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Of course, the slightly tangled situation was quickly resolved.
Anyway, it was good to be in first place.
While the next team was doing their preliminaries, I approached Kang Ichae after he returned to his seat.
“Kang Ichae, the hyungs only trust you.”
“Hyung, I saw you messing around earlier.”
Perhaps wanting to escape the subservient position he had been in for a while, Kang Ichae didn’t miss the opportunity to act sarcastically.
Then, upon watching the ongoing semi-final match of White Cherry, he seemed slightly nervous.
“White Cherrr-sunbae… they’re good.”
“Really?”
“They’re people who play in the upper ranks. Especially, their leader’s management is extraordinary.”
He muttered seriously, and he then called out to Seong Jiwon and Jeong Dajun and began to whisper to them.
“That won’t work. We don’t have any previous data, so it’s hard to grasp.”
“No, I just saw Chaeri-sunbae playing, and…”
Okay, okay, whatever you do, do your best. I don’t understand even if I hear it anyway. The previously excited Refined team was vigorously shaking the slogan, as if to say, “Yeah, even if just one person wins.”
– “White Cherry~!! White Cherry advances to the finals!”
– “Wow! That was easy—easily crushed it!”
– “White Cherry was such a good gaming team! Why haven’t they shown this skill until now! I want them to create a YouTube channel~!!”
Next to me, Joo Woosung quietly testified.
“Figures. They play that game every day when they’re angry.”
“Really? Does it relieve stress?”
“It seems to cause more stress.”
Joo Woosung, who said, “Whether they’re happy, annoyed, angry, sad, in rain or snow, they play that game,” clicked his tongue.
I could feel an extraordinary energy.
I thought first place was a sure thing, but the variables were bigger than I thought. As soon as White Cherry’s match was over, Kang Ichae took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and nodded his head as if he had decided.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s do it.”
Flutter-
Waving the slogan on their shoulders, they left with a solemn look.
“Proud, yet… pathetic.”
Kim Seonghyeon, sitting next to me, expressed the perfect feeling.
– “The majority of White Cherry’s ranks are gems, gems!”
– “The Dawn team won’t back down either.”
The Dawn-Nire and White Cherry teams greeted each other politely before taking their seats.
– “As expected, they don’t lose when it comes to greetings!”
– “It’s a pressure tactic, pressure~!”
All the members found their seats.
White Cherry was over there, but Joo Woosung, seemingly unbothered, poked me.
“I want some ice cream too.”
Apparently, you needed this kind of mentality to date a celebrity. I roughly pointed to where the staff handing out ice cream were, and the commentators, who were already excited before the match started, were tearing open popcorn.
– “Players Seong Jiwon and Kang Ichae have the same picks as last preliminaries! Why the same picks?”
– “Player Seong Jiwon probably didn’t have enough practice time, so they chose the champion they’re most confident in.”
– “It’s a shame, it’s like showing their full power already…”
– “Ah, White Cherry! Their picks are disappointing too! The Dawn team’s picks are counter-champions. Why?? Why would they do that?”
White Cherry member Han Chaeri laughed at the commentator’s words.
– “Ah—they’re laughing, laughing!”
– “Is it confidence in their physical ability?”
“Unnie, what should we do here?”
“Give it a try?”
“Just like always.”
“Kill them.”
This might be a bit dangerous…
The match progressed quickly. The phrase “I don’t expect much” written on the commentators’ faces had long since disappeared. They were shouting excitedly, standing up repeatedly.
– “Ahhh! They’re applying the stun! They applied the stun! But White Cherry Player Woobin adjusted the angle!”
– “Wow, that was so close! But they adjusted it again!”
– “This match is neck and neck!”
“They’re pretty good…”
White Cherry’s Woobin, who had taken care of the bottom, muttered. She chose a word that wouldn’t cause controversy in front of the camera, but a faint gloominess was felt in her tone. The commentators, not knowing whether they were aware of this or not, were excited.
– “Let’s not talk about the bottom side, okay? Oh, the mid, the mid side is being pushed! I believed in the counter-champion, but Nightmare Player Younggun is being pushed!”
– “Wow! The skill is dazzling, dazzling! They pulled the player to this side’s turret with a grab! They pull and take a kill!”
– “’White Cherry Chaeri’ cannot be stopped!”
