APGD 05

Chapter 5

99th Year Debut
Pro Gamer

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Bzzz!

[Good work! I was watching the match from the side, and I think your skills are more than enough. I really hope we can join the same team for this tournament!]

A text arrived from Park Yongwon.
The corners of my lips curved into a long smile.

‘Good.’

Fortunately, without any tug-of-war, the team-up was decided quickly.
Well, considering I had completely dominated both games, it was only natural for Park Yongwon to make a fast decision.

‘Now I can move on to the next step.’

Just then—

[I’ll be counting on you until this tournament is over!]

Another text came from him.
I was in the middle of typing a reply saying I’d count on him as well, when—

Bzzz, bzzz—!

This time, it wasn’t a message. It was a direct call.

Click.

“Hello?”
—Hello! Sorry for the sudden call! Is this a good time?
“Ah, yes!”
“Since we’re teammates now, I thought it’d be better to talk over the phone than through texts.”

It was sudden, sure.
But honestly, talking on the phone was easier than typing out messages anyway.

“Yes, that’s fine. I actually prefer calls over texts too.”
—Haha, that’s a relief! This’ll only take a moment.
“Ah, okay.”
—By the way, you’ve got a really nice voice. You could be a voice actor!

It wasn’t flirting—at least I hoped not.
But Yongwon suddenly threw out some cheesy flattery.

‘Come to think of it… every time I met this guy in the past, he said something similar…’

Well, that wasn’t important right now.
I brushed it off with a quick thanks and got to the point.

“Thank you. But… did you have something you wanted to discuss specifically?”
—Haha! Actually, I was wondering if you’d be up for playing a few games with the rest of the team, if you don’t mind?

Yongwon quickly added—

—Ah, of course! I don’t mean as some sort of test. I just think it’d be good to sync up as soon as possible.
“I’m fine with that. There’s not much time left before the regional qualifiers anyway, so it’s best if we practice together as much as possible.”
—Exactly! And since we’re going to sync up, I thought maybe we should meet in person. What do you think?

My eyes widened instantly.

“You mean… meet right now?”
—Yes, right now.
“Uh…”
—Where in Seoul do you live?

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Hongdae, Seoul – a café nearby.

Park Yongwon sat with his teammates, casually sipping an Americano.

“Hey, Yongwon. That guy, TacticMaker… he’s really coming, right?”

One teammate’s anxious question made Yongwon burst out laughing.

“Puhaha! What? Of course he is! He said he’d come. Don’t worry.”
“No, but seriously—his skills weren’t amateur level at all. Is he really not a pro?”
“I told you, no! Didn’t you hear what Wooseok said earlier? Why would a pro mess around like that?”
“True, but… it’s the off-season right now. There could be a pro bored out of his mind somewhere.”

Yongwon quickly waved his hand dismissively.

“Come on—no way. Relax and drink your iced coffee. He’ll be here soon.”

That’s what he said.
But deep down, even Yongwon couldn’t hide his unease.

‘He did sound a little hesitant earlier…’

He didn’t think TacticMaker was actually a pro, but…
It was true that when he suggested meeting up suddenly, TacticMaker’s voice hadn’t exactly sounded cheerful.

‘Nah, impossible. He wouldn’t ditch the team right before the tournament… right?’

Yongwon shook his head, brushing off his doubts.
The cozy scent of roasted beans tickled his nose. The busy hum of the coffee machine blended with the warm, wood-furnished interior.

Ding, ding!

The café door opened.

A new customer stepped in. Naturally, Yongwon and his teammates turned their heads.
A young man walked in alone—he looked like a high schooler, maybe a college freshman.

Tall, good build, walking with a strangely confident stride.

“…Whoa. Look at that guy. Is he an idol or something?”
“Honestly, he’s better-looking than most people I saw on the streets of Hongdae today. With those long legs, he could be a model.”
“Ugh, I’m tired of seeing these social-butterfly types. Hey, Yongwon, your guy’s really coming, right? What time?”

Yongwon checked his phone.

[11:27 AM]

The meetup was at 11:30.

“There’s still three minutes left. Relax, he’ll be here any sec—”

Just then, the young man began walking toward their table.

The teammates all froze in mild tension as he approached.

“…?”

The man stopped in front of them, smiled at Yongwon, and spoke.

“Hello. You’re Park Yongwon and the team members, right?”

---

I stared at Yongwon.

He was tall—around 190cm.
Bronzed skin, sharp features, a faintly foreign aura. A familiar, welcoming sight.

But…

I couldn’t help but snicker under my breath.

‘What’s with that ridiculous blonde hair?’

Bleached and ironed straight, with flashy earrings and piercings in both ears.
He looked like he was trying too hard to be stylish—it didn’t suit him at all.

