Chapter 37

“I was about to be disappointed in you, Unni.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

I apologized to Yunseuli and we decided to go visit the hospital together.

I got permission from the Coach for a day pass.

“Wow, I finally get to meet Youngin Oppa!”

“You’re that happy?”

“Aren’t you happy, Unni?”

“Mm. I’m happy too.”

If Yunseuli were to find out my and Dami’s secret, even by chance, how would she react?

Something like, “Oh my god! So you’ve been getting carried by Unni this whole time!?”

Or maybe, “You mean you’ve been with Oppa 24/7? I’m so jealous!”

‘Knowing Yunseul, she’s more than capable of that.’

I thought I had to keep the secret safe before facing such a chaotic situation, and we headed to the hospital.

H University Hospital.

Apparently, I had been receiving treatment here ever since the accident that day.

‘It’s Assistant Manager Dongseok.’

“Hello. I’m Kim Dongseok, an Assistant Manager with the Magnus team’s Front Office.”

The hospital Lobby.

The staff member who came to meet us was someone I knew well.

I used to exchange greetings with him often when I was on the Magnus team.

As we bowed our heads, Assistant Manager Kim Dongseok spoke.

He said that public visits for Han Youngin weren’t being allowed yet.

Wasn’t Han Youngin quite popular?

He said they didn’t want to create any potential problems from unnecessary exposure.

However, he allowed us to visit today because we were fellow Pro Gamers, and he’d heard that the player’s mother had invited us out of gratitude.

“I heard both of you are long-time fans of Youngin.”

“Yes! I started preparing to be a Pro Gamer while watching Youngin Oppa!”

Yunseul spoke cheerfully with the Assistant Manager.

I answered only in my head.

I am Han Youngin, though.

“This is the room. When you go inside, Youngin’s mother will be there, so you can greet her.”

“Okay.”

“Yes…”

The fact that I would be seeing my mom’s face after so long made me nervous without realizing it.

The only comfort was that unless I spoke up first, my mom would never, in a million years, know what I was going through.

‘I am Seo Dami. I am a fan who has come to visit.’

As I steeled my resolve, the Assistant Manager knocked and entered the hospital room.

“Ma’am. Hello. The guests I told you about yesterday are here.”

“Oh my. To think such pretty people were fans of my son. Thank you so much for coming.”

An expression of thanks for coming.

The moment I saw my mom’s face, tears welled up in my eyes.

‘No, why has my mom gotten so gaunt…!’

It was so obvious how much she had suffered because of her son lying in a hospital room that it was hard to hold back my tears.

I was silent, trying to hold back tears, while Yunseul was stammering as if she were broken.

She wasn’t usually like this; she must have been very nervous.

“I’m J-Jung Yunseul. Ma’am. If, if you’ll just allow me…”

“……?”

Hey, calm down! Why are you so nervous?

I poked Yunseul in the side with my index finger and then greeted my mom.

“I’m Seo Dami, a player on the Super Sylph team. Thank you for allowing us to visit today.”

“I’m even more grateful. I’m sure my son will be happy that such good people came to see him.”

After that, my mother stepped aside, and I was able to get a proper look at ‘me’ lying down.

“Ah…”

Seeing myself lying there quietly with an oxygen mask on made me feel dizzy.

My muscles!!!

The sight of my fortune, built over a long period of time, completely gone.

Seeing my withered form, I was shocked as if I had lost everything in the world.

“Um, A-Assistant Manager?”

“Yes?”

“How is Han Youngin exercising?”

At my question, the Assistant Manager had a “what is this person talking about?” reaction.

His face said, how could an unconscious patient exercise?

“No, I mean… I was thinking he should exercise so he doesn’t lose as much muscle.”

“Ah. You mean rehabilitation exercises, right? A caregiver is helping him so his muscles and joints don’t stiffen.”

It was the saddest thing in the world.

To think that rehabilitation was all he could do.

Then again, there was probably no way to make an unconscious patient do resistance training.

‘It hasn’t even been a year, and it’s already this bad.’

