Chapter Text
What the hell is happening.
You're standing in the airport waiting area staring out to nowhere as you reconsider your decisions and all that's happened in the past month. T1 had just won Worlds 2024 less than a month ago and you were there when it happened, cheering them on from the crowd. And now, you sit in an airport in South Korea waiting for T1's manager to come pick you up.
You were just a streamer, known for your skills and personality. And sometimes your gender. You see, there aren't lots of female League players, let alone ones that are able to constantly make it up to challenger every season. Yes you are from Canada so the NA server isn't the most well known for their skills, but people all over the world had tuned into your stream just to watch you play (and sometimes rant). You were like any other stereotypical gamers: loud, enthusiastic and delusional (in a joking way). You'd often crash on stream, no filter and often rant about your shitty teammates and how you should be a pro player. You never thought much of it, you were content with what you had so you can imagine the surprise on your face when your agency asked you about going to Korea to play for T1. At first you thought it was a scam, how could you, a 25 year old NA streamer play for the legendary T1? It took 2 weeks of communication for you to believe it was actually happening, and it didn't take lots of convincing for you to agree.
And here you are, about to meet everyone in T1 for the first time. It was also your first time thinking about the choices you just made and realizing how this may not be a good choice.
#1: Your Korean is kinda ass. Your parents are Korean so obviously you know the language, but growing up in Canada did not help at all with that. You'd only speak Korean to your family and often it'll be a mix of English and Korean within the same sentence.
#2: How are you able to fulfill the spots of Zeus and not leave fans disappointed? The company has already announced you as the new player and you've seen the fans online. Some excited, some angered but all are confused. You never thought much of it before cause who'd turn down a chance to play for T1? But now that you're actually here, you're finally starting to let all this sink in.
But there wasn't much time for you to keep regretting your choices, cause it didn't take long for you to hear someone call out your name.
You look up and there stood Coach Tom. Tall (well not really but you're only 5'2" so anyone you see seems chronically tall), confident and most important of all: excited. You were nervous as hell tho. As he made his way towards you, you started practicing all sorts of different salutations. English or Korean? Formal or Informal? Should there be an introduction? But he already knows who you are.
"Hello Element right?" He says with a big smile plastered on his face. Element was your in-game name, you weren't really thinking when you first came up with it 10 years ago but you were glad it wasn't one of those embarrassing usernames everyone had as a child. Cause you are stuck with it now.
"Ah yes that's me" You respond in Korean, hoping that you didn't butcher the easiest pronunciation while trying to sound calm and excited when you were dying of nervousness inside.
"How's your impression of Korea so far? I mean you probably haven't been outside the airport but how has it been?"
"It's been great, you know? Feels weird seeing so much Asian people" Real smooth, that probably sounded racist as fuck especially with your shitty Korean skills.
Surprisingly, he laughed "Well get used to it, we're in Asia after all" And now you officially wanted to jump off a cliff. "Let's talk while we go to the HQ, the staff and players are dying to meet you" He said while leading the way.
Throughout the ride, he was able to make you feel more relaxed already. He asked you about your past experience, what you wanted to try in Korea and was just overall fun to be with. The car ride felt way shorter than it was as it didn't take long for him to park in the garage and lead you out the car. That's when the wave of nervousness hits you again and you grip tightly onto the strap of your bag and your luggage. He leads you up the elevator and probably sensing your nervousness, starts to assure you everything is okay.
“The players are all excited to meet you! Especially Keria, that kid has been restless the whole day!” You just nod as his words as you reach the floor. You glance around the company as he leads you down a corridor where at the end stands a large closed door like those you see in hotel lobbies. You were already lost as the company already started to feel like a maze. “This is where the players usually play soloq and have fun, you’ll train and stream in a different room. They are probably just goofing around right now” And without waiting for your response he pushed the door open.
