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___
Suhwan feels like the world is ending.
Ruler's just announced his plans to move to the LPL, and all Suhwan has to feel is a cocktail of insecurity and dread.
See, he'd known that at some point, he'd have to step up to the plate, and carry on the title of Gen.G's ADC. It's a logical thought process. That's why he'd asked his parents for someone to tutor him in League, why he'd accepted the offer from the scout in the first place, why he'd decided to devote his youth to playing competitive League of Legends in the LCK's Challenger's League, and why he'd been tirelessly grinding for hours on end, honing his skills.
Even so, now faced with the prospect of fulfilling his biggest dreams, it just doesn’t make sense to him. Ruler? Gone? From Gen.G? And Suhwan? Taking his place?
Suhwan, on the starting roster as Gen.G’s ADC in 2023?
The head manager had presented him with this fact with a false cheer injected into his tone, which, in hindsight, makes Suhwan wince, but hey, losing your star player and having to call up a rookie to take his place? Suhwan doesn't exactly blame him. He thinks that their manager might’ve thought that he'd be elated about it, so he had played along at the time, having matched him with an awkward laugh.
Ruler, sitting next to the coach, had offered him a grateful smile, and thanked him for stepping up. What was it that Suhwan had responded with back then? He’d told him that he could leave for JDG with no worries, that despite his inexperience, Gen.G would still manage to be one of the top teams in the LCK.
God, why did he say that?
Though Suhwan is relatively confident in his skills, this is Ruler. The first and only ADC to have won the title of Worlds FMVP, the ender of the great SKT dynasty, and one of the foremost most prominent contenders for the title of greatest ADC of all time. The Ruler. Who’s had his name be synonymous with SSG, and now Gen.G, for as long as Suhwan can remember. Hell, for longer than he's been playing the game. Their franchise player, their ADC, their one and only. And now he’s leaving for China at the end of the year, and now, Suhwan has to fill in these massive shoes, and he feels so, so, small.
Dazed, he finds his feet dragging him back to the practice room. The world around him seems to slow, the same way it does when he watches his champion get knocked up by an Ornn ult with an incoming fed enemy Jhin sniping at him. He's already dead. He knows it, even before the shots land.
In the face of this life-shattering, world-ending news, he goes back to the one constant in his life. He boots up his PC and clicks open the League client.
He's now faced with the home screen, but somehow, he can’t seem to bring himself to queue a match up. What if he gets gapped by the next ADC he matches into? What would that mean for the future of the team? They’re relying on him, how can he disappoint them? Ruler’s relying on him, how can he disappoint him?
God, he really isn’t acting like himself, is he? A ranking machine, choosing not to play because he fears confronting his inadequacies.
He's been staring at his screen for about a minute, and it's only just now that he spots an incoming friend request from an account named “pupu”. He rubs his eyes. The news has really taken its toll on him, if it's taken that long for him to notice something out of the ordinary on the screen he stares at every day for minutes at a time. Normally, he would refuse this without a second thought, but for some reason, this time, he hesitates. He moves his mouse away from where it’s been hovering, one click away from rejection, and instead chooses to pull up the account’s op.gg page.
He checks the account's stats. Challenger, top 10 on the leaderboard, ADC main, just like him. He’s not a pro player, nor is he a known streamer. He likes Twitch. Well, sure, why not. Maybe there's things he can learn from this guy. Maybe this guy can lead Suhwan down the path of Samsung ADC greatness. Ruler also plays a great Twitch, doesn't he? Yeah. Okay. Sure, sure he'll accept the friend request, yeah, why not.
___
Since then, Suhwan thinks he's made a decent ADC of himself.
Sure, he still doesn't think he's anywhere close to being half the person Ruler was for Gen.G as a whole (hard to do that, especially when the other’s been the org’s franchise player for over 6 years and 2 whole rebrandings), but over the past year, he's made his own peace with that fact. Now, he's content with forging his own path instead of tracing over the footsteps of someone who's currently long since gone.
Well, speak of long gone ex-Samsung ADCs, and they doth follow.
As life would have it turn out, “pupu”, or, as he's better known, Gu “imp” Seungbin, Season 4 Worlds winning ADC, has been his personal mentor for nearly two years at this point.
