#faker x reader

Faker/EXE x reader headcannons

He notices every single detail about you, anything, even the most embarrassing ones.

'Mean to everyone but you' energy, he is aggressive and will insult everyone but you, he is the opposite when speaking to you, his voice softens.

He doesn't like when anything that is not him gets your attention, one time when you two were walking under the rain, you pointed at a worm and he proceeded to stomp on it right on your face.

He calls you 'mine', at this point people think that is your name.

Since he doesn't trust anyone, he expects you to think the same way, and for you view him as the only safe option.

He will leave strange gifts that he has stumbled across or stolen and act as if he doesn't care when he sees your happy reaction.

He watches you sleep, sometimes forgetting to blink, you have woken up sometimes in the middle of the night and found him standing right by your side, you've told him to stop but why should he.

He is very jealous, so when he sees an EXE flirting with you, he doesn't think twice and fights with them. 

Deep down he fears that you will leave him, he has been rejected and abandoned already, so it would break him, if you also did that.

He enjoys when you praise him, he will never admit that, he is too cocky.

His favourite thing to do apart from staring at you is laying on your lap, when he wants your attention he will lay down dramatically.

He expects you to notice every change in his appearance, and if you don't he gets offended.

He wants you near at all times.

When you two argue he will twist your words and try to guilt trip you, he will even mock you, but if you try to walk away he will panic, he doesn't want you to leave and ignore him, he hates that.

He is not the type to apologise, he will instead linger near you until you forgive him.

He is very clingy and protective.

Summary: SKT T1 has clawed their way to respectability in 2012, but they're painfully aware they're not elite. As OGN Spring 2013 looms on the horizon, the organization makes a bold decision: create a second team built around untested rookies. It's a gamble that could revitalize the brand or become an embarrassing footnote.

Kim "KkOma" Jeong-gyun, a recently retired SKT T1 jungler with more strategic insight than mechanical skill, accepts the role of assistant coach for this experimental roster. He's given one mandate: find raw talents that can be molded into champions.

After searching through many different players, Kkoma starts to give up, he receives helping hand in the form of Bengi, new jungler who took his place. Bengi’s help brings him to Korean solo queue ladder, where two names dominate the highest reaches: "GoJeonPa" and "SunnySide". Their mechanics are breathtaking, their synergy uncanny, and their climb seemingly unstoppable.

KkOma watches their replays for three days straight. He sees the truth that others missed: their abilities have nothing to do with their species. Sang-hyeok's foxlike instincts don't grant him precognition, his predictions come from pure obsessive pattern recognition and thousands of hours of practice. Su-hyeon's dragon heritage doesn't give her supernatural reflexes, her jungle plays are the product of intense focus and selfless game sense.

They're not succeeding because they're mythicals. They're succeeding despite being mythicals, having to prove themselves twice as hard for half the recognition.

‿̩͙⊱༒︎ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ༒︎⊰‿̩͙

𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟏: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬

𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟐: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖: 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗: 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧! 𝐎𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬! 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐱 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐: 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Faker glances at you, "Tired?" his voice is smooth, you simply nod as an answer, too tired to even open your mouth. 

He pats his lap, he is inviting you to lay your head on his lap, you just stare at him, "Are you being serious?"

He smirks and simply pats his lap again.

You don't have the strength to argue so you simply shift awkwardly and lay next to him, your face facing his furred torso, Faker simply places his hand on your head as he stares at you.

"Better?" he says quietly.

He traces patterns on your cheek as he stares at your tired face.

"You know, people usually use their words when asking, I'm not a dog," you laugh tiredly.

"Im not 'normal people'"

'Fair point' you say mentally. You adjust yourself again, the couch is a bit small, he holds your face tightly.

"Stay still"

"Im trying to get comfy, chill"

"Youre comfy enough"

You huff as his grip loosen, his warm body makes your body start to relax, the tension over your shoulder lifts and your eyelids are now heavy.

He immediately notices, he moves his fingers to your scalp, brushing and massaging it, "Sleep if you need to" 

"Ohh~ being nice?" you say jokingly.

"Dont ruin it" he rolls his eyes.

You laugh softly as you simply close your eyes, his fur brushing against your nose, and underneath it, you can hear something, a weird rhythm, his heart? The living room is quiet, you softly drift to sleep, Faker's eyes still fixated on you, like a guard dog.

ᡕᠵデᡁ᠊╾━

Hours later you wake, in the same position as you fell asleep, Faker still staring at you with his wide eyes. You try to move and he holds your head tight.

"No," he mutters.

"Huh?"

Most teams were content to follow the established playbook, but here's what I learned from my time as a jungler: the game changes when you're not looking. Blink, and suddenly everyone's running different strategies, picking champions you've never seen before, and making plays that shouldn't work but somehow do. SKT T1 had a decent year in 2011 and 2012, but "decent" doesn't win championships. With OGN Spring 2013 on the horizon, our management made a decision that seemed either brilliant or completely insane, depending on who you asked: create a second team entirely from rookie talent.

