Chapter 547. Peaceful (2)

Chapter 547. Peaceful (2)

“My... personality?”

Park Yu-Min's eyes widened at that unexpected reply.

“Yes, hyung.” Choi Jeong-Wu repeatedly picked up his drink before putting it down as if his nervousness had gotten the better of him.

“But, my personality is the problem? How?”

“I don't know if it's your personality or disposition, though. It's... Mm... Right, I think that must be it.”

“Jeong-Wu, I'm having trouble trying to understand you here. So, uh... How can that be a problem while gaming?”

Choi Jeong-Wu slowly nodded. “Hyung, you've been like that in the past, right? How should I describe your playing style as? Like... uh, you're like Lee Chang-Ho?”

“Lee Chang-Ho? You mean, the famous go player?”

“Yeah, him. You gave off the same exact feeling as him, hyung. Unless you know you can definitely gain something, you never commit to a move. Even if you look like you're taking your time leisurely managing your waves, everyone suddenly realizes you've already half-won the match. And then, even when you're at the climax, and only a small push from you would've ended the match in your favor, you still look out for that one-in-a-million chance and push for an even more comprehensive victory. That's your type.”

“Mm...?”

“Back then, that kinda mindset worked. Actually, I'd say it's a great way to play that game. However, Galaxy is a single-player title, hyung. This new one is a multiplayer team-based title.”

“Yes, I know.”

“If you partnered with someone in Galaxy, you wouldn't have played in your usual style. There would've been variables outside of your control, after all. But this game has more variables than Galaxy, you know? Even if you've totally shut out the enemy lane, other lanes could still cause a problem, right?”

“...”

“But, hyung. Even in situations where you could've gained an upper hand, you still bide your time, waiting for something to happen. Should I say... It feels like you believe being stronger than your opponent is the only way to go? That's why you can't respond in time when your opponents are moving around on the map, hyung,” said Choi Jeong-Wu as his expression grew a little pained. “Pros who are popular in this game and praised for being really skillful are all proactive and aggressive, you see? Those who give off the air of, 'I might lose this game, but I'm still gonna wreck you,' usually reach the upper ranks of the pros.”

Park Yu-Min contemplatively nodded. This advice sounded similar to what the team director said to him earlier. “So... it's aggressiveness?”

“Well, rather than aggressiveness, it's... How should I say this? Competitiveness and obsessiveness verging on being petty? You need something like that, hyung.”

“Hmm...”

“Stuff like management and control-related skills all come after that. You gotta have the aggression of wanting to trample on the opponent first. I mean, you felt it yourself, right? You were fine during one-on-one but had a huge problem during five-on-five, didn't you?”

Park Yu-Min nodded again while rubbing his chin. Since the pro gamer said the same thing as the pro team director, was there a point in thinking about this anymore? Now he knew for sure what his issue was. However, how should he go about solving this?

“Jeong-Wu... What should I do to become more aggressive?”

“Well, that's the hard part, I guess,” Choi Jeong-Wu sighed, then took a gulp of his drink. “Not much we can do about your personality, hyung. However, we're gamers, aren't we? A problem involving games should be solved through more gaming, I think. For instance, you could play with or against another player with all the qualities I just told you about. You know, someone really aggressive in his gaming. That disposition might rub off on you if you stick by that person long enough. But, uh...” Choi Jeong-Wu put the cup down while looking troubled. “Hyung, you're already a Challenger-rank and a semi-pro. Finding an aggressive player that matches your level might not be easy. Even if you do find someone like that, they must be pros themselves or have developed their 'unique' way of playing.”

“...I know someone.”

“Huh? Really?” Choi Jeong-Wu hurriedly looked up at Park Yu-Min's somber-sounding voice.

“...Yeah, there's someone who fits that bill perfectly. A dude with a mindset of I don't care how this round unfolds as long as I can beat you to a pulp... A pro-level gamer with the attitude of never, ever yielding to his opponents even if it's the end of the world. Yup, I definitely know someone like that.”

“E-eh? There's someone like that? Really? And he's got enough time in his schedule, too?”

“Not sure about his schedule, but yeah, he's a real person. For now, he's not a pro, but he's good enough to debut as one in less than ten days if he wants to.”

Choi Jeong-Wu looked at Park Yu-Min weirdly. “You're, uh... not messing with me, right? Hyung?”

Of course, Park Yu-Min wasn't kidding. He was being serious. Dead serious, too!

“I can't speak for any of his other qualities, but...” Park Yu-Min muttered in a slightly withdrawn voice. “The mindset of defeating the opponent no matter what... This dude I'm talking about might be the worst example of that mindset in the entire world.”