Honestly, Suhwan can't say he ever expected this, though in hindsight, the signs were there. Back then, as the ADC who’d attained one of the stars embroidered above the logo on his jacket, his idol had been Ruler, and to receive life and League advice from him would've been like a dream. How was he to know that it would be the other world champion ADC who he'd eventually be under the tutelage of?
Speaking of Seungbin, Suhwan spots him now, sitting in the far corner of the BBQ restaurant.
He waves Suhwan over enthusiastically. Ever the gossip, the first thing he says to Suhwan, after months of not seeing him in person, is a question - "How's the Stove League been treating you?"
Suhwan winces. The sting of having 3 of his beloved ex-teammates leaving still hasn't gone away, so he opts not to talk about the players. Instead, he chooses to reveal the one member of the coaching staff that he knows has the ability to divert Seungbin's attention. "Nothing much. Coach Mata's our substitute support now, which is kinda interesting, I guess."
At the mention of Mata, Seungbin looks as though he's swallowed a lemon. He looks at Suhwan with a mix of pity and horror. “Poor you,” he says, with more empathy than Suhwan ever thought him capable of.
Suhwan blinks. He’d heard stories of how the ex-SSW botlane didn’t exactly get along well together, but he didn’t think that it’d be bad enough to warrant a response like this simply at the mention of the other’s name about a decade later. He takes the bait. “What, is he really that bad?”
Seungbin sighs theatrically, slapping his hand against his forehead and collapsing in his seat. “Well, if you don't have any issue with him constantly yammering on about a nonexistent bot gap, and attributing all your success to him, and being micromanaged both in and out of the game," Seungbin pauses, taking a big breath, then continues.
"And being spam pinged, and getting flamed in all chat, and being stream sniped because he just loves watching you suffer specifically, and the fact that listening to him talk feels like being hit with a maxed out Vlad Q in real life, then, well! I guess you could tolerate him,” he finishes, spreading his arms out wide at that final statement.
“Oh,” Suhwan says. “Yikes. That kinda sounds like it sucks. Sorry.”
“Good luck.” Seungbin nods solemnly. “You’ll need it if you don’t want a charge on your record from strangling him to death in the middle of the night."
Suhwan doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he puts another ssam in his mouth.
“Well,” Seungbin says, as they finish up the last of the meat. “Believe it or not, I didn’t call you out here just to chat.”
Suhwan, who’d sensed that Seungbin’d had ulterior motives from the moment he’d said he’d treat him to unlimited BBQ, definitely believes it.
Seungbin drags his chopsticks around, swirling his cheese corn into a sticky mush. “As you may or may not know,” he starts, “2024 is the last year for Hyukkyu as a pro player before he has to go to the military.”
Suhwan nods. Seungbin continues, “Last year, I just had you give me general updates that any LCK pro could tell me about him. This year, I’m more worried about him, so I’d like you to somehow sneak your way into Hyukkyu’s outer circle, and tell me if anything happens.”
“Ok. So it’s just the same drill as last year, except this time I actually try to approach Deft. Got it.”
Seungbin pauses mid bite, and holds a finger up. After chewing and swallowing, he points to him. “Hmm. Wait. Actually, one more thing. Don’t get too close to Hyukkyu.”
“Um, okay?” Suhwan responds, dumbfounded. He’s got no clue what prompted Seungbin to say that.
Seungbin picks up on his visible confusion, and looks at Suhwan like he's stupid, which, ouch. He's not exactly renowned for his EQ or his ability to read between the lines, especially when: a) He's dedicated over half his life to a video game and b) Said video game is League of Legends. But he sure as hell doesn't want to be told as such by another guy who also fulfils both of those conditions, so. Well, sue him.
Seungbin takes the time to enunciate his worlds, slowly and carefully, putting emphasis on them, like he's trying to convince the boosted Soraka in solo queue to not roam just because, "that’s how the pros do it". "Well, yes. You see," he starts, overly patronising, before he catches himself and returns to speaking normally, "I've gotta take these preemptive measures, because it's Hyukkyu we're dealing with." He pauses. "Wait. You don't have any relationship experience, so you won't really understand." He spares a moment to glance at Suhwan with condescending pity. "Yeesh. Poor you. Well, you play League for a living, so I'll let it slide and try to explain in League terms.”
