[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 414

“Ugh….”

I know, too.

This is enough.

At this level, Seo Yeon-woo would have been satisfied, and her comment could be brushed off as just a cute little rebellion.

But why is that?

I absolutely had to bring up that forbidden phrase.

“…Let’s play one more match.”

However, Seo Yeon-woo’s response was something I never saw coming.

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“Sis, you’re just terrible.”

Recently famous for his record of 1 win and 0 losses, Seo Yeon-woo strutted off beyond the practice room after those words.

I stared blankly at his retreating figure and could only manage a hollow laugh.

“Heh, heh heh…”

I had no choice but to laugh.

*

Was the recent record of 1 win and 0 losses that powerful? After that day, Seo Yeon-woo didn’t bother asking me to help him practice lane compositions anymore.

Even the practice sessions, which had been strangely emotional, changed significantly, and he seemed to have improved in various ways.

It felt like he had crossed over a wall or something?

“You did well today, Yeon-woo.”

“No, you did well. I just rode the bus.”

But why is that?

There was something strangely unsettling lingering over the past few days.

At first, I didn’t know the reason.

It felt like a weight was sitting on my chest, as if I was feeling nauseous.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

Then I played Solo Queue and coincidentally ran into Seo Yeon-woo.

On the same team.

Once the game started, and after we won comfortably, I finally understood.

‘Ah.’

So that was it.

The reason I had been feeling on edge until now.

It probably started that day.

“Yeon-woo, you looked like you were struggling against Aatrox during practice. Should I help you?”

“I’m fine. EZ said he would help me.”

“…Huh? EZ? You know him?”

“No, not really. We just check in on each other occasionally.”

I knew Seo Yeon-woo had surprising connections, but I didn’t think he’d be in touch with EZ…

“…What about after that?”

“I’m going to do Solo Queue.”

“And then?”

“I’ll sleep. We have practice tomorrow.”

“Why have you become such a bad kid?”

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

As expected of the guy with a recent record of 1 win and 0 losses, Seo Yeon-woo seemed to ooze confidence.

Then, by coincidence, I faced him as an opponent in Solo Queue.

Even though my position was Jungle, not Top, I found it rather advantageous.

In a way, the true counter to a top laner is none other than a jungler.

[Elise]

Picking a champion that was anything but ordinary, I showed Seo Yeon-woo what the end result is when a top laner goes against a jungler.

– First Blood!

– Enemy eliminated!

– Double Kill!

Dives, dives, victory in a 2:2 skirmish.

The plays executed so precisely like a winning formula had Seo Yeon-woo totally flabbergasted.

[Victory]

The game ended quickly.

With the enemy top and jungle falling into the snowball, mid and bot took the hit, and the enemy team lost their will to fight.

Naturally, Seo Yeon-woo, who had now turned into a 0 wins and 1 loss kind of guy, cautiously approached me after the game.

“…Sis, are we doing Solo Queue again today?”

I smiled brightly and said to him.

“No, I’m going to sleep.”

“…Already?”

“Yeah.”

I felt like I could finally get a good night’s sleep after a long time.

*

Life resumed as usual.

Well, ‘usual’ being that life for us meant each day was filled with intense practice ahead of the season.

Feedback naturally got heated, and the person struggling the most with it was Kim Jae-min.

“Why did you die here?”

“Well, it’s because the supporter suddenly went up top…”

“You should have played more safely.”

“How could I live when the ADC comes in that recklessly?”

“If you had played it safe, you could have survived.”

“No, I mean if the supporter had stayed with me from the start—”

Kim Jae-min’s protests went nowhere.

His fury, that he tried to expel, turned into a meek mutter when he caught a glimpse of Kim Ji-hoon.

“…Enough already.”

The mumble that escaped him didn’t reach Kim Ji-hoon.

‘…But how did I hear that?’

Objective observation would say Kim Ji-hoon was much closer to Kim Jae-min than I was, but I brushed it off for now.

I already knew my physical abilities had drastically improved since my body had changed.

‘That aside…’

In principle, Kim Ji-hoon was right.

One of our team’s main strategies was to make the enemy commit resources to top and gain an advantage at bot, or vice versa.

