Episode 0-5 Aftermath (6)
Episode 0-5 Aftermath (6)
Friday
Through the day I've been thinking about the search for a gaming capsule this coming weekend with her (Maribelle), so I've been researching since I don't have any knowledge about that kind of console.
I should talk to dad about this kind of thing; my dad current work is the lead engineer of the military technology in the US which he is currently staying in Washington.
I'll call dad later at night because its afternoon at that time of day, we didn't talk that much since he was always busy with work and also have a family on his own too just like mother.
It was a pleasant day, morning exercise then breakfast, therapy, and go to my house but I thought Maribelle because she didn't see these guys in a while so I call her to invite to the potluck party later and pick her up.
I get my phone and call her up. Ringing is all I hear for a solid forty seconds before she picks it up.
"JJ!" She said to me as if I wake her up early in the morning.
"Hello!" matching her shout, I don't know why but the way she talks is so positive, I want to have that kind of energy she has or match that.
"Why did you call today? It seems so unusual to call somebody, and this early in the morning too." She said in a sleepy tone
"My teammates and colleagues in the team are coming over here for a Potluck. You know, simple gathering for the belated celebration of our run this year so do you wanna come by and eat dinner with us?"
"Sure! As long as Charice (Cha) is there, I'll be going."
"Don't worry because Cha and Ken did plan this."
"Is there something to bring since it's a potluck."
"Bring Ice cream, it will be much appreciated."
"Noted. What will you cook for your contribution?"
"Menudo."
"You know what? I'll call Mang Bern to pick me up early."
"The dinner starts at 7 pm and I started prepping the ingredients about right now. By the time you're here let's say umm, 5:40 scratch that 6 pm so it's not fully cooked yet."
"Nah, dude. I'll go there early to taste your Menudo right when I arrive there."
"Really woman? *sigh* just go here then"
"Yeah, bye!" she happily said to me
"Bye."
-----------
Maribelle arrives as expected, 6:03 pm. The Menudo is about to be finished in a few minutes simmering, I open the gate for her and saw her. Simple White polo and black skirt above her knee seeing her face with light make-up which defines her eyebrows and lashes in her brown eyes, and she is wearing flats now.
"Hey, come on in. It's about to be cooked through."
"Really, nice!"
"Offer some food to Mang Bern before he goes."
"Wag na po, sir thank you!" Mang Bern said to me.
"You sure?" then he nods "Okay then, Ingat ka." Out of habit phrase for me since Mang Bern will go to the Montemayor House which is redundant of how near it is from my house to Maribelle's home. I take a bath in my room while Maribelle is looking out the Menudo in low heat on the gas stove and put the ice cream at the fridge.
--------------------
7:27 pm when I hear the bell ringing and I approach in the gate and saw the Gang waiting in Ken's Van with Ren's Car beside while Maribelle is eating the Menudo blowing the spoonful of rice and pork on top.
"Open the gate on the other side! We will park on the side outside your garage." Ken shouts at me when he sees me at the front door.
"Okay!" I go to the left gate. I open the gate there to park because it has open space about 10 square meters so it's big enough to park to 2 cars on the left end, I open the garage house by pressing it on the side to where my car is parked and also all the tables and chairs in storage there.
"Hey, Ken! Setup the tables and chairs on the right side of the garage while I get the plastic utensils and plates." I said to Ken still parking and getting the charger for the car, the car uses gas but I need to charge it because I will turn on Nidalee which uses battery on the car so I need to put the charger at the inside of the back compartment so it will be a pain in the ass later if I want to use the car tomorrow and pull out the internet cable connected to the house also so it can talk to us efficiently.
I get my keys and turn on the car but not the engine since it can be turned on by just the electric dependent functions of the Hellcat.
"Copy!" They all said in unison out of habit even though I only talk only Ken. *sigh* as long as they set it up, doesn't matter anyway.
"Nidalee, turn your speaker on the outside so you can talk to them."
"They visit at our house! Really!? HI GUYS!!!" She happily said to them.
"Hi, Nidalee!!" They all said in unison and I go to the house to get my Menudo and other things in the kitchen while they talking to her together with arranging the tables and chairs.
I see the kitchen that all the plastic plates, spoons, forks, and cups are already at the kitchen table beside the sink, and Maribelle winks at me. I silently said to her "Thank you!" because I only have to do is to put Menudo in the big serving bowl.
"Will you tell them about your plan on retirement?" She asks me with a mellow expression of hers.
"I'll tell them before they leave or when the topic of my plans in the future. I need to tell them now and I don't want to surprise Ken on Monday so it should be now. I need Ken to be there with my teammates when I tell them, it might spoil the evening though."
