Chapter 78 : Misunderstanding

On the day of the shoot, I left the house quietly in the early morning hours to avoid waking Curry.

I had already been able to speak with the collaboration manager in advance through Jericho.

The manager gladly accepted my request to watch the shoot. Thanks to that, I was able to follow Jericho into the interior of the LoL Academy.

“Curry will be touched, won’t she? Barcode-nim personally coming to the site like this. Anyone would think you’re actually dating…”

“I was just curious about what kind of place teaches LoL.”

“…If the person involved says no, then it’s no. Sure.”

Engaged in idle conversation, we followed the staff’s guidance and entered the studio.

Amidst the bustling scene of preparations and studio maintenance, the staff directed us to the location of the waiting room before leaving.

“Sniff… It’s a bit cold. Let’s hurry to the waiting room.”

How sensitive to the cold could one be to shiver indoors like that? Jericho hastened his steps, and I followed behind him.

Following Jericho into the waiting room, I saw a woman and Curry facing each other.

Curry, looking shocked, stared at me blankly. The woman, presumed to be Rine, also turned her head following Curry’s gaze.

“It’s warm and nice in here.”

Oblivious to the atmosphere, Jericho smiled as he relaxed into a seat, enjoying the waiting room’s warmth. Whether he did so unconsciously or as an attempt to ease the suddenly tense mood, I couldn’t tell.

“Oh my gosh! Are you Barcode-nim?”

Rine, who had caught my eye, looked startled for a moment, then smiled brightly and approached me. Her voice brimmed with delight, and her radiant smile seemed like one reserved only for someone she liked.

I wondered if it was an act to deceive me, but Rine genuinely seemed delighted.

If that expression were acting, she should have been an actress, not a singer—that’s how convincing she was. Rine’s face blossomed with smiles as she passionately continued with sparkling eyes.

“I’m such a huge fan, Barcode-nim! When you won the Platform Tournament recently, and your Telon reversed the game by taking out three opponents after two allies were eliminated…”

“…How can you be so skilled? Since I got to know about you, I’ve been watching your broadcasts regularly!”

If that was an act, it wouldn’t be surprising if she won the Best Actress Award. Realizing this, the strange, tangled emotions I had disappeared entirely.

Rine continued to excitedly chatter, while behind her, Curry stood blankly, watching the scene.

Whether it was the stark contrast between them, or simply Curry’s foolish expression, I wasn’t sure, but—

“Pfft!”

I laughed. It was enough to make me feel like an idiot for worrying until now.

“Uh… Did I say something wrong? Ah! I haven’t introduced myself yet. Barcode-nim, I’m Rine, a solo singer!”

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like Rine and Curry had been happily chatting until just a moment ago.

If that wasn’t the case, there’s no way Curry would look so dejected. Watching Curry’s crushed expectations unravel in front of me brought a satisfied smile to my face.

“Nice to meet you. I don’t listen to your songs often, but I do occasionally.”

“Oh my… That’s an honor, but I feel a bit shy. I’m not very skilled at singing since my career as a singer is still short…”

“You’re plenty good. Honestly, aren’t you more famous than me?”

“Well, I can’t deny that. Ugh… So embarrassing. But I think Barcode-nim is far more famous than me in the LoL community!”

I couldn’t help but think this was how it would have been if Ji-hye were the one singing. Rine’s friendly personality was a spitting image of Ji-hye’s.

“Why the long face, you brat?”

“…Don’t talk to me.”

Curry trudged over to where Jericho was seated, muttering something as he plopped down.

Although I had already dismissed all doubts about Rine after a few conversations, I thought it was better to confirm, so I cautiously asked her a question.

“I checked your most-played champions in advance, Rine-nim, and your main role is ‘Top,’ right?”

“Oh, yes. Actually, I got into LoL after watching Curry-nim’s streams. I just blindly picked the champions Curry-nim played, and at some point, I ended up as a ‘Top.'”

“Since when have you been watching Curry-nim’s streams?”

“For about five months? I think. At first, I only watched on Mutube, but I started catching live streams after, uh…”

“After?”

“…After Barcode-nim and Curry-nim’s first collab stream.”

By this point, it was clear she was as good as a passionate fan of mine.

And thinking about it, it was only natural for Rine to have a mentor-mentee relationship with Curry.

Jericho mentored a celebrity who mainly played the jungle position. Ain mentored a celebrity focusing on the mid position. So, it wasn’t strange at all for Curry to mentor Rine, who primarily played the top position.

Looking back at myself in the past, the only thought I had was that I’d been as foolish as Curry. How stressed had I been to misunderstand things in such a way?

In fact, all of this was entirely Curry’s fault.

If Curry had properly explained things to me beforehand, if he had just rejected the invitation and peacefully stuck to our “fictional married life,” such personal misfortunes wouldn’t have happened.

Reaching the conclusion that Curry was the root of all these problems, I began to ponder.

How could I use this situation to torment the infuriating Curry even more perfectly?