And that dude went overboard too often, too!

***

“Huh? You want me to play that game with you?” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah,” Park Yu-Min nodded.

Kang Jin-Ho didn't say anything and just pouted while staring at his friend. Park Yu-Min sheepishly avoided meeting that gaze by turning his head away.

“Hmm... Didn't you say something about changing your surname by a deed poll if you ever played a match with me again?”

“...W-well, that's not what I meant, Jin-Ho. It's, uh, it's like...”

Kang Jin-Ho firmly shut his mouth. His expression now hinted at how cranky he was—an emotion he rarely expressed.

Park Yu-Min saw that and panicked slightly. “B-back then, I was an idiot with zero discernment in what's good and bad in this game, Jin-Ho. That's why I didn't see your true worth.”

In a situation like this, pacifying his friend was the best course of action. Unfortunately for Park Yu-Min, though... It seemed Kang Jin-Ho had studied some aspects of a seasoned negotiator.

Pshooohhi...!

The sound of a cola can opening sounded a little sharper than usual. Park Yu-Min watched Kang Jin-Ho gulp down the bubbly cola and chuckled again. “I guess you will never get tired of drinking cola...”

“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho stopped drinking and tilted his head.

“You only drink either coffee or cola, you know?”

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and glanced at the cola can. “Well, there was a time when I would've killed people for a sip of this, you see.”

“...Your parents are not a big fan of sodas, huh?”

Kang Jin-Ho quietly chuckled without saying anything. Quite a few people now knew that he was a returner. However, his closest friend still had no idea. If that didn't qualify as irony, what was?

Even then, Kang Jin-Ho didn't see a need to mention it. Knowing the truth wouldn't be great for Park Yu-Min, after all. Close friends not keeping any secrets from each other was commonly accepted as fact, but to Kang Jin-Ho... He didn't believe one needed to be fully honest in order to maintain one's friendship.

“I'm guessing you were having trouble on your end?” Kang Jin-Ho smoothly steered the conversation away.

Park Yu-Min took the bait. “Yeah, you're right. I need more practice, it seems.”

Kang Jin-Ho smiled affably. Even as he was trying to deal with many different things at once, talking to Park Yu-Min like this reminded him that he still had a lot to learn.

If one wanted to argue about who had the noisiest surroundings, not many people would rival Park Yu-Min's environment. He probably never had a moment to solely focus on something since... Well, since forever. Even then, he never complained about it and continued to race toward his dream.

“What a superman you are.”

Park Yu-Min tilted his head. “Ng? Did you say something?”

“No, it's nothing important.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head.

So many people in this world seemed amazingly capable to Kang Jin-Ho. He wouldn't even dare dream of living as passionately as them.

“Hey, Yu-Min...”

“Yeah?”

“Is it getting tough?”

“No, it's not that,” Park Yu-Min decisively refuted it. “I told you this the last time, right? Instead of competing like crazy just to become the number one, I'd rather fall behind and do things at my pace.”

“Yeah, you did say that.”

“But then, I did fall behind, and... That's not sitting well with me, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled at that. 'Right. Yu-Min's always been like this.'

Park Yu-Min might look like the world's nicest person on the outside, but his heart contained as much hot-blooded competitiveness as everyone else. Someone like that wouldn't readily accept falling behind his peers.

“Yu-Min?” Kang Jin-Ho called out his friend's name.

Park Yu-Min looked back at his friend. “Yeah?”

“Do your best, okay?”

“...What's gotten into you, dude?”

“Don't worry about it,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled, then tossed the empty soda can into a nearby bin. “Alright. Let's go back to your training, shall we?”

“Wait, you... Is it okay for you to be here? Aren't you crazy busy?”

“I am. However, nothing's more important to me than helping you out. Even if I have a ton of things to do.”

“Hah. Don't make me laugh, okay? I know you just wanna goof off.”

“You got me there.” Kang Jin-Ho cackled while heading inside the PC Room.

Park Yu-Min smiled gently while getting up.

'Thanks, Jin-Ho.'

Of course he knew. He knew that Kang Jin-Ho was dealing with a lot of serious stuff lately. Even then, Park Yu-Min still asked his friend to come and hang out like this because... He felt awful about not being able to spend time with his friends recently.

'I wouldn't mind if things stay this way, though...'

Even if they grow older...

Even if time continued to tick by...

...As long as they could stay as friends.

“Wait for me!” Park Yu-Min called out and hurriedly chased after Kang Jin-Ho.