Chapter 19: VLL final (1)

It was late for others, but for the couple Yoon Jin-sung and Choi Hyun-seo, it was time to get off work at 12 AM.

Yoon Jin-sung finished showering, sat on the sofa, and opened a non-alcoholic beer to quench his thirst.

“Dad.”

Meanwhile, Yoon Seo-ha, who would normally be asleep, came out to the living room and spoke.

“Honey, if you don’t sleep until late, you won’t grow taller.”

“I have something to tell you.”

Yoon Jin-sung put down the beer he was drinking and listened.

“A tournament?”

“Yes, it’s a tournament for streamers. I participated as a substitute this time, and we made it to the finals.”

“As expected, I don’t know whose daughter she is, but she’s really good at games.”

“So, can you and Mom come and watch tomorrow?”

Saturday.

The project Yoon Jin-sung was working on was almost finished.

The problem was his wife, who was always busy.

‘She did say she finished a big lawsuit.’

As an ace lawyer at a large law firm, it was difficult for his wife to make time.

Fortunately, she said she had some free time because she recently finished a big lawsuit.

Yoon Jin-sung thought he should at least ask.

“If Mom says she can’t go, should I go alone?”

“You have to come together.”

“Why?”

“That’s… well, if you tell her it’s a date, she’ll agree.”

Yoon Seo-ha rarely expressed her opinion so strongly.

Yoon Jin-sung felt strange but promised to do so.

“So, where did you say it was?”

“Sangam Stadium. It’s the same place they used for the Star League.”

“Oh, it’s there? I used to go there a lot when I was young.”

Sangam Stadium was a meaningful place for Yoon Jin-sung, who had watched the Star League several times in person.

There was no reason not to go to a place where his daughter was playing in the finals.

---

[Are you asleep?]

[No! =^w^=> I fell asleep watching the semifinals earlier, so I’m watching it again! You carried again today!]

[I’m a bit good]

[LOL So why did you contact me?]

Even though it was the weekend tomorrow, it was 1 AM now.

Choi Eun-seo immediately replied to the message I sent.

[What are you doing tomorrow?]

[What do you mean! I have to watch the VLL finals! I’m not going to sleep tomorrow and watch it all live!!!]

[Do you like LOL that much? You don’t even play the game]

[Yes! It’s fun just watching it!]

She was a really hardcore LOL fan, to the point where even the most dedicated pro gamer couldn’t compare.

[Then do you want to come tomorrow?]

[Huh? I failed to get a ticket, so I don’t have one Y-Y… I really hope all the scalpers die]

[Then I’ll give you one]

[Really? But shouldn’t you give those to your parents and other friends…?]

[The players get 5 invitation tickets each]

[Really? Then are you giving me a ticket too?]

[Yeah, come if you have time]

[Of course I have to go! Your team and MianJuk’s team are having a fan meeting this time, right?]

In my past life, I had never given an invitation ticket to anyone other than my parents.

But this time, I felt like I had to give one to Choi Eun-seo.

I didn’t know exactly why. Maybe it was because we had gotten closer recently after eating together.

I made an excuse to myself that it was in exchange for the luxurious lunchbox I had received this week.

[It’s my first time seeing Han Byeo-ri in person too! What’s it like meeting her?]

[She’s a good person]

[It’s going to be so much fun tomorrow! I hope you win! I’ll be cheering for you 9(‘w’)9]

[Then good night]

I had told my parents, and I had told Choi Eun-seo, so I was done.

All that was left was to get a good rest for tomorrow.

I changed into my pajamas and lay in bed, but the games I had played so far were making my mind complicated.

‘I think Akali might not be bad against Azir.’

In the second set today, we first-picked Azir, who had been nerfed quite a bit, because we needed a champion with range and the ability to make plays.

Then the opponent’s mid confidently picked Akali, and she played well in the laning phase and ran wild in teamfights.

In the end, we overwhelmed them with the difference in range and DPS, but it wasn’t as unfavorable a matchup as it was in tournaments.

‘Maybe I should have just taken the pushing lane and just last-hit.’

I pushed the lane thinking I had to do something, got ganked, and lost all the early advantages.

I could have played better.

‘I think the 8th round was harder.’

At the same time, I felt that the 8th round on Tuesday was more difficult than today’s 4th round.

