GJOW 15
by soapaHS Maker
Seo Jiho
HS Sparrow
Choi Kyeol
Support
HS Wony
Park Juwon
HS Lucky
Lee Seunghyun
The internal scrim was scheduled to be a best-of-three. The opposing team was the main roster that had played together in the World Championship. On top of that, our side had a jungler who had just changed positions and had never played together as a team before. It was a difficult situation to win, but Moon Sejun, wearing his headset, said.
“Let’s do well! I’m going to win the top lane, so you guys just need to do well.”
Tension and excitement came flooding in all at once for his first internal scrim as a jungler.
🎮
It was the second game. The red team had taken the victory in the first match, and now Yoon Chorong’s team was the red team. Yoon Chorong, who had just hit level 3, checked the map. The top lane was pushing, and the bottom lane was being pushed in. He could see the opposing team’s top laner recalling behind the guardian statue.
“Five seconds……”
It took about five seconds to recall. So he roughly calculated the time it would take for him to walk back. The enemy jungler was nowhere to be seen, but Yoon Chorong headed to the top lane first. While heading to the top lane he had pinged he would go to, he kept a close eye on the situation in the bottom lane.
Seeing the opposing bottom laners excessively pulling the lane gave him the conviction that the enemy jungler was on that side. Even if it wasn’t a gank, there was a high possibility they were taking a buff. Since there would obviously be a ward in the bush, Chorong circled as far back as possible and positioned himself behind the guardian turret.
A short while later, the opposing top laner appeared. While waiting to get a safer pincer attack, Chorong’s team initiated a trade. Just when a little of his health was chipped away, Yoon Chorong jumped out and dealt damage from behind. Han Yongho flashed forward. He was about to give chase, but the jungler was not visible from the bottom lane side.
It seemed like a potential counter-gank, so he pinged them not to chase and then went down towards the river. He happened to run into the jungler who was frantically coming up to the top lane, but they were both at full health and it wasn’t a backup situation, so it ended with them trading a single basic attack each. Chorong typed in the chat.
[HS WinterI: 1]
[HS WinterI: 0820ts]
(Translator’s note: Top Spatial Warp cooldown is up at 08 minutes and 20 seconds.)
After that, Chorong typed in the chat every time he went for a gank.
[HS WinterI: 1520ts 1740ads]
(Translator’s note: Top Spatial Warp is up at 15 minutes and 20 seconds, ADC Spatial Warp is up at 17 minutes and 40 seconds)
“Sobek’s spell is down.”
As soon as he said it, Chorong typed in the chat.
[HS WinterI: 2810ts]
The chats Chorong was typing were spell checks. In the game WOH, checking the opponent’s spells is extremely important. A kill can be decided by the presence or absence of an escape ability or a skill, so usually the jungler and the support are responsible for checking spells and communicating them during skirmishes.
Among them, Yoon Chorong was diligent about spell checks. This was because when he played for Phoenix, his teammates never checked spells, so to survive on his own, Chorong, the mid laner, started checking them first. So this time as well, he was watching the map and checking spells even during skirmishes he was not a part of. Of course, unfortunately, they lost the game……
The internal scrim ended with a 2:1 victory for the main team. Feedback began after the match was over.
“I won’t be too harsh with the feedback today. What I felt while watching was that you all had a good time playing solo queue……”
The players chuckled at those words.
“It’s a relief you played games during the vacation, but if you play like this in a real match, it’s a real problem. We have a scrim scheduled with Keumho in just a few days, and if you guys are still like this then, it will be really serious.”
The players nodded at Ryu Sunghyun’s words.
“I don’t think I need to explain one by one, but if I have to say something, top laners.”
“Yes!”
Han Yongho raised his hand. Moon Sejun also shouted.
“Yes!”
“Let’s get rid of the top lane fortress mentality. Get rid of it by tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The briefing was short, and next was the coaches’ turn. This time, the coaches gathered their respective laners. The jungle coach, Kang Jaewoo, approached Yoon Chorong and Ma Dojun, glanced at what he had written in his notebook, and asked.
“Why do you think you lost?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m just asking casually. How you guys assessed the situation.”
At the question, Ma Dojun hesitated before speaking.
“But I won.”
“Okay, then why do you think you won?”
“Well… because I played better.”
Kang Jaewoo laughed at Ma Dojun’s words and then looked at Yoon Chorong. Chorong, knowing it was his turn, was lost in thought for a moment. He had felt regret throughout the game they just played.
