Chapter Index

    When a Butterfly Begins to Flutter Its Wings (3)

    When a Butterfly Begins to Flutter Its Wings (3)

    The voice of caster Jeon Sangjun was heard from the speakers.

    “Wow, a big match from the first week of the quarterfinals! Coincidentally, both players are Han Yujin’s men, right? But only one will be smiling. The two players will have a guillotine match for the ticket to the semifinals.”

    Like puzzle pieces finding their place, the bracket was completed one by one.

    The semifinal opponent would likely be Eo Jaehyun, and the final opponent would likely be Jung Suhyuk.

    This is the picture I wanted, but…

    The problem is I didn’t expect to meet Hyun Junho on the narrow bridge of the quarterfinals.

    When the bracket draw video ended, the room sank into silence.

    All I could hear was the sound of dry saliva being swallowed and mouse clicks.

    Click.

    Kang Yohan was looking at internet articles with his chin resting on his hand.

    With an uneasy mind, I rolled my eyes around, and my gaze stopped on Kang Yohan’s wrist.

    Square bezel with a cowhide strap.

    It was the old, worn-out watch that Kang Yohan always wore during matches.

    Even when reporters persistently dug into why he insisted on wearing this shabby watch that wasn’t even a luxury brand, he never opened his mouth.

    What’s clear is that it doesn’t seem to be for telling time. It’s stopped at 10:04 as if broken.

    To brighten the atmosphere, I asked:

    “I’ve been curious for a while.”

    “Yes?”

    “What’s that watch?”

    “Ah, this?”

    Kang Yohan gently stroked the crown part of his wristwatch with his thumb.

    “It’s my lucky charm. When I wear it, I feel at peace.”

    “Ah, so that’s why you wear it without fail during matches.”

    “Yes. A friend gave it to me. The friend who first introduced me to Galaxy War.”

    I clapped my hands and agreed:

    “They’re a benefactor who helped you find your calling. You should do something for your friend.”

    “I should. I should, but…”

    Kang Yohan stopped fiddling with his mouse and smiled bitterly.

    “I can’t anymore. They’re deceased.”

    “…”

    The room sank into silence again.

    Now I could even hear bugs crawling.

    Han Yujin, you fool!

    I shouldn’t have asked!

    I asked unnecessarily and only made the atmosphere gloomy without gaining anything.

    “I’m sorry…”

    Kang Yohan waved his hands saying it’s okay. Then he asked casually:

    “Do you want it?”

    “It’s not like that…”

    I’ll take it if you give it. It’s a lucky charm after all.

    “I’m sorry. Even if it’s you, Yujin-nim, I can’t give this.”

    Then he patted my shoulder and pointed at the monitor.

    It was an interview article.

    I read the article with round eyes.

    [Jung Suhyuk, “Kang Yohan’s Championship Possibility? Like a Royal Straight Flush”]

    Jung Suhyuk (25) expressed a pessimistic view, comparing Kang Yohan’s (30) championship possibility to a royal straight flush. On Saturday the 20th, in an interview with our newspaper, Jung Suhyuk…

    After reading the article, my eyes rolled. A curse flew out from the tip of my chin.

    “I really want to sew his mouth shut!”

    My breathing became rough and wheezy.

    “Are all the people at SUC like this? It’s like they gathered only ill-mannered kids.”

    Except for my sister Sieun.

    “I was also in SUC…”

    “Ah.”

    …Except for this person too.

    Kang Yohan scratched his cheek and defended his junior:

    “Suhyuk isn’t usually the type to say such things. He’s probably volunteering to be the villain for the tournament’s promotion. These days, you need to provoke and fight fiercely to get attention.”

    After saying that, he stared at me blankly.

    “…Like Yujin-nim.”

    “What? Say that again.”

    “N-no, it’s a joke!”

    Closing the internet window, Kang Yohan muttered in a disappointed voice:

    “That Suhyuk bastard, still a royal straight flush is too much. Anyway, he’s a guy with only cold wind blowing, no lip service at all, no lip service.”

    Royal straight flush.

    The probability is 0.0032%.

    With an extreme probability of 1 in 300 million, even professional players who play poker their whole lives rarely see it.

    But…

    Why do I feel like it’s possible?

    Is it because I became a woman and luck is pouring down like meteors? I’ve become quite confident about luck.

    If I could, I want to show it right in front of that snake Jung Suhyuk and put him in his place!