Seungbin pauses for a moment to think. “So basically, Hyukkyu's kinda like Ahri." He snaps his fingers. "No wait. Like Evelynn. But IRL, so you don’t have any resistances or cleanse, and when you get hit by a charm? It's already GG for you. So basically, don’t even bother trying."
Suhwan doesn't exactly understand how on earth Deft resembles Evelynn in any way, but he supposes Seungbin knows better than he does. After all, he's the Deft expert between them, if his secret album of Deft pics from suspiciously up close, and his fansite account, and his collection of posters and merch from over the years has anything to say about it, so whatever.
He also thinks Seungbin looks a little too pleased with himself for what, in Suhwan's humble opinion, was a frankly garbage explanation, but like the good student he is, he opts to speak nothing about it.
At that last sentence though, Suhwan doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. He opts for an awkward and slightly hysterical giggle, confused. ”Um, yeah? I don’t have a crush on Deft? In fact, isn't the whole point of me being here setting the two of you up together..?”
Seungbin looks confused. "What? No. Who said I ever wanted to get together with him?”
Suhwan doesn't get it. “Huh? You wanted me to act as a bridge between you two,” he says, trailing off at the look on Seungbin’s face. “...No?”
Seungbin tilts his head up and pinches the bridge of his nose, inhaling audibly. “Ok. When. When did I ever say that.“
“Uh, when you asked me to stalk your crush?” Suhwan feels sillier than he should for stating the obvious, but then again, Seungbin just seems to have that effect on people.
“No.” Seungbin rolls his eyes at him again. He’s been doing that a lot over the course of this single dinner.
Suhwan notes that he hasn’t denied Deft being his crush. Seungbin seems to pick up on Suhwan’s subsequent curiosity towards that fact.
“See, Suhwan,” he says, placing a hand on his chest. “There’s people for dating, and people for watching. Hyukkyu is- well, I can’t say I didn’t think about dating him at some point, but to me? For me, he’s the sort of person I can only just watch from afar.”
There’s a trace of melancholy in his tone that makes Suhwan almost feel bad for him, but any trace of sympathy he feels disappears without a trace at what Seungbin says next. “You wouldn’t know, ‘cause you’ve never been in a relationship. Leave the intricacies of love to the pros.”
“Like you?” Suhwan eyes him dubiously.
“Like me,” Seungbin confirms.
Seungbin claps his hands, and the heavy atmosphere dissipates. “Well, let’s move on. Okay, I’ve just sent you the plan.”
Suhwan checks his phone. “The plan,” in question, is a string of text consisting of a repeated phrase that fills his screen. “Keria, then Deft. Keria, then Deft. Keria, then Deft,” Suhwan reads out loud, and Seungbin nods approvingly in response.
“Yeah, that’s it! Good plan, isn’t it? Well, how hard can it be?”
___
The answer is: very.
That’s why, while the rest of his teammates are off catching up with their friends while waiting for the filming of the Spring Opening, Suhwan’s been hovering around the edges of the designated T1 rest area for the past 3 minutes, looking about half as miserable as he feels. He’s making his presence known around the map in real life, only this time he’s about as nonthreatening as an isolated Yuumi.
Today must be his lucky day, because it’s exactly the person he's looking for who finally puts him out of his suffering. “Uh, hello?” Keria waves a hand in front of Suhwan’s face, looking slightly concerned. “You ok? You need anything? You looking for Wooje?” He turns off to the side and bellows. “Wooje!”
He’s met with a resounding yell of, “What?”
Suhwan doesn’t know if it was the relentless fidgeting or the misting over of his eyes that clued him into his desperation, but he’s not about to waste this chance he’s got. Suhwan swallows. Time to bite the bullet. “Oh. Uh, actually, I was looking for you. Sorry if this is a little weird, but Hyunjoon hyung - Choi Hyunjoon hyung, he recently helped me out with this problem I had, and I was planning on cooking him something in return, so I was wondering if you could tell me what kinds of dishes he likes?”
“Oh.” Keria turns to the side again. “Nevermind!” He then turns back to Suhwan, looking at him quizzically. “Uh, sure, I don't mind telling you, but surely it’d be easier to ask Jihoon..?”
