Translator: rainbowturtle
Rumors started to circulate in the Arena community, especially the Korean community. It wasnât known who started it, but one thing was for certain.
-Crescent Moon is moving to recruit pro gamers.
That alone was enough for Korean rankers to get excited.
Crescent Moonâthis name alone would make many people give up everything they currently had. Their affiliation? No matter how powerful and famous a guild was, it couldnât compare to Alley Leader. Everyone already knew that if they belonged to Crescent Moon, they could enter New World. The relationship between the two wasnât very clear, but it wasnât wrong that the previous Crescent Moon players had entered New World.
More things were added to the rumors little by little. The criteria for selecting players from Crescent Moon kept spreading and increasing.
-The level must be at least 300.
-Streamers arenât allowed.
-You must be under the age of 25.
-Finished high school without any problems.
It wasnât known who said it first, but it spread uncontrollably like fire. Sometimes people said they had been contacted, but they all turned out to be false.
***
A male who was too young to be called a man and too old to be called a boyâthis person who gave off an ambiguous image opened the door of the cafe and entered. The young man quickly turned his head and carefully examined the interior of the cafe. He seemed to be looking for something. The young manâs head stopped moving when he saw two men sipping coffee and talking with serious expressions.
âWe have to select the first person wellâ¦â
âIt will be fine. It doesnât matter even if it doesnât work out. There are still a bunch of names left.â
The young man heard the conversation between the two men as he approached. Then he stopped in front of their table.
âSupervisor Kang Ujong-nim?â the young man called out with a childish voice that had yet to mature.
âUh, yes. You came?â Kang Ujong, who was chatting with Jeong Byeongjin with a serious expression, smiled widely and greeted Yoo Hyeonsu.
âYes, Supervisor-nim. Your presence is bigger than before⦠I like it.â Yoo Hyeonsu pointed out the change in Kang Ujong.
It wasnât the first time Yoo Hyeonsu had met Kang Ujong. He knew Kang Ujong from before.
âI ate during my break, so I naturally gained weight. So why do you seem thinner? Havenât you been working out? I thought I told you to exercise and eat well? The game is all about physique, physique. Havenât you seen Alley Leader?â Kang Ujong scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression before attacking Yoo Hyeonsu in order to hide his embarrassment.
âThat⦠How can I do that? There is no one to take care of my meals. I just eat when playing Arenaâ¦â Yoo Hyeonsu scratched the back of his head embarrassedly too.
âIsnât this a bit serious?â Kang Ujong looked at Yoo Hyeonsu again and frowned. Then he got up from his seat and grabbed Yoo Hyeonsuâs wrist. Yoo Hyeonsuâs wrist seemed thinner than that of a woman.
âThis isnât right. You are a complete skeleton right now. You arenât a person. Follow me and pick something to eat. No, do you want to eat?â Kang Ujong felt like he had to save this person before making the scouting proposal.
âHuh? Eat?â
âYes, eat. Have you eaten?â
âNo, I havenât eaten yetâ¦â
âThen letâs go eat first. Byeongjin, we need to take care of him.â
Kang Ujong turned his head to look at Jeong Byeongjin. Jeong Byeongjin gathered up the papers and got up from his seat. Kang Ujong took the lead, followed by Jeong Byeongjin and Yoo Hyeonsu. They left the cafe and headed to a nearby meat restaurant. It was a place that Kang Ujong and Jeong Byeongjin visited regularly.
âIs beef okay?â Jeong Byeongjin asked Yoo Hyeonsu.
âItâs good. Beef. I couldnât eat it before.â Yoo Hyeonsu nodded.
He didnât have time to eat out, and he couldnât eat it because he was too lazy to grill it at home and clean up. However, when it came to beef, he could even eat it after just waking up.
âReally? Then eat a lot. I will treat you today.â Jeong Byeongjin smiled when he saw Yoo Hyeonsu like this.
Tap!
âWhy? Why did you hit me?â Jeong Byeongjin held his forehead that was just hit by Kang Ujong.
âAre you paying for it? You are using the corporate card. It isnât our money, so we can eat a lot without any burden. There is a lot left of the limit.â Kang Ujong placed an arm around Yoo Hyeonsuâs shoulder.
Crescent Moon gave really great benefits. The limit of the corporate card was higher than JT Telecomâs. It was impossible for them to use it all. The three of them opened the door of the restaurant and took their seats. Then they started ordering immediately.
Jeong Byeongjin was responsible for the order and said, âGive me two flower sets here.â
The flower set consisted of sirloin, tenderloin, and ribs. It was Jeong Byeongjinâs and Kang Ujongâs favorite dish because they could eat three different cuts at the same time. The boss who took the order pulled up a cart containing side dishes.
âI thought you had emigrated. Is this not the case, our Kang Ujong?â The boss seemed to know Kang Ujong.
Kang Ujong froze when he saw the bossâ face. âHyung, why are you here now?â
âI heard one part-timer would be late today, so I came first⦠I ended up meeting you like this.â
The boss put down the side dishes on the table with both hands and fired lasers from his eyes at Kang Ujong.
âWoocheol hyung, itâs been a long time.â Jeong Byeongjin greeted the restaurantâs boss, Kang Woocheol, without paying any attention to the conversation between the two of them.
