Season 4: Chapter 69. Cheese vs. Paprika (3)
Two men entered a channel in This World.
“Hey, Orange.” A plump man waved.
The person in front of him was the streamer, Orange.
“Oh, Sausage.”
“What’s up? You trying to team up?”
Sausage quickly figured out Orange’s intention.
‘He’s always fast at making moves like this.’
Orange was clearly trying to assemble a team for the upcoming platform battle. Even just giving a heads-up made a big difference.
“Yeah, you’re the most solid among amateur tankers.”
Sausage was a streamer who once reached third place in the Challenger rankings as an amateur. He had achieved this during the off-season for pro players, but his skills were undeniably far above the average person.
“Hmm. What about the other members? Who are you thinking of?”
“Not someone originally from Paprika. A newcomer.” Orange raised his thumb with a meaningful smile.
“A newcomer?”
“Yeah. Almond.” He grinned, clearly expecting a big reaction.
Sausage just looked baffled. “What? What kind of nonsense is that? That guy...”
Orange waved it off like he knew everything. “Ah, ah. Don’t worry, don’t worry. I even checked his total playtime. Back during the tournament and all, I’m telling you he’s championship-tier...”
“No, you idiot. That’s not the issue!” Sausage waved his chubby arms. “Stop always taking notes like a creep and try watching the news sometimes!”
“What?”
“Almond isn’t joining Paprika. He’s going to Cheese.”
Orange looked as if his soul had left his body. “W-Why!? He’s a top player! He would blow up if he came to Paprika!”
“That’s just your opinion... Please remember that other people think differently...”
“Uwaaaaaah!” Orange screamed and collapsed like he’d just stepped on a landmine. “I’m... I’m fucking doomed!”
“Can you at least say I’m freaking doomed? I have a lot of young viewers.”
“Arghhhh!”
Sausage’s request didn’t register in Orange’s brain.
“I even heard Paprika already finalized it!”
“You know contracts can change one second before the stamp hits.”
“Ugh... damn. He’s the best talent out there.”
He probably didn’t know. No, he was better off not knowing that Almond ended up with Cheese because of Orange’s own lack of diligence.
***
“Huh?” Sang-Hyeon hadn’t expected that. “A team?”
“Yes, I heard about the platform battle too.”
Could she really be returning to gaming?
“Ah... I haven’t found a team yet. Honestly, I don’t even know how teams are made these days,” Sang-Hyeon said.
“My friends are entering from Paprika.”
‘Huh?’
Sang-Hyeon couldn’t quite follow the conversation. Regardless, she seemed to have more to say.
“Do you know someone called Cosmic?”
“Uh...”
Sang-Hyeon had no idea.
“He was our team’s ADC.”
“Ah.”
“Not just Cosmic. Popcorn and everyone else are joining.”
“A-All of them?”
“Yes. All of them.”
The legendary members who once dominated every LIL tournament with JeonJaPa. Time had passed, and they had all retired one by one. Now they were making a comeback as streamers at Paprika, no less!
‘So that’s why Paprika agreed to the showdown.’
Paprika had more to lose, yet still accepted the challenge. The main sponsor of this event was Police, the developer of LIL. Everything clicked into place. The most popular players in LIL were returning as streamers. Their debut stage would likely be this very platform battle, which was how Choi Sa-Rang knew about it ahead of time.
“Oh, of course. They’re all joining, except me.”
She showed a group chat where the members talked about the showdown.
[Popcorn: Yo, don’t you think we should switch positions for this?]
[Banana: Lol, what positions? It’s a survival game.]
[Popcorn: Huh... it is??? WTF, why are we doing this no-rules crap game?]
[Idiot: Lol dumbass didn’t even check the format.]
[Marshmallow: Guys... we still gotta win though, right???]
[Idiot: We’re winning anyway~]
The idiot was probably Cosmic. Although they had all reconnected, Cosmic still seemed to have a love-hate relationship with Choi Sa-Rang. It looked like the others were about to lose their names too. They openly chatted about the tournament while excluding her.
[Marshmallow: Guys, maybe stop talking about it... You're not even going to take it seriously...]
The supporter, Marshmallow, tried to ease the tension. Only then did everyone become quiet. It seemed like they finally noticed.
[Popcorn: Ah? Okay okay lol okay okay]
Popcorn awkwardly ended the conversation. Banana dragged the topic elsewhere to bury the chat. They were trying their best in a way. Some would think Choi Sa-Rang was being too sensitive, but Sang-Hyeon understood.
