LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 445
– Waaah!!!
– OLZ! OLZ! OLZ!
– Outlaw is so cool!
The cheering echoes make me acutely aware of the stage I’m standing on.
Long ties and long grudges.
I’m not sure how to label this, but the match between OLZ and YSG has finally come to an end.
“Great job, everyone.”
“Good work.”
“Ah, our team is really doing well. Nice job!”
“Just go already.”
“Yay.”
Kim Jae-min, as always, smiled as he headed towards the opposing team’s booth.
It was time to shake hands with the players from YSG, our opponents.
“Phew…”
It was something that was expected since the match with YSG, but meeting the YSG players now was nerve-wracking in several ways.
What should I say?
Should I just say “good job”?
No, just brushing it off like nothing happened feels a bit…
Thoughts swirled chaotically in my head.
“Good work.”
But were all those thoughts just unnecessary worries after all?
The YSG players flinched slightly when they saw me, but no further words were exchanged afterward.
What to say… Although we used to be on the same team, it felt oddly awkward, right?
It was inevitable.
Objectively speaking, the end of my relationship with YSG wasn’t particularly nice, and understandably, from the players’ perspective, I was bound to feel out of place.
“Good work…”
Top, Mangki Kim Mang-ki.
Jungle, DieHard Choi Woo-jin.
Mid, GogoSing Go Jung-hwan.
Bot Lane, JuWon Kim Ju-won.
Supporter, YYYSSS Park Chan-sung.
I passed by each player I used to play with once.
One handshake felt like brief flashes of the past passing by.
“Good job!”
“Wow, Yujin is really good!”
“Sister is amazing!”
If I were to ask whether those days were good or bad, I’d probably say they were good.
Even though I had to leave the team for external reasons, the games I played with them were all enjoyable.
After finishing handshakes with the YSG players, we returned to our booth.
Though it wasn’t a long time, I was sweating due to the tension.
“What are you doing, sis? Pack up the gear.”
“Ah, right.”
Snapping back to reality, I started packing the gear.
At that moment, Baek Seong-an said.
“Oh, today’s POG is Yujin! For both matches. As expected.”
“…Really?”
“Haha, make sure to do well in the interview. I hope I get POG too.”
“…Can you take my place?”
“Just go. We won cleanly, so we should celebrate with some beef tonight, right, team owner?”
“No way…”
I felt like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, but whether he knew my feelings or not, Baek Seong-an just kept chuckling.
And I can’t quite recall what I said during the interview.
I think they asked if I had any special mindset regarding the match with YSG or something like that…
Ah, I don’t know.
I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide right then.
Talking about the past at YSG felt like my personal scandal in many ways.
If I could go back to that time, maybe I would have made a slightly different choice?
‘Well… maybe not.’
I looked at my teammates.
Though they weren’t perfect teammates, I still found them incredibly precious.
Much more than my old YSG teammates.
“What’s taking you so long, sis? Aren’t you coming? Buy me beef quickly!”
…Let me think about that a bit.
“I’m going, I’m going.”
“Your interview went well, sis.”
“…Am I being mean?”
“Huh? Oh, no! No way.”
Seo Yeon-woo blushed and waved her hands frantically.
What should I say about that… in some ways, she was a hundred times more feminine than I was.
Maybe that’s why…
Suddenly, I felt mischievous.
“Little sister.”
“…Yes?”
“Little sister, buy me beef.”
“Wh-what?”
Seeing Seo Yeon-woo turn bright red with embarrassment made something stir inside me.
“Sister~”
“Ah, stop it!”
“Why not~”
“I-I’m going first!”
Well… what should I say…
I think I’m going to get hooked on this.
“Yujin! Hurry up! The car is waiting!”
“Ah, yes!”
For now, I decided to tease Yeon-woo another time and focus on celebrating today’s victory.
“I’ll buy the beef!”
“Woohoo!”
“Creamy Yujin!”
“I’ll eat well. Beef is a great protein source.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Kim Ji-hoon.
“Did something happen to my face?”
“…No. Nothing at all.”
“As expected, our Ji-hoon is amazing. His punchlines are just fantastic.”