“First of all, we threw the game too much in the late game.”
“And?”
“There was also a synergy issue……. Overall, the tempo felt a bit fast? And I couldn’t quite match Youngjun and Sejun’s tempo. Maybe because Yongho hyung seems to fit team games better than I thought……”
Kang Jaewoo nodded as if to tell him to continue. Yoon Chorong fidgeted with his fingers and said.
“And I was lacking……. Maybe because everyone else has been playing together… I felt like I couldn’t keep up.”
“Hmm……”
Kang Jaewoo watched Yoon Chorong for a moment, then pulled up a chair and sat down. Then he called out, ‘Chorong.’
“Yes.”
“What do you think a jungler is? You were originally a mid laner. What did you think a jungler was back then?”
“Uh… I was a laner who focused on the laning phase……. Still, synergy with the jungle is very important for a mid laner… so I always tried to keep track of the jungler’s position. Even though I was a laner, I was a roaming mid, so I tried to play in a way that prioritized the team’s benefit over my own……”
“And so?”
“So… I felt very strongly that synergy with the jungler is really important. Even for roaming, I had to grasp the overall flow of the map before going. But I realized that it was ultimately the jungler who sets up the board to make it easy for me to roam.”
“……”
“I once reviewed a game I played poorly in all night. What I realized then was that the jungler and I had terrible synergy. So… um……”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Pardon?”
“For the team to be led to victory, it’s the laners who need to get strong. Top, mid, ADC.”
“Yes.”
“And helping them get strong is the jungler’s job. The support focuses on caring for the ADC, but the jungler… literally has to orchestrate the team.”
“……”
“The brain of WOH is the jungle.”
Chorong stared blankly up at Kang Jaewoo.
“On any team, the brain of that team is the jungle.”
“……”
“You have to know everything that’s happening on the map, and you have to choose where to break the game open.”
“……”
“The very start of a change in the game’s operation is what choice the jungler makes. Do you understand?”
“……”
“We are in the position to create the game.”
Chorong’s eyes sparkled.
“Setting up the board well and having to carry are fundamentally different. Judging that situation and focusing is what a jungler does. Think about it. If you have a complete grasp of the enemy jungler’s pathing and render him powerless everywhere he goes… who do you think will win?”
“……!”
“We win, overwhelmingly. The moment a jungler’s judgment is read, the game is lost from the very beginning.”
“……”
“Our position is like this. We get nagged at by the top laner and flamed from all over, but in reality, we are the game’s conductors.”
Chorong let out a small laugh at the playful words.
“Chorong, you have that kind of sense. Because you were a mid laner, your understanding of the laning phase must be exceptional, so your judgment will be that much faster. You have to know everything about WOH to make a plan without a single margin of error. The thrill when that plan works is hard to compare to when a laner gets a kill.”
“……”
“But Chorong.”
“Yes.”
“You will have to improve your proficiency with jungle champions.”
Chorong nodded. He was already feeling very disappointed with his own inexperience.
“It seems you’ve played Elise and B. Hike often, but you can’t be considered very proficient with them. First, let’s raise your proficiency. If you can’t be put into a match right now, the reason is your proficiency.”
“Yes.”
“First, let’s focus on practicing champions while playing in internal scrims.”
“Yes!”
“And also, watch the games I played and bring back an analysis. The best jungler in the world is me, so watch me and learn.”
“Yes!”
“Alright, next is Dojun!”
While Dojun was receiving his individual feedback, Yoon Chorong mentally listed the champions he would have to practice. He had to focus on first increasing his proficiency with champions frequently used in tournaments, such as the monk B. Hike, the scorpion Scorpion, Nightmare of Nightmares, the hatchling that can turn into a human, the singing Reserve, the axe-throwing Half, the drunkard Shoras, and so on. It seemed like there would be a lot to do in the future, but his heart was pounding.
After the meeting with Kang Jaewoo, it was dinner time. Chorong was dragged by the hand by his same-aged friends down to the cafeteria to eat. Perhaps because he had played so hard, his appetite was stimulated, and he devoured his food in an instant before heading straight back up. The time from 6 PM to 9 PM was dinner and break time, and from 9 PM onwards was personal practice time, but the reason he came up early after only having dinner was for practice.