"Sus, I don't think so. I'm sure they will be relieved because they worry they didn't know what will you do in the future."
"Weh? How did you know?" I said to her doubting what she said.
"Well, they chat with me daily constantly since the day you got to the hospital. Charice cried sometimes when we talk about you while we calling each other, despite all are worried about you but Jha is the one worry the most because it's like Déjà vu to Ren's accident."
"Tsk. Yeah, your right about that. I didn't think about Jha, I need to tell them carefully since he was the one who easily loses morale to the team. It would stagnant his growth in a short time and the team won't need that kind of obstacle for next season." I need to reconsider the options on what will I do together with them, despite retiring I need to do something for them before I leave to them all the responsibilities because it will cause worry to the team in the future without me in there so I don't want to be reckless in this transition.
"How about talking to Ken First before you say that to the team so you can plan on what will you say, I can see Charice will flood in tears if you said this directly to them about your retirement."
"I'll talk to him after dinner. *thumbs up* okay?" I said to her and she smiles at me tenderly.
Maribelle goes out to see them all outside carrying all the disposable utensils, the crowd is noisy now even though they are only 7 out there including her in the headcount.
--------------------------------
Menudo, Adobo, Pancit Malabon, Chapsuey, BBQ chicken, and Siomai on the side are the foods served at the table while we are all having fun at dinner with silly stories and inside jokes only we understand with beers as a beverage. While we talk about everything we did this year I see 7 of them around the table.
On my right side is Cha (Charice Fernandez) talking to Maribelle, who was wearing a red T-shirt with print and blue maong pants pairing the red flats. In 14 years of my career, I was grooming this player to uphold the teams she participated and as a successor of all my knowledge of being a player and coaching.
Despite being 4 years in the pro scene, she has won a world championship in her rookie year together with me on the team before we go to Black Jackals; she was the only one to move out to another team together with me in the Philippines again who I was an assistant coach and a player at the same time in Team Hydro last 3 years ago.
She witnessed as an audience and a fellow challenger in the top ladder of PHLoL in the past, the 10-year reign team that I was involved in as my former game nickname 'Crimson'.
She even saw personally on the tenth year on how we both Emperor (Song Jung-Si) and I move to Korea and win worlds before Emperor finally retires because I picked her up personally to train her before the year she became a rookie professional player in the NA.
We won another world cup when we were in the Philippines this time without my old teammates and Emperor in Team Bloodhounds but we move out because the corrupt organization blunders us out when they take all the money we won and that's when found Japan's Black Jackals here in the country.
A characteristic unique to her is the natural mix of her hair which is the color of blond and black together with a sharp jawline just like her American father, and skin color of tannish white of her Filipina mother.
I saw himself in Charice like in my old self, a hot temper player with explosive mechanics and risky strategies but what makes her different than him was her delicate timings and setups that makes enemy teams will not feel the changes but later realize the sudden change of tempo in the rift which is one of the best things a Jungler have. She plays AD carry as a secondary role.
On my left is Ken (Kenjiro Sato) wearing his office clothes, white neat polo with folded sleeves, Black slacks, and Black leather shoes. He was supposed to be a stable player in the roster but he has to manage the E-sport organization together with his father and his sister, Zanji Sato and Katsumi Sato.
He can still play but he is the one I'm teaching in the backstage dynamics like coaching, scouting, analyst, training, and management in an E-sport organization specifically instructed by his father. What makes him dangerous is how he points out the behavior of the enemy team before, during, and after the game whether he is in or out of the rift which is crazy because we easily win more than half of our games just by exploiting the behavior of the opponent. Midlane is his main role.
He looks so young despite we are the same age, you can easily identify him by his sharp-nose he inherited from his British mother together with his blue eyes.
Beside Ken is Kit (Koito Hirano), wearing in the casual attire of baby blue thin sweater with black short pants 2 inches below the knee in black running shoes. In Japan, he was the youngest player ever enter the pro scene at an age of 11. Now that he has come to the age of 18 and the Japan Pro scene is absorbed in the PCS, the teams he had participated in all gone but he was handpicked by Ken.
Despite being the youngest, he was my most trusted teammate because of how he plays like a veteran but his youthful age that can destroy his lane if given a small window of opportunity. He is too good looking, I tell ya. He is the face of Black Jackals' sponsored and merchandises together with Charice, if given a chance to modeling he will succeed there also. Mid lane and AD carry are the roles he plays.
Kit is goofing with the duo best friends 3 years older than him, Ren and Jha both wearing a Green sleeveless shirt with brown Shorts and maong shorts respectively pairing in their slippers.
Ren (Ruben Tayug) was once a basketball small forward in college but he was injured on both of his knees in the unfortunate accident in the past and can't play ball like he used to.