This time, everyone’s gaze shifted to Kim Jae-min.
“What?”
“Forget it, dude.”
“Ugh.”
Seriously… they are our precious teammates.
*
Since it’s still the season, we didn’t overdrink even during our celebration.
It was just a small celebration for today’s victory, really.
“Oh, oh! Sis, what’s this meat? It’s melting in my mouth!”
“Was it upjin-sal?”
“Definitely Korean beef!”
Even though he could be annoying, Kim Jae-min was worth treating with food.
Should I say his reactions were quite entertaining?
Though our team often faced financial difficulties, today seemed like a day we could indulge a little.
“Alright, now let’s hear our team owner’s toast.”
“…Why are we toasting with cola?”
“Eh, come on, just try it.”
“No way…”
Really, how is Jaem-min repaying the favor of beef this way?
“…Are you serious?”
“Should I do a fake one or a real one?”
“Hurry up! My arm is falling off!”
“…Fine.”
In the end, I couldn’t help but raise my glass and awkwardly blurt out a toast.
“Thanks for today’s hard work, everyone, and let’s do well in the next matches.”
Then, explosive cheers erupted from the proud members of OLZ.
Yep, explosive cheers indeed.
“Woo!”
“Boring.”
“Hmm.”
“……”
Damn these guys.
*
The season continued.
In the first week, our team smoothly secured 2 wins, tying for first place with SY at 2 wins and 0 losses.
Our next match was against BOQ on the first day of the second week.
Baek Seong-an, the commander of OLZ, gathered us and said.
“You all know BOQ, right? They’re a unique team with excellent teamwork. It might be tougher for us to deal with a team like BOQ than with a strong team like SY.”
“What does that mean?”
“BOQ may not be as strong in classification compared to top teams, but they join fights a beat quicker than others. That could expose our weaknesses.”
And it was true.
BOQ was a unique team created by comrades who served in the military together, formed through coincidence and fate.
They even named their members’ nicknames after military ranks.
In fact, just like us, BOQ has also been promoted from the third league.
In a way, they came from the same bottom.
“Eh, but shouldn’t we just crush them in the lanes?”
“…Jae-min, are you underestimating a mid-tier LCKR team?”
“We beat MAX too.”
“That’s true, but even so, we can’t let our guard down. All LCKR teams have their strengths, and the moment we slack off is when we lose.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well said.”
Kim Jae-min didn’t seem to truly understand Baek Seong-an’s words, but either way, it’s something we needed to consider for our next opponent, BOQ.
Traditionally, teams like BOQ, with solid teamwork and mentality, often turn the game around in surprising ways, even if they fall behind in the lanes.
‘They’re a tricky type to deal with.’
Well, to be exact, is there any easy team among LCKR teams?
“Alright, let’s practice.”
“Today’s scrim is against SY. Everyone, stay alert.”
Despite the fact that we had a scrim against SY ahead of us, at some point, I began to feel that a scrim was just a scrim.
I was probably getting a bit used to this life.
“Let’s go.”
Whether it’s a scrim or a match.
I had no intention of losing.
*
The second match of the LCKR spring season’s second week, first day.
OLZ vs BOQ.
The result was OLZ’s 2:0 victory.
Even though the result was a 2-0 win, the match against BOQ was definitely not easy.
We clearly had the upper hand in the early lane phase, but we allowed the opponent’s counterattacks in the middle stages.
Thanks to that, both sets turned into a long battle beyond 40 minutes, with the fate decided in the final fights, and we narrowly seized both victories.
It was literally a matter of a paper-thin margin.
– Waaah!!!
– Outlaw is pretty!
– OLZ! OLZ! OLZ!
…I felt like there was something weird mixed into the cheering, but it probably wasn’t worth worrying about.
Amidst the fans’ cheers, I stood in front of the interviewer.
“Outlaw, once again you continue your unstoppable 3-win streak with a 2-0 victory. How do you feel?”
“It feels really good.”
“Since your debut, OLZ has garnered much attention, and at the center of that is definitely Outlaw…”
Little by little, little by little.
We built up our victories.