Suhwan’s predicted this situation. “Ah, well, Jihoon hyung doesn't seem to like talking about his ex-teammates, so…” That's not exactly a lie, but Suhwan also hadn’t bothered to ask him for help this time, so. He feels a little bad for throwing him under the bus here, but Jihoon would understand if he'd knew it was for a good cause, right?
Keria scowls at that, but nods in understanding. “Well, I'll tell you this, little Peyz," he says, taking on a tone Suhwan thinks is meant to sound solemn and knowledgeable, but really just ends up making him sound like Tahm Kench. "Your Jihoon hyung is a scumbag of an asshole who once told me he’d sell my soul to Phreak if it meant mid Draven would be meta for a patch, so I get you, I really do.”
Suhwan does not know how to respond to that, but luckily, Keria does the work for him. Noticing the vaguely alarmed look on Suhwan’s face, he waves both his hands frantically in the air. “Just kidding! Well, it’s just a bit of banter between friends, haha..! I once also told him I’d gladly toss him into an IRL fountain laser with no hesitation if it meant I’d have the opportunity to lane together with Mata…” He trails off at the end of the sentence, blissfully immersed in his own fantasy, before he snaps out of it with a shake of his head. “Um. Forget that last part. Please don’t tell your coach I said that,” Keria begs, awkwardly shifting from side to side.
Suhwan personally thinks that if Coach Mata found out that Keria, one of his favourite dongsaengs, had said what he just did, he’d be fuelled by an ego trip so hard that he’d somehow manage to make Rank 1 on the Korean server by one-tricking Lux APC, which would lead to Siwoo hyung once again complaining about his lack of job security. Luckily for both the T1 and Gen.G main supports, Suhwan has no intention of ever being the one to tell his roommate this, so he nods at Keria dutifully.
Keria sighs, relieved. “Man, you really are a nice kid, aren’t you? Anyways, to answer your question, you can just make something pretty simple, like sundubu jjigae, ‘cause firstly, he does like that dish well enough, and secondly, I think he’ll like anything you make for him. He’s always been sentimental like that, you know? The secret ingredient is love and all that.” He plops back down into a chair and smiles up at Suhwan, kicking his feet out. “Man, you’ve been with Jihoon for what, a year now? Gosh, you’re so cute, I can’t believe you haven’t been corrupted by his bad influence yet.”
If only Siwoo or Kiin were here to hear this. Nice job, Suhwan, he congratulates himself mentally. Now he's baited out the enemy support into a false sense of security, and it's time for him to go for the snap engage.
“Actually, uh, could I ask you for one more favour, if you don’t mind..?" Time to put his acting chops to the test. He fidgets, looking down at his sneakers bashfully. "I’m actually a fan of Deft's," he confesses. "It might sound a little weird, but I’ve actually looked up to him for years, as a senior botlaner, and though I’ve heard he’s really kind in real life, the thought of even approaching him is uh, actually kinda intimidating..? And I'm actually pretty shy usually, so if it isn't too much trouble, I was kinda hoping you'd be able to introduce me to him..?”
Keria's eyes visibly brighten. “Oh! Ohh, so that's it! You wanted me to introduce you to Hyukkyu hyung, huh? Well, why didn't you just say so! Well, yeah, hyung is so cool, he's my favourite player too, so don't worry, it's not weird! In fact, wouldn't it be weirder to not like him? Right? Right??” His voice increases by 10 decibels there at the end, and Suhwan thinks he sees Gumayusi wince in his peripheral vision. Silently, he lights up a prayer candle in his heart for the other ADC.
Suhwan lets out a silent sigh of relief. “Yeah. Yeah, I totally get you. He’s so cool, both in game and out, isn’t he?”
Keria's chest puffs with pride. “Of course!” He leans in conspiratorially and whispers, “As a matter of fact, I’m actually hyung's best friend, so I'll specially introduce the two of you to each other! Don't worry, you're a cute kid, he's bound to love you.” He nods furiously to himself again, seemingly lost in his thoughts. “Yeah, that should be it. Ok, hold on. I'll text you his number, gimme yours.”
Suhwan smiles awkwardly. “Oh, uh, wow! Thanks, Keria sunbaenim..!”
Keria hums in agreement, pleased. “Don’t sweat it. Also, well,” he says, "since I'm helping you out now, Minseok hyung is fine.”
In to Deft's circle, secured. Midlane outer turret has been destroyed. One final push. “Ah, okay, Minseok hyung..?”