That's where I came in, former jungle main, current assistant coach, future talent scout apparently. "Kkoma," our head coach L.i.E.S or just coach Choi had said, his fox ears twitching with what I'd learned to recognize as barely contained stress, “We need fresh blood. The old ways aren't working anymore. Find us some ladder heroes and turn them into champions." Easier said than done, right? Nope, I'd spent the last two weeks combing through every Korean solo queue ladder, watching replays until my eyes felt like they were going to fall out of my skull, and taking notes on players who caught my attention. Believe me when I say I gave every scouted players a fair chance: 1vs1 tryouts, scouted players vs main roster, trial scrimmages against rookie teams, but something was missing. After so many dead ends, it seems like I must return to the drawing board and start over again.

As I was wrapping up another failed tryout session, Bae "Bengi" Seong-woong, our main roster’s new jungler poked his head inside, his hare ears twitching ever so slight as he glanced around the dimly lit practice room. “Coach Kim-” he spoke up as he fully walked into the room, even though he had been with the team and origination for almost half a year he was still a little shy and timid around us. Shaking my head lightly I picked up my clipboard and stared down at my writing, from the stress and frustration my usual neat writing style has turned into jagged and compressed. ”Seong-woong-ah, i told you to just call me Kkoma or hyung” I said softly as I place the clipboard between my arm and turned to the younger man, “Sorry hyung…guessing from the look of things, you haven’t found your players” he spoke as he vaguely gestured at the empty room. “Yeah, I really thought I had it this time” I answered with a sigh and tired smile as I rubbed my neck, “Actually hyung, I recently played with these two players.” Seong-woong said as he fished out a piece of paper from his hoodie pocket and handed it to me “They have absolutely cracked game sense, who knows? They might be looking for the right team for themselves”. With a raised brow and sliver of hope I slowly took the paper from him and stared at the names on it as he quickly bid his goodbye before heading to his scrimmage.

‿̩͙⊱༒︎ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ༒︎⊰‿̩͙

Later in the evening, after eating another takeout dinner and filling out a stack of paperwork. I finally sat down to look up the names Bengi had given me, as I individually looked up their names- I had to get up and make sure I wasn’t seeing things

“Bengi, you beautiful cinnamon roll of a boy” I whispered under my breath before quickly sitting back down. "GoJeonPa" and "SunnySide" were their names, and they were solo queue ladder monsters, they had been climbing the Korean ladder with frightening consistency since Season One. Both traded the first and second place in the Korean ladder back and forth, never dropping below fifth place. What caught my attention wasn't just their individual skill (though that was impressive enough), but how they seemed to elevate every game they played together. As I started to watch their replays, I completely understood what Bengi meant when he said they had cracked game sense. Beside their inhuman performance, there was something almost supernatural about their synergy. The "supernatural" isn't just a figure of speech, as half the population has some kind of mutation- like enhanced senses, physical adaptations, that sort of thing. It's been that way for as long as anyone can remember just part of life. But occasionally, you encounter someone who's something more than just "enhanced human”, something almost otherworldly.

After watching hours' worth of game footage, I started my research on them. GoJeonPa, for instance; sixteen years old, government name Lee Sang-hyeok, and, according to the registration database, he was listed as a Gumiho, a nine-tailed fox. Pure bloodline too though at his age he probably only had three or four tails. Color either black or white. Truthfully, I'd never met one before as the legends said they were incredibly rare, possessing great wisdom beyond their years, and had incredible abilities. Watching his gameplay, I believe them. His map awareness was beyond human, his predictions of enemy movement patterns were eerily accurate, and his mechanical skill was already approaching professional level.

His duo partner, SunSide, was equally intriguing. She was sixteen as well, her government name Choi Su-hyeon, listed as half Yong- a sea variant. Same as Gumiho- rare but more sociable then Gumiho. From what I'd observe, she had an almost mystical ability to turn losing situations into victories. Her jungle pathing was unorthodox but effective, and she had a knack for being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. But here's the thing about scouting talent: statistics and replays only tell you so much and I have learnt that in a very hard way. You need to meet them in person, see how they handle pressure, and understand their personalities. Some players crumble the moment they step into a professional environment while others thrive.

‿̩͙⊱༒︎ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ༒︎⊰‿̩͙

So, there I was, on a Thursday afternoon, standing outside Mapo High School like some kind of creepy talent agent, waiting for classes to end. I'd managed to track down which school they attended (completely legally, I want to emphasize), and figured the direct approach was best. The school bell rang and students began flooding out of the building. Even in a world where half the population has variant animal features, these two were easy to spot. Sang-hyeok's fox tails were unmistakable- all four were swaying gently and shining under the sun like freshly cut obsidian as he walked. His choppy black hair and black fox ears caught the afternoon sunlight and, even from a distance, I could see the innate gracefulness under his teenage awkwardness. Beside him walking was Choi Su-hyeon, she was the complete opposite of him. From her forehead two delicately curved horns seem to just start growing, she has had hip-length charcoal hair that was woven into a single braid and tied with a silken daenggi (Korean ribbon) with golden embroideries that caught the light. When she turned to laugh at something Sang-hyeok said, I caught a glimpse of delicate canine fangs. Her pale blue tail caught the afternoon sunlight, shining like a polished jade as it swayed lazily behind her as she walked. 

