Chapter 37: At times like this

The male friend glanced at my face, his expression puzzled, then started looking around.

“…Was it not?”

He seemed to dismiss it as mishearing and shifted his focus back to the screen. Considering how intense the game had become, he probably didn’t have the capacity to think about anything else.

‘Did I get away with it?’

Well, it’s not like he would think I’d give gaming advice. That would be absurd.

I suppose my unique appearance worked in my favor this time.

Phew.

I let out a sigh of relief internally.

That could’ve been a disaster.

‘I really need to be more careful.’

Thankfully, he was too focused on his game to delve into it. If he had pressed the issue, it would’ve been an incredibly awkward situation.

‘People tend to get especially irritable when they’re losing games.’

Even though I felt frustrated, I shouldn’t have let it slip out. It was a reckless mistake.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, a critical thought struck me, and I quickly turned my gaze to the left.

If my sibling had witnessed that moment, I’d have to brace myself for relentless teasing all day.

“Why are you throwing a grenade when I told you to throw a smoke bomb?!”

Luckily, or perhaps thanks to a stroke of good fortune, my sibling was fully engrossed in Survival Grounds, wearing a headset.

‘If they’d caught me…’

I could already picture their mischievous grin and endless teasing.

Pushing aside those dreadful imaginings, I reluctantly turned my attention away from the male friend’s screen and back to my own monitor.

The articles I had pulled up earlier as a diversion were still there.

• Man in his 50s claims ‘diminished mental capacity’ after murdering acquaintance.
• Low-interest era sparks crypto craze—is it sustainable?
• High school student missing; authorities in full pursuit.

The world truly is a bizarre place.

…Then again, I’m not exactly one to judge.

‘Maybe I’ll check out the forums.’

But I gave up on that idea almost immediately.

If I accidentally opened a League of Legends-related forum and the male friend saw it, he might connect the dots to what had just happened.

‘I shouldn’t have said anything unnecessary.’

Stuck in this situation where I couldn’t do much of anything, I was left aimlessly scrolling through uninteresting news articles.

At least, I changed the category.

It was eSports.

Though the articles mainly revolved around League of Legends, it seemed innocuous enough that no one would find it suspicious if I were caught reading them.

• MAX signs new ADC ‘KingGodEmperor’ to reinforce their bot lane.

‘Oh, so he joined that team.’

Currently, the global League of Legends pro scene was in the midst of the Stove League, the offseason period when rosters are reshuffled.

While I enjoy watching pro matches, I don’t usually follow the Stove League too closely, so there were plenty of intriguing updates.

• MYE extends LaLaLa’s contract for two years. From rookie to the team’s backbone.

It was about LaLaLa, a jungler I frequently encountered in solo rank.

A two-year extension—he must be planning to settle down with MYE.

‘Well, it’s a solid team.’

I skimmed through other articles.

‘Oh, this player is retiring. I thought their performance had dropped lately.’

Being a pro gamer is one of the shortest-lived careers.

Sure, some players enjoy long-lasting success and fame, but they are the exception. In the end, pros are judged by their performance, and those who can’t deliver inevitably face an unceremonious exit.

That said, retiring from pro gaming isn’t the end of the line.

These days, many ex-pros transition into streaming or content creation and find success there. There’s no need to feel overly gloomy about it.

I continued browsing through the articles.

‘This team looks solid this year. Their roster seems strong—they might even make it to the Red Cup.’

In the Korean league, renowned as the world’s best, only three tickets to the Red Cup are available.

The competition is unimaginably fierce.

For teams that didn’t perform well last season, securing fresh talent or undergoing significant rebuilding during the Stove League isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity.

That means the demand for exceptional players and promising rookies is at an all-time high.

Even I, a complete rookie, had recently received a ridiculous offer with an 800 million won starting salary and countless perks attached.

‘Not much has been finalized yet.’

While I skimmed through the various updates, it seemed like most teams were still solidifying their rosters, with only a few players confirmed.

Perhaps some transfers hadn’t been finalized, or maybe there were embargoes in place.

Having quickly exhausted all the related articles, I found myself bored once again.

If I were outside, I could at least take a walk and enjoy the scenery, but here, all I could look at were my own screen and the ones on either side.

‘Having a computer in front of me but not being able to play games… what is this?’

Hoping my identity issues would be resolved soon, I turned my attention to my sibling’s screen.

“Behind the tree at 240 degrees! Oh no, we’re flanked. Let’s retreat.”

If you asked me whether it looked fun or not, I’d have to say it did.

Still, my eyes were inevitably drawn back to the League of Legends screen on my right.

The situation didn’t look very promising.

‘It must have been that earlier decision.’

If he had followed my advice, they wouldn’t have been caught in the opponent’s strategy, and the situation wouldn’t have gone downhill.

It was a significant mistake.

[Defeat]

Not long after, the male friend lost the game.

“Sigh…”

Even though he had just lost in solo rank, he let out only a small sigh without much reaction beyond that.

Well, no matter how notorious League of Legends is for ruining people’s personalities, it doesn’t usually destroy someone’s composure after just one game.

Of course, there are rare exceptions when a single game can break someone, but those are outliers.

On average, it takes about three consecutive frustrating games to make someone lose it entirely.

“Do you watch League of Legends tournaments?”

“Huh?”

As the game ended, the male friend glanced around and noticed the articles I had pulled up. Showing interest, he initiated a conversation.

It seemed he assumed we shared a common interest.

I was momentarily taken aback, not expecting him to start a conversation, but I quickly answered.

“Oh… yes. Occasionally.”

Given the earlier slip-up, it might have been better to just say, “I accidentally opened it,” but my mind wasn’t working properly in the moment.

Regret always comes too late.

“I see.”

He gave me a somewhat peculiar look.

Did he figure it out? Was I caught?

…That wasn’t the right way to respond.

I should have feigned ignorance and acted as if I didn’t know anything.

While I was lost in countless thoughts, he asked another question.

“You don’t seem to play games much, do you?”

What does he mean by that?

Is he suspecting something?

Well, technically, he wouldn’t be wrong to suspect me…

My mind went blank.

But they say even in a tiger’s den, you can survive if you stay calm.

“Oh, I do play, but not so much right now.”

“What games do you usually play?”

“Well… a bit of this and that.”

And then silence followed.

I suddenly realized something—while I’m not particularly sociable, it seemed this male friend wasn’t either.

‘Or is this what normal interaction is supposed to be like?’

I have no idea.

Not at all.

[Match found!]

[Accept / Decline]

While we exchanged meaningless small talk, a match was found on his screen.

For me, it was a relief.

‘I hope we can just move on from this.’

While suspicion would be natural given the situation, I hoped he wouldn’t dig any deeper.

“Hmm, what should I pick?”

“Should I go with this?”

“Or would this be better?”

During the ban-pick phase, the male friend mulled over his choice with what seemed like deliberate consideration.

It was almost as if he wanted someone to overhear.

“I wish someone could tell me what to pick…”

His words trailed off in a peculiar manner.

That’s when I realized where his gaze was directed.

‘Oh, so that’s what you’re doing?’

This was an obvious bait.

I knew it.

But…

“Sylas might be a good choice.”

As a current Challenger and the top-ranked player, the blood of a backseat gamer boiling within me couldn’t hold back.

“What?”

The male friend looked visibly surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to take the bait he had set.

“Well… I saw in tournaments that people often pick Sylas in situations like this. Or am I wrong?”

Sometimes, confidence is the best approach.

Speaking casually and naturally, I noticed his expression shift in a strange way.

“…Now that you mention it, I think that’s true.”