THE END OF HANWHA LIFE 

It was a rainy November day. 2021 was about to end, so that meant that the League of legends off-season had begun. The most worrying time for players and fans alike, as it was time to try and secure a spot in a professional team as fast as possible.

Byunghoon had been dreading this season even more than usual. You'd think that being a veteran would make off-season less stressful, you couldn't be more wrong. Veterans are not easily hired, and on top of that, Byunghoon's current team, Hanwha life Esports, had just announced that they were closing their doors, selling the team to SK Hynix. Today, Hynix had called everyone of the team to come by one by one, to talk about their contracts and future under their new organisation. All day, Byunghoon had been receiving messages from his teammates that their contracts had been nullified, making them former teammates from now on. It filled him with worry. He was up last, probably because he was the oldest member. While on the subway to the building, he couldn't help but feel the feelings of worry welling up inside him.

Even though this team had made it to worlds just a few months earlier, they were somehow still disregarded and often hated. They were top 8 in the world, yet they were treated like they were just top 8 in their own region. Byunghoon had been performing in the shadow of the two star players of the team, and had received a lot of slack for being unable to keep up with his adc Deft. It was frustrating, and extremely detrimental for his career. Byunghoon was worried that with the sale, everything was over. He would have to retire, go finish high school, live without a family that could catch his fall. It worried him sick.

As the man stepped out of the subway train and headed straight towards the Hynix building, he could feel his insides turning round and round.

I guess this is the end.

Upon entering, Byunghoon caught another teammate leaving. Willer, another of those boys that had been playing in the shadow. A young, sweet, cute rookie, who Byunghoon had absolutely adored. When Willer spotted the older, he showed a melancholic smile and waved a little.

"Hyung, it's good to see you here... or not so good- I guess-"

"Yeah," Byunghoon chuckled lightly, "I'm happy to see you though, how did it go?"

"Well... They nullified my contract, just like everyone else. I guess they want a completely new roster," Willer sighed, "But I expected it though, I heard that Hynix is looking to completely take over the LCK. We are just not cut out for that."

"Hey, you are cut out for a super team, Hyeon-ie. I just know it," The older tried to speak some words of comfort, but it was clear that he was feeling very nervous, and Willer noticed. "I guess this is the end for me as well, I don't know what I can do next," Byunghoon muttered, his soft smile having made way for a defeated look on his face.

"No way, you were the rock of our team! You'd definitely find a new place even if you get laid off now," Willer disagreed. "Maybe in America, yes," the older chuckled, before continuing, "Well, I wish I could chat more, but I really have to go in now, Hyeon-ie. I will talk to you later." Byunghoon showed the younger a gentle smile, giving his shoulder a pat. Willer smiled back, "Keep me updated! Good luck, hyung. I have faith in you."

As the two now former teammates separated, Byunghoon felt melancholy downing upon him. Willer was sad, and so was probably everyone else of his team, and as the father figure, it was tearing his heart apart. It always hurt him so much when he had to separate from his little brothers, but thats how the esports life is, unfortunately.

"Gal Byunghoon, we've been expecting you," a female voice popped Byunghoon's thought bubble. He noticed that he had almost walked past her, and bowed apologetically. "I'm Im Hyewon, the new manager of our League of Legends team," the woman introduced herself. She certainly didn't look like a manager of an esports team, but not that it made a difference for Byunghoon. "I see that you're a bit nervous, so let's make it quick. Can you follow me to my office, please?" Hyewon continued, showing the boy a benevolent smile before walking ahead. Byunghoon agreed, and sheepishly followed suit. While making their way deeper into the building, Hyewon picked up conversation. "I'm so sorry, Byunghoon, but our gaming office is still under construction, so currently we operate from the main office of the company. It surely doesn't fit the vibe of an esports team, does it?"

"Hmm," Byunghoon couldn't do much more than hum at that moment, "It's not a problem."

I won't ever see that gaming office anyway.