– “Will they turn it around here? No, no! They aggressively push all the way to the opponent’s turret! Wow! They’re unstoppable!”
“Aah, Ichae, I’m sorry!”
“Younggun, it’s okay. I’ll cover you.”
Having given up on the concept, Kang Ichae calmly replied and moved his keyboard skillfully. Then, Jeong Dajun started ganking.
3 vs 2.
White Cherry’s Woobin, who couldn’t escape even after watching, calmly tried to retreat. But Seong Jiwon was faster.
– “Basic attack, skill, basic attack, basic attack, skill! The basic movements are solid, but the innate physical ability is different! This is talent, talent!”
– “On the other hand, White Cherry is experienced. They give and receive smoothly. The two bottom lane players pull back without any signal and let the turret approach! You can’t make that move unless you have faith in each other!”
– “But Player Jeong Dajun! He rolled the snowball, rolled the snowball! And he hit!”
– “Player Kang Ichae! He shoots the bow after breaking the wave, ah, it hit! Player Seong Jiwon is diving! Double Kill!!”
While Kang Ichae swung the wave and teleported, he quickly bought items from the store and checked the mini-map again.
“Dragon.”
– “Player Kang Ichae, so chic! Just one word!”
– “Seong Jiwon is running straight ahead!”
In the meantime, the White Cherry team members who were eating the mid-lane boss monster showed up.
– “White Cherry’s leader, Liz, the player who stood out the most during the preliminary matches!”
The commentator said seriously. Player Liz didn’t back off even when the opposing team’s players came and kept her focus on the dragon until the end. Kang Ichae, who had been frowning slightly, widened his eyes.
“Wait, this is…!”
– “Oh no, is Liz going to die here?”
– “No, no! Player Liz uses Sauna Clock with only one health bar left!”
“What is that?”
“An invincible item that doesn’t receive any attacks.”
Kim Seonghyeon kindly replied.
Liz’s character used the item and successfully blocked all incoming attacks. Seong Jiwon checked the mini-map and quickly tried to back off, but the other White Cherry members who came from above had already surrounded them.
– “Player Liz survives using Sauna Clock and retreats! Instant health recovery! Now, Chaeri, who has grown tremendously, rushes in and lifts all four of them! At the same time, Dealer Woobin uses her skill right away! Hits all of them!”
– “Amazing combination!”
White Cherry was…
A master of team fights.
After all, they were inseparable, having spent 24 hours together every day, enduring insults and practicing choreography as a team… but that combination was crazy.
– “Finally, Nightmare’s Younggun arrives late and just gets hit, yes! Team fight, 5 vs 5! Kang Ichae hits four of them with his ultimate. Four of them! What an absolute art!”
“Kang Ichae is doing great!”
I clenched my fists in desperation, not knowing exactly what the heck was going on, but still seeing hope.
The beautiful melody unfolded, and at that moment, when the entire team was captivated, Seong Jiwon immediately followed up with a combo.
However, the problem was that Seong Jiwon’s character’s health was too low this time.
– “Jeong Dajun rushes in, but uh, oh, White Cherry’s Chaeri hits Jeong Dajun right next to her! Kill! Gets the kill! With only one health bar left, Woobin, who was just released, uses her ultimate! The Dawn team gets wiped out!”
After that, it was brutal.
– “Shut down! Double kill! Triple kill, no, Pentakill!”
– “To see a Pentakill here! Wow! Chaeri’s movement is insane, insane!”
– “The Dawn team really held on well, but the problem was that White Cherry’s players were unbelievably pro! Liz used Eternal Clock to hold on, and Chaeri dodged the stun and fired her ultimate! Today’s highlights are bursting, bursting!”
The commentator went crazy witnessing a scene that was hard to see even in professional matches.
After that, White Cherry ate the dragon without recovering their health. By the time the resurrected Dawn team rushed over, it was already over.
“Hyung, I’m sorry!”
“No, it’s still okay.”
– “Player Kang Ichae’s mental strength is outstanding! Not giving up even when the end is near! He even supports Seong Jiwon and kills two White Cherry players!”
– ““The Dawn Seong Jiwon” Double Kill!”
– “Seong Jiwon, Seong Jiwon Plaayeeer!”
Tadadadadak.
Dalkkakdalkkakdalkkak.
If you just listen to the sound, it’s like a professional game.
