I stretched my fingers nervously, feeling everyone's eyes on me. "Are you scared..?" Yue asked, as I shot him a glare. "Why would I be?" I scoffed, acting better than I expected myself to. "Don't feel pressured. We know how much you've trained for this." Ming said, reading my mind. Probably my expression, which betrayed my words. "I should be the one to feel pressured-" Rui was immediately interrupted by Ming, elbowing him in the stomach. "- it's okay. All the best, Chen. I'll take care of the superiors." Rui flinched, but instantly added, taking the hint Ming was passing on.
"Hah, look at yourselves. You're clearly nervous, and you tell her not to be pressured. Easy for you to say." K commented, receiving a dark look from Yao. He shut up. Why did I volunteer for this? "I'm fine. My heart is not beating very fast at all." I nervously laughed, dying of anxiety on the inside. It sounded more like self-comfort talk than an actual reply. Ming gave me a thumbs-up, but I did not feel prepared. The stares felt like daggers, burning holes into my head. I was thoroughly regretting any of this.
"I'm worried about your mental strength. You should learn from Lu Yue. He's cool as a cucumber. He's better than a defensing tower. He just calmly waits when his teammates attack, and wins without doing anything. So, no one wants him to tag along." Chubby said, as I snickered at the end statement. Yue's face was priceless. "Go back to your seat. The competition is starting now." Cheng said, as I mentally face-palmed.
I sat down, and started my system. I was fidgeting with my mouse, feeling quite low on self-esteem. Why had I done this to myself? And Tai, out of all people? I am going to lose. I just know it. Just then, I felt a hand on mine. My hand stopped, as I saw Cheng standing behind me. "Why is your hand so cold?" He asked, as I looked at him weirdly. "I washed my hands with cold water." I replied, as he sighed. "This is not the first time you are losing anyway. Why are you so nervous? You were brave and enthusiastic when you challenged him." He said, as I took a minute to process the information. "Are you trying to comfort me?" I asked in disbelief, not expecting.. such a sentimental or saccharine gesture like this, from him. He's not really the best at conveying emotions, but then again, neither am I. It was a rare thing, I'm sure.
"Close your eyes." He said, covering my eyes with his hands. My heart was beating very fast, but not because of nervousness. I could feel YaoYao look at me, holding back a laugh. The I-told-you-so could be heard from a mile away. I closed them, as per his instruction. "Take a deep breath. Calm down, and play. It doesn't matter if you can't fight him. I'll lead you to victory." He said, removing his hands from my eyes, as I was frozen in surprise.
My heart fluttered, and I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach. I was brazen and outspoken, yet right now, I was at a loss for words. He flashed me his rare soft smile. The nervousness I felt was replaced by a seemingly foreign feeling, that made me want to prove myself, to him. It made me excited and happy just from listening to those words. It gave me a new determination. Like I would do my best, just for him.
+---×---+
"Did you hear that? Brother Cheng said that he'd lead you to victory. He's finally talking to a lady like a normal man." Chubby commented, as Yue looked as his brother, on the verge of breaking into laughter. "I'm quite touched by him. To be able to hear this from his mouth, in this life.. I have achieved redemption." Lao K announced dramatically, as Yao scoffed. "How is it, that you just achieved your salvation? Both of you are total ingrates. When you begged the captain to lead you to victory during the monthly test, why didn't you say it then?" She asked, incredulous. Ming checked his watch. "It's time. Let's start now."
Everyone logged in with their respective accounts, and adjusted their headsets. "Chen, we get to choose first this time. Do you want to use Aobozu?" Ming asked cautiously. He knew this was a sensitive topic, so didn't press on. "I'll still go with Ibaraki Doji. Thanks, though." Chen replied, giving the coach a grateful glance. Cheng hid the small smile appearing on his face.
At the start of the game, Chen stuck to the towers. She hadn't gotten over her fear much, she was just motivated to play. She willed herself to stop the slight tremors of her hand, staying far behind the others. As she dealt damage to Tai, she immediately went back for regen. "The line will breach the tower soon. K already launched an attack for you. Why are you still afraid? You don't leave because Tai is here?
