“What are you smiling about like that?”
“Huh?”
Yoonsoo turned his head at the calm voice coming from behind as he sipped his drink.
Behind him stood Chanhyuk, who had just retrieved a piece of cake from the fridge.
‘What the heck? That cake belongs to Eunha.’
“Hey, if you eat that, Eunha’s going to freak out again.”
“I already told her I’m eating it. Anyway, did something good happen to you?”
“Something good, huh… well.”
“There were both good and bad things. All in just one day.”
“Really?”
Chanhyuk’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise but quickly returned to their usual indifferent state.
He was still the same as ever—a guy seemingly born to hone his gaming skills and rise to the top, but hopelessly awkward outside of gaming, like a poorly oiled machine.
No wonder even the higher-ups asked him to put in some effort for fan service.
When you compare him to the franchise star veterans from before, he really is something else.
Well, that’s a topic for another time.
If he’s unapproachable when it comes to anything outside of gaming, then you just need to bring up the game to get his attention.
Pouring himself a drink into his tumbler, Yoonsoo spoke as if mentioning a passing detail from his day.
“Today, I played some ranked games with Eunha and Friede.”
His tone was casual, as if it were no big deal, but Chanhyuk responded immediately.
“Do you still keep in touch with Friede?”
“Not me—Eunha does. If you saw how she clings to him despite getting utterly destroyed, you’d feel the same way. Then again, he is that good-looking.”
Chanhyuk, who was plating the slice of cake at the table, nodded before cutting straight to the point.
“How’s his skill?”
“Whose? Friede’s? Didn’t you already get a sense of it when you saw her go up against Lotus?”
“Watching it from the side and playing with her directly are different.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
When it came to Friede, just seeing her gameplay in videos versus experiencing it firsthand felt like two completely different worlds.
She was like an onion—you kept peeling back layers, but there was always more to discover. She never got boring.
“Uh, it’s kind of hard to put into words. Saying her skills are exceptional, her reflexes are insane, or her reaction time is fast feels cliché. There’s this aura about her that’s hard to describe.”
“That’s a bit vague…”
“It really was.”
Yoonsoo, feeling that his explanation was woefully inadequate, shook his head in frustration.
After downing a gulp of his drink to clear his head, the perfect word to describe Friede suddenly came to mind.
“Ah, of course. Eating always helps me think.”
“Posture.”
“Huh?”
“His posture is incredible.”
Chanhyuk’s gaze turned cold at Yoonsoo’s answer.
‘Posture? His posture is good…?
‘It might sound just as abstract as his previous explanation to anyone unfamiliar with the context.’
But to Chanhyuk, it was a more precise and definitive description of Friede than anything else Yoonsoo had said so far.
“No matter the time, place, or situation, her posture is always perfect. She never wavers. In that sense, she’s kind of like you.”
“I see… That’s good to know.”
He’s definitely preparing for the upcoming event.
Yoonsoo found Chanhyuk’s reaction amusing.
“So, what are you going to do? Can our ace beat Friede?”
“It’s not a matter of whether I can or can’t.”
To Yoonsoo’s teasing question, Chanhyuk nodded confidently, without a hint of hesitation.
“I will win.”
“Now that’s the attitude I expect from our ace.”
Other franchise stars from rival teams were often hyped up as Chanhyuk’s competition, but Yoonsoo always found it laughable.
Chanhyuk was the true king of Soul Warfare.
Sure, there was that one time Friede defeated him, but that was when Chanhyuk had been casually playing on his alternate account.
Knowing full well what Chanhyuk was capable of when he got serious, Yoonsoo smiled reassuringly.
“Oh, by the way, why did you ask me? Eunha probably knows more about Friede than I do.”
“I already asked Eunha.”
“And?”
When Yoonsoo pressed, Chanhyuk shrugged.
“She talked so much I gave up. She went on for 15 minutes straight and still wasn’t done.”
“Ah…”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
After that vlog featuring Friede’s dance performance, she became completely smitten.
Imagining Eunha passionately singing Friede’s praises made Yoonsoo chuckle bitterly.
***
[Title: Today’s Friede & Lotus Arm-in-Arm Love gif]
[Author: KimKkaeDulRak]
—Is Lotus hitting on Friede for real? This is so heartwarming. I never thought this angelic duo would make me feel this way. Honestly, if it’s Lotus, I could accept him being with Friede.
[Comment 1: No way. Friede isn’t for anyone.]
[ZekeGarterBelt: Ah, Lotus isn’t taking my sister either. LOL]
[SincereMan: If we’re being honest, they’re just like official siblings. Right. Totally!]
[Title: So is it Forming or Lotus?]
[Author: BbaeBbaeJwa]
—You’re not abandoning Forming, are you? You’re not going to throw away Forming for some random newcomer, are you? You’re going to cherish our Forming, right? Answer me quickly!!!!
[KimKkaeDulRak: Pepe, you’re such a simp…]
[OO: Open fire! Friede and Forming fans, disruptors are among us!]
