It was midnight, late for others, but quitting time for the couple, Yoon Jinseong and Choi Hyunseo.
After finishing his shower, Yoon Jinseong sat on the couch, opening a non-alcoholic beer to quench his thirst.
“Dad.”
During this time, Yoon Seohwa, who would usually be asleep, came to the living room and spoke.
“Daughter, if you don’t sleep early, you won’t grow tall.”
“I have something to say.”
Curious about what it might be, Yoon Jinseong put down his beer and listened.
“Tournament?”
“Yes, there’s a tournament with broadcasters participating. I substituted this time and made it to the finals.”
“Of course, I don’t know whose daughter you are, but you sure are good at games.”
“So, can you and mom come to see it tomorrow?”
“It’s Saturday.”
Yoon Jinseong’s project was almost complete. The only issue was his busy wife.
“She did say she finished a big lawsuit.”
As an ace attorney at a large law firm, Choi Hyunseo didn’t have much time. However, she recently mentioned having some free time after concluding a large case. Yoon Jinseong thought it was worth asking.
“If mom can’t come, will you come, Dad?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why?”
“Well… If you just say this is a date, she’ll definitely come.”
Yoon Seohwa rarely expressed opinions this strongly, but Yoon Jinseong, although curious, agreed.
“So, where is it?”
“At Sangam Stadium. It’s the same place they used for the Star League.”
“Oh, there? I used to go there a lot when I was younger.”
Sangam Stadium was a meaningful place to Yoon Jinseong, where he had watched multiple Star League matches in person. There was no reason not to attend his daughter’s final there.
[Hey?]
[No! I fell asleep while watching the semi-finals, so I’m rewatching them now! She carried the game again today!]
[I’m pretty good, aren’t I?]
[Ha ha ha, why’d you contact me?]
Even though it’s 1 a.m. on a Saturday, Choi Eunseo replied promptly to my message.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“There’s nothing to do! I have to watch the LoL finals! I’ll stay up all night and watch the live broadcast.”
“Is LoL really that interesting? You don’t even play games.”
“Yeah! Watching is fun!”
She truly loves League of Legends so much that even pro gamers can’t compete with her enthusiasm.
“Will you come tomorrow?”
“Hmm? I failed to get tickets… There are none left… Seriously, I wish scalpers just disappeared.”
“I’ll give you one.”
“Really? But you need to give them to your parents and friends, right?”
“Each player gets five complimentary tickets.”
“Really? Are you giving me a ticket?”
“Yes, come if you have time.”
“For sure! There’s also a fan meeting between your team and Mineunchuk’s team this time!”
In my previous life, aside from my parents, I never gave tickets to anyone else. This time, however, I felt like I should give one to Choi Eunseo. I couldn’t pinpoint why. Maybe it was because we’ve grown closer after having meals together recently. I justified it by thinking it was in exchange for the luxurious lunch I recently received.
“It’s also my first time seeing Han Byeori in person! What’s she like?”
“She’s kind.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fun tomorrow! You must win! I’ll cheer for you! ٩( ‘ω’ )و ٩( ‘ω’ )و”
“Sleep well.”
I had informed my parents and Choi Eunseo. All that’s left now is to rest well for tomorrow.
Thinking about the matches so far, I changed into my pajamas and got into bed, but the games kept replaying in my head.
“Maybe Azir wasn’t a bad choice against Akali.”
In today’s second game, I picked Azir first because his range and kit have been nerfed recently. My opponent confidently picked Akali, and despite a neutral laning phase, he showed off in team fights. But in the end, range and DPS made the difference and I managed to shut him down. The matchup wasn’t entirely disadvantageous for the competition.
“Maybe I should have just pushed the line and finished it.”
Thinking I had to do something, I pushed the lane and got ganked, losing all my early game advantage.
I could have played it better.
“Feels like the quarterfinals were harder.”
The quarterfinals on Tuesday felt tougher than today’s semifinals. Today we smoothly won the second game, but we had to go all the way to the third set, and we almost lost in the last game.