It's been five minutes and we have zero death. But, we are still behind them by 300 points. Lee, are you disconnected?" Cheng asked, hitting a nerve in Chen. "You seem really arrogant today. And please, dakchyeo*." Chen whined. "Orochi is almost dead. Now, both of you have similar economy. You can surpass them if you kill Orochi. K, give them a view." Ming instructed, and K made his move. Yao followed him.
"Why are they waiting here, instead of attacking Orochi? Are they trying to scare someone?" Yao questioned, puzzled. Chen momentarily closed her eyes. Yes, she expected this. But was was she so scared? It made no sense. She had already reached the location, when she finally saw the people waiting to ambush her. "Ah Tai is heading there." Chubby said, making Chen anxious. She knew she was his target. She left the scene almost instantly.
Cheng gave her a short side glance. "Have you even seen him? Why did you leave? You ran faster than lightning." Cheng remarked, a slightly annoyed tone evident. "I'll die, if I don't." Chen replied, exasperated. The stress was getting to her. "Die? Fine. Once we kill Orochi, we'll fight him. It's okay if you can't win. I'll kill him for you." He stated, giving her a side-look. Chen muttered some curses under her breath, and followed Cheng. They managed to bring down Orochi, as Chen spotted Tai. "Xiao Pang!"
Chubby deflected the attack, effectively saving Chen from the latter. "Is he my Support or yours? If you continue to be like this, should Tong Yao protect you too?" Cheng asked, making it clear that it was a rhetorical question. Chen died mere seconds later, respawning back at the platform with a trusfrated expression. "You really play like Lu Yue, now that you're using Ibaraki Doji." Cheng added, Yue sending him a dark look. "Fine." Chen sighed, dissatisfied. She followed them back into battle, but retreated in seconds.
"Why are you hiding?! Even the Jungler is attacking. What are you doing?"
"Come back. What are you scared of? I'm here."
Chen relented, but stayed a good distance away from Ah Tai. Just then, Chubby died. "Chubby is dead. We aren't in good form. We should retreat." Chen blurted out, a hint of fear in her eyes. She didn't want to be dead-weight for her members. She already was, for certain people. Chen didn't want her team to lose because of her. "Tong Yao will assist you. Don't be afraid. Hide at the back and give us output (damage)." Cheng instructed. "Go! If we win this round, we win the game!" Yao yelled, with Chen hesitantly following. "Don't hide when you see him." Cheng said, before Yao respawned after being killed.
"Lee Chen, come and harvest, now!" Cheng called. Chen finally left her safe zone to help the captain. And then, Cheng also died. Chen was left vulnerable, so she went on offense, killing three.
[SEAL, TRIPLE KILL]
"Ah Tai has to go back to the farm." Ming informed, as Chen killed their bottom-laners. She then went after their Mid and Jungler, killing them quite hastily. She was the last one standing, and Tai was the only one remaining. "I'll wait back at the fort for you to respawn." She insisted, diverting the topic from the last-player dilemma. "Push on. One-to-one. Give me a good performance." Cheng added, Yue looking at Chen with a pitiful wince. Chen's expression said what she didn't, a very clear 'are-you-serious' on her face. She was about to protest, but one sharp look from the rest of her team stopped her. Chen sighed, mustered up all her courage, and went ahead.
+---×---+
I was contemplating my decisions, at this point. The reason I had this fear of Tai, is from one of my previous experiences. The reason I was always his backup, and never got any farther. I lost to him, always, only to him. I could win against Gunhyeok, as impossible as that sounds, but the smirk and smug victorious look on Tai's face was always too much for me to bear. He made it his goal to make me feel like an outsider to myself, and he actually succeeded. Tai was always a frenemy, or in simple terms, a rival on your side. The only time I was almost able to beat him, was a mistake on his part. If he made one, he could make another. That is my new motivation. All I have to do, is get him to make a mistake.
