EPT
I.
He stole my breath away again. It was just a fleeting glimpse through the crowd of people surrounding the Heart of the Swarm playing area, but it was enough. I launched myself into the line for HotS, played a quick abusive game against the AI (lol 22 range), then immediately went to observe my love in action as he engaged in furious battle with The Dong.
At the time I wasn't aware, but generally, you weren't allowed to approach the players. Security will stop you before you get a chance. But Bisu was sweet enough to respond to anyone who addressed him. I stepped towards him after his game and he smiled when I handed him my new MLG mousepad. We had a short exchange, in which he inquired if I was Korean and I disappointingly shook my head, wishing I could answer to the contrary. Even though the whole thing lasted only a few seconds, I cherished every moment.
Immediately after, a voice from behind called me away from him. Little did I know, someone had recognized me from TL. It was a befuddling moment of, "Who, me?" and disbelief that someone would claim to be my fan and actually request my signature, even though by all accounts, I really am nobody.
So to Dylan, thanks for being my first fan (and so far, only!). Keep that autograph safe, it'll be worth millions someday ;3
II.
Stork remembered me. Bisu never would, I had already resigned myself to that fact. To him, I was just another fangirl who walked by, blushing furiously, got an autograph, thanked him, and left. The next time we met, he would not recall who I was.
But Stork did. Over half a year had passed since last we met, but still, I had a place in his memory.
My on-the-spot conversational Korean skills are depressingly poor. As we moved down the autograph line towards him, it took all the courage I could muster to initiate a conversation. It wasn't easy; Bisu was seated right before Stork, and my heart was racing out of my chest long before I had even reached either of them.
All dialogue in Korean.
Me: Stork, do you remember me by any chance?
SBG: Hm?
Me: Last year at WCG, we met and I bought your uniform.
SBG: WCG? Busan?
Me: Yes!
SBG: ...Ahhhh! Yes, I remember. Wow, it's been a really long time. I didn't think I'd see you here. Do you live in America?
Me: Yes, I'm American. I traveled to Korea for vacation. [not strictly true, but I forgot how to say 'study abroad']
SBG: Ah, I see. It's a pleasure meeting you again, after seven or eight months.
I missed the second half of his last sentence, and stared at him in confusion. Right as I frantically called Smix over to help, Stork, realizing what the problem was, thought to himself for a second, then repeated his words to me in English. It was quite surprising and impressive, and I was grateful that he had saved us from the inevitable awkward silence born of my idiocy. I thanked him, face burning red, and moved on to Calm, who had already grabbed the pad and finished signing it before I even noticed he had it.
Now I just wonder if he'll remember me the next time as well :>
III.
Day[9]. We all know the name. Revered and beloved player, caster, and esports celebrity, ever is there a huge mob whenever he steps into the public. It never really occurred to me that I would at any point be able to casually meet and converse with him. But sometimes, things work out better than you expect them to.
After Ken introduced us, I held out my hand in greeting. But instead of simply shaking it, Sean took my hand and bowed, with a gracious, "My lady."
That, by itself, had already won me over. But what really made my day was when, after being told I was a TL writer, he mentioned that he had seen and remembered my work. It was kind of a stunning moment. "Wow. Day[9] knows about me? No way." It was pretty satisfying to know that given the ridiculous hours the SPL team put in every week, that someone as busy as Day[9] would read and appreciate our coverage as well.
He chatted animatedly about what he'd been up to, and about his vacation, while idly playing with a cup of water. At some point, he must have forgotten it still had liquid inside of it, and overturned it on the surface of an arcade machine. My immediate reaction was to turn and run for a napkin. His, on the other hand, was to plop down on the machine and wipe it away with his butt, with an innocent expression on his face, drawing laughter from us all. Truly, it was a pleasure to meet such a personality.
IV.
4 TLers showed up to MLG in their Hwaseung Oz jackets. Though a sweet gesture to give Jaedong support, we all worried that the sight of his old team's uniform would make him upset. But no such thing occurred. He laughed when they approached and stood up to take a photo with them, even though it technically wasn't allowed.
"HANA, DEUL, SET, LEE JAEDONG FIGHTING!" we all chanted in unison. He beamed brightly. Cameras flashed from all directions as press gathered in; even the OGN crew came to film, as Jaedong was surrounded by Hwaseung red.
The other players teased him about it afterwards, Flash and Bisu in particular. But Jaedong just smiled sheepishly.
Seeing the great reactions really made me wish I had worn my KHAN jacket
V.
In Proleague, players have to be professional. In the booth, on the bench, in the interviews, with few exceptions, they remain stoic and nonchalant. Sometimes people will complain that they lack personalities, but that is far from the truth.
