Chapter 67

67

Of course, the slight tension in Bebe's voice was quickly resolved.

Anyway, winning first place was a good thing.

While the next team was in the preliminary round, I spoke to Kang Icha, who had returned to her seat.

"Kang Icha, the seniors only trust you."

"Bro, I saw you being sarcastic, you know?"

Kang Icha, who seemed to want to escape her servile position, took the opportunity to act coolly.

Then, as she watched the ongoing White Cherry semi-final match, she seemed a bit tense.

"The White Cherry seniors... they're doing well."

"Really?"

"Those are people who play at the top level. Especially the leader senior's management is extraordinary."

He muttered seriously and immediately called Seong Jiwan and Jung Dajun to whisper something.

"That's not possible. There's no previous data, so it's hard to grasp."

"No, I just saw the match, and Senior Chae-ri is…."

Yeah, yeah, do your best no matter what. Anyway, I don’t understand even if I listen. The recently enthusiastic Refine was waving the slogan with the feeling of 'Yeah, at least one person should win.'

[White Cherry~!! White Cherry is advancing to the finals!]

[Yeah! It was light, they handled it lightly!]

[White Cherry, is this team so good at the game? Why haven't they shown this skill until now! I really want to make a YouTube channel for them~!!]

Joo Seong, who was standing next to me, quietly testified.

"That's understandable. They always play this game when they get angry."

"Really? Does it relieve stress?"

"It actually causes more stress."

'They play this game whether they're happy, annoyed, angry, sad, whether it's snowing or raining,' Joo Seong clicked his tongue.

I can sense an extraordinary aura.

I thought first place was a sure thing, but there are more variables than expected. After the White Cherry match ended, Kang Icha took a deep breath, turned her shoulders, and nodded as if she had made a decision.

"Let's go."

"Let's go."

Swish.

Waving the slogan on her shoulder, they left with a determined look.

"Proud and... pitiful."

Kim Sung-hyun, who was standing next to me, expressed the exact feeling.

[Most of the White Cherry ranks are gems, gems!]

[The Dedenari team is not giving in either.]

White Cherry and Dedenari faced each other and politely greeted each other before taking their seats.

[After all, they don't give in when it comes to greetings!]

[It's a check, a check~!]

All members found their seats.

With White Cherry there, Joo Seong, who seemed to have no particular thoughts, poked me.

"I want ice cream too."

Indeed, to date someone who is half, you need this level of mental strength. I pointed out where the staff were roughly distributing ice cream, and the commentators were already excited, tearing open popcorn before the match even started.

[Seong Jiwan and Kang Icha, they have the same picks as the previous preliminary match! Why the same picks?]

[Probably because Seong Jiwan's practice time is a bit lacking, so he chose the champion he's most confident with.]

[That's a shame, but it's the same as showing their full strength….]

[Oh, here's White Cherry! This side is a bit disappointing too! The Dedenari team's picks are counter-champions (champions that are difficult to play against)! Why? Why did they do that?]

A member of White Cherry, Han Chae-ri, smiled at the commentator's words.

[Oh, she's smiling, smiling!]

[Does she have confidence in her physical abilities!]

"Big sister, what should we do here?"

=Can you check once?

"Like always."

=Kill.

'This might be a bit risky…'

The game progressed quickly. The 'I don't expect much' written on the commentators' faces had long disappeared. They were standing up and shouting excitedly.

[Ah! A stun there! They're using a stun! But White Cherry's Woo-bin changed the angle!]

[Wow, that was really close! But he dodged it again!]

[This side is a close match!]

"Pretty good…."

Woo-bin, who was playing bottom for White Cherry, muttered. Although he chose his words carefully in front of the camera, a faint chill could be felt in his tone. The commentators, who knew him or not, were thrilled.

[Not the bottom, but the mid lane is being pushed back! The Nightmare Young-gun, who was supposed to be a counter-champion, is being pushed back!]

[Wow! The skills there are dazzling, dazzling! He grabbed the player and pulled them to the tower! Pulled and got the kill!]