I slowly headed towards Tai, already seeing the sneer that would be on his face, ingrained in my mind. "Get yourself together, Chen. Why am I so scared? Ah Tai, just go to hell." I mumbled, bringing myself to reality. Tai approached me, the distance between us reducing each second. This time, though, I had a plan. I sent small attacks his way, as he easily blocked them. Obviously, that was expected from a veteran. But, I had a trick up my sleeve. "Come on. You did it once." I said, a small grin forming on my lips.
As expected, he rushed like a raging bull. Plan successful. I used my Ultimate and managed to Immobilize him for just a second. But that's all I needed. The tower was inches away, and it fell before Tai could react. Maybe the déjà vu hit him. He is a human, after all. As the tower was destroyed, I let out breath I wasn't aware I was holding. That sigh slowly turned to small sobs. I finally did it. I couldn't let go of the mouse, as tears slid down my cheeks. It was finally over.
Everyone had surrounded me until then, forming a sort of circle around me. I didn't mind, I instead found it comforting. They had noticed the tears I was shedding, but it didn't really matter. I was in a confused state of tears and happiness, making me want to laugh and cry. Those were tears of relief. Emotional grudges I had against Tai were resolved. Years' worth. "It easier than we imagined." Yao said, nervously chuckling, making an attempt at easing the tension. "Right?" Rui agreed, as Chubby nodded violently. "He's not as undefeatable as rumored." Chubby continued, as I removed my headset. I could feel the sympathetic looks, but I'm not that pathetic, so I wiped my tears quietly. It didn't go unnoticed.
"Well played. The training was effective, then." Ming acknowledged, as I turned to talk. "Thanks. But it was sheer luck. If he hadn't taken the bait, it wouldn't have worked. Without you, I wouldn't have lasted a minute." I said, trying my best to look calm and composed, even though I was feeling anything but. "What do you mean by lucky win? You won because of us, right?" Chubby joked, as Yue faintly smiled, before frowning. "Why didn't you guys treat me as kindly?" He asked, as K didn't even give Yue a second glance.
"You have such a thick face. There's no need to be kind to you." K replied, also holding back a smile. "It's not enough though. I have to train harder, so I can kill him by myself." I said, bowing my head in gratitude. "You are so arrogant. But, it's within reason." Cheng scoffed playfully, ending his words on a lighter note. Yue and Chubby feigned disbelief, while the others sent knowing looks. "Today's match is a milestone for Lee Chen, and Tong Yao. Both did great. So, my suggestion is, let's go out and eat something nice!" Chubby exclaimed, as everyone instantly agreed, jumping in joy. "The club will pay, let's go~!"
The others left, as I stared at my PC. I remember Cheng's reply, that day, even though I was drunk. He told me to conquer the existing before the new. Seems like a good plan. I guess I had now gotten the new start I was looking for. Just not the way I expected. But, maybe, just maybe, that's for the better.
---------
I yawned, opening the match interview by our Captain. The bus-ride to the venue would be long, and obviously, I craved entertainment. That's why I usually seemed hyper-active to others, which is an opinion on myself I frequently received. The start was as boring as always, until the part where I remember Cheng saying we weren't close. I remember the anger I felt towards him. Jerk. But, honestly, the remainder of the interview surprised me.
("And she's very serious. As the leader, I'm grateful to have such a great teammate. With her here, ZGDX will become even stronger than before, this summer.)
I felt really good, not gonna lie. He even smiled. And the comments which shipped me and Cheng together made me kinda happy. Me being me, a very petty person, I know, decided to tease our cold Captain with this clip. The bus was still on track for about 30 minutes, so we had time. "Xiao Rui!" I called out, as he turned to look at me. "What's wrong?" He asked. I got up, and went to show him the clip. "Do you want to use the toilet? You can't hold it in anymore?" He questioned, making me mentally face-palm. "Aniyo..! No, look at this."