There were no shortcuts to increasing champion proficiency. He had to play them so much that they became second nature to his hands. Confident that he wouldn’t lose to anyone in terms of practice volume, Chorong opened the practice room door and was startled. Ma Dojun was in the empty practice room. Had he not gone down for dinner yet?
Ma Dojun, who had been glancing around the practice room, saw Yoon Chorong and gave a small nod of greeting. Chorong, who hadn’t expected to be greeted first, nodded back and sat down in his own seat.
“It’s break time.”
“I have to practice. What about you?”
“I just came to look around.”
“Dinner?”
“I’m about to go down now.”
It was somehow uncomfortable, but he ignored it and logged into the game. Ma Dojun, who had been loitering behind him, approached as Yoon Chorong logged into the game.
“You’ll really have to practice a lot.”
“Yeah, I have to.”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Chorong’s hand, which had been clicking the mouse, stopped.
“The position change. Practicing champions isn’t something that happens overnight.”
“……”
“Adapting isn’t an easy thing, is it? If you mess up after changing positions for no good reason, you just get more flak, right? Besides, this is team HS.”
“……”
“Ah, well, I guess it wouldn’t make much of a difference if you got more hate. Well then, good luck.”
By the time Yoon Chorong, who had been holding his breath, turned around, Ma Dojun was already gone.
🎮
He had heard that in a ten-man roster, competition between the starters and substitutes was unavoidable. The reason he used the expression ‘had heard’ was because Phoenix, the team Yoon Chorong had belonged to, did not have a ten-man roster.
Usually, large organizations with financial power maintained a ten-man roster. In the Korean league, HS, GX, IMG, Keumho, and Amazon were the representative organizations. Phoenix had a seven-man roster. Even then, only the jungle and ADC positions had substitutes; Yoon Chorong was the sole mid laner.
Both systems have their own problems. In a ten-man roster, the competition for a starting position is fierce, and if the starting lineup becomes solidified, it becomes difficult for a substitute player to get a chance to play. Teams that did not have a ten-man roster could not hold internal scrims, and moreover, even if a player was in poor condition, they had to be forced to play if a match was scheduled. It was difficult to judge which side had more problems. It was only natural for any situation to have its pros and cons.
So I’m competing for a starting position right now……. Only after seeing Ma Dojun’s guardedness did Yoon Chorong realize. That there was competition even within the same team. From his few days of experience, the team atmosphere at HS was very good, but that didn’t mean there was no competitive mentality.
No player wants to spend a year on the bench. Yoon Chorong also knew that he couldn’t play in matches right now, but it was true that he believed there would be an opportunity in the future. The desire to show a good performance meant that he wanted to win the competition for the starting spot. Wanting to play in matches meant defeating Ma Dojun, the current starter.
After his personal practice ended at dawn, Yoon Chorong, having returned to the team house, could not fall asleep easily. Ma Dojun’s words remained as an afterimage, and he stared blankly at the ceiling before tossing and turning. How do other players handle the competition for starting spots? What is their mindset? He pondered, but there was no clear answer.
“Hyung, are you not sleeping?”
Choi Kyeol asked, perhaps having sensed his restlessness.
“Yeah, I should sleep now. I’m sorry.”
“Go to sleep.”
However, it took quite a while for Yoon Chorong to fall asleep.
🎮
HS’s daily schedule is structured like this.
Around 11 AM Wake up & Meal
12 PM Practice & Scrim
4 PM Break & Dinner
7 PM Scrim
11 PM Scrim ends
After 11 PM Late-night snack + Personal practice time
4 AM Sleep
Based on the reasoning that it was best to adhere to the recommended daily sleep time, most of the players went to bed around 4 AM at the latest. Of course, there were cases where players who wanted more personal practice would extend their practice time in consultation with the head coach and coaches, but for the most part, they followed that schedule.
Today, there was a roster introduction video shoot in the morning, so they had to move to the studio, but an internal scrim was scheduled for the evening. Yoon Chorong, who woke up a little early, used the bathroom first, then finished getting ready to go out and waited for his teammates.
“Is everyone up?”
Ryu Sunghyun, who had come to check on the players, saw Yoon Chorong already fully prepared and smiled affectionately.
“Chorong, you got ready early, didn’t you?”
“Yes, good morning, head coach.”
“Yes, good morning. Hmm? Did you not sleep well?”
“No… I’m okay.”
Just then, Han Yongho walked out of his room.
“Yaaawn, Merry Christmas, head coach. Merry Christmas to you too, Chorong.”
