FBPP C10

Chapter 10

“You made the right choice. But that was a quick decision, huh?”
“Why does the shoot last up to three whole days?”

With cameras planted all over the house, filming for not just a single day but three meant it would cut into his gaming schedule. If he slipped and started cursing at the screen mid-game, there’d be no going back. It basically meant no gaming for three days. Even leaving events aside, without gaming he had absolutely nothing to do at home. He couldn’t play piano all day, nor could he just sleep. He didn’t cook, surviving on protein shakes, so even filling airtime would be impossible.

As if expecting this, Tae-hyun chuckled softly.

“Are you eating properly? You look like you’ve lost some weight.”
“Don’t think so. If anything, I feel better now that I’m not constantly flying everywhere.”
“You brat. Eat proper meals, and don’t skip your vitamins. If you don’t take care of yourself now, it’ll hit you all at once later.”
“Why are you cursing me with bad luck? I’m nowhere near thirty yet.”

Tae-hyun was great, but his nagging was endless. Having known Ji-han since childhood, even after more than ten years, he still tended to treat him like the kid he once was.

“Anyway. Once your casting is confirmed, you’ll need to do a pre-interview. Go to a bookstore and read some bestsellers, or at least watch some emotional films ahead of time.”
“Isn’t this straight-up fraud??”

Seo Ji-han had never been close to books. He wasn’t into movies either, and the few he’d seen were all silly, B-grade comedies dripping with humor. Emotional films? He couldn’t even name a single one in that category.

“What else can you do? Like you said, you can’t suddenly pop up on screen like, ‘Surprise, I’m actually a gamer-crazed nutcase,’ can you?”
“Nutcase, really, hyung?”

He was self-aware enough to know he wasn’t the calmest, most even-tempered person. But calling him a nutcase? That felt unfair.

“No, when you’re gaming, that’s about right. You walked here, didn’t you?”

Ji-han nodded. Tae-hyun picked up his car keys and the rest of his Americano, rising to his feet.

“Come on. Let’s take my car.”

Taking new profile photos for the portal sites was nothing but a nuisance. The lights were blinding, the makeup felt like it was melting off his skin, and staring straight into the camera lens was unbearably awkward.

After finishing the shoot, Ji-han received Roenuu coffee beans and a machine from Tae-hyun. The moment he got home, he scrubbed his face raw with cleansing oil and foam. Even in daily life, he carefully picked oil-free sunscreen, so this greasy “dewy glow” makeup—sticky enough to catch dust—was unbearable.

keyshan.tlie

• (Ji-han, in a white shirt and gray cotton pants, legs crossed on the sofa, holding a coffee cup near his lips.) 
• (Mirror selfie holding a bag of Roenuu beans.) 
• (New Roenuu coffee machine under soft lighting.) 

keyshan.tlie
Are you having a good day?
Let’s cheer up again today ☕
@roenuu_official

Comments:

• Oppa, please post pictures more often ㅠㅠㅠㅠ 
• For just one day, I want to be the sofa in your room, ffs. 
• Not mirror selfies!!!! I want a close-up face shot!!!! 
• Always supporting you from afar. 
• Your house looks amazing ㄷㄷ 
• ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 
• @hun91 our oppa said to buy coffee, let’s go. 

With dry eyes, Ji-han scrolled. These comments were aimed at Pianist Seo Ji-han, not the real him. He was thankful, but they didn’t touch him deeply. He could already imagine what would happen if they ever found out the real Seo Ji-han was a gamer who’d been banned for flaming.

He dropped a like on the new posts of a violinist and cellist he was friendly with, then locked his phone. Monitoring an ad post that wasn’t even his main job—just something done at the advertiser’s request—was tedious.

What was today, some cursed day?

Ji-han downed a jar of milk and even grabbed a beer. He really needed to break the habit of drinking while gaming, but this game simply didn’t allow him any peace.

More accurately, it was that bastard’s fault.

**[Whisper to AkashaPhilban]: You **, why the hell are you always like this every time we meet? Don’t you know me? How many times do I have to ask??
[Whisper from AkashaPhilban]: Got some nerve, huh? Aren’t you embarrassed?

They’d matched three times in a row. Enemy team, ally team, enemy team again. After finally a two-game break, they were matched together once more.

Every time, this guy picked fights with Ji-han. He stayed quiet when on the enemy side, but whenever they landed on the same team, he started stirring shit.

