Chapter 36

Park Chaerin.

A player who originally didn’t play UA and had reached the highest echelons in another game.

The effects of recruiting her as the team’s Coach were as follows.

First, managing the players’ Mental.

Regardless of the game, players who had reached the top knew well how to manage themselves when faced with overwhelming situations.

The method for overcoming a Slump varies from player to player, but sharing that experience would surely be helpful to the team members.

And her gender.

Since Super Sylph was a women’s team, there were definitely areas where a female Coach could be more helpful.

In those areas, even I had difficulty helping.

‘Just thinking of a few things off the top of my head makes my head spin…’

Although my body was now a woman’s, my mind was still that of a man, so I was highly likely to face difficulties when encountering problems that required deep empathy.

Next was Stamina Management.

Park Chaerin’s skills were solid enough to make the national Entry in Gaia.

Just like UA, Gaia linked real-world Stamina to the game, so the players’ Stamina Training was extremely tough. If she became the Coach, they could inherit the training know-how she had gained during her active career.

And along with this, there was one more truly important advantage, and that was Park Chaerin’s skill.

‘Park Chaerin, who has only been playing the game for two months, is better than our kids.’

Let’s compare her to Kim Dain, who shares the Sniper position.

I feel bad for Dain, but a cold comparison of their skills revealed a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

Although there were some differences in Skills between the games, Park Chaerin had handled a Sniper Rifle for a long time in Gaia, so she was recreating her power in UA at a high level.

What did this mean?

It meant that if she were to be put in as a player when a substitute was needed, she would be a great help to the team.

This wasn’t to say I would have Park Chaerin play instead of Kim Dain.

There were only a few days left in this year.

Counting her as a player for next Season, Park Chaerin’s age would be 28.

No matter how good her Game Performance was, it was an age where one had to consider a generational shift.

I was thinking of her as a Playing Coach, where Kim Dain would continue as the Starter, but I could occasionally ask her to take on a player role when the Dealer Line needed a rest (due to a slump, a cold, etc.).

Since it was a role strictly different from a Sixth Man, the players wouldn’t feel the pressure of having to compete for a starting position.

For these reasons, I felt that Park Chaerin was, in many ways, an outstanding pick among the candidates we could recruit as a Coach right now.

“Ah! I’m saying this in advance so there are no misunderstandings, but it’s not like I have any special authority to do this, okay?”

I slyly created an escape route, but the Chat was already in an uproar.

Setting aside the recruitment of Park Chaerin, was Seo Dami the real power in the team?

Was Coach Lee Gangseon just a figurehead? And so on.

It was mostly fans of other teams saying such things.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, either.

If a player who had just transferred was shown on a stream to have enough authority to recruit a Coach, it would give the impression of a dysfunctional team.

Still, if I were a World Class player who had achieved great things in UA, it might have been understandable.

But Seo Dami, not Han Youngin, was a rookie who had just graduated from the 3rd division.

There was nothing to be gained from showing off.

“It’s just that I think I’d learn a lot and it would be helpful to be on a team with you, Unni… If you’re okay with it, I can at least pass it on to the team.”

-Yup. That’s right, that’s right.

-If General Seo wants it, they have to do it, no matter what.

-But with Chaerin’s skills, it’s a waste for her to just be a Coach. Isn’t she a definite Playing Coach?

-Hey, Front Office. You watching? You better act right.

-A 2nd division player succeeding in the Legendary Challenge. This is srsly insane.

Still, it was a relief that the fans’ reception was positive.

Although it was just for one day, Park Chaerin had played with me and her skills had been thoroughly verified.

It seemed unlikely that she would be criticized for becoming a Coach after coming from another game.

“But I’m still a beginner at UA, you know? I probably won’t be much help with strategy.”

“But you have the experience! You’ll get good at it quickly. Besides, it’s not like the Coach does all the strategy alone. The players and the Coach do it all together.”

“Hmm. Really?”

“I’m telling you. Just you helping with Stamina Management with the Experience Points you gained as a Pro Gamer would be a huge help.”

“So you want to be with me that much, huh?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Then shall I think about it positively~.”

Seeing her reaction, I felt like she really would consider it positively.