I showed him the clip, on a higher audio than I usually use. I wanted to see the reaction by our 'leader'. He turned towards us, and snatched my phone. "Yah! What are you doing? Give it back!" I shouted, loud enough for the other members to hear. My phone was off-limits. If anyone saw the gallery storage, and the K-Pop.. No, I couldn't let it happen. I tried to get it back, but he just blocked me with his arm.
"Isn't this the previous interview? This is from a long time ago. Why're you making a fuss about it?" He demanded, in his monotone voice. I scoffed in disbelief. This was already expected from him, but I wanted my phone back. "Xiao Rui and I are still watching! And, you did compliment me." I added, making him give me a side-glance, before looking away. "So what? The outline of the interview was written by the previous staff. I just read it out loud. Ask Xiao Rui if you don't believe me." He deadpanned. Though, I could see a glint of nervousness. "Is that so?" I inquired, as Xiao Rui sighed dramatically.
"It's not. The only thing on that little note is the interview question. Who dares to instruct Lu Si Cheng on how to answer the reporters?" He said, barely making any effort to hide the grin showing on his face. I could see Cheng giving him a bombastic side-eye, with an 'are-you-serious' expression on his face, before he returned to his usual look. "Anyway, whatever. Give me back, my phone, you-"
+---×---+
Just then, the bus hit the brakes. Chen tripped, and almost fell on Cheng's lap. He caught her by the waist, staring with an inscrutable emotion. Time almost stopped, as the bus started again. Chen felt incredibly embarrassed, as the red crept up her cheeks. The whole group look at them, their jaws agape. They heard the shutter of a camera, everyone spun around to look. Yue held up his phone in victory. Chen coughed awkwardly, and instantly stood up. "What are you doing?" The captain asked, as Yue gave his signature grin. "Cheating, for you." He said, with a wink. Cheng gave a dark glare to his younger brother.
Chubby glanced back and forth between Chen, Cheng and Yue. "What does he mean by cheating?!" Yao exclaimed, slightly annoyed, that her ship moment ended so quick. "What happened, just now?!" K asked, in disbelief. "Delete it." Cheng scowled, but Yue just laughed, shaking his head. "When the hero wants to save the beauty, he has to have long hands." Rui chided, earning another glare from Cheng. "Caring for small animals is a virtue." He said, as Rui sighed, grinning uncontrollably. "Who're you calling a small animal?" Chen yelled in irritation, to no reply. She then turned to Yue.
She instantly lunged for his phone. He took a second to react, in confusion, before pulling his phone again. The phone was stuck in the middle, while the two opponents had a staring match. "Lu Yue. If you upload that photo anywhere online.." She threatened, in a low tone. "I'm not that despicable." Yue said, smiling. He was definitely up to something.
"You're more despicable than you think." Cheng commented, replied with an angry scoff from Yue. Yue opened his chat with Madam Wang. He thought for a poetic caption to add, and grinned at his work.
^When someone was interviewed just now, she looked at him so lovingly and complimented him.^
The demonic grin on his face only grew wider when the message was on seen. He sighed in satisfaction, stretching his arms. "Sweet, sweet revenge, big brother. Sweet revenge."
+---×---+
I was at the table, watching the slight flickering of lights nearby. People were still awake, apparently. "Is my grilled meat ready yet?" Chubby whined, stuffing his face with food. "I'm so hungry.." Rui added, as the group at the grill repeatedly told them to be patient. "Don't rush us! You only know how to eat." K said, whispering the last part.
Ming and K were at the grill, as the others waited for the food. Chubby squealed in happiness after seeing the hot skewers placed in front of him. Everyone picked up one, and began eating. I was a little mindful, and started last. "Is it good?" Ming asked, seeing Chubby enthusiastically nod his head in reply. Then, Cheng's phone began ringing. I looked at the addressee. It was 'Mrs. Lu'. Wait, back up. Mrs. Lu? Wasn't that what I said to him before?
