(Faker × Reader)

AU:Pro Player! Reader

Interview: https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/5144/faker-currently-im-a-midlaner-ranked-at-about-4th-honestly-im-not-confident-enough-im-not-sure-that-ill-do-well-again

Based on a interview Faker had around 5/29/18 or so about the future. It made me sad reading it but gave me an idea for a story. This is sort of a sequel to 'Godly Duo'. For most of my oneshots I write with Faker are most likely are going to revolve around that oneshot because I think it makes a little more sense to have more like prequels or sequels to it. I mostly might write Faker oneshots more often than others because I love him the most.

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After retaining S.C.S /Season Central Showdown(Frontier Hunter version of MSI) for the 3rd time you and your team were on vacation for one and a half months. S.C.S started around late-April to mid-May because majority of the spring tournments start in early to mid January unlike LCS does. Your team was back in Chicago either playing or packing to pass time because in a few week you guys would be going to your summer house in the Philippines. But you decided to take the first 2 weeks to go to South Korea. You wanted to visit Seoul mostly because you missed the place but also to visit SKT and see how they're doing. The last time you visited them was during the pre-season but from watching their spring split performance you couldn't help but worry about the mental state of all of them, especially Faker. You were concerned about him the most because what happened at worlds 2017 then 2018 spring placing 4th and not going to MSI hit him hard. You just wanted to check up on them to see how things are and maybe have a one on one talk with him.

You had just landed at the Seoul international airport and are on your way to your hotel suite that is usually checked out to you. Once you got there, you put you backpack and laggauge down and took a nap because it was 6:00 am in morning and also you left around nighttime in the Chicago. So you were knocked out for 2 hours then woke up because you got hungry. You got up and eat breakfast then headed out to the SK Telelcom building. You were still the tech expert for them so as soon you entered the building you showed them your I.D and they let you go to the upper levels. You went inside the elevator and clicked the button on the floor the SKt team was on. As you waited, your mind is drifted off and you were in a slight gaze. You immediately snapped out of it when the scene of Faker crying entered you mind, but also because it stopped at the floor. You walked out of the elevator into the hall and walk down it to find the players.

You've met Thal, Blossom, and Effort already. You also did hear about Pirean and Leo but you didn't met them yet. You thought it was weird to know that Kkoma wanted another set of subs but then again, he's the Head Coach now and shockingly enough Bengi is a coach along with poohmandu. There were so many changes happening to SKT especially after that they lost worlds and Coach Ccarter left before season 8 began was something you really aren't getting use to. But what can you do about it? Nothing really, but only help and support them the best you can. You walked towards Kkoma's office and knocked on the door. You heard a faint 'come in' and went inside the office. Kkoma was looking at something on his phone while the t.v had one of their games on. He didn't notice that it was you though so he assumed it was one the players.

"What do you want this time-(Name)?!"

"It's been awhile, Coach Kkoma-nim."

You held out your hand while Kkoma got up from his chair and came over to you. You both shook hands but then he shook his head and hugged you. You didn't expect a hug but you did accept it. He released you and smiled.

"(Name), what are you doing here?! I thought you were back in America with your team."

"Right now we're on vacation for about a month and a half and I'll meet them in the Philippines for the rest because I have a summer house there. Also, I wanted to visit and see how all of you are doing. I missed all of you."

"Thanks for your concern, (Name). I do appreciate it. They don't know you're here, do they?"

"Nope, they don't Coach."

"Alright then, lets see what they're up to right now."

You nodded your head in agreement and left the office with Kkoma. Once you got to the giant space, you saw all the players on their computers. Unsurprisingly, grinding on League which should be normal by now. None of them noticed you, yet. Blank was recently done with a game and was about to queue again until he saw you with Kkoma. He jumped out of his chair and went running towards and shouted for you.

"Noona!!!"

You turn to see Blank running at you with a smile on his face. You chuckled at his childness while opening your arms to greet him. He ran into your arms and picked you up slightly still holding you tight. You just hugged him with the same amount of force. He then put you down and released his hug. The players looked up to see why Blank yelled and were in disbelief because it was you. Luckily, they were in a long solo queue wait or suerfing the internet beforehand. They got up from their desks and went over to where you were. They all surrounded you with as they wanted to greet you. There were lots of hugs and high fives given to you, you asked how they've been and they all said they were all fine.

"(Name), what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back in NA with your team?" Bang asked

"I was but we're on vacation and after spending my time here in Seoul, I'll meet them in the Philippines to take them to my summer house." You responsed

They all nodded their heads in understanding at your response. You then looked around and counted the players but after counting them there was someone missing; Faker. You thought he was in the bathroom but his station was untouched from today. You also didn't see his stuff and wondered where he was at.

"Um, but where's Sang-Hyeok?"

"He's doing an interview right now at OGN. It should be over soon and he should be coming back from there." Coach Kkoma answered.