What struck me most was how they interacted. Sang-hyeok, this mystical but awkward fox boy with God-tier mechanical skill was absolutely smitten. He hung on her every word, walking ever so close to her, watching her with a dopey smile that spoke of teenage love in its purest form. For her part, Su-hyeon seemed completely comfortable with his attention, occasionally reaching over to straighten his scarf and jacket, playfully tugging on his arm when he got distracted.

"and then he said the math test was going to be easy!" Su-hyeon said. "Easy! Like differential calculus is something you just casually master over lunch!"

Sang-hyeok was nodding along with what looked like fond exasperation. "Su-hyeon, you do realize you actually did master differential calculus over lunch last week?"

"That's not the point, Sang! The point is that Mr. Kang has no concept of what 'easy' means for normal people. The only reason i was able to do that because…" She slowed down mid-sentence, her expression shifting briefly to something more subdued.

Sang-hyeok's ears flattened slightly, and he moved closer to her, a gesture so natural it was clearly habitual. "Hey. Your dad would be proud of how well you're doing in his subject."

Su-hyeon's smile returned, softer but genuine. "Yeah, he would, wouldn't he? Especially since I'm probably going to ace it just to spite Mr. Kang’s idea of 'easy.'"

Watching them interact up close, I could see why their in-game synergy was so natural. They read each other's moods and responses like they'd been doing it for years. With that thought in mind, I took a deep breath, straightened my jacket, and approached them with my best ‘not creep salary man’ smile. "Excuse me, are you Lee Sang-hyeok and Choi Su-hyeon?"

Both of them turned to look at me, and I immediately felt the weight of two very different types of scrutiny. Sang-hyeok's gaze was calm but assessing, like he was cataloging everything about me for future reference. Su-hyeon's was more direct and slightly suspicious, with her head tilted in a way that made her horns catch the afternoon light.

"Depends who's asking," Su-hyeon said, crossing her arms. "If you're from another hagwon trying to recruit us, we're not interested. I already told the math academy guy that I don't need help with calculus."

"And if you're from that weird gaming cafe that keeps trying to sponsor streamers, we're definitely not interested," Sang-hyeok added quietly.

"My name is Kim Jeong-gyun," I said, pulling out my business card and immediately feeling ridiculous about the formality. "I'm an assistant coach with SK Telecom T1. I was wondering if we could talk."

Sang-hyeok's tails went very still, all four of them freezing mid-sway. Su-hyeon raised an eyebrow, and I caught a glimpse of genuine surprise before her expression settled back into polite curiosity. "About what?" Sang-hyeok asked, and his voice was younger than I'd expected. Despite his mystical heritage and incredible skill, he was still just a sixteen-year-old kid.

"About GoJeonPa and SunnySide," I said "About the future of Korean League of Legends. And about whether you two might be interested in turning professional." The silence that followed was probably only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Other students walked past us, chattering about homework and weekend plans, completely oblivious to what could be a pivotal moment in esports history. Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok exchanged one of those wordless communications that people develop, an entire conversation compressed into a glance. Finally, Su-hyeon smiled, not the polite smile she'd been wearing, but something warmer and more genuine.

"Well Mr. Kim" she said "I think we should definitely talk, but first, are you hungry? My place’s not far from here, and my mom always makes too much food and I think it will be best if you talk with our parents too."

And that's how I found myself following two teenage prodigies through the streets of Seoul, wondering if I was about to make the best decision of my coaching career or the most complicated one. Probably both, knowing my luck.

to become continue...

I woke up at 5am in the morning with my phone vibrating in my pants pocket. Groaning under my breath, I clumsily pulled my phone out and turned my phone off. Letting a deep sigh out I realized I was on the beanbag in the corner (Su-hyeon’s personal study corner) with my papers neatly arranged next to me and a heavy blanket draped over me. After placing my phone on top of my papers, I rubbed the crusts in the corner of my eyes slowly away as I blinked a few times to get used to morning light pouring into the room. Once my eyes could focus on my surroundings, I looked over at the couch area and found my kids scattered around but sleeping peacefully. Eon-young was sleeping on the floor, hugging a heart shaped pillow against his chest without a blanket, Gwang-jin was sleeping curled up next to Jeong-hyeon who was wrapped a giant fuzzy blanket around himself, Sang-hyeok has turned into his fox form and was sleep on the other bean bag with one of Su-hyeon’s old hoodie on top of him. While the boys were sleeping on the floor and bean bag, Su-hyeon was peacefully sleeping on the couch with her hair in her sleep bonnet, eye mask under her eyes and horns glowing faintly.

