NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 440
Finally, the first day of the opening ceremony has passed.
After finishing practice with Kim Ji-hoon, Kim Jae-min threw himself onto the sofa as if he were crashing down.
“Hey, go take a shower and then lie down.”
“Aww, I don’t wanna.”
“Come on, you little rascal.”
As always, Baek Seong-an and Kim Jae-min bickered, with Kim Jae-min eventually asking.
“So, we have a day off tomorrow, right?”
“Day off? No way, we need to practice.”
“So that means no match, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So when’s the next match?”
“The day after tomorrow. Against YSG.”
“YSG?!”
As Kim Jae-min jumped up, Baek Seong-an let out a startled scream without even realizing it.
“Oh, you scared me!”
“YSG? That YSG?”
Kim Jae-min’s gaze naturally turned towards me, sitting in a corner.
“Hey, did you hear? Our next match is against YSG! That YSG!”
“Yeah, I know.”
It was obvious why Kim Jae-min was reacting this way.
“That was your old team!”
Indeed, YSG brought up a lot of thoughts for me in many ways.
They were the first professional team I joined, and the same team where I experienced a bit of a rough history.
Baek Seong-an interjected.
“But you didn’t really play a proper match with them, so it’s not your old team.”
“Eh, it’s basically the same.”
Kim Jae-min looked at me.
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know… something happened with YSG, right?”
I flinched slightly, but my answer was already decided.
“Everything got sorted out back then.”
“Still, though.”
But Kim Jae-min was persistent.
“Are you really okay?”
“Really, really okay?”
“I don’t think so…”
What an annoying kid.
“Well… to be honest, I’m not completely okay.”
I thought if I left it as is, he’d start blabbering about it everywhere, so I reluctantly admitted.
“See? I knew it.”
“But there’s nothing we can do. The team has moved on, and now they’re our rivals.”
“That much is true.”
“So practice hard. I won’t let them take even one game from us.”
That much was sincere.
It wasn’t because YSG was the opponent; I never intended to lose against any team at all.
“Ooh… I’m scared.”
“If you understand, go practice.”
“Yes!”
Satisfied with my answer, Kim Jae-min got up from his spot.
Even after Kim Jae-min left, I sat there on the sofa, lost in thought.
“YSG, huh…”
Honestly, my memories of YSG hold more bad memories than good ones.
My time as a trainee was really fun and enjoyable, but everything that happened after was not what I envisioned for my professional career.
Nonetheless, things wrapped up positively, and now YSG and I would meet as fellow colleagues and competitors in the same league.
“Hey.”
At that moment, Seo Yeon-woo approached me quietly.
“What? Aren’t you practicing?”
“Not really… I was just wondering if you were okay about the upcoming match against YSG.”
“Why are you asking? It’s fine. I’m okay.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I wondered why she was acting like this; maybe I had unknowingly worried the team members.
“But you can’t lose. Got it?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“I’m serious. If we lose to YSG, I won’t be able to sleep, and I’ll just cry under the blanket.”
“I’ll win, I swear!”
“Good. Work hard.”
What can I say… sometimes it’s hard to read her intentions, but in moments like this, she really does seem pure.
Come to think of it, Seo Yeon-woo is the same age as a Jaem-min.
“So young.”
Of course, I’m not ancient myself.
*
YSG’s practice room.
As the new season approached, the YSG players, along with Coach Park Tae-hyung, certainly didn’t hold back their passion.
“Man-gi, I don’t think we should have traded damage there. What do you think?”
“No, if we hadn’t traded there, we would have been dived. There was no other choice.”
“Really? But couldn’t we have done a little better?”
Like all teams, this first match was particularly important for YSG.
Because, after all, their opponent was OLZ.
If OLZ had been just an ordinary promoted team, there wouldn’t have been much need to get tense about it.
Historically, promoted teams have struggled to adapt to the LCKR, often earning the nickname “point vending machines.”
However, OLZ was different.
Since their inception, OLZ had created quite the turbulence and showed overwhelming performance right from the opening day, even defeating last season’s runner-up, MAX, 2-0.