    Will such an opportunity come?

    “Yujin-nim.”

    “Yes?”

    Kang Yohan opened his mouth after moving his lips:

    “So what are you going to do?”

    It naturally translated in my brain as: Who are you going to help?

    “I want to hear it. Who is Yujin-nim’s first pick.”

    It’s burdensome.

    My worries swelled up like a balloon. Anxiously, as if it might pop at any moment.

    I carefully recalled the reasons why I’m helping these two people.

    Kang Yohan was admiration.

    In my past life, Kang Yohan retires without ever grasping the Golden Mouse. It wasn’t a shabby retirement, but as a die-hard fan, I was quite regretful that he couldn’t complete the last puzzle piece.

    So I, who knows future builds, am taking the initiative to help him.

    On the contrary…

    Hyun Junho was pity.

    In my past life, Hyun Junho retires bitterly without ever winning a championship, being mocked as the “leader of the bean line”. In the end, unable to bear that sense of defeat, it led to an extreme choice.

    Admiration and pity.

    Between these words that become the same by just changing the position of one stick,

    I agonized intensely.

    Completing the puzzle, or the first experience?

    “I…”

    I’m afraid of making a mistake.

    Because a butterfly’s single flap of wings can cause a tornado.

    What if I’m making a bad move after long deliberation? What if I’m taking an irreversible step?

    In the end…

    I decided to follow my heart.

    Just as I was about to open my mouth, Kang Yohan made a call on speakerphone.

    When the call connected, a familiar voice was heard.

    “Junho-ya.”

    -Yes, sunbae!

    “Shall we face each other raw, without Yujin-nim’s help?”

    Hyun Junho’s voice stopped abruptly, then quickly returned.

    -You don’t need to do that to consider me, hyung.

    Kang Yohan retorted in a stiff voice:

    “I’ve never considered you. Yujin-nim is here beside me, and when asked who she’ll help, her expression became grim, so I’m concerned.”

    -…Is that so? But I really made it to the quarterfinals in another league too, so it’s fine.

    “Another league? GGP?”

    -Yes.

    Ah.

    Hyun Junho made it to the quarterfinals in GGP too, not just GSL.

    Then it was a simple matter.

    GSL for Kang Yohan, GGP for Hyun Junho.

    Okay, that’s how to help them!

    Just then,

    Hyun Junho asked in a low voice:

    -So what did Yujin-ssi say?

    “Huh? About what?”

    -When asked who she’ll help, who did Yujin-ssi say?

    Kang Yohan, who was tidying his nail cuticles, laughed lightly through his nose.

    “Why are you curious about that?”

    -No, well, I don’t have any particular intention, just… So who was it?

    Kang Yohan’s gaze lingered in the air for a moment.

    Then he quietly answered, gently releasing the breath he was holding:

    “Me.”

    Click-

    Kang Yohan hung up the phone.

    “No, what are you saying! I never gave a definite answer about helping anyone!”

    Hearing my voice filled with protest, Kang Yohan said with a slow drawl, winking one eye:

    “It’s psychological warfare, psychological warfare.”

    “You’re talking nonsense about psychological warfare.”

    “It’s true!”

    Kang Yohan tapped his phone with his fingernail.

    “Looking at it, that bastard Junho, he likes Yujin-nim. I vaguely felt it during the draft ceremony too, and I was right.”

    “…What?!”

    “But think about it. If someone you have feelings for chooses someone else over you, you’d be quite shocked, right? If that shock affects his performance, it’s a thank you for me.”

    …I had forgotten for a moment.

    This is the kind of player Kang Yohan was.

    A person crazy about competition.

    A person crazy about victory.

    Someone who, if there’s an opportunity, uses any means necessary and clings to the end to win.

    Because of that tendency, he had fans following him like a cult leader, but at the same time, he had an enormous number of haters.

    A player with such a strong attachment to victory that he would calmly bow his head to ask for help from someone ten years younger.

    Kang Yohan was that kind of competitor.

    “But I feel bad for Junho too…”

    Kang Yohan stared at me intently and spoke:

    “I think you would have answered me even if I kept asking.”

    It was a different voice from his usual smooth atmosphere.

    “Right, Yujin-nim?”

    Well…

    I’m not sure…

    “…Yu-Yujin-nim? Right?”

    “I don’t know!”

    “No, it was obviously me, wasn’t it?!”

    I avoided his gaze without answering.

