When a company establishes a team, they receive a second-tier review after achieving results in designated competitions. Afterward, teams that stand out in the second tier receive a first-tier review, with promotions happening in stages. If they didn’t perform well in the first tier, they would be relegated back to the second tier.
And in this process, there was no way lobbying didn’t exist.
Haengun Capital’s President Hwang Haengun went around carrying boxes of apples to offer here and there, barely managing to promote Luckys to the first tier. However, when the politician who received the apple boxes was arrested for another bribery case, Haengun Capital ended up being investigated as well.
They barely escaped by creating false documents claiming they had legally lent money to that politician, but it became known to the public that Luckys’ team owner was Haengun Capital, a high-interest loan shark company.
A boycott movement arose, saying Luckys should be expelled from the first tier. Then the coach and players, whose contracts were up for renewal at just the right timing, transferred to other teams one after another. As recruiting a new coach and players also faced difficulties, Luckys was currently left with only the shell of being a first-tier team.
-The president is very disheartened. He threw it at me telling me to handle it and went on a pilgrimage. He’s very devout.
-Ah, yes…
-But I have a lot of other work. I was thinking about who to dump this on, and Yoon Gyeom Hunter-nim just happened to come to mind?
-Are you saying you’ll entrust Luckys to me?
-Well, if I attach conditions, you’ll work harder, right? Like it’s your own business, with a sense of ownership?
Director Hwang Geumchae promised Yoon Gyeom that she would eliminate 50% of his debt if he made it to the main tournament of this year’s Last On Korea Championship (LOCK), 80% if he made it to the semifinals, and the entire debt if he won.
Since she said she would temporarily suspend the debt maturity and interest payments while he worked, it was break-even at worst for Yoon Gyeom. No, it was an opportunity. An opportunity to quickly pay off the principal that hadn’t decreased no matter how much he rolled around here and there on Monster Island.
Moreover, Director Hwang Geumchae wasn’t just an employee, but President Hwang Haengun’s only daughter and heir. She was someone with that kind of authority. Yoon Gyeom returned to Korea and drew up a contract without needing to think about it.
Director Hwang Geumchae gave Yoon Gyeom all authority related to Luckys. Even though it was just a hollow team, they had already secured this year’s funding, so they had to continue operations even if they were unproductive.
It was basically dumping it on him because she found it bothersome, but thanks to that, Yoon Gyeom was able to form a team with autonomous judgment within the given budget.
However, realistically, even one win in the preliminaries was difficult, let alone the main tournament. Only one starting player and one substitute remained with Luckys. Even they were only forcibly tied there because of their contract period, hoping for time to pass without any motivation.
Yoon Gyeom needed players. Not just anybody, but real talent.
-Hello. Sinhyo, I was just about to contact you too, I’m with Lucky…
-Sunbae, I’m thinking of making a comeback soon.
-Comeback? Did you change your mind?
-Yes. I had no particular thoughts until yesterday… but I saw something just now.
-That’s great. Then how about Luckys?
-I still have a contract with Golden Ball. But why Luckys? Isn’t that a fucked team?
-Well, I’m the Luckys coach.
-…
Yoon Gyeom’s first-priority recruit was the genius player who had suspended activities due to school violence controversy, Bae Sinhyo.
They had once belonged to the same team, but at the time they weren’t particularly close to each other. The time they spent together was short, and each had a lot to deal with.
Nevertheless, Bae Sinhyo remembered Yoon Gyeom, who had been the only one kind to him on the team, as a good person. Yoon Gyeom also kept in mind that he hadn’t been able to look after Bae Sinhyo, who was only eighteen at the time, even though he knew his circumstances but didn’t have the capacity.
They thought it was just a passing connection, but the two would face each other again a few months later.
In the sea of monsters, Monster Island.
-You said you were going to meet family, but you got an offer? Wow, how could you not mention that?
-It wasn’t certain yet, so I was going to tell you once I stamped the contract.
-Why Luckys of all places? That’s a loan shark… Ah.
Among the cleaners of Monster Island, there was an unwritten rule not to ask about the circumstances that led someone to flow all the way there. Yoon Gyeom and Bae Sinhyo also didn’t know each other’s situations.
However, just from the fact that Yoon Gyeom had become the coach of a team made by a loan company, there were parts that could be guessed.
-Haha, there aren’t any players worth playing on our team, so I wanted to recruit you, Sinhyo, but it’s a shame you’re going to Golden Ball.
-…Sunbae, I know one bastard who seems like he’ll do really well, can I recommend him?
-Seems like he’ll do well?
Not that he does well, but seems like he’ll do well. Bae Sinhyo’s choice of words was vague, but there was nothing bad about getting a recommendation.
-Sunbae knows him too. Noh Pyeonghwa.