Seeing them all sleeping peacefully and soundly after a D-day made me smile a bit as I stretched my arms and back. Five days ago we won our spot for 2013 Spring Champions in a clean 2-0 against team Incredible Miracle. The management and higher ups were absolutely pleased with our performance and results, especially with Su-hyeon’s as she was our “trump card” or “greatest mistake”. I still don’t like that people are doubting her but I've been trying to see things in a positive light. If others are still doubting her it means they won’t expect her to absolutely menace in the jungle and we will absolutely abuse their ignorance against them. Also during the qualifier match, I have found out that our quiet and sometimes snarky Sang-hyeok is absolutely adrenaline junky. I can still clearly remember the moment, after a risky double kill in the river his eyes flashed brightly and he had a full body shiver as his LeBlanc recalled to the base. 

“You good Hyeokie?” Su-hyeon asked softly as she stole the enemy's top jungle and rotated to gank the top for Eon-young.

“I wanna do that again…”

“Huh?”

“I wanna kill everyone on sight”

The room fell into silence before Su-hyeon crackled with laughter as she punched her best friend’s shoulder while others chuckled at the slowly blushing midlaner.

“Look at you! So you do have appetite for souls~”

“Shut up”

“Never”

I couldn’t help myself but chuckle softly behind them as I quickly wrote down “monitor for risky aggressive plays, signs of adrenaline rush” under Sang-hyeok’s name as everyone settled back and focused on the game once more. It's a strange feeling really, seeing them actually playing against an official team and fighting for their spot in the S-tier tournament. I will be honest, I was very emotional when the Nexus exploded and the Victory screen popped up. The kids jumped up from their chairs and yelled out as they celebrated their victory. Gwang-jin was shaking Jeong-hyeon as the wolf boy teared up and the older boy patted his head softly, meanwhile Eon-young hid his face behind his hands as his shoulder trembled slightly and as for Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon. Su-hyeon was trying and failing to hide her tears as she kept repeating “we did it Sang-ah, we gonna play in the main stage” like a broken record, not long after Sang-hyeok pulled her into a tight hug. Gumiho boy rocked them side to side as he held her tightly against himself and gently whispered “yeah, we did it, together just like we promised” to her as Su-hyeon closed her eyes and balled her hands into his jersey, the bold “Faker” on his back crumpling under her grip. 

I’m used to seeing them hug as Sang-hyeok uses physical touch to communicate with her and Su-hyeon is pretty physically affectionate. But there was something different about this hug, they looked like they didn’t wanna let the other go. Sang-hyeok seems to bury his face deeper into the crock of her neck and Su-hyeon seems to tighten her hold on him. The moment felt more intimate and heavy than the past interactions I saw, truthfully I felt like I was intruding on a personal moment. Lucky for me and unfortunate for them as the rest of the team dogpile on them, breaking their moment. Su-hyeon let out a surprise laugh, Sang-hyeok telling Piglet he isn’t his tissue paper.

“Cmon oppa! don’t stay there like a lonely log” Su-hyeon called out to me, effectively snapping me back into reality. Looking at my team, my deranged and feral kids, I quickly wiped my eyes and joined the group hug and squeezed them tight as possible.

̩͙⊱༒︎ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ༒︎⊰‿̩͙

When we announced our second roster will be participating in the Spring Championship, the netizens were shell shocked by our success over Incredible Miracle and that’s what the marketing department apparently was hoping for. And when the numbers of interest in the team start coming- the good, the bad and everything between. The reaction from the marketing department was something else. They genuinely looked like kids who got what they wanted for Christmas and more as they rushed round, waving their papers around. 

“Look at this! The Internet in our roster is sky rocketing!” 

“Oh my god! The sponsors are gonna be pleased with this” 

“We really should thank Jeong-gyun-oppa for this~ if he hasn't been so aggressive about recruiting the Yong girl, we probably won’t hit this kind of numbers” when a young intern said that with a grin on her face, everyone looked at me as I was passing by the office to get to coach Choi’s (cCarter, previously known as L.i.E.S) office and I never felt more put in a place before that. Standing up against higher ups for Su-hyeon felt like child’s play compared to having a whole department look at me like an appetizer. Before I could embrace myself by stumbling over my words I felt warm hands on my shoulders.

“Sorry guys- this guy has a meeting with me and coach Choi” a deep but friendly voice rang out as my mysterious savior started pushing me to the coaches' office. Once we were farther away from the marketing department office, I turned around and came face to face with ....a man I never met or seen before. He was tall with sharp features, he also had tall fox ears and twin tails. My confusion must have been clear as the sky in my face as the man let a light chuckle out holding his hand for a handshake.

“the name is Kang Dong-hoon, I’m a old friend of Byoung-hoon…he asked me if I wanted join him for lunch when I told him I was around the area”

“Kang Dong-hoon?... .as in the head coach Hirai of Incredible Miracle?”

