Chapter 95: Worlds Selection (1)

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[Title: Upvote if you still support Para lol]
All-Pro went to others now, but upvote if you still think Spring Para was the best lol.

–Sigh… My body can no longer be satisfied by just any super play.
–Why is Para so down lately?
–People who went to the fan meeting also said she wasn’t like her old self.
–She’s a high schooler; losing in the finals would break anyone’s mental.
–Still pretty, though.
–I miss the Para who used to break all the stat charts by herself.
–Ah lol, a full hexagon (stats off the charts).

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[Title: Upvote if you think these sons of b*ches are infuriating lol]
The four members of ARK who are finally starting to act like decent players.
Honestly, Lesser has been consistently good,
but the other three took turns throwing until the finals, and now they’re suddenly playing well. It’s annoying.

–Still, it’s good that they’re playing well now.
–Agreed.
–Para’s condition is a bit off, but it’s a relief they made it to the qualifiers.
–If Para gets her form back by Worlds, they could actually win.
–VXG is dominating the LPL with an undefeated streak. You think they can beat them?
–Is this punk new? Prime Para single-handedly carried the team and smashed VXG lol.
–Prime (2 months ago).
–Why are you talking about Para like she’s some old person on the verge of retirement lol.

LOL Gallery

[Title: Para Collection for the Qualifiers]
Para seems mentally out of it lately, so I’ve picked only her prettiest pictures.

–Beautiful as always today.
–But with that face, why is she even playing LoL?
–Because it’s fun, duh.
–Para, come here~
–She’s my wife.

LOL Gallery

[Title: Score prediction for tomorrow’s match? ㅇㅇ?]
If Para gets her form back, ARK will crush them.
With Para’s current form, I think RG will just take it.

–RG finished 6th in the regular season and somehow crawled their way up.
–Meanwhile, Bon-beo-ji is shedding tears lol.
–Bon is going to Worlds? Is this a lie?
–So Bon beats ARK and goes to Worlds as the 3rd seed…
–Based on current form, RG could definitely win.
–Seriously, if Para just recovers, I predict a 3-0. Mid is just too important in the current meta.
–And yet, he went to Worlds due to top difference in a mid-focused meta…

.
.
.

“What is this…”
No matter how far I scrolled, it was hard to find any posts criticizing me.
Even on the day we lost the finals, all I could see were posts cheering me on, saying we fought well despite the loss.
What on earth was this?
This reaction was different from what I had expected.
Choi Eun-seo, who had been watching me, smiled and spoke.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? You asked if a pro who doesn’t perform would have fans, right? Wouldn’t everyone criticize them? Then who are these people?”
“…”
“Do you really think people who belittle everything you’ve accomplished because of one, no, a few losses, are true fans?”

Until now, I had thought that was a given.
That if a pro couldn’t deliver results, they naturally had to endure blame and criticism.
I thought that was the fate of someone who gets paid to play a game that could just be simple entertainment, all under the title of ‘pro.’

‘It was definitely like that…’
But what about Choi Eun-seo saying this to me, and all these countless posts cheering me on?

“If you understand now, don’t just assume. Show them.”
“Show them… what?”
“What do you mean, what? Show those who criticize you for one failure that they’re wrong. And show the people who support you your usual confident self.”

Until now, I had naturally assumed everyone would blame me.
And I hadn’t even considered looking for signs of support.

“So, lighten up a bit. You have to win tomorrow’s match, right?”
“…Yeah.”

Tomorrow’s match was the fourth-seed qualifier.
If we lost, the season could end right there.

‘Actually.’
I had been hoping the season would just end like this.
Because a player who couldn’t even make it to Worlds would surely lose even the attention of critics.
However.

“…I’ll win. And this time, I’ll definitely win the championship.”
“Winning is good, but you don’t absolutely need the championship, you know.”
“No.”

Until now, chasing the goal of winning a championship was merely a tool to make everyone acknowledge me.
But now, it’s different.

“…It’s not for me, and it’s not to prove anything to others either.”
“Then?”
“I just… want everyone to be happy.”
“Now you’re talking sense. That’s the Para I know!”

Choi Eun-seo smiled like usual and patted my back.
Compared to the coach’s pats, I barely felt a thing.

“Oh, right.”
Just as we were about to part ways, since I had a match tomorrow, Choi Eun-seo hesitated, looking like she had something more to say.

