Chapter 102

When Han Youngin asked to be sent back home, Kato was, at first, a little taken aback.

She was sure he would ask her to save him.

And if he had, she was even planning on granting his request.

But the words that came out of his mouth weren’t “please save me,” but “please send me home.”

‘Was he that uncomfortable being with me?’

The thought suddenly crossed Kato’s mind, and her mood soured.

It was true that things had been a bit awkward in the early days of his Possession, but she thought they had been getting along well recently. It seemed she was the only one who felt that way.

“What are you going to do when you go back?”

When she asked bluntly, he replied, “I want to teach the kids a little more.”

Kato knew very well that “the kids” were the Super Sylph players.

Her feelings hurt, she let slip a disparaging remark.

That teaching such a talentless team was a waste of time.

In truth, that was what she actually thought.

Super Sylph had no promising talent.

Seo Dami was at least passable, but the other players were a total bust.

That was why she’d said teaching them would be a waste of time.

What if he stayed on this team and taught the kids here instead?

He couldn’t guide them in his Soul State, so there was the option of bringing his body to Japan, treating it, and starting over here.

“How about just staying in Japan?” she casually suggested, and Han Youngin replied.

“My team still can’t do without me. We’ll have to train our hardest until the end of the year to have even a small chance of winning.”

A chance of winning?

Super Sylph against Kamui?

Did this man really not know that was impossible?

Of course, Han Youngin’s coaching abilities were commendable.

His eye for the game and his analytical skills were excellent.

But in the end, it was the players who played the game.

No matter how outstanding a coach’s skills were, if the players’ fundamental abilities were lacking, the limits were clear.

“A person like you should know that,” Kato said, telling him to just stay in Japan.

She added that if he stayed, she would also revoke her promise to take his life at the end of the year.

Through the Olympics, Kato had definitely become indebted to Han Youngin.

What would have happened if Han Youngin hadn’t acted, risking his life back then?

No one could know for sure, but the probability of things turning out as well as they did this time would have been infinitesimally low.

She or her teammates might have been injured or killed, or perhaps everyone might have died.

Han Youngin had clearly done it without fully realizing how dangerous it was, but that didn’t dilute or diminish her gratitude toward him.

That was why she said she would save him.

Even knowing that breaking her promise would bring a corresponding Recoil, she felt she owed him that much.

“How about it? You don’t need to go back to Korea now, right? The reason you want to go back is because of the World Championship, isn’t it?”

<······.>

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Han Youngin was momentarily speechless, not having expected Kato to so readily offer to save him.

It was true that this year’s World Championship was a significant part of his reason for returning to Korea.

After all, he could only live if Super Sylph beat Kamui at the World Championship.

But this constraint now faced a solution thanks to Kato’s new proposal.

He had been thinking that this winter might be the last one he would ever see.

Watching the silent Han Youngin, Kato tilted her head.

Shouldn’t he be happy?

He gets to live now, doesn’t he?

Judging by everything this man had done so far, he was far from someone who was dying to die.

So she expected him to say, “Thank you! I’ll stay in Japan!” but Han Youngin remained silent.

When she didn’t get the reaction she wanted, Kato crossed her arms and waited for his answer.

And after some time had passed, his mouth slowly opened.

The answer he gave was the complete opposite of what Kato had been expecting.

<I would still like to return to Korea. Would you permit me?>

“Why!”

<Because… that’s where I belong.>

In his heart, he wanted to say that Super Sylph felt like his team, but Han Youngin could vaguely sense Kato’s current emotions, so he didn’t go that far.

<Kamui is a team that can aim for the world’s top spot even without me. You have great friends, and you have yourself. But Super Sylph is different. Those kids still have a lot to learn.>

Although Han Youngin praised her team, his words didn’t reach Kato’s already-soured heart.

“I don’t need your empty flattery. If it’s the best team, you should want to stay, not go to another team. Who would believe that?”

<It’s not that. It’s just that I’ve looked after those kids for a long time. You probably wouldn’t understand. It’s something only someone who’s been a Coach or Director would know.>

Han Youngin said that the Super Sylph players were rewarding for him to teach.

At those words, Kato thought to herself.

My team’s kids have plenty for you to teach, too.

