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“Seize the moments.”
It was a short phrase. Simple, easy to say, and often heard in some random motivational video. But for Lee Minhyeong, those three words carried tremendous weight.
There had been countless times when he’d felt the urge to claim his triumph in the moment, because in reality, he didn’t live in a fictional world where supernatural powers could rewind time, erase obstacles, or fix bad outcomes to achieve his goals.
Time was precious. You could only live through it once. Whatever happened in a specific moment could never be erased or changed. Every decision and action mattered. They determined whether you’d look back at the past with happiness or regret. Minhyeong had faced many rare chances to seize his dreams and glory, and just as many times, he’d failed to grasp them. People often said you shouldn’t let opportunities slip away, but fate wasn’t something that mere humans could control.
Even when he worked hard, his efforts often ended as bitter pills, a medicine that become painful reminders to stay humble and remember his original dreams and purpose. So what could he do? He decided to hone his skills, to bring victory closer by shaping his own destiny, by forcing fate to align with his will. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t.
This year, especially, had been difficult. So many unexpected changes had come in such a short time, external pressures, internal doubts, and people watching his every move, eager to point out his mistakes and question his abilities. It felt as if his world had turned upside down; everything he’d built with his own hands was crumbling in an instant. But he gritted his teeth and endured it, until he arrived at one specific moment in time.
On the last and biggest tournament, the final stage of obstacle players had to break. The ultimate test symbolizing the culmination of a year’s hard work. The dream stage for many players to play. After an arduous journey alongside his team, he once again found himself in the same familiar position he had reached last year. By a rare twist of fate, God had given him another chance. This time, everything aligned perfectly. They had already broken their own records last year, and now they were ready to challenge limits that had never been broken by anyone.
Thinking about it made his body tremble slightly. There was always a heavy burden for those who wore the crown. Many would paint them as figures to be defeated, symbols of something to strive for, a goal to reach, with the crown as the prize. They become the villain in countless stories, shattering others' daydreams of victory. Hatred and jealousy are often channeled in their direction, a collective wish for their downfall.
His shoulders were weighed down by the responsibility of continuing a legacy that already been built. With his current state, he felt as though God had given him a chance to prove himself once more. He didn’t want to look back at this year with regret. Tightening his fist, Minhyeong took a deep breath to regain his composure, calming himself and reminding himself not to succumb to the pressure. Based from his own previous experience, he knew that obsessing over the result only made him become more nervous, which in turn increased the chances of making mistakes.
"What's with the long face?"
"Just do it like in practice, Minhyeong."
A soft voice brought him back to reality. He glanced at the person who was usually sitting on his right side. A faint smile appeared on his face, his composure unshaken, as if nothing could rattle him. Maybe because he had already been in this position before, eight years ago, with the same setting. Back then, he had won back-to-back championships with sheer dominance, and was challenging for a third to show everlasting dynasty. But the result had been devastating. The mighty player, who had seemed to reign above everyone else, was crying like a child whose toy had been stolen. It had been the biggest heartbreak of his early twenties. It left a deep scar on him, reshaping his mindset and approach to the game he loved.
Now, in his late twenties, that loss had become a defining lesson, influencing the way he played the game. Over the years, he'd gone through it all, rising from the team's irreplaceable star to a reserved player, waiting for his chance. He’d even battled through an injury that kept him sidelined for months.
Whenever Minhyeong found himself in a similar position, he would think of Sanghyeok. It always gave him a quiet strength to persist in difficult environments. For him, Sanghyeok had been the best, and still was someone Minhyeong looked up to. Maybe the trials he faced now were part of his own path to greatness, just as they had been for Sanghyeok. Those kinds of thoughts helped elevate his stress and maintain his focus on his own goals: to become the best marksman.
One thing he loved to do on stream, especially when interacting with fans, was sharing his imagination and dreams with them. He once said he wished to become the Finals MVP someday, and now, standing on the big stage with the shiny FMVP trophy in his hands, he still couldn’t believe that the words he once spoke so casually had finally manifested into reality.
After all the tribulations he had faced, after all the countless prayers he whispered in quiet moments, God had finally answered him, rewarding the accumulation of a year’s worth of hard work and the hardship he's been through. For a moment, it truly felt like he had become the protagonist in some movies he loved to watch.
As he stood under the golden rain of confetti, with his teammates smiling brightly beside him after their hard-earned victory, his eyes drifted towards his captain. He caught a glimpse of the soft smile resting on the captain’s upturned lips. He wondered what thoughts were passing through his mind at that exact moment. Was it relief? relief that he had finally achieved the thing he couldn’t back then? Or was it the echo of old regrets, wounds that triumph couldn’t completely silence?.
He had once been the main character, the one everyone referred to, the center of the dynasty. Then came the downfall, the years when he was pushed aside from the spotlight. But now, years later, he had proven himself once more. Back-to-back World Championships. Another Finals MVP. Just like the days when he was younger, when glory seemed to come so naturally.
And while he knew he might never match Sanghyeok’s legendary titles or historic achievements, he realized then that he didn’t need to. In that moment, he understood something much more important: he is the main character of his own story, a story that could coexist alongside Sanghyeok’s, weaving together to create new history. Just like seeing Sanghyeok’s tears back then strengthened his resolve to chase his dream of becoming a professional gamer, he ended up becoming his longest teammates and together they carve out a legacy that would be remembered. A good ending for the youth he's been dedicated to.
Now, he's ready for the next chapter of his own path. He would keep going and make every imagination he spoken out loud come true.