Chapter 35: Team Streamer

Next morning.

‘…Sleepy.’

I woke up, but my eyes were trying to close again.

I barely managed to go to the bathroom and wash my face, and then I felt a little more awake.

I turned on my phone while eating the breakfast that my parents, who had gone to work early in the morning, had prepared.

‘What are all these notifications?’

I could see dozens of notifications from the SNS logo.

Wondering what was going on, I checked.

‘20,000?’

The follower count of the SNS account I had created last night was over 20,000.

What’s scary was that it wasn’t the end, and the followers were still increasing in real time.

First, I checked the post I uploaded yesterday and found something strange.

‘Did I upload it as a video?’

Because I uploaded it while I was half asleep, I used the camera attached to the SNS instead of the phone camera.

So without realizing it, I pressed and held the record button and uploaded a video.

Fortunately, there was nothing strange or problematic in the video.

It was just a video of my face being shown a little longer.

‘But still, 20,000 is too much.’

Usually, LCK players had 10,000 to 50,000 followers, and only a few players with strong star power could reach 100,000, even among those who had won Worlds.

Even though I had gained recognition through streaming, 20,000 in less than a day was a strange number.

After a while, I found out the reason.

[Pro gamer @para123’s video!]

Someone had taken my video, added a currently trending song, and made it into a reel, and it had gone viral.

The view count was already over 800,000 for a video uploaded 7 hours ago.

‘Should I be happy about this?’

The person who had reuploaded my video had at least tagged my account, whether out of a minimum of conscience or not.

The followers who were still increasing seemed to have come from there.

I continued to eat while thinking about what to do.

As I was about to finish my meal, my phone vibrated.

“Hello?”

[Did you create an SNS account?]

The caller was Manager Seo.

“Yes, I did create it, but.”

I explained the situation.

Manager Seo sounded dumbfounded and let out a sigh.

“It doesn’t seem like the video was made with malicious intent, and it might be good for team promotion…”

“I think so too.”

“Then should we leave the video as it is for now? Or I can contact them and ask them to take it down.”

Those kinds of reupload accounts wouldn’t take it down even if we asked them to.

And ultimately, we didn’t have anything to lose, so we decided to leave it as it was.

“It’s a relief that nothing problematic happened. I thought something had happened as soon as I came to work.”

She probably thought it was a fake account pretending to be me.

Manager Seo hung up, saying she had to get back to work.

‘…Work?’

It was 8 AM on a Saturday morning.

And she’s working…?

Do you have to be that dedicated to be the highest paid person on the team?

“Watch out for the peel and kiting!”

“I can give you my ult.”

“If Renata dies, the teamfight is over.”

“Can you push Yone forward?”

In the intense teamfight, the team members’ calls filled the battlefield.

In these situations, it’s important to listen to and respond to your teammates’ calls.

‘Now.’

But to reach the top, you had to take chances that only you could see.

“I’ll engage with Aphelios’ ult!”

A straight rectangular box appeared in front of the enemy ADC, Aphelios, as Yone’s ultimate was used.

Aphelios probably thought that I would target the out-of-position enemy Ahri, but since both the enemy ADC and I had magic resist items, it was a priority to take down the ADC first.

And the opposing team, having lost their ADC, was swept away and had no choice but to give up their Nexus.

“Nice.”

“Good job, everyone.”

“I wish it would be an ADC meta next season too.”

“The ADC meta you want? There’s no such thing, you ADC main.”

With about two weeks left until the promotion tournament.

We were able to win the scrim against RG, who was preparing for the qualifiers.

‘If we’re in sync, we’re strong.’

After observing the team members during the Summer season, they had good synergy when they were in sync.

It’s a bit of a stretch to say this, but the top laner who could hold his own even with a so-called “trash can” draft.

The jungler who liked to snowball the game based on his excellent mechanics.

The ADC who liked carry-type champions and the support who was extremely skilled with utility supports.

It was a very suitable team for this season.

‘The problem is.’

To put it differently, it was a top laner who couldn’t carry.

A rookie jungler who would fall endlessly if he fell behind.

A bot duo with an unstable laning phase.

Their floor was disastrously low.

‘I guess it’s fortunate that I’m here.’

Still, if I could hold down the fort in mid, they could at least pull their weight and not throw the game.

Considering the level of the 2nd division, should I be grateful for even this much…?