If I lay here for another year, a return to my career as a player would be out of the question.

Think about it.

In a few days, I would be twenty-six.

Twenty-six…

If rehabilitation took more than a year, I would be forced to retire due to my age.

‘I’m sorry for saying you were old, Noona.’

I recalled my first meeting with Park Chaerin, apologized to her, and then sat next to my mom to talk.

The difficult times after her son collapsed.

Stories of how she gained a little strength thanks to the fans’ support.

Inside the room, bouquets and gifts sent by fans from all over the country were neatly arranged on one side.

Among them were the paper cranes Yunseul and I had folded.

While I was talking with my mom, Yunseul kept wiping her eyes as she looked at me lying there so still, then looking again, over and over.

She seemed truly heartbroken that I had ended up like that.

We talked for about an hour.

The conversation flowed more smoothly than expected, so we all lost track of time while chatting.

I was happy to talk with my mom after so long, and my mom also seemed happy to be able to talk comfortably about her son.

When it was time to part, I said.

“Mom. I’ll be sure to win this time.”

“Pardon? Mom?”

“Ah, Ma’am. Ma’am.”

Back when I was actively competing in the League.

Whenever I had an interview opportunity, I would say it like a habit.

That this year’s goal was to win the First Division League.

Even now, with Dami, my goal remained unchanged.

It had only changed from winning the men’s First Division League to winning the women’s First Division League.

When I said that next Season, I would succeed in getting promoted and snatch the championship trophy in one go, my mom was overjoyed.

She said it was just like watching her son.

“Please be sure to visit again. Youngin will like it too.”

“We’ll come again. Ma’am… sob.”

The tearful Yunseul replied.

She was the type to give a proper farewell even while bawling her eyes out.

Dami, on the other hand, was quiet until the end.

She seemed quite shocked by my withered appearance, lying still in the bed.

“I’ll definitely come again. Please stay healthy until then.”

After saying goodbye to my mom, I took one last look at my own prone figure.

‘I wish a miracle would happen.’

At this moment, that was what all of us needed most.

On the way back to the Team House, I mulled over what Assistant Manager Kim Dongseok had said.

“The probability of him waking up? Well. If the fans keep cheering him on, a miracle might happen.”

My body, currently lying in the hospital room, was in a coma.

Not brain-dead, but the stage just above it, where there was a slim but existing possibility of recovery through regenerative treatment.

I researched comas separately.

There were very rare cases of recovery, but the majority of patients ended up dying.

If my body were to die, what would happen to me?

This was just my gut feeling, but I thought that in all likelihood, my connection with Dami would also be severed.

That would mean my complete death.

However, that fact in itself wasn’t that scary.

Wasn’t it just that I should have died the moment I was hit by the truck, and by a stroke of luck, it had been postponed until now?

Thinking of it that way, rather than worrying about something that hadn’t happened yet, I wanted to place more meaning on the time I had left.

‘But why is the mood so funereal?’

Let’s set Yunseul aside.

Ever since leaving the hospital, Jung Yunseul had been openly wailing, “I’m sad!”

But Seo Dami seemed even more serious.

It was like she had completely forgotten how to speak.

Even when I tried to lighten the mood by joking, “Is there a wake going on somewhere? Huh?” she remained silent.

‘Was my skinny appearance that much of a shock?’

When I asked, looking awkward, Dami finally opened her mouth.

<Oppa.>

‘Yeah.’

<Let’s win.>

She said.

That she would become a player worthy of the goal of winning.

So, even if I had to go, I should at least watch her win before I do.

‘Then I’ll have to hold on for two more years, won’t I?’

<Two years will fly by. Maybe even twenty.>

‘Twenty years is a bit…’

Win the Second Division and get a direct Promotion.

Then, in the following Season, win the First Division right away.

This way, we could achieve the championship plan within two years.

Anyone who heard it would scoff, asking if that was even possible, but I thought we could do it.

‘Because we’ll make it happen.’

With that resolve, we welcomed Christmas.

“I’m Park Chaerin, the new Coach joining the team. It’s a pleasure to work with you all.”