“Um… After the finals.”
“Yeah?”
“You ignored all of Seino’s messages too, right…?”
“…Huh, I haven’t checked. But probably?”
“Don’t check now, but after tomorrow’s match, please look and at least reply to her.”

[Seo-ha!]
[Don’t blame yourself? too much!]
[I’m going to Korea! In October!]
[We made the Worlds song together this time!]
[Should the three of us meet?]
[Are you sick…?]
[I’m still watching your games!]
[Why aren’t you streaming lately…?]
[…?]

On the way to the team house, I remembered yesterday’s events and turned on my phone. Hundreds of messages flooded in at once.
Most of them were from Choi Eun-seo and Seino.
Choi Eun-seo, well, I met her yesterday, so that made sense. But I had no idea how to reply to Seino.
I decided I’d send something after today’s match and arrived.

‘…What do I do.’
Standing in front of the practice room door, I thought about how I had treated my teammates until now.
What should I say when I go in?
Before I could finish contemplating, someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

“…Not going in?”
“…Ah, hello…”

It was Kim Do-jin. He looked like he had pulled an all-nighter, already in his uniform and ruffling his damp hair.
An awkward atmosphere accompanied me as I entered the practice room. The other teammates seemed to be in a similar state, as if they had also been in the practice room since yesterday.

‘…Everyone.’
Actually, I knew everything.
That since the day we lost the finals, all my teammates had given up their vacation time and lived in the practice room all day.
That the beds on the third floor were probably covered in dust.

‘Actually, even the qualifiers.’
The current summer meta, with increased health for top and bottom turrets, made snowballing through mid extremely important.
Even so, the fact that we managed to get fourth place in the regular season and reach the fourth-seed qualifier was all thanks to my teammates’ efforts.
As I hesitated at the door, Kim Do-jin cautiously approached and asked.

“Um… Are you sick? Should I call the manager?”
The other teammates also looked worried.
Even though team results had plummeted due to my unilateral communication refusal, they showed no hint of annoyance.
It felt foolish to think that these teammates might blame me, leading me to cut off communication.

“…Um.”

‘…What time is it.’
When Kim Do-jin got up from his desk and checked the time, it was already 9 AM.
The last time he had reviewed replays with the team was 6 AM, so he must have slept for three hours.

‘Time to get ready.’
The final match of the qualifiers was on Sunday, a weekend game, so it started at 3 PM.
He let his teammates continue sleeping and went to the bathroom to wash his hair.
As he dried his hair with a towel, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Is this how the season ends?’
They had all tried their best, but their previous first-place regular season finish had been cruelly overturned; this time, they had placed fourth.
Not only that, but they were eliminated in the first round of playoffs and lost in the subsequent qualifiers, tumbling down to the fourth-seed decider.
Honestly, the cause was the mid laner’s slump.

‘But there’s no reason to blame Seo-ha.’
It would be stranger for a rookie with less than a year of experience to immediately recover after losing in the finals.
The other teammates thought similarly, so no one was particularly blaming Yoon Seo-ha.
Moreover.

‘Even if Seo-ha is like this now, are you confident you can play with a better mid laner in the LCK later? Don’t look at the present, look at the future. We need to make her re-sign.’
There was also the pretext of securing Coach Kim Han-seong’s re-signing.
For those reasons, everyone was just hoping to improve their own form.

‘It’s a bit disappointing, though.’
Still, it was a bit disappointing that their path to Worlds, which they had thought was assured, had become uncertain due to the qualifiers.
You never knew when you’d get a chance to play in an international tournament.
With such thoughts, he arrived in front of the practice room and saw a familiar figure.

‘Seo-ha?’
Her waist-long hair hung loose as she hesitated in front of the door, looking different from usual.
If yesterday she gave off a “don’t talk to me” vibe, now she seemed unsure of what to do.
He wasn’t certain, but on a hunch, he spoke to her.

“…Hel-hello.”
Yoon Seo-ha, who hadn’t even answered him yesterday, replied.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d heard her voice outside of the game.
Still, thinking he might burden her if he said more, he just went to his seat and continued drying his hair.
He glanced back slightly, but Yoon Seo-ha was still hesitating at the door.
Then, a moment later.

“Mi…Mi.”
Yoon Seo-ha hesitated and opened her mouth.
Kim Do-jin racked his brain for words starting with “Mi.”

‘Is she trying to apologize?’ (Mianhada – to be sorry)
For a moment, he thought that if they could just pull themselves together and focus on the game, they could get a good result.

“You f*cking idiots! If you had played this well in the finals, we would have won!”