“Yes, Yongho. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Head coach……”
“Yes?”
“Yongho is shad. Because of you, head coach, Yongho is shad.”
The sudden lisping from Han Yongho gave him goosebumps all over his body.
“What’s wrong with him……”
Fortunately, it seemed Yoon Chorong was not the only one. Seo Jiho, who must have woken up at some point, came out stretching and made a disgusted face, but Han Yongho continued.
“Sho pwetty, our head coach who will spend this year without a girlfriend too, sho pwetty. Sho shad.”
“Go wash up, quickly.”
“You don’t even know Yongho’s heart. Hmph, hmph! Our head coach who’s going to become an old bachelor, sho pwetty.”
“Hey!”
As if he could not stand it any longer, Ryu Sunghyun walked menacingly toward Han Yongho, and Yongho, who had been acting cute, spun around and went back into his room.
“Hurry up and come out after washing!”
A voice answering ‘Yes!’ could be heard from beyond the door. Is… Is it okay to act like that towards the head coach?
“Every time Yongho hyung acts like that, really… Jiho is shad. Getting goosebumps all over my body makes me shad.”
“Jiho, go wash up. Okay?”
“Kay. Ugh, I’m getting goosebumps.”
As Seo Jiho also headed for the bathroom, silence fell in the living room. Ryu Sunghyun went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, drank it, then came and sat next to Chorong. Yoon Chorong, who was fiddling with his phone for no reason, looked at Ryu Sunghyun and then rolled his eyes around.
“Will the shoot today take a long time?”
“The shoot? Won’t it be over before dinner?”
“Yeesss……”
“Why? Are you nervous?”
“A little……”
“Don’t be nervous. The staff will take care of everything.”
“Yes.”
“Chorong.”
“Yes?”
Ryu Sunghyun chuckled as if something was funny.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Pardon??”
“You look like you have something on your mind……”
“Ah… no……”
“Is it not easy to adapt?”
“No, it’s not that… it’s just……”
Yoon Chorong, who had been hesitating for a moment, eventually shook his head. What would change if he said that Ma Dojun had said those things to him? What had happened when he told the head coach about a teammate’s issue back when he was with Phoenix?
Remembering what happened back then, Yoon Chororong shook his head. Of course, the team was different now, and what happened then was very different from what Ma Dojun had said to him, but he couldn’t help but be reminded of the past.
“I’m just not confident with this kind of filming……”
Ryu Sunghyun looked at the evasive Yoon Chorong, then smiled gently and reached out his hand. He stroked Yoon Chorong’s hair.
“You just have to do as they tell you. Don’t worry. You’ve filmed a lot of opening videos before. It’s the same.”
Instead of pressing him, Ryu Sunghyun gave him a gentle smile and then asked.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Ah, no.”
“You shouldn’t skip it. Let’s eat together.”
He didn’t really have an appetite, but he couldn’t refuse the head coach’s offer, so Yoon Chorong sat down at the dining table. Seo Jiho, Choi Kyeol, and Han Yongho also gathered and sat together at the table set by the housekeeper who had come to work, but strangely, only Choi Jeonghyeon was missing.
“Where is Jeonghyeon hyung?”
Seo Jiho asked, seeming curious, and Han Yongho answered.
“Jeonghyeon left early in the morning.”
“Didn’t he leave early yesterday too?”
“Right, is he eating something delicious all by himself?”
“Jeonghyeon is eating at our team house.”
At the unexpected words, the players’ gazes turned to Ryu Sunghyun.
“Why?”
Ryu Sunghyun smiled at Han Yongho’s question.
“I called him. I have something to talk to him about.”
“Aha… why?”
“Because he’s the captain?”
Having answered, Ryu Sunghyun put a sausage in Han Yongho’s mouth, who was about to say ‘Are you discriminating against the captain?’, and continued eating his meal.
🎮
The team arrived at the studio around 1 PM. While the staff prepared for the shoot, the players changed into their uniforms in the waiting room. As HS’s team color was blue, the official uniform top was also blue.
“The design turned out really pretty this time.”
“It’s similar to last year’s, though?”
“Don’t butt in if you know nothing about fashion.”
Listening to the players’ conversation, Yoon Chorong also changed into his uniform. The team’s logo was embroidered on the right side of the chest, and the sponsors were written on other parts. As a famous overseas sports brand company was in charge of the uniforms, even the sneakers were color-coordinated.
