Chapter Text
The cheers from the crowd were deafening, even coming through the small, busted speaker connected to the computer he was watching from. It seemed so grand, a whirlwind of confetti falling from the sky, the word ‘victory’ highlighting everything blue. He watched Faker, the mid laner for SKT T1, laugh with such glee it ran a shiver through his own body. It reached all the way to his finger tips, leaving a tingling sensation on his left ring finger that didn’t go away no matter how much rubbed at it.
“Hey look, you’re gonna miss it! They’re lifting the trophy!!” His friend excitedly nudged him, the hazy look in Jihoon’s eyes going unnoticed. Looking back up at the computer screen, Jihoon zeroed back onto the mid laner’s face, now sporting a modest smile instead of the blinding grin it once did. Jihoon’s heart roared, feelings of want stirring about.
“Wow, that was amazing… Jihoon, we have to win. We have to get on that level. Let’s hop on, right now!” His friend sprung up, a determined fire in his eyes. Jihoon couldn’t agree more, his heart fluttering when he thought about that mid laner who seemed to hold a million stars in his eyes.
“Dibs on mid lane,” he declared.
“That’s fine, I wanted to play jungle anyways. I can even help you by ganking!”
“Just don’t mess me up,” he muttered back.
They had ended up going 0-6 that day, with Jihoon on the verge of ending their friendship. But at the same time, he’d been forever grateful to have seen that series that day, as well as Faker’s blinding smile.
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June 22nd, 2018. Jihoon had been anticipating this day for so long and his hands were trembling so badly, he was surprised no one suspected him of a seizure. But with Dohyeon’s raised eyebrow, he was sure to be caught in just a second.
“Jihoon, why are your hands shaking that bad? Are you really that nervous?” He asked.
“I don’t know, maybe I drank too much coffee or something,” he lied. “I don’t drink it that often, so maybe I’m just getting the jitters.”
Siwoo snorted at that comment, covering it up with a cough when Jihoon sent him a nasty glare. “Yah Jihoon, watch yourself. Who knows what secrets I may reveal if you keep being mean to me like this.”
“Secrets?” Dohyeon questioned. Siwoo wiggled his eyebrows at him, receiving identical faces of disgust from both his bot laner and mid laner.
Siwoo pouted, “you guys are no fun.”
Dohyeon rolled his eyes, “well, out with it. What’s the secret that Jihoon’s been keeping?”
Jihoon’s face turned red, shooting up to cover Siwoo’s mouth before he could say anything. But Siwoo ducked out of his way shouting, “he’s keeping a diary about Faker-nim! And not just about his plays, but how much he admires him!”
Their jungler, Seungyong, who was originally ignoring their little circus let out a whistle, commenting, “wow, who knew Jihoon-ah was that much of a committed alpha.”
“Committed indeed, perhaps coming off creepy?” Siwoo smirked, which disappeared quickly when Jihoon wrapped an arm around his neck and gave him a noogie. “Yah, Jeong Jihoon!! Stop, don’t forget I’m still your hyung!!!”
“Stop messing around and get warmed up. We have to start playing soon.” Dohyeon said, taking a seat in his chair. He looked back up at Jihoon and gave him a thumbs up, “I’m rooting for you and Faker-nim, Jihoon. Don’t be ashamed of your love, fighting!”
Jihoon could’ve nearly slammed his head onto the desk, but Dohyeon-hyung’s surprisingly sincere words took a hold of his heart. There was nothing embarrassing about people knowing his love for Faker, after all, he had already decided long ago that Faker would be the one he’d dedicate the rest of his life to. Hadn’t he already broken countless hearts, just for his one in a million chance of ending up with Faker? Hadn’t he spent each day breathing and playing League, honing his skills into the early hours of the morning just to be one step closer to him?
He clenched his hands into a fist, making a silent promise to himself to take every opportunity presented to him by fate.
“So Chovy, how does it feel to face the Unkillable Demon King and to win against him in your rookie year?” The interviewer asked him.
Jihoon clenched the mic harder with his two hands, “Hmm, it feels like I’m getting one step closer to my dreams.”
“Such a vague answer, Chovy! Is your dream to be the best mid laner in the LCK? Is it to win Worlds? Tell us!” Her kind smile helped soothe his nerves, letting him breathe in and out before giving out an answer.
“Yes, I want to win Worlds, I want to prove that I’m the best mid laner, but more than anything, my biggest dream is Faker-nim.” He could feel the stares that everyone gave him, could already hear the scolding he’d get once back in the waiting room. But he had to take this chance, to make his intentions known. The interviewer, to her credit, only looked shocked for a split second before reconstruing his answer to sound appropriate.
“If you could show me any player whose dream isn’t to have the wins, the glory, the success of the greatest player of all time, then I’d have to give you a million dollars! But Chovy, can you tell us more about your choice to play Lulu in the first game?”
Jihoon continued to answer questions about the game until the interviewer thanked him for his time. He headed back to where the rest of his team was, and as soon as he stepped in front of the door it swung open, revealing a feral Siwoo.
“JIHOOOON! You have the balls of ten thousand alphas, telling the world your dream is only the most sought after pro-player in the league. No, no, not even just the LCK, in the entire world!” Siwoo cheered, shaking him back and forth.
Dohyeon nodded behind him, giving him a thumbs up in approval. He could see his coach shaking his head and sighing, his manager furiously typing on his phone.
Jihoon could only smile, seemingly one step closer to his dream. One day at a time.