Pen and Paper Translations

Hyunseung silently savored his joy with his fist clenched.

Squeeze!

And no wonder, since he had just been told that the theme song had been officially selected as the one he had made.

Of course.

This was not something he merely expected. It was something he had been certain of.

He had been confident he would not lose out to Jayble, nor to the candidate song they said they would compare it against.

Still. The thought of the Worlds finals opening stage being decorated with a song he had made kept making him giddy.

Since Hyunseung had been fairly talented at games, there had even been a time when he had thought about becoming a pro gamer.

But that was never an easy thing. So he had always thought that, if he was never going to make it to the finals, then at the very least he wanted to create a song that would be performed on the finals opening stage instead.

At last.

It was as though that wish had finally come true.

Tap, tap.

At that moment, Hyunseung woke Vincent, who was sprawled across the sofa in his studio like a corpse.

“Get up already.”

Only then did Vincent push himself upright, still half asleep.

“What time is it…”

His voice, low and heavy from waking up, came out rough and cracked.

“It’s already broad daylight. Why do you look half-dead just because you stayed up one night?”

At that, Vincent shot back with a deeply dissatisfied expression.

“If it were just one sleepless night, I wouldn’t look like this.”

“Then what?”

“I look like this because I pulled an all-nighter recording with you.”

Then he rubbed his face, which had suddenly gone dark, as if he had recalled a nightmare.

Because he had remembered the hell of “again” from the day before.

Really.

He had known well enough that Hyunseung was that kind of person when he worked, but this time, it had felt especially bad.

How should he put it?

Beyond obsessive, he had seemed like someone who was just plain out of his mind.

Yes.

Like a genius scientist with too high an IQ, gone mad and driving recklessly through his final experiment.

Starting from the way he had been so desperate, which did not suit his temperament at all.

And then, instead of rearranging the song to match the voice like usual, he had gone and told the voice to match the song.

Anyway, it had been the moment the greatest hardship of his life was freshly renewed.

“When you said three days, I thought you meant three days just to make the song. Who knew it meant all three days including the recording too…”

“And we sent it within three days, and it got approved. What matters is having the mindset that you’re going to crush everything.”

“What are you even talking about?”

Vincent frowned at the sight of Hyunseung burning with passion while spouting abstract nonsense.

That kind of appearance really…

It did not feel like Hyunseung at all.

“Ah.”

Then Hyunseung, as though he had suddenly remembered something, let out a small exclamation.

“I need to talk to the person in charge about the theme song video production, so find out their contact information for me.”

“You’re going to interfere with the video too?”

“I came up with a lot of scenes in my head while I was making the song, so I want to pass them along.”

He added that while waving around a stack of papers covered in notes, as if he had prepared them at some unknown point.

What is wrong with him today?

No.

Why is he so obsessed with this project?

Yes. Now that he thought about it, there was more than one strange thing about this.

Starting from the moment he barged in and demanded to know why Vincent had not told him.

A man who was already short on hands because of all the other work he was doing had insisted stubbornly that he had to do this one himself and rushed the project along.

And now he was even stepping in outside the songwriting itself.

‘This is weird.’

Could there be someone connected to it? No, if that were the case, they would have asked Hyunseung directly to do the work.

Then…

There was only one answer that came to Vincent’s mind.

“Don’t tell me there’s a player in Worlds you like?”

It was impossible to picture Hyunseung actually playing games, or cheering for players.

But at the moment, that was the only possible reason for Hyunseung’s obsession.

“Yeah.”

Hyunseung answered immediately.

“Really?”

When Vincent asked again in surprise, Hyunseung nodded as if asking what the issue was.

Yes. Men did generally fall into the type that liked games, so sure, he could have a favorite esports team, a favorite pro gamer…

“Wait a second…”

Was there even a female player among the Worlds competitors?

He was not that interested in League, but when he had watched games from time to time, he had never once seen a female player.

Then…

Had he gone that far for a pro gamer he liked who was a man?

‘I suspected it at first too, but…’

Soon.

Vincent looked at Hyunseung with a grave expression.

“Why are you making that face?”

Hyunseung, having no idea what kind of misunderstanding was currently being constructed, only tilted his head.

(T/N: Vincent suspected HS… )

---

Hyunseung had wanted to see Jayble off at the airport in person, since he had helped with the work.

But.

“I want Michelle to see me off.”

Because he kept stubbornly insisting to the very end, Hyunseung asked Michelle to do it and returned to the studio.

At this rate, since he had been making Michelle do miscellaneous work all month, he should probably give her a bonus or something.

“Haa…”

Thinking that, Hyunseung leaned back in his chair.

He had no idea how those three days had passed.

He had made the song, recorded it, finished the mastering, and on top of that, had not slept a wink while writing up the story he wanted included in the video.

Maybe because of that…

Now that one round of the process was over, the fatigue came crashing down all at once.

“I should just go home…”

Just as Hyunseung was about to haul his heavy body up.

Bzzzt!

A message arrived, welcome enough to wake the sleep that had been rolling in like the tide.

[ Hello. This is Rayleigh, in charge of video production for Revolution Games. I was told you requested contact, so I’m leaving you a message. Please call whenever it is convenient for you to talk. ]

He had not intended to go this far.

Of course, it was also true that, if he was going to be greedy, he wanted to do it properly.

But that was not the only reason.

It had already been well over three years since he came back after turning back twelve years of time.

And by walking a different path from his previous life, he had changed many things.

As a result, the fact that he had succeeded was no different, but everything around him had changed. The people, the position, the responsibilities.

And also.

Even the date of Daniel’s death.