After changing in the locker room and coming out, Yoon Chorong awkwardly looked at his reflection in the waiting room. His heart swelled once again at the uniform he had briefly received yesterday to check the size.
“It looks good on you!”
He felt a little shy at Kang Yuju’s words as she adjusted his clothes.
“Should I take a picture for you?”
“Pardon?”
As if an answer wasn’t needed, Kang Yuju had Yoon Chorong stand in a spot brightly lit by the lighting and took a picture. Yoon Chorong, who had inadvertently even made a ‘V’ sign, also had a picture taken showing his back, following Kang Yuju’s orders.
[WINTERI]
Yoon Chorong smiled shyly at his own nickname engraved on the back.
“I should change my profile picture to this~”
“Uh……”
“You should change yours to this too, Chorong!”
Even at Kang Yuju’s cheerful words, he felt too embarrassed to change his picture to one of himself and couldn’t answer readily, but Moon Sejun shouted.
“Then I have to change mine too! Manager, please take my picture too!”
The other players who were watching from the side also suddenly started taking pictures and changing their KakaoTalk profile pictures. A short while later, a chat message appeared in the group chat where the players were gathered.
Hanseong Group Chat
Moon Sejun
Damn so freaking cool
Freaking awesome
Han Yongho
Change complete
Park Juwon
Done>_<
Lee Youngjun
I do not follow the trend
I walk the same path as the super cool Choi
Choi Jeonghyeon
Changed it
Lee Youngjun
OMG lolololololol
“He pretended not to care!”
Lee Youngjun shouted ‘Traitor!’ towards Choi Jeonghyeon, who was sitting a little distance away getting his makeup done, but there was no response.
“Our captain who risks his life for coolness will get super embarrassed one day.”
Lee Youngjun grumbled and typed in KakaoTalk again.
Hanseong Group Chat
Park Juwon
The captain backstabbing like this lolololololol
Lee Youngjun
I changed it too
Choi Kyeol
I have changed it.
Seo Jiho
Good grief
Since even Kyeol has changed it, I have no choice either
Ma Dojun
I changed it
Startled by Ma Dojun’s chat, Yoon Chorong hesitated before typing.
I changed it too….
At the same time, the shout of a staff member saying that the preparations for the shoot were complete was heard. All the players headed to the set.
🎮
“Ugh, so gross, I’m gonna throw up.”
Lee Youngjun exclaimed, but Han Yongho didn’t even bat an eyelash. Han Yongho, who was putting on a solemn expression in front of the camera, had good chemistry with the director of photography.
“Ah, that’s great, Yongho! Your expression is great!”
“Director, I feel like I’ve become an idol right now.”
All the players cringed at Han Yongho’s self-absorbed words. His same-aged friends, Moon Sejun and Lee Youngjun, openly pretended to vomit, but Han Yongho put on an even more arrogant expression as if to show them.
“Wow, his mentality is insane.”
It was true that Han Yongho seemed quite amazing for not flinching even after seeing such openly disgusted reactions. Yoon Chorong, who quietly nodded at Seo Jiho’s words, was waiting for his turn while watching the other players’ shoots.
Because he never held back, Han Yongho’s individual shot filming ended faster than expected. Next was interview time. Originally, it was a format where a staff member would ask questions and the player would answer, but this year, Head Coach Ryu Sunghyun sat opposite them instead of a staff member.
“With you in front of me, head coach… I’m… not nervous at all.”
Ryu Sunghyun laughed at Han Yongho’s playful words.
“Thanks for calling me head coach.”
“It’s an official video, so I have to treat you with respect. Of course.”
“So, the first question is… what are your thoughts on this year’s roster?”
Han Yongho smiled at that question.
“I like it. There are new friends who have joined… and I haven’t had a chance to play a proper game with those friends yet. So I am curious and looking forward to it. But well… as long as they’ve joined our organization, they’re all the best. Chorong, Seunghyun, let’s do well. It’s your hyung~”
Han Yongho flashed a K-heart towards the camera. After the second question was finished, Head Coach Ryu Sunghyun asked the final question.
“Please tell us your resolution for the new season.”
“Well, what else is there. I will practice like hell and lift the championship trophy again.”
Next, it was Moon Sejun and Lee Youngjun’s turn. The two players, who always seemed playful, were serious during the shoot. The questions for each player were slightly different, but the final question was the same for everyone. It was about their resolution for the new season, and the answer was the same for all of them.