The conversation fell quiet after that, Byunghoon was fine with it, because he didn't feel like talking anyway. He just felt dreadful. When he got handed a cup of coffee while in Hyewon's office, it didn't help his mood much. But at least he felt a bit warmer on this cold, rainy day. Hyewon, however, was cheerful and bright, as she sat down behind her desk, and showed Byunghoon a warm smile. "I can see that you're not feeling so well, Byunghoon, are you okay? Should we reschedule this meeting?" she wondered, her smile turning into a frown as she watched the puddle of melancholy that was sitting across the table. "No, let's just go on with it, I'm fine," Byunghoon muttered before sipping his beverage.

Just get it over with, the pain can't come soon enough.

The manager perked up again pretty much immediately. It was surprising how she was so bright on such a sad moment, Byunghoon felt like it was a little inappropriate. "Okay then! Let's get onto the contract talk immediately, I'm not the kind to waste time." Hyewon disappeared under the desk for a moment to reach for the drawers, and reappeared with a map in hand.

That's it, that's the contract cancellation papers.

Byunghoon was ready to grab it, but the woman didn't give it to him just yet. "Byunghoon, as a manager of a new LCK team, I have a very specific vision of who I want to represent us. We aim to innovate, and plan to become a top team. If it's not immediate, it's fine, but we do want to grab victories in a few years' time," Hyewon explained, having a more serious look on her face now. Byunghoon couldn't really listen, why was she telling all of this to him? This was just corporate talk, it didn't involve him anyway. He didn't understand why he had to hear all of this while he could just leave and go play some League.

"So, we are looking to sign some young, fresh players, but you know what those players need?" Hyewon continued on, unbothered by Byunghoon's gloomy look, "They need guidance, they need a veteran, they need glue to keep the team together." As she spoke, Hyewon finally shoved the map of paperwork towards Byunghoon. He slowly opened up the map, but he didn't really want to read the contents of it.

"And that's why we want you on the team."

Wait, did he hear that right? Byunghoon's head turned towards Hyewon immediately, a slight glint in his eyes. "Excuse me, come again?"

"We want you to join Hynix," Hyewon smiled happily, taking a pen and handing it to Byunghoon. "You seem surprised? What's happening?" she looked at the boy, who was staring at her with shock. "You... want to sign me? ME? Are you sure this is not a mistake?"

This must all be an elaborate joke.

The manager let out a small, warm laugh, "Oh Byunghoon, you don't have to be so surprised! We really do want you as our starting support and team captain. I was set on that from the start!"

"But... Why? Why me?" Byunghoon grabbed the pen, his hand having a slight tremble, still in absolute shock from the plot twist that had just taken place. His eyes were locked on the manager. "You are a very skilled support, Byunghoon. You are admired in the LCK by so many people. You are known for your friendliness and the care you give to your teammates. I think a person like you is needed in any team, you are a very admirable player and person alike," Hyewon spoke full of praise, and it made Byunghoon's heart jump of joy. He hadn't heard this praise in a very long time, and he could feel his mouth curling into a smile, he was sure he was even blushing from all the flattery. "Wow... I did not expect that at all- I just expected to be laid off like everyone else-" Byunghoon muttered, still in disbelieve as he started to read through the contract in front of him. "We got you a contract for 1 season with the option to cancel it at any time if you don't feel up to it anymore, but we won't cancel from our end unless something really bad happens. That wouldn't really be fair, would it? We will provide medical care, psychological care, sufficient accomodation, pay and support. You are guaranteed to be the starting support for at least the first split. It's still up for negotiation, if you'd want. There is also an option to extend it as well," Hyewon explained the contract, while the boy across of her read it simultaneously. It was a clean, seamless contract, better than anything he had seen before. Byunghoon's heart was filling up with joy and anticipation, and he even felt a little optimistic. "I'm definitely okay with all of this," he responded before taking the pen, and quickly signing the contract.

Hyewon clapped happily before standing up to shake Byunghoon's hand. "Welcome to Hynix. From now on, you are Hynix' support Bee, or HNX Bee for short. I'm extatic to have you." The boy smiled back, shaking Hyewon's hand gently. "I'm very happy to be here."