You probably all saw what happened when Jaedong was let loose on Sunday night. He ran up to the stage during Flash's interview on Lo3, grabbed the microphone, and yelled to the crowd, "I LOVE AMERICA!" Flash was so doubled up in laughter afterwards, he had trouble answering the questions. He definitely wasn't the only one.
It was a joy to see the young side of Jaedong, the one that's still full of laughter, full of life. Week after week, all he showed on camera was a somber, tired, sometimes defeated, and with good reason. But this night he spent worry-free, giggling with Flash and Leta and babbling to foreigners in what little English he knew. Both he and Flash fit in so well in the new environment; even though they couldn't speak the language, their energy and humor crossed all barriers. Bisu as well, usually so serious on camera, could be a complete goofball, squabbling with Flash like little brothers as they played some basketball arcade game together, shoving each other lightly every time one of them scored.
Often times, it's easy to forget they're still boys, so young in their early 20s (or in Flash's case, late teens), because of that aura of maturity and professionalism they project whenever in uniform.
It was nice to be reminded.
VI.
There was a while at the Sunday Night Barcraft in the VIP lounge where Stork was sitting on a couch and sipping a drink on his own. I desperately wanted to approach him and talk to him, but my phobia of speaking to Koreans and making a fool of myself in front of them was far too much to overcome. And eventually, in my moronic hesitation, he had slipped away. I'm still kicking myself for throwing away that chance for one-on-one conversation.
WaxAngel came to keep me company as I despaired, and suggested that we try talking to Soulkey, who was standing alone nearby.
Let me just say, Soulkey is not exactly a Jaedong. He kept quietly to himself, even when Leta tried to drag him along and inject some of his wild party animal spirit into him. Wax called him over and he walked tentatively towards us, where we all engaged in a ridiculous conversation comprised of butchered English, wild hand motions, and confused looks.
"Hey Soulkey! Soulkey, you good," I said.
"Yes. Soulkey, you better than Zero!" Wax remarked.
He looked lost, baffled as to why a guy who had previously translated for them was now yelling English phrases at him like he could understand.
"Soulkey. You. Zero. You better than him."
"Zero. Myungwoonie. You know?"
We showered him with more gibberish English praise, until he eventually nodded, thanked us, then moved away hastily from the two crazy foreigners.
"So why didn't you just talk to him in Korean? We confused the hell out of the poor guy," I asked afterwards.
Wax shrugged and said, "It's just more fun. They're used to Korean fans already. They're here to interact with foreign fans."
Later, I spotted Fantasy, who was talking with a surprising amount of charisma and confidence to some cute girl near the bar, and requested a photo. I decided to take that advice to heart and said to him in English, "I hope T1 kicks ass in Proleague again this season. And make me proud in OSL okay?" He probably didn't understand half the things I said, but nevertheless, I hope my meaning was conveyed.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5aSWM.png)
VII.
When you spend the entire weekend tagging along with Hotbid everywhere he goes, you're bound to observe and/or become the victim of nonstop trolling. Thus is the way of the world.
I'd lend him my laptop for a few minutes, just to come back and find him sending tweets to himself under my name about how awesome he is. Or leaving nasty mod notes on my account about how I'm a bad team player in DotA 2. He'd play with my heart cruelly, yelling out "LOOK! THERE'S BISU!" randomly, causing me to whip around, heart racing, only to see some nerd in an MLG shirt.
He would put meticulous preparation into his dumb jokes. For lunch, he bought a bag of cookies for the sole purpose of tricking people into thinking he was a callous bastard. After goading people into telling him stories, he'd reply nastily, "What, you want a cookie or something?" Almost everyone (except zemotion, who was adorably oblivious) responded with incredulous looks and disgust. Then he would burst into a bright and innocent smile, pull the bag out of his pocket, and actually give out cookies. It was stupid. It was ridiculous. But it was also priceless.
But in the end, in spite of (or is it because of?) all his antics, there's still nobody else I'd rather have as my brother ♥
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/e5UhE.png)
VIII.
Mafia with TL is the best. ^5 Suppy & Ret, SUCK IT GHOSTCLAW. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
IX.
Other random moments that I only just remembered:
- Flash, Fantasy, Leta, and Bisu playing foosball. Cuteness level: infinity. But they're also spinning noobs.
- Jinro wearing his TL shirt backwards for an entire morning before someone else had to tell him why it felt so tight LOL
and OMGOMG a picture with fantasy! (the cute girl at the bar was obviously u)![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/RNK7P.png)