My thoughts continued until other celebrities and streamers began filling the waiting room.

Just as the shoot was about to start, a brilliant idea struck me, and I sought out the manager.

The agreement with the manager was that I was only here to spectate today’s shoot.

It wasn’t as though I’d be directly participating in the collaboration.

Of course, I could appear in future collaboration shoots, but what I wanted was to join today’s shoot.

“What brings you to me?”

“I have a special request.”

I succeeded in meeting the manager and shared the idea I had in mind. It was an idea that could only benefit the content, so I thought they’d probably accept it.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, the manager, who had been silent, finally opened their mouth.

“Hmm… We’d be thrilled if Barcode-nim could do that, but… Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Even while giving their approval, the manager couldn’t hide their doubt. Their worried gaze wasn’t directed at me, but rather at the concern that the collaboration, into which so much manpower and money had been poured, might fail.

“I’m the one who got Curry to Grandmaster.”

“Ah… Then I’ll trust Barcode-nim with this.”

With the manager’s approval, I straightened out my slightly disheveled outfit.

When Rine said she was my fan, to be honest, I was thrilled.

She was a singer whose songs I often listened to, and hearing about her success story had turned me into her fan.

Overcoming tough family circumstances and resolving conflicts with her agency to achieve success so boldly had made me feel a sense of connection with her.

That’s why I had gladly accepted the collaboration invitation, and when I actually met Rine, my heart had pounded with joy.

Just as I had been her fan, hearing her say she was my fan had made me feel like I was soaring.

However, seeing Rine’s genuine delight when Barcode entered the room felt like my world was crumbling.

Once again, it’s Na-yeon Queen.

Rine wouldn’t have a reason to lie to me, so her claim of being my fan wasn’t false.

Of course, Rine would have no reason to lie to Barcode either, so her claim of being Barcode’s fan wouldn’t be false, either.

No matter how it looked, Rine seemed to favor Barcode more than him.

Still, it was Curry who would be collaborating with Rine on the shoot.

Determined to maintain a good relationship with Rine through this collaboration, Curry tried his best to relax.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been tense at all, but here, surrounded by famous celebrities and streamers, even a small mistake could shatter the image he had built over time.

Thus, the shoot began, led by the collaboration’s host.

Five celebrities, each specializing in one of five positions, paired up with famous streamers as their mentors.

The mentor-mentee matchups had already been decided beforehand, and once the opening was over, each group would split off to conduct their LoL lessons.

Curry and Rine, part of Group B, moved to a room marked with a [B] sign above the door.

“P-Please take care of me, teacher!”

“Haha… That title feels a bit embarrassing.”

“Oh, then what should I call you?”

“How about ‘Mentor’? It feels more friendly and fitting than ‘teacher.’”

“Ah, then… Mentor-nim?”

“Yes, Rine-nim. Hmm… Should I call you ‘Mentee Rine-nim’ in return?”

Rine shyly shook her head, looking as if she might die of awkwardness.

In the end, Curry decided to simply call her ‘Rine-nim’ as she was.

“Rine-nim, shall we start with a solo queue match?”

“Yes!”

Following Curry’s suggestion, Rine began queueing for a match.

Rine’s current rank was Gold 3, while her profile indicated her desired rank was Platinum.

To climb ranks, building basic skills first was crucial.

Improving her skills would not only help her rank up but also ensure she performed well in the scrim matches later on.

Eventually, mentees who had attended lessons with their mentors would form teams to participate in scrim matches.

The goal was to defeat scrim teams prepared for each rank tier, and beyond that, the mentee’s rank progression during the collaboration was also a key focus.

Regardless of how well the editing turned out, poor performance from a mentee would inevitably tarnish the mentor’s image as well.

Curry decided to first observe how Rine played the game.

As soon as the game started, Rine ran straight to the top lane.

She seemed completely uninterested in defending against invasions.

Shortly after, the enemy team was spotted invading their bottom-side jungle, but Rine simply stood in the top lane, watching her teammates get ambushed and killed.

[First Blood!]

“Well…”
“…”

To be fair, none of the teammates had been watching for an invade, so it wasn’t 100% Rine’s fault.

However, developing the habit of checking for invades was essential.

Curry pulled out his smartphone, launched the notes app, and jotted down feedback within the first minute of the game.

Afterward, the laning phase began.

Rine’s dreadful gameplay followed, and Curry busily moved his fingers to type.

Without the notes app, his restless mouth would have surely caused trouble.

[Defeat]

Eventually, Rine experienced a straightforward defeat, lowering her head with a discouraged expression.

Feeling sorry for her, Curry earnestly gave feedback and tried to reignite her motivation.

But the next game also ended in an equally straightforward defeat.

Another round of feedback followed, but nothing changed.

At this point, Curry wondered whether it was his inability to teach or if Rine’s LoL skills were simply hopeless.

After around three hours of games and feedback, there was no progress.

Just as he began desperately searching for another method—

Creak—

The door opened.

“Need some help?”

With a smile, Barcode stepped into the room.