“Are you thinking of going pro?”
On the way to Titan Underlock.
Si-young, who was sitting in the driver’s seat fastening her seatbelt, asked.
Since I don’t have my own car, I had considered taking a taxi, but Si-young reached out to me first.
She watches my streams without missing a day, so she immediately notices any changes in my circumstances.
“Well, I’m not saying I will definitely do it. There’s no such thing as 100% in anything, right?”
It’s possible I may or may not. Nothing is absolute. What if the reality of Titan Underlock is different from what I imagined?
What if the conditions for being a pro are too harsh? Or perhaps there’s a compelling reason that makes continuation impossible.
In such cases, the reverse could also hold true.
Perhaps the path to becoming a pro is more attractive than I thought.
I think of it as a new life, different from the one I’m living now.
A new life has its own way of living.
Unlike before, I decided that if I have even a little interest, I should try it, regardless of what it is.
That’s why I stepped out of my cozy home.
If it turns out to be disappointing, I can just return to the cozy nest prepared solely for myself.
It will merely become part of my experiences when I look back on it in the future.
“Please don’t make me unemployed.”
“Um, I’ll think about it.”
Si-young made a joke mixed with laughter.
After all, she was the first person I thought of when I considered this option.
No matter what, I can’t juggle a pro life with broadcasting.
As if she sensed my worries, Si-young preemptively told me not to feel burdened.
“I’m much more capable than you think, Mollu. Even without MolTube, I can make a living, so don’t worry.”
It’s somewhat surprising, but it seems that everyone around me are genuinely good people.
Unlike before, it feels like I’m overflowing with connections.
As I basked in the sunlight streaming through the car window, I thought that way.
“You said you’d be here at 2, right? 2 o’clock…”
Min-hyuk was pacing back and forth in the practice room hallway, glancing at his watch repeatedly.
How many times has it been already?
Seeing him acting so fidgety made Jong-wook wrinkle his face in discomfort.
“What’s wrong with you? What are you so nervous about?”
To be honest, Jong-wook found it hard to understand his behavior.
It’s just an audition test; a new team member isn’t confirmed yet.
It’s not much different from the promotion assessment that the youth academy members at Titan Underlock undergo to earn a starting spot.
Min-hyuk is usually not the talkative or serious type, but he’s not the kind of person to act so recklessly.
Yet here he was, flying into a frenzied state alone, causing Jong-wook to look at him strangely.
“Sit down, will you? You’re making it chaotic.”
“Uh… yeah.”
As he sat down, Jong-wook thought watching Min-hyuk fidgeting like that was odd.
Why was he behaving this way when he’s not normally like that?
He is not shy or particularly introverted; he doesn’t avoid meeting outsiders.
He shows no sign of nervousness even during face-off scrims with other teams.
If there was anything different today, it might be that the test candidate is a woman.
“Are you really that nervous about meeting a girl?”
The director’s words were true. Kang Min-hyuk was a bit of a shy type.
“Ah, no. That’s not it…”
“Come on, man. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It could happen.”
Thinking back, there were several players in the team who teased Min-hyuk about being single.
I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now it seems to be true.
On the other hand, Min-hyuk’s head was filled with other thoughts after failing to clarify.
‘Is she really that pretty?’
After the director’s statement yesterday, he researched the streamer Mollu.
He used to watch her stream regularly, as it’s not entirely unrelated to the pro scene, but with the team struggling lately, he hadn’t had the time to check her out.
Because of that, he had fallen behind on information about Mollu.
There are rumors of a dangerously skilled Eo War female streamer with celebrity-level looks, yet she has never revealed her face.
During his break yesterday, while checking out Mollu’s YouTube, live stream replays, and clips, he unexpectedly became a fan of streamer Mollu.
Kang Min-hyuk, who knew only about games.
A young man who had always been so engrossed in gaming, without showing interest in others, suddenly felt an overwhelming curiosity about someone in just one day.
He was surprised at himself.
‘It’s the first time I’ve seen a female player who’s so good.’
The reasons he became a fan of Mollu included her soothing voice and her womanly physique, but the biggest factor was certainly her Eo War skills.
‘I’m not a fan of Mollu for petting her for another reason; I’m purely captivated by her gaming skills.’
It’s common for rumors to become distorted as they are passed along.
Even if the Mollu he meets from now on doesn’t live up to his imagination, he promised himself he wouldn’t be disappointed.
At that moment, while Min-hyuk was unnecessarily making internal resolutions by himself,
It was 2 o’clock.
