I Became the Eldest Daughter of 10 Siblings - Chapter 109

"Peekyaaaaa-!"

A death scream spread through the lounge.

I hit my head and reproached myself, messing up my hair into a disheveled state.

People watched my one-man show curiously, but I have no time to care about that now.

"Ughh..."

Goosebumps grabbed my hair and stood it up stiffly.

It feels like my blood is cooling coldly as if I've entered a horror movie.

This is truly a mental breakdown, a breakdown.

I should have replaced this useless old iPhone earlier!

I had bought a new phone for personal broadcasts with great determination before, but I kept using the same phone for daily use.

Because I thought it was still fine.

But I never dreamed this judgment would come back like a boomerang.

iPhones have a chronic issue called the 'ghost touch' phenomenon.

Literally, the screen touches itself as if possessed by a ghost, even when the user hasn't touched it.

I tried to hold out to save a few bucks, and now I've finally caused this disaster.

"I'll never use an iPhone again!"

I heard girls who use Galaxy phones are really popular with guys.

I should switch to Galaxy at this opportunity.

From today, I'm a hardcore Galaxy fan chanting "Down with Apple, down with iPhone, down with Tim Cook!", a Galaxy fan!

Well, not being able to enter Starbucks is a flaw, but.

Anyway...

About this,

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

Damn. My head isn't working well like a rusty gear in this situation I've never experienced before.

L-let's fix this first!

I should just delete it right away. It's time he'd be practicing hard, so if I delete it right away he won't know-

"...Huh?"

...I thought I could delete it, but.

[Han Yujin: (Read)]

This is driving me crazy. He read it already.

There's no time to think anymore. My hands moved before I could think of an excuse.

[Han Yujin: H]

[Han Yujin: Ee-excuse me]

[Han Yujin: Excuuse me]

[Han Yujin: Don't misunderstand]

[Han Yujin: I sent it by mistake]

[Han Yujin: lol]

[Han Yujin: #ghost touch phenomenon]

[Han Yujin: When the iPhone screen doesn't work and trembles, malfunctions and presses random items on the screen without the user touching it, this is called ghost touch.]

I feel embarrassed even as I write it.

This is totally that thing, you know.

A tsundere who confessed on April Fools' Day, got left on read, and hurriedly explained it was a joke.

[Han Yujin: Heyy]

[Han Yujin: Hey;]

The read receipt appears but there's no reply.

Every minute and second waiting for a reply feels like it's squeezing my heart.

[Han Yujin: Answer]

[Han Yujin: Answer.]

[Han Yujin: Hey...?]

[Han Yujin: Please answer,,,]

[Han Yujin: (Are you dead? emoticon)]

As I was doing an internal blanket kick while tapping my forehead on the table like a woodpecker, the awaited reply came.

[Jung Suhyeok: Don't make me misunderstand.]

Don't make me misunderstand?

This rude bastard, really!

...Well, I can't get angry since I made the mistake first. Sorry.

[Han Yujin: It was a mistake ㅡㅡ]

[Jung Suhyeok: Of course it should be.]

I took a breath and slowly continued the conversation.

[Jung Suhyeok: But we're not close enough to send friendly messages.]

[Han Yujin: The new year is coming soon]

[Han Yujin: I was going to give New Year's greetings,,,]

[Jung Suhyeok: Don't say things you don't mean. It's creepy.]

[Jung Suhyeok: Just say what you need.]

[Han Yujin: =)]

[Han Yujin: I'm caught]

This is why I hate sharp people.

[Han Yujin: I have a favor to ask!]

[Jung Suhyeok: Don't.]

[Han Yujin: Just listen first]

[Jung Suhyeok: Don't.]

[Han Yujin: I said listen]

[Han Yujin: I'll go to SUC soon so let's talk in person]

[Jung Suhyeok: Don't come. I'm going to practice.]

[Jung Suhyeok: Why don't you practice at a time like this?]

[Jung Suhyeok: Your team is in last place.]

[Han Yujin: I'll take care of that so don't worry about it]

[Jung Suhyeok: Forget it.]

[Jung Suhyeok: If you send one more message, I'll block you.]

"This, this is really..."

Did this person leave his manners in his mother's womb?

He's being so prickly when we're not even sworn enemies.

Fine! Let's see who wins, you or me, let's go all the way!

A strange sense of competitiveness started activating inside me.

[Han Yujin: I'll wait until you come out]

I'm holding my phone like a sacred object, but there's no further reply.

He didn't even read the last message.

Did he block me already?

As I'm staring blankly at the open messenger window, I heard two voices behind me along with a presence.

"I'll wait until you come out? Did you two become close or something?"

"I think they already have."

Chills ran down the back of my neck.

I turned around to see our team captain Park Mutae and Son Yena looking at my phone.

"Wh-wha-what are you peeking at?!"

Park Mutae ignores my words and asks Son Yena.

"Maknae. What do you think?"

"My thoughts are the same as senior's thoughts."

"Right? This is them dating, isn't it?"