‘I will win the championship.’
After that, it was Chorong’s turn to film. Yoon Chorong was scheduled to film a total of two scenes: a scene where he opens a door and enters, and a scene where he walks up the stairs. It was a scene where he opens a huge blue door from which smoke billowed and walks up the stairs… but honestly, he wasn’t confident he could do it well. He wasn’t confident he could do as well as the extreme concept-obsessed people who had filmed before him. He was already feeling awkward, his hand hovering between grabbing and releasing the doorknob, when the director of photography spoke.
“Chorong, please don’t feel too pressured. You just need to open the door and walk in. Alright, then… come in!”
At the sound, Yoon Chorong pushed the door with his eyes firmly fixed as ordered. He took a step with a somewhat serious expression, but he heard laughter from somewhere. Some of the players who were watching were laughing while looking at the monitoring screen.
“Chorong, why are you so stiff?”
Yoon Chorong gave an awkward laugh at Moon Sejun’s words.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Totally obvious. Relax your eyes a bit.”
He nodded, but there was another take that was no good after that. Far from being solemn, he looked like a stiffly frozen doll. He hadn’t been given any special instructions, so why was this so difficult? As he was feeling a sense of self-loathing, the director of photography stood up and approached Yoon Chorong.
“Hmm… there is a sharpness there, but……”
“……”
“Yoon Chorong, don’t think of it as too difficult. Ah! Try to recall your angriest memory.”
“An angry memory?”
“Yes, something like, ‘I won’t let you get away with this!’?”
He widened his eyes at the vague question, and Han Yongho, who was watching from the side, clapped his hands and exclaimed.
“Chorong, think of this bastard.”
“Pardon?”
Gasp. The person Han Yongho pointed to was Choi Jeonghyeon. Han Yongho pulled out Choi Jeonghyeon, who had been watching the filming with the other players, and shouted.
“I’m saying to think of Choi Jeonghyeon’s attitude. Imagine he’s beyond that door. Our team’s captain!”
At those words, a chill went through the studio set. Choi Jeonghyeon, whose expression hardened even more, glared at Han Yongho as if asking if he was serious. Yoon Chorong, who felt even more embarrassed by the suddenly cold atmosphere, looked up at Choi Jeonghyeon.
“You guys will have to properly resolve this at some point, but today, let’s use this a bit. Chorong, got it? This son of a bitch is in front of you… think like that and open the door.”
“Han Yongho, stop it……”
“I’ll try.”
It wasn’t particularly because of Choi Jeonghyeon, but it seemed worth a try. At Yoon Chorong’s words that he would try, filming began again. Yoon Chorong, who was holding the doorknob and waiting for the director of photography’s cue, swallowed his breath for a moment.
Choi Jeonghyeon is beyond the door. Choi Jeonghyeon is beyond the door. The idol I used to admire is beyond the door.
“Come in!”
The World Championship trophy is beyond the door!
“Okay!! Ah, that was great! That was so good! Wow, look at the tension! This is it! This is it!”
At the okay sign, Choi Jeonghyeon slightly furrowed his brow, but Han Yongho just cackled next to him, finding it hilarious.
“Is it really okay?”
“Yeees~ It’s so good.”
This makes me look a bit strange, doesn’t it?
He didn’t have any particular animosity towards Choi Jeonghyeon, but given the situation, it was true that he was a bit worried.
“In that case… hmm… should we revise the storyboard a little?”
After pondering for a moment, the director of photography stroked his chin and called over an HS team staff member. He was curious about what revisions they would make, and a few minutes later, the director, who had spoken with the staff, appeared.
“We’re going to revise the storyboard a bit. Originally, the scene of opening the door and walking up the stairs was planned to be filmed as a solo shot, but I think the picture will be better if Choi Jeonghyeon is on the opposite side.”
“……”
“You open the door… look up the stairs, and there’s Choi Jeonghyeon. Yoon Chorong comes up the stairs, and now we are on the same team! How heart-pounding is that!”
At the director of photography’s enthusiastic reaction, for some reason… he felt the shadow of the extreme concept-obsessed. Anyway, it was decided that the filming would proceed with the revised storyboard, and Yoon Chorong waited in front of the door again. Now, Choi Jeonghyeon, called the human championship trophy, really existed beyond the door. For some reason, it felt like his palms were getting sweaty.