She wanted to say so right away, but it suddenly occurred to her that going that far would be too pathetic.

Do I have to go that far?

To hold onto this one disobedient ghost?

Saying something like that would be a bit of a blow to her pride, so Kato scowled.

“Do whatever you want. Go if you want to go. But get this straight. If you go back to Korea, there’ll be no more favors.”

She said that if Super Sylph failed to beat them at the end of the year, she would fulfill her promise.

He should worry about his own life before teaching kids, she told him.

<Thank you, nonetheless. For teaching me various things.>

Han Youngin was sincere.

Thanks to her, hadn’t he properly learned how to sense and handle the Power of the Ley Line?

He even had a thought that he might be able to heal his body on his own, without Kato’s help.

<I’ll contact you when I get back.>

“Don’t. I won’t pick up.”

Pouting with her arms crossed, Kato said she was tired and was going to take a nap.

“Go or don’t, do as you please.”

With that, Kato turned on the air conditioner, pulled the covers over herself, and settled in for a nap.

Watching her, who must have been truly tired as she quickly fell fast asleep, Youngin observed her for a while before bowing his head deeply in a farewell.

<Well then, let’s meet again next time.>

Afterward, Youngin slipped out of Kato and vanished from the room like dissipating smoke.

It was a quiet departure that no one had anticipated.

At the same time Han Youngin was leaving the Kamui team house, naps were also in full swing at the Super Sylph team house.

The season hadn’t started yet, and UA players usually enjoyed a nap after finishing their training.

This was because napping after training helped with recovery and managing one’s condition.

Normally, she would have slept in the nap room, but today, Jung Yunseul had returned to her own room to sleep.

This was because a snoring monster (Hwang Jua) was occupying the nap room.

While in a deep sleep, Jung Yunseul suddenly began to dream about something from long ago.

It was a dream she’d had once before, of when she first met Han Youngin.

In the dream, Jung Yunseul was standing inside UA’s training ground.

The gun Youngin had picked for her was held in her hands.

He probably never would have dreamed it.

That she would still be using the gun she held at that time, now as a Pro Gamer.

Yunseul recalled the memory from that day and aimed at the target.

She steadied her breath, held it, and pulled the trigger.

With a sound of “Ten!”, a perfect shot followed.

She thought she had scored a 9 back then, but perhaps because it was a dream, the result was a little different.

“Wow. Amazing.”

“How can a little kid shoot so well?”

Everyone applauded young Yunseuli’s performance.

Having made a perfect shot, Jung Yunseul smiled with satisfaction and asked Han Youngin.

“Oppa. How was it?”

“You shot a 10?”

“Yes. I did well, right?”

Jung Yunseul smiled brightly, waiting for Han Youngin’s praise.

It felt good to hear her Oppa’s voice after so long.

It had already been months since she’d last heard his voice when he left for Japan.

And how shocked she had been when she heard about the terror attack in LA.

Fortunately, the incident was resolved in a few hours, and when she heard the news that Kato Mikane had rescued the American team in the process, Yunseul had high-fived Seo Dami, saying, “That’s our Oppa for you.”

Anyway, having met Han Youngin again, even if only in a dream after so long, Jung Yunseul anticipated his praise.

Something like, “A 10 at your age? That’s incredible!”

Or praise like, “You should definitely become a pro.”

What did Oppa say after this?

Did he suggest we try shooting at moving targets?

He’ll be even more surprised if I shoot well there too, right?

Since she was dreaming anyway, Jung Yunseul was thinking she should have fun with her Oppa, but he gave her a completely unexpected answer.

“For a Pro Gamer, that’s the bare minimum.”

“Eh?”

That’s not it…

While a bewildered Jung Yunseul wore a confused expression, Han Youngin asked how her training had been while he was gone.

Thinking the dream must have been updated with the latest information, Jung Yunseul continued her conversation with him.

Unni seems to have gotten even better while she was at the Olympics alone.

I increased my training volume to catch up, but it’s not easy.

If Oppa had been by my side, he would have taught me so much more. It’s such a shame I didn’t train more when Oppa was here.

Han Youngin, who had been listening quietly, said, “Then you just have to work hard from now on!” and told her to wake up.

At those words, Jung Yunseul whined that she didn’t want to.