You just nodded at acknowledgement and decided to wait for him here at the building. You just played Frontier Hunter, League or talked and played along with the players. You just used Faker's station for the meantime before he gets back. It was slightly chilly in the room so you put on a hoodie and decided to put on the hood because why not. An hour has passed and Faker has just returned from the interview. He walks on into the gaming work space and notices that his station was taken. He didn't know who it was but the sweater looked familiar. He put his stuff down and walked over and before he got close enough, you stood up and pulled off your hoodie to reveal yourself. Sang-Hyeok froze at your reveal and after that you waved at him to get his attention. He didn't expect you at all to be here.

"(Name)?!"

"Hi Sang-Hyeok😁"

Normally he's not one with PDA, which was fine with you, but he did miss you as not only your's and his profession but also being in a long-distance relationship was a challenge too; he went towards you and hugged you tight. You didn't get to see him for 5 months so you hugged him back as well. You guys stayed like this for a minute before you guys pulled apart when Blossom starts gushing at you two.

"I'm so happy to see you, (Name). Thought you were on vacation back in NA with your team."

"I am but I wanted to spend my time with you guys for this and next week then I'm leaving to meet up with them in the Philippines for 3 weeks because I have a summer house there." You replied to him.

He just only smiled in response. You logged out from his computer and grabbed another gaming chair for you to sit in and just watched him playing his games while also joking with others. It happen until around Lunch was when everyone took a break and ate their food. After that, they all went back on the usually League grind again. At times when Faker had to use the bathroom you would play for him 'til he gets back. You would get a kill or 2 then die right after, by the time that happens he comes back and you let him take his place. It happend until late at night where you got tired and needed to head back to the hotel to sleep. You gathered your stuff while saying your goodbyes to everyone. Faker still had to stay at the SKT building for a few more hours before heading home so he wanted to walk you to the hotel. The both of you left the building to head to your hotel, the walk from the two places wasn't long like maybe 15 minutes. You two didn't talk much while walking but wasn't an arkward silence, it was more pleasant and serene. When you got to the hotel, you remember that your room was on the higher levels and you on told Faker that you would just go to your room by yourself. But Faker insisted on taking you to your room though so you let him. Once you got to your room, Faker was waiting for you to enter then he would leave. But the thing was you didn't want him to leave yet so when you swipe your keycard and the door opened you turned around and told him 'something was in his hair'. Before he was going to pick it himself you stepped in and said you would do it for him. So you just fakely swiped and picked at his hair for a bit then stop but kept your hands on the sides of his face. Afterwards, you tilted his head forward slightly and pressed a kiss on his forehead before taking your hands off of him and going into the room. He got stunned for a second then grinned at you. You smiled and said good night to him, he also said good night before you closed the door. Once closed, he left and you just stood at the door and started smiling like an idiot before going to bed.

---Time Skip---

With that, this was your routine for the time you're saying here. It stayed like this for a week and a few days until you decided to take a day off to venture out in Seoul. You did a little shopping for some knit-knats or stuff animals, little bit of both, for the U.S. You decided to get a drink at a cafè and relax. As you sat down and sipped your drink, you scrolled through your feed on ESPN for E-Sports. Most of the news was of S.C.S and your team keeping the title for a 3rd year. But one of the head lines was of something you were wondering: Faker's interview. You wondered what he was asked and talked about, so being curious you tapped and read the interview. What you didn't expect was the answers he made for the interview. But one of his responses stood out to you, and not in a good way.

'I'm not confident enough that I'll do well again'

That quote, that right, made you wince physically. You would have expected this types of answers but you never knew they can hurt you that much. After reading the whole interview, you turned off your phone and put your head in your hands. You felt like someone decide to shoot an arrow at your heart then not only did they pull it out, they also grabbed a brick to smash it. Yet You, for some reason, felt familiar to this. But you were emotionally stressed after reading that you decided to head back the hotel. Even when you reached your hotel room, that interview plagued your mind. You began to worry about your Faker and needed to have a one on one conversation with him to see how he's (really) holding up. It sounds really fake to get something emotional personally out of Faker but it isn't impossible. During the duration of your (hidden) relationship, he begin opening up to you about about alot of things. Even if it was slow process, there was good progress from him. This meant somewhat a lot to you because you know how he wasn't open about his life outside of League and being reserved person. You also know he was like that only with his family, so it made you feel lucky that he trust you that much. Besides that, you wanted to spend time with him before you left Korea because he had to get ready for the Asian Games 2018.

Right now you knew he was in queue so you couldn't call him on his phone because he's busy. Instead, you decided to text on Discord (yes, Discord) and let him respond in his free time when he gets the chance. Surprisingly, you got a notification that he responded back to you.

Hide on Bush: (Name), what's up?

(IGN):Sorry to be bothering you but I was wondering if you're off and free tomorrow.

Hide on Bush: I'm on Lunch break so you're not actually. But yes, I'm free and off tomorrow. Why are you asking?

(IGN): Ummmmmmmmm, because I want to spend time with you before I leave and you go on your LOL grind😓.

Hide on Bush: Oh, I can do that (Name) so don't worry. What do you have in mind?

(IGN):Something simple, wonder around Seoul and go to a park. I mean the weather is really nice the next day.