You weren’t exaggerating when you said it felt like the lights of god shined upon you the second the door opened. Turns out it was noise cancelling as well. As you adjusted to the bright light inside, you scanned the room to see all 4 players staring right at you. Well 3, Faker was staring into his computer which showed a replay of a League of Legends match. Keria was the first to say hi, like expected. He jumped out of his chair and beelined straight to you.
“Hi Element right? I’m Keria, nice to meet you!” He said with a giant smile plastered on his face. “Don’t mind him, he acts like he's on something almost every second” Said a voice behind Keria. It was Gumayusi, T1’s Legendary ADC whose synergy with Keria in the bot lane has led to T1 winning so many tournaments. He was tall, like actually tall but his facial expressions were soft and genuine even when he was joking around like this.
You smiled and and introduced yourself “Hi I’m Amelia, I’m 25 years old and I’m from Canada” You said with the most formal introduction you can ever come up with so you don’t disrespect them as you’re not 100% certain of the manners in Korea.
“Wanna 1v1?”
“Huh?” You said looking around the room for the owner of the voice
“1v1 me” Said the owner of the voice: Oner
You stood there staring at him wondering where that came from as you look around the room for help. You definitely weren’t prepared to start gaming the second you came in let alone a world class player who you’re gonna lose to and embarrass yourself. But were you ever one to turn down a challenge like an 1v1? No.
“Stop it Oner with your competitiveness” Keria said trying to save you
“Sure actually” You said smiling at them. Fuck, you thought to yourself. What did you just get yourself into.
Oner looked surprised but obviously had to follow up with “Game On then”
You looked beside you at Tom who just smiled and led you to your seat beside Faker as you finally realized the order of the seats. It wasn’t in the usual order of Top to Support but Instead had Oner on the very left followed by Keria the Gumayusi then Faker then your seat at the far right. Puzzled, you asked Tom “Is this the usual seat order?” “Well not for training, you’ll be in the typical top to support order but for soloq purposes, this is where we’re at after years of arguing” He said smiling and helping you put your luggage to the side for now. Keria was quick to follow up with an explanation though. “Oner is way too loud so Faker requested to not sit next to him and we figured to put him to the side so he can do whatever he does everyday. Since we wanted to keep bot duo, we just shifted me and Guma between them and put Zeus to the side.” “You might have to switch up this order then cause I can get louder than Zeus” You said half jokingly as you start to warm up to the atmosphere. Half-jokingly is the keyword cause you are 100% louder than Zeus in your own streams. Swearing has become a norm and smashing your desk has been a phenomenon that occurs every game.
As you log into your account on the computer, you glance to your left at Faker. The legendary Faker sitting right beside you. He hasn’t taken a single glance at you since you walked in (or at least you think) and is staring hyper focused onto the screen analysing every play. You weren’t one to bother him though, you didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the first day especially on your captain/leader.
As you added Oner to your friend list and going into a 1v1 you talked about who you’re playing. “What are you thinking today?” Oner asked you. “You choose” You said looking at him. He looked at Faker and smirked, “How about Ahri?”. What the fuck. Last time you played Ahri had to be like 2 years ago. I mean who tf plays Ahri in top lane and you often never go mages mid unless you had to. But were you going to back down? Blame it on your stupid ego but no. “Of Course you said”. But why did he choose Ahri though? You thought as you both locked in your champs and changed your runes. Is he trying to embarrass me right in front of Faker? You looked to your left and there he was staring at you as you tried to remember the right runes for Ahri. You immediately looked away as you stared at your runes page with your mind completely blanking out on what you were just doing. Shit, is this how your first impression is going to go with Faker? Not even know what the correct runes are after playing the game for 10 years?
“Why are you using Magical Footwear?”
“Huh”
“Aren’t you 1v1 ing Oner” Faker said as he stared at your screen
“Uh yeah?” Shit did I mess up already and since when was he listening to our conversation
“So?”