Normally, melee DPS wasn’t even a preferred role. They were glass cannons who had to get close to land skills—demanding top-notch mechanics, map awareness, growth efficiency, and overall sense. That’s why Ji-han often landed melee even when queueing for all roles.

But every time he matched with this guy, he somehow ended up as a tank. With four tank slots per match, it was another unpopular role.

Tanks had terrible growth since they couldn’t farm coins, which slowed item builds, which crippled damage output. Slow growth led to fewer kills, leading to fewer coins—an endless cycle. On top of that, tanks had short respawn timers, were underappreciated because their contributions didn’t show up on stats like KDA, and relied heavily on teammates. Even brilliant initiations got blamed if the team lost, and if enemies dove their lines, the tank was always faulted first.

In short, they were the punching bags of every match. Worst of all—it was boring. Unless you were one of the rare masochists who enjoyed soaking hits for forty minutes, almost everyone preferred to actually kill enemies.

So the system, desperate to keep games going, often forced Ji-han into tank while slotting others into double ranged DPS.

Had he been on his main melee role, he could’ve crushed that AkashaPhilban bastard’s pride. But stuck on tank, proving himself was much harder. To make it worse, AkashaPhilban was insanely good at tanking. Not just “good for Platinum,” but good enough that even in Legend tier, tanks with that level of sense were rare.

Which meant one thing: AkashaPhilban was better at tank than Seo Ji-han.

And the result?

Ding! Ding!

“Goddammit, I know already!”

That bastard spammed pings freely, treating Ji-han like a joke, covering it up as “coaching.”

It wasn’t like he was like this with other players. Maybe the first time they matched, he’d gotten triggered by something, but today, AkashaPhilban reserved all his harassment for Ji-han.

Sure, Ji-han’s tanking wasn’t at AkashaPhilban’s legendary level, but he was still more than competent—far above average Platinum standards.

If AkashaPhilban wanted to flame someone, he should’ve gone after the melee DPS diving alone and feeding the scoreboard, not just Ji-han. The selective ping-spamming was pure discrimination.

**[Whisper to AkashaPhilban]: Listen here, you piece of **. I’m asking where the hell you saw me before. If you checked my records, you’d know I just came back after three months.
[Whisper from AkashaPhilban]: Lol? Who said anything about three months? It’s a miracle you even made it to Platinum with skills like that.

“More than three months ago?”

But no matter how far back he racked his brain, Ji-han had never truly inted a game. On this alt, he didn’t care about rank, sure, but he always pulled his own weight.

And a miracle to reach Platinum?

JiniHaniJihani had never dropped below Platinum, except once during placements where he briefly fell into Gold. Even then, he’d clawed back almost immediately.

Was he edgy back then? Maybe. But gameplay-wise, he’d only been sharper.

[Whisper to AkashaPhilban]: Forget it. I’m raising this account properly, so stop clinging. Let’s just go our separate ways, alright??
[Whisper from AkashaPhilban]: lol

Ding! Ding!

[Whisper to AkashaPhilban]: You motherf—
[Whisper from AkashaPhilban]: Can’t DPS, can’t tank, why not just quit?

“Goddammit!! What the hell is this guy’s problem? Who even is he?”

Most people would’ve blocked or dodged matches by now. But AkashaPhilban? He didn’t even flinch at Ji-han’s tirades.

Ji-han wasn’t wrong in his calls, nor lacking in mechanics. The bastard was just targeting him on purpose, nitpicking relentlessly.

It made Ji-han suspect the truth.

There was no way this guy was just Platinum. He had to be a smurf. If his games played out normally, he’d be at least Master. In terms of skill alone, even among Legends, he’d rank high.

Maybe Ji-han had crossed him before as HanJiHanJang. Was this revenge?

But how would he know this was Ji-han’s alt? Had he hacked him in rage? Or guessed based on builds, traits, or rare items like the fox tails?

Ji-han’s history as HanJiHanJang was too long to even recall clearly. But even then, he’d never harassed a tank this skilled.

Or maybe that bastard had inted as melee and Ji-han had flamed him?

“Goddammit! He’s the one flaming, so why am I looking for reasons?”

[Whisper to AkashaPhilban]: Just answer me this. Do you know my main? Is that why you’re doing this?
[Whisper from AkashaPhilban]: Lol. What are you, a kid? Instead of typing, maybe keep proper vision control.
[Whisper to AkashaPhilban]: If you’re gonna harass me, at least give me a real reason! It’s driving me insane that you won’t just say it!!

Ding!