Hide on Bush: Ok, sounds alright to me. What time do you want me to pick you up?

(IGN): Around the afternoon like 1:00pm.

Hide on Bush: Ok, I'll get you from the hotel tomorrow.

(IGN): Sounds good. See you then and have a good afternoon. P.S-Don't overwork yourself.

Hide on Bush: Don't worry I won't and see you soon.

You closed the Discord app on your phone and pulled out your laptop to watch youtube videos until it was nighttime where you got tired and wanted to catch some snoozes. But you fell asleep on your bed with your laptop still on and phone uncharged, so when you woke up your laptop dead and hot along with your phone being a 5%(previously 82%). You checked the time on the alarm clock next to your bed and it was luckily 11:00am so you had time. You plugged in your dead laptop and phone before you got ready yourself. You just wore a hoodie(with T-shirt), black cacky's capri with gym shoes. You waited for Faker to come get you to go hang out. You just laid in bed looking up at the ceiling until you heard a knock on the door. You jolted up, grabbed your phone and opened the door where Faker was there in the flesh. He was just wearing a hoodie and sweats so you didn't really not to worry about underdressing.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked

"Yeah, let's head out" you answered

You closed the door and the both of you walked out of the hotel and into the city of Seoul.

----Time Skip----

You two just walked around Seoul. I mean, Seoul's pretty big and even if you walked the city yesterday it would take awhile to see the whole city. You went into a nearby cafè to eat and get a drink. Before you even entered the cafè he said straightforward that he would pay for both of your meals, even when you said you would pay or split the bill, he was serious dead in the eyes so you backout and let him do it. But he was silent for most of the meal. It's not like this has happen where you two haven't exchanged some words when you would go out because you two just like eachother's company and the silence that falls between it all. But Sang-Hyeok kept making short quick glances at you when you were just focused on your food and whenever you looked up and make the slightest eye contact with him, he just whips his head to look outside the window averting his eyes from your's. At this point, you knew something was bothering him for real as it was restricting him from doing daily things. But also knowing him, he didn't really know how to act in certain social situations so you have to help him with that. Beside the point, you saw how he wanted to say something but couldn't as it wouldn't come out the way he wanted to so he kept his mouth shut. You had an idea on why he was like this and that's why you're out with him. After finishing your meals, you threw them away and left the cafè to go to a park nearby. You weren't wrong when you said the weather was nice with no clouds in the sky at all but somewhat sunny.

You saw a tree that wasn't occupied by anyone with a good amount of shade. You lead him and sat under the tree next to him. He sat criss-cross while you sat with your knees near to your face. You leaned your head on his shoulder, his whole body tensed up. When you noticed that he wasn't relaxing and was still stiff. You picked your head to face him.

"Sang-Hyeok, Did I make you uncomfortable.?" You asked

"Uhhhhh No, (Name). You're not, it's just that I..." Faker said stuttering to find words while waving his hands frantically.

You giggle at him because it was funny to see him out his usually character. But you sighed heavily as the thought of his well-being and the team passed your mind. Your smile fell and became slight frown.

"Sang-Hyeok, how are you doing? Did you get enough or some sleep? Do you eat enough food everyday? How many hours do you push yourself? Have you been sick before I came here?"

You bombarded him with questions with a concerned face and tone. He stared at you with a suprised look. Asking these types of questions wasn't new to him as you were like that to the team and him but you showing a lot of emotion in them was something he didn't expect out of you.

"Woah, woah (Name), What's with all of these sudden questions?"

"...I've just been worrying about you , that's all. I just wanted to know if you're still ok after...you'know."

"(Name), you're just overworrying yourself on small things-"

"Not only that, I watched your guys streams. When Jae-Sik ah(Bang) was streaming during the first few months, he had dark circles, DARK RINGS around his eyes. I can tell he didn't get enough sleep at all. Your's weren't as bad but I did notice them."

"(Name) it's fi-"

"I also read your interview from a week ago yesterday"

Now Faker couldn't speak, his eyes widen along with his lips being pressed into a thin line. Yes he was aware of what he said but thought you wouldn't bring it up.

"Sang-Hyeok, what's wrong?"

When you asked him, it seems all the stress he had just left him making him look exhausted as he runned his hands through his face.

"It's just hard for me to find confidence nowadays. I want to do good and go to Worlds but I don't know if I ever be able to. I also feel the pressure of being #1 along with my name sake. I'm not like what I used to be and it's putting stress on me. I'm more harder on myself than I used to and don't believe in myself enough to do well. I look to you for some motivation and I sometimes wish I can be like you. Confident and determined, also knowing how to carry the team when they need it. I want to be find the confidence and determination that you've always had that I don't." He said

Then it dawned you. This conversation, this situation, was deja vu. The reason why it felt so familiar to you because you were in the exact position as Faker is now two years ago. But at that time, it was you asking him for advice and help; now it's him asking you for help and advice. The irony was too good and you smiled as nostalgia hit you. To you though, you knew what he was feeling and to say the least it was anxious and stressful. But you kept the smile on your face because you still have hope, hope for him and Skt.