[There's no stopping 'White Cherry Chae-ri'!]

[Will they retreat here? No, no! They go all the way to the enemy tower and destroy it! Wow! Unstoppable!]

"Aah, I'm sorry, Icha!"

"Young-gun, it's okay. I'll cover you."

Kang Icha, who had already dropped her act, calmly replied and skillfully moved her keyboard. Then, a gank came from Jung Dajun's side.

3-2. Despite seeing it, White Cherry's Woo-bin calmly tried to retreat. But Seong Jiwan was faster.

[Basic attack, skill, basic attack, basic attack, skill! Solid basic movements, but the physical abilities are different! This is talent, talent!]

[On the other hand, White Cherry is experienced. They give and retreat smoothly. The two bottom lane players retreat without any signals, drawing the enemy to the tower! This is a movement that can only be done with trust!]

[But Jung Dajun! He's rolling a snowball, rolling a snowball! Yes!]

[Kang Icha! She played a lute and used her ultimate, yes, it hit! Seong Jiwan dives in! Double kill!!]

While swinging the lute and teleporting, Kang Icha quickly bought items from the shop and checked the minimap.

"Dragon."

[Kang Icha! So cool, just one word!]

[Seong Jiwan rushes in immediately!]

In the meantime, a White Cherry member who was eating the mid-boss monster was seen.

[White Cherry leader! Leader Liz, the player who stood out the most in the preliminary matches.]

The commentators said seriously. Liz, who didn't run away even as the enemy players approached and finished the dragon, smiled. Kang Icha, who had been frowning, widened her eyes.

"Wait. This is…!"

[Ah, here, here, is Liz going to die!]

[No, no! Liz uses Sauna Clock with just one health bar left!!]

"What's that?"

"An item that makes you invincible, blocking all attacks."

Kim Sung-hyun kindly answered.

Liz's character used the item and blocked all attacks. Seong Jiwan, seeing the minimap, tried to retreat quickly, but other White Cherry members were already surrounding him from above.

[Liz, who used the Sauna Clock, survives and retreats! He immediately starts healing! Now, the incredibly well-developed Chae-ri rushes in and lifts four players into the air! At the same time, the marksman Woo-bin uses his skill! He hits all of them!]

[An amazing combo!]

White Cherry was….

a master of team fights.

Well, considering they spend 24 hours together, always getting scolded and practicing choreography together, it's not surprising they have such strong teamwork… but this was insane.

[The late-arriving Nightmare Young-gun just takes the hits, takes them! 5v5 team fight! Kang Icha hits four with her ultimate, four! The positioning is perfect!]

"Kang Icha is doing well!"

I don't know what this means, but I clenched my fists desperately, thinking we still had a chance to win.

As the beautiful melody unfolded, Seong Jiwan immediately followed up with a combo.

However, the problem was that Seong Jiwan's character's health was too low this time.

[As Jung Dajun rushes in, oh, the nearby White Cherry Chae-ri hits Jung Dajun! Kill! Kill! With just one health bar left, Woo-bin, who just escaped, uses his ultimate!! The Dedenari team, all hit!]

After that, it was a massacre.

[Shutdown! Double kill! Triple kill, no, pentakill!]

[To see a pentakill here! Wow! Chae-ri's movements are insane, insane!]

[The Dedenari team really held on well, but the problem was that the White Cherry players were incredibly pro! Liz used the Eternal item to survive, and Chae-ri dodged the stun and used her ultimate! This is a highlight of the day, a highlight!]

The commentators went wild, witnessing a scene rarely seen even in pro matches.

After that, White Cherry, giving up on healing, continued to eat the dragon. Even when the late-arriving Dedenari team rushed in, it was too late.

"Bro, I'm sorry!"

"No, it's still okay."

[Kang Icha's mental strength is outstanding! Even when the end is in sight, she doesn't give up! She even supports Seong Jiwan while getting kills on two White Cherry players!]

['Dedenari Seong Jiwan' double kill!]

[Seong Jiwan, Seong Jiwan!]