“Just a little longer. Just a little…”

How long had it been since they’d talked? She didn’t want it to end like this.

Moreover, there was no promise of his return, and he had even said he might die if they couldn’t defeat the ultimate team, Kamui, by the end of the year.

That’s why, even though she knew it was a dream, Yunseul wanted to spend even a little more time with Youngin.

But he, as if to say “no way,” curled his finger and flicked Yunseuli’s forehead.

The moment she thought, Ouch!, Jung Yunseul had returned from being a child to the Pro Gamer Jung Yunseul.

And when she opened her eyes, she saw her familiar ceiling.

Realizing that the flick on her forehead had woken her from the dream, tears welled up in her eyes.

Cruel person.

It’s a dream, so can’t we talk a little longer?

It’s not like the world will end if I dream for five more minutes.

As she was getting up from her bed in a gloomy mood, she heard that familiar voice again.

<Well then, shall we head to the training ground?>

“……?”

This time, it wasn’t a dream.

<What are you doing? Let’s go.>

“Oppa…?”

<Are you still half-asleep?>

“No, what is this… Huh?”

Experiencing a moment of cognitive dissonance, Jung Yunseul couldn’t speak properly for a while and had to listen to Han Youngin’s nagging.

And only after a good while did she realize.

The Han Youngin she saw in her dream, who she thought was a memory from the past, was in fact her Oppa, who had really returned.

Upon realizing this, Jung Yunseul felt a subtle anger welling up from deep within her chest.

“If you’re back after several months, you should explain properly! Who just tries to gloss over it like that! I was so worried!!!”

As she was getting angry at the inconsiderate ghost, Yunseul suddenly thought of another point.

“Oppa. Does this mean I was the first person you came to after you got back?”

<Uh, yeah. I guess so.>

“Ehehe.”

He came to her first after returning from Japan.

This fact was very meaningful to Jung Yunseul.

Watching Yunseuli giggle at a strange point, Han Youngin scratched his head.

To be honest, he hadn’t flown here with the specific intention of going to someone in particular, but it seemed his wavelength was more in tune with Yunseul.

After all, he had flown to the napping Yunseul this time as well.

Dami might get angry if she finds out about this.

Just as he was thinking that, the delighted Jung Yunseul’s expression took on a slightly sly look.

“Should we keep it a secret from Unni for a little while, then~?”

To get straight to the point, he was found out within 10 minutes of the afternoon practice starting.

The most effective way to make up for the lost practice time.

I decided to use the method of directly moving Yunseul’s body to feed her Experience Points, but Dami, who saw my movements, went “Huh?” and then cupped my cheeks with both hands.

“That’s strange… This is my Oppa’s movement.”

In the end, after being found out like that, Dami got uncharacteristically angry, saying that some things shouldn’t be hidden and how could I do this.

Even when I told her I wasn’t trying to hide but was just playing a prank and asked her to calm down, Dami’s expression hardly softened.

“And Oppa, why are you with Yunseul again? It’s my turn now!”

It seemed Dami was unhappy that Yunseul was monopolizing me.

I explained the whole story.

That flying to Yunseul was a coincidence, and hadn’t I just had a meal and shared game Feedback with Dami in LA not long ago?

Yunseul hadn’t been able to say a single word to me for a long time, so I asked her to let it slide this time.

Then, what do you know.

That Dami girl went, “Ah!” and fell silent.

<What did you two do? Oppa, you had a meal with Unni in LA? All I heard from her was a short message to say hi to you!>

This time, as Yunseul got angry, Dami said defensively.

It was true they had a meal, but telling Yunseul about it would just be teasing her since Yunseul couldn’t meet Oppa.

So she didn’t say anything out of consideration, Dami explained.

<Consideration, my foot! You deliberately didn’t say anything! That Unni is always desperate to monopolize Oppa!>

“Ah, anyway, I’m glad you’re back. Is everything with Japan settled now?”

No.

Nothing has been settled.

I spoke in a deliberately heavy voice.

That we absolutely had to beat Kamui at this year’s World Championship.

“We have to win! I literally put my life on the line to teach you guys, you know?”

At my words that I had put my life on the line, the two of them calmed their excitement and began to listen intently to my story.

<What do you mean by that…?>

“Please explain in detail.”