âYes, Byeongjin. It really has been a while. Iâll give you a lot of service. Eat well and go, understood?â Kang Woocheol replied. Unlike with Kang Ujong, Kang Woocheol greeted Jeong Byeongjin with a very friendly smile.
Then Kang Woocheol walked toward the kitchen while dragging the empty cart.
âOh, if you donât come home this week, Mom will remove you from the household registration. You take care of it. If you donât buy a gift, Iâll place an iron plate on your back.â Kang Woocheol turned around midway and smiled slightly at Kang Ujong.
Then he disappeared into the kitchen.
âSupervisor-nim, do you know this person?â Yoo Hyeonsu asked as he looked in the direction where Kang Woocheol had disappeared.
âThat hyung is the boss here. He is Kang-ssi,â Jeong Byeongjin answered Yoo Hyeonsuâs question.
Kang Ujong and Kang Woocheolâthe two were brothers. The age difference between them was five years. However, the relationship between the two brothers was indeed good and overshadowed the age difference of five years. They were an immature older brother and a mature younger brother. The older brother didnât bully his younger brother using his age. It was just that he gave his younger brother all sorts of tests through his mother.
âDamn Hyung, using Momâ¦â Kang Ujong gulped while forgetting that Yoo Hyeonsu was sitting in front of him.
Kang Ujong had enjoyed having a long vacation with Jeong Byeongjin. The big problem was that he hadnât visited his home for more than three months.
âI didnât even buy Mom a giftâ¦â
In any case, his back was unlikely to remain intact the moment he stepped foot into his home.
âHere is the flower set. Please enjoy. This is a service.â Kang Woocheol served a large plate filled with meat.
Then he put three bottles of Coke on the table.
âIâll eat well, Woocheol hyung,â Jeong Byeongjin said to Kang Woocheol on behalf of Kang Ujong, who was in a daze.
âEat well and go. I have something to do, so Iâll go first.â Kang Woocheol grabbed his jumper from inside the store.
âGo well, Hyung.â Jeong Byeongjin got up from his seat and bowed to Kang Woocheol.
Yoo Hyeonsu saw it and also bowed. âCoach-nim, Iâll cook it.â
âIâm the type of person who canât eat meat unless it is cooked by an expert. I think I am much closer to an expert than you.â
After confirming Kang Woocheolâs disappearance, Jeong Byeongjin naturally picked up the tongs and started cooking the meat. Yoo Hyeonsu said he would cook the meat, but he was scolded by Jeong Byeongjin instead.
âCoach-nim, you called me today⦠Are you recruiting players?â Yoo Hyeonsu moved his lips several times and finally spoke up as he watched Jeong Byeongjin cooking the meat.
âHow did you know? I havenât sent out any emails or contacted you yet.â Jeong Byeongjin looked at Yoo Hyeonsu with a surprised expression. He hadnât contacted anyone yet. Jeong Byeongjin and Kang Ujong were still writing the emails and carefully deciding the priority of the contact order.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThere are already some rumors. The two of you are rejoining the professional league, and itâs with Crescent Moon.â
âHow can there be rumors when no one knows? We didnât reveal it on our side.â Jeong Byeongjin cocked his head.
He couldnât understand it. There werenât more than 10 people who knew that the two of them had been recruited to Crescent Moon: the three players of Crescent Moon; Moon Doyeong, who was the boss of Crescent Moon; and finally, Alley Leader.
âIf we include the two of us, itâs only seven peopleâ¦â
The people of Nike Management might know. They had quite a bit of power when it came to the operation of Crescent Moon.
âYet there is no way they will have contact with Hyeonsu.â
Nike Management was a busy company. They couldnât afford to come to the Korean community and spread such rumors.
âIt is just all rumors. However, the rumors are so specific that they seem true. If you enter the community, you will see the rumors right away. So everyone knows about it.â
Yoo Hyeonsu had only half-believed the rumors. Then yesterdayâs call from Kang Ujong that came suddenly gave him confidence. The rumors spread in the community and among the Korean rankers were real.
Kang Ujong opened his mouth to say, âSo what choice are you going to make? I am just saying it now but in fact, I wanted to pick you instead of Hanbaek when I was with JT Telecom. You are better in my view. However, I couldnât do so when thinking of the team. We needed a sharp spear, not a hard shield.â
Yoo Hyeonsu had participated in the entry test for JT Telecom in the past. The result was a failure. He was ahead of the applicants in every way, but he had no luck as he had a class that didnât match JT Telecomâs situation.
âAm I the first one?â Yoo Hyeonsu asked.
âYou are the first. If you join, I will listen to your opinion when selecting players in the future.â Kang Ujong brought out some shocking words.
Player selection rights meant Yoo Hyeonsu would share the work of the coaching staff and teamâs front desk with the players.
âAm I the captain?â
âYes. In the past, if there wasnât already Jinyong, I wouldâve picked you to be the captain at all costs. A sharp knife is important, but the most important thing is the head,â Kang Ujong answered.
âWhen do I join, Supervisor-nim?â
âIt can be from tomorrow. Join when you are comfortable.â
âThen Iâll pack up today and go to my accommodation tomorrow.â
âWelcome to Crescent Moon, Hyeonsu.â
This was the moment when Yoo Hyeonsu, one of the top 10 Korean tank players, became the first player to join Crescent Moon.