Tap tap tap.

Click click click.

Just by the sound, it was a pro match.

[Can they turn this around here? The towers are actually similarly destroyed! Ah, but Refine gets a kill!]

[The inhibitor is destroyed, and super minions are coming! It's breaking, it's breaking!]

In the end, White Cherry pushed in fiercely, and the inhibitor was destroyed. Seong Jiwan pushed to the end, but it was not enough.

[White Cherry wins~~~!]

"Phew."

Seong Jiwan let out an awkward laugh.

White Cherry stood up, threw off their headsets, and hugged each other in celebration. They started with a relaxed attitude, but the match was so intense that the joy of winning was overwhelming.

[White Cherry takes first place~!! Gold medal~!!]

[The Dedenari team, unfortunately, takes second place!]

[Wow, it was so exciting! Especially the team fight in this final was a back-and-forth battle that is rarely seen in matches! It was full of twists and turns!]

"……."

Kang Icha stared blankly at the monitor and wiped her face. I thought she was starting her act again, but she looked genuinely sad.

Suddenly, the sincere faces she showed in the PC room flashed through my mind.

'Hyun! If we get first place, let's go eat beef!'

'This time, I'll get first place in e-sports and treat you!'

'Bro, why are you so bad…'

Let's ignore the part in the middle. Anyway, Kang Icha was confident and looked forward to the beautiful future of winning first place.

"Is he serious?"

I frowned and poked Kim Sung-hyun, but he just laughed.

"He probably hasn't cried since he was born."

Well, Kang Icha wouldn't do that.

"……Sigh."

Kang Icha rubbed her face a few more times with her palms and then stood up.

Her face was completely dry.

'Yeah, don't cry embarrassingly here…'

She patted the Nightmare team on the shoulder and looked at the other side.

White Cherry's leader, Liz, was walking towards Kang Icha.

'Wow.'

The way she walked confidently was like a general holding an enemy's head in one hand. Kang Icha quietly watched her and bowed her head.

"Thank you for the match."

The White Cherry member nodded.

"Good job."

"……Good job."

[Ah, both teams! They're greeting, greeting!]

The commentators were slightly teary-eyed.

[Even though I won this time, I acknowledge it was a beautiful match! I can see it from that serious expression!]

After the commentators' comments, the e-sports camera turned off, and Kang Icha tried to manage her expression. The fans probably didn't hear, but I did.

"I have no regrets."

"Bro, good job."

"Icha, it was fun."

Seeing Seong Jiwan's cheerful smile, Kim Sung-hyun clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Maybe he really is the mental strength champion."

Kang Icha smiled bitterly. Before Liz left, after confirming the camera was off, she crossed her arms and asked Kang Icha.

"Do you mainly play support?"

"Me?"

"Or another lane?"

"I play marksman too, but I prefer support."

Kang Icha, surprised, answered, and Liz nodded and gave serious advice.

"Maybe because your mind works fast… sometimes your management is too hasty. If you check on your teammates a bit more, you'll get better results."

"……"

"Other than that… there's nothing to improve. Thanks to you, it was fun for the first time in a long time."

"……!!"

Kang Icha's eyes widened at Liz's praise. 'G' in her left eye, 'R' in her right.

…No, if I'm going to get advice, I'd rather get it about idol activities, not online games.

Ignoring my skeptical reaction, Kang Icha was burning with enthusiasm.

"I look forward to seeing you again."

"…I won't lose so easily next year."

Liz smiled at Kang Icha's words and waved to the fans waving slogans as she walked away.

Kang Icha, as if the shock never happened, returned with her usual cheeky smile.

"You can lose sometimes. Ahaha, sorry~."

"Alright."

I patted Kang Icha's shoulder.

Since the archery setup in another area was already complete, it was time to leave.

[Please prepare for the next archery session.]

"Let's go, Seo Ho-yun."

"Okay."

As Kim Sung-hyun and I stood up, the sunset fans cheered. I waved lightly and looked at the archery set with ease.

"I'll get first place."