“Bingo”

The man- Hirai gave me a fanged grin as I shook his hand slowly. It felt wrong to be so friendly with a coach from a team that my team absolutely crushed a day ago. But I told myself that I should get used to this kind of interaction with others if I wanted to get far as a coach in this cutthroat industry. I quickly let Hirai’s hand go and cleared my throat as coach Choi’s office door swung open and the man of the hour walked out holding his jacket with his ears flat and rubbing his neck. A habit I have learned was one of his telltale signs of stress, and honestly I understand why he has been stressed out lately. After the first complete result of my team came in, the higher ups decided to pull him out of our main team and make him our head coach and my kids had some mixed feelings about the foxman. Eon-young and Jeong-hyeon understood and accepted Choi as our head coach without trouble, Sang-hyeok and Su-hyeon were a little susceptible to foxman- specially Su-hyeon who claimed that coach Choi doesn’t look like the trust-worthy type because he’s questionable taste in tie patterns. As for Gwang-jin, well let’s just say he’s getting his ego stroked by coach Choi and immediately gets it crushed by me……

“Piglet, that was a great poke onto Janna!” Coach Choi said during our first post-scrim review with the foxman. The wolf-boy smugly grinned as his tail wagged happily meanwhile Eon-young raised his brow, Jeong-hyeon rubbed his temple, Sang-hyeok quietly side-eyed the wolf-boy and Su-hyeon openly rolled her eyes. 

“It may have been an excellent opportunity for kill if you hadn't died right after engaging on her…Su-hyeon and Jeong-hyeon pinged you multiple times to fall back after seeing the enemy jungle pathing down” I said rubbing the bridge my nose as I forwarded the vod to the moment the enemy jungles who was playing as Rengar jumped on Gwang-jin and insta killed him. Gwang-jin to his credit, winced as his ears flattened back and his tail stopped wagging while others tried hiding their smirks and smiles behind their drinks as coach Choi let out a deep sigh and crossed something off his paper. Later that evening, after the kids decided to grab some dessert for dinner. Coach Choi cornered me in the kitchen as I started the preparation for homemade hotpot I promised the kids. As I put on the pink apron Su-hyeon bought for me (she told me it was a joke gift and told me that I don’t have to wear but I don’t care about colour if the apron doing its job), I saw coach Choi in the corner of my eyes stop a few steps away from me. Once I tied the strings tightly at my back and pushed my sleeve back, I pulled out our biggest two pods and filled them up with water. As the uncomfortable silence continued on, the fox man cleared his throat soft before he spoke.

“Jeong-gyun-ah…don’t you think you are being a little too harsh on them? positive encouragement is best way to mold young players-“

“Hyung respectfully no, I've been living with them for a month and half at this point and I learned that Piglet needs a tough love. That boy has an ego that is the size of this whole country and if you don’t be straight with him, he will feed after a bad play.” I flatly said and glanced at the older man with a blank face as I placed the pods on the stove. He held my stare for a solid second before letting a small startled laugh as he patted me on the back, making me stare at the old man in surprise.

“You changed a lot in a short amount of time, you actually sound like a proper coach now. If you keep this up, you might take my spot as head coach” coach Choi said with a smirk as he walked over to the fridge and opened it with a thoughtful hum.

“So, what else are we using for the hotpot?”

“You are actually staying for dinner?” I asked before I could stop myself. 

“What? I thought you wanted me bond with the kids” he asked with a small grin as he looked at me.

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I must have spaced out like usual as I took a deep breath when I felt myself getting shaken. Glancing to my left I saw Su-hyeon looking wide awake with a big grin on her face and kneeling next to me, her tail wagging widely and horns glowing in excitement.

“It’s time to get ready for Everland oppa!” The young Yong girl said in her song-sing voice as she tugged on my arm, making me chuckle under my breath and shake my head at her.

“I really can’t tell you anything huh?” I questioned her as I let her pull me up from the bean bag. She slowly rocked on her heels as I cracked my back, muttering about not wanting to make sleeping on a bean bag habit. 

“Cmon oppa- did you really expect me to be mature about going to Everland AND going to a barbecue place?”

“Yes, because you are the most mature one in this team”

“HEY I AM MATURE!” We turned back and saw a sleepy wolf boy pouting hard at us, Su-hyeon let out a loud laugh as I simply shook my head but smiled nonetheless. Because of Gwang-jin's sudden yell, others slowly started waking up. Eon-young smacked the pouting boy with his heart shape pillow and scolded him for yelling like a child, Jeong-hyeon crawled out his blanket cocoon grumpily about tapping the wolf boy’s mouth shut, Sang-hyeok has returned to his human form and was brushing his teeth with his hair sticking out like hedgehog quills and arms slightly covered with a black patch of fur. 

Soon after we all start getting ready to leave. Eon-young helped Gwang-jin to shave properly, Jeong-hyeon asked if anyone saw his glasses (he placed them on his head moments ago), Sang-hyeok shaved the fur on his arms while Su-hyeon brushed his tails and I braided her hair into twin braids. After a solid one hour we were ready to head out, everyone wearing warm but light clothing except Gwang-jin wearing his team jacket even though we told him it might get cold. Like usual he didn’t listen to us at all as he stubbornly headed out first, calling for a shotgun. Once we made sure that we turned everything off, we headed out too. As I walked out first, I saw Gwang-jin stumping around the van with his arms crossed and ears flattened against his head.

“What took you guys so long?! We're gonna have to wait around for ages if we don’t leave soon!”