“Yes?”
“Um, would you mind keeping the fact I have his number a secret from Deft for now? Not now, but one day, I’d like to be able to approach him on my own terms, so if that’s fine with you, I’d really appreciate it..!”
“I see,” Minseok nods. “Well, don’t worry. My lips are sealed,” he says, mimicking a zipping motion.
“Okay. Once again, thank you so very much for everything, Minseok hyung!” He bows, and Minseok just waves in reply.
Now that he’s taken care of everything he could, it’s time for him to go back to base, with the objective secured. Not bad, if he does say so himself.
___
Keria:
don't worry
i gotchu ;)
have fun filming lanemates!
but make sure to be prepared!!
today is your day!!!
Today is very much not his day.
Twitch. Why did he say Twitch.
Well, now he's done it. He's overextended himself without his support and now he's going to die in the 1v1 with an opponent who’s somehow gained 10 levels on him.
During the filming, Deft had just briefly shot him an odd glance, and that had been it. Now though, Suhwan finds himself alone in a room with him, having been asked for a one-on-one conversation. Gumayusi, who’d been there for his conversation with Minseok, had given him a thumbs up as he'd left, mouthing, “You got this!”
Suhwan, immobile like the Aphelios he so favours, very much does not, as Gumayusi said, “got this,” and can do nothing but let out a frankly pathetic squeak as Deft turns to him.
Deft stops. He takes a step back, and raises his hands in the air as a symbol of peace. To Suhwan, it looks anything but.
Deft looks at him. “Sorry. I'm not trying to antagonise you, but I’m also not oblivious.” He tilts his head. “I’m just curious as to why, and how, you’ve got Minseok singing your praises to the heavens every time we've met in the last month, when before this, he's never even mentioned being acquainted with you? Also, well, just out of curiosity, what's going on with the Twitch pick?”
Crap. He's overextended and been caught under the enemy turret. He laughs awkwardly, eyes shifting, desperate to find any means of escape. “Um. I’m a fan. Sorry. I asked Minseok hyung if he could help me get closer to you, sorry. Also I have no idea what you're talking about. I like Twitch. My friend told me Twitch was the best ADC. I think he’s a fun champion. Sorry, again.”
He's being watched with a scrutiny that reminds him of why, despite his kindness, Deft is so exactly feared by those who cross him. Suhwan feels as though he’s been marked by a Caitlyn ult, with no one else around to help him tank the shot.
Deft then gives him one last once over, and his shoulders slump as the tension leaves his body. He offers Suhwan a weak smile. “Sorry. I got too caught up in memories of the past, and unduly suspected you of having bad intentions. My apologies.”
Suhwan internally sighs with relief.
Deft pats Suhwan's head. “Well, you're not exactly wrong. Twitch really isn't bad, and it's a useful pocket pick in a pinch." He lets out a self-deprecating laugh, and sighs. "You know, I once also had a friend who thought Twitch was the best ADC champion once.” There's a trace of bitterness in his tone that seeps through, and oh, oh, he might not be quite over Seungbin yet either, huh?
At that thought, Suhwan stops, and thinks of a plan. He weighs out the pros and cons in his mind. If he continues on his current course of action, which is, constantly stalking Deft on Seungbin's behalf, isn't that a little unfair? He wasn’t completely lying to Minseok - he does genuinely admire Deft. Even so, though he doesn't want to betray one of his idols, the debt of gratitude he owes Seungbin for being his mentor, his coach, his friend, can't be simply dismissed. But if what he's observed of the two is any indication, continuing on his current path will only prolong the years of yearning and pining and what ifs and everything unsaid and.
And so Suhwan opens his mouth once more, just as Deft turns to leave. “Wait, I still have something to ask.”
Deft pauses in his tracks. Suhwan inhales.
“What would you do if you were a rookie approached by an ex-pro who wanted you to help him reconnect with his ex-teammate who he hasn't even played with in like a little over a decade, but still even though he said he wants to reconnect with him he doesn't even want to talk to him? But he wants you to give him updates on his life. Oh, and like, just for further context, this ex-pro is a Worlds winning ADC. Yeah.”
