One moment, Minjae was standing beneath the broken arches of the Cathedral. The next, his capsule hissed open and reality flooded in.
Almost immediately—
"MINJAE!"
He barely had time to step out before Ara crashed into him, grabbing onto his arm like she'd just witnessed a miracle.
"We actually did it! We won! Did you see that? Of course you did, you were there—wait, no, but like—we actually won!"
Hyunwoo wasn't much better. He was trying to keep a composed expression but completely failing as he pushed his glasses up.
"That was insane. Is that what Battle Arena Players do all the time? I didn't even see it coming."
"And Jiwon!" Ara spun around, grabbing the girl by the shoulders. "That last play was so cool!"
Jiwon blinked, trying to hide her embarrassment but her red cheeks wasn't helping her case. "Yeah, well. I tried my best that's all. It's Minjae-hyung that did everything."
Hyung? Since when did this brat start using honorifics?
A small smile formed on Minjae's face, but beneath it all, he couldn't stop remembering what happened within the simulation.
For a split second, it felt like the noise around him dimmed, the voices of his teammates becoming muffled and hard to hear. His mind focused on the visions, of what that spirit showed him.
Why was that about? He thought, fidgeting with his fingers. And why me?
"..."
"Minjae?"
Ara was staring at him now, tilting her head slightly. "Do you hear me?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you've done this map before!" she puffed her cheeks slightly. "You were zoning out!"
"Ah… yeah. Well, not officially. I've just delved into it by myself most of the time," he scratched the back of his head. "I didn't really know it would work."
But before the others were able to start up again, a voice cut cleanly through the noise, targeted at all within the simulation area.
Manager Choi Seongjin stood on the other side of a glass room with a microphone in his hand. "The trials are officially over. You've already been evaluated."
The announcement itself created a huge wave of complaints almost instantly.
"What? That's it?"
"There was only one match!"
"That's not fair—"
And normally, they'd be correct. A tryout with only one round wasn't enough time to show off all your skills. But regardless, it was Solaris and their staff after all. They would be strict and decisive about such a decision.
"Everyone is free to leave. Thank you for applying with Lunaris," he continued, glancing at the whole room. "The person who is chosen will be contacted by our administration team."
That was it…everything was…done.
The room filtered out slowly after that. Some players left immediately with frustration written all over their faces. Others lingered for a bit longer, talking to each other before eventually dispersing as well.
Ara and the others were still talking excitedly, but even they were starting to drift toward the exit.
"Minjae, you coming?" Hyunwoo called out.
"Yeah," he replied, pushing himself off the wall.
He took one last glance around the now-emptying room before turning to follow them out. They spilled out of the facility together, the cool air outside hitting them all at once as the last of the noise from the tryouts faded behind them.
Ara stretched her arms above her head with a loud groan. "Man…that was insane. I don't think my heart's ever beaten that fast before."
Hyunwoo let out a breath, shaking his head. "Same here… I thought I was going to mess up at least three times."
Jiwon let out a small laugh under her breath, the tension from earlier finally easing as she adjusted her grip on her phone. "Still…we won."
Minjae slowed his steps slightly, his gaze drifting between them before he spoke.
"…You guys did well," he said. "Seriously."
Ara blinked. "Huh?"
"I mean it," Minjae continued, scratching the back of his head. "For your first real match, you guys didn't panic, listened well, and executed to the best of your abilities."
"That's more than most people at this level can say."
Hyunwoo shifted a bit awkwardly at the praise, while Jiwon lowered her gaze, clearly not used to hearing something like that.
"…Thanks," Hyunwoo said after a moment.
There was a small pause before Ara spoke again, but this time her voice was quieter.
"…I don't think we're ready, though."
"Like…for real matches," she added, rubbing the back of her neck. "That was fun, but…we kinda got lucky, didn't we?"
Hyunwoo nodded slowly. "If we ran into a more experienced team, we probably would've gotten wiped."
Jiwon hesitated before speaking as well. "Yeah…who knows what would've happened if we didn't have you in our team, hyung."
Minjae opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to find the right words. He wasn't used to hearing it.
"…So yeah," Ara let out a small breath, forcing a smile. "I think we're gonna train more first. Get better, then try again later."
"But when you make it big," she said, pointing at Minjae dramatically, "don't forget about us, alright!"
Hyunwoo snorted. "Yeah, we'll be like—'We knew him back when he was bossing us around.'"
Jiwon nodded softly. "…We'll be your biggest fans."
Minjae let out a small huff of laughter at that, shaking his head. "…I'll try not to disappoint you then."
"That's not a try, that's a promise!" Ara shot back immediately.
"Yeah, yeah."
They slowed to a stop near the edge of the lot, where their paths naturally split. For a brief second, no one moved.
Then Ara raised a hand, waving it loosely. "Well…this is where we head out."
"Yeah," Hyunwoo added. "See you around…hopefully."
Jiwon gave a small nod. "…Good luck, Minjae."
Minjae looked at them one last time, a faint smile resting on his face. "…You too. Don't slack off."
Ara groaned. "Ugh, he's still acting like our Captain—"
"Go already," Minjae waved them off.
They laughed again before turning away, their voices fading as they walked off together. Minjae stayed where he was for a moment longer, watching them disappear into the distance.
Those kids…they really have a lot of potential.
He turned toward his bike, just where he left it. Minjae reached into his pocket for the keys, already thinking about heading home and getting some rest, maybe clearing his head—
Yet, his fingers brushed against something else.
He paused, pulling it out of his pockets. His eyes widened as they immediately realized what it was.
"The ring…"