So what if she was a player from another game?

No matter how I looked at it, she seemed like a strong plus for the team.

That is, if she could be negotiated to a reasonable Annual Salary.

The day after I finished the Legendary Challenge amidst everyone’s congratulations.

I went to the Coach and told him there was someone I wanted to recommend for the vacant Coach position.

He probably already knew from watching the stream, but I still had to say it.

After hearing my recommendation for Park Chaerin, the Coach said he would relay it to the Front Office and also congratulated me on completing my challenge.

The congratulations continued after that.

I received congratulations not only from my teammates but also from the Front Office and even the CEO.

To be honest, I wondered if one player reaching a Rank Game Tier was such a big deal, but from the team’s perspective, they were extremely happy because I had brought in many new fans with this challenge.

The CEO, with whom I spoke on the phone, said he would visit the Team House again soon, and we should make a Donation and take pictures then.

Amidst this heartwarming atmosphere, there was just one person who looked extremely anxious…

“Dami. I’ll do better from now on. Huh? Don’t abandon me…!”

Hey. Why are you being like this?

I was about to do my usual Stamina Training when Kim Dain, who had arrived and was waiting for me, clung to my leg.

From what I gathered, it seemed she had gotten scared, thinking I would make Park Chaerin the Starter and abandon her.

I helped her up and told her the truth as it was.

That I brought up Park Chaerin because I thought it would be good to have her as a Coach, not because I had proposed she play as a player.

That our team’s Sniper would continue to be Dain Unni, and that we should all work hard together to get promoted.

Only after hearing my words did Kim Dain seem relieved.

Who was I to kick out a player who was working so hard?

Besides, I was the stone that had rolled in.

If I were still on team Magnus and a newly joined rookie started meddling with the team this way and that just because they were good at the game, wouldn’t I be offended?

‘Of course, if that friend were a player who could bring home World Championship victories as if it were nothing, the story might be different…?’

I started my training, wondering if I might not be that kind of player for Super Sylph.

It was time to ramp up the intensity of my training, which I had neglected for a bit while focusing on the stream.

My goal was a body of steel that could handle a best-of-series without any problems.

The Olympics Season in the year after next.

To send Seo Dami to the national team, I had to shed countless beads of sweat starting now.

The Youth Development Fund.

I donated 300 million Won through the UA Association, took a cool picture with the CEO, and was smoothly preparing for the Season when the day before Christmas Eve arrived.

The Coach tipped me off that the contract negotiations with Park Chaerin were proceeding smoothly.

“The Front Office was apparently reluctant to spend a lot of money on a Coach, but the other side wasn’t greedy about the Annual Salary, so it seems the contract will be finalized soon.”

The Annual Salary Star Prism had recently offered Park Chaerin was 600 million Won.

But that was for her to play as a player.

In this field, while there were star Directors, I had almost never heard of a star Coach.

The truth was that everyone perceived the Coach position as just a stepping stone before becoming a Director.

A Coach? Doesn’t it go unnoticed no matter who does it?

Since everyone thought that way, a Coach’s value couldn’t be high.

I had been worried there might be trouble over the Annual Salary during the negotiations between Park Chaerin and the Front Office, but thankfully, it seemed to be proceeding smoothly.

It was just when I was getting the feeling that things would go well for the next Season.

As I was returning to the Training Room after talking with the Coach, someone grabbed my sleeve.

It was Jung Yunseul.

“What’s up?”

“Unni, Unni! Big news!”

She was a kid who usually made a fuss, but it seemed like something extra special had happened today.

“What is it?”

“Unni, are you free tomorrow?”

“Um. Probably?”

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Unless something special came up, everyone was scheduled to train at the Team House as usual.

Still, since it was a holiday, it was a day where we might eat some chicken or pizza.

For a UA player, a holiday during the Off-Season meant just about that much.

Chuseok was usually during the Season, so that was out of the question.

The only time players went home to spend the holidays with their families was around Seollal.

So even if she asked if I had time, I could only say it was the same as usual.

However.

The reason Jung Yunseul asked about my schedule was truly shocking.

I was so surprised that even Dami let out a gasp!