However, Kim Jae-min’s claims also had their merit.

It wasn’t a rational issue; it was an emotional one.

In simpler terms, the inexperienced little ADCs feel an indescribable emotion when they’re abandoned by their supporter.

The ADCs who have reached a certain level or those crowned as prince charming don’t go through such emotional turmoil, but Kim Jae-min, still a rookie, couldn’t have possibly handled that feeling.

He just couldn’t voice it due to Kim Ji-hoon’s overwhelming presence until now.

‘If I leave him like this, I feel like Jaem-min will eventually blow up…’

But since I couldn’t jump in rashly, I decided to just watch for now.

‘I don’t know.’

I chose to stand back.

There wasn’t much I could do, so I just left it, and yet…

An incident occurred.

*

The trigger for the event was nothing special.

We had our usual scrims, and feedback continued for Kim Jae-min, who was underperforming at bot.

“Why didn’t you back off again?”

“…How could I leave that lane? I’d be finished.”

“It didn’t matter since there were big gains elsewhere. You didn’t need to carry this game.”

“That’s!”

Kim Jae-min’s voice momentarily spiked before it shrank back in, the anger management kicking in once again.

“…That’s a problem.”

With that last remark, Kim Jae-min stood up abruptly.

Baek Seong-an looked a bit surprised.

“Where are you going in the middle of feedback?”

“…To my room.”

“What do you mean, to your room?”

Kim Jae-min didn’t answer.

He simply stumbled into his room and slammed the door shut.

“What’s up with him?”

“Beats me.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Kim Ji-hoon.

Even he, usually unflappable, couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise on his normally unreadable face.

“…”

Seo Yeon-woo spoke up.

“I’ll go check on him.”

“Ah, me too.”

With Seo Yeon-woo leading the way, our whole team gathered in front of Kim Jae-min’s door.

Naturally, the door was locked tight.

Knock knock—

“Jae-min?”

“…….”

“It’s me, Yeon-woo. What’s wrong?”

“…Go away.”

The atmosphere felt wrong.

If you consider Kim Jae-min’s usual personality, if he felt he was treated unfairly or wronged, he would throw a fit, not hide himself away in a cave.

“Jae-min, can you open up for a second?”

“Go away.”

The voice coming from inside was weighted down in a way that seemed heavy.

“Jae-min, don’t do that.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Kim Jae-min was stubborn.

“What should we do?”

“Well… this is my first time in this kind of situation.”

And it wasn’t just me who had never encountered this kind of situation.

If Kim Jae-min had been throwing a tantrum or causing chaos, Kim Ji-hoon could have settled it easily.

His overwhelming presence, stemming from his incredible physical abilities, had instilled a sense of decorum and etiquette in him.

But I never expected Kim Jae-min to react this way.

“Should we give him some time?”

Unfortunately, that suggestion was swiftly shot down by Baek Seong-an.

“No way. Don’t you know we have scrims with KIO today? If it were some random team, it might be different, but breaking a schedule with a foreign team is going to be a problem.”

“Oh, right…”

Our scrim opponents weren’t just local teams.

Last month, one of the strong North American teams, KIO, was here for a training trip.

If the opponent were a Korean team, we could explain our circumstances and postpone, but breaking a promise with a foreign team is a hefty burden.

In the worst-case scenario, the reputation of both that team and ours could plummet in the North American league.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Reluctantly, as the team owner, I walked up to the door and knocked.

“Jae-min, it’s me.”

“…I have nothing to say to you.”

“I understand what’s going on. You’re feeling quite hurt, right? But we have scrims coming up, so we need to play a game. Can you open the door?”

“Everyone always…”

Hearing that trapped tone, I was momentarily frozen by my own knock.

And rightfully so…

“…Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Your voice sounds anything but fine.”

“I said I’m fine…”

Baek Seong-an, with a face that looked like he couldn’t tell if he should laugh or cry, turned to me.

“Is this…?”

“Shh.”

The voice coming from inside sounded trapped.

Sniffling.

Putting together the clues I had gathered led to a very clear conclusion.

He’s crying.