LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 191 - QnA
Chapter 191 – QnA
“Somehow, this really feels like I’m a part of the team.”
“Considering you’re a partner streamer, wouldn’t it be more of a problem if you weren’t?”
“That’s true.”
How did things end up like this?
Normally, I should be riding in a car that Hotteok brought, crossing the Han River… or rather, stuck in traffic, complaining about when we’d finally get to Gangnam. But instead, I was still walking inside the stadium building.
It was nice not to have to struggle through the massively crowded Yongsan. No, I liked it. The reason I was reacting this way could be summed up in one word: bewilderment.
Plus, the process was enjoyable.
-Head to the central stage and turn right. You’ll see a door labeled ‘Staff Only.’ Swipe the keycard you received earlier and walk straight. You’ll find a waiting room for staff and a glass door. Contact me from there.
“Will Yoo Jin teacher open the door?”
-Unfortunately, a resident staff member will open it for you. Take the elevator down to the basement level 2. We’ll meet there.
“Okay.”
How should I put this… it really felt like I was a part of the team.
It might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s like those ‘hidden secret labs in a modest cabin’ that men love. It felt like experiencing that in a different form. The others seemed to feel something similar.
“Harmony is just obsessed with Yoo Jin teacher.”
…That was just noise. Anyway, it’s just noise.
While the ten thousand attendees were leaving, and the staff were quickly rearranging the 100 chairs on the main stage and cleaning up the trash in the main arena, I climbed up to the central stage.
Naturally, we made eye contact. Additionally, since we were all partner streamers, there were quite a few people who recognized us. We exchanged greetings with them and walked to the end of the stage before turning right.
As expected, there was a door labeled ‘Staff Only’ on one side of the wall. Next to it was a card key recognition device. I swiped the access card hanging around my neck, and a green light flashed as I heard the sound of the lock releasing.
“Alright, let’s go, everyone.”
“…I’m a bit nervous.”
“Well, when would our Kim Hyun-ah ever receive such a rare treatment- ow!”
“That’s nonsense.”
As we entered through the open door, Kim Stone, who had lightly kicked Limit’s shin, had an incredulous look on his face.
“We’re here to see Yoo Jin, you fool. It’s understandable to be nervous about meeting someone under embargo. What if they’re even scarier than Hotteok?”
“By the way, isn’t that person also an awakened one? I wonder if they’re a white tiger like us?”
“Ouch… But why is Mony so quiet? Is it real that she hasn’t said anything after meeting Yoo Jin?”
“Heehee.”
But how could I say it?
Even though I knew, I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut, thinking about how these guys would react in a few minutes. It’s like the story of the emperor’s new clothes, except I should say Yoo Jin’s tail is like an anaconda’s tail.
However, I had to assume that it would be seen as annoying to the others.
Suddenly, three pairs of eyes met mine. Trained by Yoo Jin teacher, my body reacted instinctively to the rising sense of danger, but unfortunately, my real body was just a weakling.
I ran, but was quickly caught.
“Ugh…”
“Do you admit your guilt?”
“Come on, you’ll see soon enough. How can I say it myself?”
“Alright, alright.”
Until permission was granted – in other words, until Yoo Jin personally appeared before them – I couldn’t say anything that might give away her identity.
Even if I gave a hint now, Yoo Jin wouldn’t care much. After all, she had invited everyone besides me, meaning she was fine with revealing herself – but still, some lines must be kept.
If you don’t keep them yourself, your words will lose weight later on. If you start sharing little by little, later on, you’ll accidentally let it slip during a broadcast.
“We’re here. Just wait in front of the glass door.”
“Is Yoo Jin coming out herself?”
“I thought so too, but unfortunately, no.”
After some small talk, we arrived at the gate. The wall of the firmly closed gate was made of glass, but it was covered with opaque tape so the inside couldn’t be seen.
I wondered if I should knock, but there was a call button on the wall. Since I was still connected to Yoo Jin teacher, I unmuted the call and called out, and as if waiting for this moment, the glass door slid open.