If it had been only that, YSG would have simply aimed to do better without overthinking it, but the problem was that they had Outlaw on their team.
The hot topic amateur from solo queue. A popular streamer. The first female professional gamer in LCKR.
Each of those titles carried substantial weight, but what was most crucial was that Outlaw was a former member of YSG.
Already, there were various discussions between fans regarding YSG and Outlaw, and if YSG lost to the new OLZ team, it could shed light on past events, potentially bringing the entire team’s morale down.
Of course, some might say that was overthinking, but Coach Park Tae-hyung, who had been active in LCKR for a long time, knew full well that it wasn’t mere paranoia.
A pro’s worth is proven by their results.
In other words, if results are poor, anyone can rightfully criticize for any reason.
“We absolutely must not lose. Absolutely.”
Therefore, Coach Park Tae-hyung told the players this as if reciting a spell.
“Eh, obviously. We won’t lose.”
“But I’m a bit worried about the jungle.”
“What are you talking about?”
Thankfully, the team’s atmosphere was good.
Just a little while ago, it felt like walking on thin ice, but following Outlaw’s departure, many things had improved internally, thus lifting the mood significantly.
Most importantly, this uplifted mood was a result of better performance.
“But it doesn’t seem like it’s been long since Outlaw left the team, and he’s already been promoted.”
“Well, he deserves it. He’s good.”
“Is it just because of Outlaw’s skills? It’s a team game, after all.”
“Outlaw seems to be doing just fine.”
“…Is that so?”
As they discussed various strategies preparing for the upcoming OLZ match, Director Choi Tae-dal entered the practice room.
“Looks like you all are here.”
“Oh, Director!”
“Hello.”
It wasn’t unusual for the coach to show up in the practice room, but it was an exception with Director Choi Tae-dal.
I have no idea what he’s been up to, but he rarely shows up at the practice room.
Of course, that was fine by Coach Park Tae-hyung and the players as it had prevented any major issues thus far.
Though he seldom appeared in the practice room, he had been properly handling schedules and other responsibilities.
“It’s almost time for the first match, right?”
“Uh, yes. That’s correct.”
“They’re not going to be a walk in the park; OLZ has been on a roll lately.”
“But we’re going to win.”
“Haha, right. You all should be prepared too.”
With Director Choi’s friendly smile, the top laner, Kim Man-gi, spoke on behalf of the players.
“Um… yes. We’re doing well.”
“Do you need anything?”
“Nothing, thank you.”
“Alright, if you need anything, just let Coach Park know.”
“Yes.”
Director Choi patted the jungler, DieHard Choi Woo-jin, on the shoulder.
“Our Woo-jin, you can do it, right?”
“Yes. I can do it.”
“Good, good.”
With that, Director Choi lightly encouraged the players and prepared to leave.
“Then, get back to practice.”
“Oh, yes. Please go ahead.”
“Go ahead? Hey, I still have work to do.”
“Oh… yes. Sorry about that.”
“Sorry? What are you sorry for? Just practice well.”
Director Choi left the practice room laughing.
Initially, Coach Park Tae-hyung had wondered what nonsense Director Choi would say upon entering, but it turned out to be surprisingly normal, which was unexpected.
“What’s his deal?”
Normally, it would be strange if there was no agenda, but Director Choi’s unexpected demeanor made Coach Park feel suspicious.
“Well… whatever the agenda is, it probably doesn’t matter now.”
The spring season had already begun.
From now on, there’s not much that a professional gaming team director can do.
Especially if their type, like Director Choi Tae-dal, does not intervene much in-game, which made it even more limited.
Therefore, at this point, it was fair to say that Coach Park Tae-hyung was essentially the practical director of YSG.
Of course, Director Choi would still handle scheduling scrims with other teams, finding practice partners, and managing external events, so he still had plenty to do.
“Hey guys, let’s review the Ban/Pick strategy again.”
As the fateful time gradually approached, the day of the match between YSG and OLZ finally drew near.