Hyuna could not understand why she was here.
‘Who am I? Where am I?’
Dragged out by her brother, who had suddenly told her to come with him, the place she had come to with their dad was…
Waaaaaaaah!
The arena where the Worlds finals would be held shortly.
She did know through articles that her brother had enjoyed a game called “LoL” back in high school, and that he had made the theme song for the Worlds finals, but…
‘How am I supposed to watch when I don’t know anything?’
Hyuna herself had never played not only LoL, but games in general, since she was born.
Right.
She was a complete outsider who did not even know the mood of LoL at all.
It was not only her. Her dad also had a bewildered expression. He had probably never seen an esports match even once.
The most excited person among them was…
“Oh? This T-shirt!”
“It’s limited-edition merch.”
“How did you get it?”
“There are ways.”
Her older brother, Hyunseung.
No.
Her prince, Kang Hajun.
“I’ll have to diligently try to get one too.”
He stared at the T-shirt her brother had worn as if he were envious, then shifted his gaze to the stage.
“More than that, I actually really want to see the opening stage soon.”
Kang Hajun’s voice was filled with excitement.
‘Cute.’
It seemed he liked this game, just like her brother.
Ahh.
Of course, that did not mean her brother was cute.
“I wonder if Vincent practiced hard. I repeatedly told him it was an important stage.”
Her brother, who had even abandoned his beloved helmet because it would interfere with watching and had covered his face with a hat and mask, but still looked obviously excited, was not cute at all.
Just…
Should she say he looked like a “fanatic” who was crazy about games?
‘He’s not a kid, seriously.’
In any case, since Hyuna had already come, she decided to watch the match. She did not know much, but wasn’t she supposed to cheer for team DRY?
It was the team her brother supported and cheered for.
“But why is your T-shirt TP?”
“I’m originally a TP fan.”
Huh? Then was she supposed to cheer for the team called TP?
“But this time, I’m going to try cheering for DRY. If composer-nim said they’ll win, then they’ll win.”
Ah, no…
“Composer-nim’s words are truth, law, and absolute, so I will believe and follow them.”
He trusted her brother enough to abandon the team he liked?
“Right. Team DRY will definitely win this year.”
And why was that brother of hers so confidently certain?
Even now, it seemed communities in the United States were in an uproar over a match-fixing controversy involving team DRY…
[ HS speaks directly. He declares that if speculative reports about team DRY continue, he will respond firmly under his own name… ]
It had quieted down a little because of her brother’s remarks, but….
The fact that there was a match-fixing controversy over their victory in the first place was proof that team DRY was not even counted among the championship favorites.
Even Hyuna, who knew nothing about games, could not avoid knowing it even if she wanted to, since the internet these days was full of articles related to it.
Right.
The more that was the case, the more she could not understand him, even though he was her brother.
That did not mean she did not support him.
Moreover, even Kang Hajun trusted her brother’s words enough to abandon the team he liked and cheer for another team.
If his family did not believe him, then who would?
Right. If her brother said so, then that was how it was.
“Min Hyuna, from now on, you just focus on studying.”
“Father, you don’t have to worry about money anymore either.”
As if keeping those words, her brother, as the head of the family, had made it so they could study, eat, and live without worrying about money.
Just like that.
Because he was a brother who had kept the words he spoke, this time too, surely….
“DRY!”
For a moment, Hyuna suddenly pulled her voice up from her core.
“Hup!”
Because it had been more booming than she expected, she covered her own mouth.
However, her face was already filling the electronic display.
As if the Worlds opening stage would soon begin, darkness came over the inside of the arena.
Gulp.
At the same time, Hyunseung swallowed dryly.
Was he nervous? There was no way.
He had seen stages where his songs were sung countless times since his previous life.
There were times he had watched for monitoring purposes, and there were many times he ended up seeing them because they came out here and there even when he did not want to watch.
Moreover, on K-Singer Star, he had even seen a stage where a song he made was revealed for the first time.
And yet, why was his throat this dry, and why were his fingertips trembling?
Flash!
Just as Hyunseung looked down at his trembling hand in the darkness.
Waaaaaaaaah!
When a bright spotlight poured into the center of the arena, people let out cheers.
— ♪ ♪ ♪
Although, unlike expected, Vincent was not on the stage.
— ♪ ♪ ♪
Since a calm melody was gradually filling the arena, they seemed to sense that the long-awaited finals opening stage would begin very soon.
Only for a moment, silence suddenly came.
Even in the released track, it did pause briefly, but because it grew longer than expected, people began murmuring.
“What is it? Why isn’t he coming out?”
“Is it a sound accident?”
