Chapter 18: Living Legend

Let’s rewind time a bit.

The morning after I reached Grandmaster.

“You have something to tell us?”

Since it was the weekend anyway, I woke up late and half-dragged my parents, who were peeling fruit in the living room, into my room.

“Our daughter, are you going to brag about your tier again?”
“Something like that.”

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

I skillfully entered my ID and password, logged into the game, and displayed my rank on the screen.

A score not far from Challenger.

No, rather than that, the tier of Grandmaster itself.

My dad, who understood what that meant a little faster, looked back and forth between my face and the screen with a bewildered laugh.

“……No, already?”
“Yeah.”
“No, wow…our daughter…?”

As someone who was at a higher tier than my original one, he knew better than anyone what that emblem meant.

Of course, that didn’t mean my mom didn’t know.

“We’ll support you, become a pro.”

Our Mrs. Jang said that even though I wasn’t a Challenger yet.

After looking into various things, she seemed to know what it meant for a middle school student to be at this tier.

“Mom, what should I do first? Should I look into some kind of academy?”
“That’s a good idea. Our daughter likes ST, so how about there? If you’re a middle schooler with that score, they’ll accept you without even needing a test.”

Even if it’s not studying.

When my parents realized that my saying I wanted to be a professional gamer wasn’t just a simple phase, they were the very image of typical parents who get excited and dote on their talented children.

“Mom, Dad.”

I didn’t think any further persuasion was needed, so I showed them the contract I had downloaded on my tablet.

“I already received an offer. Right after I reached Grandmaster.”

My parents’ eyes gradually turned from joy at discovering their child’s talent to astonishment.

Of course, that astonishment wasn’t necessarily in a bad way.

“No, Eunseol, you should have told us in advance!”
“But you said I had to reach Challenger. I showed you my tier today because I got a pro offer.”
“That’s because Mom was worried, but this is a completely different story!”

Our Mrs. Hong scolded me, asking why I didn’t tell them such an important thing sooner.

It was a hundred times better than being scolded for just playing games.

“Mom’s not stupid. Scouts who watch pros every day approached you, what kind of insight would I have to set conditions? If you had shown it earlier, I could have helped you much sooner.”
“It’s okay. You’ve helped me a lot already.”

Honestly, when you don’t even know if your daughter, who’s about to go to middle school, has talent in games, not many parents would think to wait, instead of trying to fix her mindset when she suddenly becomes obsessed with games.

Just by waiting for me, my parents had done enough.

“Ah, but there’s one more thing Mom and Dad need to help me with.”
“What is it?”
“I’m supposed to sign the contract today. I’m a minor, so I can’t go alone.”
“Then we have to go right away! We’re going to the ST building, right?”

I’m sure it wasn’t just my imagination that Dad seemed more excited.

“Ahn Jaehoon, the player!”
“Haha. Yes. That’s right. It’s unexpected that you remember my playing days, sir.”
“How could I forget? I went to see the finals back then.”

My dad, who always pretended to know just enough about LOCK, had his psychological barriers melt down at the sight of the coach he met as soon as he entered the ST building.

“Dad, you didn’t even know Fraud’s name properly when we went to the stadium last time, so why do you know so much?”
“…I was just pretending not to know. Imagine if I said I was very interested.”

Yeah, if that happened, taking me to the stadium every weekend would have become a weekend routine. Aside from me throwing a tantrum, our Mrs. Jang’s gaze would have become increasingly sharp.

“But now that our daughter is outstanding, there’s no need to hide it, so it’s all good.”

Dad pinched my cheek lightly and then stuck to player Ahn Jaehoon again.

“I was worried about where you were these days, but you were a coach?”
“By the way, it’s been a while since I heard the word ‘player’. I’ve only heard ‘coach’ recently.”
“Hey, don’t say that. You’re the eternal emperor to the fans.”
“Thank you.”

Just looking at that, you’d think Dad was the one coming to sign a contract, not me.

Anyway, the contract proceeded smoothly.

A one-year contract, with no strange options, just salary, winning, and victory bonuses.

‘…Huh?’

But the salary was a bit strange.

It was three times the salary I received when I was first promoted from the academy to the 3rd division.

It was too much, even considering the size of the game market in my past and present lives.