– “Can there be a twist here? Actually, the situation is similar in terms of destroyed turrets! Ah, but Refined Player gets a kill!”
– “The Super Soldiers are coming as the inhibitor is destroyed! It’s breaking, breaking!”
In the end, White Cherry pushed in fiercely, and the inhibitor was destroyed. Seong Jiwon tried his best until the end, but it was not enough.
– “White Cherry Win~~~!”
“Ah well.”
Seong Jiwon let out a bitter smile.
White Cherry got up, threw off their headphones, and hugged each other excitedly. They started off leisurely, but the thrill of winning seemed to hit hard as it was a great game.
– “White Cherry takes 1st place~! Gold medal~!”
– “The Dawn-Nire team, unfortunately, finishes 2nd!”
– “Wow, it was so much fun! Especially the team fight during this final match, it was a push and pull that wouldn’t be seen easily even in professional matches! It was twist after twist after twist!”
“…”
Kang Ichae blankly stared at the monitor, then wiped his face with his palm. It seemed like he was about to start his performance concept again, but he looked genuinely sad.
Suddenly, the sincere faces he had shown at the PC room passed by.
“Hoyun-hyung! If we get 1st place, shall we go eat some Korean beef?”
“This time, I’ll win 1st place in e-sports and treat hyung!”
“Hyung, why are you so bad…?”
Let’s ignore the one in the middle. Anyway, Kang Ichae was confident in promising a beautiful future where they would win 1st place.
“Is he crying?”
I frowned and poked Kim Seonghyeon, but it was such an absurd story that Kim Seonghyeon just burst out laughing.
“He’s never been lucky since he was born.”
Well, there’s no way Kang Ichae would be like that.
“…Sigh.”
Kang Ichae rubbed his face with his palms a few more times before suddenly standing up.
His face was perfectly dry, without a trace of tears.
Alright, don’t embarrass yourself by crying here….
He gathered the Nire team members and patted their shoulders, then looked at the opponents.
White Cherry’s leader, Liz, was walking towards Kang Ichae.
Wow.
Her stride was like a general holding the severed head of an enemy in one hand. Kang Ichae quietly watched her approach and bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you for the match.”
The other White Cherry member also gave a small nod.
“Good work.”
“…Good work.”
– “Ah, both players! Greetings, greetings!”
The commentator seemed slightly teary-eyed.
– “Even though I won this time, I acknowledge that it was a beautiful game! You can see it on that solemn face!”
After the commentator wrapped up, the e-sports camera turned off, and Kang Ichae tried hard to maintain his expression. It might not have reached the fan seats, but I heard it well.
“No regrets.”
“Hyung, good work.”
“Ichae, it was fun.”
Seeing Seong Jiwon’s cheerful smile without any regret, Kim Seonghyeon clicked his tongue in disgust.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he really has the no.1 mentality.”
Kang Ichae let out a bitter laugh. Just before Liz left, she checked that the camera was off, crossed her arms, and asked Kang Ichae.
“Do you mostly play support?”
“Huh?”
“Or a different lane?”
“I play AD carry as well, but I originally like support.”
As Kang Ichae stammered his response, Liz nodded and seriously advised him.
“Your brain works fast, maybe that’s why… Sometimes your play is too hasty. If you look out for your teammates a little more, you’ll get better results.”
“…”
“Other than that,… there’s nothing to fix. It’s been a while since I had so much fun, thanks to you.”
“…!!”
Kang Ichae’s eyes widened at Liz’s praise.
“Pride” was written in his left eye, “honor” in his right.
…No, I wish he had gotten advice on idol activities instead of online gaming.
Unaware of his trembling reaction, Kang Ichae burned with embarrassment alone.
“I look forward to seeing you again next time.”
“…I won’t go down so easily next year.”
At Kang Ichae’s words, Liz smiled brightly and coolly waved to the fans waving slogans. Kang Ichae returned to his usual sly grin as if he had never been shocked.
“Sometimes you lose. Ahaha, sorry~.”
“It’s fine.”
I patted Kang Ichae’s shoulder.
It was time to leave since the archery set-up had already been completed in another area.
– “Please prepare for the next archery session.”
“Let’s go, Seo Hoyun.”
“Alright.”
As Kim Seonghyeon and I stood up, the excited fans screamed. I casually waved to them and confidently eyed the archery set.
“I’ll take the first place.”
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