He was introduced to LoL by Jha, his best friend to play and he was hooked by some similarities to the game he used to play so he got hooked but his growth and team dynamics are what makes him so good in the team that changes his fate when he was picked as one of the pros as a rookie of black jackals together with Jha. His main role is Support and top lane as secondary.
He is the most jacked one of the group since he was once played basketball at the same height as me (5'8"). He has Pinoys' feature; tall, dark, and handsome.
Jha (Jhana Pamintuan) is Ren's best friend since his childhood, he was the one most devastated of what happened to Ren. He is the total opposite of Ren; shorter than him (5'5"), like he is brown Indian rock lee from the Japanese comics 'Naruto' in his teenage years but he is the most unpredictable that even pros hate him because he has no definite habits that can be exploited.
The first problem we struggle with him was his lack of nourishment in his body and bruises because of his family when he was a pick as a rookie that he needs to move out because of abusive stepfather and start living with Ren's family which he has a safe place and can be called home.
He was the one we discover in the ladder that is risky since we don't know his potential because of his unpredictability but when he was with Ruben, the duo is so fluid in the bot lane or Ruben is in the top lane. When he is in the rift, we need Ruben for the balance of team chemistry. AD carry was his main role
I saw Diego and Julia talking to each other while taking some food at their plate. Diego is in his favorite Black Jackals hat and attire with his black fitted jogging pants pair with grey sport Chak shoes while Julia is in her uniform like Ken except for her 3-inch heels.
Diego (Diego Santiago) - the smallest guy on the team (4'11") but has the greatest mental fortitude of them all, this trait of him is what makes his challenger placement is in the single rankers wherever he region he goes and be rewarded by good solo queue matches online in which the quality of his practice is almost on par as in team dynamics.
In the pro scene, in his career, everyone ignores him because of his past low - tier team histories and old age of 32 at that time. and still topping the competition in the top lane which is low tier teams here and even in the foreign countries wants to pick him too despite the generation gap but he chose us because of the Unique and crazy roster which the make the team more complete.
the early news when Diego enters in Black Jackals was how he was included in the Crazy team which he is not accustomed to his past teams but I'm glad to be with him because the balance and high morale mainly come from him to the point he is like a Team Captain of the team. The top lane is his main role while support as secondary.
Now that his 35 years of age, stubbles on around his face matching with his bear face make him like a teddy bear in human form. In this present time, no one will ever still doubt to see him retire based on what his playing right now.
When he saw the play style of Jha, he analyzes it to become his in which he became unpredictable too in the top lane. I know top lane was the boring role but to his veteran side of him can reliably do his job while matching any opponent he faces.
Julia (Julia Borromeo) is the Organization's sports psychologist; she graduated in Ateneo De Manila University, Finish her med school in the US and her second job was this. We found her by the recommendation of her senior in her past job since we need someone like her, she specifically has a forte on medical health which is a great help by this kind of sport heavily needed of mental fortitude in the individual.
BUT she is so fucking payat! How can someone eat so many and still have like that kind of body! She is so skinny that you can see how sharp her elbow was. Where is she put all she ate? In her damn nails? But you know what, she and Diego are getting closer ever since this year came. I need to talk about him about that matter because I know her brother and he need to ask my consent because I'm her childhood friend.
I told to Ken to get some apple-flavored beers because Maribelle is drinking like it's water so the other 2 girls can drink too so we both come to the kitchen and that's when Maribelle looks at me then I put my right thumb up as if it's the cue then she smiles at me before she goes right back to talk to other and bickering again teach other. We enter my house going to the kitchen to get some beers at the fridge.
"Ken."
"wat up?" He said
"" is said to him in Nihongo
"
"The diagnosis of the doctor said that after the recovery I can't get to do things as I used to an-"
"Hey, we've talked about this right? You're not gonna retire when you get us a world champ trophy right? You promised us, right?" Ken said to me assuredly that I will keep my promise. I only nod and calm him down.
I continue what I said "Ken, there are some more tests that I need to take starting next year and Dra. Galvacion will check up on me on Monday pa."
"You're okay naman eh, why do you have to take more tests! You didn't tell me this earlier." he silently shouts at the kitchen. And he follows up "You're alive; you can do anything despite all these shortcomings! The accident will never put you down on retirement, let's the Dimayuga fuckers know what's up."
"Ken, my neural functions can't work 100 percent and I'm my response time is four-time slower than an average human being." I patiently said to him what's happening to my body.
"Then train! Everything can get back into shape again when you put time and great effort, don't think like that."
"
"What do you mean by
"Only I get 15 percent faster on respond time only but I can't back everything at all."
"Did you get a second opinion on this?"