“Everyone, a round of applause for our new Coach!”

Once Christmas was over, a new colleague joined the team.

It was Park Chaerin, whose recruitment had already been teased on stream.

Her contract’s Annual Salary was 400 million Won.

It was lower than the amount Star Prism had offered, but since Park Chaerin also had no coaching experience, she had apparently accepted the offer easily.

And 400 million Won was the highest guaranteed amount on our team.

The 700 million I could receive was only 350 million if I didn’t win, and the other team members got even less than that.

So, just the fact that they invested that much money in a Coach, not a player, meant Super Sylph had shown a certain degree of sincerity.

“I haven’t been playing UA for long, but I’m confident when it comes to Stamina training. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime. I look forward to working with you all.”

“Woooow-!”

The team members clapped and rejoiced.

The team members knew it too.

That she was good at the game.

Park Chaerin’s growth was nothing short of monstrous.

She was apparently on the verge of entering the Legendary Tier in Rank Games soon.

Is gaming really a case of “the talented will always succeed”?

If it weren’t for Park Chaerin’s age, if she had been a Prospect under twenty, her skills were so great that First Division League teams would have come knocking with bags of money.

Part of it was because people who are good with a Sniper are rarer than people who are just good with a Rifle, and she was a newbie who had only started playing UA a little over two months ago.

Of course, she had handled guns for a long time in other games, but there was no doubt that her Talent was Top Level.

So the players welcomed Park Chaerin’s arrival, and she easily blended into the team’s atmosphere.

That evening.

I told Park Chaerin that I was entrusting two players to her.

“Two players?”

“Hwang Jua and Dain Unni.”

Hwang Jua, Kim Dain.

The two had always gotten along well, but the reason I specifically asked her to focus on them was because Park Chaerin’s specialty was long-range sniping.

“Dain Unni’s original position is Sniper, so she’ll have a lot to learn from you, Coach, and Hwang Jua has been practicing Heal Shots recently.”

“A Heal Shot is that thing, right? Healing an ally by hitting them with a long-range shot.”

“Yes.”

“If it’s that, I’m confident I can teach it well. What about the other two? Do I just need to help with their Stamina Management?”

I said that should be enough.

Once I entrusted Hwang Jua and Kim Dain to Park Chaerin, there were two players left.

Shin Aram, Jung Yunseul.

I planned to personally care for those two.

<I get Yunseul since you’re both Attackers, but Aram Unni is a Defender. Will that be okay?>

At Dami’s reaction, I retorted, asking what she was talking about.

‘Have you already forgotten? Who was it that taught you in the Early Game of the Season?’

Back when she was on Universe Cat.

I was the one who had looked after Seo Dami, who was a Defender.

Dami seemed to think that since Super Sylph was a Second Division League team, it would be difficult for me, with a different position, to properly coach her, but that was because she didn’t really know me.

‘With my skills, I can handle any position up to the Second Division League.’

Of course, I admit that different people have different areas of expertise.

That’s why I paired those two up with Park Chaerin to learn sniping.

At the very least, when it came to sniping, Park Chaerin would be better than me.

But a Defender was different.

I had already trained with Shin Aram and memorized several points she could improve on.

‘First of all, Shin Aram’s physical strength is insane.’

You could tell right away from training with her.

Ah, her power is on another level.

I had an inkling when I saw her hold her own against men during Team Rank training, but in the women’s League, she was at a level where it was hard to find an equal.

On top of that, Shin Aram also had the Stamina to run for dozens of minutes.

<Then isn’t she lacking nothing as a Defender?>

‘No, no.’

If being physically strong was all it took to be a good Defender, would we just go find a strongman and have them do it?

There were several important factors for a Defender besides Stamina, and one of them was Close-Quarters Combat capability.

‘A Defender has to engage with the enemy more than anyone else.’

It was natural, since they had to charge with a Shield or block an enemy charging at them.

Let’s take a brief example.

When an opponent slammed into my Shield, I held my ground and stood firm.