Deft takes a moment to try to parse any meaning from the barely comprehensible babble of words that have just spilled out of Suhwan's lips. Suhwan can see the gears turning in his head, Deft finally realising that Suhwan’s Twitch main of a friend just so happens to be the same as his very own.
Deft stays silent for half a minute or so. Those 30 seconds are some of the longest in Suhwan’s life and as just as he’s starting to think he’s ruined it all by spilling about Seungbin’s slightly creepy tendencies and his role as an accomplice, which would lead to Deft hating the both of them forever and him permanently ruining any chance of reconciliation, Deft speaks.
“Well,” he starts, slow and thoughtful. “In that case, I'd tell the ex-pro player to get over himself and just text him, because how on Earth is his ex-teammate supposed to know that he's still doing fine, much less that he's worrying over him, if he himself doesn't give regular life updates to him? And I'd also tell him to consider that maybe, just maybe, if he was close enough to him that he still cares to ask a rookie for life updates on him over 10 years later, said ex-teammate cares about him too, and that his ex-teammate would appreciate him reaching out to him.”
He pauses. “Also, well, before all that, I’d start by telling him it was a bad idea to disappear right after he confessed to this ex-teammate in the first place, without even waiting for an answer, which would’ve been yes, by the way.” He pauses again. “Fully hypothetical, of course.” He smiles at Suhwan as he says that last bit.
Suhwan's jaw drops. Holy shit, Seungbin’s weird crush is requited.
Deft laughs, and rubs his head again. It's a nice feeling. He kinda sees why Jihoon likes him so much now. ”Good talk, Suhwan. I'll get your number from Minseok later, yeah?”
Suhwan, dazed, can only nod in agreement. Deft softly smiles at him once more, removes his touch from Suhwan’s hair and leaves the room.
Now, Suhwan thinks, now what? He’s done it, he’s spilled his and Seungbin’s big secret to Deft. Even so, this singlular conversation has sparked hope in him for the eventual reparation of the relationship between the two ex-Samsung botlaners, more than all of Seungbin’s drunken rambles about Deft, and for the first time in about 2 years, he's looking forward to what the future has in store.
___
Chengdu, where MSI is being held, is in China.
As such, Suhwan, the botlaner of the LCK’s first seed, is in China.
Legendary ex-pro-player-turned-streamer slash Suhwan's mentor, Gu “imp” Seungbin, is also in China.
And as he's, "So very concerned about little Suhwanie," or so he says, he's forced Suhwan into scheduling a “check in” with him.
It does make sense, Suhwan supposes, considering the fact that in the time that he's spent since their last meeting, Suhwan has:
- Won yet another LCK title, the third of his career,
- Won an MSI title, the first of his career,
- Had the best Kalista game of his life (thanks Siwoo hyung!), ending the penultimate game of the MSI 2024 grand finals with a pentakill and a total kill count of 28, the highest in any League of Legends international tournament,
- And finally, last but very much not least, he's told Deft that Seungbin's been stalking him.
Well, there's really no way for Seungbin to know about that last one, short of Deft or himself telling him. As a result, Suhwan, who’d usually worry about his schemes being revealed, walks into the private booth of Haidilao completely free of worry.
Seungbin’s already seated with his apron on, dunking balls of shrimp paste into the tomato flavoured broth. “You’re late,” he says, not even sparing a glance up at him.
Suhwan blinks, confused. He’d made sure to check his watch before he’d left the hotel in order to ensure that he’d make it in time, and as he checks his phone, he finds that he’s actually still there a couple minutes before their scheduled meeting time.
Even though he hasn’t said anything yet, Seungbin, who finally deigns to look upon him, rolls his eyes. “Doesn’t matter. You’re later than me, and I’m the host, so. Like I said, late.” He slides a platter of sliced beef towards Suhwan. They're thicker, and there’s noticeably more marbling on the meat than the ones on Seungbin’s own plate. Seungbin catches his gaze, and proceeds to dump the rest of his own plate of beef into the soup. “Well? What are you just sitting around for?”
Suhwan hums, and now there’s a smile beginning to spread across his face. “Hyung,” he sing-songs, in that tone that he knows will get on Seungbin’s nerves. “Did you order the nice stuff as a reward for me winning?”
“What? No.” Seungbin waves his hand in the air dismissively. “You have MSI. I have the Old Man Cup. Same thing.“
Suhwan wisely elects not to remind him that unlike him, Seungbin finished 3rd, or even respond to the implication that both those tournaments held the same level of significance. Patience is a virtue, and all that.