‘I can’t watch archery matches either.’
He avoided them for the same reason. Hyeon-Ju and others from his class were all active pros. Many of the promising athletes he once looked up to still competed as national representatives. The archery world had moved on perfectly fine without him. He knew that was natural, but it still stung.
So, he avoided it as his way of coping. He desperately ran away from archery, but she hadn’t even been able to run. She still hovered around the game, orbiting it like a child lingering around a playground they weren’t allowed into. She wanted to be part of it, but wasn’t. Sang-Hyeon understood exactly how that felt.
“They think they can win first place just by showing up. After everything I did for them.” Even as she pouted in frustration, it didn’t sound like she resented them.
It was just the situation. A white cigarette hung from her lips.
She gazed up at Sang-Hyeon and asked, “Do you smoke?”
***
Hiss...
She exhaled smoke in front of the vending machine. Sang-Hyeon quietly grabbed a can of coffee.
“Popcorn used to come to the hospital with me a lot... but he said he won’t be coming today.”
He was probably busy because of the tournament preparations.
Sang-Hyeon didn’t know what to say. “Ju-Hyeok didn’t come either. He’s off having fun.”
To be honest, Ju-Hyeok was probably working.
“With that editor?”
“Oh, yeah. You know her?”
“I saw her when we came together last time.”
“Ah.”
Fwoosh.
Sa-Rang turned her head and exhaled a cloud of smoke to shift the conversation.
“Did you hear I was the first to try the clinical trial this time?”
Thump.
Sang-Hyeon swallowed dryly.
‘I heard about it on the side.’
The doctor hadn’t recommended it to him and brushed past the topic, but Sang-Hyeon had already suspected it. He figured someone in her condition would be the first to try.
“How was it?”
“There was... some progress.”
Just hearing that much, Sang-Hyeon couldn’t hide his disappointment. Her tone gave it away. It wasn’t like she had found some miraculous hope.
Sa-Rang, as if fully aware of that disappointment, avoided eye contact and stared off into the distance.
“As expected, it just slows the deterioration like the Zombie School engine from before. You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”
“N-No, it’s just an experiment.”
“Don’t be disappointed.” Sa-Rang sounded like she already knew. “Things might be different if a large number of people logged in and performed the wavelength synchronization ritual together. That theory still holds. We have to believe in Legend’s Tale.”
Silence fell between them. Sang-Hyeon didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t help the creeping disappointment, but had no way to vent.
She was the one who went through the experiment, and her condition was far worse. She couldn’t even walk. Everyday life wasn’t just inconvenient for her. It was practically impossible. If not for her wealth and resources, she would’ve suffered immensely. His trembling arm didn’t even come close to comparing.
“By the way, why didn’t you find a team? You’re probably pretty popular.”
“I just found out what the event was.”
“Ah.” Sa-Rang nodded like it made perfect sense.
Another silence fell.
‘Is she bringing up the team thing again?’
It seemed like she wanted to join a team, but she said she couldn’t play anymore. Then, it hit him.
‘Ah, right. There’s also the coach.’
One of the messages from Ju-Hyeok mentioned including a coach in the team. Sang-Hyeon had been thinking of someone like Takoyaki for the role.
‘But still...’
Even with Takoyaki in mind, he couldn’t shake the thought.
‘And the event is LIL...’
What if she became the coach? Still, Sang-Hyeon couldn’t bring it up so easily. He wasn’t sure how she felt about the game now. Maybe she hated even the thought of it like how he once felt about archery.
Unfortunately, Sa-Rang thought the opposite.
‘He says he hasn’t formed a team yet. Does that mean he already has someone in mind for the coach?’
She was considering the coaching position too. They were thinking the same thing, but only the sound of the burning cigarette could be heard.
‘I can’t be the one to suggest being the coach.’
‘I can’t be the one to ask her either.’
Neither of them was the type to speak up first. Nearly ten minutes passed in silence. They made for a painfully bad pair in conversations.
Hiss...
She flicked the fully burned cigarette into the ashtray, and the winner of this silent standoff emerged.
“Haaa...” She exhaled deeply, as if bracing herself, and finally asked, “Do you already have someone in mind for the coach?”
The hand in Sang-Hyeon’s pocket clenched into a fist.
‘Jackpot.’
That bastard Kim Ju-Hyeok kept nagging him nonstop about finding a team and joining the networking event.
‘Now I’ve got something to brag about.’
Before even attending the event, he had secured one of the best teammates possible.