“...” You stared at your runes page as you panicky scanned the page to see whats wrong. This is the Ahri build you play with: Electrocute, Inspiration. And then you realized, you’re playing magical footwear in a 1v1 game. Oh shit you thought as you quickly changed your runes properly before the timer ended.
“Thanks” you mumbled not even sure if he was still looking and you weren’t planning on to check. Seeing him stare at you or while your screen made you 100% more nervous. Not sure if it was because of the fact that he’s legit the best League player of all time and that he mained Ahri or the fact that he was somehow really good looking in person, it was not good as you felt your heart beating faster and faster. You took a deep breath as the match started.
You were doing fine at first, the trades were pretty even, though no one landed a single e on another despite being 8 minutes into the game and you spammed e like 20 thousand times. Faker probably thinks you’re trolling by now. It didn’t take long for Oner to make a mistake and for you to grasp it immediately as you landed Ahri’s easiest and common combos. e, q, w, aa. And as Oner retreats under his tower, you ult right under it to secure the deal. But you also die to tower damage as your r somehow hits the wall instead of dashing through it.
“SHIT” you said slightly louder than average (legit yelled) in English. Okay now you fucking swore and yelled in front of T1 right next to Faker right after Keria told you how much he didn’t like Oner’s yelling and swearing. And with Faker’s English proficiency he probably knew what you were saying. Everyone else seemed amused though as Kera and Oner laughed their asses off while Guma smiled and chuckled.
“Ult first” You turned around to see Faker staring at you, not your screen but at you. “Before W?” He just nodded. “I’ll make sure to do that next time then”. You’ve learned throughout your life that the safest option is to tell a teacher that you’ll change for the better the next time instead of apologising for your mistakes or telling them why you made that mistake. Teachers have often called you out as “just making up excuses” or “why are you apologising to me?” So now whenever someone you respect tells you advice you just tell them you’ll make sure to do it next time. And it seemed like a good choice today cause Faker just nodded again while standing up before leaving the room. I mean at least he didn’t scold you?
“Don’t mind him, he’s always like that to new people. Trust me, when he warms up, he’ll be cracking his dad jokes all day” Guma said from behind. You nodded and turned back to your game as Oner challenged you to a rematch.
The day passed by in a breeze as the members were all friendly and kept you in their convo throughout the whole time. Faker did return back after some time but kept to himself as he continued to grind his soloq. It didn’t take long for your manager to come back and told the members to lead you to your new dorm as its already midnight. That’s also when you realize you’ll be sharing a living space with 4 guys. Well, you were notified beforehand when you signed the contract but your excited ass was way too ignorant of everything and was not able to process any info that was given to you.
“Let me lead the way guys” Keria said excitedly. “We’re legit walking together-” argued Oner from behind. And there goes their bantering again. You quickly got up and packed your bag before going to get your luggage. Keria, Oner had already started walking out the room while dragging Guma along with them. You immediately started to speed up to follow them as they showed no sign of waiting for you as they’re already too immersed in their convo. As you struggled to carry your luggage and your bags at the same time, your clumsy self dropped your phone on the ground. “Shit” you cursed to yourself as with your already occupied hands you start to bend down to pick up your phone.
That's when you felt something get taken out of your hands. You look up to see Faking, taking your luggage away from your hands while staring at you. You quickly pick up your phone with your now free hands before telling him “Thanks”. But by then he was already starting to walk out the room while holding your luggage. You scrambled to follow him as he walked through the maze-like corridors. You reached the elevators to see Keria, Oner and Guma waiting there but their bantering still hasn’t stopped.
