.」
「Yu-jin, Yu-jin... fifty is elder abuse...」
「We of the Jeonju Lee clan use everything until it breaks. The God will still be carrying at fifty.」
*
Lunaris Art Hall, Curator’s Office.
Han Ji-woo was in a meeting with a well-built, middle-aged white man.
“Please, I beg of you. If the meeting is confirmed, he will fly to Korea immediately. Of course, this is strictly confidential.”
“I understand for now.”
Curator Han Ji-woo set down the script she had been reading, the title printed boldly on the cover radiating a vivid presence.
[ACE, DOWN TO SEA]
“A fighter pilot... I don't think our elegant artist would like such a rough role at all, but I’ll mention it and if the reaction is good, I’ll set up a meeting.”