[✔] legends never die // skt faker

die

They had tried to look for Sang-hyeok, but to no avail. In the end, everyone had to go back to their hotel without him because it was getting late.

Wang-ho was worried.

Where was his Sang-hyeok hyung? Usually he was the most level-headed, calm one. He would be the one telling everyone to just ignore the hate comments, the blind criticism, the biased comments spouted by toxic people online. He would be the one who will motivate the team even when they suffer defeat.

He was the very essence of SK Telecom T1, a living legend alongside Coach Kim "Kkoma" Jung-gyun, and the botlane duo Bae "Bang" Jun-sik with Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan.

What would SKT be without their midlaner, the God of LoL, the Greatest LoL Player of All Time, the Lionel Messi of LoL, the Unkillable Demon King Lee Sang-hyeok?

Wang-ho sighed, looking out the hotel room window.

Where was he?

Just as Wang-ho considered calling Sang-yeok (they had failed to contact him before since Sang-hyeok's phone was turned off... But Wang-ho thought there was no harm in trying again), his phone rang.

Everyone in the room perked up.

"Is it him?" Coach asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wang-ho saw the contact name "Sang-hyeok hyung" flash across the screen and quickly nodded.

"Pick it up, pick it up," Jun-sik urged him.

Wang-ho did just that.

"Hello...?"

Sang-hyeok's voice was shaky and cracking, it was obvious that he had spent the past few hours crying non-stop.

Coach was the first to speak.

"Lee Sang-hyeok, where are you?" he asked sternly, but made an effort to be careful to not sound too angry at Sang-hyeok. He knew that the last thing his midlaner needed was someone scolding him. He needed pure emotional support right now.

Sang-hyeok sniffled. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure..." he replied.

Everyone looked confused. "What? How could you not know? Are you drunk?" Seung-hoon asked, not even hiding his shock. 

More sniffles can be heard. "I didn't drink. I just kept walking and walking and walking... And ended up here."

Coach frowned. Sang-hyeok was usually an observant person, for him to just walk without thinking and not know where he was... The loss must have been taking a much bigger emotional toll on Sang-hyeok than the Coach thought it did.

"Any landmarks around there?" Coach tried asking again, "Stay there. We'll pick you up-"

"No... It's okay. I don't think I want to go back."

"What do you mean, hyung? You're not safe out there!" Wang-ho protested, "You have to come back, please!"

"Wang-ho's right, Sang-hyeok," Jae-wan chimed in, obviously worried for his teammate of three years, "Don't do anything stupid, please."

"Hyung, please come back. Please don't make any rash decisions," Ha-neul added.

Soft sobbing can be heard from the other end of the line.

"I don't know, I really don't know how I'm going to face all of you. It's all my fault we lost. I should've... I should've carried the team better-"

Jun-sik cut in before he could finish. "That's bullshit, Sang-hyeok!" he shouted, enraged that his teammate was feeling that way, "It's MY fault, not yours! You carried us to the end, Sang-hyeok, you did well!"

Coach joined in. "Sang-hyeok. You carried the whole team even though everyone was lacking or left behind," he stated, "You have almost nothing to be sorry about! Don't go too hard on yourself, just come back here and we'll talk things out-"

Silence. Not even a sniffle or a sob could be heard.

By now everyone was getting worried. The pin drop silence on the end of the line almost seemed to imply that Sang-hyeok had...

"Hyung?" Wang-ho spoke up, speaking as if he was treading in eggshells, "Are you there..?"

A soft "Mhm" came and everyone immediately let go of the breath they didn't realize they were holding.

"We don't blame you," Wang-ho continued, "Please tell us where you are so we can come get you, alright? We can even go destroy some noobs on ranked if you want to."

"Everyone says it's my fault for getting caught."

Seung-hoon rolled his eyes. "Have you been reading those online comments?" He spat, his hatred for trolls increasing by the second. How dare they? "They're bullshit. Those are just words by some bronze shitheads who think they're better than everyone else. Don't let it get to you, Sang-hyeok!"

"But they've been saying the same thing for years... It must be true, right?"

"FUCK NO it's not!" Seung-hoon hissed, "Those fuckers-" Coach stopped him before he could continue.

Jun-sik, consumed by guilt, only stared as his Coach sighed softly and calm the rest of the team down. Even Ha-neul, who was usually the shy, quiet one, looked ready to kill someone at that time.

Jun-sik could only hope Sang-hyeok will finally cooperate and let them help him.

Jae-wan and Sung-gu were huddled by the computers, trying to track down Sang-hyeok's phone location. The two were focused on their jobs, working as fast as possible.

"Almost there!" Jae-wan whispered loud enough for the coach and the team but not Sang-hyeok to hear.

"Sang-hyeok ah," Coach nodded at Jae-wan and tried to buy some time, "Come on, please. Come back to the hotel. We promise we don't blame you for anything. We just want you back here, safe and sound..."

The silence came again, and everyone was afraid that he had hung up.

Wang-ho quickly interrupted, "Hyung! Don't give up yet, legends never die remember?"

A soft chuckle can be heard from the other end.

"Ah, you're right. Legends never die..."

Sang-hyeok sounded more peaceful and at ease now, much to everyone's relief. It was great to know that he was finally calming down and coming to his senses.

Even better news, they had stalled enough time. Jae-wan began grinning as a map loaded on the screen.

"Okay, guys! We've tracked his-"

And that's when they heard a loud "Bang!" from the other end of the line.