"What did you do? Is his girlfriend calling him now?" I asked Yue, who looked at me skeptically. "What girlfriend?" He asked, as I pointed to the phone. "Ah.. Her? Pick up the call." He dared, to which I gave him a doubtful look. "Do I also have to doubt your sanity? You're very childish." I said, sipping my drink quietly. He burst into laughter, and at that moment I realized the idiot knew something I didn't. "Brother, your phone was ringing for so long, just now." Yue said, compelling me to look up. Cheng had returned from wherever he went, and he sat down at the table. "Who was it?" Cheng asked. "Presumably your girlfriend." I replied, still playing with my food. Suddenly, I felt like I lost my appetite.
Cheng looked at me, perplexed. He checked his call history, and looked at me with a frown. "Some 'Mrs. Lu'. I didn't look at it on purpose." I quickly added, as Cheng sighed in.. disappointment? "Shut up. She's not who you think she is."
Yue hid a smirk, basically dying from laughter internally. Why though? That's when I began to doubt my assumption a little.
(Mrs. Lu; Cheng; Yue/Chen)
"Hello-"
"Where were you? Why didn't you pick up my calls?"
I flinched at her voice. I could hear it from my seat, which was opposite to Cheng.
"Slow down. Why are you so impatient? You can't even speak clearly now. Besides, weren't you in a meeting? Why did you skip it? Is your company going to shut down soon?"
He spoke with her so casually, ignoring the usual irritated undertone in his voice. It made me wonder. Is this really his girlfriend..?
"She's my teammate. She played well. Why can't I compliment her?"
"I have to go to the washroom. You guys continue." I said, leaving. I couldn't listen for any more. I did not like couple arguments.
--------
I stared into the mirror, noticing the tears welling up in her eyes. I scoffed at myself, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. "I look pathetic. Why am I crying? It was probably going to happen anyway, it's been years." I voiced, wiping away the tears before they fell. I didn't deserve him either. He may act cold, but he's a softie at heart. I am always the one stuck between these two.
+---×---+
Cheng got another phone call from his mother, forcing him to sigh in annoyance, while rejecting the call. "Lu Yue I think you've poled the bear. If Brother Cheng's competition result is affected because of this, I'm going to cut your pay." Rui whispered, giving a dark stare to Yue. The latter nodded casually, before replying. "You'll never understand the feelings of a middle-aged woman with a handsome son, who doesn't even have a girlfriend yet, despite reaching marriageable age. But, if one day, she realizes that there's hope for her son, and that hope is destroyed.. it'll be really bad." He said, waving his fork around.
Cheng pretended to ignore what his imbecile of a brother said. Chen had returned back, and decided to help out with the food. She carried a plate for K, who was holding two already. Just then, there was another phone call, on Yue's phone. A 'Madam Wang' was calling him repeatedly, which Yue finally answered. He handed the phone to his brother. "This is for you."
"Blind date?" Chen immediately stopped eating, when Cheng said that. This couldn't be his girlfriend, then. So, who was it?
"What blind date? Don't you think you've gone insane? I have a practice match every day. I don't have time for a blind date. I don't even care if she's pretty." He said, glancing at Chen to see her reaction. She had almost choked on her food.
"Daughter from a respectable family? I don't know what that means. Alright, fine. She won't disturb my practice matches, my competition, won't post nonsense online, won't request me to meet her during every festival, and be quiet, as if she doesn't exist. Is she like that? If she is, I'll accept."
I.. Even apps will give you notifications, so how does he..?
"Yes, I'm straight. Isn't that great? Now you don't have to worry about my sexual orientation."
"A straight guy who doesn't like women is even scarier! I-"
Cheng ended the call, and Yue whispered something into his ear. Yue received a look of doubt from his brother. Just then, there was another call-back.
+---×---+
"Blind date..? Ma, an amazing man like my brother can have any woman he wants with a wave of his hand. This year is very important for our team. We are very busy. Besides, this year we can win the NCs- ...! What- No, no, you're right. It's time for Brother Cheng to go on blind dates." Yue said, breaking out into nervous laughter. Cheng frowned at him, surprised at his sudden change of attitude.