So, how should I play out the game from here?

<Stick my hand out from behind the Shield and shoot…?>

Of course, that was one of the answers.

But if you asked if it was a 100-point answer, I’d have to tilt my head.

Why? Because you run out of bullets.

Bullets are a consumable.

If you use up your Magazine during an Engagement, you have to resupply it with summoning magic, and that all costs Mana.

They’re already running around with a thick Shield to increase its defense, so if they also consume a lot of ammunition, they won’t have any Mana left.

For that reason.

The Defenders rated S-class in the League all had good pure Close-Quarters Combat skills.

They would swing a Lightsaber, which consumed almost no Mana compared to shooting.

When even that was a waste, they would trip the opponent and smash them with their Shield.

This way, they could take down an enemy while saving more Mana than if they had dealt with them by shooting.

The S-class Defenders in the League all had this advantage, so during my active days, I was also careful about engaging them in Close-Quarters Combat.

Those big, strong guys also had good Reflexes, making them incredibly dangerous.

But what if Shin Aram acquired that kind of Close-Quarters Combat capability?

Doesn’t she already have enough strength?

If Swordsmanship or Melee Combat skills were added to that, it would be possible for her to become a human tank.

‘If we also supplement her Skill Chain Attacks and shooting accuracy a bit, she’ll be absolutely perfect.’

In that respect, Super Sylph was very lucky.

They had recruited a player with the ability to fix all these problems for a mere 700 million Won.

An Attacker by trade who was also good with a sword and skilled in Close-Quarters Combat.

That rare player was none other than me, Han Youngin.

After achieving the Legendary Challenge.

I gradually reduced my streaming hours.

Naturally, fan complaints exploded.

They clamored, asking if this was a donation scam, asking how I could just leave like this.

It wasn’t a scam.

And I wasn’t leaving.

They were just this angry because the time I spent streaming every day had gotten shorter.

-We’ll all die without you!

-Are you going to keep being so cold?

-Holding my breath until General Seo streams tomorrow.

-What’s the reason for cutting your stream time? Just give us a reason.

I spoke honestly to the pleading fans.

That I was training hard with the team.

That I wanted to show them good results, but if I focused on streaming, I couldn’t concentrate as much on training, so it was difficult.

At that, the fans pouted.

-No. UA is a team game anyway.

-What’s the point if Dami is the only one who’s good?

-You need your teammates to back you up to win!

-We won’t say anything even if you don’t win, so can’t you just stream all day?

-FR;;

-Give up on winning for a 24-hour General Seo stream?

-That’s a huge win, right?

To the fans who were telling me to just stream for a long time if we weren’t going to win anyway, I made a pledge.

“I, Seo Dami! Promise you all!”

-Ah, you scared me.

-Look at those pipes.

-Are you running for office?

“If this Season! Our team’s performance is not satisfactory! I will fill the Off-Season to the brim with streams to communicate with you.”

-FR?

-You know you can’t take it back, right?

-No take-backs. We already have video evidence!

“A general does not go back on her word.”

-lololol

-She said general.

“This Season. I will get the team promoted in one go and be sure to repay your support.”

I gave a long speech.

I know the sorrow you experience as fans.

“What’s all the fuss about a Second Division team?”

“Stop with the Seo Dami viral marketing.”

I know all too well about all the baseless criticism you face.

And yet, you are all still here, cheering for me, for our team, are you not?

I declared that I would definitely get promoted to the First Division League and make Super Sylph a team worthy of your support.

That you would think, “I’m glad I supported this team.”

That I would make you feel that way.

“Even the Legendary Challenge, which everyone said was impossible! It was possible because of your support! So please, just one more time, believe in me, in our team! For all of you. This General Seo! Will definitely make it happen!”

-DamiDami…

-Ugh sobㅠㅠㅠ

-Don’t cry, just clap.

-Clap!

-We believe in Dami…

A flood of countless clapping emoticons poured in.

Not long after making that declaration, the day finally arrived.

2075 Universe Arena Korea League.

A new Season in the Second Division League had begun.