“I don’t see Vincent either…”
Just as the murmuring of the people gradually spread throughout the entire arena.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The smog that had filled the stage cleared, revealing people dressed in white mourning clothes, their eyes covered with white cloth, fiercely beating large drums.
Before long, the moment Vincent walked out among them and brought the microphone to his mouth.
— Again, again.
His voice gradually rose faster and more powerfully.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
A percussion barrage that struck the heart.
‘What is this?’
Hyunseung was flustered by the percussion show he had never instructed anyone to do.
However, before he even had time to grasp the situation, Vincent whispered into the microphone again.
— Again, again.
At the same time, the people standing on the stage began stomping their feet powerfully, matching their rows and columns.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
They swung fans and created rhythm.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The percussion began in earnest, matching the melody that started flowing again.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Originally, this was the section that was supposed to build through an ensemble of electric violin and drums.
— Don’t tell me to give up.
The mood of the song had changed through an entirely different instrument arrangement.
‘That guy, doing something unnecessary.’
However, the stage had already begun, so he could not stop it.
Because, in truth, it was not bad.
No.
Rather, it was good. When percussion was added to the existing melody he had made, it overflowed with liveliness.
— If you were going to give up, you didn’t even come this far.
Whenever the percussion poured out fiercely, his heart pounded as if it would burst.
Right.
He had not been nervous. He had been trembling with excitement. Because it was the stage he had wanted so badly to see in his previous life.
The arena where the song he made rang out.
Team DRY, and Duel, who would hear this song.
He had wanted to see them.
— If you’re a lion, I’m an African buffalo. If you touch me, I’ll tear your limbs.
Hyunseung set down his anxious heart and watched Vincent freely sweep across the stage.
Then the song stopped once again, and the hands of the people who had been tearing into the percussion also stopped in midair.
At the same time, Vincent also dropped his head toward the floor.
— ♪ ♪ ♪
Before long, a melody flowed out.
— ♪ ♪ ♪
It was a melody that felt eerie, yet somehow filled with resolve.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
They aligned their feet once more.
“Uh…”
At the same time, they looked straight ahead and gave a salute for a moment.
Then they lowered their arms with discipline and grabbed their drumsticks and microphone again.
— Even if I cover my eyes and grab my ankles, I’ll never fall down.
The percussion and Vincent’s roar, which began again as if they would tear the stage apart, swallowed the existing melody.
— Don’t expect me to give up.
Had he ever seen Vincent sing so viciously before?
No, he had not.
He was not the type to sing with such venom. He was closer to the kind of player who toyed with music.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
The sound of percussion, as if it would pierce through the ceiling, suddenly cut off.
— I’ll climb to the top.
With Vincent quietly spitting out the final line, darkness came over the stage.
Inside the venue, not even murmuring could be heard, let alone breathing.
Right.
No one said anything.
Until the lights came on again and the empty stage came into view.
Before long, applause poured out, rivaling the percussion.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Just from looking at the people’s expressions, Vincent’s sudden arrangement could be called quite a success.
Starting with Vincent’s successful opening stage, the long-awaited Worlds finals began.
The first game…
Ended in team DRY’s defeat after they were ambushed at a decisive moment.
The second game…
After a tight contest, team DRY barely managed to win.
And the third game….
Unlike in Hyunseung’s memory, team DRY won.
Originally, they were supposed to lose this round, then win the next two rounds in a row.
‘The future changed.’
Could it be that his tribute song had an effect after all?
The moment he thought that, the fourth round ended in team DRY’s defeat.
2:2
A point of contact no one could predict had occurred.
Gulp.
Hyunseung swallowed dryly as he watched the final game.
Squeeze.
At that moment, Kang Hajun held Hyunseung’s hand.
“What are you doing? That’s gross.”
“I’m so nervous I can’t watch.”
“Then close your eyes.”
“I can’t miss a big match like this.”
Hyunseung was about to shake his hand off, but stopped and simply let him hold it.
In truth, Hyunseung’s own hand was trembling from tension as well.
Guuulp.
The match continued, so tense that it was now hard even to swallow dryly.
— Ah! Duel! He goes in!!!!! Double kill!!! Double kill!!!!
The commentators shouted in excitement.
— The final portal!!!
The audience also wriggled in their seats as if they would leap onto the stage.
Before long, Duel’s smiling face was caught on the huge electronic display.
— A miracle has happened!!
The players belonging to team DRY threw off their headsets, stood up, embraced one another, and shed tears.
— Team DRY finally seizes its first Worlds championship!!
Before long, Duel gestured toward the MC standing near the podium, asking for the microphone.
“H-S! Are you watching!”
He shouted in a voice as hot as his burning tears.
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