"Even Doctora didn't believe at first but when she asks for other doctors opinions they only said one same thing 'that patient surviving is a miracle that I'm alive right now despite for almost 3 months in coma', I could never think I can spend another Christmas with you guys. Come on, that's what matters right?"I optimistically said to him.
He only nods at me and deeply sighs. "What will you do from now on?"
"I need focus first on my recovery and prevention because Doctora said that the next I'm about to experience is the memory lapses that needed to prevent before it is happening. I'm rushing on a deadline here. So maybe they need to rest for now because this thing I'm going through right now is only the calm before the storm, and I can also catch up to the games I bought I didn't play because I'm busy with work.
How cool is that huh? I never thought of retiring would be this fun since I'm only going to do is play games."
He is shocked by what I said to him. "I never thought this way you will retire like this." He said it almost teary-eyed, we've known each other for years because we got connected when we are opponents in the past and the past 2 years is the only time we got closer more to each other and the other teammates. I hug him
"It's okay; I had one hell of a good run, now's the time for me to step down and rest. Am I correct?"
"Yeah, you had an ABSOLUTELY one hell of a career. No doubt about that, but why did you tell me first?"
"Because Maribelle said to me that I need to tell you this first before I tell it to them tonight because it will affect what will I say on the future of the team so I need you to help me to plan on what I say."
"Did my dad know about this?"
"Nope, I'm telling you all of this first before I meet your dad on Monday because you're my closest friends and you will be the most affected when I retire. I need to announce my retirement even though it's almost near the end of this offseason."
"Aww, my heart." He said, flattered on what I said so I punch in the shoulder. "Hey! That hurt!"
"So? Any help coming from you?"
"Okay, I'll help." He said to me both hands up and talk about how I will say to them after we go out to the table."
-----------------------------------------
It was an amazing night on happy they are and still bickering on the post year rundown on how well the team does this year, the late celebration to my house.
It is all Fun until we both tell of my heartbreaking decision of how my announcement of retirement to them. Before we even start the speech, Cha was already crying and I glare at Maribelle but it's evident that she didn't say anything about this so we continue and she was the loudest to cried on that night.
Together with the silence came to some of them but I worried the most is Jha because he was shocked on what I said came to my mouth so he is the one I hug first and said it's okay then he silently cried to my shoulder tapping his back.
Cha is the next one because she is the one near the accident, she will have issues to blaming herself to my unfortunate incident so I keep talking that it's okay.
The one who is the saddest at that time was Diego because he never thought I will be the first to retire instead of him while Ren and Julia understand the situation quite well because he experiences this before so the only thing he said to me that night was "Get well soon okay?"
They were the ones who arrange the tables and chairs together with washing the dishes because I need to sleep early so the only thing I do is to prepare the beds in the room that the boys will sleep through the night. There are 4 rooms on the second floor, one is mine, one room has 2 double decks, another guest room, and Maribelle's room where the girls will stay the night.
And here I am, took a bath already and sobered up waiting to dad to pick up my call online in the laptop at my desk.
"Hello." My dad said to me waiting for his lunch at the diner.
"Hi, Dad," I said to him.
"This is unusual that you call huh." Well, its old news to me "So what makes you call this late at night there?"
"Are you familiar with the gaming capsule? I might buy something like that tomorrow, any tips to find a good one?"
"Yes, I'm familiar with it and also one of the lead tech engineers to that because that capsule has something useful to the military."
"Really? Well, that's odd. Why is that so?"
"Yes, it's really useful to the military because it will be a great simulation for the soldiers before they get to experience onto the real thing, I will create to simulate some situations that will happen in the field that's why the US offer to help on that project."
"Now that you know about the gaming capsule, can you please explain to me the gaming capsule and how it works?"
"I can talk about that but I have something to tell you, a favor actually, I need some live data because I made a capsule-like that but its military issue so I need some live testing to do it. I think we will talk about that at another time, maybe tonight so it will be morning there?" I only nod to him agreeing to what he said.
"So – Ten pm here so it's supposed to be 10 in the morning there the next day, It needs a long discussion and also explains to you what I made."
"So you want me to test a gaming capsule made by you and it's a military issue pa. You got me curious there."
"You should because it's the same as the capsule you see in the right now but it is ten times more powerful than it should be in the market and it is my secret project cannot be touched by the US too so let's not talk about it right now, I'll send you an encryption app made by yours truly so our conversation later we will be secured and deleted right away." He said with the smug on his face, arrogant as always hehe.
"Okay, see ya later then."
"Yeah see ya." He said in a flat tone and he ends the call immediately. I stare at the screen blankly in a few seconds, this what it feels like on what I do to others in calls. Well, no doubt he is my dad then. I'm so sad.