"Wow, it feels like those words came out of my mouth even though they didn't."

...What nonsense are these kids talking about!

Son Yena said with a pretend sad face.

"Poor Junho sunbae. He got transfer breakup."

At those words, Park Mutae tilts his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, you see sunbae. Before in the practice room, unnie did something..."

"Shut up!"

I firmly covered Son Yena's mouth.

Fortunately, Park Mutae didn't show much interest.

"Han Yujin."

Park Mutae said as he handed me an energy drink he got from the vending machine.

"Be careful. If you get caught up in dating rumors, there's no cure. Especially since Suhyeok is splitting popularity with Junho. You might get egged by female fans for two-timing."

Son Yena, who got excited, chimed in.

"It would be lucky if it's eggs and not rocks. With this scale, wouldn't it be reported on the front page of sports news?"

"Ah, really, it's not like that!"

What do these people take me for.

Park Mutae laughed heartily.

"I'm joking, idiot. I don't care if you KakaoTalk with him, but don't bring up game talk. You know the team atmosphere is gloomy these days, right?"

"I know."

"If you know, then do something about it."

Park Mutae clicked his tongue.

"I saw on the news that you caught Yeon Sangho in an extraordinary way. Quickly catch the rat hiding in our team too."

Ah, you mean the replay leaker?

"Our team is in last place all because of that traitor. We can't even practice properly among ourselves because we're afraid builds will leak, so our league performance is a mess. We don't have the energy to catch them while practicing, so I hope you two who can't play in matches can catch them."

I'm not some kind of panacea.

I want to catch them as badly as anyone.

But no matter how much I rack my brains, I can't think of a good way.

A clever method to catch the build leaker.

Park Mutae added while spinning the can.

"Remember. You have to put everyone except you and Yena on the list of suspects. Coach Yang, the coaches, me, Junho, Sehun, Taesung, all of us."

"I understand what you mean."

At that moment, Son Yena, who had been listening quietly, sparkled her eyes with an excited look.

"Then unnie becomes Sherlock Holmes? Then I'll be unnie's Watson."

"Yena-ya. We're not here to play around."

"I know, I'm just saying. But unnie."

"Yes?"

Son Yena narrowed her eyes and glanced at Park Mutae.

"What if our team captain is the culprit?"

Then, Park Mutae shook his head while spitting out the drink he was drinking.

"Hey. It's really not me."

"No. We don't know that."

"Okay. What's your evidence?"

"In plot twist mystery movies, the client is always the real culprit."

"What kind of evidence is that?!"

Son Yena pressured him like a prosecutor conducting a special investigation, narrowing her eyes.

"You're acting more suspicious with your overreaction."

"I'm reacting like this because it's unfair, unfair. Let's not do targeted investigations on principle. I haven't failed to do anything for you guys as captain."

"It's just reasonable suspicion."

"Reasonable my ass. Who bought you that drink? I did, right? Spit it out."

"It's already in my stomach."

"Sigh, seeing you two going in circles from the start, I'm not sure if I can trust you."

...Our Yena is having fun.

I poked Son Yena's forehead.

"Yena-ya. Once you start doubting, even a stick looks like a snake."

"I'm sorry. I'm just feeling uneasy too."

Son Yena seemed lost in thought as she twirled her finger in her hair.

Then she carefully spoke up.

"What if, just hypothetically, if..."

"Yes."

"What if Hyun Junho oppa is the culprit?"

What if the only pillar of support is the real culprit who leaked the replays and builds.

It's the worst scenario I don't even want to imagine.

...What do you mean what if.

Park Mutae and I said simultaneously.

"We'd be fucked, that's what."

I returned to the practice room.

The practice room at the end of the year before the new year didn't feel very hopeful. Rather, it felt gloomy as if an ominous energy had settled.

The sound of keyboards is noisy everywhere.

Usually keyboard sounds are light, but here it's chilly like blades clashing.

Everyone has amazing concentration. No one throws a glance at me. They're focusing all their nerves on the monitor with their eyelids wide open, forgetting even to blink.

No, to be precise, not on the monitor but thirsting for victory.

Suddenly I felt a strange feeling.

A huge stadium. Fans cheering. Sky-high salaries. Dazzling spotlights.

After only seeing the glamorous side of pro gamers, seeing the players practicing while sweating profusely made my shoulders tense up without realizing.

Looking closely, they all have flesh-colored patches on their wrists. Some players are even spraying patch spray while massaging their wrists as if uncomfortable.

Seeing that scene leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, like drinking coffee grounds that have been burned.

Everyone is working so hard and striving diligently, yet the report card was miserable.

Last place.

Compared to the early season performance last season when we went on a 10-game winning streak, it was a bright red failing grade.

...Ugh, damn it!

I'm going crazy with frustration, unable to even compete due to association regulations and just sucking my thumb like an outsider. I even feel powerless.

I want to be of some help, even if it's small...

I suddenly felt a strong urge to catch the replay leaker as soon as possible.