“When I almost lost the Elder Dragon steal…”
Thinking about the Elder Dragon steal by the opposing team brought back memories from the finals of my previous life. Fortunately, the opponent tossed it to us, or we might have lost.
“I should play better.”
I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t fully adapted to my improved physical condition from the previous life or if it’s because of the team game after a long break, but I can’t help feeling that I’m not playing at my full potential.
“It’s meaningless to blame the team.”
Though all of the other team’s players are challengers and ours are just around Grandmaster, it’s an excuse to lose. But what about later?
Am I going to say we lost because the other team had certain players and ours didn’t? If I aim for the best, I need to overcome this and win the championship.
“…My head hurts.”
It was 11 a.m. I finally fell asleep at around 5 a.m. after overthinking everything, so I only got 6 hours of sleep. Not sure if it’s related, but I woke up with a headache. However, it disappeared after some stretching.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes and heading to the living room, I found that my parents had already finished their breakfast.
“By when are you heading there?”
“I need to be there by 3 PM, so I’ll prepare and leave after breakfast. But you only need to come by 6.”
“What do you mean by that?”
After eating a bite of toast, my mother asked, surprised.
Maybe inviting them to a game was a bit too much? I was about to say that it’s fine if they don’t want to come, but my mother’s next words were unexpected.
“Shouldn’t we drive together? You can’t go there alone. You’ll drain your energy just getting there.”
Sangam Stadium is about 1 hour and 30 minutes by subway, or 50 minutes by car. Since I used to travel by subway to the practice hall in my previous life, I thought I could go alone.
“Isn’t mom busy? Coming takes up the whole Saturday.”
“What kind of mom do you think I am? On days like this, time is definitely free.”
Before I finished my toast, my mother touched my cheeks.
“But…”
“Condition.”
“Condition?”
“Finish this toast, then let’s pick out some clothes with mom. You said you don’t really have a uniform, right?”
“True, but…”
If we’re taking a car, we’ll have spare time. But my mother’s fashion show?
This was a tough problem.
“Unhappy?”
“Uh… no… it’s fine.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“How’s this? Mom’s sense of fashion hasn’t aged, right?”
The outfit mom chose for me was what most moms would love: cute and elegant—a white polo t-shirt, a long skirt, and even a coat. She confiscated my usual hoodie and wide-legged pants.
This isn’t what men wear or something…
“Yes, it’s pretty.”
Of course, they say that face makes the outfit, and no matter what I wear, it’ll look good. Honestly, if anyone else wore such a cutesy and slightly excessive outfit, they might look overly girlish, but on me, it fits just right.
“So, are you doing the fan meet, daughter?”
“Yes.”
“What if there are strange people?”
While heading to the stadium, my mother worriedly asked, but it wasn’t something to be overly concerned about.
“Most people attending these events are female.”
“Men mostly prefer watching the broadcast at home.”
Even more, today’s opposing team had players who were all former pros and known for their good looks. Without a doubt, the audience would be 90% female today.
“Don’t worry too much. There will be security personnel.”
As far as I heard, the finals would employ LCK-level security. Besides the finalists, many streamers are also attending, so this measure is expected.
“Looks like many people are coming. There’s no parking spot left.”
Upon arrival at the stadium, my father searched for parking spots and appeared surprised.
“Then, you and Seoha go ahead. We’ll park outside if we can’t find a spot.”
After circling the parking lot without success, my father suggested that my mother and I go ahead.
“Should we head inside?”
“Yes, they said it’s on the 14th floor.”
Taking the elevator to the 14th floor, there was quite a crowd waiting. People exchanged tickets here and proceeded to the competition arenas on the 15th and 16th floors.
“Just a moment, Mom, I’ll use the restroom.”
While waiting for my mom, I reviewed the videos of the opposing mid-laner’s gameplay on YouTube.
“Excuse me…”
Someone approached me and started a conversation.