“They contacted me and asked if I could come for a hospital visit tomorrow if I have time. Do you want to go with me, Unni?”

“A hospital visit? For who?”

“Who else could it be? Han Youngin Oppa, of course!”

“……!”

Living as Dami, I sometimes forgot.

That my body was still lying peacefully somewhere in a hospital.

Yunseuli had recently folded and sent her fourth batch of a thousand paper cranes.

Among them were some that I had folded.

The paper cranes, folded one by one, were a message of support, wishing for my recovery in the hospital.

One might wonder who folds paper cranes in this day and age, but it seemed the Magnus Front Office highly valued her sincerity.

That’s why, for tomorrow.

On Christmas Eve, they had contacted her to ask if she would like to come for a hospital visit if she had time.

Jung Yunseul, of course, replied that she would go as soon as she got the message.

She also asked if it would be okay to bring one more player with her, and they had replied that one more person would be fine.

“You’re surprised, right? It’s a total surprise, right?”

I was truly surprised.

I had never imagined things would unfold like this.

Whenever Dami suggested I go to the hospital, I had been putting off checking on my own condition, not knowing what might happen.

What if I heard there was no hope of recovery, or what if the moment I saw my body, I returned to my original form and died…

Ominous thoughts had come to mind.

‘I didn’t have the confidence to face my parents, either.’

What if I, visiting as a guest, suddenly burst into tears?

I wasn’t confident I could see my parents’ faces and not cry.

How flustered would my parents be then?

Of course, they wouldn’t dislike it if someone cried for their son.

But today, of all days.

The topic I had been deliberately trying to forget had resurfaced.

All because of none other than Yunseuli.

“If we tell the Coach, he’ll probably let us skip training for a day, right? It’s a holiday. And if you ask, Unni, he might just listen to you unconditionally-?”

I could feel Yunseuli’s excitement rising as she spoke.

The kid who liked me enough to put a huge poster of me in her room.

Although it was a hospital visit, she couldn’t hide her excitement.

“You’ll go with me, right?”

I couldn’t answer right away.

And Yunseuli immediately noticed this reaction.

“Why… are you like that? You don’t want to go to the hospital with me?”

Yunseuli said.

She asked if it was because of skipping training.

That we could just train harder when we got back.

So she said let’s go see Oppa’s face together.

You have to be good to people while they’re alive.

She also said that it’s no use after they’re dead.

I don’t think that’s the right expression for this situation, but anyway.

After much thought, I answered.

I was sorry, but it would be better if she went alone.

At that, Yunseuli, as if she had never expected this, raised her voice.

“Why? Why on earth? You like Youngin Oppa too, Unni!”

I do like him.

But that’s because it’s me.

It’s natural for me to like myself.

But facing myself in a vegetative state, not knowing when I might die, was a different matter.

And even if I did face myself, I didn’t think any special miracle would happen.

If, in the end, all I would gain from going to the hospital was an awareness of my unfortunate reality.

I felt sorry for Yunseuli, but I wanted to stay here and just focus on training as usual.

When I said we could go to the hospital together next time and that it would be better for her to go alone this time, Yunseuli shouted, “I hate you, Unni!” and disappeared into her room.

<Are you really sure you don’t want to go?>

‘I’m sure.’

<But you still have until tomorrow, so why don’t you think about it a little more…?>

‘Do you want me to go to the hospital?’

Dami said.

That I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the problem forever.

She said that if it was because of her, I didn’t need to worry.

<The things that Oppa taught me. I’m practicing every day so I don’t forget. It’s very scary to think that Oppa might suddenly disappear one day… but I have to be prepared so you can be at ease too, Oppa.>

‘You saying that gives me some strength.’

Dami. You’ve grown…

Aren’t Dami and I connected by our hearts?

I knew better than anyone that what she was saying now was sincere and what kind of resolve she was saying it with.

If she didn’t forget the words and resolve she just expressed.

I was certain that Dami would become a great Pro Gamer.

And that night, after a long time of deliberation, I changed my mind and said cautiously.

‘Then, shall we give it a try?’

<Yes!>

That’s my partner! Dami exclaimed, playfully smacking me inside my head.