Even though I hadn’t pressed the call button, it was surprising, but a staff member dressed in typical attire approached and explained briefly.
“Go straight and you’ll find an elevator. Take it to the basement level 2. Dinner will be buffet-style, so feel free to eat as much as you like.”
“What should we do when we leave?”
“Someone else will guide you to the underground parking lot.”
“Oh, thank you.”
As soon as I stepped inside, the interior changed dramatically.
Unlike the hallway we had just been in, as soon as we crossed the glass gate, a futuristic design similar to the building’s interior appeared, though in a calmer form.
Various doors leading to rooms for different purposes lined the walls, and familiar flags were prominently displayed. One door, adorned with the Korean flag, was half-open, revealing scattered belongings inside, likely the national team’s waiting room.
The group seemed to share the same thoughts.
“Wow, is this the waiting room? Is Yoo Jin inside?”
“Hey, don’t peek. I can hear your eyes rolling.”
“Are there dumbbells inside?”
“Stop with the nonsense.”
…They think too much like themselves, which is a problem.
Anyway, the elevator arrived quickly, and its speed was surprisingly fast for a building like this. The elevator waiting on the basement level 2 reached the 5th floor in an instant. The doors opened a bit slowly, but the interior was neat.
Once everyone was inside, the doors closed.
I wasn’t particularly nervous, but the others, thinking they’d soon meet Yoo Jin, seemed quite anxious. Even Hotteok, who was also an awakened one – though an E2 grade – looked nervous.
In this slightly tense state, they started throwing jabs.
“Hey, you’re an awakened one too, but you’re trembling.”
“This is all because of fan loyalty. What do you know? You suck at Dark Zone. That’s why you don’t understand why God-Yoo Jin’s gameplay is amazing.”
“You got beaten by Harmony.”
“Do you think you’re better than me just because I lost to Mony?”
After a bit of time passed, silence fell.
The arrows pointed at me.
“So, Mony, where is Yoo Jin waiting?”
“Oh, well. I’ll ask.”
The elevator quickly decelerated. I wasn’t sure if the call would go through while inside, but I unmuted and asked.
As if waiting, a familiar voice answered.
“Yoo Jin teacher, we’re almost at basement level 2. Where should we go when we get out?”
-Don’t worry, you’ll know right away when you come out.
That’s what she said.
I responded to the question that came from behind just before the door opened, thinking that everything would somehow work out.
“Did you tell them?”
“Uh….”
───Srrrk.
At the same time, my view was completely filled by… a snake’s tail.
It moved loosely, floating in the air, and as it quickly flashed back into my memory, I met the gaze of blue eyes. Sharp eyes, moving eerily beneath them, like sapphires. After scanning everyone once, the gaze relaxed and drew an arch.
And beside it was – someone I had seen many times in videos but wanted to ask why they were here in reality.
While everyone was confused, I, who was slightly less confused, barely opened my mouth.
“You’re here.”
A hollow laugh, indicating disbelief, burst out in the elevator.
Well, why not.
I didn’t say anything wrong, anyway.
“…I was really surprised. I thought it was definitely just an avatar.”
“Haha. I understand. And when Harmony and Dice first met me here, they had the same reaction. Dice even sat down on the spot.”
“Hey, why are you telling that story!?”
“Ahaha.”
The sound of dishes clattering and the noise of joyful conversation.
Various tones blended into a single atmosphere. Numerous expressed emotions intertwined and dissolved into the air. The conversation flowed better than I had expected. It was because everyone gathered here had such a temperament, and there was a common topic of discussion: the Dark Zone.
There was no real need to worry. Except for Dice, everyone here was used to dealing with others and had a natural talent for attracting numerous viewers – so it made me wonder if it was right for me to join them.
And there was evidence.
“So, I was really tired and lying down on a makeshift bed in the safe zone, right? Then I went to get some water, and there I saw Yoo Jin walking down the steps. I immediately ran up and shouted, ‘Teacher! Please party with me!’ That was the start of everything.”