"It's great that we got you to sign so quick, Byunghoon," Hyewon took the contract back and put it away before guiding Byunghoon towards the door. "Now that we got you on the roster, we can start negotiating with other players and building the team with you as our foundation," Hyewon rambled happily as she walked Byunghoon out of the building. "I honestly still can't believe it, but I'm very excited to be working with you and the team, Miss Im," the boy replied, smiling sheepishly. He couldn't believe what was happening. His career was looking up? He was being praised? At this point, he was convinced that he was dreaming. Playing League until sunrise and then sleeping for just a few hours was ing with his sleep, that was probably what was happening.

When the pair had reached the entrance of the Hynix building, Hyewon reached out to shake Byunghoon's hand again. "We will get in touch with you shortly, Byunghoon," Hyewon showed a smile, "For now, we just ask you to practice regularly, but we'll get started fully once the team has been completed. The building is almost done, we will invite you for a visit as soon as it's finished, and then in december we will start the moving process." Byunghoon reciprocated the manager's smile, "I'm looking forward to it!" Hyewon grinned before continuing, "The building is going to be really cool! I can tell you that already. It's brand new and high-tech. But let's leave the chats for later, I actually have some more meetings for today, I apologize," Byunghoon could swear that he saw Hyewon pout. What an interesting manager he had ended up with, it gave him an exciting feeling. "I understand," the guy smiled before bowing, "Goodbye, Miss Im." Hyewon bowed back, "Goodbye, and also, you can just call me Hyewon." The woman smiled before heading back deep into the building. And Byunghoon stepped out, and looked up at the sun that had chased the cloud away, with a relieved smile on his face. If it wasn't for the surprise that was about to happen, he would've started sobbing on the spot.

"Why the happy face, hyung?" A familiar voice alerted Byunghoon, and he turned to see not only Willer, but all of Hanwha Life Esports. They had all been waiting for their leader, probably to have a goodbye party. Byunghoon looked at them with shock and quickly wiped away the single tear that had escaped early. "Why are you crying? Are you happy that you're away from HLE finally?" the tallest, Chovy, grinned. Byunghoon shook his head. "No, actually..."

"Don't tell me you got a contract!" Morgan interrupted, exclaiming in disbelief. The oldest could only grin and nod in response. The whole team cheered, running to Byunghoon to give him a big group hug. "I'm so happy for you," Deft, the adc, smiled gently. "Yeah, you deserve it so much, hyung!" Willer agreed, his voice filled with excitement. "Well, we were waiting for you to go grab some drinks and have a goodbye party together, but I guess this has turned into the celebration of your new contract, hyung!" Chovy grinned, giving the older a nudge. "Thanks you guys, that's so sweet of all of you... I really need it, this day the life out of me," Byunghoon grinned. "Are you sure that it's this day, and not the late nights of League grinding and overworking yourself?" Deft joked around, patting Byunghoon's back. "Shut up," the older grunted, resulting in laughter.

"Should we go to the usual place?" Morgan said as the group was heading towards the subway station. "Yeah, I want to meet there a lot more times, actually!" Willer cheered, Chovy joining quickly. "Let's go celebrate Hynix Bee!" the boy exclaimed, putting his fist up in the air. "Shush, don't scream that so loudly," Deft shushed the younger, "The leakers are lurking everywhere." Byunghoon laughed gently at the commotion his teammates caused. He was surely going to miss them, but he was sure that he would love this new team a lot as well. He believed that with manager Hyewon, it would work out.

Hynix Bee... HNX Bee... It has a nice ring to it.

SIEN'S RAMBLINGS

Ohmehgerd I wrote a teaser!! This had been in my head for like a week at least, or two even, but my sims 4 hyperfocus was stopping me from writing this. It's the beginning of the league team with my boy Bee! (I promise I will elaborate on his app... oops). I hope you guys liked this teaser ;w;