Chapter 61:The Strongest Unranked in History (Part 3)

“I want the team leader position.”

The moment Kim Kuma heard Shihyun’s declaration, a question mark popped up in his mind.

‘Huh?’

His thoughts momentarily tangled at the completely unexpected statement. Cognitive dissonance, perhaps? In any case, he hadn’t properly processed what Shihyun had said.

Kim Kuma hurriedly took a sip of his iced tea and rolled his eyes.

‘Team leader? Is she asking for the team leader position?’

It seemed that was indeed the case.

Finally understanding Shihyun’s words, Kim Kuma furrowed his brows. Of course, pointless thoughts like ‘why?’ or ‘how?’ didn’t come to mind.

Curiosity wasn’t the important issue.

The immediate concern was the impact and the cost-benefit analysis of this proposal.

Quickly finishing his mental calculations, Kim Kuma gave an awkward smile.

“By team leader position… you mean my position?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Is that your condition for joining the team, Shihyun?”

Shihyun smiled at Kim Kuma’s question.

“Actually, it’s the opposite.”

“Opposite?”

“What I truly want is for you to join my team as members.”

“What are you…!”

Son Jaehyuk, sitting next to Kim Kuma, abruptly stood up. Kim Kuma pressed down on Son Jaehyuk’s thigh and muttered,

“Jaehyuk, sit down.”

“Hey, Sangyong. Are you going to accept this offer?”

“Just sit down.”

At Kim Kuma’s intervention, Son Jaehyuk sat back down with a complicated expression. Seeing this, Shihyun started to explain again.

“I realized there’s no real reason for me to join another team. I can just create a new team myself. That’s why I’m making this offer.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll create a new team, and you want our entire Mint Choco Crew to move over?”

Shihyun nodded at Kim Kuma’s words. Seeing that, Kim Kuma took a breath and narrowed his eyes.

“Shihyun, I don’t mean to disregard you, but do you have any streamer acquaintances? Besides Euning?”

“I don’t. Now that I’ve met you, Kim Kuma, I can say I know two.”

“Then how do you plan to form a team? Without us, you can’t even build a team. Naturally, there’s no reason for us to hand over the leadership.”

Shihyun remained silent and just stared at Kim Kuma as he explained.

It was a gaze that made him strangely shrink, even just by being looked at. Kim Kuma swallowed hard. Of course, that didn’t mean he retracted what he said.

“To be honest, while we do want you on our team, Shihyun, we don’t want to accept you as a member by handing over the leadership…or even the team itself. This is putting the cart before the horse.”

“…”

“Your proposal itself is too unreasonable. Our Mint Choco Crew cannot accept it.”

A perfect rejection.

However, Shihyun didn’t mind.

She had already anticipated this level of resistance.

Sipping her Cherry Coke, Shihyun asked,

“Don’t you want to win the tournament?”

“…”

“I heard your team hasn’t placed higher than 4th in the TSC. Isn’t that why you wanted to recruit me? Because I’m the best card to secure a win.”

“Even so, we can’t accept such conditions.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I offered you an opportunity, but if you refuse, I won’t force you.”

Kim Kuma’s eyes widened at those words.

“Opportunity?”

“Yes. I can win even without the Mint Choco Crew.”

“What nonsense…!”

As Son Jaehyuk grimaced, Shihyun lightly tapped the table with her finger and smiled.

“Why do you think it’s nonsense?”

“Well, you won’t even be able to gather team members…”

Shihyun shrugged.

“If I were to form a team for the TSC, I think most streamers would be interested.”

Kim Kuma frowned at those words.

‘She’s saying she’ll pick up any streamer to form a team?’

What kind of people would even join?

Even though he was a streamer himself, this profession was overflowing with crazy and eccentric people. There was a possibility that someone with unverified character could join.

‘And there would be no unity.’

Since they would only be flocking to her popularity, their goals would be limited to building connections with Shihyun or gaining the spotlight. Even if some were interested in the tournament, they would be a minority. They could never be the majority.

Therefore, it was natural for Kim Kuma to say,

“How can you win with such people?”