Unlike today, when we won easily by taking two sets, we went to three games, and even in the last set, there were situations where we almost lost.

‘When we were taking Elder and it got stolen…’

When the opponent stole the Elder Dragon, which reminded me of the finals I experienced in my past life, I really thought it was over.

Fortunately, the opponent got a little excited and threw, so we were able to take it, but if not, we might have lost.

‘I need to do better.’

I wasn’t sure if it was because I hadn’t fully adapted to my improved mechanics compared to my past life, or because it had been a while since I played a team game.

But I still felt like I wasn’t performing at 100% of my ability.

‘Blaming team luck is meaningless.’

I could make excuses that the opponents were all active Challengers and our team was barely Grandmasters.

But what about later?

Could I say that we lost because the opponent team had a certain player and our team didn’t?

If I aimed for the top, I had to be able to overcome this kind of team luck and win.

---

‘…My head hurts.’

It was 11 PM. I couldn’t sleep until after 5 AM yesterday because I was thinking about all sorts of things, so I only got 6 hours of sleep.

I was a little drowsy, perhaps because I slept less than the 8 hours I usually slept.

But it went away after I woke up and stretched, so it was fine.

When I rubbed my sleepy eyes and went out to the living room, my parents had already finished eating.

I went to the bathroom, washed my face, and sat down at the living room table. My mom handed me a piece of toast.

“What time are you going today?”

“I have to be there by 3, so I’m going to eat and get ready to leave right away. Mom and Dad just need to come by 6.”

“What are you talking about?”

As I took a bite of the toast, my mom asked me with a puzzled look.

Was it too early to invite them to a game?

I was about to tell her that she didn’t have to come if she didn’t want to, but my mom’s next words were a little different from what I expected.

“We have to go together in the car. Are you going to go there alone? You’ll be exhausted by the time you get there.”

Sangam was about an hour and 30 minutes away by subway from here, and about 50 minutes by car.

I had planned to go alone since I used to take the subway to the practice room in my past life anyway.

“Aren’t you busy, Mom? Then you’ll be using the whole day on Saturday.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I made time for a day like this.”

Before I could even finish the toast, my mom touched my cheek.

“But.”

“But?”

“After you finish that, let’s pick out some clothes with Mom. You don’t have a uniform or anything, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

If we went by car, there would be plenty of time.

But Mom’s dress-up fashion show?

This was a difficult problem.

“You don’t want to?”

“Uh… no… I’d love to.”

“How is it? Mom’s fashion sense hasn’t died, has it?”

The clothes my mom put on me were, simply put, a fashion that moms go crazy for.

Girly and neat, with a white turtleneck, a long skirt, and a coat.

My usual hoodies and wide pants were confiscated.

She said those weren’t clothes for a girl to wear.

“Yes, it’s pretty.”

Still, as the saying goes, fashion is all about the face, so it was clear that anything would look good on this face.

Honestly, it was a style that could be a bit messy and look like someone with a princess complex if not coordinated well, but since I was wearing it, I just looked like a princess.

“Then are you having a fan meeting too?”

“Yes.”

“What if there are strange people?”

In the car on the way to the stadium, my mom expressed her concerns, but there was no need to worry.

Most of the attendees at these events were female.

‘Most of the men watch the stream from home.’

Moreover, the opposing team today was made up entirely of former pros, most of whom were considered handsome.

It was obvious that 90% of the audience today would be female.

“Don’t worry too much. I heard there are security guards too.”

I also heard that they were using security personnel on the level of the LCK I used to play in.

It was a natural measure since many streamers were attending in addition to the finalists.

“There are a lot of people, there are no parking spots.”

When we arrived at the stadium, my dad was surprised to see that there were no parking spots.

There really wasn’t a single spot anywhere.

“Then, honey, you go with Seo-ha first. I’ll look for a spot, and if there isn’t one, I’ll park outside and go.”

After going around the parking lot once and not finding a spot, my dad told my mom to get out of the car with me.

“Then shall we go in?”

“Yes, I heard it’s on the 14th floor.”

When we took the elevator to the 14th floor, there were more people than I expected.

It seemed that the system was to exchange tickets here and then go to the stadiums on the 15th and 16th floors.

“Wait a minute, I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

As I was waiting for my mom and reviewing the opposing team’s mid play on YouTube in front of the bathroom.

“Excuse me… are you.”

Someone spoke to me.