So he could not be blindly certain this time either.

That the team he supported, DRY, would be this season’s champion.

That Duel, the player he favored most, would be able to defeat “Face”, the player called his eternal fate.

He could not be certain of a single thing.

Because if something changed in the past, then the future changed too.

This time, the season theme song itself had changed.

Originally, if things had gone as they once had, TP, the team led by Face, would have become the theme song’s protagonist as the reigning champions from the previous season. That was why everyone had assumed team TP would naturally win again this season as well.

Hyunseung had thought the same.

But against everyone’s expectations, they had claimed the championship proudly.

Of course.

If someone were to ask whether that could happen again this time.

Unfortunately, he could not say so with certainty.

It was not as though he had directly influenced them.

But if even something very small in their lives had changed, then the future could change along with it.

That was the “principle” Hyunseung had arrived at.

But he could not just leave it at that.

Why?

Because Hyunseung still remembered it vividly.

Yes.

What Duel had said after taking his first championship.

— What matters is the mindset that you’re going to crush everything. I ran on with nothing but the determination to crush everything, and as a result, today I was finally able to crush it all.

That interview lodged itself deep in Hyunseung’s heart.

More than any other interview, it had not felt stale, and it had been cool.

Yes.

There was something quite fresh about the way he laid all of his own desire bare.

From that moment on, he became interested in the player named Duel and supported him.

Ah.

Of course, only as one human being to another.

“Hm…”

A person with that much grit would naturally manage it again in this life too, or so he thought.

But he needed something, some device that would let his mind settle.

So.

One part of that was deciding to intervene in the video production.

And the other was…

Tap, tap.

It seemed Hyunseung had finished sorting out his thoughts, because he immediately placed a call somewhere.

“Director Kim, could you come to my office right now?”

As soon as the call connected, he summoned Kim Woohyun with a solemn expression.

---

Han Inhyeok once again came out only after the sun was fully up to buy coffee.

Jingle!

As soon as he stepped into the café, the part-timer, as if they already knew, immediately handed over an Americano with an extra two shots added.

“The usual, right?”

To someone else, it might have looked like he was buying it on his way to work to wake himself up, but that was not it.

It was to soothe the brutal exhaustion crashing over him after staying up all night.

Tap.

Just as he was heading toward the pickup counter to take the coffee.

“Sorry…”

He bumped into someone, and the moment he lifted his head out of habit to apologize, Han Inhyeok frowned without realizing when he saw the face in front of him.

“You look tired.”

The person he had bumped into was Kim Youngwoong, his old neighborhood friend.

He said it while looking over Inhyeok’s face as though he were genuinely worried.

“Thanks for the concern.”

After answering roughly, Han Inhyeok picked up the coffee.

Because he did not have the energy left to talk.

“Inhyeok.”

Kim Youngwoong called him again.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

He said something so easygoing, so casually.

“I’ll handle it. I came out while practicing, so I’m leaving first.”

He had tried not to sound too sharp, but the words still came out edged and pointed, and Han Inhyeok hurriedly turned away and left the café.

“Haa…”

To anyone watching, he might have looked like a jerk brushing off a friend’s concern.

But that would only be something said by people who knew nothing.

Yes.

Because Kim Youngwoong was his fated rival, the mountain he could never overcome.

.

.

.

“Looks like first and second in the whole school are both in our class again this time!”

“Waaah!”

“First place, Kim Youngwoong! Second place, Han Inhyeok! Great job, you two.”

Kim Youngwoong was always first.

And I was always…

Second, hidden in his shadow.

From the day we were born, he lived next door.

And then, of all things, we went to the same elementary, middle, and high school.

Even the academy we attended was the same, so I picked up another hobby just to avoid running into him.

That hobby was games.

I had only played sometimes to relieve the stress of studying, but the people around me told me I had talent and recommended that I try becoming a pro gamer.

More than anything, I thought so too.

When I played games, I felt alive, and whenever I saw the word “victory”, my heart swelled.

I thought I had found my calling.

A calling where I could always be the one in first place.

However.

That guy blocked my path again. Of all things, Kim Youngwoong debuted as a pro gamer around the same time I did.

People cheered him on, saying that a true “hero” had appeared in the history of League.

Again.

Just like that, I was buried under his shadow.

Damn it.

So that this time would not turn out the same way, I desperately set new records and tried to get ahead…

And he would go even higher, setting records I could not even dream of matching.

Why is that guy better than me even at games?

Is there really nothing he’s worse at than me?

Yes.

And every time I was swallowed up by those negative thoughts, again and again, there was something he always said to me.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

That sentence kept provoking me.

Since we were little…

whether I was studying for exams, working out, or now, even while gaming, he kept telling me not to overdo it.

Was he saying there was no point in trying too hard?

Really.

No matter how hard I push myself, am I never going to be able to beat him and rise above him?

“No, I can.”

Answering the words he had spoken to himself in his own head with firm resolve, Han Inhyeok dumped the rest of the coffee into his mouth.

Crunch.

And just as he began loudly chewing the ice.

“Whoa! No way! They’re saying this year’s Worlds theme song is a tribute song for Duel?”

He heard male students passing by talking excitedly.

“Excuse me.”

Han Inhyeok snatched the phone out of the student’s hand and checked what was on it.

Thud.

At that moment, the plastic cup in his own hand fell helplessly to the ground.

[ This season’s Worlds theme song to feature composer HS! “A tribute song for player Duel,” he reveals himself… creating buzz! ]

Because it was an article he had never expected to see in the slightest.

---

T/N: Anybody looking at this situation would be confused as well. HS, you just do whatever you want haha