Ding—
At that moment, the elevator connected to the end of the practice room began to move.
“Looks like she’s here.”
Players who had cleared their schedules for testing, including the director, took their seats in the empty spots.
After a brief waiting period, the elevator door finally opened.
‘She’s here!’
Min-hyuk, who was extremely anxious, tried to act nonchalant as he turned his gaze towards the elevator.
And then he encountered her.
“Uh…”
Mollu, who looked vastly different from his expectations.
Firstly, she was taller than he had imagined.
The woman, who seemed to be around 171 cm, wore round glasses, perhaps to hide her fierce gaze.
Ironically, having searched for information about Mollu beforehand might have worked against him.
Faced with an unexpected appearance, Min-hyuk was frozen unlike he had promised himself.
“Oh, nice to meet you.”
The woman wearing low-heeled office shoes walked over, and Director Kim greeted her warmly.
“I came to take the test.”
“Oh, yes. We’ve been waiting. Mollu, please come in.”
However, the woman with the round glasses shook her head as if something was wrong.
“This way, Mollu.”
This way?
With her words, someone stepped out from behind her.
At the same time, Min-hyuk couldn’t take his eyes off the newly appeared figure.
She was small. The height disparity with the taller woman before made it stand out even more.
However, when looked at by herself, she didn’t appear small at all.
Her overwhelming proportions and unique atmosphere were enough to captivate everyone.
Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t the only one who was stunned.
“Wow…”
Even Lee Jong-wook, who was considered to have a presence in the esports scene and often attracted female fans, could not help but be amazed.
Now he realized it was just that Min-hyuk had only noticed her late because of the angle at which he was seated.
Everyone else had been mesmerized since the elevator doors opened.
Min-hyuk recalled something a friend, who once met a famous actress, had said.
“Oh, the atmosphere shifts as soon as she steps onto the set. Is there truly an aura unique to such people? It’s real.”
He had scoffed at that before, but at this moment, he could genuinely empathize.
And at the same time, he realized.
Ah, that person is Mollu.
“Nice to meet you.”
The voice he had heard from the streams.
The woman opened her mouth with softly curved eyes.
“I am streamer Mollu.”
“Why are you trying to go pro with that face?”
“I think she could live off just being a female streamer for a lifetime.”
“I can’t imagine that kind of girl being good at Eo War.”
Whispers mixed with expectations and distrust.
Some rubbed their eyes to deny reality, while others saw Mollu as a mere nobody who came to take the test to use it for her broadcast.
That was because her specialty and looks did not match at all, creating a huge disconnect.
A statement from a company’s interviewer hiring developers comes to mind.
“It’s hard to tell at a glance that this person can’t develop. You usually find that out while working together. On the flip side, those who look like they can develop well generally share certain characteristics.”
Forward-leaning posture, rounded shoulders, wire-rimmed glasses, digital watches, skinny or, conversely, pudgy build.
These traits reveal that the person sitting in front of a computer is presenting their job.
Min-hyuk was staring at Mollu, who was adjusting her mouse sensitivity.
The gaming headset on her head looked awkward. Her slender fingers holding the mouse gave the impression that she should be holding something else instead of a gaming mouse.
Yet still, it was an undeniable fact that her appearance had something that captured people’s gaze.
“The test will consist of a 1-on-1 test and a 6-on-6 team game. The team match will be conducted in a scrim-style format.”
“Ah, that’s why there are so many of us.”
“Even considering that, there are quite a few people around. I only called those who would play with me.”
Coughs could be heard from among the crowd as they exchanged glances.
Indeed, it was true. Even those who would typically just pass by and think, “Oh, it’s a test,” were stopping and holding their positions.
Mollu also seemed accustomed to this situation and let out a shy smile.
“Okay, then… Ji-hoon, why don’t you come out?”
“Me? Do I have to go first? The first player seems too burdensome.”
“Stop talking and come out, you brat.”
The round-faced candidate, Lee Ji-hoon, took the lead to step forward.
He greeted Mollu and took his place.
“We’ll conduct it as round zero. Just like the previous matches with other players, a best-of-three rule will apply.”
“Yes.”
“Alright, then…”
Let the game begin!
With the director’s shout, the game started.
What’s this? Is it really necessary to shout such an official call?
Min-hyuk couldn’t help but rethink.
“Uh, uh!”
One minute and 24 seconds into the match.
Mollu had taken out Ji-hoon’s character.