[Yasergei: Forming is fine, but if Lotus fits better, I’m all in! LOL I’ll start.]
[Loo: Agreed!]
[NoseGeneral: Ah, Lotus is irresistible.]
[SincereMan: Truly, you’re an enlightened person, Sensei.]
[SunlightBlade: Lotus is kind of broken, honestly.]
[Title: If Friede + Team STK combine, it’d be terrifying.]
[Author: CrimsonLotus]
—Even with just Lotus on their roster, teaming with Friede already creates insane synergy. The opposing team is full of high-tier rankers, but they still get crushed. Now, imagine adding the rest of STK—like Warden. How insane would that be? LOL. I was secretly hoping Friede would go pro. I never thought Friede would flat-out reject the idea so harshly.
[ZekeGarterBelt: I know, right? Such a shame.]
[OO: But why doesn’t Friede go pro? With her skills, she could easily earn more than Lotus.]
[SunlightBlade: With her looks and skills, of course. She could surpass Warden and become the franchise star herself. LOL.]
[Hope5555: If Friede joins STK, the merch sales would skyrocket.]
[SincereMan: Hoho? (Interested)]
[Title: Ah, what the heck, TenLord? What’s with the sudden stream shutdown?]
[Author: BasinWash]
—Ugh, in all my life, I’ve never seen someone end a stream without warning or even finishing their commentary! You’re going to get in serious trouble if you keep piling up bad karma, TenLord! If you hate the chat so much, just ban them! For God’s sake!!!!
[ZekeGarterBelt: Not happening! Never! Absolutely not!]
[MidirsEatsSister: LOL Be thankful it’s not an Islamic country.]
[BbaeBbaeJwa: I already see myself being unemployed. Cheers.]
[Loo: Cheers. Isn’t getting fired inevitable, simp?]
[KimKkaeDulRak: Pepe, just return to the wild already.]
[BbaeBbaeJwa: Shut up, will you?!]
[TinyStepsToBankruptcy: Isn’t Friede just going to start ending streams abruptly without bans if she gets mad in the future?]
[OO: But does this even benefit Friede? She needs to stream to earn income. What’s the point of doing this?]
[DominAtor: Who knows?]
[ZekeGarterBelt: Rumor has it Friede comes from a wealthy family.]
[SunlightBlade: Rumors like that can’t be trusted.]
***
“The reactions are overwhelming.”
Scanning the responses on her phone, Dayoung let out a small sigh, muttering to herself.
‘These days, I feel like I check my sister’s stream reactions more than my own.’
Well, her own stream was running smoothly without any issues, so there wasn’t much to worry about.
Forming’s strength as a streamer lay in pursuing calm, consistent content, unlike other chaotic attention-seeking broadcasts.
Although not at the level of a top-tier gamer, her adequate skills made her a solid team player as long as she had support.
Without exaggerated actions, she maintained a calm demeanor, steadily balancing gameplay and broadcasting.
Her cute yet beautiful looks and composed personality guaranteed an enjoyable viewing experience.
By meeting the expectations of a wide audience, her stream steadily maintained consistent viewership and engagement, even if it didn’t generate a lot of buzz.
This level of stability was only possible because the curse had been lifted.
That’s why Friede’s increasingly noisy streams had been drawing her attention lately.
Her dear older sister, and one of her closest comrades as a Hero, had been at the center of constant uproar.
Naturally, Dayoung found herself checking reactions daily and even watching Friede’s streams to ensure there were no problems.
Although Ajin’s editing would likely smooth out any rough edges, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Let’s go, Dayoung the Simp! Let’s go see that Hero Simp Face everyone’s been talking about!”
Grabbing the overly excited Pepe, who was flitting around, she stuffed him into her bag with a sigh.
It was 10 a.m., a time when Dayoung’s day had just begun.
For her, it wasn’t particularly early, but given her usual schedule, it was definitely an “early bird” kind of morning.
The reason she was moving around so briskly, out of sync with her usual rhythm, was because of an urgent issue.
‘A new Hero, huh…’
The frequency of Heroes appearing seemed shorter recently. ‘Was it just her imagination?’
A new name had appeared in the Alpha Code Hero chatroom:
‘YuriRing… what even is that?’
Judging by the name, it seemed to be another female Hero.
Somehow, she already felt a sense of impending trouble.
Dealing with someone like Lotus, a regular civilian, was exhausting enough.
Even Ajin, as a fellow Hero, was sometimes a handful.
The emergence of a new variable always brought a certain level of anxiety.
Dayoung could only hope that this time, the new Hero would be a normal, reasonable one.
Of course, she didn’t include herself in that definition, but no one around her would point that out.
“Yes! More Heroes! Let’s become gods of a new world!”
“Ah, seriously!”
Swatting her bag as Pepe continued his antics, Dayoung quickly stepped out the door.
Her stride was faster than usual.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.