“Yeah, the Dark Zone tutorial is really tough. I first met her in a scrim and got blown up pretty badly. But thanks to that, I got here, so it was a blessing in disguise.”
“Right, right! Have you seen my early Dark Zone videos? Thanks to Yoo Jin carrying me, I somehow survived and made it to HQ. I really thought I was going to die back then.”
“Of course, I saw them. Yoo Jin was just as incredible then. But when you caught the falling magazine with your snake tail, it was really funny. You looked so surprised back then.”
“Yes, but now… I think the snake is pretty okay….”
“Ah… I understand that feeling.”
…But they seemed to get along too quickly, even considering that.
As the conversation turned to a questionable topic, I gently flicked Harmony’s head with my tail. She let out a startled noise and looked up in surprise.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I should have just warned her verbally.
“Wow… your tail is really long.”
“Ah.”
“That, that! It was real!?”
Hoo.
I sighed and added.
“No more tail talk here.”
“Aw, why!”
When I looked at them with an expression asking if they really didn’t know, the two of them deflated like balloons. For me, it was an annoying burden that was uncomfortable when sleeping or sitting, so what was so great about it?
People would say I was just being modest, but honestly, it was the opposite. It was such a burden that I had desperately tried to find ways to make use of it.
It’s not that I can’t understand why people are interested in big, wriggling things, but… let’s change the topic.
“Did you enjoy the match today?”
“Oh, yes! It was really fun to watch. I didn’t expect everyone to be so good. Even Russia and Japan, who dominated last year, couldn’t stand a chance.”
Limit carefully opened his mouth after confirming that there was no one around.
“…It was a bit satisfying. When I saw that only Korean players made it to the top 10 in the first match, I thought, ‘There will be five qualifiers this year.'”
“I’m glad we could leave that impression. After KSM, we barely had a month, so I was worried as a coach. But hearing that makes it worth it.”
“…Oh, you coached them yourself!?”
“Yes.”
Come to think of it, this part hadn’t been disclosed to the public yet. After it was mentioned in the briefing, it hadn’t been brought up again.
I quickly calculated whether this was okay to reveal, and decided it would cause me trouble later. So, I placed my finger on my lips, signaling them to keep it off the record, and everyone nodded almost mechanically.
They might have guessed through the broadcast, but knowing something for sure and having it broadcasted everywhere are different matters. Quitting streaming because of too many viewers within two months of starting was out of the question.
Anyway, as the conversation progressed, the pace of the meal started to match a bit. It felt like we were all standing up together to keep the conversation from breaking.
But after repeating it a couple of times, it looked weird, so we decided to get a lot of food at once. They wanted to hear from me, and that was more comfortable for me.
Fortunately or unfortunately, due to the match, we couldn’t work out and didn’t need a lot of calories, so dinner was light.
After returning the empty dishes, the conversation continued.
“Are you going home now?”
“Unfortunately, no. There are too many restrictions….”
“They set up accommodations inside the stadium, so staying for a day or two isn’t a problem. It was the same last year.”
Dice added.
Unlike me, who was a first-time participant, the experienced ones were different – a brief silence followed. Dice and I met eyes. Seeing his ‘why are you suddenly not saying anything’ look, I shook my head, leaving the explanation to him.
But it didn’t work. They were curious about me, after all.
I checked the time. 7:16 PM. The schedule for the Asian preliminaries ended at 6 PM, and we finished our meal a few minutes ago. Not much time had passed.
It would take a while for the tens of thousands of people gathered outside to leave, so I decided to answer their questions.
After moving a bit away from Harmony’s group and discussing with Dice, we concluded it was okay to talk as long as it wasn’t too sensitive. They had enough sense to know that much.
I added to the curious crowd.
“Since we have some time, why don’t we have a brief Q&A session? Does anyone have a time constraint?”
Of course, they all made time.
As expected.