-Noh Pyeonghwa? Ah, I think I’ve heard about him a few times. The friend you were closest to when you were young, Sinhyo…
-Pax.
-Huh? Pax?
-He was doing a live broadcast earlier. I turned it on to see what kind of bastard he was, and even though he covered his whole face, it was exactly the same as Noh Pyeonghwa, that bastard’s socially fucked speech pattern, so fuck, I got goosebumps…
-Wait, wait! That friend Noh Pyeonghwa… was Pax? Are you sure?
-Yes. I’m sure.
Bae Sinhyo said he happened to see Pax’s live broadcast and immediately recognized him as his old friend. Although his face was covered with a gas mask and his physique had changed a lot, his speech pattern and habits were exactly the same as before.
And he added that Noh Pyeonghwa was a ‘real genius’ who taught him, who was called a genius, what frustration was for the first time.
-Sunbae, I really want that bastard to reach the top.
-Why?
-Because I have to drop him from the highest place so he can never fly up again.
A deep and sticky bad relationship could be felt from him as he spoke with a giggle. He also seemed excited like someone who had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
The fact that the identity of the malicious commenter Pax turned out to be his friend was truly surprising. However, Yoon Gyeom had not the slightest thought of helping Bae Sinhyo’s personal revenge.
To pay off his debt, he had to rise to the main tournament by defeating the powerful first-tier experts. Yoon Gyeom needed a real expert with experience rather than a beginner who had just awakened.
When Yoon Gyeom firmly refused, Bae Sinhyo opened his mouth as if he had expected this.
-Just think of it as being fooled and play one match. If it’s the Noh Pyeonghwa I know… Sunbae, you can never win.
After crossing the line between life and death on Monster Island, Yoon Gyeom had become much stronger than before. Even in a game where stats were limited, this level of real combat experience would make a clear difference. He couldn’t accept Bae Sinhyo’s words that he would lose, but his attitude was far too serious to dismiss it as a joke.
That’s how Yoon Gyeom ended up submitting an application to participate in Pax’s game broadcast debut match.
“Huh? It’s Yoon Gyeom!”
“It’s Yoon Gyeom ahjussi!”
“Wooow…”
Yoon Gyeom, who arrived at the Phase 2 safe zone, Animal Kids Park, hesitated when he saw three children with enemy team markers above their heads. One of them had a purplish complexion, as if bitten by a zombie and infected.
“Y-you know this person?”
An NPC in zookeeper attire glanced at Yoon Gyeom and asked the children.
“Teacher, don’t you know? That ahjussi is famous!”
“Why am I seeing him for the first time…?”
“He’s a pro gamer!”
Animal Kids Park was an experience center where children could interact with small animals. When you opened the door and went in, there was first a space where parents could wait, and inside the glass wall was the animal enclosure.
Since zombies had already swept through, only dark bloodstains were clearly smeared in the waiting area. Inside the glass wall in the enclosure, a zookeeper in safari outfit, several rabbits, guinea pigs, and three enemy team members were gathered closely together. TungTungTungSahuru, KukuruPingPong, KkukruPingPong… The incomprehensible nicknames made him dizzy just looking at them.
“Ah, programmer…? C-come over here. It’s dangerous there…!”
The zookeeper gestured toward Yoon Gyeom. Then TungTungTungSahuru, KukuruPingPong, and KkukruPingPong (hereafter Tungtung, Kuku, Kkukru) put their heads together and whispered. They seemed to be trying to speak as quietly as possible, but the space echoed so he could hear everything.
“Hey, should we do ‘that’ or not or should we or not or should we or not.”
“It is kind of ambiguous though?”
“The rabbits and guinea pigs…”
“Right? It is a bit much.”
Seeing them hesitate while glancing at the rabbits and guinea pigs, they probably planned to use a wide-range attack skill if he entered the enclosure.
Yoon Gyeom found the children cute and admirable for giving up on attacking because they didn’t want to hurt the animals, even knowing they were made of data.
“Should we go outside the enclosure and fight?”
“But can we even win…?”
“That’s too much.”
“Should we run or not run or should we run or not run or should we.”
“There are lots of zombies outside…”
“Ah shit, Pax-hyung’s team voice is still deactivated. Uwah, he’s coming!”
For kids these days, pro gamers were more than celebrities. In a situation where they memorized domestic as well as overseas leagues inside and out, there was no way they wouldn’t know Yoon Gyeom’s skills.
Especially Yoon Gyeom was famous as an underrated player. In the year he retired, his team Golden Ball was eliminated in the first round of the main tournament at the Korea Championship, and Golden Ball’s coach Geum Hyeon-suk even did an interview that seemed to regret not holding onto Yoon Gyeom, saying ‘we lost the backbone of the team.’