Back when I first met him, he had plain black hair and no piercings.
Just what had happened to him in this era?

“Uh…”

Yongwon blinked awkwardly. His three teammates looked just as bewildered.
Finally, Yongwon scraped his chair back and stood up.

“Hello! You’re TacticMaker, right?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Ah, nice to meet you! I’m ‘Knife in Left Hand’—well, my real name’s Park Yongwon. I’m 21.”

He reached out stiffly but firmly.
I clasped his hand and replied.

“I’m Lee Dosu. I’m 20.”
“Haha, guess I’m the older one! Since we’re teammates now, let’s do our best in this tournament!”
“Same here. And since you’re older, feel free to speak casually with me.”
“If we’re dropping honorifics, let’s all do it together! Guys—”

Yongwon signaled his teammates, and one by one they stood up to introduce themselves.

“Hello, I’m Kim Jehyeop. I play top lane. I’m 21.”
“I’m Byun Sangjun, ADC. I’m 23. Just got discharged from the army, so my head’s shaved—but don’t worry, I’m not scary. Treat me casually!”
“I’m the youngest here! My name’s Kang Haneul, I’m 17, and I play support. Please take care of me!”

I shook each hand, matching names to faces and roles.

Funny enough, their looks actually matched their positions.
Jehyeop, the top laner, was huge and imposing—like a general.
Sangjun, the ADC, looked sharp and sleek.
Haneul, the support, had a soft, cheerful face.

After quickly assessing them, I said:

“Nice to meet you all. Please feel free to speak casually with me too.”

The atmosphere was still a little stiff—except for Haneul.

“Nice, nice! Since you’re younger than me, I’ll just call you Dosu-hyung like the others!”

Being the youngest, his natural cheerfulness and bright smile broke the ice immediately.

“Wow, but Dosu-hyung, you must’ve been super popular in school, right? You look better than most celebrities!”

Jehyeop and Sangjun chimed in too.

“Seriously! I thought the same. Lucky bastard… handsome life.”
“And your in-game mechanics looked pro-level at the PC bang earlier. You’ve got everything, huh? Bet you were popular in the army too.”

I scratched my cheek sheepishly.

“Ah, thanks.”

Too much flattery.
I didn’t know why they were suddenly showering me with praise, but thanks to Haneul’s personality, the awkwardness melted away.

After some small talk, Yongwon grinned and spoke again.

“By the way, your Ahri and LeBlanc were insane. Best I’ve seen in a long time. Honestly, I didn’t think my friend would lose.”
“Nah, I just got lucky. Your friend was really good—probably Challenger, right?”
“Ehh, don’t be so modest! Even I could feel the difference in level!”

Then, a shadow of concern crossed Yongwon’s smile.

“But just to be clear… you’ve never played pro, right? Domestic or overseas. Trainee’s fine, but if you’ve played in official matches before, you can’t join this tournament.”

Ah. So that’s what he was worried about.

I remembered reading online that some players had been disqualified for hiding prior pro experience.
Even if it was just one appearance in a Brazilian minor league, they’d been punished.

But that had nothing to do with me.
Right now, I was just an ordinary college student.

“I’ve never been on a team, and I’ve never played in a tournament before. This’ll be my first.”
“Oh, really?! That’s a relief! You were so good I was worried for a second.”

Yongwon sighed in relief.

“Thanks for the compliment.”
“But then… what’s your real rank? Because you don’t look like just a Master-tier player.”
“Hm? That’s my real account—TacticMaker. Master is my current rank.”
“What!? No way! You’re telling me that’s your real rank with that level of play?”

The others gasped in disbelief.
I just nodded calmly.

“Honestly, your match history makes it look like your main role is support, not mid. I thought it was a smurf.”

Of course they’d be confused.
The gap between my past life and my current account was massive.

But I couldn’t explain that.
Even if I did, who’d believe me?

So I said instead:

“I do have some personal reasons regarding my account… but my main role is definitely mid.”

I continued—

“And TacticMaker is currently my highest-ranked account. Don’t worry, I won’t cause any problems for the team.”
“Right. As long as it doesn’t break the rules, it doesn’t matter what account you use.”
“Yeah.”
“Then… since your main’s mid, do you play other champs besides Ahri and LeBlanc?”
“I can play pretty much all mid champions.”

Not just Ahri and LeBlanc.
I had used nearly every champion in actual matches across countless lifetimes—even champions usually played in other roles.

My understanding and mastery of every champion was already top-tier.

“Whoa—amazing! So you’ve got a wide champ pool?”
“Yeah. No matter the team comp, I can adjust.”

The team let out a collective “ohhh” of admiration.
Yongwon, excited, jumped to his feet.

“Alright! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go sync up right now!”