"She said if I said another word, she'd send us both on dates. I'm only 20! I'm not going to sacrifice my youth for our sibling-love. That'd be stupid, right? Enjoy your date. I heard she's gorgeous. Same age as you. Su Luo. She just returned from England. And, her family is one of our business partners. I believe that both of you are a match made in heaven." Yue grinned, his smile faltering at Cheng's glare. "Brother, don't look at me like that. This isn't the first time I betrayed you anyway. Brother, don't be mad!" Yue yelled, as the latter got up and left the table. The expression on Chen's face, meanwhile, was inscrutable. The person on the other side of the phone thought Cheng was.. interested in boys? She had a hunch it was about a certain brother of hers.
"Maybe he'll become kinder." Yue spoke, as Chen gave him a distasteful look. "When you were asked, you hung up so fast." She added, swallowing the bitter feeling on her tongue. It didn't seem to fade, though. "I have OPL. Onmyoji is my girlfriend." He continued, as Chen scoffed. "Girlfriend? She seems more attached to your brother. Besides, you can't even master her combos. You're a disloyal guy."
"If you have time to bicker, you better use it to do more homework. Our next competition will not be easy. Team Arashi is experienced. Although they haven't been doing well these last few years, they've never had to play a relegation match. They've always been in the middle-top ranking. FNC is even more troublesome," Ming explained, as Chen almost choked on her food at the mention of FNC. FNC was definitely troublesome, with ex-TAT players on their team. Like Hang-suk. "Theoretically, their team is the only one as good as us. We should watch out. I'm sure you understand." Ming finished, as Yue gave an exasperated nod.
"I remember. During the last practice match, Chen and Yao did the most. Our bot team had to drag it out, till Brother Cheng took over and won." K said, as the discussion escalated into a long drawn-out battle about which player in FNC was superior. Hang-suk, definitely. Chen stayed silent, sipping her drink. She just hoped it would be as easy as last time.
---------
Chen sat beside the coach, watching the match. "If they are sent to the red zone, Kun will attack Bodhidharma in the Bot Lane. If Bodhidharma sees the opponent Jungler, he'll counter-gank or infiltrate. See, it has an extremely high success rate." She said, showing the diagram she had drawn. "Here, here and there." Chen added, pointing to three places on the map. "On the contrary, if he doesn't get Bodhidharma.. view of the river is blocked, he will lose his sense of rhythm. Look. When they fought CK, Yang almost destroyed their jungle, because he lost his rhythm. [ONE AGAINST A THOUSAND]."
"Lao Ming, you're giving us great ideas one after another. Is this trail mix that effective..? I'm eating some more." Chen exclaimed, handing some to the coach. "Why do I feel we now have another data analysts on our team?" Chubby questioned, making Rui laugh. "It's better that way. We don't have to pay for another one. If all you could become like Chen, I'll be so grateful."
"You can slowly cultivate laziness. Don't be impatient. When Yue was first here, he was so diligent. Now look at him, hacking into others' accounts to sabotage them." Chubby teased, making sure the latter could hear. "Shut up, Pang!" Chubby huffed at Yue's rude reply, stuffing his face with more nuts.
"Yue, where are my car keys?" A voice asked, belonging to the captain. Cheng had just arrived, and he had dressed up, this time. Chen looked up from her screen, a light frown on her face. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked, receiving a nod from Cheng. "My mum... asked that girl out for me. She only told me about it, after the girl left." He answered, with an unsatisfied look. ".. Your blind date?!" Yao yelled loudly, making everyone face-palm.
".." Cheng's face was an enough explanation. He noticed that Chen was walking around bare-foot, her slippers strewn on the floor. Cheng picked them up, and brought them to Chen. "You're running around with your slippers, again. Next time, no one will feel bad for you, even if you crawl on the floor during your next period. Wear them."
+++++
~*Dakchyeo is Korean for 'shut up'. It is used informally, when you're angry/annoyed. Chen and Cheng both speak Korean, so it is directed towards him.
~*Aniyo is Korean for 'no'. Chen has used it in embarrassment, not directed towards anyone.