Afraid I might break their concentration, I tiptoed to my seat like a cat.

Son Yena is sitting in the seat to my left.

"Ah, this is so annoying I could die!"

She's absorbed in setting up her seat with a ruler that looks like it was bought from a stationery store. She's even adjusting the height as if she's not satisfied with the chair height.

This looks more like a master potter shaping ceramics than a pro gamer.

"Is there a problem?"

I spoke up, unable to watch anymore.

"No, it just doesn't feel like the familiar feeling I have at home and it's frustrating."

"Don't worry about it so much."

"I can't. I want to quickly join the first team and play in broadcast matches. I thought maybe it was the clothes, so I even wore the underwear I only wear when gaming at home... Ah."

Son Yena took a sharp breath.

"Did you hear?"

"Yes. I heard."

So you're saying you wore the same underwear to get the feeling of practicing at home?

It's not like you're wearing lucky underwear or anything...

This kid must be a control freak.

I stopped Son Yena who was trying to crawl under the desk in embarrassment.

Then I looked to my right.

Hyun Junho was rolling his eyeballs like bowling balls, busily roaming the battlefield in the game.

I stared at him while chewing on the gummy worm jelly I bought earlier.

Suddenly his hand stops abruptly.

He pauses the game, slightly takes off his headset, and asks me.

"What?"

"What?"

"Not 'what'. I can't concentrate because of Yujin-ssi's gaze."

I pouted my lips like a goldfish and whined.

"Come on. What's the big deal about looking at you, it's not like your face is that expensive."

"Is there something on my face?"

"Yes. There's seaweed on it."

Hyun Junho twisted his head with a dubious face.

"Seaweed? I didn't eat any seaweed today?"

"Your face makes me want to bully you."

"...Just eat your jelly."

Hyun Junho, who was digging in his ear as if he'd heard nonsense, put his headset back on and immersed himself in the game.

I also leaned in to watch the game.

The match is in the late stages.

The opponent's race is Human.

The battlefield was quiet like the calm before a storm.

They're engaged in a tense power struggle, dividing the map in half. Looking at the dots marked on the minimap, it was as fierce as watching a Go match.

Both players had filled up the maximum population of 200 and were facing the final battle.

The enemy camp was already densely arranged with mines and siege tanks.

It was a situation that required caution, as a wrong fight could be difficult to recover from.

Whoever wins this fight will probably grasp victory.

What would I have done?

As I was watching with interest, Hyun Junho moved his large Alien army.

The elegant movement of his hands looked like watching a pianist's hand movements.

As I was admiring his snow-white hands.

Hyun Junho's brilliant move burst forth.

"...Oh!"

For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

Because such a unique scene exploded.

The unit called High Templar has a skill called 'Hallucination'.

The ability to copy units.

When you hear about copying units, you might think it's a cheating ability, but the copied units have zero attack power so they're useless.

But Hyun Junho started randomly copying units, then used the clone units as disposable cards to remove mines.

"Wow..."

And then he launched a full-scale attack with the main force waiting in the rear.

The final battle where everything is poured out.

The enemy tanks were distracted by the fake units, and taking advantage of that gap, the real units plowed in like bulldozers and annihilated the main force.

[Practice account1: gg]

[Practice account1 has left the game.]

In the end, the opponent raised the white flag.

"Oh, that's amazing."

I clapped while smiling brightly.

Hyun Junho, who was catching his breath, responded shyly.

"It's not a big deal..."

"No, I learned a lot."

"R-really?"

"I was going to punish you if you lost, but since you won splendidly, I'll give you a reward."

Hyun Junho made an interested expression.

"A reward?"

"Yes. I'll specially give you this."

I handed over the king gummy worm jelly.

"King Wriggler."

Hyun Junho's face, which had been glistening with excitement, cooled off.

"I was really looking forward to it, but it's just this?"

Just this!

Giving up my King Wriggler is as much of a sacrifice as giving up a chicken leg!

"What, did you expect a million won donation or something? You have no conscience."

"If that game was on a personal broadcast, I would have received that much."

"My Wriggler is worth more than a million won."

"I don't want to eat it. You eat it, Yujin-ssi."

"Come on, don't be like that. Here, say ah!"

"......"

Hyun Junho looked back and forth between my face and the King Wriggler, then opened his mouth and ate it.

"That's right, good job."

I smiled contentedly seeing that sight.

Anyway, thinking about it again, it was a great game worthy of taking my King Wriggler.

You could call it a masterpiece in Go terms.

Some commentators praised Hyun Junho as an artist, and this game was truly close to a masterpiece.

Especially the tactic using Hallucination made my mouth drop open even as I watched.

The copy tactic...

Suddenly, a brilliant idea to catch the replay leaker flashed in my mind.

As I was trying to organize my thoughts.

"Hey, Han Yujin!"

"Yes?"

Coach Yang Myunghyun approached while rubbing his weed-like beard stubble.

"Ah, this..."

"What's wrong?"

He said with a meaningful face.

"The CEO is calling for you."