    ELF Building. 10th floor practice room.

    As I opened the door and entered, the air felt gloomy from the start.

    Perhaps due to the nightmarish losing streak atmosphere, the mood was dark and bleak.

    Director Yang Myunghyun, who spotted me, smiled and offered a handshake.

    “Welcome. We greeted each other during the ritual offering last time, right?”

    “Yes, hello!”

    Bloodshot whites of the eyes, unkempt beard. Quite a haggard face.

    …It’s understandable.

    They’ve been on a 5-game losing streak since the opening, so there’s already talk of dismissal.

    “Your seat is over there, Yujin. Let’s formally introduce you to the kids in a bit.”

    “Yes, understood.”

    I went to the seat I was guided to.

    Nearby, a man with messy hair gave a hand wave with a pen in his mouth.

    “Hi?”

    “Hello.”

    Gil Taesung. Twenty-two years old.

    Same race as me, Human.

    Although he never achieved results above the quarterfinals in individual leagues, he was one of the 1-win cards in the Pro League.

    Gil Taesung smiled brightly and pointed to the side with his chin.

    Hyun Junho was seriously reviewing Pro League matches with a serious face.

    Oh my, he’s about to be sucked into the monitor.

    Feeling mischievous, I crept up like a stray cat and tried to surprise him.

    “Kyaang!”

    “…”

    “Huh?”

    I even curled my fingers and shouted, but maybe because he was wearing headphones, there was no reaction.

    Gil Taesung held his stomach, trying to hold back laughter.

    I slightly lifted one side of Hyun Junho’s headphones. Then I whispered into his ear in a cute tone:

    “Sunbae, buy me tanghulu. Maybe malatang too…”

    “Kyaaah!”

    “Kyaaah!”

    Hyun Junho screamed like a girl and fell back.

    I was startled along with him.

    Gil Taesung burst out laughing, opening his mouth wide.

    “Ah, this is so f*cking funny.”

    Hyun Junho asked, stammering:

    “Y-y-you came?”

    Finding his stuttering funny, I imitated him exactly like a mirror.

    “I-I-I came.”

    As if provoked, Hyun Junho narrowed his eyes.

    “What are you doing?”

    “Whut er yoo dooing?”

    “Stop imitating me.”

    “Blrghblrghblrgh.”

    “Ah, really!”

    “Okay. I’ll stop.”

    I added with an “Ah”:

    “You know that call with Kang Yohan player earlier.”

    Hyun Junho perked up his ears.

    “Yes, yes!”

    “That was a joke.”

    Hearing my words, Hyun Junho let out a sigh of relief.

    “Right? Ah, really, that sunbae has a mischievous side sometimes!”

    Just then, Director Yang Myunghyun called me to the center of the practice room.

    “Kids. Pay attention for a moment.”

    The players in the practice room stopped their games and looked at me.

    “Raise your hand if you need a separate explanation of who this is.”

    Gil Taesung boldly raised his hand.

    “Me.”

    “Pack your bags, you crazy bastard.”

    “It’s a joke. How could I not know when every race except Insect in the Pro League is using builds created by Han Yujin?”

    Yang Myunghyun, with his hands in his hoodie pockets, looked at Ju Sehun and said:

    “Hey, Gil Taesung. If you really don’t know, ask Sehun. He’s the biggest victim who even did a dogeza to Yujin.”

    Gil Taesung, holding back his laughter, asked Ju Sehun:

    “Hey, Sehun-ah. Is Queen Yujin really that good?”

    Ju Sehun, closing his eyes tightly, struggled to speak:

    “…She’s so f*cking good that I still see her in my dreams, you bastard.”

    “Okay, confirmed!”

    The players’ raucous laughter filled the practice room.

    Yang Myunghyun patted my shoulder.

    “Say a word about your ambition.”

    “Ah, yes.”

    I cleared my throat and said:

    “I came to win the league.”

    “That’s it?”

    “…I’ll win the Champions too.”

    “She says so. What are you all doing, applaud.”

    Yang Myunghyun snapped his fingers as if remembering something forgotten.

    “Oh my, look at me. There’s one more new face besides Yujin. It should be about time for them to arrive.”

    Yang Myunghyun looked at the wall clock and turned his head slightly.

    “Oh, here they come.”

    My gaze lingered like a house spirit on the approaching figure.

    Confirming who it was, a smile hung on my lips.

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