To that question, Shihyun gave a short reply.

“Because I can win even if I fight alone.”

An incredibly arrogant statement.

However, the faces of Kim Kuma and Son Jaehyuk hardened at those words.

It was true.

They hadn’t thought about it deeply until now, but this woman in front of them was a monster who had scored higher on the test than even Choi Sangcheol, the best professional gamer.

Moreover, her test results couldn’t be dismissed as a fluke. Shihyun already had a record of single-handedly crushing Grand Masters in ranked games.

“…”

“…”

As the two fell silent, Shihyun’s smile deepened.

“I also heard that not all members of a team in this tournament are required to be in the highest tier. In that case, I think winning is entirely possible even if I fight alone.”

Kim Kuma groaned. He realized that what Shihyun said wasn’t impossible. However, he soon noticed something strange.

‘Wait a minute?’

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Kim Kuma asked Shihyun,

“If you’re that confident, why did you try to include us as team members?”

If she had the skill to crush everyone alone, honestly, it wouldn’t matter who joined as team members. Yet, Shihyun specifically reached out to the Mint Choco Crew.

There must be a reason. Kim Kuma thought so.

“There are three reasons.”

Shihyun held up three fingers.

“First, since all the crew members are popular streamers, it’s good for attracting viewers’ attention. Second, I judged that the very act of the Mint Choco team, which has participated in the TSC several times, joining under me would generate buzz.”

She folded a finger as she explained each reason.

“And…”

“And?”

Kim Kuma and Son Jaehyuk swallowed hard and looked at Shihyun. At the moment of peak tension, Shihyun smiled sweetly and folded her index finger.

“You’re Euning’s mentor, aren’t you? Someone like you deserves an opportunity.”

“……!!”

“……Gasp!”

At that utterly disarming smile, both of their faces flushed again. Kim Kuma suddenly felt a sense of self-disgust. He was embarrassed that he was blushing because of a woman’s looks.

“Ahem, I understand.”

Kim Kuma said, pressing his burning face. Sensing his hesitation to make an immediate decision, Shihyun asked meaningfully,

“Do you need time to decide?”

“We need time to discuss it with the crew.”

“You’re more positive than before. That’s good.”

Shihyun smiled sweetly again.

Staring at that smile, Son Jaehyuk mumbled foolishly,

“Isn’t that cheating…?”

“Pfft!”

Just then, a burst of laughter erupted from somewhere. Startled, everyone’s eyes turned to the source of the laughter.

The unexpected outburst came from Kang Ara, who had been sitting silently without saying a word. Kang Ara, flinching at the sudden attention, murmured awkwardly,

“I apologize. That last comment was so funny, I couldn’t help it…”

“Hmm? Comment? What comment did you make?”

Shihyun tilted her head.

“Ah, ah, it was nothing.”

Son Jaehyuk quickly glossed over it and glanced at his watch. It was close to 3 PM. It was time to prepare for the crew’s joint broadcast.

“Sangyong, it’s almost broadcast time.”

“Oh, is it?”

Kim Kuma touched his lips and looked at Shihyun.

“Well, I understand your proposal, Shihyun. I’ll discuss with the crew members today whether we’ll accept it or not.”

“When will you reach a decision?”

“I should be able to give you an answer by this week at the latest.”

This week…

Shihyun nodded with a knowing smile.

“This week is fine.”

“Thank you. Then we’ll be going. We need to prepare for the broadcast…”

“Sure.”

With that, Kim Kuma and Son Jaehyuk left.

After seeing them off, Manager Kang Ara asked,

“Will they really accept the offer?”

“It doesn’t really matter to me if they don’t. But I think they will.”

“Is that so? Why do you think that?”

Shihyun scratched her cheek at Kang Ara’s question.

“Their eyes look promising…?”

“……?”

Kang Ara’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer, but Shihyun didn’t mind. It’s just that she had seen similar eyes in ‘that world’ a few times, so she could tell.

The kind of people who would wade through mud to achieve what they desire.

“Shihyun, do you happen to be into physiognomy?”

“That’s…not what I meant.”