As they say, everything depends on your mindset, and when I thought about it that way, they started to look like decent teammates again.

“Then you all have free time, Seo-ha can go home now.”

Perhaps satisfied with the scrim results, the coach spoke in a pleasant voice.

It was quite an achievement for a CK team to defeat an LCK mid-tier team that was going to the qualifiers.

“Then I’ll be going. Good work everyone.”

I said goodbye, left the practice room, and headed to the garage.

‘Where did she go?’

Usually, Manager Seo would be waiting for me when my schedule was over, but for now, I went to the office where she worked.

And waiting for me there was.

“Long time no see, why didn’t you contact me, I was bored.”

Han Byul-i, wearing an Ark uniform.

‘What?’

If my memory was correct, Han Byul-i started as a team streamer after Ark was promoted to the 1st division.

It was a bit early for that now.

Wondering what was going on, I entered the office.

“What brings you here, unnie?”

Han Byul-i got up from her seat, hugged me, and then pulled my cheeks.

“Shouldn’t Ark have a cheering squad?”

That meant she was going to be a team streamer.

“But, considering your streaming size. Isn’t a CK cheering squad a bit too small for you?”

“Huh? Aren’t you guys going to the promotion tournament anyway?”

“We could lose.”

Manager Seo and Han Byul-i, who were in the office, looked at me at the same time as if they couldn’t believe what I had said.

“Lose? You?”

“Well, still.”

“It’s not like we’re going to the World Championship finals. I can’t even imagine it.”

Even while saying that, Han Byul-i didn’t let go of my cheeks, so I escaped first.

“So, are you going to be a team streamer?”

“Yeah, I was watching Ark’s matches anyway, even if I didn’t do it.”

“Our matches?”

“Of course! Our Seo-ha is on the team, and I’m sure the other team members were watching too.”

By team members, she must be referring to the Special Talents in Arts & Sports group that I competed in the VLL with.

It hadn’t even been a year, but it felt like a long time ago.

“And who am I? Honestly, Para? I practically discovered you. Right, Manager Seo?”

Han Byul-i, who had approached me at some point, hugged me from behind and spoke.

Even if it wasn’t for the Creator Invitational, I was planning to debut as a pro anyway, but I just left her alone because she seemed to be in a good mood.

“That’s true. Our team was originally an unpopular team, but with just Seo-ha and Han Byul-i, we don’t need any other teams.”

“Trust me. I will take responsibility for making Ark known to everyone.”

From what I heard, it was practically unpaid work for Han Byul-i, even though she was called a team streamer.

At this point, our team was a small, moneyless 2nd division team. In fact, Han Byul-i’s personal assets were probably greater than our team’s assets.

For that reason, the only compensation Han Byul-i wanted was my uniform and autograph.

It was amazing that such a big-time streamer was promoting our team for that.

“Are you wondering why I’m doing this much for you?”

Han Byul-i poked my cheek and spoke.

“Others might call me a fool, but this is what you call romance and loyalty.”

Up until now, I thought of Han Byul-i as a fun but slightly eccentric person.

I was starting to see her in a new light thanks to this opportunity…

“That being said, since I’m helping with team promotion. I have a personal favor to ask.”

“Go ahead. I’ll do it if it’s within my power.”

“There’s another VLL at the end of this year, right? When you have time, let’s duo just once…haha.”

Hmm.

I guess I don’t need to see her in a new light after all.

“Wow, this is LoL Park?”

“Have you never been here before?”

“No. I didn’t have anyone to go with, and I didn’t have the chance.”

Choi Eun-seo, who arrived at LoL Park where the LCK matches were held, had her eyes sparkling as usual.

‘That’s surprising.’

From our first meeting, she was a fan of LoL and pro teams to the point where most guys couldn’t even compare.

I naturally assumed that she had been to a live match before, but like during the VLL finals, she said it was her first time every time.

‘Is it hard to get tickets?’

Even for the most popular esports league in the world, 500 seats was a small venue.

In my past life, I often heard from fans I met at fan meetings that they barely managed to get tickets, so that might be the reason.

“Don’t we get the tickets here?”

As soon as we went up to the 3rd floor where the arena was, we passed by the ticket booth, and Choi Eun-seo asked as if it were strange.

Of course, ordinary spectators would present their ID here and receive the tickets they reserved online.

“We have complimentary tickets, so we have to go to the team booth to get them.”

Saying that, I headed towards the entrance of the arena.