He's still grinning though, still on the high of finally winning his first international. “Seungbin hyung,” he whines, leaning over to take from Seungbin's plate of beef. “Did you watch my game? My Kalista game? The one with the pentakill?"
“Yeah, I did, you brat,” Seungbin says, valiantly trying and failing to swat his hands away.
Suhwan beams. “Hey, hey, wasn't I good? Didn't I do your teachings justice, O' legendary ADC imp?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Seungbin rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling, and praise from him is rarer than accounts with the King Rammus skin, so Suhwan decides to push his luck.
He pulls his phone out and starts recording. “Hyung, aren't I the best ADC in the world right now?”
Seungbin scoffs. “Huh? Don't fish for compliments. You youngsters these days. One little international record, and you go crazy. Back in my day, it was only a real win if you made your opponents cry, ‘cause it meant that you won both in and out of the game.”
“Answer the question properly, Seungbin hyung~” Suhwan goads, still giggling.
Seungbin pretends to scowl, and huffs out a sigh, exasperated. “It's still Deft. Don't get ahead of yourself.”
Well, this was the answer Suhwan had expected, though he can’t say that a little part of him didn’t wish Seungbin would agree with him. He pouts and ends the recording, putting away his phone and adding a mental reminder to send the video to Deft later.
___
In the first half of the Summer Split, Suhwan wins. And then he wins some more, in the second half, and then more, in the playoffs. He loses his last, most important game of the season, but he's won enough, so he's got the privilege to simply move on from that and brush it off as a minor setback.
Hyukkyu, however, does not win quite as much as he does, despite the match score being 2-2 between their respective teams this year. He barely makes playoffs, then barely misses worlds.
Well, life goes on. That's how he finds himself in another Haidilao, this time in Korea, during the precious week of break he's got as he waits for play-ins to be over. Ah, the perks of being in the LCK.
Suhwan is worried about Hyukkyu, he really is. To lose his final match before his mandatory military service in such a frustrating way, where it seemed so close, against a longtime rival, knowing full well if they were just that little bit better, just that little bit stronger, they could have made it? Yeah, that's gotta hurt
Unfortunately, he's got the emotional subtleties of the average League pro, which is to say, none at all. With his luck, despite him trying his best, he’ll probably end up bulldozing his way through his questions and accidentally picking at relatively recent wounds with his bluntness. So, in the end, after careful consideration, he opts to stay silent, at least until Hyukkyu initiates the conversation.
And silence is what he gets, their sounds of their eating only accompanied by the ambient music and muffled chatter from outside their private room. Suhwan feels he should make small talk at some point, though, so he blurts out, “How’s Twitch?”
Hyukkyu hums, straightening his chopsticks out and sliding the last of their bok choy into the soup. “Twitch really isn’t bad, especially in this meta.” He looks meaningfully at Suhwan. “At Worlds, everyone’s got their own secret pocket picks. It wouldn’t be bad if Twitch was one of yours, considering you’ve got a Twitch Worlds skin recipient as your mentor, and the support who enabled him as your coach.”
“Oh.” Suhwan blinks. He hadn’t exactly expected that as a response. He didn’t really expect any response at all, to be fair.
His thoughts must show on his face, because Hyukkyu laughs. “What,” he teases, “Twitch is the fundamental ADC champion, isn’t he?”
“Huh? Oh, right.” Suhwan had all but forgotten about the filming of that Lanemates episode, despite it being the catalyst for the beginning of their tentative friendship.
Hyukkyu laughs at him once more, before his expression turns serious. “Seungbin’s sent you here to ask how I’ve been doing since the regional qualifiers ended, right?” The expression on Suhwan’s face seems to be confirmation enough for Hyukkyu, and as such, he continues speaking.
“Well,” Hyukkyu smiles placidly, “2022 was supposed to be my last dance, and even before that, I was planning to retire even earlier, if it weren’t for Minseok convincing me to stay for a little bit longer. It’s a shame I couldn’t make it to Worlds in my final year, but in the end, I can’t say I haven’t been prepared for this.” He leans back in his chair and folds his hands in his lap.