“Guma, you should go back, there’s no way she’ll figure out how to get here through that weird ass corridor”
“I’m too lazy, Oner you go back since you yapping is the reason we walked without her”
“Why me? Keria was the one who said he’ll lead the way, oh wait she’s right here”
All 3 of them turned towards Faker and you as their eyes flickered between us. “See hyung is so much more responsible than you, he legit waited for Amelia and helped carry her suitcase” “You legit was too lazy to even go back, you don’t deserve to talk” “As if you were willing to go”
And there goes their bantering again. They didn’t even seem apologetic for walking out without waiting for you but you don’t exactly blame them. It’s fun to hang out with them and they were genuine. You awkwardly walked beside them into the elevator and down as their bantering did not seem to come close to an end. It had already taken a drastic turn into who is most attractive and charming? You smiled at their closeness with one another and remembered how this was exactly what your friend group seemed like back in Canada. That's one more negative thing about coming here, you were separated from your friends.
“You legit have never dated before, and it's not surprising cause who’d be attracted to someone 5;4” Oner said
“Yo that’s way too far, I’m offended and actually mad now” Keria said clearly not angry. “You’re talking as if any of us has dated before, we legit play league of legend for living”
“You people leave me out of this, I have dated before and I bet everyone here has except you two” Argued Gumayusi towards Oner and Keria. And now comes all 3 of them stopping and staring back at Faker and I.
“Why’d you stop walking?” I questioned despite clearly knowing what they’re about to ask
“Have you ever dated?”
“....no…” You said in the quietest possible voice. You were legit a streamer that plays league of legends, how would they expect you to date? “Guys but thats because I don’t want to date” You add quickly trying to redeem yourself.
“SEE I TOLD YOU YOUR LEGIT THE ONLY ONE THAT’S DATED” Keria said before turning to Faker “Hyung have you dated before?”
I turned my head to look at Faker. It was already midnight, dark outside with barely any cars. The only light came from the street lights and the occasional lights of businesses still open till this hour. The street light highlighted Faker’s features perfectly as you thought to yourself “since when did he look this attractive”. But you immediately came back to your senses as Faker opened his mouth to answer the question. “What is wrong with me, am I already starting to develop feelings for my teammate on the very first day and it just so happens to be the legendary Faker?” You were thinking before it got interrupted by Faker talking
“Does it look like I have?” Faker said while raising an eyebrow at them.” He hasn’t?” You thought “I mean he is the legendary Faker who probably only cares about League in life and the only female he likes is Ahri” But then he’s also 30 years old. But then you’re turning 26 this year and it doesn’t look like you're about to date anyone in the next 10 years.
They seemed to let you both off the hook as their bantering continued all the way until you reached a building that seemed like a regular apartment. You guys took the elevator to the highest floor before they opened the door to an apartment. But inside didn’t seem like any other apartment suite. It seemed like a penthouse. Directly inside was the kitchen and to the left of the kitchen was a giant living room with a huge TV hanging above a fireplace. Directly to your right were a few rooms before a staircase leading up a level. Keria introduced all 3 rooms on the bottom to be Guma, Oner’s and his before leading you up stairs where more doors stood. Guma and Oner went back to their respective rooms and said good night to you.
“Me, Oner and Guma share 2 bathrooms on the first floor while these 2 rooms up here each have their own private bathroom. This room here is Faker hyung’s “He said while pointing to each door “And this one here is your’s” He said as he pushed open the door closest to the staircase. Inside was a huge bedroom that is neatly cleaned and furnished. Another door in the bedroom led to the private bathroom. You nodded and asked
“Is this Zeus’ old room?”
“Yea, we figured we’d give the larger rooms to Faker and our maknae. And it was also because Oner and I were really loud so we decided to put us on the same floor. That was because our walls weren’t soundproof before, but they renovated these rooms a few months ago and now they’re all sound proof” Keria said proudly as he walked to the door. “Good night” He said, leaving as you just nodded as you looked around the room just to realize Faker was still standing beside you carrying your luggage. FUCK you legit made him carry your luggage all the way here.
You immediately reach out to grab your luggage from him while excessively saying thank you and apologizing for forgetting to take your luggage back and having him hold it the whole way here. He seemed to understand your sincerity as he just nodded and walked out the door before shutting it. Finally someone knows to close the door behind them.