“Just say that you are cold, stubborn idiot” Su-hyeon said as she threw a long scarf and portable hand warmer at him, Gwang-jin who had gotten used to her strange habit throwing things caught both the scarf and warmer with a pout on his face as he put the scarf around his neck and placed the warmer in his pocket. Once I unlocked the van, everyone quickly got in and took their seats.

“Well, ready?” I asked with a smile as I buckled my seatbelt and turned the engine on.

“YES COACH” everyone yelled as I pulled the van out of the parking lot and headed to our destination.

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(Narrated by The Author)

Later that day….

The celebration dinner after a long day at Everland was probably loud enough to disturb the neighborhood and other patrons, but Kkoma couldn't bring himself to care. Kkoma took his team to Everland like he promised and let them run wild like toddlers high on sugar. It was refreshing to see them act like normal teenagers instead of rookies that just won their spot in one of the biggest tournaments of the year. As for the dinner the management had authorized and planned it out for them, they even made a reservation at a nice restaurant, not their usual convenience store runs or Kkoma’s usual cooking experiments.

Two hours after coming back to Seoul, the team were crammed into a booth at a Korean barbecue place, the table covered with more meat than five teenagers and one coach could reasonably eat. Su-hyeon had immediately claimed the seat next to the grill, declaring herself "head grillmaster" while Sang-hyeok quietly sat beside her, automatically falling into their usual positions. Jeong-hyeon and Eon-young sat next to each other, falling into a calm conversation while Gwang-jin was busy looking at the dessert even though they hadn't even started eating.

"To qualify for play-offs!" Jeong-hyeon raised his glass of cola.

"To not embarrass ourselves!" Gwang-jin added.

"To actually get to compete!" Eon-young said.

"To finally prove we're not just some experimental second team!" Su-hyeon declared, her glass raised high enough that a bit of soda sloshed over the rim.

They clinked glasses with enough enthusiasm to nearly break them, and KkOma watched his team laugh and celebrate and realized with startling clarity that these five weird, talented, occasionally infuriating teenagers had become something special, a family. Something he never thought he would experience, even when Su-hyeon’s mom Miss Choi joked about him turning into Mother Hen when Eon-young caught a small cold and called her for advice.

"Speech time!" Su-hyeon announced suddenly, pointing at KkOma with her chopsticks. "Oppa has to give a speech!"

"I don't- "

"SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!" The chant started with Su-hyeon and was immediately picked up by the others. KkOma sighed like ever suffering father of rowdy children as he stood up despite the lack of space and cleared his throat as he held his soda can up. 

"Fine, fine. You five...when we started this team, I wasn't sure it would work. Putting together three rookies and two semi professionals with no professional experience seemed insane. And in hine-sight it was insane. But you made it work- you learned, you grew, you fought for each other." He paused, looking at each one of his players with a small smile. "I'm proud of you, all of you. No matter what happens in Spring, remember that you earned this."

Once he was done with his speech, Su-hyeon was wiping at her eyes with her hoodie sleeve and Sang-hyeok patted her on the back.

"Oppa…. you can't make me cry in a barbecue restaurant. That's against the rules!"

"There are no rules against it though," Sang-hyeok said softly, with his own eyes looking a bit brighter than usual.

"Well it should be!"

The celebration continued late into the evening, filled with laughter, terrible jokes, and increasingly ridiculous predictions about their Spring matches. By the time they returned to the team house, it was past midnight and everyone was exhausted in the best possible way.

KkOma watched them scatter to their rooms, already mentally preparing for tomorrow's practice schedule. They had qualified, yes, but the real work was just beginning. The Spring Championship would be brutal, facing teams with far more experience and established reputations. But watching Su-hyeon and Sang-hyeok linger in the common room, both too keyed up to sleep, he felt confident they could handle it as he headed to his own room.

Su-hyeon flopped onto the couch with a contented sigh, her tail curling around her legs. The adrenaline from the day of riding rollercoaster after rollercoaster was finally wearing off, leaving her pleasantly exhausted. Sang-hyeok settled beside her more carefully, his tails swished contentedly behind him.

"Can you believe it?" she asked, looking up at the ceiling. "We're really going to compete in the Spring Champions. Against like, actual famous teams."

"Honestly…It still doesn’t feel real yet," Sang-hyeok admitted. His voice was soft in the quiet of the late night, almost contemplative. "A year ago, we were just playing solo queue for fun."

"And now we're professionals, well sort of. We're still in school…." Su-hyeon rolled her head to look at him. "Are you nervous? About Spring?"

"Terrified," he said honestly, as he looked at the blank TV screen. "We'll be facing players who have been doing this for years. Teams with real infrastructure and coaching staff."

"We have oppa and coach Choi."

"Two coaches versus entire organizations."

"Yeah, but we have something they don't." Su-hyeon sat up properly, tucking her legs under her and wrapping her tail around her waist. "We have us. Like- actually us. We're not five random players thrown together. We actually care about each other."

Sang-hyeok's expression softened, his ears tilting forward attentively. "That's true."

"Plus, you're literally a genius at this game. Like, scary good and I'm an amazing jungler with impeccable judgment."

"Your judgment is questionable at best."