“Didn’t you put an extra zero?”
“No, that’s correct.”

Coach Ahn Jaehoon shook his head and smiled at me.

“I personally think you’ll definitely go up to ST2. To put it simply, I’m trying to recruit you in advance.”

He still hasn’t lost the sharp spirit of his playing days, and he seemed to be asking me.

Team games are a different environment from solo queue, yet he seemed to be asking me a question with a predetermined answer.

If he’s going to say that much, it’s polite to answer.

“Then let’s make the contract for six months, not a year.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to get more at the end of this season.”
“Do you know what that means?”
“I’ll make ST3 win.”
“……”

Everyone present was at a loss for words at my words.

After signing the contract, I reached Challenger, appeared on broadcasts, and did various things, so time passed very quickly.

“Should we go soon?”
“I was about to.”

The day to take the induction commemorative photos and videos that were supposed to be taken later on the day of the contract was today.

“If it wasn’t for work, Mom would go with you.”
“It’s okay. I’ve been there a lot.”
“Then can you send Mom a picture after you take it? It’s the first time our daughter is getting properly dressed up.”
“Okay.”

I’ve worn makeup before when I was a player, but I don’t know much about women’s makeup, so I was curious about how it would be.

‘Well, it won’t take long.’

I’m not an idol.

With these thoughts in mind, I took a bus and arrived in front of the building, where a familiar face greeted me.

“Our prospective champion is here.”

Coach Ahn Jaehoon waved to me, who came to take induction photos and videos.

“…Can you afford to be this free, Coach?”
“I can’t be bothered to care about the kids’ solo queues, can I?”

He whistled and guided me to the media room.

“There are snacks there, so eat while you wait…did you already find them?”
“This is definitely comfortable.”

Home is the best, indeed.

Considering the time I spent in the building, this building itself was practically my home ground.

After waiting for a while, an employee who looked like a makeup artist at a glance approached me.

“You’re Eunseol?”
“Hello.”

She took out various things from the makeup table on one side of the media room and continued.

“First, change into the uniform, and do you have any makeup on?”
“No. It’s just bare skin.”
“Really? Your skin is very fair. And your hair is nice too. This gives me a lot of options…”

I couldn’t help but feel that she was getting fired up, and it seemed like it wouldn’t be as simple as before.

“First, can you change into the uniform and sit in the chair in front of the makeup table?”
“Yes.”
“If you leave it to this unnie, I’ll do a really good job. I was sad that I couldn’t show off my skills because I’ve only been doing guys lately, but then a friend like this comes as a pro…!”

Like that, I had to sit in front of the makeup table for a full hour.

“I did it, but it’s perfect.”

I was held for an hour, so I wanted to refute that statement, but when I saw the reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t.

‘…It’s different.’

I always had messy hair, and I went to school with no makeup except for lotion, and I didn’t have time to care about my appearance because I just exercised a bit and played ranked games, but seeing it like this, it was something beyond neatness.

The black hair was slightly waved and swept to the side, and the front hair was dyed slightly red and attached like highlights to match the color of the uniform.

And on the face, red eye makeup that looked like a cat, eyebrow trimming, and powder that made the white skin even whiter.

It was understandable that it took an hour.

“You said you’re debuting as a pro right away?”
“Yes.”
“Eunseol is going to be very popular.”
“…I don’t have to wear makeup like this every day for matches, right?”
“Hey. Of course not. I usually only do this on special occasions. Usually, just buy and apply what I tell you. Eunseol has a good base, so it’s fine.”

It seems like I’ve gained another older sister after Agni, but it must be my imagination.

“Okay, then let’s go take the induction commemorative photos now.”
“I was fine with it before, but when I try to get up and move, the uniform is a bit tight.”
“…If it’s any bigger, it’ll look too bulky, so there’s nothing I can do. Let’s go.”

She changed the subject and guided me to the photographer.

“…Do you record this kind of thing on video too?”
“Of course. It’s all spotlight and views.”

In the meantime, there was also someone filming a vlog next to me.

I don’t think it was like this before, so it’s interesting in many ways.

“Okay, then look here, and I’ll take the picture!”

As we went around the building to take concept photos and took some photos suitable for compositing against the white background of the media room.

“Is True here?”
“…Huh?”

A familiar and very familiar voice was heard.