New Beginning and Future

Chapter 52: Ink, Rain, and Quiet Things That Matter

Summary: As the storm subsides and the world pauses before its next demand, moments once brushed aside take center stage, contracts, acknowledgments, quiet walks beneath rain-soaked skies. Some victories are signed in ink. Others are felt in silence. And in between them, something softer blooms: recognition, presence, and the kind of peace only the right person can bring.

Overprotective: ZGDX
Overprotective/Possessive/territorial: Chessman
Chessman is literally his own warning when it concerns his girl

Notes:

⚠️ Author's Note: Our girl never changes!

Disclaimer: The Muse would like to remind everyone we do not own FIYS nor the beloved characters nor any dialogue from either the show nor the book...the Muse is very sad and not pleased with this continued reminder that they do not own them and never will!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Fifty-Two

Two days after the match against YQCB, the ZGDX base had fallen into a temporary lull, a rare and fragile calm before the coming storm that would be their final showdown with CK. The team wasn't idle by any means, practice sessions were still scheduled, comms reviewed, clips studied, but for the moment, the grinding pressure that had pressed down on them like iron had eased, just enough to let them breathe, to catch up on things left untouched in the frenzy of competition.

And that's exactly what Yao was doing. Specifically, hunting down a certain jungler who had disappeared the moment scrims ended for the afternoon. She found him right where she expected, the common room, half-sprawled across the couch, socked feet propped up on the coffee table, earbuds in, eyes closed, a half-finished bottle of sports drink dangling from one hand.

Lao K, usually all sharp rotations and aggressive tempo in-game, looked unbothered, serene even, soaking up the last minutes of quiet like a cat in a sunbeam.

Yao didn't hesitate. She walked in, crossed the room without a word, and dropped a manila folder onto his stomach with a muted whump.

Lao K jolted slightly, blinking up at her with a scowl, earbuds popping out. "What the hell—"

"Read it," she said, crossing her arms and staring down at him like a queen addressing one of her knights.

Lao K frowned, sitting up slowly as he picked up the folder and opened it. His eyes scanned the front page, then the second, then the third, and his frown deepened. "Is this... a contract?" he asked slowly, flipping through the pages again, confusion clear on his face. "Publishing royalties? Wait—wait. What?"

Yao nodded once. "For the book I've been finishing. The one you helped with."

He blinked hard. "I didn't help, I just threw some ideas around while you were struggling with fight mechanics and that one stupid scene with the canyon—"

"You built half the combat system for that arc," she interrupted, voice even. "You gave me the kill chain for the duel, the pathing for the ambush scene, and that whole nightmare raid boss encounter structure. That's more than just 'throwing ideas around.'"

Lao K hesitated. "Still, this is... you don't have to—"

"I know, dear cousin" Yao said, cutting him off gently. "But I want to. And I do things properly." She reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a second, smaller slip of paper. "Aunt Wei drew this up, and Uncle Yeon already looked it over. He said he's willing to represent you officially if you want him to handle any future inquiries or appearances."