"Rude! But accurate." She grinned at him as she punched his shoulder softly as a joke. "See, this is why we work. You keep me honest."

They fell into comfortable silence, the kind that only came from years of friendship. Outside, Seoul hummed with late-night activity but inside the team house, everything felt peaceful. Suspended in this moment between achieving one dream and facing the reality of what came next.

"Su-hyeon," Sang-hyeok said quietly, breaking the silence. "Can I ask you something?"

"Always."

He hesitated, his tails going still in that way that meant he was carefully considering his words. "What do you want? From all of this, I mean. The pro gaming thing."

Su-hyeon closed her eyes and hummed softly under her breath, considering. "That's a big question for midnight."

"Sorry, I just... with Spring coming up, and everything getting more serious, I've been thinking about the future a lot."

"Me too actually." She pulled her braid over her shoulder, fidgeting with the end. "I think... I want to prove that we belong here. That we're not just lucky rookies. I want to show everyone that we can compete at the highest level and i wanna prove that I belong here as much as others"

"And after that?"

"After that?" She laughed softly. "I don't know. Keep competing? Try to win Worlds? Make my mom proud? Make my dad proud?" The mention of her father brought the usual ache, but it was gentler now, wrapped in fondness rather than sharp grief that squeezed her young heart. "He always said I could do anything I set my mind to. I think he'd be proud that I chose something this hard."

Sang-hyeok's expression had become very soft. "He would be. He'd be incredibly proud."

"What about you?" Su-hyeon asked, turning the question back on him. "What do you want?"

He was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on something she couldn't see. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I want to be good enough that you don't regret choosing to play with me instead of following your dad’s footsteps."

Su-hyeon’s eyes blinked open, completely caught off guard. "What? Sang-ah, why would I ever regret that?"

"Because you're talented enough to play with anyone and do anything you want. Any team would be lucky to have you as their jungler. But you're here, with me and I..." He trailed off, his ears flattening slightly. "I want to be worthy of that choice. Especially when your dad prepared everything for you to get into either “SKY" universities”

"Okay– first of all, that's ridiculous." Su-hyeon straightened up and fully turned to him so she could face him fully. "Second of all, I didn't choose to play with you because you are my best friends or whatever. I chose this because we promised to be together and we're good together- like our synergy is insane. As for universities, i can do that alongside gaming if i want to"

"I know, but- "

"No buts. Listen to me." She waited until he met her eyes, noting how the late-night lighting made his hair look like it was glowing and how his expression was open in a way it rarely was around others. "You're one of the best players I've ever seen. Not just mechanically, but the way you think about the game. You see things other people don't. And yeah, we have good synergy, but that's because we trust each other completely. Not because I'm doing you some favor by playing with you."

Sang-hyeok's tails had started swishing again, a gentle rhythm that suggested he was processing her words. "You really think that?"

"I know that. Everyone on the team knows that. Oppa knows that. You're the only one who seems to doubt it."

"I just don't want to let you down."

"You won't." The certainty in her voice surprised Sang-hyeok as he stared into her eyes, noticing that she has a new mole on top of her brow and there's the faintest black spot under her eyes. "Even if we lose every single game in Spring, which we won't– you wouldn't be letting me down. We're in this together, remember? Team."

"Team," he echoed, and something in his expression shifted. He looked like he wanted to say something else, something important but after a moment he just smiled softly. "Thank you. For always knowing what to say."

"I don't always know what to say. I just say things and hope they work out."

"They usually do."

Su-hyeon leaned back against the couch, suddenly aware of how close they were sitting. Close enough that she could count the individual strands of white in his ears, close enough to see the exact pattern of his tails as they swished contentedly.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked, the late hour and emotional exhaustion loosening her usual filters. "Something I haven't really told anyone else?"

"Always," he said, echoing her earlier response.

"I'm scared too. About Spring, about everything getting more serious and competitive. What if we're not good enough? What if this was just beginner's luck and we crash and burn against real teams?" She said honestly as she looked up at the wooden ceiling and fiddled with the hem of her tee shirt, one of her father’s old university tee shirts. "What if I'm not good enough?"

Sang-hyeok's response was immediate and firm as he took her hand in his hand and squeezed it softly, surprising the Yong girl. "You are good enough. More than good enough. Su-hyeon-ah, you're one of the most naturally talented players I've ever seen. Your game sense is incredible, your mechanics are clean, and you have this ability to find opportunities that shouldn't exist."

"You have to say that because you're my best friend."

"I'm saying it because it's true." He shifted slightly closer, and she could feel the warmth radiating from him. "Do you know what the other teams will see when they scout us? They'll see a jungler who can turn losing games into wins through pure creativity and aggression. They'll see someone who makes plays that look impossible until you pull them off."

".....you do know that you are actively feeding my ego, right?"

"I'm describing what I see every time we play together."

Su-hyeon felt heat creeping into her cheeks and her horns glow brightly as she looked away from the Guhimo boy who was staring at her intently. "Well, when you put it like that... I'm pretty awesome."

"You are."