“Alright! One, two, three! Come in!”
Yoon Chorong pushed the door forcefully. Yoon Chorong, who had entered the smoke-filled space, looked up at the top of the stairs to his right. He could see Choi Jeonghyeon’s back.
[MASTER]
Choi Jeonghyeon’s nickname caught his eye.
‘Why is your nickname Master?’
He was watching the World Championship broadcast when an interviewer asked Choi Jeonghyeon this question. After thinking for a moment, Choi Jeonghyeon had answered like this.
‘Because I want to be the best at WOH, and I’m confident I can be.’
‘Does that mean you are confident in winning the championship?’
‘Yes, I’m really confident this year. Because I am the best. As long as you’re a pro player, there is only one goal. The championship.’
And a few days later, Choi Jeonghyeon lifted the championship trophy for the first time. He was suddenly reminded of that day. Choi Jeonghyeon’s expression, filled with a tenacious desire for the championship. Others called him arrogant, and some called him conceited, but in Yoon Chorong’s eyes, it had looked like confidence in his skills.
“Choi Jeonghyeon, slowly turn around!”
At the command, Choi Jeonghyeon, who had his back turned, slowly turned to look at Yoon Chorong. The best player in the world was in front of him.
The player called the championship trophy itself, Choi Jeonghyeon. As he made eye contact with that player, he forgot to even breathe. The player who was his idol before he became a pro. The player who was still his idol even after he became a pro. But the player he had never expected to stand on the same stage with. And the player who had given him an unforgettable sorrow. Making eye contact with him, Yoon Chorong walked step by step and then stood stock-still in front of Choi Jeonghyeon.
🎮
After Chorong’s turn was over, it was Choi Jeonghyeon’s. Unlike with the other players’ shoots, the director of photography was polite to Choi Jeonghyeon. Choi Jeonghyeon’s scene involved him walking down a hallway and sitting in a chair prepared for him.
Choi Jeonghyeon, who was on standby, walked down the hallway at the director’s cue. After filming a frontal shot of him walking towards the camera, they filmed a side shot, and finally, a shot of his back. He was watching the monitoring screen with a rather curious mind when he felt the director angling the camera to make the nickname [MASTER] clearly visible when filming his back.
Then, Choi Jeonghyeon sat in the chair. That was also filmed from multiple angles, and the final scene was a frontal shot of the chair. There, opinions were a bit divided.
“Should he sit with his legs crossed?”
“Having his hands clasped is also good… which one looks more dignified?”
After some thought, they decided to film everything. Yoon Chorong, who was listening to the studio staff’s conversation about how fun it was to film him because he was handsome, tore his eyes away from the screen. Instead, he watched the living Choi Jeonghyeon.
“Damn, that’s our mid.”
“……”
“You want to beat our team? Then try beating me.”
Han Yongho said while crunching on a snack.
“Chorong, do you know this? Jeonghyeon is our team’s tank, the tank.”
“A tank?”
“Yeah, you were Phoenix’s tank too. The hate tank.”
Is that what it meant? As he was thinking, Park Juwon spoke.
“The player who gets the most hate on our team is Jeonghyeon hyung. After the World Championship, Jeonghyeon and Dojun took the most flak.”
“He got hate?”
“You, you don’t know. Go check the comments on YouTube. The other sites were much worse, so don’t look them up. That place is relatively decent… but it’s no joke.”
So HS gets criticized too. He had thought they would never be criticized because they were always in contention for the championship, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Even the organization with the most fans worldwide doesn’t always hear only praise…….
In the meantime, Choi Jeonghyeon’s interview filming began. Ryu Sunghyun, sitting opposite him, smiled.
“Our captain.”
“Yes, head coach.”
“First… you became the captain of HS this year, what are your thoughts?”
“It’s burdensome.”
Ryu Sunghyun laughed.
“Still, I want to do a good job. Jaewoo hyung led the team very well as captain, and now I’ve inherited that role. Even if I can’t be as good as Jaewoo hyung, I want to lead the players well in my own way. I’m a bit worried because I don’t have an affectionate personality, but I’m sure you will help me a lot, head coach. As captain, I will do my best so that our team can become the final victor.”
“Actually, it’s a position with a lot of pressure anyway… so I wanted to give the captaincy to another player. But no matter how much I thought about it……”
“It’s not Han Yongho.”
“Hey! I agree too, but do you have to diss me like that?”