Suhwan chews on his mouthful of beansprouts, and swallows. “Yes, Seungbin hyung did tell me to check up on you," he starts, pausing to fish out the last of the ramen noodles in the broth. "But just so you know, I was gonna do it either way, because, uh, well, forgive me if I'm being a little too presumptuous, but I do consider you a friend, and I was genuinely worried about you.” He takes a swig of his water, and continues, “Also, I just wanted to tell you this in person, but - you did well, hyung.” He sits up straight, and bows as far as the table will allow him. “You’ve worked hard, thank you for everything you’ve done over the years.”
Hyukkyu is silent for a moment, then he pats Suhwan’s head. “Thanks. I consider you to be a friend, too. You’re a really nice kid. Wait for me to settle the bill, okay?”
Maybe he is a nice kid, he thinks, as he watches Hyukkyu look around for his wallet, considering everyone seems to tell him that except for Seungbin and his own teammates. As the nice kid that he is, he decides, he’ll finish off the sad, lone piece of tofu floating around in the soup.
Just as Hyukkyu starts walking over to the counter, his phone rings. There’s an incoming video call from Seungbin.
“Hey Suhwan, just checking in- Oh, you're outside?”
Suhwan thinks Seungbin sounds way too surprised at the fact that he isn’t grinding League 24/7, but well, he's not exactly too far off the mark. Considering the fact that he’s only here under what he considers to be extenuating circumstances (read: worry for a beloved senior a week after his forced retirement from his dream job), he lets the comment slide.
“Yeah, I'm out getting lunch with a friend," Suhwan smiles as he speaks, thinking of how he's now freely able to call Hyukkyu his friend. "But he's left for a little while now. So if you could please hurry up and make it quick, that'd be much appreciated."
Seungbin clicks his tongue. “Tch. So disrespectful to your hyung already. To think I raised a child like this…” He sighs in mock exasperation. Suhwan sticks his tongue out at him in response.
“Well, who’s this friend, huh?
“Funny you should ask.” Suhwan shifts nervously, as he spots Hyukkyu making his way back to their table. “Um. It’s Hyukkyu hyung.”
“You’re on a first name basis with Hyukkyu?” Seungbin asks, before the weight of what Suhwan says sinks in, and he blanches. "Wait, Hyukkyu? Oh, fuck, he’s making his way here, isn’t he. Quick, tell him I don't speak Korean."
“Who’s that you’re calling?” Hyukkyu asks, sitting down.
“He doesn't speak Korean,” Suhwan dutifully repeats, tilting his phone away and playing the part of oblivious third party to the best of his capabilities.
Hyukkyu nods sagely. “Ah, so it’s Seungbin.”
The voice coming from Suhwan’s phone stays silent for a few seconds. “...No..?” His English is noticeably heavily accented, and Suhwan internally sighs. This is the guy he calls his mentor.
Hyukkyu somehow finds a way to look more unimpressed than Suhwan feels. He crosses his arms. “Seungbin, I know it's you. We can have this conversation in Korean, Chinese, or even English - please, just talk to me.”
Another round of silence. When Seungbin speaks next, it’s hollow and resigned. “So Suhwan told you, huh.”
Hyukkyu sighs. “Yes, he did. At the start of the year, and just as you’ve been using him to spy on me, I’ve been using him to spy on you, too.”
Seungbin’s visibly stunlocked by this news, and Suhwan decides now’s a good a time as any to give Hyukkyu the phone, and with it, an opportunity for the two of them to finally talk to each other. “Bathroom,” he says, excusing himself, and promptly making a beeline to the toilet.
If he decides to take his sweet time posing at himself in the mirror as he waits, that’s no one else’s business but his own. By the time he comes back, Hyukkyu’s tapping on his own phone, and Suhwan's own has gone dark, call with Seungbin hung up already.
“Ready to leave?” Hyukkyu asks, slipping on his coat. He’s smiling though, which, if Suhwan takes as any indicator of how their first proper conversation in years went- All things considered, he won't even mind the earful he knows he’s getting once Seungbin realises he’s been playing double agent for most of 2024 at this point.
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And if he ends up picking Twitch later at Worlds with a 3-0 quarterfinals spot on the line, despite the fact that he’s only ever played it once competitively, then, well- He’s got 2 Worlds winning seniors who can vouch for his skills in piloting the rat.
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