"And you're pretty awesome too. Even if you don't believe it sometimes."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, closer than they usually sat, wrapped in the quiet intimacy of late-night conversations and shared vulnerability. Su-hyeon found herself studying his profile, the gentle slope of his nose, the way his ears twitched slightly when he was thinking, the barely visible freckles across his pale cheeks that you only noticed if you were really looking. He looked handsome even with his choppy haircut, she realized. Not in an obvious way, but in a gentle, understated way that grew on you over time. How had she never noticed before?

"Su-hyeon?" Sang-hyeok's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Promise me something?"

"Depends on what it is."

A small smile tugged at his lips. "Fair. Promise me that no matter what happens in Spring, whether we win or lose, whether we're successful or not... .we'll still be friends right?"

"Of course we will. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Sometimes success changes people. Or failure does. I just..." He looked down at their joint hands, his voice going quieter. "You're my best friend. I don't want to lose that, no matter what happens with the team."

Su-hyeon's heart did something complicated in her chest. "Sang-hyeok-ah, look at me."

He did, and she was struck again by how open his expression was, how vulnerable he looked in this moment.

"You're not losing me. Not because of League, not because of success or failure, not because of anything. You're stuck with me forever, remember? We've been friends since we were kids, and we're going to be friends when we're old and grumpy- arguing about whose jungle pathing was better back in our day." She reached out and poked his shoulder for emphasis. "You're my person. That doesn't change."

His expression did something complicated – relief and happiness and something else she couldn't quite identify, all mixed together. "Your person?"

"Yeah. You know, like... my person. The one I tell everything to. The one who gets my weird 3 AM texts about jungle timers. The one who willingly listens to me ramble about weird calculus theories and be a nerd about dead people"

"You definitely need the help."

"Okay, rude, but also fair." She grinned at him. "My point is, you're my person and I'm your person. Team for life, remember?"

"Team for life," he agreed softly, and there was something in his voice that made the words sound like more than just a promise about League of Legends.

They sat together for a while longer, talking about everything and nothing, their upcoming match schedule, speculation about which teams they'd face first, memories of their journey from solo queue players to professional gamers. The conversation drifted naturally, punctuated by comfortable silences and shared laughter. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with them both.

"We should sleep," Su-hyeon said, though she made no move to get up. "Oppa’s going to have us back to practice tomorrow."

"Probably," Sang-hyeok agreed, also not moving.

"I'm serious. We need actual sleep."

"I know."

Neither of them moved for another few minutes, content to stay in this moment, this quiet space between one chapter ending and another beginning. Finally, Su-hyeon forced herself to stand up and let his hand go, stretching with a yawn that showed off her fangs and split tongue.

"Okay, for real this time. Bed. Sleep. Recovery so we can dominate Spring."

Sang-hyeok stood too, and they walked together down the hallway toward their rooms. At the split where his room was in one direction and hers in another, they paused.

"Thanks for the talk," Su-hyeon said. "I needed it. The honesty and stuff, it been a while since we had a chance to have a conversation"

"Me too." He hesitated, then added, "And Su-hyeon? About being your person?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my person too. Just... wanted to make sure you knew that."

Something warm and bright bloomed in her chest. "Of course I know that, dummy. Who else would put up with your 7 AM calculus questions?"

He laughed softly. "Good night, Susu."

"Night, Sang-ah."

She headed to her room, and it wasn't until she was lying in bed, replaying the conversation in her mind, that she realized how much weight had been behind some of his words. The way he'd said "you're my person too" - like it meant more than just friendship. The way he'd looked at her when she promised they'd always be friends  like he was memorizing the moment. For a second, she wondered if maybe she does have feelings for him and the need for his attention was a sign of something. Before her mind wandered too deeply, she let out a deep sigh as she rubbed her face and closed her eyes. As she turned around to get comfortable on her bed, her phone buzzed in her sweatpants pocket. Grumbling under her breath, she pulled her phone out and flipped it open.

MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): Thank you for tonight. For everything, really. I'm glad we're doing this together. RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): me too. spring is gonna be AMAZING RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): because we're amazing MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): Mostly because you're amazing. I'm just along for the ride. RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): STOP THAT RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): we're BOTH amazing RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): now sleep before i come over there and physically force you to rest MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): Threatening violence. Very professional. RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): I'm a dragon and shaman. It's what we do RIVER_GOD (Su-hyeon): also you love it~

There was a longer pause before his next message.

MOUNTAIN_GOD (Sang-hyeok): I do. Good night, Su-hyeon. Sleep well.

She stared at that message for a longer moment than necessary, trying to figure out why it made her heart do that complicated thing again. But exhaustion was pulling at her, and tomorrow would bring new challenges, new practice routine and new steps toward their Spring  Championship debut. So Su-hyeon flipped her phone close and set it aside on her nightstance and closed her eyes, a smile on her face. They'd qualified. They were going to compete against the best teams in Korea. And she was going to do it with her best friend by her side. The future felt bright and full of possibilities, even if she still hadn't quite figured out why Sang-hyeok kept looking at her like she was the most important person in his world and why she kept wanting him to continue to look at her and her only.

to be continue...